TEMPLATE & GUIDELINES FOR
MASTER & PH.D. THESIS
A thesis submitted in fulfillment of the requirements for the award of degree of
Doctor of Philosophy / Master / M.Phil .
in
Artificial Intelligence
By
Umair Ali Khan
Roll No. PCS-001/11
Department of Artificial Intelligence
Faculty of Science
Quaid-e-Awam University of Engineering, Science & Technology, Nawabshah.
2022
ii
DECLARATION
I hereby certify that this dissertation constitutes my own product, that where the
language of others is set forth, quotation marks so indicate, and that appropriate
credit is given where I have used the language, ideas, expressions or writings of
an- other. I declare that the dissertation describes original work that has not
previously been presented for the award of any other degree of any institution.
Signature:
Name:
Date:
iii
DEDICATION
This thesis is dedicated to my parents, friends and teachers for their continuous
support and motivation.
iv
CERTIFICATE
This thesis, written by
Mr. Umair Ali Khan
under the direction of his supervisors and
approved by all the members of the thesis committee has been presented to and
accepted by the Dean, Faculty of Science, in fulfillment of the requirements for the
degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Artificial Intelligence.
___________________________ __________________________
Name of Supervisor Name of Co-Supervisor
___________________________ __________________________
Name of Internal Examiner Name of External Examiner
___________________________ __________________________
Name Dean concerned Name of Director (PGS)
Dean, Director
Faculty of Science Postgraduate Studies & Research
Date: ______________________
v
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Acknowledgments are optional. If included, please consider the following general
guidelines for acknowledging contributions to your project:
•
It is the responsibility of a student to acknowledge sources of his or her ideas
and information. For example, if a student publishes a paper written for a
particular professor, that individual should be acknowledged.
•
The significant contribution of any individual or group to a published work
should be acknowledged within that work, by inclusion of the name of the
individual or the group and, if appropriate, by a brief identification of the
nature of the contribution. This recognition may be in the form of an
acknowledgment in the body of the work, or in a prominent footnote.
•
When possible, the nature of the acknowledgment should be agreed upon in
writing by the contributor and principal author, prior to submission of the
work for publication. If there is to be remuneration for a publication, those
who contributed significantly to the work should be so informed and a
contractual agreement reached prior to publication concerning the
distribution of the compensation.
•
Acknowledging the support of family and friends
•
Acknowledgments should not extend more than one page.
vi
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Declaration ii
Dedication iii
Certificate iv
Acknowledgments v
Table of Contents vi
List of Tables xi
List of Figures xii
List of Tables xii
Symbols xiii
Nomenclature xiv
Abstract xv
0.1
General ................................................................................................................ 1
0.1.1
Templates and Format ....................................................................... 1
0.1.2 Size & Quality of Paper ........................................................................ 1
vii
0.1.3 Language . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2
0.1.4 Typing & Printing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2
0.2
Thesis Organization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2
0.3
Preliminary Pages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2
0.3.1 Title Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
3
0.3.2 Declaration Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
3
0.3.3 Dedication Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
3
0.3.4 Certificate Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
3
0.3.5 Acknowledgement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
3
0.3.6 Table of Contents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
4
0.3.7 List of Tables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
4
0.3.8 List of Figures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
4
0.3.9 List of Abbreviations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
4
0.3.10 Nomenclature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
5
0.3.11 List of Appendices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
5
0.3.12 Abstract . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
5
0.4
Main Body/Text . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
5
0.4.1 Fonts & Spacing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
6
0.4.2 Chapters & Subsections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
6
viii
0.5
Margins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
7
0.6
Tables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
7
0.7
Figures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
8
0.8
Photographs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
9
0.9
Large Size Drawings, Charts, Figures, & Tables . . . . . . . . . . . .
10
0.10
Equations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
10
0.11
Pagination of Text ....................................................................................... 10
0.12
References ......................................................................................................... 11
0.13
Submission of Thesis........................................................................................ 11
0.14
Book Binding .................................................................................................... 12
Chapter 1: Introduction & Background 13
1.1
Introduction .................................................................................................. 13
1.1.1
Topic and context ............................................................................ 14
1.1.2
Focus and scope ............................................................................... 14
1.1.3
Relevance and importance ............................................................... 15
1.1.4
Questions and objectives ................................................................. 15
1.1.5 Overview of the structure .................................................................... 16
Chapter 2:
Literature Review 17
2.0.1
What is a Literature Review ........................................................... 17
2.0.2
Planning your PhD literature review .......................................... 18
ix
2.0.3
Structuring a Literature Review ...................................................... 18
Chapter 3:
Research Methodology 20
3.1
Step 1: Explain your methodological approach ......................................... 21
3.2
Step 2: Describe your methods of data collection.......................................... 22
3.2.1
Quantitative methods .................................................................. 22
3.3
Step 3: Describe your methods of analysis ..................................................... 22
3.3.1
Quantitative methods .................................................................. 22
3.3.2
Qualitative methods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
23
3.4 Step
4: Evaluate and justify your methodological choices . . . . . . .
23
3.5 Tips
for Writing a Strong Methodology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
23
3.5.1
Focus on your objectives and research questions . . . . . . . .
24
3.5.2
Cite relevant sources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
24
3.5.3
Write for your audience . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
24
3.5.4
Discuss obstacles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
25
Chapter 4:
Data Collection 26
4.1
Qualitative Vs. Quantitative Data ........................................................... 26
4.2
Data Collection Methods ............................................................................. 27
4.2.1 Self-Report ........................................................................................... 27
4.2.2
Observation ...................................................................................... 27
4.2.3 Physiological Measures ....................................................................... 28
x
4.2.4 Interviews ............................................................................................. 28
4.2.5
Focus Groups ................................................................................... 28
Chapter 5: Results & Discussion
30
5.1 Discussion Section ............................................................................................ 31
Chapter 6: Conclusion & Future Work
33
References
35
Appendix A: This is Appendix A 36
Appendix B: This is Appendix B 37
xi
LIST OF TABLES
Table 2 Thesis format ........................................................................................... 6
Table 3 Colors of thesis bindings .......................................................................... 12
Table 4.1 Qualitative vs. quantitative research .................................................... 26
xiii
Symbols
x = position
v = velocity
a = acceleration
t = time
F = force
xiv
Nomenclature/Abbreviations
ADC = Analog to Digital Converter
DAC = Digital to Analog Converter
xv
ABSTRACT
The abstract should briefly tell the reader what the dissertation is about. It is a
concise summary of the important points of the report. The student should
summarize the key points of the document, including the problem, the research
question, the methodology, and the results. The abstract should be about 500
words and should not exceed more than two pages. It is recommended that you
write the abstract after you have completed your report.
16
Thesis Format and Layout
0.1
General
0.1.1
Templates and Format
The recommended templates of Master and Ph.D. thesis for Quaid-e-Awam
Uni
v
ersit
y
are
a
v
a
i
la
b
le
in
L
A
T
E
X and
MS-W
ORD
forma
t
on
the
official
w
ebsite.
It
is
recommended
that
the
L
A
T
E
X template
b
e
used
for
b
etter
formatting.
F
or
using
the
L
A
T
E
X template,
follo
wing guidelines
should
b
e
follow
ed.
1. Do
wnload
the
L
A
T
E
X template
from QUEST‘s
w
ebsite.
2.
Create a free account at Overleaf (https://www.overleaf.com which is an
online
platform
for
L
A
T
E
X.
3.
Imp
ort
the
L
A
T
E
X template
in
Ov
erleaf.
4.
Edit the template as per your thesis‘s contents
For more information on using Overleaf, please see the guidelines at https://www.
overleaf.com/learn.
0.1.2
Size & Quality of Paper
The thesis should be prepared on standard A4 size (210 mm x 297 mm) good
quality white paper (at least 80 gm). The same paper should also be used for
Figures, Tables,
Charts and for mounting photographs, if any. The paper used in
entire thesis should be plain without any borderline, logos, insignia, monograms
etc.
17
0.1.3
Language
The entire thesis must be written in English language. The spelling throughout the
thesis be either in American or British language.
0.1.4
Typing & Printing
The entire thesis must be computer typed and printed through laser printer with
black ink.
0.2
Thesis Organization
A thesis/Dissertation/project report is mainly organized into three parts.
1.
Preliminary Pages
2.
Main body
/
text
3. References
There is another optional part of Appendices which is to be placed in the end of the
thesis.
0.3
Preliminary Pages
The following pages are to be placed in the order given below before the text of the
thesis. These pages should be numbered in lower Roman numerals, consecutively,
starting (i) from the title page and the numbers should be placed centrally at bottom of
each page. All the pages must start with new page.
0.3.1
Title Page
The title page must include the title of the thesis, full name of the candidate, the
statement of award of the thesis, name of university etc.
18
0.3.2
Declaration Page
A declaration signed by the student on originality of the work presented by
him/her
in the thesis/dissertation be provided on this page.
0.3.3
Dedication Page
If a candidate desires to dedicate his
/
her thesis to any person or organization, it
should be so stated on this page. However, the dedication should not contain any
number, photograph or chart or maximum of a 100 words.
0.3.4
Certificate Page
A certificate signed by the thesis examiners, including the candidate‘s Supervisor,
Director Postgraduate Studies & Research and Dean of the concerned Faculty,
indicating the approval of the thesis, should be put on this page.
0.3.5
Acknowledgement
A brief acknowledgment, in just one page, only to those persons and organizations
who have assisted the candidate in his
/
her thesis work, or provided relevant data
/
information
/
laboratory or research facilities and tools etc. should be given on
this page (Maximum of 500 words).
0.3.6
Table of Contents
It should contain the numbers and headings of all the preliminary pages following
the Table of Contents, chapters, sections and subsections of the text, including
references and appendices, described consecutively, and should indicate the page
where the item starts. It should be typed with single line spacing, and with the
same font size of both the capital and lower case characters
/
letters as followed in
the text of the thesis.
19
0.3.7
List of Tables
The number and heading of each table, including the page number where it
appears in the text, should be provided, consecutively and chapter-wise, in this list
and should be typed with single line spacing.
0.3.8
List of Figures
The number and caption of each figure, including the page number where it is
located in the text, should be provided, consecutively and chapter-wise, in this list
and should be typed with single line spacing.
0.3.9
List of Abbreviations
This list should contain all the abbreviations used in the thesis and should be typed
with single line spacing. The abbreviations must be listed in the alphabetical
order.
0.3.10
Nomenclature
All standard notations in English or Greek characters appearing frequently in the
text should be described in the list of notations in alphabetical order with the
notations in capitals preceding those in lower case characters. All other notations
appearing only once in the text need not be given in this list but should be defined
at the place where they appear in the text. This list should be typed with single
line spacing.
0.3.11
List of Appendices
The number and title of each appendix including the page number where it is
located should be provided, consecutively, in this list and should be typed with
single line spacing.
20
0.3.12
Abstract
The abstract may be written using single line spacing. The abstract is
different from synopsis or summery of a thesis. It should be brief and should not be
of more than two paragraphs, preferably one paragraph. The abstract should not be
of more than 500 words and it should state the field of study, provide identified,
research methodology adopter, scope of study, result and a very brief
conclusions.
0.4
Main Body/Text
Text must be divided into chapters. Each chapter must start on a new page and
should continue with sections and subsections on successive page. The sections
and subsections should be given appropriate titles and numbers. The text may
be written in paragraphs which should not be too long. The paragraphs should
repose the continuity.
Table 2: Thesis format
Font:
Times New Roman
Size:
12
Spacing:
1.5
Heading (main)
17
Heading (Sub)
14
Chapter Number & Title
24.5
21
0.5
Limit of Pages
The minimum and maximum number of pages/words for ME/MS & PhD thesis
would be as follows excluding references, figures, tables and preliminary pages.
Degree
Minimum Pages
Maximum Pages
ME/MS Thesis
80 Pages or 40,000 Words
200 Pages
PhD Thesis
120 Pages or 60,000 Words
300 Pages
The text includes:
1.
Introduction
2.
Literature review
3.
Research Methodology
4.
Data collection
5.
Results and discussions
6.
Conclusions and suggestions
7.
Any other necessary information.
0.5.1
Fonts & Spacing
The main text of thesis must be typed following font size and style, unless specified
otherwise or any other font and or size as approved by the ASRB from time to time.
22
0.5.2
Chapters & Subsections
1.
Each chapter must start on a new page and be typed continuously with
sections and sub-section on successive pages. The sub sections are not
indented and
should not be more than four levels.
2.
The chapter number and heading should be typed centered on the page in
bold capitals. The chapter heading should be placed below the chapter
number. The chapter number should be in Arabic numerals, e.g.,
3.
The section number and heading must be typed from the left margin in
capitals in bold letters without underlining. The section number must consist
of the chapter number followed by a number, both in Arabic numerals.
4.
The sub-section numbers and headings must be typed from the left margin in
bold lower case characters with the first character of the first word in
capital without underlining. The sub-section must consist of the chapter
number followed by section number and one additional number representing
the sub- section, all in Arabic numerals.
5.
Any further sub-section numbering, if needed, must be done with additional
Arabic numerals without bold letters.
0.6
Margins
Margins of left=4cm, right=2.5cm, top=4cm, bottom=2.5cm should be set on A4
page.
23
0.7
Tables
1.
Each table must be typed following the place where it is referred first,
preferably on the same page, or if it cannot be accommodated in the
remaining space
on the same page then on the following page, with single, one-
and a half or double line spacing as is found convenient to accommodate the table
on one page within the specified margins.
2.
A long table which cannot be accommodated on one page, even with single
line spacing and
/
or reduced to an easily legible size may be continued on
the next page under the same table number with proper indication at the
bottom of the page.
3.
The heading of the table must be in bold lower case letters with the first
character of the first word in capital without underlining. The number and
heading of the table should be typed above the table itself.
4.
All the tables belonging to each chapter must be numbered in the same
way as the sections of the chapter, the first number indicating the chapter
number and the second the table number in sequence, both in Arabic
numerals.
5.
If any table is referred on a page other than that where it is placed, it
should be referred with its number and the page where it is placed, e.g., Table
4.1 on P.36.
0.8
Figures
1.
Each figure must be drawn and placed within the specified margins
following the place where it is referred first, preferably on the same page, or if
it cannot be accommodated in the remaining space on the same page then on
the following page.
24
2.
The number and caption of each figure should be typed under it with bold
letters in the same way as the headings of tables described above.
3.
If any figure is referred on a page other than that where it is placed, it
should be referred with its number and the page where it is placed, e.g.,
Figure. 4.1 on P.43.
0.9
Photographs
1.
Each photograph, colored or black and white, must be placed within the
specified margins following the place where it is referred first, preferably on
the same page, or if it cannot be accommodated in the remaining space on
the same page then on the following page.
2.
The number and caption of each photograph should be typed under it
with bold letters in the same way as for figures.
3.
If any photograph is referred on a page other than that where it is placed, it
should be referred with its number and the page where it is placed, e.g.
Plate
4.1 on P.54.
4.
The photographs should be mounted using non-liquid stick glue on the same
size and quality of paper as that of the thesis.
0.10
Large Size Drawings, Charts, Figures, & Tables
Any drawing, chart, figure or table, which cannot be accommodated with
clarity on the normal size of the thesis page, even with easily legible reduced size,
may be prepared on a larger size paper
/
sheet, which should be folded and
enclosed in a special pocket attached permanently inside of the bound back of the
thesis.
25
0.11
Equations
All equations belonging to a chapter in the text should be numbered in the
same way as the figures and tables. Each equation should start on a separate line
with a larger than the normal spacing between the equation and the text above
and below it, e.g.,
Ax + By = C
(1)
The equation should be referred to in the text as Equation 1.
0.12
Pagination of Text
The pages in the text should be numbered in Arabic numerals, consecutively,
starting from the page where the first chapter begins. The starting page of each
chapter should have the page number printed centrally at bottom of the page. All
the other pages should have page numbers typed at the top right corner.
0.13
References
1.
All the references quoted in the entire thesis must be placed at the end
of the text and listed author-wise in the number format (i.e. [1]). The year of
publication, in round brackets, should follow the full name(s) of the
author(s). the standard method of describing the publications referred in the
text should be followed.
2.
The publications should be referred in the text by the last name of the first
author followed by the number in squire brackets.
26
0.14
Submission of Thesis
Three copies of the draft of the thesis on an ordinary white A4 size paper
should be submitted to the Director (PGS) through the candidate‘s thesis
Supervisor in a lose form/folder ring file or tap binding for evaluation by the thesis
examiners. After successful defense of the thesis in the thesis examination, and
after incorporating the changes/corrections recommended by the thesis examiners
to their satisfaction, the certificate page should be got signed by the examiners and
the concerned university officers. The thesis should then be bound and submitted
along-with the soft copy to the Director (PGS) in sufficient number for
distribution as under:
1.
One copy to be retained by the Controller of Examinations.
2.
Two copies to be sent to the library.
3.
One copy to be sent to the Supervisor
4. One copy to be sent to the Co-Supervisor (if any)
5.
One copy to be sent to each of the thesis examiners through the Controller
of Examinations.
6.
One copy to be sent to HEC by the Controller of Examination
Table 3: Colors of Thesis Bindings
SNO.
Degree
Color
i.
ME/MS Thesis
Navy Blue
ii.
Ph.D Thesis
Pea Green
27
0.15
Book Binding
Thesis should be hard bound with front cover of color as mentioned above: The
binding must be bonded properly as per the specimen available with the
Directorate of Postgraduate Studies. The writing of face cover and the spine
should be in white letters and white logo/monogram.
28
Chapter 1
Introduction & Background
This is a thesis template recommended for the Master and Ph.D. programs in
Quaid-
e-Awam University of Engineering, Science & Technology, Nawabshah for
submitting
Dissertation Defense. We recommend using IEEE (Institute of
Electrical and Electronics Engineers) style for citations. This is how an interesting
paper to cite looks [1].
1.1
Introduction
The introduction is the first chapter of your thesis or dissertation and appears right
after the table of contents. It‘s essential to draw the reader in with a strong begin-
ning. Set the stage for your research with a clear focus, purpose and direction. The
introduction should include:
•
Topic and context: what does the reader need to know to understand the
dissertation? Focus and scope: what specific aspect of the topic will you
address?
•
Relevance and importance: how does the research fit into existing work on
this topic?
•
Questions and objectives: what does the research aim to find out and how?
•
Overview of the structure: what does each chapter of the dissertation con-
tribute to the overall aim?
Although the introduction comes at the beginning of your dissertation, it doesn‘t
have to be the first thing you write in fact, it‘s often the very last part to be
completed (along with the abstract).
29
It‘s a good idea to write a rough draft of your introduction near the beginning of
the research to help guide you. If you wrote a research proposal, you can use this
as a template, as it contains many of the same elements. But you should revise
your introduction throughout the writing process, making sure it matches the
content of your chapters.
1.1.1
Topic and context
Begin by introducing your topic and giving any necessary background
information. It‘s important to contextualize your research and generate interest —
aim to show why the topic is timely or important (for example, by mentioning a
relevant news item, academic debate, or practical problem).
1.1.2
Focus and scope
After a brief introduction to your general area of interest, narrow your focus and
define the scope of your research. For example:
•
What geographical area are you investigating?
•
What time period does your research cover?
•
What demographics or communities are you researching?
•
What specific themes or aspects of the topic does your dissertation address?
1.1.3
Relevance and importance
It‘s essential to show your motivation for doing this research, how it relates to
existing work on the topic, and what new insights it will contribute.
Give a brief overview of the current state of research, citing the most relevant
literature and indicating how your research will address a problem or gap in the
field. You will conduct a more in-depth survey of relevant sources in the literature
review section or chapter.
30
Depending on your field, the importance of your research might focus on its
practical application (e.g. in policy or management) or on advancing scholarly
understanding of the topic (e.g. by developing theories or adding new empirical
data). In many cases it will do both.
Explain how your dissertation:
•
Helps solve a practical or theoretical problem
•
Addresses a gap in the literature
•
Builds on existing research
•
Proposes a new understanding of the topic
1.1.4
Questions and objectives
This is perhaps the most important part of your introduction — it sets up the
expectations of the rest of your dissertation. How you formulate your research
questions and objectives will depend on your discipline, topic and focus, but you
should always clearly state the central aim of your research. You can briefly
mention the research methods you used to answer your questions, but if you are
including a separate methodology chapter, don‘t go into too much detail here.
If your research aims to test hypotheses you can formulate them here, along with a
conceptual framework that posits relationships between variables. Sometimes the
hypotheses will come later in the dissertation, after your literature review.
1.1.5
Overview of the structure
To help guide your reader through the dissertation, end with an overview of its
structure, summarizing each chapter to clearly show how it contributes to your
central aims. It is best to keep the overview concise. One or two sentences should
usually be enough to describe the content of each chapter.
31
If your research is more complicated or does not follow a conventional structure,
you might need up to a paragraph for each chapter. For example, a humanities
dissertation might develop an argument thematically rather than dividing the
research into methods/results/discussion. If your structure is unconventional,
make it clear how everything fits together.
Reference symbols: x, v, a, t, F
32
Chapter 2
Literature Review
A Ph.D. or Master thesis generally beings with a literature review which usually
serves as the first chapter of your dissertation. This provides an opportunity for
you to show that you understand the body of academic work that has already been
done in relation to your topic, including books, articles, data and research papers.
You should be prepared to offer your own critical analysis of this literature, as
well as illustrating where your own research lies within the field – and how it
contributes something new
/
significant to your subject.
2.0.1
What is a Literature Review
A literature review is usually one of the first things you‘ll do after beginning your
PhD. Once you‘ve met with your supervisor and discussed the scope of your
research project, you‘ll conduct a survey of the scholarly work that‘s already been
done in your area.
Depending on the nature of your PhD, this work could comprise books,
publications, articles, experimental data and more. This body of work is
collectively known as the ‗scholarly literature‘, on your subject. You won‘t have
to tackle any novels, poetry or drama during this review (unless, of course,
you‘re actually studying a
PhD in English Literature, in which case that comes
later).
The purpose of the PhD literature review isn‘t just to summarize what other
scholars have done before you. You should analyze and evaluate the current
body of work, situating your own research within that context and demonstrating
the significant original contribution your research will make.
33
2.0.2
Planning your PhD literature review
Your supervisor will be able to give you advice if you‘re not quite sure where to
begin your review, pointing you in the direction of key texts and research that you
can then investigate. It‘s worth paying attention to the bibliographies (and
literature
reviews!) of these publications, which can often lead you towards even more
specialist
texts that could prove invaluable in your research. At the same time, it‘s
important not to let yourself fall down an academic rabbit hole – make sure
that the books and articles you‘re surveying are genuinely relevant to your own
project. You should aim to include a broad range of literature in your review,
showing the scope of your knowledge, from foundational texts to the most recent
publications.
The note-taking process is crucial while you‘re in the early stages of your literature
review. Keep a clear record of the sources you‘ve read, along with your critical
analysis of their key arguments and what you think makes them relevant to your
research project.
2.0.3
Structuring a Literature Review
When you begin to write your PhD literature review, it‘s important to have a
clear idea of its outline. Roughly speaking, the literature review structure should
introduce your topic and explain its significance. Evaluate the existing literature
with reference
to your thesis. Give a conclusion that considers the implications of
your research for future study. The main body of your literature review will be
spent critiquing the existing work that scholars have done in your field.
There are a few different ways you may want to structure this part of the review,
depending on the subject and the nature of your dissertation:
•
Chronologically – If your research looks at how something has changed over
time, it may make sense to review the literature chronologically, tracking the
way that ideas, attitudes and theories have shifted. This might seem like
34
quite a simple way to structure the review, but it‘s also imperative to identify
the common threads and sticking points between academics along the way,
rather than merely reeling off a list of books and articles.
•
Thematically – If your dissertation encompasses several different themes,
you might want to group the literature by these subjects, while also
emphasizing the connections between them.
•
Methodologically – If you are going to be working with experimental data or
statistics, it could be a good idea to assess the different methods that
previous scholars have used in your field to produce relevant literature.
Whichever technique you use to structure your literature review, you should take
care not to simply list different books, articles and research papers without
offering your own commentary. Always highlight the similarities (and differences)
between them, giving your analysis of the significance of these relationships,
connections and contrasts.
35
Chapter 3
Research Methodology
In your thesis or dissertation, you will have to discuss the methods you used to do
your research. The methodology chapter explains what you did and how you
did it, allowing readers to evaluate the reliability and validity of the research. It
should include:
•
The type of research you did
•
How you collected your data
•
How you analyzed your data
•
Any tools or materials you used in the research
•
Your rationale for choosing these methods
The methodology section should generally be written in the past tense. Academic
style guides in your field may also provide detailed guidelines on what to include
for different types of studies. For example, there are specific guidelines for writing
an APA methods section.
The steps of writing research methodology are mentioned in the following sections.
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3.1
Step 1: Explain your methodological approach
Begin by introducing your overall approach to the research. Your methodological
approach should address the following questions.
•
What research problem or question did you investigate? For example, did
you aim to systematically describe the characteristics of something, to
explore an under-researched topic, or to establish a cause-and-effect
relationship? And what type of data did you need to achieve this aim?
•
Did you need quantitative data (expressed in numbers) or qualitative data
(expressed in words)?
•
Did you need to collect primary data yourself, or did you use secondary data
that was collected by someone else?
•
Did you gather experimental data by controlling and manipulating
variables or descriptive data by gathering observations without intervening?
•
Why is this most suitable approach to answering your research questions? Is
this a standard methodology in your field or does it require justification?
•
Were there any ethical considerations involved in your choices? What are
the criteria for validity and reliability in this type of research?
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3.2
Step 2: Describe your methods of data collection
Once you have introduced your overall methodological approach, you should give
full details of your data collection methods.
3.2.1 Quantitative methods
In quantitative research, for valid generalizable results, you should describe your
methods in enough detail for another researcher to replicate your study. Explain
how you operationalized concepts and measured your variables; your sampling
method or inclusion/exclusion criteria; and any tools, procedures and materials
you used to gather data.
3.3
Step 3: Describe your methods of analysis
Next, you should indicate how you processed and analyzed the data. Avoid going
into too much detail—you should not start presenting or discussing any of your
results at this stage.
3.3.1
Quantitative methods
In quantitative research, your analysis will be based on numbers. In the methods
section you might include:
•
How you prepared the data before analyzing it (e.g. checking for missing
data, removing outliers, transforming variables)
•
Which software you used to analyze the data (e.g. SPSS, Stata or R)
•
Which statistical tests you used (e.g. two-tailed t-test, simple linear regression)
38
3.3.2
Qualitative methods
In qualitative research, since methods are often more flexible and subjective, it‘s
important to reflect on the approach you took and explain the choices you made.
Discuss the criteria you used to select participants or sources, the context in which
the research was conducted, and the role you played in collecting the data (e.g.
were you an active participant or a passive observer?).
3.4
Step 4: Evaluate and justify your methodological
choices
Your methodology should make the case for why you chose these particular
methods, especially if you did not take the most standard approach to your topic.
Discuss why other methods were not suitable for your objectives, and show how
this approach contributes new knowledge or understanding. You can acknowledge
limitations or weaknesses in the approach you chose, but justify why these were
outweighed by the strengths.
3.5
Tips for Writing a Strong Methodology
Remember that your aim is not just to describe your methods, but to show
how and why you applied them and to demonstrate that your research was
rigorously conducted.
39
3.5.1
Focus on your objectives and research questions
The methodology section should clearly show why your methods suit your
objectives and convince the reader that you chose the best possible approach
to answering your problem statement and research questions. Throughout the
section, relate your choices back to the central purpose of your dissertation.
3.5.2
Cite relevant sources
Your methodology can be strengthened by reference to existing research in the
field, either to:
•
Confirm that you followed established practices for this type of research
•
Discuss how you evaluated different methodologies and decided on your
approach
•
Show that you took a novel methodological approach to address a gap in
the literature
3.5.3
Write for your audience
Consider how much information you need to give, and don‘t go into unnecessary
detail. If you are using methods that are standard for your discipline, you probably
don‘t need to give lots of background or justification. But if you take an approach
that is less common in your field, you might need to explain and justify your
methodological choices. In either case, your methodology should be a clear, well-
structured text that makes an argument for your approach, not just a list of
technical details and procedures.
40
3.5.4
Discuss obstacles
If you encountered difficulties in collecting or analyzing data, explain how you
dealt with them. Show how you minimized the impact of any unexpected obstacles.
Pre- empt any major critiques of your approach and demonstrate that you made the
research as rigorous as possible.
A sample figure below shows the format of adding figures in the thesis.
Figure 3.1: A sample figure
41
Chapter 4
Data Collection
In order to successfully collect empirical data, you have to choose first what
type of data you want as an outcome. There are essentially two options, qualitative
or quantitative data. Many people mistake one term with the other, so read some
articles that shines a light on the differences between qualitative and quantitative
research to avoid this confusion. Boiled down, qualitative data means words and
quantitative means numbers. Whichever one adapts best to your research will
define the type of methodology to carry out, so choose wisely.
4.1
Qualitative Vs. Quantitative Data
In the end, having in mind what type of outcome you intend and how much time
you count on will lead you to choose the best type of empirical data for your
research.
Table 4.1: Qualitative vs. quantitative research
Data type
What is it?
Methodology
Qualitative
Information that cannot be measured.
It may involve multimedia material or
non-textual data. This type of
data
claims to be detailed, nuanced and
contextual.
Observations, interviews,
focus groups
Quantitative
Information that can be measured and
written with numbers. This type of data
Surveys, tests, existing
databases
42
claims to be credible, scientific and exact.
Once you gather enough theoretical and empirical data, you will need to start
writing. But before the actual writing part, you have to structure your thesis to
avoid getting lost in the sea of information.
4.2
Data Collection Methods
Regardless of the topic of your dissertation or thesis, it is highly likely that at some
point you will need to collect data. Below are some common data collection
methods. Remember, you will want to collect data in a way that fits your research
design and questions.
4.2.1
Self-Report
Self-report is a type of research design in which participants give their
responses to a given set of questions. The most common types of self-report are
interviews or questionnaires. One major limitation of self-report versus other data
collection methods is that accuracy of responses cannot be determined, and there
are many circumstances in which participants are likely to lie.
4.2.2
Observation
Observation is a method of collecting data in which members of research teams
observe and record behaviors. Data collected during observation are explicit and
quantifiable. However, observation has many limitations. First, researchers who
use observation can only observe behaviors; therefore, observation cannot be used
to collect data about attitudes, beliefs, thoughts, covert behaviors, etc. Another
limitation of observation is that it is a known fact that being observed changes
behavior.
43
Observation can be either formal (e.g., structured in a laboratory setting) or casual
(e.g., in the natural environment), and the observer may either be a participant
(e.g., member of the group being observed) or a nonparticipant (e.g., not a member
of the group being observed).
4.2.3
Physiological Measures
Physiological measures can be used to collect data related to the body, such as
heart rate, fMRI, EEG, CAT, breathing rate, etc. These types of data are useful
because they are quantifiable and accurate. However, these types of data are
sometimes used as secondary measures of latent constructs, which may not always
be accurate. For example, someone with a high heart rate may be perceived as
being anxious, but it is possible that that person just walked up a flight of stairs.
4.2.4
Interviews
Interviews are one of the data collection methods for qualitative research.
Interviews consist of meeting with participants one on one and asking them open-
ended questions. Interviews can be structured or semi-structured. In a
structured interview, the researcher has a predetermined set of questions to ask and
does not deviate from those questions. In a semi-structured interview, the
researcher will have prepared questions but has the freedom to ask additional
follow up questions as he or she sees fit.
4.2.5
Focus Groups
Focus groups are another example of data collection methods of a qualitative
study. Using focus groups to collect data is similar to using interviews because
focus groups
allow participants to freely answer questions; however, as implied by
the name, focus groups consist of multiple people all being asked questions at the
same time.
44
Chapter 5
Results & Discussion
When writing a dissertation or thesis, the results and discussion sections can be
both
the most interesting as well as the most challenging sections to write. You may
choose
to write these sections separately, or combine them into a single chapter,
depending on your university‘s guidelines and your own preferences. There are
advantages to both approaches.
Writing the results and discussion as separate sections allows you to focus first
on what results you obtained and set out clearly what happened in your
experiments and/or investigations without worrying about their implications. The
Results section should set out your key experimental results, including any
statistical analysis and whether or not the results of these are significant.
You should cover any literature supporting your interpretation of significance. It
does not have to include everything you did, particularly for a doctorate
dissertation.
However, for an undergraduate or master‘s thesis, you will probably
find that you need to include most of your work. If you are unsure whether to
include certain
results, go back to your research questions and decide whether the
results are relevant
to them. It doesn‘t matter whether they are supportive or not,
it‘s about relevance. If they are relevant, you should include them.
Having decided what to include, next decide what order to use. You could choose
chronological, which should follow the methods, or in order from most to least
important in the answering of your research questions, or by research question
and/or hypothesis. You also need to consider how best to present your results:
tables, figures, graphs, or text. Try to use a variety of different methods of
presentation, and consider your reader: 20 pages of dense tables are hard to
understand, as are five pages of graphs, but a single table and well-chosen graph
45
that illustrate your overall findings will make things much clearer.
Make sure that each table and figure has a number and a title. Number tables
and figures in separate lists, but consecutively by the order in which you mention
them in the text. If you have more than about two or three, it‘s often helpful to
provide lists of tables and figures alongside the table of contents at the start of
your dissertation. Make sure that you including information about the size and
direction of any changes, including percentage change if appropriate. Statistical
tests should include details of p values or confidence intervals and limits.
While you don‘t need to include all your primary evidence in this section, you
should as a matter of good practice make it available in an appendix, to which you
should refer at the relevant point.
5.1
Discussion Section
This section has four purposes, it should:
•
Interpret and explain your results
•
Answer your research question
•
Justify your approach
•
Critically evaluate your study
The discussion section therefore needs to review your findings in the context of
the literature and the existing knowledge about the subject.
You also need to demonstrate that you understand the limitations of your research
and the implications of your findings for policy and practice. This section should
be written in the present tense.
46
Chapter 6
Conclusion & Future Work
The conclusion chapter is typically the final major chapter of a dissertation or
thesis. As such, it serves as a concluding summary of your research findings
and wraps up the document. While some publications such as journal articles and
research reports combine the discussion and conclusion sections, these are
typically separate chapters in a dissertation or thesis. As always, be sure to check
what your university‘s structural preference is before you start writing up these
chapters.
A core function of the conclusion chapter is to synthesize all major points covered
in your study and to tell the reader what they should take away from your work.
Basically, you need to tell them what you found, why it‘s valuable, how it can be
applied, and what further research can be done.
Whatever you do, don‘t just copy and paste what you‘ve written in your discussion
chapter! The conclusion chapter should not be a simple rehash of the discussion
chapter. While the two chapters are similar, they have distinctly different
functions. To understand what needs to go into your conclusion chapter, it‘s useful
to under- stand what the chapter needs to achieve. In general, a good dissertation
conclusion chapter should achieve the following:
•
Summarize the key findings of the study
•
Explicitly answer the research question(s) and address the research aims
•
Inform the reader of the study‘s main contributions
•
Discuss any limitations or weaknesses of the study
•
Present recommendations for future research
47
Therefore, your conclusion chapter needs to cover these core components.
Importantly, you need to be careful not to include any new findings or data points.
Your conclusion chapter should be based purely on data and analysis findings that
you‘ve already presented in the earlier chapters. If there‘s a new point you want to
intro- duce, you‘ll need to go back to your results and discussion chapters to
weave the foundation in there.
48
References
[Journal Paper]
[1]
Author(s) Initial(s). Surname(s), ―Title of the article,‖ Abbrev. Title of Journal,
vol. x, no. x, pp. xxx–xxx, Abbrev. Month, Year.
Example: T. Kaczorek, "Minimum energy control of fractional positive electrical
circuits", Archives of Electrical Engineering, vol. 65, no. 2, pp.191–201, 2016.
[Conference Paper]
[2] Author(s) Initial(s). Surname(s), ―Title of paper,‖ in Abbrev. Title of Conf.
Proceedings, Place of Conference/Publication, (vol., no. if available), Year (only
if not already stated in the title), pp. xxx–xxx.
Example: S. r. Ayyubi, Y. Miao, and H. Shi, "Automating standalone smoke alarms
for early remote notifications," in 13th Intern. Conf. on Cont. Automa. Robotics
& Vision (ICARCV), Marina Bay Sands Singapore, Dec. 2014, pp. 675–680.
[Book]
[3] Author(s) Initial(s). Surname(s), Title of the Book, x
th
ed. City/Country of
Publisher, Publisher, Year of Publication, pp. xxx–xxx.
Example: R. E. Ziemer and W. H. Tranter, ―Principles of Communications: Systems,
Modulation and Noise,‖ 7th ed. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley, 2015, pp. 13–17.
[Book Chapter]
[4] Chapter Author(s) Initial(s). Surname(s), "Title of chapter in the book," in Title of
the Published Book. City of Publisher, (U.S. State or Country if the City is not
‗well known‘): Publisher, Year of Publication, ch. x [chapter number], or sec. x
[section number], pp. xxx–xxx
49
Example: N. B. Vargafik, and J. F. Malloy, "Radiative transfer," in Convective Heat.
Melbourne: Engineering Education Australia, 2011, ch. 9, pp. 379–398.
50
Appendix A
This is Appendix A
An appendix is a section at the end of a dissertation that contains supplementary
information. An appendix may contain figures, tables, raw data, and other
additional information that supports the arguments of your dissertation but do
not belong in the main body. It can be either a long appendix or split into several
smaller appendices. Each appendix should have its own title and identification
letters, and the numbering for any tables or figures in them should be reset at the
beginning of each new appendix.
51
Appendix B
This is Appendix B
When writing the main body of your dissertation, it is important to keep it short and
concise in order to convey your arguments effectively. Given the amount of research
you would have done, you will probably have a lot of additional information that
you would like to share with your audience. This is where appendices come in. Any
information that doesn‘t support your main arguments or isn‘t directly relevant to
the topic of your dissertation should be placed in an appendix. This will help you
organize your paper, as only information that adds weight to your arguments will be
included; it will also help improve your flow by minimizing unnecessary interruptions.
Note, however, that your main body must be detailed enough that it can be
understood without your appendices. If a reader has to flip between pages to make
sense of what they are reading, they are unlikely to understand it. For this reason,
appendices should only be used for supporting background material and not for
any content that doesn‘t fit into your word count, such as the second half of your
literature review.
