Ewriting

1. The Thesis and Scientific
Writing

2. Introduction
What writing? Who will read? How will they use it?
Thesis or Project Report Supervisors
Examiners
To judge, mark and rank
your report/project
Paper or Report for
Publication
Referees
Scientific literate public
To judge originality,
quality, suitability
To extract information
To learn
Research Proposal The funding body and its
referees
Academic assessors
To judge aims, quality,
promise, and
appropriateness of
proposed work
Popular Article Intelligent, but more
informed public
To be introduced to a
new field
To be entertained.

3. • A thesis proposal is…
– a document that proposes a research
project.
– a written presentation of an intended
research specifying the problem, the
purpose, scope/objectives, methodology,
references and the financial plan/budget.
Writing a Thesis Proposal: A Systems
Approach

4. Goal of a thesis proposal
• A thesis proposal seeks to convince a thesis
supervisor or thesis committee that the research
project is feasible.
• Feasible means
– that the project should be undertaken, i.e. that it is an
important question for your field that should be
researched,
– that it is possible, i.e. that you know how to approach
and execute the project,
– that you know that there is sufficient data, and
– that you can do the project in the required timeframe
and financial budget.

5. Importance of writing a strong thesis
proposal
• A clearly defined research problem (or question)
is central to the success of a research project.
• It helps you to determine that your project is
doable before you begin writing the thesis (or
memoir).
• In addition, if you take the time to clearly
describe your project in your proposal, you will be
able to write your thesis faster and more easily
because you will have solidified key elements.
• Also, the thesis proposal can be used as a guide
to help you stay on track while writing your thesis.

6. Sections/Components of a thesis proposal
• Title/Cover page (Title/Topic)
• Table of Contents
• List of Tables, Figures, Acronyms,
etc.
• Introduction
– Background
– Research Problem or Statement
of the Problem
– General Objective/ Aim/Purpose
– Specific Objectives
– Significance/Importance/
Contribution
– Justification/Rationale
– Scope
• Literature Review
• Theoretical/Conceptual
Framework
• Hypothesis/Postulate
• Research Questions
• Methodology
• References
• Appendices
– Budget
– Work Plan
– Explanations
– Instruments/Tools

7. Sections/Components of a thesis
(Research) Report
• Title page
• Declaration
• Copyright statement
• Dedication
• Acknowledgement
• (Abstract)
• Table of Contents
• List of tables
• List of figures
• Acronyms
• Abstract
Body
1. Introduction
2. Literature review and
Theoretical/Conceptual
Framework
3. Methodology/Methods
4. Results/Presentation of
Findings
5. Discussion of results/Findings
6. Conclusions and
Recommendations
7. List of References
8. Appendices

8. Title/Topic
• A good title should be:
– Consise but informative and should give a clear
indication of what the research is about.
– Accurately, completely, and specifically identify the
main topic.
– Be unambiguous (explicit)
– Be concise (100 characters)or not more than 20 words.
– Begin with an important word to attract intended
readers
– Include independent and dependent variables
– Be a label suitable for indexing.

9. Abstract
• A good Abstract (paper/thesis)should
– State the principal objectives and scope
of investigation, with some bit of
background.
– Describe the methods employed
– Summarize the results
– State the principal conclusions

10. Background/Introduction
• Provides evidence and conditions of
the existing situations highlighting the
– gap(s) to make the reader feel the
urgency of the problem,
– the need to study it in order to solve the
problem or contribute to its solution.

11. Background
• Keep it brief
– 1-3 pages (not more than a page for articles/papers)
– Or About 600 words
• Use the present tense for previous findings
• Use past tense for previous findings
• Use past tense to state the question
• Make gaps obvious
• Repeat key terms from the title
• Common errors: too much background, no gap, no
question.

12. Statement of the Problem
• The research problem drives your entire research project, so it
is important to state it clearly.
• Students often know what they want to argue but don’t know
how to formulate it into a research problem.
• Usually, the question that inspired you to take up the research
will then be your research problem.
• To identify your research problem, it may be useful to respond
to the following questions:
– What do you want to argue? What do we know?
– Why? Why is this important?
– Why do you think you should argue it in a thesis?
– What directed you to this argument?
– What question sparked your research into your topic?

13. Statement of the Problem
• Presents the reason behind the proposal
• Problem is an existing negative state (or opportunity)
not absence of a solution
• Refers to what has been detected and needs a solution
in the practical or theoretical world.
• Should clearly state the nature of the problem and its
known or estimated magnitude/extent.
• Link the problem to the national development
priorities/framework (NDP), the regional (e.g. AU) and
the Global Development Agenda (MDGs)
• Should be concise and brief (not more than 1 page)

14. General Objective/Aim/Purpose
• Refers to the general intention of the
research.
• Should spell out what the research is
supposed to accomplish, the out put.
• Common problems: student state it in form of
activities.
– Prominance and emphasis should be given to
what the research intends to achieve and not
activities to be accomplished.

15. Specific Objectives
• These are specific aims/objectives arising
directly from the general objective of the
study.
• For each specific objective you must have a
method to attempt to achieve it.
• For each specific objective you must the
results/findings.
• For each specific objective you must have at
least one corresponding conclusion.

16. Example Objectives: general and
specific
• The general objective of this study is to project the
impact of the AIDS epidemic on the Ugandan
economy. This will be achieved through the following
specific objectives:
– Project the demographic impact of a hypothetically
generalized HIV/AIDS epidemic on the Ugandan
population;
– Identify key linkages between relevant demographic
and economic variables within the Ugandan context;
– Define impact of the HIV/AIDS epidemic as the
difference between GDP growth paths of "no AIDS" and
"with AIDS" scenarios of varying degrees.

17. Significance/Importance/Contribution
• This refers to the relevance of study in terms of
academic contributions and practical use
that might accrue from the findings/results.
• It should reflect on knowledge creation,
technological or socio-economic value to the
community.

18. Justification/Rationale
• After stating the research question, you must convince your
supervisor or supervisory committee that your research project is
worthwhile.
• Think about the present factors, such as a lack of research on your
topic. Then consider the future implications, what your project will
contribute to your field, in order to demonstrate the validity of your
project.
– Why is it important that a study be done on this topic? What new insights would
this bring?
– Have no studies been done by other people (which will be revealed in a literature
review)?
– Have some studies been done which missed aspects of the problem you think are
important?
– Would the results of such a study provide valuable information needed to solve a
certain problem?
– Would the results open up possibilities for further research?

19. Scope
• The scope provides for the boundary
of the research in terms of
– depth of investigation,
– content, and sample size,
– geographical,
– time frame and theoretical coverage.

20. Literature Review
• A literature review allows you to show that you are familiar
with previous works (literature) pertinent to your topic.
• In addition, by identifying elements of your topic that
have not been written about, a literature review helps
you to show the importance of your decision to conduct
research and write on your topic with the approach and
methods you have chosen.
– What kinds of literature do you have to read in order to
determine what has been written on your topic? Why?
– What has been written on your topic? By whom?
– In all that you read, what does it tell you? What does it not tell
you? Why are both of these important for your topic?

21. Theoretical/Conceptual Framework
• The framework is the viewpoint or angle from
which you are approaching your topic.
• This framework should enable you to ask
questions of a topic that could not be asked (or
could not be asked as effectively) without it.
– On what basis are you making your arguments?
– What assumptions or presuppositions are you
bringing to your work? Why?
– How are these based in a framework?
– What does your framework enable you to do with
your topic?

22. Hypotheses/Postulates
• Hypothesis: “[An] idea or suggestion or postulate
that is based on known facts and is used as a basis
for reasoning or further investigation”
• In the context of research, these are the researcher’s
ideas on what the research will show, before it is
carried out.
• They are statements that can be proved or
disproved by the research.
• They are based on previous work, usually discovered
in the literature review.
• They should match the research questions one-to-
one.

23. Research Proposal: Overview +
Interrelationships

24. Research Questions
• Statement regarding the focus of the
study
• Research questions should be:
– Clear
– Succinct(concise)
– Feasible/pragmatic

25. Methodology
• Your methodology comprises the various methods and materials
that you use to obtain and analyze the information necessary to
answer your research question.
• Be careful not to simply describe your methodology—you must also
justify it.
• This means explaining why a particular choice of methodology will
enable you to do a project that will produce results that are new or
unique.
– How are you going to do your project? What Data?
– What research methods will you use? (Qualitative? Quantitative?) Why?
– What material will you use? (Experiments? Focus groups? Interviews?
Analytical tools?) Why?
– How do particular methodologies allow you to address different
questions?
– What are the strengths of your methods and materials? What are their
weaknesses?

26. Methodology
• The section comprises:
– Research design - which describes the
nature and pattern the research intends to
follow.
– Research approaches –
Qualitative/quantitative
– Description of the geographical area and
where population of the study exists
– Description of the population from which
samples will be selected.

27. Methodology
• The section comprises:
– Sampling strategies, by which the researcher will
select representative elements / subjects from the
population.
– Data collection methods; including instruments and
procedures to be used in the research described.
– Data quality control, which refers to reliability and
validity of instruments.
– Measurements, which refer to the formulae or scales
in the study.
– Data analysis, which involves organization and
interpretation of the data generated.

28. Materials and Methods
• How was the problem studied?
• The answer is the Methods.

29. Materials and Methods
• Describe what was done to answer the
research question/problem.
• Give full detail of methods
• Include clear statement of the study design
• State procedures/protocol followed.
• Write in a logical order (usually chronological)
• Describe analytical methods.

30. Materials and Methods
• Use subheadings
• Do not include results in methods
• Write in past tense
• Use passive voice
• Include appropriate figures and tables

31. Results
• What were your findings?
• The answer is in the results.

32. Results
• Logically answer the research
question/problem.
• Correlate with methods.
• Use data from study only (exact P values; CFs;
etc.)
• Present all the representative data
• Use tables, graphs, photographs, drawings,
etc…

33. Results
• Supplement rather than repeat data in
visuals and tables.
• Avoid overwhelming the reader with data
• Should be simply stated (past tense)
• Common errors: discussing results, missing
data

34. Discussion
• Present the principles, relationships, and
generalizations shown by the results.
• Briefly summarize and discuss – don’t merely
repeat – the results
• Write in present tense, passive voice – except
for results, which are described in past tense
• Discuss other studies only in the context of
your results.
• Compare with earlier work

35. Conclusions
• Can restate your thesis/main idea.
• Can also include a brief restatement of the other parts of
the research report/paper such as the methodology, data
analysis and results.
• Leaves the reader with a lasting impression and possible
solutions or suggestions for action.
• NEVER introduces new material.
• Each objective should have at least one conclusion.
• Conclusions are inferences, deductions, abstractions,
implications, interpretations, general statements, and/or
generalizations based upon the findings.
• Conclusions are the logical and valid outgrowths upon the
findings.

36. Recommendations
• Briefly discuss the future perspectives and/or
application of present work to other disciplines.
– Explain how your results will assist future activities or in
developing/examining theory in the future.
– Demonstrates that you have the ability not only to undertake
research but also to interpret results in a meaningful and
practical way.
– Discussing how research will direct future activities is a core
part of this.
• Recommendations – advise as acourse of action.

37. Recommendations
• Generally, recommendations are of two
distinct types;
– Recommendations for action or practice (based on
the study's findings and conclusions), and the
recommendations for the solution of problems
discovered in the study are addressed to those
concerned.
– Recommendations for further research - What is
considered to be gaps left out by the study, which
would need further investigation through research
should be given.

38. Recommendations
• Recommendations for further Research
– No research project can cover all aspects of a
chosen topic
– Research can uncover new possibilities for areas of
further research.
– Aim is to identify how this research can serve to
further expand the body of knowledge in the topic
area.
– Can prepare the student for more advanced
research.

39. Recommendations, Tips!
• Clearly state your recommendations
• Be specific for each recommendation
• Recommendations must link back to
objectives and research findings.
• Be action-oriented – the reader should be
clear on what course of action you are
recommending.

40. Tips for Presentation
• Always make it clear to the reader what you are
proposing/reporting and why it is important.
• It is not enough to simply describe things.
• Do not assume that the reader can figure out what you are
proposing to do and the relevance of what you are doing if
you only describe and do not explicitly explain these things.
– For example, if you want to argue that an article does not address
the question you seek to address, it is not enough to describe what
the article does address. You need to explicitly tell the reader what
the article does not address and why this omission is significant.
– Strategy: Talk about the article; do not just summarize. “Although
the article addresses many pertinent questions, it remains silent on
this particular question: …. ”

41. Use verb tenses strategically
• Present tense is used for relating what other authors say
and for discussing the literature, theoretical concepts,
methods, etc.
– “In her article on biodiversity, Jones stipulates that ….”
• In addition, use the present tense when you present your
observations on the literature.
– “However, on the important question of extinction, Kosmas
remains silent....”
• Past tense is used for recounting events, results found,
etc.
– “Wright and Green conducted experiments over a ten-year
period. They determined that it was not possible to recreate
the specimen.”

42. • Future tense is used for describing how
you will accomplish your research.
– “This thesis will challenge Bukenya and
Kakuru’s conclusions about biodiversity
and will propose a new approach to the
problem of species extinction.”
Use verb tenses strategically

43. Writing
• Knowing What to Write
• Initial Writing Tasks
• Writing About Existing Research
• Organizing Your Writing
• Writing Clearly
• Editing
• Referencing

44. Writing Clearly
• Good structure
• Logical
– Paragraphs single units of thought
• Readability
– Straightforward language
– Simple grammar
• Managing readers’ expectations
– Relevancy/need to know basis

45. Writing: Sentences
• Only one idea in a sentence
• Keep short: <20 words
• Vary length
• Long sentences: greater risk of
grammatical error, changes
meaning.

46. Writing: Narrative Flow
• Telling a story
• Reader follows from start to end
• Writing is sequential: logic is the glue
• Sentences hold hands
• Smooth transitions
• Every step is inevitable

47. Rewriting
• Secret of writing is rewriting
• Secret of rewriting is re-thinking

48. • Words don’t do justice to your ideas
• If multiple mistakes in spelling and syntax,
reviewer suspects similar sloppiness
• Inaccessibility
– Too much jargon
– Too parsimonious
– Long sentences
Bad Writing

49. Plagiarism
• Plagiarism means using other writers’ ideas, words or
frameworks without acknowledgement.
• It means that you are falsely claiming that the work is
your own.
• This can range from deliberate plagiarism such copying
whole papers, paragraphs, sentences
• Or phrases without acknowledgement to splicing
phrases from other writers into your work without
acknowledgement.

50. What are the limits of plagiarism?
Buying, stealing, or
borrowing a publication
Using the source too
closely when paraphrazing
Hiring someone to write
your thesis/paper
Building on someone’s
ideas without citation
Copying from anothe source without citing
(on purpose or by accident)
Possibly Accidental
Plagiarism
Deliberate
Plagiarism
Actions that might be seen as plagiarism
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/research/r_plagiar.html