Month: October 2019

Doctors of sciences are not born, this title is usually obtained either as a result of the consistent development of a scientific career, or, if necessary, to expand professional horizons in commercial activities. In any case, writing a comprehensive scientific work and passing through a mass of bureaucratic “delays” will be required. Research work begins with the choice of the topic of a doctoral dissertation, which, depending on the situation, can take shape on its own (for example, as a continuation or deepening of the subject of a candidate) or be specially selected. In the second case, it is important to understand that the doctoral candidate or the applicant will have to deal with the selected topics for at least three years.

Choosing the topic of a doctoral dissertation: criteria and recommendations

The expression that the name of the boat accurately reflects the nature of its progress is fully applicable to the topic of scientific research at any level. Not only does the scientist have to work with the topic, the appropriateness of its formulation will need to be repeatedly confirmed during certification (we are talking about doctoral studies), pre-defense and the defense itself. Therefore, it is important that the problem considered in the work can be concisely and correctly expressed in the title.

Now more general tips:

• choosing the topic of a doctoral dissertation, one should use the experience of an educational or scientific institution in which studies are conducted: you need to familiarize yourself with the list of publications, talk with employees, and monitor industry-specific scientific periodicals;
• the object of research and the potential methodological base should be interesting and familiar to the dissertation, but even better if the topic is at the junction of hobbies, both the author of the future work and its leader or consultant;
• a quick assessment should show that for the comprehensive disclosure of the topic there is all the necessary equipment and a sufficient margin of time, there are financial and administrative opportunities.

After several options are outlined, their scientific and practical significance should be carefully considered. It is necessary that work as a whole solve a major national economic problem, for example, suggest ways to optimize and reduce costs in individual sectors of the economy. The importance of adhering to such a recommendation is that great attention will be paid to the questions of the expediency of the study and the practical benefits of the results achieved in the defense.

The dissertation is a capacious report, built according to all the rules, on the scientifically-research activity of a scientist. Theoretically, specialists are working on its creation during training in graduate school, doctoral studies or master’s programs. In fact, study does not always end in defense. The scientific and practical significance of such works is great, hence the rigidity of the requirements for the design of a dissertation of any level. The development of standards and recommendations in this industry is carried out by the Higher Attestation Commission and the national standardization body.

Thesis requirements

When preparing qualification works, you must adhere to a single scheme formed by the following elements:

• title page – one page, where according to the standard form of requirements for the dissertation lists information about the dissertation, his scientific adviser and work;
• table of contents – a small part consisting of indicating the names of chapters and paragraphs, as well as links to page numbers of their location in the text structure;
• the main part, including the introduction, an array of basic information, conclusion;
• a list of abbreviations used and a glossary of terms that, according to the thesis rules, are considered as a recommended, but optional element of the structure;
• a list of sources used, where according to the requirements of the Higher Attestation Commission, not only specialized literature is entered, but also addresses of Internet resources;
• appendices – an optional block where additional materials are added to the dissertation text: graphs, tables, diagrams.

This type of structure is mandatory because it is regulated by the standard for dissertations. This principle of reporting has been formed historically and is familiar to the scientific community.

What dissertation requirements must be observed in order to be admitted to the defense?

In the course of obtaining postgraduate education, graduate students and doctoral students publish parts of the results of their research in scientific periodicals. The presence of at least two publications is a mandatory requirement of the Higher Attestation Commission for admission to the defense of a candidate dissertation. Three articles are a minimum for socio-economic and humanities. The requirements of the Higher Attestation Commission are stricter for applicants for a doctoral degree: the number of publications should not be less than 15 for economics, sociology, cultural studies and a number of other disciplines, and at least 10 for other subjects. In addition to articles in thematic scientific journals, publications also include patents, monographs, and certificates of discovery.

Another important requirement for dissertations is the availability of an abstract, without which it is forbidden to begin the defense process. Representing a brief overview of scientific work, this document is required for distribution to the largest libraries, bibliographic accounting authorities and members of the dissertation council.

When applying for a scientific degree or title, the applicant must defend a dissertation on a particular topic, thereby confirming his viability as a scientist.

The dissertation – what is it?

A scientific work can be considered a dissertation if it reflects the research work carried out personally by the applicant for a scientific degree, or confirmed discoveries are indicated, as a result of which the corresponding conclusions are drawn. A “dissertation” can be a scientific report, as well as a manuscript, a monograph, a written and published textbook. In any of these works, tasks should be investigated and problems with urgent needs should be solved, and recommendations should be given, ways and ways to solve them indicated. The main part of the dissertation, which contains descriptions of the research and experiments carried out, as well as their results, is its main part. But the requirements for the design of the dissertation and their strict observance are no less important.

Why are the dissertation requirements important?

The writing of any scientific work is regulated by the standard. It will be read and evaluated by a large number of specialists, members of the Higher Attestation Commission (the Higher Attestation Commission – as a rule, at least 40 people). In addition, it should be prepared for publication. All this imposes certain obligations on the execution of the dissertation to comply with the requirements and rules.

The basic requirements for the design of the dissertation

1. Scientific work is usually written in English. But at the request of the dissertation council, a decision may be made to allow writing scientific work in another language. In this case, an additional title page is written in English.
2. Scientific work is written on one side of a sheet of A4 paper. For tables and graphs, it is allowed to use sheets of paper in A3 format.
3. The boundaries of the fields are determined: on the top and bottom edges – 2 cm, on the left edge – 3 cm for binder, on the right edge – 1.5 cm.
4. The pages in the center of the lower part are numbered in Arabic numerals. Title page, table of contents are counted, but not numbered. Illustrations and tables are included in the numbering. If they used the A3 sheet format, then they are taken into account together. Accompanying inscriptions are made directly below them.
5. To write a dissertation, the font Times New Roman, 14 point, line spacing 1.5. Allowed font height is at least 1.8 mm. It uses alignment of the text in width, headings in the center.
6. A page should contain an average of 1800 characters.
7. When writing sentences with a “red” line, a deviation of 1.25 cm (or five characters) is made.
8. Quotations used in the text are quoted and must fully correspond to the original. Reference is made to them in the list of used literature.
9. In the main text, word abbreviations are used in the form of an abbreviation, compound words, symbols for the initial letters of words and for parts of words and initial letters.
10. All figures obtained as a result of research and experiments are made out in the form of a table. They must be reliable and verified. They are compared on the same basis. The text of the work indicates in what way they were obtained, and the methodology for choosing the main feature.
11. The graphs and diagrams used in the work are directly logically connected with the text, so they must be placed side by side. Schemes, despite their importance for comparing particular data, should still be placed in the application.
12. All corrections in the text are made with ink, only black paste.

All of the above is no less important than the text of the scientific work with its calculations and conclusions. Compliance with these requirements will make your work more structured and understandable.

If you still have problems, and you do not understand the requirements for preparing a dissertation, contact our specialists. They will be able to quickly and professionally help you in solving the problem.