MIDLANDS STATE UNIVERSITY

FACULTY OF COMMERCE

DEPARTMENT OF BANKING AND FINANCE

A SUMMARISED GUIDE TO DISSERTATION WRITING

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The guide aims at presenting the specifications required in the
presentation of the dissertation in order to ensure uniformity and
consistency of dissertations in the department of Banking and Finance.

PRELIMINARY PAGES
The preliminary pages of the dissertation consist of the following pages in
the order presented:

COVER PAGE
 This is a standard page with your details. Do not invent the wheel,
use the standard page.

APPROVAL FORM
 This is a standard form with your details. Do not invent the wheel,
use the standard form.

RELEASE FORM
 This is a standard form with your details. Do not invent the wheel,
use the standard form.

DEDICATION
 This is not compulsory. It is meant for those who want to dedicate
their work to someone.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
 Here, you acknowledge the people who helped you achieve this mile
stone, the completion of your dissertation.
 Among such people should be your supervisor, your respondents
and all those who helped you access information for the study.

ABSTRACT
 This is a snapshot of your research.

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  It should encompass the following issues: what prompted the study,
the main objective of the study; the key postulations from literature,
method of study employed, key findings, conclusions and the
recommendations.
 This section should be a maximum of three-quarters (3/4) of a page
and should constitute a single paragraph.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
 A computer-generated table of contents is recommended.
 Preliminary pages and appendices should be in the table of
contents.

LIST OF FIGURES
 This section lists all the figures in the dissertation, in the order in
which they appear in the chapters.
 Each figure should be numbered such that it identifies the chapter
in which it is found. For instance, one would write Figure 1.1 for the
first figure in Chapter 1 and Figure 1.2 for the second figure in
Chapter 1.

LIST OF TABLES
 This section lists all the tables found in the dissertation, in the order
in which they appear.
 As with figures, each table should be numbered to identify the
chapter in which it is found.

LIST OF APPENDICES
 This is just a list of the appendices, in the order in which they
appear and the pages in which they are found.

LIST OF ACRONYMS
 Acronyms are abbreviations.

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  This section lists abbreviations found in the dissertation and what
they stand for.
 This does not mean that the main body of the dissertation should
just have abbreviations; you are supposed to write them in full at
first mention before using abbreviations thereafter.

IMPORTANT NOTES:
 Preliminary pages should be numbered in Roman numerals (i, ii, iii,
iv, …).
 The body of a dissertation is divided into five chapters.
 The five chapters together with the references should be numbered
in the convectional numbering system (1, 2, 3, …).

The contents of each chapter are provided below. For the purpose of the
dissertation, researchers should not come up with any additional
sub-headings, but stick to those provided.

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 CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

This chapter introduces the study. It sets the tone for the study and
should capture the reader’s attention. It should be made up of the
following sections;

1.1 Introduction
 The researcher should introduce the study and then outline what
the reader should expect to find in the chapter.
 In other words, this section introduces the study as well as the
chapter.
 Usually, a single paragraph suffices for the introduction.

1.2 Background of the Study

 This section is meant to acquaint the reader to the topic under study
and lead him/her towards the problem.
 There is no one way of writing this section but it is important to
appraise the reader with all the important developments in the
subject area with the aim of pointing towards the problem.
 One way of writing this section is to employ an inverted pyramid
approach; where one starts by exploring the broad issues in the
research area and then narrowing to the problem at hand. For
instance, a researcher may start by presenting the global
perspective to the problem, narrowing to the African context and
eventually to the Zimbabwean context of the problem.
 Another approach is to present the background of the study
chronologically through a certain time frame. For instance, a
researcher on Lending policies among commercial banks in
Zimbabwe may look at the developments in lending policies from
say 1980 through to 2014 in the background of the study.
 A well written background enables the reader to ascertain the
problem before it is explicitly stated.
 A background of 2-4 pages suffices.
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  Researchers should fight the temptation of reviewing literature at
this juncture.

1.3 Problem Statement

 In this section, the researcher should categorically state the
problem or opportunity at hand.
 In other words, the researcher should state what prompted her to
research on the given topic.
 In a single paragraph, the researcher should state where the
problem lies or the source of enquiry.

1.4 Objectives of the Study

 The objectives of the study encompass what the researcher wants
to achieve at the end of the research process.
 Objectives should be written using verbs like, to determine, to
investigate, to understand, to evaluate, to measure, to establish, to
estimate; etc.
 It is usually recommended that the researcher states his/her major
research objective before listing the secondary or sub-objectives
coming out of it.
 Objectives should not be too many, given the short time needed to
carry out the study, and should be specific, measureable,
achievable, and relevant and time bound (SMART).

1.5 Research Questions

 There are the questions that the study seeks to answer.
 Usually, they are the objectives presented in question form.
 Each objective should have at least a research question.

1.6 Significance of the Study

 This section outlines the importance or relevance of the study (its
justification).

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  It should clearly discuss who is likely to benefit from the study and
in which way.
 Students are discouraged from including themselves as the main
beneficiaries of the research process, instead, they should identify
important stakeholders that may benefit from the exercise.
 It should be presented in paragraphs.

1.7 Delimitations (Scope) of the Study

 Here, the study boundaries are set.
 The boundaries can be set in term of the following criterion: the
time frame (period of study), geography of study, theoretically and
methodologically, etc.

1.8 Assumptions
 These are the assumptions meant to simplify the conceptualisation
of the study and analysis.
 They should not be general, but specific to the study.
 Avoid assumptions that fit any study.

1.9 Limitations of the Study

 Every research has is limitations.
 In this section, the researcher should bring to the attention of the
reader those issues that may limit the accuracy of her results.
 Researchers are discouraged from talking about time and money as
the limitations of the study; rather real issues that may result in bias
should be discussed and how they were minimised.
 For instance, issues to do with confidentiality that affect access to
accurate information, participation bias, etc.

1.10 Definition of Terms

 This section is optional.
 Only terms that may be understood out of context need be defined.

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  Please note that this is not meant for researchers to display
awareness to the meanings of complicated terms.
 Only terms that assume unconventional meaning in the study
should be defined.

1.11 Organisation of the study

 First provide a summary of the chapter before outlining what the
reader should expect in the subsequent chapters up to chapter 5.
 The summary of the chapter should not be some laundry list, but a
real snapshot of the issues covered in the chapter.

IMPORTANT NOTES
 Researchers following an explanatory research design may need not
have research questions, instead they may have a Statement of the
Hypothesis section.
 In other words, the Research Questions section is replaced by the
Statement of the Hypothesis.
 Under such circumstances, they will have to provide both the null
and alternative hypotheses.

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 CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW

This chapter reviews literature related to the study. The purpose is to

display familiarity to the major scholarly work published by other authors
on the subject area. Literature review assists researchers in several ways,
among them, it helps researchers identify literature gaps (to avoid
duplication of other people’s studies) and it also helps them acquaint
themselves to a variety of methods of study that were employed by
previous researchers from which they can develop theirs. Researchers
should desist from just listing literature, but review literature critically;
where they are expected to compare postulations by various researchers,
as opposed to just stating what different researchers say. Literature
reviewed should be in line with the research objectives and questions
raised in Chapter 1. An adequate review of literature is very important for
discussing results in Chapter 4. Chapter 2 should proceed under the
following sub-headings;

2.1 Introduction
 This is the introduction of the chapter, outlining what the chapter
encompasses.

2.2 Theoretical Literature

 This section presents the main theories in the subject matter under
study.
 It is meant to position the study in its theoretical realm.
 Every study should fall under some broad theoretical literature.
 Those traditional theories under which the study falls constitute the
theoretical framework of the study.
 Such theories may need to be presented chronologically and
numbered appropriately.

2.3 Empirical Literature

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  Empirical literature captures contemporary studies on the area of
study, usually testing the applicability of the theories discussed in
the theoretical literature section.

2.4 Summary
 A summary is a snapshot of the entire chapter.
 This summary should highlight key postulations and gaps in
literature.

IMPORTANT NOTES
 There is no one way of writing literature review.
 The above format is the standard and recommended one.
 However, in studies where theoretical literature is not well-
developed it is acceptable to present this chapter thematically.
 After the chapter introduction, the researcher would have to
identify key themes that are in line with the objectives of the
study and then present literature under those themes.
 The sub-headings should, however, flow from one sub-heading to
another seamlessly and be numbered appropriately.
 However, empirical literature and the chapter summary will still
need to be presented.

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 CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

This chapter presents the methods and tools used by the researcher to
gather and analyse the data. Students should not devote this chapter to
literature review of research methods; but should tell the reader what
they did under each sub-heading and why they think such procedures
were appropriate. The chapter concentrates on the research approaches
employed by the researcher and their justifications. Chapter 3 is
organised into the following sub-headings;

3.1 Introduction
 This is the introduction of the chapter, outlining what the chapter
captures.

3.2 Research Design

 Here, the researcher presents the research design that the study
follows, together with its justification.
 Researchers have to choose from a variety of research designs,
among them the descriptive, exploratory, explanatory (or causal),
experimental, case study, etc.
 The justifications of the design used should be supported by
previous scholars.

3.3 Model Specification

 This section follows where the researcher employs an explanatory
research design.
 Under this section, researcher should outline the model of study
used.
 Researchers have an option to develop own models or adopt or
adapt other researchers’ models.
 Models adopted or adapted should have been reviewed in chapter 2
under empirical literature review.

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  Adopting a model involves taking a model from previous
researchers and using it in your study.
 Adapting a model involves taking someone else’s model and coining
(or tailoring) it to fit your needs, usually guided by the availability of
data.

3.4 Justification of Variables

 Those using regression analysis use this section to explain how the
explanatory variables in their models predict the dependent
variable.
 The justifications for including a particular explanatory variable
should be backed by literature and expected signs of the
coefficients of the explanatory variables should be provided.

3.5 Data Types and Sources

 The researcher should explain the units of measurements of
variables used and also the source of the data used.
 Where proxies are used, the researcher should fully justify their
appropriateness.

3.6 Estimation Procedure

 This is the step-by-step outline of how the data was processed or
analysed.
 It usually begins with diagnostic tests that are conducted before the
estimation of the model together with the actual model estimation.
 Diagnostic analyses should, among others, include stationarity tests,
model specification tests, heteroscedasticity tests, autocorrelation
tests, multicollinearity tests, cointegration tests, etc.
 Details of how these were conducted should be clearly explained.

3.7 Summary
 A summary is a snapshot of the entire chapter.

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IMPORTANT NOTES
 What is presented above is only one way of presenting this chapter.
 Researchers using descriptive or related designs would proceed as
follows;

3.3 Research Population

 Here, the researcher should present the sampling frame (study
population) of the study, from which a sample will be drawn.
 The study population should be explicitly defined in order to
facilitate sampling.
 Researchers should also justify the appropriateness of the research
population to the study at hand.

3.4 Research Sample

 The research sample is that subset of the population that is studied
as opposed to studying the whole population.
 If the sampling frame (study population) is greater than 30 units (or
entities or respondents), sampling can be done.
 For populations below 30, researchers would rather conduct a
census to retain representativeness.
 Researchers have at their disposal a variety of methods to sample
from the population.
 These methods are divided into probability sampling techniques
(simple random sampling, systematic random sampling, stratified
sampling, etc) and non-probability sampling techniques (purposive
sampling, quota sampling, judgemental sampling, etc).
 Researchers should choose an appropriate sampling technique and
justify it.
 They should also clearly explain how the sampling technique was
actually used.
 This section should conclude by detailing the actual sample size
drawn, with its relevant justification.

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3.5 Data Collection Methods and Instruments
 Data collection methods are broadly grouped into primary and
secondary methods.
 Under this section, the researcher should clearly state the methods
used to collect data and justify their relevance to the particular
study.
 Under each method of data collection, the researcher should also
discuss the instruments used to collect data. For instance, one
would talk of Questionnaires, under the primary data collection
methods or Documentary analysis under the secondary data
collection methods.
 Data collection instruments should be fully explained and justified.
 The choice of research instruments should be guided by research
objectives and questions.
 The design and content of the research instruments should also be
highlighted.
 Researchers are discouraged from listing the advantages and
disadvantages of research instruments, but should discuss only the
relevant advantages and disadvantages in paragraph form.

3.6 Data Validity and Reliability

 This section provides some checks and balances on the
appropriateness and adequacy of the instruments used to collect
data.
 An instrument passes the validity test when it measures the
construct that it purports to measure.
 The researcher should discuss how issues to do with the validity and
reliability of the instrument were addressed.
 Research instrument can be tested for construct, content and face
validity.
 Instruments for testing validity include piloting and running the
instrument through experts in the field.

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  Reliability on the other hand can be ascertained using the test-
retest approach and the Cronbach’s alpha.

3.7 Data Presentation and Analysis Plan

 This is where the researcher forays the results presentation and
analysis chapter.
 The researcher presents how the results will be presented and
analysed.
 In addition to tables and charts, it is highly recommended that
students in Banking and Finance present other inferential statistics
such as Chi-square, two-sample t test, correlation coefficients,
regression analysis, ANOVA, etc.
 These statistics should be thought out before the research
instruments are designed so that the research instruments are
drawn to accommodate these statistics.

3.8 Summary
 A summary is a snapshot of the entire chapter.

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 CHAPTER 4: DATA PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS

This chapter presents, interprets and discusses the results of the study.
Only results that answer the research questions should be presented.
Summarised results should be presented and detailed print outs of the
results should be presented in appendices. The chapter may have the
following sub-headings;

4.1 Introduction
 This is the introduction of the chapter, outlining what the chapter
covers.

4.2 Diagnostics Test Results

 Diagnostic test results precede the presentation of the main results
of the study.
 Diagnostic tests allow the researcher to, at least, validate the
results.
 Their results should be presented, interpreted and discussed.

4.3 Results Presentation and Analysis

 This is the actual presentation of results, with the models presented
together with all the important statistics.
 Researchers should not only clearly present the results, but also
analyse them, that is, interpret and discuss them.
 Interpretation involves explaining the meaning or implications of the
results, whereas discussion entails tying results to literature
postulations.
 In other words, discussion of results involves comparing your results
to literature by asking the following question: How do my results
compare to literature?
 Tables, figures and other pictorials should be used to present results
appropriately.

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4.4 Summary
 A summary is a snapshot of the entire chapter.

IMPORTANT NOTES:
Researchers following a descriptive and other related research designs
may, instead of diagnostic test results, include an analysis of response
rates and other important analyses meant to check the validity and
reliability of the data collected, for instance Cronbach’s alpha result.

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 CHAPTER 5: SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

This is the final chapter of the study, concluding the study. It is structured
in the following format;

5.1 Introduction
 This is the introduction of the chapter, outlining what the reader
should expect therein.

5.2 Summary of the Study

 This is the summary of the entire study from the background to the
results.
 This section should be written continuously without reference to
chapters.
 It should be an executive summary of the entire study up to the
results.
 This summary does not have conclusions and recommendations.

5.3 Conclusions
 These are the answers to the research questions set in chapter 1.
 Conclusions should be presented in point form and should be drawn
from results
 Care should be taken not to repeat the results.

5.4 Recommendations
 Recommendations are what stakeholders in the study area should
do in order to mitigate the problem or take advantage of the
situation or opportunity).
 These should be drawn from the study’s results and conclusions.
 They should be realistic and precise.

5.5 Suggestions for Further Study

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 Here the researcher points to future researchers other areas, in the
same research area that can be pursued.
 Obviously, the researcher may have left other areas because of
different reasons and those can be pointed out to be taken further
by future researchers.

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REFERENCES
 This is the list of all the authors cited in the entire dissertation (from
chapter1 to 5.
 The department of Banking and Finance uses the Harvard
referencing style and students should make sure they familiarise
with it. You can get a guideline from the coordinator.
 References should be complete and in alphabetical order.
 Marks will be subtracted for incomplete and haphazard references.

APPENDICES
 Appendices contain all additional information that relates to the
study yet cannot be put in the chapters.
 Such information include introduction letters, raw data sets, outputs
of results; etc.
 Your appendices should be numbered appropriately. For instance,
one would have his/her first appendix as Appendix A: Raw Dataset;
and the second appendix as Appendix B: Diagnostic Test Results.
 Appendices should be numbered in Roman numerals, in
continuation from the preliminary pages.

PLEASE NOTE THE FOLLOWING ADDITIONAL IMPORTANT ISSUES

RELATED TO YOUR DISSERTATION:

1) Font Size
 Your chapter headings should be font size 14.
 All the sub-headings, including the entire dissertation, should
be in font size 12.
2) Font Type - New Times Roman.
3) Spacing- A spacing of 1.5 is recommended for the entire
dissertation.
4) Alignment - All your work should be justified.
5) Department’s Colour
 The department recommends that you use the blue colour
when you spiral bind you dissertation for the final submission.
6) Title Case
 All the sub-headings should be in title case. For instance;
Problem Statement, Definition of Terms, etc.
7) Plagiarism
 Plagiarism is highly discouraged.
 All dissertations will be subjected to an anti-plagiarism
software known as TURNITIN.
 Only a similarity index below 15% will be accepted.

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 It is an academic offense to use other people’s work and fail to
acknowledge them.

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