PREPARATION OF

RESEARCH THESIS
WRITING GUIDELINES
2021
 THESIS WRITING GUIDELINES

This guideline document provides Master’s and Doctoral students the criteria for the thesis
writing in order to fulfil the assessment requirement of their programme.

A. STRUCTURE OF THESIS
The criteria for thesis content structure are provided according to the thesis format that the
students will be required to produce for assessment of their programme. Thesis requirement at
Master’s level will follow the Standard Format. At Doctoral level, a number of formats for thesis
may be undertaken based on the requirement of the programme or student’s candidacy. The
choice of format should be determined in discussion with the supervisor and approved by the
University Research Degrees Committee.

STANDARD FORMAT

The Standard Format Thesis follow the monograph structure. This is the most common form of
research dissertation and thesis:

Preliminary Section
1. Title and subtitle
2. Original Literary Work Declaration
3. Abstract
4. Acknowledgement
5. Table of contents
6. List of Figures
7. List of Tables
8. List of Symbols and Abbreviations
9. List of Appendices

Main Body Section

1. Chapter 1: Introduction
2. Chapter 2: Literature Review
3. Chapter 3: Methodology
4. Chapter 4: Result
5. Chapter 5: Discussion
6. Chapter 6: Conclusion
7. References (A consolidated list of references for all chapters)

Note: The sections for the main body listed is the typical sequence of content found in
thesis in the field of Sciences and Social Sciences. There may be variation on content
section depending on areas of discipline. Students are advised to consult their
supervisor on this matter.

Supplementary Section
1. List of Publications and Papers Presented
2. Appendix

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 If a thesis consists of more than one volume, the contents of the whole thesis should be shown in
the first volume and the contents of subsequent volumes in a separate contents list in the
following volume.

PUBLICATION FORMAT

A Publication Format Thesis is one that is presented in the form of a series of distinct publications
(minimum 5 publications or equivalent) e.g. papers, chapters, books, scholarly editions of texts,
technical reports, creative work in relevant areas, or other artefacts.

Publication Format can include:

i. Retrospective or prior publications
ii. Prospective or Concurrent publications

i. Retrospective Publication
A format normally undertaken by those who have been working in academia and/or who have
been actively engaged in research and wish to acquire a doctoral qualification.
The thesis requirement for retrospective Journal Publication is as follows:
i. The five (5) nominated publications must be from high quality publishers or journal in
the field.
ii. The publications must be published or produced within a period not exceeding 10 years
from the date of submission of the thesis.
iii. The student must be the principal author of the five (5) nominated publications with
contributions from co-authors clearly explained.
iv. The Thesis must contain the following:
▪ A list of scholarly published works;
▪ Acknowledgement of co-authors and verification of originality. Each published work
must begin with a clear statement about the contribution made by each author in any
joint published work;
▪ A summary of the major findings of each of the published works. It should explain
how the work is integrated into one coherent intellectual framework, and how, when
taken together, it contributes to knowledge in the relevant field; and
▪ An introductory chapter, literature review, research methodology (where
applicable), discussion and conclusion which explains the significance of the
contributions.

ii. Prospective or Concurrent Publication

A format where the candidate is expected to present interconnected published research papers
or articles that makes up a coherent thesis which demonstrate original contribution to
knowledge.
Thesis requirement for Prospective Journal Publication are as follows:
i. The publications must be published in relevant field prior to completion of the
programme

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 ii. The student must be the principal author of the five (5) nominated publications.
iii. Attribution statement to be included in the thesis showing the role and contribution of
the student and other authors.
iv. The thesis format will follow the Standard Format with the publications being integrated
and integral part of the thesis.
v. The thesis must meet the criteria and outcomes for the doctoral award.

The exact content structure of the Publication Format Thesis may thus vary according to the
normal format of articles published in your discipline, but your thesis should follow this basic
outline as a Standard Format Thesis, except that Main Body of the thesis shall comprise one of
more initial chapters providing a synthetic overview and discussion of the publications, together
with a clear statement of your contributions to the work (where the publications are multi-
authored works. Following the Publication Manuscript sections making up the main body of your
thesis, a chapter setting out the overall conclusions of your work should be included. The basic
structure of a Journal Format Thesis should thus be:

1. Title and subtitle

2. Abstract
3. List of contents
The List of Contents should reference the starting page number for ALL the relevant
sections in your thesis. The sections included, where applicable shall be:

(i) Abstract
(ii) List of Contents
(iii) List of Tables (if any)
(iv) List of Figures (if any)
(v) List of Illustrations (if any)
(vi) List of Accompanying Material (if any)
(vii) Acknowledgements (if any)
(viii) Declaration
(ix) Overview
(x) Publication papers or its equivalent (minimum 5 publications)
(xi) Conclusions

If a thesis consists of more than one volume, the contents of the whole thesis should be
shown in the first volume and the contents of subsequent volumes in a separate
contents list in the following volumes.

4. List of tables, list of figures, list of illustrations, etc.

5. List of accompanying material.
6. Acknowledgements.
7. Author's declaration.

8. Overview: one of more initial chapters providing a synthetic overview and discussion of
the articles, together with a clear statement of your contributions to the work (where the
journal articles are multi-authored works)
9. Journal Articles: The journal format manuscripts setting out the body of your research
work.
10. Conclusions.

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 Depending on the work and the format of journal articles in your field, you may also require
further sections at the end of your thesis containing any other necessary material, such as
Appendices, additional bibliographical information, an Index, and so on.

RESEARCH-CREATION FORMAT

A Research-Creation Format Thesis is one that includes two components: (1) a significant
Creative Project [see below] and (2) a written document that encompasses the theoretical and
practical aspects of the accompanying project.

• Creative Project: The creative project is the primary focus of the Research-Creation
Format Thesis. This should be a significant project that involves a creative process,
experimental aesthetic component, and/or artistic work. Topics are selected and
investigated that engage in some form of creative practice, such as the production of a
video, performance, film, sound work, blog, or multimedia project. Due to the range and
open nature of these projects, in terms of media and mode of presentation, it is not
possible to define scope in this document. The student, in cooperation with the supervisor
and supervising committee, will determine the parameters to be defined in the Research
Proposal. The submission will typically comprise of a Portfolio containing documentation
evidencing and research process and its outcomes (including, documentation of
exhibitions, installations and performances where these are component parts).

• Written Document: The written document in a Research-Creation Format Thesis follows

the guidelines of the Standard Format Theses.

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 B. SEQUENCE OF CONTENTS

The sequencing of the content of the thesis is typically based on the standard format which
contains the three main sections; Preliminary, Main Body and Supplementary.

PRELIMINARY
This section consists in order of the following:
i. Title Page
ii. Original Literary Work Declaration Form
iii. Abstract
iv. Acknowledgements
v. Table of Contents
vi. List of Figures
vii. List of Tables
viii. List of Symbols and Abbreviations
ix. List of Appendices

i. Title Page
The title page is the first page after the front cover and should include:
(a) The final research title which has been approved by the faculty;
(b) Name of candidate according to the registration records;
(c) A statement according to the mode of programme (Table 2.1);
(d) The year of submission.

Table 2.1: Statement on Title Page according to mode of programme

Master’s Degree Doctoral Degree
Dissertation (by Research) Thesis (by Research)
DISSERTATION SUBMITTED IN FULFILMENT THESIS SUBMITTED IN FULFILMENT OF
OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF
(Name of Programme) (Name of Programme)

This page is the first page of Roman numeral page number, but it is not numbered. The text should
be typed using font type Times New Roman, font size 14 with 1.15 pt. line spacing.

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 Example of the first page as follow:

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 ii. Original Literary Work Declaration

This form must be completed by the candidate and signed by a witness

(Supervisor/Programme Leader/Head of School/School Dean).

The original signed form must be included in all copies of the hardbound dissertation or
thesis.

The form can be downloaded from the student iZone or Vine.

Sample of Original Literary Work Declaration Form

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 iii. Abstract
An abstract is a short summary of the research dissertation or thesis. An abstract should briefly
describe the objectives (problem statement), the significance of research, research
methodology, as well as the findings and conclusion of the research.

The Abstract page begins with the title of research dissertation or thesis (in uppercase) that is
approved.

An abstract must not exceed 500 words, typed in a single paragraph with double- spacing. A
maximum of five (5) keywords should also be listed below the abstract.

Example of Abstract:

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 iv. Acknowledgements

Most research dissertations or theses include a message to convey appreciation to those who
have been involved and provided their assistance directly or indirectly in the preparation of the
study.

This is optional and should not exceed a single page, which is numbered in Roman numeral
accordingly.

v. Table of Contents
The Table of Contents lists the chapters, topics and sub-topics together with their page numbers.
Sub-topics and topics should be labelled according to the chapter, for example:

CHAPTER 1: TITLE
1.1 Topic 1
1.1.1 Sub-topic 1

CHAPTER 2: TITLE
2.1 Topic 1
2.1.1 Sub-topic 1

This numbering system provides a clear picture of the relationship between chapters and topics
and shows how they are connected.

vi. List of Figures

This list contains the titles of figures, together with their page numbers, which are found
throughout the text. For example, figures in Chapter 1 are numbered sequentially: Figure 1.1,
Figure 1.2 and so on.
vii. List of Tables

This list contains the titles of tables, together with their page numbers, which are listed in the
text. The numbering system is according to chapter, for e.g.: tables in Chapter 1 are numbered
sequentially: Table 1.1, Table 1.2 and so on.

viii. List of Symbols and Abbreviations

The symbols, abbreviations, nomenclature and terminology that are used in the text must be
listed down accordingly.

For further information on spelling and abbreviations, candidates are advised to refer to the
latest edition of the Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary published by Oxford University Press.

ix. List of Appendices

This list is optional and contains the titles of appendices placed in the supplementary section.

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 Main Body
Candidates and supervisors should ensure that the text follows the agreed conventions of the
individual school. The main text in the research dissertation or thesis must be organised
following the guidelines as mentioned below:
- Text must be organised in titled chapters.
- The titles must reflect the content of the chapter.
- Every chapter must begin on a new page.
- Chapters can be divided into sub-chapters with corresponding sub-titles.
- Titles and sub-titles must be numbered.

There is no restriction on the total number of chapters in a research dissertation or thesis. The
number of chapters differs according to the field of study conducted by the candidate. However,
the content of the chapters may differ according to the candidate's research or conventions of
individual school.
Generally, a research dissertation or thesis will have the following basic structure:
i. Introduction
ii. Literature Review
iii. Methodology
iv. Results
v. Discussion
vi. Conclusion
vii. References

Note: There may be variation on content section depending on areas of discipline. Students
are advised to consult their supervisor on this matter.

Items in the structure are divided into separate chapters and the descriptions of these chapters
are as follows:

i. Introduction
This chapter contains the introduction to the issues in which the research is concerned with, the
aims and objectives of the study, the research questions and the scope or outline of the research
approach as well as the structure of the research dissertation and thesis.

ii. Literature Review

A literature review is a description of the literature relevant to a particular field or topic of study.
It consists of a critically written and comprehensive account of the published works on a topic
by accredited scholars and researchers. A critical literature review is a critical assessment of the
relevant literature. It is directly related to the research, providing information on theories,
models, materials and techniques used in the research. The literature review should be
comprehensive and include recent publications which are relevant to the research.

iii. Methodology
This chapter describes and explains the materials as well as the research methodology used in
the study. The sub-topics for this chapter include the key research questions, the research design,
and the research procedures adopted. It may also, where appropriate, indicate sampling
methods, research instruments and statistical methods employed. The purpose of this is to

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 inform the reader on the methods used to collect the data and generate the findings reported.

iv. Results
This chapter explains the results which are commonly presented in the form of text, figures and
tables, complete with data analysis.

v. Discussion
This chapter contains the interpretation of the results. The findings of the research should be
compared and contrasted with those of previous studies presented in the literature review. The
purpose of this chapter is to discuss the findings and the outcomes of the research in relation to
the results that have been obtained.

vi. Conclusion
In this chapter, the findings are summarized and their implications discussed. This section may
include suggestions for future work.

vii. Bibliographical References

A bibliographical reference should be given for every work, published or unpublished, cited in
the text. The bibliography should list all sources referred to or consulted in writing the thesis.
The University does not specify a particular style of referencing, since preferred referencing
styles tend to vary between disciplines. A consistent style of referencing used should throughout
the thesis: the style used should be a recognized, commonly used style for your particular
discipline.

Each reference should be written in single spacing format and a double space should be left
between references.

The list of references must be arranged in alphabetical order and the entries should not be
numbered. The list must also have a hanging indentation of 0.5 inch. For example:

Buchwalow, I. B., & Jade, W. (2018). Immunohistochemistry: basics and methods. Berlin: Springer
Verlag.

Caamaño-Tubíora, R. I., Pérez, J., Ferreiror, S., & Aldegunde, M. (2016). Peripheral serotonin
dynamics in the rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss). Comparative Biochemistry and
Physiology Part C: Toxicology & Pharmacology, 145(2), 244-258.

Cakir, Y., & Strauch, S. M. (2005). Tricaine (MS-222) is a safe anesthetic compound compared to
benzocaine and pentobaritol to induce anesthesia in leopard frogs (Rana pipiens).
Pharmacological Reports, 57, 467-474.

Stephenie, A. A., Plenderleith, M. B. & Snow, P. J. (2011). Organization of the spinal cord in four
species of elasmobranch fishes: cytoarchitecture and distribution of serotonin and selected
neuropeptides. The Journal of Comparative Neurology, 297, 201-218.

Reference citations in text require the following information:

▪ last name of the author,
▪ the year of publication,
▪ the page number for the reference (direct quotes only).

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 For summaries or paraphrases, the last name of the author and the year of publication must be
included for the in-text reference. For examples:

Emanuel and Parker (2017) found the biggest challenges in classroom to be …. The biggest

challenges in classroom were …. (Emanuel & Parker, 2017).

For direct quotations (which refers to when the exact words of another author are copied), the
last name of the author, the year of publication as well as the page number for the reference
must be included for the in-text reference. The quotation has to be enclosed in quotation marks.
For examples:

It was said that “What is taught and how it is to be taught entail teachers’ moral judgements and
commitments” (Frank & Quiroza, 2000, p. 290).

According to Frank and Quiroza (2000), “What is taught and how it is to be taught entail
teachers’ moral judgements and commitments” (p. 290).

If the quoted citation contains more than 40 words, it should be placed within a paragraph of
its own with a 0.5inch indentation. For example:

The general theory of relativity, on its own, cannot explain these features or answer these
questions because of its prediction that the universe started off with infinite density at the big bang
singularity. At the singularity, general relativity and all other physical laws break down: one
couldn’t predict what will come out of the singularity. (Hawking, 1988, p. 309)

Supplementary
Specific items which were not included in the main body of the text should be put in this
Supplementary section. Typically, this section includes the following:

i. List of Publications and Papers Presented

Published works, as well as papers presented at conferences, seminars, symposiums etc. pertaining to
the research topic of the research dissertation and thesis, are suggested to be included in this section.
The first page of the article may also be appended as reference.

ii. Appendices
Appendices consist of research instruments, additional illustration of data sources, raw data and
quoted citations which are too long to be placed in the text.

The appendix section supports the written text of the research dissertation and thesis by
including materials that can provide additional information.

These materials include research data, tables, examples of questionnaires, maps, photos and

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 other materials that are too long to be included in the text or are not directly required to
comprehend the text can be included as appendices.

Tables and graphics that are more than two pages long are suggested to be included in the
Appendix section.

Appendices are labelled as APPENDIX A, APPENDIX B, APPENDIX C, etc. and they should
correspond to the List of Appendices of Preliminary section.

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 C. FORMATTING OF THESIS

Irrespective of the thesis format (Standard, Publication or Research-Creation), the formatting of

the thesis must adhere to the following specifications:

Word count

The length of a thesis for Doctoral by research and Doctoral by mixed mode should be between
50,000 words and 80,000 words. The length of a Master’s by Research and Master’s by mixed
mode thesis should normally be between 20,000 and 40,000 words.

Thesis word count requirement may also be determined by the Programme Standards.
Students are advised to also refer to the Programme Standards for the word count requirement.

Note:
1. The word count is inclusive of quotations and footnotes, but excluding bibliographies,
words in tables, maps, and appendices.
2. The upper word limits may not be exceeded without approval from the University
Research Degrees Committee (URDC).
3. If the thesis is not within the word limit student must submit a request to URDC before
final thesis submission. The request must include:
- Justification for the request
- The expected length of thesis
- Support by supervisor(s) and Head of Department, who must also certify that the
proposed examiners do not object to examining a longer thesis should thesis exceed
the maximum word limit.

Paper Quality, Printing and Duplicating

The research dissertation or thesis should be printed, single-sided, on high quality white A4
paper (201 × 297 mm; 80 grams). A high-quality laser or ink-jet printer should be used for the
printing. Computer pin-feed printout paper is not permitted.

The research thesis must be submitted in softbound and hardbound copies. Three (3)
hardbound copies are to be submitted

The hardbound copies should be duplicated by offset printing or good quality photocopying. Any
pictures/graph/tables etc. should be presented in colour.

Binding
Each copy of the research dissertation and thesis submitted shall be bound in one (1) volume.
The thesis cover must be of A4 size (210mm x 297mm).

For the purpose of examination, research dissertation or thesis submitted should be comb
binding with front and back plastic cover.

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 For final submission prior to graduation, research dissertation or thesis submitted should be
hard cover bound with the following color:

- Master Dissertation : Dark red or maroon

- PhD Thesis : Black

Example:

Front Cover Color of Master Dissertation (Dark Red or

Maroon)
Front Cover Color of PhD Thesis (Black)

The title of research dissertation or thesis, name of author, name of the university and year of
submission must be printed on the front cover.

The letters for the Front Cover should be printed in Gold Letterings of font size 16, font type
Arial Narrow, bold and in uppercase letters.

Sample of front cover of the hardbound thesis as follow:

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 ➢ The spine of the manuscripts should show the title of research dissertation or thesis,
name of author, year of submission and name of degree. The year of submission must
be in accordance with the year when the research dissertation or thesis is submitted.
If the title of the research dissertation or thesis exceeds the space of the spine, a
smaller font size can be used (i.e. font size 16 to 14).

PRIVATISATION IN ALGERIA: POLICY PhD

CHUNG CHIA CHI 2020
AND PERFORMANCE

Example of Spine format for PhD

PRIVATISATION IN ALGERIA: POLICY MASTER

ALIA RAZALI 2020
AND PERFORMANCE

Example of Spine format for Master

Typographic Design
Text, in general, should be black and should not be normally be further embellished and should
be typed on one sided/ single sided of the paper only.

The thesis must be typed using font type Times New Roman, font size 12 (except for tables and
figures) and justified, using Microsoft Word version 2018 or later, or similar word-processing
software.

Words in a language that is different from the language of the research dissertation or thesis must
be typed in italics. For mathematical texts, the use of Equation Editor or LaTeX is advisable. Script
fonts are not permitted.

Chapter titles should be typed with capital letters and centred between the left and right
margins. Each chapter must begin on a new page. Chapters and subchapters should be also titled.
Titles should be typed in bold without underline.

Line Spacing
The body of the text should be typed with double spacing. Single-spacing is only permitted in
tables, long quotations, footnotes, citation and in the references.

Lines that contain mathematical formulae, diacritical marks or strings of capital letters may need
additional space.
It should be clear when a new paragraph is starting and where matter in the text is being quoted.

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 The first sentence of a new paragraph should not start at the bottom of a page if the space available
can only fit one line.

Margins
The text should have the following margins:

Top : 2.0 cm or 0.79 inch

Right : 2.0 cm or 0.79 inch
Left : 4.0 cm or 1.57 inch
Bottom : 2.0 cm or 0.79 inch

Additional guidelines regarding margin are as follows:

- Do not type more than one sentence after the bottom margin. If it is necessary to do so, it
should only be for a footnote or the completion of the last sentence of the chapter, topic
or sub-topic or information in a figure.
- All tables and figures must be placed within the specified margins.
- The last paragraph of the page should contain at least two sentences. If it does not, the
paragraph should begin on the next page.

Numbering and Headings

Headings should be used to indicate the hierarchical structure of the text. There should normally
be not more than four levels, including the chapter headings as the first level. It is recommended
that each level is distinguished from the others.

All page numbers should be printed 1.0 cm from the bottom edge of the page and placed at the
right-hand side without any punctuation (Figure 3.1).

The page numbering system must conform to the following rules:

- The page numbers should be placed at the right-hand side without any punctuation.
- Font type Times New Roman and font size 10 recommended for numbers.
- Roman numerals (i, ii, iii, …) should be used in the Preliminary section. The first page of
the thesis, the title page, is an unnumbered page ‘i’. Numbering begins on the second page
with ‘ii’ for the Original Literary Work Declaration Form.
- Arabic numerals (1, 2, 3, …) are used on the pages of the text (starting with the Introduction
page) and Supplementary section.
-

Sample Placement of page number

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 Numbering of Chapters and Sub-chapters

Chapters and sub-chapters must be numbered using Arabic numerals (1, 2, 3 etc). Chapters are
numbered CHAPTER 1, CHAPTER 2, CHAPTER 3, and so on. Sub- chapters are nested, but its
numbering is not indented, up to a maximum of 4 levels as in the example shown below:

CHAPTER 2: FIRST LEVEL (CHAPTER TITLE)

2.1 Level 2 (sub-title);
2.1.1 Level 3 (sub-sub-title);
2.1.1.1 Level 4 (sub-sub-sub-title)

The use of letters in parenthesis in the main body for e.g., (a), (b), (c) is appropriate as a means
of differentiating sub-topics of the same topic. However, it is not required to be listed in the
Table of Content.

If a chapter title or chapter sub-title at any level exceeds a single line, the spacing between the
lines must be the same as that of the text (double-spacing). Subsequent sub-chapters beyond
the fourth nesting level must be numbered using alphabets; (a), (b), (c), and so on.

Tables
Tables are printed within the body of the text at the centre of the frame and labelled according to
the chapter in which they appear. Thus, for example, tables in Chapter 3 are numbered
sequentially: Table 3.1, Table 3.2 and so on.

The caption should be placed above the table itself (Table 3.1). If the table contains a citation, the
source of the reference should be included in the table caption.

Example of table

Heading Heading
Text Text

If the table occupies more than one page, the continued table on the following page should indicate
that it is a continuation, for example: ‘Table 3.7, continued’. The header row should also be
repeated.

Figures and Illustrations

Figures, like tables are printed within the body of the text at the centre of the frame and labelled
according to the chapter in which they appear. Thus, for example, figures in Chapter 3 are
numbered sequentially: Figure 3.1, Figure 3.2.

Figures, unlike text or tables, contain graphs, illustrations or photographs and their labels are
placed at the bottom of the figure rather than at the top (using the same format used for tables)
(Figure 3.3).

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 Figure 3.3 Example of Figure at Graft

If the figure occupies more than one page, the continued figure on the following page should
indicate that it is a continuation: for example: ‘Figure 3.7, continued’.

If the figure contains a citation, the source of the reference should be placed after the label.

Footnotes
There are differences in the use of footnotes in various disciplines. However, candidates are
advised to limit the use of footnotes unless they are proved necessary to the document. Footnotes
are used to elaborate or provide additional information regarding matters discussed in that page.

Footnotes should be placed at the bottom of the page on which they appear and should use a
smaller font than the text (font size 8).

Please refer to the school for the recommended convention for writing of footnotes.

Example of Footnote:

1
Scientists examined, over several years, the fossilized remains of the wooly- wooly yak.

1
While the method of examination for the wooly-wooly yak provides important insights to this research, this
document does not focus on this particular species.

D. PLAGIARISM
➢ Postgraduate research candidate of the Sunway University is expected to produce original
academic work. Plagiarism is defined as the use of original work, ideas or actual texts
created by others, without acknowledging the original source. Hence, failure to
acknowledge the work of others in their work means the candidate is guilty of plagiarism
and may be subjected to disciplinary action.

➢ The University also highly recommends the usage of Turnitin, an online web-based
plagiarism detection application to avoid plagiarism and ensure academic integrity. In
most cases, the similarity index percentage should not be more than 15% to 25%. Please
refer to your respective faculty regarding the acceptable similarity index percentage.

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