SYNOPSIS WRITING WORKSHOP BY PROFESSOR CHRISTIAN ONYEJI DEAN

SYNOPSIS WRITING WORKSHOP BY PROFESSOR CHRISTIAN ONYEJI DEAN, FACULTY OF ARTS, UNN ON - 20 TH 21 ST ; 27 TH -28 TH OCTOBER 2016 AT UNIVERSITY OF NIGERIA, NSUKKA/ENUGU CAMPUS

DEFINITION OF SYNOPSIS TECHNICAL SUMMARY OF A THESIS OR DISSERTATION USING A CERTAIN FORMAT PRESCRIBED BY THE UNIVERSITY OF NIGERIA SCHOOL OF POSTGRADUATE STUDIES

SYNOPSIS WRITING FORMATTING TITLE INTODUCTION METHODOLOGY EXPECTED RESULTS

FORMATTING PAGE NUMBER: >Two A 4 pages maximum >Must include the signatories >Signatories must not be in bold font >1” on both right and left margins >1” on the top and lower margins FONT SIZE: >11 point Times New Roman for the body of the work

The preliminaries must however be in the following font sizes: >14 for University of Nigeria >12 for School of postgraduate Studies >11 for Application of approval of title >12 for others >12 for Synopsis >Preliminaries must be in bold font >Student particulars must be properly aligned >The student particulars must indicate correct student name, registration number, Department, Faculty, Degree in view, Expected year of graduation and the proposed title of Thesis or Dissertation

LINE SPACING: >1. 3 between the subheadings and the body >1. 3 in the body of the work >Double line spacing between the sub-sections >Double line spacing between the preliminary section and the synopsis SIGNATORIES: >All signatories must have their signatures, names and dates

TITLE OF A SYNOPSIS Ø Note that you are to present a proposed title of thesis for approval before the actual research is undertaken Ø The title must not be preceded with articles such as: the, an, a, etc. Ø The title must include the operational words, the predicates, context of the research, scope of the study and the time frame of the study (if applicable)

>The title must not exceed 25 words but 16 or less should be the target >The title must be well constructed, smart and precise >Avoid verbose title construction that create ambiguity >Note that people outside your discipline may be interested in your work >Give them access to your thoughts and ideas through your choice of words

Example 1 An Evaluation of Awareness and use of Social Media in the South-south Geo-political Zone of Nigeria, 2000 -2015 >Note that the first letters of the operational words are in caps. >Note also that the title starts with the article “an” which is not allowed >Discussions, questions and comments

INTRODUCTION The introduction of a synopsis must have the following: >Background of the study >Definition of operational words >Argument for the study leading to the establishment of knowledge gap the study intends to address >Aim of the study drawn from the title of the study >Avoid reference to results or findings in the introduction

>Specific objectives that must indicate the precise research activities that would be undertaken >Objectives must be separated with semicolon and numbered using Roman numerals in brackets (; (i)…, (ii)…, etc. ) >Ensure the relevance of the number and the quality of the specific objectives in relation to the research title >Avoid duplication of ideas in the specific objectives >Your use of language must be scholarly, professional and well structured (you may employ the services of a language editor)

>The introduction is written in present continuous tense >The objectives would be presented in future tense >Avoid the use of the word “examine” if it is not what was done. >Words such as “determine” or “ascertain” are often preferred >Your objectives can stand on their own or run on a stem (such as to ascertain 1, 2, 3, etc objectives)

METHODOLOGY >Summarizes how the research would be carried out and the processes to be applied >Must show the following: *The research design (such as survey, historical, descriptive, experimental, creative, etc. ) *The research context and population to be used *Sampling technique (random, multi-stage, purposive, etc) to be applied *Research sample must be at least, 10% of the actual population

>Short description of how the research design would be applied to the research >Instrument(s) for data collection to be used >How such instrument would be validated by at least three experts (in the case of questionnaire) >How it would be administered to the respondents >How it would be retrieved >Data analytical tools to be employed and the acceptance of the research outcome

EXPECTED RESULTS >Because this is expected results, it will be written in a manner that reflects probability or possibility >It would be written in future tense >It would, however, show the result expected for each specific objective >The result could be modified after the research has been carried out but must give some idea of the direction of the work

>Supervisors would play critical roles in maintaining the direction of the research result once the synopsis is approved >This would include ensuring that the fine statistics are presented inline with the chosen research methodology and that the stated objectives are addressed

DISCUSSIONS ON SAMPLE SYNOPSIS QUESTIONS COMMENTS SUGGESTIONS

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