CHECK-Q FOR PMMA GRADUATE SCHOOL THESIS WRITING

This part consists of questions and/or a checklist to evaluate your work as you write the
manuscript; use this again for final checking before you request for oral defense or submit the final copy
of the thesis.

1. The thesis contains all the parts.

____Preliminaries (Title Page, Approval Sheet, Acknowledgment, Dedication, Abstract, Table of
Contents, List of Tables, List of Figures and List of Appendices)

____Chapter 1 - THE PROBLEM AND ITS BACKGROUND (Introduction, Background of the

Study [Optional], Theoretical Framework, Conceptual Framework, Statement of the
Problem, Hypothesis, [Optional], Scope and Delimitations, Significance of the Study, and
Definition of Terms)

____Chapter 2 - REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE AND STUDIES (Foreign & Local

Literature/Studies and Synthesis)

____Chapter 3 - RESEARCH METHODOLOGY (Research Design, Respondents of the Study,

Ethical Considerations, Locale of the Study, Instrumentation, Validation of Instrument
[Optional], Data Gathering Procedure, and Statistical Treatment of Data)

____Chapter 4 - PRESENTATION, INTERPRETATION AND ANALYSIS OF DATA

____Chapter 5 - SUMMARY OF FINDINGS, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

____Bibliography

____Appendices

____Curriculum Vitae

2. The Title Page

____Does it contain the title in inverted pyramid?
____Does it have the complete data required? (Complete name, degree, institution, date – month
and year the research was presented)
____Does it follow the PMMA official format?

3. The Approval Sheet

____Does it have the complete and required data?
____Does it follow the PMMA official format?

4. The Acknowledgment
____Does it acknowledge people, agency, office who/which helped you in your research journey?
____Does it use the third person?
____Does it use complete sentences, and not mere enumeration?

5. The Dedication
____Does it dedicate the work to people who inspired the researcher?
____Does it use the first person?
____Does it have the initials of the researcher at the end?

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6. The Abstract
____Does it contain a brief summary of the statement of the problem and hypothesis; research
design; highlights of the findings; conclusions; and recommendations?
____Does it use 2 to 3 pages only?

7. The Table of Contents

____Does it list all major divisions and subdivisions including the page numbers?
____Are the data aligned accordingly?
____Does it follow the required format?
____Are the page numbers and data accurate?

8. The List of Tables

____Does it provide the number of tables, titles and page numbers?
____Are the data aligned accordingly?
____Does it follow the required format?
____Are the page numbers and data accurate?

9. The List of Figures

____Does it provide the number of figures, titles and page numbers?
____Are the data aligned accordingly?
____Does it follow the required format?
____Are the page numbers and data accurate?

10. The List of Appendices

____Does it provide the letter (A, B, C, etc.) of appendix, titles and page numbers?
____Are the data aligned accordingly?
____Does it follow the required format?
____Are the page numbers and data accurate?

11. The Parts of the Chapters

Chapter 1 - THE PROBLEM AND ITS BACKGROUND
.1 Introduction
____Does it contain a general statement about the problem?
____Does it include previous researches or concepts that can strengthen the reason for
the investigation without being regarded as Chapter 2?
____Does it end with the general purpose or problem why the study was undertaken?
____Does it attract the researcher’s attention?

.2 Background of the Study (Optional)

____Does it narrate the origin of the problem (brief history of the research, justification of
the selection of the problem)? Please note, however, that if these data were already
presented in the introduction, there is no need for this part.

.3 Theoretical Framework
____Does it contain theories from notable and renowned authorities which will be used
as basis for the study?

.4 Conceptual Framework
____Does it contain concepts which will be used as basis for the study?
____Does it show the interrelationships of the variables?
____Does it have a figure representing the paradigm of the study?
____Does it have a narrative to explain the figure?

.5 Statement of the Problem

____Does it restate the title of the study that is presented as main problem or objective?
____Does it have specific problems based on the purpose/objectives of the study?
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 ____Does it include questions necessary for the research?

.6 Hypothesis (Optional)
____Does it contain hypothesis necessary to the research as approved by your
adviser/statistician?
____Is it presented as null hypothesis (Ho)?

.7 Scope and Delimitations

____Does the scope defines the “where and when the study was conducted, and who
were the respondents”?
____Does the delimitation include the population, sample, treatment, setting and
instrumentation?

.8 Significance of the Study

____Does it provide the significance or potential contribution of the results to persons,
agency/offices, which are arranged from most to least benefitted?

.9 Definition of Terms
____Does it contain selected terminologies necessary to make the research more
comprehensible?
____Are the terms defined operationally or conceptually? (Please note that PMMA
encourages the operational definition of terms.)
____Does it follow the required format (term in bold with a period at the end to separate it
from the definition)
____Are the definitions in complete sentences?
____Are the terms defined clearly and briefly?
____If there are acronyms, are they placed after all the terms are defined?

Chapter 2 –REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE AND STUDIES

.1 Review of Related Literature and Studies
____Does it follow this format:
Related Literature
Foreign
Local
Related Studies
Foreign
Local
____Does it contain concepts from books, journals, magazines, periodicals, on-line or
web resources and the like?
____Are there NO open websites used? (e.g. Wikipedia, personal blogs)
____Are the authors acknowledged properly through in-text referencing?
____Is there enough data collected for both foreign and local literature and studies?
____Does it contain previously published and unpublished thesis, dissertations and the
like on your research study?
____Is there a statement of how each previous research investigation relates to the
thesis topic of the present research?
____Do these collected literature and studies provide better understanding of the present
study?
____Do these collected studies provide similar, as well as contradicting findings and
viewpoints, to provide an intensive review of the present study?
____Does it provide you information about past researches related to the intended study
to prevent you from unintentional duplication of past researches and leads you to
what needs to be investigated?
____Does it provide you information about the research methods used, population and
sampling considered, the instruments used in gathering the data, and the statistical
computation in previous researches?
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 ____Are the studies with similar findings unified in one single discussion? Were the
authors of these properly cited?
____Do you observe the principles of coherence and continuity of ideas or chronological
occurrence in the presentation of the data?

.2 Synthesis
____ Does it provide a brief account on how similar or different the current undertaking is
to the related studies and literature included in this chapter?
____ Is there an objective and critical judgment/analysis to justify the inclusion of the
studies and literature?

Chapter 3 – RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

.1 Research Design
____Does it identify the type/method of research employed and how it was applied in the
study?
____Does it discuss variables used in the study?

.2 Respondents of the Study

____Does it identify and discuss the target and study population, sample or respondents,
and sampling design used.

.3 Ethical Considerations
____Are the rights of respondents/samples respected? How?

.4 Locale of the Study

____Does it discuss briefly the specific area (research setting) where the research
project was conducted?

.5 Instrumentation
____Does it discuss the instruments used to gather the necessary data to answer the
specific problems posed/raised in the study?
____Does it indicate if the instrument is self-made, standardized, copyrighted or
adapted?
____Does it clarify the mode of responses required and the scale to be used?
____Does it include the procedure on how the instrument was validated, e.g. tests of
validity, reliability or expert review? (Include this one only if you do not have a
separate Validation of Instrument)

.6 Validation of Instrument (Optional)

____Does it include the procedure on how the instrument was validated, e.g. tests of
validity, reliability or expert review? (If this was discussed under Instrumentation, this
part is no longer needed.)

.7 Data Gathering Procedure

____Does it discuss the procedure, including details, followed by the researcher from the
distribution of the instrument to its retrieval.

.8 Statistical Treatment of Data

____Does it contain information about the statistical tools and procedures (to be) used in
the study?
____Does it describe briefly the statistical tools and how it (will be) was used in the
analysis of data?
____Does it mention the reasons for including the statistical tools?
____Are the statistical tools based on the SOP?
____Did you include the formula of ONLY those which are new or unfamiliar?

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 Chapter 4 – PRESENTATION, INTERPRETATION AND ANALYSIS OF DATA
____Does it present logically the information/answers based on the questions in SOP?
____As a whole, are the provided information/answers according to the specific
questions (SOP)?
____Does it use Tables or Figures for better presentation and easier understanding of
the data?
____Do the Tables and Figures in the body follow the proper heading and placement of
titles?
____Do the Tables and Figures appear within a page after they are mentioned in the text,
and not before they are mentioned?
____Is the narrative explanation clear enough to be understood even without referring to
the Table or Figure?
___In the narrative, did you present only the relevant data? (Meaning, individual scores
or raw data should not be reported in the text. If these need to be included at all,
they should be placed in the appendix).
____Does the textual presentation supplement or expand the contents of tables and
charts, rather than duplicate them?
____Are the data in Tables clearly presented, meaning there is proper alignment, border,
etc?
____Are the figures (percentage, frequency, etc) accurate?
____Are the results data-bound, meaning no fabrication of data was done?
____Are the discussions/explanations data-based, meaning there is no injection of
personal opinions?
____Does it interpret the data correctly?
____Is the analysis based on the findings of the research?
____Are there studies presented in Chapter 2 that support or negates the findings and
which are used in this chapter for analysis?

Chapter 5 – SUMMARY OF FINDINGS, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

.1 Summary of Findings
____Does it provide a SUMMARY of the findings, not an exact duplication of Chapter 4
and as much as possible no numerical values are included?
____Is it a recapitulation of the entire content of the research and does not contain any
new information?

.2 Conclusions
____Does it provide conclusions based on the findings?
____Does it include implications of the conclusions?

.3 Recommendations
____Does it provide recommendations based on the conclusions?(e.g. additional
research, new or improved policies, etc)

.4 (Brief Output like framework, syllabus, etc shall be included as the last part of
Chapter 5)

Chapter 6 (if the Output is lengthy, e.g. book, manual, etc.)

11. Bibliography
____Does it follow the APA system of referencing? (You may check www.apastyle.org or
Research Methodology for Beginners by Paraggua, et.al, pp. 61-71)
____Does it have the complete data required for a bibliography – whether book, journals, etc.?
____Does it follow the proper arrangement of the required data?
____Are they arranged alphabetically as a single bibliography – whether book, journals, etc.?
____Is it using the hanging indention?
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 ____Does it list all the in-text references in the body of the research?
____Have you listed all cited authors?

12. Appendices
____Are the data important yet lengthy to be included in the body of the research?
____Do the data support the research?
____Are the appendices arranged alphabetically? Or are grouped according to importance?
____Do you have titles (short) in each appendix?
____is it using the alphabets (Appendix A, Appendix B, etc)

13. Curriculum Vitae

____Does it follow the PMMA format?
____Does it include a picture of the researcher?
____Does it include all the necessary data about the researcher?

14. Questionnaire/Instrument
____Does it elicit answers to the problems identified in SOP or objectives of the research?
____Are the questions clear, direct to the point, and easy to understand?
____Are the instructions/directions specific and clear?
____Are the number of questions just enough and do not take much time of the respondents?
____Are the questions validated?
____Do you use the best style in getting the information you need? (Question form or checklist)
____Does it clarify the mode of responses and the scale to be used?
____Does it use the right adjectival value or interpretation?

15. Other Important Details

____Does it have correct paging? (small roman numerals for preliminaries [i, ii, iii, etc] and
Arabic from chapter 1 to the last page [1, 2, 3, etc])
____Do the chapter headings have NO page numbers?
____Do the chapter headings follow the required format?
____Are your chapter headings, sub-headings, and captions consistent in style?
____Do you practice the proper SPACING [between topics, sub-topics], MARGIN, correct
INDENTION, WORD ALIGNMENT (justify), consistent FONT and FONT SIZE all throughout
the thesis as required by PMMA?
____Is the thesis correct in terms of grammar, spelling, and punctuation marks?
____Have you proofread your thesis for accuracy and consistency?
____Have you checked your sentences, paragraphs, and chapters to see if the meaning is clear
and are logically sequential to your reader?
____Have you checked for logical flow from sentence to sentence, paragraph to paragraph, and
chapter to chapter?
____Referring to the whole document, have you ensured that you have given author citations for
all quotations, paraphrases, and borrowed or adapted visuals to avoid plagiarism?
____Are the Title, SOP, Findings, Conclusions, and Recommendations interconnected?

Before the Defense:

____Have you followed the time-frame for the submission of manuscript for proposal defense or
final defense?
____For the proposal manuscript (proposal defense), is the tense of the verb in the future tense?
____For the final manuscript (final defense), is the tense of the verb converted accordingly (to
past tense or present tense as necessary)?
____Has it undergone editing?
____Have you presented your thesis to your adviser?

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 For Final Submission of Thesis:
____Are all parts complete?
____Has it undergone final proofreading and formatting?
____Does it use the PMMA letterhead and border?
____Has it been book-bound?
th
____Do you have the required number of hard copies (5) to be submitted? The 6 copy is the
researcher’s copy.
____Is the timeframe for submission observed?

Notes:
1. For Title Proposal – The comments given by the Dean focus on the alignment of the thesis study
with your post-graduate course/program. Necessary adjustments must be taken as advised.
2. For Proposal Defense – Shall include Title Page; Adviser’s Endorsement; Table of Contents;
Chapters 1, 2, and 3; Bibliography; Instrument (Please use the CHECK-Q as guide).
3. For Final Defense – Shall include Title Page; Adviser’s Endorsement; Table of Contents; Chapter
1, 2, 3, 4 and 5; Chapter 6 (if output is necessary); Bibliography; Appendices; (Please use the
CHECK-Q as guide) and Raw Data (just in case it will be required by the panel.

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