• How it works

How to Best Use References in a Dissertation

Published by Alvin Nicolas at August 12th, 2021 , Revised On September 20, 2023

“In a dissertation, references refer to the sources and citations used to support and validate the research.”

They provide evidence, scholarly context, and acknowledgment of the works consulted during the study. References typically include books, journal articles, websites, and other relevant publications cited in the dissertation.

Writing a dissertation can be challenging especially if you haven’t had the chance to write a dissertation before. You need to look into relevant literature, analyze past researches, conduct surveys, interviews, etc. and also reference and cite information that you’ve gathered from different sources.

Many students are usually confused regarding which sources should be mentioned and which be omitted. This confusion arises because they are unaware of the fact as to which sources are credible, reliable, and authentic and which are not.

Thus, the question always remains ‘How to Best Use References in a Dissertation’?

While there is no single way to best use references in a dissertation, students should have a clear understanding of the concept of the use of credible and reliable sources in their dissertation paper.

In today’s world where changes take place frequently, some newspaper articles published online are also categorized as authentic and credible sources.

Information and/or data can be extracted from these articles and included in dissertations with proper use of a citation.

To make sure that references are used appropriately in dissertations, here are a few ways that you can follow:

Research Relevant Studies

Depending on the  topic of your dissertation , make sure to research and look into similar researches that have been conducted in the past. In addition to this, you could also read, analyze and review researches that have utilized the same model or talk about the same theory as you are applying in your dissertation.

Doing so will add a lot of value to your dissertation and you will be able to include models and theories with correct references and citations.

Include Recent Researches

As important as relevant studies are for your dissertation, including recent studies only is equally important. Using reference in a dissertation that belong to the past five to ten years are acceptable; however, using references of the 1980s or 1990s is not recommended.

The main reason being changes in time, settings, environment, participants, etc. All these factors contribute a lot towards accurate conclusions, thus they are regarded as essential when using a study for reference purposes.

Also, writing a dissertation in the current setting, considering the current environment, only recent researches must be included in the dissertation. This gives readers the idea that the research that has been conducted is recent.

Also Read:   How to avoid plagiarism in an academic paper

Stuck on a difficult dissertation? We can help!

Our dissertation Writing Service Features:

  • Expert UK Writers
  • Plagiarism-free
  • Timely Delivery
  • Thorough Research
  • Rigorous Quality Control

Expert UK Writers

Cite/Reference while Writing

Many of us are guilty of extracting information from various sources when writing without noting down the reference. As a result, we lose track of that particular reference and end up spending hours looking for that specific article or research.

Thus, you should always note down the reference as soon as you refer to it in your dissertation or when you include data or information. In this manner, you will have a complete list of references that you’ve used when you’ve finished writing your dissertation.

Also, doing so will save you a lot of your time, and you will be able to finish your dissertation without any delays.

Know when and where to Cite

Remember the hours you spent looking for the  statistics  or the specific piece of information that you mentioned in your dissertation, but forgot to cite? This usually happens when the deadline is nearing, and we’re in a hurry to complete our dissertation.

However, you should always keep in mind that when you rush things, you tend to spend a lot more time than needed. Thus, whenever you’re mentioning a fact, statistics, or a particular piece of information that is exact and accurate, always cite it.

Not doing so will keep your readers in doubt whether the statistic or number mentioned is accurate or not. On the other hand, if you cite those exact numbers, readers will have the impression that you have done your research, and they can even crosscheck it by referring to your citation.

Choose the Correct Referencing Style

There are various referencing styles. Depending on your university and other requirements, the right referencing style is chosen and conveyed to you.

What you should make sure of is understanding the required referencing style, so you can cite accurately. A Harvard style referencing style example includes a reference list with the name of authors, the journal or book name, the publisher’s name, and the date and the page number.

When citing the exact words of an author or when defining a theory or model, make sure that you include the page number as they are required for direct quotations.

If, in case you do not understand any of the referencing styles, you should either follow the guidelines provided by your tutor or you can also search the internet for your required referencing style.

With time, new editions of referencing styles have been introduced to make sure that all thesis and dissertations follow the same pattern. Thus, make it a practice to crosscheck your referencing style from the internet to make sure that you’re following the latest format and edition.

Proofread your Reference List

This is one of the most important, but often most ignored aspects when looking at how to use references correctly. Your reference list should be sorted as soon as you finish writing your dissertation.

For instance, it should be alphabetically arranged, the number of references should be appropriate for the dissertation, and should be free from all types of errors such as formatting, grammatical and style .

The correct style should be followed, the reference list should be properly formatted and proofread to eliminate all errors. An ideal list of reference examples includes correct mention of the author name, year of publication, and name of the book.

The publisher’s name should be italicized and the page number should also be mentioned. For academic journals, mentioning volume and issue number is mandatory. All these aspects should be considered to make sure that an accurate reference list is prepared for your dissertation.

Crosscheck your Citations

When citing your dissertation, you need to make sure that your text corresponds with the in-text citation that you’re including. Not doing so will make your research unreliable and unauthentic.

Readers will get an impression that the in-text citations have been included just for the sake of it, instead of being related to the text and information that is being mentioned.

Thus, the best in-text citation example includes the name of the author along with the year of publication. If there is a direct quote or a definition included in the exact words of the author, then the page number must be also indicated while citing.

Make sure that all your in-text citations are in line with the information that has been presented and discussed in the paper.

Number of References to be Used

‘How many references should I use for my dissertation? This is a question that most students face. They usually get confused when it comes to the number of references that should be used in a dissertation. There’s no right number of references that should be used in a dissertation.

It depends on the topic, the academic level of the dissertation, and the  literature review  that is being presented.

Also, the models and theories used in the paper contribute to the total number of references. Ideally, it is recommended that every paragraph of 100 words or more should have a reference; however, this is not required and mandatory in all cases.

The literature review is usually the chapter that uses the most references. This helps in formulating a dissertation that is not only informative but is backed by credible resources as well.

Referencing a dissertation is an easy task if done in the right manner. To answer the question, ‘how to best use references in a dissertation, you need to make sure that you’ve collected the right sources  and are referring to credible and reliable information only.

Once you’ve sorted your references, you’re on your way to right an authentic dissertation. The literature review is an important aspect of every dissertation for mentioning relevant theories, models, and information. Thus, this section is critical when it comes to referencing. You should make sure that the models and theories are referenced appropriately, and all references are recent.

If you’re still unsure of whether you’re using references in the right manner or not, or you’re seeking help with referencing your dissertation, get in touch with our professional  dissertation writing services .

At ResearchProspect, we make sure that your dissertation is properly referenced and accurately cited. All our information is up to date, and we make sure that only recent references are included in the dissertation to leave a lasting impression on the readers. Contact us today and leave your referencing worries to us!

FAQs About References in a Dissertation

Can i cite old research papers in my dissertation.

Old papers are usually outdated in terms of significance and impact. Therefore, you must look for recent papers to cite in your dissertation. 

Why is it important to cite/ reference while writing?

Without citation, it looks like you are presenting someone else’s words as your views idea, which will eventually count as plagiarism . 

Moreover, the citations increase the credibility and accuracy of the information presented in the paper.

Which is the correct referencing style?

There are many referencing styles available to pick from, such as MLA, APA, Harvard referencing style , etc. You must check with your university preferences to choose one. However, most UK universities prefer Harvard referencing style. 

You May Also Like

Here are the steps to make a theoretical framework for dissertation. You can define, discuss and evaluate theories relevant to the research problem.

Your dissertation introduction chapter provides detailed information on the research problem, significance of research, and research aim & objectives.

Dissertation discussion is where you explore the relevance and significance of results. Here are guidelines to help you write the perfect discussion chapter.

USEFUL LINKS

LEARNING RESOURCES

DMCA.com Protection Status

COMPANY DETAILS

Research-Prospect-Writing-Service

  • How It Works
  • Affiliate Program

Wordvice

  • UNITED STATES
  • 台灣 (TAIWAN)
  • TÜRKIYE (TURKEY)
  • Academic Editing Services
  • - Research Paper
  • - Journal Manuscript
  • - Dissertation
  • - College & University Assignments
  • Admissions Editing Services
  • - Application Essay
  • - Personal Statement
  • - Recommendation Letter
  • - Cover Letter
  • - CV/Resume
  • Business Editing Services
  • - Business Documents
  • - Report & Brochure
  • - Website & Blog
  • Writer Editing Services
  • - Script & Screenplay
  • Our Editors
  • Client Reviews
  • Editing & Proofreading Prices
  • Wordvice Points
  • Partner Discount
  • Plagiarism Checker
  • APA Citation Generator
  • MLA Citation Generator
  • Chicago Citation Generator
  • Vancouver Citation Generator
  • - APA Style
  • - MLA Style
  • - Chicago Style
  • - Vancouver Style
  • Writing & Editing Guide
  • Academic Resources
  • Admissions Resources

How Many References in a Research Paper?

how many reference should a dissertation have

Junior researchers frequently wonder how many references should be included in their research papers. The common response? “As many as you need.” What exactly does that mean? While we admit there are very few hard-set rules regarding this issue, in this article, we will try to provide more concrete guidelines that will help you assess whether you have enough references in your paper.

Before we do so, let us briefly explain why references matter and whether the number of references you include can project certain perceptions about the quality of your work. There is such a thing as having too many or too few.

Why are research paper references and citations necessary?

References show that you have carefully reviewed the relevant literature and are now contributing something  novel  to the academic community. You establish authority and credibility when you can critically assess other literature and distinguish your findings from previous works (if any exist). We emphasize “critically assess” in the last sentence because references are only as good as you apply them to your research. Therefore, the famous adage “quality over quantity” is the key to deciding how many references are sufficient.

Likewise, citing your references within the research paper itself (in the form of academic citations ) is crucial in any academic work that makes assertations based on external studies. Failing to cite your sources can result in plagiarism, which even if accidental can still have some devastating consequences for academic researchers hoping to publish their work or finish graduate school.

Number of Sources Used Can Impact Perceptions of Quality

We would be remiss if we didn’t tell you that being at either extreme (having too few or too many references) can reflect poorly on your intellectual aptitude and your study’s validity. Here’s why:

  • If you don’t have enough references, particularly on a topic familiar to a wide audience, readers may think that you haven’t done enough research into existing literature. Surely someone else has thought about related topics or used similar techniques. If you’re sloppy in conducting your diligence, readers will wonder whether your paper is worth reading. What’s novel and valuable about your paper? Were you just as sloppy with conducting your study? The answers to these questions need to be evident.
  • Additionally, readers might be concerned that you may have plagiarized by failing to properly cite information. Unless you’re John Nash, who cited only two texts in his seminal  26-page PhD thesis  (one of which was to his prior work), ensure that you’ve properly researched the relevant papers and included appropriate citations! Especially, make sure that you have found, read, and included all the latest publications on your topic before finalizing and submitting your own paper—if the drafting process took some time, new literature might have come out in the meantime, and you don’t want to give the editor the impression that you are not on top of the newest developments.
  • If you have too many references, readers may wonder if you did any original research at all. Unless you’re writing a literature review, your paper’s primary focus should be on your investigation and findings. Don’t bury your hard work under strings of citations and discussion regarding other works. Show your readers what you’ve discovered and how the new information you present fits into or departs from the academic community’s current understanding of your topic.

Additionally, let us highlight the difference between the number of references versus citations. References are the source materials; therefore, each reference should be listed only once in your references section. Citations are meant to identify the source of the information you use in your paper. You can cite a reference multiple times. Therefore, the number of citations you have is typically larger than the number of references an average paper includes. The opposite situation should never happen!

Key Factors Influencing the Number of References You Use

The following are some of the many factors that may influence the number of references you use:

  • The number of references required for a paper will depend largely on your work’s purpose . For example, literature and systematic reviews are surveys of existing studies. Therefore, their reference lists will be more exhaustive than those of research papers whose primary focus is the current authors’ findings. Indeed, if you examine many journals’ author guidelines , you’ll note that journals have a higher maximum reference limit for review articles than original research papers.
  • The length of your reference list will also depend on your research paper’s subject matter . For example, if you are writing about a field that is less studied (such as a subfield of neuroparasitology) you may discover that there aren’t many papers to cite. Similarly, newer fields will have fewer published papers that can be referenced. If you find yourself in this situation, review the references used by relevant current literature and see if you can expand your research, and thus your reference list, with valuable content from there.
  • Another factor will be your  institution or journal’s requirements . If you are preparing a dissertation or thesis, double-check your department’s requirements. While rare, they may have specific limits. More commonly, journals restrict the number of references due to printing constraints.
  • It may happen that you don’t have  access to certain literature  that could have served as a reference. In such a situation, you may wish to look for an institution that may be able to provide you access to that literature for the purposes of reviewing the content or contact one of the authors directly and ask for a copy.
  • Given that more papers are being published than ever before in most fields, it is likely that reference lists will grow longer simply because there are more data and discussions of existing data available to cite . Keep track of changes to the size of reference lists in publications related to your field.
  • Finally, a paper’s length bears some correlation to the number of references.

So how many references should be included?

Below, we provide tips on how to decide if you have enough resources. We also provide some general reminders on how to effectively use references. After all, references are meant to enhance your paper while still maintaining your research as the focal point.

Use academic journals as a guide

  • One way to gauge how many references you should have is to survey academic journals for your article type in your field. Review their author guidelines for limits on the number of references for your article type, and make sure your reference list complies with those journal restrictions.
  • Read recent articles relevant to your topic; check how many references other authors have included in their papers for the same article type as yours, and how frequently those works were cited per page.
  • Keep in mind that the above methods will give you an estimate of how many references you should include overall but will not tell you how many citations you’ll need per page. The latter is impossible to state simply because certain sections may have no citations at all (the results section , for example).

Statistics regarding the number of references and citations

To give you a general idea, the following are some estimates from a couple of studies that examined the citation characteristics of articles published in various disciplines.

According to  Milojević’s study  encompassing research in the fields of astronomy, mathematics, robotics, ecology, and economics, the highest and average number of references per article page were as follows:

  • Ecology: highest, ~58; average reference per page, 6;
  • Math and robotics: highest, ~28; average reference per page, <1; and
  • Economics: highest, ~ 32; average reference per page, >1 but <2.

The above findings were based on data compiled from the first 20 years of the author’s research. Since then some fields have increased the number of references. Thus, make sure to examine your target journal’s most recent and relevant publications for a better idea of how many references to include based on the specific type of article you plan to write.

In another study by Falagas et al. (2013),  medical journals averaged  29 references for articles that were 7.88 pages long (as printed in journals).

Finally, although the sample size was small (63 journals), Gali Halevi observed the following citation trends of a broader range of disciplines.

  • The average number of references per article was the highest for the social sciences, physics, and astronomy, and arts & humanities (roughly 54 references per article).
  • On the other hand, health professions and earth and planetary sciences had the fewest references per article at an average of 8 and 17 references, respectively.
  • Math and engineering averaged at roughly 29 references per article.
  • Biochemistry, genetics and molecular and other biological sciences averaged at 51.
  • Hard and natural sciences more frequently cited recent literature while social sciences and math were likely to include older sources.

Note that the Halevi study is limited in size, fails to factor in article type and does little to account for variances across different fields and journals. For example, it is possible that more review articles could have been reviewed for certain fields than others. With that said, we provide the above information to provide a rough estimate.

At the end of the day, please keep in mind the requirements of your institution or target journal and the general trends for your specific article type (by examining the most recent relevant publications).

For additional information regarding journal restrictions on the number of references, read this article on ways to grow your publication list .

Some Dos and Don’ts for Reference Citation

  • Don’t repeat references within a reference list.
  • Don’t repeatedly cite yourself. Make sure to balance your discussion with external literature citations.
  • Be careful about citing old references. The rule of thumb is to go back at most five to six years. Exceptions to this rule should be reserved for “seminal” works relevant to explaining what prompted your research. Roughly 85% of all cited works should be less than five years old.
  • Be careful not to cite several references in one place  without  discussing the relevance of each work to your research. In other words, don’t say, “We referred to previous studies in this field (1-7)” unless you later explain how each of reference #s 1-7 apply to your discussion.
  • Confirm the quality of the work you cite. Are there any ethical issues regarding the paper that would disqualify it as a good source? Do your references come from reputable sources such as respected journals rather than random blogs and website links? Remember that your analysis is only as good as the verifiable information you use to conduct your research.
  • One of the main purposes of citing existing literature is to show the “knowledge gap” regarding your topic. Therefore, make sure the works you reference naturally lead readers to wonder about the research question you address in your paper. To explain further, think about your favorite fictional story. A successfully written story only reveals the background information needed for the reader to follow along in the story. You’ll rarely see an author waste time writing about how the main character stubbed his toe one day while going to work unless that event relates to an important aspect of the story. Similarly, the references you cite should support the story building you create in your research paper.
  • Don’t completely ignore the paper that could disprove your hypothesis. You want to show objectivity and that you took a balanced and unbiased approach to conducting your research. Mention the potentially conflicting evidence and explain why you believe it is flawed or inapplicable to your research.
  • In qualitative research papers, you may have fewer references.
  • Anything you cite in your paper should be listed in the references section (or reference list). Anything listed as a reference should have been quoted or paraphrased in the text. If either rule is violated, something is wrong.
  • Finally, remember that a paper will typically have more citations in the Introduction section and Discussion section than in other parts.

Wordvice Academic Resources

If you need help with paraphrasing text from the sources you cite to avoid plagiarism, with different citation styles , or with finding the perfect journal to submit your paper to, then have a look at our collection of articles on the Wordvice academic resources website . We also recommend our professional English editing and proofreading services , including paper editing and academic editing services to ensure that your writing is free of errors before submitting your manuscript to a journal.

Imperial College London Imperial College London

Latest news.

how many reference should a dissertation have

Migraine research and beating human hearts: News from Imperial

how many reference should a dissertation have

Imperial researchers making significant contributions in European projects

how many reference should a dissertation have

Imperial’s Hong Kong connections celebrated

  • Library Services
  • Administration and support services
  • Learning and teaching support
  • Information and research skills
  • Using and managing information

How many references should I have?

Use as many references as you need You’ll need an appropriate amount for your academic level – this will vary

Reference everything you cite  If you use an idea, cite and reference it

Ask your tutor They may have guidance for you on how much reading they expect you to do

Students sometimes worry that there is an optimum number of references that they need to cite.

There’s no right or wrong answer  answer as to how many references you need – it depends on how many you’ve cited in your writing!

The most important thing is that you don’t plagiarise. Make sure you include references for everything that you’ve cited in the text, so that it’s clear where your information has come from.

Depending on what you’re writing, you might have only a few. As long as they are appropriate for your level of study, and you have enough evidence to back your arguments, you shouldn’t worry.  Lab reports, for example, might have relatively few references because you are writing up work that you have done in the labs.  

You can also look at the marking criteria for your assignment as that might indicate on what is or isn’t sufficient. If in doubt, check with whoever set you the work as they might be able to give you a clearer idea.

Remember, you are looking to provide proof that you have done the research. Citations and referencing point your readers to the sources you have used in your research process.  

How many references is enough?

Some reflections on why more references isn't always better, but how strategic referencing might help

Anne-Wil Harzing - Sat 30 May 2020 10:40 (updated Sat 15 Apr 2023 07:23)

how many reference should a dissertation have

Like most senior academics I am reviewing a lot of papers, both for journals where I am on the editorial board and for my junior colleagues in the context of my staff development work at Middlesex . Many of these papers have sentences followed (or interrupted in the middle) by a long and sometimes very long string of references. Most of these papers had well over 100 references in total, which might even lead the paper to be inaccurately classified as a review article by the Web of Science . So I started wondering: How many references is enough?

More isn't always better

My "rule of thumb" has always been to use a maximum of three references to support a particular statement. The role of a literature review is to provide a targeted review of the literature.  In my view, there are several reasons why it is wise not to use too many references:

  • It really disturbs the flow of the paper.
  • It may provide an implicit signal that your work isn't very interesting or important, as so much has already been published in the field. This means you need to work harder to convince the reviewers you are making a unique contribution.
  • It shows that you may not be able to distinguish what the key works in a particular field are and thus are not really that well versed in the literature.
  • It does make you look like a bit of a student as having lots of references is quite typical of PhD theses. So it might lead the reviewer to think you are an immature academic writer, which is something you would want to avoid.
  • The more references you use (beyond the ones that are really needed to substantiate your argument), the higher the risk that one of the reviewer knows the work you cite better than you do and disagrees with you that this work supports the statement(s) you are making. This might lead the reviewers to be more critical of the rest of the paper as well.

The other side of the coin

On the other hand, there are also good reasons to not be stingy with references.

  • You need to demonstrate your thorough knowledge of the field by citing enough of the key references. If the field has been very active, this might mean referencing quite a lot of studies.
  • You need to cite the "key people" in a particular field for both intrinsic (this is what is expected in a literature review) and extrinsic reasons (they might be your reviewers and might be annoyed if you have missed their work). However, unless they are intrinsically important, don't "slip in" some references to people you think might be your reviewers by adding them to a block of other references. I have lost count of the number of times a reference to my work really had nothing to do with the content (see also Are referencing errors undermining our scholarship and credibility? ).
  • You need to show you are part of the journal "conversation" (see also Why does my paper get a desk-reject time and again? ). Again do this only when the references are intrinsically important. Editors are not stupid, they can  spot easily that you have just added references to their journal last minute after having been rejected at your preferred journal.

how many reference should a dissertation have

General recommendations

As always, looking at your target journal will give you a better feel of the preferences in your sub-discipline (for details of this principle see the slides here: Middlesex University Summer 2019 writing boot-camp ). When doing a final read of the paper, you might also want to reconsider deleting references that you are only citing once and only in connection with a lot of others. These are clearly not essential to your paper. For further guidelines, refer to these - slightly edited - responses to the question: How many references do I need at https://academia.stackexchange.com/ (a very useful site). For general guidance on when to use references see one of my first white papers: Writing coursework assignments

Answer 1: The short and somewhat unsatisfactory answer is: enough

There is no formal limit but obviously too many becomes impractical. If you can reference a huge number of references for a single statement (sentence) it is normal to pick one or possibly a few by using a format indicating these references are just examples, "e.g., Smith et al., 1943; Turner and Anthony, 1963)", "[some statement] by, for example, Smith et al. (1943) and Turner and Anthony (1963)." Exactly when it is reasonable to show examples and when one actually have to show all references is a matter of context. If you, for example, have a series of references that together build up some matter and where none is more important than the other and none summarize the other, it could be necessary to list them all regardless of how many there are. I suggest you try to look at a number of different papers of a similar type (literature review) to the one you are writing to see how others handle such instances. [...] The main point of this is to know when it is sufficient to list only (good) examples rather than all possible references. This is of course a matter of training and learning to assess when which format is appropriate. It is therefore necessary to assess when papers simply duplicate each other (from whatever view point you reference) or when they each contribute something unique that merits their reference.

Answer 2: Don't over do it

A literature review in an article is meant as a general reference, so the reader can get "up to speed" in the state of the art of the topic under discussion. In your thesis, you have to show that you are able to search the literature, you understand it, and are able to extract the important information. If you put every single article, you are not fulfilling any. On the one hand, the reader will not know what are the most relevant articles for your work. On the other front, anyone can get all the articles published in a subfield in the last couple of years and write a sentence, based on the abstract and the figures, in just a few days. In short, show that you have comprehended the literature by finding the most informative subset of articles.

Want to know more about referencing?

I can highly recommend this article by Matthieu Mansard in European Management Review, who distinguishes four key motives of referencing: epistemic, rhetoric, symbolic, and economic.

  • Mandard, M (2021). On the shoulders of giants? Motives to cite in management research. European Management Review , DOI: abs/10.1111/emre.12495

Related blogposts

  • The four P's of getting published
  • The four C's of getting cited
  • How to write for US journals with non-US data
  • Useful resources when preparing for journal submission
  • Why does my paper get a desk-reject time and again?
  • Strange journal invitations popping up in my inbox every day
  • Are referencing errors undermining our scholarship and credibility?
  • Last impressions count too! The importance of conclusions

Find the resources on my website useful?

I cover all the expenses of operating my website privately. If you enjoyed this post and want to support me in maintaining my website, consider buying a copy of one of my books (see below) or  supporting the Publish or Perish software .

Copyright © 2023 Anne-Wil Harzing . All rights reserved. Page last modified on Sat 15 Apr 2023 07:23

how many reference should a dissertation have

Anne-Wil Harzing's profile and contact details >>

Have a language expert improve your writing

Run a free plagiarism check in 10 minutes, automatically generate references for free.

  • Knowledge Base
  • Dissertation

How to Write a Dissertation | A Guide to Structure & Content

A dissertation or thesis is a long piece of academic writing based on original research, submitted as part of an undergraduate or postgraduate degree.

The structure of a dissertation depends on your field, but it is usually divided into at least four or five chapters (including an introduction and conclusion chapter).

The most common dissertation structure in the sciences and social sciences includes:

  • An introduction to your topic
  • A literature review that surveys relevant sources
  • An explanation of your methodology
  • An overview of the results of your research
  • A discussion of the results and their implications
  • A conclusion that shows what your research has contributed

Dissertations in the humanities are often structured more like a long essay , building an argument by analysing primary and secondary sources . Instead of the standard structure outlined here, you might organise your chapters around different themes or case studies.

Other important elements of the dissertation include the title page , abstract , and reference list . If in doubt about how your dissertation should be structured, always check your department’s guidelines and consult with your supervisor.

Instantly correct all language mistakes in your text

Be assured that you'll submit flawless writing. Upload your document to correct all your mistakes.

upload-your-document-ai-proofreader

Table of contents

Acknowledgements, table of contents, list of figures and tables, list of abbreviations, introduction, literature review / theoretical framework, methodology, reference list.

The very first page of your document contains your dissertation’s title, your name, department, institution, degree program, and submission date. Sometimes it also includes your student number, your supervisor’s name, and the university’s logo. Many programs have strict requirements for formatting the dissertation title page .

The title page is often used as cover when printing and binding your dissertation .

The only proofreading tool specialized in correcting academic writing

The academic proofreading tool has been trained on 1000s of academic texts and by native English editors. Making it the most accurate and reliable proofreading tool for students.

how many reference should a dissertation have

Correct my document today

The acknowledgements section is usually optional, and gives space for you to thank everyone who helped you in writing your dissertation. This might include your supervisors, participants in your research, and friends or family who supported you.

The abstract is a short summary of your dissertation, usually about 150-300 words long. You should write it at the very end, when you’ve completed the rest of the dissertation. In the abstract, make sure to:

  • State the main topic and aims of your research
  • Describe the methods you used
  • Summarise the main results
  • State your conclusions

Although the abstract is very short, it’s the first part (and sometimes the only part) of your dissertation that people will read, so it’s important that you get it right. If you’re struggling to write a strong abstract, read our guide on how to write an abstract .

In the table of contents, list all of your chapters and subheadings and their page numbers. The dissertation contents page gives the reader an overview of your structure and helps easily navigate the document.

All parts of your dissertation should be included in the table of contents, including the appendices. You can generate a table of contents automatically in Word.

Prevent plagiarism, run a free check.

If you have used a lot of tables and figures in your dissertation, you should itemise them in a numbered list . You can automatically generate this list using the Insert Caption feature in Word.

If you have used a lot of abbreviations in your dissertation, you can include them in an alphabetised list of abbreviations so that the reader can easily look up their meanings.

If you have used a lot of highly specialised terms that will not be familiar to your reader, it might be a good idea to include a glossary . List the terms alphabetically and explain each term with a brief description or definition.

In the introduction, you set up your dissertation’s topic, purpose, and relevance, and tell the reader what to expect in the rest of the dissertation. The introduction should:

  • Establish your research topic , giving necessary background information to contextualise your work
  • Narrow down the focus and define the scope of the research
  • Discuss the state of existing research on the topic, showing your work’s relevance to a broader problem or debate
  • Clearly state your objectives and research questions , and indicate how you will answer them
  • Give an overview of your dissertation’s structure

Everything in the introduction should be clear, engaging, and relevant to your research. By the end, the reader should understand the what , why and how of your research. Not sure how? Read our guide on how to write a dissertation introduction .

Before you start on your research, you should have conducted a literature review to gain a thorough understanding of the academic work that already exists on your topic. This means:

  • Collecting sources (e.g. books and journal articles) and selecting the most relevant ones
  • Critically evaluating and analysing each source
  • Drawing connections between them (e.g. themes, patterns, conflicts, gaps) to make an overall point

In the dissertation literature review chapter or section, you shouldn’t just summarise existing studies, but develop a coherent structure and argument that leads to a clear basis or justification for your own research. For example, it might aim to show how your research:

  • Addresses a gap in the literature
  • Takes a new theoretical or methodological approach to the topic
  • Proposes a solution to an unresolved problem
  • Advances a theoretical debate
  • Builds on and strengthens existing knowledge with new data

The literature review often becomes the basis for a theoretical framework , in which you define and analyse the key theories, concepts and models that frame your research. In this section you can answer descriptive research questions about the relationship between concepts or variables.

The methodology chapter or section describes how you conducted your research, allowing your reader to assess its validity. You should generally include:

  • The overall approach and type of research (e.g. qualitative, quantitative, experimental, ethnographic)
  • Your methods of collecting data (e.g. interviews, surveys, archives)
  • Details of where, when, and with whom the research took place
  • Your methods of analysing data (e.g. statistical analysis, discourse analysis)
  • Tools and materials you used (e.g. computer programs, lab equipment)
  • A discussion of any obstacles you faced in conducting the research and how you overcame them
  • An evaluation or justification of your methods

Your aim in the methodology is to accurately report what you did, as well as convincing the reader that this was the best approach to answering your research questions or objectives.

Next, you report the results of your research . You can structure this section around sub-questions, hypotheses, or topics. Only report results that are relevant to your objectives and research questions. In some disciplines, the results section is strictly separated from the discussion, while in others the two are combined.

For example, for qualitative methods like in-depth interviews, the presentation of the data will often be woven together with discussion and analysis, while in quantitative and experimental research, the results should be presented separately before you discuss their meaning. If you’re unsure, consult with your supervisor and look at sample dissertations to find out the best structure for your research.

In the results section it can often be helpful to include tables, graphs and charts. Think carefully about how best to present your data, and don’t include tables or figures that just repeat what you have written  –  they should provide extra information or usefully visualise the results in a way that adds value to your text.

Full versions of your data (such as interview transcripts) can be included as an appendix .

The discussion  is where you explore the meaning and implications of your results in relation to your research questions. Here you should interpret the results in detail, discussing whether they met your expectations and how well they fit with the framework that you built in earlier chapters. If any of the results were unexpected, offer explanations for why this might be. It’s a good idea to consider alternative interpretations of your data and discuss any limitations that might have influenced the results.

The discussion should reference other scholarly work to show how your results fit with existing knowledge. You can also make recommendations for future research or practical action.

The dissertation conclusion should concisely answer the main research question, leaving the reader with a clear understanding of your central argument. Wrap up your dissertation with a final reflection on what you did and how you did it. The conclusion often also includes recommendations for research or practice.

In this section, it’s important to show how your findings contribute to knowledge in the field and why your research matters. What have you added to what was already known?

You must include full details of all sources that you have cited in a reference list (sometimes also called a works cited list or bibliography). It’s important to follow a consistent reference style . Each style has strict and specific requirements for how to format your sources in the reference list.

The most common styles used in UK universities are Harvard referencing and Vancouver referencing . Your department will often specify which referencing style you should use – for example, psychology students tend to use APA style , humanities students often use MHRA , and law students always use OSCOLA . M ake sure to check the requirements, and ask your supervisor if you’re unsure.

To save time creating the reference list and make sure your citations are correctly and consistently formatted, you can use our free APA Citation Generator .

Your dissertation itself should contain only essential information that directly contributes to answering your research question. Documents you have used that do not fit into the main body of your dissertation (such as interview transcripts, survey questions or tables with full figures) can be added as appendices .

Is this article helpful?

Other students also liked.

  • What Is a Dissertation? | 5 Essential Questions to Get Started
  • What is a Literature Review? | Guide, Template, & Examples
  • How to Write a Dissertation Proposal | A Step-by-Step Guide

More interesting articles

  • Checklist: Writing a dissertation
  • Dissertation & Thesis Outline | Example & Free Templates
  • Dissertation binding and printing
  • Dissertation Table of Contents in Word | Instructions & Examples
  • Dissertation title page
  • Example Theoretical Framework of a Dissertation or Thesis
  • Figure & Table Lists | Word Instructions, Template & Examples
  • How to Choose a Dissertation Topic | 8 Steps to Follow
  • How to Write a Discussion Section | Tips & Examples
  • How to Write a Results Section | Tips & Examples
  • How to Write a Thesis or Dissertation Conclusion
  • How to Write a Thesis or Dissertation Introduction
  • How to Write an Abstract | Steps & Examples
  • How to Write Recommendations in Research | Examples & Tips
  • List of Abbreviations | Example, Template & Best Practices
  • Operationalisation | A Guide with Examples, Pros & Cons
  • Prize-Winning Thesis and Dissertation Examples
  • Relevance of Your Dissertation Topic | Criteria & Tips
  • Research Paper Appendix | Example & Templates
  • Thesis & Dissertation Acknowledgements | Tips & Examples
  • Thesis & Dissertation Database Examples
  • What is a Dissertation Preface? | Definition & Examples
  • What is a Glossary? | Definition, Templates, & Examples
  • What Is a Research Methodology? | Steps & Tips
  • What is a Theoretical Framework? | A Step-by-Step Guide
  • What Is a Thesis? | Ultimate Guide & Examples

Grad Coach

Dissertation Structure & Layout 101: How to structure your dissertation, thesis or research project.

By: Derek Jansen (MBA) Reviewed By: David Phair (PhD) | July 2019

So, you’ve got a decent understanding of what a dissertation is , you’ve chosen your topic and hopefully you’ve received approval for your research proposal . Awesome! Now its time to start the actual dissertation or thesis writing journey.

To craft a high-quality document, the very first thing you need to understand is dissertation structure . In this post, we’ll walk you through the generic dissertation structure and layout, step by step. We’ll start with the big picture, and then zoom into each chapter to briefly discuss the core contents. If you’re just starting out on your research journey, you should start with this post, which covers the big-picture process of how to write a dissertation or thesis .

Dissertation structure and layout - the basics

*The Caveat *

In this post, we’ll be discussing a traditional dissertation/thesis structure and layout, which is generally used for social science research across universities, whether in the US, UK, Europe or Australia. However, some universities may have small variations on this structure (extra chapters, merged chapters, slightly different ordering, etc).

So, always check with your university if they have a prescribed structure or layout that they expect you to work with. If not, it’s safe to assume the structure we’ll discuss here is suitable. And even if they do have a prescribed structure, you’ll still get value from this post as we’ll explain the core contents of each section.  

Overview: S tructuring a dissertation or thesis

  • Acknowledgements page
  • Abstract (or executive summary)
  • Table of contents , list of figures and tables
  • Chapter 1: Introduction
  • Chapter 2: Literature review
  • Chapter 3: Methodology
  • Chapter 4: Results
  • Chapter 5: Discussion
  • Chapter 6: Conclusion
  • Reference list

As I mentioned, some universities will have slight variations on this structure. For example, they want an additional “personal reflection chapter”, or they might prefer the results and discussion chapter to be merged into one. Regardless, the overarching flow will always be the same, as this flow reflects the research process , which we discussed here – i.e.:

  • The introduction chapter presents the core research question and aims .
  • The literature review chapter assesses what the current research says about this question.
  • The methodology, results and discussion chapters go about undertaking new research about this question.
  • The conclusion chapter (attempts to) answer the core research question .

In other words, the dissertation structure and layout reflect the research process of asking a well-defined question(s), investigating, and then answering the question – see below.

A dissertation's structure reflect the research process

To restate that – the structure and layout of a dissertation reflect the flow of the overall research process . This is essential to understand, as each chapter will make a lot more sense if you “get” this concept. If you’re not familiar with the research process, read this post before going further.

Right. Now that we’ve covered the big picture, let’s dive a little deeper into the details of each section and chapter. Oh and by the way, you can also grab our free dissertation/thesis template here to help speed things up.

The title page of your dissertation is the very first impression the marker will get of your work, so it pays to invest some time thinking about your title. But what makes for a good title? A strong title needs to be 3 things:

  • Succinct (not overly lengthy or verbose)
  • Specific (not vague or ambiguous)
  • Representative of the research you’re undertaking (clearly linked to your research questions)

Typically, a good title includes mention of the following:

  • The broader area of the research (i.e. the overarching topic)
  • The specific focus of your research (i.e. your specific context)
  • Indication of research design (e.g. quantitative , qualitative , or  mixed methods ).

For example:

A quantitative investigation [research design] into the antecedents of organisational trust [broader area] in the UK retail forex trading market [specific context/area of focus].

Again, some universities may have specific requirements regarding the format and structure of the title, so it’s worth double-checking expectations with your institution (if there’s no mention in the brief or study material).

Dissertations stacked up

Acknowledgements

This page provides you with an opportunity to say thank you to those who helped you along your research journey. Generally, it’s optional (and won’t count towards your marks), but it is academic best practice to include this.

So, who do you say thanks to? Well, there’s no prescribed requirements, but it’s common to mention the following people:

  • Your dissertation supervisor or committee.
  • Any professors, lecturers or academics that helped you understand the topic or methodologies.
  • Any tutors, mentors or advisors.
  • Your family and friends, especially spouse (for adult learners studying part-time).

There’s no need for lengthy rambling. Just state who you’re thankful to and for what (e.g. thank you to my supervisor, John Doe, for his endless patience and attentiveness) – be sincere. In terms of length, you should keep this to a page or less.

Abstract or executive summary

The dissertation abstract (or executive summary for some degrees) serves to provide the first-time reader (and marker or moderator) with a big-picture view of your research project. It should give them an understanding of the key insights and findings from the research, without them needing to read the rest of the report – in other words, it should be able to stand alone .

For it to stand alone, your abstract should cover the following key points (at a minimum):

  • Your research questions and aims – what key question(s) did your research aim to answer?
  • Your methodology – how did you go about investigating the topic and finding answers to your research question(s)?
  • Your findings – following your own research, what did do you discover?
  • Your conclusions – based on your findings, what conclusions did you draw? What answers did you find to your research question(s)?

So, in much the same way the dissertation structure mimics the research process, your abstract or executive summary should reflect the research process, from the initial stage of asking the original question to the final stage of answering that question.

In practical terms, it’s a good idea to write this section up last , once all your core chapters are complete. Otherwise, you’ll end up writing and rewriting this section multiple times (just wasting time). For a step by step guide on how to write a strong executive summary, check out this post .

Need a helping hand?

how many reference should a dissertation have

Table of contents

This section is straightforward. You’ll typically present your table of contents (TOC) first, followed by the two lists – figures and tables. I recommend that you use Microsoft Word’s automatic table of contents generator to generate your TOC. If you’re not familiar with this functionality, the video below explains it simply:

If you find that your table of contents is overly lengthy, consider removing one level of depth. Oftentimes, this can be done without detracting from the usefulness of the TOC.

Right, now that the “admin” sections are out of the way, its time to move on to your core chapters. These chapters are the heart of your dissertation and are where you’ll earn the marks. The first chapter is the introduction chapter – as you would expect, this is the time to introduce your research…

It’s important to understand that even though you’ve provided an overview of your research in your abstract, your introduction needs to be written as if the reader has not read that (remember, the abstract is essentially a standalone document). So, your introduction chapter needs to start from the very beginning, and should address the following questions:

  • What will you be investigating (in plain-language, big picture-level)?
  • Why is that worth investigating? How is it important to academia or business? How is it sufficiently original?
  • What are your research aims and research question(s)? Note that the research questions can sometimes be presented at the end of the literature review (next chapter).
  • What is the scope of your study? In other words, what will and won’t you cover ?
  • How will you approach your research? In other words, what methodology will you adopt?
  • How will you structure your dissertation? What are the core chapters and what will you do in each of them?

These are just the bare basic requirements for your intro chapter. Some universities will want additional bells and whistles in the intro chapter, so be sure to carefully read your brief or consult your research supervisor.

If done right, your introduction chapter will set a clear direction for the rest of your dissertation. Specifically, it will make it clear to the reader (and marker) exactly what you’ll be investigating, why that’s important, and how you’ll be going about the investigation. Conversely, if your introduction chapter leaves a first-time reader wondering what exactly you’ll be researching, you’ve still got some work to do.

Now that you’ve set a clear direction with your introduction chapter, the next step is the literature review . In this section, you will analyse the existing research (typically academic journal articles and high-quality industry publications), with a view to understanding the following questions:

  • What does the literature currently say about the topic you’re investigating?
  • Is the literature lacking or well established? Is it divided or in disagreement?
  • How does your research fit into the bigger picture?
  • How does your research contribute something original?
  • How does the methodology of previous studies help you develop your own?

Depending on the nature of your study, you may also present a conceptual framework towards the end of your literature review, which you will then test in your actual research.

Again, some universities will want you to focus on some of these areas more than others, some will have additional or fewer requirements, and so on. Therefore, as always, its important to review your brief and/or discuss with your supervisor, so that you know exactly what’s expected of your literature review chapter.

Dissertation writing

Now that you’ve investigated the current state of knowledge in your literature review chapter and are familiar with the existing key theories, models and frameworks, its time to design your own research. Enter the methodology chapter – the most “science-ey” of the chapters…

In this chapter, you need to address two critical questions:

  • Exactly HOW will you carry out your research (i.e. what is your intended research design)?
  • Exactly WHY have you chosen to do things this way (i.e. how do you justify your design)?

Remember, the dissertation part of your degree is first and foremost about developing and demonstrating research skills . Therefore, the markers want to see that you know which methods to use, can clearly articulate why you’ve chosen then, and know how to deploy them effectively.

Importantly, this chapter requires detail – don’t hold back on the specifics. State exactly what you’ll be doing, with who, when, for how long, etc. Moreover, for every design choice you make, make sure you justify it.

In practice, you will likely end up coming back to this chapter once you’ve undertaken all your data collection and analysis, and revise it based on changes you made during the analysis phase. This is perfectly fine. Its natural for you to add an additional analysis technique, scrap an old one, etc based on where your data lead you. Of course, I’m talking about small changes here – not a fundamental switch from qualitative to quantitative, which will likely send your supervisor in a spin!

You’ve now collected your data and undertaken your analysis, whether qualitative, quantitative or mixed methods. In this chapter, you’ll present the raw results of your analysis . For example, in the case of a quant study, you’ll present the demographic data, descriptive statistics, inferential statistics , etc.

Typically, Chapter 4 is simply a presentation and description of the data, not a discussion of the meaning of the data. In other words, it’s descriptive, rather than analytical – the meaning is discussed in Chapter 5. However, some universities will want you to combine chapters 4 and 5, so that you both present and interpret the meaning of the data at the same time. Check with your institution what their preference is.

Now that you’ve presented the data analysis results, its time to interpret and analyse them. In other words, its time to discuss what they mean, especially in relation to your research question(s).

What you discuss here will depend largely on your chosen methodology. For example, if you’ve gone the quantitative route, you might discuss the relationships between variables . If you’ve gone the qualitative route, you might discuss key themes and the meanings thereof. It all depends on what your research design choices were.

Most importantly, you need to discuss your results in relation to your research questions and aims, as well as the existing literature. What do the results tell you about your research questions? Are they aligned with the existing research or at odds? If so, why might this be? Dig deep into your findings and explain what the findings suggest, in plain English.

The final chapter – you’ve made it! Now that you’ve discussed your interpretation of the results, its time to bring it back to the beginning with the conclusion chapter . In other words, its time to (attempt to) answer your original research question s (from way back in chapter 1). Clearly state what your conclusions are in terms of your research questions. This might feel a bit repetitive, as you would have touched on this in the previous chapter, but its important to bring the discussion full circle and explicitly state your answer(s) to the research question(s).

Dissertation and thesis prep

Next, you’ll typically discuss the implications of your findings? In other words, you’ve answered your research questions – but what does this mean for the real world (or even for academia)? What should now be done differently, given the new insight you’ve generated?

Lastly, you should discuss the limitations of your research, as well as what this means for future research in the area. No study is perfect, especially not a Masters-level. Discuss the shortcomings of your research. Perhaps your methodology was limited, perhaps your sample size was small or not representative, etc, etc. Don’t be afraid to critique your work – the markers want to see that you can identify the limitations of your work. This is a strength, not a weakness. Be brutal!

This marks the end of your core chapters – woohoo! From here on out, it’s pretty smooth sailing.

The reference list is straightforward. It should contain a list of all resources cited in your dissertation, in the required format, e.g. APA , Harvard, etc.

It’s essential that you use reference management software for your dissertation. Do NOT try handle your referencing manually – its far too error prone. On a reference list of multiple pages, you’re going to make mistake. To this end, I suggest considering either Mendeley or Zotero. Both are free and provide a very straightforward interface to ensure that your referencing is 100% on point. I’ve included a simple how-to video for the Mendeley software (my personal favourite) below:

Some universities may ask you to include a bibliography, as opposed to a reference list. These two things are not the same . A bibliography is similar to a reference list, except that it also includes resources which informed your thinking but were not directly cited in your dissertation. So, double-check your brief and make sure you use the right one.

The very last piece of the puzzle is the appendix or set of appendices. This is where you’ll include any supporting data and evidence. Importantly, supporting is the keyword here.

Your appendices should provide additional “nice to know”, depth-adding information, which is not critical to the core analysis. Appendices should not be used as a way to cut down word count (see this post which covers how to reduce word count ). In other words, don’t place content that is critical to the core analysis here, just to save word count. You will not earn marks on any content in the appendices, so don’t try to play the system!

Time to recap…

And there you have it – the traditional dissertation structure and layout, from A-Z. To recap, the core structure for a dissertation or thesis is (typically) as follows:

  • Acknowledgments page

Most importantly, the core chapters should reflect the research process (asking, investigating and answering your research question). Moreover, the research question(s) should form the golden thread throughout your dissertation structure. Everything should revolve around the research questions, and as you’ve seen, they should form both the start point (i.e. introduction chapter) and the endpoint (i.e. conclusion chapter).

I hope this post has provided you with clarity about the traditional dissertation/thesis structure and layout. If you have any questions or comments, please leave a comment below, or feel free to get in touch with us. Also, be sure to check out the rest of the  Grad Coach Blog .

how many reference should a dissertation have

Psst… there’s more (for free)

This post is part of our dissertation mini-course, which covers everything you need to get started with your dissertation, thesis or research project. 

You Might Also Like:

Dissertation and thesis defense 101

36 Comments

ARUN kumar SHARMA

many thanks i found it very useful

Derek Jansen

Glad to hear that, Arun. Good luck writing your dissertation.

Sue

Such clear practical logical advice. I very much needed to read this to keep me focused in stead of fretting.. Perfect now ready to start my research!

hayder

what about scientific fields like computer or engineering thesis what is the difference in the structure? thank you very much

Tim

Thanks so much this helped me a lot!

Ade Adeniyi

Very helpful and accessible. What I like most is how practical the advice is along with helpful tools/ links.

Thanks Ade!

Aswathi

Thank you so much sir.. It was really helpful..

You’re welcome!

Jp Raimundo

Hi! How many words maximum should contain the abstract?

Karmelia Renatee

Thank you so much 😊 Find this at the right moment

You’re most welcome. Good luck with your dissertation.

moha

best ever benefit i got on right time thank you

Krishnan iyer

Many times Clarity and vision of destination of dissertation is what makes the difference between good ,average and great researchers the same way a great automobile driver is fast with clarity of address and Clear weather conditions .

I guess Great researcher = great ideas + knowledge + great and fast data collection and modeling + great writing + high clarity on all these

You have given immense clarity from start to end.

Alwyn Malan

Morning. Where will I write the definitions of what I’m referring to in my report?

Rose

Thank you so much Derek, I was almost lost! Thanks a tonnnn! Have a great day!

yemi Amos

Thanks ! so concise and valuable

Kgomotso Siwelane

This was very helpful. Clear and concise. I know exactly what to do now.

dauda sesay

Thank you for allowing me to go through briefly. I hope to find time to continue.

Patrick Mwathi

Really useful to me. Thanks a thousand times

Adao Bundi

Very interesting! It will definitely set me and many more for success. highly recommended.

SAIKUMAR NALUMASU

Thank you soo much sir, for the opportunity to express my skills

mwepu Ilunga

Usefull, thanks a lot. Really clear

Rami

Very nice and easy to understand. Thank you .

Chrisogonas Odhiambo

That was incredibly useful. Thanks Grad Coach Crew!

Luke

My stress level just dropped at least 15 points after watching this. Just starting my thesis for my grad program and I feel a lot more capable now! Thanks for such a clear and helpful video, Emma and the GradCoach team!

Judy

Do we need to mention the number of words the dissertation contains in the main document?

It depends on your university’s requirements, so it would be best to check with them 🙂

Christine

Such a helpful post to help me get started with structuring my masters dissertation, thank you!

Simon Le

Great video; I appreciate that helpful information

Brhane Kidane

It is so necessary or avital course

johnson

This blog is very informative for my research. Thank you

avc

Doctoral students are required to fill out the National Research Council’s Survey of Earned Doctorates

Emmanuel Manjolo

wow this is an amazing gain in my life

Paul I Thoronka

This is so good

Tesfay haftu

How can i arrange my specific objectives in my dissertation?

Trackbacks/Pingbacks

  • What Is A Literature Review (In A Dissertation Or Thesis) - Grad Coach - […] is to write the actual literature review chapter (this is usually the second chapter in a typical dissertation or…

Submit a Comment Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

  • Print Friendly

How Many References Should a Research Paper Have? Study of 96,685 Articles

I analyzed a random sample of 96,685 full-text research papers, uploaded to PubMed Central between the years 2016 and 2021, in order to answer the question:

How many references should you cite when writing a research article?

I used the BioC API to download the data (see the References section below).

Here’s a summary of the key findings

1- The average number of references for a research paper is 45 , with 90% of research papers having between 8 and 102 references. However, this number depends a lot on study design . For instance, a systematic review typically has 49 references while a case report has only 24.

2- As a rule of thumb, consider citing 1 reference for every 95 words (or 4 sentences) .

3- The more research you do will be reflected in the number of references you use in your paper, since high-quality articles usually have 5 more references than the median .

How many references does a typical article have?

The histogram below shows that most research papers have between 25 to 50 references, and only a few exceed 100:

Histogram showing that most articles have between 0 and 100 references and only a few have more than 100 references.

Because the distribution has a right tail, the median number of references becomes a more reliable metric than the mean. Here are a few other numbers that summarize the data:

From this table we can conclude that:

The median research paper has 39 references, and 50% of papers have between 25 and 56 references. An article can have as few as 1 reference as a minimum, and 911 references as a maximum.

Next, let’s see if the number of references depends on the study design.

Should the study design influence the number of references you use?

The table below shows that:

1- Secondary study designs (systematic reviews and meta-analyses) have the highest number of references (median = 49), which is to be expected as these articles review a large body of information.

2- Experimental, quasi-experimental and analytical designs typically have between 35 and 39 references.

3- Descriptive designs (case reports and case series) have the lowest number of references (median ≈ 25), which also makes sense as these describe the clinical story of a single (or a few) patient(s) and generally have a very short literature review section.

How often should you cite in a research paper?

Some journals may specify the maximum number of citations allowed. For instance, Nature allows articles to have at most 30 references in the main text [ Source ]. So make sure to check the authorship guidelines of the journal where you want to submit.

That being said, often is the case where we ask ourselves: am I taking too much information from outside sources? or maybe too few? So I would argue that it would be useful to know, for a given article size, how many references to cite.

If we measure the length of all the articles in our dataset combined and divide it by the total number of references, we get the following numbers:

On average, 1 reference is cited for every 95 words, that is 1 reference for every 4 sentences. In terms of paragraphs, an article has approximately 1.5 references for each paragraph.

Here’s a table that shows the median number of references cited for each word count category:

Does using more references make your article better?

Hypothesis 1: It is well-known that citing more resources is usually associated with more in-depth research, therefore, we would expect high-quality articles to include a higher number of references.

Hypothesis 2: Some experts believe that a good writing habit is to keep the number of references to a minimum (see: Essentials of Writing Biomedical Research Papers by Mimi Zeiger), so according to this hypothesis, high-quality articles should have, on average, fewer references.

Let’s find out what researchers are doing in practice and which hypothesis our data support.

In order to answer the question, I collected the journal impact factor (JIF) for 71,579 articles and divided the dataset into 2 groups:

  • research papers published in low impact journals (JIF ≤ 3): this subset consisted of 34,758 articles
  • research papers published in high impact journals (JIF > 3): this subset consisted of 36,821 articles

After controlling for study design, the group with JIF ≤ 3 had a median number of references of 37, while the group with JIF > 3 had a median of 44.

Remember that the median article overall had 39 references (as we saw above), so based on these results, we can conclude that:

High-quality articles, in general, have about 5 more references than the median article. So a comprehensive literature review and a more in-depth discussion section can make the difference between a good and an excellent research article.

  • Comeau DC, Wei CH, Islamaj Doğan R, and Lu Z. PMC text mining subset in BioC: about 3 million full text articles and growing,  Bioinformatics , btz070, 2019.

Further reading

  • How Old Should References Be? Based on 3,823,919 Examples
  • Statistical Software Popularity in 40,582 Research Papers
  • Programming Languages Popularity in 12,086 Research Papers
  • Length of a Conclusion Section: Analysis of 47,810 Examples
  • How Long Should a Research Paper Be? Data from 61,519 Examples

Dissertation Writing Help Logo

How Many References for A Dissertation Are Necessary?

If you go to Shibuya street in Tokyo, Japan on a busy Monday, and decide to scream out loud; ‘THE WORLD IS GOING TO END’, will the people believe you? Forget about believing, will they even bother to stop and listen to you?

Now Imagine If you did the same, but proved your claim through tons of references with previous research studies, will they believe you now? Yes, they will probably bother to at least stop and take your claim seriously.

That’s exactly why references are necessary whenever a research is conducted.

Table of Contents

The Importance of References

References are sources of previous research works done by reliable scholars, which you add in your dissertation because it helps to:

importance-references

All of these points mentioned above, adds value and gives reliability to your research. It is the most basic, essential and vital part of any academic work that a student presents. It helps the reader to understand better what idea you as a researcher, are trying to convey, through the backing of other relevant sources.

Let’s be honest, no one really wants to read a research paper, without any backing up of proper citation, evidences or proofs.

That’s not it, reference even helps the reader to go and cross check the citations themselves for further details, regarding your research. This opens up the whole subject matter in-depth and gives a new perspective of understanding your research.

Interestingly enough, the dissertation writers UK , US, Australia and other parts of the world, provide assistance to students, making sure their references are relevant.

But How Many References Are Necessary?

There is not really an exact number for how many references should be there in a dissertation, but the answers varies and highly depends upon certain factors. These factors include

how many reference should a dissertation have

The Degree level of your Dissertation

The degree level of your dissertation can be divided into 3 categories, which are Bachelors, Masters and Ph.D.

  • Bachelors: A Bachelors level dissertation contains words from 10,000 to 12,000. For this type of word count, 45 to 50 references will most likely be needed at least and the maximum, 100 reference will also be a respectable benchmark to add references.
  • Masters: A Master level dissertation contains words, starting from 15,000 with a maximum of 25,000-word count. For this, a 50 to 95 or even 100 references will most likely be a good benchmark.
  • Ph.D.: A Ph.D. level dissertation contains words till 50,000 or can possibly exceed even more. For this, at least 150 references will likely be needed, till 200 or even more references can be added. That will be a good benchmark.

The Topic Idea of Your Dissertation

The amount of references also depends on the idea and the topic of your dissertation. The topics which you research on, can be very new, which has very little information available or even no information available what so ever. If less information available, then it will be necessary to add whatever information that you can grab, relevant to your research topic.

If in any case, there is no such information available which is relevant to your dissertation, then the academics and your university can simply reject your topic idea or your whole dissertation. The reason being, a student at this stage is not reliable enough to make independent research without any references.

Due to that, students are inclined to use dissertation service London from professional native researchers, for proper references in such cases.

The Requirements of Your Academic

Some universities or institutes have different requirements regarding their dissertation policies. There are many universities which allows only 25 references in a Masters dissertation and accepts it while others won’t without 50 references at least. It also depends on the nature of the dissertation and the methodologies like qualitative and quantitative information. These factors of methodologies can also limit the source of references.

Make Your Dissertation Strong

If you would like to make your dissertation much stronger, then it is said that more the citation and references you give, the more it becomes reliable. The reason being, giving more citations means that your research is backed by many other scholars who are indirectly agreeing with your research statement.

However, to much of a good thing, can also be a bad thing. Adding unnecessary and excessive references in areas of dissertation which does not need references, will not look professional. It might seem like the references are forcefully added or are just there for show.

Ideal Dissertation

A good dissertation needs to have relevant citations and references that makes sense in every sentence. The dissertation should be to the point, that demonstrate and answers the research questions, which is where relevant citations are needed to back the research up.

Moreover, university level students, in order to make their dissertation stand out, go for Cheap Dissertation Writing Service UK, US and even Asian based, to make their dissertation ideal.

Wouldn’t you like it Yourself?

Wouldn’t you like to win an argument by using tons of references? We all do that don’t we? It gets much easier to convince others through references. The same works with the dissertation.

The Bottom Line

There is no such fixed limit to add references in your dissertation. It depends on factors of your degree level, your topic idea and the limitations that might be set from your academic or university. Apart from that, it even depends on the nature of your research, where if you are conducting qualitative research, then excessive reference are not really required but only few.

Sara

About Dr. Sara Nathan

I am Dr. Sara Nathan and I have done a Ph.D. in aviation management. I have experience of 10 years in mentoring UK’s Students. Over this decade. I enjoy being able to help researchers all around the world as imparting valuable information has always been my passion. Writing & Reading are my passions. For detail about me and to read my other blog you can visit my profile:

how many reference should a dissertation have

Disclaimer: Kindly note that the work we provide is not the final version, it is research based work which you have to incorporate and edit according to your university requirements.

  • International edition
  • Australia edition
  • Europe edition

Student falls asleep in library

Ten things I wish I'd known before starting my dissertation

The sun is shining but many students won't see the daylight. Because it's that time of year again – dissertation time.

Luckily for me, my D-Day (dissertation hand-in day) has already been and gone. But I remember it well.

The 10,000-word spiral-bound paper squatted on my desk in various forms of completion was my Allied forces; the history department in-tray was my Normandy. And when Eisenhower talked about a "great crusade toward which we have striven these many months", he was bang on.

I remember first encountering the Undergraduate Dissertation Handbook, feeling my heart sink at how long the massive file took to download, and began to think about possible (but in hindsight, wildly over-ambitious) topics. Here's what I've learned since, and wish I'd known back then…

1 ) If your dissertation supervisor isn't right, change. Mine was brilliant. If you don't feel like they're giving you the right advice, request to swap to someone else – providing it's early on and your reason is valid, your department shouldn't have a problem with it. In my experience, it doesn't matter too much whether they're an expert on your topic. What counts is whether they're approachable, reliable, reassuring, give detailed feedback and don't mind the odd panicked email. They are your lifeline and your best chance of success.

2 ) If you mention working on your dissertation to family, friends or near-strangers, they will ask you what it's about, and they will be expecting a more impressive answer than you can give. So prepare for looks of confusion and disappointment. People anticipate grandeur in history dissertation topics – war, genocide, the formation of modern society. They don't think much of researching an obscure piece of 1970s disability legislation. But they're not the ones marking it.

3 ) If they ask follow-up questions, they're probably just being polite.

4 ) Do not ask friends how much work they've done. You'll end up paranoid – or they will. Either way, you don't have time for it.

5 ) There will be one day during the process when you will freak out, doubt your entire thesis and decide to start again from scratch. You might even come up with a new question and start working on it, depending on how long the breakdown lasts. You will at some point run out of steam and collapse in an exhausted, tear-stained heap. But unless there are serious flaws in your work (unlikely) and your supervisor recommends starting again (highly unlikely), don't do it. It's just panic, it'll pass.

6 ) A lot of the work you do will not make it into your dissertation. The first few days in archives, I felt like everything I was unearthing was a gem, and when I sat down to write, it seemed as if it was all gold. But a brutal editing down to the word count has left much of that early material at the wayside.

7 ) You will print like you have never printed before. If you're using a university or library printer, it will start to affect your weekly budget in a big way. If you're printing from your room, "paper jam" will come to be the most dreaded two words in the English language.

8 ) Your dissertation will interfere with whatever else you have going on – a social life, sporting commitments, societies, other essay demands. Don't even try and give up biscuits for Lent, they'll basically become their own food group when you're too busy to cook and desperate for sugar.

9 ) Your time is not your own. Even if you're super-organised, plan your time down to the last hour and don't have a single moment of deadline panic, you'll still find that thoughts of your dissertation will creep up on you when you least expect it. You'll fall asleep thinking about it, dream about it and wake up thinking about. You'll feel guilty when you're not working on it, and mired in self-doubt when you are.

10 ) Finishing it will be one of the best things you've ever done. It's worth the hard work to know you've completed what's likely to be your biggest, most important, single piece of work. Be proud of it.

Guardian students sign up banner

  • Blogging students
  • Higher education
  • Advice for students

Most viewed

Premium Thesis Help

text48322

  • Thesis Discussion
  • Help Thesis Statement
  • Political Science
  • Business Management
  • Macroeconomics
  • Criminology
  • Environmental
  • Information Technology
  • Linguistics
  • Engineering
  • Computer Science
  • Bachelor Thesis Writing Services
  • How It Works

></center></p><h2>How Many References in a Master's Thesis?</h2><p><center><img style=

How Many References in a Master’s Thesis?

If you’re writing a master’s thesis, you probably have to worry about how many references to include. While your bibliography is important, you should also make sure your thesis’s overall length is appropriate. Here are some questions to ask yourself before starting the bibliography. These questions should be answered honestly. After all, you won’t want your thesis to seem too lengthy. Using these guidelines, you can make sure your reference list isn’t too long, either.

Number of references

The number of references in a master thesis writing varies according to the subject matter and length of the assignment. A paper should include eight to 12 references per 1,000 words, but the number of citations should be based on the length of the paper. The following table summarizes the typical number of references for a master thesis. For longer master thesis projects, cite more than one reference per page. But for shorter projects, list fewer references.

Generally, a master thesis should have a total of around ten to twelve references. There should be a balance between internal and external references. Citations older than five years should be limited. Exceptions should be made for “seminal” works that have been published in the past few years. A good rule of thumb is to include 85% of cited works that are less than five years old. Including multiple citations is acceptable, but it is important to discuss their relevance.

If the master thesis involves journal articles, the number of references should be as low as possible. Students are tempted to add too many references, especially for a journal article. A rough guide in terms of numbers and words can help. In one class I taught, students were asked to bring in five or ten articles that they liked and consulted them for help. My supervisors looked at papers that included 20-30 references. It was clear that students needed to include fewer references than those with twenty-thousand-five-pages.

In general, the Graduate School requires a bibliography at the end of the thesis. The bibliography must be alphabetized by author. There are a few ways to format the bibliography. If you use option oneref, a list of references appears at the end of each chapter. Typically, this must be placed after the last chapter, before the appendices. A list of references should not exceed 10 pages.

The number of references in a master thesis varies based on the subject area. If it involves journal articles, the number of references can be a limiting factor. Moreover, there are other factors, including constraints on journal printing. Sometimes, you may not be able to access certain journal articles. If this is the case, it might be best to seek out another institution to access the literature. It can be time consuming to locate the relevant literature.

Number of footnotes

There are different ways to format your footnotes. APA style mandates the use of full-sized numbers, and the number of footnotes is dependent on your supervisor’s preferences. The number of endnotes is also determined by your supervisor. Your thesis must be consistent from beginning to end. If you’re using Word, you can convert your footnotes to endnotes by selecting the Footnote Text style and inserting it at the end of each sentence.

In your master’s thesis, you must place endnotes at the end of each chapter, but not at the bottom of the page. Footnotes should be centered within the page margins, and endnotes should be placed on a separate page. They should be placed after references and appendices. The heading for each endnote should be “ENDNOTES”, in capital letters. Center the endnote at one inch below the top of the first page.

Preliminary pages should be numbered using lower-case Roman numerals. Footnotes should follow directly under the text, and they should be double-spaced and italicized. The titles of the chapters should follow the formatting guidelines of Turabian, 9th ed., 402-404.

Despite being helpful, footnotes can sometimes interrupt the flow of the text. They force the reader to stop reading to look up a particular footnote. In addition, endnotes make the reader turn to the end of a chapter, which is tiresome. On the other hand, headnotes provide the reader with helpful information in one location. So, while the number of footnotes in your master thesis isn’t set in stone, it is generally accepted that you use them sparingly.

Number of primary sources

A master thesis requires the use of several primary sources, including the original book and digitised copies. Primary sources can be anything from an 18th-century memoir to a video document or Instagram post. Some primary sources are born digital, such as a blog by an artist or a financial dataset. Other sources are digitally preserved in repositories, like Summon. The purpose of evaluating primary sources depends on the type of information they contain.

The number of secondary sources will vary, but a master’s thesis on literature, for example, might require one secondary source per thousand words. In contrast, a doctoral thesis, on the other hand, may require 150 or more secondary sources. The amount of primary sources is dependent on the discipline and individual research methods used to write the paper. It is always a good idea to acknowledge the original sources when possible. In case of citations, the numbers are usually given in parentheses.

If your master’s thesis is written in English, there are two types of primary sources: literary sources and documentary sources. Primary sources include documents written by the author or by a study participant, and secondary sources contain information from other sources. The key difference between these two types of sources is whether or not the information in the source is original and scholarly. For example, a magazine review on Toni Morrison’s work is a primary source.

Using primary research is an important part of a quality master’s thesis or dissertation. It allows the researcher to customize the research according to his or her own needs and desires. Primary sources provide comprehensive information on a topic, and the researcher can decide on the best way to present it. Moreover, primary research results are highly respected in academic circles, which makes it an essential part of any master thesis. Once you’ve chosen the right method, your thesis will be a success.

It’s important to remember that all primary and secondary sources you use must be cited. Citing your sources is important to avoid plagiarism. While you can cite a source if you want to use it in your master thesis, you must avoid using too many secondary sources. When citing primary sources, remember to include the original documents, too. They’ll help you make the best use of the information in your essay.

Length of reference list

In order to determine the ideal length of your reference list, consider the type of article you are writing. Some fields have few published papers, while others have an extensive literature. Keeping in mind the requirements of your institution and the journal you are writing for can help you decide how much material to include. You can also read about the guidelines for increasing your publication list in our previous article. In general, a longer reference list is more relevant, but a shorter one can still be effective.

The number of references depends on the type of master’s thesis and its topic. For example, a master’s thesis in literature may require only one secondary source per thousand words. On the other hand, a doctoral thesis may call for as many as 150 sources. Again, it all depends on the topic and the researcher. In any case, a master’s thesis with a literature focus should contain at least one source for every three thousand words, while a doctoral dissertation may contain up to 150 sources.

The maximum number of citations can be as long as 80,000 words, including the bibliography, footnotes, and reference list. However, a master’s thesis should not exceed 60,000 words without the permission of the degree committee. If you exceed this limit, you must submit a special application to the Degree Committee explaining the reasons for the increase in citations. A reasoned case from your supervisor must be included to support your request.

The length of your references section should be consistent with your thesis style. You should use a consistent format and style throughout your manuscript. It is important that your manuscript is legible, both in printed and electronic format. For questions, contact your graduate school. It is important to follow APA standards and ensure that the references are properly formatted. If you are unsure about how to format references, you can look at APA 2.12 – References Manual.

For more information, do visit

How many pages is a college thesis ?

Which statement is the best thesis for a compare and contrast essay ?

How to write a college thesis ?

How to format a phd thesis in word ?

OUR FREE SERVICES

how many reference should a dissertation have

Assignment Help

  • Why Choose Us
  • Vision and Mission
  • Hire Writers
  • How it Works

How to Reference a Dissertation? | Uncut Guide

Dissertation Referencing Guide by Assignment Desk

Table Of Contents

What is dissertation referencing, why should you do referencing in dissertation, how to correctly reference a dissertation, how many references should a dissertation have.

  • Different Types Of Referencing Styles(6 Styles)

How Experts Can Help in Assisting Dissertation Referencing?

“Your Frame of Reference Is What You See”

About stated is one of the famous quotations about referencing by Jacque Fresco. One single word describes the referencing. So basically referencing! This is a word that is heard by every university and college student at all academic writing levels. Referencing is crucial and plays a vital role in academic life. When it comes to writing a dissertation then it is necessary to reference it properly. It helps give your academic work a finish but it is also necessary for the purpose of supporting the ideas and arguments so it makes a clear understanding of the level of knowledge.

In today’s blog, we will discuss what is dissertation referencing and how it can be done correctly.

Referencing is used in every style of writing for the purpose of providing a list of the materials that have been used during the time of the write-up. In simple words, we can say that dissertation referencing is a page in the long piece write-up where the writer provides detailed references for all the sources and materials that they have used in their writing process. It can do for anything that they have quoted, paraphrased or referred to that was written or stated by someone other than yourself. It is very necessary to add references in the dissertation. It is because it gives the reason that these correct references will tell the audience that you have carefully analyzed and written the literature review and it is relevant to the subject area.

But there are some students who think that why they provide references in dissertations and does it really that important. To know more about the term dissertation referencing, continue to the next section which provides more clarity and in-depth details.

Need Help with Dissertation?

Get a 100% Original Dissertation Written by EXPERTS

The number of references used in a dissertation also depends on the type of dissertation we are working on. When it comes to the literature review of the dissertation then it requires the most references. It needs all the ideas that are cited along with the inclusion of adequate extensions or contradictions to the theories. It all depends on the length of the academic work. Generally, there should be between 8-12 references for every 1,000 words.

Only after later study has verified, strengthened, enlarged, or refuted the hypothesis may more references be necessary. For each issue that is brought up in the academic paper, there should generally be one to three references. There is no set number of references that can be included to your dissertation.

Your degree level, your topic concept, and any restrictions imposed by your academic or university will all be determining considerations. In addition, it depends on the type of research you are doing; for example, if it's a qualitative study, only a few references rather than many are needed. Below mention is the word limit of the dissertation that shows how many references should be necessary.

  • In the 8000 words dissertation, 63 references are required.
  • In 10000 words dissertation, 72 references are required.
  • In 15000 words dissertation, 95 references are required.

There are several reasons that show that it is necessary and important to do referencing in a dissertation. Below mentioned are some of the things that can be done by referencing a dissertation. Let’s have a look

1. Avoid Plagiarism

Most of the students think that paraphrasing some sentences and making them it in you own words will eliminate the cite. But this is not true. It is necessary to provide credit to the right source that what you have done. So it is necessary to know how to reference a dissertation and take the references from the right sources.

2. Shows Your Knowledge

Also with the help of the dissertation referencing students can showcase their knowledge. For example, it shows how much amount you have done in reading, writing, watching, and curating the information that has gone into the months of the preparation for referencing a dissertation. In addition, the citing will also show the depth and details of the reading that students have done.

3. Credibility and Authority

When a student do dissertation referencing in the right order then it showcases their own words and thoughts. The entire dissertation is about the argument that you are making to prove the point. So in simple, we can say that the more data you have to back your argument up the better.

4. Academic Integrity

As everyone knows that in universities and colleges, faculty take plagiarism very seriously. Although, there are some cases where it could happen unintentionally. If students are mentioning accurate and reliable references then it depicts the honesty and all the facts and figures that they have tried their best to credit everyone who is involved in providing dissertation help and making their dissertation what it is.

The above stated are the points that show why students should do the referencing in the dissertation. But doing referencing in a dissertation is not enough and complete your work. It is necessary to know how you are referencing a dissertation. It is necessary to correctly reference your dissertation.

Once you are done with knowing what is dissertation referencing and why it is necessary. It is important to know how students can correctly reference their dissertation or how they can provide the series of conventions that is used to point the readers towards the sources that they have cited, quoted, or otherwise they have borrowed from in their work. Below mention is the proper way by which students can correct referencing their dissertation and avoid the mistakes that arise during the time of referencing the write-up.

  • The author of the work
  • The title of the work
  • The type of publication (for example dissertation, the whole book, book chapter, journal article, web-page and etc)
  • Include the date of the publication of the specific edition of the work.
  • Include the details of the publisher and the place of the publication.
  • If necessary then include the additional details like mention the volume, issue number and page range. It can enable the reader to find the specific source.

The foremost mentioned is the ways by which you can correctly reference the dissertation. Also if you have any doubt that how to reference a dissertation should have then let’s have a look at the below-mentioned detail.

6 Different Types Of Referencing Styles

Here we have discussed the six different styles of referencing. Let’s have a look and know what type of referencing is required for your write-up.

The American Anthropological Association (AAA) advises adopting the Chicago author-date style for crediting sources. AAA style has no distinct set of guidelines. This technique is commonly employed in anthropology.

The 7th edition of the American Psychological Association's Publication Manual defines APA Style. It was intended for use in psychology, but it is now extensively employed across many disciplines, particularly in the social sciences.

3. Chicago author-date

One of the two citation styles offered in the Chicago Manual of Style is the author-date style (17th edition). It is mostly utilised in the sciences and social sciences.

The American Political Science Association (APSA) citation format is widely used in the subject of political science.

In the discipline of economics, the Harvard style is frequently utilized. It is also commonly utilized at UK institutions across disciplines. Harvard style is defined differently by different universities—it is not a style with a single authoritative style guide.

MLA style is the Modern Language Association's official style, as stated in the MLA Handbook (9th edition). It is commonly utilized in a variety of humanistic subjects. It's author-page rather than author-date, unlike other parenthetical citation styles.

Still have any doubts that how to reference the dissertation or have any queries then you can consult academic writers to get assistance and make your academic worries shed in a short span of time.

There are several students who are not able to understand how to correctly reference a dissertation and what they need to include. If you are also one of the students who has issues in referencing dissertations then you can consult Assignment Desk experts. If you have also any doubts and are not able to grasp the concepts then at that time you can consult exerts. They have vast knowledge and years of experience in completing academic work. So you can easily buy dissertation from us. On the other hand, there are several students who take assistance from expert writers to choose the dissertation topics for their write-up.

Share Your Requirements Now for Customized Solutions.

Delivered on-time or your money back

Our Services

  • Assignment Writing Service
  • Essay Writing Help
  • Dissertation Writing Service
  • Coursework Writing Service
  • Proofreading & Editing Service
  • Online Exam Help
  • Term paper writing service
  • Ghost Writing Service
  • Case Study Writing Service
  • Research Paper Writing Service
  • Personal Statement Writing Service
  • Resume Writing Service
  • Report Writing Service

To Make Your Work Original

Check your work against paraphrasing & get a free Plagiarism report!

Check your work against plagiarism & get a free Plagiarism report!

Quick and Simple Tool to Generate Dissertation Outline Instantly

Get citations & references in your document in the desired style!

Make your content free of errors in just a few clicks for free!

Generate plagiarism-free essays as per your topic’s requirement!

Generate a Compelling Thesis Statement and Impress Your Professor

FREE Features

  • Topic Creation USD 3.87 FREE
  • Outline USD 9.33 FREE
  • Unlimited Revisions USD 20.67 FREE
  • Editing/Proofreading USD 28 FREE
  • Formatting USD 8 FREE
  • Bibliography USD 7.33 FREE

Get all these features for

USD 80.67 FREE

RELATED BLOGS

Related Blog

7 Dissertation Writing Mistakes No One Ever Told You About| Find Fixes Too

Related Blog

Super Easy Ways to Write a Perfect Dissertation in Less Time

Related Blog

How to Write a Dissertation Conclusion to Make a Perfect Ending?

Related Blog

Dissertation Proofreading and Editing Made Easy with This 7 Step Guide

Related Blog

Dissertation Introduction Writing: 7 Simple Steps to Ace it

Professional assignment writers.

Choose a writer for your task among hundreds of professionals

Mobile-view

Please rotate your device

We don't support landscape mode yet. Please go back to portrait mode for the best experience

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it. Know more

Calculate the Price

Professional Academic Help at Pocket-Friendly Prices!

refresh

Estimated Price

My Homework Help logo

How Many References Should a Dissertation Have?

Are you struggling with how many references to include in your dissertation? Are you concerned that too few or too many might affect the success of your paper? If so, this article is for you. In it we’ll provide insight on how many references should be included in a dissertation and why they’re important. Keep reading to learn more!

1. What is the Function of References in a Dissertation?

References are the information sources used in a dissertation that appear at the end of its contents. They provide evidence, context and detail to strengthen arguments made throughout the paper including quotations or relevant facts . The amount of references required depends on whether it is an undergraduate, Masters or PhD dissertation as well as personal institution guidelines, though it is mainly based on how many references are necessary for explaining and supporting each claim within your work. Typically this ranges from 30-90 references with higher degrees requiring more. However, some universities suggest there should be no limit; meaning dissertation how many refences will never exceed what is needed.

Why Use References?

  • > To validate any claims you make in your argument via external source material.

In conclusion, accurately citing relevant resources shows diligence in research carried out and gives credibility to a topic discussed which makes clear why employing various reference materials into one’s essay or paper can benefit their academic progress significantly. Dissertationt how many references should be determined by the student’s own judgement according to their specific requirements yet still holding relevance according to research standards set by institutions and possible citation styles requested too

2. How Many Types of References Are Relevant for Your Thesis?

Types of References When writing a thesis, it is important to understand the types of references which are relevant to ths paper. Broadly there are three main categories: primary, secondary and tertiary sources. Primary sources are materials used in research such as interviews with the subjects or reports from those who were part of an event or witnessed something first-hand. This could include books, journals articles and other documents produced by authorities on the topic. Secondary sources involve analyzing existing data that has been published in order to draw new conclusions; these can be textbooks, newspaper reports or magazine articles for example. Tertiary resources serve as starting points for further enquiry – summarizing key facts about a subject matter without going into detail.

  • (Dissertation how many references): All academic papers require at least two or three reference types when citing evidence .

The number of dissertation how many references required depends heavily upon your field and institution regulations but should generally increase proportionally with word count; some programs may specify specific guidelines you must follow within your project.

  • (Dissertation how many references): For shorter assignments such as essays it is usually recommended that approximately 10 bibliographical entries will suffice while more complex projects like dissertations might require 30-50 different pieces supporting each assertion made throughout its length.

3. Understanding Guidelines and Requirements of Your Institution

Requirements for a successful dissertation or thesis submission can vary widely across institutions. For instance, the number of references and sources of information needed to be included in a paper might significantly differ.

  • For example, some universities may require that large dissertations need at least 30 primary sources referenced throughout the document while smaller papers may only require 15.

Any student considering writing an academic paper should understand and research their institution’s specific expectations before they begin work on it. Knowing the criteria ahead of time will help one plan more accurately and effectively manage their time.

The best way to make sure all requirements are met is by reading through any documentation provided by your school relating to dissertation how many references, format, deadlines etc., as this will ensure key guidelines have been followed correctly when making submissions. Additionally consulting with supervisors along each step of the project journey will reduce potential errors due to misunderstandings or confusion about what is expected from them via feedback given during supervision sessions.

  • Students should take notes during these meetings so they don’t overlook important points raised related to formatting criteria for chapters, complexity levels required within language used or dissertation how many references necessary before submission could occur.

4. Making an Impact Through Quality Selection Criteria

In , there are four key components to consider. Firstly, the ‘quality of personnel’ , which is judged by their relevant qualifications and expertise; secondly, the ‘amount of resources committed’, assessed in terms of financial commitment as well as staff numbers allocated for a project; thirdly, the ‘time frame to completion’; and lastly, potential risk involved with under or over-qualified individuals employed within a specific area.

When formulating selection criteria for any project it is critical that each component is considered rigorously. Dissertation how many references should be consulted to establish what other organisations have been successful in implementing similar projects – this will provide informative insight into industry best practice when selecting personnel from senior management level down to support roles.

  • The experience and knowledge possessed by those selected should correlate directly with success measures set out at initiation stage; the pool of applicants must be appropriately matched against criteria established earlier on.
  • When deciding upon quantity of resources allocated for completion firstly understand what infrastructure already exists and also accurately assess new requirements needed (dissertation how many references can help estimate). Each resource then needs quantifying both financially but also time investment necessary before any decisions are taken.
  • Timeframe required innately involves some level of risk – if timescales are too short either elements deemed essential may get omitted or alternatively quality could suffer due decision makers opting for fast track solutions instead (dissertation how many references can offer guidance here).

5. Balancing Quantity and Quality for Best Results

When conducting research for a dissertation, achieving the appropriate balance between quantity and quality can be key to obtaining positive results. It is essential that when planning your work you dedicate adequate time to thoroughly researching all relevant sources of information in order to ensure accuracy and reliability.

Many students feel overwhelmed by the task of meeting their supervisor’s expectation by providing several thousand words while ensuring these words are accompanied with enough cited evidence; however, such expectations are realistic. The amount of references included in a dissertation should never surpass quality as this could make it difficult for readers to comprehend the content without getting bogged down with insignificant details (dissertation how many references) . Quality needs to take priority over quantity in this regard especially when referencing authors who contribute valuable insight into your argument. In such cases, rather than including multiple citations from one particular writer which may have little or no significance towards developing an argument (dissertation how many references) , instead consider whether other researchers could offer similar yet beneficial perspectives on a subject matter.

Apart from understanding what type of literature will provide reliable evidence, careful management over data selection is necessary so that only pertinent points are emphasised within each sentence or paragraph (dissertation how many references) . Depending on your topic there may be limitations as far as referencing certain documents if they don’t specifically address issues being discussed within your argument; therefore precisely selecting high-quality resources allows both yourself and supervisors/readers alike confidence that sufficient support exists whenever significant claims are made throughout sections appropriately backed up using valid sources where possible.

6. The Need to Trim Down Excessive Referencing

Excessive referencing can lead to a bloated dissertation, which adversely affects the flow of thought and argument. Such dissertations also risk focusing on academic references at the expense of more relevant work in industry. It is therefore important for students to make judicious decisions when considering what information needs to be referenced within their dissertation.

The challenge becomes how much referencing is too much? A general rule , although not prescriptive, is that if an entire sentence or paragraph relies solely on reference material then it should be trimmed down drastically as this may indicate plagiarism through excessive quoting without due acknowledgement of sources (in cases where citing has been omitted). Synopsis reports suggest that around 10-15% of words within a dissertation should be direct quotes from other publications; however many experienced supervisors recommend aiming lower than this – possibly closer towards 8%. This means that out of 10 000 words in an average postgraduate dissertation there might only need to be around 800-1200 words maximum . The quantity and quality of references used must complement each other for optimum benefit.

Once you have established your research scope, determine how many references are appropriate by setting yourself targets such as “dissertation with 500~600 chosen citations” , rather than just randomly selecting large numbers. Additionally consider reliable web sources such as government agencies and scholarly journals or databases insteada s these will help ensure accuracy against unnecessary quotation expansion privileges granted by websites like Wikipedia etc.. By understanding different methods for sourcing data efficiently, you’ll gain knowledge about filtering essential material from masses available online easing otherwise tedious task associated with creating bibliography lists for lengthy project like a doctoral thesis containing approximately 15000~20000 words – resulting potentially into over 5000 mentions requiring careful selection thereby reducing labour intensity involved in ensuring those requested criteria’s compliance rate similar to “ “1500 citation marks set per page expected for 10000 worded paper”. .

7. Getting Expert Help With Reference Management

What Reference Management Software to Use?

When you are working on your dissertation, one of the most important tasks is referencing. Deciding what reference management software to use can be difficult as there is no single tool that covers all needs. It is recommended that you do some research into different programs before deciding which one suits your purposes best.

  • EndNote (Desktop version)

Expert Advice Helps Referencing Your Dissertation

Getting expert help with better managing your references may be invaluable when writing your dissertation. An experienced professional will understand exactly what reference manager works best for certain scenarios, especially if it involves a large number of sources such as an extensive thesis or dissertation containing several hundred references. They will also have knowledge about the latest versions so they can quickly show you how much easier it makes citing references compared to manual referencing methods . Furthermore , if applicable , they’ll know exactly how many references should appear in a doctoral thesis or any type of manuscript . This critical input gives authors peace-of -mind when it comes time submit their work knowing that their citations adhere not only stylistic guidelines but also reflect accurate bibliographic information regarding every source cited within their document. A doctoral dissertation is a serious undertaking, and the references section plays an integral part in making it successful. How many references should your dissertation have? The answer depends on the discipline, but you can use this article as a starting point for formulating your own approach to referencing for maximum accuracy and credibility. Good luck on writing that dissertation!

Order an Essay Now & Get These Features For Free:

Turnitin Report

My Homework Help

  • Get Homework Help
  • How It Works
  • Math homework Help
  • Excel Homework Help
  • Case Study Assignment Help | Do My Case Study Homework
  • PowerPoint Presentation Help
  • CIPD Assignment Help
  • Civil Engineering Homework Help – Do My Asssignment For Me
  • CPM Homework Help | Do My CPM Assignment For Me
  • Discussion Board Homework Help
  • Finance Homework Help – Do My Finance Assignment For Me
  • Nursing Homework Help
  • Programming Homework Help
  • SPSS Homework Help | Do My SPSS Assignment For Me Cheap
  • Statistics Homework Help

WhatsApp us

IMAGES

  1. Bibliography or List of References

    how many reference should a dissertation have

  2. APA Citations for a Thesis or Dissertation

    how many reference should a dissertation have

  3. How Many References in a Research Paper?

    how many reference should a dissertation have

  4. How Long Is a Dissertation?

    how many reference should a dissertation have

  5. Formatting Guidelines

    how many reference should a dissertation have

  6. How to Properly Cite Sources in a Written Assignment

    how many reference should a dissertation have

VIDEO

  1. How to write References, Citations & Bibliography in Thesis/Dissertation

  2. Mastering Research: Choosing a Winning Dissertation or Thesis Topic

  3. Dissertation Writing 101: Why You Have To Let Go #shorts

  4. Thesis chapter Methodology writeup

  5. Congrats

  6. How to write dissertation for M.Ed

COMMENTS

  1. publications

    Some papers have referred to no references and some have referred to more than fifty or sixty. There is no general rule. - enthu Aug 8, 2014 at 11:31 3 Swedish has a very appropriate word for it: lagom. Just the right amount. - Davidmh Aug 8, 2014 at 12:41 1

  2. How to Best Use References in a Dissertation

    Using reference in a dissertation that belong to the past five to ten years are acceptable; however, using references of the 1980s or 1990s is not recommended. The main reason being changes in time, settings, environment, participants, etc.

  3. How Many References in a Research Paper?

    Oct 1, 2022 123,764 How Many References in a Research Paper? Wordvice KH Junior researchers frequently wonder how many references should be included in their research papers. The common response? "As many as you need." What exactly does that mean?

  4. How many references should I have?

    There's no right or wrong answer answer as to how many references you need - it depends on how many you've cited in your writing! The most important thing is that you don't plagiarise. Make sure you include references for everything that you've cited in the text, so that it's clear where your information has come from.

  5. How many references is enough?

    Most of these papers had well over 100 references in total, which might even lead the paper to be inaccurately classified as a review article by the Web of Science. So I started wondering: How many references is enough? More isn't always better

  6. PDF Guidelines for Writing Research Proposals and Dissertations

    institution for which the research proposal or dissertation is written. The Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 5th edition (2001) or Concise Rules for APA Style (2005) should be consulted for all questions pertaining to form and style that are not addressed in this guide.

  7. Q: What is the standard number of references a paper should have?

    Answer: Regarding the number of reference citations, there is no specific number or range that is considered as normal or standard. You should cite just about enough sources that are required for your paper. The number of references you will use depends on how much literature exists on the topic.

  8. How to Write a Dissertation

    The very first page of your document contains your dissertation's title, your name, department, institution, degree program, and submission date. Sometimes it also includes your student number, your supervisor's name, and the university's logo. Many programs have strict requirements for formatting the dissertation title page.

  9. PDF Research Dissertation Guidelines

    Your research dissertation should be around 10,000 words. There is an absolute maximum of 12,000 words. This includes everything apart from figure legends, tables, appendices and references. The marker will stop reading after 12,000 words, and anything after that will not be marked (except for your reference list).

  10. Dissertation Structure & Layout 101 (+ Examples)

    The core chapters (the "meat" of the dissertation) Chapter 1: Introduction Chapter 2: Literature review Chapter 3: Methodology Chapter 4: Results Chapter 5: Discussion Chapter 6: Conclusion Reference list Appendix As I mentioned, some universities will have slight variations on this structure.

  11. How Many References Should a Research Paper Have? Study of 96,685

    Here's a summary of the key findings. 1- The average number of references for a research paper is 45, with 90% of research papers having between 8 and 102 references. However, this number depends a lot on study design. For instance, a systematic review typically has 49 references while a case report has only 24.

  12. How Many References for A Dissertation Are Necessary?

    For this type of word count, 45 to 50 references will most likely be needed at least and the maximum, 100 reference will also be a respectable benchmark to add references. Masters: A Master level dissertation contains words, starting from 15,000 with a maximum of 25,000-word count.

  13. Ten things I wish I'd known before starting my dissertation

    4) Do not ask friends how much work they've done. You'll end up paranoid - or they will. Either way, you don't have time for it. 5) There will be one day during the process when you will freak ...

  14. How often should you reference?

    As a general rule, you should aim to use one to three, to support each key point you make. This of course depends on subject matter and the point you are discussing, but acts as a good general guide. It can be useful to have a best practice breakdown of your essay to help you work out how many references to use.

  15. How Many References in a Master's Thesis?

    A paper should include eight to 12 references per 1,000 words, but the number of citations should be based on the length of the paper. The following table summarizes the typical number of references for a master thesis. For longer master thesis projects, cite more than one reference per page. But for shorter projects, list fewer references.

  16. How to Reference a Dissertation?

    Generally, there should be between 8-12 references for every 1,000 words. Only after later study has verified, strengthened, enlarged, or refuted the hypothesis may more references be necessary. For each issue that is brought up in the academic paper, there should generally be one to three references.

  17. Dissertation

    Doing a thesis of 80,000 words would require you to have 800 references. Reply 4 7 years ago A No one can give you a proper answer because it depends on the dissertation topic and the course you're doing Reply 5 7 years ago A Original post by peanutbuttercup

  18. How many references should a dissertation have? Topics to write

    A dissertation is one of the academic tasks that need time and effort. There are a lot of students who get stuck with the references of the dissertation. At ...

  19. How many references did you have? : r/PhD

    Information Systems Science. A normal article usually has 30 - 50 references. A review article I'm currently working on has 141 references so far. The dissertation will consist of 3 - 5 articles depending on how many are needed for a clear contribution. Plus, intro, methods and conclusions chapter.

  20. How Many References Should a Dissertation Have?

    Typically this ranges from 30-90 references with higher degrees requiring more. However, some universities suggest there should be no limit; meaning dissertation how many refences will never exceed what is needed. Why Use References? > To validate any claims you make in your argument via external source material.

  21. FAQ: How Many References Should I Have? (With Tips)

    Three is the minimum number of references to include on your job application. The employer may be able to form a thorough impression of you as a candidate after listening to diverse perspectives. However, the number of references required may depend on the role and the company. For example, if you're applying for a senior position for a ...