How to Create a Dissertation Title
A dissertation is a long piece of academic writing based on research that you have conducted on a particular subject study.
It is submitted in support of a doctoral degree. Every dissertation should have a title. The title is the first opportunity for you to grab your readers' attention. You should get the idea of what the research work is about.
It condenses the objectives of the whole research work. It is a dreadful task to identify a dissertation title since the dissertation is very lengthy. Summarizing the entire work into a title can be baffling.
A title of a dissertation is very important. If your title is not clear, some if your readers may not read the introduction and the rest. Moreover, a well-written dissertation title will attract the attention of many people to your work.
How you come up with a title
The title serves the purpose of addressing the question, “what is the dissertation about?” The title can be how to cope with social anxiety or what causes overpopulation in a particular state. Use of how and what as part of the title answers the question adequately.
The title of a dissertation should be comprehensive yet brief. It should not be too short as it becomes mysterious. Neither should it be too long. You should utilize the three-part structure.
Use three keywords to define the subject study. It shows the interrelationship between key themes. A good example is “the effects of the industrial revolution on urbanization.” This creates a clear signal of what the reader is going to find in the dissertation. To become more specific, add a date range to the interrelationship between effects of revolution and urbanization. It applies to humanity topics.
Different universities have guidelines on how long the title should be. Therefore, you should check with your institution before settling on a title.
The title should be firmly based on a particular set of ideas. You should anchor your writing. Example of a dissertation title; “Factors affecting mining in South Africa.” As per the title, you expect the whole research to be about mining and its effects and not a bit of fishing or trading in South Africa.
Every word in a title should serve a purpose; it should answer a question, highlight a way of doing something, or defining the area of examination. It should give you an idea of what the research is generally about.
The title of a dissertation should be clear and relevant. If your title is ambiguous, the reader might get confused. An example of an ambiguous topic is “Problems affecting the Chicago citizens.” It is not clear neither is it specific. It can be problems affecting the health sector in Chicago. The title should be relevant to the main objectives of your study.
Every dissertation should suggest/hint at methodology. It should answer the question - how. It has a technique for collection, analysis, and compilation of data. The collection of data might involve reading of literature texts, scientific measurement or examination of historical sources.
You can get a title from the methodology used. Example - using ethanol to make a preservative. The reader can tell from this title that this is a practical type of dissertation. A title like “Revisiting the Isaac Newton Theory of gravity.” Shows that the dissertation is theoretical.
With these steps in mind, it might still be stressful to come up with a title. You can seek help from other people, including your supervisor or even your colleagues. You should have an idea of what you want as a title, and your supervisor will help out in rephrasing it.
You can also look at previously done dissertations, and this will give you ideas of a title.
Given that the first element a reader sees is the title of the dissertation, it is worth spending a great time to give a favorable first impression. The title should be seen as a product label that informs a reader how to categorize it.