Non-Statistical Preliminaries to Research Practice

Author: Michael, O. J.
Originally first published 2018
Original targets: Freshmen and finalists
First published by: A & U Ng
Credits: Nwankwo (2016), Dr. D. Okodoko, Dr. Ofor
Cover Design: Tsam Ventures

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Table of Contents

1. Preliminary Practice In Research
   

• Documentation
• Quotations
• Citations
• Number Writing
• References
• Referencing
• Bibliography
• How to document references
• Journals (one author)
• Journals (two author)
• Citation and References of Primary and Secondary Sources
• Books References
• Types of Documentation
• Other styles
• Research terminologies

2. Academic Paper Requirements

• Introduction
• Assignments
• Requirements
• Basic description
• Scope
• Nature
• Structure
• Typesetting requirements

3. Seminars

• Seminar Requirements
• Introduction
• Basic structure of seminar papers
• Seminar topics
• Presentation/defence of seminar papers
  

4. Research Project Reports

• Project Requirement (Introductory)
• Faculty Format
• Understanding the faculty format
• Why use the faculty format
• Penalties for deviation
• Access to the Faculty format
• Benefits of using the Faculty format
• Data for literature review
• Avoiding Plagiarism
  

5. Preliminaries To Research Project

• Front Matters
• Title page
• Certification
• Dedication
• Acknowledgements
• Table of Contents
• List of Tables
• List of Figures
• Abstract
• References 

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1. Preliminary Practice In Research

Documentation

In research, multifarious activities occur that one (researcher) needs to put into consideration to ensure a swift and successful navigation. These include plagiarism, citation, quotations amongst others. Nordquist (2018) was of the view that “documentation is the evidence provided (in the form of endnotes, footnotes, and entries in bibliographies) for information and ideas borrowed from others (see page 20 of this material). That evidence includes both primary sources and secondary sources”. However, Bhowmick (n.d) sees documentation as “the act or an instance of supplying the documents or supporting references or records. It is also the collation, synopsizing and coding of printed materials for future purposes”. For Vickery (1987), documentation is a practice concerned with all the processes involved in transferring documents from sources to users. All these definitions underscore a central value, and that is the value of taking records and acknowledging where those sources are lifted from.

Students oftentimes skip most of these documentation requirements when writing a report (a report may be an assignment, seminar or project). Most students forget to keep their references utilized to complete their studies. At the end of the day, when the work is completed, they find it hard to complete their reference list. This is if they were even aware of the need to complete reference list in the first place. Please, note that when conducting your research, any author so cited in the body of the work must reflect in your reference list. Conversely, any author not cited must never be included in the reference list. In the past, most students had completed academic papers of three pages with five reference list pages, while others had completed 20 pages report with just only half page references while the body is replete with citation. Note however, that skipping references or adding authors not cited in the body of the work is an offence in the research community. Let us go into the documentation proper to see the actual demands of research procedure.

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Quotations

In research, you must understand the concept of quotation to enable you use the works of other authors. Without a proper understanding of quotation, students can commit errors that may be punishable in their institutions. Specifically, quotation has to do with writing what someone else had said before, especially to buttress a point in your study/report. Quotation does not reflect original thinking as the quoted words, phrase and/or sentences are often those of others, unless otherwise, the author is quoting his/herself in a previous work. In any of your research reports, there is need to support your work with tangible/concrete evidence taken from differentiated sources, and you have to name the author/source of your evidence in your writing. The Faculty of Education, Niger Delta University utilizes the American Psychological Association (APA)* format in documenting research reports

When making quotations, authors often use “according to…”, “this corroborated…” “…was of the view that…”, “held that”, etc to refer to a quotation. There are two types of quotations – the direct quotation and the indirect quotation.

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Direct quotation

Sometimes, you may need to use direct quotes (the EXACT words of the author) when reporting your papers. It is useful sometimes to use the original words of the author when those exact words carry special significance. You should NOT use too many direct quotes in your writing as they increase plagiarism percentage. There are specific rules for using direct quotes in your reports:

*For more information on references, please, see the sub-topic “References”

Rule 1: If the quote is a SHORT DIRECT QUOTE (less than 40 words), use double inverted commas “quotation” and include the quote in the text, that is, run as prose. Examples (short direct quote of 19 words) 

James (2001) claims that there is a consumerist approach emerging in higher education that is “a direct result of the expectation that students contribute a greater proportion of the cost of their education” (p. 378).

Rule 2: If the quote is a LONG DIRECT QUOTE or BLOCK QUOTE (more than 40 words), do NOT use inverted commas nor run in prose. Call a colon (:) and a block/indented quote to write such quotation. E.g.

In recent times, academic staff members have been reporting changes in university clientele and their attitude to the university learning experience. James (2001) reported that:

Further evidence of changing student expectations is showing up in the consumer orientation of many students. . . . Many believe a consumerist pattern of thinking among students, which they believe is a direct result of the expectation that students contribute a greater proportion of the cost of their education, is now emerging during their day-to-day interaction with students. (p. 378)

Please, take note of the following. (1) The quotation was indented. That is, both left and right margins were shifted inside. (2) There is a colon (:) before the quotation. (3) Page number was displayed at the end of the quotation.

Indirect quotations (paraphrases and summaries) See p. 27 in this book

If you use your own words to express the ideas or opinions of other writers (i.e. paraphrase or summarize the work of another author), the result is an indirect quote which must also be referenced. Indirect quotes are included in the text and quotation marks are NOT used.

Types of quotation

Quotation have two various types – the strong quotation and the weak quotation. In the strong quotation, the author’s name and year comes before the quote. However, in the weak quotation, the author’s name and year comes after the quotation. Both are exemplified as follows:

Strong author example: James (2001) claims that there is a consumerist approach emerging in higher education that is “a direct result of the expectation that students contribute a greater proportion of the cost of their education” (p. 378).

Weak author example: There are claims that there is a consumerist approach emerging in higher education that is “a direct result of the expectation that students contribute a greater proportion of the cost of their education” (James, 2001, p. 378).

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The Use of Ellipses (…) (omitting parts of quoted texts)

The ellipsis is a three or four dots (…), (….) symbol used as a tool for indicating omission from a sentence or paragraph. According to Nwankwo (2016), “if a material is long and there is need to reduce it or eliminate some parts which are not relevant to your work, you can omit some words, phrases or even sentences as the case may be”. To do this, you have to introduce ellipsis. Ellipsis is like a scissor used in trimming pieces of materials.

When you use three ellipsis (…), you mean to say within that space, you omitted a word of phrase.

However, when you use four ellipsis (….), you mean to say a whole sentence has been omitted.

Nwankwo (2016) gave the following sentence:

Nwankwo (2016) found out that “short-term memory, besides its limited capacity, employs chunking to improve its storage function. Short term memory is also known for its internal scanning operations.

Example 1: with three (…) ellipsis

Nwankwo (2016) found out that “short-term memory … employs chunking to improve its storage function. Short term memory is also known for its internal scanning operations.

Omission (besides its limited capacity)

Example 2: with four (.…) ellipsis

Nwankwo (2016) found out that “short-term memory, besides its limited capacity …. is also known for its internal scanning operations.

Omission (employs chunking to improve its storage function. Short term memory)

Notes:

1. Do not use ellipsis to begin or end a quotation
2. If you which to insert your own words in the quotation, enclose your words in a bracket ( ).

The use of Sic (When you notice an error in a quotation)

Sometimes, when you notice an error in a quotation, you want to correct the error so that the error is not attributed to your work. However, once you correct such error, the authenticity of the quotation would have been altered. Therefore, you use the provision of the (sic) italicized and bracketed immediately after the error to indicate that the error came from the original author.

Example

Osemene (2018) was of the view that “most modern enterprise lacks the managerial capacity to pry into the internet community as the new phase of doing business in the country. This is as a resut (sic) of the lack understanding of modern internet practice by most entrepreneurs”.

Note: The error here was omission of “l” from result by error. So, instead of “result”, we had “resut”.

Emphasis in quotation

When an author wants to make emphasis inside a quotation, such author can do either of the following:

1. Italicize such words or phrase
2. Underline such words or phrase
3. Bracket such words or phrase

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Citations

Citation refers to an allusion to an author before or after quoting them. That is, you acknowledge that this piece of text, sentence, phrase, words, etc. belongs to such author(s). There are numerous rules guiding the use of citations. When citing an author, only the surname and year of publication is cited. This is same with two or more authors.

Citation before a quotation: When citing an author before a quotation (strong quotation), only the year is bracketed. The surname is placed outside the bracket. E.g.:

Usman (2018) maintained that “research practice in the Niger Delta University has improved over time”.

Note that there is no comma ( , ) after the name of author.

Citation after a quotation: The rule changes when you intend to bring the citation after the quotation (weak quotation). This time, both the surname and the year are bracketed with a comma ( , ) separating both. E.g.:

“Research practice in the Niger Delta University has improved over time” (Usman, 2018).

Citation of three, four and five authors (use of et al.)

When citing a material of three authors and above, the first time the citation appears, outline all author’s surnames. However, when such authorities appeared a second time, cite only the first author’s surname followed by et al. and year. The (et al) is not italicized and have one period ( . ) after the (al).

Example 1: (First appearance)

Michael, Usman, Osemene, Zenetubor and Nwosu, (2018)

Example 2: (Second appearance)

Michael et al. (2018)

Example 3: (Subsequent appearance in the same paragraph)

Michael et al.

Citing six authors and above

When citing six authors and above in the body of your work, cite only first author’s surname and et al.

Example: Michael, Usman, Osemene, Zenetubor, Nwosu, Ebiwene and Isaiah (2018)

Cite as follows: Michael et al. (2018). Then in reference list, all surnames and their respective first names initials must appear. E.g.:

Michael, J. O., Usman, E., Osemene, S., Zenetubor, P., Nwosu, O., Ebiwene, E. & Isaiah, I. (2018).

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Use of ampersand symbol (&) and “And”

In research, “and” and “&” are used when citing multiple authors, for example, Michael and Usman (2018). However, the rules changes when the citation comes after the quotation and it is inserted in parenthesis. Take a look at the following:

Example 1: According to Michael and Usman (2018), research practice in the Niger Delta University has been largely improved upon.

Note: The citation is outside a bracket and as such, the ampersand (&) was not used. Check the next example

Example 2: Research practice in the Niger Delta University has been largely improved upon (Michael & Usman, 2018).

Note: Now, the authority is inside a bracket and the “and” has been changed to “&” because it appears inside a parenthesis.

Ampersand in the reference list

In the reference list, the “and” is not used at all. Rather, only ampersand is used. Check the example out.

Example:

 Michael, J. O. & Usman, E. (2018). Patterns of vocational guidance tutelage. Amassoma: Admissions and UTME

If an author writes more than one work in a year, such works are denoted with a, b, c, d. For example, Michael (2009a, 2011b, & 2018)

Number writing

The American Psychological Association (APA) documentation rule states that when writing, numbers below 10 i.e. (1-9) should be written in words, while numbers 10 and above should be written in figures

1. There were eight vehicles in the school compound
2. There were 11 vehicles in the school compound

However, if a number of 10 and above begins a sentence, then, words should be used instead of figures.

1. 17 students passed (wrong)
2. Seventeen students passed (correct)

Again, in a sentence where numbers below 10 are matched with numbers 10 and above, figures should be used throughout.

1. Only 8 out of the 20 students passed the exams

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References

The documentation style adopted by the Faculty of Education, Niger Delta University is the APA referencing style. Although the APA format is more concerned with the referencing, researchers often use both bibliography as well.

Referencing

In documentation, referencing is done by compiling all the cited names at the end of the report. This is to say that if you cited 25 authors in the body of the work, your reference list will also contain 25 authors.

Bibliography

While referencing has to do with compiling only names utilized in the body of the work, bibliography is concerned with all other books and papers from where ideas were formulated but were not actually cited, probably because the idea does not directly relate to what you wanted but it did help you go through a particular section of your work. Accordingly, all such contributory papers/books are added to the bibliography.

Note however, that both references and bibliography are arranged in ascending alphabetical order, i.e. authors with initial letter A will come before an author with initial letter B.

How to document references

For the purpose of brevity and precision, only few related documentation will be carried out here. However, you may visit Nwankwo (2016:376-383) for a complete list of documentation.

Journals (one author)

Michael, J. O. (2018). Effects of poor teacher quality on students’ test performance. Journal of Educational Research and Statistics, 10(2), 201-215.

In the reference above, any space, any period, any bracket, in fact, all text above were intended. Nothing was left to chance. For example, after Michael a comma followed, you must use it. The comma is very significant. Then two initials came in with periods each, after which the year was bracketed with another period. Take note of all these when writing your academic papers.

Again, the name of the journal that published the paper was italicized (if the paper was to be a book, the title of the book will be in italics), then the number, volume and page numbers. When writing the volume number, there is no need to indicate Vol.

Journals (two authors)

Michael, J. O. & Usman, E. (2018). Effects of poor teacher quality on students test performance. Journal of Educational Research and Statistics, 10(2), 201-215.

Citation and references of primary and secondary sources

If Michael’s (2010) work was cited in Usman’s (2018) work, and Michael’s original work was not consulted, cited and follows:

In the body of the work, it will appear as follows “for Michael (2010), cited in Usman (2018), poor teacher quality affect students test scores.

In the reference list, cite as follows:

Usman, E. (2006). Effects of poor teacher quality on students test performance. Journal of Educational Research and Statistics, 10(2), 201-215.

Books references

Michael, J. O. (2018). Modern paradigms in marketing. Yenagoa: Kelrich Educational Publishers.

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Types of documentation

There are numerous documentation styles and formats utilized all around the international research community. Note that different field of studies have their various documentation patterns. This list according to Nordquist (2018) includes MLA style (used for research in the Humanities and English), APA style (Psychology, Sociology, Education), Chicago style (history), and ACS style (chemistry).

The Massey University (2018) classified references into the following

1. American Psychological Association (APA)
2. Modern Language Association (MLA)
3. Oxford
4. Harvard
5. Chicago
6. Vancouver
7. Australian Guide to Legal Citation

Each referencing system has their distinct rules for citing authorities.

• Author and date based styles like the APA, Harvard and MLA put the author’s name inside the text of the assignment. E.g.:

In a discourse of sex education, Michael (2018) opined that…

• Documentary-note styles like the Chicago and Oxford put the author’s name in a footnote at the bottom of each page, or in an endnote at the end of the report.

All of the most common styles list every source used in a document at the end, in a reference list or bibliography. The styles differ in format. For example, an APA in-text citation incorporates the author’s name, the year of publication, and sometimes the page number, separated by commas (,). E.g.:

(Lazar, 2006, p. 52)

However, an MLA in-text citation does not include the year or commas. E.g.:

(Lazar 52)

Likewise, an APA reference list entry puts the year in brackets after the author’s name:

Lazar, J. (2006). Web usability: A user-centered design approach. Boston, MA: Pearson Addison Wesley.

An MLA works cited entry puts the year at the end of the entry:

Lazar, Jonathan. Web Usability: A User-Centered Design Approach. Pearson Addison Wesley, 2006.

Other styles

There are several styles that are listed but not covered by the process above. These are rarely used, but some fields of study will require you to follow styles such as the Australian Guide to Legal Citation or styles specific to a print journal.

Vancouver style is sometimes used in science journals, for example. This style uses a number to represent each source, and lists the sources in the reference list in the order they were used.

This document utilized the American Psychological Association format for Humanities, Education etc. However, should this document find its way to other students, please, attempt to compare the specific documentation style used by your Faculty.

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Research terminologies

In every field of endeavour, there are specific terms used only by practitioners of such field of study. Even when those terminologies are generally used, they are generally attributed to such fields. Accordingly, the following are terms found in research that are treated in this paper.

1. Endnotes: These are notes that appear at the end of a paper. Usually indicated with asterisk (*) or hash tags (#) in the main body of a work from where one is referred to the endnote. The endnote will come at the last page.
2. Footnote: notes that appears at the bottom of a page under the last paragraph.
3. Bibliography: A list containing works cited in the body of a material and works not cited and appears at the end of a work.
4. References: This is a list containing only the names of authors cited in the body of the work. Located at the end of a report.
5. Research: A concerted effort to pry into past, current and future occurrence and use findings to explain certain/corresponding phenomena.
6. Researcher: A researcher is one who carries out a study into an area of interest either as part of an academic requirement or as part of an intent to respond to a challenge in society. However, in the academic research community, you cannot use the word “I” (which is first person point of view) in your papers. You can only use the word “the researcher” (which is third person view). See this:

Accordingly, I decided to … (wrong)

Accordingly, the researcher decided to… (right)

Note that when you use the words “the researcher”, we all know that you are referring to yourself. Again, during your project defence, you must be heard saying the “researcher”, not “I”. Note this.

7. Et al.: Meaning “and others”. When used in research, it means that there are other authors not written to save space or ensure a neat work is done.
8. n.d.: n.d. means “no date”. Used to indicate that the date of publication of a paper could not be accessed or ascertained.
9. Ibid: Ibid is a Latin word, a shortened word for “ibidem”, which means “the same place”. It is the term used to provide an endnote or footnote citation or reference for a source that was cited in the preceding endnote or footnote. It is similar in meaning to idem (meaning something that has been mentioned previously; the same), abbreviated , which is commonly used in legal citation. To find the ibid. source, one must look at the reference preceding it (Hutchison, 2016).
10. Loc. cit.: Loc. cit. is a Latin word which in full is “loco citato”, meaning “in the place cited”. It is a term used to repeat the title and page number for a given work (and author). Loc. cit. is used in place of ibid. when the reference is not only to the work immediately preceding, but also refers to the same page. Therefore, loc. cit. is never followed by volume or page numbers since everything is the same. Loc. cit. may be contrasted with op. cit. (opere citato, “in the work cited”), in which reference is made to a work previously cited, but to a different page within that work (Wikipedia, 2016).

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7. Op Cit: cit.is an abbreviation of the Latin phrase opus citatum, (Fisher & Harper, 2010), and in some other works, “opera citato”, all meaning “the work cited”. Although op cit. and ibid. refers to previously cited works, op cit. is used when another author comes in between the author being referred to above and the current citation. In essence, while ibid. is used to refer to the immediate previous cited work, op cit. is used to refer to a third or more author(s) cited previously.
8. Front matters: Front matters in research refers to all subtopics that appears before chapter one. In the Faculty of Education, Niger Delta University research format, the front matters include title page, certification, dedication, acknowledgements, table of contents, list of figures (if any), list of tables (if any) and abstract. It is after abstract that you bring in chapter one. However, you are not expected to start your research work with these front matters. Your study start from chapter one, and front matters will only come in once you are through with the work.
9. Back matters: Unlike front matters, back matters has to do with all attached documents after your chapter five. These include the references, questionnaire or any other instrument used for data collection, and any attached documents used during the course of conducting your study like the table for computing population (if any), etc.
10. Empirical studies: In research, empirical studies are works which are scientifically conducted to come to an objective conclusion. Empirical studies are the opposite of position papers.
11. Position papers: These are papers without any form of scientific process. All position maintained in the work are those of the author(s). Therefore, the opinions of people are not sought after to come to findings.
12. Abstract: An abstract are single paragraph statements enumerating the content of a paper/study in summary. Usually 300 words or less (some schools use 250 words), it often consists of the title, objectives, methodology used, analysis, findings, and recommendations. It is not paragraphed, not italicized and not up to a full A4 page.
13. Keywords: These are the basic concepts in a study. Often found in the topic of the work or the objective/variables.
14. Operational definition of terms: Sometimes, the way we use words or phrases in our papers may not be the same meaning with the general meaning of such words. Therefore, operational definition of terms gives the author a chance to define any word or phrase in accordance with how he/she used them. Even though the words/phrases may also be the same with general meaning, the author attempts to give them related meaning.
15. Objectives/purpose of study: All studies are conducted with something in mind. Such intent or target which the author intends to achieve at the end of the study is the objective or purpose of the study.
16. Research question: A research question is a question posed at the beginning of the study to guide the study. It is found in chapter one of research projects and often comes before methodologies in journals. In undergraduate studies, the numbers of purpose of study you have also determine the number of research questions you have. They should equal. This is to say if you have three objectives of study, you should have three research questions.
17. Research hypothesis: Hypothesis are general tentative statements; propositions set forth as mere guess works that are tested to verify authenticity in the body of a work. A medical doctor who receives a compliant of headache from a patient will set up a hypothesis that the patient may be suffering from fever. Hence, a test will be conducted. The result is used to either accept the fever hypothesis or reject it. If there is no fever at all, then the doctor looks into other areas by carrying out other test or cross examining such patient orally and physically. Accordingly, at the beginning of a study, the researcher set up these hypotheses and tests them later to see if they are true or false. The plural for hypothesis is hypotheses.
18. Variable: A variable is a measurable unit/dimension of a study that varies. There are various types of variables, i.e. the discreet, intervening, organismic or attributes, dependent, independent, continuous and extravenuous variables (Refer to Osaat, 2014:37).
19. Population: This is the total number of people, objects, etc in an area a researcher studies. If you are conducting a study on cows in Nigeria, the total number of cows in Nigeria, irrespective of their colours, sizes, location, etc. are the population of the study, unless, otherwise, the study indicates the types of cows to be studied.
20. Sample: Sample is a fragment, a smaller fraction of the population scientifically selected to represent the population. Usually, the population is not studied but the sample. It is the findings generated from the sample that is generalized on the whole population. Usually, when the population is small (like 50 secretaries in an organization), researchers adopt the whole population as the sample. Hence, no sampling technique is required in such study to select the sample size.
21. Sampling technique: This is the systematic (sometimes mathematical) procedure used to select a sample size.
22. Instrument: A research instrument/instrumentation refers to the tool used in eliciting information from respondents. It can be a questionnaire, interviews, test questions, etc.
23. Respondents: These are the actual members of the sample to whom the instrument was administered. All population members cannot be respondents unless where it is small and all of the population is utilized as sample.
24. Research design: This is the blueprint, the structure upon which the study is based. It defines how you will collect, analyze and interpret data (refer to Osaat, 2014:35-37 for types of research designs).
25. Validity of instrument: This refers to the extent to which an instrument covers what it is meant to cover. If you are researching on parent’s influence on students’ career choice, your instrument should contain only dimensions, characteristics and items that attack the issue of parent’s influence in students’ career choice. Once you deviate and add items or variables that talks about gender and influence on career choice, the instrument is no longer valid. In the case of research project for final year, your supervisor will be in the position to determine the validity of the instrument by cross examining the instrument and making corrections.
26. Reliability: This is the “degree of consistency” in measurement. If the responses to your instrument followed one pattern today, when administered tomorrow, will they also follow the same pattern? If yes, then your instrument will be reliable, if no, it will be unreliable.
27. Faking: This refers to an instance when a respondent responds to questionnaire items indiscriminately, dishonestly or just to ensure the job is done probably because he has limited time, do not understand the question or is not interested.
28. Administration of instrument: This is the actual situation where a researcher goes out to the field with his/her instrument to meet the respondents to elicit their responses.
29. Test retest: Whenever a test retest method is applied, a set of test questions or questionnaires are administered once, retrieved/collected, then administered again after a while. The re-administration can either be immediate, one or two week(s) after or as the researcher (you) may deem fit. However, Nwankwo (2016) was of the view that the more the distance in time, the better so as to make the respondents forget what s/he answered in the first administration. This will make him/her give new responses even if the idea is same.
30. Method of data analysis: This is the type of mathematical tool used in calculating/analyzing data for a study. Is can be Mean, percentages, chi-square, SPSS, etc.
31. Methodology: While method of analysis dealt with the statistical tool utilized, methodology covers design of study, population, sample, instrumentation, validity, reliability, administration, and method of data analysis.
32. Validation: Validation is different from validity. While validity is simply ascertaining the coverage of the instrument, validation covers all the tools used in arriving at a befitting instrument. This is to say that validation covers validity, reliability, administration, and possibly instrumentation, etc.
33. Discussion of Findings: Anywhere you see this subtopic, this means that the researcher has finished the analysis of data, then the results from such analysis are explained here.
34. Recommendations: Research is often conducted with the intent that a problem exist. After such research, the author is expected to tell the audience what can be done to ameliorate/avert such problems. Thus, recommendations are statements that give solutions to problems.
35. Literature review: In research, it is a norm to refer to the works of other authors who must have carried out studies on a particular problem before. These references to other authors give you a wider array of perceptions, objectives, understanding and thus aid you to conduct a better study. This consultation of various authors is what we refer to as literature review.
36. Authorities: Authorities in research refers to ownership of a material. That is, an author of a work who must be credited when such work is utilized.
37. Paraphrase: To paraphrase means you express a quotation in other words, either for the purpose of achieving greater clarity or avoiding plagiarism. In paraphrase, the original idea is retained. When conducting a research, authors of paraphrased quotations are also cited.

 

Academic Paper Requirements

Introduction

Throughout your stay in the university, you will be subjected to engage in various types of academic papers. These papers include (but not limited to) assignments, seminars and undergraduate projects).

Assignments

Immediately you gain admission into the university, you will become familiarized with assignments. Lecturers give students assignments to and consult textbooks either in the manual library or in the internet community. A major concern for preparing this text is that most lecturers never bother to aid the students on how to achieve this task. These students just came out of the secondary school and they may not be familiar with this type of task. Only previously some lecturers give instructions as to the font size, spacing, required pages and so forth. However, the major part of completing the job has scarcely been told.
An assignment in an academic community is a task given by a teacher to students to do personal research. Take for example, a lecturer who is teaching the concept of motivation in a class may give and assignment to make students do research to understand the concept of motivation more. Accordingly, he may give an assignment like “concept of motivation in the workplace”. What should a student do?

Requirements

In order to complete an assignment on the concept of motivation in the workplace, the first thing you do is to visit the internet. While manual materials in the library and homes could also be consulted, the problem is that it makes work difficult and longer. However, utilizing electronic medium makes task completion quicker because of better copy and paste options.

The first thing you do is to review literature in the internet. You cannot just start writing. You must consult five to ten materials as the case may be. Consulting more materials gives you a better option/perspective from where your work is based. Please note that copy copy attitude in an academic community is a crime that is punishable, so, whatever you copy from the net, you must put down the name of the author of the work. Again, you must not use only one material for your work. Endeavour to get different sources. It makes your work qualitative.

Basic description

Assignment have no basic structure that all must follow. What matters most is the topic, the programme and the course. An assignment in mathematics will not be carried out the same way like an assignment in English or that requires textual description. So, most times, the content in this paper may not apply to all your assignments because this paper was completed with education students in mind, while most Education students borrow courses from science, social science, medicine, etc. However, the basic thing you should ensure across boards should be correctness of sentences and clear writing. Always use argumentative sentences to cross examine ideas. For example, in defining motivation, after giving a definition from one author, bring up another definition from another author and introduce the second author and definition by saying “however, Michael (2018) saw motivation as…”. Presenting issues in this way convinces your lecturer that you know what you are doing and get your marks as it should be.

Scope

The scope of an assignment is always bound by the topic given. Let us take the scope of a suppose assignment like “the concept of motivation in the workplace”
⦁ Introduction
⦁ Concept of motivation
⦁ Types of motivation
⦁ Advantages of motivation
⦁ Disadvantages of motivation
⦁ Concept of workplace
⦁ Effect of motivation on employees
⦁ Summary
⦁ Conclusion
⦁ Suggestions

Let us describe a few of the subtopics above

Introduction

The introduction of an assignment is usually written based on your understanding of the topic you are researching. You cannot start writing introduction when you have not reviewed literature. You must read various materials, form an idea of the issue at hand, then, based on your new idea, you can then start writing. However, it is always better if you start with your own words and not copy from online materials and other sources. You can write something from your thinking to start the introduction as follows:

Today, workers in the workplace needs better pay. Without a good paying system, workers are not often committed to their work. This is because while working, they look to other organizations where they can run to for better working condition, better pay, etc. Accordingly, employers look for every means possible to keep/retain their employees. One of the best options numerous employers have used over the years in the technique of motivation.

Motivation according to Michael (2018) is ….. (end of example).

You can see the link between the first and second paragraph right? Immediately the word “motivation” was introduced at the end of the first paragraph, the second paragraph wasted no time in defining the concept. However, do not waste more than two definitions here because under the “concept of motivation” subtopic, you will define the term more complex and add some general statements about motivation there. So, your description of motivation in the introduction should not be much.
Again, also notice that the sentences in the first paragraph are those of the writer and were not lifted from any source. This will; give you a better score. Additionally, if you have local experiences to buttress this first paragraph, it will go a long way in telling your teacher that you are aware of what you are doing, rather than copying works from online.

Nonetheless, note that some introductions from online sources may be very fitting to what you want, and you wish to use them. In this case, you will need to paraphrase them to avoid plagiarism. This is because if you copy word for word without changing anything, the plagiarism checker will identify that you copied the introduction, so, paraphrase and cite the author of the idea accordingly. An assignment of ten pages should not have an introduction of more than a page unless otherwise necessary according to your text to make it a page and half. Finally, when you are concluding your introduction, use the last sentence to introduce the next subtopic which is the concept of motivation.

Concept of motivation

It will be nice if you use this subtopic to bring up the various definitions of the concept of motivation. Again, after a definition is given, you can add a statement indicating what such definition means and how it supports/corroborates or contrast/oppose a previous work. Then after various definitions has been given, you will need to add concepts, that is, words that are not definition but statements made concerning motivation. These will form the basis for this topic. Always credit the authors whose works are used.

Concept of workplace

The paragraph above will apply to this subtopic.

Effect of motivation on employees

In the whole of the paper you are writing, this is the basis for the problem. This is the subtopic that will answer the topic issue. So, in this place, you link the two concepts together by telling your audience what will happen when employers use motivation.

Summary

In summarizing your work, you reel out the main ideas from the introduction till the current position of your work.

Conclusion

In concluding your paper, you make a statement concerning the work you have done. It can be something like:

From the above, it can be deducted that motivation increases the level of employee performance. Effective use of motivation can also in the long run improve organizational performance as a result of attainment of predetermined objectives….
The above, though fitting, is however tentative.

Suggestions

After identifying the major problem in a paper, your work is to tell your audience what to do to surmount the challenges you listed. Even where there are no challenges, you can list what can be done to improve the situation.
Note that recommendations are to empirical studies while suggestions is for position papers.

Nature

As stated earlier, the nature of assignment varies from department to department. It can also vary from course to course even in the same department. A lecturer can ask for an assignment on the budget of Bayelsa State from 2010 till date. In that case, you can no longer follow the format given below. All you do is give a brief introduction based on how the Bayelsa State budget has been all these while especially the undulation (ups and down) pattern it has followed and at the end, refer us to the budget below. Then you bring up the budget in the following pages.

Structure

The scope of an assignment given above can also be seen as the basic structure of an assignment. Hence, the following format can be used:
⦁ Introduction
⦁ Definition of various concepts and their variables
⦁ Nexus between both variables (often independent and dependent variables) (refer to Osaat, (2014:37) for more on variables)
⦁ Summary
⦁ Conclusion
⦁ Suggestions
Note however, that this is a basic structure that will never work in all circumstances. It behoves on the researcher (you) to determine this and restructure his/her work.

Typesetting requirements

When typing your assignment, you must guide the café attendants or they will increase the fonts and spacing for you so as to increase the pages and consequently their pay. So, use the following standard unless otherwise, specified by the lecturer:

Font size: 14
Font theme: Times New Roman
Line spacing: 1 or 1.5
Borders: Top: 1.5; Bottom: 1.5; Left: 1cm; Right: 1cm (this is the default measurements when you open Microsoft word, hence, no need to adjust it)

Title page

Your title page should contain the name of your institution, and address, your name, identification number (matric number or jamb number for year one students who are yet to be given matric numbers), department, faculty, course title and code, level, title of the assignment, lecturer name and date. It must also be bordered.

Sample of title page
Please, download original material to get all images and samples

Writing subtopics in assignments

In most departments, the subtopics are written in initial capitals only and are written in bold. This is to say only the first letter of major words are capitalized. E.g.:

Concept of Motivation
In other cases, the supervisor or lecturer in charge may want only the first word to be capitalized. E.g.:

Concept of motivation
Still, there are lecturers that may require you to capitalize all initial words in a subtopic. However, they are rare. E.g.:

Concept of Motivation

In this paper, the first word Initial Capital is adopted.
Please, note that your work must be justified. That is, all sentences must reach the end of the same line. To justify, hold control “Ctrl” and press “j”. This justifies your texts. See example of justified and unjustified paragraphs. The difference is at the right edges of the texts.

Assignment numbering

Your assignment pages must be numbered for easy identification of pages. In any event the paper got separated, page numbers help the user to bring them back together without confusion. To number your pages, look intently at the top panel of the Microsoft Word app from where you are typing. Identify the second word “insert”. Then when you are inside “insert”, look forward to the middle, you will see “page number”, click it, a drop down will follow, then select bottom of page and choose the option you wish to use. Either left position, middle or right. The various designs are also available for your consumption.


Seminars
Requirements

Introduction

In the university, you will come across seminar papers especially in upper levels. The Faculty of Education, Niger Delta University, Bayelsa State administer seminars in 300 level, while research project is reserved for graduating students. After having a thorough understanding of assignments above, writing a seminar paper becomes an easy-to-do thing. The fact is that there is no basic difference between an assignment and a seminar. However, while lecturers may accept anything submitted as an assignment as a way to let my people go, they often will not accept just anything submitted as a seminar paper. So, the assignment must be technical, well structured and well subtitled.

Note that you can also use the assignment structure above but make the contents under the subtopic more comprehensive and total. Authorities used must be well cited and referenced. Again, while most assignments are not presented/defended, seminar papers are often defended by the researcher (you).

Basic structure of seminar papers

The first thing that differentiates the seminar paper from the assignment is the title page. The title page of a seminar paper may not look the same like an assignment. Compare this Department of Vocational and Technology Education sample with that of an assignment given above.

Note however that the body of a seminar may not be different from that of an assignment. Nevertheless, for the seminar, the business is more serious. This means that there is less room for errors and misguided sentences. When it comes to the seminar report, it is no longer business as usual. You must be meticulous and careful. Provided you introduce your work, define all relevant concepts, do a little review (where applicable) of the issue at hand, summarize, conclude and recommend, any other subtopic to be added should be under your discretion.

Seminar topics

Unlike assignments, seminar topic must be well established topics but nonetheless, not as complex as a project topic. In the Faculty of Education, a project topic must meet the “researchability” requirements before it can be approved. There must be an independent and a dependent variable to enable the researcher conduct the study appropriately. But in seminar, the topic can be a straight topic without having a dependent variable.

Below are some topics in seminar:
⦁ Need to involve the community in school activities
⦁ Concept of motivation in the workplace
⦁ Strategies for evaluating equipment for the teaching and learning of vocational subjects in public secondary schools
⦁ The concept of sovereignty
⦁ Issues in supervision of instruction in vocational education
⦁ Funding pattern of Nigerian tertiary institutions from 2010-2018

Presentation/defence of seminar papers

This is another basic area where students need concerted tutelage. Many students are prone to express fear when they face the audience to present their paper. Some even forgot their names, topics and became automatic stammerers. Even panel members have to burst into laughter.

Granted, sometimes, as an undergraduate, when you want to face the audience for a first time, especially at the lower levels, it seems you no longer have control over your heartbeat. The heart responds to your feelings of fear by beating very fast. Sure it happens to everyone. But you must learn to control it. We emphasize on the control of fear because your success or failure in seminar presentation depends on your courage.

Once you are able to conquer that fear, then you can face the audience. The audience merely consists of your colleagues in the same class and the lecturer taking the course. Sometimes, few other lecturers may be present. So, who really are you going to be afraid of? Your colleagues whom you gist with everyday or your lecturers that teach you? You should be courageous enough to face them.

Once you are up there, the first thing to do is to introduce greet the audience, first of all acknowledging your lecturer(s) and your colleagues by extension. Then introduce yourself, the reason why you are there (which is your topic), then start your introduction. Just as it was stated above, your introduction must be concise, straight to the point and without waste of time. Once you deviate, you must have succeeded in telling your audience you are not aware of why you are there. Even if your writeup is lengthy, you must endeavor to prepare a brief note out of it and present the brief note. You are timed, therefore, you will pick only main ideas and move on to the next issue. Also, endeavor to link one idea to another as doing this will help make your presentation unique. See example of how to link ideas below.

In this example, I want to link the last few sentences of one paragraph to the next paragraph. See…
Example:

Owing to the above argument, it is perceived that teacher quality may have significant effect on the performance of the students. (End of paragraph. Look at how the new paragraph starts).
Teacher quality as used here refers to ….

You can see how both paragraphs tied. Endeavour to make something like this. It shows quality and understanding of research practice.

Again, during the presentation, you must not be too fast, it shows that you are afraid. You must not be too slow, it will disinterest your audience. You must not be too repetitive, it shows you are not prepared. So you see? You must do certain things to ensure you succeed. The presentation is not long, but what happens within this time matters in your training.

Again, no matter how prepared you are, do not boast. Do not give your lecturer the impression that you have prepared so well that you have come for him/them. Once they notice this impression, you are as good as gone. You will be so bombarded with questions that you will forget your name. so, be calm, obedient, humble but reel out your paper. Through this, they will identify themselves that truly, you were prepared.

Research Project Reports

Project requirement (introductory)
Faculty format

In all academic institutions around the world, research practice is guided by a document which lays out the blueprint for all research reports. The Faculty of Education, Niger Delta University is not excluded from this standard enforcement. The Faculty has a format popularly known as the Faculty bible which guides all research works in the Faculty. This format is used by undergraduate and postgraduate students alike. The soft copy of the format can be downloaded at http://foendu.org/faculty-standard-format/. Before you go further, I believe you must have downloaded the format.

Understanding the faculty format

By now, we believe you have downloaded the format. The Faculty format contains the outline for all research works in the Faculty. The first page consists of an outline on how a project title page should look like. It is expected that you will set your work to streamline with the format. This is followed by the front matters which consists of the title page through abstract. It also contains chapter one, two, three and four. The next page carries chapter five and the back matters. The format also contains descriptions of how the front matters should be conducted. When reporting your research, endeavor to follow the Faculty format religiously. That is, you must write the subtopics as you see them in the format. Whether initial capitals, lower cases, upper cases, etc. Whichever way you see them in the Faculty format is what you must follow. This is what I mean by “religiously”.

Why use the faculty format

Not being guided by the faculty format has numerous implications. For who really builds a house without first making a plan? The Faculty format therefore, serves as the house plan to your report. Without it, your work may follow internet format that are not in line with the local requirements of the Faculty. This will greatly affects your report that may be written out of points. And when your report is written out of points, what else do you expect? Your supervisor has to shine on you. His/her red biro will then have a whole lot of work to do in your work. You will be greatly stressed by the instance of amount of time you visit your supervisor only for your work to be corrected again and again. So you can see that using the Faculty format in the first place has great benefits.

Penalties for deviation

The following may ensue when you deviate from the Faculty format:
⦁ Inconsistencies with Faculty demand
⦁ Report may be rejected
⦁ Strain supervisors
⦁ Stresses students because work has to be corrected over and over again
⦁ Elongate the amount of time spent to complete a report
⦁ Report tends to look foreign

Access to the Faculty format

Before now, the Faculty standard format for research practice was made available to research students by their respective supervisors. However, under the supervision of the Dean of Faculty, Prof. Ebi Maliki, the soft copy of the Faculty format has been made available in the Faculty website at http://foendu.org/faculty-standard-format/. Students are therefore expected to download and use the format to guide their report.

Benefits of using the Faculty format

The use of the Faculty Standard format will help students achieve the following:
⦁ Streamline students’ research report with Faculty local demands.
⦁ Ensures swift acceptance of a research report
⦁ Free supervisors of unnecessary corrections
⦁ Makes research work easier for students because since the format is followed, there is minimal correction of work.
⦁ Reduces the amount of time spent to complete a report
⦁ Report tends to reflect local format

Preliminaries to Research Project

Front Matters

In research, all subtopics that comes in front of chapter one are referred to as front matters. The following are contents of the Faculty of Education front matters.

Title page

The title page contains the topic, name of researcher, matriculation number, and a statement at the bottom referring to the Department and Faculty where the work is presented. It is culminated with the month and year the work is written. The title page takes a whole page. Please, refer to the Faculty format to see an example of the title page or see the example of an approved project below:

EFFECTS OF TEACHERS’ INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGY ON STUDENTS’ PERFORMANCE IN ACCOUNTING IN SELECTED SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN SAGBAMA LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA, BAYELSA STATE, NIGERIA

ODONI AKPONAFAGHA EMMANUEL
UG/12/1218

A PROJECT SUBMITTED TO THE DEPARTMENT OF VOCATIONAL AND TECHNOLOGY EDUCATION, FACULTY OF EDUCATION, IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE AWARD OF BACHELOR OF SCIENCE EDUCATION (B.SC. ED) DEGREE IN ACCOUNTING OF THE NIGER DELTA UNIVERSITY

MARCH, 2017.

Certification

Certification is a statement made by the Faculty notifying readers that the work was carried out by the researcher whose name appears in the work and is approved by the Department and Faculty. The signatories in this page are the supervisor, the Head of Department, the Dean and external supervisor. The certification takes a whole page. The title “Certification” is written with initial capital, bold and centralized in the Faculty Standard format. Check the example below

 

Certification

We certify that this study on “effects of teachers’ instructional strategy on students’ performance in accounting in selected secondary schools in Sagbama Local Government Area, Bayelsa State, Nigeria” was carried out by Odoni Akponafagha Emmanuel, of the Department of Vocational and Technology Education, Faculty of Education in Partial Fulfillment of the Award of Bachelor of Education (B.Ed) Degree in Accounting of the Niger Delta University.

Mr. J. N. Ominabo  …..………………….. …..…………………..
Project Supervisor Signature                 Date

Dr. F. C. Akpotohwo …..………………….. …..…………………..
Head of Department Signature                 Date

Prof. Akpoebi C. Egumu      …..………………….. …..…………………..
Dean, Faculty of Education Signature                  Date

External Examiner …..………………….. …..…………………..
                           Signature                  Date

Dedication

Dedication is a statement showing that the work is carried out to the glory of certain persons because of their contributions to the work or for their inspiration. A report is not usually dedicated to dead persons (but may be allowed), boyfriends (only married couples), etc. It is usually one sentence or at most, two. The subtopic in the Faculty format is written as “Dedication” and it is centralized and takes a whole page. Example:

Dedication
This study is dedicated to my dear father, who saw me though my stay in this institution.

Note however, if you are dedicating your work to God, anything referring to God will be in Initial capital. Words like “His”, “Almighty”, etc. All must be in initial capslock. Example:
I dedicate this research project to God Almighty for His grace and abundant mercies that saw me through the completion of this study.

Acknowledgements
First things first. Notice that the “Acknowledgements” carried an “s”. Please, endeavour to add it to your work to free your supervisor from stress. An omission as minor as this will require correction. Please, follow the format religiously.
Then, in your acknowledgements, the following format must be followed.
⦁ Use the first paragraph to acknowledge God Almighty.
⦁ Second paragraph for your supervisor
⦁ Third for your lecturers who taught you and beyond
⦁ Fourth is for family members
⦁ Friends and colleagues both in school and at home
Note that if you acknowledge your family members before your lecturers, you may be asked to go back and bring your lecturers first. Teachers may be of the view that within the academic environment, they are more important, hence, their names must come first. Example:

Acknowledgements
I wish to sincerely appreciate God Almighty who gave me the strength, knowledge and grace to carry on. To Him alone, all praise belong.
My inestimable gratitude to my esteemed supervisor Mr. John N. Ominaboo, who took out time to crosscheck and correct the work to ensure that the work meet up with the Department standard. I also thank him for being the best supervisor popularly adjudged to be very simpe, polite and understanding.
I also give special thanks to my lecturers in the Department of Vocational and Technology Education who have impacted knowledge on me four (4) years. They include my H. O. D. Dr. F. C. Akpotohwo, Mrs. Stella W. Igonibo, Mr. Theophilus E. Ehimen, Dr. Paul Igbongidi, Dr. Ayunku Peter (management science) – just to mention but a few.
My heartfelt gratitude goes to my mother, Late Mrs. Doris Ayunku, Mr. Odoni Oyinmiebi Patrick, my immediate elder brother, Bro. John M. Famous, uncle Edward Ayunku, Mr. and Mrs. Ayo Williams, Bro. Ayunku Paris, Dr. Peter Ayunku, Bro. Eseimokumo Agbalala. To Bro. Ayunku Williams, Sister Ebika, Sister Mkata, Rev. Godspower Asigba and my boss, Smart Ayama for their financial and spiritual support, prayers and moral encouragements.
Special thanks to my friends and colleagues, Mr. Victor Ebakpa, Mr. Preye Apre, Mr. Millionnaire Timiebiowei, Mr. Okitah, Mr. Brambiyefa Solomon, Mr. Oweipade Patrick for their political supprt in the school.
Finally, I am very grateful to the staff and management of MJE Resources® for the quality production of this work. It is my earnest prayer that God bless you all.

Table of Contents
Now, notice that the contents carries an “s”. This is to say when reporting your study, you must not omit the “s”. We are laying emphasis on this because just this “s” can send you back to your typist for correction.
A research table of contents is a list of all the topics and subtopics all through the report. The table of contents for Faculty of Education is arranged chapter by chapter under which other subtopics fall under. Each subtopics must have a corresponding page number written to the right hand side. Example:


Table of Contents
Content Page
Cover page: – – – – – – – – – – i
Certification: – – – – – – – – – ii
Dedication: – – – – – – – – – – iii
Acknowledgements: – – – – – – – – iv
Table of contents: – – – – – – – – – v
List of tables: – – – – – – – – – vii
Abstract: – – – – – – – – – – viii

CHAPTER ONE – INTRODUCTION: – – – – – 1
1.1 Background to the study: – – – – – – – 1
1.2 Statement of the problem: – – – – – – – 5
1.3 Purpose of the Study: – – – – – – – 6
1.4 Research questions: – – – – – – – 7
1.5 Significance of the study: – – – – – – – 7
1.6 Scope of the study: – – – – – – – – 9
1.7 Operational definition of terms: – – – – – 9

CHAPTER TWO – REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE: – 11
2.1 Theoretical framework: – – – – – – – 11
2.2 Conceptual review: – – – – – – – 14
2.3 Review of Related Empirical Studies: – – – – – 36
2.4 Summary of Review of Related Literature: – – – – 38

CHAPTER THREE – RESEARCH METHODOLOGY: – – 41
3.1 Research design: – – – – – – – – 41
3.2 Population of the Study: – – – – – – – 41
3.3 Sample and sampling technique: – – – – – 42
3.4 Research instrumentation: – – – – – – 42
3.5 Validity of instrument: – – – – – – – 43
3.6 Reliability of the instrument: – – – – – – 43
3.7 Administration of the instrument: – – – – – 43
3.8 Method of data analysis: – – – – – – 44

CHAPTER FOUR – PRESENTATION, ANALYSIS OF DATA AND DISCUSSION
OF FINDINGS: – – – – – – – – – – 45
4.1 Analysis of Demographic (Personal) Data of Respondents: – 45
4.2 Analysis of Research Questions: – – – – – 47
4.3 Discussion of Findings: – – – – – – – 51
4.4 Summary of Major Findings: – – – – – – 53

CHAPTER FIVE – SUMMARY CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS: 55
5.1 Summary of the Study: – – – – – – – 55
5.2 Conclusion: – – – – – – – – – 56
5.3 Educational Implication of the Study: – – – – – 57
5.4 Recommendations: – – – – – – – 57
5.5 Limitations of the Study: – – – – – – – 58
5.6 Suggestion for Further Studies: – – – – – – 58
References: – – – – – – – – – 60
Appendix: – – – – – – – – – 63
Appendix III: – – – – – – – – 60

Please, take note that the hyphenations used before the numbers may not be allowed by some supervisors. So, know from your supervisor.

List of Tables
The list of tables takes the same format like the table of contents. However, the title of the respective tables are used to identify the table and their page numbers. In research projects, tables are often found in literature review, population and samples and in the analysis of data

List of Figures
Use the format in the list of tables above. Only that this time, you will need to bring up any figures in the work (and not tables this time around) and their page numbers.

Abstract
An academic abstract is a brief summary of a research article, thesis, review, conference proceeding, or any in-depth analysis of a particular subject and is often used to help the reader quickly ascertain the paper’s purpose.

In your assignments, seminars and projects, the abstract will be used to summarily give a reader an insight into what the paper aims to achieve so that others reviewing the work can know, through the abstract whether or not that work is relevant to their search.

When reviewing literature sometimes, all you need may be just the abstract from where you can identify if you can use the material of not. However, since an abstract does not really contain all contents, a researcher may need to peruse through the pages of a material to see topics of relevance to his/her search.

In an empirical study, an abstract contains the topic, objectives, research questions, methodology, analysis, findings, conclusion and recommendations and is often below 300 words. An abstract is not italicized and paragraphed since it is a single paragraph content. A whole page should be left for an abstract but should not fill the whole page. An abstract should not include diagrams and in general, references are not required in the abstract. The abstract is also single line spaced. Take a look at the example below. It is 242 words:

Abstract
This study investigated the strategies for improving the teaching and learning of accounting subjects in secondary schools in Niger Delta University. The study was carried out to identify teamwork extra class, individual homework assignment, student’s seminars and library and internet research as strategies for improving the teaching and learning of Accounting in senior secondary schools. In line with these, four respective research questions were drafted to guide the study. The study adopted a descriptive survey, a population of 5436 teachers and students in Yenagoa Local Government Area with a sample of hundred (100) respondents. Instrument for data collection was a questionnaire titled “Strategies for Improving Teaching and Learning of Accounting Questionnaire (SITALAQ)”. The instrument validated by the supervisor with a reliability of 0.79 was administered to all sampled respondents. Data obtained were analyzed using mean. Results indicated that teamwork extra class is a means for improving the teaching and learning of accounting in secondary schools; individual homework assignment can be used as a means for improving the teaching and learning of accounting in secondary schools; student’s seminars is one of the means for improving the teaching and learning of accounting in secondary schools and that library and internet research can be used as a means for improving the teaching and learning of accounting in secondary schools. It was therefore, recommended that students in secondary schools learning Accounting should be provided with necessary facilities and materials for effective teaching and learning of Accounting.

References

Fisher, S. C. & Harper, R. & D. (2010). Op. cit. and loc. cit. The Chicago Manual of Style (16th ed.). Chicago: University of Chicago Press. p. 670. ISBN 978-0-226-10420-1.

Hutchison, K, (2016). What does ibid. mean? Retrieved February, 2019 from http://libanswers.walsh.edu/faq/147383

Massey University, (2018). Referencing styles. Retrieved February, 2019 from http://owll.massey.ac.nz/referencing/referencing-styles.php

Nordquist, R. (2018). Documentation in reports and research papers. Retrieved February, 2019 from https://www.thoughtco.com/documentation-in-research-1690405

Nwankwo, O. C. (2016). A practical guide to research writing (6th edition). Port Harcourt: M & J Grand Orbit Communication Ltd.

Osaat, S. D. (2014). Groundwork of educational research methodology and statistics. Port Harcourt: University of Port Harcourt Press

Vickery, B. C. (1978). Concepts of documentation. Journal of Documentation, 34(4), 279-287, https://doi.org/10.1108/eb026664

Wikipedia, (2016). Loc. cit. Retrieved February, 2019 from https://en.wikipedia. org/wiki/Loc._cit.

 

 

Cite this material as follows:

Michael, O. J. (2018). Non-statistical preliminaries to research practice. Retrieved October 30th, 2020 from https://admissionsandutme.com/2020/10/30/non-statistical-preliminaries-to-research-practice/