Professional dissertation writers contribute well in producing quality dissertations with the help of current research. Nevertheless, they are criticized or rejected during the assessment by the committee. Often this is not due to the content or topic. Instead, candidates make mistakes that they could easily avoid while working on their dissertation. This article highlights the most common mistakes in dissertations and explains how candidates can avoid them.
Citation And Bibliography Errors
Footnotes and the associated quotations are a measure of the scientific nature of a text. Quotations are also very important in a dissertation in order to support the research result of the doctoral candidate. However, quotations are also one of the biggest sources of error when writing a dissertation – and often not even on purpose.
- Plagiarism Caused By Quotations Without Evidence
Many errors in quoting arise, for example, through “copy and paste” during online research. If sources are simply copied together without doctoral candidates directly noting where they come from, there is a risk that foreign and own text parts will mix up. And the dissertation is already full of plagiarism, which can even cost the candidate his thesis. The only thing that can help here is to immediately mark foreign ideas accordingly. Be it with a different font or with a colored background for the text. It should also be noted in the correct citation style, by footnote or in brackets, from which the reference originates.
- Plagiarism Caused By An Incomplete Bibliography
The same applies to a carelessly created bibliography. It not only gives the committee a bad and unprofessional first impression. It can also be an actual cause of plagiarism when missing sources are identified by plagiarism software. All references used in the text must be listed in a bibliography. Managing the sources used with programs can help students avoid this mistake. These programs also help doctoral candidates to design the bibliography uniformly.
Mistake In Designing The Dissertation
Especially when you have been working on a job for years, it is very important to pay close attention to the formatting. You should also make sure that everything complies with the requirements of the regulations. Sources of error are irregularly named bullet points, once numerically and once with Roman numerals, for example. Abbreviations that deviate from the list of abbreviations also appear more often in dissertations. If words are abbreviated, the same abbreviation must be the same throughout the text and the list of abbreviations.
Error In Paragraph Length In The Dissertation
Many students find it difficult to find the correct paragraph length. A good starting point is: A key statement equals the length of a paragraph. Short paragraphs give the impression that the candidate cannot complete a train of thought. Long paragraphs make work cluttered and difficult to read. The structure and length of the different sections and their sub-points should also be as balanced as possible.
Further Errors During The Writing Phase Of The Dissertation
There are still a few mistakes that have nothing to do with the mere paperwork on the doctoral dissertation but can still be responsible for their failure. Students should always have a backup of their work on several storage media, for example, USB or in the cloud or Dropbox. Because nothing is worse than losing months or years of work due to a technical error. A schedule is also extremely important in order to get the dissertation to a conclusion. It can serve more as a guide than a fixed corset but it must exist.
Error In The Linguistic Optimization Of The Dissertation
The biggest mistake is not having obtained enough feedback from the doctoral supervisor before the linguistic optimization. He is a mentor, consultant and can give initial feedback on whether the direction of work is in the right direction. If he has concerns, the content should be improved before the final proofreading. In addition, the final check should be carried out by a third party who will objectively check the text in an editing department of the dissertation. This can be done with a view to spelling, grammar, and orthography, but also to the style and the central theme of the work. In addition, candidates should plan enough time to incorporate the changes into their text.
Error When Submitting The Dissertation
The submission of the dissertation to the office must be put on record. This means that the office must also be open on that day in order to confirm acceptance. Candidates quickly lose sight of appointments such as the semester break and should therefore make an appointment. Registered mail should be selected for submission by post. The postmark is considered the deadline. Students should also check again whether they are submitting the correct number of required versions, whether, for example, the CD also works with a digital version and whether all the required information is available on the title page.
Error In The Publication Of The Dissertation
The dissertation must be published. For this, it is then important to find the right publisher. However, candidates should take a critical look at publishers that demand a very high author’s grant. Because paying euros for a publication is probably not worthwhile. Print-on-demand publishers are also often not the best choice because they are considered less professional, book prices are often high, and review copies are more difficult to send. Registering the printed dissertation can also give candidates a little pocket money. With the help of this checklist, the most common mistakes in dissertations can be avoided or at least identified and improved earlier. However, even when using all checklists, students should always keep in mind that sloppiness and procrastination also have a lot to do with personal attitudes. After all, writing a dissertation requires motivation and discipline. You can also take help from professional dissertation writers to score better.