Description of parts of a research project
(Dissertation/Long Essay/Project)
(Use UBa Guide for Dissertation presentation)
Cover page
The page may be presented as follows: (for each of
the following items check on the official format for
UBa):
[Name of institution]
[Title]
(Statement of Purpose)
Sample statement: A dissertation (thesis or project)
submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements
for the Award of a Master of Science, Master of
Business Administration, etc, Doctor of Philosophy) in
XXXX (Economics, Management)
NB: Check UBa format
[Author’s name]
[Registration number]
Supervisors:
Title page (Same as cover page)
Preliminary pages
Title Page: This is simply a copy of the copy page
Copyright page
Certification page
This page makes provision for the signature of all the
members of the thesis or dissertation committee, or
the supervisors of the projects/thesis. Also, allowance
may be made for the Dean of the faculty, or any other
person (Authority). This page may be presented as:
CERTIFICATION
This is to certify that the dissertation entitled XXXX by
XXX, meets the requirements and regulations
governing the award of a Bachelor of Science (Master,
etc) Degree in the University of XXX, and is therefore
approved for its contribution to scientific knowledge
and literary presentation.
Signed
(Project supervisor)
Date………………………
Signed
Date………………………
(Head of Department)
Signed
Date………………………
(Dean of Faculty)
Declaration page
Student makes an undertaking, and presented as
follows:
DECLARATION
Sample statement: I hereby declare that this project
is written by me and it is a record of my own research
efforts. It has not been presented before either in
part or as a whole for any Diploma or certificate or
any academic presentation. All borrowed ides have
been duly acknowledged by means of references.
Signed………………………… Date…………………………….
(student name)
The above declaration is approved.
Signed……………………….. Date…………………………….
(Project supervisor)
Dedication page
This page gives the opportunity to the author to
express some words of gratitude to those he holds
dear and who in one way or the other have been of
immense help to his/her life. The people may not
necessarily have contributed directly to the work.
Those who contribute directly to the research project
are given acknowledgement in the acknowledgement
page. The page is presented as:
DEDICATION
This research is dedicated to:
My parents, Mr. XXXX and Mrs. XXXX
NB: Just one or two persons
Acknowledgement pages
This gives the opportunity to the author to
acknowledge those who help and contributed in
various ways. This should be an independent page
and structured as follows:
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
[I wish to thank Professor ABC, for her/his support of
this research and for her/his patience and
guidance….]
I also extend gratitude to XXX for his/financial and
moral support……
Abstract page
An abstract is a synopsis of the entire work which
gives the reader a clear and precise idea of what the
work is all about; briefly included is the problem of
the study, the objective of the study, the methods of
the study, the key findings and recommendations.
This is done on a separate page and may not exceed
360 words. This page is titled:
ABSTRACT
The study set out to investigate ……..
The data collected using…. analysed……sampling
technique…..
The results….
Recommendations
Table of contents: It shows the detail contents of the
thesis/projects, alongside with page numbers. Only
the chapters and sub sections are list as shown
below:
TABLE OF CONTENTS
LIST OF TABLES vii
LIST OF FIGURES etc viii
CHAPTER ONE 1
CHAPTER TWO 25
CHAPTER THREE 50
CHAPTER FOUR 75
CHAPTER FIVE 80
LIST OF REFERENCES 99
NB: Include both main and sub headings in the list of references
APPENDIXES (if used) 105
LIST OF TABLES (this gives a list of all the tables used
in the research)
LIST OF FIGURES (this gives a list of all the figures
used in the study)
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS (Acronyms)
NB: The preliminary pages of the research projects
(i.e. before chapter one, are numbered in roman
numerals (i, ii, iii, iv, etc), while from Chapter one,
the Arabic numerals, i.e. 1, 2, 3,…, are used.
NB: Arbitrary page numbers used here as an example
of what you are supposed to do. It is also important
to include in the table of contents the sub sections
and their page numbers as found in your dissertation
THE MAIN BODY OF THE RESEARCH
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background information (Background of the
Study)
1.2 Statement of the Problem
1.3 Research questions
1.4 Objectives of study
1.5 Hypotheses of the Study
1.6 Significance of study
1.7 Delimitation or Scope of study (NB:
sometimes this may be included in chapter
three)
1.8 Organisation of the Study
CHAPTER TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 Conceptual Literature (or Framework)
2.2 Theoretical Review (historical background or
models)
2.3 Empirical review (current literature review)
2.4 Literature Gap
NB:
It is important in the review to
contextualise your review.
Present recent information
Avoid copy and paste
Cite and reference
CHAPTER THREE
METHODS AND PROCEDURES
3.1 Background of the study area (this
sometimes is combined with the scope of the
study: In this case 3.1.1 Scope of the Study;
3.1.2 Area of the Study)
Background of study area describes in detail the
area where the study was conducted.
3.2 Research Design
3.3 Data collection (This may include source of
data, instrument(s) used to collect data,
sampling techniques, sample size, variables on
which data is collected, etc etc and may be put
in different sections)
3.4 Technique(s) of Data Analyses
3.5 Estimation framework/methodology (if
any) or procedure for analyzing data
3.6 Estimation and Validation of Results (or
Instruments etc)
3.7 Ethical Consideration
3.8 Limitation of Data/Tools etc (NB: This may
come at the end of chapter five to pave the way
for future research)
CHAPTER FOUR
PRESENTATION AND DISCUSSION OF RESULTS
(Findings)
(Begin this chapter with respondent’s
characteristics and classification (If primary data
are used), then present and analyze the data
according to research questions). Test
hypotheses and then end the chapter with a
Discussion of results section which
contextualized the findings
NB: If secondary data you may begin with summary
and descriptive statistics of variables used in the work
before doing the estimation/analyses. End with
Discussion of results.
4. 1 Presentation of Results
4.1.1.
4.1.2…….
.
.
4.2 Discussion of Results
NB: Ensure this part is linked to current literature. Use
studies that are consistent and those that are not.
CHAPTER FIVE
SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND
RECOMMENDATIONS
5.1 Summary of Findings
5.2 Conclusion
5.3 Recommendations
(NB: a last section of chapter 5 may be titled
recommendation for further studies as a result
of the limitations of the study)
LIST OF REFERENCES
Arrange alphabetically (use APA)
APPENDIXES (if used)
Raw results, data, questionnaire, maps etc may
be included here
