IUIU PGD RESEARCH GENERAL GUIDELINES

KISWAHILI 13 Minutes
  1. General Guidelines
    • Length of Dissertations/Theses
      For purposes of guidance, PGDs may range between 30-50pages, Masters between 50-80pages while PhDs may range between 100-150pages. This is subject to differ according to the subject matter and content.The Content: (to add some for FISAL after approval)
      The word INTRODUCTION is used as a title for chapter one. Otherwise the word introduction does not appear in the rest of the dissertation/thesis, as a section in any of the chapters.Format:n
      All writing should be in Times New Roman and Times New Arabic for Islamic based research, and in font 12. Dissertations written in Arabic should be in font 24 for the topic, 20 for the sub topic and 18 for the body. The entire dissertation should be written in Traditional Arabic style.

    -All work should be double spaced save for the title page and the abstract, which are single spaced. for all Dissertations/Theses, the left and top margins should be 1.5 ” each whereas the right and bottom margins should be 1”, each.
    Headings-All chapters and their titles are written in CAPITAL LETTERS (upper case). All sections are written in small letters (Title Format).
    1. Three levels of subordination as indicated below should be followed.
    2. Level 1: Centered, BOLD, UPPERCASE
    3. Level 2: Left-aligned, bold, Title Case.
    4. Level 3: Left-aligned, bold, italicized, lowercase with period.
  2. Binding:
    • Five copies of the dissertation/thesis should be spiral bound for examination purposes. After examination and passing, six final copies shall be bound in Army Green colour with a black ridge.
    • The contents of the title page and the ridge should be written in Golden letters. The ridge of the report should contain the surname and initials of the awardee, the award, and year of the award, (eg EJOTRE I. MSC (Zoology); 2009).
    • The cover shall include the title/topic, full names of the author, the submission and the month and year of the viva voce examination.
    • Each dissertation or thesis will be crosschecked for acceptability by the Center for Postgraduate Studies before being accepted for final submission.
    • The six hard-cover bound copies of the dissertation/thesis shall be submitted to the CPGS together with a soft-copy of the same.

PART I

Preamble:

The Center for Postgraduate Studies (C.P.G.S) at the Islamic University in Uganda (IUIU) is privileged to provide the following guidelines on research, papers, proposals, and report writing. It is very important that researchers and all graduate students get familiar with these guidelines since they constitute the roadmap for all to follow. Being well conversant with them at an early stage makes research and graduate studies less tedious and saves a lot of time. All Postgraduate programs at IUIU are done by coursework and dissertation. Therefore the procedure for submission of a research report or dissertation/thesis presumes completion of the coursework component first. Currently however, PhDs by research alone are accepted at IUIU under the Faculty of Islamic Studies and Arabic Language ( FISAL). Masters degrees are to run for a minimum of two years and a maximum of four years, while PhDs run for a minimum of three years and a maximum of five years.

Before students are admitted to PhD programs, they must have developed a proposal, which is an admission requirement at this level. Masters students are required to submit a concept paper not exceeding one page.

The research roadmap

  1. Students are advised to seriously think about their research topics as early as when they are still studying research methods.(Usually in the first semester of the first year of study),
  2. By the end of the semester in which they study research methods, students should have developed a research topic, and a draft proposal should be ready for presentation in a Mini Defence (MD), to the Faculty Higher Degrees Committee (FHDC) at a later date.
  3. >The Department must approve every topic and propose a supervisor before students get on with formulating a draft proposal. Faculties should draft areas of interest from which students will chose the research topics.
  4. By the end of semester II of the first year each student should have a supervisor with whom he/she should work on the proposal.
  5. When the supervisor finds a student’s proposal suitable for research, he/she should endorse it for onward submission to the Dean through the Head of the Department.
  6. All endorsed proposals should be forwarded to the Dean for preparation of a mini-defense done at the F.H.D.C within a month from the date of submission.
  7. After defense of a proposal, students should proceed with research putting into consideration the recommendations and observations of the F.H.D.C.
  8. By the beginning of the second semester of the second year of study, students should be in advanced stages of data analysis and report writing.
  9. Both supervisors and students will submit a progress report, each to the CPGS and copied to the Dean, after every two months.
  10. Five copies of the finished report/dissertation, endorsed by the supervisor shall be submitted to the C.P.G.S through the HOD and the Dean, for preparation of the oral examination (the viva voce exam).
  11. By the end of the same semester (semester II, second year) students should have defended their reports before a viva panel.
  12. After the viva voce examinations, a student shall receive a written report from the C.P.G.S outlining the corrections or changes he/she has to effect before submitting the final report. This has to be done within a minimum of two weeks and a maximum of six months from the date of viva voce sitting, depending on the intensity of the corrections.
  13. The internal examiner, who is a member of the viva voce panel, shall always certify that the student has fully complied with the recommendations of the panel and shall submit a written report to that effect addressed to the Director of the C.P.G.S.
  14. A student will then submit a copy of the approved report/dissertation/thesis to the center for final crosschecking before proceeding to make the six hard-cover-bound copies, together with a soft copy (CD) of their report.
  15. After submission of the six copies, the faculties shall process student’s results for approval by the Executive Board after which students will be free to collect their academic transcripts from the Academic Registrar’s office.
  16. No submitted report shall be processed for internal and external examination before a student has fully paid all the University dues.
  17. Schedule for research process:
    1. First Year, Semester 1 – Teaching of research methods and topic formulation.
    2. First Year, Semester 2 – Proposal Development and MD.
    3. Second Year Semester 1 – Data collection Report writing.
    4. Second Year Semester 2 – Submission and Viva Voce examination.

Part II: The Research Proposal

  1. Definition of a proposal
    This is a written presentation of an intended research specifying the background to the problem, the problem, the hypothesis, the significance, scope methodology and references thereof.
  2. The necessary components of a proposal in the preferred order of arrangement are:
    1. Title or topic (compulsory)
    2. Declaration (compulsory)
    3. Approval (compulsory)
    4. Table of contents (compulsory)
    5. List of tables (where applicable)
    6. List of Illustrations, figures or plates (where applicable)
    7. Abbreviations and acronyms (where applicable)
    8. Descriptive Abstract (for natural and physical sciences where applicable)
  3. Chapter One: Introduction
    This chapter has the following sections written in the order given below:

PART III

BACK
PART IIITHE RESEARCH REPORT, DISSERTATION/THESIS FORMAT

  1. Definition of a report
    It is a detailed account of the study or research conducted.

  1. Research report comprises of the following:
  1. The preliminary pages (numbered in Roman numerals and Arabic letters for Arabic texts)

  1. Title Page (Not numbered).
    This page is comprised of the following:-

    1. The IUIU logo: This should appear at the topmost part of the page and centered.
    1. Title or Topic: This is the most essential component. It should be phrased in a precise manner and should be able to accurately indicate the meaning of the research. It should be all Caps and not exceeding 25 words.
    1. The Author: This includes the full names of the researcher or candidate, the registration number and the latest qualification already attained together with the awarding Institution.
    1. The submission: All reports are submitted to the mother departments stating the faculty and then the University. Where the report is submitted for an award of the Islamic University In Uganda, the candidate must state whether the study is submitted for the award or it is submitted in partial fulfillment of the award of the degree of Master or of PhD of the Islamic University in Uganda.
    1. The Date: Title pages should cite the month and year when viva voce exam was done and NOT when report was submitted. (See appendix I)
    (Note: Each line typed on this page should begin from the center between 1 ½” margin on the left and 1” margin on the right.)

  1. Declaration
    This is a pronouncement by the candidate that his/her study is original and has not been published and/or tendered for any other degree award to any other Institution before. The candidate must sign it.

  1. Approval. This is the page where the supervisor, internal and external examiners append their signatures approving the report after the candidate has duly defended it before the viva voce panel to which the three are members The appointed supervisor and examiners have to sign the declaration page following the statement that: We certify that this dissertation or thesis satisfies the requirements for the award of the degree of (name the degree) of the Islamic University in Uganda. (See appendix III)

  1. Dedication: This mentions names of the individual or a group of individuals to whom the research is dedicated. It must be stated in a very short and precise form.

  1. Acknowledgement: This calls for recognition of mentors, relatives, colleagues, individuals, sponsors and institutions, which contributed to or supported the research. It is ptional.

  1. Table of Contents: This is a list of the headings and subheadings starting with declaration and their corresponding page numbers. The title page is not paginated. The format of table of contents must be uniform with the format in the text (ie following the hierarchy of sections in the text).

  1. List of tables
    This lists table numbers and titles in the research report/thesis/dissertation and their corresponding pages.

  1. List of Illustrations or Figures or Plates (all listed as figures.): It lists titles of images used in the report and their corresponding pages. In the text each figure is assigned a new page.

  1. Abbreviations and acronyms
    This refers to abbreviations used in the report other than those commonly used.

  1. The Abstract: This gives a synopsis of the report. In precise terms it gives what the research set out to do, how it was done, what was found out, and what the recommendations are. It is written as one single spaced paragraph, and preferably not exceeding one page, or 250 words.

For natural and physical sciences there are two types of Abstracts.

  • Informative abstract (For Reports). This is more detailed. It includes all the elements of the descriptive abstract plus the results, analysis, conclusions and implications of the research. research.

PART IV

BACK

  1. The preliminary pages (numbered in Roman numerals and Arabic letters for Arabic texts) Read More………..
  2. The Text (to be paginated in Arabic numerals at the bottom center) The text will consist of:
  3. Appendices
    These are constituted by any subsidiary information pertaining to the study but whose information may not be put in the body of the text. They may be in form of, data tables, sample questionnaires, interview guides, maps, introductory letters; personnel met and research approval letters etc. They are not continuously paginated with the main text. Instead they are paginated afresh and in roman numerals. Each appendix with more than one page should begin with fresh pagination. Single page appendices need not be page numbered. All appendices though should be numbered, e.g. Appendix I, II, III or A, B, C etc.
  4. General Guidelines
    • Length of Dissertations/Theses
      For purposes of guidance, PGDs may range between 30-50pages, Masters between 50-80pages while PhDs may range between 100-150pages. This is subject to differ according to the subject matter and content.
    • The Content: (to add some for FISAL after approval)
      The word INTRODUCTION is used as a title for chapter one. Otherwise the word introduction does not appear in the rest of the dissertation/thesis, as a section in any of the chapters.
    • Format:
      All writing should be in Times New Roman and Times New Arabic for Islamic based research, and in font 12. Dissertations written in Arabic should be in font 24 for the topic, 20 for the sub topic and 18 for the body. The entire dissertation should be written in Traditional Arabic style.

    -All work should be double spaced save for the title page and the abstract, which are single spaced. for all Dissertations/Theses, the left and top margins should be 1.5 ” each whereas the right and bottom margins should be 1”, each.
    Headings-All chapters and their titles are written in CAPITAL LETTERS (upper case). All sections are written in small letters (Title Format).
    1. Three levels of subordination as indicated below should be followed.
    2. Level 1: Centered, BOLD, UPPERCASE
    3. Level 2: Left-aligned, bold, Title Case
    4. Level 3: Left-aligned, bold, italicized, lowercase with period.
  5. Binding:
    • Five copies of the dissertation/thesis should be spiral bound for examination purposes. After examination and passing, six final copies shall be bound in Army Green colour with a black ridge.
    • The contents of the title page and the ridge should be written in Golden letters. The ridge of the report should contain the surname and initials of the awardee, the award, and year of the award, (eg EJOTRE I. MSC (Zoology); 2009).
    • The cover shall include the title/topic, full names of the author, the submission and the month and year of the viva voce examination.
    • Each dissertation or thesis will be crosschecked for acceptability by the Center for Postgraduate Studies before being accepted for final submission.
    • The six hard-cover bound copies of the dissertation/thesis shall be submitted to the CPGS together with a soft-copy of the same.

APPENDIX V

BACK

Appendix IV: Citation/Referencing of Sources:

Reference:

The Islamic University in Uganda prefers footnotes to endnotes or any other method of citation of sources for all Arts dissertations following the Turabian manual. As for Social Sciences the American Psychological Association, (APA), manual is preferred to all others, while for the Natural and Physical Sciences the Chicago Manual is preferred as indicated below.

  1. Citation/Bibliography for Arts

In the Turabian Manual, bibliography style is used widely in literature, history, and the arts. Here, this style presents bibliographic information in footnotes and a bibliography at the end of the document.

The bibliography may incorporate sources which may have been read by the authors as background but not referred to or included in the body of the Dissertation/Thesis.

Note:

  1. The first time a work is noted, full details should be given. Subsequent notes to the same work can use a shortened form of entry. Turabian’s Manual recommends that notes and bibliographies be single-spaced with one blank line between entries. The first line of a note is indented with succeeding lines on the left margin, while in the Bibliography the reverse is true.
  2. In the note the authors name will appear in the usual order, in the bibliography it will be given with the last name first.
  3. Authors are listed with the last name first, followed by a period and then the title of the cited work, which is also followed by a period, then the place of publication follwed by a colon, and then the publisher followed by a comma and lastly the date of publication.
  4. Notes are in a smaller typeface than the research paper. Font size 10 to be used with single spacing within notes (font 14 for Arabic texts).
  5. All footnotes are to be arranged in numerical order at the foot of the page. A footnote must begin at the bottom of the page on which it is referenced though it may extend to the bottom of the next page if it is too long. Footnotes shall be written according to chapters; meaning that each chapter shall begin with footnote 1.
  6. Use Ibid: To show you are citing from the same source as the previous reference. If you are citing from a different page in the same source, add a page number: e.g, Ibid., 68.
  7. If you repeat a reference after using one or more other references, use an abbreviated form: e.g. Habib, Literary Criticism, 201
  8. Books written by the same author may be arranged by date or according to alphabetical order.
  9. When recording articles from journals or periodicals the pages of the articles must be indicated. When citing multi-voluminous works authored by the same person, the volume must be indicated, and when citing multi-voluminous works by different authors such as Encyclopaedia, the volume along with the pages must be indicated. If a work does not have an author, start the citation with the work’s title.
  10. Spelling: In giving titles of published works in-text notes or bibliography, the spelling of the original should be retained. For capitalization the Headline Style/Title Format is to be followed. In the titles of works in English, either books or articles, the Headline Style/Title Format is used for all words except articles, prepositions and coordinate conjunctions: e.g.
  1. Economic Effects of War upon Women and Children
  2. Islam and Human Rights: A Critique of Contemporary Muslim Approaches

In titles of French, Italian, Spanish and German works, capitalize only what should be capitalized. e.g.Dictionnaire illustre de la mythologie et des antiquites grecques et romainesHistoria de la Orden de San Geronimo

In Arabic titles written in Latin text, all words with the exception of definite articles and prepositions should be Title format and written in the Times New Arabic font.

Below are some common examples of materials accordint to the Turabian mannual. Each example is given first as a citation footnote(N) and then as a bibliographic entry (B).

  1. Books.
    1. One author: For citation of a book, the first full reference should include the following information in the order shown: name(s) of author(s); title and if any, subtitle (in italics); name of editor, compiler or translator if any; (place of publication, name of publishing agency; date of publication(in parentheses)), and page number(s) of the specific citation. e.g.:
    2. . Two authors: all names of the authors are given, eg:N: Guy Cowlishaw and Robin Dunbar, Primate Conservation Biology (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000), 104–7.
      B: Cowlishaw Guy, and Robin Dunbar. Primate Conservation Biology. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000.
    3. Three authors and more. Only the first author given on the title page should be cited, and should be followed with “et al.” No comma should come between the author’s name and et al.; and a period always follows the “al.” e.g.N: Edward O. Laumann et al., The Social Organization of Sexuality: Sexual Practices in the United States (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1994), 262.
      B: Laumann, Edward O., John H. Gagnon, Robert T. Michael, and Stuart Michaels. The Social Organization of Sexuality: Sexual Practices in the United States. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1994.
  2. Journal articles and periodicals.
    1. Article in a print journalThe first full citation to an article in a journal or periodical includes the following and in the order shown: name of author(s); title of the article; name of periodical or journal, volume number or issue; publication date (if any) in parentheses; and page number.
      References to periodicals and journals omit publishers and place of publication. The title of the article is written between quotation marks and is not italicized. Instead the title of the journal or periodical is italicized. E.g.
      N: John Maynard Smith, “The Origin of Altruism,” Nature 393 (1998): 639.B: Smith, John Maynard. “The Origin of Altruism.” Nature 393 (1998): 639.
    2. Article in an online journal.N: Pliny the Elder, The Natural History, ed. John Bostock and H. T. Riley, in the Perseus Digital Library, http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/(accessed November 17, 2005).
      B: Perseus Digital Library. http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/ (accessed November 17, 2005).
    3. Popular magazine article. Magazines of general interest even if they may have volume numbers are to be identified by date alone. E.g.
    4. Newspaper article
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Published by Mwalimu Johnpaul Arigumaho

Johnpaul Arigumaho is a Kiswahili educator and researcher from Ibanda, Uganda. He holds a Bachelor’s in Arts with Education (Kiswahili) from Bishop Stuart University and a Master’s in Kiswahili (FCH) from the Islamic University in Uganda. Johnpaul is an Assistant Lecturer at Uganda Martyrs University and Bugema University and also teaches at Uganda Martyrs SS Namugongo – Kampala.

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