1. Forms you need for the University Of Cape Town
2. Forms you need for the University of Stellenbosch
3. Guidance on writing a research proposal

   You can now fulfil your course requirements through either publishing a scientific paper OR writing the formal dissertation

4. Writing a scientific paper
5. General Dissertation Guidelines

   Additional resources:

6. Scientific papers from the division (also basic guidance on appraising papers)
7. Research Methods by Dr. Jim teWaterNaude (Registrar training)
8. Guidance on how to WRITE a research proposal (Yenza- National Research Foundation)

1. Submitting an MMed/MPhil/MSc Dissertation Protocol for Emergency Medicine at University of Cape Town
2. Form C1: Clearance of Research Proposals
3. Form D1: Dissertation Committee Approval
4. Form D2(a): Memorandum of understanding (new 2010)
5. Form D2(b): Progress report
6. Form D3: Supervisor appointment
7. Human ethics application to conduct medical research
8. PGWC research approval form

1. Submitting an MMed Dissertation Protocol for Emergency Medicine at University of Stellenbosch
2. Research development and support website
3. PGWC research approval form

The main purpose of this section is to ensure that your proposal proceeds through all the university approval processes without being returned to you to revise it.

A research proposal should cover at least the following issues:

1. Introduction/background
2. Literature review
3. Aims and objectives
4. Methods
5. Ethical considerations
6. Work plan and budget (if appropriate)
7. Dissemination of findings
8. References
9. Appendices (especially copies of data collection tools)

Introduction/background

The introduction should provide a bit of background to the research, explain what the problem is that you are going to investigate (problem statement) and motivate why this research is important/why this problem should be studied (rationale and justification for research). It should be short and capture the attention of the reader.

Literature review

It is important to demonstrate that you are familiar with the literature that has been written on this topic and to establish that your study is one link in a chain of research that is contributing to increased knowledge in your field. The major things you need to draw out of a literature review are:

1. What previous research has been done in this area (if there is a lot of literature, highlight the most important bits of previous research) – from this, you can identify what we currently know about your research topic and more importantly, what the gaps are in current knowledge (which helps justify why your research is important);
2. How have other researchers explored this research topic – i.e. you might get valuable insights into what theoretical and empirical approaches you should (or should not) use.

Two tips: Firstly, avoid writing while constantly referring back to articles or other literature – rather read the articles first making very brief notes and then write from your notes – this will help avoid the problem of plagiarism.

Secondly, avoid describing each article/publication individually – rather identify the key issues that are raised overall in the literature and use references to the literature to substantiate a line of argument that you develop about these key issues.

Finally, even if there is very little literature on the subject, you MUST have a literature review. At least indicate that the literature is very limited and mention what does exist – you will be able to find at least a few articles which are related to your research topic in some way.

Aims and objectives

You need to provide an explicit statement of the aims and objectives of your research. The aim is a general statement on the intent or direction of the research. Objectives are specific, clear and succinct statements of what you will do in your research and for what intended outcome (e.g. to undertake key informant interviews to understand the context within which x policy was developed). Someone who reads the objectives should have a pretty clear idea of what you are going to do in your study and why. One way of distinguishing aims and objectives are that objectives are specific operational tasks that you will perform, and that these tasks need to be accomplished in order to meet the aim.

Some researchers, particularly in scientific fields, also state a hypothesis (i.e. the assumption that your research will test) for the research. Often in the social sciences, or where more qualitative work is being undertaken, researchers present a conceptual framework. This clarifies the definitions and theoretical concepts you will use in your research and provides a framework for the analysis of results.

Methods

The methodology section of your proposal should clearly outline what information you are going to collect, how you will collect it and how it will be analysed. You should start the methodology section by stating the study design (i.e. is it a cross-sectional, longitudinal etc. study).

1. What information you will collect: Be explicit and comprehensive here. If you are going to use a questionnaire for data collection, you should include the full questionnaire in an appendix, but you should summarise the key variables in the methods section (e.g. demographic, utilisation of health services, geographic access and socio-economic status information).
2. How you will collect the information: e.g. conduct interviews, patient record review, questionnaire, observation etc. If you are going to collect this information for a sample of the population you are studying, you need to explain what sample size you will use and the technique you will use to sample (e.g. random, cluster, etc.)
3. How you will analyse the data: What statistical tests will you use (if any), what software will you use etc.

Ethical considerations

This is absolutely critical in the health sciences faculty. If you are conducting research at a particular health care facility, you need to indicate that you have obtained permission to access information and/or patients at that facility (and provide a supporting letter to this effect in your appendices). Whenever you are going to conduct interviews or administer a questionnaire, you need to show that you will obtain informed consent from study participants (once again you need to include a copy of your informed consent form in the appendices). You need to indicate that you have paid attention to other issues such as language barriers – that questionnaires will be translated into respondent’s first language etc. Essentially, be comprehensive and clearly demonstrate that you have carefully thought through all the ethical implications of your research and have adequately addressed them.

Work plan and budget (if appropriate)

While this is not essential for an unfunded post-graduate research project, it is good research practice to outline the timeframe for the project and indicate who will be undertaking various tasks (e.g. if you have a research assistant helping to extract data for you).

Dissemination of findings

Again, it is good research practice to indicate what you intend to do with your research findings, particularly how the information will be made available to the ‘subjects’ of your research or to other important stakeholders.

References

All literature referred to in the literature review or in any other part of the proposal must be referenced in full. You can select what method you would like to use (e.g. Vancouver, Harvard etc.) If you need ideas on appropriate referencing, look at some articles in your favourite leading journal and follow the referencing technique they use. Alternatively, ask your supervisor for information on the different referencing systems.

Appendices:

Any data collection tools, e.g. questionnaires, structured interview schedule, record review data extraction sheets, should be included in the appendices. It is also important to include a copy of informed consent forms (in all languages that will be used in the research). You should also include supporting letters from appropriate institutions here.

After going through the process of having your proposal approved by all the appropriate committees (see section on writing a proposal) you now have the choice of either publishing a paper or writing up a formal dissertation. The guidance on writing a dissertation is discussed in the next session. If you plan to write and publish a paper there are no better advice than that published on the International Committee of Medical Journal Editor's website.

It is preferable that your publish in an international journal as this is most widely distrubuted and read. Your proposal along with your supervisor's guidance should help you decide which journal would be appropriate. One cannot overemphasize the importance of arranging a dissertation supervisor as early as possible. The supervisor should be an individual who can relate to your research project, be available for frequent and regular discussion and advice, and someone with whom you can develop a good working relationship.

The supervisor can be based outside the University of Cape Town. In such a case, an internal supervisor will be required to serve as a guide and link to university procedures. A candidate need to enter into an agreement with all supervisors involved. This is called a memorandum of understanding. On this document the UCT/ US supervisor need to be listed as the primary supervisor. Primary supervisors retain responsibilities to the candidate and the university until the dissertation process is complete. Other supervisors and their responsibilities are then listed on the document and signed by all parties. It is therefore possible that a co-supervisor without ties to UCT/ US may be more productive in assisting a candidate. This is acceptable as long as the responsibilities of each supervisor are clearly described. A clinical supervisor may also act as a dissertation supervisor.

• Form D2(a) Memorandum of Understanding

In order to assist a candidate with a masters research topic the supervisor needs to hold a masters degree or higher. The same applies apply to doctoral research (MD or PhD). If the primary supervisor does not hold a higher degree, then a second supervisor with adequate qualifications will need to be appointed by the senate.

Most candidates will require a year or two to complete the publication process. Candidates will require HOD motivation to register beyond three years after starting the dissertation. Form D2(b) should be completed annually by candidates and their supervisors in order to keep track of progress.

• Form D2(b) Progress Report

The guidelines and procedures for a Masters dissertation are the same for the MPhil.EM, the MMed.EM, and the MSc.EM degrees. The dissertation will have a limited focus i.e. one research question, rather than many. The following information is intended for candidates, dissertation supervisors and examiners. Candidates will need to work closely with their dissertation supervisors to focus the research proposal and to make the project manageable with limited resources. The section on Research Methods by Dr Jim teWaterNaude is also available in CD format on request from Prof Wallis’ office.

Prospective doctoral students (MD or PhD) need to follow the guidance available on the UCT website.

The purpose of the dissertation is to demonstrate that the candidate is able to carry out supervised research, has a grasp of the research tools in the chosen field, and is familiar with the important publications on the subject. It should also demonstrate that the candidate is able to communicate results and evaluate his/her own work and that of others critically.

Standard:

The expected standard is that of a publishable article in a peer-review journal. The research does not have to be published (although candidates are strongly encouraged to pursue this). The literature review should be comprehensive, and must be relevant and up to date, demonstrating that the candidate is aware of the important publications.

Length:

The stated length of the dissertations includes the headings and subheadings of text. The MPhil.EM and MMed.EM dissertations should be approximately 16,000 words (between 12,000 and 20,000) and approximately 30 pages in length. The MSc.EM should be between 40,000 and 50,000 words, approximately 84 pages in length. Abstracts, acknowledgements, tables, figures, and relevant Appendices, would be in addition to the above stated lengths.

Methods:

The research should involve collection of data using qualitative or quantitative methods or a combination of the two, or formal review methods if it is a systematic review. This may be data from interviewing or examining research participants, or data from official publications, records, registration, or notification systems, or other databases.

Layout and style:

Page setup:

• Left margin at least 4cm; right margin about 2.5cm. This will allow for the binding of the dissertation/thesis
• Use A4 page set-up
• Page numbers in the same font as the font you are using for the text. Use fonts such as Arial, Times New Roman, Book Antiqua, or Bookman Old Style. Avoid the “comic” fonts
• Font size 11 or 12
• Set language to English [South Africa] – avoid the American spellings e.g. behavior
• Line spacing of 1.5 is recommended. We also suggest that you set your spacing to allow 6pts after each paragraph – this improves the look of the document and you don’t have to put in an extra paragraph break

General suggestions:

• Make sure that your tables, graphs, and other graphics are properly numbered and that you refer to them correctly
• Make sure that your write in an easily understood manner. Don’t make paragraphs consisting of one sentence. Use shorter rather than long, complicated sentences. Academic writing is meant to be clear, not jargon! The ideal is one idea/thought/result per sentence
• Mind your grammar
• When you use a term in full (for which there is an acknowledged abbreviation) the first time then put the abbreviation in brackets. After that you can use the abbreviation, but ensure that you write it down correctly. It is always a good idea to include a list of abbreviations used in your text. This will be included in the text just after the Table of Contents
• When you use lots of technical terms it may be a good idea to include a glossary of terms used. You will insert this after the list of abbreviations
• Always do a spell-check once you have completed a paragraph or a section. This will be easier and faster than running a spell-check right at the end. Be very particular with the spelling because there is nothing that irks an examiner as much as spelling error after spelling error
• Print on only one side of the page
• Decide on which referencing method you will be using and ensure that you do not deviate from that. It is a good idea to stipulate somewhere which referencing method you are using

Supervisors, although they may assist with this, are not required to do detailed editing nor correction of spelling and grammar, or style. Students who need assistance in academic writing are encouraged to make use of support services available, e.g. The UCT Writing Centre. Provided the dissertation is readable and internally consistent, any of a number of styles is acceptable. It is suggested that candidates look at completed master’s dissertations in the library for appealing layouts. These are archived in the African studies section of Jagger library on the main campus, UCT. They may be available as loan copies.

Other:

• Title page format
• Declaration page format

Timing:

Most candidates will require a year or two to complete the dissertation. Candidates will require HOD motivation to register beyond three years after starting the dissertation. Form D2(b) should be completed annually by candidates and their supervisors in order to keep track of progress.

• Form D2(b) Progress Report

Supervisors:

One cannot overemphasize the importance of arranging a dissertation supervisor as early as possible. The supervisor should be an individual who can relate to your research project, be available for frequent and regular discussion and advice, and someone with whom you can develop a good working relationship.

The supervisor can be based outside the University of Cape Town. In such a case, an internal supervisor will be required to serve as a guide and link to university procedures. A candidate need to enter into an agreement with all supervisors involved. This is called a memorandum of understanding. On this document the UCT/ US supervisor need to be listed as the primary supervisor. Primary supervisors retain responsibilities to the candidate and the university until the dissertation process is complete. Other supervisors and their responsibilities are then listed on the document and signed by all parties. It is therefore possible that a co-supervisor without ties to UCT/ US may be more productive in assisting a candidate. This is acceptable as long as the responsibilities of each supervisor are clearly described.

• Form D2(a) Memorandum of Understanding

In order to assist a candidate with a masters research topic the supervisor needs to hold a masters degree or higher. The same applies apply to doctoral research (MD or PhD). If the primary supervisor does not hold a higher degree, then a second supervisor with adequate qualifications will need to be appointed by the senate.

One arrangement that candidates may reach with supervisors is an undertaking to publish the study, with the supervisor as co-author. This will usually require work beyond the graduation date. Such arrangements should be discussed in advance. A clinical supervisor may also act as a dissertation supervisor.

Examiners:

Three examiners are selected for each candidate, two of whom will definitely examine the candidate’s dissertation (one of these will be external to UCT/US); the third will be used if required.

The examiners will most likely have national standing in regard to the subject matter of the research. Examiners will be selected by the Divisional Head, and the supervisor. These nominations will be circulated to the dissertations committee for approval.

Details required for each examiner are as follows: academic qualifications, postal and physical address, telephone and fax numbers, and email address. The candidate’s supervisor may not examine the dissertation. The candidate may not be informed of the identities of the examiners, nor have any contact with the examiners. Once the outcome of the dissertation has been finalised, the examiners’ identities are made known if the examiners have indicated that they have no objection to this.

Submission of dissertations:

Master’s candidates must submit two copies of the dissertation in temporary binding (e.g. ring binding), and a CD containing the dissertation in one continuous file in a universally readable format.

If you wish to graduate in June of any particular year then you have to:

• Give a letter of intention to submit to the Manager of the Postgraduate Unit not later than 15 February of that year
• Submit your dissertation by no later than 15 March of that year

If you wish to graduate in December of any particular year then you have to:

• Give a letter of intention to submit to the Manager of the Postgraduate Unit not later than 20 July of that year
• Submit your dissertation by no later than 15 August of that year

If you submit your dissertation before 15 February of a particular year then you do not have to reregister or pay fees again. If, however, you receive a grade of “Revise and Resubmit” then you must reregister and pay fees again w.e.f. the date on which you received the notification of the result. Supervisors will be asked by the Faculty Postgraduate Officer to submit a letter supporting submission. This letter should be supplied by the primary supervisor.