Guidelines to Writing a Dissertation

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Guidelines to Writing a Dissertation
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What is a Dissertation?

• It is a compulsory part of your degree.
• Should reflect independent, self-motivated
  research.
• Must demonstrate an understanding of theoretical
  foundations and research methodology.
• It must be supervised by a member of academic
  staff.
• 10,000 words.

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How will you be assessed?

• In the 1st semester, you must submit a synopsis
  of your research proposal and make a 10 15
  minute presentation for PSY498.
• In the 2nd semester you must submit the
  dissertation document for PSY499.

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How do I sign up with a supervisor?

• You should sign up with a supervisor from the
  Department of Philosophy Psychology or from any
  other Department as appropriate for the topic
  under study (Subject to approval of HOD)
• Use the Dissertation Supervision Form hand it
  before the deadline.
• Remember to keep a record of all your meetings
  with the supervisor using the Attendance Record
  form and dont forget to attach a copy of this in
  your dissertation.

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What is a synopsis?

• It is a comprehensive summary of your intended
  research project
• A synopsis no longer than 5-6 pages should be
  submitted at the end of the 1st semester.
• You would also have to make a presentation of
  your synopsis lasting 10 -15 minutes at the end
  of the first semester.

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What should be included in the synopsis?

• Title
• Introduction
• Methodology
• Analysis
• Problems Limitations
• Time Frame
• Bibliography/References
• Appendices

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Title

• This should be brief, yet informative.
• Examples 1. The impact of domestic violence on
  the development of aggression in children (This
  is a clear, informative title)
• 2.Domestic violence and
  aggression in children (This title is too short
  and not very clear or informative)
• 3. At study investigating
  the impact of domestic violence on the
  development of aggression in a group of school
  aged children (This title is too long.)

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Introduction

• Should provide a background to the study,
  starting at a fairly general level and focusing
  down to the specifics of the study.
• Must not be too long approximately about 1-2
  pages.
• Subsections
• Literature Review
• Problem (Research Question)
• Hypotheses
• Significance/ Relevance of the study
• Aims Objectives.

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Methodology

• This is a detailed account of how you are
  planning to conduct your study and should cover
  all the relevant practical aspects. You should
  mention here whether it is Survey Research, Case
  Studies Research, etc and whether youd be using
  quantitative methods, qualitative method or both.
  It should include the following subsections.
• Participants
• Design
• Apparatus/ Materials
• Procedure

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Analysis You must describe how youre going to
analyze your data, what statistical tests/
programmes you would be using and the analytic
procedures youre going to carry out with the raw
data.
Problems and Limitations of the Study You can
mention any possible weaknesses/ limitations of
your study. Do so in a constructive manner.
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Time frame You can present this in a graph form.
Indicate the anticipated time you would spend
for each step of your dissertation.
Bibliography/ Reference Any books, papers,
articles, web-sites that you have consulted for
this particular study must be reported in the
standardized format.
Appendices Typically you can include the list of
stimulus materials you might be using, copies of
questionnaires, scales, interview schedules etc
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What are the components of a dissertation?

• 1. Title page
• 2. Dedication
• 3. Acknowledgements
• 4. Index/ Content
• 5. Abstract
• 6. Chapter 1 Introduction
• 7. Chapter 2 -Literature Review
• 8. Chapter 3 Rationale and Objectives
• 9. Chapter 4 Methodology
• 10. Chapter 5 Data Analysis
• 11. Chapter 6 Discussion Conclusion/s
• 12. References
• 13. Appendices

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Title Page

• Must include the following
• The title of the dissertation
• Registration number
• Name of Supervisor
• Date of Submission
• Name of Department University

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• Abstract
• This is a short summary of the study.
• Limit it to 150-200 words.
• Include
• Objectives
• Design,
• Methods
• Results
• Conclusion.

• Content/ Index
• Include a list of everything that follows, with
  appropriate page numbers.
• If the students wish to, they could include lists
  of figures and table in order of their appearance
  with appropriate page numbers.

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• Chapter 1 Introduction
• The purpose of the introduction is to provide a
  comprehensive background to your study.
• You can describe the theoretical perspectives
  relevant for the topic under study and a
  historical background of your research area.

• Chapter 2 Literature Review
• Describe relevant previous work in the field.

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Chapter 3 Rationale Objectives

• Summarize your rationale based on your
  Introduction and Literature Review.
• Identify your research problems hypotheses.
• Let the reader know why it is interesting and /
  or important to carry out this particular study
  and what significance it holds.
• Justify the particular sample you have chosen and
  your method of study (why you chose particular
  data collection method, instruments, apparatus
  etc.).
• Clearly state your aims and objectives. You can
  state this in a point form and distinguish
  between short-term and long-term objectives if
  you wish.

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Chapter 4 -MethodMust provide enough details
with this section to replicate study.

• Include the following subsections
• Participants State how the participants were
  selected (eg random sampling, purposive
  sampling), the location (from where the
  participants were selected), the number of
  participants, the age range, gender, occupation
  and other relevant demographic details about the
  participants.
• Design This section should cover the
  conditions investigated in the study, the
  independent variable/s, the dependent variable/s
  , control variables, design of study.
• Apparatus/ Materials Give details of all the
  important equipment, psychometric tests and
  scales that were used. Describe as fully as
  possible any apparatus/ equipment that you have
  used. If youre using interviews to collect
  data, make sure to include a schedule of the
  interview questions with this section.
• Procedure Include the step-by step details of
  how conducted the study. Any instructions to the
  participants should be summarized.

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• Chapter 6 Discussion Conclusions
• Discuss findings and their interpretations in
  light of aims, hypotheses and previous research.
• Explore the implications of study and any
  contribution to the research area, policy and
  practice.
• Present ideas for future research .
• Critically discuss the strength s and weaknesses
  of your study
• Conclude by summarizing the main findings of your
  study.

• Chapter 5 Results Analysis
• Describe the analytic procedures carried out with
  the raw data.
• Report the results of any statistical tests and
  any other analytic procedures carried out with
  the data.
• Give accurate and full presentation of the
  analyses.

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• References
• Every reference you note in the text must be
  included in the reference list.
• Should be in alphabetical order and
• Follow the standard format prescribed by the
  American Psychological Association (APA).

• Appendices
• Attach copies of any questionnaires, scales ,
  instruction sheets, list of stimulus materials
  you, time frame etc.
• You must include the attendance form recording
  meetings with your supervisor.

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Standard Format for Writing References

•  Journal article
• Murzynski, J., Degelman, D. (1996). Body
  language of women and judgments of vulnerability
  to sexual assault. Journal of Applied Social
  Psychology, 26,  1617-1626.         
• Book
• Paloutzian, R. F. (1996). Invitation to the
  psychology of religion  (2nd ed.). Boston Allyn
  and Bacon.         
• Web document
• Degelman, D., Harris, M. L. (2000). APA style
  essentials. Retrieved May 18, 2000, from Vanguard
  University, Department of Psychology Web
  site http//www.vanguard.edu/faculty/ddegelman/in
  dex.cfm?doc_id79
• Stand-alone Web document (no date)
• Nielsen, M. E. (n.d.). Notable people in
  psychology of religion. Retrieved August 3, 2001,
  from  http//www.psywww.com/psyrelig/psyrelpr.htm
• Stand-alone Web document (no author, no date)
• Gender and society. (n.d.). Retrieved December 3,
  2001, from http//www.trinity.edu/mkearl/gender.h
  tml

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Important Points to Keep in Mind

• Efficient time management is essential
• Avoid plagiarism
• Maintain a research diary/journal
• Obtain permission from relevant authorities well
  in advance
• Keep in mind the ethical principles for
  conducting research
• Plan ahead and always have a contingency/back up
  plan
• Always proofread the final draft of the
  dissertation.

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Writing Tips

• Use complete sentences and use correct grammar
  and spellings.
• Try not to use slang
• Do not use contractions (eg use it is instead of
  its)
• Generally, use past tense in the abstract,
  introduction, and method. Results and discussion
  sections can be in the present tense.
• Avoid excessive use of personal pronouns such as
  I, me, according to my viewpoint etc.
• Margins One inch on all sides except left (top,
  bottom right). Leave 1 ½ on the left side for
  binding.
• Font size Type 12-pt font (Times Roman or
  Courier)
• Spacing 1 ½ lines