This is modified guideline taken from SMSB.

This is for the final students to assist them in writing good & compact thesis.

Dr. Amel A. Suliman MBBS, MD community.M

GUIDELINES FOR WRITING A THESIS

NILE VALLEY UNVERSITY FACULTY OF MEDICINE AND SIENCE (C.D)

Nile Valley University Faculty of Medicine & health Sciences Department of Community
2

Title of the thesis

A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment for the requirement of the MBBS

By

Name candidate: Name Supervisor: Date 2000

i. Dedication. ii. Acknowledgments. iii. Abstract in Arabic

3

iv. Abstract in English. v. Table of Contents. vi. List of Tables and Figures vii. Abbreviations.

:Chapter one includes

- Introduction & Literature review Justification Objective 4

:Chapter tow includes

-Patients or patients & Methods

:Chapter three includes

- Result

Chapter four includes:

- Discussions

:Chapter five includes

Conclusions Recommendations -

References
.

Annex or appendix

The thesis should include the fallowing:

Dedication: .The work is dedicated to those who are very dear to the author
5

Acknowledgement: The author acknowledges all those who contributed to the work by permitting the use of their patients or materials but not to the level of being co supervisor or an author in an article. Also those who contributed by typing, Computing or doing statistical analysis. Abbreviations: Terminology that repeats frequently in the thesis should be mentioned first in full and the abbreviated between brackets. Abstract: Structured abstract is written in the following headings:

Background. Objective. Design e.g.(prospective case control study). Study area. Results. Conclusion.

Introduction & literature review:

1.

This includes an up- to date overview of the subject. Data from international, regional and local publications are reviewed. You can write short historical note on the subject.
6

2. 3.

4. 5.

Only relevant data from basic sciences can be stated. More data should be focused on the theme of the subject e.g. if the thesis is Rationale: the introduction should end by giving the justification for doing

on treatment, the introduction would give a rich account on treatment.

6.

this study. It will describe the works being done before locally in Sudan and show the gap or deficiency that needs to be addressed. contact austerely (locally).
7.

References in the text are numbered in sequence starting 1;2;3 etc and

written between 2 brackets . More than one reference can be written as follows: acute appendicitis is a common disease (1, 2, 3, 4) or you can write (1-4). Justification 1. study. 2. 3. Give the burden of the problem in figure (rates, %, numbers or ratio). For how long this study will be contribute in the problem solvent. You should make very clear justification why you select this problem tob

Objective Include:
1.

general objective 1-2 only specific objective not more than 5 objective The specific objective come from the main goal of the study m should be All objective must be SMART.

2. 3. 4.

fully matching with.

Materials or patients & Methods:

Describe the design of the study (e.g. prospective case controlled study)
7

Inclusion & excusing criteria.

Set up location where the study was done. Describe in detail what had actually been done. Describe briefly the data sheet you are using for data collection. (Include Any procedure must be described in detail or referred to a reference. Statistical package that is being used is to be mentioned.

Sample size & sampling Procedure:

the sheet as an appendix).

Results:

Results can be presented as Text, Tables or Figures (plates or photos are Avoid repetition by presenting the same data on two formats (eg both fig and Avoid discussing your results in this section, just plain statement of facts and

included as Figures Tables show actual Numbers. Figures show trend).

table or table and text). their significance. Text: Simple data like mean age and SO on or sex ratio can be expressed as text format and no need for figures or tables. The age distribution is given in a table or figure format. Age distribution should follow the usual pattern used in the literature for that particular disease. Example; age distribution is usually done follows: 0- 10 yrs, 11 to 20 yrs, 21 to 30 yrs etc.

The caption for tables, just describe the most important information provided in

the table. Example; Table 1: shows that 90% of cases presented with vomiting. You do not need to write all other non-significant data like: eg 3% presented with fever, 2% with nausea etc. These data are present in the table if one is interested to know more details.

All tables and figures must be referred to in the text in sequence 1,2,3 etc. When
8

the word Table or Figure comes at the beginning of the sentence, it is written without bracket Example: Table 1 shows -------etc. If it comes at the end, it will be between 2 brackets: Example: The main cause of bleeding is portal hypertension in 70% of cases (Fig. 1). And not Fig (1). All numbers between two brackets are reserved for references only. Example (2).

You can use this format for number of patients or items like (n=50) which means the number of that particular item.

Title of tables and figures: The title should be self explanatory and would give all essential information about the table without need for reading the text (Not more than 10-12 words). Statistical analysis:

This is the most important part of your results. Statistically significant data are the real output message of your study. It will be the focus of your discussion and conclusion. Non- significant data are very low priority. You need to consult a statistician before starting your study. Together work out the simple size and type of study before hand the number of subjects to be. Verify your findings by applying test or chi-square using SPSS.

1.

Discussion:

Discuss the results you have obtained as part of your thesis. Start in a sequence in view of your objectives and the literature you reviewed. Discuss important positive or negative findings comparing with differences or concordance with international regional or local results. Avoid repeating the results without discussion, a very common Practice.

Statistically significant results deserve more discussion. Recent publications are preferable to old ones. The number of references depends on the frequency of research on the subject and the Degree sought. Conclusion:

These are mentioned in points and would summarize the main outcome from the study. It is usually one to one and half pages.

Recommendations: These are also mentioned in points.

State the most important recommendations based on your findings. Usually one to one and half page. References:

For a paper: Surname initials, Title of Paper, formal, Volume number,1st and last page , Date e.g. Richardson MD. Opportunistic and pathogenic fungi .J. Antimicrob. Cheemother,28:1-11,1991 Annex or Appendix:

Questionnaire or check list . Defections related to the study. Map if there

10

11