RESEARCH GUIDE
What Belongs in a Dissertation Appendix
Output, Syntax and Extra Tables
The appendix holds the evidence behind the results chapter, so a reader can check it without crowding the main text. What goes there, and how each item is labeled and cited, is largely a statistical decision.
THE STATISTICAL MATERIAL
Analysis Material and Where It Belongs
An appendix usually gathers five kinds of analysis material, and a short rule keeps each one readable and checkable.
A dissertation appendix collects the supporting material that the main chapters cite but do not need to display in full. For the analysis, that means the complete output, the code that produced it and the tables that would interrupt the argument. The choice of what to include, and the text that introduces it, remain the researcher’s. OnlineSPSS, a specialist statistical consultancy for academic, clinical and professional research, provides statistical support through an in-house PhD-level statistician, including the tables and scripts an appendix of this kind collects.
Complete Model Output Statistical output in appendices should be complete for each reported model: coefficient tables with intervals, fit statistics and the diagnostics examined. The chapter reports the key figures and points to the full table.
Syntax and Scripts Appendix tables and syntax belong together: the SPSS syntax or R script behind each table, with the program and package versions, so the analysis can be repeated. Comments in the code name the table each block produces.
Supplementary Tables and Figures Extra descriptive tables, correlation matrices, sensitivity analyses and diagnostic plots go here when the main text does not need them. Each is numbered, titled and cited in the chapter that relies on it.
Instrument and Data Documentation Scoring rules for scales, the codebook, and the handling of missing data and exclusions let a reader interpret the variables. Where a scale was adapted, the items as administered are shown, subject to the instrument's license.
Labels and Cross-References Appendices are lettered or numbered in the order they are first cited, each table title names the model and the sample, and the main text states what the reader will find and why it is there.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Questions About Appendix Material
Printed code and the data file itself raise the practical questions in an appendix, and departments and data offices settle part of the answer.
Should syntax be printed in the appendix or supplied as a file?
A short syntax file can be printed, but a long script is usually better supplied as a file or deposited in a repository, with the appendix naming it and stating how to run it. Many pages of printed code are hard to check and easy to mistype if rerun. Whichever form the department accepts, the file runs from start to finish on the analysis dataset and reproduces each appendix table.
Can the dataset itself be included in an appendix?
Only where consent, ethics approval and institutional policy allow it, and often a deidentified subset or the codebook is the better option. Participants must not be identifiable from the variables combined, including dates, places and rare categories. Many departments prefer that the data are deposited in a repository, with the appendix stating the access conditions, which your supervisor or data office can confirm.
How do you protect my research data and confidentiality?
Your dissertation materials and project details are handled confidentially. Project information is not published, and researcher names and institutions are not used publicly without permission. An NDA is available where required and can be arranged before sensitive materials are shared. Read more about confidentiality and data security.
What happens when I request an assessment, and how long does it take?
You share your research question, design and relevant materials, such as a protocol, an analysis plan or a dataset, and a statistically trained Research Coordinator reviews the request and responds the same day. The analysis, deliverables, timeline and one fixed project fee are then confirmed before any work begins, so the timeline follows from the agreed scope.
Still have a question? Find more answers in our full FAQ.
NEXT STEP
Can a Committee Rerun
What Your Appendix Shows?
Complete model tables, syntax that reruns and clear labels make an appendix useful to a committee. The output and scripts behind your results, or the material you have gathered for the appendix, can be reviewed by an in-house PhD-level statistician.
No Commitment Required
Strictly Confidential
Fixed Project Fee
In-House PhD-Level Statisticians
Same-Day Response
Serving Researchers Since 2014