synopsis for thesis topics

How to Write a Great Synopsis for Thesis

A synopsis is a structured outline of a research thesis and the steps followed to answer the research question. The goal of writing a synopsis is to clearly and thoroughly explain the need to investigate a certain problem using particular practical methods to conduct the study. One of the main components of this written work is an extensive literature review containing strong evidence that the proposed research is feasible.

Establishing the Background

A supervisor may ask you to write a synopsis for one or more reasons:

• to help you improve your critical thinking and writing skills
• to help you understand how to design a comprehensive synopsis
• to encourage you to write a comprehensive literature review to make sure that the research problem has not been answered yet
• to make you conduct a logical analysis of the steps that should be followed to meet the objectives of the research

A synopsis should be coherent in terms of research design. Thus, you should ensure that the research problem, aims, and research methods are logically linked and well-considered. Note that all synopses should contain answers for several crucial questions:

• Why should research on the proposed problem be undertaken?
• What is expected to be achieved?
• What has been done by other researchers on the proposed topic?
• How will the objectives of the study be achieved?

The Writing Process

Before proceeding, consider answering the following questions:

• Why am I going to study this topic?
• Why do I consider it to be important?
• Have I conducted an extensive literature review on the topic?
• What problem will the research help to solve?
• How do I incorporate previous studies on the topic?

The structure of a synopsis should correspond to the structure of qualifying research work, and the word count should be 2,500–3,000 words (Balu 38). The basic elements of a synopsis include a title page, contents page, an introduction, background, literature review, objectives, methods, experiments and results, conclusions, and references.

Introduction

As this comprises the first part of the main text, the introduction should convince readers that the study addresses a relevant topic and that the expected outcomes will provide important insights. Also, this section should include a brief description of the methods that will be used to answer the research question. Usually, the introduction is written in 1–3 paragraphs and answers the following questions:

• What is the topic of the research?
• What is the research problem that needs to be meaningfully understood or investigated?
• Why is the problem important?
• How will the problem be studied?

In this section, you should set the scene and better introduce the research topic by proving its scientific legitimacy and relevance. It is important to establish a clear focus and avoid broad generalizations and vague statements. If necessary, you may explain key concepts or terms. Consider covering the following points in this section:

• Discuss how the research will contribute to the existing scientific knowledge.
• Provide a detailed description of the research problem and purpose of the research.
• Provide a rationale for the study.
• Explain how the research question will be answered.
• Be sure to discuss the methods chosen and anticipated implications of the research.

Literature Review

A review of existing literature is an important part of a synopsis, as it:

• Gives a more detailed look at scientific information related to the topic
• Familiarizes readers with research conducted by others on a similar subject
• Gives insight into the difficulties faced by other researchers
• Helps identify variables for the research based on similar studies
• Helps double-check the feasibility of the research problem.

When writing the literature review, do not simply present a list of methods researchers have used and conclusions they have drawn. It is important to compare and contrast different opinions and be unafraid to criticize some of them. Pay attention to controversial issues and divergent approaches used to address similar problems. You may discuss which arguments are more persuasive and which methods and techniques seem to be more valid and reliable. In this section, you are expected not to summarize but analyze the previous research while remembering to link it to your own purpose.

Identify the objectives of the research based on the literature review. Provide an overall objective related to the scientific contribution of the study to the subject area. Also include a specific objective that can be measured at the end of the research.

When writing this section, consider that the aim of the research is to produce new knowledge regarding the topic chosen. Therefore, the research methodology forms the core of your project, and your goal is to convince readers that the research design and methods chosen will rationally answer the research questions and provide effective tools to interpret the results correctly. It may be appropriate to incorporate some examples from your literature review into the description of the overall research design.

When describing the research methodology, ensure that you specify the approaches and techniques that will be used to answer the research question. In addition, be specific about applying the chosen methods and what you expect to achieve. Keep in mind that the methods section allows readers to evaluate the validity and feasibility of the study. Therefore, be sure to explain your decision to adopt specific methods and procedures. It is also important to discuss the anticipated barriers and limitations of the study and how they will be addressed. Specify what kind of contribution to the existing knowledge on the topic is expected, and discuss any ethical considerations that are relevant to the research.

Experiments and Results

Logically present and analyze the results of the study using tables or figures.

In this section, you should again state the significance of the research and summarize the study. Be sure to mention the study objectives and methods used to answer the research questions. Also, discuss how the results of the study contribute to the current knowledge on the problem.

A synopsis should contain a list of all references used. Make sure the references are formatted according to the chosen citation style and each source presented in this section is mentioned within the body of the synopsis.

The purpose of writing a synopsis is to show a supervisor a clear picture of a proposed project and allow him or her to find any gaps that have not been considered previously. A concisely written synopsis will help you gain approval to proceed with the actual research. While no rigid rules for writing this type of paper have been established, a synopsis should be constructed in a manner to help a supervisor understand the proposed research at first glance.

Balu, R. “Writing a Good Ph.D Research Synopsis.” International Journal of Research in Science and Technology, vol. 5, no. 4, 2015, pp. 38–48.

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How to Write a Research Synopsis: Template, Examples, & More

Last Updated: October 24, 2024 Fact Checked

• Organizing & Formatting
• Writing Your Synopsis
• Reviewing & Editing

Research Synopsis Template

This article was reviewed by Gerald Posner and by wikiHow staff writer, Raven Minyard, BA . Gerald Posner is an Author & Journalist based in Miami, Florida. With over 35 years of experience, he specializes in investigative journalism, nonfiction books, and editorials. He holds a law degree from UC College of the Law, San Francisco, and a BA in Political Science from the University of California-Berkeley. He’s the author of thirteen books, including several New York Times bestsellers, the winner of the Florida Book Award for General Nonfiction, and has been a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in History. He was also shortlisted for the Best Business Book of 2020 by the Society for Advancing Business Editing and Writing. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 292,759 times.

A research synopsis describes the plan for your research project and is typically submitted to professors or department heads so they can approve your project. Most synopses are between 3,000 and 4,000 words and provide your research objectives and methods. While the specific types of information you need to include in your synopsis may vary depending on your department guidelines, most synopses include the same basic sections. In this article, we’ll walk you step-by-step through everything you need to know to write a synopsis for research.

Things You Should Know

• Begin your research synopsis by introducing the question your research will answer and its importance to your field.
• List 2 or 3 specific objectives you hope to achieve and how they will advance your field.
• Discuss your methodology to demonstrate why the study design you chose is appropriate for your research question.

Organizing Your Research Synopsis

• Find out what citation format you’re supposed to use, as well as whether you’re expected to use parenthetical references or footnotes in the body of your synopsis.
• If you have questions about anything in your guidelines, ask your instructor or advisor to ensure you follow them correctly.

• Title: the title of your study
• Abstract: a summary of your research synopsis
• Introduction: identifies and describes your research question
• Literature Review: a review of existing relevant research
• Objectives: goals you hope to accomplish through your study
• Hypotheses: results you expect to find through your research
• Methodology and methods: explains the methods you’ll use to complete your study
• References: a list of any references used in citations

Tip: Your synopsis might have additional sections, depending on your discipline and the type of research you're conducting. Talk to your instructor or advisor about which sections are required for your department.

• Keep in mind that you might not end up using all the sources you initially found. After you've finished your synopsis, go back and delete the ones you didn't use.

Writing Your Research Synopsis

• Your title should be a brief and specific reflection of the main objectives of your study. In general, it should be under 50 words and should avoid unneeded phrases like “an investigation into.”
• On the other hand, avoid a title that’s too short, as well. For example, a title like “A Study of Urban Heating” is too short and doesn’t provide any insight into the specifics of your research.

• The introduction allows you to explain to your reader exactly why the question you’re trying to answer is vital and how your knowledge and experience make you the best researcher to tackle it.
• Support most of the statements in your introduction with other studies in the area that support the importance of your question. For example, you might cite a previous study that mentions your problem as an area where further research needs to be done.
• The length of your introduction will vary depending on the overall length of your synopsis as well as the ultimate length of your eventual paper after you’ve finished your research. Generally, it will cover the first page or two of your synopsis.

• For example, try finding relevant literature through educational journals or bulletins from organizations like WHO and CDC.
• Typically, a thorough literature review discusses 8 to 10 previous studies related to your research problem.
• As with the introduction, the length of your literature review will vary depending on the overall length of your synopsis. Generally, it will be about the same length as your introduction.
• Try to use the most current research available and avoid sources over 5 years old.

• For example, an objective for research on urban heating could be “to compare urban heat modification caused by vegetation of mixed species considering the 5 most common urban trees in an area.”
• Generally, the overall objective doesn’t relate to solving a specific problem or answering a specific question. Rather, it describes how your particular project will advance your field.
• For specific objectives, think in terms of action verbs like “quantify” or “compare.” Here, you’re hoping to gain a better understanding of associations between particular variables.

• Specify the sources you used and the reasons you have arrived at your hypotheses. Typically, these will come from prior studies that have shown similar relationships.
• For example, suppose a prior study showed that children who were home-schooled were less likely to be in fraternities or sororities in college. You might use that study to back up a hypothesis that home-schooled children are more independent and less likely to need strong friendship support networks.

• Expect your methodology to be at least as long as either your introduction or your literature review, if not longer. Include enough detail that your reader can fully understand how you’re going to carry out your study.
• This section of your synopsis may include information about how you plan to collect and analyze your data, the overall design of your study, and your sampling methods, if necessary. Include information about the study setting, like the facilities and equipment that are available to you to carry out your study.
• For example, your research work may take place in a hospital, and you may use cluster sampling to gather data.

• Use between 100 and 200 words to give your readers a basic understanding of your research project.
• Include a clear statement of the problem, the main goals or objectives of your study, the theories or conceptual framework your research relies upon, and the methods you’ll use to reach your goals or objectives.

Tip: Note down a few notes as you draft your other sections that you can compile for your abstract to keep your writing more efficient.

Reviewing and Editing Your Research Synopsis

• If you don’t have that kind of time because you’re up against a deadline, at least take a few hours away from your synopsis before you go back to edit it. Do something entirely unrelated to your research, like taking a walk or going to a movie.

• Eliminate sentences that don’t add any new information. Even the longest synopsis is a brief document—make sure every word needs to be there and counts for something.
• Get rid of jargon and terms of art in your field that could be better explained in plain language. Even though your likely readers are people who are well-versed in your field, providing plain language descriptions shows you know what you’re talking about. Using jargon can seem like you’re trying to sound like you know more than you actually do.

Tip: Free apps, such as Grammarly and Hemingway App, can help you identify grammatical errors as well as areas where your writing could be clearer. However, you shouldn't rely solely on apps since they can miss things.

• Reference list formatting is very particular. Read your references out loud, with the punctuation and spacing, to pick up on errors you wouldn’t have noticed if you’d just read over them.
• Compare your format to the one in the stylebook you’re using and make sure all of your entries are correct.

• Read your synopsis backward by starting on the last word and reading each word separately from the last to the first. This helps isolate spelling errors. Reading backward sentence by sentence helps you isolate grammatical errors without being distracted by the content.
• Print your synopsis and circle every punctuation mark with a red pen. Then, go through them and focus on whether they’re correct.
• Read your synopsis out loud, including the punctuation, as though you were dictating the synopsis.

• Have at least one person who isn’t familiar with your area of study look over your synopsis. If they can understand your project, you know your writing is clear. If any parts confuse them, then that’s an area where you can improve the clarity of your writing.

Expert Q&A

• If you make significant changes to your synopsis after your first or second round of editing, you may need to proofread it again to make sure you didn’t introduce any new errors. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0

You Might Also Like

• ↑ https://admin.umt.edu.pk/Media/Site/iib1/FileManager/FORMAT%20OF%20SYNOPSIS%2012-10-2018.pdf
• ↑ https://www.scientificstyleandformat.org/Tools/SSF-Citation-Quick-Guide.html
• ↑ https://numspak.edu.pk/upload/media/Guidelines%20for%20Synopsis%20Writing1531455748.pdf
• ↑ https://www.researchgate.net/publication/279917593_Research_synopsis_guidelines
• ↑ https://writingcenter.unc.edu/tips-and-tools/editing-and-proofreading/
• ↑ https://www.cornerstone.edu/blog-post/six-steps-to-really-edit-your-paper/

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WRITING A GOOD Ph.D RESEARCH SYNOPSIS

Synopsis is a short summary of your Ph.D thesis work. This paper suggests some ideas to motivate the young researchers for effectively writing the Ph.D synopsis with essential tips and tricks.This can act as a reference and help young researcher to going to write Ph.D synopsis.

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LAW COLLOQUY

You Must Know Yourself, To Grow Yourself

How to write Dissertation and synopsis

What is the importance of your research?

Which type of problem your dissertation is going to challenge or raise?

Why is it a problem for the research, academic, scientific, technical, the management, or legal community?

Why is it important for you to find a solution?

How are you going to search for the answers?

YouTube video on the topic is shared below:

A step before the Dissertation - How to write a synopsis

Dissertation topic - The topic is the most important thing for research, which should be selected wisely, e.g.:-

It should be specific, unambiguous, and explicit.

It should not be vague or prolonged.

It should concern general, legal, informative, or technical issues at the national or international level.

Introduction —This section should provide a brief description of the area of the proposed research work in a very concrete, concise, and accurate manner. It must be clear rather than fuzzy and general.

Review of Literature – ' Research' means ‘to search again’. That’s why a ‘review of the literature’ is an essential and very important part of any research work, which explicitly the research work was done previously in the same area of the proposed research. It is essential to plan further research efficiently and appropriately. References should support the information given in the review.

Objectives of research - There must be comprehensive objectives of the research work. These objectives will indicate the aim, major aspects, and the study's overall purpose. It should be clearly and concisely defined. These are broad statements of desired outcomes, or the general intentions of the research, which 'paint a picture' of your research work. The maximum aim or objectives should be up to three. If should not be too extensive. Make accurate use of concepts, which must be sensible and precisely described.

Justification of the problem - Every objective needs justification. In research, it is essential to justify your objective in a concrete and impressive and remarkable manner. You may take help from previous research work, cases, reports, etc. There is a possibility to predict the specific and general benefits likely to be achieved as a result of the completion of the proposed research by comparing and citing references of the previous works.

The hypothesis of Study- Hypothesis is a statement to be tested for possible acceptance or rejection. Hypothesis are of two types, i.e.:-

Null (Ho) - The null hypothesis is tested for possible rejection.

Alternative (H1)., which is tested for possible acceptance.

Significance of Study —It emphasises the significance/ importance of the research work/study, i.e., the reason and aim of the selection of the topic of research.

Statement of Problem —The researcher must clearly identify the problem/issue selected for the thesis/ dissertation.

Research Methodology - It means a plan of work describing the various aspects of the study in a logical sequence along with the methodologies to be employed. It helps to validate that the researcher has a fairly good idea about the nature of the work likely to be involved. The methodology includes the following:-

Sources of data : Factual information is called quantitative data. Information collected about opinions and views is called qualitative data. There are two methods for this:

Primary research (field research) involves gathering new data that has not been collected before. Examples include surveys using questionnaires, interviews with focus groups, and observations.

Secondary research (desk research) involves gathering existing data that has already been produced. For example, research newspapers and company reports, case studies, diaries, critical incidents, portfolios, books, journals, periodicals, abstracts, indexes, directories, research reports, conference papers, market reports, annual reports, internal records of organisations, newspapers and magazines, CD-ROMs, online databases, the Internet, videos, and broadcasts.

References and Bibliography —The synopsis should include a list of references and a bibliography if required. These should follow a standard pattern.

Length of a synopsis —It will be difficult to define an overall length for a synopsis for legal research in such varied fields of study. However, it should be as concise as possible and avoid repetitions. A synopsis's total length may range from 1500 to a few thousand words.

Click YouTube video link for Structure of footnote and bibliography below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AUnbGpOctLk

Introduction - The first chapter should include a background of the problem and a statement of the issue. The purpose of the study must be clearly stated, followed by the research questions. Your whole research work and other chapters should be the answers to the research question you raised. You should provide clear definitions of the terms related to the work. You will also be able to expose your assumptions and expectations of the final results.

Literature Review –This is the most significant part of your research. In this chapter of the dissertation, you will review the research process in the same manner as described earlier. This part reflects your work and efforts.

Methodology -This part of the dissertation focuses on how you located the resources and the methods of implementation of the results. If you're writing a qualitative dissertation, you will expose the research questions, setting, participants, data collection, and data analysis processes. If, on the other hand, you're writing a quantitative dissertation, you will focus this chapter on the research questions and hypotheses, information about the population and sample, instrumentation, collection of data, and analysis of data.

Sample size: The sample size should be normal neither too small nor too large.

Data Collection Techniques : (Registration, Questionnaires, interviews, Direct Observations) Analysis of Data: The data will be analysed according to the topic's requirements. After collecting the data, it is to be tabulated. The total number of variables used will be included in the study, and then the relationship between variables will be analysed.

Findings —This is again a very important point in the whole research process because it reflects your cerebral aptitude or intellectual ability. In the findings, you reiterate the research questions and discuss the outcomes.

Conclusions - In the dissertation's final chapter, you will summarise the study and briefly report the results and outcomes. You should focus on explaining how your findings make a difference in the academic community and how they are implied in practice.

Recommendations/ Suggestions - This part is the end chapter of your research, which includes "Recommendations for future research“, where you propose future research to clarify the issues further. Explain why you suggest this research and what form it should take.

Bibliography : Use the recommended citation style for your field of study and include all sources you used during the research and writing stages.

Difference between footnotes, references, and bibliography

Footnotes, endnotes, references, and bibliographies are the sources and references of the materials used in the research work which is mandatory to acknowledge. If the sources are not acknowledged than it falls under the category of plagiarism.

Footnotes - These are always mentioned at the bottom of the page only under the footer. It reflects references for each page separately.

References/ endnotes - These are located at the end of articles or in chapters.

Bibliography - It is always located at the end of research which is the list of all the sources and references.

BLUE BOOK (19th ed.) CITATION FORMAT EXAMPLES

Times New Roman, Size 10/12, 1 line spacing, Justified.

Add full stop after every footnote.

Months should be written in abbreviated forms: Jan., Feb., Mar., Apr., May, June, July, Aug., Sept., Oct., Nov., Dec.

Volume No. (if any) NAME OF AUTHOR, TITLE OF THE BOOK pg. cited (Editors/Translators Name, edition cited year). Eg:

2, FREDERICK POLLOCK & FREDERIC WILLIAM MAITLAND, THE HISTORY OF ENGLISH LAW 205-06 (2d ed. 1911).

CHARLES DICKENS, BLEAK HOUSE 49-55 (Norman Page ed., Penguin Books 1971) (1853).

Rules & Exceptions

Follow the font format illustrated above. For example, the author's name must be in SMALL CAPS.

The first name must always be written before the surname.

For two authors, write both their names separated by „&?.

In case of citing a book that has been edited, write „ed. or „eds. after the editor's name. If translated, write trans after the name of the translator. If both, write the editor’s name first and then the translator’s name.

For more than two authors, editors or translators write the name of the author, editor, or translator that appears first, followed by “ et al.”

Do not add „p? or „pp? before the page number. Just write the numerical.

In case the book is being published by more than one publishing house, write the name of the publisher cited after the name of the editor in sentence case.

JOURNAL ARTICLE

a) For consecutively paginated journals (Where the periodical is organised by volume and page numbers continue throughout the volume, it is a consecutively paginated periodical) Name of Author, “Title of Article”, Journal volume no. ABBREVIATION OF JOURNAL Page on which Article Begins, Page Cited (Year). Eg.

Charles A. Reich, “The New Property”, 73 YALE L.J. 733, 737-38 (1964).

For more than two authors, write the name of the author who appears first, followed by “et al.”

b) For non-consecutively paginated journals (works appearing in periodicals that are separately paginated within each issue)

Name of Author, “Title of Article”, ABBREVIATION OF JOURNAL, date of issue as appears in the cover, at the first page of work, page cited. E.g.

Barbara Ward,” Progress for a Small Planet”, HARV. BUS. REV., Sept.-Oct. 1979, at 89, 90.

NEWSPAPER ARTICLE

Author's name, Name of Article/ news report, ABBRV. OF NAME OF NEWSPAPER, Month Date, Year, at pg. no. Eg.

Ari L. Goldman, O'Connor Warns Politicians Risk Excommunication over Abortion, N.Y. TIMES, June 15, 1990, at A1.

When an authenticated official or exact copy of the source is available online, citation can be made as if to the original print source without any URL info appended.)

Name of the Author, Name of the article, INSTITUTIONAL OWNER OF DOMAIN (Month date, year, time), URL. Visited on a date. Eg:

Eric Posner, More on Section 7 of the Torture Convention, THE VOLOKH CONSPIRACY (Jan. 29, 2009, 10:04 AM), http://www.volokh.com/posts/1233241458.html. visited on 21/01/18.

Format for a time as illustrated.

Don’t write available at or before the URL.

Write the entire URL as appears in the address bar of the browser, remove the hyperlink.

a) U.S. cases:

First Party v. Second Party, Reporter Vol. No., Reporter Abbreviation, First Page of Case, Specific Page Reference (Year).

Eg: Meritor Sav. Bank v. Vinson, 477 U.S. 57, 60 (1986).

b) Indian cases:

Case name, (year of a reporter) Vol No. Reporter Abbreviation, First page (year of a decision if different from year of a reporter (India, if not evident from context) Eg:

Charan Lal Sahu v Union Carbide, (1989) 1 S.C.C. 674 (India). Reporters that depart from this format shall be written in their own format. Eg:

Jabalpur v. Shukla, A.I.R. 1976 S.C. 1207 (India).

Rules & Exceptions:

Do not italicize the case name.

If there is more than one party, list only the first party.

Italicize the procedural phrases, e.g., In re, Ex parte , etc.

a) U.S. Law

The official name of the act, U.S.C. title number Abbreviation of Code cited sections symbols and span of sections containing statute (Date of Code edition cited). Eg:

Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act, 42 U.S.C. §§ 9601-9675 (2006).

b) U.S. Constitution

Abbreviation of Constitution cited Abbreviation for Amendment No of amendment cited, section symbol and no. of section cited. Eg

U.S. CONST. amend. XIV, § 2.

LA. CONST. art. X, pt. IV. c)

c) Indian Law

Act name, Act No., Acts of Parliament, Year of Volume (India, if not evident from context). Eg:

The Copyright (Amendment) Act, 1992, No. 13, Acts of Parliament, 1992 (India).

d) Indian Constitution

INDIA CONST. art. 1, cl. 2.

Abbreviations

"Ibid and Op.cit"

Ibid. (abbreviation for the Latin Ibidem, meaning "The same").

Refers to the same author and source (e.g., book, journal) in the immediately preceding reference.

op. cit. (abbreviation for the Latin opus citatum, meaning "the work cited").

This refers to the reference listed earlier by the same author.

Ibid. refers to the immediately preceding reference; op. cit. refers to the prior reference by the same author.

R. Poirer, "Learning physics," (Academic, New York, 1993), p. 4.

Ibid., p. 9.

T. Eliot, "Astrophysics," (Springer, Berlin, 1989), p. 141.

R. Builder, J Phys Chem 20(3) 1654-57, 1991.

Eliot, op. cit., p.148.

"Id." is an all-purpose short form citation that may be used for any cited authority except internal cross-references.

"Id." always refers to the immediately preceding cited authority, either in the same footnote or the previous footnote so long as it is the only authority cited in the proceeding footnote.

Sweatt v. Painter, 339 U.S. 629, 632 (1950).

NOTE: Sources cited in explanatory parentheticals or phrases or as part of the case prior or subsequent history are not counted as intervening authorities preventing the use of "Id."

Any change in what is cited, such as page numbers, must be indicated after "Id."

"Supra" may be used to refer to certain types of previously cited materials as well as internal cross-references. Rule 4.2 contains a complete, detailed list of which materials may and may not be cited to using "Supra." Note, however, that in general most forms of primary legal authority (cases, statutes, etc.) should not be referred to using "Supra."

NOTE: This is also true for materials such as restatements, legislative documents (other than hearings), and model codes that typically have similar citation formats.

"Supra" citations, such as books and periodicals, are most commonly used for secondary authority. Therefore, the most common format for a Supra short-form citation consists of the author's last name followed by "supra," offset by a comma. Immediately after "supra" is the word "note" in ordinary type, followed by the number of the footnote in which the authority was first cited in full:

15. Philip D. O'Neill, Jr., Verification in an Age of Insecurity: The Future of Arms Control Compliance 45 (2010).

25. O'neil, supra note 15.

A pincite offset by a comma should indicate changes in what portion of the authority is being cited. An "at" is typically necessary to avoid confusion:

28. O'neil, supra note 15, at 52.

Suppose a work has an institutional author, use the complete institutional name. In that case, works without an author may be cited by the title, while unsigned student-authored law journal works should be cited by the appropriate designation such as "Note" or "Comment."

NOTE: The typeface convention from the source should be used for the author's name or title in a "supra" citation.

"hereinafter"

The term 'hereinafter' is used when using another short form would be impractical, cumbersome, or confusing.

Two typical circumstances where a "hereinafter" is appropriate are when an author name or title is long and unwieldy for a normal "supra" short-form citation and to distinguish between two or more authorities cited originally in the same footnote, which could easily be confused with each other.

To use "hereinafter," at the end of the first full citation and enclosed in square brackets, but before any explanatory parenthetical, and write "hereinafter" followed by a shortened form of the authority, typically a paraphrase of the title or designation of the type of document as long as unambiguous.

NOTE: The shortened hereinafter form should be in the same typeface as the original.

Subsequent citations to the authority will function as supra citations but will use the hereinafter designation in place of the full author or title.

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Learn how to prepare and write a synopsis assignment.

• Newcastle University
• Academic Skills Kit
• Assignment Types

A synopsis is a brief summary which gives readers an overview of the main points. In an academic context, this is usually a summary of a text (a journal article, book, report etc) but in some instances you might be writing a synopsis of a talk, film or other form of presentation. A synopsis is a neutral summary, objectively capturing the main points, rather than your own perspective or critique, and it focusses directly on the text you’re summarising rather than being a wider discussion of a topic, as an essay might be.

A synopsis aims to give the reader a full, if brief, account of the whole text so that they can follow its main points without having to read it themselves. It’s not a ‘trailer’ designed to tempt your audience to read the text itself, so you don’t have to worry about ‘hooking’ them in with hints and high points or ‘spoiling the ending’ - give the whole text equal coverage, including the conclusions. You could add some commentary which gives the reader a bit of context about the text, including the authors and circumstances it was written in (for example, if it is part of a debate, particular school of thought or its significance and what impact it’s had).

Writing a good synopsis is a skill, and there are a number of challenges: 

• Separating the main points from the minor detail
• Knowing what to leave out as well as what to include
• Giving a sense of the overall narrative as well as listing the key points
• Covering the whole text within a small word limit
• Knowing how closely to stick to the original, especially in terms of the wording
• Whether to give all key points equal treatment, or cover some more briefly, even combining them
• Rephrasing things concisely without losing the meaning or misrepresenting it
• Not leaving out anything crucial to understanding the whole overall message

A good synopsis will allow the reader to feel as if they’d skimread the whole text themselves, understanding the overall gist and highlighting what they need to know. A poor synopsis will get bogged down in detail, giving a confused account of the whole story by just listing points, miss out major points or give an inaccurate or one-sided account or stick so closely to the original that it becomes plagiarism without demonstrating a real understanding by the person summarising it.  

How to prepare a synopsis

Boiling down the key points and overall narrative of the original means good reading and note-taking skills which aim to identify and boil down key points to their essence. You could try some of the following approaches: 

• Read the whole text, and afterwards, without re-reading, jot down your first initial summary in 50 words to capture its overall point. You can check it back for accuracy or anything you left out, but stick within ca 50 words
• Read the introduction and first line of each paragraph to get a sense of the overall structure and key points within it
• Highlight one sentence in each paragraph that you think is essential detail to understanding that section
• Alternatively, with a marker pen, cross out anything that isn’t essential to an understanding of the whole section or text 
• Jot down only key words as a summary of each point rather than whole sentences
• Read each paragraph and summarise it without looking, in one sentence of your own 
• Consider how many points you can make within your word count, and reduce or combine your list of summarised points down to this number

You could start small, identifying just keywords or sentences at first and then work them up into phrases, bullet points and sentences as a rough plan or draft, or you could start big with the original text and reduce each section, paragraph and sentence summary again and again until you have boiled it down to its essence.  

When you start to prepare your first plan or draft, try to use your notes or memory and step away from the original as much as you can. You can go back and check it afterwards, but you need to create some distance to be able to create your own account and have confidence in the points you have identified as essential.

Writing a synopsis

The main decisions facing you as you write up your summary are about how closely to stick to the original in terms of structure and style, and how much attention to give to each point. 

• You could begin your synopsis with a brief context, explaining who the authors are, the context and significance of their work, as well as anything you think might help the reader to understand the following summary
• The most common structure is to follow that of the original text, to give a sense of its narrative flow as well as the key points within it. You could choose to depart from it a little though, perhaps glossing over some points faster than others, combining two sections which go together or aren’t enough in their own right, possibly even changing the order a little where it helps to combine two similar points. Careful use of signposting language will help the reader clearly follow the structure (and note anywhere you’ve changed it from the original) so they can identify the bit you’re talking about in the original if they want to
• The style will naturally be strongly influenced by the original wording, but you should phrase it in your own words wherever possible. It’s harder to nibble away words from a much longer original than it is to start again and use your own concise phrasing, and you want to demonstrate your own understanding to the reader. You could use the odd original phrase or quotation here or there, but the synopsis needs to be more than a collage of quotations; it’s a thing in its own right rather than a cut-down version of the original
• You can also show your own response to the text in the way you use language to guide the reader to what you feel are the key points and (briefly) why. Your own voice doesn’t need to be very obvious in the synopsis, as it’s about the text rather than your reaction to it, but you have made analytical decisions about what is important, and might want to explain to the reader why these points are significant in understanding the whole
• What is the main purpose of this text? What did it aim to discover, explain or prove?
• Why was this research done? How significant is it?
• How was the research conducted? What kind of research is it?
• What were the three (or four, five) main things I should be aware of from this paper?
• What is their line of argument?
• What is their overall conclusion, recommendation, finding? Why is that important?

Managing word count

The trick to writing a concise synopsis which keeps within your word limit is not to start from the much bigger original text, but from your own boiled down notes. If you’re over the word count, you could start cutting out words that don’t seem essential, but if you go too far, you end up with a text which does not read well and doesn’t hang together. It might be better to remove whole sentences and perhaps whole points, than nibble away at words here and there.

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• Getting started
• Criteria for a problem formulation
• Find who and what you are looking for
• Too broad, too narrow, or o.k.?
• Test your knowledge
• Lesson 5: Meeting your supervisor
• Getting started: summary
• Literature search
• Searching for articles
• Searching for Data
• Databases provided by your library
• Other useful search tools
• Free text, truncating and exact phrase
• Combining search terms – Boolean operators
• Keep track of your search strategies
• Problems finding your search terms?
• Different sources, different evaluations
• Extract by relevance
• Lesson 4: Obtaining literature
• Literature search: summary
• Research methods
• Combining qualitative and quantitative methods
• Collecting data
• Analysing data
• Strengths and limitations
• Explanatory, analytical and experimental studies
• The Nature of Secondary Data
• How to Conduct a Systematic Review
• Directional Policy Research
• Strategic Policy Research
• Operational Policy Research
• Conducting Research Evaluation
• Research Methods: Summary
• Project management
• Project budgeting
• Data management plan
• Quality Control
• Project control
• Project management: Summary
• Writing process
• Title page, abstract, foreword, abbreviations, table of contents
• Introduction, methods, results
• Discussion, conclusions, recomendations, references, appendices, layout
• Use citations correctly
• Use references correctly
• Bibliographic software
• Writing process – summary
• Getting started /

Lesson 4: Synopsis

In order to clarify your thoughts about the purpose of your thesis and how you plan to reach your research goals, you should prepare a synopsis. A synopsis is a short, systematic outline of your proposed thesis, made in preparation for your first meeting with your supervisor. It serves to ensure that your supervisor gets a clear picture of your proposed project and allows him or her to spot whether there are gaps or things that you have not taken into account.

Your synopsis will work as a kind of protocol for the further steps you need to take to ensure that your thesis reaches the required academic level – and that you finish on time.

Although there are no rigid rules for how a synopsis should look, it must contain:

• Rationale – should address the gaps/problems/issues observed as part of the background section and thus present the argument/justification for completing the study – as described in the lesson of the same name.
• Problem  formulation – the problem you aim to address in your thesis,as described in the lesson of the same name.
• Overall and specific objectives – the actions to be taken in order to address the problem, as described in the lesson of the same name.
• Method outline: What type of study is best suited to support the actions stated in the specific objectives? What kind of data (qualitative, quantitative) will your study require? What is your geographical study area and who is your target group(s)? Are there ethical considerations you have to make? Etc.
• Time plan: In the beginning, a rough timeline showing a plan on how your work will be divided over time. When is your deadline for e.g. literature search, potential fieldwork (e.g. interviews and/or questionnaire administration), data analysis, writing and layout? Once your problem formulation and objectives are approved by your supervisor, all details should be added to your time plan.
• References : Create a short list of the major references on which your rationale is based. Make sure that your in-text citations and reference list are completed correctly, both in support of your subsequent work, but also to demonstrate that you have a serious, scientific and methodical approach to your work. See how to use references correctly in the lesson of the same name in the module: Writing process.

At the beginning of your thesis period, your synopsis will be limited in scope and detail, but as you work your way deeper into your topic and you get a clearer picture of your objectives, methods and references, the more complete and detailed your synopsis will become.

A rule of thumb is that the length of your synopsis can vary from two to five pages, but the precise length and exact requirements of your synopsis can vary from institute to institute and from supervisor to supervisor.

Most study programmes will require that you present a final synopsis before starting data collection. However, the first version of your synopsis for discussion with your supervisor should not be an informal draft. Carefully performed work creates respect and motivation and saves a lot of you and your supervisor’s time.

A good approach from the very beginning is to establish a practice of how to write headings, references, names of species, etc. And be consistent. This will help you save time and importantly, lead to a better overall assessment of your final work.

Do you now know how to write a synopsis. Test yourself in the following.

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• Pursuing a PhD in Germany

All the essentials at a glance

Rainald Manthe ist Soziologe und hat in Duisburg-Essen, Bielefeld und St. Petersburg studiert. An der Universität Luzern und der University of Chicago hat er zu transnationalen sozialen Bewegungen geforscht. 

When do I have to write a synopsis?

You will need to write one in situations like these:

• Looking for an adviser
• Applying for a PhD student position
• Applying for a stipend
• Applying to a graduate school

What exactly is a synopsis?

A synopsis describes your research objective. It is important to clearly state your topic, your goals, and your specific approach. This gives external readers an overview of your research project. You should also remember that a synopsis is just a framework—your actual dissertation can deviate from it. A synopsis should also be as realistic as possible at the time it is written.

You can adjust your outline depending on your target audience. While it may be important to show a professor or graduate school how your topic fits into their research programme, applicants for PhD positions are evaluated heavily on quality and feasibility. Organisations that promote young, talented students will want to know how the project fits in with their world view.

How should I structure my synopsis?

Synopses do not have a uniform structure. However, almost every research synopsis contains these components:

• Title: This should provide information on both the general topic of the work and the specific aspects you want to examine. Ideally, the title itself will give a rough summary of what phenomena you will be looking at and through which lens. Your title and subtitle should not be more than four lines long.
• Topic of the work: You can introduce the reader to your topic through several episodes, and you might highlight some particularly interesting aspect. It is important to embed your topic in the existing research landscape. What literature is already available and how does it deal with your topic? It may be useful to draw on publications from other disciplines as well. It is helpful to find a system for addressing gaps in existing research. The literature you cite should clearly indicate which aspects of the topic have not yet been appropriately addressed. These gaps in the research will, in turn, determine the questions you want to examine in your own research. The synopsis may also include an initial hypothesis, depending on your discipline.
• Approach: After you have formulated your research question, you should explain the approach you will use to answer it. This section deals with two aspects. First, you must clearly describe the theoretical lens you want to use to address the question. This section is more important in some disciplines, and less so in others. The methodology question is important in every discipline. You should invest some time and energy in answering it. What methods can you use to answer the research question ? What tools will you need, and are they already available? What problems could arise? Your approach might also include definitions of key terms used in your work.
• Literature: Just like academic works themselves, synopses include a bibliography, listing all of the sources cited in the document. Whether or not to add publications you have not cited to the list depends on what is customary in your specific discipline. It is important to show that you have a good understanding of current research available on your topic.
• Timeline: The timeline should state the steps you need to complete before presenting your research results, and should be as realistic as possible. Typically, a dissertation timeline ends when you submit your work. In Germany, the trend is to grant dissertation stipends that last around three years. If you are applying for a three-year stipend, then your timeline should cover this time period. Your timeline should also include buffer time, and shouldn’t leave out vacations. It needs to be realistic, and will be used to evaluate your project itself.

What else can I include in my synopsis?

In addition to the mandatory components of the research synopsis, there are several optional elements:

• Organisation of the work: Frequently, qualification theses will expect a (preliminary) organisational structure.
• Summary: You can add a short summary at the start of your research synopsis to give readers a better overview. It should state your topic, describe gaps in the research, and clarify your own question.
• Goals and expected findings: How will your research contribute to academic knowledge as a whole? What important findings will it deliver? It may make sense to include this information, depending on the purpose of the synopsis.

What else do I need to know?

• You do not need to reinvent the wheel. In many fields, you will be able to build on a broad base of research literature. It is good to develop clear questions when starting your research and to make sure they can realistically be completed within your allotted time.
• Developing a synopsis often takes several months. The more carefully you think about your research project at the start, the more time you will save during the research process itself.
• Diligence makes a good impression. Your synopsis also shows whether you are ready to handle the research project you have designed for yourself. Do you know how to cite other works, assess research literature, and write a realistic-sounding timeline? Is your theoretical and methodological approach appropriate for the research question?
• You are never alone in your research. You can ask classmates, colleagues, or even experienced academics for advice on developing your synopsis.
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How to write synopsis for PhD thesis?

In order to write synopsis for PhD thesis  let’s first see what is a synopsis.

How to write PhD thesis Synopsis?

What is synopsis in literature.

A PhD synopsis is a detailed summary of a proposed research project which justifies the need for your research work. PhD research  synopsis is a document that is used to convince members of academic committees that your research project is worthy enough to be approved.

Synopsis for PhD Thesis Criteria in general

While writing a synopsis of PhD thesis make sure that your thesis synopsis clearly depicts the contribution it would make to the research area. Briefly explain research objectives, research methodology, and research data analysis. Conclude with limitations of your research study and envisioned future prospects on basis of your proposed research finding.

How to write a synopsis?

Phd research synopsis format general outline.

1. The title of research or thesis Clearly state the title of your research project for PhD

2. Introduction The introduction section of PhD synopsis should briefly explain the current knowledge of your research topic, research gaps, and how PhD research project aims to do address these gaps.

3. Literature review A literature review section of PhD synopsis should have a summary of published articles including research papers, review papers, case studies and other academic research resources relevant to your PhD research project. The literature review section in PhD synopsis should clearly address important queries such as 1. What have others done already relevant to this PhD research project? 2. What are relevant research findings from literature and how they can be beneficial for specific PhD synopsis title? 3. In which areas further improvements in work can be done?

4. Aims and objectives Clearly address what is purpose and objective of the PhD synopsis research project. What problems you are going to address? How objectives of the research study will provide solutions for specific problems?

5. Methodology/Work plan Write methodology and work plan through which you will achieve your objectives. Be specific in outlining the materials and methods section. As you need to specify laboratory/field equipment for use, data collection and analysis strategies. This is a critically important part of the research synopsis as by making your materials and methods work plan clear you can run your research project smoothly and make it successful.

6. References Write citations and references for all sources used in your PhD synopsis. Proper referencing will increase the authenticity of your study and will give due acknowledgment to the original source. For references follow the reference style suggested by your university.

7. Conclusion Conclude your PhD thesis synopsis by briefly describing what your PhD research project is and why it is needed. Tell the limitations of your work to bring clarity in the scope of your study. In this way, by following these steps you can write a synopsis for your PhD thesis.

Is there a format for PhD Synopsis?

Yes, it is very important to follow the PhD thesis synopsis format suggested by your academic institution. As you know about the structure and format of a thesis, in a similar way you should have knowledge that your research synopsis for PhD follows a specific format too. So you need to follow PhD synopsis format from your academic institution.

What is the Right synopsis format (General)? The PhD thesis synopsis format varies in different universities. However, with minor differences, the general PhD synopsis format remains almost the same.

6 Resources  for PhD literature Review?

How to write synopsis? PhD thesis synopsis Synopsis for PhD thesis What is synopis

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Written by Dr Asma Jabeen

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ORGANIZING CREATIVITY

How to generate, capture, and collect ideas to realize creative projects., writing a synopsis for a bachelor, master or phd thesis in media and computer science.

2020-06-17 Daniel Community Aspects , Doing Science , Feedback , General Tips , Generating Ideas , Improving your Creativity , Infrastructure , Learning to do Science , Science , Something to Think About 1

The development of ‘Balance Of Power’ reminds me if the use of paratroops in WW2. After much trial and error, the strategists eventually learned that the real value of paratroops lay in their powers to motivate regular troops to fight to rescue the paras. Its difficult to inspire soldiers to risk their lives to win a patch of ground, but when they know that their comrades are just ahead, surrounded by the enemy, counting on the regular troops to save them, the regular troops will fight with unparalleled determination. Paratroops, then, allow the commander to set a clear and tough goal for his troops to reach. Using paratroops is like putting yourself in a deep hole to see if you can dig yourself out of it. Chris Crawford, «Balance Of Power»

At the university I work for, students have to write a synopsis prior to the start of their bachelor or masters thesis. It’s got a particular structure:

• Motivation/Goal of the Thesis
• Research Questions (only needed for a Masters Thesis)
• Starting Scenario
• Goal Scenario
• Approach / Time Table

To be honest, the differentiation in starting scenario and goal scenario is already a clarification. It’s not fleshed out in the usual template, so many students miss it. I would also add the following tips:

General issues about writing a synopsis:

Planning of the human-centered design process: The synopsis covers the first step of the human-centered design process — the planning stage. You determine  what  you want to develop using a HCD process.

The synopsis determine the evaluation criteria — for your work: There’s a reason for the quote at the beginning of this posting. The synopsis determines the standard by which your work will be evaluated. It states clearly what you have promised, and it will be compared against what you have achieved. So invest some thought into what you actually write down. Your advisors will remember … it’s written down, after all … and they  will grade you accordingly. Don’t shot yourself in the leg, don’t promise anything you cannot (realistically) achieve.

Open Issues vs. Outlook: In our theses, there are two distinct sections. Open Issues vs. Outlook (future research). Open issues is what you did promise but could not achieve. This section should be as short as possible. And then there is the outlook or future research, things you did find out during your work which would be interesting to explore. That can be longer. Just make sure you deliver what you did promise. The old adage applies here: Under-promise but over-deliver.

Write so I can see you: The synopsis is the first work with which to evaluate whether a person can already write for a mature audience, or whether this person has to learn a lot. Few if any students write well (even though many think they do, oh sweet summer children …). Thing is, it’s a process, so yeah, use the opportunity to take the feedback to your writing seriously. If there are problems with your synopsis, these problems will be — unless actively addressed (you’re too old for it to be a fluke) — in your thesis text. And this applies to the style, the use of sources, and your argumentation. If you speak German, perhaps this video might be useful: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ID7q7pXzyc

Ad 1: Motivation/Goal of the Thesis

Answers the most important question: This section answers the crucial question: “Why should I care?”. You need to met the reader where he is and show (not just tell ) why the problem is important and why your product should be developed with a human-centered development process. And to go deeper into the “show (not just  tell )” issue — almost all cases in which people mention that something is “important”, it really isn’t. If it is, you don’t have to mention it. People see it based on the overall situation. So, show, don’t just tell.

State of the Art: This is actually something that is dealt with quite differently depending on the advisor. Given that it is part of the introduction, I think the state of the art should only include what you did get before starting with the thesis. Once you do an analysis — e.g., search in databases — it’s an active, creative process. Then it should be in the analysis, because other people might act differently. So, in my view, the state of the art should only include an existing system for which you do — e.g., develop another module. But there are different perspectives. Some people see the results of a literature/app research here.

State of the research: In contrast to the mere technology (caveat: I’m a psychologist) the underlying theories you are going to use. E.g., which psychological theories will you use to influence the target behavior? What are the overall goals? The work will continue iteratively and does contain creative elements, but the overall goal should remain the same, so what is known about it? You should state the goal quite clearly, e.g., developing an application which allows every citizen to get a clear view on how much money the government spends on which projects.

Ad 2: Research Questions (only needed for a Masters Thesis)

This section can be removed for Bachelor theses.

In a master’s thesis, clear research questions which the master’s thesis will answer. Specific questions , and you should be damn sure you can answer those questions, you will be graded by how well you can answer them.

Master’s Thesis about User Modeling in Ability-Based Design:

• How does a user model look like when abilities (instead of disabilities) are considered?
• Which parameters are required for an ability-based perspective and how can they be assessed?
• What are the differences of user modeling of abilities compared with other user models?

Master’s Thesis about Designing for Dyslexic People:

• Which commonalities and differences exist in the laws and design guidelines for developing accessible websites in different countries?
• Are those guidelines sufficient for specific user groups, e.g., dyslexic people?
• Which enhancements to the current guidelines would support dyslexic people?

Master’s Thesis about a Catastrophe and Neighborly-Help-App:

• How must a catastrophe app be designed to achieve a high acceptance prior to a crisis?
• Which smart city innovations can be used with a crisis-support-app?

Master’s Thesis to develop a competitive Learning App with Moodle:

• How can the learning success when preparing for written exams be positively influenced via a competitive learning app?
• Can a learning app be used to change extrinsic to intrinsic motivation?

Ad 3: Scenarios

The scenario section is used to provide some life to the rather abstract goals: Students describe two conditions, first without the developed solution. Just how does the situation present itself  now .  Then how could the situation look like when the app is implemented. Just provide a vivid scenario of how the world looks like. Something vivid but realistic. And if you have different user groups, describe the goal scenario for those different user groups.

Ad 4: Approach / Time Table

Now it gets to how you will achieve that goal: Just decide for an overall development strategy (e.g., an human-centered design process according to DIN EN ISO 9241-210, or scenario-based design, or whatever). Describe what you will do in each phase.

Details of the time table: Sure, a time table is fiction, but it still helps to check whether the project is actually doable. Just jot down how much time you will need for the analysis, conceptual phase, realization (programming! *gasp* it has to compile *gasp^2*), evaluation and actually finishing writing the damn thing. Schedule buffer time.

Realistic time plan: Consider the time periods during the next (usually six months) during which you  will be occupied by something else, be it vacation, exams, or whatever. And no, people usually don’t work during xmas or exams.

Availability of the user groups: You need actual users to get accurate feedback. Usually during the analysis, formative evaluation and summative evaluation time periods. Check wether they are actually available. Evaluating a learning app for students during the semester break is rather difficult, and there are time during which most of the people in a country take their vacation.

When to officially start your thesis: If you have any influence on when to start the actual work period (usually limited to six months), do not start it during the time from mid-December to the start of January. Not much if any work will be done during that time. And if you get sick during your thesis, make sure you check whether you can get that time added to your thesis. Usually that’s possible, if you take the time to actually inform the right people about it.

Ad 5: Literature

At my university, we use the APA standard, i.e., the citation standard of the American Psychological Association. Of course, you’ll only cite the literature you have actually used in your synopsis, and to cite it, a literature manager is really helpful. Personally, I like Zotero. Just make sure you add all the required information (you need to know which information actually is required, strangely enough, Zotero does not complain if something is missing, it just follows the old Garbage in — Garbage Out rule (GIGO). So make damn sure you have added the necessary information. And yeah, Zotero also works with Word and other apps.

In the text it’s ASSERTION (Brandstätter, Schüler, Puca, & Lozo, 2013)

In the Reference list it’s:

Brandstätter, V., Schüler, J., Puca, R. M., & Lozo, L. (2013). Motivation und Emotion. Springer-Verlag.

(As a heuristic, the stuff you see on the spine — of books or of bound journal/conference papers — is in italics.)

Or for a journal paper:

In the test it’s: ASSERTION (Franke, Attig, & Wessel, 2019)

In the reference list it’s:

Franke, T., Attig, C., & Wessel, D. (2019). A Personal Resource for Technology Interaction: Development and Validation of the Affinity for Technology Interac-tion (ATI) Scale. International Journal of Human-Computer Interaction, 35 (6), 456–467. https://doi.org/10.1080/10447318.2018.1456150

Final Remarks

So, that’s it for a thesis synopsis. For a bachelor or master’s thesis, the synopsis takes around 3 toi 6 back and forth between the student and the advisor. For a PhD thesis … it takes about a year to really nail down what you want to examine (and how).

Research takes some time, but it shouldn’t take  too much time.

As usual, constructive feedback and questions are greatly appreciated.

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How to Write a Synopsis for PhD With Focus on the Right Format

The correct format of synopsis starts with an introduction and ends with a conclusion, but the confusion lies in knowing what’s in between them. This guide will show you how to do the right format of synopsis for PhD. Moreover, a focus on the importance of synopsis format will also be shed light in this blog. Knowing the correct structure and parts of a PhD summary is super important because it's like a map for your whole research. And if you need some extra help, there are services out there, like APA Formatting Services, that can make sure your summary is top-notch. Whether you're just starting or want to make your summary better, this guide will give you simple tips for writing according to the right PhD Synopsis Format.

Importance of Synopsis Format

The right format of synopsis for PhD is really important because it's like a roadmap for your research. It helps you organize your ideas in a clear and easy-to-follow way. When you stick to the format, it shows that you understand the rules of academic writing and take your research seriously. This makes it easier for your readers to understand what you're trying to say. It's like using a recipe to make sure your dish turns out just right. Plus, when you follow the format, it makes your work look more professional. This is important because it gives a good impression to your professors and peers. So, the PhD Synopsis Format isn't just a bunch of rules - it's a tool that helps you present your research in the best possible way.

Correct PhD thesis Format

A PhD synopsis is like a summary of what you want to study for your doctorate. It's like a roadmap that tells people what your research will be about. Let's break it down:

1. Title : - Choose a clear and catchy title for your research.

2. Introduction : - Introduce the topic you want to study. - Explain why it's important and how it fits into existing knowledge.

3. Research Question : - Clearly state the main question you want to answer in your research.

4. Objectives : - List the specific goals you want to achieve with your research.

5. Literature Review : - Summarize what others have already found about your topic. - Highlight any gaps in the current knowledge.

6. Methodology : - Explain how you will conduct your research. - Mention the methods, tools, and techniques you'll use.

7. Data Collection : - Describe where you'll get your information or data from. - Explain how you'll gather it.

8. Analysis : - Say how you'll examine the data to find answers to your research question.

9. Expected Results : - Predict what you think you'll discover from your research.

10. Significance : - Explain why your research is important for the field and how it can be useful.

11. Timeline : - Give a rough idea of how long each phase of your research will take.

12. References : - List the books, articles, and sources you've used for your synopsis.

Remember, keep it clear and simple. Your synopsis should give a good overview of your research without getting too detailed. Good luck with your PhD journey!

Understand the Guidelines: How Understanding Guidelines Helps in Writing a Synopsis for PhD With Focus on the Right Format.

1. ensures proper organization: - guides you in arranging sections logically and coherently. - helps in presenting important information in a structured way., 2. facilitates clarity and readability: - enables you to use headings and subheadings effectively for clear presentation. - ensures that the reader can easily follow and understand your research., 3. enhances professionalism: - reflects your proficiency in adhering to academic standards. - presents your work in a manner consistent with the expectations of the academic community., 4. minimizes revisions and corrections: - reduces the likelihood of having to make significant changes later on. - saves time and effort in the long run by getting it right from the start., outline your research clearly.

When you outline your research, you're basically giving a clear picture of what your study is all about. This helps the reader know right away what to expect and why your work is important. It's like telling a story – you start with the main idea and then explain the details. This also helps you stay on track. When you know what you want to say, it's easier to put it down on paper. You won't forget important points or get lost in your own thoughts. It's like having a plan before building a house – you know where each brick goes. When you outline your research clearly, it makes writing the synopsis much easier. You already know what to say and in what order. It's like having a blueprint before constructing a building – you know where everything goes. This clarity also benefits the reader. They can easily grasp your research and understand its significance. It's like reading a well-organized story – everything makes sense and keeps the reader engaged. This way, your synopsis becomes a valuable piece of academic work, contributing meaningfully to your field.

Adhere to the Prescribed Format

Importance of adhering to the prescribed format:.

Following a specific format ensures that your synopsis is organized and easy to follow. Each section has a designated place, making it clear for the reader to navigate through your research.

Universities have specific guidelines for a reason. Adhering to the prescribed format shows that you respect and understand these academic standards. It's like speaking the language of academia.

Proper formatting demonstrates a high level of professionalism. It shows that you take your research seriously and are committed to presenting it in a way that meets the expectations of the academic community.

When everyone uses the same format, it avoids confusion. Readers, including your professors and peers, can quickly find the information they need. It's like using a universal key that fits the lock.

Final Thoughts

To sum it up, understanding the right way to set up your PhD summary, as explained in the format of synopsis for PhD, is really important. This format is like a map that helps you present your research in a clear and organized way. It's like following a recipe to make sure your dish turns out just right. Sticking to this format also shows that you take your research seriously and respect the rules of the academic world. If you need some extra help in understanding the importance of synopsis format, services like APA Formatting Services can make sure your summary meets the highest standards. By following these guidelines, you not only make your research easy to read and understand but also show that you're dedicated to producing top-notch work. Remember, a well-organized summary and the right PhD Synopsis Format isn't just informative, it's a big step towards earning your PhD.

Thesis India provides comprehensive support to researchers in India who aspire to make significant contributions to their fields of study. They offer expert assistance in crafting an exceptional doctoral research proposal, which is more than just a document; it is your gateway to an enriching academic voyage. Their team of experienced researchers and writers is dedicated to helping you craft a proposal that showcases the depth of your knowledge and the potential impact of your research. They specialize in providing comprehensive support to researchers like you, ensuring a successful start to your PhD journey with a compelling research proposal. They also offer expert synopsis editing services to ensure your synopsis meets the highest standards. The format of synopsis for PhD may vary from one institution to another, but Thesis India can guide you on how to do the correct PhD Synopsis Format.

1. What should be included in a PhD synopsis?

A PhD synopsis should include the research topic, objectives, methodology, literature review, expected outcomes, and references.

2. How long is a PhD synopsis?

A PhD synopsis is typically about 10-15 pages long.

3. How many pages is a PhD synopsis?

A PhD synopsis is usually between 20-30 pages.

4. How do you start a PhD synopsis presentation?

Start a PhD synopsis presentation by introducing yourself, stating the research topic, and providing an overview of the research objectives.

5. What are the parts of the synopsis in PhD?

The parts of a PhD synopsis include the introduction, literature review, methodology, expected outcomes, and references.

We provide consulting service along with writing assistance for PhD candidates from across the world Fill This Form To Get A Quote

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Thesis Summary

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Considering that you have finished writing your thesis, it is high time that you started working on your thesis summary or abstract as the last and final part of your research paper before submitting it to your instructor. Writing an abstract is actually the simplest way for your audience, the teachers and the panel of publishers (if you wish for it to be published) to know what your research paper is about without going through the bulk of your paper.

What is an Abstract?

According to an article found in the Simon Fraser University database, the abstract is deemed a critical part of your thesis and it is presented at the beginning of the thesis, as it is a summary of the whole thesis. The thesis summary is a substantive description of your work read by an external examiner by presenting all the major elements of your work in a highly condensed form.

Size and Structure

Normally, a thesis summary would only contain 120 or less (for undergraduate theses), 150 words (for Masters theses) and 350 words (for a doctoral dissertation).

• For doctoral dissertations, it is best to limit it to only 280 words with a format of one double-spaced page, to preserve visual coherence.
• The structure of the abstract should mirror the structure of the whole thesis, and should represent all its major elements.
• For instance, if your thesis has five chapters (rationale, literature review, methodology, results, conclusion), limit each chapter to only a sentence or two for each chapter in order to maximize some parts that need more substantial backing.

Clearly Specify Your Research Questions

• Research questions are important in making sure that the abstract is coherent and logically structured as they form the backbone to which other elements adhere; they should be presented near the beginning of the abstract.
• Depending on the length of your research paper, there is only room for one to three questions. If there are more than three major research questions in your thesis, try to rearrange them by reducing some to subsidiary status.

Don’t Forget the Results

• One of the most common mistakes in writing abstracts is the failure to indicate the results.
• The primary function of your thesis (and by extension your abstract) is not to tell readers what you did, it is to tell them what you discovered. Other information, such as the account of your research methods, is needed mainly to back the claims you make about your results.
• The final part of your thesis should be about summarizing your results as well as interpreting them.
• Although it is sometimes not necessary, you can choose to add keywords below your abstract as the most important terms that can be found in the thesis.

Listed below are some thesis summary examples:

This study aimed to analyze and identify the most frequent news category and rhetoric of the three local English dailies as well as assess whether they align to the readers’ news preference. These factors served as the sources of the data gathered by the researchers: ninety tertiary students, each local publication’s respective editorial board, and banner stories. Findings indicated that even though the editors would usually select their stories based on impact, the banner story content however focused more on news like crime and politics which are mostly conflict-based issues, instead of human interest stories that readers prefer the most. In conclusion, the respective editorial boards of each publication are not presenting the readers with their main interests in the banner story. Keywords: banner stories, news values, news categories, gatekeeping/gatekeepers, and readers’ preference

An example of a summary format The aim or goal or purpose of this graduation thesis (title) is to … (analyse, characterize, compare, examine, illustrate, present, survey, design, reconstruct) … The graduation thesis is composed of five chapters, each of them dealing with different aspect of … Chapter 1 is introductory and (defines, describes, reviews, deals with) … The chapter is subdivided into two parts. Part 1 describes … and explains … . Part 2 deals with … Chapter 2 examines … . The chapter consists of three parts. Part 1 focuses on … . Part 2 investigates … . Part 3 addresses the issue of … . Chapter 3 is subdivided into two parts and provides an outline of relevant … Part 1 illustrates … . Part 2 looks at … . Chapter 4 concentrates on problems resulting from … Part 1 describes …. Part 2 recommends changes to be made in legislation … Conclusions are drawn in Chapter 5. The main aim of the graduation thesis has been reached. The author suggests that …………………… should be changed/introduced/applied.

The aim of this graduation thesis entitled Development of Yamakawa Technologies to Ascertain the Existence of Cheese on the Moon is to test the use of Yamakawa technologies in ascertaining the existence of cheese on the moon. Yamakawa technologies have been successfully used to test the existence of water in Wakanda, but to date no further applications are known. For this reason the author decided to test further applications, with the aim of describing the technology’s suitability for further development. This thesis first examines the testing procedures for the water in Wakanda experiment, and presents the results. In a second stage several adaptations to Yamakawa for the testing of the existence of cheese on the moon are undertaken. Finally the technology is applied to the question of cheese on the moon, within a six-week testing phase. At the end of each week the testing apparatus is fine tuned, and experiment results are charted every twenty-four hours. The results of the experiment show that Yamakawa technologies are well suited to ascertaining the presence of water in Wakanda, but were unable to be sufficiently modified for the purpose of ascertaining the existence of cheese on the moon. The author recommends further modification to the technology before any other uses are considered.

After writing the said abstract in your research paper, then congratulations! You are now ready to move to the next step of your thesis journey, defending it. Just remember this, always know your thesis by heart. Believe me, if you do, you will not have a hard time and eventually, you will learn to enjoy it too. Good luck!

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