The dissertation acknowledgement section in the dissertation is used to express gratitude towards all those who have helped you prepare the dissertation.
Both professional and personal acknowledgements can be included in it. Acknowledgement section comes in between the title page and the abstract page. It is best suited to be on one page.
The writer has the liberty to use personal pronouns (“I”, “We”, “My”) in this section, as this section allows more of an informal way of writing. Here is a quick guide to help you understand how to write dissertation acknowledgements.
Acknowledgements can be divided into two categories: professional and personal.
It is always better to acknowledge all those professionals who played an important role in your research and then acknowledge the people who have helped you personally.
Some universities have policies to mention those individuals who have helped you directly, i.e. members of academia and other professionals.
It will always be suggested to read the University guidelines in this regard. Personal acknowledgements can be of anyone, maybe someone from your school, your friend's circle or your neighbourhood. The words you want to choose as gratitude can differ from person to person.
This is the most crucial part of the dissertation acknowledgements page. It would help if you always handled professional acknowledgements precisely, as the faculty members' names are mentioned in this section.
You should also make sure that you didn’t miss out a single name in this regard. Anyone in your school who helped you with your research should be applauded and given the due credit.
Professional acknowledgements can relate to the following;
TIPS One way to work out how to write dissertation acknowledgements is to gain an insight into how other students at your university have written acknowledgements for their dissertation in the past. Google “dissertation acknowledgements” along with the name of your department and university.
Always write full names and titles when referring to professionals that helped you with your dissertation research process.
If several members of the same institution are to be acknowledged, write the collective name.
Anyone who wants their identity to remain confidential, write only their first name.
If a well-known professional or organization in your area of study played some part in your research work, no matter how small or big their role was, it is recommended to mention their name to add more weight and credibility to your research.
Do I need to thank my unhelpful supervisor?
Some students are unfortunate because they have to work with a supervisor who is not so cooperative and unhelpful. Do you really need to thank a supervisor who did absolutely nothing?
Don’t completely brush them off. You could write a very brief thank you to acknowledgement whatever little help they provided.
Personal acknowledgements don’t require you to acknowledge every single family member or friend. If someone has inspired you or helped a lot in the research, you can clearly mention that person.
You can use the following examples of common sentences in acknowledgements to get you started:
If you are really stuck and still unsure about writing dissertation acknowledgements, begin each sentence with “I would like to thank…”, and elaborate on how each person or group contributed.
You do not need to write any conclusion or summary at the end. You can end the acknowledgements with your last thank you.
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