The most common aspects of a scientific article, in order for it to be considered legitimate, include thoroughly written, informative content on a subject that has been peer-reviewed through a process initiated and overseen by the legitimate academic journal or magazine that has published the article. In addition to the article itself, however, researchers must include an integrative chapter when they are attempting to obtain their Ph.D. in order for it to be considered complete. This is a factor that has become normalized in many fields, such as social sciences.

Integrative chapters are a lesser-known, though equally important, part of your final research submission. The increasing requirements for Ph.D. completion over the past decades has made it difficult to obtain the degree without constantly ensuring you are hitting all of the evolving, moving targets, like the integrative chapter. With fierce competition in every research industry becoming global and taking over long-distance coveted positions, you want your academic identity to start out solid with a strong final paper, including your integrative chapter, so it’s important to understand what it is for.

The Importance of the Final Ph.D. Submission for Doctoral Candidates

There’s a reason why the topic of obtaining a Ph.D. often generates negative reactions: It’s an extremely difficult endeavor in which nearly half of those who enroll in a university on the doctoral track don’t graduate because they can’t or won’t finish their dissertation. This number has remained stable over the past thirty years, with an increasing amount of failure to complete rates in arts and humanities, and the statistics are similar in countries around the world, not just the United States.

From choosing the wrong, or too broad, of a topic, to not utilizing the peer and faculty resources correctly, there are many reasons for a dissertation to be unsuccessful. But one way to increase the odds of success is to include the integrative chapter wholly and carefully.

What is an Integrative Chapter and Why is it Important?

The idea behind an integrative chapter is to show the reader the thoughts and rationale in the author’s head. In this chapter, all the pieces from the development, synthesis, and application of the research is combined. Everything that the author was able to pull together, including the primary data from their surveys, the published studies they used, and all the investigations, are included and discussed in the integrative chapter.

The author takes this opportunity to connect their previous knowledge and work with all of the individual studies and data collected in the current research, sharing their journey from introduction of the idea to the final completion of the knowledge they are sharing in their work.

What to Include in Your Integrative Chapter

Much of what you need to include in your integrative chapter will be determined by the institution you are in and the rules of the field that must be met in order to obtain your Ph.D. You may need one, you may not; but if you do, don’t put off learning what needs to be included until the last minute.

Take some time to go through doctoral theses that have been approved and are considered to be quality recommendations by your thesis committee. Compare and contrast the ones that resonate with you and make a list of the qualities and content they contain that caught your attention.

Use your supervising team to find out their take on including this chapter as soon as possible. They may have guidelines and advice for you that you can begin working on early in your studies.

As you begin working on your Ph.D., keep a separate journal or notebook for each step you take and the thoughts and processes that surrounded your decision. They may not be necessary in the research itself, but this research diary can come in handy as you create your integrative chapter as a way to flag your memory. Make sure you write the chapter from scratch rather than including information that is in your research through copying and pasting.

The chapter itself should be written to engage the audience and convince them to read your work. Include all of the strengths you know are in your paper, including theoretical, methodological, and practical knowledge, as well as the reasons behind the methodology you chose. This is your chance to put all of the questions you answered in the forefront and acknowledge those that you were unable to answer.

In short, the integrative chapter is your time to talk about they why’s and rationale behind your work, and it’s integral to the success of your dissertation.

Impactio Puts the Pieces of the Publishing Process Together

Finalizing your dissertation can be stressful, but the publishing process doesn’t have to be. Academic scholars around the world turn to Impactio to guide them through all of their compilation needs for a reason.

When you’re ready to turn your high-quality content into a published piece to submit for your final Ph.D. approval, it helps to have a program that you can trust. Impactio is an all-in-one platform that lets you create professional PDF documents and web-based publications without added stress.

Whether you’re looking for a program to help your paper look professional or you’re ready to send your work to a legitimate publishing company, Impactio is the tool the academic experts use!