THE UNIVERSITY OF ZAMBIA

SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING

UNIVERSITY POSTGRADUATE

4TH JULY 2018

GES 5881 ASSIGNMENT 2

NAME: NAMAFE MABOSHE

COMPUTER NUMBER: 2017023710

ATTENTION: DR. D. E. BANDA

 Specific Arrangement of the UNZA MEng Programme Research Dissertation

1. COVER PAGE
• The cover page should contain only the following information suitably spaced and centred:

a. Title of study

b. Student’s full name

c. The statement ‘A proposal submitted to the University of Zambia in partial fulfilment” or

“in fulfilment of the requirements of the degree of (name of degree) in (name of
programme)”

d. THE UNIVERSITY OF ZAMBIA, LUSAKA; and

e. Date

• The cover page should not have a UNZA logo or any other information

2. TITLE
• The title should:

a. Be informative and concise

b. Convey to the reader/examiner the main focus of the research

c. Be limited to a single statement

d. Clearly link key variables and worlds

e. Not be more than twenty (20) words in length

3. INTRODUCTION
• A good introduction should therefore, provide:

1. A Coherent and logical background to the study discourse

2. The background should:

a. Stimulate interest in the reader/examiner

b. Reveal a plausible knowledge gap

c. Provide a “whole picture” of the problem to be researched upon

 d. Be informative and persuasive since it attempts to enlighten the reader/examiner about
the research problem and the need for addressing the problem

4. Statement of the Problem

The statement of the problem should:

a. Clearly state the problem by indicating unanswered question(s), gap(s) or area(s) that
has not been understood, determined or tested

b. Be supported by sources

c. Use simple and objective language (not poetic, comical or emotional language use)

d. Be stated in form of a simple declarative statement such as, ‘We do not know………’ or in
a question form

5. Aim
The Aim or Main Purpose of study should:

a. State what the study intends to test or determine

b. Be linked with the study title

c. Be a single sentence

6. Objectives
 Objectives can be general and specific
 The General Objective should specify the kind of the knowledge the study is expected to obtain
 It should clearly state what is to be described, determined, identified, compared and in case of
hypothesis, confirmed (Note that a general objective is optional because it serves similar
purpose with the aim or purpose of the study.

7. Specific Objectives
 In order to remain focused on the problem, objectives should be only three (3) in number for
the MEng research proposal
 Focussed on the statement of the problem
 Specific, measurable, attainable and realistic
 Indicate specific activities that researcher shall carry out for example, to identify, determine,
establish, examine …………
8. Research Questions
 Each question should be link to a specific study objective

 Research questions to be 5 to 6 in number

 Try as much as possible to split each research objective into 2 research questions

9. Research hypothesis
 This is a statement created by researcher to speculate upon the outcome of the research or
experiment

 Sometimes a study has no hypothesis , especially in engineering and natural science-based

studies

 When a proposed study includes hypothesis, the following sequence may be followed: research
questions, hypothesis and objectives

10. Significance of the Study

 Explains importance of the study, the beneficiaries, if any, and how they shall benefit from such
a study

11. Study Sites/Delimitation

 Should show bounds of the study for instance
 Avoid use of pseudo names for sites where data is to be collected from

12. LITERATURE REVIEW

 The literature review section should include the following:

o Historical overview of area of study

o Provide a critique of the validity of literature

o Identify gap (s) in knowledge

o Include a statement on how the proposed study will contribute to the knowledge base
of the area of study.

o Include as many journal articles and books published within the past ten (10) years

o Older journals may be cited if they include exceptionally important foundational

information
 13. METHODOLOGY
The methodology section should include:

1. Research Design

i. This shows a description of a plan used in collecting the relevant evidence in order to achieve the
objectives. For instance, case study, correlation, descriptive survey, experimental, correlation and cross-
cultural research designs.

ii. Always show justification for choosing a particular research design.

2. Study Population

• This provides a description of all the subjects, respondents or participants or simulations

• Where possible the researcher should provide numbers

3. Study Sample Description

• Should provides a description of the actual number of subjects, respondents or participants.

• Sampling techniques to provide a description and justification of techniques used to select a

subject, respondent or participant

4. Instruments Used in Data Collection

• Provides a description and justification of instruments used to collect data

5. Data Collection Procedure and Time line

• Provides an explanation about how the data will be collected, its nature and estimated time
required to collect the data

• Limitations of the Study

• Limitations are conditions beyond the control of the researcher that may place
restrictions on the conclusions of the study and generalisation of its results. Examples
include:

• Administrative policies that prohibit collecting data in some sites

• A data-gathering instrument that has not been validated

• Inability to randomly select respondents or participants for a study

• Inability to assign participants to experimental and control groups

• Type of research design used

 • Assure the reader that despite these limitations, the results of the study will still be
generalised, or can still be reliable

• When limitations are likely to adversely affect the generalisation of the results, inform
readers that, due to these limitations, the results may not be generalised or should be
generalised with caution

Data Analysis Instruments and Procedures Used

• State the tools and procedures that used in analysing data and their justification

14. REFERENCES
All the Schools in the University of Zambia should use the word references and not bibliography

Different formats of citation and referencing are available and the exact format is not critical, but
consistency and completeness is necessary

15. APPENDICES
Appendices use either Roman numerals, such as Appendix I, appendix II and so on, or letter formatting
Appendix A and Appendix B

Appendix to include instruments for data collection (such as Questionnaire, Observation checklist,
Interview guide and Focus group discussion guide) and not ethical/security letters, published papers,
budget, etc

References
1. Banda D. E. (2018), Lecture 6: Research Dissertation Writing(Week 4), [PowerPoint slides].
2. https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/sci/wmg/globalcontent/general/project/dissertation/structure/
3. https://www.grad.ubc.ca/current-students/dissertation-thesis-preparation/structure-theses-
dissertations