Research is about discovery, the testing of hypotheses and of ideas. It is about the establishment of facts through enquiry and exploration. The outcome of research is new knowledge leading to improved understanding of mechanisms and the development of new and improved procedures. To ensure that the use of research results is maximised, it must be disseminated in an appropriate manner. In many senses, the dissemination of the research results is just as important as the research activity itself.

There are many ways to disseminate research results, and the production of a research dissertation or thesis is one of them. Although a research dissertation is a usual requirement for academic degree programmes that include a research element, it is more than an instrument for student assessment. A common mistake is to regard it as a "beefed-up" laboratory report. It must be written such that the results presented can be validated and to form the basis for further investigations. Procedures adopted must be justified; claims and conclusions must be supported by experiments or reasoned arguments and deductions. A research dissertation contains elements which distinguishes it from other types of reports, and because it is the culmination of several months or years of work, the publication can be quite voluminous. Writing one therefore requires some thought, planning and organisation.

This set of guidelines intends to give some ideas and tips on how to go about writing a research dissertation. The first thing we will consider is the layout of the dissertation.

(Note: While the subsequent pages are not instructions on how to carry out research, their contents should also give an idea of what is required in terms of research tasks and how research should be approached.)