Proposal and Thesis Writing

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 Outline

 How to write proposal

 How to write thesis document
 How to present your work
 A collection of advises and tips

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 Proposal Writing
 A Research proposal is
 A short document designed to express your method and plan to conduct a
research
 a reasoned, critical research plan that includes problem definition and how
you will handle them.
 Similar in a number of ways to a project proposal

 however, a research proposal addresses a

particular project: academic or scientific research

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 Proposal Writing…
Elements of a proposal
I. Title
II. Introduction
III. Statement of the Problem
IV. Purpose/Objective of the study
V. Literature review
VI. Approach /Methods and procedures
VII. Significance of the Study / expected benefits
VIII. Duration and plan of action
IX. Budget/Cost
X. References
XI. Appendixes 4
 Proposal writing ….
Title
– An obviously important part of the process.

– You need to keep the reader with a short,

relevant title that clearly demonstrates what
the problem is and why it is important.

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 Proposal writing …
Introduction
– Provides readers with the background information for
the research reported in the paper.
– Establishes a framework for the research, so that
readers can understand how it is related to other
research
– In an introduction, you should
• Create interest for the readers in the topic,
• Place the broad foundation for the problem that
leads to the study,
• Start with general then to specific information

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 Proposal writing ….
 Statement of the Problem
 A problem might be defined as the issue that exists in the literature, theory, or
practice that needs further study.
 It is important in a proposal that the problem should be defined clearly so that
the reader can easily understand the problem that u r going to solve.
 Sometimes, ambiguous and poorly formulated problems are masked in an
extended discussion.
 In such cases, reviewers and/or committee members will have difficulty in
recognizing the problem.

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 Proposal writing….

 Effective problem statements answer the question

―Why does this research need to be conducted?‖

 If a researcher is unable to answer this question clearly and concisely,

then the statement of the problem will come off as ambiguous.

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 Proposal writing ….
Purpose/Objective of the study
• ―The purpose statement should provide a specific and
accurate synopsis of the overall purpose of the study‖

• Briefly define and demarcate the specific area of the

research.

• Describe the hypotheses to be tested or the questions to

be raised (if any)

• Try to incorporate a sentence that begins with

– ―The general objective of this study is . . .‖

• Clearly identify and define the central concepts or ideas

of the study. 9
 Example
 The general objective of this research is to study the performance of TCP
variants and Routing Protocols in Mobile Ad Hoc Networks:
 Specific objectives
 To evaluate and select the best performing combination of routing protocols and
TCP variants.
 To study the effect of routing protocols on the performance TCP variants in
mobile…
 To design algorithm….

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 Proposal writing ….
Literature review
– The review of the literature provides the background
and framework for the research problem.

– Establishes the need for the research and indicate

that the writer is knowledgeable about the area

– Demonstrate to the reader that you have a

comprehensive grasp of the field and are aware of
important recent substantive and methodological
developments.

– the literature review should be generally brief and to

the point.
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 Proposal writing ….
 Methods and Procedures
 The activities should be described with as much detail as possible
 Indicate the methodological steps you will take to answer every question or to
test every hypothesis illustrated in the objective of the study part

 Clearly describe
 Design, analysis and method of evaluation
 Selection of programming environment
 Mechanisms for driving conclusions

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Example: Research methods...
 Design algorithm ... and implement using ns-2
 Analysis and evaluation

 NS-2 of version 2.XX

 Physical, data link, and medium access control
(MAC) layer models, IEEE-802.11.
 Proactive routing protocol:
 Reactive routing protocols:
 TCP Variants
 Different mobility pattern.
 Different traffic characteristics:
 Different node density.
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 Research methods...
Selection of programming environment

Protocols
C++ modification
NETWORK
SIMULATOR
TCL MANET
configuration

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 Research methods...
Mechanism for deriving conclusions

 Comparison:

 The proposed algorithm X

 The existing algorithm Y

 Besides suitable routing protocols for TCP variants will be identified.

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 Proposal Writing…
Elements of a proposal
I. Title
II. Introduction
III. Statement of the Problem
IV. Purpose/Objective of the study
V. Literature review
VI. Approach /Methods and procedures
VII. Significance of the study / expected benefits
VIII. Duration and plan of action
IX. Budget/Cost
X. References
XI. Appendixes 16
 Proposal writing ….
 Significance of the study
 Indicate how your research will refine, revise, or extend existing knowledge in
the area under investigation
 Thinking about the significance of your study, ask yourself the following
questions.
 What will be improved or changed as a result of the proposed research?
 Will results contribute to the solution of a problem facing the society?
 How will results of the study be implemented, and what innovations will come
about?

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 Importance of the research and application of results

 We are moving from Personal computer age to the

distributed computing age in which a user can get
information anytime anywhere (Ubiquitous
Computing).
1. Mobile phone
 To check e-mail, browse internet…
2. Travelers with portable computers
 Use the Internet in rural areas.
3. Students in a class room
 Exchange files through temporary ad hoc networks.
 One of the components of MANET is TCP and RP.
 This research work focus towards improving some of the weakness of TCP and
RP in Mobile and Ubiquitous Computing. 18
 Proposal writing ….
• Duration and plan of action
– Indicate the length of time required to complete the
research
– The proposal must produce a reasonable plan of action
for the duration of the proposed research and an
estimated completion date
– The Plan of action
• gives a brief outline of the estimated time needed to
complete each section of the research.
• makes you be more certain that you are not
proposing to do too much work.
• Financial cost
– Prepare a budget for your project that shows what you
expect the cost to conduct the research.
– Be honest and reasonable in preparing the budget
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3-20
 Proposal writing …
• References
– References cited in the research proposal
should be included in the reference list
– Follow a specific and consistent guideline
regarding use of references in text and in the
reference list.

[1] B. Sikdar, S. Kalyanaraman, and K. Vastola, ―Analytic

models for the latency and steady-state throughput of
Tahoe, Reno and SACK,‖ IEEE/ACM Transactions
on Networking., vol. 11, no. 6, pp. 959–971, Dec. 2003.
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 Proposal writing ….

 References – Four rules

 Any work or statements not your own should be clearly referenced.
 Every reference in the text should be available in the reference list.
 Every article in the reference list must have a reference in the text.
 Every table, figure, or photograph must have a reference in the text.

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 Proposal writing ….

 Appendixes (Optional)

 The need for complete documentation generally

dictates the inclusion of appropriate appendixes in the
proposals

 The following materials are appropriate for an appendix.

 Detail Algorithm description
 Simulation codes
 Mathematical proofs

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 What is a thesis document?
 A thesis statement

– declares what you believe

– what you intend to prove.
 A thesis document

– Is a convincing description of
• Your thesis statement
• What the literature says about your thesis topic
• What you did to prove your claim
• How you measured it
• Summary and future work
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 Writing thesis document
Most basic composition of a thesis are
I. Preliminary pages
II. Introduction
III. Statement of the Problem
IV. Purpose/Objective of the study
V. Literature review
VI. Approach /Methods and procedures
VII. Experimentation, Findings and Discussions
VIII. Conclusion
IX. Recommendation
X. References
XI. Appendixes
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 Writing thesis document…
The following are suggested outline of
chapters and sections of your report
Preliminary Pages
• Title Page
• Acknowledgement
• Abstract
• Table Of Contents
• List Of Tables
• List Of Figures
• List Of Acronyms
• Declarations
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 The classical thesis structure

INTRODUCTION What I want to do

LITERATURE What others say about it

Driven by DESIGN My plan for doing it

research
objectives RESULTS What happened when I did it

DISCUSSION What this means

CONCLUSIONS What I found out

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 Content that is your thesis

 Front Matter
 Chapter 1 - Introduction
 Chapter 2 - Literature Review
 Chapter 3 - What you thought and made
 Chapter 4 - Experiments and Analysis
 Chapter 5 - Summary, Future Work
 Back Matter

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 Front Matter
 Title page
 Author's declaration
 Abstract
 Acknowledgements
 Dedication (if included)
 Table of Contents
 List of Tables
 List of Figures
 List of Acronyms and abbreviations
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 Back Matter

 Appendices
 Endnotes/Reference List/Bibliography
 Glossary
 Index

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 Chapter 1- Introduction
 Provide your thesis statement
 Usually in the first paragraph
 Provide a brief introduction to the field of
your thesis statement
 Set the stage relative to your thesis statement
 Provide background/statement of problem
 State how the rest of the document is
organized (recommended)
 Present anything that the reader should be aware of in your document

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Chapter 2 - Literature Review and
Necessary Background
 Discuss what everyone else has done that is related to
your thesis statement
 Cite all relevant literature
 Reader can go here if they need something
 Include peer-reviewed, academically available publications
 Cite all work that the reader will need to know about in
order to determine the merits of your work.
 Show what is critical in this chapter
 If it is important but big, put it in an appendix
 The literature review is where you reveal to the reader the
―academic tools‖ you will use to make your case.
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 Chapter 3 - What you did
 Tell them what you came up with
 Theories, algorithms, tests
 Tell them what you built
 Materials, methods, procedures, programs, tools
 Put all the necessary big stuff in appendices
 Program code, additional experimental data, proofs
 Make known what you used from others
 Tell them to look in chapter 2 for details
 Make sure you explain how it all hangs together
 Assume the reader knows nothing about what you did (Not a bad assumption)

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Chapter 4 - Experiments, Results and
What did you do Analysis
 with all your tools?
 Describe the experiments in detail
 What results did you get?
 Here is where the data goes
 What do the results mean?
 Here is where you use the data to support your thesis claims (result
discussion)
 Tie it all back to your thesis statement?
 How do your results support your thesis statement?
 How do your results support your objectives?
 Make sure you reveal what worked and what didn’t

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 Chapter 5 - Summary and Future Work

 Tell the reader what you did in the form of a summary

 Restate your thesis statement
 Tell the reader how your results support your thesis statement

 Tell the reader potentially fruitful areas where your work can be extended.
(future work)
 because your work will now be another tool for others to use.

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 Useful Tips
 Have a native-English speaker read your thesis to see if it makes sense
 Write in this order if possible
 Chapter 2 + bib, 4, 3, 5, 1, everything else
 Periodically discuss with your supervisor
 Do not time it so you defend in the summer
 A picture is worth a thousand words

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 Writing Tips

• Reading will help you write.

– Train yourself to read like a writer —
• examine structure,
• writing style,
• overall organization,
• such as use of subheads.
• Once you are already familiar with the process of
Research, writing is a similar process.

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 Writing tips…
• Write your abstract first.

– Abstract is a few short paragraph that

identifies
• The key questions
• Importance of your research question.
• The approaches you have employed
• Results and findings
• The Title and Abstract should reflect the focus of
your work.
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 Writing tips…

 Edit for Clarity

 Define abbreviations.
 Rewrite ambiguous sentences.
 Correct grammar mistakes.
 Correct spelling and punctuations.
 Don’t forget that writing is an iterative process.

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 Writing tips…
Edit for Appearance
– Consistent font
– Consistent line spacing
– Break up text with bullets
– Use drawings and figures when possible
– Use subheads

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 Writing tips…

Strive for Perfection

– No one can sit down and write the perfect
paper in one draft.
– A paper goes through several revisions, each
one improving on the previous version.
– You will never prepare a proposal or a report
that’s free of any errors or ambiguities. Try
anyway.

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 Writing tips…
Be ready for comments
– Write your first draft
– Have a supervisor/experts, Read your writing
– You don’t want to hear how wonderful a writer you
are, you want substantive feedback.
– Don’t take criticism personally
– Edit your report
– Produce final report

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 Presenting your paper
`
• Most presentations are based on a written paper

• Main benefit of presenting the work orally as

well as in written form is that you get immediate
feedback on your work from other people in
your chosen field

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 Presentation Skills - 1
Presenting your paper
Give presentations
•• Most yourself plentyare
of based
time toon
prepare before
a written paper
your presentation.

• Main benefit of presenting the work orally as

• Practise your presentation to make sure it runs
well as in(20
on time written form
-30 min. forisMSc
thatthesis
you get immediate
defense).
feedback on your work from other people in
your chosen field
• Try to prepare your presentation with animation
(you can catch attention for a long period)
• Try to present for the audiences (examiners,…)

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 Presentation Skills – 2
• Always start by introducing yourself and the
topic you are going to talk about.
• Tell your audience exactly how the talk will be
Structured (outline).
• Sum-up what you have said on a concluding
Slide (summary).
• Try not to cover too much ground
(only major findings, 20-30 slides)

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 Presentation Skills - 3

• Try not to read everything from the slide

• Maintain eye contact with your audience

• Make sure your audience can hear you - don’t

talk too quickly, take a pause now and then

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 Presentation Skills – 4
• Don’t put too much info. on each slide.

• Use a large font.

• Ensure slides are relevant.

• Don’t spend more time on introduction. Focus on

methodology, finding, and results.

• Ensure slides are free of Spelling/Grammatical

errors.
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 Presentation Skills - 5

 Leave time for questions, they are a good way of getting feedback.
 Consider your answer and make sure you understand the question
 If not ask for clarification
 If you don’t know the answer, be honest and say so.
 Don’t forget to thank your audience.

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THANK U
?

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