Chapter 1

Chapter 1 of your Thesis is often called "INTRODUCTION". There is no fixed format but it is sensible to write the introduction to form
a logical funnel, where more general aspects are told first and sentence-by-sentence, paragraph-by-paragraph proceeding into more details.
The following subsections may be helpful:
1. BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

You have the option of not using the sub-section "Background of the Study" and go straight in telling the reader briefly about the problem you are
planning to investigate. Start with sentences that are simple enough to understand even for those who are not exactly experts in the topic. Begin
with presenting a broad perspective of the problem or issue which will lead to the next sub-section 'Statement of the Problem'.

2. STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

This is where you tell the reader about the research problem (also referred to a problem statement or statement of the problem) which is a statement
about an area you are concerned about, a condition that you feel should be addressed, a difficulty that you want to eliminate, an issue or question
that exists in the literature you have read or something troubling encountered in your practice. Aim to motivate the reader and provide
understanding on why your research topic is important. Utilise published journal articles to point out the importance, preferably recent ones.
The problem or issue is a gap between between 'what should be happening' and 'what is actually happening' (see diagram). Say for example your
study is about 'leadership styles of leaders in organisations' and how they impact job satisfaction of staff. You investigated and established which
leadership style led to higher job satisfaction among staff in an organisation. In this section, you explain
 why is the research topic important (rationale for conducting the study)
 why the problem mattered to you.
 what is already known and responses to the issue or problem
 how you study advances theoretical and/or practical knowledge
 You could refer to newspaper reports, research reports, journal articles and so forth.
Note: Do not confuse the research problem with the thesis topic. The topic is something to read and obtain information about whereas the research
problem is something to be solved or framed as a problem that must be answered.
[source: Bryman, Alan. The Research Question in Social Research: What is its Role? International Journal of Social Research Methodology 10
(2007): 5-20]
3. OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

In this section, you make it clear to the reader, what you planned and how narrowed the scope of the study and tell what the study is expected to
achieve. Just a few sentences would be sufficient. For example, The objective of this study is to investigate which leadership style contributed to
job satisfaction among staff and the extent to which demographic variables (such as gender, age, experience, qualifications) of staff influenced
job satisfaction. At the end of the 'objectives of the study', you could state as follows: 'Specifically, the study seeks to answer the following research
questions ..........'

4. RESEARCH QUESTIONS

Now comes the task of narrowing the scope of the study. The 'Statement of the Problem' that you wrote about earlier is still too broad and needs
to be narrowed in the form of 'research questions'. A Research Question is a question that focuses your study and stipulates the interaction between
 variables. It could also be stated as a statement. It should be narrow enough and researchable within the time frame and available resources for
your PhD.
Check your Research Question (RQ) against the following and the FINER Checklist attached:
Example of Research Questions:
 Which leadership style enhances staff satisfaction?
 Are women leaders more democratic than men leaders?
 Is there a relationship between leadership style and staff performance?

6. SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

After having stated the problem, the objectives of the study and the research questions, you should include a section on 'significance' of
the study in which you tell the reader the contribution of your study. Focus should be on the following:
 Why is your work important?
 What are the implications of your study?
 How does it link to other knowledge?
 How does it inform policy making?
 What new perspective does your study bring to the field?
 Who would you share your findings with when the study is completed?
Begin with a general contribution of your study and then proceed towards its contribution to individuals such as practionners (such as
teachers, managers), parents, administrators, policy planners and so forth. For example, the study on 'leadership style' produced findings
that are relevant to managers, principals, government officials and staff.
7. LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY
The 'Limitations of the Study' is the section in which you tell the reader the shortcomings, conditions or influences that you could not
control. You have to mention them because they may influence the results of your study. Some researchers are reluctant to write about
the limitations of their study because they feel it weakens their study and points out the flaws of your study. However, it should be pointed
out that most studies especially in the behavioural and social sciences have limitations and it is better to indicate upfront to the reader.
You stipulate the limitations but show why the results or findings of your study are still important or significant. It important that you
clearly mention the limitations of the study. WHY?
 Acknowledging your study's limitations gives you the opportunity to show that you have critically thought about the research problem,
data collection methods, the underlying theory, relevant literature and the findings.
 You may examiners irritating when they ask you during the viva voce - why you did not include varible X, why is you sample so small,
why did you use intact classes, how do you ensure there is no bias since you are the main person collecting the data, how trustworthy is
your data, how did you ensure subjects were truthful in responding to your questionnaire and so forth. If you limitations section is
comprehensive, the likelihood of such questions from examiners can be minimised.
 By stating the limitations of you study, you may preempt some of the queries examiners may have about your study. For example, if you
had argued that even though your sample was small, the in-depth data you obtained through you interviews provided thick description
of the phenomenon you studied.
 When you state the limitations of your study, you are not listing the weaknesses of your research. All studies have limitations. You should
argue that these limitations do not impact the findings and even if they do, you have taken steps to minimise the impact.
 When you state the limitations, you make it clear for addressing issues that you did not promise to study. For example, if you are asked
why you did not include 'gender' in your analysis, you do not have to defend or apologise because you had given your reasons in the
limitations sections.
The following are some possible limitations in a study:
 You did not use random sampling and instead used intact classes which may significantly limit your ability to make broader generalisations
from the results. However, the degree to which this reduces the quality of our findings is a matter of debate.
 The study was restricted to a rural area and the findings may not be generalisable to an urban environment because the characteristics of the
population may be different.
 If you were conducting an experiment and administering a treatment or intervention on speaking skills, you may state as follows; ....."the
research was conducted over eight weeks and this may not be enough for the researcher to observe all of the students’ speaking performance
in their classes. It would be better if it was done over a longer period of time".
 Researcher Conducting the Study - Since data collections was conducted by the researcher, it is possible that a certain degree of subjectivity
may be found - Explain how bias was minimised.
 Instruments Used - some respondents may have difficulty in understanding the items in the questionnaire and its format and may lead them to
fill in incorrectly.
 It is possible that there is lack of previous studies on the topic - however you must be sure there is little prior research in your topic - check
with your librarian. But discovering a limitation can serve as an important opportunity to identify new gaps in the literature and to describe
the need for further research.
 Not including certain variables - "There might be some relevant factors which significantly influence ..................... How these factors are
beyond the scope of this study and may be ideas for further research".

8. DEFINITIONS OF TERMS
 Definition of Terms or also referred to as 'Operational Definition of Terms' is a brief section consisting of definition of key terms or
concepts used in the study. For example, the term 'socioeconomic status' may have various meanings, so it is important to clarify to the
reader the way you operationalised the term as used in your study Unfamiliar or technical words may also require an exact definition.
The following are some guidelines:
 Only include terms that may not be well understood or open to different interpretations. Each term should be in bold (for emphasis)
followed by a short description (not in bold). Treat each definition as if you were quoting from a dictionary.
 The list format is suggested because it is easier to read and use one paragraph for each term.
 The length of your definition paragraph depends on the number of definitions you want to provide, so make sure to select the key terms.

[source: A Good Example Of Definition Of Terms In A Research Paper. 2012-2016 Mcgrath Native Council]
..

Establishing the importance of the topic for the world or society -

here is evidence that X plays a crucial role in regulating …
X is a common condition which has considerable impact on …
In the new global economy, X has become a central issue for …
Evidence suggests that X is among the most important factors for …
X is important for a wide range of scientific and industrial processes.
Xs are one of the most widely used groups of antibacterial agents and …
There is a growing body of literature that recognises the importance of …
X is an important component in the climate system, and plays a key role in Y.
In the history of development economics, X has been thought of as a key factor in …
Xs are one of the most widely used groups of Y and have been extensively used for …
X has been instrumental in our understanding of …
The theory of X provides a useful account of how …
Central to the entire discipline of X is the concept of …
X is an increasingly important area in applied linguistics.
The issue of X has received considerable critical attention.
X has long been a question of great interest in a wide range of fields
Little is known about X and it is not clear what factors …
To date, only a limited number of Xs have been identified.
The mechanisms that underpin X are not fully understood.
Much uncertainty still exists about the relationship between …
This indicates a need to understand the various perceptions of X that exist among …
It is now well established that … However, the influence of X on Y has remained unclear.

very little is known about X in…

few studies have investigated …
the nature of X remains unclear.
much less is known about how …
the use of X has not been investigated.
However,
far too little attention has been paid to …
the behaviour of X has not yet been investigated.
the evidence for this relationship is inconclusive …
much uncertainty still exists about the relation between …
there have been no controlled studies which compare differences in

Chan, V. (2003). Autonomous language learning: The teachers' perspectives. Teaching in higher education, 8(1), 33-54.