1. Kigali Independent University
Guidelines for writing a dissertation
(22nd December 2013)

2. Parts of the documents Part 1: OBLIGATIONS, PROCEDURES AND FORMAT
Part 2: CONTENT OF THE RESEARCH PROPOSAL
Part 3: DISSERTATION CONTENTS AND FORMAT
Part 4: REFERENCING STYLE

3. Part 1: Obligations, Procedures And Format
1.3 Formatting and style

4. Part 2: Content of the Research proposal
1. Title of Research Project (Academic Research)
2. Background to the study
3. Problem statement
4. Purpose of the study
5. Research objectives
6. Research Questions
7. Hypothesis (optional)

5. Part 2: Content of the Research proposal
8. Scope of the study
9. Significance of the study
10. Methodology
11. Dissemination of research findings
12. Structure of the dissertation
13. Duration of the project

6. Part 3: Dissertation contents and format
Preliminaries
Chapter 1: Introduction to the Study
Chapter 2: Literature Review
Chapter 3: Research Methodology
Chapter 4: Research Findings
Chapter 5: Summary, Conclusion and recommendation
References
Appendices

7. 3.1 Preliminaries Cover Title Page Declaration Approval page
Dedication
Acknowledgement
Table of Contents
List of Tables
List of figures / Diagrams / Illustrations
Abbreviations and Acronyms
Operational Definition of Key Terms
Abstract

8. Chapter 1: Introduction to the Study
1.1 Background to the study
1.2 Problem statement
1.3 Purpose of the study
1.4 Research objectives
1.5 Research Questions
1.6 Hypothesis (optional)
1.7 Scope of the study
1.8 Significance of the study
1.9 Definitions of key terms
1.10 Structure of the dissertation

9. Chapter 1: Introduction to the Study
1.1 Background to the study
1.2 Problem statement
1.3 Purpose of the study
1.4 Research objectives
1.5 Research Questions

10. Chapter 1: Introduction to the Study
1.6 Hypothesis (optional)
1.7 Scope of the study
1.8 Significance of the study
1.9 Definitions of key terms
1.10 Structure of the dissertation

11. Chapter 2: Literature Review
2.1 Introduction
2.2 Theoretical Perspectives
2.3 Related case studies

12. Chapter 3: Research Methodology
3.1 Research Design
3.2 Study population
3.3 Sampling
3.4 Data Collection Methods and Tools
3.5 Validity and reliability tests
3.6 Data processing
3.7 Data analysis
3.8 Limitations/delimitations
3.9 Ethical considerations

13. Chapter 4: Research Findings
Depends on your topic

14. Chapter 5: Summary, Conclusion and recommendation

15. Part 4: REFERENCING STYLE
4.1 References within the text
4.1.1 Paraphrasing
4.1.2 Quotes
4.2. List of References
4.2.1 Books (print and online)
4.2.2 Journal and newspaper articles
4.2.3 Web documents and sites
4.2.4 Other electronic media
4.2.5 Audiovisual and other media
4.2.6 Unpublished works
4.2.7 Proceedings and technical reports

16. Thank you!
Dr Kasai Ndahiriwe