EAST AFRICA UNIVERSITY – GAROWE CAMPUS

RESEARCH AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT CENTER

GUIDELINES FOR STUDENTS RESEARCH PROJECT WRITING

For Supervisors and Students

Luqman Yasin Gelle

Head – Research & Professional Development Center
East Africa University, Garowe University

April, 2020

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Introduction

East Africa University has adopted the following research format and guidelines to
ensure that researches are conducted effectively and thesis is presented in one
standard format in terms of parts, typing, pagination and technicalities. The following
guidelines are to be adhered to by students and research supervisors of East Africa
University.

To avoid confusion and delays of the student’s research projects, this guide outlines the
relevant procedures and policies and also the roles and responsibilities of students and
supervisors during the process of university research dissertation.

Typing Technicalities

1. A4 size
2. Computer printed materials must be of good quality
3. Font = Times New Roman
4. Font Size = 12
5. Margins = 1.5 inches spacing from top, bottom, left and right sides
6. Type with 1.5 inches spacing
7. Double space from one heading to the next heading

Pagination

1. Number of pages should be consecutively in Latin starting with the first page of
Chapter One
2. Numbers should appear in the center of the lower/bottom margin of the page
3. Preliminary pages before the first page of Chapter One should be numbered
using small Roman numerals, still at the bottom and centered.

Style Guide Technicalities

1. Avoid using contractions in the text such isn’t, don’t, and so on as these are
informal presentations.
2. Never start a sentence with a figure. Spell out figures in words.
3. Delete redundancies in words, sentences or in statements
4. Title should not exceed 20 words; all capital letters (except for scientific names);
in bold and inverted pyramid.

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 5. Side headings; in bold, only the beginning letter is capitalized.
6. Avoid one sentence paragraph all over the text.

Parts of the Research Proposal

 Preliminary Pages (Title page, Table of contents)

 Chapter One – Introduction (Background of the Study, Statement of the
Problem, General objective of the study, Specific objectives, Research
Objectives, Conceptual Framework, Scope of the study, Significance of the
study, Expected Limitations of the study)

 Chapter Two – Literature Review (Overview of concepts, Review of

Specific objectives of the study, Research Gap)
 Chapter Three – Research Methodology (Research Design, Study
Population, Sample Size, Sampling technique, Instruments of data collection,
Data analysis tools, Research Ethics )
 References
 Appendices
o Appendix I – Research Instrument

 Take Note: The length of the proposal should not exceed 30 pages
including the references.

Parts of the Final Thesis / Research Report

 Preliminary pages - (Title page, Declaration, Approval Page, Dedication,

Acknowledgement, Abstract, Table of Contents, List of Tables, List of Figures)
 Chapter One – Introduction (Background of the Study, Statement of the
Problem, General objective of the study, Specific objectives, Research
Objectives, Conceptual Framework, Scope of the study, Significance of the
study, Expected Limitations of the study)

 Chapter Two – Literature Review (Overview of concepts, Review of

Specific objectives of the study, Research Gap)

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 Chapter Three – Research Methodology (Research Design, Study
Population, Sample Size, Sampling technique, Instruments of data collection,
Data analysis tools, Research Ethics )
 Chapter Four – Data Presentation, Analysis and Discussion of
Findings (Introduction, Demographic characteristics of respondents,
Objective One, Objective Two and Objective Three)
 Chapter Five - Conclusions and Recommendations
 References
 Appendices
o Appendix II – Research Instrument

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 The Structure of the Research Project

PRELIMINARY PAGES
Title of the Study The title of the study refers to the heading which should
provide a single line description of the study and thereby
portrays a quick summary of the key idea(s) in the research
project. In many cases, the title of the study should indicate
the respondents, independent and dependent variables.
Remember, your title should contain between 5-20 words. It
should be brief and clear.
Example: Graduate Unemployment in Somalia: Causes, Socio-
economic Consequences and Possible Solutions.
Declaration In this page you declare that your work as a researcher is
original and has not been submitted to any academic institution
for any academic award.
Approval The approval page is the second page in your document. There
should only be one page of approval for the supervisor, neither
for the Research Directorate nor for the Faculty Dean. You
supervisor should sign after ensuring that your research meets
with the required research standards.
Dedication This is where you can show your love and gratitude to the
people who have helped you to achieve your goals. This part
tends to be less prescribed than other sections, so you have a
little freedom to get creative in the way you express yourself!
Acknowledgement The acknowledgment is a paragraph which thanks everyone
who has helped you whilst you have been researching and
writing your report. This may be your supervisor or any other
academic staff who have provided guidance and support; other
students or colleagues that you've collaborated with;

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 interviewees; librarians; external bodies who have given you
assistance.
Table of contents A table of contents makes it easy for you and reader to quickly
navigate to a section of your document. Each item in your table
of contents links to the titled sections of your document that
use the heading styles.

Abstract The abstract should, in the briefest terms possible, describe the
topic, the scope, methodology, the principal findings, the
conclusions and main recommendations. It should be written
last to reflect accurately the content of the report and should
be only one page.
A primary objective of an abstract is to communicate to the
reader the essence of the paper. The reader will then be the
judge of whether to read the full report or not.

List of tables and Indicate the table and figures that you have used in your
figures document.
Remember that long tables should be placed in the appendix
section. Table numbering must be consecutive within chapters.
For example, the first table under Chapter Four could be
numbered as Table 4.1 and the second one as Table 4.2.
All figures should be written in full to describe what they are
saying. For consistency purposes, they should be numbered
and labelled in the same way as tables, with their sources and
all other elaborations placed at the bottom of the respective
figures. Unless the figures are big enough to deserve separate
pages by themselves, they must be included in the text.

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List of Indicate abbreviations that you have used.
abbreviations In the main text, the subject should be stated in full followed
by the abbreviation or acronyms placed in brackets the first
time it appears. Example: Federal Government of Somalia
(FGS), in subsequent citations only the abbreviation FGS should
be used.

CHAPTER ONE - INTRODUCTION

Background to the This is a critical part of the research because the setting or the
study position of the study is established and brief overview of the
problem the researcher aspires to tackle is introduced. It is
suggested to start from the global perspective to your
study area by indicating your problem as you go writing your
background.
The role of the background of the study include, to clarify what
has brought about the need for the study; point out the
challenges faced due to the identified issues; indicate the
opportunities for improvement and demonstrate the
researcher’s view of the research problem. In other word, this
section tries to convince the readers that the problem or
opportunity exists and that is should be addressed and
show the readers that the researcher knows the study
area as he/she is familiar with what has preceded

Statement of the The research problem is an issue or concern that puzzles the
problem researcher due to its effects or inconsistence despite the
measures taken. This is the heart of the research. Normally a
paragraph or a few paragraphs, is all that is required to

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 describe exactly what the problem is. Many students have
difficulty in describing the problem: instead they list the
objectives, outcomes, needs or other irrelevant aspects. A good
statement of the problem provides direction to the research
and indicates the demarcation of the study.
Consider your variables when you are explaining your problem.
In this case, it is important to indicate clearly that there is a
problem i.e. dilemma – needs to be solved, or a gap of
knowledge to be filled.
Objectives of the These are finer and specific statements that originate from the
study research problem i.e. the research variables. They are the goal
you set to attain in your study. There are two kinds of
objectives of the research
 General objective and
 Specific objectives of the study (maximum
three).
In writing General Objective of the study, you are referring to
the title of the study. General Objective states what
researchers expect to achieve by the study in general terms.

Your main variables will help you to construct Specific

Objectives. These are smaller, logically connected parts of
general objective i.e. specific aspects of the topic that we want
to study within the framework of our study.
It is important to note that each specific objective should
contain only one aspect of the Study. The wording should
clearly, completely and specifically. State the objectives using
“action words” e.g. investigate, analyze, explore, assess,
compare, measure, identify and avoid “non-action words”

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 e.g. understand, to know, appreciate, learn etc.

Research Hypotheses are guiding predictions of the outcome of the

hypothesis or study. If you state hypotheses, indicate whether they null or
research questions alternative hypotheses.

A research question is a way of formulating a problem so that

you are directed to the answers. You draw research questions
from your specific objectives. A research question is not the
same as a question which you could ask an individual who
might be part of your investigation. Your research question is
the most critical part of your research proposal -- it defines the
proposal, it guides your arguments and inquiry, and it provokes
the interests of the reviewer.

Conceptual This is a research tool intended to assist a researcher to

framework develop awareness and understanding of the situation under
scrutiny and to communicate the research problem. It explains
the relationship among the interlinked concepts/ variables.

Scope of the study The research should indicate the boundaries or limits of the
study in terms of contents, sample, area/geographical or
period. This is due to limited resources and help to concentrate
on important matters i.e. avoids unnecessary diversions. It can
be done under one heading or separated into categories of
content, geographical location and period.
Significance of the This part is significant as it shows the importance of the study
study when completed, indicate the beneficiaries and how are they

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 going to benefit from the study. You present significance can
be in terms of:
 The contribution to the existing knowledge
 Contribution to new methods of applying or using a
certain application tool
 Managerial implication as a result of not solving the
problem at hand
 Benefits to be accrued to the individuals,
organization, society or the country at large
 Fulfilling academic requirements .e.g. degree
 Ironing out policy implication or areas requiring more
attention by policy makers
 Streamlining areas for further research
It is preferred to use the conjunction of ‘may’ or ‘might’ instead
of ‘will’ to provide of a benefit of doubt on the applicability of
the outcomes.

CHAPTER TWO – LITERATURE REVIEW

An adequate literature review is required in all research projects, since it is an account

of what has been published on the topic by accredited scholars and researchers. It is
important for supervisors to request students to read at least 15-25 books/articles
relevant to the problem during research writing. The literature review is a material part
of the research process and it takes a significant amount of time and energy, thus the
researcher should be much focused.

Overview of The researcher needs to indicate different definitions and

Concepts or related concepts that are related to the study. This helps both the
theories researcher and the readers to gain an in-depth understanding

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 of the research problem.
You may adopt a theoretical framework that will guide the
study. Sometimes you may present a number of theories, but
need to specify which is most applicable to your study.

Review of specific The supervisors should guide students on how to undertake a

objectives of the review by emphasizing that the review must relate to research
study. problem by addressing the objectives of the study. Thus,
students must identify variables in research objective and find
their information

Research Gap The review should help to come up with knowledge gap; an
area that has not yet covered, your study wants to add the
knowledge in terms of methodologies; theories to be adopted,
study area etc.

Chapter Three: Research Methodology

This is a critical part in the proposal whereby the science of research is presented. That
is, it shows how the study will be conducted. Thus, it is the framework within which
research is undertaken.

Research design Indicate which design will you adopt and why i.e. its link to
your problem. You should justify why a particular research
design has been chosen.
Study Population Any research that is conducted targets particular people who
are affected/influenced by the research problem. You should
understand the people whom do you target for your study. You

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 also need to identify the particulars of those people and the
number you will take for your study.

Sample Size It is evident that you cannot use the whole sum of population
for your study. So choosing a sample to be a representative is
recommended. You should boldly indicate how you choose your
sample and why.
Data collection You need to indicate the types of data that you need to collect
technique for your study, be secondary or primary data.

Data collection The researcher is supposed to indicate the tools/technique that

Instrument you will adopt and give reasons for the adoption of a particular
tool/ techniques; for whom and which data will you collect.
Data presentation Once you have collected your data, you need to specify the
and analysis way you will present and analyze the data. In other words, you
need to come up with an analytical frame / model for your
data. You need to desegregate your data to make your analysis
simpler. To date, there is computer software that simplifies
data presentation and analysis you may indicate the type of
software you will use.
Based on the type of data you need to indicate an analysis
technique will you adopt for your study. Qualitative analysis
techniques include thematic or content analysis; discourse
analysis etc. Quantitative analysis techniques include
Descriptive Statistics (Means, Std. Deviations, and
Correlations), T-tests and Analysis of Variance (ANOVA),
Regression

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Research Ethics You need to indicate how you will observe research during
research process e.g. during data collection, analysis and
reporting.

RESEARCH REPORT WRITING

Once the researcher has completed the research proposal and collected the data, the
next step is to write reports of the findings. In this case, research report becomes a
part of research report writing after making few adjustments such as language from
future to past simple. The report will incorporate proposal parts plus chapter four and
five.

CHAPTER FOUR: DATA PRESENTATION, ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION OF

FINDINGS

The crux of the report is the analysis and interpretation of the results. What do the
results mean? How do they relate to the objectives of the project? To what extent have
they resolved the problem?
In this section, relevant data, observations, and findings are summarized and analysed.
Tabulation of data, equations, charts, and figures can be used effectively to present
results clearly and concisely. You have to observe the followings:
 Present your general information such as response rate, profile of
respondents (Socio- Demographic Characteristics)
 Refer to your research objectives represent your analysis of the collected data
(Present objective by objective)
 Link your analysis with literature review either to confirm or not (incorporate
this with in the text of the analysis)

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 CHAPTER FIVE: CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

 You have to make a conclusion for your study findings i.e. You deduce
major issue from your findings as per your objectives. Based on findings,
provide recommendations; what to be done?
 Perform your conclusions and recommendations objective by objective to
provide target references.
 Finally, Indicate areas for further studies.

Referencing

Referencing acknowledges the sources that you use to write your proposal and report.
Academics use various reference systems, which have minor differences here and there.
We adopt the APA Referencing Style. The system requires only two elements, an in-text
reference, and a single integrated reference at the end of the report. In-text citations
are used throughout your writing to acknowledge the sources of your information.
Failure to acknowledge other’s materials you commit an academic sin that is
Plagiarism.

END

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