Questions and Topics We Can Help You To Answer:
Paper Instructions:
CHAPTER ONE
1.0 INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background;
1.2 Statement of the problem
1.3 Purpose/General objective
1.4 Specific objectives
1.5 Research Questions
1.6 Research Hypothesis
1.7 Conceptual Framework
1.8 Scope
1.9 Significance
CHAPTER TWO
2.0 LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 Introduction
2.2 Theoretical Review
2.3 Review of related literature
CHAPTER THREE
3.0 METHODOLOGY
3.1 Introduction
3.2 Research design
3.3 Population
3.4 Sample size and Sampling technique
3.5 Data collection Methods
3.6 Data collection instruments
3.7 Validity of Research instruments
3.8 Reliability of Research Instruments
3.9 Data Analysis
3.10 Limitations
3.11 Ethical Consideration
CHAPTER FOUR:
4.0 PRESENTATION ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION OF RESULTS
4.1 Introduction
4.2 Presentation, analysis and interpretation of the results objective by objective
4.3 Conclusion
CHAPTER FIVE:
5.0 SUMMARY, DISCUSSIONS, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
5.1 Introduction
5.2 Summary of Findings
5.3 Discussion of the findings
5.4 Recommendations
5.5 Limitations Encountered Whilst Conducting Research
5.6 Conclusions
6.0 REFERENCES
The title/topic should accurately reflect the scope and content of the study. It should be between 15-20 words. It should be descriptive yet discrete and the key words in the topic should be the key variables; unless the student is doing an exploratory study which could have one variable! Note that a title can have more than one independent variable or more than one dependent variable. It may have two main parts namely the main title and sub-title. It may also directly relate to the case study without the sub-title. The following example shows the main title and sub-title.
1. Factors Affecting Utlisation Of Evaluation Findings In Uganda’s Public Sector Organisations
2. Exploring Management Practices Among Newly Appointed Ceos In Uganda (Exploratory Topic Example)
3. Bureaucratic Structure And Public Policy Implementation In Uganda
4. Evaluating The Performance Of The National Agricultural Advisory Services Programme In Uganda
5. Corporate Governance And Performance Of National Water And Sewage Corportation In Uganda
6. Administrative Efficiency And Delivery Of Public Services In Uganda
7. Disaster Preparedness, Culture, Vulnerability And Climate Change Around Mt Elgon: A Case Of The Bagisu And Sabiny Communities.
8. Leadership Competencies That Promote Financial Sustainability Of Ngos In Uganda
9. Culture, Strategic Planning And Performance Of Smes In Uganda
10. Strategic Management Practices That Promote Performance Of Small And Medium Enterprises In Uganda
5.2 Table of Contents page:
The words TABLE OF CONTENTS are in capital letters and bold print and centred on top of the page. The word page is justified to the right. The content page(s) lists all headings and sub-headings and the pages where they appear.
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5.0 CHAPTER ONE
5.1 Introduction
The name of the first chapter in a proposal is the introduction. While some institutions may prefer to call it Background to the study, at UTAMU, the adopted name shall be the ‘INTRODUCTION’. The name should be centred and in capital letters. The first chapter will also need to be introduced hence a need for another introduction of the ‘INTRODUCTION’. The introduction (1.1 above) tells the reader what the study is about, the key variables of the study and how the chapter is organised. Students may have variations in the way they introduce their chapter based on the study area and information available. As a guide, the student may write an introduction as, ‘This study examines the relationship between corruption and effective service delivery in Uganda Revenue Authority’. Corruption in this study is conceived as the independent variable while effective service delivery is the dependent variable. Corruption will be measured in form of.....while effective service delivery will be measured in form of ....as explained in the conceptual framework in figure...
In addition to the introduction, this chapter will also deal with the background to the study, the statement of the problem, the purpose or general objectives (whichever is appropriate), the objectives of the study, the research questions, the hypotheses, the scope of the study, the significance, Justification and operational definition of terms and concepts. It is sometimes possible to begin with the background to the study without this introduction to the chapter (Note: the whole introduction may take one page or at maximum two pages). The introduction will need to be punctuated with current scholarly citations where necessary.
5.2 Background to the study
The background to the study section will deal with the rationale providing evidence and conditions of the existing situation to make the reader feel the urgency of the problem and the need to study it in order to solve it or contribute to its solution. The background must demonstrate masterly of the subject to be investigated by the student. This masterly will be demonstrated among others by the currency of the citations made. The student’s articulate understanding of empirical studies done at the global, regional and national context in relation to the study area will be very critical to show the candidate’s knowledge base. The section must demonstrate that the student is aware of the historical evolution and theoretical developments of the proposed study area. It must be consistently and carefully written.
Amin (2005) demonstrates that the background section should demonstrate the historical, theoretical, conceptual and contextual elements of the study systematically. These guidelines
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stipulate that while the above can be adopted, as much as possible, the background should be organised under:-
(i) Globally, what key debates and (gaps) exist on the subject area to be investigated in terms of the variables
(ii) Regionally, what key debates (and gaps) exist on the subject area to be investigated in terms of the variables
(iii) Nationally, what key debates and (gaps) exist on the subject area to be investigated in terms of the variables
This approach would therefore entail the adoption of the Broader-Narrow perspective as suggested by Mugenda and Mugenda (1999). Even if there is logic of triangulation, the historical, conceptual, theoretical and contextual perspectives can be addressed using this broader-narrow perspective. The section must be written in a scholarly language and should demonstrate masterly of the area of investigation.
5.3 Statement of the Problem:
As a guide, the statement of the problem must not exceed one page. A problem statement can be a theoretical problem or on the state of nature and the candidate must be clear on which of these problems is to be investigated. A problem is the heart of the research and must show the urgency why the candidate must be allowed to conduct the study. Four basic qualities of the research problem need to be emphasised namely: researchable, theoretically or practically significant (should contribute to the improvement of knowledge), clear and ethical (Amin, 2005). Candidates should avoid giving the symptoms of the problem but must give the real problem of the research. The statement of the problem must clearly defines the variable(s) and show the relationships / issue(s) that will be investigated. Reference should be made to the problem that has been detected and needs a theoretical and practical solution, the nature of the problem and its known or estimated magnitude or extent should be clearly stated where practically possible.
Students are guided to rely on the use of facts like statistical information or citations from known authorities in the candidates filed of research in a brief, specific and concise manner. Such facts may be used to highlight the magnitude or extent of the problem. Major previous researches undertaken on the subject should be cited (where applicable in case of theoretical problems) and this will enable the candidate to indicate the gaps in the knowledge and justifies the need for the proposed study. The statement of the problem should be concise (not more than 1 page). It is sometimes recommended for the student to present the problem to be solved in the first line of this section and then followed by a back up of all sorts of information including literature review. This will help the reader to clearly know what problem is being handled at first glimpse.
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5.3 General Objective or Purpose of the Study
The student should make a choice to use either purpose or general objectives of the study but not both. A study should be based on a clear conceptualization of relationship between variables, which define the parameters of the problem of the study. The objectives or purpose of the study spells out how the postulated relationships will be investigated and what the researcher hopes to achieve by carrying out the proposed study. It should include words to indicate the intent of the study. The student should start with ‘The purpose, or objective, or intent of the study is.....’. As Cresswell (2009: 117) recommends, identify the independent and dependent variables, as well as any mediating, moderating or control variables used in the study and use words that connect the independent and dependent variables...’
5.4 Specific objectives or objectives of the Study
The specific objectives arise directly from general objective of the study. Where a student has used purpose in 1.3, this section should be labelled objectives of the study but where general objective was used, this section becomes the specific objectives. The objectives break down the general objective or purpose of the study. Each relationship between variables to be investigated should be spelt out in a specific objective. The objectives must be aligned to the conceptual framework and the variables of the study. The number of objectives is therefore influenced by the conceptualisation and the nature of relationships the researcher may be interested in investigating. Students should note that the number of specific objectives will influence the volume of the literature review and data to be collected so one should limit the number of specific objectives to be investigated. It is assumed that the findings of the study will lead to recommendations so there is no need for a specific objective about recommendations. As a guide, the objectives may not be less than two and should not be more than six in a study.
5.5 Research questions
Research Questions refer to questions which a researcher would like answered by undertaking the study (Mugenda & Mugenda 1999). While in some cases the research questions may precede the construction of the conceptual/theoretical framework, in other cases it may follow it (Sarantakos 1998). In our structure, the research questions follow immediately after the research objectives and the number of research questions should correspond with that of research objectives in all cases. Some qualitative researchers recommend that research questions may be used only instead
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of the objectives. However, as a guide, both have to be used even if the student is purely doing a qualitative study.
5.6 Hypotheses of the Study
A hypothesis is predicted answer to the research question. After variables are operationalised the researcher proceeds to formulate one or more hypotheses. The purpose of formulating hypotheses is to offer a clear framework and a guide when collecting, analyzing and interpreting the data. In many cases hypotheses serve as a testing tool of the relationships between variables. In this sense, a hypothesis contains a possible solution to the research problem, and as such is expected to be verified or falsified (accepted or rejected) by the evidence gathered by the study (Sarantakos 1998, p.133).
The inclusion of hypotheses in the proposal will be influenced by the nature of the study. For example, as a guide, if the study is exploratory and therefore there are no answers to predict the relationship, then the students may not be required to state hypotheses. As a guide, qualitative studies may not be required to state the hypotheses. However, for quantitative studies, the hypotheses must be presented in addition to the research questions. For all studies that have a quantitative orientation; (depending on how the objectives are stated, the questions to be answered (what, why, how) and the design of the study among others), the candidate has to present testable hypothesis. It is recommended that alternative directional or non-directional hypotheses are formulated. The hypotheses may be the same number as the research questions (recommended), or they can be more or less. Candidates must understand the philosophy of this reasoning. As a guide, the hypotheses should be presented immediately after the research questions unlike in journal articles where hypotheses may be placed within or after the literature review.
5.7 Conceptual framework
Research is based on a conceptualization of a pertinent problem and relationships between problem variables and how they affect one another. The conceptual framework is a diagrammatic model or representation of the relationship between variables and how they are operationalized for the purpose of research. It should indicate the independent and dependent variables (cause/ effect relationship) or vice versa, moderating and intervening variables (where applicable). It is not mandatory that every student must have a moderator or intervening variable but it depends on the facts in the real world and logic as well as student’s own conceptualisation. Inclusion of such variables demands that the candidates must test their effects in the dissertation. The source of the variables/framework and an explanation of the diagrammatic representation should be made.
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In terms of its location, the conceptual framework may appear in chapter one immediately after the hypotheses or in chapter two after the theoretical review as recommended by Amin, (2005). The candidate will decide where to place the conceptual framework. The framework must be linked to the theory of the study. Variables and dimensions presented in the conceptual framework must be derived from the appropriate theoretical framework or known authorities who must be cited and acknowledged.
5.8 Significance of the Study
This refers to the relevance of the study in terms of academic contributions and practical use that might be made of the findings to the organization/sector in which the researcher is based and to the public at large. The researcher must tell the reader the reasons why and how s/he thinks the findings might change policies, theory or practice. In short s/he should indicate who will benefit from the findings of the study and how.
5.9 Justification of the study
This gives the rationale of the study. It can be a methodological, problem justification etc.
5.10 Scope of the study (geographical, time and content scope)
The Scope provides for the boundary or limits or the research in terms of content (i.e. independent and dependent variables to be investigated), geographical area and time span of the research.
5.11 Operational Definitions
The key concepts to be used in the study have to be clearly defined. The definition should be operational and not a dictionary definition.
