Guidelines For Synopsis and Research Report - Thesis - Dissertation Preparation
Guidelines For Synopsis and Research Report - Thesis - Dissertation Preparation
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BA/BSC/MPHIL RESEARCH
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Sr No Contents
1 Eligibility Criteria
2 Process of Selection of Supervisor
3 Process for Approval of Synopsis
4 Process for Checking Similarity Index
5 Process for Submitting and Evaluating M.Phil Theses/Dissertation
6 Process followed for Viva Voice
7 Flow Diagram - M.Phil Thesis
8 General Considerations for the preparations of Manuscripts
9 Components of Synopsis
Title Page of Synopsis (Sample)
10 Guidelines for a BA/BSc Research Report/Master in Philosophy
Degree Thesis/ Dissertation
i. Length of dissertation and Content
ii. Components of a dissertation
iii. Cover / Title Page Format
iv. Inner /Sub-Title Page
v. Research Approval Certificate
vi. Research completion certificate from the supervisor
vii. Plagiarism Certificate by Supervisor
11 Dissertation Approval (Sample)
12 Research completion certificate (Sample)
13 Anti-Plagiarism Declaration (Sample)
14 Guidelines for writing Acknowledgments, abstract, TOC and
remaining chapters
15 Guidelines for reference writing
16 Performa for Selection of Supervisor/ Specialization
17 Topic Approval Form
18 Synopsis Defense Performa
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ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA
Students should maintain CGPA 3.0 in their MPhil course work (at completion of
24 credit hours) to be eligible for research thesis. MPhil research is not offered to the
students (officially/ unofficially) until they complete 24 credit hours course work with
CGPA 3.0 or above.
PROCESS OF SELECTION OF SUPERVISOR
Students are asked for their three preferences regarding specialization by Head of
Department on prescribed Performa. Head of Department conduct a meeting with
department faculty members and discuss about preferences by students. Department tries
to accommodate students’ request regarding selection of the specialization and allocate
suitable supervisors to the students. Departments ensure that each student meets the
eligibility criteria before allocation of research as per College and HEC guidelines.
Department and allocated supervisors should also follow the HEC guidelines regarding
supervision of MPhil students.
PROCESS FOR APPROVAL OF SYNOPSIS
After the allocation of supervisor, student work for the selection of topic in
consultation with allocated supervisor. Some pilot work is also required to be done by
students. After approval of synopsis by supervisor, student submit three hard copies of the
synopsis (duly signed by student and supervisor) to the Head of the Department. Office of
Research will conduct synopsis defense twice a year i.e., in January and in June/July of
every year. Head of Department forward list of all students of the department eligible to
appear for synopsis defense to Office of Research when asked and students have to
appear in front of synopsis defense committee comprised of Head of department, two
internal examiners and supervisor to defend her topic. After approval from synopsis
defense committee all synopsis are presented to Board of Advanced studies and Research
for formal approval. Minimum time between synopsis and thesis defense should not be
less than 5-6 months.
PROCESS FOR CHECKING SIMILARITY INDEX
All Thesis/ Research Reports are to be submitted to the Office of Research for
Plagiarism/ Similarity Index Check. There is provision of only three attempts (First
Submission + Two Attempts) for bringing the work within HEC’s prescribed limit of
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below 19% similarity index. Failing to do so will result in either the case being forwarded
to the Plagiarism Standing Committee or delay of thesis / Research Report defense for six
months. In case of re-defense of theses, it will be processed through Turnitin again at the
time of resubmission. The revised copy will be sent to the office of research
for Turnitin Originality report.
PROCESS FOR SUBMITTING AND EVALUATING M.PHIL
THESES/DISSERTATION
Once the student has achieved the similarity index according to HEC prescribed
limit, she submit three duly signed hard copies to the Head of Department. Department
forward the list of all students who are eligible to appear in MPhil theses defense to
Office of Research on prescribed dates. Head of Department should ensure that thesis are
submitted in tape or spiral binding to the Office of Research and should be strictly
formatted according to the guidelines provided.
Office of Research appoint the external and internal examiner against each
received thesis and the copies of thesis are sent to external examiner (specialized field)
and internal examiner for evaluation. Two to three week time is given to each examiner to
evaluate the thesis. Research defense date is communicated to Heads of departments by
the Office of Research and is also uploaded on website.
PROCESS FOLLOWED FOR VIVA VOICE
On defense day students are required to report in their allocated rooms at least 30
minutes before defense. Student present her work first (multimedia presentation) followed
by Question/Answer session in front of a panel of Defense Committee Members consist
of External Examiner, Internal Examiner and Head of Department. The Defense
Committee members evaluate and provide their comments on provided Performa. Along
with other comments committee give any one of these three recommendations
Accept in its present form
Revision Required
Reject
Accept in its present form
Students whose thesis are accepted in their present form are given a timeline of one week
to submit their black bound copies.
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Approved
Reject
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The guide has been prepared with an objective to ensure uniformity in the overall
appearance of the Kinnaird College BS Research Report or MPhil thesis / dissertation.
COMPONENTS OF A SYNOPSIS
After completion of other mandatory requirements necessary before the start of BS/MPhil
research work, a tape bound synopsis covering following components is required to be
submitted by every MPhil candidate.
The following components should be provided in a synopsis. The details may, however,
vary according to the field of study.
1. TITLE PAGE
2. LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS (IF ANY)
3. LIST OF TABLES
4. LIST OF FIGURES
5. TABLE OF CONTENTS
6. CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
7. RATIONALE HYPOTHESIS/RESEARCH QUESTIONS DISSERTATION
8. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
9. CHAPTER II
LITERATURE REVIEW
10. CHAPTER III
RESEARCH DESIGN/ EXPERIMENTAL WORK / MATERIALS AND
METHODS
11. REFERENCES
Note:
For further detail/s guidelines /contents, candidate may refer to relevant components of thesis/ dissertation
mentioned in the following sections. Copy of synopsis evaluation form should be attached before list of
abbreviations in synopsis after synopsis defense and that copy of synopsis should be kept by department for
their record.
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STUDENT’S NAME
REGISTRATION NUMBER
SUPERVISOR NAME
DEPARTMENT NAME
KINNAIRD COLLEGE FOR WOMEN,
LAHORE, PAKISTAN
DATE OF SUBMISSION
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Components of a dissertation
After meeting other mandatory requirements and completion of MPhil research work
candidate will submit her MPhil dissertation. Student is supposed to cover following
components in the dissertation. Minor variations are acceptable in these components
according to discipline/ department’s requirement.
Cover/ Title Page Format
Title page should contain a self- descriptive title reflecting the research done.
The title pages of the dissertation cover the following items:
Spine of the thesis/ dissertation should display “MPhil Major” on top along the length
of spine, candidate’s name in the middle along the length of spine, and year of
submission at the bottom along the length of thesis.
It should be in capital letters with 16 fonts bold.
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RESEARCH TITLE
STUDENT’S NAME
DEPARTMENT NAME
KINNAIRD COLLEGE FOR WOMEN,
LAHORE, PAKISTAN
YEAR
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MPHIL MAJOR
STUDENT NAME
YEAR
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RESEARCH TITLE
By
This section includes the copy of research completion/approval certificate issued by the
dissertation defense committee. The certificate should include the names, signatures of
the committee along with other details to be decided by administration. This will be
issued after research report/ thesis/dissertation defense, to be attached in final black
bound research report/ thesis/ dissertation.
(Sample attached)
Important Note:
In case of BA/BSc Research report word “BA/BSc Research report Research Report” will
be used instead of “MPhil Thesis/Dissertation”.
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DISSERTATION APPROVAL
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Date:
Name of Candidate
Registration No:
Entitled
__________________________________
In Charge of Dissertation
__________________________________
Head of Department
Recommendation concurred in
1. _____________________________
2. _____________________________ Committee
for the
3. _____________________________ Final Examination
4. _____________________________
(SAMPLE)
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It is certified that Ms. Maryam Khalid of MPhil (session 2014 – 2016), Department of
Environmental Sciences has carried out research work entitled “Occurrence and risk
assessment of metals and pesticides residues in honey from the major honey
producing forest belts of Pakistan” under my supervision.
It is assured that research work is original and has not yet been published anywhere else.
Signatures
Head of Department
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(SAMPLE)
ANTI-PLAGIARISM DECLARATION
I/we certify that this is my/our own research work. The work has not, in whole or in part,
been presented elsewhere for assessment. Where material has been used from other
sources, it has been properly acknowledged. The similarity index of the research report is
____________. If this statement is untrue and I am found guilty of plagiarism, the
punitive actions against me should be taken as per Kinnaird Anti Plagiarism Policy.
Signature of Supervisor:
Signature of HOD:
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Acknowledgments
This section is open for the author to decide the contents. It is, however, suggested that
excessive dedications should be avoided. In this part the researcher pays the gratitude to
her/his Institute, Principal, Vice-Principal, Dean Postgraduate Department, Director
Research, supervisor, co-supervisor, colleagues, every person who facilitates her in
research and last but not least to funding agency if any.
Abstract
Table of Contents
This page should start with the heading of the research report/ thesis/dissertation in the
first line and then heading “Table of Contents” in the second line. These headings should
be center aligned. The headings should not proceed beyond the third level sub-section
headings.
Only following headings should be made bold:
Use following cases for the headings of the sections and sub-sections:
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While using Title Case, words like ‘and’, ‘or’, ‘at’, ‘a’ and ‘the’ should not be capitalized
unless they are the first word in the title.
The sample Table of Contents is shown on the next page.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
(1 Single Blank Space)
Chapter Title Page
(1 Single Blank Space)
Research Completion Certificate ii
Acknowledgement iii
Abstract iv
Table of Contents v
List of Figures ix
List of Tables xi
Abbreviations xiii
Conversions xiv
(1 Single Blank Space)
1 Introduction 1
1.1 Background 1
1.2 Problem Statement 1
1.3 Research Rationale 2
1.4 Research Questions 3
1.5 Research Objectives 3
1.6 Scope and Limitations of Study 4
1.5.1 Scope of study 4
1.5.2 Limitations of study 4
1.7 Terms and Concept Used in Study 5
2.5 Composting 14
2.5.1 Historical review of composting 14
2.5.2 Composting as recycling and reuse technique 15
2.5.3 Application of compost 16
2.5.4 Pre-requisites for composting 16
2.5.5 Microbial inoculants 17
2.5.6 Environmental aspects 18
2.5.7 Composting process 19
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These lists should match the format and style of the Table of Contents. Number these
pages in Roman in continuity with Table of Contents. The Sample of these lists is shown
below:
List of Figures
(1 Single Blank Space)
Figure Title Page
(1 Single Blank Space)
2.1 Triangle based Interrelationship leading to sustainability 10
2.2 Effect of population increase on MSW generation 12
2.3 Effect of per capita income increase on MSW generation 13
2.4 Possible alliances in urban solid waste management 15
2.5 Waste recycling in developing countries 18
2.6 Solid waste processing through composting 20
2.7 Changes in Soil Erosion due to Compost Application 22
List of Tables
(1 Single Blank Space)
Table Title Page
(1 Single Blank Space)
3.1 Sampling type and sample size calculation 35
3.2 Summary of interviews conducted 45
4.1 Air pollution measurements recorded by EPD air monitoring 55
unit at various busy centres of Lahore
4.2 Population in six towns of Lahore 56
4.3 Household size 1981 and 1998 57
4.4 Landuse in Lahore 58
List of Abbreviations
(1 Single Blank Space)
ADO Assistant District Officer
BOD Biochemical Oxygen Demand
C/N Carbon to Nitrogen ratio
DO Dissolved Oxygen
DHS Defense Housing Authority
EPA Environmental Protection Agency
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Introduction
Literature Review
Methodology/Materials and Methods
Results and Discussion (may be combined or separate)
Conclusion
Recommendations (where applicable)
Limitations (where applicable)
References/Bibliography
Appendices
For Sciences
Apparatus / equipment used in the study with manufacturer’s name
Chemicals / materials/ samples
Data collection and Methodologies and any other tools of data collection
Data collection procedure is clearly described
Experimental Materials and Methods
Preparation of reagents
Procedures/ methods employed
CHAPTER V
DISCUSSION (center aligned, capital letters in 16 font and bold)
Covers all the debatable aspects of study
Latest references are included
Current and past findings are brought together
Findings are fully explained and justified
Comparison, agreement or disagreement with literature is given
CONCLUSION
(a)Should commensurate with the study
(b)Discussion should not be repeated
Author’s Surname, Author’s Initials (year) Title of the Book, Title of Chapter,
edition, address: name of publisher,
Volume (if any and in bold) pages
If more than one author, separate the authors by a semicolon.
If the book is edited, write (Eds) after authors name
If unpublished manuscript has to be cited then write “unpublished manuscript”
after the title of the book.
For Journals
Vancouver Style
Author’s Surname, Author’s Initial. Title of the Research Paper. Name of Journal
in italics, volume (issue no.), pages (year).
If more than one author all authors are to be mentioned with a semicolon
separating each author
For Film
Name of the producer (Producer), name of the director (Director). Title of the film
in italics (Film). Address: Publisher (year)
Author’s Surname, Authors Initials, Title of the Topic, Website (Year), Retrieved
on date (e.g.11th March 2009)
If Authors name not given then give the title of topic, complete website retrieved
on (date).
For TV Interviews
Name of participants starting with Surname, Initials, Name of the Programmer,
TV Channel, Date (Year)
For Internet
Author’s Surname, Authors Initials, Title of the Topic, (Year) Website, Retrieved
on Date
If Authors name is not given then give the title of topic, complete website
retrieved on date.
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BS/MS/MPhil
Specialization/Supervisor Selection Form
Name of Student
Department
Degree Program
Session
Registration No
Credit Hours Completed
CGPA
Cell No
Email ID
Preferred Specialization Preferred Supervisor
Option 1: Option 1:
Option 2: Option 2:
Option 3: Option 3:
Tentative Topics
Option 1:
Option 2:
Option 3:
Signature Date
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BS/MS/MPhil
Topic Approval Form
Name of Student
Department
Degree Program
Session
Registration No
Credit Hours Completed
CGPA
Cell No
Email ID
Students are required to submit this form to HOD immediately after allocation of topic. Synopsis cannot be
processed for approval without this form.
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Department: ___________________________________________________________
Program: ______________________________________________________________
Supervisor: ____________________________________________________________
Level of Research:
1- Does the title of the research synopsis reflect its contents? Yes No
________________________________________________________________________
2- Does the proposed table of contents provide sufficient coverage of the subject matter
of the proposed research?
Yes No
If “No”, what topic (s) should the author (s) add, delete or revise to improve
dissertation contents? Please elaborate.
________________________________________________________________________
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5. Are the scientific materials, notation, literature review, terminology, and methods
presented in the synopsis of proposed research appropriate and the student is
recommended to carry out the research.
Yes No
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
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6. How would you rank the clarity with which the author expresses her ideas in the
synopsis?
7. How would you rank the quality and scope of the overall presentation?
__________________________ _________________________
Member Synopsis Committee Member Synopsis Committee
______________________________ ____________________________
Supervisor Dissertation Head of Department
Note: All synopsis related forms should be bind with final copy of synopsis and departments are advised to
keep proper record of all synopsis along with their evaluation forms.