Dr Samarendra Prasad Mishra
Thesis is nothing but mostly a research report. A Thesis is formatted before conducting an original research work (Synopsis) & the full form of Thesis appears after the research work is covered . In Homoeopathy, PG. Study (M.D. in Homoeopathy) has been introduced since two decade back with aim to improve the science. The aim of research can only be fulfilled with sincere & dedicated works on the research topic along with same responsibilities in right presentations of the Thesis. There are specific formats to writing up a Thesis. Here only few points are enlightened to make Thesis writing healthy, clear & transparent, for benefit of thousands of research scholars in this field.
Thesis should comprise up: –
1. The preliminaries
2. The Main body of the Thesis
3. The reference portion
I. The preliminaries:
It consists of : –
(a) Front fly-leaf
A blank front fly leaf should be provided in the Thesis between the cover & the title page. This sheet is not counted in pagination.
(b) Title page: –
It is the first page of the Thesis. The first page includes the title of the Thesis, Authors name, statement of submission, institution receiving the Thesis, Degree for which Thesis is presented and the month and year of submission.
While the title of the Thesis should be in a concise form, it should, however, be short and comprehensive enough to convey clearly the subject of the study. When the title covers more than one line, it should be arranged in an inverted pyramid form. The title should be at the top of the page in capital letters at double space and centered between right and left margins.
The name of the author follows the title at the center of the page and should be given in full. The statement of submission, indicating to which University/ Institution and for which degree the Thesis is submitted, follows the name of the author and is centered and given at the bottom of the title page. Months and year appear in the last line of the title page.
(c) Dedications: –
It should be in a separate sheet after title page. It is pure optional / personal matter of the Research scholar. Dedication can be given at the center of the page without any title.
(d) Approval page for the Thesis Advisor: –
At the centered, it should be written:
Approved. Signature of the Thesis Advisor(Guide), (Name of the Thesis advisor (Guide) typed in the bracket).
(e) Vita: – The Research scholar’s bio- data should be included in this page to enable readers regarding the research scholar’s background.
(f) Acknowledgement: – Through this, the research scholar with conveys his thanks and sense of gratitude to his guide and others. The top of the page should be Capital letters. Research scholar has to only
Initials below the acknowledgement page & not to be signed his full name.
(g) Table of Contents: –
It is the short contents of the Thesis, orderly presented. It should contain: List of Tables. The list of illustrations, the Chapter headings (Main heading, Subheadings & Sub division of the Appendices of Bibliography) with their beginning page numbers.
The heading ‘Table of Contents’ should be typed at the top of the page in capitals and centered between right and left margins. The words ‘Chapter’ and ‘Page’ should be double spaced and placed at the left and right extremes respectively below the heading ‘Tables of Contents’ and the first letters should be capitalized. Roman numerals are used for indicating Chapter number.
The chapter headings should be typed in capitals, while the sub-headings are to be typed with first letter of important words in capitals. The sub-heads should be placed two spaces below the chapter heading and also indented two spaces from the Chapter heading. All the sub-headings should be typed in single-space. The Chapter headings and Sub-headings should be the same as those given in the body of the Thesis.
The page numbers for Chapters are aligned in such a manner that the last number of page falls below the letter ‘e’ of the ‘Page’.
(h) List of Tables: –
It should be typed somewhat same styles of Table of Contents. The heading ‘List of Table’s should be typed in Capitals and centered below the right and left margins. The words ‘Table’ and ‘Page’ should be at the left and right extremes respectively and typed only with the first letters in capitals and should be two spaces below the heading ‘List of Tables’. Table headings should be double spaced in small letters but the first letter of important words should be in capital. If a table heading is more than a line it should continue in the next line Single-spaced. The last number of the page should be typed below letter ‘e’ of the heading ‘Page’. The table headings should carry exactly the same wording as they appear in the body of the Thesis.
(i) List of Illustrations: – The same formula has to be adopted for list of illustrations.
(II) The Main Body of the Thesis
It should contain five chapters: Introduction, Review of Related Literature, Methodology or Procedure, Analysis of Data and Results of the Study, and Summary, Conclusion and Recommendations.
1.Introduction: –
It should contain the importance & purpose of research study. It gives the reader a clean concept of the problem at a glance from the beginning. An introductory Section can be boost the statement of the Problem, Delimitations (Boundaries), Limitations, Hypothesis (Guess of the Research Scholar), Significance of the study (reasons for undertaking the research study) & definition/ explanation of terms (research scholar may give his own definition for certain terms incase of non availability of appropriate study).
2. Review Of Literature: – Only related facts (Medical/Science) of the literatures from different areas should be cited in this chapter by the research scholars. However the name of the authors/, books/magazines, page No, should have be mentioned in each case.
3. Methodology: – (Materials& Methods)
The detailed research procedures of the study have to be employed by the research scholars in this chapter. The sources utilized & the methods by which the evidence was evaluated must be defined. The methods adopted for collection & presentation of data are to be included must.
4. Result s & Discussion
Results are to be obtained after actual analysis of data of the research. The findings & discussion of findings must be presented systematically. This chapter does not include raw data but Statistical procedures, findings & illustrations may be given to report the analysis of the data.
5. Summary, Conclusion & Recommendations: –
Those are the overviews of the entire research study undertaken It includes in summarized form. The findings of the study are the conclusion. The recommendation part is the personal experience of the research scholar by giving direction for further research in this topic. In Homoeopathy, the research area is vast & all research workers must give their direction for further research basing upon their experience gathered.
(III) Reference Material
It Contains:
a. Appendix: – Although it is not mandatory in all case but useful for deeper understanding of the Thesis. Appendices include raw data, details of Programmes, questionnaires etc. The material included in the appendices should be relevant and justifiable. This section should be preceded by a division sheet containing the single capitalized word Appendix/Appendices’ placed at equal distance between the margins.
b. Bibliography: – It is the Books; Thesis & Journals or Periodicals referred by the research scholar in the writing up his Thesis. Those should be arranged alphabetically under each head, using Surname first. If the author has more then one reference in the thesis, they should be arranged in the alphabetical order of the title under is name. If an author has published books jointly with other, his single reference should be listed first, then joint publication should appear in alphabetical order of the associate author.
c. Back Fly-leaf: – A back fly-leaf is provided as the last sheet of the Thesis. On this sheet the name of the typist is centered between the margins.
Those are the Skeleton of the Thesis. The Thesis should be typed in double spaces & Elite type (12 spaces to the 2.5 cms). Margins should be one & one-half inches from the left & right & one inch from the bottom & top edges of the sheet. Pagination should be inside the margin at the upper right corner of the page.
Dr Samarendra Prasad Mishra,
B.H.M.S. (Hons), MD (Hom) Materia Medica, Ph.D scholar
Reader – Materia Medica, Maharana Pratap Homoeopathic Medical College,
New Rajendra Nagar, Raipur, (Chhatisgarh).
Email: dr_spm@rediffmail.com
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