Build Your Dissertation Like a Building
Let’s move on to structuring your work. Dr Derya Turkkorkmaz from the European School of Economics uses a brilliant metaphor: think of your dissertation as constructing a building.
Start with the main structure, then design the rooms, and finally move on to the decoration. When you approach your work this way, you’ll find yourself working faster and staying more focused.
Here’s how this works in practice:
First, establish your main structure. Identify your key chapters and what each one needs to accomplish. Don’t worry about perfection at this stage, you’re laying foundations.
Next, design your rooms. Cluster your research materials into thematic groups. You’ve probably collected dozens of articles, studies, and sources. Group them by topic or theme. You don’t have to decide immediately how much of each you’ll use, that refinement comes later.
Then, create your framework. Write down your main headings first, then draft an introductory paragraph under each one. Suddenly, you’ve got a clear skeleton, a structured dissertation with its main framework already in place.
Finally, add the decoration. Return to your clustered materials, review the articles in each group, and start weaving your findings together with your own interpretations.
This method tackles one of the biggest productivity killers: perfectionism. When you’re trying to perfect each sentence as you write it, you’re constantly switching between creative and critical thinking modes. It’s exhausting and inefficient. The building approach lets you work in stages, each with its own clear purpose.