This is a brief guide for PhD or MSc students.

1. GUIDES
FOR NEW
POSTGRADUATE
STUDENTS

2. By: Prof. RB Ahmad @unimapBy: Prof. RB Ahmad @unimap
2/14

3. By: Prof. RB Ahmad @unimapBy: Prof. RB Ahmad @unimap
3/14
SUPERVISOR EXPECTATIONS
● students to be independent
● students to produce legible
written work.
● students to seek advice and
comments on their work from
others
● to have regular meetings with
their postgraduate students
● research students to honest when
reporting on their progress
● students to follow the advice that
they give, when the supervisors
has given that advice at the
request of the postgraduate
students
● students to be excited about their
work
● their students to be able to
surprise them
● students to be fun to be with

4. By: Prof. RB Ahmad @unimapBy: Prof. RB Ahmad @unimap
4/14
RESEARCH PROPOSAL
CONSISTS OF:
● BACKGROUND TO THE
PROBLEM
● GROUND FOR CONCERN
● IMPORTANCE OF THE PROBLEM
● IMPLICATIONS OF THE STUDY
● PURPOSE OF THE STUDY
● MAJOR QUESTIONS TO BE
ADDRESSED BY THE STUDY
● HYPOTHESES
● ASSUMPTIONS
● LIMITATIONS
● DELIMITATIONS
● OVERVIEW OF METHODOLOGY
● DEFINITION OF TERMS
(OPTIONAL)

5. By: Prof. RB Ahmad @unimapBy: Prof. RB Ahmad @unimap
5/14
REQUIREMENTS OF A Ph.D
THESIS
The important requirements examiners
look for in your thesis are:
● A distinct contribution to knowledge
● Evidence of the discovery of new
facts or new facts or the exercise of
independent judgment
● Literary presentation
● Original work of merit worthy of
publication
● Competence in independent work
experimentation
● Understanding of the appropriate
techniques
● Critical use of published work and
source materials

6. By: Prof. RB Ahmad @unimapBy: Prof. RB Ahmad @unimap
6/14
GUIDE TO THESIS WRITING
● LEARN TO USE WORD PROCESSING
● PRESENTATION, STYLE, PAGE NUMBERING
AND ORGANIZATION
● EVERY WORD, EVERY PARAGRAPH MUST
BE CAREFULLY THOUGHT OUT AND
CONTINUNITY MUST BE CONSISTENT AND
MAINTAINED THROUGH OUT YOUR
WRITING
● BEFORE SUBMISSION EVEN DRAFTS
MAKE SURE THE TEXT/CHAPTERS HAVE
BEEN ENGLISH EDITED
● REFER TO PROPER CITATION
● ALL DIAGRAMS MUST BE
LABELED WITH PROPER TITLING
AND SUBTITLING
● USE OTHER THESIS AT YOUR
UNIVERSITY AS EXAMPLES
● IF YOU ARE USING SHORT FORM
WORDS MAKE SURE TO
INTRODUCE AT THE LONG
VERSION OF WORDS.
● USE DIFFERENT PARAGRAPHS TO
EXPRESS YOUR IDEAS.

7. By: Prof. RB Ahmad @unimapBy: Prof. RB Ahmad @unimap
7/14
CHAPTERS OF YOUR THESIS
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION
CHAPTER II: BACKGROUND
CHAPTER III: LITERATURE REVIEW
CHAPTER IV: METHODOLOGY
CHAPTER V: ANALYSIS AND FINDINGS
CHAPTER VI: SUMMARY

8. By: Prof. RB Ahmad @unimapBy: Prof. RB Ahmad @unimap
8/14
THESIS WRITING
For a thesis to be completed within a reasonable
time, one has to plan the programme of:
● Reading
● Research
● Writing

9. By: Prof. RB Ahmad @unimapBy: Prof. RB Ahmad @unimap
9/14
THESIS WRITING
Reading:
● to acquire a through knowledge of what work has been done in a field
before a new contribution can be adequately planned
● involves the construction of an adequate bibliography
● carefully combing registers of abstracts and other guides to research in
progress
● a systematic review of the professional journals
● careful reading of the relevant books and monographs

10. By: Prof. RB Ahmad @unimapBy: Prof. RB Ahmad @unimap
10/14
THESIS WRITING
Research:
● generating hypotheses
● data collection
● data analysis
● Findings

11. By: Prof. RB Ahmad @unimapBy: Prof. RB Ahmad @unimap
11/14
Writing:
● The transition from research to writing
is never an abrupt one
● A good supervisor will insist upon a
formal start, marked by the approval of
a final detailed thesis plan
● The preparation of a complete draft has
to be given priority over other task
● Each draft chapter (complete with
footnotes) should be given to the
supervisor as soon as it is ready
THESIS WRITING
● Once the entire first draft has been finished, the
student can deal with minor research tasks needed
to fill gaps of information
● The second draft should be a complete
reconsideration of the first draft, and not a
‘scissors-and-paste’ job. (Should normally take no
more than 6-8 weeks to complete)
● Check for facts, references, typing errors, clarity of
writing
● Temptation to use obscure words and complicated
forms of expressions, so as to demonstrate a
knowledge and command of abstruse jargon and
complex literary structures, should be resisted

12. By: Prof. RB Ahmad @unimapBy: Prof. RB Ahmad @unimap
12/14
A CHECK-LIST FOR
STUDENTS
● Have you tried to plan your work satisfactorily?
● Have you identified the major difficulties?
● Do you understand to relevant references?
● Are your records in good order and could you answer a
question on something you did six months ago?
● Have you drafted the first version of any portion of the
work that has been completed?
● Do other people find your written English difficult to
understand?
● Are there any tables, figures or other matters which could
usefully be prepared at an early stage?

13. By: Prof. RB Ahmad @unimapBy: Prof. RB Ahmad @unimap
13/14

14. By: Prof. RB Ahmad @unimapBy: Prof. RB Ahmad @unimap
14/14