Professional Documents
Culture Documents
My Answer in Research and Methodology
My Answer in Research and Methodology
General
Steps
o Step 1. Define the objectives of evaluation
o Step 2. Which is (or are) the disciplines(s) or categories of disciplines involved ?
o Step 3. Who needs evaluation ? Actors and stakeholders
o Step 4. Nature and type of evaluation
o Step 5. Dimensions of evaluation
o Step 6. Distribute responsibilities among the specific guide’s authors
Introduction
Background of the Problem
Statement of the Problem
Purpose of the Study
Research Questions
Significance of the Study
Definition of Terms
Assumptions, Limitations, and Delimitations
Conclusion
How to Format a CV
The following are some of the rules that you should follow when formatting your
curriculum vitae:
1. Length
The CV should not be too long and not too short. The length of the CV depends on the
education and working experience you have amassed over the years. For entry-level
positions, the CV length can be one to two pages, while the length can go up to 10 pages
for positions that require higher qualifications and more experienced personnel.
2. Font size
When writing a curriculum vitae, use a font that is easy to read and apply it to the whole
document. The recommended font styles include Arial, Calibri, Cambria and Times New
Roman. The font size should be between 10 to 12 points. The headings should be
boldened to distinguish them from the other information and make the CV organized.
Sending a CV that has spelling, tense, or grammar errors would only serve to spoil your
chances of getting shortlisted for an interview. Before sending the CV to your prospective
employer, make sure to check it several times to correct any errors. Alternatively, ask a
friend to review the CV for any errors.
Admittedly, even knowing the differences and similarities between the two documents,
deciding which one to use for what still seems to be difficult. So here are some points to
remember:
1. Anyone who is from the US and Canada knows that most employers and recruiters
require a resume. After all, not everyone wants to spend the time delving into a
three-page curriculum vitae when they can ask questions during the interview itself.
Anyone applying for a job in the US and Canada is expected to submit a resume.
2. Most European countries, such as the UK and Ireland, use the curriculum vitae
extensively, taking the European Union CV format as a template. New Zealand also
prefers to use it more than the resume.
3. Australia, South Africa, and India adhere to a different set of “rules” on the use of the
two documents, citing that the curriculum vitae and the resume can be used
interchangeably. However, it is common to find in these countries that the CV is
used when applying for a job in the private sector and the resume for jobs in public
service.
The curriculum vitae, also known as a CV or vita, is a comprehensive statement
of your educational background, teaching, and research experience. It is the
standard representation of credentials within academia. • The full CV is only used
when applying for academic positions in four-year institutions.
In addition to your college transcripts, GRE scores, and personal statement or statement
of purpose, graduate schools often require applicants submit an academic CV. The rules
for composing a CV for a Master’s or doctoral application are slightly different than those
for a standard job application. Let’s take a closer look.
Whatever formatting choices you make (e.g., indentation, font and text size, spacing,
grammar), keep it consistent throughout the document.
Use bolding, italics, underlining, and capitalized words to highlight key information.
Use reverse chronological order to list your experiences within the sections.
Include the most important information to the top and left of each entry and place
associated dates to the right.
Include page numbers on each page followed by your last name as a header or footer.
Use academic verbs and terms in bulleted lists; vary your language and do not repeat the
same terms. (See our list of best verbs for CVs and resumes)
It is difficult to shorten the length without shortening the number of CV sections you
include. Because the scope and depth of candidates’ academic careers vary greatly,
academic CVs that are as short as two pages or as long as five pages will likely not
surprise graduate admissions faculty.
1. Contact Information
2. Research Objective or Personal Profile
3. Education Section
4. Professional Appointments
5. Research Publications
8. Conferences Attended
9. Teaching Experience
13. References
1. Contact Information
Your academic curriculum vitae must include your full contact information, including the
following:
Full name
Professional title and affiliation (if applicable)
In more business-related fields or industries, adding your LinkedIn profile in your contact
information section is recommended to give reviewers a more holistic understanding of
your academic and professional profile.
Check out our article on how to use your LinkedIn profile to attract employers.
If you are writing a research CV, include a research objective. For example, indicate that
you are applying to graduate research programs or seeking research grants for your
project or study
A research objective will catch the graduate admission committee’s attention and make
them want to take a closer look at you as a candidate.
MA student in Sociology and Gender Studies at North American University who made the
President’s List for for six consecutive semest
What makes this CV personal profile example so compelling? Again, the details included
about the applicant’s academic history and achievements make the reader take note and
provide concrete examples of success, proving the candidate’s academic acumen and
verifiable achievements.
3. Education Section
If you are applying to an academic position, the Education section is the most essential
part of your academic CV.
List your postsecondary degrees in reverse chronological order. Begin with your most
recent education (whether or not you have received a degree at the time of application),
follow it with your previous education/degree, and then list the ones before these.
Your major
Because this is arguably the most important academic CV section, make sure that all of
the information is completely accurate and that you have not left out any details that
highlight your skills as a student.
4. Professional Appointments
Following the education section, list your employment/professional positions on your
academic CV. These should be positions related to academia rather than previous jobs or
positions you held in the private section (whether it be a chef or a CEO). These
appointments are typically tenure-track positions, not ad hoc and adjunct professor gigs,
nor TA (teacher assistant) experience. You should instead label this kind of experience
under “Teaching Experience,” which we discuss further down the list.
List the following information for each entry in your “Professional Appointments” section:
5. Research Publications
Divide your publications into two distinct sections: peer-reviewed publications and other
publications. List peer-reviewed publications first, as these tend to carry more weight in
academia. Use a subheading to distinguish these sections for the reader and make your
CV details easier to understand.
Within each subsection, further divide your publications in the following order:
Books
Book chapters
All of your other research publications should be put into a subcategory titled “Other
Publications.” This includes all documents published by a third party that did not receive
peer review, whether it is an academic journal, a science magazine, a website, or any
other publishing platform.
Tip: When listing your publications, choose one academic formatting style (MLA
style, Chicago style, APA style, etc.) and apply it throughout your academic CV. Unsure
which formatting style to use? Check the website of the school you are applying to and
see what citation style they use.
Just like with awards and honors, list your grants and fellowships in reverse chronological
order. Enter the years your fellowship or grant spanned and the name of the institution or
entity providing the funding. Whether you disclose the specific dollar amount of funding
you received depends on your field of study, just as with awards and honors.
8. Conferences Attended
Involvement in academic conferences shows admissions committees that you are already
an active member of the research community. List the academic conferences in which you
took part and divide this section into three subsections:
9. Teaching Experience
The “Teaching Experience” section is distinct from the “Professional Appointments”
section discussed above. In the Teaching Experience CV section, list any courses you
taught as a TA (teacher’s assistant) you have taught. If you taught fewer than ten courses,
list all of them out. Included the name of the institution, your department, your specific
teaching role, and the dates you taught in this position.
If you have a long tenure as an academic scholar and your academic CV Appointments
section strongly highlights your strengths and achievements, in the Teaching Experience
sections you could list only the institutions at which you were a TA. Since it is likely that
you will be teaching, lecturing, or mentoring undergraduates and other research students
in your postgraduate role, this section is helpful in making you stand out from other
graduate, doctoral, or postdoctoral candidates.
10. Research Experience
In the “Research Experience” section of your CV, list all of the academic research posts at
which you served. As with the other CV sections, enter these positions in reverse
chronological order.
If you have significant experience (and your academic CV is filling up), you might want to
limit research and lab positions to only the most pertinent to the research position to which
you are applying. Include the following research positions:
Full-time Researcher
Research Associate
Research Assistant
For an academic or research CV, if you do not have much research experience, include all
research projects in which you participated–even the research projects with the smallest
roles, budget, length, or scope.
Service to profession
Media coverage
Volunteer work
Include all the languages in which you are proficient enough to read and understand
academic texts. Qualify your proficiency level with the following terms and phrases:
IntermediateNative/bilingual in Language
Can read Language with a dictionary
If you only have a basic comprehension of a language (or if you simply minored in it a
decade ago but never really used it), omit these from this section.
13. References
The final section of your academic CV is the “References” section. Only include
references from individuals who know you well and have first-hand experience working
with you, either in the capacity of a manager, instructor, or professor, or as a colleague
who can attest to your character and how well you worked in that position. Avoid using
personal references and never use family members or acquaintances–unless they can
somehow attest to your strength as an academic.
List your references in the order of their importance or ability to back up your candidacy. In
other words, list the referrers you would want the admissions faculty to contact first and
who would give you a shining review.
Telephone number
Email address
A problem statement is an explanation in research that describes the issue that is in need of
study. What problem is the research attempting to address? Having a Problem Statement allows the
reader to quickly understand the purpose and intent of the research. The importance of writing your
research proposal cannot be stressed enough. Check for more information on Writing a Scientific
Research Project Proposal.
It is expected to be brief and concise, and should not include the findings of the research
or detailed data. The average length of a research statement is generally about one page. It is going
to define the problem, which can be thought of as a gap in the information base. There may be
several solutions to this gap or lack of information, but that is not the concern of the problem
statement. Its purpose is to summarize the current information and where
a lack of knowledge may be presenting a problem that needs to be investigated.
The purpose of the problem statement is to identify the issue that is a concern and focus it in a
way that allows it to be studied in a systematic way. It defines the problem and proposes a way to
research a solution, or demonstrates why further information is needed in order for a solution to
become possible.
-How will your research contribute to the existing knowledge base in your field of study?
-How is it significant?
Not all problems have only one solution so demonstrating the need for additional research can also
be included in your problem statement. Once you identify the problem and the need for a solution, or
for further study, then you can show how you intend to collect the needed data and present it.
Then you can discuss how the problem prevents the ability to reach your realistic and achievable
solution. It is what stands in the way of changing an issue for the better. Talk about the present state
of affairs and how the problem impacts a person’s life, for example.
It’s helpful at this point to generally layout the present knowledge and understanding of the subject
at hand, before then describing the gaps of knowledge that are currently in need of study. Your
problem statement is a proposed solution to address one of these gaps.
A good problem statement will also layout the repercussions of leaving the problem as it currently
stands. What is the significance of not addressing this problem? What are the possible future
outcomes?
Example of Problem Statement in Research Proposal
If, for example, you intended to research the effect of vitamin D supplementation on the immune
system, you would begin with a review of the current knowledge of vitamin D’s known function in
relation to the immune system and how a deficiency of it impacts a person’s defenses.
You would describe the ideal environment in the body when there is a sufficient level of vitamin D.
Then, begin to identify the problems associated with vitamin D deficiency and the difficulty of raising
the level through supplementation, along with the consequences of that deficiency. Here you are
beginning to identify the problem of a common deficiency and the current difficulty of increasing the
level of vitamin D in the blood.
At this stage, you may begin to identify the problem and narrow it down in a way that is practical to a
research project. Perhaps you are proposing a novel way of introducing Vitamin D in a way that allows
for better absorption by the gut, or in a combination with another product that increases its level in
the blood.
Describe the way your research in this area will contribute to the knowledge base on how to increase
levels of vitamin D in a specific group of subjects, perhaps menopausal women with breast cancer.
The research proposal is then described in practical terms.
Problem statements differ depending on the type and topic of research and vary between a few
sentences to a few paragraphs.
However, the problem statement should not drag on needlessly. Despite the absence of a fixed
format, a good research problem statement usually consists of three main parts:
Context: This section explains the background for your research. It identifies the problem and
describes an ideal scenario that could exist in the absence of the problem. It also includes any past
attempts and shortcomings at solving the problem.
Significance: This section defines how the problem prevents the ideal scenario from being achieved,
including its negative impacts on the society or field of research. It should include who will be the
most affected by a solution to the problem, the relevance of the study that you are proposing, and
how it can contribute to the existing body of research.
Solution: This section describes the aim and objectives of your research, and your solution to
overcome the problem. Finally, it need not focus on the perfect solution, but rather on addressing a
realistic goal to move closer to the ideal scenario.
Here is a cheat sheet to help you with formulating a good problem statement.
1. Begin with a clear indication that the problem statement is going to be discussed next. You can
start with a generic sentence like, “The problem that this study addresses…” This will inform your
readers of what to expect next.
2. Next, mention the consequences of not solving the problem. You can touch upon who is or will
be affected if the problem continues, and how.
3. Conclude with indicating the type of research/information that is needed to solve the problem. Be
sure to reference authors who may have suggested the necessity of such research.
This will then directly lead to your proposed research objective and workplan and how that is
expected to solve the problem i.e., close the research gap.
Elsevier Language Editing Plus service will provide you with a thorough language review of your
thesis, article or presentation. It offers review of logic and flow, reference checks, document
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-How will your research contribute to the existing knowledge base in your field of study?
-How is it significant?
Not all problems have only one solution so demonstrating the need for additional research can also
be included in your problem statement. Once you identify the problem and the need for a solution, or
for further study, then you can show how you intend to collect the needed data and present it.
Then you can discuss how the problem prevents the ability to reach your realistic and achievable
solution. It is what stands in the way of changing an issue for the better. Talk about the present state
of affairs and how the problem impacts a person’s life, for example.
It’s helpful at this point to generally layout the present knowledge and understanding of the subject
at hand, before then describing the gaps of knowledge that are currently in need of study. Your
problem statement is a proposed solution to address one of these gaps.
A good problem statement will also layout the repercussions of leaving the problem as it currently
stands. What is the significance of not addressing this problem? What are the possible future
outcomes?
If, for example, you intended to research the effect of vitamin D supplementation on the immune
system, you would begin with a review of the current knowledge of vitamin D’s known function in
relation to the immune system and how a deficiency of it impacts a person’s defenses.
You would describe the ideal environment in the body when there is a sufficient level of vitamin D.
Then, begin to identify the problems associated with vitamin D deficiency and the difficulty of raising
the level through supplementation, along with the consequences of that deficiency. Here you are
beginning to identify the problem of a common deficiency and the current difficulty of increasing the
level of vitamin D in the blood.
At this stage, you may begin to identify the problem and narrow it down in a way that is practical to a
research project. Perhaps you are proposing a novel way of introducing Vitamin D in a way that allows
for better absorption by the gut, or in a combination with another product that increases its level in
the blood.
Describe the way your research in this area will contribute to the knowledge base on how to increase
levels of vitamin D in a specific group of subjects, perhaps menopausal women with breast cancer.
The research proposal is then described in practical terms.
Problem statements differ depending on the type and topic of research and vary between a few
sentences to a few paragraphs.
However, the problem statement should not drag on needlessly. Despite the absence of a fixed
format, a good research problem statement usually consists of three main parts:
Context: This section explains the background for your research. It identifies the problem and
describes an ideal scenario that could exist in the absence of the problem. It also includes any past
attempts and shortcomings at solving the problem.
Significance: This section defines how the problem prevents the ideal scenario from being achieved,
including its negative impacts on the society or field of research. It should include who will be the
most affected by a solution to the problem, the relevance of the study that you are proposing, and
how it can contribute to the existing body of research.
Solution: This section describes the aim and objectives of your research, and your solution to
overcome the problem. Finally, it need not focus on the perfect solution, but rather on addressing a
realistic goal to move closer to the ideal scenario.
Here is a cheat sheet to help you with formulating a good problem statement.
1. Begin with a clear indication that the problem statement is going to be discussed next. You can
start with a generic sentence like, “The problem that this study addresses…” This will inform your
readers of what to expect next.
2. Next, mention the consequences of not solving the problem. You can touch upon who is or will
be affected if the problem continues, and how.