Synopsis - collective or general view of any subject. It is a brief presentation or a write up which describes the purpose and plan of the intended research. University recommendation is to submit the synopsis within first six months of admission. This is evaluated by subject experts and returned with comments, which has to be rectified and resubmitted. Therefore one has to take utmost care while writing synopsis and submission. Purpose of writing synopsis is for registering Dissertation.

The template given by university is as follows:

1. Name of the candidate and address

2. Name of the institution

3. Course of the study and subject

4. Date of admission

5. Title of the topic- The title summarizes in few words the entire project. It should contain key words of the dissertation subject i.e., the main subjects, concept or situations, location, time and extent. `

Example: Breastfeeding practices among rural mothers: – A Cross sectional study.

6. Brief resume of the intended work

6.1 Need for the study:

Anyone reading your proposal for the first time needs to be informed about the context of the project and where it fits in with current thinking. It is here that you need to establish your focus and let the reader know why your dissertation is important.

It should address the following questions:

· Is the study going to test another parameter?

· Will it be able to find solutions to unanswered question?

Guideline:

1. Should be short and about 150 words.

2. Should be logical in progression from identification of a problem to raising the question.

3. Should be clear in stating the problem and justifying the need for the study.

4. Do not deviate from the topic.

6.2 Review of literature

A literature review outlines the theoretical perspective which in turn serves as a foundation for the dissertation. It outlines:

· Scope of the subject area, themes, trends and previous research.

· Demonstrates awareness of work within the area.

· Provide sufficient background.

· Depends the understanding of the area.

· Identifies potential gaps.

· Discuss the work previously completed.

Guideline:

1. Should be written in past tense.

2. About 4 - 6 articles must be cited.

3. Should follow either logical or chronological order.

4. Can be written separately for each reference or as a complete paragraph if there is a continuation from one citation to the other.

6.3 Objectives of the study

Objectives are the central spine to the dissertation. They provide structured frame work that keeps the research focussed. These are statements of intent, indicating exactly how the purpose will be addressed.

Each objective has to have two clear parts:

· What needs to be completed

· How this is to be completed

There are number of key verbs that can be used to help structure the objectives:

· To discuss

· To examine

· To analyze

· To synthesize

· To explore

Ensure that the study objectives are SMART (Specific, Measurable, Appropriate, Reliable / Repeatable / Timely)

1. Meet the purpose of the study

2. Clear and unambiguous

3. Expressed in measurable terms

7. Materials and methods:

7.1 Source of the data:

Data: - Data means information or according to the Oxford English dictionary “known facts of thing used as basis tor information or reckoning.” Data can be seen as the essential raw material of any kind of research.

Type of data: primary or secondary

· Primary - is usually collected by the investigator / student by means of observation, participation, measurement, interrogation through appropriate methods.

· Secondary- existing records or from published materials from recognized sources (ex: Govt reports, WHO records, Health sector reports etc.)

Quantitative data: data that can be reduced to numbers with specific units of measurement. Ex: Height, weight, pulse rate etc...

Qualitative data: data that cannot be accurately measured and counted, and are generally expressed as characteristics or attributes rather than absolute numbers. ex: Gender, Pain, Satisfaction

Data can be drawn from:

1. General population

2. Hospital OPD

3. Hospital records

4. Special groups

Care to be taken to correctly identify the source so that we get valid data.

7.2 Methods of collecting data:

Details regarding-

· Study tools: Performa, questionnaires etc. (Standardization and validation are important components)

· Study setting: Clinics, field, school, hospital, laboratory.

· Study subjects: Patients, school children, factory workers etc.

· Study design: Cross - sectional, experimental, descriptive, case-control, cohort etc.

Permission from concerned authorities- depends on study setting and subjects.

Informed consent from subject or parent should be included. Preferable to enclose copy of informed consent.

Following are the contents of the consent form:

1. Title

2. Information to the participants

3. Undertaking by the investigators

4. Consent - signature of the subject/ parent

Sampling technique: probability or non- probability sampling technique.

Sample size and its estimation - appropriate formula to be used

Selection Criteria: operational definition of the disease under study inclusion and exclusion criteria for subjects.

Randomization - method of random allocation.

Statistical methods:

Confidence interval, level of significance, statistical tests.

Example;

· 95 % confidence interval

· Level of signincance is fixed at p< 0.05

· Descriptive statistics such as mean (Standard deviation) for continuous variables and percentage and proportions for discontinuous variables will be presented

· Paired t- test will be used for comparing continuous variables such as pulse rate and blood pressure before and after the intervention

7.3 Investigations or interventions- Give details.

7.4 Ethical clearance - to be obtained by ethical board of the institution, this has to be enclosed.

8. List of references - To follow Vancouver style

References writing:

Act of referring. While doing research whether dissertations, short term protects one has to consult various sources of literature, published or unpublished. It is inevitable to refer to already available information from the source and it may be required to incorporate other authors' ideas or phrases. In doing so we should never forget to acknowledge the true origin. Bibliography is separate list and written alphabetically by authors or title (where no authors is given) in the Vancouver style. Punctuation marks and spaces in the references list and citations are very important to be consistent when you are referring.

Citation can be as follows: (2) or 2 (superscript) the number must be used.

Guidelines:

1. If a sentence / statement from a source needs to be incorporated in the text, proper paraphrasing is essential i.e. rewriting the sentence without altering the original meaning / theme. Followed by the citation of the source within brackets.

2. If it has to be incorporated as such, then such sentences / phrases or word should be put within quotation mark and ended with citation within brackets.

Example: Dental caries can be defined as a "A Carbohydrate- Modified transmissible local infection with saliva as a critical regulator."

3. Well established facts that are incorporated from the source need not be cited.

There are many ways of setting references list. Commonly used in medical and scientific journals is - the Vancouver system.

Vancouver style:

Number references consecutively in the order in which they are mentioned in the text. Proper use of punctuations is recommended. Following are few are the guidelines for the system.

Punctuations and their significance:

. , space:; ( ) –

· . Full stop- to end all sentences and as separator.

· , Comma - to express the shortest pause.

· : Colon - still longer pause and used to either introduce a speech than that of comma

· ;Semi-colon - denotes a greater pause

· - Hyphen - used to join first and last numbers that are inclusive. Ex: 1201 – 1208.

· ( ) brackets

· URL - Uniform Resource Locators

· ed – edition

· Title - no italics and underline.

· Capital - lst word only.

If non - inclusive in a multiple citation eg: 1201 -1208, 1212, 1216 then no space between numbers.

Examples for Citing

1. A book:

JH Abramson. Survey methods in community medicine. 1^st ed. Edinburgh: Churchhill Livingstone: 1974.p. 3-6

2. From a news paper:

Plagiarism is a serious offence, and those who plagiarise are academic frauds. Many of the academic institutions charges serious penalties that include disqualification of re reports / assignments submitted, failing semesters, with holding results etc.

Ex- Dr. Prashanth Naik Byndoor. Catching the real cheats, Deccan Herald 2008 December 18: sect. DH education: 11 (col. 4).

3. Internet and other electronic sources: (these sources are proliferating and the guidelines for citation are developing and subject to change).

As per national library of medicine following is the guideline.

National organization for rare disease(online). 1999 Aug 16 (cited 1999 Aug 21); available from: URL:http://www.raredisease.org

4. Article from journal article:

Ex - To control plaque formation and reduce its acidogenicity, increasing the possibility of remineralising the white spots, some authors recommends the concomitant use of chlorhexidine 10, 11.

References:

10. Katz S. The use of tetanus vaccine for the prevention of clostridium tetani. J Am Dent Assoc 1982;104: l64 - 170

11. Anusavice KJ. Depression and its correlates IJN 1998; 46: 34 – 40.

Additional notes on Vancouver style

Table: each table should be given a brief title. Number each table in the list in each table in the text in cumulative order. Explanatorv matter as footnotes.

Illustrations and figures: Number them

Original source should be acknowledged.

Measurements:

· Length, height, weight and volume in metric units.

· Temperature in degree Celsius.

· Blood pressure - mm of Mercury.

· All Hematological and Biochemical measures in Sl units.

· Abbreviations and symbols - use only standard abbreviations.

References:

1. Nicholas, William, Scott Buckler.Your dissertation in education. New Delhi: SAGE Publication; 2008.

2. References / Bibliography Vancouver style “how- to” guide (online). 2005 June (cited 2005 June 3); available from:

L: \clientservices \ learningskill \ informationskill \ howtogguide \ citationstyle \ vacouver \ Vancouver.doc June 2005.

Abbreviations and symbols:

Use only standard abbreviations. Consult the following for abbreviations:

Conclusion:

Dissertation writing or thesis writing can be the most difficult assignments you will ever have to complete. It is a document submitted in support of candidature for an academic degree or professional qualification presenting the author's research and findings. Hence a scholar should always keep following points in mind

· Before submitting even the first draft to the supervisor all the spellings, grammar, punctuation etc. are checked thoroughly.

· At least four copies of the work are prepared.

· Your work is original in all respects.

References:

1. Australia Government Publishing Service. Style manual for author’s editors and printers. 5^th ed. Canberra: Australia Government publishing service; 10994.

2. International committee of Medical journal Editors, Uniform requirements for manuscripts submitted to Biomedical Journals. Medi Educ 1999; 3366 - 78.

3. Iverson C,Flanagin A,Fontanarosa PB,Glass RM, Glitman P, Lantaz JC, et al. American Medical Association manual of style: Guidelines for authors and editors. 9th ed. Baltimore: Williams and Wilkins; 1998

4. Li X, Crane N. Electric style: A handbook for citing electronic information. Medford (NJ) Information Today; 1996.

5. Allen, G.R. (1976) The graduate student`s guide to theses and dissertations: A practical manual for writing and research.San Francisco, CA, Jossey-Bass.

6. Davis, G.B. and Parker, C.A. (1979) Writing the doctoral dissertation: A systematic approach. Woodbury, NY, Barrons Educational Series.

7. Karathwohl, D.R. (1988) How to prepare a research proposal. Guidelines for funding and dissertations in the social and behavioural sciences. 3rd Ed. New York, Syracuse University Press.

Received on 24.12.2011 Modified on 08.01.2012

Asian J. Nur. Edu. & Research 2(1): Jan.-March 2012; Page 43-46