Title of Your Thesis Your name Use any template that you wish, but do not use graphics that are just decorative, distracting or off topic. Your title should convey the idea of your investigation. Normally, a title beginning “A study in . . .” is too vague; decide whether you want to compare, collate, assess, etc.

Statement of the Problem Clearly identify the problem or knowledge gap that your project is responding to. Please be concise. This section should: Answer the question: “What is the gap that needs to be filled?” and/or “What is the problem that needs to be solved?” State the problem clearly. Limit the variables you address in stating your problem or question. You may want to consider framing your problem “statement” as a question, since you are really seeking to answer a question (or a set of questions) in your study.

Purpose of the Study Specify for your readers—and for yourself—the precise focus of your research and identify key concepts you studied. A clear statement of purpose will: Explain the goals and research objectives of the study (what do you hope to find?). Show the original contributions of your study by explaining how your research questions or approach are different from previous research (what will you add to the field of knowledge?). Provide a rationale for the particular subjects of the research. Be clear about what your study did not address.

Research Questions State your research question(s).

Significance of the Problem You should explain the significance of and justification for conducting the study that would convince others that the study was needed.

Brief Literature Review Topic 1 Topic 2 Topic 3 … etc. List the main topics in your literature review and briefly discuss them The literature review has four major goals that you should keep in mind as you write: It situates the current study within a wider disciplinary conversation. It illustrates the uniqueness, importance of and need for your particular project by explaining how your research questions and approach are different from those of other scholars. It justifies methodological choices. It demonstrates your familiarity with the topic and appropriate approaches to studying it.

Methodology Variables Measures including scales and subscales

Methodology Research design: Participants Intervention (treatment) Data collection procedures Data analysis procedures

Participants Describe the participants.

Intervention Describe the intervention.

Data Collection What data did you collect/use for your study?

Data Analysis How did you analyze your data?

Findings/Results Results related to each research question. Describes results related to each research question.

Discussion about Findings What were the main findings of your study? What do these findings mean? What were the limitations of your study?

Discussion Describes implications and recommendations: Implications for future research Implications for practice Implications for education and training Where do you see the logical continuation of your work for future research? What are the implications of your study for practice? What are the implications of your study for education and training?

Questions from Committee