Thesis Writing and Presentation

of the Work

Presented byLokesh Bhardwaj

M Pharm 1st year

Dept. of Pharmacognosy & Phytochemistry

What is the Thesis?

A thesis is a written record of the work that has been
undertaken by a candidate. It constitutes objective
evidence of the authors knowledge and capabilities in
the field of interest and is therefore a fair means to
gauge them.
The thesis is the demonstration of your ability to
conduct original research and present the written
results. It is not a class that you simply take and get
credit for. Your thesis is a research project that you have
spent considerable time in preparatory research,
project design, data collection, analysis and finally
presentation and synthesis. Each of these individual
parts will consume considerable time and effort.

Differences between the P.G. and PhD.

theses
The differences between the P.G. and PhD. theses is one
of degree rather than kind. They share a common
structure and need for logical rigour. It is only in the
substance and the emphasis placed on it that the
differences arise.
A PhD thesis shall be a substantial and original
contribution to scholarship, for example, through the
discovery of knowledge, the formulation of theories or
the innovative re-interpretation of known data and
established ideas.
The PhD candidate should also show clearly what
original contributions she or he has made.

 In short, a thesiswhether PG or PhD is

evidence of the candidates capacity to carry out
independent research under the guidance of a
supervisor, and to analyze and communicate the
significant results of that work. The candidate for
higher degrees must demonstrate, in addition,
mastery of the literature and indicate clearly
which is his or her original work, and why it is
significant.

Important before writing a thesis

Thesis style
Writing a master's thesis is a creative process.
Thus its nature and progress can depend very
much on the candidate and the subject
matter.
Writing a thesis is not filling out a form. Your
overall thesis is one continuous presentation.
There is a logical sequence to it and every part
is related to other parts as well as to your
central theme.

Typing Specifications
Margins. The left margin should be 1 inches. All other

margins should be 1 inch.

Font. The main text and literature cited should be 12 point
Times New Roman. Block quotes, appendices, and all
secondary material should be 10 point Times New Roman.
Page Numbering. Preliminary pages (all pages before the
text begins). Use lower case Roman numerals for
preliminary pages. Begin the page count with the title page,
but do not display numerals on the title, copyright,
certification of approval and abstract pages. Display the
Roman numerals on the acknowledgement, table of
contents and list pages. Roman numerals should be
centered, 1 inch from the bottom of the page, and 1 inch
from any text.

 Main Text. Use Arabic numerals starting with page

one of the text. Position the page numbers in the
upper right hand corner, 1 inch from the top and 1 inch
from the right. The text must be an additional 1 inch
away from the page number.
Paragraph. All paragraphs begin with a five-space
indent (do not use tabs). All text paragraphs should be
double-spaced. All sentences should be separated by
two spaces after the period. Do not justify paragraphs.
Headings. Chapters always start on a new page.
Chapter titles (including headings for tables of
contents, literature cited, and appendices) must be
centered, bold, all capitals, 14 point, and followed by
two empty lines.

Parts of a Thesis
Thesis is made up of a title page, an abstract, a
table of contents (including separate tables for
list of tables and list of figures), an
introduction, several chapters, a conclusion,
references, and, optionally, appendices. Apart
from enumeration, each chapter must have a
title. The specific structure and contents of
each chapter must consistently follow the
same style.

Title page
Title page: gives the title of the thesis in full, the
candidates names and degrees, a statement of
presentation in the form DISSERTATION/THESIS
Submitted to KLE University Belgaum, Karnataka,
In Partial Fulfillment of The requirements for the
award of degree of Master of Pharmacy, the
department and year of submission.

Certificates/Signatory Pages.
When you submit the final copy of your thesis,
you must include one or more signatory pages
with the original signatures of all your
committee members or readers. The signatures
indicate that these persons have approved the
thesis as a complete and final work requiring no
further alteration as an archival document.
Before signing, the page must be printed or
copied onto thesis-quality paper. The signatory
page follows permission-to-copy page in a
master's thesis. It does not show a page number.

Abstract.

Every thesis must contain an abstract. An abstract is a

concise summary of the thesis, intended to inform
prospective readers about its content. It usually
includes a brief description of the research, the
procedures or methods, and the results or
conclusions. An abstract should not include internal
headings, parenthetical citations of items listed in the
reference section, diagrams or other illustrations. The
abstract follows the signatory page and has the
heading "Abstract." Like the text, it must be double or
one-and-a-half spaced. It always begins on page iii.
There is no restriction on the length of the abstract in
the thesis.

Acknowledgments.
An acknowledgment page is required only if the
author has received permission to use previously
copyrighted material or is obliged to acknowledge
grant sources. Otherwise, it is optional. If included,
it is used to express the author's professional and
personal indebtedness. When writing the
acknowledgments, be sure that your use of
"person" is consistent. If you begin with references
to "the author," continue to use third person
throughout. If you begin with first person ("I,"
"me," "my"), use first person consistently.

List of Abbreviations
You may want to develop the subject using
mathematical/ statistical/ chemical/ or any
other standard notations used in the scientific
literature. The list containing the symbols and
their meaning should be given in the list of
symbols.

Table of Contents
The list of chapters should be arranged in their
natural order of development of your project
or how you want to develop the subject.
The
chapters should be arranged in a
sequences. Each page of the thesis is to be
numbered. Give the starting page number of
each chapter in the chapter list.

List of Figures and List of Tables.

Include a list of figures (illustrations) and a list of
tables if you have one or more items in these
categories. Use a separate page for each list. List the
number, caption, and page number of every figure and
table in the body of the thesis. You should also list
figures and tables in the appendix if they have
individual numbers and captions. If captions are long,
you may stop when you reach the first period (or
other logical stopping point) in the caption. If you use
preceding-page captions, list the page on which the
figure or table actually appears, not the caption page.

Introduction
The introduction should introduce the thesis. This is not
a summary of the thesis. It is not a brief version of each
chapter. It is an introduction to the topic. Introduce the
subject. In general terms, what does your study
address? Why is it important? Where does is fit in the
overall field? Be sure to include in the introduction a
clear statement of your hypothesis and how you are
going to address it. Throughout the introduction you
should use citations from the research literature to
support your study. These citations should include but
not be limited to research presented in the Literature
Review.

 The following are suggested topics that are usually

covered in the introduction.
Statement of the Problem. You should clearly state
the problem that your thesis is going to address. You
should also present relevant information about why
this is an important problem.
Background and Need. You should present relevant
literature that supports the need for your project.
Research articles, books, educational and government
statistics are just a few sources that should be used
here. This section can include brief overviews of
articles covered in the literature review that support
the need for your project .

 Rationale. You should carefully present the model

or theory that underlies the project. The rationale
should define the larger problem being
investigated, summarize what is known about the
problem, define the gap(s) in the knowledge, and
state what needs to be done to address the gap(s).
Purpose of the Project. Based on the above
background information, explain the purpose of the
study. Explain what you hope the study will
accomplish and why you chose to do this particular
study. This should be supported with citations and
specific information related to the study.

Literature Review.
This should be a critical synthesis of the state of
the knowledge. Especially important are the
areas needing further investigation: what has
not been done, as well as what has been done,
but for which there is a conflict in the literature.
The examiner finds out how the candidate
thinks from reading this section.

Materials and Methods

This section should provide an indepth discussion of your
materials. The methods portion of this section should
carefully and methodically discuss the methods that you are
going to use, and the reasons why you are using them. A
general guideline is that you should discuss your methods in
sufficient detail that another researcher could take your data
and duplicate your results. One of the expectations of
performing original research is that some one in the future
will do further research on this topic. Such a researcher
should be able to use your methodology without having to
consult any other source. If you are using statistical analyses,
explain the statistical methods. What do they mean? How
are they used? Why are they more applicable here than
other similar methods? For some theses, the materials and
methods should be discussed in separate sections.

Results
This is a narrative presentation of your findings. This
is where you present your statistics, tables, figures,
etc. that show what the specific findings of your
study are. Present them in detail. Remember that
someone should be able to duplicate your study
based solely on this document. This requires
considerable description.
It is very important not to try and combine this
chapter with the next one. You need to carefully
present your results first with no further
interpretation. Once you have presented the data
you are ready to move on to the next section.

Discussion
This chapter should begin with a concise
restatement of your studys purpose along with any
needed background information. You should restate
each of your hypotheses. Now that you have
presented the results in the previous section,
discuss them in this section. What, specifically, do
the results mean? How can they be interpreted?
Can they be interpreted in multiple ways? What do
the findings tell you about your hypothesis? Do not
claim more for your results than the data really
shows. Avoid speculation.

Conclusions & summary

This should summarize your results and
discussion. You should include a list of the
most important findings of your study in
descending order of importance. You should
also provide a statement about the possibility
of future study. What needs to be done and
what does this study contribute?

Bibliography or Reference List.

A thesis must include a bibliography or
reference section listing all works which are
referred to in the text, and in some cases
other works also consulted in the course of
research and writing. This section may either
precede or follow the appendices (if any), or
may appear at the end of each chapter.
Usually, however, a single section is more
convenient and useful for both author and
reader.

Appendices.
If you have material that is too long to include
in a table (raw data, field notes, etc.) or not
appropriate to a particular section it should be
included as an appendix.

Annexure
This is the last section of the thesis, which
included the proved certificates issued by
governing and non-governing bodies.(eg.
Plant authentication certificate, certificate for
ethical clearance, any certified report etc.)

References

Allen, G.R. (1976) The graduate student`s guide to theses and dissertations: A practical
manual for writing and research.
San Francisco, CA, Jossey-Bass.
Cryer, P. (1996) The research student`s guide to success. Buckingham, Open University
Press.
Davis, G.B. & Parker, C.A. (1979) Writing the doctoral dissertation: A systematic
approach. Woodbury, NY, Barrons
Educational Series.
Laws, K. (1995) Preparing a Thesis or Dissertation Proposal. University of Sydney.
Phillips, E.M. & Pugh D.S. (1987) How to get a Ph. D.: A handbook for students and
their supervisors. 2nd Ed. Buckingham,
Open University Press.
Postgraduate Board, Student Guild (1998) Practical aspects of producing a thesis at
the University of New South Wales.
3rd Ed. Available from the Student Guild, First Floor East Wing, Quadrangle Building,
The University of New South
Wales.
Karathwohl, D.R. (1988) How to prepare a research proposal. Guidelines for funding
and dissertations in the social and
behavioural sciences. 3rd Ed. New York, Syracuse University Press.

Q-?

Always write with the reader in mind