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Master’s Degree Dissertation Guidelines- 2019 of Faculty of Management, Tribhuvan University Abstract: An abstract is a brief but comprehensive summary of thedissertation. It is the first section to be read and should be the last to bewritten. It should enable the reader to make an informed decision aboutwhether they want to read the whole report. The length will depend on theextent of the work reported but it is usually a paragraph or two and alwaysless than a page. While writing an abstract, begin with most importantpoints (e. g. the problems under investigation or the objectives). Statemethodology briefly. Report major findings, conclusions and theirimplications. A good way to write an abstract is to think of it as a series ofbrief answers to questions. These would probably include: What is the purpose of the work? What methods did you use for your research? What were the main findings and conclusions reached as aresult of your research? Did your work lead you to make any recommendations forfuture actions?Write in a clear and concise language, use active voice, use present tenseto describe conclusions, use past tense to describe specific variablesmanipulated or outcomes measured. Do not include information that doesnot appear in the body of the report, do not comment or evaluate inabstract. At the bottom of the abstract, provide key words (not more thanfive) that truly reflects the research. Limit the abstract in one page.B. Body of the report section. This section is divided into five chapters. Thecontents of each chapter are given below. In exceptional cases, the sectionswithin a chapter may be altered/ added/ or deleted upon the advice of thesupervisor; but that must be justified by the need of the study. The content ofeach chapter is organized in the following order:10

Master’s Degree Dissertation Guidelines- 2019 of Faculty of Management, Tribhuvan UniversityChapter I IntroductionBackground of the study. The purpose of this section is to create the context to thestudy. This section should describe about the core aspect of the topic and clearlyestablish the focus of study. It should be written based on factual information on thetopic and the institutions under study. Therefore, it is important that the researcherhas sufficient idea and factual information on the topic. There is no specific limit tothe length of this section, but 2-3 pages should suffice. Problem statement. The purpose of this section is to establish research issues. It iscore part of the introduction chapter. Remember, problem statement is not the listingof „difficulties‟ or „problems. It is the statement of why the situation (e. g. therelationship – improved or worsened - between variables exists). Therefore, it isimportant that problem statement must be supported by evidence coming from thereview of literature. Evidences from the literature justify why the research problem isworth investigating. Problem statement section normally ends by raising researchquestions. The researcher should demonstrate with adequate review of both theoryand empirical researches that the problem that have been chosen for the study isvaluable to the readers. Normally 2-4 pages are enough for this section. Objectives of the study. Objectives of the study specifies what the researcher intendsto do. It is customary to state general objective of the research in one or twosentences, then list the specific objectives. In fact, specific objectives are conversionof research questions into a to-do list, and general objective is the reflection of all thespecific objectives. There are a few guidelines on the use of action verb in settingobjectives. Use action verbs (like to examine, analyze, assess, compare, etc.) that canreally be performed in the study. Words like to know, see, understand, etc. aregenerally avoided to frame objectives as they are difficult to realize. Hypotheses (if any). Research questions posed in Problem Statement section requiresanswers. Hypotheses testing is one concrete way of answering those questions. If theresearcher has chosen this approach to answering the questions, the hypotheses haveto be stated in this section.11

Master’s Degree Dissertation Guidelines- 2019 of Faculty of Management, Tribhuvan University Rationale of the study. In this section, the researcher should state why this study isworthwhile and useful to the readers. The study could add to existing knowledge,improve current practices or add to policy making. Be specific and honest.Unjustified claims reduce the value of the research. Limitations of the study. Limitations inhibit the generalizability and applicability of theresearch findings. But then, it is always good to acknowledge them. They signal warningsto the readers on the applicability of the study. The researcher should differentiatebetween the scope of the study and the limitations of the study. Scope specifies the areaof the study; limitations arises within the scope. Issues not covered in the scope are notthe limitations.Chapter IILiterature ReviewThe purpose of this chapter is to review related literature in order to develop fullerunderstanding on the topic. It gives the researcher an opportunity to develop skill onlocating resources, scanning and critically evaluating the literature, and organizing themin a well-organized manner. Before actually embarking on this activity, it is importantthat the researcher must thoroughly learn “how to review”, otherwise, it is likely that theresearcher may lost in jungle of the literature. There is no strict limit to the page numberto this chapter, but as a guide, 10 to 20 pages should suffice.This chapter begins with an introduction which create a link between Chapter I andremainder of this Chapter. It also should provide an overview of the organization of thesecond chapter. Introduction is followed by theoretical review. As its name implies,this section is meant to review theoretical underpinning on the topic of the research. Butat master‟s level dissertation, it is equally useful to review literature related to conceptualaspects of the topic. Review of recent research articles and reports related to the topic ofthe research, often dubbed as empirical review, should follow the theoretical review.The researcher should identify the key issues investigated by the study, check themethodology followed, and note the key findings of the study. Literature related to thegovernment policy, regulations and any other relevant aspects of the study should also becovered in this section. The review of literature should clearly establish with evidencethat there exists research gap.12

Master’s Degree Dissertation Guidelines- 2019 of Faculty of Management, Tribhuvan UniversityIn review, researchers use others‟ resources (texts, data, idea, etc.) for their own purpose.Therefore, it is essential to give credit to the original authors. There are specific ways ofcrediting them in the text and listing the materials in the list of references. Faculty ofManagement follows the APA style of citation and referencing. Therefore, researchersare advised to check Publication Guidelines of the American Psychological Association,(sixth edition) for details. Frequently asked questions about the Publication Guidelines ofthe American Psychological Association (APA) are available at:http://www.apastyle.org/faqs.htmlChapter IIIResearch MethodologyWhat sets apart the research writing with other forms of writing is that research writingclearly spells out in the report the set of research methods followed while carrying out theresearch. It makes the research writing „scientific‟ and allows other researchers to verifythe findings, if they wish, by following the same set of methods. This is the reason why aseparate chapter/section is devoted to the research methodology in every research report.This chapter opens up with an introduction and includes (i) research design, (ii)population and sample, and sampling design, (iii) nature and sources of data, and theinstrument of data collection, (iv) methods of analysis, and (v) research framework anddefinition of variables.State the research design (exploratory, descriptive, comparative, interventional,qualitative) followed in the study. Clearly identify the population of the study and drawsamples representative to the population. Be careful while selecting the samplingtechnique (random, stratified, purposive, conveyance, etc.); only appropriate samplingtechnique ensures representativeness of the sample. Specify whether primary orsecondary or both types of data have been used. Also specify the sources, methods andinstruments of data collection. Mostly, a set of tools (e. g. financial, statistical) are used toanalyze the data. In some cases, models are used in the analyses. They must be spelt outin this section. Finally, the research framework should be developed to streamline theresearch process. The review of theory and evidences from the empirical studiesreviewed in the second chapter should guide the development of the research framework13

Master’s Degree Dissertation Guidelines- 2019 of Faculty of Management, Tribhuvan Universityof the study. The researcher should clearly identify the variables, define them andestablish their interrelationship at this point.Chapter IVResults and DiscussionIn this chapter data are presented in appropriate format, then analyzed and discussed. Theanalysis should seek to answer the research questions posed or test the hypotheses set inthe introduction chapter. The outcomes of the analyses are the results. The results arethen discussed and interpreted in the light of theories and empirical studies to arrive atconclusion. Accordingly, this chapter is organized in the following order: Results DiscussionResults. In the Results section, the researcher should present and analyze the collecteddata to extract their meaning. Tables, and figures (brief guidelines for the preparation of atable and figure are presented in Appendix C) are useful for meaningful presentation ofdata. Analysis of data and the reporting of the results of those analyses are fundamentalaspects of doing research. Thereforethe researcher, sometimes, aggregates and someother time breaks down data in pieces for analysis purpose. Different methods and toolsof analyses are available. In some studies, (e. g. a descriptive type of study), simplepercentage analysis or a ratio analysis would suffice. Others may require simple tocomplex statistical analyses. When reporting the inferential statistical tests or whenproviding estimates of parameters, include sufficient information to help the reader tofully understand the analyses. For inferential statistical tests (e. g., t, F, and χ2 tests),include the obtained value of the test statistic, the degree of freedom, etc. Use themproperly, inappropriate selection of the tools spoils the researcher‟s efforts. This sectionshould seek to answer all the research questions and test the hypotheses. Organize theresults section in a number of subsections to cover each aspect of the study.Discussion. In this section the researcher evaluates and interprets the results. Here theresearcher examines every aspect of the results in terms of related theories and empiricalfindings of other researchers. The researcher should discuss why the findings areconsistent or inconsistent as predicted by the theory,compare the results with that of otherresearchers and try to explore the reasons for the similarity or the contradiction. While in14

Master’s Degree Dissertation Guidelines- 2019 of Faculty of Management, Tribhuvan Universitythe results section the researcher has to analyze the data, here in the discussion section,s/he has to synthesize the findings of the study. The researcher has to interpret the resultsin right perspective and offer evidences wherever necessary. While interpreting theresults, care should be given to sources of potential bias, the imprecision of measures, theeffect of sample size, and other methodological limitations and weaknesses. Thediscussions in this section should clearly lead to arrive at the conclusion and implicationof the study that is deferred to next section.Chapter VSummary and ConclusionThe purpose of this chapter to present an overview of the study in the summarized formalong with major findings and the conclusion of the study. Accordingly, it is organized inthree sections:Summary. As its purpose is to provide an overview of the study, it should cover a verybrief introduction and justification of the study. Then it should give the general objectiveof the study and describe the methods followed in the research process. Then it shouldreport the key findings based on the analysis and discussion section. Organize findings ina purposeful manner so that they answer the research questions, support or negate thehypotheses, and lead to conclusion.Conclusion. In this section, the researcher wraps up the things by telling the readers whatwas learned from the research.The researcher should draw the conclusion only from thefindings of the study. Number of findings may lead to one conclusion. At this point s/hemay use interpretation of the findings and give meaning to them. The researcher‟s logicalinterpretation of the findings leading to new knowledge makes the research original.Implications. The research may have number of implications to policy makers,practitioners and academic community. They may be reported as recommendations andareas for future research.Supplementary sectionThe purpose of this section is to provide a space for materials that are relevant to theresearch work but their inclusion in the main text distract the readers. Some materialseven work as the evidence to what has been presented or discussed in the text. The most15

Master’s Degree Dissertation Guidelines- 2019 of Faculty of Management, Tribhuvan Universitycommon materials placed in this section are the list of references consulted for theresearch purpose and data set used for analysis.References. The researcher extensively uses reference materials while writing researchreport. These reference materials are required to be listed as part of the research work.The purpose of reference list is to provide information necessary to identify and retrieveeach source and give due credit to the works of others which are quoted in the presentwork. A list of reference materials so presented is termed as references or works cited andfollows just after the main text of the report. Specifically, reference list contains onlythose sources that are cited in the research work. Faculty of Management follows theAPA style of referencing. Therefore, researchers are advised to check PublicationGuidelines of the American Psychological Association, (sixth edition) fordetails.Frequently asked questions about the Publication Guidelines of the AmericanPsychological Association (APA) are available at: http://www.apastyle.org/faqs.htmlInformation about using the Publication Guidelines of the American PsychologicalAssociation (APA) and examples of citation styles as well as information about planning,preparing, and writing a master‟s dissertation are also available u/owl/research and citation/apa style/apa formatting and style guide/general format.htmlDocumentation with exampleBooksGeneral FormatAuthor, A. A. (year of publication). Book title. Publisher‟s Location: Publisher.One AuthorGardner, J. (2016). Computer Science. Broomall, PA: Mason Crest.Two AuthorsFaulkner, S. L., & Squillante, S. (2016). Writing the personal: Getting your stories onto thepage. Rotterdam, The Netherlands: Sense Publishers.Three to Seven AuthorsIf a book has three, four, five, six, or seven authors, list all authors‟ names.16

Master’s Degree Dissertation Guidelines- 2019 of Faculty of Management, Tribhuvan UniversityHewson, C., Vogel, C. M., & Laurent, D. (2016). Internet research methods (2nd ed.). LosAngeles: SAGE.More than Seven AuthorsIf a book has eight or more authors, list the first six authors, then insert three ellipses andadd the last author‟s name.Browder, D., Spooner, F., Ahlgrim-Delzell, L., Al Otaiba, S., Allor, J., Bethune, K.S., Wood, C.L. (2014). More language arts, math, and science for students with severedisabilities. Newburyport, MA: Brookes Publishing.One Editor or Compiler as only authorConstantakis, S. (Ed.). (2016). World of Forensic Science (2nd ed.). Farmington Hills, MI:Gale Cengage Learning.Two Editor Edited BookButterfield, A., & Ngondi, G.E. (Eds.). (2016). A dictionary of computer science (7th ed.).Oxford, United Kingdom: Oxford University Press.No Author or EditorIf a book has no author or editor, place the title first and publication year after the title.Webster’s Spanish-English dictionary for students. (2010). Springfield, MA: Federal StreetPress.Book with an Author and an EditorTwain, M. (2014). Mark Twain on potholes and politics: Letters to the editor. G.Scharnhorst (Ed.). Columbia, MO: University of Missouri.Chapter from a Book / Items in an AnthologyInclude chapter author, date of publication, chapter title, book editor(s), book title, chapterpage numbers, place of publication, and the name of the publisher.Baron-Cohen, S. (2015). Radical Behaviorism. In J. Brockman (Ed.), This idea must die(pp. 204-207). New York: Harper Perennial.Encyclopedia ArticleEdwards Aquifer. (2011). In A. E. Gates & R. P. Blauvelt (Eds.), Encyclopedia ofPollution (Vol. 1, pp. 203-206). New York: Facts on File.Group or Corporate Author (author is same as publisher)American Diabetes Association. (2015). The Diabetes dictionary: What every person withDiabetes needs to know. Alexandria, VA: Author.Government Agency as AuthorU.S. Census Bureau. (2006). Statistical abstract of the United States (125th ed.). U.S.Government Printing Office.PERIODICALS (Magazines, Journals, and newspapers)General Format17

Master’s Degree Dissertation Guidelines- 2019 of Faculty of Management, Tribhuvan UniversityAuthor, A. A. (date of publication). Title of article. Title of Periodical, volume number,pages.Magazine ArticleGrossman

Faculty of Management (FOM), Tribhuvan University. These regulations relate to the language of dissertation writing, dissertation completion period, and the grade. Students are advised to go thoroughly the updated regulations available at the official website of the FOM. (The current one is appended in Appendix A).