Project Guidelines DBU Global

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Content

Objectives Steps included in Project Work Design Requirements Selecting Project Topic Suggested Guidelines Structure of the Report Grading Guidelines FAQs TimeLine Contact us

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OBJECTIVE OF THE DISSERTATION

The objectives of the dissertation are :

To develop the ability to investigate specific issues relevant to your course;

To communicate findings in an appropriate manner.

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Three Simple Steps for the conclusion of Project work

Submission of Project Synopsis

Submission of Project Report(Softcopy)

Online Viva

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What is project synopsis? Topic of the Project/Title

This should be explicitly mentioned at the beginning of the Synopsis. Since the topic itself gives a peep into the project to be taken up, candidate is advised to be prudent on naming the project. This being the overall impression on the future work, the topic should corroborate the work. Objective and Scope This should give a clear picture of the project. Objective should be clearly specified. What the project ends up to and in what way this is going to help the end user has been mentioned. Research methodology What kind of research- descriptive, or causal, research instruments, analysis method. Interpretation and Limitations what inferences can be drawn from the collected data, what are the identified limitations of the research Conclusion The write-up must end with the concluding remarks-briefly describing the usefulness of the project., and scope for further research.

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PROJECT GUIDELINES – DBU Global

The Project represents the culmination of your studies. It is an opportunity for you to research something of interest and importance to you and/or your organisation. You should also develop an expertise in your chosen area.

This lays out the requirements of the Project and the process to be followed

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DESIGN REQUIREMENTS

The overall requirement is that the design, execution and reporting of the investigation must be of an appropriate standard for a Masters degree.

To achieve this, the report must include sections on

(a) the background and aims,

(b) a literature review,

(c) the research methods adopted,

(d) the analysis of the data/research problem, and

(e) conclusions and recommendations

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…REQUIREMENTS

a)the aims of the investigation should be relevant to the practice of management at a strategic or tactical level, clearly specified, and should present an appropriate level of challenge. b) the investigation should review, critically evaluate and draw on relevant previous empirical and theoretical research; c) the investigation should use appropriate research methods (normally involving the collection and analysis of empirical data), which should be discussed and justified; Project Guidelines

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….REQUIREMENTS

d) these methods should be used to provide a clear and critical

analysis which meets the research aims;

e) the results, conclusions and recommendations put forward should be supported by appropriate evidence and arguments;

f) the report should be clearly written and presented in an acceptable format The Project Report to be submitted should be of 100 – 120 Pages.

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SELECTING PROJECT TOPIC

The topics chosen should be micro in nature, pertaining to the student’s choice of industry and subject, and should have scope to be presented in the manner of a case study. There should be scope for a survey / data collection as well.

You should have studied research methods before starting your project, because this provides essential guidance for good practice in research and will provide initial ideas for possible topics.

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- What problem areas are there in my job or company that I would like to see tackled?

- What aspects of the course would I like to pursue further in their practical application to my present or future circumstances?

- What organisational problems do my Senior management or other contacts see as being important to investigate and solve?

- What practical outcome would I like to see achieved as the result of spending considerable time on a study and investigation?

- Is the proposed project feasible? Am I likely to be able to get access to the required information?

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You need to pick a project topic that is feasible, which means ‘do-able’ in the short time that you have.

What is ‘feasible’?

Many student project proposals are initially over- ambitious. They are often very wide-ranging in their focus and could present significant problems for students in collecting primary data.

The best projects are those where:

The topic is of particular interest to you.

You can easily collect information – the information is readily available, or you can collect and analyse it easily, and within a short time period

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Example Not Feasible “The importance of the

WTO rules governing exports for the future of Indian exports”

(Too vague and over-ambitious) Feasible “The impact of WTO rules governing the

export of Indian textiles to Europe” (The focus is on a particular commodity

in a particular location, and the information will be readily available)

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Each candidate, shall submit to the Institute three (3) Project topics along with a 250 words Project Synopsis for every topic, for approval and allotment, on or before the Topic Submission date.

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Some Q & A

Do I need to select a guide?

Is it mandatory to have guide?

Is the project to be done individually or in

group?

Is a guide provided by U18?

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SUGGESTED GUIDELINES FOR THE PROJECT REPORT

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INTRODUCTION

Problem Statement: Why is this research important?

What are the objectives of this study?

What are the testable hypotheses?

Outline of thesis/dissertation.

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LITERATURE REVIEW

Review of relevant literature.

Compare/contrast previous literature with what you intend to do.

How does your intended work extend the knowledge frontier?

In the literature review section of the proposal you outline what previous research has been done on the topic and how it has guided or informed your own research.

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What previous research has already been done on this topic?

Who did it, when and, perhaps, why? What conclusions did previous researchers reach? How relevant are these conclusions today generally

and for your own research? How relevant are these conclusions today generally

and for your own research? How will your research build on previous research? How is it similar or different? What theories, models or practices are particularly

relevant to prepare or analyse your research topic and findings?

How has previous research influenced your own intended research methodology and methods?

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RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Develop the theoretical framework underlying this research.

How would results from the testable hypotheses alter or support the proposed theoretical framework?

How sturdy is this theoretical framework? Are there short-comings?

What methods do you intend to adopt to gather information in pursuit of answers to your research questions? Note down brief answers to the following questions:

Where and how will you gather secondary data? Is it easily available?

Where, how, and when will you gather primary data? This is essential to the report

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DATA SPECIFICATIONS AND COLLECTION PROCEDURES

Background information about data sources.

Variable descriptions.

Sampling procedures.

Descriptive statistics.

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EMPIRICAL MODEL AND ESTIMATION RESULTS

Based on theoretical framework, develop empirical model.

Discuss estimation procedure and testing.

Discuss estimation results and test results.

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SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Summarize your findings.

Given your empirical results, what do you conclude?

Based on your results and conclusion, what do you recommend?

What are the limitations of your research? What else could be done?

What do you recommend for future research based on your findings?

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Some more Q & A

What is the difference between project

report and viva?

How will you have viva?

What is the difference between

interpretation and discussion?

Can we get a model project report?

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TIPS FOR ORGANIZING AND WRITING YOUR THESIS

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OUTLINE

General aspects and philosophy

Organization

◦ of the whole thesis

◦ Within the thesis

Writing style and form

Getting started, keep going

◦ (personal advice from writers)

Resources

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GENERAL PHILOSOPHY:

HIERARCHY OF IMPORTANCE Content

◦ the message given

Style

◦ the way that message is presented (structure, language, and illustration)

Form

◦ the appearance of the message (grammar, punctuation, usage, spelling, and format).

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GENERAL PHILOSOPHY

A research paper (or thesis) is an attempt to persuade.

The key to persuasion is organization.

A picture is worth a thousand words.

Don't use a thousand words where five hundred will do.

If at first you don't succeed, try, try, try, try, try, try, try, try, try, again.

No Plagiarism.

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A THESIS IS AN ORIGINAL CONTRIBUTION TO KNOWLEDGE

An advisor/reader will expect that:

◦ you have identified a worthwhile problem or question which has not been previously answered

◦ you have solved the problem or answered the question.

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A THESIS IS AN ATTEMPT TO PERSUADE

A reader/reviewer will ask:

◦ What is the research question?

◦ Is it a good question? (Has it been answered before? Is it a useful question to work on?)

◦ Did the author convince me that the question was adequately answered?

◦ Has the author made an adequate contribution to existing knowledge in the chosen area?

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KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE

Explain abbreviations, unusual terms

CLEAR writing

Explain assumptions, limitations

For a journal article, know the usual audience and scope

of papers

For a grant proposal, learn what kind of expenses are

allowable, write to the specific goals or questions of that

agency

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KEEP TO THE POINT

A concise paper or thesis requires keeping the main points in mind--ONLY include background information, data, discussion that is relevant to these points

For a proposal, focus on the aspects for which you request funding

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STYLE AND STRUCTURE

Organization

Emphasis

Depth

Transitions between sections

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ORGANIZATION OF THE REPORT

Abstract

Introduction

Background and Literature review

Problem statement/research question

Methods

Data presentation

Interpretation

Discussion

Conclusions

References

**Different types of writing might have more/less emphasis on each of these

elements

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Nested hourglass model

The whole thesis

Each section, subsection

Most paragraphs

Broad focus at beginning, end; specifics/narrow focus in middle

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Organization of the thesis

Abstract

Introduction

Background/Lit. review

Problem statement/research question

Methods

Data presentation

Interpretation

Discussion

Conclusions

References

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ABSTRACT

• Abstracts should be 1-2 pages and should be self-contained

• Model after a paper in your field

• Written to attract readers to your article or thesis, gives a good

initial impression

• Summary of the contents of the thesis

• Brief but contains sufficient detail

• motivation for the work (problem statement)

• project objectives

• techniques employed

• main results and conclusions

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INTRODUCTION

This is a general introduction to what the thesis is all about -- it

is not just a description of the contents of each section. Briefly

summarize the question (you will be stating the question in

detail later), some of the reasons why it is a worthwhile

question, and perhaps* give a brief overview of your main

results.

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INTRODUCTION

Topic?

◦ Defines scope and limitations of study

Importance?

Background?

Arrangement of thesis?

You probably wrote this for your thesis proposal; REWRITE IT

AFTER body of thesis is written

Look at examples in published literature in your field

This section is likely to contain a lot of reference citations--put

your thesis in context of existing work

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BACKGROUND

A brief section giving background information may be

necessary. Your readers may not have any experience with

some of the material needed to follow your thesis, so you need

to give it to them. A more informative title is usually better.

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LITERATURE REVIEW

Provides context for and details about the motivation for the

project

States why the problem is important

Sets the scene for the work described in the thesis

Describes what others have done and hence sets a benchmark

for the current project

Justifies the use of specific techniques or problem solving

procedures

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TIPS FOR LITERATURE REVIEW

• Make it a point to keep on top of your field of study by making regular visits to the library and to the electronic journals websites.

• When reading a technical paper, jot down the key points and make a note of the journal or technical publication where the paper was published.

• Devise a cataloguing system that will allow you to retrieve the paper quickly.

• Make sure that you have read and understood cited work

• Organize your content according to ideas instead of individual publications.

• Do not simply quote or paraphrase the contents of published articles. Weave the information into focused views. Demonstrate your deeper understanding of the topic.

• Do not be tempted to summarize everything you have read; only include those relevant to your main points.

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RESEARCH QUESTION OR PROBLEM STATEMENT

1. a concise statement of the question that your thesis or paper

tackles

2. justification, by direct reference to previous work, that your

question is previously unanswered. This is where you

analyze the information which you presented in the “state

of the art” section

3. discussion of why it is worthwhile to answer this question.

4. Highlight the section with a heading using words such as

“problem” or “question”

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DATA AND INTERPRETATION

No standard form. But still organized!

One or several sections and subsections.

Methods, Data, Interpretation sections are separate

Only one purpose: to convince the advisor (reader/reviewer)

that you answered the question or solved the problem stated

in the previous section.

For a proposal: describe methods, preliminary data, types of

data to be collected

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DATA AND INTERPRETATION

Present data that is relevant to answering the question or

solving the problem:

◦ if there were blind alleys and dead ends, do not include

these, unless specifically relevant to the demonstration that

you answered the thesis question.

◦ Note for some theses it may be important to include these

in an appendix

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METHODS

Depending on your topic this may be one paragraph or a long section

If measurement error is important to your study, state how this was assessed.

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DATA PRESENTATION

Draft your figures first: (A picture is worth a thousand

words)

Make captions stand alone

Use enough figures to present the data that justifies your

interpretations and conclusions.

Write your text around your figures

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USE THE PROPER TOOLS (FOR YOUR RESEARCH AND YOUR WRITING)

Spreadsheets, analysis tools

Plotting programs

Graphics programs

Writing resources

Start learning these before you collect the data (e.g.,

during the thesis proposal process)

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FOCUS ON ONE IMPORTANT THING IN EACH PARAGRAPH

Each paragraph needs a topic sentence

Contents of paragraph should only relate to that topic

Use Outline view to see and revise this

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INTERPRETATION

Keep separate from data, clearly distinguished by paragraph,

section, and/or words like “are interpreted to show”.

Depending on your topic, it is often useful to subdivide

interpretation into a “local” or small scale (directly flows from

your data) and a “regional” or “big picture” scale, that flows

from consideration of your data with that of others. This

latter type is usually included in the “discussion” section.

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DISCUSSION

Look at discussion sections in papers in your field. See what

they cover.

Usually is a broader scale interpretation than just your data

(relate to previous published results)

Addresses the bigger problems of your research topic and

how your study fits into solving those problems

Is NOT a conclusion section

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CONCLUSIONS

1. Conclusions

2. Summary of Contributions

3. Future Research

Conclusions are not a rambling summary of the thesis: they

are short, concise statements of the inferences that you have

made because of your work. It helps to organize these as short

numbered paragraphs, ordered from most to least important.

All conclusions should be directly related to the research

question stated

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REFERENCES

All references cited, including those in Tables and Figure

captions. No more, no less.

Use consistent style throughout (e.g. “et al.” OR “and others”,

not both)

You can follow Harvard style referencing or any other that

you are comfortable with but keep it consistent.

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PROJECT TOPIC

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By

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Student Name

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Reg. No. /Roll No

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A PROJECT REPORT

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Submitted to the

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Assam Don Bosco Univeristy

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in partial fulfillment for the award of the degree of

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MASTER OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION

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By

Assam Don Bosco University

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DECLARATION - FORMAT

I hereby declare that the project entitled “(Project Topic)”

submitted for the M.B.A. Degree <Course Name> is

my original work and the dissertation has not

formed the basis for the award of any degree,

associate ship, fellowship or any other similar titles.

I also declare that this work or no part o this work

has been copied from any source.

Place: Date: Signature of the Student

(NAME,BOLD, TIMESNEW ROMAN, 12 PT)

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GIVING WRITTEN WORK TO YOUR ADVISOR/REVIEWERS

It may just be a draft, but proofread it first. A spell-check is not

enough.

◦ Preferably proofread hours or days after you wrote the text

Outlines are a good place to start

If you want comments or need a reference letter, give him/her

time.

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TIMELINES……

Introductory Session -

Project Topic/ Synopsis Submission –

Topic Announcement Date –

Project Report Submission -

Viva – Dates will be announced Later

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FAQs

How many projects topics do I need to submit?

You have to submit three (3) Topics with the synopsis for all

the projects but the you will have to work on One (1) project,

which is approved. In case of rejection of all 3 topics you have

to resubmit 3 topics again.

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HOW TO CHOOSE A TOPIC?

The Topics chosen should be Micro in nature, pertaining to the your choice of Industry and subject, and should have scope to be presented in the manner of a Case Study. There should be scope for a Survey / Data Collection as well.

For example: if you working in finance department your topics can be Annual report, capital budgeting

If you are in HR department you can choose the topics such as Performance evaluation, Handling Grievance

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SYNOPSIS?

Synopsis will be a brief introduction to the project

Synopsis has to be uploaded with a resume

No delays in the synopsis submission will be accepted

The final project cannot deviate from the synopsis

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MORE Q & A

Is it necessary to map my project work with the domain in which I am currently working.

No. it’s not necessary.

Where will be the Viva conducted?

It will be done online. It will be one to one session through video conferencing/Online. The duration will be 10 Minutes to 30 Minutes. It would be done by board of evaluators setup by DBU and UBS. It would be based on the project submitted. The date of viva will be communicated to each student.

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What are the maximum marks for Project Work &

Viva Voice?

The Project shall be given a weightage of 100 marks and the

Viva Voce shall be given a weightage of 50 marks.

What are the pass marks?

For Project Report – 40 out of 100

For Project Viva – 20 out of 50

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SOFT COPY OF PROJECT WORK

Students need to upload ‘’Softcopy of Project Report in LCMS , Instruction to upload the same will shared by VIA email to students

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MARKS ALLOCATION CHART

S.No Project Report Marks Allocation

1 Abstract 5

2 Introduction 10

3 Background/Literature Review 10

4 Problem Statement/ Research Question 10

5 Methodology 10

6 Data Analysis 10

7 Interpretation/Discussion 15

8 Presentation 10

9 Conclusions 15

10 References 5

VIVA 50

Introduction 10

Methodology 10

Conclusion 10

Problems faced 10

Recommendation 10

Grand Total 150 64

THANK YOU

For any query, mail to: sasmita.maurya@university18.edu.in

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