Documente Academic
Documente Profesional
Documente Cultură
Process
Choose a topic
o Conduct preliminary research at this stage to understand what the current issues
are, and the availability and accessibility of required data and existing research.
o Talk to your professors about the topics to help narrow down your scope.
o Familiarize with the experts in the area you are researching (select 3 to 5
authorities on the topic)
Create an abstract and working bibliography to take to prospective advisors
Choose advisor
Register your advisor & Thesis Proposal (see forms and documents)
Complete your literature review
OPTIONAL: Create a thesis plan: Before diving into researching and writing your thesis, it
is recommended to create a plan that articulates your thesis topic and proposed
methodology (8-10 pages).
o Proposed Topic
o Central Questions
o Core Arguments
o Research Methodology
o Structural Outline
o Requested Readers
o Working Bibliography
o Sources to follow up on
Structure and conduct your research
Write, write, write
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responsibility to see that the final copy is free from spelling and grammatical errors; your
advisor is not responsible for line-by-line editing.
Recommendations for research methodology
Suggested Texts: George and Bennett (2005) Case Studies and Theory Development in the
Social Sciences. Boston: MIT Press. (Available at Science Po Library)
While much information can be found online, thesis level research calls for more indepth
consultation including professionals, academic journals, books, surveys, focus groups, etc.
For an MBA or MCB thesis, the use of grounded theory, on its own, would probably prove
inadequate to justify the award of a pass towards a degree. The sufficiency of one case study,
or the need for two or more with a view to a comparison is also unresolved. The practical
answer probably lies in the extent to which previously unavailable, pertinent information can
be published in its right contextual form. Replication, if undertaken, would be with a view to
validation of specific observations rather than for extension of the findings to other settings.
Within the context of a competitive economy, it is unlikely that confidential commercial
information would be made available for a case study, let alone released for publication. This
would also be true where there is the prospect of litigation through disclosure of some
contravention (e.g. tax evasion), defamation, or breach of some aspect of confidentiality
relating to individuals. Disguising identities is often not advisable in academic work, not only
because some of the contextual issues may get lost but also because it reduces significantly the
opportunities for independent verification and replication. Concerns about grounded
approaches, replication and the disclosure of identities are probably (pure speculation by the
authors) among the causes precluding work from being undertaken or published, which would
otherwise be found of high quality and relevance to informing management education.
The following is an extract from a set of guidelines that were issued to students in the abovereferred institution, shown purely for illustrative purposes:
A little theory: An important decision for your dissertation is the determination of sample size.
A very small sample (which will probably require you to use non parametric statistics) might be
a freak and thus lead you to conclusions that, although true of the sample, do not represent the
situation for much of your population. It does, however, have the advantage of low cost and
speed. A large sample might allow you to measure a broader range of instances and thus get a
better understanding of what is happening in your population (representativeness) but it does
cost more to approach and takes much longer to gather the information and possibly carry out
the analysis. Sample size and research design are interdependent. The design influences both
the sample size and sampling approach and, conversely, the realities of the sample that can be
approached within the time, cost and other constraints determine which design ought to be
chosen. Remember that the theoretical ideal might not be feasible and that, like with most
decisions in management, you have to balance pragmatism with idealism. In research, you have
to demonstrate that you are aware of the implications of your decisions and to draw the
important ones to the attention of your reader. Thus, there is no perfect way for determining
sample size in business research, nor an ideal method for its selection; you should, however, be
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aware of the advantages and drawbacks of the choice that you are making. The guidelines
below serve as a first start; it is imperative that you pay attention to the comments of your
supervisor who would be able to help you balance the various considerations. Here are the
views of the present writer:
Case studies: carry out at least two so that you have the opportunity to compare findings.
Remember, however, that in practice case studies are very difficult to carry out properly in
commercial areas due to at least two factors: first, the information needed is often not
available, either because it is not recorded or some of the records are inaccessible; second, the
information might be considered confidential. It is a common request from companies
providing the information to dilute or remove certain data or identities. Managers are
concerned about competitors getting hold of key information and about the possibility of legal
and other implications. Sometimes companies consider it too costly to allow access to their
premises and try to issue researchers with published material; this is most unlikely to help with
a case study. Small scale studies of companies: if you are comparing two groups of companies,
say in two different industrial sectors or sizes or styles of ownership, try to obtain information
from at least 15-20 from each group; 25-30 would be safer. If you are comparing three different
groups of subjects (e.g. companies) try to obtain information from at least 10-15 in each group.
Medium scale studies: if you are approaching individual consumers or looking at the records of
staff in a personnel department (with a view to contacting individuals), aim for at least 20 in
each group if you have three groups, or, if you have two groups, aim for at least 25-30 in each
group.
Larger scale studies are usually in the form of a survey, where you would be expected to aim for
at least 75-100 observations. Examples of these would include consumer research or looking at
employee records. Remember, the guidance is: the more questions you need to ask, the smaller
the size of the sample that you will be able to manage; the smaller the number of questions to
ask, the greater the possibility of taking a large sample. Ask all the questions that are required
for your hypothesis but do make sure that you do not ask superfluous questions and thus
collect unnecessary data and at the same time take your respondents valuable time! Although
it is not necessary to select a sample much larger than shown in these guidelines, you should be
careful not to go below either, otherwise you might encounter several other problems. Two
standard textbooks on research methodology are Ghauri et al, 1995; Rudestam & Newton,
1992; Steagall & Hale, 1994.
Adapted from:
http://www.heacademy.ac.uk/assets/bmaf/documents/publications/IJME/Vol1no2/Kangis_Pur
pose_of_MBA_Dissert.pdf
Thesis Structure
Title: short (length is 10-12 words); reflective of the content, problem, and the main
variables to be studied; free of value judgment
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Body of your Thesis should have a minimum of 12,000 words (excluding ancillary data and
footnotes).
CHAPTER
I. INTRODUCTION gives the background of the project and the rationale for conducting
the study
a. Background of the Study
i. Platform for the significance of the study
ii. Identify information gap
iii. May cite at most five authorities
b. Statement of the Problem
i. identifies the research gaps
ii. justifies the conduct of the study
iii. states the questions that the study hopes to answer
iv. serves as a guide in formulating the specific objectives
c. Objectives of the Study
i. states the general and specific objectives
ii. should be consistent with the problem
iii. should be clearly stated and logically presented
d. Hypotheses of the Study
i. states the researchers expectations concerning the relationships
between the variables in the research problem
e. Significance of the Study
i. points out the vital contribution of the results of the study and who will
benefit from it.
f. Scope and Limitations of the Study
i. sets the delimitations and establishes the boundaries of the study
(delimits the study in terms of size and area of coverage)
ii. states what the study will not cover or will not do
iii. identifies the weaknesses and constraints which may affect the results of
the study
g. Definition of Terms
i. includes conceptual and/or operational definitions
ii. hanging indention and alphabetically arranged
II.
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
a. consists of both the research and conceptual literatures but more on the former
(at least 60 %)
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III.
IV.
V.
b. subsections can be included, which are based on objectives. All subtopics must
be italicized and boldly written.
c. references must be properly cited in all paragraphs using author/year format.
(Please see APA for the detailed format).
d. rules on paragraphing must be strictly followed. A paragraph should have at least
two sentences. It should not be too long.
e. should consist of at least 10 pages
THEORETICAL /CONCEPTUAL/OPERATIONAL FRAMEWORK
a. discusses the theories linking the topic to the available body of knowledge
b. presents relationships between different specific constructs the researcher
wants to study
c. specifies the relationships between and among variables
d. may consist of a combination of mathematical, graphical, and/or diagrammatical
presentations
METHODOLOGY
a. describes how the study was conducted
i. Research Design: specifies whether descriptive, causal/explanatory,
correlational, comparative, exploratory, evaluative or combination of two
or more designs
ii. Sources of Data: specifies the sources of primary and/or secondary data
iii. Method of Data Collection/Data Collection Procedure: indicates the
sampling procedures (if primary data) and the data collection methods
such as survey, questionnaire, and others
iv. Analytical Procedures/Methods of Analysis:
1. indicates the most appropriate statistical tools used in analyzing
both quantitative and qualitative data mathematical expressions
must be italicized and numbered accordingly all models/equations
must be properly numbered
2. all major/key variables must be properly measured/categorized
indicating their specific units of measure. The sources of formulas
must be indicated in the text.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
a. summarizes the data collected and the statistical results in sufficient detail to
justify conclusions
b. uses tables and graphs to supplement the text
c. all figures must be numbered consecutively with their labels written below the
figures
d. the allowable font sizes for the figures are 10-14. All figures must be placed
immediately after the page where a particular figure number is mentioned. All
figures must be well explained in the text and all figure numbers must be
mentioned properly in the text.
e. includes information about the obtained magnitude or value of the test statistic,
degree of freedom, probability, and the direction of the effect
f. evaluates/interprets the implications of the original hypothesis
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We would like to thank Barbara Toorens (MCB 11) for compiling and writing the first draft of this guideline