In 1917, Dr Elizabeth Casson founded her first “Occupational therapy clinic” in the UK. Later on, she established a proper school in Bristol to teach it as a subject. The subject deals with maintaining ongoing health conditions and disabilities. Considering the need for professionals, new research findings and strategies will create an impact. This is where students can put a strong effort into writing an outstanding occupational therapy dissertation.
Acquiring a Master’s or Doctoral degree accompanied by a license is of utmost importance. As per the published report by Statista on Jan 23, 2024, 43.1 thousand occupational therapists were serving professionally in the year 2021. In another survey finding by RCOT, 86% of respondents stated that the demand for Occupational Therapists (OT) has increased.
Hence, students are urged to contribute to producing valuable literary dissertations. As a research scholar, it’s essential to accurately address all gaps in the literature. Undoubtedly, this task can be challenging, especially when under deadline pressure.
To excel academically and maintain a professional tone in your papers, alleviate the pressure by seeking assistance. Students can promptly access support from proficient writers who offer online dissertation help in such circumstances.
Now, let us grasp the concept of occupational therapy. Also, explore some beneficial tips for writing a winning dissertation.
What Is Occupational Therapy?
Occupational therapy is the healthcare profession which involves meaningful implementations to normalise:
- Disabilities
- Trauma
- Health problems
The subject is interwind with psychology and treats the obstacles affecting a person’s physical, emotional and social needs. Occupational therapists perform specialised tasks mentioned below:
Image Source: Springer link
Hence, occupational therapy as a subject holds diversity. It encloses specialised areas including rehabilitation, paediatrics, assistive technology and social engagement. Students find it interesting to craft an occupational therapy dissertation that provides greater research exposure. However, the writing process is time-consuming and requires effective management.
One must understand the topic deeply and conduct a thorough research process to gather data. Demonstrate the fundamental components of OT and interlink it with the research evidence.
How Do You Write an Occupational Therapy Dissertation? Top 10 Tips
Dissertation writing is an innovative method to understand, identify and demonstrate your topic. You can construct your occupational therapy dissertation by incorporating relevant literature. Add new research questions to be investigated thoroughly.
The whole writing process involves a strategic set of tips to analyse data and present results. Some of the essential tips are mentioned below. Read them in detail to craft an effective dissertation.
1. Select a Comprehensive Topic
Consider selecting a challenging and interesting topic. Always keep the primary research goals in mind. Design the contextual framework with background information on occupational therapy. Try to keep the following parameters in mind before proceeding to writing an occupational therapy dissertation:
- The topic should be relevant to the field, such as presenting a particular issue, theory or phenomenon.
- Dig deep into the reader’s enthusiasm with effective research questions.
- Address the unanswered research. Seek help from previously published work, including research articles.
- Consider the scope and limitations of your topic.
- Analyse whether the topic is too broad or too narrow.
- Explore new areas to address recent trends and issues.
- You must maintain originality in your research.
Occupational Therapy Dissertation Topics for 2024
Being stuck in experimental or theoretical research, many scholars need clarification about topic selection. Some may find a good topic, and some need help to depict the relevant research idea. To overcome this confusing situation, we have gathered top trending topics to write a winning dissertation. Some of the innovative topics are listed below:
- How Do Occupational Therapists Ensure Mental Health Recovery in Affected People?
- Exploring Student’s Perception in Occupational Therapy.
- A Comparative Study on Occupational Therapy and Physiotherapy.
- Role of Medical History in Treatment of Borderline Mucinous Tumour.
- Incorporation of Apps in Treating Occupational Therapy.
2. Do Thorough Research
Explore various occupational therapy dissertation ideas to extract relevant information. The critical research process involves reading the published research work. For gathering authentic data browse the information on the following websites:
- Google Scholar
- Statista
- PubMed
- Science Direct
- Elsevier
- JSTOR
- NCBI
You can read articles, books, and case studies from the resources mentioned above. You can download the research material and create a separate folder. This helps in effective writing and saves your research time. You can easily access the gathered data whenever you need to write any information. Other than this, there are various ways of gathering data, which may include:
- Library visits.
- Conducting surveys and interviews.
- Discussions with supervisors and colleagues.
3. Make an Action Plan
Once you have finished gathering the research data, you can proceed to write an occupational therapy dissertation by creating an action plan. A tight action plan will help you craft a logically sequenced and well-formatted dissertation.
First, construct an occupational therapy dissertation structure following IMRaD – introduction, methodology, results &discussion and literature review. If you have a deadline of two months, then adjust the timeframe according to different sections.
For example, devote three hours daily to conducting deep research. Then, allocate the specific days for writing. Adjust the time if you are a night owl then prioritise writing at your peak. An early morning person can write in the early hours when there is a fresh flow of ideas.
4. Write an Introduction at the End
An interesting introduction hooks the reader’s attention. It informs the readers what is the purpose of the dissertation and what they can expect from your research. Academic experts recommend writing the introduction of the occupational therapy dissertation in the end. This is because once you have finished the body context, there is a chronological flow of ideas.
A standard and engaging dissertation introduction should include the following:
- Clearly state the objectives of your research.
- Dictate relevancy with the previous research.
- Describe the scope of your research.
5. Comprehend the Literature Review
Before you start writing dissertations on occupational therapy, conduct a deep literature review. The University of Edinburgh demonstrates the best practices to write a compelling review. Some of them are listed below:
- Analyse and conclude previous research and theories.
- Highlight the areas of controversies and claims.
- Mention any existing gaps in previous works.
- Propose a solution to resolve the problems.
For gathering data, you can get help from books, journal articles and case studies. Evaluate different themes and patterns to cover up the research gaps. In short, this section comprises a theoretical framework presenting innovative concepts and theories. Reflect on the relationship between concepts and variables. Enrich this section to support your whole research work.
6. Propose Effective Methodology
Incorporate the best methodology in your occupational therapy dissertation. A practical methodology demonstrates the steps and strategies for how the research was conducted. In this section, you must mention the procedures implemented to carry out the study.
For writing a refined methodology see the guidelines provided by the University of Westminister:
- Write your research methods whether they were qualitative, quantitative, or experimental.
- Build a connection between your research question and the means by which you will deduce a logical conclusion.
- Mention justifications and limitations of your methodology.
- Discuss the tools used in research (software, lab equipment, etc).
7. Present Original Results and Discussions
While writing an occupational therapy dissertation consider mentioning the original and authentic results. It depends upon the instructions provided by your supervisor to merge the results and discussion chapter or separate it. Compile all the results that correspond to the central research idea. Results could be in any form including:
- Contextual data, i.e. in the form of sentences.
- Data is presented in tables, charts, and graphs, as well as figures in the results section.
Similarly, write a coherent discussion chapter in your dissertations for occupational therapy. Try to discuss the following points in this section:
- Restate your research problem and summarise the key findings.
- Discuss why your research matters.
- What can be inferred from your results?
- Write about further research possibilities.
8. Conclude Nicely
The conclusion is the last but most neglected by students. Provide a brief recap of your research idea. Correlate all the occupational therapy dissertation research questions to impart a clear understanding.
Demonstrate why your research is essential and how it can contribute to the field. Last but not least, also suggest some further research recommendations in your conclusion chapter.
9. Cite Appropriate References
Don’t forget to cite the sources of information while writing an occupational therapy dissertation. References help to build more credibility as they avoid a lot of plagiarism. Gives credit to the original author.
Moreover, it allows the reader to verify the resources of extracted information. There are different styles for citing a reference. Use the one that your institute or supervisor advises. For a better understanding see some of the popular styles mentioned below:
- APA
- MLA
- Chicago
- Vancouver
- Harvard
Below is the visual representation of citing an APA reference style:
Image Source: Bibliography
10. Proofread Your Dissertation
The best way to achieve top scores is to submit an error-free dissertation. Undoubtedly, reviewing and editing a dissertation is a time-consuming task. The process requires students to concentrate and spot errors efficiently. Crosscheck the following errors in your dissertation:
- Spelling and grammatical errors
- Length of the sentences
- Informal and conversational context
- Passive voice
- Fonts, margins, spacing and headings
- Punctuations include commas, exclamation marks, and full stops.
Never proofread while writing as it disrupts the flow. Finish the whole dissertation and allocate proper time to the revision and reviewing process. Take breaks because having a break will refresh your mind and increase the clarity of your thoughts.
Many students, facing the dual challenge of working multiple jobs to support their education and handling various academic tasks, often fear meeting deadlines. Consequently, they avail of legitimate dissertation writing services to alleviate the pressure. These services, provided by highly skilled writers, ensure the creation of concise, clear, and coherent papers delivered promptly to minimise the impact of deadline pressure on students.
What Is the Difference Between Occupational Therapy and Physiotherapy?
| Physiotherapy | Occupational Therapy |
| Physiotherapy mainly deals with improving patients’ body movements.
It aids in relieving pain by restoring motion and mobility. |
Occupational therapy strives to improve a patient’s ability to function in daily tasks.
It includes activities and tasks that are part of daily routine such as cooking a meal, getting dressed, get together with friends. |
Conclusion
So, now you can craft your occupational therapy dissertation coherently. Use the above-discussed tips before initiating the dissertation writing. Develop a robust research statement. Support the central research idea using supporting evidence and references from articles, books, etc. Depict a clear structure and write in a chronological sequence.
