03) how to write dissertation

HOW TO WRITE
DISSERTATION
DR SANTOSH KIRASUR
PG STUDENT
26.03.2019
1

WHAT IS DISSERTATION ?
• “ A formal, often lengthy treatise or discourse, especially one written by a candidate for
a doctoral degree ”
• “ It is an exercise to train a PG student to plan, execute, evaluate, write and report a
scientific project”.
• “ It is an in depth study of a particular topic which contributes new information and
knowledge in the field”
• Words ‘ Thesis ’ and ‘Dissertation’ are used interchangeably.
• Thesis is much appropriate for doctoral research (PhD) .
2

WHY TO DO A DISSERTATION.?
• As per the guidelines of DCI, many universities in India including RGUHS have
made Dissertation a mandatory part of PG degree curriculum, because the
Dissertation.
• 1. teaches the fundamentals of Research Methodology & stimulates an interest in
research,
• 2. helps to develop scientific attitude
• 3. teaches to probe in depth of a topic.
• 4. teaches the critical appraisal of the medical literature.
• 5. encourages to develop special technical skills.
3

• 6. encourages the students to use library and electronic medical data bases.
• 7. contributes new knowledge
• 8. teaches publishing of a scientific data
• 9. satisfies the academic /scientific instincts of PG students.
• 10. brings about a behavioural change in a student
4

REQUIREMENTS FOR A PG DISSERTATION
1. Competent guide & A determined student
2. Adequate time
3. Instrument, Equipments, Consumable & Drugs with technical
know-how to use them.
5

ROLE OF GUIDES & RESPONSIBILITY OF
FACULTY MENTORS
• Supervision & guidance of the candidate at all stages of the dissertation
• Helping from all angles to conduct a proper study in,
1. background of the problem being investigated
2. hypothesis that will be examined
3. specific aims of the study
4. methods that will be used including details of the specific design of the study
5. selected references
6

• Synopsis in essence should consist of:
a. Introduction & objectives of the research project
b. Brief review of literature
c. Suggested materials and methods, & (scheme of work)
d. Statistician should be consulted at the time of selection of groups, number
of cases & method of study
e. References
SUBMISSION OF SYNOPSIS 7

1. Chief guide will be from the parent department.
2. Co-guide(s) will be from the parent
department or from other disciplines
related to pertaining study
GUIDE FOR DISSERTATION 8

1) Idea: Invariably comes from the guide,
• The guide is an experienced person with the knowledge of the research
• The limitations of the facilities available in the institution
• Moreover it is a maiden experience for the PG student
WHERE AND HOW TO START?
SELECTION OF THE TOPIC
9

Hypothesis is nothing but an idea, which is yet to be proved
example a Research hypothesis can be formulated
“Epidural Ketamine in sub-anesthetic doses provides effective post operative pain relief following
upper abdominal surgeries”
‘Null Hypothesis’: also known as statistical hypothesis states exactly opposite of the research
hypothesis
eg: “Epidural Ketamine in subanestheic doses does not provide postoperative pain relief
following upper
abdominal surgeries”
Null hypothesis is the one that will be tested by the statistical significance tests & is either rejected
or not
rejected.
2) FORMULATION OF HYPOTHESIS
1
0

1) Avoid topics on which dissertation has already been carried out in the previous 5
years, in the same institution.
2) As far as possible select a topic, which requires minimal help from other departments
(equipments or personnel)
3) If unavoidable official appointment of a co-guide from the collaborating department will
be useful
USEFUL HINTS FOR THE SELECTION OF A
TOPIC: 11

Those of you that are expected to develop your own proposal for a dissertation or project
should try to follow these four MORI principles:
• Manageable: your dissertation topic must be sufficiently focused so that it is possible for
you to do the topic justice within the available word count. Any topic on which you feel
that you won't be able to cover it in any detail in the space of 8 - 10 thousand words
should not be chosen.
• Original: this relates to the above point, since a topic that is focused and manageable is
more likely to be one that has not been written about too extensively, thus leaving room
for your original contribution.
USING MORI TO CHOOSE YOUR TOPIC 12

• Relevant: your project should clearly be relevant to some aspect of your studies, but it
might also be relevant to your plans for, say, postgraduate study or a career. The
dissertation may also be relevant in the sense that it plays to some of your established
strengths, such as a particular unit or topic that you have enjoyed studying and in which
you have previously done well.
• Interesting: you are obviously more likely to enjoy and be successful in your
dissertation if it is of real interest to you and to those marking your work. Ask yourself if
you are sufficiently committed to your idea to be able to give it your best throughout the
duration of your project. You should also ascertain whether your supervisor finds the
idea interesting during your initial discussions with her or him.
13

• These are more specific & relate directly to research question
• They may be divided into two types:
a)Primary objectives (bound to be achieved)
b)Secondary objectives (by the way)
Defining an objective: • The objectives have to be simple, clear, precise and should be only one or two
• Please keep in mind the limitation of available time.
• To define a clear objective more information may be needed
• Next thing is to search for available literature on the topic
• The cross reference from the original articles should be gathered
OBJECTIVE 14

SMART OBJECTIVES
Specific
Measurable
AchievableRelevant
Time-bound
15

There is no real difference between an Aim (Goal) and an Objective
Aims point out the general purpose of the study, whereas Objectives spell out specifically
what one intends to do in the study
• eg: Aim is to study the analgesic efficacy of epidural Ketamine
Objective is to compare the duration of pain relief, pain score
(VAS) in Ketamine group Vs. Saline (Placebo) group
• In any study objectives must be justifiable & student must be able to defend them
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN AIMS AND OBJECTIVES 16

DOING A LITERATURE REVIEW (ROL) 17

One should also find out whether similar studies have been conducted or published
elsewhere, to avoid duplication.
Now the objective can be defined with precision
If the literature search reveals that the idea has already been tested by many, one has to
drop that idea and go for another one.
If it is found that the other studies have missed an important aspect, your study can be
modified to explore that aspect.
18

LITERATURE REVIEW AS A PROCESS 19

• A Proforma consisting of the details of the patient, details of the methodology, technical details,
observations (in the convenient format for recording),complications & all the relevant details needed for
the study have to be prepared by the students with, of course the help of guide/co-guide for approval by
Ethical committee.
• Consent & Logbook
• Consent of all Patients enrolled in the study is very essential
• The Performa are to be Xeroxed and kept ready in the place of work and one copy is to be utilized for
one patient
• A separate logbook for all the cases of the dissertation has to be maintained by the students
• A logbook is the only document, which can bailout a student if the credibility of his dissertation is
challenged
PROTOCOL - PROFORMA 20

• Once all the requirements for the study are satisfied,
perform the pilot study always in the physical presence
of the guide
• Some or many of the unanticipated difficulties /
problems/ complications may be encountered
PILOT STUDY 21

• Be meticulous in recording the data
• The dissertation team (candidate, guide and co-guide) should meet at least once in 3
months & quarterly report should be submitted to the Departmental Dissertation
Committee
• Collection of data should be complete in one year
• Consult a statistician for scientific analysis of the study including for calculation of
sample size at the beginning of the study itself.
• Six months would sufficient for writing the dissertation.
• Dissertation should be submitted six months prior to the examination as per University,
EXECUTION 2
2

1) Study design & methods of elimination of errors, in the study
2) Sample size & number of groups
3) Inclusion/Exclusion criteria
4) Technical details
5) Parameters to be measured
6) Data collection, organization & analysis
7) Statistical methods
DETAILS TO BE WORKED OUT BEFORE
EXECUTION
23

Errors may creep into a study at any time, even during interpretation of results
• They can be:
a)Random or Systematic
b)Due to bias
Error elimination can be done by:
• Controls
• Randomization
• Cross over designs
• Placebo
• Blinding
STRATEGIES TO ELIMINATE ERRORS 24

i) Prospective: - Data collected from the follow up of patients/ volunteers over a period of
time. Look forward after the exposure (drug /intervention) to observe the outcome
ii) Retrospective: Data collected from past records. Look back with the aim of finding a
cause.
iii) Descriptive: - Describe the characteristics of a disease in relation to a person, place or
time.
They are mainly epidemiological studies necessary for planning of preventive/ control
/eradication programs
• Three sub types viz. Correlational, Case studies, Cross sectional surveys.
STUDY DESIGNS 25

• Denotes the number of subjects to be used in the study
• A correct sample/size is the real strength of a study, the results of which can be applied to
a population
• Incorrect sample size will lead to
i) Wrong Conclusion
ii) Poor quality research
iii) Wastage of resources
iv) Ethical problem
SAMPLE SIZE ( SS) 26

FACTORS AFFECTING SAMPLE SIZE
1) Prevalence rate of the factor
2) Degree of difference expected
3) Degree of variation among subjects
4) Desired level of significances
5) Power of the study
6) Drop out cases
7) Non compliance to treatment
8) Resources available
27

The correct method to calculate the sample size of a study is to use one of formulae
depending upon type of a study and study design
• One of the commonest formula often used.
• n= 4pq/ d²
{n= Sample size, p= Prevalence of a factor in the population,
q= (1-p) / (100-p), d= error allowed}
28

• Title
• Introduction including aims & objectives
• Review of the literature
• Material and methods
• Results
• Discussion
• Summary & conclusion
• References
• Acknowledgement
• Certificate
ANATOMY OF A DISSERTATION 29

• It should be concise
• but informative
• short
• active
• No abbreviations are to be used
• The title must indicate in fewest possible words the
I) objective of the study
ii) the type of study
iii) the place where the study was conducted & the duration of the
study
THE TITLE 30

(approx. 10% of total words)
• 'The context'. Why do this study? Why now? Why here? Why me? The aims of the
study.
• Chapter one is very important and is possibly best compiled by answering a series
of questions as follows.
• Is there a problem?
• What is it?
• Why does it need to be solved?
• What is your hypothesis (hunch)?
INTRODUCTION 31

• Who will benefit from your investigation?
• In what sense will they benefit?
• In what sense will my contribution add to what is already known?
• How in general terms are you going to solve the problem, e.g., collect data,
analyze data?
• By what methods? E.g., a case study approach.
• What are the constraints or limitations of the study?
• A good way to end the introduction is to state the dissertation objectives.
32

(approx. 25% of words)
• This is a review of what is already known and of the main themes or issues. It
covers past research and studies and articles from relevant journals, books,
newspapers, etc. It is a summary of what other people have written and
published around the theme of your research. It is very important that you
acknowledge the authorship of other people's work.
• The literature chapter can, and should be drafted very early.
• As you find the literature, read it, and write about it. Highlight the findings that
are relevant to your theses.
• Be critical of the literature - don't just report it.
REVIEW OF LITERATURE 33

(15-20% of words)
• 'The framework': Should include
 What I did? How I did it?
 Why did I do it that way?
 This is a description and evaluation of the methods, techniques and procedures used in the
investingation.
 It describes the scope and aims of the dissertation in some detail.
 It is also very important that you justify the methods used.
METHODOLOGY 34

(approx. 10-15% of the words)
• What was observed and what was discovered/found out?
• This is a presentation of the data - not a discussion in this section.
• It may involve the creation of tables, charts, histograms, etc., each
of which should have an appropriate title or heading.
SYSTEMATIC PRESENTATION OF THE DATA 35

(approx. 15 - 20% of words)
(a) Interpretation of findings. What patterns have
emerged?
(b) The difference between your findings and those of
other people. The difference between the views of various
other authors.
(c) How do the main points you are making change the
way you think about the topic?
DISCUSSION, ANALYSIS & INTERPRETATION OF THE
DATA
36

(approx. 10 - 15% of words)
(a) Summary of main findings as a series of statements.
(b) Conclusions and directions for further research.
(c) Recommendations.
• Finally, after the last Chapter, you should include
Appendices
Bibliography.
SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS 37

Certificate from
1) Self (declaration)
2) Guide & Co-guide
3) Head of the department must be included in the
dissertation
• The head of the institution must countersign the
dissertation
CERTIFICATE 38

• The dissertation shall be referred by the University evaluation to the
Examiners appointed by the University
• The examiners will report independently to the Controller of Examinations and
recommend whether the Dissertation is:
a) approved
b) returned for improvements as suggested or
c) rejected ( reasons for rejection should be detailed)
The thesis shall be deemed to have been accepted when it has been
approved by a minimum of three examiners; one internal and two external
examiners, who shall not be the examiners for theory and clinical examinations.
EVALUATION OF DISSERTATION 39

• The dissertation shall be deemed to have been accepted when it has been
approved by at least two examiners
• Where improvements have been suggested by two or more of the examiners,
the candidate shall be required to re-submit the thesis, after making the
requisite improvements for evaluation
• When a dissertation is rejected by the examiners, it shall be returned to the
candidate who shall have to write it again.
• The second thesis, as and when submitted shall be treated as a fresh thesis
and processed
• Acceptance of dissertation submitted by the candidate shall be a precondition
for his/her admission to the written, oral and practical/clinical part of the
examination
40

Phase—I (0-6
Months)
• Problem identification
• Review of Literature
• Performa
• Pilot study
• •Synopsis
Phase II ---
(7-18
Months)
Data Collection
Phase III – (19-24
Months)
• Analysis
• Discussion
• Publication
TIME MANAGEMENT 41

• we should be a master of future rather than creating conflicts
• Choose modern topics which can serve your progress in your career
• Best option remains with guides, advisers & mentors, every research is a progress in
Science
GO FORWARD WITH RESEARCH 42

A practical approach to PG dissertation by R. Raveendran. Jay pee Publishers, 2012.
• WHO Health Research Methodology ; A guide for training in Research Methods.
• Oxford University press 1999.
• International committee of Medical Journal Editors. Uniform requirements for
• Manuscripts submitted to biomedical journals. N.Eng. J Med; 324: 424-8‖ 22
• An Epidemiologic Approach to Reproductive Health. CDC Atlanta, Georgia,
• USA World Health Organization Geneva, Switawrland. Editor Phyllis. A Wingo •&
others. 2004.
REFERENCES 43

03) how to write dissertation

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