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Thứ Tư, 8 tháng 9, 2010

How to organize an disertation

Research Report should be organized as follows:
  • Abstract
  • Introduction
  • Methods
  • Results
  • Discussion
  • List of references

1. Abstract (1 page maximum)

The abstract must be the first page of your submission. Begin by restating your project title at the top of the abstract and place your confirmation number in the upper right-hand corner. The abstract should be no more than one page. It should succinctly state the purpose of the study or investigation, the basic methods (procedures for collection or selection of data and analytical methods), results (specific findings of importance) and the principal conclusions. The abstract should emphasize what is new or important about your study.
Tip: Write your abstract after you write your full Research Report. This way, the elements you include in your abstract are organized and easy to summarize.

2. Research Report

Your Introduction should state the purpose and rationale for your project. In it, you should state your research question succinctly, but thoroughly. The Introduction should state why it is important to address this question, describe the population to be studied, and identify how your research result could make a difference.
Methods: the "how" section (2-8 pages recommended)
The Methods section lets you explain to other researchers how you conducted your study. It should be detailed enough to allow another researcher to replicate your procedures. In this section you should:
  • Explain your study design
  • Outline your procedures for data collection, including how and why you chose your data source. Explain all processes used for selecting and processing data, including those used for obtaining permission to use personal data (if applicable).
  • Identify the age, gender and other characteristics that made up inclusion criteria for the study population and explain why, if applicable.
  • Explain the sampling technique, that is, how the participants in the study were chosen.
  • Describe what material you obtained from subjects and how you obtained it, if applicable.
  • If there was an exposure or intervention (e.g., exposure to a possible toxin or protective factor; a natural experiment due to a change in policy or regulation; or a preventative or therapeutic maneuver, such as a behavioral change program) describe the essential features, including duration and intensity.
  • Define the primary outcome measure for the study. Generally, you should determine how you to measure the outcome before you begin collecting data. Tell us if the defined outcome measure changed during the research period and, if so, why. For example, the outcome measure for a project investigating the effectiveness of a community intervention to reduce obesity might be a 50% increase in average physical activity level. How would this be defined and measured?
  • Explain the analytical methods used. Describe your statistical methods with enough detail so that a knowledgeable person with access to your original information can verify the results you report. Be sure to give standard references for statistical methods. Tell us why the analyses you carried out were appropriate for your study design.
Results: what did you find? (2-8 pages recommended)
The Results section is where you present the answer to the question posed by your project.
  • Present your results in a logical sequence in the text, tables and illustrations.
  • Try not to repeat information in your text that is shown in your tables and figures; instead summarize the findings from each table and figure. Do not include tables listing each participant and their data points—that is your database, not your results!
  • Describe the key quantitative findings, as well as the statistical tests assessing significance. For example, if your project explores the possibility of a causal relationship between use of cellular telephones and rates of brain cancer, you should report the rates of brain cancer in cell phone users and nonusers, in addition to presenting the results of the statistical test (the "p" value) for the difference in rates. Only reporting the p value would not sufficiently convey your findings.
Tip: You don't need to give a laundry list of every analysis you performed or could have performed. Your readers are more impressed if you can pick out and present the most salient results.
Discussion: what do your results mean? (8-16 pages recommended)
In the Discussion section, describe how your results fit or do not fit with previous research studies.
  • Emphasize the new and important aspects of your project, and the conclusions that justifiably can be drawn from the findings.
  • Describe the meaning and implications of your results. Provide sufficient detail to support your interpretation.
  • Discuss the strengths and limitations of the study.
  • Link your conclusions to the objectives of your project; avoid unqualified statements that are not completely supported by the data.
  • Explain how your conclusions could lead to follow-up research.
  • Outline any unanswered questions related to the project and explain how those could be addressed in a subsequent study.
  • Discuss ways in which you might improve upon or modify the study to move the results forward.
3. References
Every citation in your text must have a corresponding reference listed in alphabetical order at the end of your Research Report. Research Reports found to have improper or omitted citations, whether intentional or unintentional, will be disqualified. Review the Academic Integrity section of the research project guidelines.
  • Follow American Psychological Association (APA) editorial style for citations and references.
  • When using APA format, follow the author-date method of in-text citation. This means that the author's last name and the year of publication for the source should appear in the text, e.g., (Jones, 1998), and a complete reference should be listed at end of your paper. For more information, refer to the APA Publication Manual (5th ed., 2001)
link:http://www.collegeboard.com/yes/fs/content.html.