Set your dissertation goals and timeline. Make your goals specific, realistic and measurable. After you write your goals, set a timeline with key milestones and dates for when you hope to accomplish certain tasks. Include things like "proposal preparation," "research," "writing" and "editing."
Prepare your proposal. Begin by reading other dissertations. Talk to your fellow classmates, conduct online research and visit the library to review several different dissertations that cover different topic areas. Prepare a list of "best practices" you saw in each dissertation. Write your proposal, which should include a detailed outline of the contents of your dissertation.
Meet with your professor or mentor to discuss your proposal. He or she will provide expert guidance on how to improve your proposal if necessary. You may need to go through several rounds of proposal writing and meetings before you create a proposal that is ready for the research phase.
Conduct your research. Once you have an outline in place, begin gathering the information and content that will help you write your proposal. Develop a "research methodology," which is a design document that explains your process for researching your topic. For example, you may choose to conduct several one-on-one in-depth interviews, review research in scientific journals or conduct surveys and polls.
Write your table of contents. Include a list of topics areas you plan to write about in your dissertation.
Begin writing the sections of your dissertation you know the best. According to S. Joseph Levine, a professor at Michigan State University, the best approach in writing the dissertation is to start writing the sections of your dissertation you're most comfortable with. Write each section when you are ready, and feel free to jump around as needed.
Once you have written all sections of your dissertation, write your conclusion statements. The key is to help the reader understand the key points you are trying to prove. If you are struggling to write your conclusions, try to answer the question, "So what does this all mean?"
Prepare your dissertation defense, which is an oral examination that is the final stage of the dissertation process. Research the dissertation defense process at your university. Practice by rehearsing your defense and attending several defense processes for your colleagues, if your school allows it.