Research Introduction Template for Dissertation & Thesis: Step-by-Step Guide + Example

OPENING SECTION

As the very first section of your introduction chapter, this section needs to provide a high-level overview of your dissertation or thesis. Typically, you’ll include the following:

• A sentence or two introducing the overall field of your research
• A sentence introducing your specific research problem
• A sentence stating your research aims and objectives
• A sentence outlining the layout of the chapter

It’s important to remember that this is only an introduction, so don’t go on and on. Keep it brief and to the point.

Background

The following section should give a general summary of the topic area you will be researching as well as the present contextual elements, after the introduction’s discussion of the fundamentals. To put it another way, you must give the reader a basic comprehension of your study topic in this section by including pertinent background information.

A brief history of the subject, current advancements in the field, significant studies conducted in the field, etc., could all be included in this part. It is crucial to write this background section in an easily readable and understandable manner because you cannot presume that your reader is an authority on your subject (in fact, this is true for all chapters).

This is the section where you should clarify any industry-specific terms, complicated vocabulary, or special concepts so that the reader can comprehend the remainder of your work. Don’t assume anything; write for the knowledgeable layperson.

Statement of Problem

After providing background information on the study issue in the background section, it’s time to focus on the particular research challenge that your dissertation or thesis will address. You must clearly state what is lacking from the existing literature and why this is an issue when presenting your research challenge. This section can be divided into two parts:

Part 1 – State the problem

Start with the current state of research, or what has already been established in the literature. Next, identify the research gap, or what is absent from the literature. The research problem is then built upon this. Any issue or query for which there isn’t already a well-established and accepted response in the body of previous research can be considered the research challenge. Thus, pay particular attention to the gaps in the literature, particularly the areas that recent journal articles have identified as “needing further research.”

Part 2 – Justify the problem

You must explain why this is a problem since just because there is a problem (a gap) in the existing literature doesn’t mean that it has to be explored. You must specifically respond to the question, “Why is this research gap necessary to fill?”
Your foundation will be established once you have effectively stated and supported the research topic. At that point, you can move forward with presenting a compelling case for your particular research project.

Rational of the study

Following the formulation and justification of the research topic, the objective of the reasoning section is to outline your plan of action.
The “golden thread” of your research study, which consists of your research purpose, research objective, and research question, will be presented here. Your study’s boundaries and concentration will be determined by these three golden thread characteristics.

Aim of the study

The primary objective or overall purpose of your study is known as the research aim. It serves as a high-level declaration of your goals. Typically, research objectives will resemble this:

• This research aims to…
• “This research sought to…
• “The aim of this study…
• “This study planned to…

Here’s an example of a research aim:

This research aims to assess the effects of Virgin Atlantic organizational culture on business profitability

As you can see, it makes explicit the primary objective and aim of the research.

Research Objectives

The research objectives (RO) are somewhat more realistically focused than the research aims, focusing on the exact actions you will take to accomplish your research target or goals. They divide the goals of the research into more manageable, targeted activities. In other words, ROs outline the steps you’ll take and the particular topics you’ll look into in order to meet your research objectives.

When doing your own research, begin by identifying your study target or goals and then deconstruct it into the essential elements that must be addressed in order to accomplish them. Your study goals must be SMART, which stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound.

Here’s example of a set of research objectives, following from the research aim mentioned earlier

The following research objectives would facilitate the achievement of this aim

• Analyzing the nature of organizational culture at Virgin Atlantic by September 1, 2025
• Identifying factors impacting Virgin Atlantic organizational culture by September 16, 2025
• Analyzing impacts of Virgin Atlantic organizational culture on employee performances by September 30, 2025
• Providing recommendations to Virgin Atlantic strategic level management in terms of increasing the level of effectiveness of organizational culture by October 5, 2025

Research question(s)

Your thesis or dissertation will aim to address these particular concerns. Your dissertation or thesis will be guided by these questions from the literature review to the methodology and beyond.

Usually, the research objectives and the research questions are closely related. In other words, they convert the goals of the research into questions that can be answered. Here are some possible research questions based on the above sample objectives.

• What is the nature of the organizational culture at Virgin Atlantic?
• Which factors may contribute to the organizational culture?
• What is the relationship between the organizational culture and employee performance?

As you can see, these research questions are directly linked to the first three research objectives.

Scope

The following portion is your scope, which is connected to the items in the justification. You run the danger of losing focus or looking into an issue that is too huge to handle in a single dissertation or thesis if your research goals, objectives, and questions (also known as your golden thread) are too general.

Your research project’s scope will be clearly defined in this section. For instance, you may narrow it based on the following inquiries.

• What specific industry are you targeting?
• What geographical area are you investigating?
• What time period does your research cover?
• What demographics or communities are you researching?
• What specific themes or aspects of the topic does your dissertation address?

Limiting your scope and concentration is quite acceptable. Instead of looking at a large topic superficially, a successful research effort usually looks deeply into a very specific topic. Your buddy is focus!

Significance

Now that you have outlined the research topic and presented your study, you must emphasize the impact and consequences of your research.
You should explicitly explain in this part how your research will advance academia, the actual world, or ideally both. This section’s goal is to make it apparent how the study will close a gap in the literature and benefit organizations in the real world.
In order for the reader to comprehend why it is worthwhile to devote a whole dissertation or thesis to your study, it is crucial that you “sell” the importance of your work here.

The following are some strategies you might use to market your study in this section:

• Helps solve a practical or theoretical problem
• Addresses a gap in the literature
• Builds on existing research
• Proposes a new understanding of the topic

Spend some time crafting this section carefully and “selling” your project to the reader (and marker!) with a compelling argument for the importance of your study.

STRUCTURAL OVERVIEW

Use this closing section to orient readers to your dissertation’s structure. Provide a concise, chapter-by-chapter overview (including the introduction), with a sentence or two on each chapter’s purpose and content. Stay brief and descriptive state what each chapter will do, not the results it produced.

The goal of this final part is to map out the structure of your dissertation or thesis. Summaries each chapter’s aim and contents in one or two sentences, including the introduction. Avoid detail this is a roadmap, not a results summary so describe what each chapter will cover rather than what it found.