SELECTION OF TOPICS, DISCUSSION AND PRESENTATION OF ESSAY

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SELECTION OF TOPICS, DISCUSSION AND PRESENTATION
OF ESSAY

• BY
• JUSTICE G. DJOKOTO

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Steps to Choose a Topic

• Identify a problem
• Read further on the problem
• Clearly define the problem
• Write out the problem statement
• Outline your objectives
• From here you can now decide on the topic

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Assessing the Topic

• Criteria
• Availability of literature
• Look out for about 20 literature
• Largely journal articles and research works of
  students
• Other research reports
• Books
• Newsletter

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Assessing the Topic

• Criteria
• Availability of data
• Access to the data
• Cost of the data
• Timeliness of access
• Personal interest of the student
• Your personal interest will be a motivation
• Project work can be frustrating hence the need
  for personal interest
• Project will be funded by you

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Assessing the Topic

• Criteria
• In discipline you are pursuing
• Also, may be related to your discipline
• Or you want to apply theory from some area to
  your discipline

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PRESENTATION

• Preliminary pages
• Chapters
• References/Bibliography
• Appendices

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Preliminary Pages

• Title page
• Declaration
• Dedication (optional)
• Acknowledgements
• (Abstract)
• Table of contents
• List of table
• List of figures and illustrations
• Abstract

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Chapters

• Chapter One
• Chapter Two
• Chapter Three
• Chapter Four
• Chapter Five

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Chapter One -Introduction

• Background of the study
• Statement of the problem
• Objectives of the study
• Research questions or research hypothesis (may
  not be relevant)
• Organisation of the study
• Scope of the study

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Chapter Two-Literature Review

• The review of literature relevant to the topic is
  needed here.
• Use of recent literature is preferred.
• The sources used must be cited.
• Students are to note that this chapter is
  basically reviewing what others have said about
  the topic you are writing on.
• You may add your comments (agreements or
  disagreements, seeming conflicts etc)

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Chapter Three - Methodology

• Population
• Sample and sampling procedures
• Research instruments
• questionnaire,
• interviews,
• observation etc.
• Administration of the instruments
• Method for data analysis
• Method of Hypothesis testing
• Method of presentation

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CHAPTER FOUR
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DISCUSSION SECTION

• This is probably the most important of the
  research
• This where your results are explained and related
  to the literature and the objectives.
• In fact, to achieve your objectives in this
  chapter.
• You need to devote a whole chapter to it.

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DISCUSSION SECTION

• Often it is titled
• RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
• Most often it is chapter four.
• The structure is in two parts
• Introduction
• Body

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• Introduction
• State the objectives of the study
• The structure of the chapter or presentation
• Body
• For studies that use questionnaires
• The first section is Background of Sample
• This describe the sample you have used
• Elements like age, size, weight, sex, level of
  educational etc are captured here.
• Generally, biographical or bio-data.

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• Body
• The other part is the explanations or discussions
  on the objectives you have set in you chapter
  one.
• It is recommended that you section the this part
  in line with the objectives as much as it is
  possible.
• Remember this is where you do your talking as
  far as the research is concerned.

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• Bearing in mind that you should respond to the
  objectives you have in mind.
• Comment on the result.
• Relate it to the literature
• Does it agree?
• Does it disagree?
• If so, why?
• Does your observation or results conform to
  theory
• If not, why? State the possible reasons.

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• Your table and charts appear here.
• You need to number the tables
• You need to title the table
• The same goes for the charts or graphs

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Table 4.1 Correlations between GSE All Shares
Index and Nominal GDP
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Chapter Five - (Summary) Conclusions and
Recommendations

• Summary of findings
• Conclusions
• Recommendations

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Technical Requirements

• 1. To hand in for marking
• Three BOUND copies in light green soft cover
• 2. Length
• Essay must be in satisfactory literary form and
  should normally be between 8,000 and
• 12, 000 words usually about 70 pages
  double-spaced.

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• 3. Paper
• A4 210mm x 297mm
• 4. Word processing
• DOUBLE SPACED one side of paper only
• New Times Roman font size 12.
• Justified margin.
• 1.5 inches left and 1.0-inch right margins.

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• 4. Word processing
• Justified margin.
• 1.5 inches left and 1.0-inch right margins.
• 1.0 inch for both top and bottom margins.
• Use tabs for paragraph indentation only.
• No ornate type styles italic for emphasis only
• Laser printer quality.

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• 5. Page numbering
• Use Arabic numerals for text, bibliography and
  appendices.
• Use small Roman numerals for sections preceding
  the text (abstract, acknowledgements, table of
  contents, etc)

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• 6. Tables and figures
• Incorporate tables and figures in relation to
  text and pagination or at the end of the
  appropriate chapter.
• Tables in Microsoft Word format are preferred
  (quicker, easier).
• 7. Table of contents
• Using the Table of Contents function on the
  computer will save you much time on your paper.

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• 8. Headings
• Flush all headings to the left margin
• Chapter/ section headings - must be in upper case
• Subheadings - title case with lower case
• Sub-subheadings - sentence case with extra line
  space above.
• Example
• 1. MAIN HEADING
• 1.1 Subheading
• 1.1.1 sub-subheading

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• 9. Footnotes/ Endnotes
• When explanatory notes are necessary and cannot
  be incorporated in text, use numbered Endnotes or
  Footnotes.
• Endnotes are placed at the end of the document,
  and footnotes at the bottom of the page by using
  the insert footnote command on Microsoft Word.

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• 10. Footnotes/ Endnotes
• The superscripts in the test are numbered
  consecutively through the paper.
• Microsoft Word does not automatically reduce font
  size.
• After you have completed typing your footnote/
  endnote/ highlight the entire footnote, including
  the number, and then reduce its size.
• You should choose your font at the beginning of
  the document.

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• 11. Quotation
• Must be fully cited.
• When material cited is a quotation, the page
  number is also included in the parentheses
• e.g. (Ansah 199027).
• For cited material with no author, use a short
  title with date and page numbers (People's
  Magazine 19956).
• Very short quotations are run in the text and
  enclosed in quotation marks.
• Longer quotations (2-10 typed lines) are set off
  from the text in "block form" with single
  spacing, one indented space on the left and below
  to separate it from the text.

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• 12. References in the text
• Use author/ date system.
• Author's names and dates of publications are
  given in the text, usually in parentheses, and
  keyed to a list of works cited which is placed at
  the end of the text.
• Materials used in the research (which are listed
  in the references section of the paper) would be
  referenced in the text as follows
• (Ansah, 1986), (Carter, 1986), (African Scene
  1999), (Ansah and Obeng 1999).

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• 13. References in the text
• When material is paraphrased, but is not a
  quotation, the work from which the ideas or
  information are drawn must be fully cited,
  including the page number, e.g. (Ansah 198334).

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• 14. Reference or Bibliography
• The list of works cited in the essay is arranged
  alphabetically with the title References,
  Bibliography or Literature Cited

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• Example Bibliography
• Ansah, D. D. (1976) The Expansion of HRM in
  Ghana The New Millennium. Accra ST press.
• Chaise, F. (1998) Local mergers and acquisitions.
  Kumasi PB Press.
• Johnson, F. 1997 "Recent Developments in wrongful
  Dismissal Law." In Termination Journal, 4235-248.

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• 15. Presentation
• Be clear, cautious and concise. Longer is not
  always better to express arguments.
• Write for a busy reader - present claims and
  evidence succinctly, organise your paper by
  stating your major claims quickly, providing a
  good road map, and using clear topic and
  transition sentences.
• Avoid bureaucratic and academic language and
  avoid overstatement of positions.
• The list of works cited in the essay is arranged
  alphabetically with the title "References"
  ,"Bibliography or Literature Cited

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HOW THE ESSAY IS ASSESSED
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