FISAT BUSINESS SCHOOL

Hormis Nagar, Angamaly, Cochin-683577

INSTRUCTION MANUAL FOR SUMMER RESEARCH PROJECT

(IV SEMESTER MBA) General

The Research Project, scheduled to be carried out during semester IV, is an important practical activity intended to enable the students to develop their capabilities for systematically and objectively studying, analyzing, interpreting and reporting a particular subject matter or problem, which may be relevant from the operational and practical aspects of business. This manual is intended to provide broad guidelines to the MBA students of the FISAT B-School on the procedures to be followed for the conduct of the project work and in the preparation and submission of the final report of the project. 1. Caveat 1.1. The project report submitted by the students must be the outcome of original and independent research work done by the student under the supervision of the research guide(s) assigned to them from the Institute and from the organization with which they associate themselves for the project. 1.2. The report should not contain any plagiarized material. Any material reproduced in the report, in whatsoever form, shall be appropriately acknowledged. 1.3. The research work should be of high quality and should be making some positive contribution to enhancement of knowledge. 2. The Project Work 1

2.1. The duration of the time allotted for the students for completion of the study in the organization or otherwise is two months. 2.2. Students are required to select a topic of their interest, related to their subjects of specialization chosen by them for the MBA course, in consultation with the Faculty Research Guide (FRG) allotted to them by the Institute. The topic has to be approved by the concerned faculty guide. 2.3. Students are required to prepare and submit a detailed research project proposal under the guidance and supervision of the Faculty Research Guide and/ or the project supervisor in their respective organization. The proposal shall include a detailed survey of related literature, formulation of theoretical framework or model, statement of objectives and scope of the study, formulation of hypothesis if any , sampling and data collection techniques, time allocation table and plan of analysis. 2.4. Students are also required to provide along with the proposal, the details of the name, nature of the organization in which they will be conducting the study and the letter from the organization granting permission for the conduct of such study. 2.5. The proposal must be presented in a seminar which will be attended by the members of the faculty and other students of the same semester. 2.6. The final proposal, after incorporating the necessary modifications proposed by the attendees of the preproject seminar, and duly approved by the Project coordinator, shall be submitted to the Director. This will be the guide for carrying out the project work. 2.7. Substantial subsequent modifications in the research proposal

submitted by the student may be permitted only in exceptional cases, where the subject matter of the study cannot be proceeded with, due to reasons beyond the control of the student. Such modifications shall be 2

done only with the written

approval of the Director, the Faculty Research

Guide and the Project coordinator. 2.8. During the course of the project work, the student is required to keep the Faculty Project Guide informed of his/her progress. The Faculty Guide is required to ensure that the student submits weekly progress report of his/her work. necessary. 3. Draft Report On completion of project work, the student shall prepare a type written fair draft of the report in the same format as that of the final report. The fair draft has to be duly approved by the concerned faculty guide. Suitable corrections/alterations in the draft report have to be incorporated in the final report, as per the directives of the guide. 4 .The Report The size of thesis should not exceed 200 pages of typed matter reckoned from the first page of Chapter 1 to the last page of the Appendix. 4.1. The sequence of the Report The sequence in which the material in the final report should be arranged and bound should be as follows: 1. Cover Page 2. Certificate from Organization 3. Acknowledgement 4. Declaration by student 5. Certificate by Guide /Director 6. Table of Contents 7. List of Tables 8. List of Figures/Graphs/Charts 3 The Director and the Project Coordinator may periodically review the progress and suitably give directives that may be deemed

9. List of Symbols and Abbreviations 10. Abstract/Executive Summary 11. Chapters 12. Limitations of the study 13. Findings, recommendations and conclusion 14. Bibliography 15. Appendices 4.2. Guidelines for Preparation of Format 4.2.1. Cover Page & Title Page A specimen copy of the Cover page & Title Page of the project report are given in Appendix 1. 4.2.2. Certificate from the Organization The Certificate from the Organization shall carry the supervisors signature and should contain the supervisors name, designation, department and full address of the institution where the supervisor has guided the student. 4.2.3. Acknowledgement - The acknowledgement should be brief and should not exceed one page when typed double spacing. 4.2.4. Declaration by Student to the effect that the work is bona fide and has not formed part of any other submission. See Appendix 2 4.2.5. Certificate by guide/director The certificate from the

institute that carries the signatures of the faculty research guide and the director is to be attached 4.2.6. Table of Contents The table of contents should list all material following it as well as any material, which precedes it. The Title Page and Certificate from the Organization will not find a place among the items listed in the Table of Contents. One and a half spacing should be adopted for typing the matter under this head.

4.2.7. List of TablesThe list should use exactly the same captions as they appear above the tables in the text. One and a half spacing should be adopted for typing the matter under this head. The pages where the tables appear should be shown on the right hand side of the page. A specimen copy of the list of tables is given in Appendix3. 4.2.8. List of Figures/Graphs /Charts The list should use exactly the same captions as they appear below the figures in the text. One and a half spacing should be adopted for typing the matter under this head. 4.2.9. List of Symbols & Abbreviations Standard symbols,

abbreviations etc. should be used. 4.2.10. Abstract or executive summary This is a comprehensive restatement of the projects purpose, scope, methods, results, and findings. The executive summary narration should not exceed two pages. 4.2.11. Period of the study The period of the study can be kept in

the form of PERT, 4.2.12. Chapters - The chapters may be broadly divided into five parts (i) (ii) (iii) (iv) (v) Introductory chapter Review of literature Chapter developing the main theme of the research project (Conceptual Overview of the study) Results discussion (Analysis & Interpretation) Findings, recommendations and conclusion

(i)The Introductory Chapter The introduction should contain 1. A brief background of the problem under study, 2. The macro- dimensions of the issue under study, 3. The micro trends and contemporary developments in the given and related aspects under study. 5

4. The objectives of the study 5. Scope of work 6. Need and relevance of the study 7. Methodology, 8. Population characteristics 9. Sampling procedures , 10. Sources of data, 11. Tools of data collection, 12. Tools and methods of statistical analysis, 13. Broad hypotheses put for testing, a priori relationships expected between the variables and assumptions made, 14. Operational definitions of terms and concepts 15. The technical terms used in the study, 16. Limitations, (ii) Review of literature A brief survey of previous studies may be included in this chapter. (iii) Chapter developing the main theme of the research project

(Conceptual Overview of the study) This chapter should include 1. Concept introduction 2. Historical Background 3. Relevance 4. Operational definitions 5. Traditional concept 6. New perspectives 7. Integrated area performance framework in organizations 8. Managerial implications 9. Future research opportunities 10. A brief profile of the company / industry (iv)Results Discussion (Analysis & Interpretation) 6

This chapter should include the analysis of the data and interpretation of findings with supporting data in the form of tables and charts. Statistical tests if any, in order to prove the hypothesis and findings should be included towards the end of this chapter (v) Findings, recommendations & conclusions

The researcher should put down the results of his research clearly and precisely. Such implications may have three aspects (a) A statement of the inferences (b) The relevant questions that still remain unanswered or new questions raised by the study along with suggestions. (c) A conclusion which summarizes and recapitulates the main points of the study. The main text, described in each chapter may be further divided into several divisions and sub-divisions. Each chapter should be given an appropriate title.

4.2.13. Bibliography All material drawn from whatsoever source must be acknowledged without fail and the same should be appearing in the bibliography. The listing of references should be typed 4 spaces below the heading Bibliography in alphabetical order in single spacing left justified. The reference material should be listed in the alphabetical order of the first author. (Sample given in Appendix 4) 4.2.14. Appendices Appendices are provided to give supplementary information, which if included in the main text may serve as a distraction and cloud the central theme.

Appendices

should be numbered using Arabic numerals, e.g. 7

Appendix 1, Appendix 2, etc.

Appendices, Tables and References appearing in appendices should be numbered and referred to at appropriate places just as in the case of chapters. 5. Format of the project Report

5.1. Page dimensions and Margin The project report has to be typed on A4 size paper and should have the following margins: Top edge : 35 mm Bottom edge : 30 mm Left side : 40 mm Right side : 25 mm Tables and figures should conform to the margin specifications. Tables and figures that do not conform to the above specifications must be kept as annexure. 5.2. Typing Instructions The impression on the typed copies should be black in colour. One and a half spacing should be used for typing the general text. The general text shall be typed in the font style Times New Roman and font size 12. Single spacing should be used for typing: (i) (ii) (iii) (v) Long Tables Long quotations Foot notes References

All quotations exceeding one line should be typed in an indented space the indentation being 15mm from either margin. The last word of any page should not be split using a hyphen. 5.2.1. Headings The following illustrative examples may be followed in the format for typing chapter headings, divisions headings and sub-division headings. Chapter heading : CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 8

Division heading Sub-division heading:

1.1. Outline of the Study 1.1.6. Objectives of the Study

The word CHAPTER without punctuation should be centred 50mm down from the top of the page. Two spaces below, the title of the chapter should be typed centrally in capital letters. The words CHAPTER and the title of the chapter may be typed bold. margin. A sub-heading at the bottom of a page must have at least two full lines below it or else it should be carried over to the next page. The division and sub-division captions, along with their numberings, should be left-justified. The typed material directly below division or sub-division heading should commence 2 spaces below it and should be offset 20mm from the left hand margin. Within a division or sub-division paragraphs are permitted. Every paragraph should commence 3 spaces below the last line of the preceding paragraph, the first letter in the paragraph being offset from the left hand margin by 20 mm. 5.2.2. Tables and Figures Tabulated numerical data in the body of the thesis as well as in the appendices are to be referred to as tables. All other non-verbal material used in the body of the thesis and appendices such as charts, graphs, maps, photographs and diagrams may be designated as figures.

The text should commence 4 spaces below

this title, the first letter of the text starting 20mm, inside from the left hand

All tables and figures should be prepared on the same paper or material used for the preparation of the rest of the thesis.

A table or figure including caption should be accommodated within the prescribed margin limits and appear on the page following the page where their first reference is made.

Tables and figures on half page or less in length may appear on the same page along with the text. However, they should be separated from the text both above and below by triple spacing.

For preparing captions, numerals, symbols or characters in the case of tables or figures, the Computer should be enclosed.

Two or more small tables or figures may be grouped if necessary in a single page.

5.3. Numbering 5.3.1. Page Numbering Numbering of pages which contain items 2 to 10 in 4.1 above should be done in lower case Roman numerals. The title page will be numbered as (i) but this should not be typed. The page immediately following the title page shall be numbered (ii) and it should appear centralized at the bottom of the page. Pages of main text, starting with Chapter 1 should be consecutively numbered using Arabic numerals. Page numbers should appear on the top of the page centralized. The page numbers of the pages where chapter headings appear should not be typed, but have to be reckoned while numbering the subsequent pages. 5.3.2. Numbering of Chapters, Divisions and Sub-Divisions The numbering of chapters shall be in upper case Roman numerals. Numbering of divisions and sub-divisions should be done using Arabic numerals only, and further decimal notation should be used for numbering the divisions and sub-divisions within a chapter. For example sub-division 4 under division 3 belonging to chapter 2 should be numbered as 2.3.4. The caption for the sub-division should immediately follow the dot after the last digit of the number assigned to it.

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Appendices included should also be numbered in an identical manner starting with Appendix 1. 5.3.3. Numbering of Tables and Figures Tables and figures appearing anywhere in the thesis should bear appropriate numbers. Thus, if a figure in Chapter 3 happens to be the fourth then assign 3.4 to that figure. Identical rules apply for tables except that the word Figure is replaced by the word Table. If figures (or tables) appear in appendices then figure 3 in Appendix 2 will be designated as Figure A 2.3. Tables and figures in a chapter should be placed in the immediate vicinity of the reference where they are cited. If a table to be continued into the next page, this may be done, but no line should be drawn underneath an unfinished table. The top line of the table continued into the next page should, for example, read Table 2.1 (continued) placed centrally and underlined. 5.4. References References within the text of the report may be indicated at the end of the sentence/paragraph which has been referred. For example: (Srinivasan , 2003). (Gary ,Hamel, Robinson, 2005). (Thomas Friedman et al 1984 ). 5.5. Footnotes Footnotes should be used sparingly. They should be descriptions of terms, which appear in the main text and is expected to make the reader understand terms effortlessly. They should be typed in single space and placed directly underneath, in the very same page, which refers to the material they annotate. 6. Binding Specifications:

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The project report should be hard bound and covered using flexible thick art paper of the colour predetermined by the students of each batch. The colour of the outer flexible thick art paper should be the same for all students of the same batch. The cover should be printed in black letters and the text for printing should be as specified in Annexure 6 . 7. Final Presentation The Project work has to be presented to the panel of faculty constituted by the Institute on the designated dates. The students are expected to make the necessary modifications as per guidelines from the panel of faculty members.

8. Submission of Report Students should submit three copies of the report, complete in every respect and duly signed by the Faculty Project Guide and the student, to the Director of the Institute on or before the specified date.

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Appendix 1

A STUDY ON THE FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE OF COCHIN INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT LTD

<Font Size 24><1.5 line spacing>

Report of the Research Project submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the MBA (Full time) Degree of the Mahatma Gandhi University

Submitted by
<Font Size 14><Italic> Edwin Elias Reg. No.73912 2006-08 Batch

LOGO
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FISAT BUSINESS SCHOOL

<Font Size 14> Hormis Nagar, Angamaly,Cochin 683 577. <Font Size 12> June 2008

Appendix 2 DECLARATION I hereby declare that the research project Report

entitled---------------------------- is a record of bona fide work done by me in Cochin International Airport Ltd. Nedumbassery ,Cochin, during 1 st to 30th June 2007 under the supervision of Mr.R.Suresh Kumar, General Manager, Cochin International Airport Ltd. Nedumbassery ,Cochin and Sri. K Sreekumar, Professor, FISAT B-School and that no part of this Report has formed the basis for award of any degree, diploma, associate ship, fellowship or any other similar title or recognition in any other institution.

Hormis Nagar Date

Edwin Elias

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Appendix 3

LIST OF TABLES
Table No Page no.
3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 3.8 3.9 3.10 3.11 3.12 3.13 3.14 3.15 3.16 3.17 3.18 Gender-wise Distribution of Respondents Distribution of Respondents according to Age Distribution of Respondents according to Education Distribution of Respondents according to Occupation Distribution of Respondents according to Place of Residence Distribution of Respondents according to Nature of purchase Scores Allotted on Responses Distribution of Respondents Based on Scores on Attitude regarding Friendliness of the Market Distribution of Skewness on Total Scores- Age wise 55 Distribution of Skewness on Total Scores According to Place of Residence 56 Reliability Analysis-Scale Measuring Consumer Confidence(Split-Half) 58 Iteration History Correlations of Transformed Variables Component Loadings of Different Variables 59 60 60 The Variations Accounted for by the First Two Principal Components. 59 52 54 Skewness of Items comprising Attitudes to Intrinsic Friendliness 53 Distribution of Skewness on Total Scores according to Levels of Income 44 44 45 45 46 46 46 50

Title of the Table

Distribution of Respondents according to Monthly Household Income

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3.19 3.20 3.21 3.22

Distribution of Respondents into Different Groups Confidence wise. Chi-square test for Independence Confidence and Age Result of Independent Samples t test of Confidence of Two Extreme Age Groups 66 66

63

Age- wise Distribution of Values of Mean of First principal Component 64

Appendix 4 BIBLIOGRAPHY Books Mc Leod, Jack. M., and, Steven Chaffee. R. The Construction of Social Reality: The Social Influence Process, Ed. Tedeschi, James. T. Chicago: Aldine Atherton, 1972. pp. 50-59. Journals ReVelle, C.S.; Eiselt, H.A.; Daskin, M.S. Multiattributive Modeling, European Journal of Operational Research, Feb2008, Vol. 184 Issue 3, pp. 817-848.

Research Papers Cattin, P. and Wittink, D. R. (1976). A Monte Carlo Study of Metric and Nonmetric Estimation Methods for Multiattribute Models, Research Paper, Graduate School of Business, Standford University, p 341.

Articles from newspapers Firbank, J., The World-Wide Club of Wizards, Daily Mail, 8th January 1985. p. 22. Manchester, P. Z., Chatting up Total Strangers at Home, The Times, 13th November 1984. p. 26 16

Websites: Full URL to be typed. Company documents, Annual reports, Brochures, In house Journals or any other relevant matter whatsoever collected from the organisation has to be acknowledged and added to the bibliography.

Appendix 5

Certificate

Certified

that

the

research

project

report

entitled

------------------------------------------------------- is a bona fide work done by Mr.Edwin Elias during June 2008 under my supervision and guidance.

Director

Guide

Appendix 6 Sample Cover Page

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