FROM NOTES ON WRITING THE THESIS TITLE AND OUTLINE, AND DEFINITIONS (CTP & SW)

THE THESIS TITLE

• The title of a thesis should
1. Be clear, with ideas logically sequential.
2. Express or suggest in apt words the community, or organization, etc. which will benefit from
the research.
3. Express or suggest that variables are being handled. You don’t have to enumerate the variables
being studied. Just state the words which relate to the main idea that comprehends the
variables being studied.
4. Have a total of at most 20 substantives (nouns and modifiers). Exclude in the count the articles,
conjunctions, prepositions and action words.
5. Not include the following expressions: “a study of”, “an investigation into”, “a comparison of”,
and the likes. A thesis or research is a study or investigation in itself. So, don’t “state the
obvious”, you commit an error called tautology. A good example of this error is saying “descend
down”, you don’t descend upwards! So just say descend.

EXAMPLE OF A CRITIQUE
My Ph.D., adviser and I published a paper entitled,
“pH buffering for Acidic Geothermal Wells Utilization”

- No. 1 is satisfied because the idea flow in a logical manner

- No. 2 is satisfied, the communities with geothermal wells will benefit.
- In No. 3, the word pH buffering and acidic imply the study of variables.
- The title contains 6 substantives < 20
- But if we have added “a study of” before the term pH; we would have committed tautology

THE THESIS OUTLINE

- When you plan to do research, the thing uppermost is the outline. This prepares you to become
systematic in pursuing your research goals. Make a preliminary outline and present this to your thesis
adviser. He/She will be able to tell you that some elements are lacking, or some topics are not relevant.
- Consult my PowerPoint or research delivered at TIP, which has been uploaded.

WRITING DEFINITIONS
- This is part of the uploaded PowerPoint presented to the TUP (at the back of Colegio de Sta. Isabel –
Manila) faculty and students. Take note of what is not considered a definition.

CRITIQUE ASSIGNMENT
Make a critique of 3 thesis titles of published or unpublished thesis. Base your critique on the 5 items
discussed on the thesis title.

FROM LECTURE MEETING 05/25/2021

• RESEARCH
o Based on the Oxford dictionary meaning:
The systematic investigation into and study of materials, sources, processes, etc., in order to
establish facts and reach new conclusions.

o Prefix re in research
o re meaning again: repeated search for sources of ideas
 o re meaning concerning: about the search: nature, process, tools
o most people do not associate the re as again because they do not want it to be repeated
investigation which is why they are mostly into the concerning part.

• For Prof. Eliza Azucena Puertollano, a research is “a noble purpose consummates the search for
truth with passion and zeal.”

• Research Writing Process

o Reading and Comprehension
§ Scan the reading materials at least once to comprehend the ideas embedded in the
sources relevant to your research plan
§ Paraphrase these ideas you have imbibed using in-text citations

o Documentation for Technical Papers from more than one Journal or Source
§ CMS
- In-text Citation:
… especially water as it leaves the reaction front (Chan et al. 1985, Di Blasi 1997).

- Reference-List Entry:
Chan, W. C. R., M. Kelbon, and B. B. Krieger. 1985. Modeling and experimental
verification of physical and chemical processes during pyrolysis of a large biomass
particle. Fuel 64: 1505 – 1513.

Di Blasi, C. 1997. Modeling and simulation of combustion processes of charring and

non-charring solid fuels. Progress Energy and Combustion Science 19: 71-104.

• The Ouline
o Organizes the ideas from the relevant sources by means of a detailed outline which can be
modified according to the goals of the research plan.

• Title of the Research Paper

o Write clearly.
o Include the main concepts.
o Use sectioning methods to make the ideas clear and organize.
o Write the variables being investigated. In case many variables are being studied, choose
terms that will summarize these variables instead of spelling them all out.
o Use a maximum of 20 substantive words (function words not included in the count).
o For brevity in the title, the following expressions should be dropped:
“An investigation of”,
“A study of”,
“An inquiry into”,
“A comparison of”, and the like.
o All theses and dissertations are investigations.
o Examples:
§ A Study of the Kinetic Characteristics of Natural Gas Hydrate
§ Sensitivity Analysis of the Life-Cycle Inventories of Electricity and Hydrogen as Energy
Vectors for the Philippine Automotive Transport Sector
• The Abstract
o Shortened form of the research paper using the important words of the selection itself
o Should have the same style and essential content of the original
o No attempt at originality: simply select the important words and connect them into
readable version of the original selection

• Definitions
o To define a term, place it into the next larger class or category of similar objects.
o Add the special characteristics which make this object different from the rest of the best
objects in that class.
o Example:
Term: A computer…
Class: … is an electronic machine …
Characteristics: … which stores, retrieves and manipulates information.

NOTE:
Avoid the temptation of using the term or a variation of it in the definition.
Example: A computer is an electronic machine that computes data.

• Quality of a Research Paper: Content

o Introduction
§ Overview/Background
• Rationale of the decision to conduct research
§ Statement of the Problem
• Specific problem from which the research objectives are derived