The purpose of the first chapter of the project is four-fold. The chapter should introduce the reader to the general area to be studied. Second, the chapter should present the specific problem within the area that will be examined. Third, the chapter should detail for the reader the specific purpose of the study, with the objectives of the research. Lastly, the first chapter of the project should provide for the reader the rationale for the study and how the study has been limited in scope.
The first chapter of the project is typically broken down into eight or more sections. For the most part, eight sections should be sufficient for a thorough presentation of the four points outlined above. The eight typical sections of the first chapter of the dissertation are as follows: 1) Introduction to the Problem; 2) Statement of the Problem; 3) Purpose and Objectives; 4) Rationale of the study; 5) Definition of Terms; 6) Delimitation of the Study; 7) Limitations of the study and 8) Overview of the Remaining Chapters. A detailed discussion of each of these sections follows.
Introduction to the Problem
The introduction section of the project is typically two to three pages in length. The first page of the introduction should present the general history and development of the topic area. The entire introduction should avoid the use of any terms that may be difficult to understand or special terms that are used in a limited, specific manner. If terms cannot be avoided, then they should be explained in a very intuitive way. The purpose of the introduction is simply to enable the reader to determine if the project is relevant to his area of interest. Limit the reading difficulty of the introduction and express your ideas in very simple terms.
The remaining pages of the introduction should point out the problem area to be examined in the project. Specifically, these pages should demonstrate deficits in the literature, which can be corrected by your research. Try to avoid all of these common mistakes when preparing the introduction: 1) do not overly express your own, unsupported opinion; 2) do not use ambiguous or misleading terms in the text; and 3) do not get bogged down with reviewing the literature (summarize the background literature in your own words).
Statement of the Problem
The statement of the problem of the study should be a one to two-page presentation. In this section you should cover the following points:
1. What is the specific problem that the study will address?
2. What are the questions which they study may provide answers to?
3. Why is this problem important to study?
Purpose and Objectives of the Study
The purpose of the study should be a short paragraph, usually, no more than 50 words, that present the exact relationships to be examined in the study. When writing this paragraph, you should avoid mentioning the words cause and effect. The reason for avoiding these terms is simply that we cannot determine cause and effects in our science.
Presented below is a statement of the purpose of a dissertation which is considered to be a clear, concise example of the way the purpose should be constructed.
The objectives are a list of the predictions you are making. More specifically, if you are assuming that you will achieve certain outcomes as a result of your study, then these predicted outcomes should be listed here. In essence, the objectives are like alternative hypotheses, if we use alternative hypotheses
in a very general way. Make sure that you can build a case for making each of your predictions. In the rationale section you will have to address each of these objectives.
You should avoid stating objectives without making a prediction. In a sense the objective is meaningless, or at least redundant, since it would be assumed for your statement of the purpose that you will be examining these relationships.
Rationale of the Study
The purpose of the rationale section is to present the case for each of the objectives that you have stated. Typically, you should have from one to two pages of rationale for each objective.
You should approach your rationale from three viewpoints:
1) How can you make the prediction based on what published or unpublished research has been reported in the area?
2) How can you make the prediction based on what theorists have had to say about the are?
3) How can you make the prediction based on your own personal experiences and insights?
The goal of the rationale section is simply to make explicit to the reader why and how you have derived the predictions that you have stated in the objectives. It is not necessary to address in the rationale section the objectives in which no prediction were made.
It is not uncommon for the rationale section of the chapter to exceed twenty pages in length. When the rationale section exceeds seven to ten pages, then it should be subdivided into sections corresponding to the objectives.
Definition of Terms
The definition of terms section it generally two to three pages in length. In this section you should define all abbreviations you are using, even if they were defined when you first used them you should define all the terms, which may be used in an unusual manner. Finally, you should define principle terms used in the project or thesis unfamiliar w the reader.
The definition of abbreviations is simply) done by stating the words that the abbreviation stands for and then briefly describing what the terms means.
When defining terms used in an unusual manner or principle terms of the project, it is best to present your own definition. The worst way to define a term would be to “lift” a definition from a dictionary. A little better procedure, although extremely) frowned upon, would be to cite a definition which has been coined by some other writer. A somewhat better procedure would be to cite your own, unsupported definition. The best procedure would be to present various definitions of the term, perhaps definitions in the literature, then compare and contrast each definition, pointing out strong and weak points of each. Then, as a result of your critique, you either derive your own definition or decide that a certain definition critique above would best suit your meaning of the term.
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