Delimitations Section
National University’s dissertation guidance defines delimitations as intentional boundaries the researcher sets to narrow the scope of the study, such as geography, timeframe, population, or other design choices. Delimitations are deliberate scope choices, not the same as limitations that arise from constraints outside the researcher’s control; section placement varies by program and discipline.
A Delimitations section explains the intentional boundaries you set around the study—what the research includes, excludes, and deliberately narrows.
Key details
Important caveats
Scope Boundary
Delimitations are deliberate scope choices, not the same as limitations that arise from constraints outside the researcher’s control; section placement varies by program and discipline.
Further guidance
Content
Help readers understand which populations, settings, variables, periods, or questions were intentionally placed outside the project.
Practical Application
Use a Delimitations section to state intentional boundaries chosen by the researcher: included populations, locations, variables, periods, methods, or questions, and corresponding exclusions. Keep delimitations distinct from limitations that arise from constraints or weaknesses outside the intended scope.
Purpose
State the researcher-controlled boundaries that define the study’s scope.
Reader Check
Is each boundary a deliberate study-design choice rather than an unavoidable constraint, and can the reader tell what the study intentionally does not attempt to cover?
Worked Example
Write that a study deliberately examines public secondary schools in one state during 2024–2025 and excludes private schools because the research question is scoped to the public system; do not label a low response rate as a delimitation.
Sources and evidence
Sources are shown with the role they play in this guide. Historical or style-sensitive claims are kept within the evidence boundary described above.
- Step-by-Step Dissertation Guide — Assumptions, Limitations, and Delimitations (opens in a new tab)National University · University dissertation guidance distinguishing assumptions accepted without proof from delimitations intentionally set by the researcher to bound a study