Thesis Notes

This study was conducted to determine the anti-microbial effects of Reevera on Staphylococcus aureus.  This is important to a lot of people suffering from skin disorders for it could offer a solution to their skin problems.  The descriptive method of research was used with a questionnaire and an interview as the most important instrument utilized to gather the needed data.  The skin irritation test and the anti-microbial procedure were also used in this study.

Findings of the study show that Reevera, Brand X and Brand Y completely inhibited further growth of Staphylococcus aureus which means that these formulations are very effective in killing this kind of bacterium.  It also shows that it usually takes less than an hour to observe the effects of Reevera againsts blackheads and whiteheads.  This study also revels that Reevera is also suitable for alleviating itchiness and for killing the bacteria which causes pimples, blackheads, whiteheads and itchiness, compared to other commercial brands used in this study.

It is concluded that Reevera has significant difference when used against Brand X and there is significant difference between the use of Reevera against Brand Y.

Source: Rivera, Maximiano, Jr. and Roela Victoria Rivera.  Practical Guide to Thesis and Dissertation Writing.  Manila, Philippines: Katha Publishing, Inc. 1996.

Student often thinks that writing a thesis is complicated.  They seem to think of thesis writing as some special talent given only to those favored by heaven and they believe they are not one of those. Fortunately, that is not necessarily true.  The good news is thesis writing can be learned, just like how your baby brothers and sisters learned to walk or remember how you learned to bike.  All you have to do is follow some simple steps and guides in thesis writing.

First you should choose a topic that is not broad and interesting to you.  You need t seek the help of a thesis advisor.  Your thesis advisor will know if the scope of your project is too broad or too narrow.  Once the topic is selected, large task can be broken into many small ones.

Second, once the topic is broken down into smaller sections. Consider each section as its own separate project.  Treat each section as a regular research paper.  As a graduate student, you already wrote many papers.  In this way, it will be much easier to change the paper so that they all work together as a cohesive unit.

Third but not the least is managing your time effectively.  Thesis deadline is already given ahead of time to make sure that the project is finished on time so it is necessary to create a schedule.  Allocate each section a certain amount of time and make sure to complete the section within the given period.  Before starting the next section, make sure to have time between projected completion and the actual due date to fix errors.  If you have finished each section according to the schedule, there should be no worry finishing your thesis and nothing can be complicated.

Significance of the study in thesis is a part where you will tell the importance and purpose of your study. This part is tell how the study would be beneficial to society and specific person.

This is a sample significance of the Study By: Engr. Mary Rose Florence S. Cobar, Doctor of Philosophy in Education , Thesis title: “Development of a Source Material in Food Dehydration Craft Technology for the Secondary Schools

The study of dehydration technology and craft fabrication can be a learning paradigm in the secondary level and vocational schools to enhance the students’ knowledge and entrepreneurial skills as well. This is but a small contribution with the Dakar Framework for Action (2000) that not only basic education be learned by today’s students but acquisition of learning skills and knowledge for gainful employment and full participation in country’s society. The project’s goal is designed to help students improve academic competence, develop employability skills, implement a career plan and participate in a career pathway in preparation for post secondary education or careers in the food manufacturing or services sector after graduating from high school. This goal can be achieved through the mentors that can teach the students the food dehydration technology and craft fabrication for use of the process. The output of this study is a source material that the teachers can assimilate and disseminate by diffusion and induction technique.

For sure everybody knows that a title page is the first page of a thesis, dissertation or report.  Title page varies from one school to another but still contain the same parts such as the name of the topic, the name of the author, the relationship of the report to a course or degree requirement, name of the institution where the report is to be submitted and the date of presentation.

It is said that the title must be written or typed in capital letters, single spaced, and centered between the right and left margins of the page.  Where more than one line is required, the words in the title are divided into lines so that each successive line is shorter than the one above it and is centered below it in an inverted pyramid style.

After the research problem has been defined, the next step would be to determine and select the method of research to be used.  There are number of considerations in the process of selecting the method of research.

• The method of research should be logically sound.  It must have well-ordered processes of thinking.

• Research method should be adequate for the solution of the problem.

• The researcher should see to it that the research is free from specific weaknesses in research methodology.

• The chosen research method should be adequately explained. The explanation must be precise, not ambiguous; clear and sharp.

• The researcher should have reasons for the selection of research method, and these reasons must be clear and precise.

In selecting a research method, the researcher should think through the research problem carefully, analyze critically the adequacy and effectiveness of the method, and take into account the nature of the problem and the purposes of the study

Thesis title: “Development of a Source Material in Food Dehydration Craft Technology for the Secondary Schools”

The primary objective is to develop a course outline complementing the present high school subjects offering and preparation of a manual of procedures that will serve as a guideline in performing the experiments and what will then be the output of said experiments.

The secondary objective is for the course program to provide a combination of educational and work based learning opportunities for a student’s career path after leaving the high school portals. With urban based employment growing but cannot absorb the incoming supply of labor, that is, for new high school and college graduates, entrepreneurship in the food sector can offset this imbalance.

As an addendum, the study will only include local fruits such as bananas, mangoes and pineapples as subject of dehydration in the literature and proposed manual.

By: Engr. Mary Rose Florence S. Cobar, Doctor of Philosophy in Education

It is important to include definition of terms in your thesis or dissertation in order to understand the key terms being used in the study.  These terms should be clearly defined according how they are used in the study in order to make easy understanding of the problem and avoid ambiguous meaning to terms which can be otherwise interpreted in different ways.

Terms defined should be arranged in alphabetical order and acronyms should always spell out fully most specially if it is used for the first time and not commonly known.

Make sure to define though common may have special meaning or used differently. Complicated and lengthy definition should be included in your appendix.

Every thesis or dissertation is required to be defended before a panel or examiners and submitted to the proper authorities for acceptance which serve as a piece of scholarly work.

The following are some factors to be considered in judging the value of your thesis or dissertation

-    Subject and Problem

The subject should be significant, timely and or current issues. The title should be appropriate for the subject.  Sub-problems should be specific and clear.  Also, the subject should be clearly delimited but big enough for making valid generalizations.

-    Design of the Study

The research methodology used should be appropriate. The report prepared. The design should be understandable in accordance with the scientific method of research.   The report or document prepared should be carefully follows acceptable format.

-    Findings (Data)

Data should be adequate, reliable or valid.  Findings or data should be analyzed correctly and properly treated statistically as well as interpreted suitably.

-    Generalizations or Conclusions

The conclusions should be based upon the findings.  Outcomes of the study should be reasonable and valid.

-    Recommendations

Recommendation should be attainable and feasible as well as action oriented.

Related literature and studies help the researcher understand his topic better because it may clarify vague points about his problem. It also guides the researcher in making comparisons between his findings with the findings of other similar studies. So it is necessary that the related materials should have true value.  I listed some characteristics of related literature and studies for your guidelines.

• The related materials should be as recent as possible. It is important that reviewed materials must be new or fresh because of the rapid change in technology, social, economic, scientific and human lifestyle.

• Reviewed materials should be objective and unbiased. Avoid reviewed materials that is extremely political or religious or onesided.

• Surveyed materials should be related to the study. Relevant or similar materials to the research must be reviewed.

• The reviewed materials should be based upon genuinely original and true facts or data must be valid and reliable. Avoid materials where fictitious data are supplied just to complete the research report because it is hard to prove.

• Reviewed materials should not be too few and too many. The researcher should provide sufficient enough reviewed materials to give insight into the research problem or to indicate the nature of the present studies. However, the number may also depend upon the availability of related materials.

Related literature and studies plays important rule in your thesis or dissertation because it serve as a foundation of the proposed study.  Related literature is composed of discussions of facts and principles to which the present study is related while related studies are studies, inquiries or investigations already conducted to which the present proposed study is related or has similarity.

The following are sources of related literature and studies

• Books, encyclopedias, almanacs and other similar references

• Unpublished thesis and dissertations

• Reports from seminars

• Official reports from educational, social, economic, scientific, political, etc from the government and other entities

• Constitution and laws

• Bulletins, circulars and orders derive from government offices and departments.

• Records of schools, public and private

• Articles published in professional journals, magazines, periodicals, newspapers and other publications

• Manuscripts, monographs, memoirs, speeches, letters and diaries

Usually, the sources of related literature and studies are found in the libraries, government and private offices, and national library.