Thesis Writing for Master’s and Ph.D Program Subhash Chandra Parija Vikram Kate Editors 123 Thesis Writing for Master's and Ph.D. Program Subhash Chandra Parija • Vikram Kate Editors Thesis Writing for Master's and Ph.D. Program Editors Subhash Chandra Parija Sri Balaji Vidyapeeth (Deemed University) Pondicherry India Vikram Kate Department of Surgery Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research (JIPMER) Pondicherry India ISBN 978-981-13-0889-5 ISBN 978-981-13-0890-1 (eBook) https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-0890-1 Library of Congress Control Number: 2018956493 © Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd 2018 This work is subject to copyright All rights are reserved by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use The publisher, the authors, and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations This Springer imprint is published by the registered company Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd The registered company address is: 152 Beach Road, #21-01/04 Gateway East, Singapore 189721, Singapore Foreword “If you can’t explain it simply, then you haven’t understood it well enough.”—Albert Einstein Writing and submitting one’s thesis is a major part of any graduate program An ideal graduate program is designed to stimulate and advance the student’s scientific interest, and what better way to so than to engage them in original research? This original research is ultimately presented at the end of their course in the form of a thesis A thesis, therefore, is the written evidence of the efforts put in by the student for the length of their program Hence, it becomes imperative that it is well written, scientifically accurate, and comprehensible This is typically easier said than done! Everyone knows thesis writing is challenging, but only those who have undergone the experience can tell you exactly how hard it is, and such individuals make the best guides to support you in your own work In addition to writing the thesis, there are several associated activities that should be considered such as presenting your work at conferences and writing up a scientific paper When considering all of this, it is little wonder that the prospect of thesis writing at times seems daunting and insurmountable But it is, indeed, surmountable, as the authors of this book would tell you Of course, thorough study and hard work are all important, but there is indispensable practical guidance that students require to ensure their thesis is of high quality This book admirably provides this guidance Prof Parija and Prof Kate have, between them, several years of experience in this field Prof Parija is an internationally renowned author of several papers in national and international journals and has authored ten textbooks He has been awarded the B C Roy National Award of the Medical Council of India for his contribution to the development of Medical Microbiology Prof Kate, a recipient of “Distinguished DNB Teacher of Excellence Award” (2018) of the Association of National Board Accredited Institutions has contributed more than 35 chapters in reputed textbooks of surgical gastroenterology and surgery, besides a huge volume of research to his credit This book, over the course of 28 well-planned chapters, takes you through the process of thesis/dissertation writing in a clear and logical manner The step-by-step approach, from the very basics such as choosing a topic, selecting objectives, and designing a protocol, through to the more complex aspects of writing up one’s v vi Foreword thesis, helps keep the narrative clear and focused Importantly and, consistent with modern scholarship, information is provided regarding digital tools which can greatly assist in thesis writing and the issue of what to after submitting one’s thesis—namely, getting it published In all, this book forms a succinct and practical guide to the student It dispels the mystery and fear that sometimes surrounds thesis writing and research in general, and instead extends a helping hand to the reader, serving as a guide for any student about to embark on a program of research that culminates in a thesis Professor David Austin Faculty of Health Deakin University Melbourne, VIC, Australia Preface Thesis writing is one of the most crucial rites of passage in the postgraduate study period Yet, for many, it remains the most arduous one as well What is meant to be an exercise in gaining in-depth knowledge of research methodology often ends up as a slapdash production from the part of the harried graduate student The difference, we believe, lies in a proper and methodical approach to thesis/dissertation writing Right from the beginning of the research project, one must be clear with the topic, the objectives, and the methods While choosing a topic, one must keep in mind several factors such as the appropriateness, the feasibility, and, above all, one’s interest in that particular area The importance of securing clearances from the appropriate monitoring bodies at the correct time cannot be stressed enough This exercise also gives the students an invaluable opportunity to learn various aspects of statistics, and this will go a long way in their future careers In this book, we have made every attempt to cover the many facets of thesis/dissertation writing From the very basics such as preparing a title page and abstract to the more complicated aspects of data management and analysis, we have traversed the length and breadth of the processes that go into writing a thesis Practical aspects such as plagiarism and grammar checking have also been discussed A separate section deals with thesis writing for Subspecialty and Doctor of Philosophy courses Valuable inputs have been provided regarding the presentation of one’s thesis in a conference and preparing a manuscript for publishing in journals The authors, who are experts in their respective fields, have lent their wisdom in the 28 chapters this book contains, for which we are deeply grateful All of this information has been conveyed with nuance and lucidity so that it may best reach the intended audience We thank our publisher, Springer Nature, for their unwavering encouragement and support We hope that you will find this book to be a trusty guide while traveling down the rocky road of writing one’s thesis! Pondicherry, India Subhash Chandra Parija Vikram Kate vii Acknowledgments First of all, our thanks go to the participants and the authors of this book We would like to thank all the authors for their contribution to the scientific content and preparation of this book We would like to express our deep gratitude to Dr Ashutosh Mukherji, Dr Archana Elangovan, Senior Resident, Department of Surgery, Dr. R. Kalayarasan, Dr Suresh Kumar, Dr Mohsina Subair, Dr Anahita Kate, Dr Divya Singh, and Dr A. R Pranavi, Junior Residents, Department of Surgery, for the editorial assistance, assembling the text, tables, graphs, and reference from the various authors into a coherent manuscript We are grateful to Dr Niroj Kumar Sahoo, Former Junior Resident, Department of Ophthalmology, JIPMER, and Ms Jaya Madhuri and Ms Srijita Saha, MBBS students, JIPMER, for providing wonderful cartoons for the chapters, which made the book look more reader friendly Last but not least, we would like to thank the publisher, Springer Nature, for the association and for helping to bring out this book for the readers Subhash Chandra Parija Vikram Kate ix Contents Part I Deciding on the Topic/Area of Research/Approval Thesis, Dissertation and Project �������������������������������������������������������������������� 3 Subhash Chandra Parija and Vikram Kate Objectives of Writing Thesis �������������������������������������������������������������������������� 11 Meena A Pangarkar, Nitin V Pangarkar, and Anand V Pangarkar Choosing a Suitable Research Area and Supervisor������������������������������������ 19 Prashant Joshi Assessing Availability of Facilities, Infrastructure and Resources�������������� 27 Puneet Dhar and Johns Shaji Mathew Obtaining Support and Grants for Research������������������������������������������������ 35 William Y Shi and Julian A Smith How to Write a Protocol���������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 45 Mukta Wyawahare, Raja Kalayarasan, and Anahita Kate Approval of the Institute Review Board, Ethics Committee and Registering with the Clinical Trial Registry���������������������������������� 55 Zile Singh and P Stalin Part II Conduct of Research and Analysis Plan and Conduct of Research: Observational and Interventional Study Designs������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������ 67 Vikram Kate, Sathasivam Sureshkumar, and Mohsina Subair Data Management in Clinical Research�������������������������������������������������������� 83 Karthik Balachandran and Sadishkumar Kamalanathan Preparing and Decoding the Master Chart �������������������������������������������������� 93 Meenakshi Girish and Senthil Amudhan Statistical Analysis: Data Presentation and Statistical Tests������������������������ 113 Mahalakshmy Thulasingam and Kariyarath Cheriyath Premarajan xi xii Contents Part III Structuring the Material and Writing the Thesis Preparing a Title Page, Abstract and Table of Contents Page�������������������� 133 Kiruthika Sivasubramanian, Rajive Mathew Jose, and Stuart Enoch Methods and Materials in a Thesis���������������������������������������������������������������� 141 Sanjay Gupta Writing the Review of Literature in a Thesis������������������������������������������������ 153 A M Quraishi Drawing Observations from Data and Making Conclusions ���������������������� 167 Rajesh Panwar and Peush Sahni Preparing Figures and Tables ������������������������������������������������������������������������ 175 Sudhir Kumar Jain and Rohit Kaushik Citations and References with Citation and H-Index���������������������������������� 183 Nisha V Parmar and Divya Gupta Part IV Editing the Thesis Editing for Language and Avoiding Ambiguity in Data Presentation�������� 199 Savio George Barreto Plagiarism and Copyright, Acknowledgements, Disclosure and Conflicts of Interest�������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 207 M K Ravindran, Balaji Zacharia, and Antony Roy Part V Publishing and Presenting the Research Work Preparing Manuscript from Thesis Material and Selecting Journals for Submission������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������ 217 Vikram Kate, Sathasivam Sureshkumar, and Akhila Kavirayani Presenting Thesis in Conferences: Oral and Poster Presentation �������������� 231 Santhosh John Abraham Part VI Thesis for Master’s Degree/Specialty And Sub-Specialty Courses in Medicine/Doctor of Philosophy Course Writing Thesis for Speciality Courses in Medicine�������������������������������������� 241 Vikram Kate, Nina V Kate, and Mohsina Subair Writing Thesis for Sub-speciality Courses in Medicine ������������������������������ 253 Lalgudi N Dorairajan, Ketan Mehra, and Ramanitharan Manikandan