Writing the Background of the Study

1. Start with a broad introduction of your study area. Assume that the reader is not familiar with your topic, and include all of the background information necessary to understand the problem around which your study focuses.

2. End your chapter with a summary

3. Refer to yourself as the researcher, not the author. Leave yourself out as much as possible. Include the background of the researcher if relevant to the study.

Writing a Review of Related Literature

1. Use the past tense as much as possible. Remember that all opinions, reports, articles, etc. already produced happened in the past. Your research project will also be in the past once people read it.

2. Be very careful about using others' words. If you use more than four or five words in a row from someone else, you must enclose them in quotation marks and cite the source, including the page number. Check the American Psychological Association (APA) referencing Style for correct citation form.

3. All references in your list of references must be cited in your paper. Include your list of references when presenting your review of literature to me, as I will be checking the references and citations.

4. Do not use the same source too much without also pulling from other sources.

5. Organize your chapter by headings.

6. Don't forget to follow the templates as you build your chapters.

7. Funnel from the general to the specific.

8. End with a summary

Writing the Methods Section (Chapter III)

1. Re- state the purpose of the study and the statement of the problem

2. State what type of research it is: Qualitative, Quantitative or Mixed Method..

3. If you are doing survey research, you need to discuss the reliability and validity of your instrument.

4. Include the number in your population and sample. Describe your sampling method, including sample size and sampling procedure.

5. If you will need permission to distribute your survey, be sure to mention this. You should gain permission before submitting your survey. You do not want to be surprised if denied permission later.

6. You must be very specific in describing your methods. Name the variables and the specific analyses you will be performing. Every procedure should be named so that your chapter is a blueprint for your actual project.

7. If doing a survey, I want to see your survey as a part of your proposal. Chapter III hinges on the items in your instrument.

NB: MCBS does not allow Plagiarism of whatever nature. Please avoid it.