So, you have successfully started working on your research and have started it well before the time. It is good to know about your enthusiasm regarding your research study. While there are many elements to a good dissertation, one of the most important of all the elements is the background of study. This section of your dissertation provides the reader and your supervisor with the context of the problem that you are going to investigate. It must include important and relevant studies to support the research problem.
However, it has been seen that many students are unaware of the components of a good background of study. Therefore, in today’s post, I am going to unpack those components and explain them in detail so that you do not make any mistakes when actually writing it. However, before that, let’s describe what the background of a study entails.
What Is The Background Of A Study?
The background of the study is one of the
first sections of a dissertation. It is different from the introduction, although many confuse it with this section. The main purpose of this section is to establish the context of the underlying research. This section is home to the rationale, problem statement, and key background ideas that govern the whole research problem. The background of study forms the crux of the whole dissertation. It is because it introduces an unaware audience to the importance of an issue in a clear and logical manner.
How Is A Background Different From An Introduction?
The introduction section of a dissertation comes before the background section. Many students take both sections as the same and are unable to highlight the difference between them. So, the main points that make both sections different are as follows:
- The introduction only introduces the research problem that you are going to investigate in the dissertation. It does not give any information about the purpose of the research study. On the contrary, the background of study clarifies its importance.
- The introduction chapter discusses the research problem from a broader perspective. On the other hand, the background provides a focused and clear understanding of the research topic being investigated.
- The introduction should end with research aims and objectives and research questions, telling the readers about the study’s direction. On the contrary, the background is more focused on providing the context to the study.
What Are The Components Of Good Background For The Study?
Although the components vary due to the length and details required by a research study, there are some components which are necessary to be included in each dissertation. So, before writing this important section of your dissertation, you must know about its components. Below is a brief description of the major components, so take notes while reading them;
1. A Strong Beginner Paragraph
The first and the most important component of the background of study is a strong starter or beginner paragraph. In this paragraph, you first hook your reader by understanding what he is looking for in your dissertation. You can either start off with a quote or a compelling question to
hook your reader and make him read until the end. In the starter paragraph, also give a brief description of the research topic, define it, and the key terms associated with it.
2. A Section Covering The Key Theories
As described earlier, the background section sets the tone of your research and provides context to it. So, how can you provide the context without describing relevant theories? Therefore, in the next section, you need to provide all the theories and concepts that govern your research topic. It is important that you give a brief description of the ideas and concepts that you feel your audience may be unfamiliar with. Explaining such things to your audience is important for grabbing their interest. So, the second component of a good background of study is the section which covers the key theories.
3. Inclusion Of Historical Data Related To The Problem
Current issues are majorly the products of past events. For example, the climate change that we are facing today is the result of emissions of hazardous gases into the atmosphere for millions of years. So, to set the tone of your study, the historical data must include components in the background section of your dissertation. The historical data also plays a vital role in establishing the importance of the study. Also, if you borrow information from a relevant historical context, add relevant data in the background section. 4. The Novelty Of The Research Study
Sometimes a research study or a dissertation is very novel and unique. If this is the case with your research, you must explain the novelty of your research in the background of study as a component. Why is your research unique? What makes it so novel? These are some of the questions that you must address in this component of the background of the study. Why so? Because explaining the novelty helps the reader better understand what research you are going to carry out and why it is important.
5. Engagement
Lastly, the 5th component of the background of study is engagement. To make the content of your background more engaging, which is also your goal, try to build a story around the central theme of your research study. The stories attract readers’ attention and bind them with the research study until the last sentence. This component is challenging as well as important; therefore, to ace this, you can consider hiring one of the
dissertation proposal writing services available at a cheap price. Such services have writers who can take on this challenge and create an engaging background.
Conclusion
Writing the background of study should not be a daunting task for you anymore. By discussing the 5 components mentioned above and keeping the difference between background and introduction in view, you can write a very good background section. So, read from start to the end and enjoy writing your dissertation.
