RESEARCH PRESENTATION:

WRITTEN AND ORAL

What Is a Dissertation?
There is no ‘standard’ definition of a dissertation but it is generally
understood to be the result of structured, original research that is produced
for assessment. The expectations for a dissertation vary from university to
university, field to field, and supervisor to supervisor. There are several types
of theses in the range of research higher degrees. Some theses are produced
alongside the demands of coursework, and others fulfil the total requirements
of the degree. The types of dissertation vary in length, complexity,
comprehensiveness, and even purpose. To pass, a dissertation must
demonstrate logical, structured, and defensible reasoning based on credible
and verifiable evidence presented in such a way that it makes an original
contribution to knowledge, as judged by experts in the field. Among the
many types of scholarly productions, dissertations are an oddity: each one is
different, and there are no standard or generic constructions.
General Attributes of a Successful Dissertation:
• The dissertation demonstrates authority in the candidate’s field and shows
evidence of command of knowledge in relevant fields.
• It shows that the candidate has a thorough grasp of the appropriate
methodological techniques and an awareness of their limitations.
• It makes a distinct contribution to knowledge.
• Its contribution to knowledge rests on originality of approach and/or
interpretation of the findings and, in some cases, the discovery of new
facts.
• It demonstrates an ability to communicate research findings effectively in
the professional arena and in an international context.
• It is a careful, rigorous and sustained piece of work demonstrating that a
research is complete and the holder is admitted to the community of
General Dissertation Structure
Each dissertation or dissertation is unique but all share several common elements.
The following is not an exact guide but rather a general outline.
1. Title page: gives the title of the dissertation in full, the candidate’s names and
degrees, the department and year of submission, and a statement of presentation in
the form ‘This thesis is submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the
degree of Bachelor of Engineering (with Honours) in __ Engineering’,
2. Abstract: approximately 1 page. The Abstract should summarize the appropriate
headings, aims, scope, methodology, results, conclusion and recommendations of the
dissertation. While this comes at the front pages of the dissertation it is usually the
last piece to be edited because it summarises all the important sections of the whole
dissertation. It is common practice to include an abstract so that the potential reader
gains a brief outline of the research project, methods and outcomes.
3. Acknowledgements: acknowledging all who contributed in any
way in towards the success of the research
4. Table of Contents: this is self-explanatory. A list of figures and a
list of tables may follow the table of contents.
5. Main Text
6. Bibliography or References
7. Appendices

Zooming into the “Main Text” gives the following:

Chapter 1: Introduction

In the first chapter, clearly state what the purpose of the study is and
explain the study's significance. The significance is addressed by
discussing how the study adds to the theoretical body of knowledge in
the field and the study's practical significance for communication
professionals in the field being examined. It is especially critical that
this chapter be well developed. Without a clearly defined purpose and
strong theoretical grounding, the dissertation or dissertation is
fundamentally flawed from the outset. Sub topics in this chapter that
help develop this chapter are:
i. Introduction
ii.Background
iii.Problem Statement
iv.Justification
v. Aim / Main Objective
vi.Objectives / Other Objectives
Chapter 2: Literature Review
The study should illustrate some theoretical framework to be
explained further in this chapter. The literature review thus describes
and analyzes previous research on the topic. This chapter, however,
should not merely string together what other researchers have found.
Rather, it should discuss and analyze the body of knowledge with the
ultimate goal of determining what is known and is not known about
the topic. This determination leads to your research questions and/or
hypotheses. In some cases, you may determine that replicating
previous research in a different environment or set of circumstances is
needed.
Chapter 3: Methodology
This chapter describes and justifies the data gathering method used.
This chapter also outlines how data is analyzed. Detail every step of
the data gathering and analysis process. Although this section varies
depending on method and analysis technique chosen, the following
areas are typically clearly described:
1.Literature review
2.Data collection
3.Industrial visits/Interviews
4.Data analysis
Chapter 4: Findings
This chapter addresses the results from your data analysis only. It
does not include discussing other research literature or the
implications of your findings. Usually you begin by outlining any
descriptive or exploratory/confirmatory analyses (e.g., reliability tests,
factor analysis) that were conducted. You next address the results of
the tests of hypotheses. You then discuss any ex post facto analysis.
Tables and/or figures should be used to illustrate and summarize all
numeric information. For qualitative and historical research, this
chapter usually is organized by the themes or categories uncovered in
your research.
If you have conducted focus groups or interviews, it is often
appropriate to provide a brief descriptive (e.g., demographic) profile
of the participants first. Direct quotation and paraphrasing of data
from focus groups, interviews, or historical artefacts then are used to
support the generalizations made. In some cases, this analysis also
includes information from field notes or other interpretative data
(e.g., life history information).
In cases of design research project this chapter may be divided into
two chapters: Chapter 4: Possible Solutions and Chapter 5: Detailed
Design of the Chosen Solution. Chapter 4 explains generally three
possible solutions to the research. These do not include any
referencing because at this point the researcher is showing what he/she
came up with from all the research carried out. This chapter will also
show a specific method used to choose the most appropriate or the
most optimal solution to the research and then indicate the chosen
solution. Chapter 5 will then detail the design of the chosen solution.
The costing, if necessary, of this chosen solution will be included in
this chapter too.
Chapter 5: Discussion of Results
The purpose of this chapter is not just to reiterate what you found but
rather to discuss what your findings mean in relation to the theoretical
body of knowledge on the topic and your profession. Typically,
students skimp on this chapter even though it may be the most
important one because it answers the "So what?" question. Begin by
discussing your findings in relation to the theoretical framework
introduced in the literature review. This chapter should also address
what your findings mean for communication professionals in the field
being examined. In other words, what are the study's practical
implications?
Chapter 6: Conclusion and Recommendations

This chapter outlines a brief conclusion that provides closure. It

then outlines the limitations of the study and proposes areas for
future research. The dissertation must then end with a strong final
sentence.
Use of the Passive Voice
You will write more clearly if you use the active voice for verbs rather
than the passive voice. Although it is not always appropriate, active
voice should usually be your first choice. Here is an example of
passive voice:
“The agricultural reforms have been seen to be successful, which has
led to a surge in agricultural production and productivity, contributing
to higher savings and investment, and the release of large amounts of
labour for employment in emerging rural industry, notably town and
village enterprises (Wheeler and Still 1992).”
Notice that it is not clear who saw that the reforms were successful.
Even by the end of the sentence it is not clear whether Wheeler and
Still saw that they were successful, or whether they stated that the
consequent surge in agricultural production released labour for other
activities, or both. Using the active voice forces you to clarify, as in
this revision:
“Chou and Yung (1991) showed that these agricultural reforms had led
to increases in both agricultural production and productivity. Wheeler
and Still (1992) claim that this increased productivity released labour
for emerging rural industry, notably town and village enterprises.”
Note that using ‘showed’ rather than ‘have been seen’ enables me to
avoid using the vague word ‘successful’, because I now define it, and
know exactly who did what. Note also that I have made Wheeler and
Still the subject of the second sentence, rather than just being a
reference at the end of it, so the reader knows who was drawing the
conclusion about the effects of increased productivity.
How to Write in Third Person
Writing in the third person is writing using the third person point of
view. This involves using pronoun such as him, her, it or them. This
is quite different from the first-person point of view which
predominantly uses pronouns such as I and me and the second
person point of view in which the main pronouns used are you and
yours. Writing in the third person gives your work an element of
objectivity and flexibility. When it comes to fiction works, writing in
the third person portrays the narrator as a person who knows it all.
Some of the pronouns that are usually adopted in writing in the third
person include: “He, she, it, they, him, her, them, his, her, hers, its,
their, and theirs”.
Academic Writing
The following are the guidelines you need to follow when writing in
the third person academically: All your academic writing should be in
the third person. If you are working on anything formal such as
argumentative papers or a research essays, then you must use third
person pronoun. This is because it gives your work a picture of
objectivity rather than personal thoughts. This aspect of objectivity
will make your work look more credible and less biased.
Do away with second person pronouns: This is a point of view that
addresses the readers directly. The problem with this point of view is
that it makes you look as if you are very familiar with the readers.
These pronouns include: “You, your, yours, yourself”. The issue with
this point of view is that it makes your work looks like it is accusing
the reader. For example: “If you don’t understand these facts, you are
not a scholar”. This should be written as: “Someone who doesn’t
understand these facts is not a scholar.” Use general terms to refer to
your subject.
Do away with first- and second-person pronoun: In your narration,
don’t use the first- or second-person pronoun. You are only allowed to
adopt these points of view when dealing with active dialogue.
Verb Tenses
Some non-English languages don’t use tenses, but rely on the context
to indicate whether something happened in the past, is happening now,
or may happen in the future. In English there is such a rich collection
of tenses. This creates problems not only for students whose native
language is not English, but also for English-speaking students. Here
are some general rules for tenses in academic writing:
Use the past tense when you are reporting what you or others did at
particular times: ‘Smith and Jones reported the results of their
investigation of housing trends in their book published in 1985.’
• Use the present tense in an introduction to a chapter or section or a table
where you are outlining its contents: ‘“Why We Have Trouble with New
Tasks” is a review of the state of the housing industry in the USA after World
War II.’ ‘Table 3 shows that in all countries car ownership increases with GDP
per capita.’ Future tense is incorrect.
• Use the present tense when you are discussing the implications of some work
of yours or others: ‘Smith and Jones reported the results of their investigation
of housing trends in their book published in 1985. This work reveals that the
poorest group in the community find it almost impossible to find adequate
housing.’ Note that we are shifting from past to present tense in the same
paragraph.
• Use the future tense when reporting the implications of your or other work.
‘With evidence that discrimination remains common, it will be necessary to
make changes to the legislation.’
Font, Font size, Figure and Table labels
Choose some basic font formats, then use that for everything. Font size 12
and 1.5 to double line spacing are commonly used. Paragraphs for chapters
are double-spaced, left-justified or full-justified. All tables and figures must
fit within the required margins. If some don’t, you will have to rotate them
or place them on landscape-oriented pages. Figure and Table labels are
generally 2 font sizes smaller than the rest of the font size used in the rest
of the document. All figures and tables should be numbered sequentially
too and referenced if sourced from elsewhere. Figure labels are always
below the figure, and Table labels are always at the top of the table. Tables,
when sourced from elsewhere, should never be copied and pasted, they
must be redone and still referenced.
Plagiarism
Plagiarism is presenting someone else’s work or ideas as your own,
with or without their consent, by incorporating it into your work
without full acknowledgement. All published and unpublished
material, whether in manuscript, printed or electronic form, is
covered under this definition. Plagiarism may be intentional or
reckless, or unintentional. Under the regulations for examinations,
intentional or reckless plagiarism is a disciplinary offence.
Forms of plagiarism
Verbatim (word for word) quotation without clear acknowledgement:
Quotations must always be identified as such by the use of either quotation
marks or indentation, and with full referencing of the sources cited. It must
always be apparent to the reader which parts are your own independent
work and where you have drawn on someone else’s ideas and language.
Cutting and pasting from the Internet without clear acknowledgement:
Information derived from the Internet must be adequately referenced and
included in the bibliography. It is important to evaluate carefully all
material found on the Internet, as it is less likely to have been through the
same process of scholarly peer review as published sources.
Paraphrasing: Paraphrasing the work of others by altering a few
words and changing their order, or by closely following the structure
of their argument, is plagiarism if you do not give due
acknowledgement to the author whose work you are using. A passing
reference to the original author in your own text may not be enough;
you must ensure that you do not create the misleading impression that
the paraphrased wording or the sequence of ideas are entirely your
own. It is better to write a brief summary of the author’s overall
argument in your own words, indicating that you are doing so, than to
paraphrase particular sections of his or her writing. This will ensure
you have a genuine grasp of the argument and will avoid the difficulty
of paraphrasing without plagiarising. You must also properly attribute
all material you derive from lectures.
Collusion: This can involve unauthorised collaboration between students, failure
to attribute assistance received, or failure to follow precisely regulations on group
work projects. It is your responsibility to ensure that you are entirely clear about
the extent of collaboration permitted, and which parts of the work must be your
own.
Inaccurate citation: It is important to cite correctly, according to the conventions
of your discipline. As well as listing your sources (i.e. in a bibliography), you
must indicate, using a footnote or an in-text reference, where a quoted passage
comes from. Additionally, you should not include anything in your references or
bibliography that you have not actually consulted. If you cannot gain access to a
primary source you must make it clear in your citation that your knowledge of the
work has been derived from a secondary text (for example, Bradshaw, D. Title of
Book, discussed in Wilson, E., Title of Book (London, 2004), p. 189).
Failure to acknowledge assistance: You must clearly acknowledge all
assistance which has contributed to the production of your work, such as advice
from fellow students, laboratory technicians, and other external sources. This
need not apply to the assistance provided by your tutor or supervisor, or to
ordinary proofreading, but it is necessary to acknowledge other guidance which
leads to substantive changes of content or approach.
Use of material written by professional agencies or other persons: You should
neither make use of professional agencies in the production of your work nor
submit material which has been written for you even with the consent of the
person who has written it. It is vital to your intellectual training and development
that you should undertake the research process unaided. Under Statute XI on
University Discipline, all members of the University are prohibited from
providing material that could be submitted in an examination by students at this
University or elsewhere.
Auto-plagiarism: You must not submit work for assessment that
you have already submitted (partially or in full), either for your
current course or for another qualification of this, or any other,
university, unless this is specifically provided for in the special
regulations for your course. Where earlier work by you is citable,
ie. it has already been published, you must reference it clearly.
Identical pieces of work submitted concurrently will also be
considered to be auto-plagiarism.
Oral presentations
The oral presentation of research results at a conference or in front of a
panel the department, as may be the requirement, is an important
method of engaging with the research community of peers. Commonly
the presenter is required to use a computer set of images (called
‘slides’) projected using a digital projector. MS PowerPoint (XX.ppt
and XX.pptx files) and Adobe XX.pdf files are the most common files
used in. Note that PowerPoint provides guidance about layout and
suggestions for uniform appearance in all of the slides through a
master slide template that can be edited.
There are some general presentation rules (guidelines) which can be
used to estimate the time required for the presentation:
1.The presenter should never plan to present slides more rapidly
than one slide each minute. A presentation faster than this makes it
too difficult for the audience to follow.
2.Every slide should be clearly numbered. This allows an audience
member to indicate which slide is to be discussed during question
time. The number of words on each slide should be less than 50 and
the text should be broken up into fewer than eight bullet points.
3.Animated images must be checked on the computer and the display
used at the presentation venue. There are many compatibility
problems with different computers and projection facilities.
4. Slide colours are very important for clarity. The presenter should
choose a background with a light neutral colour and clearly
contrasting letters and equations. Preferably the venue should remain
well-lit so that audience members can take notes. A dark
environment prevents note taking and is also conducive to sleep and
so should be avoided.
5. The font type and font size must be chosen for maximum clarity.
This usually means a font size of greater than 20 point should be
used.
Delivery
Before the day of the presentation, the speaker should run through the
presentation out loud, alone or in a small group, to ensure that all
concepts can be clearly explained and the talk can be delivered in the
time allocated. This also gives the speaker the opportunity to form
sentences. This skill is often overlooked when reading the
presentation slides. There are some simple methods to minimize stage-
fright for speakers that are nervous. These include:
1.Rehearse the talk a number of times before the event with and
without an audience.
2.Memorize the first two sentences that will be spoken. This allows
the speaker to start without being too hesitant.
3.Use hand note cards. This is an insurance policy. Rather than using
these hand notes during the talk, they can be used to rescue the
speaker from nervous confusion. Commonly, however, the slides on
the screen can do this more easily. MS PowerPoint allows the
speaker to see notes next to the slides on a local monitor without
being revealed to the audience. This is a simple electronic
replacement for the hand note cards.
4. Make sure each slide has a requirement for the speaker to explain
something more than the written text. (Talks that are delivered by
reading the screen or reading a pre-prepared paper are usually
boring for the listeners.)
5. Do not commence speaking to the presentation until the title slide
appears on the screen.
During the delivery of the talk, the speaker should face the audience.
The sound level of the presentation should be judged by imagining that
the presenter is talking to the people seated in the back row of the
audience. This should ensure that the voice projection is adequate. The
speaker should attempt to speak slowly in short, simple sentences as
the language used might not be the speaker’s native language, and
might not be the native language for many members of the audience.
The explanation of the presentation material should be done verbally
and preferably spontaneously (i.e. without looking at notes).
When presenting graphs, the axes must be mentioned before
commenting on the data in the graph. When presenting equations
both sides of the equation should be explained verbally and the
important symbols defined. It is important that the talk has a clearly
defined end slide. This is achieved using a slide which has the two
words thank you only (perhaps with some images for colour), and the
speaker should thank the audience for their attention.