Completing A Thesis Paper: The Background Of The Study

A thesis paper is one of the most important works that have to be completed in the period of your studies. In order to write a thesis paper the background study for it should be done. The main goal of the background study is proving the relevance of your thesis statement and developing your paper further. The background study usually includes current information regarding the issue in question, review of the area of the investigation, some relevant history on the topic and the previous studies that exist. The background study should present all the needed information on your topic and set forth the history of the problem.

Here are several steps that you need to take in order to complete your background study successfully.

  1. Do the preliminary research. This should be done in the early stages of creating your paper when your thoughts and ideas regarding the problem in question should be organized. After doing the groundwork for your scholarly paper you will be able to formulate your thesis statement and the question. Further on, this will lead to more specific research on the subject. In order to do the groundwork you may access online databases or libraries, find books and scholarly journals relevant for your field.
  2. Examine all the information that you have gathered and formulate a thesis statement and your research question. While you are reading make notes, ask further questions. Keep track of all the material that you have read so that you can get back to it in the future. You can either do it on paper or in the electronic file – whatever suits your learning style best. You need to make sure that all the information that you have noted is properly cited. If you decide to use it in your paper you need to easily find where the information has come from.
  3. Create your thesis statement. Organize all the information that you have read and formulate your opinion on the matter. This opinion will be the basis of your research question. From this point you may start conducting the detailed study of the problem at hand. When doing your research remember that your thesis statement is your guideline. Everything you write must connect to the main problem.
  4. When writing your background study create all the relevant sections for the paper that will cover the main issues.
  5. Identify any issues that may need further research.
  6. Edit your writing. Reread it and fill in the missing information or delete the information that turned out to be unnecessary.