THESES GUIDE FOR PhD/MSc

CANDIDATES



by

Sonila Gruda, BA,MA,MSc









Thesis submitted for the degree of PhD/Master of
Science/Professional Master
Department of Business Administration


Epoka University

March 2013


ii

Approval Page
Thesis Title : Thesis Guide For PhD/MSc Candidates
Author : Sonila Gruda, BA, MSc, MA, MBA,
Qualification : Doctor of Philosophy, Master of Science, Professional Master
Program : Business Administration/ Political Science and International
Relations/
Department : Political Science and International Relations, Banking and
Finance
Faculty : Economics and Administrative Sciences
Thesis Date : March 2013



I certify that this thesis satisfies all the legal requirements as a thesis for the degree of
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)/Master of Science (MSc)/Professional Master (PM).

(Title, Name and Signature)
Head of Department



I certify that I have read this study that is fully adequate, in scope and quality, as a thesis
for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)//Master of Science (MSc)/Professional
Master (PM).

(Title, Name and Signature)
Supervisor

iii

Exam Board of Thesis

Thesis Title : Thesis Guide For PhD/MSc Candidates
Author : Sonila Gruda, BA, MSc, MA, MBA,
Qualification : Doctor of Philosophy, Master of Science, Professional Master
Date : 09 March 2013 (DD/MM/YYYY)



Members
(Title, Name and Signature) .

(Title, Name and Signature) .

(Title, Name and Signature) .


iv

Abstract
This guide is aiming at securing an appropriate preparation of theses for the PhD/MSc.
candidates at the Epoka University. It consists of three parts after the introduction that is
included to answer the question what is a thesis? and explores what a thesis is all about,
how it differs from other writings or other scientific works. The first part following it that
is named parts of the thesis identifies what parts should or may a thesis comprise and
one by one it explains the nature, content and organization of each of them. The second
part is about the form of presentation, in other words, format of the thesis. This part
shows the preferences of the institute for the physical designation of the thesis in addition
to the general formatting rules about the thesis writing. The guide is finalized by the part
on the defense and submission of the thesis, which wants to help the candidates for the
process after writing the thesis, how to submit it, where to submit it, what is a defense,
what follows the acceptance of the defense and the like.
All the work is to depict the general rules enabling successful thesis writing. Of course
the factor that is of primary significance is the text itself and what deserves the most
attention is the proper organization and presentation of the ideas.
Keywords: PhD/MSc candidate, scientific work, defense, thesis format, presentation,
submission


v

Abstrakt
Ky udhzues ka pr synim prgatitjen e duhur t tezave per kandidatt e masterit n
universitetin Epoka. Ai prbhet nga tre pjes q iu prgjigjen pyetjeve far sht nj
Tez? far shqyrton teza n tersi? Dhe Si ndryshon ajo nga shkrimet e tjera ose
punime t tjera shkencore? Pjesa e par paraqet Pjest e Tezs t cilat prfshijn cfar
duhet t prmbaj teza duke shpjeguar nj nga nj natyrn, prmbajtjen dhe organizimin e
secils pjes.
Pjesa e dyt ka te bej me format e prezantimit,me fjal te tjera, format e tezs. Kjo pjes
tregon preferencat e institutit pr hartimin dhe formatin e prgjithshm t shkrimit te
tezs.
Finalizimi I ktij udhzuesi ka t bej me mbrojtjen dhe dorzimin e tezs. N kt pjes
dshirojm gjithashtu t ndihmojm kandidatt n lidhje me procesin pas shkruajtjes s
tezs duke I informuar ata, si dhe kur ta paraqesin tezn, cfar sht mbrojtja dhe far
vjen pas pranimit.
Gjith puna sht br pr t prshkruar rregullat e prgjithshme pr shkrimin e nj teze t
suksesshme. Sigurisht faktori kryesor q meriton vmendje maksimale sht teksti I
ofruar nga ju, por gjithmon duhet zgjedhur organizata e duhur pr prezantimin e ideve.
Fjalet Kye: Kandidati M.A, Punim Shkencore, Mbrojtja, Formati I Tezes,
Prezantimi, Paraqitja.




vi

Dedication

vii

Acknowledgements
I gratefully acknowledge all those who have contributed to the preparation of this guide.
Especially those who prepared the thesis and dissertations guides for their universities,
that is, Boazii University, Harvard University, New York University and University of
Tirana, deserve very much thanks for their excellent works inasmuch as they all
collectively served as the models for the preparation of this guide. I owe my special
thanks to Mustafa who provided me with the Students Guide to Preparing
Dissertations and Thesis and thereby the author of that work, Brian Allison. Without this
comprehensive and excellently organized work much of the information regarding thesis
writing would be troublesome to access, not the less how to organize the relevant material
would be an unsolvable problem.
I should also mention Esmir Demaj without whose encouragements maybe I would not
find any motivations to begin with writing this study. Also Nertil Mera, who is
responsible for my undertaking this project, is another academic staff that I owe my
thanks.


viii

Declaration Statement
1. The material included in this thesis has not been submitted wholly or in part for any
academic award or qualification other than that for which it is now submitted.
2. The program of advanced study of which this thesis is part has consisted of:
i) Research Methods course during the undergraduate study
ii) Examination of several thesis guides of particular universities both in Albania and
abroad as well as a professional book on this subject.

Sonila Gruda
March 2013






ix


Table of Contents


x

List of Tables

xi

List of Figures

Figure 1: A Sample Figure


xii

List of Abbreviations
EU: Epoka University
MA: Master of Arts
MSc: Master of Science
PhD: Doctor of Philosophy












xiii

List of Publications by the Candidate

xiv

List of Appendices
Appendix A: Final Format Checklist
Appendix B: Common Abbreviations