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THESIS PROPOSAL GUIDELINES

B.COM (HONS)
SECTION A
SESSION: 2012-16

DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMICS

GC UNIVERSITY LAHORE.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. THESIS PROPOSAL GUIDELINES ......................................................................................... 1
1.1. Research Topic ................................................................................................................. 1
1.1.1 Attributes of a good research topic........................................................................... 1
1.2. Introduction/ Background of the study ............................................................................. 1
1.3. Objectives of the study ..................................................................................................... 3
1.4. Research Questions .......................................................................................................... 3
1.5. Problem Statement ........................................................................................................... 3
1.6. Hypothesis ........................................................................................................................ 4
2. LITERATURE REVIEW................................................................................................................. 5
3. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY ....................................................................................................... 8
3.1 Data Collection Procedure (Sample selection and data sources) ...................................... 8
3.3 Research Method (Design) ................................................................................................ 9
4. CONTRIBUTION/ UTILIZATION OF RESEARCH RESULTS ......................................................... 10
REFERENCES ................................................................................................................................. 10

THESIS PROPOSAL GUIDELINES


RESEARCH TOPIC:
(The proposed title of your research project should be as brief as possible and yet the reader should
be able to understand what the research is about from the title. Title should reflect the objectives
of the study. It must be written after the whole Proposal has been written so that it is a true
representative of the plan (i.e. The Proposal).
Attributes of a good research topic:
Capability: is it feasible?

Are you fascinated by the topic?

Do you have the necessary research skills?

Can you complete the project in the time available?

Will the research still be current when you finish?

Do you have sufficient financial and other resources?

Will you be able to gain access to data?

Appropriateness:

is it worthwhile?

Will the examining institute's standards be met?

Does the topic contain issues with clear links to theory?

Are the research questions and objectives clearly stated?

Will the proposed research provide fresh insights into the topic?

Does the research topic match your career goals?

INTRODUCTION
Write out introduction to give a broad overview of scenario/background surrounding the title.

OBJECTIVES
Describe the overall aim(s) of the research:
The objectives of a research project summarize what is to be achieved by the study and
make sure the objectives support your research problem.
Objectives must identify the variables involved in research.

You may use a general focus question as a base from which you write a set of research
objectives.
Research objectives are likely to be more specific than research questions.
Personal objectives may be added to the list of research objectives:

Specific learning objectives (to learn how to use a particular statistical software etc.)
More general personal objectives (enhancing your career prospects through learning about
a new field of your specialism)

RESEARCH QUESTIONS
In this section you also specify the research questions:
Express a relationship between variables.
More specific research questions you wish to address.
Make sure that your questions are researchable.
Your research questions must be a mirror image of your research objectives.
Avoid the research questions that will not generate new insight (understanding), it depends
upon the extent to which you have consulted the relevant literature.
Research question may not emerge until the research process has started.
Sr. #

RESEARCH IDEA

1.

Advertising and Share Prices

2.
3.

Job recruitment via the


internet
The use of aromas as a
marketing device

GENERAL FOCUS RESEARCH QUESTION


How does the running of a TV advertising campaign
designed to boost the image of a company affect its
share prices?
How effective is recruiting for new staff via the
internet in comparison with traditional method?
In what ways does the use of aromas in supermarkets
affect buyer behavior?

PROBLEM STATEMENT
The problem statement introduces the key problem that is addressed in the research project.
A problem statement is a clear, precise, and brief statement of the specific issues that a
researcher wishes to investigate.
There are three key criteria to assess the quality of the problem statement: It should be
Relevant, feasible, and interesting.
The problem statement is normally only one or two sentences long. Try to be as specific as
possible. This should include

(a) A clear statement that the problem exists


(b) Evidence that supports the existence of the problem

HYPOTHESIS
A hypothesis is a statement about the relationship between the dependent and independent
variables.
The null hypothesis (H0) states that the two variables are independent of one another and the
alternative hypothesis (H1) states that they are associated with one another. The null hypothesis is
always stated first.

LITERATURE SURVEY
Give a brief review of recent relevant literature (along with references). The preliminary literature
review should be a critical analysis of major studies already conducted and other key contributions.
Your literature review must refer to the classical and most influential pieces of research in the topic
area.
A literature review is an account of what has been published on a topic by accredited scholars and
researchers.
In writing the literature review, your purpose is to convey to your reader
- What knowledge and ideas have been established on a topic?
- What their strengths and weaknesses are.
- How do they relate or not relate with your research.
The literature review must be defined by a guiding concept (e.g., your research objective, the
problem or issue you are discussing, or your argumentative thesis). It is not just a descriptive list
of the material available, or a set of summaries.
In other words, you cannot simply give a concise description of, for example, an article: you need
to select what parts of the research to discuss (e.g. the methodology, variables or relationship),
show how it relates to the other work (How are they similar? How are they different?) and show
how it relates to your work.

A literature review is a piece of discursive (a series of logical discussion) writing style, not
a list describing or summarizing one piece of literature after another.

It is usually a bad sign to see every paragraph beginning with the name of a researcher.

Organize the literature review into sections that present themes, identify trends including
relevant theory.

SOME IMPORTANT WORDS AND THEIR USES IN LITERATURE REVIEW

To signal a reinforcement of ideas:


Also,

in other words,

for example,

moreover,

more importantly

To signal a change in ideas:


but,

on the other hand,

although, nevertheless,

in addition,

however, instead,

yet,

in contrast,

in spite of,

To signal a conclusion:
thus,

therefore,

accordingly,

in conclusion, finally,

Most students' literature reviews suffer from the following problems:

Trying to read everything!

Avoiding feedback on draft!

Reading but not writing!

Not keeping information for references!

Lacking organization and structure

Being repetitive

Failing to cite influential papers

Failing to keep up with recent developments

Failing to critically evaluate cited papers

Citing irrelevant references

so [informal],

The literature review process

LITERATURE SOURCES AVAILABLE

Planning your search strategy

All our students have found their literature search a time consuming process, which
take far longer than expected. Fortunately, time spent planning will be rapid in time
saved when searching the literature. As you start to plan your search, you need to
beware of information overload!

One of the easiest ways to avoid this is to start the main search for your critical review
with a clearly defined research question (s), objectives and outline proposal.

It is also possible to obtain definitions via the Internet. The online search engine
Google offers a define(by typing define:[enter term ]) that provides links to
websites providing definitions .

Searching the Internet

PLAGIARISM
Four common forms

Stealing material from another source

Submitting material written by another

Copying material without quotation marks

Paraphrasing material without documentation

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
You will justify your choice of method in the light of your research objectives. You may
divide your methodology section in two parts: data collection and research design.

DATA COLLECTION PROCEDURE:


The data collection section goes into much more detail about how specifically the data are to be
collected.
If you are using a survey strategy you should specify your population and sample size. You should
also clarify how the survey instrument such as questionnaire will be distributed and how the data
will be analysed.
If you are using interviews, you should explain how many interviews will be conducted, their
intended duration, whether they will be audio-recorded, and how they will be analysed.
Describes the types of data/evidence you propose to collect and explain how they will help you to
answer your research questions.

Identification of the Variables


From the research objectives, identify:
Dependent
Independent
Moderating variables

Methods/Sources for collection of data

Data collection tools (proforma/questionnaire, Interview)

RESEARCH METHOD (DESIGN, TECHNIQUES)


(a) Briefly describe how research will be conducted.
(b) In case of experimental work various steps involved, along with list of necessary
equipment, be described.
For empirical research: Describe the methodology (case study/policy analysis etc.) and methods
(survey, interviews, etc.).
If you intend to do a theoretical or historical study, please describe how you intend to conduct the
research, indicating major sources, methods for analysis and interpretation and overall design.
If your research topic is more generic you will explain which sector(s) of the economy you have
chosen to research and why you chose these sectors.
You will also need to explain the identity of your research population and why you chose this
population.
This section should also include an explanation of the general way in which you intend to carry
out the research. Will it be based on questionnaire, interview, examination of secondary data or
use a combination of data collection techniques? It is essential to explain why you have chosen
your approach.
The research design section gives an overall view of the method chosen and the reason for that
choice.

CONTRIBUTUION/UTILIZATION OF RESEARCH RESULTS


What is the value of the research?
What contribution will the research make?

REFERENCES
In this section, you are required to provide the full bibliographic information for each source you
have discussed. Follow the APA 6th Edition Style for references. References must be listed in
alphabetical order by author.
It is not necessary to try to impress your proposal reader with an enormous list of references. The
key literature sources to which you have referred that is directly informing your own proposal
should be all that is necessary.

APA Referencing
THIS IS A QUICK GUIDE TO THE APA REFERENCING STYLE (6TH EDITION)

The American Psychological Association reference style uses the Author-Date format.

Refer to the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (6th ed.)
for more information. Check the Library Catalogue for call number and location(s).

When quoting directly or indirectly from a source, the source must be acknowledged in the text by
author name and year of publication. If quoting directly, a location reference such as page number(s)
or paragraph number is also required.

IN-TEXT
Direct quotation use quotation marks around the quote and include page numbers
Samovar and Porter (1997) point out that "language involves attaching meaning to symbols"
(p.188).
Alternatively, Language involves attaching meaning to symbols" (Samovar & Porter, 1997,
p.188).
Indirect quotation/paraphrasing no quotation marks
Attaching meaning to symbols is considered to be the origin of written language (Samovar &
Porter, 1997).
N.B. Page numbers are optional when paraphrasing, although it is useful to include them (Publication Manual,
p. 171).

Citations from a secondary source


As Hall (1977) asserts, culture also defines boundaries of different groups (as cited in Samovar
& Porter, 1997, p. 14).
At the end of your thesis, you are required to provide the full bibliographic information for each source.
References must be listed in alphabetical order by author.
EXAMPLES OF REFERENCES BY TYPE

IN A REFERENCE LIST
1. Book with one author

IN-TEXT CITATION

King, M. (2000). Wrestling with the angel: A life of Janet Frame.


Auckland, New Zealand: Viking.
N.B. The first letter of the first word of the main title, subtitle and all proper
nouns have capital letters.

(King, 2000) or
King (2000) compares
Frame ...

2. Book with two to five authors (see Library APA referencing webpage for six or more
authors)
Krause, K.-L., Bochner, S., & Duchesne, S. (2006). Educational
(Krause, Bochner, &
psychology for learning and teaching (2nd ed.). South Melbourne,
Duchesne, 2006)
Vic., Australia: Thomson.
then
N.B. Use & between authors names, except when paraphrasing in text.
When a work has three, four or five authors, cite all authors the first time,
(Krause et al., 2006)
and in subsequent citations include only the first author followed by et al.

3. Book or report by a corporate author e.g. organisation, association, government department


(University of Waikato,
University of Waikato. (1967). First hall of residence (Information
1967) Some group authors
series No. 3). Hamilton, New Zealand: Author.
N.B. When the author and the publisher are the same, use Author in the
publisher field.

4. Book chapter in edited book


Helber, L. E. (1995). Redeveloping mature resorts for new markets. In
M. V. Conlin & T. Baum (Eds.), Island tourism: Management
principles and practice (pp. 105-113). Chichester, England: John
Wiley.

may be abbreviated in
subsequent citations if they
are readily recognisable.

(Helber, 1995) or
Helber (1995) compares
luxury resorts ...

N.B. Include the page numbers of the chapter after the book title.

5. Conference paper online - (see Library APA referencing webpage for alternative formats)
Bochner, S. (1996, November). Mentoring in higher education: Issues
to be addressed in developing a mentoring program. Paper presented
(Bochner, 1996) or
at the Australian Association for Research in Education Conference,
According to Bochner
Singapore. Retrieved from
(1996) ...
http://www.aare.edu.au/96pap/bochs96018.txt
6. Course handout/Lecture notes
Salter, G. (2007). Lecture 3: SPLS205-07A [PowerPoint slides].
(Salter, 2007)
Hamilton, New Zealand: University of Waikato.
N.B. Put format in square brackets - e.g. [PowerPoint slides] [Lecture notes]

7. Film (see Library APA referencing webpage for music and other media)
Zhang, Y. (Producer/Director). (2000). Not one less [Motion picture].
China: Columbia Pictures.
(Zhang, 2000)
N.B. For films, DVDs or videorecordings use [Motion picture] in square
brackets. Give the country of origin and the name of the motion picture
studio.

8. Journal article academic/scholarly (electronic version) with DOI (see also Library APA
referencing webpage)
Hohepa, M., Schofield, G., & Kolt, G. S. (2006). Physical activity:
(Hohepa, Schofield, &
What do high school students think? Journal of Adolescent Health,
Kolt, 2006)
39(3), 328-336.
then subsequently, if 3-5
doi:10.1016/j.jadohealth.2005.12.024
N.B. A capital letter is used for key words in the journal title. The journal
title and volume number are italicised, followed by the issue number in
brackets (not italicised).

authors

(Hohepa et al., 2006)

9. Journal article academic/scholarly (electronic version) with no DOI


Harrison, B., & Papa, R. (2005). The development of an indigenous
(Harrison & Papa, 2005) or
knowledge program in a New Zealand Maori-language immersion
Harrison and Papa (2005)
school. Anthropology and Education Quarterly, 36(1), 57-72.
recommend ...
Retrieved from ProQuest Education Journals database.

N.B. Undergraduates: Give the name of the database. Researchers: Give the
URL of the journal homepage. e.g. Retrieved from
http://ucpressjournals.com/journal.asp?j=aeq

10. Journal article - academic/scholarly (print version)


Gibbs, M. (2005). The right to development and indigenous peoples:
(Gibbs, 2005) or
Lessons from New Zealand. World Development, 33(8), 1365-1378.
Gibbs (2005) contradicts ...
11. Journal article - academic/scholarly (Internet only no print version)
Snell, D., & Hodgetts, D. (n.d.). The psychology of heavy metal
(Snell & Hodgetts, n.d.)
communities and white supremacy. Te Kura Kete Aronui, 1. Retrieved or
from http://www.waikato.ac.nz/wfass/tkka
Snell and Hodgetts (n.d.)
N.B. (n.d.) = no date. For html version only, cite the paragraph number in
text

12. Magazine article popular/trade/general interest


Goodwin, D. K. (2002, February 4). How I caused that story. Time,
159(5), 69.
N.B. Full date is used for weekly magazines; month and year for monthly
magazines

suggest ... (para. 3)

(Goodwin, 2002) or
Goodwin (2002) defends ...

13. Newspaper article (Print version)


Hartevelt, J. (2007, December 20). Boy racers. The Press, p. 3.
N.B. Include p. or pp. before the page number for newspapers only, not
magazines

(Hartevelt, 2007)

14. Newspaper article (Database like Newztext Plus) (also see Library referencing webpage for
Internet version)
Cumming, G. (2003, April 5). Cough that shook the world. The New
(Cumming, 2003)
Zealand Herald. Retrieved from Newztext Plus database.
15. Newspaper article with no author
Report casts shadow on biofuel crops. (2007, October 16). Waikato
Times, p. 21.
N.B. Article title comes first. In the text, abbreviate title and use double
quotation marks.

(Report Casts Shadow,


2007)

16. Personal Communication (letters, telephone conversations, emails, interviews)


(H. Clarke, personal
N.B. No reference list entry as the information is not recoverable.
communication, March 19,
2004)
17. Thesis print version - outside the US (NEW)
Dewstow, R. A. (2006). Using the Internet to enhance teaching at the
(Dewstow, 2006) or
University of Waikato (Unpublished masters thesis). University of
Dewstow (2006) identified
Waikato, Hamilton, New Zealand.
...
18. Thesis Institutional or personal webpage - outside the US (NEW)
Dewstow, R. A. (2006). Using the Internet to enhance teaching at the
University of Waikato (Masters thesis, University of Waikato,
(Dewstow, 2006)
Hamilton, New Zealand). Retrieved from
http://researchcommons.waikato.ac.nz/handle/10289/2241
19. Webpages (When multiple webpages are referenced, reference the homepage)
Statistics New Zealand. (2007). New Zealand in profile 2007. Retrieved from
http://www.stats.govt.nz
N.B. Author (could be organisation), date (either date of publication or latest update), document title, date
retrieved if contents are likely to change, URL

APPENDIX
GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS
The general instructions for thesis proposal are given below:
I.

SPACING
The line spacing for the text of the proposal should be one and one-half (1.5), with the
exception of the topic, captions, table or figure headings, extensive quotations, and entries
in the References section where single spacing should be used.

II.

FONT SIZE
Use a font size of 12. The only allowable exceptions to this font size are captions (not
smaller than 9 point) and headings (not larger than 20 points). Use of italics is restricted to
foreign words, book or periodical titles, taxonomic names, letters used as statistical
symbols or algebraic variables, test scores and scales.

III.

ALIGNMENT
Full justification alignment is acceptable for the body of the text. Orphans (headings or
sub-headings located at the bottom of a page that are not followed by text) and Widows
(short lines ending a paragraph at the top of a page) should be avoided.

IV.

OVERALL PRESENTATION
The proposal that is submitted must be free from errors. All corrections should be made
before the final copy is printed. Overstrikes, cross-outs, handwritten additions or
corrections, and use of corrections fluid are not acceptable in the final copy.

V.

BINDING OF PROPOSAL
The Proposal should be submitted without binding but staple with one pin at the top left
corner.

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