Project Guidelines

University 18
Content
Objectives
Steps included in Project Work
Design Requirements
Selecting Project Topic
Suggested Guidelines
Structure of the Report
Grading Guidelines
FAQs
TimeLine
Contact us
OBJECTIVE OF THE DISSERTATION

The objectives of the dissertation are :

 To develop the ability to investigate specific issues relevant to

your course;
 To communicate findings in an appropriate manner.
Three Simple Steps for the conclusion of
Project work

Submission of Project Synopsis

Submission of Project Report(Softcopy)
Online Viva(not for BBA,BCA,MCA and
MSIT candidates)
What is project synopsis?
Topic of the Project/Title 
This should be explicitly mentioned at the beginning
of the Synopsis. Since the topic itself gives a peep into
the project to be taken up, candidate is advised to be
prudent on naming the project. This being the overall
impression on the future work, the topic should
corroborate the work. 

Objective and Scope 

This should give a clear picture of the project.
Objective should be clearly specified. What the project
ends up to and in what way this is going to help the
end user has been mentioned. 
Research Methodology 
What kind of research- descriptive, or causal,
research instruments, analysis method.

Interpretation and Limitations 

what inferences can be drawn from the collected
data, what are the identified limitations of the
research

Conclusion 
The write-up must end with the concluding
remarks-briefly describing the usefulness of the
project., and scope for further research.
PROJECT GUIDELINES

The Project represents the culmination of your studies. It is an

opportunity for you to research something of interest and
importance to you and/or your organisation. You should also
develop an expertise in your chosen area.

This lays out the requirements of the Project and the process to
be followed
DESIGN REQUIREMENTS

The overall requirement is that the design, execution and reporting

of the investigation must be of an appropriate standard for a
Masters degree.

To achieve this, the report must include sections on

(a) the background and aims,

(b) a literature review,
(c) the research methods adopted,
(d) the analysis of the data/research problem, and
(e) conclusions and recommendations
 …REQUIREMENTS

a)the aims of the investigation should be relevant to the practice

of management at a strategic or tactical level, clearly specified,
and should present an appropriate level of challenge.

b) the investigation should review, critically evaluate and draw on

relevant previous empirical and theoretical research;

c) the investigation should use appropriate research methods

(normally involving the collection and analysis of empirical data),
which should be discussed and justified; UBS Project Guidelines
….REQUIREMENTS

d) these methods should be used to provide a clear and critical

analysis which meets the research aims;
e) the results, conclusions and recommendations put forward
should be supported by appropriate evidence and arguments;
f) the report should be clearly written and presented in an
acceptable format.
g)The project report should be of 100-120 Pages.
 SELECTING PROJECT TOPIC

 The topics chosen should be micro in nature, pertaining to the

student’s choice of industry and subject, and should have scope
to be presented in the manner of a case study. There should be
scope for a survey / data collection as well.
 You should have studied research methods before starting your
project, because this provides essential guidance for good
practice in research and will provide initial ideas for possible
topics.
- What problem areas are there in my job or company that I
would like to see tackled?
- What aspects of the course would I like to pursue further in
their practical application to my present or future
circumstances?
- What organisational problems do my Senior management or
other contacts see as being important to investigate and solve?
- What practical outcome would I like to see achieved as the
result of spending considerable time on a study and
investigation?
- Is the proposed project feasible? Am I likely to be able to get
access to the required information?
You need to pick a project topic that is feasible, which means
‘do-able’ in the short time that you have.
What is ‘feasible’?
Many student project proposals are initially over-
ambitious. They are often very wide-ranging in their focus
and could present significant problems for students in
collecting primary data.

The best projects are those where:

The topic is of particular interest to you.
You can easily collect information – the information is
readily available, or you can collect and analyse it easily,
and within a short time period
Example
Not Feasible “The importance of the WTO rules
governing exports for the future of Indian exports”
(Too vague and over-ambitious)
Feasible
“The impact of WTO rules governing the export of
Indian textiles to Europe”
(The focus is on a particular commodity in a particular
location, and the information will be readily available)
Each candidate, shall submit to the Institute two (2)
Project topics along with 2-3 pages Project Synopsis
for every topic, for approval and allotment, on or
before the Topic Submission date.
Some Q & A
Do I need to select a guide?
Is it mandatory to have guide?
Is the project to be done individually or in
group?
Is a guide provided by U18?
SUGGESTED GUIDELINES FOR THE PROJECT
REPORT
 INTRODUCTION

 Problem Statement: Why is this research important?

 What are the objectives of this study?
 What are the testable hypotheses?
 Outline of thesis/dissertation.
LITERATURE REVIEW

 Review of relevant literature.

 Compare/contrast previous literature with what you intend to
do.
 How does your intended work extend the knowledge frontier?
 In the literature review section of the proposal you outline
what previous research has been done on the topic and how it
has guided or informed your own research.
What previous research has already been done on this
topic?
Who did it, when and, perhaps, why?
What conclusions did previous researchers reach?
How relevant are these conclusions today generally and
for your own research?
How relevant are these conclusions today generally and
for your own research?
How will your research build on previous research?
How is it similar or different?
What theories, models or practices are particularly
relevant to prepare or analyse your research topic and
findings?
How has previous research influenced your own intended
research methodology and methods?
 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

 Develop the theoretical framework underlying this research.

 How would results from the testable hypotheses alter or support

the proposed theoretical framework?

 How sturdy is this theoretical framework? Are there short-

comings?
 What methods do you intend to adopt to gather information in
pursuit of answers to your research questions? Note down brief
answers to the following questions:

 Where and how will you gather secondary data? Is it easily

available?

 Where, how, and when will you gather primary data? This is
essential to the report
DATA SPECIFICATIONS AND
COLLECTION PROCEDURES
 Background information about data sources.

 Variable descriptions.

 Sampling procedures.

 Descriptive statistics.
EMPIRICAL MODEL AND
ESTIMATION RESULTS
Based on theoretical framework, develop empirical model.

Discuss estimation procedure and testing.

Discuss estimation results and test results.

SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND
RECOMMENDATIONS
 Summarize your findings.

 Given your empirical results, what do you conclude?

 Based on your results and conclusion, what do you

recommend?

What are the limitations of your research? What else could be

done?

 What do you recommend for future research based on your
findings?
Some more Q & A
What is the difference between project
report and viva?
How will you have viva?
What is the difference between
interpretation and discussion?
Can we get a model project report?
TIPS FOR ORGANIZING AND WRITING YOUR
THESIS
OUTLINE

General aspects and philosophy

Organization
◦ of the whole thesis
◦ Within the thesis
◦ Writing style and form
Getting started, keep going
(personal advice from writers)

Resources
GENERAL PHILOSOPHY:
HIERARCHY OF IMPORTANCE
 Content
◦ the message given
 Style
◦ the way that message is presented (structure, language, and
illustration)
 Form
◦ the appearance of the message (grammar, punctuation,
usage, spelling, and format).
GENERAL PHILOSOPHY

A research paper (or thesis) is an attempt to persuade.

 The key to persuasion is organization.
A picture is worth a thousand words.
 Don't use a thousand words where five hundred will do.
 If at first you don't succeed, try, try, try, try, try, try, try,
try, try, again.
 No Plagiarism.
A THESIS IS AN ORIGINAL
CONTRIBUTION TO KNOWLEDGE
 An advisor/reader will expect that:

◦ you have identified a worthwhile problem or question which

has not been previously answered

◦ you have solved the problem or answered the question.

A THESIS IS AN ATTEMPT
TO PERSUADE
A reader/reviewer will ask:

◦ What is the research question?

◦ Is it a good question? (Has it been answered before? Is it a

useful question to work on?)

◦ Did the author convince me that the question was

adequately answered?

◦ Has the author made an adequate contribution to existing

knowledge in the chosen area?
 KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE

 Explain abbreviations, unusual terms

 CLEAR writing
 Explain assumptions, limitations
 For a journal article, know the usual audience and scope of
papers
 For a grant proposal, learn what kind of expenses are
allowable, write to the specific goals or questions of that
agency
 KEEP TO THE POINT

A concise paper or thesis requires keeping the main points in

mind--ONLY include background information, data, discussion
that is relevant to these points

 Fora proposal, focus on the aspects for which you request

funding
STYLE AND STRUCTURE

 Organization

 Emphasis

 Depth

 Transitions between sections

ORGANIZATION OF THE REPORT

Abstract
Introduction
Background and Literature review
Problem statement/research question
Methods
Data presentation
Interpretation
Discussion
Conclusions
References

**Different types of writing might have more/less

emphasis on each of these elements
 Nested hourglass model

The whole thesis

Each section,
subsection
Most paragraphs

Broad focus at
beginning, end;
specifics/narrow
focus in middle
Organization of the thesis
 Abstract
 Introduction
 Background/Lit. review
 Problem statement/research
question
 Methods
 Data presentation
 Interpretation
 Discussion
 Conclusions
 References
 ABSTRACT

• Abstracts should be 1-2 pages and should be self-contained

• Model after a paper in your field
• Written to attract readers to your article or thesis, gives a good
initial impression
• Summary of the contents of the thesis
• Brief but contains sufficient detail
• motivation for the work (problem statement)
• project objectives
• techniques employed
• main results and conclusions
 INTRODUCTION

 This is a general introduction to what the thesis is all about -- it is

not just a description of the contents of each section. Briefly
summarize the question (you will be stating the question in detail
later), some of the reasons why it is a worthwhile question, and
perhaps* give a brief overview of your main results.
INTRODUCTION

 Topic?

◦ Defines scope and limitations of study

 Importance?

 Background?

 Arrangement of thesis?
 You probably wrote this for your thesis proposal; REWRITE IT
AFTER body of thesis is written
 Look at examples in published literature in your field
 This section is likely to contain a lot of reference citations--put
your thesis in context of existing work
BACKGROUND

A brief section giving background information may be

necessary. Your readers may not have any experience with

some of the material needed to follow your thesis, so you need

to give it to them. A more informative title is usually better.

LITERATURE REVIEW

 Provides context for and details about the motivation for the
project
 States why the problem is important
 Sets the scene for the work described in the thesis
 Describes what others have done and hence sets a benchmark
for the current project
 Justifies the use of specific techniques or problem solving
procedures
TIPS FOR LITERATURE REVIEW

• Make it a point to keep on top of your field of study by making

regular visits to the library and to the electronic journals
websites.
• When reading a technical paper, jot down the key points and
make a note of the journal or technical publication where the
paper was published.
• Devise a cataloguing system that will allow you to retrieve the
paper quickly.
• Make sure that you have read and understood cited work
• Organize your content according to ideas instead of individual
publications.
• Do not simply quote or paraphrase the contents of published
articles. Weave the information into focused views.
Demonstrate your deeper understanding of the topic.
• Do not be tempted to summarize everything you have read; only
include those relevant to your main points.
RESEARCH QUESTION
OR PROBLEM STATEMENT

1. a concise statement of the question that your thesis or paper

tackles
2. justification, by direct reference to previous work, that your
question is previously unanswered. This is where you analyze
the information which you presented in the “state of the art”
section
3. discussion of why it is worthwhile to answer this question.
4. Highlight the section with a heading using words such as

“problem” or “question”
DATA AND INTERPRETATION

 No standard form. But still organized!

 One or several sections and subsections.
 Methods, Data, Interpretation sections are separate
 Only one purpose: to convince the advisor (reader/reviewer)
that you answered the question or solved the problem stated in
the previous section.
 For a proposal: describe methods, preliminary data, types of
data to be collected
DATA AND INTERPRETATION

 Present data that is relevant to answering the question or

solving the problem:
◦ if there were blind alleys and dead ends, do not include
these, unless specifically relevant to the demonstration that
you answered the thesis question.
◦ Note for some theses it may be important to include these in
an appendix
METHODS

 Depending on your topic this may be one paragraph or a long section

 Ifmeasurement error is important to your study, state how this was

assessed.
DATA PRESENTATION

 Draft your figures first: (A picture is worth a thousand words)

 Make captions stand alone
 Use enough figures to present the data that justifies your
interpretations and conclusions.
 Write your text around your figures
USE THE PROPER TOOLS
(FOR YOUR RESEARCH
AND YOUR WRITING)

 Spreadsheets, analysis tools

 Plotting programs
 Graphics programs

 Writing resources
 Start learning these before you collect the data (e.g., during
the thesis proposal process)
FOCUS ON ONE IMPORTANT
THING IN EACH PARAGRAPH

Each paragraph needs a topic sentence

Contents of paragraph should only relate to that topic

Use Outline view to see and revise this

INTERPRETATION

 Keep separate from data, clearly distinguished by paragraph,

section, and/or words like “are interpreted to show”.
 Depending on your topic, it is often useful to subdivide
interpretation into a “local” or small scale (directly flows from
your data) and a “regional” or “big picture” scale, that flows
from consideration of your data with that of others. This latter
type is usually included in the “discussion” section.
DISCUSSION

 Look at discussion sections in papers in your field. See what

they cover.
 Usually is a broader scale interpretation than just your data
(relate to previous published results)
 Addresses the bigger problems of your research topic and how
your study fits into solving those problems
 Is NOT a conclusion section
CONCLUSIONS

 1. Conclusions
 2. Summary of Contributions
 3. Future Research
 Conclusions are not a rambling summary of the thesis: they are
short, concise statements of the inferences that you have made
because of your work. It helps to organize these as short
numbered paragraphs, ordered from most to least important.
All conclusions should be directly related to the research
question stated
REFERENCES

 All references cited, including those in Tables and Figure

captions. No more, no less.
 Use consistent style throughout (e.g. “et al.” OR “and others”,
not both)
 You can follow Harvard style referencing or any other that you
are comfortable with but keep it consistent.
 PROJECT TOPIC
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By
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Student Name
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Reg. No. /Roll No
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A PROJECT REPORT
<Font Size 12> <Capital>
Submitted to the
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UBS
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in partial fulfillment for the award of the degree of
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MASTER OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION
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DECLARATION - FORMAT

I hereby declare that the project entitled “(Project Topic)”

submitted for the M.B.A. Degree <Course Name> is
my original work and the dissertation has not formed
the basis for the award of any degree, associate ship,
fellowship or any other similar titles.
I also declare that this work or no part o this work has
been copied from any source.
 Place: Date: Signature of the Student
 (NAME,BOLD, TIMESNEW ROMAN, 12 PT)
GIVING WRITTEN WORK TO YOUR
ADVISOR/REVIEWERS

 It may just be a draft, but proofread it first. A spell-check is not

enough.
◦ Preferably proofread hours or days after you wrote the text
 Outlines are a good place to start
 If you want comments or need a reference letter, give him/her
time.
TIMELINES……

 Project Topic/ Synopsis Submission

 Topic Announcement Date
 Project Report Submission
 Viva – Dates will be announced Later
FAQs

How many projects topics do I need to submit?

 You have to submit two (2) Topics with the synopsis for all the
projects but the you will have to work on One (1) project, which
is approved. In case of rejection of both the topics you have to
resubmit 2 topics again.
HOW TO CHOOSE A TOPIC?

 The Topics chosen should be Micro in nature, pertaining to the

your choice of Industry and subject, and should have scope to
be presented in the manner of a Case Study. There should be
scope for a Survey / Data Collection as well.
 For example: if you working in finance department your topics
can be Annual report, capital budgeting
 If you are in HR department you can choose the topics such as
Performance evaluation, Handling Grievance
Synopsis?

 Synopsis will be a brief introduction to the project

 Synopsis has to be uploaded with a resume

 No delays in the synopsis submission will be accepted

 The final project cannot deviate from the synopsis

More Q & A

Is it necessary to map my project work with the domain

in which I am currently working.
 No. it’s not necessary.

Where will be the Viva conducted?

 It will be done online. It will be one to one session through
video conferencing/Online. The duration will be 10 Minutes to
30 Minutes. It would be done by board of evaluators. It would
be based on the project submitted. The date of viva will be
communicated to each student.
 What are the maximum marks for Project Work &
Viva Voice?
For MBA - The Project shall be given a weightage of 100 marks
and the Viva Voce shall be given a weightage of 50 marks.
For BBA/MCA/BCA - The Project shall be given a weightage of 200
Marks.
For MSIT - The Project shall be given a weightage of 100 Marks.

 What are the pass marks?

 40 percent is the passing marks for all the courses.
Soft copy of
Project Work

Students need to upload ‘’Softcopy of Project Report

in LCMS , Instruction to upload the same will shared
by VIA email to students
 MARKS ALLOCATION CHART
S.No Project Report Marks Allocation
1 Abstract 5
2 Introduction 10
3 Background/Literature Review 10
4 Problem Statement/ Research Question 10
5 Methodology 10
6 Data Analysis 10
7 Interpretation/Discussion 15
8 Presentation 10
9 Conclusions 15
10 References 5

VIVA 50
Introduction 10
Methodology 10
Conclusion 10
Problems faced 10
Recommendation 10
Grand Total 150