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3. Methodology
Research design
Should be able to clearly explain to the reader how you intend to carry out the research, the methods you intend to employ and why they are relevant to your project. You could also seek to explain why you are not using widely known methods; the reasons could be financial or convenience.
Data collection
Briefly describe the instruments you intend to use in collecting your data and how well they fit into your resource availability, time frame and budget. This should help to detect flaws in the plan before they come back to haunt you when you are already started.
Data analysis
Data analysis will give an insight into the statistical, empirical and any other techniques you
intend to use in manipulating the data in order to come up with the information you require
to answer the research questions.
Interpretation
It is vital to know how the anticipated results will be interpreted with due consideration to the possible range of outcomes. The different ranges of results could present a whole new interpretation of the results and therefore they need to be properly factored in.
4. Expected results
The expected results provide a connection between the data analysis and the possible outcomes to the theory and the research questions initially formulated. In a nut shell, it summarizes the significance of the work.
5. Bibliography
A bibliography is basically a list of all works relevant to your research that you might find useful during the compilation. The references are listed alphabetically at the tail end of the research paper. Let’s now look at the dos and don’ts when writing a research paper.
The dos
· Make sure you paper has a professional outlook.
· Make it as interesting as possible.
· Ensure that it comes out as informative as possible.
· Write in a way that is easy to read
· Make use of headings and sub-headings to make your work look organized
· Include a table of content.
· Use simple and easy to understand language.
· Your arguments should be well constructed.
· Conduct a thorough check of your spelling, grammar and typos.
· Adopt a relevant referencing format.
The Don’ts
· Repeat yourself
· Use an over simplistic language
· Try to impress your readers by using big words
· Digress unnecessary
· Use words whose meaning you are not so sure of
7. Writing a dissertation- A step by step guide
Writing a dissertation is an important part to the fulfillment of your graduation program. It is also a part that requires hard work and adequate preparation. Despite the preparations, dissertation writing is likely to remain a daunting task.
Most institutions have therefore come up with ways of supporting their students throughout the dissertation writing process.
Choosing your dissertation topic
·Take time to think about your topic choice. It is better to begin a few days later than to start earlier only to get stuck along the way due to difficult research topic.
· Choose a topic that is personally of interest to you.
· The closer a topic is to real life issues the better. Complicated theoretical expositions
will only serve to overload your projects.
·Choose as current an issue as possible. A topic such as the pros and cons of e-commerce would have been interesting 10 years ago but we have more current issues today.
·A complicated dissertation topic will be more challenging to manage so choose a simple topic.
Getting ready -what you need to know
• Anxiety usually builds up at the prospect of writing a dissertation. Do not panic!
• Understand the importance of this project to the success of your academic career.
• Make sure you fully understand the requirements set by the dissertation committee
•Think about your topic; do you have a valid research question? What will you do in carrying out your research?
•Come up with a plan of action. Create a reasonable schedule that allows you to work in bits and stick to it.
• Know what help you will require and where you may find it.
• Keep a journal and jot down ideas as they come to you.
• Create an outline keeping your purpose in mind.
• You can get help from a professional dissertation writer
Typical Dissertation Structure
Abstract
This is an overview of the dissertation and is meant to give the reader a general idea of both your objective and results. You should keep it brief between 75 and 125 words.
Table of Contents Page
This displays the arrangement of the main sections and often subsections with respective page numbers. One page where possible is an appropriate length.
Chapter 1: Introduction
This is a detailed account of your research question and why it is worth examining. State your hypothesis here and give a summary of your conclusion. Keep it simple, clear and to the point not forgetting that the introduction should be about 10% of the entire project.
Chapter 2: Literature Review
In this chapter, you consider other people's ideas and theories in relation to your research. You should compare and contrast at least 10 other sources and a couple of theories/models. This chapter consists of about 20% of the dissertation.
Chapter 3: Methodology
Here you outline and defend your research design. You also explain how you collected
empirical data. Did you use interviews, questionnaires etc? What were the main challenges?
Chapter 4: Findings
This is an important chapter in your dissertation and also the largest. It forms about 30% of the project. This is where you bring out the findings deriving from an in-depth analysis of your empirical data. Be careful not to give your interpretation or draw conclusions here.
Chapter 5: Discussion
You are now ready to connect the evidence from your own research with aspects of your literature review as well as discuss your main finding.
Chapter 6: Conclusion
State the conclusion(s) you draw from your work clearly. What is you take on the effectiveness of your research design? Ensure that all the questions raised in earlier chapters have been addressed adequately. Indicate what further research can be done to strengthen your conclusion and give recommendation if any is required.
Bibliography
On a separate page, list all the references such as books, articles and websites as well as all the sources of empirical data. Entries are made in alphabetical order according to the required writing style.
Appendices
This is where you add other relevant research materials such as interviews, sample questionnaires, tables etc.
