MDUM8010 Chap.5 Structuring the Dissertation: The Hourglass Model
Structuring the Dissertation: The Hourglass Model
Two models of the same structure
The briefing offers two ways to see how a dissertation is organised. The hourglass model describes the shape of the write up: general at the opening, specific through methods and results, general again at the close.
The dissertation process, laid out as problem, theory, analysis and conclusion, describes the logic underneath: each stage depends on the one before and the answer must return to the question.
The hourglass, section by section
The opening identifies the problem area and its importance, reviews relevant research, identifies the gap and states the aim, with research questions and hypotheses.
Methods introduce the study setting and explain the approach so that a reader could recreate the study. Results state findings objectively. The discussion interprets the results and links them to earlier studies to close the gap stated at the start, then moves out to implications for the specific area and for the wider field.
The resolution gives conclusions, implications and recommendations for future research.
Problem, theory, analysis, conclusion
In the process view, the research question and hypotheses define the problem; the literature review, theories and analytical framework supply the theory; methodology, data and analysis do the work; and findings with discussion lead to a conclusion that is the answer to the original question.
The sample contents page
The course outline includes a sample table of contents.
After abstract, declaration, acknowledgements and lists of figures and tables, it runs introduction, theoretical framework, methodology, a case chapter and conclusion, followed by appendices and a bibliography. The case chapter carries the case name, a reminder that the empirical work is the centre of the dissertation rather than background to it.
What this chapter covers
- 01
The hourglass shape of a research write up
- 02
What the opening must do
- 03
Methods written so a study could be recreated
- 04
Results stated objectively
- 05
The discussion as the return to the gap
- 06
Problem, theory, analysis and conclusion
- 07
Literature review compared with analytical framework
- 08
Hypotheses and when to state them
- 09
Reading the sample table of contents
- 10
Diagnosing a structure that hides the question
Worked example · free
Rebuild an outline around the hourglass
- 2Find where the funnel fails to narrow.
- 3Identify the missing sections.
- 3Write a corrected outline.
Key terms
- Hourglass Model
- A structure for research writing that moves from the general to the specific through the methods and results and back to the general in the discussion and conclusion.
- Knowledge Gap
- The point the opening narrows to: what previous research leaves unknown, which the study sets out to fill.
- Analytical Framework
- The concepts and relationships a study uses to organise its analysis, placed in the theory stage alongside the literature review.
- Hypothesis
- A testable expectation stated with the research question, which the findings later support or fail to support.
- Discussion
- The section that interprets results and ties them back to the literature and the gap, before widening to implications.
- Table of Contents
- The list of front materials, chapters, appendices and bibliography with page numbers, for which the outline provides a sample.
- Abstract
- A summary in English of at most 500 words giving the problem or questions, purpose and scope, methodology and conclusions.
Structuring the Dissertation: The Hourglass Model FAQ
What chapters should an MDUM dissertation have?
The outline's sample contents page runs introduction, theoretical framework, methodology, a chapter on the case and conclusion, preceded by abstract, declaration, acknowledgements and lists of figures and tables, and followed by appendices and a bibliography. Your chapter titles can differ, but the sequence of problem, theory, analysis and conclusion should be visible from the contents page alone.
What is the hourglass model in the dissertation briefing?
It is a way of shaping a research write up. The opening moves from a general problem area through previous research to a specific gap and aim; methods and results are the narrow, specific middle; the discussion moves back out by tying results to the gap and then to wider implications, ending with conclusions and recommendations for further research.
How detailed does the methods section need to be?
Detailed enough that a reader could recreate the study, which is how the briefing's hourglass describes it. That means naming data sources and dates, sampling and instruments, the steps of the analysis in order and any parameters used, rather than describing the method in general terms.
Assessment move
Draft the contents page in the first month and revise it every time your question changes. Beside each chapter title write which of the four stages it belongs to, problem, theory, analysis or conclusion, and one sentence on what it contributes to the answer. A chapter you cannot place is either context that belongs inside another chapter or material that belongs in an appendix.
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