Dissertation Writing Guide

Cover Page
 All the important information about the University, Author(s), Title, and Study
programme, etc.
Title/ Research Topic
 Should be informative, accurate, attractive, concise, clear, and specific.
 Answers the WHAT, WHO & WHERE questions.
 It is advisable that the title of the manuscript reflects the actual findings of the work
and is concise.
 A title is too long if you can delete some words without real loss of meaning.
 NB- The project title should not be more than 20 words for academic purposes.

Preliminary Pages
 Declaration
 Dissertation Release Form
 Acknowledgements
 Acronyms
 List of Tables & Figures
 Table of Contents (insert an auto-generated table of contents, not manually typed)
NB: peruse previous dissertations for tips on preliminary pages.
Abstract
 A clear and concise summary of the whole project, often limited to 150 - 250 words.
 Should provide a brief description of the main sections of the manuscript, describing
the opening statement, aim of the study, key methods, findings, conclusions, and
recommendations.
 It is recommended that the abstract be specific, clear, unbiased, honest, concise,
precise, stand-alone, complete, and scholarly.
 Usually, 3-4 keywords are provided at the end of the Abstract.

CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION

1.1 Introduction
 Insert a brief introduction to the dissertation and what will be covered in this
chapter.
1.2 Background of the Study
 Highlight the brief contextual and historical development of the issue under
consideration.
 What is the situation like at the global level, regional, and then locally?
 Cite previous studies (recent ones not more than 5 years – most should be from
2017 to 2022).
 Highlight the past and current developments and the knowledge gap that your
study will fill.

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  Have a strong background to justify the need for your own research.
 As a general guide:
Cite 2 studies carried out in any 2 Western countries on the
topic.
Cite 2 studies carried out in any 2 African countries
Cite 2 studies carried out in Zimbabwe
1.3 Statement of the Problem
 It effectively answers the question “Why does this research need to be
conducted?”
 What is the actual problem you have noted that has led you to embark on the
study? Summarise the problem in a statement or paragraph.
 It is a brief description of the problem that you need to solve as researchers.
 Should identify variables and their relationships (for quantitative studies mainly).
 Show that the topic is researchable.
1.4 Justification/ Rationale of the Study
 Justify that the project will not repeat work already done, nor is it something
completely unrelated to anything already done, i.e., for academic purposes, it
helps to indicate that you have a thorough familiarity with the literature and trends
in the subject area of your study.
 The justification should show why the work is important, why it is important to
answer the question, what the implications of doing it are, how it links to other
knowledge, and how it stands to inform policy making. This should show how this
project is significant to our body of knowledge. Why is it important to our
understanding of the world?
1.5 Aim of the Study
 What is the aim of the study? It is a brief and concrete statement of what the
research plans to investigate.
 When the topic has been well phrased, it is easy to state the aim. This section
ideally starts with the statement, “The purpose of this research is to...”, which is
the general goal
1.6 Objectives
 This clarifies how the aim of the study will be accomplished.
 Have at least 3 objectives
1.7 Hypotheses (for quantitative studies) / Research Questions (for qualitative studies)
 Describes the anticipated relationships between variables
 These should generally tally with the objectives.
** If you are using a quantitative approach, you use hypotheses. If you are adopting a qualitative
approach, you use research questions. You may use research questions in a quantitative
approach if you do not intend to test the hypothesis through inferential statistics in your data
analysis
1.8 Delimitations
 Delimitations refer to the boundaries of the study. A description of the conceptual
and practical/ physical boundaries of the study should be clearly indicated.
1.9 Definition of Key Terms

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  Key terms should be clearly defined. The definitions should be operational, that is,
specific to the context under study.
1.10 Chapter Summary
 Insert a summary of what was covered in the chapter.

CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Chapter Introduction
 Insert a brief introduction on what will be covered in this chapter.
 Addresses major issues and concepts of the study.
2.2 Conceptual Framework
 Give a brief background and explanation of the main concepts in your study,
numbered correctly as subheadings
 You are building on the definitions given earlier in Chapter One (Definition of
Key Terms) to show your understanding of the issues you are dealing with.
 Clarify the concepts that make up your topic of study and show how they are
related. Insert a diagram if possible.
2.3 Theoretical Framework
 What theory is guiding your study? No study has no theory informing it.
 At least 2 theories are expected: i) Describe the theory
ii) If diagrams exist, insert them
iii) Emphasise how the theory is of help to your study.
2.4 Empirical Review of Related Literature
 Turn your research questions (objectives) into topics
 What literature or other studies have been conducted on that topic?
 Frequent subheadings in a literature review facilitate organisation and meaning
and guide the search process and the reviewing process.
 It is recommended that the subsection under each subheading begin with a
sentence introducing the purpose, content, or relevance of the literature to be
reviewed in the subsection and end with a sentence summarizing the conclusions
or trends evident from the literature reviewed in the subsection.
 Articles are not reviewed for their own sake but as a basis for generalising from
them to your own study.
 You should make use of recent literature from journals and books at least 10 years
old, except for theory & classic studies.
 Use the internet to find current literature and issues.
 Minimum of 3 studies per objective, focus on each study’s WHO (authors),
WHEN (time/year of study), WHAT (main focus of study), WHERE (location),
WHAT (main findings/results).
2.5 Chapter Summary
 Insert a summary of what was covered in the chapter.

CHAPTER THREE: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

3.1 Chapter Introduction

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  Insert a brief introduction on what will be covered in this chapter.
3.2 Research Approach
 Clearly state and justify the chosen research approach.
 Approaches are often categorised as quantitative, qualitative, or mixed methods.

3.3 Research Design

 This should be in sync with the chosen paradigm/approach.
 The research design is a critical part of your research, and as such, you must select
the appropriate design and demonstrate to the reader why you think it is the best
design for your research project. It is not necessary to define it, but absolutely
imperative to justify why you have chosen it.
 There is a need to support and justify the preference of particular designs over
others.
3.4 Population and Sampling
 Clearly explain how you are going to select the participants. Indicate the
characteristics of the required sample (e.g., politicians or schizophrenics) and
what sample size is required.
 If you are using a qualitative approach, indicate the inclusion and exclusion
criteria.
3.5 Data Collection Instruments
 Choose the appropriate tool for data collection. Appropriateness could be the
degree of fit between the aim of the research and the data collection technique.
How does the data collection technique assist you in achieving your research
aims? Justify your chosen techniques.
3.6 Research Procedure
 Explain the practical arrangements or steps that will be made to give effect to the
sampling requirements of the study.
 What kind of relationships are to be established with participants and any controls
or manipulations of subjects/participants, if ever they are to be used?
3.7 Pre-test
 Report on how you tested the reliability and validity of the instruments. That is the
practicality of using the instruments.
 Trustworthiness, dependability, and credibility should be addressed in the case of
qualitative research.
3.8 Data Analysis and Interpretation
 What the researcher will do with the data collected- this should be answered in as
much detail as is possible.
 Statistical procedures to be used (employed to analyse the data) and explain why
these are appropriate.
 The method of data analysis should also fit with your design and paradigm of your
research.
 Where the researcher is using the qualitative approach, the researcher should also
use the appropriate methods of analysis, for example, Discourse analysis, Content
analysis, etc.

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  MSc and BSc students are strongly advised to stick to one orientation, that is to
say, either quantitative or qualitative.
3.9 Ethical Considerations
 Explain the ethical issues and dilemmas to be addressed in your research.
3.10 Chapter Summary
 Insert a summary of what was covered in the chapter.

CHAPTER FOUR: FINDINGS OF THE STUDY

4.1 Chapter Introduction
 Insert a brief introduction on what will be covered in this chapter.
4.2 Results presented logically, particularly in line with research questions/ hypotheses or
objectives. Tabular data is properly summarized and not repeated in text.
4.3 Chapter Summary
 Insert a summary of what was covered in the chapter.

CHAPTER FIVE: DISCUSSION, CONCLUSION & RECOMMENDATIONS

5.1 Chapter Introduction
 Insert a brief introduction on what will be covered in this chapter.
5.2 Discussion
This is a personalised expression of the study by the researcher, which considers the nuances
and shades of the findings (relationships).
 The creativity and perceptiveness of the researcher are given a chance to bloom.
 The frame of reference for discussion is the introduction (i.e., questions posed in
the introduction should be responded to in the discussion).
 Use your imagination to show the depth of the significance of the study.
 Tie the results to both theory and application by pulling together the introduction,
background, literature review, significance, and results of the study.
 Include literature that supports the major findings.
5.3 Conclusion
 Summarise main findings. Integrate and generalise where possible. How does
your research relate to theory and other studies?
 Report the outcome of the research, if testing hypotheses, what did you conclude?
5.4 Recommendations
 Examine your findings in light of suggested applications, i.e., in practice or further
research areas.
5.5 Limitations of the Study
 They should be methodological and not personal.
5.6 Chapter Summary
 Insert a summary of what was covered in the chapter.

CHAPTER SIX: MODEL

6.1 Chapter Introduction
 Insert a brief introduction on what will be covered in this chapter.
6.2 Intervention Model

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  The chapter presents a model or an intervention that the student proposes to use as
an intervention strategy for the problem that their dissertation identified or
explored.
 The intervention or model should be original or something that the student has
created based on their research.
 The model or intervention should be something that the student has just started to
implement, emanating from their research or proposes to implement in the not-so-
distant future; as such, the intervention or model should be practical.
6.3 Chapter Summary
 Insert a summary of what was covered in the chapter.

References

 Should follow the APA format (7th Edition or latest edition at the time) for both in-
text citations and in listing the references.
 Ensure every cited source (book, article, etc) appears in the reference list.

Appendices

 Research Instruments
 Approval, Permission, or Clearance Letters
 Participant Consent Form
 Turnitin Report, etc.

By Sakuhuni. C
+263 784 059 676

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