What is the purpose of a PhD thesis introduction?

An effective PhD thesis introduction does three things:

1. Establish your research territory (by situating your research in a broader context)

One of the first things the introduction should do is to provide general statements that outline the importance of the topic and provide enough background information so that the reader can understand the context in which your research sits (although being careful not to enter into an in-depth review of the literature. More on this below). In doing so, you will need to reference existing studies.

2. Establish and justify your niche (by describing why your research is needed)

The introduction should also discuss the gap that your research will fill.

Then, you outline your research questions and the problems the study addresses.

3. Explain the significance of your research (by describing how you conducted the research)

The introduction needs to also discuss the value that this study brings to the broader field or discipline (i.e. your contribution). You do this by detailing the central argument, the research aims, the structure of the discussion (with reference to any theories or concepts you used), the methods employed, the study’s limitations and the layout of the thesis.

Like the abstract, the introduction should provide the reader with all they need to know about:

What your thesis is about
Why it is important
How it was conducted
How it is laid out

Unlike the abstract though, in the introduction you need to go into more detail and set the research up.

What does this mean? Well, above all, the introduction as a whole should outline the significance and relevance of the thesis. The main criteria for a PhD is its role as an original contribution to knowledge, so the introduction is the space in which you very clearly outline that contribution. By talking about what the research is about, why it is important, how it was conducted and what you found, you will, all being well, clearly show the contribution that your thesis makes.

How to structure an PhD thesis introduction

A typical PhD thesis introduction follows the following format:

Introduction to the introduction: a short version (of only a few paragraphs) of the thesis’ aims, research questions, contribution, objectives and findings.
State the overarching topic and aims of the thesis in more detailProvide a brief review of the literature related to the topic (this will be very brief if you have a separate literature review chapter)
Define the terms and scope of the topic
Critically evaluate the current state of the literature on that topic and identify your gap
Outline why the research is important and the contribution that it makes
Outline your epistemological and ontological position
Clearly outline the research questions and problem(s) you seek to address
State the hypotheses (if you are using any)
Detail the most important concepts and variables
Briefly describe your methodology
Discuss the main findings
Discuss the layout of the thesis

Much like the abstract, the reader shouldn’t have to wait long before they understand the contribution, what you are doing and how you are doing it. So, you’ll start by presenting your research in a clear, concise way in the opening few paragraphs. These opening paragraphs should briefly summarise the aims, objectives, research questions, main argument and contribution.

The reader shouldn’t have to wait long before they understand the contribution, what you are doing and how you are doing it.

A useful exercise here is to try and write the core elements of an introduction into one short paragraph. Keep trying until they fit. When they do, use that as the basis for these first few paragraphs.

As you go through the chapter, you will dial down into more and more detail. That means that the next stage, after the first few paragraphs, is to provide some context (steps 2-10 above).

Here you provide all the detail necessary to situate the study and make sense of the opening few paragraphs.