Phương pháp nghiên cứu khoa học: examples of writing style for thesis research paper

Research Objectives: The purpose of this research is to {explore, examine, study, } the {title of the thesis} ….. Rationale and importance of the study [Here you need to provide a strong

EXAMPLES OF WRITING STYLE FOR

THESIS/research paper

(Update: 26 March 2006)

Note:

1 This short document provides you with examples of typical writing style in

business research Each profession has its own language or “jargon” The use of precise terminology allows you to communicate effectively – and with authority – with the reader

2 You do not need to use long, complicated sentences to show that you are

“scientist” The language of business should be concise, straight and unequivocal

3 Refer to the thesis guide provided by your school

Legend:

{ text } : examples of alternates use of terminology or synonyms

( text) :: example to complete the sentence; for illustration purpose only

Title: Be as specific as possible / Use second heading if needed

1 Introduction

1.1 Research Objectives:

The purpose of this research is to {explore, examine, study, } the {title of the thesis} … This thesis {explores, examines, studies, seeks to find out how….} …

The basic message of this thesis is that the use of a sound management methodology such

as (SWOT Or TAM) help managers better {capture, understand, master, appreciate, comprehend, recognize) the complexity of strategic analysis and formulation

The methodology that we have briefly reviewed in this chapter can serve as a mechanism

to structure the…

The objective of this research is to address the problem of {span of control between the outsourcing company and its outsourcee} As discussed in the recent literature [here you should provide the most updated literature AND the key classic work in the field]

1.3 Rationale and importance of the study

[Here you need to provide a strong justification about the relevancy of your research – the importance in general; the reason why you have zoomed in a particular aspect of your work]

1.2 Organization of the study

This thesis is organized as follows

In the second chapter, we attempt to define the problem of (implementing e-commerce) and seek to {formulate, identify} various problems and issues related to this problem

Chapter (3) focuses on developing a methodology for data analysis Particularly, we justify why the Porter model is the most appropriate model for this study

A short literature is provided in Chapter {3}

We briefly report the {history, background, evolution} of the (XYZ Inc.) in the {next chapter, Chapter3}

The next chapter presents our research design

Concluding remarks and recommendation for future study are provided in the {last

chapter; final chapter; Chapter 7}

In our conclusions, we suggest some possible areas for expanding this work, focusing on…

Transition:

In the following section, we briefly present (the organizational structure of ABC Inc.) We then examine the (recent restructuration effort) from the point view of technological adoption…

Data interpretation

Numbering: for numbers from 1 to 10, use letters, i.e., one, two, three, …, ten For

numbers higher than ten, use numbers, i.e., 11, 12, 13, etc

While the majority of {subjects, interviewees, } said they (would welcome any salary increase), 13% of them {did not express any clear opinion, did not see that salary was an issue}

Approximately, (57%) of the data suggest that ……

Almost, (24.6%) of the respondents {claimed that, declared, were found to be or have, etc.} …

Conclusion and recommendations for future studies

Summary

This {study} {reviewed, sought to study, attempted, focused on, concentrated on,

examined, etc.} …

The problem of (exploring new market opportunities for XYZ Inc.) was the central focus

of this research

{In particular, Of special importance}, we {focused on} the {aspects, problems, issues, difficulties, opportunities} related to …

We {adopted, selected; chose} the {well-known, classic} (strategy model by Chandler) as the methodology of our study

We developed a (behavior model for entertainment) and were able to use statistical

{techniques, tools} to {analyze, substantiate, investigate} a critical but unknown

problem

Contributions of study:

{Probably, Undoubtedly, Without any doubt}, the most important {finding, contribution}

of this research was that (the impacts of market regulations were (instrumental, critical, significant, trivial, insignificant, etc} to the (future growth of XYZ Inc.)

May be the single most certain finding of our research was that …

The findings of this study confirm our intuition that, indeed, (e-commerce is a particular challenge for the airline industry in Vietnam) However, this challenge in not {unique, particular, singular, exceptional} to {the company studied in this research) Rather, this seems to be a {general, common, broad, universal, inevitable} issue facing companies operating in a {developing, underdeveloped} economy

(The fact that absenteeism is a important signal for turnover) {constitutes, is} another major finding of our research

Our findings {confirm, substantiate, back up, corroborate, support, agree with} the results reported by earlier work by (Samuelson, etc.) However, the (impacts of economic

instability) was found to be much more {significant, critical, serious, important}

Limitations

Due to the lack of data, (sensitivity analysis) was not conducted

derive some conclusion The inconsistency of data prevented us to perform a detailed analysis on the (impacts of culture on employee’s motivation) However, we were able to use secondary data to

Drawing conclusions from a single {case study, experiment, survey} could raise serious problems of validity Nonetheless, our case suggests that …

Nonetheless, we contend that had ( managers) been aware of the lessons learned from our study, would have avoided the serious mistakes they made

{In spite of, Despite} the limitations of this study, we hope that our research be seen as a first step to better understand how a (company such as XYZ) could set its (strategic plan)

in an increasingly competitive market

Directions for future research:

Given the {important, valuable} findings of this work, it is our intent for initiate further study

Last but not least, the {surprising, important, critical, substantial, remarkable} results of this research call for further study As such, another contribution of our work is that is opens new directions for more research {ideas, issues} in this much needed area

Acknowledging the limitations of this research, it is our hope that the findings reported here could be served as an useful {source of inspiration, set of findings} for future

{research, investigation}

REFERENCES

(Note: There are a few conventions used for citation Use the one adopted by your

Maastrict/SIM The two most important aspects to remember are completeness of the references and the style consistency.)

1 ACCA, 1998, “Managerial Finance”, BPP, Singapore

2 Horngren, Charles and Sundem, Gary, 1990, “Financial Accounting”, Prentice Hall,

New York

3 Levy, Haim and Sarnat, Marshall, 1985, “Principles of Financial Management”,

Prentice Hall, New York

15 Vietnam Investment Review, “Venture Capital is growing in the manufacturing sector”, August 15, 1998 (only if there is no printed author)

16 Ziff, W B, “The Crisis of Confidence in Advertising”, Journal of Advertising

Research, Vol.32, No 4, 1992

17 Alen Green, “Capital is lacking for industry modernization”, Vietnam Investment

Review, March 12, 2000

16 http://www.cob.ohio-srare.edu, “Internet Article”, Date of publication or download if any

(Note: Last name first, First name next / references must be complete

Some Latin words:

Citerus paribus = Everything else being equal

Ford et al = Ford and others

A priori = before

A posteriori = after

De facto = in fact

Grosso modo = in general

Do not use: “My” and “I” and “me” Use “Our”, “We” or “us” instead

Use “meaningful / content-driven title” “An overview of the economic context of the garment industry” is better than “General Introduction”

Run speller – any typo or grammatical error will significantly reduce your chance of getting the work accepted Even well-established well-known researchers need someone

to read their work

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

(Note: Acknowledgements should be as personal as it should be Thus, you can use the

“I” Do not forget anyone.)

This research was (partially) funded by a NSF (National Science Foundation) grant, nsf1234567890X

I am very thankful to all professors, staffs and friends at SIM – HUT and Maastricht School of Management for their help

Lastly, I would like to express my appreciation to my family members for the

considerable sacrifices that they have made for me and for my study

(This is OK When you do survey, make sure you thank the interviewees as well: write something like this:

The author would like to thank all the people who participated in this research as survey subjects The valuable time and insightful knowledge were critical to the outcome of this research Needless to emphasize, I would remain solely responsible for the content

reported in this work.)

To be continued…

Tung.bui@hawaii.edu