Mr Saleem Khan

Ms Ayesha Aslam

You to the First Day of the Research Workshop

Has it ever happened to you?

• A great Pashto philosopher says, “The most difficult part of

writing is to know where to begin, just as the most difficult part
of speaking is to know where to stop. Nothing is more irritating
than a blank sheet of paper staring stupidly into your face when
you are bursting to write but cannot make up your mind how to
set about it” (Khan, 1947, p.1).
Crafting the Introduction Chapter of Your Thesis
 Coherent Introduction
• Coherence Between Sentences

• It is created between sentences through repetition and transitional devices.

Repetition of words across sentences restate the same ideas.

• One way to create coherence is to repeat the same word or phrase at the end of one
sentence and the beginning of the next sentence to show how the ideas connect.
Here is an example of sentences that create coherence through repetition:

• The most important part of an essay is a thesis statement. The thesis statement
introduces an argument of the essay. The thesis statement also helps to create a
structure for the essay.
 Coherence Between Paragraphs
• Transitional words can also be used between paragraphs. Words such as:
• Therefore, However, Yet, Thus, First, Later, and Then can not only be used
between sentences, but between paragraphs to connect them. Other ways
to create coherence between paragraphs include having a consistent
paragraph structure and point of view.
• The structure of a coherent paragraph includes a topic sentence, which
focuses on the main idea. The topic sentence usually comes first in a
paragraph. The topic sentence is followed by supporting sentences that
develop the idea, and finally, a concluding sentence to tie it all together.
• Transitional words then bridge the gap between paragraphs, and the
structure starts anew with another topic sentence for the next paragraph.
 Transition words
• These are words or phrases that carry a thought from one sentence to
another, from one idea to another, or from one paragraph to another.
These link sentences and paragraphs together smoothly so that there
are no abrupt jumps or breaks between ideas.
• Finally, consistent point of view is a way to create coherence between
paragraphs. Point of view is the narrator's position in telling the story. The
types of point of view in writing are:
• First person
• Second person
• Third person limited
• Third person omniscient
• Regardless of what viewpoint you choose, it is important not to switch back
and forth because this can be confusing to the reader.
• Here is an example of a sentence switching between viewpoints:

• If someone wants to improve themselves, you should set a list of attainable

goals to make that improvement.
 Viewpoint
• Personal pronouns are used to indicate point of view in most types of writing.
Here are some common points of view:

• A paper using first-person point of view uses pronouns such as "I," "me," "we,"
and "us."

• A paper using second-person point of view uses the pronoun "you."

• A paper using third-person point of view uses pronouns such as "he," "she," "it,"
"they," "him," "her," "his," and "them."

• In scholarly writing, first-person and third-person point of view are common, but
second-person point of view is not.
Do it!
 What Tense to use in Introduction Chapter?
• Introduction --> Present tense

• The introduction is usually in present tense because you

present facts and background information on your research
topic. Expressing this information in present tense shows that
you believe that this research is correct. Present tense should
still be used even if the research you are speaking of is old.
• Example:

“Malaria, a serious and sometimes fatal disease, is

caused by a parasite that commonly infects a certain
type of mosquito which feeds on humans. People who
get malaria are typically very sick with high fevers, shaking
chills, and flu-like illness”.
• Example:

“Malaria, a serious and sometimes fatal disease, is caused

by a parasite that commonly infects a certain type of
mosquito which feeds on humans. People who get
malaria are typically very sick with high fevers, shaking
chills, and flu-like illness”.
 What tense will you use?
• Most of the dissertations are written in the past tense because you report on
what you researched, how you did it and what you found. Even if you are doing
it, the final report will still read as if it is written after the everything is
completed.

• There are exceptions however, most notably in the literature review you use a
mixture of past, present and present perfect tenses.

• For discussing the implications of your findings present tense is appropriate.

• In the recommendations where you are likely to use the future tense.
 How to write?

• Introduction chapter should be written in a clear and concise

language that can be easily understood and digested.

• It should have one interpretation or one fold meaning.

• If your readers have to struggle through it, they’ll lose interest, which
will make it harder for you to your idea.
For example:

• Eliminate unnecessary phrases and redundancies.

• The patient will recover in a period of ten days. Incorrect:

• The patient will recover in ten days. correct:

• Use clear and straightforward language.

• It has come to my attention that there is a vast proliferation of undesirable

Incorrect:
vegetation surrounding the periphery of this facility.

• I have noticed many weeds growing around the building. correct:

Shorten wordy phrases.

• Doctor will let me know in the evening that the nurse can calculate the

medicine and make the plan of medication. Incorrect:

• Doctor will tell me that the nurse can calculate and plan medication.

Correct:
• Eliminate filler words such as "that", "of", or "up".

• I said that I was tired. Incorrect:

• I said I was tired. Correct:

Incorrect:
• I stepped off of the curb.

• I stepped off the curb. Correct:

Incorrect:
• I got up on the ladder.

• I got on the ladder. Correct:

Activity
How to Begin Writing An Introduction Chapter
I. The opening section – where you’ll introduce the reader to your research in
high-level terms

II. The background to the study – where you’ll explain the context of your
project

III. The research problem – where you’ll explain the “gap” that exists in the
current research

IV. The research aims, objectives and questions – where you’ll clearly state
what your research will aim to achieve
V. The significance (or justification) – where you’ll explain why your
research is worth doing and the value it will provide to the world

VI. The limitations – where you’ll acknowledge the potential

limitations of your project and approach

VII. The structure – where you’ll briefly outline the structure of your
dissertation or thesis to help orient the reader
 So, what goes into this opening
section?
• Four foundational sentences can help you write an opening section

I – A sentence or two introducing the overall field of your research.

• For example:
• “Organisational skills development involves identifying current or potential
skills gaps within a business and developing programs to resolve these gaps.
Management research, including X, Y and Z, has clearly established that
organisational skills development is an essential contributor to business
growth.”
 II – A sentence introducing your specific research problem.

• For example:

• “However, there are conflicting views and an overall lack of research

regarding how best to manage skills development initiatives in highly
dynamic environments where subject knowledge is rapidly and
continuously evolving – for example, in the website development
industry.”
 III – A sentence stating your research aims and objectives.

• For example:

• “This research aims to identify and evaluate skills development

approaches and strategies for highly dynamic industries in which
subject knowledge is continuously evolving.”.
 IV – A sentence outlining the layout of the chapter.

• For example:

• “This chapter provides an introduction to the study by first discussing

the background and context, followed by the research problem, the
research aims, objectives and questions, the significance and finally,
the limitations.”
 Make connection between the problem and the existing
research using phrases:
Phrase Connection

Although x has been studied in detail, You will address a previously

insufficient attention has been paid overlooked aspect of your topic.
to y.

The implications of x study deserve to You will build on something suggested

be explored further. by a previous study, exploring it in
greater depth.

It is generally assumed that x. However, You will depart from the consensus on
this paper suggests that y … your topic, establishing a new position.
2 – Background to the study

• Here you lay a foundation for your research topic. This foundation is
what the second ingredient is all about – the background to your
study. It provide a broad overview of the topic area that you’ll be
researching.

• The reader is not an expert in your topic area, so field-specific jargon

and complex terminology should be briefly explained here.
 3 – The research problem

• Get specific about the research problem

• Narrow the focus and highlight the specific research problem

• Structure research problem into three sections

What’s already well- Why this is

What’s missing in
established in the a problem (in
the literature (in
literature (in other other words, why
words, the current other words, the
it’s important to
state of research) literature gap)
fill this gap)
 Ke
y
• Let’s look at an example of this structure using the skills development topic.
• Organisational skills development is critically important for employee satisfaction and company
performance (reference). Numerous studies have investigated strategies and approaches to
manage skills development programs within organisations (reference).
• (this paragraph explains what’s already well-established in the literature)
• However, these studies have traditionally focused on relatively slow-paced industries where key
skills and knowledge do not change particularly often. This body of theory presents a problem for
industries that face a rapidly changing skills landscape – for example, the website development
industry – where new platforms, languages and best practices emerge on an extremely frequent
basis.
• (this paragraph explains what’s missing from the literature)
• As a result, the existing research is inadequate for industries in which essential knowledge and
skills are constantly and rapidly evolving, as it assumes a slow pace of knowledge development.
Industries in such environments, therefore, find themselves ill-equipped in terms of skills
development strategies and approaches.
• (this paragraph explains why the research gap is problematic)
 4 – The research aims, objectives and questions

• It’s time to explain what you’re going to do about the research problem

• The research aim is the main goal or the overarching purpose of your
dissertation or thesis (a high-level statement of what you’re aiming to
achieve).
Let’s look at an example, sticking with the skills development topic:

• “Given the lack of research regarding organisational skills

development in fast-moving industries, this study will aim to identify
and evaluate the skills development approaches utilised by web
development companies in the UK”.
 How should your objectives be stated?

• Your objectives should be stated using action verbs that are specific
enough to be measured, for example:

• To compare, to calculate, to assess, to determine, to verify, to calculate,

to describe, to explain, etc.

• Avoid the use of vague non-active verbs such as: to appreciate, to

understand, to believe, to study, etc., because it is difficult to evaluate
whether they have been achieved.
 Identify General/Specific Objectives?
Objectives

I. To identify factors that affects the acceptability of VCT services and to assess
community attitudes towards comprehensive care and support for people living
with HIV/AIDS.

II. To assess the knowledge, attitude and practice of the community towards HIV/AIDS
and VCT services.

III. To identify barriers and concerns related to VCT and its uptake.

IV. To understand the awareness and perception of the study community regarding
comprehensive care and support for people living with HIV/AIDS.
• Let’s take a look at an example of some research objectives (ROs) to fit the
research aim.

• RO1 – To identify common skills development strategies and approaches

utilised by web development companies in the UK.

• RO2 – To evaluate the effectiveness of these strategies and approaches.

• RO3 – To compare and contrast these strategies and approaches in terms of

their strengths and weaknesses.

As you can see from this example, these objectives describe the actions you’ll take and
the specific things you’ll investigate in order to achieve your research aims. They break
down the research aims into more specific, actionable objectives.
How to Convert Statements into Questions?

Questions
Open ended:
Closed ended: Interrogative
auxiliaries or modal Pronouns (What,
auxiliaries (Do, did, is, who, when, why,
was, are, were, …) which…)
Activity: Convert the following statements into
Open ended questions

• Identify common skills development strategies and approaches

utilised by web development companies in the UK.

• Evaluate the effectiveness of these strategies and approaches.

• Compare and contrast these strategies and approaches in terms of

their strengths and weaknesses.
 Research Objectives into Research Questions
• RO1 – To identify common skills • RQ1 – What skills development
development strategies and strategies and approaches are
approaches utilised by web currently being used by web
development companies in the UK. development companies in the
• RO2 – To evaluate the effectiveness UK?
of these strategies and approaches. • RQ2 – How effective are each of
• RO3 – To compare and contrast these strategies and approaches?
these strategies and approaches in • RQ3 – What are the strengths and
terms of their strengths and
weaknesses. weaknesses of each of these
strategies and approaches?
 5 – Significance
• Make a strong argument regarding importance and significance of your
study.

• Previously, it has been briefly alluded to the importance of the study in your
background and research problem sections, but it needs to be explicitly
stated how your research findings will benefit the world.

• Here state how the study will benefit either industry, academia, or – ideally
– both.
 Let’s take a look at an example.
• “This study will contribute to the body of knowledge on skills development
by incorporating skills development strategies and approaches for
industries in which knowledge and skills are rapidly and constantly
changing. This will help address the current shortage of research in this
area and provide real-world value to organisations operating in such
dynamic environments.”

Find out the vocabulary items referring to the significance as well

as implication of the research.
 6 – The limitations
• Discuss the limitations of the research.

• No piece of research is perfect such as a dissertation or thesis due to

very low or zero budget, tight time constraints, and limited researcher
experience.

• It is completely acceptable and the future researchers can improve the

study’s design to minimise the limitations and strengthen the findings.
• The scope
– for example, perhaps your focus is very narrow and doesn’t consider
how certain variables interact with each other.
• Research methodology
– for example, a qualitative methodology could be criticised for being
overly subjective, or a quantitative methodology could be criticised for
oversimplifying the situation.
• Resources
– for example, a lack of time, money, equipment and your own research
experience.
• The generalisability of your findings
– for example, the findings from the study of a specific industry or
country can’t necessarily be generalised to other industries or countries.
7 – The structural outline
• Provide a brief summary - a sentence or two explaining what you’ll
do in each chapter is generally enough to orient the reader.

• Don’t want to get too detailed here – it’s purely an outline, not a
summary of your research.
 For example:
• In Chapter One, the context of the study has been introduced. The research objectives
and questions have been identified, and the value of such research argued. The
limitations of the study have also been discussed.

• In Chapter Two, the existing literature will be reviewed and a foundation of

theory will be laid out to identify key skills development approaches and strategies
within the context of fast-moving industries, especially technology-intensive
industries.

• In Chapter Three, the methodological choices will be explored. Specifically, the

adoption of a qualitative, inductive research approach will be justified, and the
broader research design will be discussed, including the limitations thereof.
 References
• https://academicguides.waldenu.edu/writingcenter/scholarlyvoice/pointofview#:~:text=A%20paper%
20using%20first%2Dperson,%2C%22%20and%20%22them.%22
• https://gradcoach.com/dissertation-thesis-introduction-chapter/
• https://gradcoach.com/dissertation-structure/
• https://www.open.edu/openlearncreate/mod/oucontent/view.php?id=231&section=8.6.2#:~:text=Yo
ur%20objectives%20should%20be%20stated,describe%2C%20to%20explain%2C%20etc
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• https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/general_writing/mechanics/transitions_and_transitional_devices/transiti
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0between%20ideas.
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