THE LAYOUT OF THE DISSERTATION OR THESIS

In form, the thesis is a lengthy experimental, design, or theoretical report, with a problem-method-results-discussion structure.
Front Matter          

• Title page. Our department’s standard title page form have  required to follow. The title should be informative, contain keywords, and reveal the topic of the thesis. Include the title, author, thesis supervisor, place, and date.

• Abstract. Briefly state the (1) research problem, (2) methodology, (3) key results, and (4) conclusion. Generally, abstracts are between 100 and 150 words--roughly 5-10 sentences.

In the thesis body, you provide the introduction, narrative, and analysis of your work. The body includes these elements:

• Acknowledgments. Acknowledge assistance from advisors, sponsors, funding agencies, colleagues, technicians, and so on.

• Appendixes. Provide detailed calculations, procedures, data in separate appendixes. Give each appendix a title, a letter (Appendix A, B, C), and an introductory paragraph.

• Bibliography. List alphabetically any works referred to in your study. Follow the bibliographical and footnote formats of your department or of a prominent periodical published by a professional society in your field.

The front matter frames the thesis work. It includes these elements:

Chapter I

Introduction. State (1) the purpose of the investigation, (2) the problem being investigated, (3) the background (context and importance) of the problem (citing previous work by others), (4) your thesis and general approach, and (5) the criteria for your study's success.

Chapter II

The literature review chapter(s) is an important part of your dissertation or thesis and it takes a lot of work and time to complete. It identifies the research that already has been completed in your topic area and provides an analysis of all current information relevant to the topic. Theory. Develop the theoretical basis for your design or experimental work, including any governing equations..

Chapter III- 

The research methodology

The research methodology will explain the methods used to gather the information and data,  to answer the research question  with a clear explanation of the methodology that will be used to solve the problem.  This chapter is regarded as the core of the dissertation because it validate the findings, dooming the study as a whole. This chapter is often scrutinised very critically by other scientists what the methods are all about and how you have executed the methodology. It should be clear why you choose to use this specific methodology for answering your research question

Chapter IV 

Research results and discussions

This is the  final results of the research. Researchers findings results from an experiment or answers to questions. In this part  present the massive volume of data collected in an ordered manner. Arrange the data into tables and figures and arrange it in such a way that the specific groups of data correspond..

Chapter V -

The conclusion

The conclusion must be motivated, and where applicable, based on a sound statistical analysis of the data. If there are different views of the concept it must be clearly stated by means of logical reasoning to indicate why one view is preferred to another. Conclusions and findings must always be clear on which facts and/or published literature the conclusions and findings are based.  Discussion. Discuss the meaning of the results, stating clearly what their significance is. Compare the results with theoretical expectations and account for anything unexpected.

End Matter

The end matter is mainly referential material too detailed to fit well in the main narrative of work done. It includes these elements:

• Acknowledgments. Acknowledge assistance from advisors, sponsors, funding agencies, colleagues, technicians, and so on.
• Appendixes. Provide detailed calculations, procedures, data in separate appendixes. Give each appendix a title, a letter (Appendix A, B, C), and an introductory paragraph.
• Bibliography. List alphabetically any works referred to in your study. Follow the bibliographical and footnote formats of your department or of a prominent periodical published by a professional society in your field

 source

model of research paper

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Steps in the Development of a Research Project/Report

1.     Selection of problem(– Introduction)

2.     Review of existing research and theory

3.     Statement of hypothesis or research question

4.     Determination of appropriate methodology and research design

5.     Data collection, Analysis and interpretation of data

6.     Presentation of results

7.     Replication

1.     DETERMINING TOPIC RELEVANCE

Once a basic research idea has been chosen or assigned, the next step is to ensure that the topic has merit. This is accomplished by answering eight basic questions.

2.     Literature Review

Researchers who conduct studies under the guidelines of scientific research. Before start our own research  first we should consulting with  avail­able literature

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The literature review to be one of the most important steps in the research process. It provide Experienced researchers.

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Before proceed a project or research , research­ers should ask these questions:

·     What type of research has been done in the area?

·   What has been found in previous studies?

·     What suggestions do other researchers make for further study?

·   What has not been investigated?

·     How can the proposed study add to our knowledge of the area?

·     What research methods were used in previous studies?

Answers to these questions will usually help define a specific hypothesis or research question.

3.     STATING A HYPOTHESIS OR RESEARCH QUESTION

After identifying a general research area and reviewing the existing literature, the researcher must state the problem as a workable hypothesis or research question.

hypothesis is a formal statement regard­ing the relationship between variables and is tested directly. The predicted relationship between the variables is either true or false. On the other hand, a research question is a formally stated question intended to provide indications about something; it is not lim­ited to investigating relationships between variables.

 Research questions are appropri­ate when a researcher is unsure about the nature of the problem under investigation. Although the intent is merely to gather pre­liminary data, testable hypotheses are often developed from information gathered during the research question phase of a study.

2.    A child's level of distortion of real­ity is directly related to the amount and types of television programs the child views.

3.    Parental discussions with children about make-believe play before, during, and after a child watches television programs involving make-believe play increase the child's time involved in make-believe play.

The difference between the two sets of statements is that

Research Questions	The Hypotheses
the research questions pose only general areas of investigation	whereas the hypotheses are testable statements about the relationship(s) between the variables.
The only intent in  the research question phase is to gather information to help the researchers	define and test hypotheses in later projects.

DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

The time and effort required for data analy^­sis and interpretation. It  depend on the study's purpose and the methodology used. Analy^­sis and interpretation may take from several days to several months

Every research study must be carefully planned and performed according to specific guidelines. When the analysis is completed, the researcher must step back and consider what has been discovered. The researcher must ask two questions: Are the results in­ternally and externally valid? Are the results accurate? Researchers must determine through analysis whether their work is both inter­nally and externally valid.

External validity refers to how well the re­sults of a study can be generalized across populations, settings, and time (Cook & Campbell, 1979). The external validity of a study can be severely affected by the in­teraction in an analysis of variables such as subject selection, instrumentation, and ex­perimental conditions (Campbell & Stanley, 1963). A study that lacks external validity cannot be projected to other situations; it is valid only for the sample tested

PRESENTING RESULTS

The format used to present results depends on the purpose of the study. Research in­tended for publication in academic journals

Replication

A study provides informa­tion that says, in effect  A research question or hypothesis must be investigated from many different per­spectives before any significance can be at­tributed to the results of one study.

Researchers overwhelmingly advocate the use of replication to establish scientific fact.

Source-Wimmer Domenick

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Kani Tribal

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LONGITUDINAL STUDIES

In the mass media area, the first major longitudinal study was done by Lazarsfeld, Berelson, and Gaudet (1944) during the 1940 presidential election.

TYPES OF LONGITUDINAL STUDIES

The three main types of longitudinal studies are trend study, cohort analysis, and panel study. Each is discussed in this section.

Trend Studies

The trend study is probably the most com­mon type of longitudinal study in mass media research. Recall that a trend study samples different groups of people at differ­ent times from the same population.

Trend studies are useful, but they have limitations. Suppose that a sample of adults is selected three months before an election and 57% report that they intend to vote for Candidate A and 43% for Candidate B. A month later, a different sample drawn from the same population shows a change: 55% report that they are going to vote for A and 45% for B.

This is a simple example of a trend study
	3 month before election	one month before	Before one week
A	57%	55%	45%
B	43%	45%	55%

 To determine both the gross change and the net change, a panel study is necessary.

Advantages.

·         Trend studies are valuable in describing long-term changes in a popu­lation.

·         They can establish a pattern over time to detect shifts and changes in some event.

·         They can be based on a comparison of survey data originally constructed for other purposes.

Disadvantages.

If data are unre­liable, false trends will show up in the results. Trend analy­sis must be based on consistent measures.

Examples of Trend Studies.

the trend study  about newspaper reading and attitudes to­ward ethnic minorities that spanned five years.

Cohort Analysis

 Cohort analysis attempts to identify a cohort effect: Changes in the dependent variable due to aging, or are they present because the sample members belong to the same cohort?

To illustrate, suppose that 50% of college seniors report that they regularly read news magazines, whereas only 10% of college freshmen in the same survey give this answer. How might the difference be accounted for? One explanation is that freshmen change their reading habits as they progress through college. Each survey has different participants—the same people are not questioned again, as in a panel study—but each sample represents the same group of people at different points in their college career.

Reading habit	Seniors	Freshers
2014	68	32
2015	55	45
2016	60	40

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Typically, a cohort analysis involves data from more than one cohort. It displays news magazine readership for a number of birth cohorts. Note that the column variable (read down) is age, and the row variable (read across) is the year of data collection. This type of table allows a researcher to make three types of comparisons. First, reading down a single column is analogous.

Percentage of Adults Who Regularly Read News Magazines

Age	1992	1996	2006
18-21	15	12	10
22-25	34	32	28
26-29	48	44	35

A "pure" period effect. There is no variation by age at any period; the columns are identical, and the varia­tions from one period to the next are identi­cal. Furthermore, the change in each cohort (read diagonally to the right) is the same as the average change in the total population.

Table 8.2	Cohort Table Showing Pure
Age Effect
		Year
Age	1992	1996        2000
18-21	15	10
22-25	20	15
26-29	25	20
Average	20	15

Second, reading across the rows shows trends at each age level that occur when cohorts replace one another. Second, influences associated with members in a certain birth cohort are called cohort effects.

It  shows a "pure" cohort effect. Here the cohort diagonals are constant, and the variation from younger to older respon­dents is in the opposite direction from the variation from earlier to later survey peri­ods. In this table, the key variable seems to be date of birth. Among those who were born between 1971 and 1974, news maga­zine readership was 15% regardless of their age or when they were surveyed.

Third, reading diagonally toward the right reveals changes in a single cohort from one time to another (an intracohort study). Finally, in­fluences associated with each particular time period are called period effects.

18-21	15	10	5
22-25	20	15	10
26-29	25	20	15
Average	20	15	10

Advantages.

1.      Cohort analysis is an ap­pealing and useful technique because it is highly flexible.

2.      It provides insight into the effects of maturation and social, cultural, and political change.

3.      A cohort analysis can be less expensive than experiments or surveys.

Disadvantages.

 The major disadvantage of cohort analysis is that the specific effects of age, cohort, and period are difficult to un­tangle through purely statistical analysis of a standard cohort table.

1.      In survey data, much of the variation in percentages among cells is due to sampling variability. There are no uni­formly accepted tests of significance appro­priate to a cohort table that allow researchers to estimate the probability that the observed differences are due to chance.

2.      A second disadvantage of the technique is sample mortality. If a long period is involved or if the specific sample group is difficult to reach, the researcher may have some empty cells in the cohort table or some that contain too few members for meaningful analysis.

Examples of Cohort Analysis. Cohort analy­sis is useful in the study of public opinion.

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