What is your next education pathway?
Workshop on Doing Research Thesis – A Step-by-Step Guide is designed for students pursuing Master's or Bachelor's programs in fields such as Business Administration, Human Resource Management, Information Systems Management, International Relations, Social Sciences, and more. The course offers a comprehensive, step-by-step guide to successfully completing a research thesis, from initial planning to final presentation.
Throughout the workshop, participants will learn essential skills for selecting the right topic, managing time effectively, and working with a supervisor. They will be guided on writing a strong thesis proposal, conceptualizing research ideas, and conducting literature reviews. Special focus is placed on data gathering and analysis, including hands-on practice with MS-Excel and other statistical tools like SPSS.
The course also covers important aspects such as academic writing, language editing, presenting qualitative and quantitative data, and preparing for the viva. By the end of the workshop, students will be able to confidently compile their thesis, format it according to academic standards (Harvard and APA), and present their work effectively to a panel.
This workshop is an invaluable resource for any student seeking to enhance their research skills and successfully complete their thesis, contributing to their academic and professional growth.
Entry Requirements
This is ideally suitable for those who follow a Masters or Bachelors study program in Business Administration, Human Resource Management, Information Systems Management, International Relations, Business Studies, Labor Studies, Environmental Sciences, Social Sciences or any other relevant field, that requires doing a thesis at the end. Participants are expected to be conversant with English.
Commencement
Pending
Programme Fees
Current Fee Structure
Course Fee: LKR LKR 15,000 (Per Day)
Course Structure and Modules
- Introduction and planning
- What is a research thesis and what it is not: Understand your task before you start
- Selection of topic: Why change it the mid-way? Do it right from the beginning
- Length, scope, and depth: Knowing this, in the beginning, will save your time later
- Selection of the supervisor: What he /she will do and will not do for you
- Planning and time management: How not to do it the week before submission
- Proposal, Conceptualization and Literature Review
- Thesis proposal: How to present your idea and influence people
- Conceptualization can be tricky: You have to convince someone else
- Building research questions and hypothesis: Let us practice with examples
- Literature review: What it is and what it is not
- Manage references: Introduction to Harvard and APA styles
- Data Gathering and Analysis (Theory)
- What is ‘data’ and how you gather them: Stepping stone to evidence-based research
- Quantitative Research: How to get your numbers correct; strengths and limitations
- Planning surveys: What best can be done within your time and financial constraints
- Conducting surveys: Different techniques, traditional and online surveys, sampling, preparing questionnaires, interviews
- Statistical concepts: Seeing beyond the raw data
- Analysis with MS-Excel: The best starting point; simple and straightforward
- Other statistical tools: Introduction to other statistical tools including SPSS
- Presenting quantitative data: It goes far beyond than inserting a few simple graphs
- Data Gathering and Analysis (Practical)
- A Hands-on session up to 4 hours at NIBM computer labs on a pre-prepared case study. Each participant will get a PC to practice
- what he has learned in Session 3.
- Compilation of the thesis (Theory)
- Where to start and end: Why starting from the introduction is not a good idea
- Academic writing is an art itself: How it differs from newspaper reporting
- Language editing: How to avoid grammatical and other common language mistakes
- Presenting qualitative data: Use of case studies, ethnographies, photographs
- Conclusion: What value I add to the global knowledge base?
- Compilation of the thesis (contd..) and Preparing for Presentation/Viva
- Tables, Graphs, Content sheets, Abbreviations, etc: Minor matters, but let us do it right
- Formatting: Introduction to Harvard and APA styles
- Preparation for the viva: Typical questions you face from your evaluators (and how to respond)
- Presentation techniques: It is more than doing a few PowerPoint slides
- Individual Presentations
- The participants will get an opportunity to present their work in front of a panel and the rest of the class. This is a simulation of the actual scenario. The participants will learn how best to present themselves confidentially in front of the viva-panel.
- Sum-up; Revisit the lessons learnt and the next steps
- Revision: The effective (and efficient) ways of introducing the proposed changes
- Publishing your thesis: The best options; strengths and constrains of each