Components of thesis
1. Title:
• A good title should adequately describe the
contents of the paper in the fewest possible
words.
• It should not be too long or too short
generally, it should consist of 10–12 words.
• should not include any unnecessary words,
nor waste space with phrases such as
“Observations on” or “A study of”.
• It should not contain abbreviations
Title:
•
.Short, descriptive, no unnecessary words.
2.Summary or Abstract:
• should be included at the beginning of the thesis.
• Abstracts are generally written in the past tense.
• it should not include references to literature or to
figures and tables in the body of thesis.
• should not include information that is not in the
paper.
• should not contain abbreviations or acronyms
unless standard or very well known.
• The abstract should state
2.Summary or Abstract:
*the purposes of the study or investigation,
basic procedures (selection of study subjects
or laboratory animals; observational and
analytical methods),
*main findings (giving specific data and their
statistical significance, if possible)
and the principal conclusions.
*It should emphasize the new and important
aspects of the study or observations.
Abstract or Summary:
•
.Many may read it only.
•
.Not more than 2 pages.
•
.Should contain: why, what, where, and how
of your work.
•
.It must include some important findings.
•
.Conclusion must be clear in the last line.
3.
Acknowledgment
:
• contributions that need acknowledging but do
not justify authorship, such as general support
by a department chair; acknowledgement of
technical help; acknowledgements of financial
or material support, which should specify the
nature of the support; and relationships that
may pose a conflict of interest.
• Technical help is better acknowledged in a
paragraph separate from that acknowledging
other contributions.
. Acknowledgement:
•
.Simple sentences.
•
.Includes supervisor, typist, and people
who helped in work.
4. Contents:
•
.Must be clear, use separate headings for
the text, figures, & tables.
5. Abbreviations:
•
.Arranged in alphabetical order.
• 6.Introduction:
The introduction should:
• Tell the reader why the research was started,
and make clear what question the research
was designed to answer. It is designed with a
specific question in mind.
• Raise the interest of the reader. The first few
lines in the paper may attract or put off the
reader. Investigators are advised to convey
their enthusiasm but not to exaggerate.
The introduction should not:
❖ Explain what can be found in any textbook in
the field
❖Be over-referenced; it should give only strictly
important references
❖ include data or conclusions from the work
being reported.
Introduction:
•
.Start with scientific bases of the work.
•
.State the major facts and means related to
the subject.
•
.What other people discovered.
•
.Aim of your work clearly.
•
.Should include definition, bases, history, &
progress.
7.Methodes:
❖The methods section should provide a detailed
exposition of the research design.
❖The methods section should be organized under
meaningful subheadings and describe techniques used
in sufficient detail to allow others to replicate the
study.
❖New or substantially modified methods should be
clearly described, with reasons given for using them
and with their limitations outlined.
❖Sample details should be explained in detail (size,
gender, age, included and excluded criteria of sample)
❖ Time and place of work should be clearly identified.
The methods section should not:
❖Refer to patients and animals as material;
patients and animals are living things; not
inanimate “material”. The term “material”
should be used only if inanimate specimens
have been used.
❖use proprietary names of drugs; generic
names should be used.
Statistics:
• statistical methods should be to standard works
when possible
• Any computer programs used should be
identified.
• Statistical terms, abbreviations, and symbols
should be defined.
• It is recommended to include the word
“considered”
in
descriptions
of
statistical
significance such as “a P value of less than 0.05
was considered statistically significant”
Materials (subjects)& methods:
•
.Where , & when was the work conducted?
•
.What was the source o your sample?
•
.How was the procedure?
•
.What was done?
•
.No results, no conclusions, no references.
8.Results
• Results that do not relate to the research
objective should not be mentioned.
• Sufficient detail should be given to allow other
scientists to assess the validity and accuracy of
the results.
Tables:
• A table should be readily understood without
reference to the text.
• A table should be cited in the text,
• be numbered, and have a title which exactly
describes the content of the table.
• It should have short or abbreviated headings
for columns and rows and, if necessary, a
footnote for explanation of non-standard
abbreviations that are used, and for
identification of statistical measures of
variations.
• Columns should be arranged from left to right
in a logical sequence.
• Rows should be arranged from top to bottom
in a logical order.
Illustrations
• Graphs are used to illustrate relationships.
• Titles and detailed explanations belong in the
legends for illustrations not on the illustrations
themselves.
• Figures should be numbered consecutively
according to the order in which they have been
first cited in the text.
• When symbols, arrows, numbers, or letters are
used to identify parts of the illustrations, each
one should be explained clearly in the legend.
Results:
•
.Clear exposition of findings.
•
.Tables & figures should be clear, simple,
proper numbering & proper title.
9.Discussion
• statement of principal findings, This should not
normally be more than a few sentences.
• strengths and weaknesses of the study
• strengths and weaknesses in relation to other
studies
• meaning of the study, possible mechanisms and
implications for clinicians and policymakers
• unanswered questions and future research.
Discussion:
•
.Clear, factual.
•
.Supported by findings from results.
•
.Correlate your findings to findings of
other people.
10.Conclusions
• Should be linked with the goals of the study.
• Should be limited to the boundaries of the
study.
• Avoid unqualified statements and conclusions
not completely supported by the data.
Conclusion:
•
.Logical argument interpreting facts as you
see them.
11. Recommendations:
•
.Suggestion for future work.
12.References
• The number of references should be restricted to those
that have a direct bearing on the work described.
• In the Harvard system, the order of references at the
end of the paper is strictly alphabetical, regardless of
the chronology.
• In Vancouver system references should be numbered
consecutively in the order in which they are first
mentioned in the text. References in text, tables and
legends should be identified by Arabic numerals
(1,2,3…) in parentheses. References cited only in tables
or figure legends should be numbered in accordance
with the sequence established by the first identification
in the text of the particular table or figure
13. Appendix.