OVERALL RESEARCH PLAN AND LITERATURE REVIEW

Students will select a research topic in the field of their interest with the advice and approval of the course instructor. The major thrust of the research is to apply the methodology and concepts they have acquired in the core courses that have been completed. Upon completion of their research, students are required to submit the final draft of their research work. Students work closely with the instructor throughout the project.

You must submit a preliminary draft (typed) of your independent research paper including introduction, research questions, hypothesis (if necessary), literature review, page (s) of references.

SUGGESTED FORMAT OF INDEPENDENT RESEARCH PAPER

A. Preliminary pages

In its preliminary pages the report should carry a title and date. Then there should be a table of contents followed by list of tables and illustrations if necessary.

B. Main text

The main text provides the complete outline of the research report along with all details in regards to your research.

I. Introduction

The purpose of introduction is to introduce the research project to the readers. Mention the clear statement of the objectives and/or questions to be asked. A brief summary of the relevant research may also be stated. The hypotheses of the study, definitions can be stated. The methodology adopted in conducting the study must be fully explained.

II. Literature Review

1. Literature review is a body of text that aims to review the critical points of current knowledge including substantive findings as well as theoretical and methodological contributions to your research topic. Since literature reviews are supposed to be secondary sources, you should not report any new or original experimental work.

Since your research is academic-oriented, your literature review need to precede a research proposal and results section. The ultimate goal of your literature review is to bring the reader up to date with current literature on a topic and forms the basis for another goal, such as future research that may be needed in the area.

A well-structured literature review is characterized by a logical flow of ideas; current and relevant references with consistent, appropriate referencing style, proper use of terminology, and an unbiased and comprehensive view of the previous research on the topic.

III. Data Analysis and Test Methodology

IV. Empirical Findings/Test Results

V.Conclusion

VI. References

All submissions must be in the form of a Microsoft Word document (.doc, .docx).