THESIS FORMAT

1.1. Formatting Requirements: Approved Writing Style

A standardized thesis writing style and format is crucial to in a scientific work. There are
different writing styles adopted by different institutions and RVU has chosen to apply the latest
APA Style of writing for this purpose. Thesis template shall be made available to students who
embark on their thesis work and their respective advisors.

1.2. Thesis Proposal

1.2.1. Thesis Proposal Content

At a minimum level, the thesis proposal needs to contain the following points. The page of
preliminary part of the thesis proposal is numbered by using Roman number and the Arabic
numbering is used starting from the introductory part up-to the Reference part.

 Preliminaries
i. Cover Page
ii. Title Page
iii. Acknowledgment(Optional)
iv. Table of Contents
v. List of Abbreviations and Acronyms (If any)
vi. List of Tables (If any)
vii. List of Figures (If any)
viii. Abstract
1. Introduction
1.1. Background of the Study
1.2. Statement of the Problem
1.3. Research Questions and/or Hypothesis
1.4. Objective of the Study
1.4.1. General Objective
1.4.2. Specific Objectives
1.5. Significance of the Study
 1.6. Scope of the Study
1.7. Methodological Limitation of the Study (Optional)
1.8. Operational Definition
1.9. Organization of the Thesis
2. Review of Related Literature
2.1. Introduction
2.2. Theoretical Review
2.2.1. Review of relevant books, journals, Articles, research works, etc. to grasp the
problem under consideration.
2.3. Empirical Review
2.3.2. Review of Relevant Studies based on their findings
2.4. Conceptual and/or Theoretical Framework
2.4.1. Theoretical Framework
2.4.2. Conceptual Framework (A conceptual model is constructed if needed)
2.5. Conclusion
3. Research Design and Methods
3.1. Introduction
3.2. Study Context or Description of the Study Area/Organization
3.3. Research Approach
3.4. Research Design
3.5. Target Population
3.6. Sampling Technique
3.7. Sample Size and Procedure
3.8. Data Types and Sources
3.9. Data Instrumentation/Data Collection Techniques
3.10. Data Analysis/Data Treatment Techniques
3.11. Data Quality Assurance: Trust worthiness(qualitative) and/or Validity &
Reliability(quantitative)
3.12. Ethical Consideration
3.13. Dissemination of Results
3.14. Work Plan and Budget Breakdown
 3.14.1. Work Plan
3.14.2. Budget Breakdown
3.15. Reference
 Appendices

1.3. Final Thesis

1.3.1. Final Thesis Content

The following are the minimum requirements a final thesis needs to contain as its content. The
page of the preliminary part of the thesis is numbered by using Roman number & an Arabic page
numbering is used starting from chapter one up to the Reference part.

 Preliminaries
i. Cover Page
ii. Title Page
iii.Signed Declaration Sheet
iv. Signed Advisor’s Approval Sheet
v. Signed Examiner’s Approval Sheet
vi. Author’s Biography
vii. Dedication
viii. Acknowledgment
ix. Table of Contents
x. List of Abbreviations and Acronyms (If any)
xi. List of Tables (If any)
xii. List of Figures (If any)
xiii. Abstract

Chapter One

1. Introduction
1.1. Background of the Study
1.2. Statement of the Problem
1.3. Research Questions and/or Hypothesis
1.4. Objective of the Study
 1.4.1. General Objective
1.4.2. Specific Objective
1.5. Significance of the Study
1.6. Scope of the Study
1.7. Limitation of The Study
1.8. Operational Definition
1.9. Organization of the Thesis(optional)

Chapter Two

2. Review of Related Literature

2.1. Introduction
2.2. Theoretical Review
2.2.1. Review of relevant books, journals, Articles, research works, etc. to grasp the
problem under consideration.
2.3. Empirical Review
2.4.2. Review of Relevant Studies based on their findings
2.5. Conceptual and/or Theoretical Framework
3.4.1. Theoretical Framework
3.4.2. Conceptual Framework (A conceptual model is constructed if needed)

Chapter Three

4. Research Design and Methods

3.1. Introduction
3.2. Description of the Study Area(optional)
3.3. Research Design
3.4. Research Approach
3.5. Target Population
3.6. Sampling Technique
3.7. Sample Size & Procedure
3.8. Data Types and Sources
3.9. Data Instrumentation/Data Collection Techniques
 3.10. Data Analysis/Data Treatment Techniques
3.11. Data Quality Assurance: Trust worthiness, Validity and Reliability
3.12. Dissemination of Results
3.13. Ethical Consideration

Chapter Four

4. Results and Discussion

4.1. Results
4.2. Discussion

Chapter Five

5. Summary, Conclusion and Recommendation

5.1. Summary
5.2. Conclusion
5.3. Recommendation
5.4. Implication (optional)
5.4.1.1. Implication for Knowledge
5.4.1.2. Implication for Research
5.4.1.3. Implication for Policy
5.4.1.4. Implication for Practice
5.5. References
 Appendices