FORMAT & GUIDELINES

PARTS OF THESIS CHARACTRISITICS

A. Initial Pages
1. Title Page The following information needs to be on the title page:
▪ The title (and possibly the subtitle) of your thesis
▪ First name and surname of the author(s)
▪ Faculty and department
▪ Place and date of completion
2. Approval Sheet ▪ This is to prove that the authors have passed the
requirements needed for the thesis.
▪ This is signed by the thesis adviser, panel and the
head/principal.
▪ This also states the grade obtained by the
authors.
3. Abstract ▪ An abstract presents a brief summary of your
thesis.
▪ The aim of the abstract is to briefly provide the
reader with the most important information from
the entire text.
▪ An abstract never contains new information.
▪ This summary is no longer than 2 pages of A4.
4. Acknowledgment ▪ This is a page focused on expression gratitude to
organizations, agencies or individuals who, in one
way or another, have aided the researchers in
finishing the thesis.
5. Dedication ▪ This is the page for dedicating the thesis to
certain people or groups who have inspired the
researchers while doing the thesis.
6. Table of Contents ▪ The table of contents is essentially a topic outline
of the thesis.
▪ It is compiled by listing the headings in the thesis
down to whichever level you choose.
7. List of Tables/List of ▪ Include a list of figures (illustrations) and a list of
Figures tables if you have one or more items in these
categories.
▪ Use a separate page for each list.
▪ List the number, caption, and page number of
every figure and table in the body of the thesis.
B. CHAPTER I –
Introduction and its
Background of the Study
8. Introduction ▪ The first chapter of your thesis is your
introduction.
▪ This is where you provide an introduction to the
topic of your thesis: you give the context in terms
 of content of the research project.
9. Background of the Study ▪ One of the preliminary steps to completing a
thesis is the background study for it.
▪ The background study for a thesis includes a
review of the area being researched, current
information surrounding the issue, previous
studies on the issue, and relevant history on the
issue. Ideally, the study should effectively set
forth the history and background information on
your thesis problem.
▪ The purpose of a background study is to help you
to prove the relevance of your thesis question and
to further develop your thesis.
10. Statement of the ▪ The problem must be reflected to your title or the
Problem readers must know your problem by just simply
reading your topic.
▪ The problem must not be answerable by yes or
no and must be arranged in the flow of your
documentation or study.
11. Hypothesis of the Study ▪ A hypothesis can be testing a concept or it can be
developed as a result of study. A testing
hypothesis is one that can be tested, meaning
you can measure both what is being done
(variables) and the outcome. A tested hypothesis
is tested with research, such as in a research
study in social science.
12. Scope and Delimitation ▪ The scope is mainly the coverage of your study
and the Delimitation is the limitation of your study
or topic.
13. Significance of the Study ▪ The significance of the study will mainly focus on
the question “Who will benefit from the study?”
▪ This section will state the contribution of your
study and the usefulness of your study in the
society.
14. Definition of Terms ▪ The definition of terms must be arranged in
alphabetically. It must be also stated if you used
your definition of terms in technically or
operationally.
CHAPTER I – Review of
Related Literature and
Studies
15. Related Literature ▪ In this part, you must get your data and
information from any books, magazines, and
news papers. You must label your published
material with local or foreign.
1. Must be also organized to cover specific
 problems.
2. Must take all the evidences about the
problem with the author’s experiences.
3. As much as possible, get the latest
published materials. Avoid old published
materials.
4. It must be related to your topic. If not, do
not get it.
5. On the last part of this part, you must have
a statement how this old published
material helps the researcher in their
current study and relate it to your study.
16. Related Studies ▪ In this part, you must get your data and
information from unpublished material such as
previous or old study, research or thesis. In some
format, you must label your unpublished material
with local or foreign.
1. This should be organized to cover the
specific problems.
2. You must take note all the evidences that
the previous researcher came up.
3. The unpublished material should not be
older than 5 years if possible.
4. It must be related to your topic. If not, do
not get it.
5. On the last part of this part, you must have
a statement how this old unpublished
material helps the researcher in their
current study and related it to your study.
17.Synthesis ▪ A synthesis is a piece of writing that combines
information from two or more sources. If a writer
is explaining a concept or event, research from
different sources can be synthesized to offer a
well-rounded explanation of it.
18. Theoretical Framework ▪ A theoretical framework consists of concepts and,
together with their definitions and reference to
relevant scholarly literature, existing theory that is
used for your particular study.
▪ The theoretical framework must demonstrate an
understanding of theories and concepts that are
relevant to the topic of your research paper and
that relate to the broader areas of knowledge
being considered.
▪ The theoretical framework is most often not
something readily found within the literature. You
must review course readings and pertinent
 research studies for theories and analytic models
that are relevant to the research problem your are
investigating. The selection of a theory should
depend on its appropriateness, ease of
application, and explanatory power.
19. Conceptual Framework ▪ A conceptual framework elaborates the research
problem in relation to relevant literature. This
section may summarize the major (dependent
and independent) variables in your research. The
framework may be summarized in a schematic
diagram that presents the major variables and
their hypothesized relationships. It should also
cover the following:
1. Existing research and its relevance for
your topic.
2. Key ideas or constructs in your approach
3. Identify and discuss the variables related
to the problem.
4. Conceptualized relationships between
variables.
5. Independent variables (presumed cause)
6. Dependent variables (presumed effect)
7. Intervening variables (other variables that
influence the effect of the independent
variable)

Example:

INPUT PROCESS OUPUT

The input
must contain
Input all the The title of
the
instruments the study/
information
used in the research
from
statement of study
the problem

FEEDBACK
D. CHAPTER III –
Methodology of the Study
20. Research Design ▪ The appropriate research design should be
specific and described.
21. Participants of the Study ▪ Describe the population of interest and sampling
 of subjects used in the study.
22. Research Instrument and ▪ Describe the instrument and what it will measure.
Techniques ▪ State qualifications of informants if used in the
study
23. Data gathering ▪ Describe how instrument will be administered.
Procedure
24. Treatment of Data ▪ Describe the processing and treatment of data.
E. CHAPTER IV –
Presentation, Analysis and
Interpretation of Data
29. Presentation of Data ▪ Present the findings of the study in the order of
the specific problem as stated in the statement of
the problem.
▪ Present the data in the forms:
- Tabular
- Textual
- Graphical (Optional)
30. Analysis of Data ▪ Data may be analyzed quantitatively or
qualitatively depending on the level of
measurement and the number of dimensions and
variables of the study.
▪ Analyze in depth to give meaning to the data
presented in the data presented in the table.
Avoid table reading.
▪ State Statistical descriptions in declarative
sentences, e.g. in the studies involving.
31. Interpretation of Data ▪ Establish interconnection between and among
data.
▪ Check for indicators whether hypothesis
supported or not by findings.
▪ Link the present findings with previous literature
▪ Use parallel observations with contemporary
events to give credence presented in the
introduction

F. CHAPTER V – Summary
of Findings, Conclusions
and Recommendations
32. Summary of Findings ▪ This describes the problem, research design, and
the findings (answer to the questions raised). The
recommended format is the paragraph form
instead of the enumeration form.
▪ For each of the problems, present
- the salient findings
- the results of the hypothesis
tested
33. Conclusions ▪ These are brief, generalized statements in
answer to the general and each of the specific
sub-problems;
▪ These contain generalized in relation to the
population. These are general inferences
applicable to a wider and similar population.
▪ Flexibility is considered in making of conclusions.
It is not a must to state on a one-to-one
correspondence with the problems and the
findings as all variables can be subsume in one
paragraph.
▪ Conclusions may be used as generalizations from
a micro to macro-level or vice versa (ZOOM
LENS approach)
34. Recommendations ▪ They should be based on the findings and
conclusion of the study.
▪ Recommendations may specific or general or
both. They may include suggestions for further
studies.
▪ They should be in non-technical language.
▪ They should be feasible, workable, flexible,
doable, and adaptable.