Midlands State University

Faculty of Commerce
Department of Marketing Management

Dissertation Guide for Bcom and Mcom Marketing students

Choosing a Research Topic

 Topic must be of interest to the researcher, department, faculty, the university, the
community, business, academics as well as being of interest to national
aspirations.
 Research is undertaken from two perspectives (1) from the problem perspective
(2) opportunity perspective. Students are therefore encouraged to identify
problems or opportunities in the business environment to help you come up with a
topic.
 Students are urged to do a lot of literature search before choosing the research
topic.
 Students are encouraged to visit the university library and department library, so
as to select topic from areas that are not over researched
 Do not choose a topic that is overtaken by events, for example one based on the
financial crisis in Zimbabwe.
 Avoid topics that will generate a lot of politics from the organization or sector
under study. The topic must not be against the values of the organization, in which
case information will not be availed when you need it.
 Research topic chosen must be supported by adequate LITERATURE.
 Mcom students are encouraged to carry out research based on an industry or
sector while Bcom students’ research should be based on an organization or
company.
 NB, Where there is no problem or opportunity there is no research and thorough
literature search can help students in choosing a topic.

Proposal Writing

What is a proposal?
 It is a plan of action, a framework, a roadmap showing activities to be following
in coming up with a research
  Shows what and how you would research on, when different activities would be
undertaken as well as the probable expenditure on each activity to be undertaken.
 Purpose of research proposal is to present and justify a research idea you have and
to present the practical ways in which you think the research should be conducted.
 Research proposal must have impact upon the reader
 Research proposal should be written in clear and plain grammar and should be
well structured so that your message gets across easily
 Research proposal should answer 3 questions (1) What research project will you
undertake (2) Why is it important to study in the chosen area (3) How will you
proceed to carry out the research

Components of the proposal

 Introduction
 Background to the problem/study
 Statement of the problem
 Broad Aim
 Specific Objectives
 Research questions/Hypotheses
 Justification/Significance of the study
 Delimitations
 Assumptions
 Limitations
 Definitions of terms and Abbreviations
 Literature review
 Research Methodology
 Data presentation and analysis tools
 Budget
 NB, proposal language is written or expressed in future since it is a plan often to
be undertaken.

DISSERTATION FORMAT

Chapter 1: General introduction

1.0. Introduction
1.1. Background to the problem
1.2. Statement of the problem
1.3. Research objectives
1.4. Research questions/hypotheses
1.5. Research justification/Significance of the study
1.6. Assumptions
1.7. Delimitations
1.8. Limitations
1.9. Definition of terms and abbreviations
Chapter summary
Chapter 2: Literature Review
2.0. Introduction
2.1. Theoretical framework
NB. Other subheadings will flow and be consistent with research objectives or
questions
Chapter summary

Chapter 3: Research Methodology

3.0. Introduction
3.1. Research Design
3.2. Target Population
3.3. Sampling methods and sampling techniques
3.3.1 Sampling frame
3.3.2 Sample procedure
3.3.3 Sample size
3.4. Data sources
3.5 Research instruments
3.6. Data collection Procedure and administration
3.7. Validity and Reliability of findings
3.8. Data analysis and presentation tools
Chapter summary

Chapter 4: Data Presentation, Analysis and Interpretation of findings

4.0. Introduction
4.1. Response rate
4.2. Analysis of responses on aspect of the 1st objective
NB. Other subheadings will follow the order of research objectives or questions
Summary of findings

Chapter 5: Summary, Conclusions and Recommendations

5.0. Summary
5.1. Conclusions
5.2. Recommendations

Synopsis of the Dissertation

Introduction section
 Highlights the nature of the research, motivation of the study and briefly what
is contained in each section of the dissertation
 Generally, there is no standard format for an introduction but brief information
about the nature of the study and how it is going to be conducted would
suffice.
 What is discussed should be briefly explored and explained
  Students need to be crafty in writing the introduction to draw or capture the
interest of the reader.

Background to the problem

 This is not necessarily the background of the company but the general information
leading to the problem
 Show evidence of the problem, when the company or industry started
experiencing the problem and how it started
 Show hw the problem has triggered the researcher’s interest
 Brief history of the company or industry dynamics must be provided i.e the nature
of business, the market conditions e.t.c
 If the research is based on declining profits, statistics of the declining trend and
the source of such statistics should be provided. E.g newspaper, company reports,
journals or some other identifiable sources.
 Also provide topic justification, which justifies why you have carried a research
based on that topic. Justification can be by way of showing developments in the
field under study, for example, if topic is based on CRM, somehow justify why
CRM has become an issue either in the industry in which the company is
operating or, across industries or CRM developments in companies or sectors
across your national boundaries

Statement of the problem

 Clarifies what the researcher intends to do
 Should be clear, sharp and indispensable
 Problem can be started in a grammatical sentence or can be expressed in the form
of a question
 The most important issue is that the research problem must be stated so well that
anyone can read and understand it
 Avoid jargon and technical terms on the statement of the problem
 A vague research problem is subject to different interpretations

Research objectives
 Objectives must be linked to research problem/opportunity
 Objectives should be formulated in a way that helps provide solution to the
problem or opportunity under study
 Too many objectives may create problems on data collection
 Avoid repeating topic sentence when formulating objectives.

Research questions
 Main research question must state the research problem
 Sub questions must be closely related to the research objectives
  NB students should understand that the way a topic is formulated determines if
research questions or hypothesis can be used
 Where a topic is stated in such a way that it seeks to establish relationship
between variables then hypothesis should be used regardless of whether students
have a phobia in statistics or not

Hypothesis
 Refers to the suggested answer to a problem
 It also refers to an intelligent or educated guess
 Relational hypothesis is expressed in terms of :
Null hypothesis (H0) - no relationship exists between stated variables
and
Alternative hypothesis (H1) – A relationship exists between stated variables

Assumptions
 Assumption should be based on the general and specific problem. It should be
stated in a simple, brief and generally accepted state. E.g the economic
environment will remain the same during the research period; customers will
remain loyal to a certain brand which is under study.
 Assumption should be related to the research problem and factors that are likely
to change your results if changes do occur during the research period.

Research Justification / Significance of the study

 Justification of research should be made, consider stakeholders such as the
organisation or company which is subject to the study, customers, scholars,
academic institutions such as your university, the community, government or any
other named constituency that may have interest in the research.

Delimitations
 Refers to the boundaries of the research. The following constitute research
boundaries
(1). Geographic delimitation – specify regions, territories which will be covered by
your research. For example, research will consider respondents from Matebeleland
region, three cities (Harare, Bulawayo and Gweru), SADC region, Zimbabwe only)
(2). Theoretical boundary / delimitation – This includes the theoretical area or field
which will be covered by your research in terms of literature. Research objectives or
research questions usually limit the research to look for literature relating to the
purpose of research. For example, if the research topic is about industrial democracy,
theoretical boundary will be as follows; this research study focuses on employee
empowerment, employee participation as well as quality control tools.
(3) Data period should also be indicated e.g in secondary sources, financial statements from
2006 to 2009 will be considered in the study.
(4) Study participants should also be indicated on delimitations
Limitations
 Refers challenges that research may encounter in the course of study. Factors that
may hinder or that hindered with the generalisation of the research findings
 Where researcher encountered constraints these must be spelt out and also briefly
state the means employed to overcome such limitations, failure of this can affect
validity of findings. Examples of limitations can be non co-operation of
respondents, Desk research being the only methodology e.t.c

Definition of Terms
 Most students have a problem on this section. Experience has shown that students
define words and terms that can be ordinarily found in dictionaries and text books.
Words or terms that should be defined are those whose meanings are restricted in
your research only and technical terms that can only be understood by
practitioners in the field. Such terms or words should be defined usually in the
context in which they are used in the dissertation.
 Define terms or words that are peculiar, strange or those borrowed from other
languages

Literature review
 Identify how arguments have developed within the field of study
 Discuss how different authors’ works complement one another and how they
disagree
 Show how authors’ works have helped increase knowledge a or cause confusion
among and within the academic community
 Present alternative views or disagreements
 Some students have a problem of just listing definitions and concepts without
critically analysing and linking them as well as making comparisons
 Show relatedness of aspects being reviewed to research questions or objectives
 Avoid producing or reproducing literature instead, literature must be reviewed.
Reviewing literature therefore involves showing areas of convergence and areas
of divergence by different authorities as well as findings gaps in the contributions,
concepts and philosophies of various authors.
 Gap identification. Students must be able to identify weaknesses in the
contributions or concepts advanced by various authors
 Literature review deals with what is already known about a particular field and
how this information can help with one’s own research
 It deals with published texts such books and journals and also how knowledge can
be gained from the communities of practice such as consultants and official
bodies
 It is critical for the researcher to be familiar with the literature in the field of study
 It is research activity concerned with exploration of literature notably in journals
such as the international journal of management review
  When reviewing literature focus is on the topic that relates to the main research
question that have been raised and highlight the influential conceptual or
empirical studies that have been conducted in the field.
 LR is more than simply describing other authors’ perspectives but it is expected to
include critical evaluation of those studies
 A good review gives a novel synthesis of existing work which may lead to new
ways of looking at a subject or identifying gaps in the literature.
 Most students have a problem of undertaking LR in a very accepting way often
with very little comment and without critiquing it or explaining its limitations or
contexts
 Students / research students should be critical especially when reviewing literature
in order to contribute to knowledge. The works of Mauch and Birch (1983)
suggest that research students should critically evaluate existing literature and in
so doing shows how a contribution to knowledge is made.
 Review process involves identifying gaps in prior studies with a view to locating
one’s investigation in a broader context
 It is important to realize that review goes on throughout the duration of the
research project contrary to the conventional misunderstanding that it is
conducted at the beginning of the study and ends there. This is due in part to
empirical findings that might lead the research in a new direction and therefore
require adjustment to initial arguments and also because new findings emerge all
the time and the research needs to reflect these and as up to date as possible

Research Methodology
 Very important section of the research as it spells out the research procedures and
instruments adopted in gathering data pertinent to the study.
 It starts with an introduction where students are required to highlight major
aspects in the chapter and how they have been undertaken. There are basically
two research paradigms that guide the methods to be adopted in data collection
and these include Positivism and Interpretivism.

Positivism

To understand this approach we need to borrow from the ideas of Conen et al (2000)
who stated determinism, empiricism, parsimony, and generality as major aspects of
positivist approach. Determinism’ means that events are caused by other circumstances;
and hence, understanding such casual links are necessary for prediction and control.
‘Empiricism’ means collection of verifiable empirical evidences in support of theories or
hypotheses. ‘Parsimony’ refers to the explanation of the phenomena in the most
economic way possible. ‘Generality’ is the process of generalizing the observation of the
particular phenomenon to the world at large. With these assumptions of science, the
ultimate goal of science is to integrate and systematise findings into a meaningful pattern
or theory which is regarded as tentative and not the ultimate truth. Theory is subject to
revision or modification as new evidence is found. Positivistic paradigm thus
systematizes the knowledge generation process with the help of quantification, which is
essentially to enhance precision in the description of parameters and the discernment of
the relationship among them. The examples of positivist paradigm and quantitative
approaches are provided in Table 1 at the end.

Although positivist research is popular in educational research, it is criticized due to its

lack of regard for the subjective states of individuals. It regards human behaviour as
passive, controlled and determined by external environment. Hence human beings are
dehumanized without their intention, individualism and freedom taken into account in
viewing and interpreting social reality. According to the critics of this paradigm,
objectivity needs to be replaced by subjectivity in the process of scientific inquiry. This
gave rise to Interpretivism.

Anti-positivism/Interpretivism

Anti-positivism emphasizes that social reality is viewed and interpreted by the individual
herself according to the ideological positions she possesses. Emphasis is on the
verification of a phenomenon which is adopted when the level of understanding of a
phenomenon is such that the concern is to probe into the various unexplored dimensions
of a phenomenon rather than establishing specific relationship among the components, as
it happens in the case of positivism. Emphasis is on obtaining individual perceptions and
opinions. Anti-positivism is marked by three schools of thought in the social science
research. These are phenomenology, ethnomethodology and symbolic interactionism. All
the three schools of thought emphazise human interaction with phenomena in their daily
lives, and suggest qualitative rather than quantitative approach to social inquiry.

‘Phenomenology’ is a theoretical view point which believes that individual behaviour is

determined by the experience gained out of one’s direct interaction with the phenomena.
It rules out any kind of objective external reality. Husserl and Schutz are the main
proponents of this school of thought. During interaction with various phenomena, human
beings interpret them and attach meanings to different actions and or ideas and thereby
construct new experiences. Therefore, the researcher has to develop empathic
understanding to know the process of interpretation by individuals so that she can
reproduce in her mind feelings, motives and thoughts that are behind the action of others.

‘ Ethnomethodology’, an approach of phenomenological sociology, was developed by

Harold Garfinkel and his fellow ethnomethodologists. It deals with the world of everyday
life. According to enthomethodologists, theoretical concerns centres around the process
by which common sense reality is constructed in everyday face-to-face interaction. This
approach studies the process by which people invoke certain ‘take-for-granted’ rules
about behaviour which they interpret in an interactive situation and make it meaningful.
They are mainly interested in the interpretation people use to make sense of social
settings.
The school of thought for ‘symbolic interactionism’ was pioneered by Dewey, Cooley
and Mead among others. It basically emphasizes the understanding and interpretation of
interactions that take place between human beings. The peculiarity of this approach is
that human beings interpret and define each other’s actions instead of merely reacting to
each other’s actions. Human interaction in the social world is mediated by the use of
symbols like language, which help human beings to give meaning to objects. Symbolic
interactionists, therefore, claim that by only concentrating attention on individuals’
capacity to create symbolic ally meaningful objects in the world, human interaction and
resulting patterns of social organizations can be understood. As a result, not only human
beings change themselves through interaction, but also bring in change in societies.

The two paradigms presented here are concerned with two concepts of social reality.
While positivism stands for objectivity, measurability, predictability, controllability and
constructs laws and rules of human behaviour, Interpretivisim essentially emphasizes
understanding and interpretation of phenomena and making meaning out of this process..

Research paradigms and research methods

Each of the paradigms discussed above has definite research methods which can be used
in carrying out scientific investigation.

Positivism which emphasizes objectivist approach to studying social phenomena gives

importance to research methods focusing on quantitative analysis, surveys, experiments
and the like.

Anti-positivism stresses on subjectivist approach to studying social phenomena attaches

importance to a range of research techniques focusing on qualitative analysis, e.g.
personal interviews, participant observations, account of individuals, personal constructs
etc.

Similarly, critical theory suggests ideology critique and action research as research
methods to explore the existing phenomena.

The question arises: how does a researcher select a research paradigm and corresponding
methodology? The following questions may be raised by the researcher:

1. What is the nature or essence of the social phenomena being investigated?

2. Is social phenomenon objective in nature or created by the human mind?
3. What are the bases of knowledge corresponding to the social reality, and how
knowledge can be acquired and disseminated?
4. What is the relationship of an individual with her environment? Is she conditioned
by the environment or is the environment created by her?
Based on the above questions, the researcher can identify whether the research questions
pertain to positivism, anti-positivism or interpretivisim, and critical theory; and choose
the appropriate methodology accordingly.

For a concrete understanding of research paradigms vis-à-vis selection of research

methods, please see Table1.

Table 3.1 Selection of research paradigms and research methods

Research paradigms Research Research methods Examples

approach
Positivism Quantitative Surveys: - Attitude of distance
learners towards online
longitudinal, based education

cross-sectional, - Relationship between

correlational; students’ motivation and
their academic
experimental, and achievement.

quasi-experimental and - Effect of intelligence on

the academic
ex-post facto research performances of primary
school learners
Anti- Qualitative Biographical; - A study of
positivism/Interpretivism autobiography of a great
Phenomenological; statesman.

Ethnographical; - A study of dropout

among the female
case study students

- A case study of a open

distance learning
Institution in a country.
Critical theory Critical and Ideology critique; - A study of development
action- action research of education during the
oriented British rule in Zimbabwe
- Absenteeism among
standard five students of
a primary school
Although, each of the paradigms has corresponding approaches and research methods,
still a researcher may adopt research methods cutting across research paradigms as per
the research questions he/she proposes to answer.

Research design
 State and describe the research design adopted in the study. Students have a
problem of making notes of all the research design types they know of instead of
writing about the one considered appropriate in the research and justification to be
provided as why the research design was chosen.

 It ensures that the study is relevant to the problem and will use economical
procedures. NB there is no single perfect universal design. Major types of
research design include descriptive survey, exploratory and causal. All other types
emanate from the stated three. Students should note that choice of research design
type is influenced by the research problem and how the topic was formulated.
Avoid writing notes, or many unnecessary definitions. Some students appear as if
they are conducting literature review when they quote and cite a number of
authors on research designs, this is unacceptable and must be guarded against.

Exploratory research – it’s a research design in which the major emphasis is on gaining

ideas and insights; it is particularly helpful in breaking broad vague problem statements

into small, more precise sub problems or statements.

Descriptive research – it’s a research design in which the major emphasis is on

determining the frequency with which something occurs or the extent to which two

variables covary.

Causal research – is a research design in which the major emphasis is on determining

cause and effect relationship.

NB The crucial principle of research is that the design of the individual should stem from

the problem. The three research designs can be stages in a continuous process.
Exploratory being the initial stage, tentative explanation / hypothesis will then serve as

specific guide for descriptive or causal studies.

Population
 A population is a well defined group of human beings or other entities. Suppose
you want to find out data about all state universities in Zimbabwe, you should
know the number of state universities in Zimbabwe
 State the population of interest and its composition

Sampling
Once we have identified the population what is left is to draw a sample. A sample is a
subset of the population. For example if our population consists of all the state
universities in Zimbabwe, the sample can comprise 5 state universities whose features
may be characteristic of the whole population. The results obtained from the sample
would then be used to generalize all the state universities in Zimbabwe. In obtaining a
sample, two methods exists namely the probability and non probability.
Students are encouraged to read on the sampling methods and techniques used in
choosing a sample. Experience has shown that majority of the students write notes about
these methods and techniques, this is unacceptable, only the method (s) and technique (s)
considered necessary and appropriate in your research should be outlined and provide
justification for choice of such sampling methods or techniques.
Recommended research text books for methodology include Business research methods
by Kumar and others. In drawing a sample, students should take note that a large sample
size is recommended as it gives results that are representative while small sample size
may produce results that may not be representative of the characteristics of the whole
population. However, decision whether to choose a large or small sample size depends on
the nature of the population. No specific rules exist when drawing a sample but we
recommended what has been suggested by Van Dalen (1978), that if the phenomenon
under study is homogeneous, a small sample is sufficient, for example a few cubic meters
from a 1000 litre tank of petrol may be adequate. On the other hand, if the population is
heterogeneous a large sample is recommended. In descriptive research Van Dalen
recommends a sample of 10-20%. Generally, three factors determine the size of an
adequate sample (1) the nature of the population (2) the type of investigation (3) the
degree of precision required.

Six step procedure for drawing a sample

(1). Define the population

(2). Identify the sample frame
(3). Select the sample procedure
(4). Determine the sample size
(5). Select the sample elements
(6). Collect the data from the designated elements

Data sources
 There are two main sources of data namely primary and secondary. Secondary
data refers to data which was collected for some other purposes which students
can apply in their research if the data is relevant to the current research. Examples
of secondary data include sales records, financial statements, sales reports, census
statistics, e.t.c Primary data refers to data which is collected for the to solve the
specific purpose at hand. Depending on the type of research problem under
investigation, secondary data or primary data may be used or a combination of the
two. Justification should also be provided why type of data was considered
necessary in the study. No separate sections of advantages should be provided but
justification is provided in a prose or continuous form highlighting the specific
reason why certain data type was chosen.

Research instruments
 Frequently used instruments for collecting primary data include personal
interviews, executive interviews, questionnaires, observation, mail surveys, focus
group discussions.
 State and describe the instrument(s) adopted in your study and provide
justification for choice of such an instrument. NB justification is provided in
prose form. Separate sections of advantages or disadvantages not accepted in
research.
 Where questionnaires and interviews are chosen state whether such questionnaires
or interviews are structured or unstructured and justify that. On drafting
questionnaires and on asking interview questions avoid jargon and be as simple,
and unambiguous as possible
 It is also important for students to describe how each instrument adopted was
administered

Obtaining primary data

There are two methods of collecting primary data i.e communication and observation.

Communication as a method of data collection involving questions to respondents to

 secure desired information using a data collection instrument called questionnaire.

Observation is a method of data communication in which the situation is watched and

the relevant actions or behavior are recorded.

Communication

a.
Degree of structure
Structured / unstructured
(b). Degree of disguise
-undisguised / disguised

c. Method of administration

- personal interviews / mail questions/ telephone interviews

2. Observation

a. Degree of structure

- structured / unstructured

b. Degree of disguise

- undisguised / disguised

c. Setting

- natural / contrived

d. Method of administration

- human / mechanical
NB, Structure – degree of standardization imposed on the data collection instrument,

Disguise – the amount of knowledge about the purpose of study communicated to the

respondents.

Natural – subjects are observed in the environment where the behavior normally takes

place.

Contrived – subjects are observed in an environment that has been specifically designed

for recording their behavior.

Human observation – individuals are trained to systematically observe the phenomenon

and to record on the observational form the specific events that take place. Mechanical

observation – mechanical device observes a phenomenon and records events that take

place.

Validity and Reliability

 Students are expected to state procedures taken to ensure validity and reliability of
research results. For example, in guaranteeing validity care should be taken in the
manner in which questions were asked. Long technical and unambiguous
questions may not solicit valid data as respondents are likely to be confused. On
the other hand a large sample size is generally considered to able to produce
results that can be generalized. A number of procedures exist for researchers to
ensure validity and reliability of findings and students are expected to read and
understand so that they adopt the ones appropriate in their research.

Data analysis and presentation tools

 Consider tools used to analyse both qualitative and quantitative data
 Consider computer applications as well as manual methods of analyzing data,
however, in the electronic world, preference should be given to computer assisted
methods in data analysis.
 Statistical tools such as graphs, tables, pie charts may be used in presenting data

Chapter 4: Data Analysis, Presentation and Discussion of Findings

 Provide an introduction section and highlight composition of the chapter
 Provide an outline of the response rate. Response rate shows the responses in
terms questionnaires distributed and those returned and this is expressed in
percentage. Usually, its not necessary to provide response rate for interviews.
 Analysis should be done on responses per each objective
 Provide a clear headline highlighting purpose of the research
 Students have a problem of analyzing and presenting graphs on each and every
question asked in the questionnaire. This is not allowed. Analysis and presentation
of data is done on each and every research objective and its related sub headings.
 On analyzing data, describe the data using quantitative or qualitative means then
interprete data to give meaning
 Avoid conclusions and recommendations when analyzing data
 Use, content analysis on qualitative data and computer software packages such as
the Statistical Packages for Social Sciences (SPSS).
 Quantitative data needs to be presented in an informative way. (a) Describe the sample,
(b) Remind the reader of the research objectives being addressed or hypotheses being
tested. (c) Tell the reader what you want him or her to get from the data. (d) state which
differences are significant (e) Highlight important trends and differences or comparisons.
(f) Indicate whether the hypotheses are confirmed, not confirmed or partially confirmed.

 Qualitative data - Reporting of qualitative data is much less bound by convention than
that of quantitative data. In reporting the data it is generally important to convey both the
themes and some of the flavor of the actual words. The data needs to be connected back
through the layers of detail to the overarching research question it relates to. This can be
done through structured sections and sub sections. Individual data extracts can be
connected back into this structure through a process of tell-show-tell. In analyzing
qualitative data content analysis is often used.

 Miles and Huberman (1984) and Cassell and Symon (1994) suggest that content analysis
is a reliable approach of analyzing qualitative data. Qualitative data is usually obtained
through a series of interviews with a sample of respondents and the content of the
interviews can then be examined. By using content analysis researcher needs to have a
special skill of recording emerging themes, concepts and note the frequencies of events,
words, actions and transcript these into meaning. Researcher identifies key themes,
patterns and categories from the data itself. Researcher will then use his skill in
explaining patterns and categories in data.
 Discourse analysis is another approach which can be used to analyse qualitative data.
Discourse analysis treats the whole transcript of an interview or the whole text of a
document as a complete narrative and seeks to analyse that narrative by considering its
contents. There is an assumption that the more an issue is talked about and the greater the
detail, the more significant it is. There are a number of different techniques used for
discourse analysis and a variety of software packages such as N-vivo to help with this
analysis. N-vivo looks for concepts and combine their frequency and level of detail in
order to understand their importance. The techniques are all based on upon an analysis
which requires identification of concepts and the coding of the text. Key concepts are
identified and sentences or phrases are coded according to their perceived meaning. This
form of analysis allows multiple meanings to be built into the analysis making it richer
and more comprehensive than content analysis. Discourse analysis requires a greater
level of skill and judgment.
Experimental studies
In experimental studies, data can be presented in the form of tables, graphs and diagrams
but you also need to use words to guide readers through your data. Explain tests you
performed and why. Present results and choose those that show something interesting and
that the experiment supports your conclusion. Show any negative results too and try to
explain. Indicate what results are significant and make meaningful comparisons and draw
immediate conclusions.

Prerequisites in data analysis

1. Describe the response rate, explain or give reasons why low or high response rate was
experienced in the study.
2. In presenting your data follow logical sequence of research questions or objectives
3. The data needs to be connected back to the overaching questions or objectives it relates
to. This can be done through structured sections and sub sections. Indicate what results
are significant, make meaningful comparisons and draw immediate conclusions
4. Hypothesis can be tested using chi-square, z-test, t- test, regression analysis or any other
statistical method capable of proving or disapproving the alleged relationship as stated in
chapter 1. For formulae refer to statistical books
5. Make sure you first present data by way of charts, diagrams, tables e.t.c. Also avoid
duplicating, Table is a source data because it has raw data. You have to present on
diagrams, or pie charts when presenting and then discuss.

Chapter 5: Summary, Conclusions and Recommendations

 The only chapter that does not start with an introduction

 It starts with a summary and it contains information similar to the one of the
abstract but in brief.
 On making conclusions, you are concluding on each research objective.
Conclusions to be consistent with the findings produced on chapter 4. Support
conclusions with data and figures as revealed in data analysis.
 Make realistic recommendations. Realistic recommendations are those that are
feasible, achievable. Recommendations should be supported by facts and research
findings determine the kind of recommendations to be made. Literature review
information can also guide in making recommendations.
 Provide area for further research after recommendations. This must be an area not
covered by your research.

Referencing
Referencing or citing is the systematic recording of all relevant details of work that you
use in your own writing.

1.Books
Textbooks and monographs
Citation order
Author surname, initial (s) if more than one cite all authors)
Year of publication
Title (italicised)
Place of publication
Publisher
Example, Hart, C. (1998) Doing a literature review: releasing the social science research
imagination. London: Sage

2. Article
Citation order
Author(s),surname (s),initial(s)
Year of publication
Title(quotation marks’ ‘)
Journal title (italicized)
Volume, part (in bracket)
Pages (pp)
Example. Hart, C. Shoolbred, M. Butcher, D. and Kane , D.(1999) ‘The bibliographic
structure of fan information’, Collection Builiding,18 (2):81-90

3. Conference
Full conference proceedings
Citation order
Editor (ed.)
Year of publication
Title of conference proceedings: subtitle (italicised)
Location and date of conference
Publisher
Example: Martennsson, N. (ed.)1984 Industrial robot technology :proceedings of the 7th
international Conference on Industrial Robot Technology, Gothenburg, 2-4 October
IFS ,1984

4. Conference papers
Author of papers
Year of publication
Title of paper (quotation marks’ ‘)
Presented at , conference organisers, title of conference: sub title (italicised)
Location and date of conference
Example. Hart, C.(1994)”By gum pet you smell gorgeous”:representation of sexuality in
perfume advertisement”. Presented at, British Sociological Association Annual
conference, sexualities in social context, University of Central Lancashire,23 -31 March.

5.Dissertation and theses

Citation order:
Author (surname followed by initials)
Year of publication
Titles of thesis
Degree statement (PhD)
Degree awarding University/body
Supervisor (for MA/MSc)(Sup:),Director of studies (for PhD) (DoR:) and their
institution(in brackets)
Example : Chokera ,F (1993) ”the social production of advertisement’. PhD thesis ,
Michigan State University/ J.Walter Thompson Ltd .DoRs: Dr T. Ngwenya (Vitts
University of South Africa) and Dr B.Marufu (Victoria University of Manchester)

6. Newspapers, Margazines and periodical articles

Citation order:
Author (surname followed by initials)
Date (year)
Title (quotation marks’ ‘)
Publication title (italicized)
Place of publication (in brackets)
Day, month and pg number(s) (p. or pp)
Example: Norman, M. (1990) “The once-simple folk tale analyzed by academe’, The
independent (London), 8 February, p .15

7.Visual and Audio-Visual material

Author (Surname, initials) or Programme name (italicised)
Year of publication/broadcast
Title of production
Medium[square brackets]
Place of publication, organization.
Example Peter ,T .(1991)Tom Peter Live [Audiocassette]. Boulder, CO: Career Track
Publications; Pride and Prejudice (1997) [video]. London: BBC; Henderson, David
(1985) Reith Lectures.BBC Radio 3 and 4. November-December.

8.Citing electronic journals

Author surname, initial
Year of publication
Title of article (quotation mark’ ‘)
Journal title (italicized)[online],volume (part),
Location within the host
Available from: URL [accessed date].
Example Bradshaw, A.(1998) ’Charting some challenges in art and sciences of nursing’,

In text referencing
Beginning of a paragraph state author name then year in brackets e.g Peters (2009)
At the end of a paragraph write name of author and year in brackets e.g (Peters, 2009)
When you reference your work quoting the author and year it basically means you have taken
what the author has published and you express it in your own terms. When you quote an author
and year with page numbers it means it’s a direct quote and the statement should be in quotes.
Avoid putting author’s initials on in-text referencing.

General organization of the dissertation

Writing is :
scholarly ( i.e the language is accurate, balanced, specific rather than overly general, tentative
regarding conclusions, grounded in the previous scholarship and evidence).
Direct and precise
Clear and comprehensible, without excessive jargon, specialised terms are used correctly
Logical and coherent, with smooth transitions between sections and chapter summaries
Use proper citations, quotations and paraphrasing and avoid plagiarism
Logical organisation of chapters in the five chapter format
Headings and subheadings, identify the local flow of the dissertation and make it easy for the
reader to follow
Chapters fit coherently into an integrated whole

Dissertation Front Matter

Title page
Release form
Approval form
Dedications
Acknowledgements
Abstract
Table of contents (List all chapters and major sections within chapters plus all back matter with
page numbers
List of tables and figures; list only those in chapters not those in appendix

Dissertation Back matter

Appendices: research instruments used, additional statistical data or other materials, with each
item given a letter or number and listed in table of contents
References : includes all works cited in the dissertations in alphabetical order by author and in
proper format.

General presentation
Not less than 15 000 words
Font type Times New Roman
Font size 12
Spacing 1.5 –double line spacing
Incident 1.5 on both right and left margins (justification)
Page numbering should be bottom centered
Use black and white colour in all graphical work in the dissertation
Avoid printing names on each page of dissertation
Final draft to be accompanied by a marked 1st draft.
References list in alphabetical preferably the Harvard system

References

Aaker, Kumar & Day (2005) Marketing Research, 7th edition, John Wiley &Sons

Gilbert & Churchill (2001) Basic Marketing Research, 4th edition, Dryden Press, USA

Easterby, M, Smith R., Thorpe, P. Jackson (2008) Research Management, 3rd edition,
Sage publications ltd

Paul D. Leedy & Jeanne Ellis Ormred (2005) Practical Research Planning & Design, 8th

Prentice Hall, New Jersey

Hart, C. (2003) Doing a literature search; a comprehensive Guide for the social sciences,
3rd edition, London, Sage Publications Ltd

Compiled by. F. Chokera, T. Ngwenya B. Marufu, Duve R, and Mugwati M.

Lecturers in the department of Marketing
Midlands State University

References

Cohen, Louis; Lawrence, Manion and Morrison, Keith (2000). Research Methods in
Education (5 th Ed.). London .

Dash, N.K. (1993). Research Paradigms in Education: Towards a Resolution. Journal of

Indian Education 19(2), pp1-6.
Habermas, J. (1970). Knowledge and Human Interests (J. Shapiro.Trans.). London :
Heinemann.

Keat, R. (1981). The Politics of Social Theory. Oxford : Basil Blackwell.

Kuhn, T.S. (1962) The Structure of Scientific Revolution. Chicago : University of Chicago
Press.

Lakomski, G. (1999). Critical theory. In J. P. Keeves and G. Lakomoki (Eds.). Issues in

Educational Research. Oxford: Elsevier Science Ltd., 174-82.

Crowthher, D. & Lanacaster G. (2009), Research Methods, A Concise introduction to

research in management and Business Consultancy, 2nd edition, Butterworth-Heinemann.