writing thesis chapters 1-3 guidelines

WRITING THESIS /

DISSERTATION

Parts

A. Preliminaries

B. Text/Body

C. References

B. The Text

Five Major Sections

I. Introduction

II. Review of Related Literature

III. Methodology

IV. Results and Discussion

V. Summary, Conclusions, Recommendations

Note: In any section, if you’ll mention an idea which is not

yours please always rephrase and write your source.

I. Introduction

introductory statement about the study presents a general statement about the study (can be an issue or

claim)

presents support about the general statement (organization or beneficiaries can be introduce also)

last paragraph contains either the aims or problems that the study would want to achieve or solve

a. Statement of the Problem

b. Significance of the Study

c. Objectives of the Study

d. Time and Place of the Study

e. Scope and Limitation

f. Definition of Terms

Example of introductory

statement

a. Statement of the Problem

• describes the problems to be investigated

• contains a general problem written in the form of a

statement followed by the specific questions or sub-

problems

Example of statement of

problem

b. Significance of the Study

• discusses the reasons in conducting the research

• if you have few beneficiaries you can just write it in one or

two paragraph (why is it important to conduct the study &

all the beneficiaries and how they can benefit from the

study)

• but if you have many beneficiaries write the following:

1st paragraph (Why is it important to conduct this study)

2nd paragraph – main beneficiary (organization)

3rd paragraph – secondary beneficiary

4th paragraph – importance to the proponents/researchers

5th paragraph – importance to the future researchers

Example of significance of the

study

c. Objectives of the Study

• includes both the general and specific objectives (must be

parallel to your SOP)

Example of objectives of the

study

d. Time and Place of the Study

• includes the period when the study was conducted

starting from the preparation of outline, data gathering

(preliminary interview & RRL), conduct of survey to writing

of the manuscript

Example of time and place of

the study

e. Scope and Limitation

• describes the extent of the study

actual place where the study will only be conducted

duration of the conduct of the study

inclusions of the study (only specific aspect of the study or topic)

limit of the number of respondents

area limit (if applicable)

Example of scope and limitation

f. Definition of Terms

• key terms or phrases only used in the study

• brief but clear definitions

Example of definition of terms

Chapter II – Review of Related Literature

• there should have a short introductory statement (could be one paragraph only) that describes what could be seen under this part

Reminders

get facts/ideas from a reliable source (encourage a source with author)

jot down your source for reference writing later

make rephrasing a habit

write only those which are relevant to your study

at the end of each topic, write a paragraph which explains its significance or relevance to your topic

Chapter III - Methodology

• discusses how the study was or will be conducted

• there should have a short introductory statement (could

be one paragraph only) that describes what could be seen

under this part

a. Research Design

b. Sources of Data

c. Data Gathering Procedure

d. Data Analysis

e. Statistical Treatment

f. Research Instrument

a. Research Design

• write the type of research methodology you’ll employ with your study (reason out)

• write also the step by step procedure that you are going to do to conduct the research Descriptive/Qualitative - this type of research methods involve

describing in details specific situation using research tools like interviews, surveys, and Observations. It focuses on gathering of mainly verbal data rather than measurements.

Descriptive/Quantitative - this type of research methods requires quantifiable data involving numerical and statistical explanations. Quantitative analysis hinges on researchers understanding the assumptions inherent within different statistical models. It generates numerical data or information that can be converted into numbers. The presentation of data is through tables containing data in the form of numbers and statistics.

Correlation/Regression Analysis – this

research methodology involves determining the strength of the

relationship between two or more variables (e.g. are violent video

games correlated with aggression in children).

Quasi-Experimental - this research involves the comparison of two

groups, one which is influenced by an external source and another

which is not.

Experimental - involves the use of random assignment to place

participants in two groups: an experimental group which receives

intervention, and another control group without any intervention. It is

using a positive control for you to base it or compare it in your

result.

Meta-Analysis - this research method is useful for finding out the

average impact of several different studies on a hypothesis.

b. Sources of Data

• provides information about the respondents / samples

• mention also the description of population (write also the

total number of population)

• and write also how much percentage of the population

was used as the respondents and mention only what

formula did you use in order to get the number of

respondents

• indicate also the sampling technique (manner employed

in the selection of respondents / samples)

Sampling Technique

a. Probability sampling Simple random sampling - each individual is chosen randomly and

entirely by chance, such that each individual has the same probability of being chosen at any stage during the sampling process

Systematic sampling - a statistical method involving the selection of elements from an ordered sampling frame (criteria or reference/sequence of selection)

Stratified sampling - the population embraces a number of distinct categories, the frame can be organized by these categories into separate "strata." Each stratum is then sampled as an independent sub-population, out of which individual elements can be randomly selected.

These various ways of probability sampling have two things in common:

• every element has a known non-zero probability of being sampled; and

• involves random selection at some point.

Sampling Technique

b. Non-probability sampling

Quota sampling - the population is first segmented into mutually

exclusive sub-groups, just as in stratified sampling. Then

judgement is used to select the subjects or units from each

segment based on a specified proportion.

Accidental sampling - (sometimes known

as grab, convenience or opportunity sampling) is a type of

nonprobability sampling which involves the sample being drawn

from that part of the population which is close to hand

Panel sampling - the method of first selecting a group of

participants through a random sampling method and then asking

that group for (potentially the same) information several times over

a period of time.

c. Data Gathering Procedure

• explains the detailed description of how data used in the

study were collected (step by step)

d. Data Analysis

• write here how the gathered data were presented and

analyzed (usually through tables and graphs or charts)

e. Statistical Treatment

• mention and write the statistical method used in

conducting the study from identifying the respondents to

analyzing of data

f. Research Instrument

• describes the instrument (survey questionnaire or

interview form, etc.)