Dissertation

<<Dissertation Topic>>
(Bold, 16 font, Times New Roman style)

A REPORT
SUBMITTED TO THE DEPARTMENT OF MANAGEMENT SCIENCES,
VIRTUAL UNIVERSITY OF PAKISTAN
IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR
THE DEGREE OF BS in COMMERCE
(Bold, 12 font, Times New Roman style)

Submitted By

<<Student ID>>

<<Student Name>>
(Bold, 16 font, Times New Roman style)

Department of Management Sciences,

Virtual University of Pakistan

1
Dedication (Optional)

2
 Acknowledgement
Here you will write a brief paragraph to acknowledge the help and
support you received throughout your dissertation. You can
acknowledge the library staff, teacher, family or any other person who
helped you in completion of your work.

3
 Abstract
This is an outline of the entire dissertation. It provides the reader a clear
and precise picture of the nature, subject matter, and methodology used
in the dissertation. The abstract is written after completing the
dissertation and is placed in the beginning of the document. The
following points should be considered while writing the abstract:

It should be understandable to the general reader. Readers of

summaries will vary widely in expertise, perhaps much more
than those who read the report itself. So the whole of the
technical data is translated into plain English rather than using
complex business terminologies.

There should be harmony in all the ideas presented in it.

No new information should be added which has not been included

in the dissertation and order of the contents of the dissertation
should not be disturbed.

Only the key points should be emphasized.

4
 Table of Contents
(You are required to provide a list of chapters and the major headings and sub-
headings in all of the chapters.)

Table of contents

Acknowledgment
Executive Summary

1. Chapter 1….…………….………...………………………..Page # 01
1.1…………………………………………………?
1.2…………………………………………………?
1.3…………………………………………………?
2. Chapter 2…………………………………………………………….?
2.1…………………………………………………?
2.2…………………………………………………?
2.3…………………………………………………?
3. Chapter 3 .……………………………………………........................?
4. Chapter 4…..………………………………………………………...?
1” 5. Chapter 5…………………………………………………………….? 1
6. Chapter 6…………………………………………………………….?
1

1 ½"

5
 Specimen List of Illustrations
(List down the important diagrams, graphs, tables and pictures with page numbers)

2"

List of Illustrations

Figure 1.1………………………...…………………………….05
Figure 1.2………………………………………………………………06
Figure 2.1..……………………………………………..........................12
Figure 2.2…………………………………………………………........18
Figure 2.3………………………………………………………………19
Figure 3.1………………………………………………………………24
Figure 3.2………………………………………………………............30
Figure 3.3………………………………………………………………32
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
1"
1"

1½"

6
 Acronyms

If abbreviations have been used in the dissertation, a complete list of words

is provided here along with the abbreviations.

7
 Chapter 1: Introduction

1.1 Background
Describe briefly the background i.e. the impact and implication of the topic on the
environment (the specific set up in which you are studying the issue).It should be well
elaborated. It is advised to include current facts and figures in background. You can
also explain it in context with the work already done on the topic. It should provide all
the necessary initial information so that the reader can better understand the situation
under study.

1.2 Objectives: State the objectives/goals of the research, keeping in mind the
following points:
 These should state the purpose of the project
 These must be based on logical facts and figures
 These must be achievable within specified timeframe and parameters
 These should clearly indicate and encompass the issues under study.
 The specified objectives should be clearly phrased in operational terms
specifying exactly what you are going to do, where and for what purpose
Note: At the end of the study, objectives must be assessed to see if they have been
met/achieved or not.

1.3 Significance: It lays down the importance or potential benefits of your dissertation.
It specifies how your study will improve, modify or broaden presented facts in the field
under exploration. Make a note that such improvements/ modifications may have
significant implications also.
When you are taking into account the importance of your study, pose yourself the
following questions:
 What will be the outcomes of this research study?
 Will the results of this research contribute to the solution or development of
anything related to it?
 How will results of the study be implemented and what innovations will
come out?

8
1.4 Problem Statement/Research Question: It describes the main issue or area to be
investigated. The problem is usually represented by the research questions. Research
questions are very crucial because research is about finding out what may not be
known. Poorly formulated problem/question will lead to pitiable research that’s why
researcher must know the question he/she would like to find answer for. The following
aspects are important while formulating a problem statement/research question:
 A problem statement/research question should be researchable, clear, logical,
specific, precise and brief yet comprehensive statement, fully describing the
issue under study.
 The research problem should be grammatically correct and completely convey
the main idea to be investigated.

9
 Chapter 2: Literature Review

Literature review is citation/quotation of a comprehensive review and analysis of the

published work from secondary sources (journals, research papers, etc.) of data in the
areas of specific interest to the researcher according to the problem/issue of research.
The purpose of literature review is to ensure that:
 Important variables that are likely to influence the problem situation are not
left out of the study
 A clear idea emerges as to which variables would be the most important to
consider.
 The problem statement can be made with precision and accuracy.
Note: It is important to cite at least 20 findings of researchers in literature review.

10
 Chapter 3: Research Process

3.1 Theoretical Framework

A theoretical framework is a conceptual model of how to make a logical sense of the
relationships among the several factors that have been identified as important to the
problem under consideration. It includes the following:
3.1.1 Inventory of variables
3.1.2 Schematic diagram
3.1.3 Direction of relationships
3.1.4 Explanation of established relationship among variables, and
3.1.5 Inventory of propositions in a sequential order.

3.2 Hypotheses
Hypotheses are the tentative statements that should either be acknowledged or rejected
by means of research. Hypotheses give structure and direction to the research.
Therefore, care should be taken not to oversimplify and generalize the formulation of
hypothesis.
It is not necessary that the research should consist of only one hypothesis. The type of
problem area investigated and the extent which encircles the research field are the
factors which determine the number of hypotheses to be included in the study.

It is formulated when the researcher is totally aware of the theoretical and empirical
background to the problem. There are two types of hypothesis “Null” and “Alternate”.
Generally, the null hypothesis is used if theory/literature does not propose a
hypothesized connection between the variables under study; the alternative is generally
reserved for situations in which theory/research recommends a connection or
directional interplay.

3.3 Operationalization
Operationalization is the process of defining a fuzzy concept so as to make the concept
measurable in form of variables consisting of specific observations.

11
 Chapter 4: Research Design

4.1 Technical procedures for carrying out the study must be explained in a manner
appropriate for the reader. This part of the report should address following topics:
 Research design: Is the study exploratory, descriptive, or explanatory?
What specific strategy has been used to conduct this study? Why this
particular design suite to the study?
 Data collection methods:
 How will the primary data be collected i.e. survey(s),
experiment(s), observation(s) etc.?
 Is it possible to use multiple methods? If yes provide
justification.
 Data Collection Tools/Instruments:
 Which tools have been used for data collection (i.e.
Questionnaire, Structured Interviews, Observations, etc)
according to the need of the dissertation?
 Why a particular tool is selected?
 Is it possible to use multiple tools? If yes provide justification.
 Sample design:
 What is the target population?
 What sampling frame has been used?
 What type of sampling technique has been used?
 What selection procedure has been used for sampling?
 Fieldwork/Data collection:
 How the data have been collected?
 How the quality control has been assured during data collection?
 Data Processing & Analysis: (Methods you have used to extract and
process the information you gathered)
 How the analysis has been carried out?
 Scoring scheme/scale and the statistical methods that have been
applied for the analysis of data should be described.
 Which software package (MS Excel, SPSS, etc.) has been used
for data entry and analysis?
4.2 Scaling

12
 Scaling means assigning numeric values to the data so that statistical analysis can
be done on the data and final conclusion can be made to provide valuable
recommendations.
4.3 Limitations of the Research
Limitations of a dissertation refer to limiting conditions or restrictive factors that may
have an effect on the dissertation. Dissertation should be critically analyzed after its
completion. A precise list of all the limitations of the study is to be illustrated under this
heading. You may consider following points while writing limitations of the study:
 Access to the concerned participants/respondents
 Access to the required information
 Timescale
 Reluctance or hesitation of participants to participate in the
study
 Budget constraint
 Scope of study
 Any other limitation

The discussion of limitations should avoid overemphasizing the weaknesses. Its aim
should be to provide realistic basis for assessing the results.

13
 Chapter 5: Data Analysis and Interpretation

• It employs the use of descriptive statistics (frequencies, measures of central

tendency and measures of dispersion) and inferential statistics to analyze the
data that is collected and is processed thereafter.
• Summary tables and charts should be used to aid the discussion.
• Comprehensive or detailed charts should be reserved for the annexure.
• It should also include hypotheses testing.
Note: You are also required to attach the raw data files supporting your data
analysis along with the dissertation.

14
 Chapter 6: Conclusion and Recommendations

6.1 Conclusion

This section makes last part of your dissertation in which you precisely state the final
outcomes of your research work. It is based on the data that is analyzed and interpreted.
Conclusions should not be confused with findings/results of the data analysis as
findings/results state facts; conclusions represent inferences drawn from findings.
Conclusions are short, concise statements of the inferences that you have made based
on your research work. It is more appropriate to order them from most to least
important.

6.2 Recommendations
Recommendations emerge out of conclusion. These are actually suggestions for action
in an applied research. The researcher may present several alternatives with
justification to solve the problem under investigation. Recommendations should be
clear, specific and based on outcomes of the research. They must be logical and
applicable.

15
 Chapter 7: Supplementary Parts

 Glossary
The operational definitions of the terms used in dissertation are presented here.

 References
All citations used in the study must be given by arranging them alphabetically by the
last name of the author. (APA format should be used)

 Annexure(s)
The annexure presents the “too …” material. Any material that is too technical or too
detailed to go to the body should appear in appendix. This includes materials of
interest only to some readers, or subsidiary materials not directly related to the
objectives.
These include:
 Data collection forms (instruments)
 Detailed calculations
 Statistics or measurements
 Maps
 Complex formulas
 Questionnaire, Structured interview questions, Profile of participants of Focus
Group Discussion etc. (IF applicable)

16