Dissertation Guide Lines for Students of Master of Business Administration

(MBA)

Dissertation -1(Synopsis) Dissertation -2(Thesis)

Prepared ByDr. Rajeev Sharma Dr. Anurag shakya

Supervised & Verified ByDr. Sandeep Shandilya

Mangalayatan University, Aligarh

Index
S. No. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. Content
Research Proposal / Synopsis Structure of synopsis Dissertation Chapterization of Dissertation Dissertation Report Structure Page dimension and binding specification Specimen of cover & title page Format of Students Declaration Format of Supervisor certificate

1. Research Proposal / Synopsis

Synopsis is in fact the research proposal. Most students and beginning researchers do not fully understand what a research proposal means, nor do they understand its importance. To put it in plain words, one's research is only as good as one's proposal. An ill-conceived proposal dooms the project even if it somehow gets through the evaluation committee. A high quality proposal, on the other hand, not only promises success for the project, but also impresses your evaluation committee about your potential as a researcher. A research proposal is intended to convince others that you have a worthwhile research project and that you have the competence and the work-plan to complete it. Generally, a research proposal should contain all the key elements involved in the research process and include sufficient information for the readers to evaluate the proposed study. Regardless of your research area and the methodology you choose, all research proposals must address the following questions: What you plan to accomplish, why you want to do it and how you are going to do it. The proposal should have sufficient information to convince your readers that you have an important research idea, that you have a good grasp of the relevant literature and the major issues, and that your methodology is sound. The quality of your research proposal depends not only on the quality of your proposed project, but also on the quality of your proposal writing. A good research project may run the risk of rejection simply because the proposal is poorly written. Therefore, it pays if your writing is coherent, clear and compelling. Requirement of quality dissertation1. 2. 3. 4. Ability to provide the proper context to frame the study question. Ability to delimit the boundary conditions of study. Presence of landmark studies as part of review of literature. Accurate presentation of the theoretical and empirical contributions by other researchers. 5. Focus on the research question. 6. Ability to develop a coherent and persuasive argument for the proposed research. 7. Avoidance of too much detail on minor issues, but not enough detail on major issues. 8. Avoidance of too much rambling -- going "all over the map" without a clear sense of direction. (The best proposals move forward with ease and grace like a seamless river.) 9. Avoidance of too many citation lapses and incorrect references. 10. Avoidance of too long or too short coverage. Basic purpose of synopsis is to defend your topic of research by producing convincing proof of the existence of the problem.

2. Structure of synopsis
1. Introduction 2. Problem identification 3. Need and significance of the work along with managerial understanding and applicability. 4. Review of Literature 5. Objectives of Study 6. Hypotheses 7. Research Methodology Research design Sampling technique Sample size Data collection Steps / Statistical technique for data analysis 8. Organization of the study Bibliography

Note: 1. for detailed explanation see chapter .1 of the document titled Chapterisation of
Dissertation.

2. Total number of pages in synopsis must range between 12 to15. Dissertation 1 (Synopsis) carries 25% and Dissertation 2 (Thesis) carries 75% of overall weight age.
Total credits for Dissertation 1 & 2 are 8.

3. Dissertation
A Dissertation is a document submitted in support of candidature for an academic degree or professional qualification by the student. It is a new view point emerging from research usually a requirement for an advanced academic degree. It will help in developing more indepth and broader insights and understanding of business & industry from multiple dimensions.

By doing dissertation student will be able to

Develop a research proposal to explore a specific research question/problem. Identify and access the resources necessary to undertake the investigation, reviewing and analyzing relevant literature. Choose a research methodology appropriate to the problem and apply the methodology which can be either qualitative & quantitative or both. Report the project particularly its purpose, background, methods, findings, conclusions and recommendations. Identify and critically comment on the wider implications of the work.

Objectives of dissertation To enable student to solve and find answers to the problem Student can discover new things and ideas along with providing a solution of the problem. To help student enhance his knowledge about subject For this Student will have to sustain his dissertation work with enough resources. This will make his work more credit worthy. This will add value to his and existing knowhow about the area of research. To challenge some existing idea This is possible if student wishes to write a research paper that can compete with some existing research paper. However he needs to be careful while doing this because if he will not have sufficient basis for his claim, his work will loose authenticity, quality and worth.

You need to answer following questions before attempting dissertation work

Does a problem really exist? What is this problem (clear understanding of problem)? What are the hypotheses of dissertation? Who will be the beneficiaries of this work? What will be the nature of benefits from research outcome and its impact on socioeconomic environment of country? How will this research add value to students existing knowledge and skills? What will be the implications of this work on future studies?

4. Chapterization of Dissertation
Chapter 1. Introduction
1. Introduction and problem identification It will contain a brief explanation about the area including problem occurrence & their effect on the system .It will also include a brief description about the company, Area of study, Industry in which company operates etc. 2. Need and significance of the work along with managerial understanding and applicability. It will elaborate about why the study has been conducted and what is the significance of this work for the student as well as company/Industry/ Economy. In this section student will also elaborate on managerial understanding and applicability of such understanding in solving business problem of varying complexities. Also he/ she should be able to judge the importance of this study 4. Review of Literature This will include brief summary about past studies done on similar topics/ areas .It will consists of names of the researches, year/place of the research and their research outcomes in brief. The literature review serves several important functions: Ensures that you are not "reinventing the wheel". Gives credits to those who have laid the groundwork for your research. Demonstrates your knowledge of the research problem. Demonstrates your understanding of the theoretical and research issues related to your research question. Shows your ability to critically evaluate relevant literature. Indicates your ability to integrate and synthesize the existing literature. Provides new theoretical insights or develops a new model as the conceptual framework for your research. Convinces your reader that your proposed research will make a significant and substantial contribution to the literature (i.e., resolving an important theoretical issue or filling a major gap in the literature). Most students' literature reviews suffer from the following problems:

Lacking organization and structure Lacking focus, unity and coherence Being repetitive and verbose Failing to cite influential papers Failing to keep up with recent developments Failing to critically evaluate cited papers Citing irrelevant or trivial references

5. Objectives of Study

An analysis of studies listed in review of literature will help in formulating appropriate objectives of dissertation work. Here student can attempt to solve a long standing problem. This will enable student to discover either new ideas or a perception change. He can make an attempt to enhance additional information about the subject and in the process he will collect a lot of information from various sources. In some cases, student can even attempt to challenge with outcomes of other similar studies. However, student will have to be extremely careful to present his views supported by sufficient base. Based on objectives of the dissertation, student will formulate hypotheses of his work. Hypotheses will be an assumption strictly developed on the basis of objective(s). The number of hypotheses will be equal to number of objectives. Research design It will elaborate on basic structure and style such as- Descriptive, Exploratory, Experimental etc. Sampling technique This will concentrate on technique related to selecting appropriate sample from population so that maximum information about the population can be drawn. Sample size This will include information about the number of elements/ members selected in the sample. Data collection It will include description about the process/ source of data collection such as primary / secondary. Steps / Statistical techniques for data analysis It will include explanation about various statistical techniques used in the work.

6. Hypotheses

7. Research methodology

8. Organization of the study

In this section, chapterization of the study will be presented in brief. 9. Limitations Here student will elaborate on resource constraints faced by him during the work.

Chapter 2. Conceptual framework of the study

Here student will give a detailed explanation (theory) about the theme / subject area of the study.

Chapter 3. Data analysis and interpretation This will include data analysis and interpretation after making thorough use
and application of appropriate statistical techniques as mentioned in chapter one.

Chapter 4. Finding and conclusion

In the findings section student will give all his inferences and inter- linkages ultimately resulting into overall picture of his findings. In conclusions student is expected to elaborate overall benefits from his work to various parties such as Company, Industry and Economy (National / Global) etc.

Chapter 5. Suggestion and recommendation along with future implication of work Here caution must be exercised that no generic suggestion is given like organization
needs to improve interpersonal communication. It is more scientific to present our views in such a manner that questions, when, where, what etc can also be addressed. Suggestion must be innovative and in tune with research outcome. Student must properly present his/ her recommendations to Company/ Industry/ Economy depending on nature of work and suggestions.

Appendices

Appendices are provided to give supplementary information, which is included in the main text may serve as a distraction and cloud the central theme. Appendices should be numbered using Arabic numerals, e.g. Appendix 1, Appendix 2, etc. Appendices shall carry the title of the work reported and the same title shall be made in the contents page also.

Bibliography/list of references

The reference material should be listed in the alphabetical order of the first author. The name of the author/authors should be immediately followed by the year and other details.

Kothari C.R, Research methodology, New Delhi, New Age International (P) Ltd. Publishers, 2007

5. Dissertation Report Structure

Title page Students declaration Supervisors certificate Acknowledgement Index List of figures, tables etc I II III IV V VI Page .No.

Chapter 1. Introduction
Introduction and problem identification Need and significance of the work along with managerial understanding and applicability Review of literature Objectives Hypothesis(if any) Research Methodology Research Design Selection of unites Sampling Technique Sample size Data Collection Steps/ Statistical technique for Data analysis Organization of the study Limitations

Chapter.2. Conceptual framework of the work Chapter.3. Data analysis and Interpretation Chapter.4. Finding and conclusion Chapter.5. Suggestion and recommendation along with future implication of work
Appendices Bibliography

 Size/dimension: International standard paper size A4 (297x210mm) should be used. Binding: The project report should be hard bound with Golden Embossing. Margin: Top 1.0, Bottom 1.0 Left 1.5 Right 1.0 Line spacing: 1.5 Font: Times new roman, size 12 for text, larger fonts may be used for headings & Subheadings. Page number: Page should be numbered consecutively and clearly. No page number should be indicated on title page, supervisors certificates, declaration and acknowledgement; however pages are counted from title page. Use Greek numbers from title page to List of figures, tables etc page. Use Indian numerals from main text to end of thesis. All typing should be on right hand pages only. Folded diagram/charts (If any): These should be arranged so as to open to the top and right. Landscape chart/ fig: Bottom of chart/ fig should be on right side.

6. PAGE DIMENSION AND BINDING SPECIFICATIONS:

Important note1.Each paragraph should start from the next line of heading and subheadings. 2.Do not write General information and history of statistical tools. 3. Write about appropriate tools you have used and reason for using the tools. 4. Constantly fine tune your project report from the synopsis to your final report.

It will be rich experience for you to cherish.

7.Specimen of Cover Page & Title Page: <Font Style Times New Roman Bold>

A14 DISSERTATION ON14

HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT IN PRIVATE SECTOR20

Submitted by14

Anuj kumar16
Enrollment no. 2011MBA00114 In partial fulfilment for the award of the degree14 Of14

MASTER IN BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION16

In14 Human resource management14

MANGALAYATAN UNIVERSITY, ALIGARH16

MAY 201114

Students Declaration

This is to certify that Thesis/Report entitled which is submitted by me in partial fulfilment of the requirement for the award of degree . to Mangalayatan University, Aligarh comprises only my original work and due acknowledgement has been made in the text to all other material used. Date: Name & Signature of the student

Supervisors certificate
This is to certify that thesis/Report entitled project title. which is submitted by ..name of student in partial fulfilment of the requirement for the award of degree .. to Mangalayatan University, Aligarh is a record
of the candidates own work carried out by him/her under my/our supervision. The matter embodied in this thesis is original and has not been submitted for the award of any other degree.

Date:

Name and Signature of Supervisor