PhD thesis guidelines for use by students of the

Irish University Business School www.iubs.co.uk

What is a PhD thesis?
A PhD thesis brings together the layout of a report with the characteristics of an essay. With a PhD
thesis, you are not given a title or subject area. You, the researcher must decide on these and it is
important that the subject area is not the subject of a previous PhD. The thesis supervisor should
agree with both the title and the subject area.

How should I decide what subject area to examine?

We suggest that you consider the following factors:
a) In what topics are you interested?
b) What do you intend to do after your degree?
c) What work experience have you had?
d) What are your time constraints and resource limitations?
e) In which areas are you best able to obtain original data?

What rules should I know about?

It should be a minimum of 70,000 words.
It should be written in Times New Roman with 1.5 spacing.
It should clear a grammar checker set for English(UK) and to check for style as well as grammar.
It should follow our detailed ‘Style’ document, which you should request before you commence
writing.
It should be in report format and 1.5 line spacing with 25 mm margins.

It is strongly recommended that you work on the ‘grandfather, father, son’ saving technique to avoid
loss of your work in progress. Keeping copies in a different location is highly recommended

What is a literature review

According to Wikipedia (www.wikipedia.org): “A literature review is a body of text that aims to
review the critical points of current knowledge including substantive findings as well as theoretical
and methodological contributions to a particular topic. Literature reviews are secondary sources, and
as such, do not report any new or original experimental work.

Most often associated with academic-oriented literature, such as theses, a literature review usually
precedes a research proposal and results section. Its ultimate goal is to bring the reader up to date
with current literature on a topic and forms the basis for another goal, such as future research that
may be needed in the area.

A well-structured literature review is characterized by a logical flow of ideas; current and relevant
references with consistent, appropriate referencing style; proper use of terminology; and an unbiased
and comprehensive view of the previous research on the topic.”

You will be using a literature review as a basis for further investigation, while addressing practical
issues, which are reliant on the collection of primary data in order to resolve these problems. It is this
primary data, which is of paramount importance in a PhD and it is important that the literature search
is not given too much emphasis. Not more than 10% of the total number of words should be given
over to the literature review.

How do I go about starting my literature review?

Start with a few key words, which can be used to search databases. You need to focus heavily on
academic writings as you need to deal with the subject in an analytical, interpretative or evaluative
manner rather than just getting facts.

Record the literature you have reviewed to prevent delays when compiling your bibliography. You
need full bibliographic details of all works. (You should know how to produce a bibliography, and a
good referencing procedure. There are many good references to this on the internet).

Formulation of hypothesis
Before embarking on the research project, a hypothesis is formulated. A hypothesis is a prediction
used as a basis for the study. It is important that you do not make assumptions as to the truth or
falsity of the hypothesis before you commence with the research. A hypothesis can be stated in two
ways:

The 'null' hypothesis (abbreviated to Ho)

The ‘alternative' or 'experimental' hypothesis

The null hypothesis states that there will be 'no difference' or 'no significant difference' between one
variable and another (hence the term ‘null’). The alternative hypothesis assumes that one variable
may have an affect on another.

Let us say for example that we wish to examine the link between job satisfaction and performance -
we may state the alternative hypothesis as:

‘Job satisfaction leads to good performance’ or ‘Low levels of job satisfaction lead to poor
performance’.

The null hypothesis would therefore be:

‘Job satisfaction has no effect on performance’.

Research methodology
There are various methods of investigation, which can be used when undertaking research work. The
knack is to ensure you choose the most appropriate and effective methods to suit your study. Not
everyone's methodologies will be the same. This is something, which needs to be tailored to your
particular research area.

The methodologies are too numerous to acknowledge in great depth; additional reading is always
recommended. Four popular methods, which are examined below are: interview, observation,
questionnaire/survey and experimental method (used mainly in social science for 'before and after'
comparisons).

Always pilot your chosen method - you should test it through a pilot survey, which will allow you to
practice your research skills before undertaking a large study. You will be able to refine the way you
word questions, interviewing technique and data recording methods. When piloting questionnaires -
ask your initial sample what difficulties they had completing the questionnaire and alter it
accordingly.

Observational study
As the name implies, this type of study is one in which the subjects of the study are observed for
actions/reactions, opinions, and feelings in a natural setting. Studies carried out in natural settings
are often referred to as ethnographic studies.

The purpose of observation is to portray the events or lifestyle, work patterns or behaviour of the
observed group in a way that is as unbiased as possible and hopefully an accurate reflection of the
group/individual's way of life. This method attempts to 'tell it like it is' and may not draw
conclusions, but may be used to develop theories from the findings; especially if used in conjunction
with other methods.
There are two main types of observation:

Overt observation - non-participant observation, observing as an outsider. Subjects are aware of

your presence.

Covert observation - sometimes, but not always, non-participant observer. Subjects are unaware of
your presence or do not know the purpose of your presence. For example, you may observe
'undercover' by pretending to be a colleague etc.

There are problems with both types of observation. Firstly, overt methods may not be as reliable,
since people often alter their behaviour if they know they are being observed. This could make your
findings inaccurate.

Using a covert method of observation can often be controversial. It is sometimes perceived as being
unethical. Whether you believe it is comparable to 'spying' or just a method of gaining more
accurate, natural behaviour it should be avoided! It also poses questions about the use of such data
when authorisation has not been given.

The main problem with observation is the lack of time, which an observer has in making a record of
his/her observations. Writing up a particular action may mean other observations are missed
altogether.

The only way this can be overcome is by developing some behavioural categories before the study
begins. A table can be developed which can simply be ticked when a specific behaviour occurs. In
doing this, the observer must devise operational definitions to have clear criteria of what constitutes
a particular behaviour.

For example, if you were conducting a study which examines the implementation of health and
safety procedures when using production line machinery, in doing this you would need to define
what is 'correct' and 'incorrect' procedure.

Interviews
When asking subjects directly about thoughts, feelings or their behaviour, you should ensure that any
questions are clearly phrased and unambiguous. Closed questions will not give as much information,
open questions are more appropriate for interviews.

You can easily prompt the subject into expanding. However, the main disadvantage is the
interpretation of the question (on the part of the interviewee) and the interpretation of the response
by you, the interviewer. You need to be aware that your own biases may lead to misinterpretation.
Also, try to avoid leading questions to elicit the response you may want to get.

The tables on the following pages highlight the main pros and cons of different types of interview.

Fully structured interviews

Advantages Disadvantages
Quick to administer The interviewee is constrained by the question
and response system
Easily replicable . Information gained is too narrow
Data analysis is simple .. Information may be distorted by
ambiguous/complex or in some cases
inappropriate response list
Quantification without bias Low validity
Low influence of interpersonal variables Inflexibility of interviewer to respond to
circumstances
High reliability
Semi-structured, open-ended interviews

Advantages Disadvantages

• Responses can still be easily compared • Question wording may reduce richness of response

• No topics are missed or are inadequately • Answers may be less natural, than more informal
covered interviews
• An element of inflexibility on part of interviewer,
• Interviewees are not restrained by only not wanting to steer away from fixed agenda. This
being able to choose fixed answers may result in loss of additional information, which
may have proved of interest.

Informal interviews (unstructured, but guided)

Advantages Disadvantages
• Different question wording from one information
• Increase in the consistency of interview to the other; may have different
information interpretations and emphasis
• Data analysis is still relatively • Interviewer may miss important topics
simple
• Information is usually given quite • Information given may be influenced by
genuinely interpersonal variables

• Interviewer can be flexible to adapt

to the personality of interviewee • Low reliability

• High validity

Unstructured interviews

Advantages Disadvantages
 .
• Interview can be moulded to individual, situation
• Strongly influenced by interpersonal variables
and context

• Rich, full information; including unexpected

• Unsystematic, therefore you may retrieve
responses which are relevant, but which the
different information from different individuals
researcher may have overlooked

• Interviewees feel relaxed and at ease • Difficult to analyse

• High validity • Relatively unreliable

Questionnaires surveys
You can administer these yourself or send as postal questionnaires. They generally cover a set of
structured topics and contain similar features to structured interviews.

Postal questionnaires can be expensive to administer and the response rate is very poor. By
administering them on a personal level, you can ensure a higher response rate.

Like interviews, ambiguous phrasing or complicated sentence structure could mean that subjects do
not understand the questionnaire (and therefore return it incomplete) or misinterpret the questions,
which leads to inaccurate responses. Avoid using technical words/jargon - keep in mind the sample
group. A word of advice - keep it as short as you possibly can; they are more likely to be completed!

Consideration needs to be given to the type of question; yes/no responses, the strength in which they
agree with a statement or open questions. The order of questions is also vital; they should develop
one issue at a time, and not frantically hop from one point to another and then back to the original
issue.

They can therefore be complex to design and need to be piloted before the main study to ensure
validity and reliability.

The name of the respondent should be shown at the head of the questionnaire with an email or other
contact address. We reserve the right to contact respondents for verification.
There are some advantages of using questionnaire over in-depth interviews as raised in the table
below.

Questionnaire/Survey

. Advantages Disadvantages

• Many respondents can be questioned fairly

quickly • Structured questions miss more information

• Less influenced by dynamics of interpersonal

• Large scale survey can be expensive
variables
• More likely to give 'public' responses, ie the
• Generates data which is easy to analyse with
response they think the interviewer wants to
less bias
hear

• No geographical restrictions

• Most effective when trying to generate large

quantities of data

Experimental method
The experimental method is used as an alternative to less 'controlled' forms of research methodology,
and is thought of as being more scientific. In an experiment the researcher will manipulate certain
conditions, or variables then observe and measure the outcomes of these manipulations; data which
are later analysed. This method may not always be appropriate to business/management research; it
is however useful in studying 'before and after' behaviour.

In this instance you need an 'a priori' measure (simply means 'before'). This is frequently used in
studies where organisations are about to implement new procedures or systems. You would need to
take an a prior measure then follow up with the same experiment once changes have been made.

The researcher has more control over disruptive or extraneous factors, which may distort the data
collected. However, there are negative points to be considered since examining human behaviour in
this form is thought to 'dehumanise' it. Due to the nature of the experiment being in a contrived
situation, it may produce behaviour which gives a misleading impression of real life and the subject
may perform in a manner intended to please the experimenter.

Sampling techniques and selection of subjects

The manner in which subjects are chosen is of great importance to the successful conduct of the
experiment. This chosen group is known as the sample. The idea of this is that it is as representative
of the overall population as possible, encapsulating a variety of age, race, gender etc.

If you do not carefully select a sample then the result of your investigation may be biased. You need
to consider also the size of your sample to be able to draw any reasonable conclusions. For example,
a small sample may not be big enough to highlight any trends or correlations.

Evaluation of research findings

Empirical data needs to be analysed thoroughly and evaluated in a logical and interpretative manner
for it to have any significance within the body of your dissertation. Just simply stating the results is
not enough.

Confidence intervals for testing hypotheses

Reliance on information from samples of a population will always lead to some level of uncertainty.
The confidence interval quantifies this uncertainty. It is a range of values within which the
population parameter is likely to be included. This is calculated from the sample data and usually
reported at the 95% level.

In this manner, the confidence interval for the difference between the means is a range of values
where the difference between the means of two populations may lie. The width of a confidence
interval can provide some information about how certain we are about the difference in means. In
general, the narrower the confidence interval the higher is the precision of the estimate. The
confidence interval will tend to be wide when the sample size is small and the scores are less
homogeneous

Confidence intervals are a useful tool for the interpretation of results given that they can provide
information as to whether the difference between two means is statistically significant. When
looking at the confidence interval of a difference, one can easily check whether the interval includes
a value that implies ‘no effect’.
Quantitative analysis
Computer packages such as Excel, SPSS, and some database programmes make it easier to analyse
the raw data and draw out certain relationships between several variables.

Dissertation layout
The format for dissertations should be as follows:
The title page
Contents
Introduction
Literature review
Methodology
Results and discussion
Conclusion and implications/recommendations
Bibliography
Appendices

The main forms of statistical techniques that business students may need to use are parametric.
These include:
Correlations - measuring the strength of the relationship between two variables (Pearson's Product
Moment correlation coefficient)
Graphs and tables showing trends
Frequencies - the times a particular behaviour or response has occurred
Mean (average) Median (middle value) and Mode (tally of common values)
Rank-order
'T' Test - used in 'before and after'
Qualitative analysis

When evaluating subjective data, such as opinions and views, it is important to devise a coding
framework to score the qualitative data. The data gathered from this can then be turned into
statistical form for analytical purposes.

The writing up of the dissertation

The following sections should be included:

The title page

The contents page

This helps guide the reader through the document. Check for consistency between actual
heading/subheadings used in the body of the dissertation and the contents page.

The introduction
This first chapter should aim to address the issue or problem you are to examine define the subject
area briefly, and clearly draw upon the boundaries of the dissertation; giving an indication of what it
is not. Here you would state your hypothesis.

Why is it important to look at this area? Why are you interested? Will it contribute anything to the
wider academic or business community? Or will it simply contribute to the understanding of a
particular issue within your case study organisation? State the reasons why.

Set the scene for the context of the research and the background of the organisation you may have
used for your research environment.

The methodology sub-section should discuss the 'way you went about it'. How did you research the
issue? It should evaluate previously used methodologies from similar study areas and methods upon
which you decided. Why did you choose those particular methods? What were the main
advantages/disadvantages of using them?

Here you are aiming to persuade the reader (your supervisor) that you chose the most appropriate
methods but are aware of limitations.

You need to discuss how you collected both the primary and secondary data at this stage. For
secondary data - what sources did you use and why? List key words used in your search. .

With regard to the primary data - what procedures did you use to ensure validity of results?
You do not give actual data in this chapter, but inform the reader about the ways in which you
gathered this data. It is a question of how not what!

Literature search
Details of the literature search have been covered above. It is usually the easiest part of the thesis to
write and you should ensure that it is not more than 10% of the whole thesis.

Results
What were your findings? They need to be well presented using a combination of graphs and charts.
You should fully explain and evaluate these as fully as possible. Avoid lists of numbers! Find
imaginative ways of presenting raw data.

Conclusion
Having presented the results, can any conclusions be drawn from it? What do the findings indicate?
Can you accept or reject your hypothesis? What can you logically deduce from the research? Can
you identify any implications this may have on the organisation/business/wider academic
community? The ability to reflect on the process that has gone before can also be included in this
final stage.

Bibliography
You need to include all publications you have read in preparing your dissertation.

An example of full bibliographic details is:

Jankowicz, A D (1991) Business Research Projects for Students Chapman & Hall, London

If you do not have any book in your possession, you should take a photocopy of the page of the book
containing the IBSN as we may call for it. This applies to other publications such as journals.

Appendices
Materials, which are relevant to arguments in the main text, but which would be too 'heavy' or would
spoil the flow of the text should be included in appendices. Questionnaires, letters, interview
agendas, raw data from fieldwork are some examples. Only include material that is relevant to the
bulk of your research.
This PhD Report is an adapted version of a report produced by Amanda Hinds at Dearne Valley
Business School in May 1998

TOP TIPS FOR DISSERTATION SUCCESS

Read around the subject area as much as possible - looking at past and current/recent research
Don't put off working on your dissertation - it won't just go away!
Plan in advance what you are going to do and review it regularly
Never underestimate the importance of piloting your study. This helps to iron out any problems with
data collection methods before undertaking your main research.
Remember to acknowledge researcher bias when analysing data
Ensure your English is OK. Check for style and grammar problems, sentence construction, and
punctuation. Your work must be passed through a grammar checker set to check for style and
grammar.

You should avoid writing long sentences, as they can be difficult to read. If you set your grammar
checker to show your statistics, your Flesch Reading Ease should be at least 20.
Make sure the structure allows for links in passages - is there a sense of direction? Do your
arguments flow? Are the paragraphs too long/short/complex?
Is the style and tone appropriate - not too colloquial or convoluted? Do you use academic language
in the correct manner?
Avoid over-generalization - all, everyone, always etc.
Familiarise yourself with the guidelines in this booklet, especially dissertation rules and deadlines.
Do not give your own point of view as you should be producing a ‘proof’. You should remain
objective.
. Lastly, good luck!