master thesis module

7/29/2019 Master Thesis Module

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MASTERS DEGREE IN EDUCATION

MODULE: THESIS FOR MA TEFL

THESIS FOR THE MASTERS DEGREE

1. PRESENTATION:

The Masters Program requires the elaboration and the defense of a thesis to obtain thedegree of Master in Education in any of the offered fields.

The thesis is the final result of an investigation process. It is a written work in which theinvestigator gives, in a clear and simple way, the theoretical foundations, the usedmethodology and the obtained results of the problem or of the question investigatedduring a certain period: What did he/she do? Why did he/she do it? How did he/she doit? What results were obtained? To what conclusions did he/she arrive?...

In the elaboration of the thesis, the investigator should try to be as objective thing aspossible and to contribute all he/she feels is essential so that later on, anotherinvestigator could continue or take as reference his/her investigation and not to startfrom zero.

2. SELECTION OF THE TOPIC:

The selection of the topic constitutes one of the fundamental moments of everyinvestigation process, that is, it is not convenient to do it in a rush, but it is neitheradvisable to delay it excessively. It is for this reason that the Masters Program hasdeemed convenient that during the investigation courses the student needs to be trainedso that he/she could chooses a topic in accordance with his/her preparation and work

possibilities.

It is important that the topic is not only chosen in function of a students preparation andhis/her work possibilities but it is also important that it should be original, current,limited in time and space, viable and of course significant.

Since our work is limited to the educational environment it is convenient that thestudents develop topics related with the didactics, with the understanding and

production of literary and not literary texts, with the administration of education, withevaluation, with learning problems, with general topics of values, of family, and so on.

What also helps to choose the topic is the review of bibliography of books as well asspecialized magazines, so it is wise to take the necessary time for this first review.


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3. THE DIRECTOR OF THESIS:

Once a student has the basic outline of the investigation, the Director of the MastersProgram will assign to each student the thesis director/adviser. With him/her the studentwill have periodic communication to inform about the progress which refers to the

consulted bibliography, the design and application of strategies and techniques for thecollection of data, and so on; because it is important to remember that, the thesis advisershould be well informed about the development of the investigation with the purpose ofguiding the student about the methods and techniques that will used, the bibliographythat will be reviewed, as well as to suggest, in many cases, the order of the investigationand to make sure that important aspects have not been left out.

4. STRUCTURE OF THE THESIS:

There are some general conventions about what should be included and the order inwhich the parts of the thesis should appear. Almost always this depends on the

investigation type that has been carried out and on the orientations that can be receivedfrom the thesis adviser.

Kerlinger in his bookBehavior Investigation considers that the following parts shouldbe included:

I. PROBLEM

a) Theory, hypothesis and definitions.

b) Previous Investigations and reference material.

II. METHODOLOGY AND OBTAINING OF DATA

a) Samples and sampling methods.

b) Forms in which the hypotheses were verified, (methodology), experimental methodsand real practice.

c) Measuring of variables.

d) Methods of statistical analysis.

e) Pre-proofs and pilot studies.

III. RESULTS, INTERPRETATION AND CONCLUSIONS

According to theAmerican Psychological Association the following should be included:

1. Title, author and institution where the investigator works.

2. Forms in which the hypotheses were verified (methodology), experimental methodsand real practice.

3. Introduction.


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4. Method.

a) Informants: characteristic, size and forms of how they were selected.

b) Apparatuses and instruments: description.

c) Procedure: all that has been done and how it was done.

5. Results. Forms of collection of data and their statistical treatment

6. Discussion. Valuing the results and implications, interferences, similarities anddifferences with other similar works

7. Bibliographical references. With rigor and accuracy according to the approach used.

8. Appendixes. They are of utility. They can be for example elaborated tests, computerprograms or a listing that require special attention.

Next we propose a model that can be used as reference but which will be subject to thetype of investigation, the methodology used and the suggestions that the thesis directorcould make. We insist that this is not the only model that the investigator can follow.

Title of the investigation

Introduction

Chapter I: Investigation Outline:

1.1. Formulation of the problem.

1.2. Hypothesis:

1.2.1. General hypothesis.

1.2.2. Specific hypothesis.

1.3. Delimitation of the objectives:

1.3.1. General objective.

1.3.2. Specific objectives.

1.4. Justification of the investigation.

1.5. Limitations of the investigation.


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1.6. Antecedents of the investigation.

Chapter II: Theoretical Framework.

Chapter III: Methodology of the investigation:

3.1. Investigation type.

3.2. Design of the investigation.

3.3. Population and study sample.

3.4. Variables.

3.5. Techniques and instruments for gathering of data.

Chapter IV: Discussion of results.

Conclusions

Recommendations

Bibliography

Annexes

Below is a general explanation of the principal parts:

TITLE OF THE INVESTIGATION: It is of statement type and it keeps a narrowrelationship with the problem. It has to be clear and concise. For example:

An attempt to increase students' motivation and autonomy through learning to learnLearning strategies: to what extent can they be taught in the classroom?First contact with English through storytelling to develop listening comprehensionImproving speaking through communicative activitiesIs organisation the key to memory? (Strategies for learning and organising vocabulary)Establishing the basis of autonomous learning in a mixed ability groupThe effectiveness of corrective feedback

Improving young learners' autonomy through developing project workExperimenting with oral assessment techniques

INTRODUCTION: It is a panoramic description of the investigation. It should containthe purposes or objectives, as well as a brief explanation of the different parts orchapters in which the whole investigation work has been organized and for its writing itis not necessary to separates each chapter (In chapter I this is done, in the Chapter II),it could be explain in a general and integrated way.

Remember that the introduction is the presentation of the whole work so it is convenient

to write it at the end in order not to omit any of the aspects that would allow a vision ofthe complete work.


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CHAPTERS: The topic is divided into units so that the data is presented in an orderlyway to facilitate its understanding. They are written as a whole, internally structured andwell based. The number of chapters will depend, we insist, on the investigation type, on

the methodology that is used and of course on the suggestions that the thesis directormakes.

In this way, there could be a chapter dedicated to the investigation outline, another tothe theoretical framework, another to the methodology, another to the results andanother to the discussion of the results. In some investigations other sections or chapterscould be considered (to see outline proposed by Kerlinger).

CHAPTER I: Dedicated to the INVISTIGATION OUTLINE

This section has to be very well outlined because it sets the bases for the wholeinvestigation. If the problem, the hypotheses and the objectives are not well outlined,the direction of the whole work could be lost.

What is presented next is a significant theoretical contribution that can help you toremember what you have already seen in Observation and Research and Modules Eand F. You can use them as references and to discuss them with your thesis director sothat together you would define the outline of the final work.

FORMULATION OF THE PROBLEM:

It is the BEGINNING of the scientific research.

The SELECTION OF THE PROBLEM is of PERSONAL nature: it dependson the investigator's INTERESTS and OBJECTIVES (to check theories, todiscover or to generate knowledge or to improve and to optimize the educational

practice).

It is a QUESTION that the investigator thinks about with the purpose ofUNDERSTANDING and EXPLAINING an educational phenomenon (to

produce a CHANGE or an IMPROVEMENT).

The problems are identified when we extract them out of a complex reality inwhich they are immersed and we are able to isolate them, which allows us todescribe them, to know their characteristics, the antecedents that explain them,how they are related, in which context, and so on.

In some educational institutions, for the identification of the problem the SWOTanalysis is used.

(SWOT: Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats)

Sources from where the problems can arise:


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1. The educational experience (From observation, from contact with professors orexperts).

2. The theoretical field.

3. The pedagogical investigation already carried out (From suggestions made byprevious investigations).

All the problems should be:

1. REAL

2. FEASIBLE

3. RELEVANT

4. SOLVABLE

5. GENERATOR OF KNOWLEDGE

6. GENERATOR OF NEW PROBLEMS

All the problems should be formulated accurately in the form of QUESTIONS.For example:

Why do the students of the 3rd year of Primary Education of School A possessa higher reading speed than the students of the 3d year of school B?

How can I increase the reading effectiveness in the students of the 4th year ofhigh school of school C?

Which reading method is more effective in optimizing the reading process in thestudents of the primary level of School D?

We should not outline problems like the following one:

How sublime is the soul of an adolescent? Because this is impossible to

investigate since it is not feasible.

HYPOTHESIS:

They don't appear in all the investigations, for example in the exploratory ordescriptive kinds.

Yes. They usually appear in the explanatory or causal investigations.

They are the possible solutions to the outlined problem.


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They are of great importance to the investigation because:

1. It is not possible to advance without giving an explanation or a solution to thedifficulty that originated the problem.

2. It guides the whole investigation.3. It strengthens the effectiveness of the investigation.

All hypotheses have to be:

1. Well based (if it is inserted in a scientific theory).

2. Empirically contrastable (if it can be proven or rejected by means of the obtainedresults).

3. Well written in a statement tone (they should be conceptually clear andcomprehensible).

Classification:

a) According to the origin:

INDUCTIVE: They are generalizations starting from certain observedrelationships and they allow solving concrete problems (they are microhypothesis).

DEDUCTIVE: They have a wider reach and they intend to give an answer to

theoretical problems (they are macro hypothesis).

b) According to the concretion level:

CONCEPTUAL: They express a conjectural relationship between two or morevariables defined in an abstract way, or with relationship to a theory.

OPERATIVE: They indicate the operations or necessary activities to observe,to measure or to manipulate the variable. They branch from the specifichypotheses.

STATISTICAL: They express the relationship of the variables in quantitativeor statistical terms. Here we can find the alternative hypothesis and nullhypothesis. Both are denominations that adopt the operative hypotheses in themoment of the statistical processing.

c) According to their magnitude:

GENERAL: It tries to respond to the outlined problem.

SPECIFIC: They respond in a more specific way to more concrete aspects.

Let us see this with an example:


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The problem is the following:

In what way does the appropriate handling of textual coherence help to improve thelevel of communicative effectiveness in the juridical texts?

General hypothesis:The competent handling of textual coherence improves the level of communicativeeffectiveness of the communicative texts.

Specific hypotheses:

1. The reflexive knowledge of the textual and linguistic features of the juridical textsimproves the level of textual coherence.

2. The appropriate handling of the factors of textual coherence helps to raise the level ofcommunicative effectiveness.

3. The adaptation of the textual and linguistic features to Spanish's current linguisticreality helps to improve the level of communicative effectiveness in the juridical texts.

4. The analytic and explanatory study of the factors of textual coherence in the juridicaltexts contributes to make them more acceptable to the reader/listener and thewriter/speaker.

Suggestions to write the hypotheses well:

1. Write them after having revised the sources of bibliographical documentation.

2. State several possible solutions to the problem.

3. Write them in an affirmative way (they should be correct, operative and clear).

4. They have to be outlined in such a way that they can be contrasted, confirmed orrejected.

DELIMITATION OF THE OBJECTIVES

The objectives are the guidelines of the investigation and it is necessary to always havethem present during the whole process. They have to be written with clarity to avoiddeviations in the investigation. They are written with infinitive verbs:

- To determine if the used method allows a better reading comprehension.

- To analyze if there is or there isnt a difference between method A and method Bapplied in the investigation.

- To design a new method of reading comprehension that allows inferring resulting frommotivating words.


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It is necessary to consider that the general objective keeps a narrow relationship with thegeneral hypothesis and that the specific objectives, maintain it with the specifichypotheses. In the example of the previous section of the juridical texts, we have:

General objective:

To analyze the existing relationship between the textual coherence and thecommunicative effectiveness of the juridical texts, by means of an analytic-descriptivestudy of its textual and linguistic features.

Specific objectives:

1. To explain the functionality of the textual and linguistic features of the juridical textsfor its textual coherence.

2. To analyze the types of juridical texts selected to determine the thematic progressionspresent in them.

3. To analyze the types of juridical texts to determine whether or not to include veryrelevant information.

4. To analyze the effectiveness of the factors of textual coherence in the juridical texts,considering as a base its textual and linguistic characteristics.

JUSTIFICATION OF THE INVESTIGATION

It is necessary to give arguments that justify the investigation that is being carried out. Ithas to be explained why it is necessary to carry it out and to indicate the benefits thatwill be derived from it.

LIMITATIONS OF THE INVESTIGATION

We will always trip over some limitations, i.e. to say with obstacles that hinder the

realization of the investigation. For example a strike in a certain library will prevent thatthe necessary bibliography be revised. If it is indicated which our limitations have been,we are being honest with what we have done, additionally this could help futureinvestigators take the necessary measures to avoid such situations.

ANTECEDENTS OF THE INVESTIGATION

It is important to indicate the studies that have been done previously and which keepsome relationship with the investigation that is being carried out. To obtain this

information we have to use university libraries and to review the theses that have beenpresented and to indicate the name of the work, the name of the investigator, why we


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have taken as reference that work and in what way it is related with the work that isbeing carried out.

Some investigation works can include in this section the aspects of the theoreticalframework, for which it is recommended to consult the thesis director.

CHAPTER II: Dedicated to the THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK.

In this chapter that can be optional in some theses or investigation works, the maintheoretical aspects related with the problem of the investigation is developed; and forthis, the investigator has to review appropriate and current bibliography of the topic

being researched.

The intention of this part is not to drain all the related theoretical aspects and by nomeans to repeat what has already been said by the authors or other investigators, rather

by organizing the contents in such a way that would clarify or to explain what is beinginvestigated. It is necessary to have an open approach in the organization of this sectionand to accept all the suggestions that are made by the thesis director, since at times itcan be a great limitation to review or consent to a lot of bibliography.

We would like to insist is that the investigator has to be honest and to indicate thebibliographical reference of his sources (author, title, year of edition, editorial, pagenumber, etc.); as well as footnote mention of any additional information.

Next we would like to make a note to be kept in mind in what refers to thedocumentation sources:

Every investigation is sustained in the documentation that serves as aninformative source.

It covers the collection, classification, recovery and distribution of theinformation.

The investigators should:

FAMILIARIZE with the access and consulting services of the documentation sources.

KNOW HOW to consult the sources of their investigation topic.

MENTION the sources correctly.

KNOW HOW to appropriately locate, gather and organize the information beingcollected.

SHOW terminological rigor.

PRIMARY SOURCES: They are the texts or original writings: Encyclopedias,dictionaries, monographs, magazines, records, symposia, etc.


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SECONDARY SOURCES: They are summaries or references of the primarysources: Bibliographies, catalogs, book reviews, directories, etc.

DATA BASE: It is the information stored in any support type that it is readableand which can be used by a computer system.

THE CENTERS OF DOCUMENTATION: They are specialized centers in acertain environment whose main purpose is to provide information to the userson the documentation sources. Examples: ERIC (Educational ResourcesInformation Center), FRANCIS (Del Centre National de la RechercheScientifique), EUDISED (Center of Documentation for Education in Europe),CIDE (National Center of Educational Information and Documentation)

CHAPTER III: Dedicated to the METHODOLOGY OF THE INVESTIGATION:

This chapter is fundamental because it allows us to organize everything related to theway to investigate; so it is important to remember what a quantitative investigation isand what a qualitative investigation is, parameters in which the investigations relatedwith education usually move, but which are not the only ones:

QUANTITATIVE INVESTIGATION QUALITATIVE INVESTIGATION

They are different approaches to the study of a phenomenon.

They are of great use to all the fields of knowledge.

They are empiric because they gather data from the phenomenon they study.

They require seriousness, professionalism and dedication.

They are complementary.

o it is based on a hypothetical-deductiveoutline.

o it formulate investigation questions and

o it is based on an inductive outline.

o it doesn't try to generate investigationquestions nor to prove preconceived


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hypothesis and later proves them.

o it trusts the standardized and numericmeasurement.

o

it uses statistical analysis.o it seeks to generalize the results of the studies

by means of representative samples.

o it develops a plan to prove the hypotheses.

o it measures the variables in a certain context.

o it analyzes the measurements obtained and itestablishes a series of conclusions regardingthe hypotheses.

o it associates with the experiments, thesurveys with closed questions or the studiesthat use standardized instruments ofmeasurement.

o it offers us the possibility to generalize theresources thoroughly.

o it offers us a great replica possibility and afocus on specific points of the phenomenon.

o it facilitates the comparison among similarstudies.

o it usually uses the exact sciences: Physics,Chemistry, Biology.

hypothesis.

o it doesn't trust the standardized nor numericmeasurements.

o

it doesn't use statistical analysis.o it is valid based on the description and the

observation.

o it doesn't have as a goal to generalize theresults of the investigation.

o in the beginning it doesn't outline thequestion by no means the hypotheses. Thesecan be outlined before, during or after thegathering and the analysis of data.

o what it seeks, is almost always, tounderstand a complex social phenomenon.

o it uses techniques such as: non-structuredobservation, open interviews, revision ofdocuments, group discussion, evaluation of

personal experiences, inspection of lifestories and so on.

o the dispersion, the interpretive wealth, thecontextualization of the environment, thedetails and the unique experiences give depthto the data.

o it is usually used in such human disciplinesas anthropology, ethnography and social

psychology.

Moreover according to the used methodology:

A) EMPIRIC-ANALYTIC OR POSITIVIST: QUANTITATIVE investigation

B) INTERPRETIVE OR CONSTRUCTIVIST: QUALITATIVE investigation

C) CRITIC OR SOCIOCRITIC, PARTICIPATIVE: QUALITATIVE investigation

The QUANTITATIVE investigation of empiric-analytic orientation can be:


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a) Experimental: The investigator determines the values of the independent variableaccording to his convenience in order to understand about one or more dependentvariables. There exists a maximum control of all the more significant foreign variables.What is sought is to discover the form in which the informants react to the manipulatedconditions, measuring for this, one or more dependant variables.

b) Quasi-experimental: The phenomenon is caused or manipulated. The investigatordetermines the values of the independent variables according to their convenience to beable to see the effects which cause such variation in the dependent variable, but itdoesn't exercise the degree of control characterized by the experimental one. Thereremain many significant foreign variables to be controlled.

c) Non experimental or post facto: The phenomenon or situation object of the analysisis not modified, because the relationship among the variables have already taken place

previously and the investigator can only register his measurements. The investigator islimited to describe a situation that has happened, although he/she can select values to

estimate relationships among variables. For some specialists here the investigationswould be:

Descriptive: It is only limited to describe the phenomenons that have takenplace. It is the first level of scientific knowledge. It provides us with facts,data for new theories and investigations.

Co-relational: It embraces the studies which have made intents to discover or toclarify the relationships through the application of coefficient correlations. Thecorrelation / relationship consists in numerically specifying the degree ofrelationship that exists between two or more variable or characters.

Comparative-causal: It is used when the investigator tries to explainrelationships of causation comparing groups of data, but the variable that theinvestigator studies as possible cause of the changes observed in the approachcan not be manipulated and it only admits one selection level.

The QUALITATIVE investigation, aimed at taking decisions and making changes, canbe:

a) Action investigation: It is characterized by its ambiguous and heterogeneous naturethat seeks improvement in the educational practice.

b) Evaluative investigation: It is aimed at valuing a concrete situation (program) andmaking alternative decisions.

POPULATION (INFORMANTS) AND STUDY SAMPLES

It is very important that the investigator determines the informants with whom he/shewill carry out the investigation. He/she should keep in mind:

a) Universe: It covers all the possible informants or measures of certain type.


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b) Population: It is the group of all the individuals with whom the phenomenon will bestudied. They should have the required study characteristics.

c) Samples: Group of a population's extracted cases, selected by some samplingmethods or by some specific decisions.

d) Individual: Each one of the elements that compose the sample and of those fromwhom one obtains information.

VARIABLES

A variable is:

A characteristic or attribute that can take different values or it can be expressedin categories. Thus we say that the following are variable: temperature (18C,23C), intellectual coefficient (95, 102), teaching method (traditional, active),and sex (female, male)."

" Every phenomenon considered in function of one of its characteristics that cantake different values in accordance with a defined system of classification":AGE, SEX, INTELLECTUAL COEFFICIENT, SOCIAL STRATUM,METHOD OF TEACHING, LEVEL OF INSTRUCTION, and so on.

CLASSIFICATION:

a) According to the THEORETICAL-EXPLANATORY point of view:

STIMULUS: the variable that affects the individual's behavior. For example:the environmental temperature.

ANSWER: the variable that manifests in the individual's behavior such as theeffect of a varying stimulus. For example: to cry while watching a movie.

ORGANISMICS: the variable that can mediate or intervene among theprevious variables (sex, motivation, etc.).

b) According to the NATURE of the variables:

QUALITATIVE:

DICOTOMIC: it is expressed in two categories (sex and school type).

POLITOMIC: it is expressed in more than two categories (sex, social class, levelof studies and age).

QUANTITATIVE:


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DISCREET: only taking whole values for its own nature (number of children,number of students).

CONTINUOUS: it can take whole or fractional values (the weight, the academicperformance or grades).

c) According to the METHODOLOGICAL APPROACH:

INDEPENDENT: the variable that is observed and manipulated deliberately toknow its relationship with the Dependent Variable.

ACTIVE: susceptible to direct and deliberate manipulation (teaching method, alearning program).

ATTRIBUTIVE OR ASSIGNED: it is not susceptible to active manipulation(age, sex, and attitude)

DEPENDANT: the variable that appears or changes when the investigatorapplies, suppresses or modifies the Independent Variable. (School achievement,capacity to solve questionnaires).

INTERVENER: the characteristic or variable outside the experiment thatinfluences the results or diminishes them (behavior or environmentaldispositions).

UNUSUAL: the variable outside the investigation process but that acts inassociation with the independent variables, so that the results in the dependent

variable are altered. They are defined, by exclusion, as those variables which areneither the independent variable nor the dependent variable.

TECHNIQUES AND INSTRUMENTS FOR DATA COLLECTION

It refers to the instruments, the strategies and the resources used by the investigators inthe collection of information.

To choose the most adequate techniques, the investigator should keep in mind:

The objectives of the investigation,

The formulated problem and

The methodology to use.

Classification proposed by Del Rincon and other investigators:

TECHNIQUES FOR OBTAINING INFORMATION

INSTRUMENTS STRATEGIES AUDIOVISUALSo Test o Interviews o Video


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o Objective testso Scaleso Questionnaireso Systematic

observation

o Participant observationo Document analysiso Autobiographyo Life stories

o Filmso Photographso Slideso Recording

METHODOLOGY METHODOLOGY ANY EMPIRIC-ANALYTIC QUALITATIVE TYPE

CHAPTER IV: Dedicated to the DISCUSSION OF THE RESULTS OF THEINVESTIGATION.

The investigator can present the results in two separate chapters, on one hand; a chapterdedicated only to the results and, then another chapter where the results are discussed.What should be very clear is that, depending on the investigation, the obtained resultsare written and discusses; that is to say they are contrasted with the outlined hypotheses.

It is necessary to keep in mind that when the investigator presents the results, he/she canuse charts, graphics, drawings, diagrams, maps and figures generated by the analysis. Itis convenient that all of these elements are numbered in Arabic or in Roman (Chart I,Diagram 4, etc.).

Depending on the type of investigation and on the suggestions the thesis director couldmake, the obtained results are sometimes presented in the same order in which thehypotheses or the variables were formulated and we almost always have to show thedescriptive statistic first and then the rest of the analyses.

When the investigator uses diagrams, figures, cognitive maps, outlines, and other

graphic elements, it is convenient that they are organized in the best possible way sothat it is enriching and of easy access to be read and understood. They don't have to

VALIDITY

RELIABILITY

OBJECTIVITY

ADAPTABILITY

CONTINUOUS

INTERACTIVE

SELECTIVE

OBJECTIVE

ARTIFICIAL


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duplicate the information but to communicate or to clarify the strictly necessaryinformation.

CONCLUSIONS:

In this section the final data of the investigation is collected. They are those that closethe work leaving it well finished and they can go enumerated for a better understanding.Here not only should it be pointed out if the proposed hypotheses were guessedcorrectly or not, and if the proposed objectives were reached or not, but also the maincontributions of the investigation should be included.

RECOMMENDATIONS:

This section is optional and it can give some recommendations that future researcherscan take into account; similarly lines of action open to future investigations can beindicated.

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

It has to be in alphabetical order and not necessarily enumerated. If the bibliographicalinformation occupies more than one line is convenient that the following lines beginunder the fifth letter of the first line. In addition, it is necessary to maintain a certain

approach to place the bibliographical references of books, articles, dictionaries, pages ofInternet, etc. Recommendations 1, 2 and 3 can be used as reference.

ANNEXES: or Appendixes go at the end of the whole work and it allows us to see theinstruments (surveys, interview, etc.) that have facilitated the realization of theinvestigation or that have facilitated or illustrated it.

5. ELABORATION OF THE THESIS:

It is necessary to remember that writing a thesis mainly has a learning purpose; that is tosay, when the graduating student elaborates a thesis, he/she learns how to maintain acoherent speech and well argued throughout the pages; in addition, it accredits his/herresearch ability, and his/her capacity of communicating to others what has beendiscovered, following the rules of those who have preceded him/her and who work inthat same field of investigation.

Next is the information that has to be kept in mind for the presentation of the thesis:

1. ASPECTS OF THE FORMAT:


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Three copies written by computer using 80-gram white paper has to be presentedto the secretary of the faculty of Education.

It should be accompanied by a copy on a CD with the thesis recorded in the PDFformat and authorization form duly filled so that it is annexed to the computer

system of the Library of the University of Piura.

A short summary of the thesis (maximum one page using a space and half)should be attached to the copies.

The presentation of the copies should be accompanied by the correspondingpayment and a letter directed the Director of the Master Program of the Facultyof Sciences of Education requesting date for the defense.

The size of each printed copy should be 17.5 cm. wide x 24 cm. long.

The margins should be: Top: 2 cm, Bottom: 3.5 cm, left: 3 cm. and right: 2 cm.

Each copy should be printed by a laser printer or by an inkjet.

Each copy has to be covered in blue (for mention in: Spanish language,Language and Literature and that of Teaching of the English as aSecond/Foreign Language).

The cover and the side should be written in golden, silver or black letters.

The pages should be printed on both sides.

The paragraphs should be written in TIMES NEW ROMAN, size 12, with singlespacing (1 space) and with a margin of 1 cm. from the left margin. A singlespace should be left between paragraphs.

Those header of each section (APPROVAL, ACKNOWLEDGMENT,INDEX, LISTS OF CHARTS, INTRODUCTION, CHAPTER I,

CONCLUSIONS, BIBLIOGRAPHICAL REFERENCES and ANNEXES)should be written in line number 11. They have to be centered and in boldfaceand in New Times Roman, size 14.

Each copy should contain the following parts:

- Cover: Hard cover or soft cover in case of a book type.

- A white sheet that recovers the inner part of the cover provided it is a hard cover.

- A white sheet.

- Cover page.

- Approval Page.

- Acknowledgement (if applicable).


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- Index.

- Lists of charts, tables, graphics and /or figures (if any).

- Introduction.

- Chapters.

- Conclusions.

- Bibliographical References.

- Appendixes or annexes (if any).

- A white sheet.

- A white sheet that recovers the inner part of the cover provided it is a hard cover.

2. ASPECTS OF CONTENT:

On the COVER should have the same text of the cover page in Times NewRoman, size 12: First name/s and Last names of the author, title of the work,shield and name of the institution (UNIVERSITY OF..........). The name of theFaculty should go under the name of the institution:FACULTY.......................................................... Under that: MASTER INEDUCATION and then the mention: MENTION IN TEACHING ENGLISH AS

SECOND/FOREIGN LANGUAGE. The year goes at the end.

On the SIDE COVER the following should be printed: The author, the title ofthe work and the year (in that order). Everything should be written in uppercase,and with golden, silver or black letters.

On the COVER PAGE the following should be printed: First name/s and Lastnames of the author, the title of the work, the shield and the name of theuniversity. (All written in uppercase letters).

The APPROVAL PAGE should be headed by the word APPROVAL followed

by a text that is somewhat as follows:

The thesis titled ... presented by.. in accordance with the requirements of beingawarded the Degree of Mater in Education with Mention in Teaching English as aSecond/Foreign Language, was approved by the thesis director: . and defended on. before a Jury with the following members:

____________________

President


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____________________________

Secretary Informant

A space should be left for the signature of the President, Secretary and Informant of thethesis.

On the ACKNOWLEDGEMENT PAGE which comes after the approval page,recognition is given to entities and or people that have collaborated with theinvestigation. It is important to note that this page is optional.

The INDEX is a list of the parts of the work with its respective divisions andsubdivisions. In this part the page numbers are indicated where each item can befound, according to the order in that they appear. It begins with theINTRODUCTION and ends with the BIBLIOGRAPHY or the ANNEXES.

The LIST OF CHARTS, TABLES, GRAPHICS AND / OR FIGURES(illustrations) contains the numeration of the charts, the tables, the graphics, thefigures or illustrations with the indication of the page where it can be foundinside the work.

In the INTRODUCTION the reasons for which the topic was chosen should be

mentioned, as well as the parts in which the whole investigation work has beenorganized. Starting from this section the numeration is placed at the bottom-center part of the page.

The CHAPTERS are the units in which the topic is divided to put the data in orderwhich would facilitate its understanding. They are edited internally as a wholestructured and well based. It is important to keep in mind the footnotes. (SeeRecommendations 1 and 2)

The CONCLUSIONS collect the final data of the investigation, they close the workleaving it well finished and they can go enumerated for a better understanding.

The BIBLIOGRAPHICAL REFERENCES have to go in alphabetical order, notnecessarily enumerated. If the bibliographical information occupies more than one lineit is convenient that the following lines begin under the fifth letter of the first line. (SeeRecommendations 3)

The APPENDIXES or ANNEXES go at the end of the whole work and theyallow us to see the instruments (surveys, interviews, etc.) that have allowed therealization of the investigation or that supplement or illustrate it.

RECOMMENDATION 1: FOOTNOTES


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The FOOTNOTES expand the information that cannot be included in the bodyof the text, such as explanations or additional sources of information.

They should be enumerated correlatively along the whole investigation work.

They should be marked in the text with a raised Arabic number.

The numbers are placed before the punctuation signs (Point, coma, parenthesis,etc.)

They should be written at the end of the page, in single spacing and with asmaller letter type (TIMES NEW ROMAN 10).

The pattern of the Bibliographical Reference is followed.

RECOMMENDATION 2: QUOTES

The quotes that exceeds five written lines should appear with a margin differentfrom the rest of the text (i.e. 10 spaces from the left margin and also in singlespacing) and not necessarily within quotation marks.

All textual quotes should conclude with a full stop and a mention in the footnotefor the corresponding bibliographical information.

If the quote doesn't exceed the five lines, it should be incorporate within

quotation marks and a mention in the footnote for the correspondingbibliographical information.

RECOMMENDATION 3: BIBLIOGRAPHICAL REFERENCES

The necessary technical data for a perfect identification of a quote is knows asbibliographical reference. The way of indexing the quotes is arbitrary. Whichever bethe adopted method, the presentation should be uniform and coherent in a single workor on the same list.

They should be in alphabetical order and written in single spacing.

Complete reference names or initial letter may be used. If we choose one or theother, this should be maintained throughout the whole bibliography.

When more than one work of the same author is used, they should be orderedchronologically and only the first one should mention the author's name, for therest we use a blank line followed by points. For example:

Chastain, K. (1976): Developing Second Language Skills. Chicago:Rand McNally.

Chomsky, N. (1965):Aspects of the Theory of Syntax. Boston: MIT Press


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_________ (1966): "The Utility of Linguistic Theory to the LanguageTeacher" in J .P.B. Allen & S. Pit Corder (eds) (1973)Readings in Applied Linguistics. Oxford: Oxford UniversityPress.

The BOOKS should make cited in the following way:

- ONE AUTHOR: The author's last name (It can be written in uppercase) (comma),Name (space), dates within parenthesis (Colon), Title in italic (comma), Editionnumber, (abbreviation ed. and then a comma) Place of edition (colon), editorial.

Casado, Manuel (2000): Introduccin a la gramtica del texto del espaol, 4 ed.,Madrid: Arco/Libros.

- TWO AUTHORS: the last author is preceded by the conjunction and followed bythe Name of the second author's name.

Martn Zorraquino, Mara Antonia y Estrella Montolo Durn. (Eds.) (1998):Losmarcadores del discurso. Teora y anlisis, Madrid: Arco/Libros.

- THREE AUTHORS: the last author is preceded of the conjunction and followedby the Name of the third author's name.

Coromina, Esteban; Velarde, Mario y Estela Trillo (1997): Introduccin a lasestrellas, 3 ed., Madrid: Ctedra.

- FOUR OR MORE AUTHORS: If there are more than three authors only the firstthree should be mentioned separated by semi colon, and at the end it should sayothers.

Coromina, Esteban; Velarde, Mario; Trillo, Estela y otros (1997): Introduccin a lasestrellas, 3 ed., Madrid: Ctedra.

- When the author is an INSTITUTION: It is necessary to place the institution as theauthor.

Real Spanish Academy (2001): Dictionary of the Spanish language, 22nd ed., Madrid:Espasa Calpe.


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- When they are COMPILATIONS after the compiler's name (Comp.), editor (Ed.),director (Dir.) or coordinator (Coord.)

Martn Zorraquino, Mara Antonia y Estrella Montolo Durn (Eds.) (1998): Losmarcadores del discurso. Teora y anlisis, Madrid: Arco/Libros.

- When it is a CHAPTER OF A BOOK THAT IS A COMPILATION we shouldfirst cite the author of the chapter and then comes the compiler preceded by the

preposition in.

Portols, Jos (2000): Dos perspectivas en el estudio de los marcadoresdiscursivos, en Elena de Miguel y Marina Fernndez Lagunilla (Eds.) Sobre ellenguaje: miradas plurales y singulares, Madrid: Arrecife, 101-119.

Gonzlez Ruiz, Ramn (2002): La competencia textual, en Mara VictoriaRomero (Coord.)Lengua espaola y comunicacin, Barcelona: Ariel, 95-153.

MAGAZINE ARTICLES: They are cited in the same way as the books. Theauthor's last name (comma), Name (a space), date within parenthesis (colon),Title of the article (written within quotation marks) (comma) Title of themagazine in italic, number of volume (colon) and the pages.

Gonzlez Ruiz, Ramn y Concepcin Martnez Pasamar (1998): Saber hablar ycompetencia comunicativa, Rilce 14: 265-278.

NEWSPAPER ARTICLES: Exactly the same as it is with the magazines, onlythat it is necessary to mention the name of the newspaper (comma) the date(comma) and the page.

Lpez Aguirre, Marcos (1999): Las virtudes humanas, El Comercio, Lima 25de mayo de 1999, A-2: 13.

DICTIONARIES:

- With a well-known author: Last name, Name (Year):Name of the dictionary,Edition number, (Volume number in Arabic numbers if any), City: Editorial.

Seco, Manuel (1996): Diccionario de dudas y dificultades de la lenguaespaola, 9 ed., Madrid: Espasa Calpe.

- With not well-known author: Name of the editorial (Year): Name of thedictionary, (Volume number in Arabic numbers if any), City: Editorial.


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Planeta (2001):Diccionario de la ciencia y tecnologa, Barcelona: Planeta.

The THESES: It is necessary to indicate if it is a licentiate thesis, Master or

doctoral. Last names, Name (a space) (Year): Title, (Licentiate, Master ordoctoral) Thesis not published, City: University.

Rivas Castro, Mirna del Pilar (2005): Developing listening comprehension inchildren through story telling, Master Thesis not published, Piura: University ofPiura.

REPORTS or COMMUNICATIONS: Last names, Name (Year) Title ",Name of the Congress, sessions, etc. (comma) place: Organizing entity, Date,(report type, communication, round table, interviews, etc.).

Martnez Snchez, Lois (1997): "reas dialectales del espaol de Amrica".Primeras Jornadas de Lingstica sobre el espaol de Amrica, Piura: Facultad deCiencias y Humanidades de la Universidad de Piura, 5 de noviembre de 1997,Comunicacin.

WEB PAGES: The cites of this type of references will be made in a similar wayto that of the title of a book: Name of the author (last names, name), (Year):Title and subtitle. Support type. Consultation date (this information is of great

importance since the pages of Internet expire or they are modified periodically).Edition place and editors or URL address:

Modern Language Association (2000): MLA Style. En lnea Internet. 20 deseptiembre de 2000. Accesible en http://www.mla.org/

5. DEFENDING THE THESIS:

After the thesis director's approval and the respective binding of the thesis, thegraduating student will be apt to defend or present his/her thesis. Previously he/sheshould have:

made the corresponding payment,

attached the application requesting date for the defense,

attached the legalized copy of the title or the Bachelors degree and the ID, (DNIfor Peru?

attached their curriculum vitae,

attached 2 passport size photographs in white background and with appropriateclothes,
http://www.mla.org/http://www.mla.org/


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filled the record of personal data,

presented the 3 bound copies of the thesis and a CD with the thesis recorded inPDF format,

presented a brief summary of the thesis.

Once the administrative steps have been fulfilled, the Director of the Program willchoose the members of the jury and will program an appropriate date for the

presentation.

6. QUALIFICATION OF THE THESIS:

The defense or presentation of the thesis takes place in public and before a jury thatwill be responsible for the evaluation with the qualifications of having FAILED (4and lower out of 10), PASSED (5 to 6 points out of 10), OUTSTANDING (7 to 8

points out of 10) and EXCELLENT (9 to 10 points out of 10).

master thesis module

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