MASTERS DEGREE THESIS WRITING MANUAL USING AMERICAN PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION (APA) STYLE GUIDELINES PREPARED BY C P RIJAL, PHD IN LEADERSHIP DIRECTOR, MBA PROGRAM GLOBAL COLLEGE INTERNATIONAL KATHMANDU, NEPAL PREPARED FOR GLOBAL COLLEGE INTERNATIONAL (GCI) KATHMANDU, NEPAL IN AFFILIATION WITH SHINAWATRA INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY (SIU) PATHUM THANI, THAILAND LAST UPDATE AUGUST, 2015
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MASTERS DEGREE THESIS WRITING MANUAL
USING AMERICAN PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION (APA) STYLE
GUIDELINES
PREPARED BY
C P RIJAL, PHD IN LEADERSHIP
DIRECTOR, MBA PROGRAM
GLOBAL COLLEGE INTERNATIONAL
KATHMANDU, NEPAL
PREPARED FOR
GLOBAL COLLEGE INTERNATIONAL (GCI)
KATHMANDU, NEPAL
IN AFFILIATION WITH SHINAWATRA INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY (SIU)
PATHUM THANI, THAILAND
LAST UPDATE
AUGUST, 2015
Thesis Writing Manual by Dr Rijal Page 1
TABLE OF CONTENTS
SN CONTENTS PAGE
1 DOCUMENTING THE PAPER…………………………………………2
2 PAGE MARGINS & FONTS……………………………………………63
3 BUILDING THE REFERENCE INFORMATION……………………..63
4 USING QUOTATIONS FROM OTHER SOURCES…………………..64
5 PERFORMING TEXT CITATION IN APA STYLES………………….66
6 PREPARING REFERENCES IN APA STYLES……………………….69
7 REFERENCES………………………………………………………….74
Thesis Writing Manual by Dr Rijal Page 2
1. DOCUMENTING THE PAPER
1.1. MEDIUM OF LANGUAGE
Generally, the research reports/thesis must be written in English language. Exceptions
may be made, if appropriate, in appendix material or if the employer or the course
instructor gives special waiver for any other language. For uniformity of style,
American English is preferred.
1.2. PARTS OF THE PAPER
Primarily, the documentation of a well-written thesis report will comprise of
following three parts:
A. PREFATORY PART
Normally, prefatory part maintains small case roman number system with no paging
in the cover/title page with following key contents:
Title page
Title fly
Acknowledgements
Declaration
Recommendation
Letter of approval
Certificate of Acceptance
Abstract
Table of Contents
List of Tables
List of Figures
List of Abbreviations
Note: The pages must be paginated in small case roman numbering system, starting
from Acknowledgements.
B. MAIN BODY
However, the exact heading-wise coverage will be slightly different in different
projects using respective methodological approaches; the following is a tentative
outline of the contents required while developing a document of a thesis research
report:
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION
1.1. Background of the Study
1.2. Gap Analyses
1.3. The Missing Link
1.4. Purpose of the Study
1.5. Statement of the Problem
1.6. Research Questions
1.7. Statements of Hypotheses
1.8. Rational of the Study
1.9. Issues Governing the Study
1.10. Definition of Key Terminologies
Thesis Writing Manual by Dr Rijal Page 3
1.11. Limitation and Delimitations of the Study
1.12. Organization of the Thesis Report
CHAPTER 2: REVIEW OF LITERATURE
2.1. Introduction
2.2. Reviews of Theoretical Perspectives
2.3. Review of Related Policy Documents
2.4. Reviews of Related Studies
2.5. Conceptual Framework of the Study
CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
3.1. Introduction
3.2. Methodological Paradigms
3.3. Research Design
3.4. Population of the Study
3.5. Locating the Study
3.6. Sampling Strategies
3.7. Sources of Information
3.8. Units of Results Analyses
3.9. Development of Data Collection Tools
3.10. Test of Validity and Reliability
3.11. Mechanism for Research Administration
3.12. Mechanism for Minimizing Research Errors
3.13. Techniques of Data Reduction and Analysis
3.14. Bases of Results Interpretation
3.15. Respondent/Participant Information
3.16. Work Schedules
3.17. Socio-Ethical Compliances Made
CHAPTER 4: PRESENTATION & ANALYSES
4.1. Introduction
4.2. Develop research question or issue-based headings to make detailed
presentation and analyses and also run relevant statistical testing
4.3. Kay Findings of the Study
CHAPTER 5: SUMMARY & CONCLUSIONS
5.1. Introduction
5.2. Summary
5.3. Discussions
5.4. Lessons Learnt
5.5. Conclusions
5.6. Suggestions for Managerial Implications
5.7. Suggestions for Further Research
C. SUPPLEMENTARY PART
This part follows the continuing paging as in main body and normally contains three
key sections – References, Appendices and Annextures.
Thesis Writing Manual by Dr Rijal Page 4
REFERENCES
To be developed following the given style guidelines in this document.
APPENDICES
Should include different models used, survey questionnaires and other data collection
forms and formats.
ANNEXTURES
Should comprise extended data forms generated through primary as well as secondary
sources, which are discussed in the main body of data presentation and analyses. For
example, Annual Reports consulted for analyses, time series data used for analyses,
etc.
1.3. GUIDELINES FOR PAPER DRAFTING
A. PREFATORY PART
A full page, title page should be prepared as follows:
Thesis Writing Manual by Dr Rijal Page 5
SERVICE EFFICIENCY OF YETI AIRLINES: CUSTOMER PERCEIVED GAP
ANALYSES
A Thesis Research Report
Submitted by
Padam Raj Shahi
SU Regd.: 7-2-371-10-2015
Master of Business Administration
Global College International
Submitted in
partial fulfillment of the requirement for Master of Business Administration (MBA)
degree
Submitted to
Office of the Deal
Faculty of Management
Shinawatra University
………., Thailand
Submitted on
December 21, 2015
Single line spacing,
font 12 in all caps,
centered document
alignment
5 lines gap
with single
line
spacing and
font 12,
centered
document
alignment
Font type: Only
Times New Roman or
Ariel, or Courier New
Thesis Writing Manual by Dr Rijal Page 6
<Blank Page without numbering>
Thesis Writing Manual by Dr Rijal Page 7
A Title Fly contains the same information as presented in the Title Page; will be
placed inside following a blank page after Title Page.
SERVICE EFFICIENCY OF YETI AIRLINES: CUSTOMER PERCEIVED GAP
ANALYSES
A Thesis Research Report
Submitted by
Padam Raj Shahi
SU Regd.: 7-2-371-10-2015
Master of Business Administration
Global College International
Submitted in
partial fulfillment of the requirement for Master of Business Administration (MBA)
degree
Submitted to
Office of the Deal
Faculty of Management
Shinawatra University
………., Thailand
Submitted on
December 21, 2015
Thesis Writing Manual by Dr Rijal Page 8
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
A few paragraphs to acknowledge the support provided by the respective supervisor,
external evaluator, college and university department; finally closed with the name of
Degree Candidate without signature. It should not exceed one page.
Padam Raj Shahi
Degree Candidate
Note: Commence the page number from this page using lower case Roman
Numbering system, placed to the right side of this page and continue it till the end of
prefatory part.
Bold, all caps, font 12, single
line spacing, paragraph before 0
and after 30 points spacing
Bold, all caps, font 12, single line
spacing, paragraph before 0 and
after 30 points spacing
Thesis Writing Manual by Dr Rijal Page 9
DECLARATION
I, Padam Raj Shahi, the degree candidate, hereby declare that the work presented in
this dissertation is a genuine work done originally by me under the closer guidance
and supervision of the respective Supervisor, following the stipulated guidelines and
the same report has not been submitted elsewhere for the award of any degree. All
sources of information referred in this work are acknowledged with reference to the
respective authors. I firmly understand that this document becomes a university
property on its acceptance and promise to abide by the respective norms of the
university in this respect.
signature
--------------------
Padam Raj Shahi
Degree Candidate
Justified
paragraph
with 1.5
lines, ‘0’
point
before
and after spacing
Thesis Writing Manual by Dr Rijal Page 10
RECOMMENDATION
We are please to certify that Mr. Padam Raj Shahi has completed his dissertation
work entitled SERVICE EFFICIENCY OF YETI AIRLINES: CUSTOMER
PERCEIVED GAP ANALYSES as a partial fulfillment of the requirements for
Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree under our supervision following
the respective guidelines for paper documentation.
We, therefore, recommend the dissertation for acceptance and approval.
signature signature
------------------- -----------------------------
Prof. Dr. Prem Raj Pant Dr C P Rijal
Thesis Supervisor Program Director, MBA
Global College International
Note: This page should be printed in the Official Letterhead of the Institution of study.
Thesis Writing Manual by Dr Rijal Page 11
LETTER OF APPROVAL
On recommendation of the respective Supervisor and Program Director, the
dissertation submitted by Mr. Padam Raj Shahi entitled SERVICE EFFICIENCY OF
YETI AIRLINES: CUSTOMER PERCEIVED GAP ANALYSES has been approved
and forwarded to the Research Evaluation Committee, Global College International
for final evaluation before submitting to the university for awarding Master of
Business Administration (MBA) degree to the respective candidate.
signature
-------------------------
Dr Karan S Thagunna
Principal
Global College International
Note: This page also should be printed in the Official Letterhead of the Institution of
study.
Thesis Writing Manual by Dr Rijal Page 12
CERTIFICATE OF ACCEPTANCE
Following a successful presentation and evaluation by the Research Evaluation
Committee, this dissertation entitled SERVICE EFFICIENCY OF YETI AIRLINES:
CUSTOMER PERCEIVED GAP ANALYSES submitted by Mr. Padam Raj Shahi
has been accepted and forwarded to the University for awarding Master of Business
Administration (MBA) degree.
Research Evaluation Committee
Prof. Dr. Prem Raj Pant Signature: __________________
Thesis Research Supervisor Date: ______________________
Dr. C. P. Rijal Signature: __________________
Member, Research Evaluation Committee Date: ______________________
Prof. Dr. Radheshyam Pradhan Signature: __________________
External Examiner Date: ______________________
Dr. Karan Sing Thagunna Signature: __________________
Chairman, Research Evaluation Committee Date: ______________________
Thesis Writing Manual by Dr Rijal Page 13
ABSTRACT
An abstract should be prepared by condensing the overall study report. In fact, there is
no hard and fast rule on writing an abstract. Generally, an abstract should be limited
to one to one and half page document that comprises of 3-5 paragraphs revealing the
purpose and nature of the study, crux of study methodology, key findings of the study,
lessons learnt and conclusions made on the basis of the present research.
Thesis Writing Manual by Dr Rijal Page 14
TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER CONTENTS PAGE
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS……………………………………………i
DECLARATION……………………………………………………...ii
RECOMMENDATION………………………………………………iii
LETTER OF APPROVAL……………………………………………iv
CERTIFICATE OF ACCEPTANCE………………………………….v
ABSTRACT…………………………………………………………..vi
1 INTRODUCTION……………………………………………………..1
1.1. Background of the Study…………………………………….1
1.2. Objectives of the Study………………………………….......5
1.3. The Missing Link……………………………………………5
1.4. Research Questions………………………………………….6
1.5. Working Hypotheses…………………………………….......6
1.6. Scope of Works………………………………………….......7
1.7. Significance of the Study……………………………………7
1.8. Definition of Key Terms…………………………………….8
1.9. Limitation and Delimitations of the Study…………………..9
1.10. Chapter-wise Organization of the Study Report…………….9
2 REVIEW OF LITERATURE………………………………………...10
2.1. Introduction…………..…………………………………….10
2.2. Review of Theoretical Perspectives of the Study…..………14
2.3. Review of Governing Policies……………...………………17
2.4. Review of Related Studies…..………….………………….19
2.5. Conceptual Framework of the Study…......24
3 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY………………………………….....25
4 DATA PRESENTATION & ANALYSES…………………………..35
5 SUMMARY & CONCLUSIONS……………………………………52
Thesis Writing Manual by Dr Rijal Page 15
REFERENCES………………………………………………………59
APPENDICES……………………………………………………….64
ANNEXTURES……………………………………………………...68
Thesis Writing Manual by Dr Rijal Page 16
LIST OF TABLES
Follow the pattern of page formatting as similar as that of Table of Contents in the
pattern of Table Number, Table Name and Page.
Note: List of Table is applicable if there are at least two tables used throughout the
study report.
Thesis Writing Manual by Dr Rijal Page 17
LIST OF FIGURES
Follow the pattern of page formatting as similar as that of List of Tables in the pattern
of Figure Number, Figure Name and Page.
Note: List of Figures is applicable if there are at least two figures used throughout the
study report.
Thesis Writing Manual by Dr Rijal Page 18
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
Prepare the list of abbreviations in a dictionary order following the given pattern of
examples as follows:
FDI : Foreign Direct Investment
GAAP : Generally Accepted Accounting Principles
GCI : Global College International
SIU : Shinawatra International University
Note: Apply Roman Numbering system in the lower case till the end of this section.
Thesis Writing Manual by Dr Rijal Page 19
B. MAIN BODY
Based on the nature of research, writing style and pattern will slightly vary. For
example, a document following a fully qualitative research methodology may be
completely different from that of based on a fully quantitative research methodology.
Thus, the exact heading-wise coverage will vary across the different projects using
respective methodological approaches. The following is a tentative outline of the
contents required while developing a document of a thesis research report:
To begin your first chapter, it is recommended but not necessary, to place the study
title in ‘all caps’ fonts placed in the top center and maintain a single line spacing with
before ‘0’ and after ‘30’ points of paragraph spacing. Similarly, the chapter heading
will also follow the same pattern. Please check out the example as follows:
Thesis Writing Manual by Dr Rijal Page 20
SERVICE EFFICIENCY OF YETI AIRLINES: CUSTOMER PERCEIVED
GAP ANALYSES
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
1.1. Background of the Study
The best way to work on background of the study is to explore some relevant
literature that reveals some urgency of conducting research in a particular area of
specialization which is of your interest.
For example, in a study entitled, SERVICE EFFICIENCY OF YETI AIRLINES:
CUSTOMER PERCEIVED GAP ANALYSES, Thebe (2015) has commenced the
dissertation paper as follows:
1.1. Background of the Study
A scholar has stated argued that achieving and maintaining quality of product and
customer satisfaction are the two most important factors leading towards success in
organizations (Kondalkar, 2007). This scholar has further stated that to achieve these
twin objectives, an organization has to marshal various resources, plan their usage
over a period of time and produce a products or services to meet the consumer needs,
desire and aspirations. On the other hand, the customers naturally, compare the
service they ‘experience’ with what they had ‘expected’ and when it does not match
the expectations, a gap arises (Zeithaml et al., 2012; as cited in Rijal, 2014).
Different scholars have recognized customer satisfaction differently but in common,
they agree that attainment of customer satisfaction is a never-ending goal of doing any
business. For example, Kotler, Bowen and Makens (1996) have recognized that
customer satisfaction refers to the product perceived performance by the customers in
delivering value relative to a buyer’s expectations, otherwise, the buyer becomes
dissatisfied. If the customer perceived level of performance exceeds the expectation,
then the buyer is known to be satisfied. Customer gap represents the difference
When you commence
the first chapter, it is
recommended to use
the study title on its top
and then start from the
chapter title.
Single line spacing
with 30 points after
paragraph to commence the first heading.
Thesis Writing Manual by Dr Rijal Page 21
between customer expectations and perceptions of service performance (Rijal, 2014;
& Zeithaml, & Bitner, 2003).
In the service industry, understanding the service gaps creates an essential tool for
understanding how the customers take and analyze the services on offer of a firm.
Such information may have tremendous institutional value in course of enlarging
marketing growth and decisions in services. Effective services marketing is a complex
undertaking involving many different skills and tasks aimed at heightened customer
satisfaction, always. Therefore, the scholars have recognized that the gap model is the
key concept that begins the customer and builds the organization’s tasks around what
is needed to close the gap between customer expectations and perceptions (Zeithaml,
& Bitner, 2003; & Rijal, 2014).
These scholars are of the opinion that the service marketing strategy focuses on
delivering processes, experiences, and intangibles to customers rather than physical
goods and transactions. Services organizations have long struggled with how to
approach service design and delivery in an organized manner. In order to view the
delivery of service quality in a structured and integrated way, gaps model of service
quality assessment plays a crucial role. The gaps model positions is the key concepts,
strategies, and decisions in delivering quality services by providing a comprehensive
and integrating framework for delivering service excellence and customer-driven
service innovation in a continued manner. On the other hand, it serves as an essential
tool for establishing formal communication linkage between the provider and
receivers of the services of an entity.
To quote it from Zeithaml and Bitner (2003) –
Customer expectations are beliefs about service delivery that
function as standards or reference points against which performance
is judged. Because customers compare their perceptions of
performance with these reference points when evaluating service
quality, thorough knowledge about customer expectations is critical
to services marketers. Knowing what the customer expects is the first
and possibly most critical step in delivering quality service. Being
wrong about what customers want can mean losing a customer’s
Thesis Writing Manual by Dr Rijal Page 22
business when another company hits the target exactly. Being wrong
can also mean expending money, time, and other resources on things
that don’t count to the customer. Being wrong can even mean not
surviving in a fiercely competitive market (p. 60).
It means that high performing organizations should place customer perceived message
on top of their decision-making for sustainable business management and keeping
intact the customers.
According to gap model there are two types of gaps -- customer gaps and provider
gaps. Customer gaps may be referred to as the difference between the level of
customer expectation on service and customer perception on delivered quality of
service. ‘Customer expectation’ is referred to as the service standards or reference
points that customers bring into their reference prior to service experience. ‘Customer
perception’, on the other hand, may be referred to as the actual quality of service
delivered, as evaluated by the respective users of such offerings (Rijal, 2014; &
Zeithaml, Bitner, & Gremler, 2009).
Provider gap arises when the providers fails to understand the expectations and
demands of the customers. Provider gap itself constitutes of four different types of
gaps (Zeithaml et al., 2012) – 1. listening gap, 2. service design and standards gap, 3.
service performance gap, and finally, 4. communication gap (Zeithaml et al., 2012; as
cited in Rijal, 2014).
As analyzed in Rijal (2014), the listening gap is the difference between customer
expectations of service and company understanding of those expectations. A primary
cause in many firms for not meeting customers’ expectation is that the firm lacks
accurate understanding of exactly what expectation are. This scholar has assessed at
least four reasons of happening of the listening gap. These include inadequate
marketing research (MR) orientation, lack of upward communication, insufficient
relationship focus and inadequate service recovery (pp. 11-14).
Thesis Writing Manual by Dr Rijal Page 23
According to this scholar, inadequate MR orientation is the result of insufficient
marketing research (MR), research not being focused on service quality and
inadequate use of market research information in decision making.
Similarly, lack of upward communication is the outcome of lack of interaction
between management and customers, insufficient communication between contact
employees and managers, and too many layers of communication between the contact
persons and top management in the organization.
Additionally, lack of proper market segmentation, too much of focus on transactions
rather than relationships, and Focus on new customers rather than relationship
customers are the symptoms of insufficient relationship focus of the firm.
Finally, inadequate service recovery is caused due to lack of encouragement to listen
to the customer complaints, failure to make amends when things go wrong, and no
appropriate recovery mechanisms in place for service failures.
The service design and standards gap has been recognized as an outcome of
management failure to timely act with bringing forth relevant quality standards and
performance norms to guide the overall process of design, production and delivery of
organizational services. The scholars have recognized that this sort of gap may arise
when the management or service provider correctly perceives what the customers
want, but may not set a performance standard to respond accordingly. In other words,
service design and standards gap may be referred to as the difference between
management perceptions of customer expectations and customer driven service
designs and standards in place. Basically, there are three types of service design and
standard gaps as propagated by Zeithaml et al. (2012). According to these scholars,
poor service design and standardization gaps include poor service design, absence of
customer-driven standards, and inappropriate physical evidence and services cape.
Poor service design is considered as the sum total of unsystematic new service
development process in place; vague, undefined service designs in practice; and
failure to connect service designs to service positioning by the organization.
Thesis Writing Manual by Dr Rijal Page 24
Lack of customer-driven service standards, absence of process management to focus
on customer requirements, and absence of formal process for setting service quality
goals refers to the absence of customer–driven standards.
Similarly, inappropriate physical evidence and servicescaping will be witnessed due
to failure to develop tangibles in line with customer expectations, servicescape design
that does not meet customer and employee needs, and/or inadequate maintenance and
updating of the servicescape.
Further, Zeithaml et al. (2012) are of the opinion that the service performance gap is
the difference between development of customer-driven design and service standards
and actual service delivery or delivered service performance by the company. Once
the service design and standard are in place, it would seem that the firm is well on its
way to delivering high quality services. This assumption is true but is still not enough
to deliver excellent services. It could happen due to poor training, incapability or
unwillingness to meet the set service standard.
These scholars have pointed out that the service performance gap may comprise of
deficiencies in human resource (HR) policies, failure to match demand and supply,
customers not fulfilling the roles, and problems with the service intermediaries.
Zeithaml and Bitner (2003) have claimed that the deficiencies in HR policies are the
outcomes of ineffective recruitment, role ambiguity and role conflict, poor employee-
technology job fit, inappropriate evaluation and compensation systems, and lack of
empowerment, perceived control, and teamwork. Similarly, failure to smooth peaks
and valleys of demand, inappropriate customer mix, and over-reliance on price to
smooth demand reveals failure to match demand and supply. Customers not fulfilling
the roles may be considered as the result of customers lacking knowledge of their
roles and responsibilities, and customers negatively impacting to each other. Finally,
the problems with service intermediaries is resulted due to channel conflict over
objective and performance, channel conflict over costs and rewards, difficulty
controlling quality and consistency, and tension between empowerment and control
(Rijal, 2014; & Zeithaml, & Bitner, 2003).
Thesis Writing Manual by Dr Rijal Page 25
Furthermore, the scholars have recognized that the communication gap is the
difference between service delivery and what is communicated externally to
customers. Consumer expectations are highly influenced by statements made by
company representatives and advertisements. The gap arises when these assumed
expectations are not fulfilled at the time of delivery of the service.
According to these scholars, this gap is considered due to lack of integrated services
marketing communications, ineffective management of customer expectations,
overpromising, inadequate horizontal communication, and inappropriate pricing.
Lack of integrated service marketing communications is the result of tendency to view
each external communication as independent, absence of not including interactive
marketing in communications plan, and absence of strong internal marketing program.
Another equally important area of provider gap in respect with communication is
ineffective management of customer expectations. Time again, the firms may lack in
managing customer expectations through all forms of communication.
Similarly, overpromising is another factor contributing to provider gap in respect with
marketing communication. Some of the key attributes to overpromising include
overpromising in advertising, overpromising in personal selling, and overpromising
through physical evidence.
Tolpa (2012) has stated, “Airline industry has always been famous for its continuous
struggle, cutting costs, managing fluctuating demand, keeping up with tight quality
requirements while trying to maintain superior services and satisfy needs of various
customer groups.” Nowadays airline industries have faced crucial stages of
development; one of the most important parts of this program is a gap between
passengers' expectations and passengers' perceptions about services.
According to the scholar Rafati and Shokrollahi (2011), customer perceptions of
service quality are divided into technical quality and functional quality. The technical
quality can be perceived from the evaluation of the buyer based on its service quality
but the functional quality perceived from the evaluation the service delivery process
Thesis Writing Manual by Dr Rijal Page 26
which is based on the customers’ experiences. Nowadays, in order to reach the higher
market share in the Middle-East, for example, Mahan Air aims to gain the right
perception from the perspectives of tracking the needs and wants of the passengers.
So, in order to target the market economy, the company firmly realizes that each
passenger has its own expectations before he/she having an experience with specific
airline based on some attributes such as last experience, publications, news releases,
friends or relative' speech or recommendations, advertising and so on. After having
the experience with that airline, he/she will have the perceptions based on his/her
expectations. The gap between customer's expectations and perceptions is now a
significant issue for finding out in which parts the airline has strengths or weaknesses.
Similarly, Jensen (2009) has explored the concept of service quality and customer
satisfaction with low cost airlines in Copenhagen Airport. The assessment was
focused on exploration of in-flight service quality and customer satisfaction from the
passengers’ perspective. For this, the core objective of the survey was to identify,
conceptualize and evaluate the service dimensions which influence the passengers’
degree of in-flight satisfaction, in order to devise priorities for improvement. As the
company is best known for being a low cost carrier, the research inputs were worth to
re-craft the in-flight service strategy of the carrier. An integrated model which
measures the passenger gap between expected and perceived service was found
suitable to evaluate perceived in-flight service quality and overall satisfaction.
Furthermore, an importance-performance analysis was applied to identify priorities
for improvement, which forms the managerial implications and future in-flight service
proposition.
On tracing the historical development of the aviation industry in Nepal, Civil Aviation
Authority of Nepal ([CAAN]), 2013; as cited in Gautam, 2013) has pointed out that
the development of Civil Avaition commenced from the late 1940s only when a single
pilot flew over the Kathmandu sky with a single-engine airplane and landed at the
pasture land of Gaucharan, which is the present site of Nepal’s only the international
airport, Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA).
In 1950 the charter flight named Himalayan Aviation Dakota from Gaucharan to
Calcutta flew for the first time. It was the first passenger aircraft and similarly in
Thesis Writing Manual by Dr Rijal Page 27
1955, the then King Mahendra inaugurated Gaucharan Airport by turning the grassy
land into a concrete and renamed it as Tribhuvan Airport. Again, in the same year,
Department of Civil Aviation was established (CAAN, 2013; as cited in Gautam,
2013). Later in 1958, realizing the importance of internal and external trade, Royal
Nepal Airlines Corporation (RNAC) was established with one Douglas DC-3
(Gautam, 2013).
In September 1988 Yeti Airlines Domestic Private Limited was established with two
DHC-6/300 Series Twin Otter aircrafts flying to remote areas with short take off and
landing (STOL) airports like Lukla, Phaplu, Lamidanda, Rumjatar and Mid-Western
Region based airports in Dolpa and Jumla (Chalise, 2011; as cited in Chiluwal, 2013).
Chiluwal (2013) has further explored that within the last 13 years, Yeti has
strengthened and grown to become Nepal’s leader airline and have got largest fleet of
Seven British Aerospace`Jetstream-41 covering its domestic flight on major cities
within Nepal from mountains and hills to Terai regions connecting Kathmandu,
Bhadrapur, Biratnagar, Janakpur, Bharatpur, Pokhara, Bhairahawa, Nepalgunj and
Dhangadi also making the airlines having largest domestic destination connection
network in Nepal.
According to Tripathi (2013), most domestic private sector airlines in Nepal are not in
good in terms of their financial health. This scholar has further pointed that a majority
of them have always been struggling for existence. There are number of private
airlines which had been closed down long years back by closing downed their flags
from the Nepali sky, for example, Necon Air and Cosmic Air. Their contemporary
airlines such as Skyline Air, Shangril-Lai Air, Mountain Air, Nepal Airways, Lumbini
Air and Everest Air also closed down. The scholar has raised need for exploration of
such demises.
Tripathi (2013) has further identified that in terms of the number of passengers carried
and profit made annually, Buddha Air came into number one position in the country,
leaving behind Yeti Airlines in the number two position in market. This scholar has
also recognized the situation of stiff competition among a couple of other private
Thesis Writing Manual by Dr Rijal Page 28
airlines for the number three position in the domestic aviation market with altogether
15 private airlines (9 fixed-wing and 6 rotary-wing) in operation at present.
In this context, it seems urgent for Yeti Airlines to maintain effective information
update from the market so as to identify a room for improvement to steal the number
one position in near future. For this, among the numerous ways out, conduction of a
survey research with an aim to analyze customer perceived gap of its services so that
the loopholes could be effectively identified and addressed on time. For this reason,
the present researcher firmly believes it would be an academically as well as
professionally responsible proposition to conduct a research entitled ‘service
efficiency of Yeti Airlines: a customer perceived gap analysis’ as part of masters
degree thesis research.
1.2. The Missing Link
The missing link is something that influenced or motivated you to perform a research
in this specific area of study. A closer sensing of growing situation appealing the
future career prospect may be good idea. Following serves as an example for you:
In reference with the above analyzed situation, the present researcher could discover
the service efficiency of Yeti airlines, as Zeithaml and Bitner (2003) have stated that
the strategies and decisions in services marketing in a manner that begins with the
customer and builds the organization’s task around what it is needed to close the gap
between customer expectation and perceptions.
Moreover, the present researcher was also determined to develop the professional
career in this sector of tourism and hospitality, so it was believed to conduct a
research in this particular topic and sector. The present researcher, currently
undergoing Master of Hospitality Management (MHM) degree, was quite interested
in observing customer perception and understanding the level of effectiveness in
fulfilling the expectations.
Thesis Writing Manual by Dr Rijal Page 29
1.3. Objectives of the Study
State the primary or general aim of the study here in the first paragraph, followed by
the specific objectives in the second paragraph. It is recommended to use the terms
like assess, explore, observe, examine, evaluate, compare, determine, propagate, etc.
while crafting the objective statements. Please avoid use of ‘To’ more repeatedly.
For example, Nepal (2015) has developed research objectives in a Masters’ Thesis
Research as follows:
The general objective of this study was to assess the impact of internship exposure in
hotel management graduates of NATHM for developing professional career readiness
among them. To attain this main objective, the present researcher was further
interested to explore following aspects as part of specific objectives of the enquiry:
a. Assess the impact of internship exposure to transform in graduates with
relevant cognitive development required to live a professional life.
b. Examine the level of impact of such an exposure to harmonize graduate
learning with adequate personal behavioral transformation making them ready
for a more successful professional career.
c. Confirm the significance of having internship work exposure during college
life to transform job relevant practical skills for a successful professional
career.
1.4. Statement of the Problem
Statement of the problem refers the broad query governing the overall inquiry of the
research. It may be composed in an interrogative or affirmative form.
Again, to refer to Nepal (2015), the statement of problem was as follows:
This study was guided with a notion relating to the assessment of NATHM students’
ability to deal with the organizational circumstances after the completion of their
Internship as an outcome of this practice-blended academic initiative.
To attain this specific purpose, a statement of the problem was taken into
consideration to govern the overall research -- What is the perceived level of
Thesis Writing Manual by Dr Rijal Page 30
professionalism development in students through internship exposure and what are the
determinants that lead to the development of such skill competencies?
After stating the statement of the problem, you need to elaborate it further to reveal
the various functional constructs to be considered as part of holistic observation. For
example,
More specifically, the present researcher was concern to establish a scientific
observation on internship work exposure and its impact to transform the knowledge,
behavior and practical skills among hotel management students of NATHM. For this,
the present researcher wanted to disclose the extent of real impact made as perceived
by the graduates themselves.
1.5. Research Questions
Give a brief background to link up with the statement of the problem and research
questions and then establish a few research questions by defusing the statement of the
problem into stand-alone lean ‘Wh’ or ‘Yes/No’ questions. For example,
Taking into consideration the background of the study, missing link, objectives and
statement of the problem, the present researcher has composed a set of three research
questions (RQs) with an aim to access the overall impact of internship exposure in the
NATHM graduates of hotel management program.
RQ1: As perceived by the past BHM graduates of NATHM, how instrumental was
the internship exposure for them to harmonize their cognitive skill development
required for hotel management careers?
RQ2: What, if any, behavioral changes were perceived by the graduates in them after
having internship exposure?
RQ3: How did the graduates value the impact of such an exposure to develop in them
practical skills required for hotel management careers?
Thesis Writing Manual by Dr Rijal Page 31
Note: Many graduates get confused with Research Questions by taking them like the
survey questionnaires. Please do not be confused, Research Questions represent the
set of researcher’s queries in the ongoing research project.
1.6. Statements of Hypotheses
Generally, working hypotheses are developed in case the researcher is undertaking
Causal Research Designs. Such hypotheses can be better composed in the format of
‘null hypotheses’ and while composing the hypotheses, you should try to establish the
assumed associations between at least one independent and one dependent variable or
construct of study.
For example, for above stated purpose Nepal (2015) wrote --
The present researcher took into consideration a number of propositions in the form of
null hypotheses (H0) to confirm the statistical significance of the association between
different selected constructs of the study. For example, in the case of above stated
purpose, level of overall impact was considered as the ultimate effect of internship
exposure and the factors determining the level of impact were considered to be gender
of intern, total length of internship duration, location of the internship institution,
nature of works exposure received, guidance and supervision received, workplace
environment and nature of peer and their cooperation received. Considering these
constructs, the following working hypotheses were generated for statistical testing:
H01: The overall level of various types of transformation [cognitive, practical skill,
behavioral] in the interns and their gender are independent of each other.
H02: The overall level of various types of transformation [cognitive, practical skill,
behavioral] in the interns may have no significant relationship with the year of their
internship engagement.
H03: The overall level of various types of transformation [cognitive, practical skill,
behavioral] in the interns may have no significant relationship with the country of
location of the hotels where they did internship.
Thesis Writing Manual by Dr Rijal Page 32
Note: the best way to craft hypotheses is to align with the various bases of data
presentation and analyses. Generally, respondents’ cast-ethnicity, education
qualification, age, gender, nationality, length of experience, etc. are considered as the
bases of analyses. Here, we need to indicate the direction of relationship of these
bases with that of main outcome of the proposed study. Here, functional efficiency is
the main outcome of the study, which is known as dependent variable. So, each
hypothesis should try to establish the relationship between each basis (independent
variable, or cause) with the dependent variable (effect). Such a proposition is known
as causation effect. Remember, once a null hypothesis (H0) is written, its alternate
hypothesis (Ha) is self understood.
1.7. Significance of the Study
Here, you should try to establish the significances from at least three perspectives –
first, how would such a study outcomes be instrumental for the respective institutions,
communities, and governing bodies; how does it help the present researcher in the
process of acquiring the pragmatic knowledge and skill competencies; how can the
future researchers take benefit from such study. May be, working in three distinctive
paragraphs would be a good idea.
1.8. Issues Governing the Study
In this section, you should explore the ways how different socio-cultural, political-
Test of ANOVA of the perceived level of cognitive transformation between the
groups by country-wise locations: [Sig. = 0.306]
The information presented in table 4.2 confirms that among the different country-wise
locations, the students doing internship in India perceived with higher level of
cognitive transformation as compared to that of Malaysia and Nepal. Such an
information required confirmation through test of significance of the difference for
which test of ANOVA was run and P value of 0.306 at 5 percent level of significance
implied that the null hypothesis should not be rejected. It means that the overall
perceived level of cognitive transformation in the interns has been found with
statistically no significant difference across the countries of location of the hotels
where they did internship.
Thesis Writing Manual by Dr Rijal Page 54
4.4. Behavioral Transformation
[Discussion on behavioral transformation related issues]
4.5. Pragmatic Transformation
[Discussion on behavioral transformation related issues]
4.6. Kay Findings of the Study
As the final section of the chapter, here you need to produce the quick summary of
key findings of the study. While producing the key findings of the study, please
review the entire problem definitions designed in the first chapter of the study report.
Thesis Writing Manual by Dr Rijal Page 55
CHAPTER 5
SUMMARY & CONCLUSIONS
5.1. Introduction
Your write up for this section should be something like this one as follows:
The main purpose of this chapter was to formally conclude the study report and bring
it to the closure. For this, the present researcher has developed the chapter as a whole
in six distinctive sections where summary of the study has been presented in the first
section, followed by relevant discussions to compare and contrast the present research
with selected past studies in the second section. Similarly, the lessons learnt through
this discourse and conclusions made on the basis of overall study exposure have been
presented in the third and fourth sections respectively. The fifth section deals with the
suggestions made for managerial implications and finally, the suggestions for further
research have been outlined in the sixth section of the chapter.
5.2. Summary
Here, summary means the overall summary of everything that you have done right
from chapter 1 through 4; not only the summary of findings. It is a recap of overall
works in somewhat 8-10 paragraphs including the introduction of the problem of
inquiry, study methodologies used, and major findings identified.
For example, Karanjit (2014), on observing the prevalence of corporate social
responsibility (CSR) initiatives in the Nepalese five-star hotels, has developed the
summary of works as follows:
This research study was based on an exploratory approach to meet the objectives of
the present research through qualitative methodology. This observation based
methodology was applied due to less number of five star category hotels in
Kathmandu Valley, and in Nepal as a whole. Moreover, simply the survey approach
would not have been adequate to meet the objectives of the research study.
The present researcher was interested to explore if the five star hotels, as the key
hospitality institutions in the country, were aware regarding CSR initiatives, the
Thesis Writing Manual by Dr Rijal Page 56
nature and extent of implementing CSR initiatives by the selected five star hotels in
the Kathmandu Valley.
The present researcher’s curiosity in societal welfare activities led to consider this
area positively. Apparently, with time the present researcher’s curiosity and
enthusiasm towards societal welfare gradually developed into an interest of
professionalism within hospitality business. Hence, the present researcher observed
this particular area of corporate sector to be the focused area of the thesis research.
With the purpose of understanding the CSR practices in the selected five star hotels of
Kathmandu Valley, the present researcher adopted a systematic methodology of
observation in this study.
With the guidance of the present researcher’s supervisor, appropriate research
approach and designs were applied to meet the overall objective of the research. For
the simplicity of the research, only five hotels of five-star category were chosen for
data collection.
For the proceeding of the research, the KII checklist was used as the data collection
tool which was prepared by considering the CSR operating indicators from the study
of the conceptual framework which focused on the approaches regarding the research
to assess how much the existing literature already covered the area in the selected
hotels.
Before, conducting the depth interview, the researcher obtained the consent for
facilitating KII in selected hotels and pursued the studies. In order to find the best
answers to the pre-set KII checklist, the present researcher personally interviewed the
key informants handling CSR or related initiatives in the selected hotels.
For the purpose of making the study socio-ethically more neutral, the present
researcher considered socio-ethical principles. For this, the present researcher used
pseudo names of the hotels observed and the participating managers’ names and
gender also were kept confidential. The researcher did not pressurize the participants
Thesis Writing Manual by Dr Rijal Page 57
for their response. Every meeting with each participant was conducted following a
pre-consent of the respective member.
The conversations in the interview were recorded in a form of recording diary where
each selected hotel was given a unique name to protect the anonymity. Five individual
cases were prepared by means of information provided by the KII participant and the
researchers’ personal observation. Lastly, the overall cases were integrated to produce
the key findings from the overall study on CSR initiatives practices in these hotels as
the final findings of the study.
Based on the key findings from the overall study, the present research revealed that
the chain hotels were more involved in CSR initiatives and had systemized plan for
CSR initiatives as compared to the non-chain hotels. The major reason identified for
this difference was that the chain hotels were funded for carrying CSR initiatives from
their respective head chain, and moreover, there were strict policies for carrying out
such initiatives and was an essential etiquette in chain hotels. While in the case of the
non-chain hotels, there were no sufficient funds for carrying such initiatives, and
moreover, no strict policies were made for carrying out such initiative and such hotels
were not very much serious regarding making CSR a major priority for the time
being.
Depth focus is yet to be put on CSR as a specific department in these hotels.
However, various areas of CSR initiatives covered included submerging different but
CSR related initiatives into the core functional activities of the hotels. The major CSR
relating decisions were taken by the owners and its stakeholders in the non-chain
hotels. In the chain hotels, such decisions were mainly taken by the head chain itself.
The chain hotels had their own professional staff for carrying out CSR initiatives but
the non-chain hotels collaborated with specialists for some specific areas where it
lacked expertise. The benefits from CSR initiatives came mostly in the intangible
forms for which the expense was made without any hope of receiving material
benefits. However, carrying out such initiatives benefitted the entire hotel and also the
environment, various stakeholders, and the society at large. CSR was perceived to be
a responsive investment and a cost control mechanism for preventing future losses
Thesis Writing Manual by Dr Rijal Page 58
rather than a cost. The study also revealed several external environmental challenges
and problems the hotels were facing against their mission to design and implement
CSR for a more sustainable business prospect.
5.3. Discussions
This too may be a completely new topic for you. In fact, in the discussions section,
you need to closely compare and contrast between the major findings of the present
study with that of selected past researches.
Again, let’s refer the work of Karanjit (2014) for your help in this respect.
The present research shares a number of similarities with different works conducted
earlier. For example, Carroll (1979) has suggested at least four elements to be
considered as the pillars of corporate social responsibility of a business. In this study,
the present researcher has considered economic, ethical, and philanthropic
contributions as the CSR initiatives, whereas legal expectations could not be assessed
in this study. Though the hotels were not asked mandatorily to have focus on these
elements, they were complying with such requirements as their moral obligations.
Several practitioners have provided different approaches to CSR implementation. For
example, Porter and Kramer (2006) have suggested that the concept in general
encompasses the firm’s obligation to operate in an economically, socially and
environmentally sustainable manner, while also considering stakeholder’s interests in
a way that results overall positive impact from the society’s perspective, whereas the
present study revealed that these aspects need be considered from the industry’s
perspectives too as most of the hotels reported to have implemented numerous
initiatives considering them as their institution’s moral obligations.
ILO (2006) has come up with a number of policy directives on CSR initiatives of the
institutions, which include compliance with national and international codes, local
practices, social policies, development priorities, and also the employees should be
provided the best possible wages, benefits and conditions of work, within the
framework of organization’s ongoing policies. However, the present research revealed
Thesis Writing Manual by Dr Rijal Page 59
that the Nepalese five star hotels hardly considered such initiatives as the obligatory
initiative.
The principles recommended by the UN Global Compact (2001) for the purpose of
encouraging companies to adopt environmentally and socially responsible policies
and to embrace, support and endorse a set of core values in the areas of human rights,
labor rights, environment, and anti-corruption. In this study, the present researcher did
not compulsorily question these hotels to concentrate on all those components.
However, various areas of CSR initiatives covered these components by submerging
them into the core functional activities of the hotels.
The present study also can be directly compared and contrasted with the work of
Knop (2010), which highlights the importance of applying the guidelines provided by
internationally accredited standards for firms on executing CSR practices, filling the
gaps and setting a benchmark for hotels already practicing CSR activities. Whereas,
for those hotels not practicing CSR activities, it guides on developing the base for
CSR practices. It exhibits a clear picture of CSR, its characteristics, principles,
practices, and most importantly, steps in implementing and promoting CSR practices
in the organization. It also assists the firms to know who their stakeholders are and
stresses the importance of their involvement. It provides guidelines regarding the core
areas to focus on. Such as legal bodies, fair treatment and rights of employees, client
issues, ecology, and involving and uplifting the community, etc. The standards
enumerate the principles of CSR, so that the hotels know where to start from. It
stresses that the hotel should operate being responsible towards the economical,
ethical, legal, and societal aspects, international standards, its stakeholders and human
right issues. The work of the present researcher also revealed such initiatives to be
taken into account by the industry.
In general, CSR might just be understood as giving away charity or just another
philanthropic activity or just concerned with the personal relation department of an
organization. But the fact is that management should show interest in adapting and
executing CSR strategies in the organizations. Hotels should have a separate CSR
management committee so that each committee’s CSR objectives are met.
Thesis Writing Manual by Dr Rijal Page 60
5.4. Lessons Learnt
In fact, an academic research should be taken as one of the crucial platforms of
learning for life from both personal and professional perspectives. Here, you need to
present with a few (2-3) key lessons learnt as a result of the ongoing research
exposure.
Karanjit (2014) has produced the scholar’s learning reflections as follows:
The present researcher experienced both sweet and bitter moments while conducting
the overall research study. Being a hotel management graduate and hotel being one of
the interest areas of the present researcher, the researcher believes to have received an
opportunity of visiting renowned five star hotels of Nepal. Interacting with such top
level management employees and being familiar with such establishment was itself a
great opportunity for building networks in the hospitality industry. The researcher
realizes the positive change that has developed both in the field of academic writings
and speaking.
The present researcher happened to face a few of the disappointing incidents
experienced while in the process of conducting and building the research study. In the
beginning while the present researcher tried seeking for permission with the
respective participants for the in-depth interviews, it was difficult for the managers to
arrange time. But gradually after the first meeting, the remaining meetings went
smoothly.
The present researcher is firmly convinced through this experience that one day there
will be a certain point occupied by definite people to oversee CSR related initiatives
in most of the high rank institutions including five star hotels of this country.
5.5. Conclusions
Conclusions are the final drawings made on the basis of overall research exposure.
Such statements may be crafted in the form of generalization, or claim, or conviction
with evidential logic. The conclusions must be linked with the problem statements
and key findings.
Thesis Writing Manual by Dr Rijal Page 61
Let’s refer it to the works of Karanjit (2014) again:
On the basis of overall study findings and discussions, the present researcher
concludes that –
1. the status of the hotels, i.e., international chain or non-chain, has affected
the overall extent of CSR practices in the Nepalese five-star hotels,
revealing that international standardization positively influenced
management decision to go for CSR initiatives, and
2. in the context of Nepalese five-star hotels, CSR implementation has
exceeded institutionalization of such initiatives as the hotels have been
heavily launching numerous initiatives even without having a separate
department to look after CSR activities, especially in the case of non-chain
hotels.
5.6. Recommendations for Managerial Implications
If it is an applied research, it is worth recommending a few decisional and strategic
suggestions to the concerned management for improving their business. Such
recommendations should be developed following a loop of what – why – who –
when/where – how – what [what needs be done, why is it required to be done, who is
to do it within what time lines or locations, how to do it, and finally for what
outcomes].
5.7. Recommendations for Further Research
After going through the ongoing research passing across so many limitations and
delimitations, you must have now made a firm recognition of what additional things
could have been explored or observed to make it a more complete phenomenon in a
more realistic manner. For this, what you can do now is to be wise to recommend for
such studies here in this section.
Thesis Writing Manual by Dr Rijal Page 62
C. SUPPLEMENTARY PART
This part follows the continuing paging as in main body and normally contains three
key sections – References, Appendices and Annextures.
REFERENCES
To be developed using the given style guidelines in the next section. The list of
references should follow the guidelines as set out by APA. After every citation in the
main body of the text, you should immediately prepare the detailed listing of the
sources of information. Remember, bibliography is not the list of references!
<page break>
APPENDICES
Should include different models used, survey questionnaires and other data collection
forms and formats.
<page break>
ANNEXTURES
Should comprise extended data forms generated through primary as well as secondary
sources, which are discussed in the main body of data presentation and analyses. For
example, Annual Reports consulted for analyses, time series data used for analyses,
etc.
An Annex or Appendix is included in a paper when the writer wishes to extend or
support the information presented in the main body of the paper. This may include
data tables or other types of materials. Each of the information should be identified as
a separate Annex or Appendix. Materials which are not the work of the present
researcher should include the source with proper documentation (use APA style).
Thesis Writing Manual by Dr Rijal Page 63
2. PAGE MARGINS & FONTS
Margin and Fonts
All research reports should be easy to read. Therefore, the pages should have margins
of least 1.5” on the left side and 1” on all other sides (excluding page numbers, which
may be within a one half inch margin).
In addition, specific font types should be selected making it easy for the reader. For example, you are now reading in a type known as Arial size 10. In the next section you will see
examples of the Courier 12 pitch font. Many other fonts are available, but the
following fonts are more commonly used:
Arial 10/ Arial 11, Prestige 12 pitch (12, Courier font (12), Times
New Roman (10) or Times New Roman (11) or Times New Roman (12).
If you want to consider using the alignment setting so that margins are even on both
sides of the page, then you should use a font that has automatic (proportional) spacing
between letters and words. Fonts such as Arial and Times New Roman are examples
of these fonts. Fonts such as Prestige 12 pitch (12) and Times New Roman
(10) should be used with “align left” only.
Heading and Paragraphs
Chapter Heading: It should be written in font 12, CAPITAL letters, text bold and
centralized format with single line spacing before 0 pt. and after 30 pt.
Main Headings: Should be written in font 12, Title Case letters, text bold and
justified format with single 1.5 line spacing before 0 pt. and after 6 pt.
Sub-Heading: It should be written in font 12, Sentence case letters, followed by bold
italicized text without numbered format with 1.5 line spacing before 0 pt. and after 6
pt.
Sub-sub-heading: It should be written in font 12, Sentence case letters, followed by
no bold, italicized text without numbered format with 1.5 line spacing before 0 pt. and
after 0 pt.
Paragraphs: All paragraphs must be separated by 1.5 line spacing, before 0 pt. and
after 0 pt. spacing.
3. BUILDING THE REFERENCE INFORMATION
The best time to make a record of the reference materials you have consulted is at the
time of reading it, before you perform writing the stuff from your review works. For
this, you should establish a system for making a complete record of materials
consulted. This will save time and effort in the writing a well-documented paper.
Your note making system should be established to record the following information in
the sequence suggested below:
Name(s) of Author(s): Family name and given names in full; Editors and Chapter
writers also should be considered accordingly in case of an
Thesis Writing Manual by Dr Rijal Page 64
edited volume or a book containing identifiable chapter
writers.
Date of Publication: Note date for current edition in English dates; take copyright
year in the case of multi-impression issue following an
edition.
Title and Edition: The notes should be clear whether this is an article in a
journal or magazine, a chapter in a book, or other source;
edition other than first should be recorded.
Publisher: For book: city and publisher name. For journal or magazine:
may not be needed if the source is a recognized journal.
Volume and Issue: Needed for journal and magazines; should include page/s
where the article is located; Vol: ---, No.: ---, pp. ---.
Pages: Citation of a chapter in a book and article in a journal or
magazine should always include pages where the article is
located; also the pages are required for the materials that are
used for direct citation.
Online Sources: Identify www, http, or any other search engines and
newsgroup postings and e-mail; year of publication; APA
system requires full link of Internet sources of reference
materials; also you must record the date of retrieval.
Other Information: Any other information to verify your sources.
The reason behind building such an information system is to help you in the
subsequent phases of works to easily figure out important materials whenever
required for review during different stages of report writing. It serves just like an
inventory of materials for your review works. In fact, this is what a bibliography of
reference materials. You must prepare a separate diary for this. Or, a separate file in
your computer will work more effectively. You can even develop a mobile APP or
use your IPAD for this. Many cases, the evaluation jury may ask you to show with
evidence of such documentation during the time of thesis defense.
4. USING QUOTATIONS FROM OTHER SOURCES
Authors of scholarly papers are expected to give credit to the work done by other
scholars. Therefore, a format for citation of works in the text of the paper is needed.
Each citation in the text of the paper must be included on the reference list at the end
of the paper.
The following examples have been adapted from Diana Hacker’s 1997 publication, A
Pocket Style Manual (2nd
ed.), and the 1994 Publication Manual of the American
Psychological Association (4th
ed.). They have been contextualized for Nepal. For
additional examples and updates, follow the latest edition of the Manual.
Thesis Writing Manual by Dr Rijal Page 65
In general, the APA style requires use of past tense (Smith reported …) or the present
perfect tense (Smith has argued …) in the sentence which introduces materials that
are being cited. A variety of situations are explained below.
Direct quotation: When introducing a quotation, the author’s family name and date of
publication should be identified; the page notation appears in parenthesis at the end of
the quotation. Note that this quotation is less than 5 lines in length.
Cross (1990) has stated, “Most of us are naïve observers
of teaching and naïve practitioners of the art and
science of teaching as well” (p. 10).
OR:
One scholar (Cross, 1990) has stated, “Most of us are
naïve observers of teaching and naïve practitioners of
the art and science of teaching as well” (p. 10).
Alternatively, when the author’s name does not appear in the introductory sentence,
then the author’s last name, the date, and the page number should be placed in
parenthesis at the end of the sentence.
“We don’t know enough about the intricate processes of
teaching and learning to be able to learn from our
constant exposure to the classroom” (Cross, 1990, p. 10).
Summary or a paraphrase: For a summary or a paraphrase, include the author’s last
name and the date either in the first phrase or in parenthesis at the end. A page
number is not required, but it may be included to help your readers find a specific
passage in a long work.
An idea being promoted (Cross, 1990) for the …
An idea being promoted for the improvement of college
teaching is that teachers should be helped in knowing how
to use higher level of cognitive skills, i.e., ability to
diagnose, analyze, evaluate, and synthesize information
(Cross, 1990).
Quotations with more than 40 words or 5 lines: Quotations with more than 40 words
should be shown as a free-standing block of typewritten lines as shown below. Note
that the block quotation starts on a new line and is indented five spaces from the left
margin (in the same position as a new paragraph). All subsequent lines are typed flush
Thesis Writing Manual by Dr Rijal Page 66
with the indent (align left) and the right margin is similarly indented. Note that when a
quotation is set apart by indentation, quotation marks are not used. In a double spaced
document, the entire quotation may be either double-spaced or single-spaced. The
format that is chosen should be used throughout the paper. The example below is
single-spaced.
In a study of memory and comprehension
activities in Sri Lanka primary school
classrooms, it was found that memory-related
activities were less than 30 percent of all
learning activities, ranging from 37.01
percent in the first year to 24.94 percent in
the third, and 24.13 percent in the fifth
year. Furthermore, the critical thinking and
problem solving type of activities were found
to be less than 10 percent of all learning
activities in all years (Gorrell et al., 1995,
p. 87).
Quotation or citation of a work discussed in a secondary source. Many times an
author will make reference to publications that are not available to you, the scholar.
These publications become a “secondary source” for you. For example, you are
reading a document written by Wagley and Mumaw which mentions a study
published in a journal article written by Heyneman. Heyneman’s article is the
“primary source” and Wagley and Mumaw’s document is the “secondary source”.
Example will be discussed in later part.
5. PERFORMING TEXT CITATION IN APA STYLES
One author (one work): The author’s name and year of publication are essential for
the citation. For example,
Rijal (2003) has claimed that leadership commitment is
the key to lead organizations onto success.
Two authors (one work): Name both authors in the initial phrase or parenthesis each
time you cite the work. In the initial phrase use “and” between the authors’ name; in
the parenthesis use the Ampersand (&) between the authors’ names.
Cooper and Mueck (1990) have defined cooperative learning
as a structured, systematic instructional strategy in
which small groups work toward a common goal (p. 69).
Cooperative learning can be distinguished from other
forms of team learning by the characteristic features of
“positive interdependence” where all members of a
Thesis Writing Manual by Dr Rijal Page 67
learning team are responsible for the learning of other
members (Cooper, & Mueck, 1990).
Three, four, or five authors: Identify all authors the first time you cite source. In a
phrase it would appear as Gorrell, Kularatna, Dharmadasa, and Abeyratne (1995). In
the parenthesis format it would appear as: (Gorrell, Kularatna, Dharmadasa, &
Abeyratne, 1995). In subsequent citations, use the first author’s name followed by “et
al.” in either the phrase or the parenthesis, i.e., Gorrell et al. (1995) or (Gorrell et al.,
1995). The example below assumes the citation is after the first one.
Studies of memory and comprehension activities in primary
school classroom show varying results. A study of Sri
Lanka classroom activities, reported in Gorrell et al.
(1995), the memory-related activities were less than 30
percent of all learning activities and ranged from...
Six or more authors: If a work is written by a group of authors which included
Brightman, Bhada, Felhaus, Giovinazzo, Mansfield, Rue, Schaffer, and Schreiber
(1990), then use only the first author’s name followed by “et al.” in all citations
(Brightman et al., 1990).
Corporate author: If the author is a government agency or other corporate
organization with a long and cumbersome name, spell out the name the first time you
use it in a citation, followed by an abbreviation in brackets. In subsequent citations,
simply use the abbreviation. FIRST CITATION: (Research Centre for Educational
Innovation and Development,
Tribhuvan University [CERID], 1995)
LATER CITATION: (CERID, 1995)
Unknown author: If the author is not given or known, either use the complete title of
the work in the phrase or use the first two or three words of the title in the
parenthetical citation. Titles of articles appear in double quotation marks followed by
a comma (“Gender and Education,” 1997); titles of books are underlined or italicized
(Universal Primary education, 1987). If “Anonymous” is specified as the author, treat
it as if it were a real name (Anonymous, 1996). In the list of references, use
anonymous as the author’s name.
Authors with the same last name: To avoid confusion, use initials with the last names
if your list of references contains two or more authors with the same last name; for
example, Rita Dunn and Kenneth Dunn have many publications as single authors and
as a team as well (Dunn, & Dunn, 1993).
Thesis Writing Manual by Dr Rijal Page 68
“Research on the Dunn and Dunn model of learning styles
is more extensive and more thorough than the research on
most previous educational movements” (Dunn & Dunn, 1993,
p. xi). Other research has focused on homework (R. Dunn,
1985) and small group techniques (K. Dunn, 1985).
Personal communication: Conversions, memos, letters, e-mail, and similar
unpublished person-to-person communications should be cited by initials, last name,
and precise date:
(S.R. Sharma, personal communication, 13 May 1998).
Do NOT include personal communications in the list of references.
Two or more works in the same parentheses: When your parenthetical citation names
two or more works, put them in the same order that they appear in the list of
references, separated by semicolons (Patton, 1990; & Wagley, 1995).
Research scholars agree that in both qualitative and
quantitative studies, statistics can be a useful tool in
presenting the analysis of research findings (Patton,
1990; & Wagley, 1995).
Citations from secondary sources: A primary source is one which is published but
which you cannot access directly. You want to cite the original (primary) source. For
example, you are reading a publication written by Wagley and Mumaw. In the
document a reference is made to study published in a journal article written by
Heyneman. You do not have Heyneman’s article (the primary source) but you want to
mention the study as reported by Wagley and Mumaw (the secondary source). The
Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (1994) gives two
rules to guide your decision on citations of secondary sources.
Rule 1: Paraphrase of information
If you paraphrase the information from Heineman as reported by Wagley and
Mumaw, then give only the secondary source in the reference list as follows:
Wagley, M. P., & Mumaw, C. R. (1998). Development of training curricula for the
improvement of quality education in Dhulikhel Municipality: a needs