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 Topic

THESIS
WRITING

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 By

Muhammad Saeed Akhtar

M. Ed (Newcastle) UK, Ph. D (Michigan) USA
Professor of Education

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 Agenda\ some objectives of the session
 Latest trends in Thesis Writing/ Research
methodology
 Synopsis/ chapter summary
 Format of thesis (content)
 Dissertation and thesis (difference)
 Theme/ thesis statement
 Data collection/ research matter
 Recommendation/ collection
 Presentation of evidence
 Biography/ footnote


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Synopsis of the study

Chapter 1
 Introduction

 1.1. Statement of the problem

 1.2. Objectives of the Study
 1.3. Hypotheses of the study
 1.4. Significance of the study
 1.5. Delimitations of the study

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Synopsis of the study

Chapter 2
 Review of Related Literature

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Synopsis of the study

Chapter 3
 Research Methodology

 3.1 Research design

 3.2 Population of the Study
 3.3 Sample of the Study
 3.4 Instruments of the study

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Synopsis of the study

 3.5 Pilot Testing of Instruments

 3.6 Sources of Data
 3.7 Collection of Data

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Synopsis of the study

Chapter 4
 Analysis and Interpretation of Data

 In this chapter collected Data will be

described, analyzed and interpreted

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Synopsis of the study

Chapter 5
 Suggestions
 Summary
 Findings of the Study
 Discussion & Conclusions of the Study
 Suggestions and recommendations

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Synopsis of the study

 REFERENCES
 APPENDICES

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 Thesis Writing 1-3

Research is made up of a series of straightforward

tasks each of which is tackled of a sequence:
1. Research problem/ question is selected;
2. Appropriate research method is chosen,
3. Data are gathered and analyzed
4. Results are written up.

In a logical manner.

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 The Thesis Writing Process 2-3
 As with much of your thesis, your best
source of support will be your supervisor.
 It is strongly in his/ her interest for you to
produce a credible, high quality thesis on
time.
 They are experts and will offer a lot of
support. Most persons are pleasantly
surprised by how much help they get.

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 The Thesis Writing Process 3-3
 In order to get a well-written thesis, the first 2
or 3 drafts must often be completely
discarded.
 In the course of your thesis writing, you have
probably changed notation several times,
developed new points, and developed
many results that looked significant at the
time but now seem to contribute nothing
toward your final product.

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 How to proceed?

1. Scholarship in specialization
2. Develop a concern
3. Study relevant literature critically
4. Mark/ accept difficulties/ obstacles as a
challenge
5. Enlist already studied areas
6. Have a good acquaintance in the area
7. Look at the recent trends
8. Discuss before final decision
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 Sources of Guidance 1-2

Advisor:
“If I ‘d known he ‘d be too busy to be of much
help, I would have tried to find a better
advisor”

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 Sources of guidance 2-2

 Academic advisors
 Faculty members
 Research supervising committee (s)
 Fellow trainees/ scholars/ students
 Experts outside of your own department
 You yourself
 Professional literature

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 Developing a Research Topic 1-2

 Think of a topic which interests you and you

think it needs to be investigated.
 Start from a larger to a smaller picture.
 Expand the smaller picture through reading to
match the research topic.
 “Draw” your topic in your mind; i.e. “Mind-
map” your topic.
 Be focused, clarify your topic in your mind.

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How to distinguish a good topic from
bad one 2-2
 Committee approval (rationale, analysis,
 True research
 Outcome significance
 Feasible methodology
 Time constraint
 Required knowledge and skills
 Equipment and supplies
 Personnel
 funds
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 VARIABLE
 It is a characteristic or quality that varies among
the members of a particular group. OR A
concept--a noun that stands for variation within
a class of objects, such as chair, gender, eye
color, achievement, motivation, or running
speed.
 A comparative study of job satisfaction,
professional commitment and work
performance.

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 Types of variables
 QUANTITATIVE: Varies in amount or degree but not in
kind (height, age—

 CATEGORICAL: Varies in kind (Religious preference,

Position in team, occupation--Computer and classes,
presence/ non-presence of computer.
(Type of automobile, Learning ability, Ethnicity,
Cohesiveness, Gender)

 INDEPENDENT: Presumed to affect or influence other

variable.

 DEPENDENT(OUTCOME): Presumed to be affected by one or

more IVs.

 EXTRANEOUS: Is IV that may have unintended effect on

a DV in any study.

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 Research Problem 1-4


One of the most difficult phases of
any research project is the choice of suitable
problem.
 The beginner is likely to take a very long time
in making his choice.
 Every problem which comes to one’s
mind or even suggested by a more
experienced person may not be a fit
research problem.

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 Research Problem 2-4
 Any thing that a person finds unsatisfactory
or unsettling
 A state of affairs that needs to be changed
 Anything that is not working, and it might
 Conditions you want improved
 Difficulties you want to improve
 Questions you want to answers
 Application and side effects

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 Research Problem 3-4
 The research problem may arise as a result of past
work which needs to be improved upon. It may be that
there is a crucial test which will help to decide between
competing theories. The research topic is a phrase
which needs to be redesign in a statement. The
candidate may:
 be proposing a novel theoretical or methodological
slant on a topic;
 have created an interesting intellectual friction by
bringing together hitherto unrelated fields or topics;
 have developed a new area of application for a
method or theory.

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 Research problem 4-4
 Not in hurry
 Appropriate research problem is itself a discovery
 Problem blindness (all topics are already
 No dearth (lack) of problem:
1) human nature (a problem solved for one may be
different to other)
2) group (s)
3) sections
4) Officer vs worker
5) Advancement

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 Sources of problems
 Internet/ media
 Prevailing practices in organizations
 Immediate surroundings
 Social development
 Technological changes/ advancement
 Previous research: records/ recommendations
1) Research abstracts 2) Research Bulletins 3)Research reports (M.
A, M. Phil & Ph. D)
 Discussions (seminars, teachers/colleagues
 Consultation: experts, researchers, scholars

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 Criteria of a good research problem 1

 Novelty (objection of duplication, replication is useful

 Interesting (for researcher, motivation…. not for reward,
material benefit, advancement in position, increased authority
 Importance: adds to; organization, country, body of
knowledge, previous research findings, improving significantly
in practices
 Feasibility or amenability: researcher can carry out, skills,
should match qualifications, training & experience
 Availability of data: confidential, sensitive, classified
information???
 Availability of cooperation: (administration of test, interview
employees, observations, inspection of records, prolonged
study?
 Availability of guidance: a qualified & relevant supervisor

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 Criteria of a good research problem

 Availabilities of facilities: financial, expenses in:

materials, data gathering, equipment, travel,
computer, clerical, postage
 Immediate application:
 Aim of research: producer or consumer
 Level of research: Master, Ph. D
 Experience and creativity: in researcher
 Courage and confidence: determination,
difficulties, social hazards

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 A guide to judge a research problem
1. Is problem really important
2. Of my interest
3. Interesting to others
4. Originality and creativeness
5. Further scope of this inquiry
6. Am I really concerned
7. Is field pivotal or strategic
8. Is financially feasible
9. Will I learn some thing new from this study
10. Is instrument relevant
11. Results practical

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 Research Proposal 1-2

 A written plan of study

 Spells out details of the work
 Clarify what needs to be done
 Helps to avoid unintentional pitfalls of
unknown problems

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 Research proposal 2-2
 Introduction
 Review of related literature
1) Conceptual framework 2) Fresh research
 Statement of the problem (why & topic
 Objectives
 Hypotheses/ research questions
 Significance
 Delimitations
 Methodology (research design, population, sample,
instrument (s)
 Methods of data collection and analysis

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 Table of contents

 The introduction starts on page 1,

 the earlier pages should have roman
numerals.
 It helps to have the subheadings of each
chapter, as well as the chapter titles.
 Remember that the thesis may be used as a
reference in the library, so it helps to be able
to find things easily.

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 Abstract 1-2
 A good abstract explains in the 1st line that why the
thesis is important.
 It then goes on to give a summary of your major
results, preferably couched in numbers with error
limits.
 The final sentences explain the major implications of
your work.
 A good abstract is concise, readable, and
quantitative. 
 Length should be 1-2 pages, approx. 400 words.
 Abstracts generally do not have citations.
 Information in title should not be repeated. 
 Be explicit. 
 Use numbers where appropriate.
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 Abstract 2-2
 Answers to these questions should be found
in the abstract: 
 What did you do? 
 Why did you do it?
 Major question (s) trying to answer? 
 How did you do it? State methods.
 What did you learn?
 State major results. 
 Why does it matter? Point out at least one
significant implication.

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 The effect of practice teaching on preparation of
Prospective teachers
 ABSTRACT
 Background: Teacher training in Pakistan remained under the
influence of British Education system till 1960. As a result of
United States Aids Program, two schools of teacher training were
instituted in collaboration with Indiana University, Indiana
Bloomington, USA in 1960 in both parts of Pakistan: West
Pakistan and East Pakistan (presently Bangladesh). Present
practice teaching program was started in 1960. For Master level
classes there use to be offered 12 credit hours for a two years
master degree program. These days the credit hours have been
decreased for the last 10 years. Therefore, the study was under
taken to analyze the impact of practice teaching with the
objective to explore the factors affecting the professional part of
prospective teachers during practice teaching.
 Aims: The study was under taken to analyze the impact of
practice teaching with the objective to explore the aspects
affecting the professional part of prospective teachers during
practice teaching to look into the strengths and weaknesses of
practice teaching, which will provide guidelines for the coming
years and ultimately for overall teacher training program.
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.
 Sample: Seventy five prospective teachers (46%) were taken as
sample using convenient sampling technique from proximately
165 female prospective teachers enrolled in 2005-2007 of the
Departments of Elementary Education, Secondary Education
and Islamic Education at Postgraduate level at the Institute of
Education and Research, University of the Punjab, Lahore,
Pakistan.
 Method: A descriptive survey was conducted.
 Results: Despite cutting down the credit hours (time given to
practice teaching) it is helpful in the development of various
teaching skills.
 Conclusions: From the revealed results it reflected that there is
a positive and effective impact of practice teaching on the
preparation of prospective teachers in almost all aspects of
professional aspects, which for sure will enhance the confidence
and overall performance of the prospective teachers during there
actual work at educational institutions at any level.
 Key words: Practice teaching, Prospective teachers, Impact.

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 Ch 1 Introduction (5-10 pages)

 Remember that you have been working on this

project for a while, so you will be very close to it.

 Thesis Statement (two sentences)

 What is your thesis about and what have you done?
 If you have a hypothesis what is it?
 How will you test (prove/disprove) your hypothesis?

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Chapter 1: Introduction Cont..

 Motivation
 Why is this problem you've worked on important
 Goals / Objectives
 What are you trying to do and why?
 How will you or the reader know if or when you've
met your objectives?

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 Introduction Cont..

 Contributions
 What is new, different, better, significant?
 Why is the world a better place because of what
you've done?
 What have you contributed to the field of
research? What is now known/possible/better
because of your thesis?

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Introduction Cont..

 Try to step back mentally and take a broader

view of the problem. How does it fit into the
broader world of your discipline?
 The introduction should be interesting. If you
bore the reader here, then you are unlikely to
revive his/her interest in the materials and
methods section.

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 Introduction continue…
 You can't write a good introduction until you know the issue in
depth.
 Consider writing the introductory section (s) after you have
completed the rest of the thesis, rather than before.
 Be sure to include a hook at the beginning of the introduction.
This is a statement of something sufficiently interesting to
motivate your reader to read the rest of the thesis, it is an
important/interesting scientific problem that your thesis either
solves or addresses.
 You should draw the reader in and make them want to read.
 Cite previous research in this area. It should cite those who had
the idea or ideas first, and should also cite those who have done
the most recent and relevant work. You should then go on to
explain why more work was necessary (your work, of course.)
 
 What else belongs in the introductory section(s) of your thesis? 

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 Sufficient background information to allow the reader
.

to understand the context and significance of the
question you are trying to address. 
 Proper acknowledgement of the previous work on
which you are building. Sufficient references such that
a reader could, by going to the library, achieve a
sophisticated understanding of the context and
significance of the question (s).
 The introduction should be focused on the thesis
question (s). 
 All cited work should be directly relevant to the goals
of the thesis.  This is not a place to summarize
everything you have ever read on a subject.
 Explain the scope of your work, what will and will not
be included. 
 Break up the introduction section into logical segments
by using subheads.

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 Statement of research problem

 1 why is problem
 2 What is problem

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 Objectives of the study

 Objectives should be as brief and to the point

as possible.

 The base of research lies on objectives.

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 Hypothesis

 It is a tentative supposition or provisional

guess which seems to explain the situation
under observation.
 Hypothesis has a very important place in
research, although it occupies a very small
space in the body of thesis.
 It is almost impossible for a researcher not to
have one or more hypotheses before
proceeding with his work.

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 Research Questions
 Research questions are a set of defined questions that a
researcher wants to explore, setting priorities and focuses
of attention, thus excluding a range of unstudied topics.
 Research questions are usually refined so that they
implicitly or explicitly represent a conceptual frame work
and a means of putting into operation.
 The wording of question determines the focus and scope of
the study.
 A well known hypothesis in health science and health policy
is: Smoking causes cancer. In environmental science an
interesting hypothesis is: Global warming is a natural
phenomenon unaffected by human fossil fuel consumption.
 These hypotheses can be turned into research questions
as:
 Does smoking cause cancer?
 Does human fossil fuel consumption cause global warming?

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Research Question which will help
formulate Research Theme 1-2
 Research is about finding out what may not be
know.
 List the questions your would like to find answers for
 Questions must be answerable
 Be Clear be Specify, be Logical, be Realistic, Be
Relevant.
 Examine the scope of your question (s), Can you
find answers for them in the time available?
 Decide upon what are the major and subsidiary
questions. Remember, major questions are those on
which your research will be based. Subsidiary
questions will improve your research.

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Research Question which will help
formulate Research Theme 2-2
 Is each question necessary? Delete, if not.
 “A question well asked is a question half
answered”: the way the question( or
hypothesis) is stated show what data will be
necessary to answer (or test) it, and probably
suggests also how and from where or from
whom he data will be obtained.

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 Ch 2 Sources of Information:

 Primary Sources: Provide direct

description of study by the person who
actually observed or witnessed the
occurrence and carried it out.
 Secondary Sources: In which authors
describe the work of others.
 General References: Consulted to locate
other sources: indexes, abstracts.

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Chapter 2: Background / Review of
Related Literature (8-20 pages)
 More than a literature review
 Organize related work - impose structure
 Be clear as to how previous work being
described relates to your own.
 The reader should not be left wondering why
you've described something!!

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 Review of related literature….
 Critique the existing work - Where is it strong where
is it weak? What are the unreasonable/undesirable
assumptions?
 Identify opportunities for more research (i.e., your
thesis) Are there unaddressed, or more important
related topics?
 After reading this chapter, one should understand
the motivation for and importance of your thesis

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 Review of Related Literature
 Write introduction for the reader to understand the
current status of the field, and to understand the
significance of your question.
 If introduction is longer than 20 pages, ask yourself if
this is really necessary. It may be, but likely isn’t.
 Fifty pages is simply ridiculous-it shows you don’t know
what to leave out, and thus that you can’t discriminate.
 Demonstrate that you have detailed knowledge of
original sources, have a thorough knowledge of the
field, and understand the main theoretical and
methodological issues.
 There should not be undue dependence on secondary
sources.

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 Writing the Literature Review:

 The Introduction: Nature of the research

problem, research Question (s), what lead
him/her to investigate, important question.
 The Body of the Review.
 The Summary of the Review.
 Conclusions.
 References/ Bibliography.

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Functions of review of literature
 Ideas for research problems
 Identify strengths and weaknesses of others’
theories and empirical studies
 Identify theories that can be applied or tested
 Suggest methodological approaches
 Explain data gathering techniques and
instrument (s)
 Provide typologies and taxonomies for
classifying data

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 Functions of review of literature

 Studies already conducted & Conclusions

drawn
 What key terms were used & how defined
 Methodological strengths & limitations of
previous studies to my topic
 What theories were founded or what theories
were applied in previous studies?

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 .functions of review of literature

 Suggest statistical and graphic treatment

 Illustrate ways of interpreting research results
 Show ways of presenting the completed
research projects
 Suggest outlets for publishing the complete
projects

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Essentials Steps in Review of Literature:
 Defining the research problem as precisely as possible.
Examples:
1) How can an officer be a more effective leader.
2) What sort of working problems work well in the organization?
 Formulating search terms.

Example: Study on “Changes in Racial Attitude” – attitude, civil

rights, desegregation, integration, prejudice, race relation,
tolerance.
 Job Satisfaction: Job Design, Job Description, Satisfaction,
worker/ leader/ officer Satisfaction, Satisfaction and industry.
 Selecting and perusing an appropriate general references.
Education Indexes, Psychological Abstracts, Resources in
Education.
 Searching the general references for relevant Primary
Sources. Professional Journals, Reports, Government
Documents --
 Perusing the secondary sources. EER, RER, RRE ---

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Chapter 3: Statistical Analysis
(15-30 pages)
 Testing of Hypotheses/ Research Questions
 Interpretation of Hypothesis/ Results
 T-test for comparison of two groups data
 Pearson r for determining relationship
 ANOVA for more variables

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Methods of Enquiry Adopted
 A project may have a mixture of methodologies,
suited to the changing needs of the project as it
develops. There may, for instance, be initial semi-
structured interviews yielding qualitative data, which
can be analyzed in a sensitive fashion to yield the
building blocks for a more quantitative approach. Or,
alternatively, the student may start out with an
established quantitative methodology, decide it is
inappropriate, and then move to qualitative methods
to elicit new questions or issues. There are many
variants. Potential alternative methods should be
rejected on the basis of a reasoned case.

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 Sample Size

Bigger the population larger the size of

sample

 For Descriptive studies 100,

 Correlation 50,
 Experimental 30 for each group.

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 Analysis of Data 1-2
 The analytic methods used need to be justified and
need to be shown to be sufficient for the task.
 Any problems arising in the analysis should be
recognized and tackled appropriately.
 Candidates should show sensitivity to problems of
reliability, measurement error and sources of bias.
 Candidates should understand the assumptions
behind the test or tests used.
 Where appropriate, candidates should demonstrate
imagination and creativity in identifying and analyzing
emergent properties of the data which may not have
been foreseen.

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 Analysis of Data 2-2
 The analyses should be clearly linked to the
explicit hypotheses, predictions, or questions which
formed part of the stated research problem.
 Candidates should be able to demonstrate
judgment in the presentation of key summary data
within the body of the text, assigning primary data
and data of secondary importance to appendices.
 The data should be presented in a well-structured
way, so that a clear presentational sequence
unfolds.
 In sum, candidates should be able to demonstrate
WHY each particular analysis was conducted,
HOW the analysis was done, and WHAT the
analysis tells us about the data.

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Chapter 4:Results and Evaluation
(15-30 pages)
 adequacy, efficiency, productiveness,
effectiveness (choose your criteria, state
them clearly and justify them)
 be careful that you are using a fair measure,
and that you are actually measuring what you
claim to be measuring

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Chapter 4:Results Contd…..

 if comparing with previous techniques those

techniques must be described in Chapter 2
 be honest in evaluation
 admit weaknesses

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Chapter 5: Conclusions and Future
Work (5-10 pages)
 State what you've done and what you've
found
 Summarize contributions (achievements and
impact)
 Outline open issues/directions for future work

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 Discussion of Outcomes
 The discussion should summarize, without undue repetition, what
has been achieved in the research project.
 It should evaluate the project's contribution to the research area.
 Links should be drawn between the candidate's own work and the
work reviewed in the literature review.
 The main findings should be interpreted and related to theory (and
practice where appropriate).
 There should be reflection on the research process as a whole. This
reveals what the candidate has learned during the course of the
work.
 In many cases it will be appropriate to include a section in which the
candidate discusses the limitations of the research design and
methodology in the light of knowledge acquired whilst undertaking
the research, and outlines alternative or additional approaches
which might be pursued.
 There should be some pointers to future work, either by the
candidate or by others.
 An attempt should be made to identify issues that require further
clarification.

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Some questions to ask yourself when reviewing your
drafts:

 does the content match the title?

 are important points emphasized enough?
 is the content within each section appropriate?
 is there a logical sequence?
 are information sources acknowledged?
 do the conclusions relate to the objectives?
 have I followed the conventions and regulations?
 is the meaning of each sentence clear - or open to
interpretation?
 can long sentences be broken down?

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 Some Important Writing Tips

 Make your topic broad enough to address an

important issue, yet narrow enough to
address that issue thoroughly in the time
allotted.
 Understand the limitations of your particular
situation.
 Understand that your topic will only seem
bigger once you get into your research.

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 Writing Tools

 Each university has a set of style

requirements for the thesis. These
requirements often give rules for the use of
different fonts, the format for bibliographies,
the width of the margins, etc. Check around
and see if your department or university has
a style file compatible with your typesetting
system, so that you can satisfy these rules

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 How Can You Save Your Time
 Some habits begun early in your research will help:
 If possible, write up each piece of the work for publication as
it is completed. This makes the final writing easier because
each piece is documented at its completion time rather than
months or years later, and the early write-ups give a basis
for organizing the thesis. In addition, it establishes your
reputation early and makes the job search much easier.
 As you read other theses and published works, be a student
of technical writing styles.
 A deadline is very useful in some ways. You must hand in
the thesis, even if you think that you need one more draft of
that chapter, or someone else's comments on this section,
or some other refinement. If you do not have a deadline, or if
you are thinking about postponing it, please take note of
this: A thesis is a very large work. It cannot be made perfect
in a finite time.

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. An important early step is to develop a

tentative outline. The outline will probably
change several times, but it is important
always to have a current one foremost in
your mind so that you can make the
pieces fit together smoothly. Make sure
your chair is comfortable, with your
screen at right height, etc. You will spend
a lot of time working at your computer so
make sure you aren’t making life more
uncomfortable by ignoring your posture
and safety.

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 Common Weaknesses of the Thesis 1-2
 Length
 Some theses are much too long: 20,000-25,000 words should be
enough. The main reasons for excessive length seem to be:
 Topic too wide, not sufficiently restricted or specific.
 Irrelevance - Mostly in the introductory sections, which tend to be
far too long. 
 Organization
 This is often unclear, or illogical. The reader often gets the
impression that the writer cannot see the wood from the trees, so
that the work lacks an overall awareness of what the point of the
whole thing is and how the various sections fit together into a
coherent whole. 
 Methodology
 Lack of explicitness. The topic question (the aim) is too vague.
Crucial terms are not explicitly defined. Necessary information
about the material is sometimes missing.
 Lack of evidence. Claims are made with no evidence to back them
up. Conclusions are not justified by the analysis

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Common Weaknesses of the Thesis 2-2
 Lack of a critical attitude. Several definitions of terms are listed,
for instance, but with no critical discussion, no argument to
defend why one particular definition has been selected rather
than others.
 Lack of appropriate theory. The theoretical section sometimes
seems to have no connection to the analytical part, so that one
wonders what the theoretical bit was for at all. Or the analysis
seems to proceed at random, from one subjective impression to
another.
 Lack of criteria for data selection. The choice of data is not
sufficiently motivated with respect to the topic question. The
reader wonders why the writer is looking at material X if the
question at hand is Y.
 No implications. The conclusion is merely a summary; there is no
awareness of the possible practical or theoretical implications if
the work, how this kind of research might be continued. The
conclusion does not answer the question "So what?"

74
 Logic
 Conceptual confusion. Concepts or terms are vague,
slippery, used in more than one sense, ambiguous,
undefined.
 Non-like categories. This means that a classification is
set up in such a way that the categories are not in fact
of the same kind, so that they are not mutually
exclusive but overlap. Books might be illogically
classified as red, green or square, for instance.
 Lack of criteria for categories. Categories are set up
correctly, but we are not told explicitly what the crucial
criteria are on the basis of which an item is assigned
to a given category.
 Circular argument. Data is pre-selected in order to
support a given argument. For some research topics
the data should be randomly selected. 

75
 Style 1-2

 Readability is bad: lack of signposts, too much

verbosity.
 Too much direct quotation, rather than paraphrasing
or discussion. The general impression here is that
the work of other scholars has not been
properly digested.
 Too many, or too few, examples.
 No personal touch, personal opinion, original
creative spark.
 The text must be clear.

76
 Style 2-2
 Good grammar and thoughtful writing will be
easier to read.
 Writing formal.
 Native English speakers should remember
that English is an international language.
Slang and informal writing will be harder for a
non-native speaker to understand.
 Short, simple phrases and words are often
better than long ones.

77
References
 The list of references is closely tied to the review of the
state of the art given in section 3. Most examiners scan
your list of references looking for the important works in
the field, so make sure they are listed and referred to in
section 3. Truth be known, most examiners also look for
their own publications if they are in the topic area of the
thesis, so list these too. Besides, reading your
examiner's papers usually gives you a clue as to the type
of questions they are likely to ask.
 All references given must be referred to in the main body
of the thesis. Note the difference from a Bibliography,
which may include works that are not directly referenced
in the thesis. Organize the list of references either
alphabetically by author surname (preferred), or by order
of citation in the thesis.

78
.
 If you cite a journal article or book, the reader can
go to a library and check that the cited document
and check whether or not it says what you say it did.
A web site may disappear, and it may have been
updated or changed completely. So references to
the web are usually less satisfactory. Nevertheless,
there are some very useful and authoritative
sources. So, if the rules of your institution permit it, it
may be appropriate to cite web sites. (Be cautious,
and don't overuse such citations. In particular, don't
use a web citation where you could reasonably use
a "hard" citation. Remember that your examiners are
likely to be older and more conservative.) You
should give the URL and also the date you
downloaded it. If there is a date on the site itself (last
updated on .....) you should include that, too.

79
 Appendices

 It is the material which impedes the smooth

development of your presentation and important to
justify the results of a thesis. Examples include
program listings, immense tables of data, lengthy
mathematical proofs or derivations, etc
 If there is material that should be in the thesis but
which would break up the flow or bore the reader
unbearably, include it as an appendix.

80
 Final Checks
 Are the cover and title pages complete?
 Do they provide all the information required by
external examiners/
 Are the content pages included and all headings
consistent with that page?
 Is the abstract in the correct place?
 Are spelling mistakes removed?
 Are technical terms, symbols or abbreviations properly
explained?
 Are all sources of information listed in the
bibliography?
 Are all figures, tables and pages numbered in order?

81
Plagiarism

 You must not make minor modifications to

someone else's work and include it in your
own work.
 If you want to explain someone else's work
the best approach is to read it over, put it
aside, and then write in your own words what
that work is about.

82
Advice on the Defense

 Remember that you know more about the subject than

anyone else in the room. After all, you’ve spent the last
5 years of your life thinking about nothing else. No
examiner will know as much as you do, will have
control of the details the way you do, or understand the
work the way you do. So relax. If you don’t know the
answer, or you aren’t sure of the answer, try to answer
the question in a sentence and stop. If you see signs of
encouragement, or the examiner tells you to go on,
then you know you are the right track. But if you are on
the wrong track, most examiners will leap in at that
point to give more information, and put you on the right
track.

83
Last word

 So what, in hindsight, was my essential message?

 You need to practice writing.
 You need to practice reading PhD theses (not least
so you know what being the audience for a thesis is
like).
 You need to practise reviewing / reshaping the
essential logical skeleton or argument of your own
thesis or research.
 And eventually write your thesis in the light of all
three of these.

84
 Ethics and Research

 Research regulations
 Protecting participants from harm
 Ensuring confidentiality of research data
 Should subjects be deceived
 Manipulations
 presentations

85
A Simple Format to Thesis Writing
 Abstract (1 page)
 one page stating what the thesis is about
 highlight the contributions of the thesis
 Chapter 1: Introduction (5-10 pages)
 Thesis Statement (one or two sentences)
 What is your thesis about and what have you done?
 If you have a hypothesis what is it?
 How will you test (prove/disprove) your hypothesis?
 Motivation
 Why is this problem you've worked on important
 Goals / Objectives
 What are you trying to do and why?
 How will you or the reader know if or when you've met your objectives?
 Contributions
 What is new, different, better, significant?
 Why is the world a better place because of what you've done?
 What have you contributed to the field of research?
 What is now known/possible/better because of your thesis?
 Outline of the thesis (optional)
86
Chapter 2: Background / Related
Literature (8-20 pages)
 More than a literature review
 Organize related work - impose structure
 Be clear as to how previous work being described relates
to your own.
 The reader should not be left wondering why you've
described something!!
 Critique the existing work - Where is it strong where is it
weak? What are the unreasonable/undesirable
assumptions?
 Identify opportunities for more research (i.e., your thesis)
Are there unaddressed, or more important related topics?
 After reading this chapter, one should understand the
motivation for and importance of your thesis

87
Chapter 3: Statistical Analysis(15-30
pages)

 Testing of Hypotheses/ Research Questions

 Interpretation of Hypothesis/ Results

88
Chapter 4: Results and Evaluation
(15-30 pages)
 adequacy, efficiency, productiveness, effectiveness
(choose your criteria, state them clearly and justify
them)
 be careful that you are using a fair measure, and
that you are actually measuring what you claim to
be measuring
 if comparing with previous techniques those
techniques must be described in Chapter 2
 be honest in evaluation
 admit weaknesses

89
Chapter 5: Conclusions and Future
Work (5-10 pages)

 State what you've done and what you've

found
 Summarize contributions (achievements and
impact)
 Outline open issues/directions for future work

90
Bibliography / References
 Include references to:
 credit others for their work
 help to distinguish your work from others
 provide pointers to further detailed readings
 support your claims (if evidence can be found in others work)
 Ensure that ALL bibliographic entries are complete including: authors,
title, journal or conference, volume and number of journals, date of
publication and page numbers.
 Learn how to use a good typesetting program that can track and format
bibliographic references.
 Within the text of the thesis, a reference with a number of people can be
referred to as Last name et al. (where et al appears in italics and the al
is followed by a period).
 My personal view is that URL's are not valid bibliographic references.
They and their contents change and they often contain material that has
not been refereed.
 Appendix
 Include technical material that would disrupt the flow of the thesis.
 Included for curious or disbelieving readers
  

91
 USING APA MANUAL
IN RESEARCH REPORT
Various Style Manuals
 APA – American Psychological Association
 MLA – Modern Language Association
 Chicago Style – Chicago Manual of Style
 Turabian Style – based on Chicago Style
 Harvard Referencing System
 ASA – American Sociological Association
 CBE - Council of Biology Editors

93
What is the APA Style?

 Publication Manual of the

American Psychological
Association
 In 1929, the APA published a
manual with instructions for
authors on how to prepare
manuscripts for publication in
psychology journals
 Later used for theses, term
papers, etc.
 Latest edition 5th in 2001
 Widely used in the social
sciences

94
 General Guidelines-1

 Type or print on one side only of heavy, white, unruled paper

 Paper size: 8½ X 11 inches
 Double-space the entire paper
 Left justify text only
 Leave a minimum one-inch margin on the sides, top, and bottom of
each page
 Number pages consecutively in the top right corner, beginning with
the title page
 Just before the page number, use a shortened form of the title as a
header

95
General Guidelines-2

 Font size 12-point

 Times Roman or Courier are acceptable
typefaces
 Only black toner
 Indent paragraphs 5-7 spaces
 No more than 27 lines of text per page

96
Headings

Five levels
CENTERED UPPERCASE HEADING

Centered Uppercase and Lowercase Heading

Centered, Italicized, Uppercase and Lowercase Heading

Flush Left, Italicized, Uppercase and Lowercase Heading

Indented, italicized, lowercase paragraph heading, ending with

a period, with following text starting on the same line.

97
Numbers

 In general write as words all numbers from one

to nine and use numerals for all numbers 10
and over.

 Never begin a sentence with a numeral.

98
 Seriation

 Within paragraph or sentence: use lowercase letter in parentheses

Participants considered (a) some alternative courses of action, (b) the

factors influencing the decision, and (c) the probability of success.

 Separate paragraphs: number each paragraph with an Arabic numeral,

followed by a period

1. Begin with paragraph indent. Type second and succeeding lines

flush left.
2. The second item begins a new paragraph.

99
Tables

Table 2

Reading Level for First Through Third Graders Children

Grade Number of Viewing Hours Reading Level

First Grade 5 - 10 hours 2.8

Second Grade 16 - 20 hours 2.6

Third Grade 11 - 15 hours 4.2

Note. Reading level refers to average reading level for students in that year
and month of school.
100
Figures

Figure 2. Pie chart of total sales

Other 3%

IT Services 14%

Imaging and
Printing Systems
41%
Computing
Systems 42%

101
Citations

 In-text citation
also called
Parenthetical citation
Author-date reference

 Reference list

102
Information Needed for Citation

 Author or Authoring Body

 Date of publication
 Title of the work
 Publisher of the work & place of publication
 Title of the Source, if work is part of something else,
i.e.. journal, encyclopedia, website
 Location information within the Source, i.e.. Volume,
issue #, page or paragraph numbers
 Retrieval date, if electronic format

103
Author’s Name in Sentence

Akhtar (1998) states that the solution

sat dormant for several months before any

of the employees tested it (p. 743).

104
Author’s Name in Parentheses

When the solution had been sitting for a

number of months, the employees tested for

bacteria (Akhtar, 1998).

105
Short Quotations

 When fewer than 40 words

 Put prose quotations in running text
 Put quote marks around quoted material
 Author’s last name, publication year, and
page number(s) of quote must appear in the
text

106
Example – Short Quotations

Fatima (1996) states that a traumatic response

frequently entails a “delayed, uncontrolled repetitive
appearance of hallucinations and other intrusive
phenomena” (p. 11).
A traumatic response frequently entails a
“delayed, uncontrolled repetitive appearance of
hallucinations and other intrusive phenomena”
(Fatima, 1996, p. 11).

107
Long Quotations
 When 40 words or more
 In block form
 Indent 5-7 spaces and omit the quotation marks. If
the quotation has internal paragraphs, indent the
internal paragraphs a further 5-7 spaces
 Do not use quotation marks
 Double space the block quote
 Cite the source after the end punctuation of the
quote

108
 Example – Long Quotations

Ali (1993) found the following:

The “placebo effect,” which had been
verified in previous studies, disappeared
when behaviors were studied in this
manner. Furthermore, the behaviors were
never exhibited again, even when real
drugs were administered. Earlier studies
were clearly premature in attributing the
results to a placebo effect. (p. 276)

109
Secondary Reference

In 1947 the World Health

Organization proposed the following
definition of health. “Health is a state of
complete physical, mental, and social well-
being and not merely the absence of
disease and infirmity” (World Health
Organization, as cited in Shahid & Majid,
2001, p. 3).

110
Parenthetical Citations –
Multiple Authors
 2 authors – cite both names separated by &
Example:
(Munir & Majid, 1999, p. 127)
 3-5 authors – cite all authors first time; after first
time, use et al.
Example:
(Tahir et al., 2000)
 6 or more authors – cite first author’s name and et
al.
Example:
(Madni et al., 1992)

111
Parenthetical Citations –
Multiple Citations

 Multiple sources from same author –

chronological order, separated by comma
Example:
(Khatoon, 1998, 1999, in press)
 Within same year:
Example:
(Abdulghafoor, 1998a, 1998b, 1999, in
press)

112
 Parenthetical Citations –
Multiple Citations

 Multiple sources – separated by semicolon,

alphabetical order
Example:
(Akhtar, 1998; Majid, 1992; Munir, 2001)
 Personal communication (not included in references)
Example:
(M. S. Akhtar, personal communication,
September 19, 2001)

113
Handling Parenthetical Citations

Sometimes additional information is necessary . . .

 More than one author with the same last name

(H. James, 1878); (W. James, 1880)

 Two or more works in the same parentheses

(Caruth, 1996; Fussell, 1975; Showalter, 1997)

 Specific part of a source

(Jones, 1995, chap. 2)

114
Handling Parenthetical Citations

 If the source has no known author, then use

an abbreviated version of the title:
Full Title: “California Cigarette Tax Deters
Smokers”
Citation: (“California,” 1999)

115
Sample Parenthetical Citations
Recently, the history of warfare has been significantly
revised by Higonnet et al (1987), Marcus (1989), and
Raitt and Tate (1997) to include women’s personal and
cultural responses to battle and its resultant traumatic
effects. Feminist researchers now concur that “It is no
longer true to claim that women's responses to the war
have been ignored” (Raitt & Tate, p. 2). Though these
studies focus solely on women's experiences, they err by
collectively perpetuating the masculine-centered
impressions originating in Fussell (1975) and Bergonzi
(1996).
However, Tylee (1990) further criticizes Fussell,
arguing that his study “treated memory and culture as if
they belonged to a sphere beyond the existence of
individuals or the control of institutions” (p. 6).

116
Reference List

 Place the list of references cited at the end of the

paper
 Start references on a new page
 Begin each entry flush with the left margin
 Indent subsequent lines five to seven spaces
(hanging indent)
 Double space both within and between entries
 Italicize the title of books, magazines, etc.

117
Capitalization in Reference List

 Capitalize only the first word of the title, the

first word after a colon or dash, and proper
nouns in titles of books, articles, etc.
 Capitalize all major words and all words of
four letters or more in periodical titles.

118
 Reference List Order
 Arrange sources alphabetically beginning with
author’s last name
 If author has more than one source, arrange
entries by year, earliest first
 When an author appears both as a sole author
and, in another citation as the first author of a
group, list the one author entries first
 If no author given, begin entry with the title and
alphabetize without counting a, an, or the
 Do not underline, italicize or use quote marks for
titles used instead of an author name
119
Example – Reference List Order

 Baheti, J. R. (2001a). Control …

 Baheti, J. R. (2001b). Roles of …
 Kumpfer, K. L. (1999). Factors …
 Kumpfer, K. L. (2002). Prevention …
 Kumpfer, K. L., Alvarado, R., Smith, P., …
 Yoshikawa, H. (1994). Preventions …

120
Group Author

American Psychological Association.

(2001). Publication manual of the
American Psychological
Association (5th ed.). Washington,
DC: Author.

121
Book with one author

Carter, R. (1998). Mapping the mind.

Berkeley, CA: University of
California Press.

122
Book with two authors

Struck, W., Jr., & White, E. B. (1979).

The elements of style (3rd ed.).
New York: Macmillan.

123
Book with six or more authors

Wolchik, S. A., West, S. G., Sandler, I. N.,

Tein, J., Coatsworth, D., Lengua, L.,
et al. (2000). An experimental
evaluation of…

124
Book with no author

Merriam-Webster's collegiate dictionary

(10th ed.). (1993). Springfield, MA:
Merriam-Webster.

125
Book with editors

Allison, M. T., & Schneider, I. E. (Eds.).

(2000). Diversity and the recreation
profession: Organizational
perspectives. State College, PA:
Venture.

126
Chapter in Book

Stern, J. A., & Dunham, D. N. (1990).

The ocular system. In J. T.
Cacioppo & L. G. Tassinary (Eds.),
Principles of psychophysiology:
Physical, social, and inferential
elements (pp. 513-553). Berkeley,
CA: University of California Press.

127
Multivolume book

Koch, S. (Ed.). (1959-1963). Psychology: A

study of science (Vols. 1-6). New York:
McGraw-Hill.

128
Journals with Continuous Pagination

Bekerian, D. A. (1993). In search of the

typical eyewitness. American
Psychologist, 48, 574-576.

129
Journals with Pagination by Issue

Sellard, S., & Mills, M. E. (1995).

Administrative issues for use of
nurse practitioners. Journal of
Nursing Administration, 25(5),
64-70.

130
Article in press

Jones, R. (in press). The new healthcare

lexicon. Journal of Health.

131
Abstract

Misumi, J., & Fumita, M. (1982). Effects

of PM organizational development in
supermarket organization. Japanese
Journal of Experimental Social
Psychology, 21, 93-111. [Abstract]
Psychological Abstracts, 1982, 68,
Abstract No. 11474

132
Magazine

Posner, M. I. (1993, October 29).

Seeing the mind. Science, 262,
673-674.

133
Newspaper

Akhtar, M. S. (2006, May 20). Classical Style of

Banking. Journal of Banking and Finance, pp.
12-13.
Schwartz, J. (1993, September 30).
Obesity affects economic, social
status. The Washington Post, pp.
A1, A4.

134
Encyclopedia

Blaser, L. (1996). Relativity . In Gale

encyclopedia of science (Vol. 15,
pp. 82-86). New York, Gale
Encyclopedia Co.

135
Thesis

Ho, M. (2000). Coping strategies of

counselling professionals.
Unpublished master’s thesis,
Nanyang Technological University,
Singapore.

136
Videotape

National Institute on Mental Health. (1980).

Drug abuse [videotape]. Bethesda:
Author.

137
Electronic sources

Velmans, M. (1999). When perception

becomes conscious. British
Journal of Psychology, 90, 543-
566. Retrieved May 25, 2001,
from the Expanded Academic
ASAP database.

138
Web page

Green, C. (2000, April 16). History & philosophy

of psychology web resources. Retrieved May
22, 2001,
from http://www.yorku.ca/dept.htm

139
Professional paper from Internet

Jacob, B. & Shoemaker, N. (n.d.). The Myers-

Briggs Type Indicator: An interpersonal tool
for system administrators. Retrieved October
19, 2003 from:
http://www.mindspring.com/~nancyshoemake
r/nes/mbti/mbtipaper.pdf

140
Stand-Alone Web Document with no
author or date

GVU’s 8th WWW user survey. (n.d.).

Retrieved January 17, 2003, from
http://www.ccgatech.edu/gvu

141
Sample Reference List


References
Calvillo, D. (1999). The theoretical development of aggression. Retrieved August
21, 2002 from: http://www.csubak.edu/~1vega/dustin2.html
Flory, R. K., (1969a). Attack behavior as a function of minimum inter-food
interval. Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior. 12, 825-828.
Flory, R. K., (1969b). Attack behavior in a multiple fixed-ratio schedule of
reinforcement. Psychonomic Science, 16, 383-386.
Flory, R. K., & Everist, H.D. (1977). The effect of a response requirement on
schedule- induced aggression. Bulletin of the Psychonomic Society 9,
383-386.
Gentry, W. D. (1968). Fixed-ratio schedule-induced aggression. Journal of the
Experimental Analysis of Behavior 11, 813-817.

142
Formatting for Theses

 Preliminary pages
 Bibliography instead of Reference List
 Left-hand margin 1½ inch
 Single spacing in tables, long quotations,
within references
 Figure caption is typed below

143
 In Urdu

 Famous name first

 Maudoodi, Siddiqui,
 Donot break names like:
 Abdul Wahid, or two word name : Fateh Ali


144
For More Information

APA Manual Website:

www.apastyle.org
Synopsis of the study

Chapter 1 Introduction
1.1.Statement of the problem
1.2.Objectives of the Study
1.3.Hypotheses of the study
1.4.Significance of the study
1.5. Delimitations of the study

Chapter 2

 Review of Related Literature

146
Chapter 4
Analysis and Interpretation of Data

In this chapter collected Data will be:

1. described,
2. analyzed and
3. interpreted

147
Chapter 5

5.1 Summary
5.2 Findings of the Study
5.3 Discussion
5.4 Conclusions of the Study
5.5 Suggestions and recommendations

148
 Contact

Dr Mahr Muhammad Saeed Akhtar

Institute of Education and Research
University of the Punjab
Lahore 54590
03334277022
9230876 (o)
MAHRSAEED@YAHOO.COM

149
Advice on the Defense
 Remember that you know more about the subject than anyone
else in the room. After all, you’ve spent the last 5 years of your
life thinking about nothing else. No examiner will know as much
as you do, will have control of the details the way you do, or
understand the work the way you do. So relax. If you don’t know
the answer, or you aren’t sure of the answer, try to answer the
question in a sentence and stop. If you see signs of
encouragement, or the examiner tells you to go on, then you
know you are the right track. But it you are on the wrong track,
most examiners will leap in at that point to give more information,
and put you on the right track.

150
 Master's vs. PhD Thesis

 There are different expectations for Master's theses and for

Doctoral theses. This difference is not in format but in the
significance andlevel of discovery as evidenced by
the problem to be solved and the summary of contributions; a
Doctoral thesis necessarily requires a more difficult
problem to be solved, and consequently more substantial
contributions.
 The contribution to knowledge of a Master's thesis can be in the
nature of an incremental improvement in an area of knowledge,
or the application of known techniques in a new area. The Ph.D
must be a substantial and innovative contribution to
knowledge.

151
 Acknowledgments

Most thesis authors put in a page of thanks to

those:
 who have helped them in research matters

(indirectly by providing such essentials as:

food, information/ education, money, help,
advice, friendship etc).
 If any of your work is collaborative, you

should make it quite clear who did which

sections.
152
8 elements criteria for research method
 Method label (a typical method?
 Method definition
 Purpose
 Procedure
 Advantages (a) effective (b) easy (c)
acceptable (d) how broadly the
generalizations
 Limitations (weaknesses of the method
 Resources (B, J, etc describe, analyze or
evaluate approach see p103
153
The Thesis Writing Process 1-2

 As with much of your PhD, your best source of support will be your
supervisor. It is strongly in their interests for you to produce a credible,
high quality thesis on time. They are experts and will offer a lot of
support. Most students are pleasantly surprised by how much help
they get.
 In order to get a well-written paper, the first 2 or 3 drafts must often be
completely discarded.
 In the course of your several years of research, you have probably
changed notation several times, developed new points of view on your
work, and developed many results that looked significant at the time but
now seem to contribute nothing toward your final product. Sorting
through all of your work and reorganizing it is a lengthy process.

154
The Thesis Writing Process 2-2
 Even if you have several technical reports, conference papers, or journal articles
discussing partial results, the audience for your thesis is different, and thus the
style of exposition must be significantly changed. A research paper is addressed
to a group of experts in the field, who presumably know the literature and the
background issues quite well. A thesis is written more for the generalist. A
thorough literature review must be included, as well as an evaluation of where
your work fits into the scheme of things.
 All the small details that were put off and forgotten must now be filled in.
Citations must be checked and the historical progression of various results must
be carefully documented.
 Your thesis advisor will probably have strong opinions on how the work should
be presented. Adapting your style to these requirements will take some flexibility
and thought.
 Your committee members, your first detached readers, will often find undefined
jargon or symbols, holes in your arguments (or at least in your presentation of
them), and other deficiencies.

155