Project Write up

Research Title
It should summarize the main ideas of the study simply and with style. It should be a concise statement of the main topic and should identify the actual variables or theoretical issue under investigation and the relationship between them.

It should be clear, precise and indicate the subject under study.

Examples of Research titles

 * 1) Effect of free primary education on the girl child: A case study of Murang'a County in Kenya.
 * 2) Implementing ICT in the banking sector: M-Swari Banking System.
 * 3) Tuvuti e-Government System: An online e-Governance system.
 * 4) Enhancing school accounting using ICT: Pesa Accounting system.
 * 5) Supa Duka Retail System: Enhancing productivity in retail business using ICT.

COMPONENTS OF A TITLE PAGE
The title page is written following a particular format. The contents may be interchanged within the page apart from the position of the TITLE and the SUB_TITLE Include the following components on the page: Research Title, Sub-Title (optional), Student No/ Index No, Name, Course, Institution, Examining Body, Supervisor and series. Click here to view the general format of a title page.

Introduction
It is the first subsection of the chapter. It provides a basis of the study and tells a lot of what is to follow in the rest of the write up. It creates an impression about the author and the research project as a whole. It acquaints the reader with the topic at hand (i.e the problem to be instigated) by providing relevant background information.

It is a concise descriptive, informative and climate building preamble culminating in statement of the topic under study. It should be written in a logical and balanced way to portray the researchers vision on topical issues (to be investigated or investigation). This is where global, regional, national and local overview of research topics is briefly discussed, and therefore, it should be well articulated.

It forms a major component at the beginning of the chapter describing (giving as a glimpse into) what is to follow.

Background to the problem
The purpose of this section is to place the research in its context. It should be as brief as possible for clarity purpose. The researcher should indicate his/ her awareness of related studies on the topic and the extend to which those studies have not addressed the problem of the study.

The section includes a brief history of the area under study and review of previous research in the field under study and a statement of the questions which previous research studies left / leave unanswered.

Statement of the problem
It is a writeup that articulates the issue to be researched on and specifies the purpose of the study. It clearly states what the researcher wants to study. The question the researcher should ask is: What exactly do I want to investigate? The first part in the problem statement points out the knowledge gap, while the second part shows the problem.

Statement of the problem should have the following qualities:
 * 1) Ability to communicate to a sophisticated audience who are not necessarily experts in the field.
 * 2) Should be clearly stated.
 * 3) Should be researchable.
 * 4) Should be clearly linked to the objectives and research questions.
 * 5) Explain evidence, observations and indicators for the existence of the problem.

Objectives
These are statements of intend. It is any kind of desired end or condition. They state what is to be achieved by the study. They are declarative statements about what is going to be achieved within a certain time frame. The researcher needs to have a clear understanding of the problem and thus the objectives which the proposal or write up is to serve. They should be stated in measurable terms using words like: Establish, Identify, Explore, Determine, Describe and assess The objectives help in restating the problem in specific, clear and precise terms. The problem statement is sharpened into objectives. In stating objectives, take into consideration: It is important that you list objectives in order of priority.
 * 1) The period of time allowed.
 * 2) Resources at your disposal.
 * 3) Accessibility to the research area.
 * 4) Availability of data.

Types of Objectives

 * 1) General
 * 2) Specific

Examples of Specific Objectives

 * 1) To establish the relationship between poverty and school dropouts.
 * 2) To improve security.
 * 3) To reduce computational errors by 30%.
 * 4) To increase productivity by 50%.
 * 5) To generate quality output.

Hypotheses
It is an educated guess or assumption of a solution to a problem. The statement of a problem is followed by hypothesis and specific research questions. However, not all research studies require the formulation of hypotheses. Commonly used types of hypotheses are: for more information see Hypotheses
 * 1) Alternative hypotheses
 * 2) Null hypotheses

Research Questions
These are questions that a researcher poses. They act as a guide to the research and should be inline with the objectives (and hypotheses). Example of research questions: Do boys and girls differ in their professional careers after completing college? Does interacting with people from different cultures broaden a learners thinking? Has the quota system of education positively influenced national unity? for more information see Research Questions

Significance of the Study
You should state the objectives and practical significance of the study. Describe how the study will contribute to the general understanding of the field and how the results of the study may lead to an improvement (in practices and planning or programms). Clearly discuss the reason as to why it is worth knowing what the study hopes to find out.

Scope / Delimitations of the study
It describes the limits or boundaries of the study and explaind the reasons as to why the researcher is not extending the study beyond the determined scope (area).

Limitations of the study
These are constraints that the researcher has no control over, for example; lack of adequate time, funds and inability of some respondents to express themselves fluently.

Conceptual / Theoretical Framework
This is where the researcher describes the main dependent and independent variables in the study and the relationship among them. see Conceptual framework

Preview Studies
It involves a systematic identification, location and analysis of documents containing information related to the research problem being investigated. It shows what others have said about the topic. see Literature Review for more information

=Summary / Conclusion= The researcher makes a critique of other studies and makes an objective conclusion based on the findings.

Research Design
It is the plan, structure and strategy that is used in conducting the research (investigation). Its purpose is to produce answers to research questions and to control variance. It provides a framework for planning and conducting a study.

Target population
This is any group of people, institutions or objects that have at least one characteristic in common. The target population should be explicitly defined.

Sample and Sampling procedures
This is a description of the population sample and the sampling procedures to be used in determining the population to be sampled. see Sampling for more information

Description of the research instruments
In this section, the researcher explains the instruments that will be used in collecting data and how the researcher will develop the instruments.

Description of data collection procedures
It indicates how the researcher will collect data for the study. The researcher specifies the data collection tools and how they will be availed to the respondents for example if the questionnaires will be posted or if the researcher will undertake a field research. For more information seeData Collection

Description of data analysis procedures
The researcher indicates the statistical procedures to be used in analyzing the data. for example; establishing the frequency, standard deviation, variance or correlation. The researcher needs to ensure that the statistical procedures chosen are appropriate for research questions being asked and the hypothesis you intend to test. for more information see Data Analysis Procedures