INTRODUCTION



Research is not only about discovery, but it is about the testing of hypotheses and ideas. Through inquiry and exploration, you lay down the establishment of facts. The outcome of the research is new knowledge. This leads to the improved understanding of mechanisms as well as the making of new and improved procedures. To make sure that the use of the research results is maximized, the results must be made known or disseminated in a proper manner.

There are a great many ways to circulate research results. You have guessed it! The production of a research dissertation is one of them. Even though a research dissertation is one of the usual criteria for an academic degree program that includes a research element, it is also used for student assessment. Don't make the mistake of making your dissertation into just a beefed-up laboratory report.

Its writing should be in such a way that the results presented can be validated and should be able to form the basis for additional investigations. You must justify any procedures that you adopt, claims and conclusions will have to be supported by experiments or by deductions or reasoned arguments. A research dissertation is unlike any other reports in that it is the culmination of either several months or even years of work. Writing a dissertation requires some planning, thought and organization.

Ideas, Guidelines and Tips

Layout refers to the kind of presentation format that you want your dissertation to follow. This is often dictated by regulations or institutional guidelines. There are many reasons why one should opt to have a standard layout.

1. You will be able to see copies of dissertations from institutional libraries. There is a standard look and feel to a layout wherein it maintains corporate identity.

2. You can be assured that when the publication is bound, the contents will not be destroyed or obscured because pages have to be trimmed.

Here are some important features that you will want to include in your layout.

Size of page margins and spacing between the lines

Formats of

- Title page

- Contents list

- Appendices

- Reference list

- Figures, illustrations and tables

Numbering system for

- Chapters as well as sections

- Pages

- Table captions and figures

- Equations

Font-styles for

- Chapters and section headings

- Other text

- Table captions and figures

- Equations

- Quotations

- Citations

How are your references going to be cited?

How are you going to cite tables, figures and equations?

The decision as to whether the dissertation should be written in a certain tense or �person�

Reference List

As was previously mentioned, the way you compile your Reference list depends upon the kind of citation style that you use. One of the most common things that confuse first-time writers of dissertations is how to cite references. These are basically the two most common methods as to how you cite published work.

The number system references are listed in the order in which they have been cited. The name-year system references are usually listed alphabetically. Consistency is the key so you should stick to one of these styles.

Hopefully, these tips will help you formulate your dissertation. Remember to allow yourself much time, thought and energy to this process and you will come out a winner.