Dissertation – 100 marks

Thesis – 80 marks
Viva – 20 marks
What is Dissertation?
A research project that presents a student’s findings on a topic and demonstrate their
research skills. It is a systematic preliminary research process.

Pages
1. Title Page
Statement of the research problem

Submitted By

Student name

Roll No

4th Semester

University of Mysore

Manasagangotri. Mysore.

Guide’s Name

Designation ( Asst. Prof)

University Logo

Department of Studies and Research in Psychology

Month, Year

2. Declaration
3. Certificate
4. Acknowledgment

5. Contents – Table

Chapter 1 Introduction Pg 1-20

 Chapter 2 Review of Literature Pg 21-60
Chapter 3 Methodology Pg 41-50
Chapter 4 Analysis of Result and Pg 51-80
interpretation
Chapter 5 Discussion and Conclusion 81-110

References Pages 110-120

Appendix Pages 131 – 140

Annexure 1 – Consent form

Annexure 2 – Permission Letter

Annexure 3 – Questionnaires

6. List of Tables
7. List of Figures

8. Abstract – 150 to 200 words summary

(Mention only the highlights of the study - The topic significance, research
design, questionnaire details, variables, findings and output, and application)
Key words: Use a maximum of 5 words

Chapter 1 – Introduction
Introduces the concepts of your topic. (Reference based with citations)
- Meaning and definition – Eg. Stress, Resilience, Achievement
- Causes of Stress
- Consequences of stress
- Types of stress
- Theories of stress
- Definition of adolescence (According to Developmental Psychology)
- Correlation between stress and adolescents
o What type of stress do they have
o Numerical data from agencies regarding the same
- Significance/ Need / Importance of the study – Our own
thoughts/why we think it is important.
Chapter 2 - Review of Literature
It is the sources of research problem
Purpose of a literature review:
- Examine the past available literature
- Identifying gaps in the literature
- How do you Identify the research gap? – A gap in the existing
knowledge or missing information. An unresolved problem or an
unanswered question.
o Empirical evidence (What we have observed)
o Theoretical Framework (A gap in existing theories and models
in the field)
o Suggestion for future research or conclusion section of
previous studies
Search for literature of each concept – Last 10 years study
Example: Study on smoking and cancer among youth
Smoking – Independent variable (IV)
Cancer among youth – Dependent variable (DV)
Youth

Girls/Boys
Urban/Rural/ Semi Urban
Educated/ Uneducated
Social economic status

Sources of literature review –

- Google scholar (last 10 years)
- Research gate
- Web of science
- Journals
- Indian studies
 - International studies – if it is applicable universally – Consider this
and mention in the literature review. Eg. Same study done in
Malaysia
The reviews should support your study
Factors to consider while searching for literature review
1. Research problem – Variables
- Whether the title of that study matches the research problem
that you are choosing. For eg, if the study is done on substance
abuse (drugs, smoking and alcohol) and you are doing a study
on smoking, consider only the smoking dimension.
2. How many samples are uses? The sample size
3. The kind of methodology
4. What kind of questionnaires are used? Are they reliable?
5. Main objectives of the study
6. What are the major findings?
7. What are the major conclusions?
8. Is the hypothesis supported or not?
- If it is not supported it is still relevant because it will give
direction to future research

Chapter 3 – Methodology
The soul of the project or report – If methodology is wrong the entire research
will go wrong.
1. Statement of the problem / Research problem
2. Objectives/ Need for study – Should be a reflection of the research
problem.
- It has to be specific
- Measurable
- Reliable
- Objective (not subjective)
The dimension that the questionnaire measures (Eg.EQ, IQ,
Stress, Resilience, etc.)
3. Hypothesis
- Directional (There is a relationship between smoking and
cancer)
 - Non directional (There is no relationship between the variables
- smoking and cancer)
4. Variables
Dependent (Cancer)
Independent (Smoking)
Moderate (Urban, rural, boys, girls, etc.)

5. Tool description
Questionnaire / Scale / Inventory
- Developed by _____(Eg.HM Bell)
- Consists of ______ number of questions
a) Primary data / Information schedule – Demographic tool created by
Research scholar (we)
- Client / Subject name
- Qualification
- Personal Information
b) Questionnaire / Scale

6. Scope of study
7. Operational Definition
a) What do you mean by (EQ, IQ, Adjustment, Resilience, etc –
the dimension you are trying to measure with the
questionnaire) – According to the tool developer
[This is the definition given by the tool developer in the
manual]
b) High school students – Define
8th, 9th and 10th std students according to Education system
Adolescents – Take the definition from Developmental
psychology classification.

8. Inclusive criteria & Exclusive criteria

E.g. Included 9th and 10th
Excluded 8th Std

9. Research design – Whichever you are using

 Survey research
Experimental Research
Quasi Experimental
Interview

10.Sample size
E.g. 200 involving 100 girls and 100 boys

11.Procedure / data collection

Collected preliminary information from the sample –
- Which group (high school/ PU, etc.)
- Which school

12.Statistical Analysis

13. Summary
Chapter 4 – Analysis of Results
Chapter 5 – Discussion, Summary and Conclusions
- Major findings
- Verification of hypothesis based on references from existing studies
- Implications of Study
- Conclusion
References
Appendices