Guide For Master's & Doctoral Studies in Psychology at UNISA

a guide to
masters & doctoral studies

in psychology
department of
psychology
2009 University of South Africa

Second edition, second impression
Published by Unisa Press
University of South Africa
PO Box 392, Unisa 0003
Printed by: University of South Africa, Pretoria
Cover design: Lien Strydom, Unisa Press
Layout design and typesetting: Thea Venter, Unisa Press
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form or by any means mechanical or electronic,
including recordings or tape recording and photocopying without the prior permission of the publisher, excluding fair
quotations for purposes of research or review.
This Guide has been written for

students wishing to study for one of the following degrees in Psychology:
DIS634S
DIS643T
DIS656Y
DIS833X
DIS841X
DIS8546
Masters degree by dissertation only (MA)

Masters degree by dissertation only (MA(SS))
Masters degree by dissertation only (MSc)
Doctoral degree by thesis only (DLitt et Phil)
Doctoral degree by thesis only (DPhil)
Doctoral degree by thesis only (PhD)
The resources in the Guide will also be of use to students registered for:
DIS434L Masters degree in Psychology (Research Consultation)
(dissertation with limited coursework) (MA)
DIS443M Masters degree in Psychology (Research Consultation)
(dissertation with limited coursework) (MA(SS))
DIS456S Masters degree in Psychology (Research Consultation)
(dissertation with limited coursework) (MSc)
DIS680Y Coursework masters degree in Clinical Psychology (dissertation component)
What this Guide is about

This Guide contains information on how to proceed with your registration and subsequent studies as an advanced
postgraduate student in the Department of Psychology. It will show you how to:
develop a research outline for your proposed study
get yourself registered
prepare yourself for the studies that lie ahead.
Please follow the instructions carefully. We have many masters and doctoral applicants and base our selection of
students on the quality and viability of their research outlines. Well-formulated outlines of potentially viable research
projects that are relevant to our Southern African and African context are likely to be selected by prospective supervisors and promoters.
You are welcome to visit our home page at http://www.unisa.ac.za for more information. Select Academic Departments
from the menu, then select Department of Psychology, which forms part of the School of Humanities, Social Sciences
and Theology. We also welcome feedback on how to improve this Guide and the advanced postgraduate research
programme in general. We wish you all the best with your studies!
Prof Piet Kruger

Coordinator:
Masters and Doctoral Studies
(excluding Clinical Masters)
Tel 012-429-6235 [Int +27-12-429-6235]
krugep@unisa.ac.za
Mrs Christa Barrish

Secretary:
Masters and Doctoral Studies
Tel 012-429-8251 [Int +27-12-429-8251]
barrich@unisa.ac.za
Contents
1 Masters and doctoral programmes offered in the Department
of Psychology
2 Overview
2.1 Bursaries
3
3
3 Applying for admission and registration

3.1 Registrations from outside South Africa
3.2 Registrations for studies involving clinical or counselling interventions
3.3 Alternative registration recommendations
3.4 Diagrammatic summary of application procedure
4
5
5
5
4 Preparing your research proposal

4.1 Selecting a research topic
4.2 The need for a literature search
4.3 How to do a literature search
4.3.1 Useful resources
4.4 Justifying the proposed research
4.5 Techniques of assessment or data collection
4.6 Research design
3.6.2 Ethical considerations
4.7 Compiling your research proposal
8
8
8
9
10
11
11
12
13
13
14
14
15
5 After registration
5.1 Writing the dissertation or thesis
5.1.1 Procedure
5.1.1.1
Useful resources
5.1.2 Chapter divisions
5.1.2.1
Introduction
5.1.2.2
Theoretical background
5.1.2.3
Literature survey
5.1.2.4
Research design
5.1.2.5
Results
5.1.2.6
Discussion, conclusions and recommendations
5.1.2.7
List of references and appendices
5.2 Some general guidelines on language and style
5.2.2 Applications for re-registration
5.3 Diagrammatic summary of procedures after registration
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17
17
17
18
18
18
19
19
20
20
20
21
21
23
6 Submitting the dissertation/thesis for examination

6.1 The examination panel
6.2 Extracting an article from the dissertation or thesis
6.3 Article appraisal
6.4 Diagrammatic representation of submission and examination procedures
24
24
24
24
25
26
7 Appendices
Appendix 1:
Appendix 2:
Appendix 3:
Appendix 4:
Appendix 5:
Appendix 6:
27
27
32
43
45
49
52
Referencing style
Instructions for the evaluation of research proposals
General guidelines for evaluating research proposals
Research interests of staff members
Learning contract
Examination guidelines
Appendix 7:
Appendix 8:
Appendix 9:
Appendix 10:
Guidelines for compiling a manuscript based on a dissertation or thesis

The research process for different types of research
Ethics checklist
Unisa library services
54
55
58
61
1
Masters and doctoral programmes offered
in the Department of Psychology
Prospective students may consider registration for one of three different masters programmes or the doctoral programme:
Masters degree by dissertation only (registration codes: DIS634S, DIS643S or DIS656Y)
This programme consists of planning and executing a research project under supervision of the Department. The research
is written up in the form of a dissertation. This degree does not include a course work component. To gain admission for
this course a prospective student has to present a viable research proposal, as explained in sections 3 and 4 below. The
student registers when a supervisor, who has accepted his/her research proposal, has been secured. Registration for a
particular year closes at the end of March. You can however register from July for the following year and it is possible to
arrange through the department to get access to the library even before your registration becomes ofcial. So in effect,
you can start your studies at any time throughout the year.
This Guide contains further information on how to proceed with registration for this degree. After completing the
dissertation, a masters degree in Psychology is conferred. Students who completed a Hons BA in Psychology obtain an
MA in Psychology. If an Hons BSc was completed, a MSc in Psychology is conferred. Similarly, an Hons BA(SS) leads
to a MA(SS) in Psychology.
Masters degree in Research Consultation (registration codes: DIS434L/443M/456S)

While this Guide has not primarily been written for students doing this degree, they will nd it useful as a resource for
the dissertation component of their degree. This option comprises a degree by dissertation but with additional practical
work, and full time availability is required. Therefore it is not offered through distance learning. The programme requires
a considerable amount of independent work where academic strength is an advantage. Only a limited number of students
can be admitted to the programme. Candidates are selected on the basis of their academic record, aptitude for research,
motivation and interpersonal skills. Prospective students who pass the initial selection will be asked to visit the Department for the nal selection during the latter part of each year. Applications for a particular year usually close in July of
the previous year.
The course begins in late January or early February with a series of lectures and workshops. The rest of the year is
divided between periods of placement with organisations in order to gain practical experience and on-the-job training,
and further lecture series. During November, students complete their portfolios (on which their progress is assessed). The
dissertation is completed during the second year of registration. The masters degree is awarded on completion of the dissertation.
Students who complete this course work masters degree can register as research psychologists with the Health
Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA) after meeting the requirements of a 12-month internship at an accredited
institution. The degree equips the student with skills, competencies and knowledge to enter the job market in the eld of
applied research consultation in the social sciences.
Application forms and more information on this option are available from the Department of Psychology
(Mrs C Barrish, Theo van Wyk Building, Room 5-42, Telephone: (012) 429-8251, e-mail: barrich@unisa.ac.za). Application forms can also be downloaded from the Unisa website (www.unisa.ac.za and follow the links to the Psychology
Department, postgraduate courses).
Course work masters degree in Clinical Psychology (registration code: DIS680Y)

While this Guide has not primarily been written for students doing this degree, they will nd it useful as a resource for
the dissertation component of their degree. This option consists of course work, writing a dissertation of limited scope,
practical training and an internship at an accredited institution. Only a limited number of students can be accepted and
1
selection usually takes place in June of the previous year. Upon successful completion of the internship and the required
year of community service, as well as conferment of the degree, students are eligible for registration as clinical psychologists with the HPCSA.
Application forms and more information on this option are available from the Department of Psychology
(Mrs MD Lekgoathi, Theo van Wyk Building, Room 5-49, Telephone: (012) 429-8239, e-mail: lekgomd@unisa.
ac.za) and on the web. The course organiser for Clinical masters degrees is Professor David Fourie (e-mail:
fouridp@unisa.ac.za).
Doctors degree by thesis only (registration codes: DIS833X, DIS841X or DIS8546)

As is the case with the masters degree by dissertation only, this programme involves planning and executing a research
project under the supervision of the Department. The research is written in the form of a thesis. This degree does not
include a course work component and is therefore available on a distance learning basis. As explained in sections 3 and 4
below, registration for this degree depends on the presentation of a viable research proposal. The student registers when
a promoter, who has accepted his/her research proposal, has been secured. Registration for a particular year closes at the
end of March, but as in the case of a masters you can register from July for the following year.
This Guide contains further information on how to proceed with registration for this degree. After successful completion of the thesis, a doctorate in Psychology is conferred. Students who completed an MA in Psychology, obtain a DLitt
et Phil in Psychology. If an MSc in Psychology was completed, a PhD in Psychology is conferred. Similarly, an MA (SS)
leads to registration for a DPhil in Psychology.
Note: it is convention at South African universities to refer to a doctoral thesis and a masters dissertation. In the case of a
doctorate the study leader is called a promoter and in the case of a masters we refer to a supervisor. These terms are used
interchangeably in this Guide.
2
Overview
In this Guide we describe how you should proceed to register for a masters or doctoral degree in Psychology by dissertation/thesis only. We explain how to develop the initial research outline that you have to submit in order to register. We also
give you a basic overview of the requirements for executing your research and writing a dissertation/thesis. In addition,
we provide references to other resources that may be helpful for your studies.
Students who register for the course work masters degrees in Clinical Psychology or masters degree in Research
Consultation should also follow the guidelines provided in this guide when they have to plan and write their dissertations
of limited scope.
The main purpose of the training we offer in the execution of a research project is to enable you to do psychological
research of a high standard. More specically, we expect that, after the completion of the dissertation/thesis, you will have
acquired the skills to enable you to
recognise and describe a promising research problem in Psychology

perform a thorough literature search
write an in-depth evaluation of present theoretical and empirical knowledge relating to a particular subject
plan and execute a research project in Psychology
write a good research report
judge the quality of research proposals and research reports written by others, and
compile an article based on your research.
To help you develop these skills, we have formulated a general programme for you to follow when planning and performing your research and writing your dissertation/thesis. Of course, you may also follow your own way of developing your
research proposal. However, the end-product should be assessed according to the criteria provided in this guide.
Each section of the guide deals with a particular phase of your research. Some sections include instructions about
self-study assignments, each of which relates to a particular goal you have to achieve. The purpose of these assignments
is to ensure that you do the required preparatory work before starting your research and to train you how to report the
research in an academically acceptable way. The assignments should therefore not be seen as additional tasks or as being unrelated to the dissertation/thesis. You will nd your completed assignments very useful in compiling your research
proposal and when writing the corresponding chapters of your dissertation/thesis.
2.1 Bursaries
Merit bursaries are awarded annually to a few Unisa students who completed their honours or masters studies at Unisa
with distinction. South Africans can apply for funding from the National Research Foundation (website: www.nrf.ac.za/
studentsupport). Applications should be made before registering for the degree. Prospective students living outside South
Africa should investigate the funding possibilities for their studies within their country of residence.
3
Applying for admission and registration
To gain admission to the course, we require that you develop a research proposal, using the guidelines presented in this
Guide (see section 4). It is an essential rst step that allows you to start assessing the feasibility of your study. Your proposal serves as evidence that you have a viable project, that you have given it some thought and have done a sufcient
amount of preparatory reading. The quality of your proposal will determine whether you will be permitted to proceed
with your studies.
Once you are satised that you have put sufcient work into your research proposal, proceed as follows:
Attach a completed evaluation schedule (see Appendix 2) to your research proposal. If you do not adhere to this
stipulation we may return your research proposal with the request that you assess your own work and develop it until
you have received at least 80% in your own estimation before resubmitting it.
You are also required to complete the Ethics Checklist (in Appendix 9). Note that if your response to any of the
questions is yes, you are required to provide details. Remember to attach the completed checklist to your
research proposal.
Inspect the list of research interests of staff members (see Appendix 4) and identify a lecturer whose research interests match yours. Submit your research proposal to this person with a covering letter requesting his/her appraisal of
your proposed study. Alternatively, you can send the proposal directly to the coordinator for masters and doctoral
studies. He will pass it along to our research committee for evaluation, and help you to find a suitable supervisor or
promoter. The submission of the proposal can be done via e-mail, or ordinary mail.
Request the staff member to assess your research proposal and to comment briefly on its viability. You may be asked
to reconsider aspects of your proposal and to resubmit it before the staff member makes a commitment on being
your supervisor/promoter.
If the lecturer is not able to act as your supervisor/promoter, he/she should refer you to another academic who may
be of assistance. Please request a referral, for in this way you enter into a networking system that should lead to a
mutually acceptable match with a mentor with whom you can collaborate in executing your study. However, remember that staff members can only accommodate a certain number of advanced postgraduate students and are not
obliged to accept you as a student.
IMPORTANT: Also send a complete copy of your submission and covering letter to the course secretary for masters
and doctoral studies (Mrs C Barrish) for record keeping. Dont forget to add the submission date on your Evaluation
Schedule. You should receive feedback within one month. Include a short CurriculumVitae showing your current
qualications and where you have obtained them. If you studied with Unisa before, please include your student
number.
You may expect one of the following possible responses to your submission:
If your proposal is of a high quality, and if a lecturer (or lecturers) with the necessary expertise to deal with the
particular eld of enquiry is available, you will be permitted to complete your registration and one or more supervisors/promoters will be appointed. You can now continue with your research. You may still be asked to make certain
changes, or to clarify some aspects of the research plan, but this is part of the interaction between you and your
supervisor(s) or promoter(s).
You may be told that your proposal shows promise, and that one or more of the lecturers will be willing to act as
supervisor(s) or promoter(s) on a provisional basis. In such a case, you will be permitted to register on the condition
that you must use the rst year to develop the proposal. At the end of the rst year you will either be allowed to
register and start working on the actual research project, or your application will be rejected.
4
Your proposal can also be rejected outright. In such a case you will be given feedback. It may be that the proposal
contains certain aws which make it unlikely that it can be completed, or that we feel that you have not thought it
through adequately or given sufcient attention to the necessary preparatory literature study. It is also possible that
our lecturers do not feel that they possess the necessary expertise to guide you with this particular project. There
is also a limit to the number of thesis/dissertation students that each lecturer can take. Our workload, the interests
and expertise of staff members and especially the quality of your research proposal will determine whether we can
accommodate you as a masters or doctoral student.
Please consider registration only when you are fully committed to your proposed topic of study. Changing your eld of
study after registration will most likely result in wasted time and energy. It may also result in a hastily construed proposal
and the consequent refusal of reregistration.
You are of course welcome to rework the proposal, or to develop a different proposal, and to start the process
again.
Once a member of staff has agreed to become the supervisor/promoter of your study, you may proceed with
nal registration. Contact the Senior Qualication Section in the Directorate of Student Admissions and Registrations
(012 429 4158) and inform them of the title of your study and the name of your supervisor/promoter. If you have not yet
completed a registration form, you should do so now. These forms are available from: The Registrar (Academic), Unisa,
P O Box 329, PRETORIA, 0003 or online on the Unisa web page (www.unisa.ac.za).
You only have to pay registration fees when your research outline has been accepted. For initial admission purposes,
only a nominal administration fee is required.
3.1
Registrations from outside South Africa
In the case of students residing outside South Africa, we require that their theses/dissertations should be co-supervised by
an appropriately qualied person with whom face-to-face contact is possible. It is therefore important that you obtain the
consent of a joint supervisor/promoter (at least in principle) before you register.
Please proceed as follows: Forward the curriculum vitae of the proposed person who will act as your joint supervisor/promoter along with your research outline to a lecturer whom you wish to approach as your supervisor/promoter. It
is preferable that your research outline should already be approved by the person you wish to be considered as your joint
supervisor/promoter before you submit it to us for consideration. Our departmental research committee will then appraise
the adequacy of the persons academic and experiential background for the intended study. A joint supervisor/promoter
should have some formal academic background in Psychology, some specialist knowledge on the topic of the study and/or
some formal research background. The submission of a research proposal that is already supported by a joint supervisor/
promoter is likely to expedite your nal registration considerably.
3.2
Registrations for studies involving clinical or counselling

interventions
Please note that if your study involves therapeutic or counselling interventions, the supervision we provide will relate only
to the research aspects of your study. You will have to make your own arrangements to ensure that your applied work is
properly supervised by a therapeutic or counselling professional.
3.3
Alternative registration recommendations
If your academic background does not contain adequate formal training in Psychology or you have been academically
inactive for a number of years, it may be recommended that you complete a number of undergraduate and/or honours
courses in Psychology for non-degree purposes before registration for masters or doctoral studies will be considered. For
this reason it is important that you submit your curriculum vitae and transcripts of the academic records of your degrees to
the Department of Student Administration (Postgraduate Enquiries) before submitting your research proposal for evaluation. At this point you do not have to pay the full registration fee, only an administration fee is required.
If your research ideas are not yet adequately developed, it may also be recommended that you rst enroll for our
honours (fourth year) paper in Research Methodology (for non-degree purposes). Since this paper is structured around
the development and execution of individually conceptualised studies, you will have a good opportunity to systematically
develop more differentiated thoughts within your chosen eld of study. If properly conceived, the research report can
be used as a pilot study within the framework of the masters or doctoral investigation. This recommendation may also
be made if you obtained less than 60% average (or a B+ in the North American assessment system) for your honours or
masters studies.
3.4
Diagrammatic summary of the application procedure
The following ow diagramme summarises the application for the admission and registration process:
STUDENT
PROSPECTIVE
SUPERVISOR/PROMOTOR
UNISA ADMIN
(POST GRADUATE)
send general and
departmental guidelines on
registration
departmental M&D course
secretary arranges library access
of degrees and course work for

appraisal.
Prepare and submit research
outline (include evaluation
schedule 80%:
Admission:
Appraise academic records and
obtain Department of Psychologys
recommendation:
send one copy to prospective

supervisor/promoter for
appraisal
send one copy to M&D course
secretary for record keeping
initial admission acceptable

completion of some honours
courses and/or undergraduate
courses/modules, in which case
the M or D application is postponed
refusal of registration based on
inadequate/inappropriate
academic background
Evaluation response:
Prospective supervisor/
promoter comments on the
submission and informs
prospective student
recommends resubmission
recommends refusal of
registration topic if second
submission is unsatisfactory
recommends nal registration
if rst (re)submission is
satisfactory
Redraft research outline and

resubmit
Submit nal registration along with

registration fees to Unisa Student
Administration
(If initial submission was not in

lecturers eld of expertise or if
lecturers quota of students has
been lled he/she responds to
the student by recommending an
appropriate alternative supervisor
or request the proposal committee
to recommend an alternative
possible supervisor/promoter).
Process registration and nal
access to library and subject
librarian
Flow diagramme 4.1: Application for admission and registration procedure for masters and doctoral students (dissertation/thesis only) in Psychology
7
4
Preparing your research proposal
You have reached an important point in the development of your academic identity as you are now planning to participate
in the generation of psychological knowledge. We are pleased that you have decided to undertake this adventure. We shall
try our best to enable you to accomplish your objectives.
It is important that you give some independent and systematic thought to your research topic before registration. The
initial formulation of your research theme or research problem will help you demarcate your eld of interest. Conceptually, this is probably the most difcult phase of your studies since you have to develop a research proposal that displays
your synthesis and reasoning skills at their best. You have to immerse yourself in the research eld and make it your
own by understanding the present thinking of researchers in your eld of study. From here you identify a gap in the available body of knowledge that will form the basis of your research. Keep in mind that it is on the basis of the quality of your
proposal that you will be permitted to register for this course.
A general schema that shows the typical research process for different kinds of projects is given in Appendix 8. You
can use this to plan your research and as a guide to writing your proposal, and also as a general schema for the actual dissertation or thesis.
4.1
Selecting a research topic
The rst step in the journey towards your masters or doctorate is to nd a research topic. There are many ways in which
research ideas can be developed. You can consider your own experience and reect on things around you. Pay attention to current events, listen critically to the things people are discussing, and read more, especially social scientic and
semi-scientic literature. There are also various databases and indices available which you can use to get an overview of
current and completed research in South Africa and overseas. The Unisa library can help you with this (see section 4.3
below). The internet is also a very powerful source of information, especially in accessing information that is new and
recent.
Consider also your own motivations for embarking on postgraduate studies. It is wise to choose a subject that will
be of value in your particular career plans. Keep in mind, however, that this project will be with you for many years, so
you also need to choose something that you nd intellectually stimulating, a subject that will hold your interest for the
duration of your studies. Another criterion is that the study should be viable, something that you can realistically hope to
complete within the time-frame and resources that are available to you (four years maximum for a masters and ve years
maximum for a doctorate). Do not be too ambitious. A more focused project that is directed towards a specic problem
and that is clearly demarcated is always more likely to lead to a viable proposal than an attempt to solve all of the worlds
problems at once.
Once you have a reasonably clear idea of the problem that you would like to investigate, you can formulate a provisional title. The real work begins now, where you clarify the exact scope and nature of your project. This planning
stage of the project is very important. If you have a good and comprehensive plan, the actual project will proceed much
more smoothly than with a poor research plan, where problems that may have been foreseen can cause great difculties.
It is usually very difcult to x your oversights later, when the participants have left and you are left with data that are
inadequate or of a poor quality.
It is advisable to read some masters dissertations or doctoral theses to get an idea of the required scope of the research. Another guideline which may be useful at this early stage is that your project should be comparable in scope to the
investigations reported in major research articles in Psychology journals, although of course your dissertation/thesis will
contain a much more detailed account of the literature and research than a journal article.
4.2
The need for a literature search
In order to rene a suitable research topic in a particular eld, it is necessary to study the existing knowledge in that eld.
Initially this should involve at least two procedures, namely general reading in your eld of interest and performing a
specic literature search for relevant references.
8
Your general reading should be an ongoing process of active exploration in Psychology. Do not conne your reading
to a clearly demarcated topic at this early stage but rather read to build up an adequate background. Investigate theories
which have been, or might be, applied to the topic you have in mind; get a broad overview of the state of knowledge in
your eld and of its historical development; nd out which techniques of measurement/analysis or research designs have
been or might be used, and ensure that you understand them; locate and study recent reviews of the broad eld of your dissertation (eg in the Annual Review of Psychology or the reviews in the American Psychologist or Psychological Review) to
help you view your topic in its proper perspective; and identify the most important researchers and journals in your area
of interest. This process of general reading should continue concurrently with more directed research activities, even to
the point when you are interpreting your results.
The rst more specic step in dening a topic is a literature search. This is the process whereby references to relevant research are located and selected. Its purpose is to ensure that you become acquainted with an adequate sample of
earlier work on which your own research is going to build.
A literature search is aimed at locating different types of sources:
4.3
Overviews of the eld. These often appear in books, review articles, historical reviews or state-of-the- art reports
and can be a very useful starting point for structuring the rest of your literature review.
Peer-reviewed journal articles. These usually form the bulk of a literature review and typically contain original new
contributions to the eld. Scholarly, peer-reviewed journal articles are available from the Unisa library, via interlibrary loan and on the Internet.
Dissertations and theses, research reports and contributions to conferences and symposia. These sources have usually undergone some form of review, although it may not have been as rigorous as for journal articles. One often
nds useful information in these sources that have not been published in journals.
Newspapers, newsletters, Internet discussion groups, general web pages, and other informal reports. These sources,
sometimes called grey literature, are usually considered to be less reliable than more strictly academic sources, but
can nevertheless contain interesting perspectives and good illustrative examples. With regard to internet material,
please have a look at the following guiding article on the quality of academic material on the internet, which was
published in the Journal of Electronic Publishing:
http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/t/text/text-idx?c=jep;view=text;rgn=main; idno= 3336451.0008.103
How to do a literature search
It is unlikely that a recent bibliography on your particular topic has already been compiled. However, it is worth consulting the Subject Reference Librarian for Psychology (who works in the library) in this regard, as a bibliography on a related
topic may be available. Such bibliographies will usually be dated and will most probably not cover every aspect of your
research. You should, therefore, also do your own search, even if a bibliography is available.
To gain access to the library and the subject librarian, you have to apply for a six months pre-registration admission
to the library via the secretary for masters and doctoral programmes in Psychology, Mrs Barrish (e-mail: Barrich@unisa.
ac.za). She will provide you with a request for access letter. Upon presenting this letter and a nominal access fee (which
will be subtracted from your nal registration fees) to the chief librarian, you may use the library and its services freely.
Pre-registration admission to the library is granted for one period of six months only.
Once you have gained admission to the library, feel free to consult the library personnel on how to search the library
catalogue (see Appendix 10 for details on electronic access to the Unisa library). If your research applies specically to
local conditions, special note should be taken of South African dissertations, theses and research articles in your eld. The
Subject Reference Librarian for Psychology will be able to help you with this. Also consult the librarys subject catalogue
and any other available source.
You should also make use of Internet search engines and websites that are relevant to your eld of research. In doing this it is important to be aware that Internet sources vary greatly in academic status - ranging from scholarly journals
available online to informal web pages. In writing your literature survey you should show that you understand that not all
sources have equal value.
It is also important that you should provide an historical perspective on your eld of interest by tracing the progression of thought in the eld and by outlining recent developments. It is often possible to locate one or two good overviews
of the historical development of a eld, and in many cases this will be sufcient. However, depending on the nature of
your topic, you may want to investigate some of the older literature in more detail. The primary focus of most literature
reviews is on recent developments in the eld, as reected in articles in recent issues of international and local journals.
During your literature search you will gradually delimit your topic on the basis of the nature and scope of previous
work. If you nd many hundreds of relevant references, your topic is probably too wide or too vaguely dened and should
be narrowed down. Make a preliminary study of all the sources generated by your search that are available in the library
and request photocopies of potentially important articles, books etc or download them from the Internet for later detailed
study.
For those of you who require a systematic goal setting procedure in the form of a number of assignments that will
all contribute to the composition of your research proposal, your rst self-study assignment is as follows:
GOAL 1: Record the results of your literature search in the form of a list of references relating to your proposed research, with brief annotations indicating their relevance.
Keep the following in mind:
It is impossible to estimate or specify the number of items on your list beforehand and it may vary from several
dozen to a few hundred. What is important is that the topic which your sources dene should be both of manageable
size and of adequate scope. Naturally, your search should include the most recent literature together with as many
older sources as you deem appropriate.
Write a brief introduction in which the parameters applying to your literature search are specied: Describe the topic
in a few sentences (the search terms used are often helpful here); indicate the time span of the publications covered
by your search; list the sources which you used in your search; indicate the languages in which the literature was
written and whether there appears to be any relevant literature in other languages. This information will be useful if
you wish to extend your search later.
Your references should be recorded in accordance with the Publications Manual of the American Psychological
Association (APA
(
). Copies of the latest (5th edition) version of the APAs Instructions to Authors are available in
the library. Appendix 1 contains a summary of this referencing style and should be followed when composing your
research proposal as well as your dissertation or thesis.
Your list of references will obviously be very useful when writing your dissertation or thesis, but it should not be
seen as limiting either the scope of your research or the contents of the dissertation or thesis it is only a provisional
list.
Your search, and the resulting list of references, should not be limited to empirical investigations, but should also
include relevant theoretical and methodological contributions. For the purposes of this assignment, you may list
your references under thematic headings. This will help you see where the gaps might be.
Each source should be followed by a brief evaluation of its importance for your intended research and dissertation.
Usually one or two sentences will sufce for this. Do not attempt to give an abstract of the source.
4.3.1
Useful resources
Books
De Vos, A.S., Strydom, H., Fouche, C.B. & Delport, C.S.L. (2002). Research at grass roots: For the social sciences and
human service professions (2nd Ed.). Pretoria: Van Schaik Publishers.
Hart, C. (2001). Doing a literature search: A comprehensive guide for the Social Sciences.United Kingdom: Sage Publishers.
Leong, F.T.L. & Austin, J.T. (1996). The Psychology research handbook: a guide for graduate students and research assistants. London: Sage.
Mouton, J. (2001). How to succeed in your masters and doctoral studies. Pretoria: Van Schaik Publishers.
Rossouw, D. (ed.) (2003). Intellectual tools: Skills for the human sciences. Pretoria: Van Schaik Publishers.
Terre Blanche, M. & Durrheim, K. (1999). Research in practice. Cape Town: UCT Press.
10
Internet sources
http://www.google.com
http://www.isinet.com
http://www.nisc.com
http://www.silverplatter (look under webspirs psychinfo in the university data base)
http://www.wkac.ac.uk/psychology/links/litsearch.htm
http://www.wkac.ac.uk/psychology/links/index.htm
http://www-sul.stanford.edu/
http://www.csud.edu/psych/lcarrier/litsearch.htm
http://www.apa.org/science/lib.html
4.4
Justifying the proposed research
Research can only be justied by showing that the expected results will contribute in some way to psychological knowledge or insight. Such a justication therefore takes the form of a critical evaluation of existing theoretical knowledge and
systematic research relating to your chosen subject. As part of this, you should point out one or more gaps or uncertainties
in existing knowledge and indicate how your dissertation/thesis is expected to ll these.
During this phase of your research, previous work relating to your research context or research problem should be
evaluated critically to establish the state of existing knowledge and the precise nature of the contribution you could make.
This evaluation often indicates which research design could be used most protably.
Theories or parts of theories which have been applied to your research context/problem, or to closely related contexts/problems, should also be reviewed critically to operationalise the research context and/or to derive testable research
questions and/or predictions (hypotheses). If this proves to be difcult or impossible in the case of descriptive or inferential research, it may be necessary for you to modify an existing theory which has not yet been related to your topic. The
research questions and/or hypotheses (or the specication of the purpose of your research) should form the focal point of
your whole research project: they should be the end-product of your survey of existing knowledge and the starting point
for planning your own investigation. The form this takes will depend on the kind of research you contemplate doing. If,
for example, you plan on doing a classical experimental study, formulating a formal research hypothesis is a good idea. If
you plan on doing an open-ended qualitative investigation, you should formulate a clear statement describing the purpose
and context of the investigation. Whatever the adopted methodological approach may be, it should in all cases be underscored by articulating an applicable paradigmatic approach to the study.
This part of the research process is usually prolonged, difcult and unstructured, and requires intensive intellectual
and creative effort and sustained motivation. In addition to your general reading and study of the literature located in your
search, it helps to seek additional information, for example by talking (and listening) to other researchers.
Neither this guide nor your prospective supervisor or promoter can tell you how you should go about studying existing knowledge in order to delimit a good research project. However, some ideas on how literature surveys and theories
should eventually be reported in writing are presented in section 5.3. These will also be useful when completing your
second assignment.
GOAL 2: Write a justication, not exceeding 3 000 words, for your proposed investigation. Include a statement of
the research problem or research context or research topic, and a brief critical evaluation of existing research and
theoretical knowledge relating to this problem or research context or research topic. Also include the derivation of
(a) research question(s) that may guide your research and/or hypotheses which you propose to test (or a specication
of the purpose of your proposed investigation). The contribution which your research is expected to make to existing
knowledge should be indicated explicitly.
4.5
Techniques of assessment or data collection
Having formulated either the purpose of your research or research questions or some testable hypotheses, you are in a position either to (1) specify the research topic and its context, in the case of having selected a qualitative-oriented research
paradigm, or (2) specify which variables will have to be measured and the population to which these measurements will
apply, in the case of having selected a quantitative research orientation.
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If a qualitative research approach has been adopted the next step will be to describe how you will obtain your information. There is a wide range of methods for collecting information, ranging from interviews to observations to
document analysis, and a tting combination of methods should be selected and justied. Your selection of appropriate methods for collecting information should be based on a thorough review of broad discovery or exploration
oriented methods.
If a quantitative research approach has been adopted, the next step will be to select appropriate techniques for measuring each variable. This is entirely up to you and should be based on a sound knowledge of psychological assessment techniques in general and their application to your research problem in particular.
Some of your measurements may be based on the application of existing psychological tests. When selecting and evaluating a measuring instrument, particular attention should be paid to the suitability of the measure for
the population of interest and the purpose of your research. If you do not intend using psychological tests, specify
in detail how you will collect your research material. Explain why the method of your choice is appropriate, what
possible difculties you may encounter and how you will avoid these. If you plan on doing interviews or a survey
questionnaire, provide a draft interview schedule or a draft questionnaire. For general overviews of measurement
techniques, you will nd a fair number of helpful textbooks on psychological testing and assessment in the library.
The third assignment on the process of composing your research proposal is as follows:
GOAL 3: If you have adopted a qualitative approach: specify how research material will be collected, including a justication for your choice of techniques and their theoretical bases.
If you have adopted a quantitave approach: specify which variables are relevant to your investigation and indicate how each will be measures; give brief descriptions of your way of measurement, including a justication for your
choice, its theoretical basis, and if relevant, its availability, metric properties and standardisation.
4.5.1
Useful resources
The following sources may be useful in locating and evaluating appropriate measuring instruments:
Aiken, L.R. (1996). Rating scales and checklists: evaluating behaviour, personality and attitudes. United States: John
Wiley.
Buros, O.K. (Ed.) Test in Print. Highland Park, N.J: Gryphon Press. Latest edition.
Buros, O.K. (Ed.) The Mental Measurements Yearbook. Highland Park, N.J: Gryphon Press. Latest edition.
Fehrman, P.G. & Obrien, N.P. (2001). Directory of test Collections in Academic, Professional and Research Libraries.
Chicago: The Association.
Groth-Marnat, G. (2003). Handbook of Psychological assessment. Hoboken, N.J.: John Wiley & Sons.
The mental measurements yearbook. (1998 or later edition). Highland Park, NJ: Gryphon Press.
Website and book: http://ericae.net/testcol.htm#trev
The following websites also contain information that may be helpful:
http://www.hsl.unc.edu/guides/focusOnInstruments.c
http://www.apa.org/science/testing.html
http://www.lib.umich.edu/taubman/info/testsandmeasurement.htm
http://www.unl.edu/buros
http://mentalhelp.net
http://infodome.sdsu.edu/research/guides/psych/instruments.shtml
http://www.psychologicaltesting.com/comtests.htm
http://www.guidetopsychology.com.testing.htm
http://psychology.about.com/cs./test/
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4.6 Research design

This phase of your research involves planning the data collection procedure and requires an adequate background in research methodology. It will be assessed according to contemporary methodological requirements in Psychology as well
as the methodological standards of recent investigations in your particular eld of interest.
If the earlier phases of your planning were executed properly, you will nd that many aspects of your research design follow logically from your formulation of the research context, research problem or hypotheses. When working with
hypotheses you should remember that although they explicitly indicate only what you expect to nd in your investigation, they usually also imply how this should be achieved. The how is your research design and should be such that the
hypotheses will be unequivocally supported or rejected by the results of your investigation. The same how question is
also applicable when you make use of descriptive or qualitative research.
Depending on your research design, your data analysis may entail anything from an intensive qualitative analysis to
elaborate multivariate statistical techniques. Irrespective of the kind of analysis undertaken, there are two general requirements to be met when choosing methods of data analysis. First, the analysis, like the research design, should be adequate
in the sense that it should allow you to reach unequivocal conclusions or achieve the previously specied purposes of your
research. Secondly, you should use only techniques or methods of analysis which you fully understand
understand. This requirement
should not place any serious limitations on your choice of a research topic or a research problem or design, but will rather
indicate the nature of some of the general reading which your research requires. Usually you need not acquire detailed
mathematical or statistical knowledge of your techniques of analysis (although such knowledge may prove to be quite
useful), but we expect you to know what you are doing as a researcher in Psychology. The assignment below indicates the
nature of these expectations.
If your analysis of results requires computer facilities and you are unable to obtain these elsewhere, the Universitys
Department of Computer Services may be able to help. Registered masters and doctoral students may use the Universitys
facilities for their research after registering their project with that department. There is no cost involved but it is required
that you be able to visit the computer laboratoria at the main campus or satellite campuses.
GOAL 4: Briey describe your proposed sample(s), research design, data collection procedure and method of analysis,
justifying every choice. Refer to the assumptions underlying your proposed analyses and their tenability.

Many good textbooks on research design have been written and you should at least scan the available methodology texts
in the Psychology section of the library. We have found the following references worthwhile:
Campbell, D.T. & Stanley, J.C. (1966). Experimental and quasi-experimental designs for research. California: Houghton
& Mifin.
Creswell, J.W. (2003). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative and mixed methods approaches. London:Sage.
DePoy, E. (1999). Introduction to research: Understanding and applying multiple strategies. St. Loius:Mosby.
Goodwin, C.J. (1995). Research in Psychology: Methods and design. New York: Wiley.
Miller, D.C. (1991). Handbook of research design and social measurement. Newbury Park, California: Sage Publications.
Thomas, R.M. (2003). Blending qualitative and quantitative research methods in theses and dissertations. Thousand
Oaks, California: Corwin Press.
The websites below also contain information and links on research design:
http://trochim.human.cornell.edu/kb/design.htm
http://spsp.clarion.edu/mm/RDE3/start/
http://www2.irss.unc.edu/irss/researchdesignservices/resdesservicesindex.asp
http://usability.gov/pdfs/guidelines.html
In addition to books and websites on research design, a good way of getting a better understanding of design issues is to
13
pay close attention to the designs used in the sources you consulted for your literature review. It is often possible to nd a
study very similar to what you intend doing and then to emulate that in designing your own study.
4.6.2 Ethical considerations

It is important to realise that when you execute this part of your research, you will in most cases be working with people
and not just with ideas or results. As a researcher, you will be responsible for the well-being of your subjects/respondents/
participants during the time they collaborate in your investigation. Ethical considerations should therefore be kept in mind
during both the planning and execution of this phase of your research. We recommend that you consult the Ethical Code
for Psychologists of the Psychological Society of South Africa (website: http://www.psyssa.com) and the guidelines set
up by the Board for Psychology of the South African Health Professions Council (website: http://www.hpcsa.co.za). A
further good reference for ethics in social science research can be found at:
http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/bioethics/guidelines/ethical1/html
4.7 Compiling your research proposal

After having completed the above assignments, you are ready to compile your research proposal. By using the information you gathered, explain your research plan with reference to the following:
The suggested title of your dissertation/thesis. This should clearly convey the nature of your proposed project in
as few words as possible. (The type of participants or data collection methods need not be mentioned.)
The research problem. At the outset, you should inform the reader what problem(s) you aim to solve or what
question(s) you will address, explaining why you consider it important to do so.
Literature survey. Briey sketch existing theory and relevant knowledge relating to the topic/problem(s) you have
mentioned. Base your arguments on recent review and research publications. Lead the reader towards your research
questions and/or research hypotheses (or delineate your research context) through critical analysis and systemisation
of the information. State the research context/questions and/or research hypotheses that arise out of this literature,
and indicate how your study will add to existing knowledge.
Research design. Delineate the accessible population and the sampling procedure. Clearly describe the formation
of the research group(s) as well as how you will obtain your information. When using a quantitative research approach, indicate what variables will be measured. Explain the measurement procedures, as well as the reliability
and validity of the techniques of assessment that will be used (or describe the trustworthiness of observations and
interpretations you intend to make). Summarise threats to the validity (or trustworthiness) of your study and indicate
how you intend to resolve these threats. Pay specic attention to ethical considerations.
Data analysis. Discuss the techniques or methods that will be used for analysing and interpreting the results.
Table of contents. Give a preliminary chapter and heading proposal of your proposed dissertation/thesis as you currently see it. You will be greatly helped in this section by considering the tables of contents of other dissertations or
theses in your eld of study.
References. At the end of your proposal, you should list the references mentioned in your text. Follow the system
used by the American Psychological Association.
Appendices. Attach drafts of your measuring instruments if any.
Evaluation schedule. Attach a completed evaluation schedule (see Appendix 2) in which you have rated your own
proposal. You should obtain at least 80% in your own estimation before submitting the proposal.
Ethics checklist. Complete and attach the ethics checklist (provided in Appendix 9).
The body of your research proposal should consist of about 10 to 20 pages. It is important that you stick to the essential
critical aspects of literature review, research design and data analysis only.
In Appendix 2 youll nd a list of evaluation criteria and an evaluation schedule. Follow the instructions to appraise
the quality of your proposal. The evaluation schedule acts as your own systematic quality indicator. By assessing your
own work in this way you will get a good indication of weaknesses that require attention before you submit the proposal
for consideration. Use 80% as your benchmark of a properly composed research proposal. Only then submit your proposal
to us for consideration.
14
For your interest, and as an additional indicator of the issues to be considered when compiling a research proposal,
an example of general guidelines that lecturers may use when evaluating research proposals (along with those contained
in Appendix 2), is provided in Appendix 3.

Should you require further reading and guidance on writing your research proposal, you are welcome to use the
following references:
Coley, S.M. (1990). Proposal writing. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
Punch, K.F. (2000). Developing effective research proposals. London: Sage.
Wicknam, S. (1997). Guidelines for writing research proposals: workbook. Vredehoek, Cape Town: Research and Academic development.
The following websites also contain information on how to compose your research proposal:
http://www.nrf.ac.za/yenza/research/proposal.htm
http://www.ssrc.org/artprop.htm
http://www.petech.ac.za/research/Ri2(e).htm
http://www.learnerassociates.net/proposal/
http://spsp.clarion.edu/mm/RDE3/C14/C14.html
http://www.ucalgary.ca/md/CAH/research/res_prop.htm
http://www.edci.purdue.edu/gradofce/edci/Proposal.html
http://www.educ.washington.edu/COEWebSite/students/current/thesis.html
http://www.general.rau.ac.za/psych/
http://www.lc.unsw.edu.ac/onlib/thesis.html
http://www.phys.unsw.edu.au/jw/thesis.html
http://www.phys.unsw.edu.au/viva.html
15
5
After registration
Your supervisor/promoter is your main contact with the University and deals with all aspects of your studies, except
administrative matters which are handled by the Department of Student Administration (Postgraduate Enquiries). In the
Department of Psychology, supervisors/promoters (along with joint supervisors/promoters) perform functions such as the
following. They:
evaluate research proposals, research proposals and proposed titles of dissertations/theses

discuss with their students, at the students request, any aspect of the proposed research on which the student wishes
to obtain advice and provide the required help to the best of their abilities
contact students from time to time to establish how their research is progressing, and advise students of the times
during which they will be on leave or unavailable
arrange, at the students request, meetings with members of the Department or other persons who may be of help to
the student in planning or performing the research
recommend that the student be allowed or refused registration for the next academic year
evaluate the chapters of a dissertation/thesis as they are written and suggest improvements
give formal permission for a dissertation/thesis to be submitted for examination
act as one of the examiners of the dissertation/thesis which they supervised
Supervisors/promoters, being fully aware of the importance of quick feedback, will do their best to return submitted assignments and chapters of the dissertation/thesis as soon as possible. A supervisors/promoters responsibilities are not
suspended during a sabbatical, or during December and January, except for the days from Christmas to New Year and
during the time that he/she may be ofcially on leave.
If no feedback is received within four weeks after submitting any work, you should contact the supervisor/promoter
to enquire what the position is. If you should ever nd yourself in the unlikely position of being strongly dissatised with
your supervisors/promoters work, you should state the case in writing to the Chair of the Department of Psychology,
who will follow the matter up.
On the other hand, it should be stressed that you are enrolled for an advanced degree and not the supervisor/promoter, which implies that you should do the work. It is not your supervisors/promoters duty to help analyse the data or
correct grammatical, spelling and typing errors if these or other aspects of your work are not up to standard, you may
obtain the services of an appropriate expert to improve them. Furthermore, the responsibility for all aspects of your dissertation/thesis rests with you alone. The supervisor/promoter can make suggestions as to what should be done, but the
student makes the nal decisions. Also, permission to hand in the dissertation/thesis for examination does not imply that
your supervisor/promoter will award it a pass mark.
The above explication of the roles of supervisors/promoters and joint supervisors/promoters are formalised in a
learning contract (see Appendix 5), which upon registration, is signed by all. Please read it carefully before agreeing to
sign it.
5.1
Writing the dissertation/thesis
If your research proposal is accepted but your supervisor/promoter is of the opinion that aspects of the research plan still
require some attention, your rst task after registration will be to continue with the development of your research proposal. Specic guidelines will be provided by the supervisor/promoter and will be placed on record. You may use your
rst year of study to develop an adequate proposal, with the understanding that you may not be permitted to register for
the second year if your proposal is not completed to the satisfaction of your promoter by the end of the rst year.
However, your supervisor/promoter may decide that your proposal is adequate and that you should proceed directly
with the study itself.
16
5.1.1 Procedure
The writing of a dissertation/thesis usually represents about half of the total project in terms of time and effort. It is invariably grossly underestimated by students.
In general we prefer that you write your dissertation/thesis chapter by chapter. The expected standard is very high and
demands intensive effort over a long period. Before writing a chapter, it is advisable to draw up a scheme (or a mind
map) of the contents and to ensure that it forms a logical sequence. Indicate on the scheme where each of the references
pertaining to this chapter will be discussed.
Only once you are satised that the chapter you have written is as good and complete as possible, and is typed and
proofread, should it be submitted to your supervisor/promoter for evaluation. While waiting for feedback, you should
proofread
work on the next chapter. However, this should not be submitted until comments on the previous one have been returned
and taken into consideration. After each chapter has been approved in turn and the nal corrections have been made, the
whole draft dissertation/thesis is submitted as a unit, including the list of references, title page and appendices. If your
supervisor/promoter nds everything in order, you then compile the nal version of the dissertation/thesis for ofcial
submission to the Registrar. An article should also be written based on the dissertation/thesis and submitted with every
examination copy of the dissertation/thesis.
5.1.1.1 Useful resources
Further reading and guidance on dissertation/thesis writing can be obtained from the following sources:
Bak, N. (2003). Completing your thesis: A practical guide. Pretoria: Van Schaik Publishers.
Oliver, P. (2003). Writing your thesis. USA: Sage Publishers.
Murray, T.R. & Brubaker, D.L. (2000). Theses and dissertations: A guide to planning research and writing. Westport:
Bergin & Garrey.
Rudestam, K.E. & Newton, R.R. (2000). Surviving your dissertation: A comprehensive guide to content and
process. USA: Sage Publishers
The following websites also contain useful guidelines:
http://www.mcgill.ca/gps/programs/thesis/guidelines/preparation
http://www.grad.buffalo.edu/grad-docs/adobe/pdf/Guide_Thesis_Dissertation.pdf
http://www.writecentre.cgu.edu/students/dissmain.html
http://www.learnerassociates.net/dissthes/
5.1.2 Chapter divisions

The number of chapters in a dissertation/thesis and their titles depend on the nature of the research, but in most cases a
variation of the following format is suitable:
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Introduction
Theoretical background
Literature survey
Research design
Results
Discussion, conclusions and recommendations
In some cases chapters 2 and 3 are combined to form one review chapter. The above chapter headings are used below as a
framework for guidelines relating to the content of most dissertations/theses. The titles of the chapters should reect their
content, and can of course differ from those suggested above.
There is no clear relationship between the length of a dissertation/thesis and the probability of it receiving a pass
mark from the examiners. However, a length of less than 100 pages (all inclusive) is unusual, while a length of much more
17
than about 200 pages may be excessive for a masters dissertation, and it is rare for a doctoral thesis to be less than 150
pages or more than 300 pages.
5.1.2.1 Introduction
The introduction is a general orientation for readers of the dissertation/thesis. Usually it will include a descriptive statement of the research topic, context and/or research problem in general terms, a statement of the aims of the research,
denitions of some important terms and a brief indication of what is dealt with in subsequent chapters.
As a rule it is advisable to draft an introductory chapter when starting to write the dissertation/thesis, but it is likely
that this chapter will be revised/updated when the rest of the text has been completed.
5.1.2.2 Theoretical background
This chapter contains a critical evaluation (not a summary) of existing theories and/or models, so that the research topic
and context can be delimited in the case of qualitative research. In the case of descriptive and inferential research, the
research questions and/or testable hypotheses which will be investigated in the empirical part of the study may be derived
from existing theories. It may also be necessary for you to modify or expand on one of these theories.
In the case of some masters dissertations and all doctoral theses, attention should also be given to the epistemological grounding of the study. This can be presented either at the outset of the theory chapter or at the beginning of the
research design chapter (see 5.1.2.4).
Whatever the content of the theory chapter, it is important that everything included is relevant. A fact is relevant
only if it contributes directly or indirectly to a conclusion, which in its turn forms part of a logical trail of thought leading
eventually to the specication of the exact purpose of your research, or to a research question or a hypothesis. If no useful
conclusion (i.e. one which is taken up again later in the dissertation) is reached at the end of a section, then that section is
either irrelevant or poorly organised, or both. The compilation of a dissertation/thesis comprises the writing of a research
report and not a text book. There is consequently no need for an extensive presentation of existing knowledge relating to
your subject for the sake of completeness.
When evaluating a theory, it is usually advisable to briey indicate its historical development; dene, explain or
critically analyse the main concepts used in the theory; appraise the research evidence on which it is based; and critically
evaluate and justify its application to your particular research context.
Depending on the state of theoretical and research knowledge in the chosen eld of study and on the purpose of the
research, the chapter on theory may be presented before or after the literature survey, or the two could be combined into a
single chapter. Research contexts, research problems and hypotheses can usually be derived from both theory and previous research results.
5.1.2.3 Literature survey
A literature survey is not a descriptive summary or a list of books and articles. Rather, it is a critical evaluation of previous
research relating to the research topic. This has a number of implications for the way in which the material is presented:
In general, avoid discussing one study at a time as this almost automatically leads to a summary rather than an
evaluation. Only a limited number of studies which are directly relevant to your own investigation warrant extensive
individual evaluation. In most cases it is more useful to consider several studies together by referring to a common
factor, for example: A number of authors (Adams, 2004; Jones, 2000; Mamba, 1997) have found that.../ attempted
to test the hypothesis ... / have used this test ... / failed to take into account ... / have criticised the conclusions of ...
/etc This type of sentence structure forces you to synthesise your material.
It is unacceptable to give a reference to a source which you have not personally studied. When making statements of
little relevance, for example a generalisation such as intelligence has been dened in various ways (references), it
is in order to refer to some secondary sources. However, secondary sources are not to be used at all when evaluating
important work.
The order in which various aspects are discussed should be determined by the specic purpose of your study (or by
your research questions or hypotheses), since these are the aim and endpoint of your discussion of both theory and
18
previous research. It is appropriate to let your discussion proceed gradually from peripheral to central issues, that
is, from less to more relevant material, or from the general to the specic, so that the content of succeeding sections
gradually approaches the central theme of the dissertation/thesis. Statements in any section may depend on those in
previous sections, but never on those in later sections. Thus, if the central theme of a study is The effect of verbal
reinforcement on the racial attitudes of adolescents, then the research survey should rstly deal with the effects of
other-than-verbal reinforcement before that of verbal reinforcement, with the effects of reinforcement on other-thanracial attitudes before the effects on racial attitudes, and with studies on adults before those which use adolescent
participants. Dene concepts the rst time you use them; do not refer to some concept which is only explained much
later in the dissertation/thesis.
The manner in which previous research is discussed should be considered anew each time the same study is mentioned. Only if the relevance of the material is not central to your study, can you mention a result or conclusion
without comment or evaluation. The depth of the discussion, that is, the amount of detail given and the extent to
which the study is evaluated, should increase the closer one approaches the central theme of the dissertation/thesis.
The evaluation of previous research should not be limited to the results obtained and the conclusions drawn, but
should cover methodological aspects such as sampling, measuring techniques, and research design. Having considered these matters, an overall assessment of each important study or group of studies should be given, indicating
what you think they proved and what not. Consideration may be given to evaluating a number of studies dealing
with the same research context or hypotheses by summarising them in tabulated form. The table could, for example,
contain the following columns: authors and date of study, sample selection, sample composition, research design,
measures, conclusions, methodological weaknesses, etc.
It is important that you indicate when reference is being made to grey literature (such as a newsletter or informal
website) rather than to a formal scholarly publications.
Study the reviews in the Annual Review of Psychology (an annually published reference work) or the reviews in Journals
such as The American Psychologist and Psychological Review in order to obtain some idea of what a good literature
survey is like.
5.1.2.4 Research design
This chapter normally includes a discussion of the sampling procedure; the size(s) and characteristics (eg age, sex, socio-economic status) of the sample; the research design (and a discussion of its weaknesses and strengths), measuring
instruments used (their development, standardisation, item format, reliability, validity (or trustworthiness), norms, etc,
including the validity and reliabilities found in your own study); the procedure followed in obtaining the data; and perhaps the techniques of analysis used. The use of a ow diagram, when setting out the various steps you are following in
implementing the research design, can be very helpful.
In the case of qualitative research designs the role of the researcher should be clearly explicated along with the steps
that will be taken to strengthen the trustworthiness of the observations, interpretations and conclusions.
It is important that every aspect of the investigation (irrespective of whether it is a qualitative, descriptive, inferential or a mixed design) be justied or explained: if one fails to do this, the reader may get the impression that you did not
know what you were doing or why you were doing it.
5.1.2.5 Results
The results are best presented in the order in which the specic purposes of the study were formulated or the order in
which hypotheses were stated in previous chapters. The text of this chapter should relate directly to the methods of analysis, the justication for their choice, the results of your investigation, the signicance of your results, and, in the case of
inferential empirical studies, whether or not the results support the hypotheses. Usually no interpretation of the results is
attempted in this chapter, although in some cases the results and interpretation chapters are effectively combined.
This chapter often contains a number of tables. The directives of the Publications Manual of the American Psychological Association (fth edition) on how to compose and present tables should be followed. Also keep the following
points in mind:
Every table should be provided with a title that explains its contents without requiring the reader to refer to the
text.
19
A table should be placed in the text as soon as is practicable after being referred to in the text for the rst time.
Every table should be discussed in the text.
In a dissertation/thesis it is convenient to use compound numbers for tables, for example 5.3, where the rst digit
signies the number of the chapter and the second denotes the number of the table within the chapter. This limits the
number of changes required should you decide to add or remove a table at a later stage.
A list of tables should be included in the dissertation/thesis.
All numbers in the same column of a table should be given the same number of decimal places. Thus one would
write 1,23, 2,50 and 3,00 rather than 1,233, 2,5 and 3.
Use a comma as the decimal indicator and place a zero before it when writing numbers smaller than 1,0, for example: 0,05.
Although well-known symbols such as N, 0, s, F, z, t, p and (the symbol for chi-square) etc. can be used as column headings in tables without explanation, the meanings of less common symbols and abbreviations should be
explained.
Only relevant results should be included in the tables. Examiners will not be impressed by computer-generated
printouts and columns of numbers which are not discussed in the text.
5.1.2.6 Discussion, conclusions and recommendations
While the results are presented in the results chapter, they have to be interpreted in this chapter. This involves a critical
evaluation of your own results in an attempt to ascertain their contribution to psychological knowledge. The possible effects on the results that should be explored are factors such as the sampling procedure, sample size, uncontrolled error
variables, shortcomings in the measuring instruments, and sources or procedures that may diminish the trustworthiness of
the results. The ndings should also be compared with those of previous research in so far as this may contribute to better
understanding of the research problem.
Most importantly, in empirical research the implications of your results for the theory underlying your research
questions or hypotheses should be pointed out. It may be necessary to suggest a modication of the theory in order to accommodate your results. It is also usual to point out in this chapter what further investigations appear to be necessary for
a better understanding of the topic. The potential applications of the ndings should also be discussed.
In the case of both qualitative and inferential research it is important that the results and discussion of available
literature is also used to generate theoretical principles, taxonomies or a model with an explanatory value that covers the
ndings.
5.1.2.7 List of references and appendices
Note that the term Bibliography is not an appropriate title for the list of references consulted in writing your dissertation/
thesis. Rather use the term References. Every source referred to in the text of the dissertation/thesis should be included
in the list of references and no reference may be included which is not cited in the text. Follow the referencing style of
the Publications Manual of the American Psychological Association (fth edition). Appendix 1 contains a summary of
the directives.
Should material such as a questionnaire or extensive tables have to be presented, this can be done in one or more
appendices. These follow after the list of references as the last pages of the dissertation/thesis.
5.2
Some general guidelines on language and style
Although good writing is learned mainly by extensive practice and appropriate feedback, we hope that the following
remarks will help to prevent some recurring errors.
The authority with regard to spelling is the Shorter Oxford English Dictionary. While North American students may
present their work in American English, all other students are required to use the English spelling and syntax as is
used in the United Kingdom.
Pay close attention to the formulation of every sentence. Ensure that its grammatical structure is correct, that it forms
a smooth and logical connection with the previous sentence, that every word used is the best in its particular place,
20
that the punctuation contributes towards clarity and readability, that the style is not unnecessarily involved, that the
meaning is clear and unambiguous, and that language is non-sexist.
The use of verb tenses should be consistent in each chapter. It is probably simpler to use the past tense in reviewing
the literature and describing the procedure, while using the present tense in presenting and discussing the results of
the investigation.
Chapter titles and section headings should be brief but descriptive of the material that falls under them. The use of a
heading constitutes an undertaking that every sentence under that heading will relate to it and not (or to a lesser extent) to any other heading in the dissertation/thesis. Each section should be pure in the sense that it deals with one
subject, which is adequately reected by the heading. Every section heading should be intelligible without reference
to the text.
The use of paragraphs should improve the readability of a text by dividing it into units, each dealing with one central
theme. At the end of a paragraph this theme should be clear to the reader. Do not refer to vaguely related matters in
the same paragraph and avoid one-sentence paragraphs.
Use quotations only when illustrating an important point and then only when the author expresses this point clearly
and concisely. Avoid long quotations.
Limit the use of italics, brackets, quotation marks, underlined words, symbols, rarely used words, abbreviations,
numbered points, emotionally toned words or footnotes.

The following references on the development of scientic writing skills may be of value:
Alley, M. (1996). The craft of scientic writing. New York: Springer.
Henning, E., Gravett, S. & Van Rensburg, W. (2002). Finding your way in academic writing. Pretoria: Van Schaik Publishers.
Higgins, R (1995). Approaches to research: A handbook for those writing a dissertation. Bristol, Pa: Jessica Kingsley
Publishers.
Lindsay, D. (1990). A guide to scientic writing: Manual for students and research workers. Cheshire: Longman.
Willis, P. (1999). Dissertation handbook: A guide to research and writing. London: Oxford Press.
The following websites also contain useful guidelines:
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/679/01/
http://www.ipl.org/teen/aplus
http://web.princeton.edu/sites/writing/wc4.html
http://www.apastyle.org/previoustips.html
http://www.cs.purdue.edu/homes/dec/essay.dissertation.html
http://wwwpersonal.umich.edu/~danhorn/graduate.html
http://www.sce.carleton.ca/faculty/chinneck/thesis.html
http://www.gemlab.ukans.edu/guide/writing.htm
http://abacus.bates.edu/~ganderso/biology/resources/writing/HTWgeneral.html
5.2.2 Applications for re-registration

After two years of registration for a masters study and three years for a doctorate, you will be informed that you have
only one more year for registration after which their registration will be reviewed by the departmental research committee for recommendation. For the respective third and fourth years of study, you will have to submit upon registration a
formal proposal of expected progress towards the conclusion of their studies within that year. Should you not complete
your studies within this time frame, you will be recommended to postpone your re-registration until you are ready to commit yourself for the registration of a nal fourth year of masters registration and a nal fth year for a doctorate. Again,
registration will be dependent on a formal commitment by you to conclude your studies within this year. Note that students cannot claim formal supervision when they are not registered.
21
All registrations for a fth (or more) year of masters studies or a sixth (or more) year of doctoral studies have to be
reviewed by the departmental executive committee upon recommendation of the research committee. Only in well-motivated cases will registration be recommended.
This requirement is necessary since the funding subsidy for completed masters and doctoral studies decreases
signicantly with every passing year of registration. Also, registration of advanced students are heavily susidised by the
South African tax payer, and only a limited time for completion of your studies can be granted. Please note that the intention of this registration policy is to help students formalise and manage their study progress, rather than being a punishment procedure.
22
5.3 Diagrammatic summary of procedures after registration

The following ow diagram summarises the procedure followed in the students entire registration period:
TIME FRAME
At registration:
STUDENT
Sign and submit learning contract
First year study:
If outcomes are not met, the

supervisor/promoter may deny
registration for the second year of
study
Sign learning contract

Presents clear outcomes
regarding the rst year of study,
eg a full proposal, a completed
questionnaire, submission of a
completed chapter. This is
negotiated in consultation with the
student.
Place learning contract on le with
the M&D secretary.
Keep record of all communications
and recommendations.
Inform students that after the third
year of masters and fourth year of
doctoral studies, their progress will
be reviewed annually by the
departmental research committee
Masters students:
End of second year of study
Doctoral students:
End of third year of study
Masters students:
Third year of registration
Doctoral students:
Fourth year of registration
SUPERVISOR/
PROMOTER
Submit an outline of expected

progress towards conclusion of
studies during this year
If study is not completed
recommendation for a leave of
absence is made
Request a leave of absence until
ready to resume a nal year of
study
Masters students:
Fourth year of registration
Doctoral students:
Fifth year of registration
Masters students:
Fifth year of registration
Doctoral students:
Sixth year of registration
Provide a well-motivated
submission for continuing with
studies and an outline of expected
progress towards conclusion of
studies during this year
Registration request is concidered

by supervisor/promoter and research
committee
Registration will only be concidered
in exceptional cases by executive
committee
Flow diagram 5.1: Masters and doctoral students: rst year of study and follow-up registrations for the dissertation/
thesis.
23
6
Submitting the dissertation/thesis for examination
Study the brochure General Information: Masters and Doctors Degrees, which is obtainable from the Department of
Student Admissions and Registrations, with regard to the procedure for submitting a dissertation/thesis for examination,
and the Universitys requirements relating to the technical aspects of dissertations/theses.
Before you notify the Registrar (Academic) of your intention to submit the dissertation/thesis for examination, your
supervisor/promoter should have at least once reviewed the complete dissertation/thesis and must consent to its submission for examination. A formal notication form is included in General Information: Masters & Doctoral Degrees. Also
ensure that all the instructions contained in the brochure is followed. In short, depending on the number of examiners,
three or four copies of the dissertation/thesis (that may be soft bound) must be submitted for examination along with three/
four copies of an article extracted from the dissertation/thesis. You should also provide a written declaration attesting to
the originality of the study as well as a statement ceding copyright of the work to the University. In addition, again take
note of the stipulations of the learning contract (see Appendix 5) regarding your responsibilities before submitting your
work for examination.
Your request to submit your work for examination must reach the Registrar before 30 September for conferment
of the degree during the following April/May graduation ceremonies. For the Spring (southern hemisphere) graduation
ceremonies in September, the date is 15 April.
6.1 The examination panel

The examination panel for dissertations/theses consists of
6.2
a non-examining chairperson (usually a senior member of the Department)

two examiners for a Masters degree of which at least one is external (from outside the University), and three examiners for a doctoral degree of which at least two must be external
The supervisor is not a member of the examining panel but should submit a report on the candidate after the dissertation has been submitted for examination to the non-examining chairperson.
Extracting an article from the dissertation/thesis
Upon informing the University that you intend to submit your dissertation/thesis for examination (about three months
before submission), the Department of Student Administration (Postgraduate Enquiries) will send you instructions/guidelines on how to extract an article from the study (see Appendix 7). According to the University Calender, the original
composition of the article is your responsibility and, under the guidance of your supervisor/promoter, an appropriate peer
reviewed journal should be selected. The journals guidelines for the composition of the article should be followed.
References to general guidelines on the compilation of a scientic article are listed below:
American Psychological Association. (2001). Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association. (5th ed.)
Washington, DC: APA Books.
Booth, V. (1993). Communicating in science: Writing a scientic paper and speaking at scientic meetings. Cambridge:
University Press.
Davis, M. (1997). Scientic papers and presentations. San Diego, California: Academic Press.
Plug, C. (1990). Writing scientic articles: a review and guide for authors. South African Journal for Higher Education,
4(20), 1-18.
Psychological Society of South Africa. (1992). South African Journal of Psychology: Guide to Authors. (2nd ed.). Johannesburg: PsySSA.
Sternberg, R.J. (2000). Guide to publishing in psychology journals. United kingdom: Cambridge University Press.
24
The following websites also contain information on the writing of scientic articles:
http://www.apastyle.org
http://www.csic.cornell.edu/201/paperguidelines.html
http://www.cbcs.med.unc.edu/howto.htm
http://www.owhet.rice.edu/~bios311/sciarticle.html
http://www.faculty.goucher.edu/eng211/how_to_write_a_scientic_article.htm
http://www.writing.ku.edu/students/guides.shtml
http://web.princeton.edu/sites/writing/wc4.html
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/679/01/
6.3 Article appraisal

Along with examination instructions for the dissertation/thesis, all examiners are requested to appraise the article by making use of a structured evaluation form they receive with the article. The appraisals are returned to your supervisor/promoter via the non examining chairperson and should be used as guidelines for the revision of the article before submitting
it to a journal.
At registration, students are informed that supervisors/promoters and joint supervisors/promoters will act as second/
third authors of scientic articles yielded by the study (see the learning contract presented in Appendix 4). In return, supervisors/promoters and joint supervisors/promoters are available for guidance, and undertake to help with the composition
of the nal draft of the article and be responsible for its submission to a peer reviewed journal for possible publication.
This procedure is also underwritten by the Universitys copyright on research publication. The copyright belongs to the
University and not to the student in his/her own capacity. Copyright is automatically transferred to peer reviewed journals
on condition that proper recognition is given to the University.
Promoters/supervisors have no claims to the authorship of other products, for example book publications or documentary lms, that are based on their students research. In such cases, the University requires formal recognition as the
institution that supported the research and generally gives publication permission as a matter of course.
25
6.4 Diagrammatic representation of submission and examination

procedures
The following ow diagram summarises the procedure followed upon submission and examination of the dissertation/
thesis:
STUDENT
PSYCHOLOGY
DEPARTMENT
About three months before

submission: request permission
to submit dissertation/thesis for
examination
SUPERVISOR/
PROMOTER
Forward request to supervisor/
promoter
Supervisor/promoter:
If permission is not granted:
Formally inform student via
Unisa administration of reason(s)
If permission is granted:
inform student via Unisa
administration
select, in consultation with the
M&D course co-ordinator, the
examiners and a nonexamining chairperson
inform Unisa administration
Finalise, bind and submit copies of
dissertation/thesis along with the
required copies of an article
extracted from the study
Permission not granted:

Forward justication to student
Permission granted:
Send student
instructions on submission
requirements and procedures
re dissertation/thesis
instructions for composing an
article based on the study
Help student with guidelines on
composing/extracting the article
Forward to examiners:
Dissertation/thesis and articles
along with examination instructions
to examiners
Non-examining chairperson:
Collects examination reports
and sends recommendation to
the Dean for conrmation.
Student is informed of the outcome
via Unisa administration
Forward to non-examining
chairperson:
Instructions on composing nal
report
Collects and forwards article

appraisals to supevisor/promoter
Revises article using guidelines
of examiners and submits article to
a peer reviewed journal
Flow diagram 6.1: Submission and examination procedures for masters dissertations and doctoral theses in
Psychology
26
Appendix 1
Referencing style
All the sources used in your dissertation or thesis should be properly acknowledged. Although there are different referencing systems, the Department of Psychology requires you to follow the referencing system of the American Psychological
Association (APA). This system is summarised below and appears in detail in the following source:
Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (5th ed.). (2001). Washington, DC:
American Psychological Association.
Refer only to sources that appear in your reference list.

Check the names and dates cited in the text carefully to ensure that they agree with those in the reference list.
Web-based summaries of the APA style rules are available, inter alia, at the following sites:
http://www,wooster.edu/psychology/apa-crib.html
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01
Literature citations in the text

Cite the authors name and the date of publication:
Recent evidence (Brown, 2001) ...
... was discussed by Able (2002).
In these cases the research of Brown and discussion of Able were studied in the original sources.
When a theory or research nding was studied in a secondary source (not the original work of the theorist or researcher),
cite the source as follows:
According to Kohlbergs theory (cited in Thomas, 1996) ...
On the basis of James Marcias research ndings (cited in Conger, 1991) ...
Use and or & between the names of authors:
Use and when the names of the authors form part of the sentence but an ampersand (&) when the names of the
authors appear in parenthesis, in a table or reference list. For example:
Plug, Louw, Gouws and Meyer (1997) ...
... (Plug, Louw, Gouws & Meyer, 1997).
Multiple authors are all cited the rst time a reference occurs:
Brown, Smith and Jones (1986) found ...
... was reported recently (Brown, Botha & Marsh, 2002).
However, for subsequent references to three or more authors, et al. is used:
Brown et al. (2002) found ...
When the chapters in a book were written by different authors, do not cite the editor(s) of the book but the
author(s) of the chapter which is the source of information. For example:
According to Meyer (1998) ...
In the list of references this source should be cited as follows:
Meyer, W.F. (1998). Basic concepts of developmental psychology. In D.A. Louw, D.M. van Ede & A.E. Louw
(Eds.), Human development (pp.3-38). Pretoria: Kagiso.
27
E-mail communications should be cited as personal communications. For example:

According to D.L. Walker (personal communication, May 25, 1999) ...
Personal communications are not cited in the reference list.
Citing a Web site: Give the address of the site in the text. For example:
According to the Department of Postgraduate Enquiries (http://www.unisa.ac.za) ...
Citing specic documents on a Web site: Reference to a document obtained from a Web site usually follows a
format similar to that for printed works as explained above. For example (article from a journal):
Jacobson, Mulick and Schwartz (1995) found ...
Research (Jacobson, Mulick & Schwartz, 1995) showed ...
Citing a tutorial letter: Cite the number, paper code and year of the tutorial letter. For example:
According to Tutorial Letter 301 for PSYHON-M (2004) the examination ...
Give the page number for a direct quotation. For example:
In Tutorial Letter 301 for PSYHON-M (2004, p. 17) it is stressed that the university allows a maximum of six years
for the completion of the Honours degree.
In the list of references this source should be cited as follows:
Tutorial Letter 301, PSYHON-M. (2004). Department of Psychology, University of South Africa, Pretoria.
A page reference must be given for direct quotations from both journals and books. The page number(s) is/are
preceded by p. (singular) or pp. (plural). For example:
Jones (1988, p. 123) and Robinson (2002, pp. 135-138) ...
List of references
Supply a list of sources at the end of the dissertation/thesis, under the heading References (not Bibliography).
The reference list should not contain works other than those you have cited in your dissertation/thesis.
Entries should be arranged in alphabetical order according to the authors surnames.
Multiple authors are joined by an ampersand (&).
Give the particulars as in the following examples.
Books
Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (2000). Title of book. Location: Publisher.
Example:
Jordaan, W.J., & Jordaan, J.J. (1984). Man in context. Johannesburg: McGraw-Hill.
Journal articles
Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (2000). Title of article. Title of Journal, journal volume number (journal issue number) (if
applicable), page number(s).
Examples:
Visser, D. (1987). Sex differences in adolescent mathematics behaviour. South African Journal of Psychology, 17, 137144.
Bar-Tal, D., Raviv, A., & Leiser, T. (1980). The development of altruistic behaviour: Empirical evidence. Developmental
Psychology, 16(5), 516-524.
28
Chapter or article in a book

Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (2000). Title of chapter. In A. Editor, B. Editor & C. Editor (Eds.), Title of book (pp. xxxxxx). Location: Publisher.
Example:
Meyer, W. (1991). Analysing psychological theories in terms of causal constructs. In R. van Vuuren (Ed.), Dialogue beyond polemics (pp. 21-35). Pretoria: HSRC.
Magazine
Small, M.F. (2000, August). Stressed-out children: Why parents matter more than peers. Discover, 66-71.
Newspaper
Rumors have effect on Rangers. (1990, January 14). The New York Times, Section 8, pp. 1, 4.
Doctoral dissertation
Ochse, R.A. (1985). A theoretical study of the determinants of creativity. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University
of South Africa, Pretoria.
Doctoral dissertation abstract
Mordhoff, J.T. (1992). A unied model of visual attention. (Doctoral dissertation, The Johns Hopkins University, 1991).
Dissertation Abstracts International, 53B(1), 590.
Masters thesis
Moremi, D. M. (2002). Parenting styles and the adjustment of black South African grade 1 children in single parents
households. Unpublished masters thesis, University of South Africa, Pretoria.
Technical report
Kipnis, D., & Kidder, L. H. (1977). Practice performance and sex: sex role appropriateness, success and failure as
determinants of mens and womens task learning capabilities (Rep. No. 1). Philadelphia: University City Science
Center.
Unpublished manuscript
Ulbricht, H. W. (1993). Personality and selective migration. Unpublished manuscript, Human Resources Laboratory,
Chamber of Mines Research Organization, Johannesburg.
Paper presented at a meeting
Liddell, C. (1986, October). Issues related to the provision of cognitive enrichment programmes for black South African
pre-schoolers. Paper presented at the Fourth National Psychology Conference, Johannesburg.
Articles on a Web site
Author, A. A., Author, B. B., & Author, C. C. (2000). Title of the article. Title of the Periodical, journal volume number
(journal issue number) (if applicable), page number(s). Retrieved month day, year, from source
Example:
Jacobson, J.W., Mulick, J.A., & Schwartz, A.A. (1995). A history of facilitated communication: Science, pseudoscience,
and antiscience: Science working group on facilitated communication. American Psychologist, 50, 750-765. Retrieved January 25, 1996, from http://www.apa.org/journals/jacobson.html
29
Articles from electronic databases
CD-ROM
Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (2000). Title of article. Title of Journal, journal volume number (journal issue
number) (if applicable), page number(s). Retrieved from [source] database ([name of database], CD-ROM, [date]
release, [item number - if applicable])
Example:
Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (2000). Title of article. Title of Journal, journal volume number (journal issue number) (if applicable), page number(s). Retrieved from SIRS database (SIRS Government Reporter, CD-ROM, Fall
1998 release)
Online database
Article viewed in electronic form:

Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (2000). Title of article [Electronic version]. Title of Journal, journal volume number (journal issue number) (if applicable), page number(s).
Example:
VandenBos, G., Knapp, S., & Doe, J. (2001). Role of reference elements in the selection of resources by psychology undergraduates [Electronic version]. Journal of Bibliographic Research, 5, 117-123.
Online article not an exact duplicate of print version:
Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (2000). Title of article. Title of Journal, journal volume number (journal issue number) (if
applicable), page number(s). Retrieved [month day, year,] from [source]
Example:
VandenBos, G., Knapp, S., & Doe, J. (2001). Role of reference elements in the selection of resources by psychology
undergraduates. Journal of Bibliographic Research, 5, 117-123. Retrieved October 13, 2001, from http://jbr.org/articles.html
Some of the above examples of references are cited from the following sources:
Electronic reference formats recommended by the American Psychological Association. (2000, August 22). Washington,
DC: American Psychological Association. Retrieved November 11, 2000, fromhttp://www.apa.org/journals/webref.
html
Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (5th ed.). (2001). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
Rosnow, R. L., & Rosnow, M. (1998). Writing papers in Psychology. Pacic Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole.
South African Journal of Psychology: Guide to authors (2nd ed., 1993). Pretoria: Psychological Association of South
Africa.
South African Journal of Psychology: Guide to authors (2nd ed., 1993). Pretoria: Psychological Association of South
Africa.
3 Copying Text
Besides indicating an intensive study of the literature and the ability to handle scientic material critically and with originality, your thesis/dissertation should also show that you have the ability to express yourself in your own words. Students
are often under the impression that it is permissible to use an authors exact words without quotation marks. This is not so
and is regarded as plagiarism. Please note that any form of copying (including from any electronic source) is unacceptable
and cannot be tolerated.
Plagiarism refers not only to paragraps copied in their entirety, but also to the following:
verbatim reproduction of small sections or single sentences in a textbook or other sources

translating from any source without acknowledging the source or explaining that it is a translated quotation
30
taking over ideas or information from any source without acknowledging the source, and trying to conceal this copying by changing the sentence construction or the word order, or by substituting words.
There is no objection to the limited use of quotations. Excessive use of quotations, even the use of quotations when it is
possible to express an idea in your own words, should be avoided. The unnecessary use of quotations gives the impression
that you are incapable of independent thinking and unable to express your ideas.
We suggest that you have a look at the following website, which contains a useful discussion of this very important
issue: http://www.plagiarism.org/
31
Appendix 2
Instructions for the evaluation of research proposals
The objective of this exercise is to learn to systematically assess your research proposal and thus improve the quality of
the submission you intend to make to a prospective supervisor/promoter. This is an important exercise to help you understand the strengths and weaknesses of your proposed research and to address the weaknesses.
Please read the following instructions before you start your evaluation.
Instructions
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Use an evaluation sheet (provided below) to indicate your ratings. First write down the title of your proposal, your
name, your student number (if you have one) as well as the name of the lecturer you want to submit your proposal
to. Then proceed by encircling the appropriate numbers on each evaluation scale. Copy these numbers to the spaces
provided at the end of the scales.
When you do not award the highest rating on a scale, write comments on the proposal (be this in the margins or on
the reverse side of the evaluation sheet) to indicate what the problem is and/or to offer a suggestion as to how the
situation could be rectied. It is important that you do write down your comments, otherwise the lecturer will not
know why you made a particular rating. Even if you do award the highest rating you may still want to offer suggestions on possible improvements or issues to be considered. Remember, the aim of your evaluation is to help you
identify the strengths and weaknesses of your proposed research and then to address these.
When you have nished the ratings add the rating scores and write the sum in the square labelled: TOTAL.
Convert the TOTAL to a PERCENTAGE. This is done as follows: Divide the total by 65 and multiply the answer
by 100. For example, if the total is 50 the percentage is:
(50 / 65) X 100 = 0,76923076 X 100 = 76,92%
Round off the percentage to the closest whole number and write this number in the third square. The rounding off
procedure is quite easy: Simply look at the rst digit after the decimal comma, and ignore the rest. If the decimal
fraction is ,5 or higher go to the next percentage point. If the fraction is ,4 or lower drop the fraction and maintain
the current percentage point. For example, 66,17 becomes 66% because ,1 is less than ,5. But 66,67 becomes 67%
because ,6 is more than ,5. More examples:
45,444 = 45% ; 45,5010 = 46%; 89,011 = 89%; 75,5 = 76%; 76,92 = 77%
Study your evaluation and address the weaknesses you have identied. Only proceed to submit your research proposal to a prospective supervisor/promoter when your own assessment of the research proposal is 80% or higher.
When you are sure that you have developed your research proposal as well as you possibly could (and your own
evaluation thereof is at least 80%) you may staple the evaluation sheet to the front of the research proposal and submit it to a potential supervisor/promoter. Also send a complete copy of your submission to the course secretary for
masters and doctoral studies (Mrs C Barrish) for record keeping. Dont forget to add the submission date on your
Evaluation Schedule. Feedback should be provided within one month.
Evaluation Schedule
A research proposal is a document that presents a project plan for reviewers to evaluate. It is written before the research
process begins. It describes the research problem and its importance, and gives a detailed account of the methods that will
be used, and why they are appropriate. Its purpose is to convince reviewers that the researcher is capable of successfully
conducting the proposed research project. Reviewers have more condence that a planned project will be successfully
completed if the proposal is well written and organised, and if the researcher demonstrates careful planning. The research
proposal should be a scholarly document and should therefore comply with general standards of social sciences research.
The research proposal is not an informal letter written to the reviewer. It must adhere to the argumentative nature of scientic communication. As a document of scholarly communication it is an act of validation, an act in which the researcher
argues for a specic view, for a specic hypothesis, or a particular nding or result. The researchers arguments are with
the views, the hypotheses and the ndings of other researchers and theorists.
32
The formats in which research are presented may differ somewhat. For example, research proposals of hypothesisgenerating (includes qualitative and descriptive research designs) and hypothesis testing research (Inferential research
designs) may have much in common - all research needs data and must subject the data to some or other form of analysis
- but they may not emphasise all aspects of the research process to the same degree. It is sometimes difcult to foresee
and preplan all the steps in the research process if one follows a hypothesis-generating approach. Yet, no research proposal
should be an individuals off the cuff view of a situation. You cannot embark on a research project without a research
question in mind and at least a preliminary plan of the rst steps to be taken. And even if these steps are considered preparatory the researcher must still justify their relevance, reliability and validity. Hypothesis-generating research proposals,
perhaps more so than hypothesis-testing proposals, need an extensive discussion of the literature and the signicance of
the problem.
The title
The title is a very brief yet precise description of the nature of the research project. The title is usually not a full sentence,
but rather a phrase constructed from the key terms in the project.
1.
2.
The meaningfulness of the title

Rate 0:
if you provided no title, or if the title does not make sense
Rate 1:
if the title is meaningful but if it is too short or overly detailed and lengthy (ie it requires more words to
make it meaningful, or some words can be deleted without real loss of meaning)
Rate 2:
if the title is meaningful and to the point.
The appropriateness of the title
Rate 0:
if you provided no title, or if the title does not reect the key issues of the project
Rate 1:
if the title is partially appropriate and should be improved upon (ie the title reects some, but not all,
key issues of the project)
Rate 2:
if the title is appropriate and need not be improved upon.
Introducing the research topic

Begin the introduction with background information surrounding your research topic/question. In other words, sketch the
context for your research question, explaining why the research topic/problem is relevant. Then state the research question
and discuss it with reference to theory, or if you work in an action research paradigm, indicate the practical situation in
which your problem is situated. Conclude the introduction by stating your research question in precise and clear terms. In
relational-causal research the research question is often stated as an hypothesis. A research hypothesis is a factual statement to be subjected to analysis, but a research question may also take the form of a statement of intent, a statement in
which the researcher announces what he/she intends to explore or investigate.
3.
Addressing the research problem

Rate 0:
if your research topic and problem is unclear or vague (ie it is unclear what topic or theme the researcher
wishes to address)
Rate 1:
if your research topic and problem is proposald but the proposed study fails to address the problem properly
Rate 2:
if your research problem is proposald and the design of the project allows for the problem to be addressed properly.
4.
The research problem and relevant literature

Rate 0:
if you did not state a rationale for the project
Rate 1:
if you did not cite academic literature to provide a rationale for the study
Rate 2:
if you delineated the research problem, and cited literature, but the literature does not relate adequately
to the research problem
Rate 3:
if you presented your research problem against the background of relevant literature.
33
Hypothesis and/or statements of intent

Hypotheses or statements of intent must be clear, precise and sensible statements. These statements must include the key
concepts of the research problem. It must be clear who or what (subjects/participants, documents, setting, etc) will be
studied (observed, measured, analysed, etc), under what conditions the measurements or observations will take place and
what actions the researcher is to take.
5.
Formulating hypotheses, statements of intent, or planned actions

Rate 0:
if you provided no hypotheses, statements of intent, or planned actions
Rate 1:
if you provided hypotheses, statements of intent, or planned actions, but these are not appropriate to the
research problem, or they do not reect or concern the key issues implied by the research problem
Rate 2:
if you provided hypotheses, statements of intent, or planned actions, and they are appropriate to the research problem, but formulated vaguely
Rate 3:
if you provided hypotheses, statements of intent or planned actions, and they are appropriate to the research problem, and formulated in a clear and precise manner.
Variables and/or observation categories

What aspects do you want to observe? Are these aspects clearly dened as variables? Are the categories of observation
unambiguously delineated? For example, if behaviour is the variable to be observed, what kinds (categories) of behaviour
will be observed? If aggressive behaviour and angry behaviour are two observation categories to be used, what criteria
are to be applied to distinguish between these categories? What information will be obtained in the observations or measurements? Will the data be treated as quantitative or qualitative data? If measurements are to be taken, is it clear how the
variables are to be operationalised to enable the researcher to measure them? Or if qualitative observations are to be made,
is it clear what is to be observed and how these observations are to be obtained?
6.
Constructs: The clarity of key concepts

Rate 0:
if it is not clear what constructs you intend to investigate
Rate 1:
if some or all of the key concepts implicated by the research problem are not dened as constructs (ie
proposald in clear and precise terms)
Rate 2:
if the key concepts implicated by the research problem are dened as constructs but if one or more of
these constructs are poorly dened (ie described in ambiguous terms)
Rate 3:
if the key concepts implicated by the research problem are dened to form clear and unambiguous constructs.
7.
Observability of constructs
Rate 0:
if you gave no indication of how the construct(s) implicated by the research question is/are to be observed
Rate 1:
if an indication is given of how some of the constructs, but not all of the constructs implicated by the
research question, are to be observed
Rate 2:
if an indication is given of how the construct(s) implicated by the research question is/are to be observed,
but if it is unclear exactly how the suggested method would produce the desired information
Rate 3:
but if the suggested method is clearly impractical (ie is likely to fail to provide observational information
or is likely to produce ambiguous information)
Rate 4:
and if the suggested method is likely to produce useful information.
The nature of the data to be obtained

Data come from observation. Subjects or participants can be observed directly or indirectly. One can observe them directly by recording forms and patterns of behaviour, or one can observe subjects indirectly by asking them to complete
questionnaires, or submitting themselves to tests, or by rating them on scales, etcetera. Thus data can be in the form of
34
documents or descriptions of behaviour or settings, video or audio recordings of behaviour or settings, transcriptions of
video or audio recordings, responses to questionnaires, responses to interviews etcetera.
8.
The nature of the information to be obtained

Rate 0:
if it is unclear what kind of information you want to obtain via your suggested observational method
Rate 1:
if it is clear what kind of information you want to obtain but you did not explain or discuss the relevance
of, or justication for, the particular kind of information
Rate 2:
if it is clear what kind of information you want to obtain, and have explained or discussed the relevance
of, or the justication for, the particular kind of information.
Data sources
There are different sources of data, for example people (individuals, groups, societies, nations), documents (archival
material, diaries), maps, photographs, charts, physical settings, etc is/are data source(s) indicated, and is/are this/these
source(s) sufcient to answer the research question? In other words, is/are this/these source(s) credible, relevant and
representative?
9.
Information sources
Rate 0:
if you provided no information source(s) (eg documents, settings, people etc)
Rate 1:
if you provided some but not all information sources (ie it is unclear where information, which is obviously required for the study, will be obtained from)
Rate 2:
if you provided the necessary information sources but one or more of the indicated sources is/are irrelevant/inappropriate in light of the research project
Rate 3:
if you provided the necessary information source(s) and all indicated sources are relevant/ appropriate
in light of the research project.
Adequacy of data sources

Data sources (be they a sample of people, documents or physical settings) may provide inappropriate information (ie
information that cannot be used to answer the research question), or they may provide relevant information, but the information may be inadequate (for example, the sample may not be large enough, because too many subjects may drop out, or
too few questionnaires may be returned (subject attrition), or there may be a problem of subject non-compliance, etc).
10.
Adequacy of information source(s)

Rate 0:
if you provided no information source(s), or if your source(s) do(es) not provide information relevant for
addressing the research question
Rate 1:
if your proposed information source(s) provide(s) information is/are relevant for addressing the research
question but the information may be inadequate (for example, a sample is not large enough, or documents to be consulted are not representative of those available)
Rate 2:
if your proposed information source(s) provide(s) is/are sufcient information to address the research
question.
Access to data sources

You must have access to your research sources such as people, documents, research settings, etcetera. For example, you
cannot simply walk into an institution such as a hospital, a clinic or a school and start testing or interviewing people. You
will need permission from the authorities in charge as well as the people involved. Accessing documents may also pose
difculties because documents may contain sensitive information or may be considered private, etcetera. However, access
is not merely a question of permission but also of practicalities. For example, a data source may be too large for proper
and effective access.
35
11.
Access to information sources

Rate 0:
if information source accessibility could be problematic, and you did not raise the matter of information
source access
Rate 1:
if information source accessibility could be problematic, and though you raised the matter of information
source access, you did not fully resolve it
Rate 2:
if information source accessibility does not seem to pose a problem for the research project, but you did
not conrm this
Rate 3:
if your research proposal conrms that all matters of information source accessibility have been resolved, or that such matters do not pose a problem for the project.
Gathering and handling information

Research often requires special equipment, such as questionnaires, standardised tests, interview schedules or technical
apparatus. A researcher may propose using a questionnaire to get information, but may fail to explain whether he/she
will construct the questionnaire him-/herself, or whether it will be obtained from another source. The suggestion that one
will construct a questionnaire oneself may be impractical because the researcher may not have the psychometric skills to
develop an adequate instrument. A further question is whether a researcher is qualied to use a proposed test. He/she may
need special training to be able to utilise the test in question.
12.

Rate 0:
if your proposed project raises issues concerning procedures and techniques involved in gathering and
handling information (for example, the availability of questionnaires, tests, special apparatus, software,
an interview schedule etc) but you failed to address these issues
Rate 1:
if your proposed project raises issues concerning procedures and techniques involved in gathering and
handling information, and if you attempted to address these issues but left some issues unresolved
Rate 2:
if your proposed research project does not raise issues concerning procedures and techniques involved
in gathering and handling information, or if you succeeded to resolve all issues concerning information
gathering and handling procedures and techniques raised by your project.
Information collection, and reliability and validity issues

How will you collect the information? Is/are the research setting(s) described? Are the observation and/or measurement
procedures described? What nuisance factors (factors not directly relevant to answering the research question) could play
a role in producing a particular result? Are there aspects that could inuence the reliability and validity of the observations/measurements? Reliability refers to the consistency of ndings or observations over time. For example if you use
a test today, and administer the test again in six months time, will it give consistent results? In other words, one needs a
reliable ruler to make reliable measurements of length. If the ruler (instrument of measurement) keeps on changing length,
one cannot reliably measure the length of an object. Validity has to do with whether one really measures what one thinks
one measures. For example, rulers provide measurements of length and not measurements of mass. In the same fashion
one could ask: Does the anxiety scale I want to use really measure anxiety, or does it measure something totally different?
Or, what proof, if any, do I have that my questionnaire really measures what I set out to measure? Or how aware am I
of my personal stance towards the research topic and how do I want to ascertain the credibility or trustworthiness of my
observations?
13.
Information collection, and reliability and validity issues

Rate 0:
if it is not clear from your research proposal how information will be collected
Rate 1:
if your research proposal indicates how information is to be collected but if it is not clear whether the
particular collection procedures are valid, reliable or credible
Rate 2:
if you indicated and discussed the reliability and validity (or trustworthiness) of the observation procedures.
36
Analysis of information
The information that was gathered needs to be analysed. One usually thinks in terms of statistical techniques when the
term data analysis is mentioned. However, there are numerous procedures one can use, depending on the nature of ones
research topic and question and the kind of data collected.
.
14. Analysis of information
Rate 0:
if you gave no indication of how the data/information/observations will be analysed
Rate 1:
if you gave some indication of how the data will be analysed but did not mention the procedure/method/
technique
Rate 2:
if you indicated what procedure/method/technique will be used for data analysis but it is not
clear why the proposed procedure/method/technique should be used
Rate 3:
if you indicated how the data are to be analysed, and justied the appropriateness of the proposed procedure/technique/method.
15.
Appropriateness of analysed information

Rate 0:
if it is not clear what kind of information would be produced by the process of analysis
Rate 1:
if the kind of information produced by the process of analysis would not be appropriate to answer the
research question(s)
Rate 2:
if the kind of information produced by the process of analysis would be appropriate to answer the research question(s).
The research context

Are there events present in the context of your data collection that could inuence the information gathered? Keep in mind
that research does not take place in a vacuum. Scientic praxis occurs in societies. It is embedded in social structures.
Society, politics and the prescriptions of the research community constitute a system of values and rules that govern the
research process. Are these values mentioned and discussed in the research proposal?
16.

Rate 0:
if you didnt raise matters referring to the socio-political context of your research project
Rate 1:
if you referred to a socio-political context, but the context referred to has no direct bearing on the research project
Rate 2:
if you described a socio-political context that is relevant to the research project but failed to indicate how
the research project relates to these socio-political issues
Rate 3:
if you situated the research project within a relevant socio-political context, and indicated how the research project relates to these socio-political issues.
Project costs
It costs money to do research. One often needs special equipment, not only tests and questionnaires, but also computers
and sometimes specic mechanical devices. One needs to be trained to use such equipment, which may be quite expensive. If the right equipment does not exist, it must be constructed. Creating new tests can be very costly. Sometimes
projects require the help of assistants, who need to be paid. But it is not only these obvious costs one needs to keep in
mind. There are also smaller and often hidden costs involved, such as postage, photocopying, computer paper and discs,
telephone accounts, travel costs, etcetera.
17.
Project costs
Rate 0:
if you did not consider the cost aspects of the proposed project
Rate 1:
if you described cost estimates and budgets, but these are incomplete or unrealistic
Rate 2:
if you presented a clear and realistic explication of the expected costs.
37
Time frame of the project

How much time will it take to complete your study? This question involves two factors, namely the time required per
contact session per subject/participant, and the time frame implied by the research design. Some designs require only one
contact session per subject, while others require follow-up sessions. Longitudinal studies may take months or years to
complete when subjects have to be followed up at different stages of development. The time required per contact session
per subject may also vary greatly. Testing 100 subjects with a group test takes much less time per subject than interviewing individual participants, and scoring a test by computer is much quicker than having to transcribe and analyse an hourlong verbal account. These factors obviously inuence the size of the sample.
18.
Duration of the project

Rate 0:
if you didnt consider the projects time frame
Rate 1:
if you proposald proposald a time frame for the project but these considerations are unrealistic or incomplete
Rate 2:
if you proposald a plausible time frame but failed to explain and to justify the required time frame
Rate 3:
if you proposald, and also justied, a realistic time frame for the project.
Research ethics
A number of ethical factors play a role in research projects. In proposing your research project the researcher must demonstrate his/her awareness of these factors. You should ask questions such as: Is the privacy of the participants protected?
Are they willing to participate? Do they understand what they let themselves in for? (Subjects or participants must be
able to give informed consent.) Will subjects be deceived? (Some experiments can only work if subjects do not have full
knowledge of the experimental procedure, but if this is the case, care must be taken that subjects do not nd themselves
in positions where they may object on cultural and/or religious grounds.) Is there a possibility of subjects/participants getting harmed physically or mentally? Are subjects/participants exposed to risks that exceed the risks of normal life styles?
Are the treatment and manipulations that subjects are to be subjected to ethical? (For example, it is not ethical to elicit
aggressive behaviour.) Will subjects/particpants be debriefed afterwards? The Ethics Checklist (Appendix 9) may be of
use to you if you consider these questions.
19.
Research ethics
Rate 0:
if your proposed project is clearly in danger of breaching research ethics and you did not discuss the
matter of ethics
Rate 1:
if your proposed project could breach research ethics (even if this may seem unlikely) and you did not
discuss the matter of ethics
Rate 2:
if you raised the matter of research ethics but did not fully evaluate the project for possible ethical problems
Rate 3:
if you fully evaluated project for possible ethical problems, but it is unclear how you plan to deal with
some (or all) of these ethical problems
Rate 4:
if you fully evaluated the project for possible ethical problems and it is clear that the research can be
conducted without breaching research ethics.
Reective evaluation of the project

No research project can be absolutely awless. One tries ones best to come up with the most suitable design, to work
with a representative sample and to use appropriate techniques of analysis, etcetera, but research often means tradeoffs
between ideal situations and what is feasible in practice. A research proposal should indicate the strengths as well as the
limitations of a project. You have to discuss why the project is good and also why the project is limited. You should indicate the origins of the limitations and explain why you are not able to eliminate these limitations.
38
20.

Rate 0:
if you did not not evaluate the project to indicate its strengths and weaknesses
Rate 1:
if you provided a biased (eg only strengths, no weaknesses) or incomplete (eg oversight of obvious
weaknesses) evaluation of your proposed project
Rate 2:
if you provided a balanced evaluation of the project but failed to explain why the project had to be limited in certain ways
Rate 3:
if you provided a balanced evaluation of the project and fully justied any limitations that may still exist
in the project.
Relevance of expected ndings

You should also reect on the relevance of your research. Who could benet from your ndings, and in what way could
they be expected to benet? For example, ones ndings could benet scientic theory (progress in knowledge), or specific individuals, or groups of individuals, or society in general. You are reminded that the university strongly recommends
that research projects have specic relevance for the communities of Southern Africa
21.
Relevance of expected ndings

Rate 0:
if you didnt indicate the relevance of the expected ndings
Rate 1:
if you indicated the relevance of the expected ndings but did not discuss it
Rate 2:
if you indicated and discussed the relevance of the expected ndings, but the discussion is not entirely
appropriate in terms of the nature and context of the research project
Rate 3:
if you indicated and discussed the relevance of the expected ndings, and the discussion is appropriate
in terms of the nature and context of the research project.
The formulation of points of view

A research proposal is a scientic document. It should communicate clearly and convey the researchers points of view and
arguments in a rational fashion. Unfounded assertions and emotional statements should be avoided.
22.
The formulation of points of view and/or arguments:

Rate 0:
if the text contains examples of poorly formulated points of view and/or arguments (ie it is difcult to
understand what you tried to say)
Rate 1:
if the text contains examples of incorrectly formulated or unjustied points of view and/or arguments (ie
it is clear what you say, but the information is incorrect; and/or the argument is contradictory or logically
invalid; and/or references in the text and in the reference list do not correspond)
Rate 2:
if your presentation is clear and logical, and based on proper information.
The structural quality of the presentation

A presentation may be poorly structured on different levels. (a) Poor structure on section level means that not all components of the presentation are present. For example, if the research proposal does not explain the research method or approach it means the presentation is incomplete because this aspect (this component of a research proposal) is missing from
the presentation. Also note that the fact that all components are presented in a presentation does not automatically spell
good structure. The different components (the different sections of a presentation) have to follow logically on one another
- they have to constitute a logical/coherent presentation. For example, to explain the research method and approach before stating the research problem or research focus is not logical and therefore does not constitute good structure. (b) The
next structural level refers to paragraphs constituting the different sections (components) of the proposal. The questions
to ask are: (i) Is the section (component) in question broken down into proper paragraphs?, and (ii) Do the paragraphs
follow logically on one another to constitute a logical and coherent section (component) of the proposal? A paragraph is
a collection of sentences about a particular matter. Usually (although this may not always be the case) the rst sentence
or two put the main point or central theme that is dealt with in the paragraph, and the rest of the sentences making up the
paragraph further explain or expand on the central theme. (c) The third level at which you judge the structural quality of
39
your presentation deals with the individual sentences in the paragraphs. In this case you ask whether a paragraph is broken down into proper sentences and whether the individual sentences follow logically on one another to help constitute
a proper paragraph.
23.
The structural quality of the presentation:

Rate 0:
if your text is poorly structured at sentence level (ie the text contains instances of sentences that are
poorly formulated, or sentences that do not follow logically on preceding sentences)
Rate 1:
if your text is poorly structured at paragraph level (ie the text contains examples of poorly structured
paragraphs, and/or paragraphs that do not follow logically on preceding paragraphs)
Rate 2:
if your text is poorly structured at section level (eg the text lacks one or more important aspect or component of a research proposal)
Rate 3:
if your text is properly and appropriately structured (ie the text does not suffer from any of the preceding
problems).
Overall impressions: organisation, structure, writing style and tone

Research proposals are written in a narrow range of styles and have a distinct tone. Their purpose is to communicate
clearly the research topic and question and the relevant methodology. Style refers to the types of words chosen by the
writer and the length and form of sentences and paragraphs. Tone is the writers attitudes or relation towards the subject
matter. One does not use similar styles in writing, for example, a research proposal and a personal letter. An informal,
conversational style (eg colloquial words, idioms, clichs, incomplete sentences, etc) with a personal tone (the writer
relates to the information in a personal way) is appropriate for writing a letter to a close friend, but not for research proposals. Research proposals have a more formal style. This does not mean that one may not write them in the rst person
(eg I suggest ..., or I decided ...) but they do require properly formulated sentences and structured paragraphs. The tone
should express distance from the subject matter. Even if the research topic and question comes from a personal interest
and experience the tone should still be professional and serious. Avoid moralising and owery language. The goal is to
inform in an argumentative way, and not to advocate a personal position or to entertain. The language must be objective,
accurate and clear. An proposals subject matter can be technical and complex, and such complexity means that confusion
is always a danger. It makes precise expression and clear writing essential. Clear writing can be achieved by thinking and
rethinking the research problem and design, explicitly dening terms, writing with short declarative sentences, and limiting conclusions to what is supported by the evidence.
24.
The style of writing:

Rate 0:
if the language used in your proposal is overly difcult and complex (ie difcult words are used to explain things, and the sentences are long and complex, making it difcult to understand what you wish to
say)
Rate 1:
if the language used in your proposal is not overly difcult but the text still is difcult to comprehend (ie
sentences are vague or obscure)
Rate 2:
if the text is mostly to the point and comprehensible.
25.
The tone of writing:

Rate 0:
if your presentation is overly personal and anecdotal, and devoid of argumentation
Rate 1:
if your presentation is somewhat personal and informal but points made are based on rational arguments
rather than ill-considered statements of belief
Rate 2:
if your presentation reects proper academic debate.
General remarks
Write down any comments you have or issues still to be considered.
40
Evaluation sheet: masters and doctoral research proposals
TITLE
TIT
NAME
STUDENT
LECTURER (REVIEWER)
SUBMISSION DATE
TOTAL
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.
+65 x 100 =
The meaningfulness of the title

The appropriateness of the title
Addressing the research topic/problem
The research problem and relevant literature
Formulating hypotheses, statements of intent, actions
Constructs: The clarity of key concepts
Observability of constructs
The nature of the information to be obtained
Information source(s)
Adequacy of information source(s)
Access to information source(s)
Information collection, reliability and validity issues
Analysis of information
Appropriateness of analysed information
Project costs
Duration of the project
Research ethics
Relevancy of expected ndings
Formulation of points of view / arguments
The structural quality of the presentation
The style of writing
The tone of writing
% ROUNDED OFF TO
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
3
3
3
3
[
[
[
[
[
[
[
[
[
[
[
[
[
[
[
[
[
[
[
[
[
[
[
[
[
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
Total:
41
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
Write down the reasons for your ratings:
___________________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________________
42
Appendix 3
General guidelines for evaluating research proposals
The following is an example of general directives available to lecturers for the assessment of research proposals.
The selection of students for masters and doctoral research in Psychology is based mainly on the quality of their
research proposals and the availability of suitable supervisors and promoters. Only a fairly small proportion of candidates
are accepted, most of them after revision of their initial research proposals.
The purposes of the evaluation of research proposals are to
assess the suitability of the proposed research for degree purposes

assess the candidates intellectual, academic and research skills
assist the candidate in planning a better project and writing a better research proposal
decide whether the candidate should be admitted, rejected, or asked to revise the research proposal or follow some
other course of action
The rst three of these purposes are achieved by writing an evaluation of the research proposal, including suggestions on
how it might be improved. A copy of the evaluation is sent to the candidate. The remaining two purposes are achieved by
completing an evaluation and recommendation form.
The evaluation of a research proposal can have profound consequences for its author, and it should therefore be responsible and fair. Lecturers adopt a positive attitude and although they do not feel obliged to nd fault, they nevertheless
adopt a tough-minded attitude.
Prospective students want and expect quick feedback, and lecturers therefore should not let research proposals wait
longer than necessary. It is recommended that feedback is given within four weeks. Should this not be possible, the prospective student should be informed.
Where appropriate, they indicate the page or section to which each of their comments/criticisms applies. While stating what
they nd unsatisfactory, they also indicate whether, and how, it could be put right.The length of the report normally do not exceed one
page. Lecturers are free to comment on any aspect of a research proposal, but may be assisted by considering questions such as the
following:
Is the subject suitable for masters or doctoral research? More specically, will the research contribute to psychological knowledge, rather than general knowledge?
Is the envisaged project of a suitable scope? Masters research, including the writing of the dissertation, should
represent about 12 months full time work. A doctoral research project should represent about 24 months full time
work.)
Is the proposed research original and important enough to be publishable in a peer review journal and, in the case
of doctoral research, will it constitute a decided contribution to the knowledge of and insight into the subject, as
required by Unisas Instructions to Examiners?
Is the title clear, appropriate and grammatically correct?
Are the research question and/or aims clear?
Is the theoretical basis of the research clear?
Are key concepts clearly explained?
Is sufcient recent research cited and adequately discussed?
Are hypotheses or the specic aims of the research rmly based on current theory and/or recent research ndings?
Is the sampling procedure explained in sufcient detail? More specically, has the candidate explained how many
subjects will be used in the research; from what population they will be drawn; what sampling technique will be
employed; and whether the necessary permission has been obtained from parents, employers or others to study the
subjects? Is the sample size suitable? (Is it large enough to ensure worthwhile results but not so large as to waste
resources?)
Are the assessment procedures explained adequately? More specically, are the variables to be assessed clearly
identied, are they appropriate for answering the research question, and are the reliability and validity of the techniques of assessment considered, where appropriate?
Is the research design clearly set out? More specically, is it clear how different groups of subjects will be formed
and what the researcher will do with each group?
43
Will the research be conducted in accordance with the ethical principles to which psychologists subscribe?
Are the techniques that will be used to analyse and interpret the results clearly set out and appropriate?
Does the research proposal prove that the candidate has the intellectual and academic skills required for admission
to masters or doctoral studies? Examples of these are the ability to understand and evaluate current knowledge,
and particularly recent research on the proposed topic; an adequate understanding of appropriate research designs
and techniques of data analysis; a clear and unambiguous style of writing; and the ability to produce a neat and
technically correct document. These skills partly determine the candidates chances of completing the research and
dissertation successfully, and the amount of work that may be required from the supervisor/promoter. The lecturers
assessment of the candidates skills (in addition to his/her assessment of the proposed research) will of course affect
his/her decision whether to recommend acceptance of the research proposal and whether he/she would prefer to
supervise the research. His/her views about the candidates skills should, however, be formulated as comments on
the research proposal, rather than on the candidate.
44
Appendix 4
Research interests of staff members
Mr L J (Lesiba) Baloyi, UDE (Hebron
College), BA (Vista), Marketing Management (UP), MSc (Clin Psych)(Medunsa)
e-mail:
baloylj@unisa.ac.za
tel:
(012)429-8267
Different aspects of the training of psychotherapists; family
psychotherapy; group psychotherapy; child psychotherapy;
couple psychotherapy; interactional psychotherapy; HIV/AIDSrelated topics.
Teaching disciplines: Ecosystemic Psychology, Clinical
Psychology.
Prof D P (David) Fourie, MSc (UOFS),

MA (Clin Psy) (Unisa), PhD (Unisa)
e-mail:
fouridp@unisa.ac.za
tel:
(012)429-8277
Systemic theory, systemic therapy and hypnosis. Reconceptualisation of hypnosis in systemic terms as well as research into
practical ways of applying hypnosis in various settings, especially
in the context of specic symptoms.
Teaching disciplines: Psychopathology, Clinical Psychology.
Dr M E (Eduard) Fourie, MA (Res Psy)

(Stell), DLitt et Phil (Unisa)
Mr C H (Cas) Coetzee, BSc (Hons) (Unisa),
MA (UPE),
e-mail:
coetzch@unisa.ac.za
tel:
(012)429-8202
Research methodology, especially applications of multivariate
statistical techniques such as multitrait-multimatrix and covariance structure analyses, and automated assessment.
Teaching disciplines: Research methodology.
Dr E M (Elsje) Cronj, MA (Stell), MA

(Couns Psy) (Stell), DLitt et Phil (Unisa)
e-mail:
cronjem@unisa.ac.za
tel:
(012)429-8081
Aspects of human development, especially the self-concept, social
and emotional development; parenting roles; dual-earner families
and role division; the experiences and problems of children in
institutional care (eg. childrens homes, industrial schools); the
case study method and other qualitative research methods.
Teaching disciplines: Developmental Psychology.
Dr I (Ilse) Ferns, MA (Unisa), DLitt et Phil

(Unisa)
e-mail:
fernsi@unisa.ac.za
tel:
(012)429-8267
Human development, especially aspects relating to cognitive,
social and emotional development during infancy, early and middle childhood, adolescence, and adulthood; moral development
during early and middle childhood and adolescence; loneliness as
a psychological phenomenon; cross-cultural research in Developmental Psychology.
Teaching disciplines: Developmental Psychology, Sport
Psychology.
e-mail:
fourime@unisa.ac.za
tel:
(012)429-8523
Qualitative methodology; grounded theory; social constructionism; psychofortology; community and cultural studies;
organisational cultures; well-being of employees during mergers
and related processes of change.
Teaching disciplines: Community Psychology.
Ms H L (Louise) Henderson, BSc (Hons)

(UOFS), MSc (Unisa)
e-mail:
hendeh@unisa.ac.za
tel:
(012) 429-8214
Neuropsychology;
rehabilitation;
medical
psychology;
physiological psychology; psychopathology; research methodology; information technology in research; ethics.
Teaching disciplines: Physiological Psychology, Neuropsychology, Psychopathology.
Dr H C (Chris) Janeke, MA (UOFS), MA

(Unisa), DLitt et Phil (Unisa)
e-mail:
janekhc@unisa.ac.za
tel:
(012) 429-8218
Cognitive psychology, particularly psychological models of
learning, memory, and reasoning; psycholinguistics; neural
networks; forecasting methods, philosophy of mind.
Teaching disciplines: Cognitive Psychology, Sport Psychology,
Research methodology.
45
Mr D J (Johan) Kruger, MA (Research Psy)

(UP)
Dr E M (Mapula) Majapelo-Betica, MSc

(Clin Psy) (Medunsa), PhD (Unisa)
e-mail:
krugedj@unisa.ac.za
tel:
(012)429-8044
Philosophy of Science and Philosophy of Psychology
ontology, epistemology, paradigms, and worldviews; research
quantitative and qualitative methodologies; violence and injury;
programme/outcome evaluation; critical psychology.
Teaching disciplines: Research methodology, Social
Psychology, Community Psychology.
e-mail:
mojape@unisa.ac.za
tel:
(012) 429 6934
Psychopathology, psychotherapy, psychological assessment,
health psychology. Research interests: themes related to reproductive health within the African context, abortion, infertility,
adoption, childbirth, HIV infection and AIDS.
Teaching disciplines: Psychometry, Psychopathology.
Prof P (Piet) Kruger, MA (UP), DLitt et Phil

(Unisa)
e-mail:
krugep@unisa.ac.za
tel:
(012)429-6235
Research methodology; cognitive psychology and the philoso
psychology research and teaching; philosophy and the inuence
of philosophical assumptions on the conduct of science; social
constructionism; professional ethics.
Teaching disciplines:
Research methodology, Cognitive
Psychology.
Prof S (Stan) Lifschitz, MA (Clin Psy)

e-mail:
lifscs@unisa.ac.za
tel:
(012)429-8069
Ecosystemic thought; psychotherapy training and community
work in multicultural contexts; rituals of transformation and
conservation, and traditional healing practices.
Psychology.
Dr M C (Matshepo) Matoane, BA (Ed)

(Univen), MA (Clin Psy) (UNP), D Litt et
Phil (Unisa)
e-mail:
matoamc@unisa.ac.za
tel:
(012) 429 8256
Psychotherapeutics, specically adult psychotherapy,group and
art therapy; role of culture (Western and African) on human
develpment and psychotherapy; health - HIV/AIDS in diverse
contexts; management of diversity.
Teaching disciplines: Community and Health Psychology, HIV/
AiDS counselling, Therapeutic Psychology.
Teaching disciplines: Psychopathology, HIV/AIDS counselling.
Therapeutic Psychology.
46
Ms P B (Banti) Mokgatlhe, BSocSc (Hons)

(Uniwest), MSc (Clin Psy) (Medunsa)
E-mail:
mokgapb@unisa.ac.za
Tel:
(012) 429-8238
Psychopathology from an African and ecosystemic perspective; racial identity; gender-role attitudes and psychological
well-being; intergroup relations with respect to integration, social
identity and contact; incest and HIV/AIDS within a psychotherapeutic context; training and supervision in psychotherapy.
Transitional objects, healing, the effects of violence on children,
experiential learning, HIV/AIDS topics, Life space therapeuting
interventions, self-concepts.
Teaching disciplines: Applied Development for Child and Youth
care.
- child and youth care administration and management; community psychology; psychology in society
Ms K M (Khumo) Moruakgomo, BSc (Hons)

(Uniwest), (Uniwest), MSc (Clin)
(Medunsa)
e-mail:
moruakm@unisa.ac.za
tel:
(012) 429-8319
Child abuse; child and adolescent psychotherapy and assessment; issues of identity; peer counselling; family assessment and
psychotherapy; parent-child relationships.
Teaching disciplines: Personology, Counselling Psychology.
Prof J C (Johan) Mynhardt, MA (RAU),

DLitt et Phil (Unisa)
e-mail:
mynhajc@unisa.ac.za
tel:
(012) 429-8042
Social psychology, especially research on racial attitudes in
society; factors related to attitudes such as social identity; contact
as a means of changing attitudes; the effect of contact in work
situations.
Teaching disciplines: Social Psychology, Organisational
Psychology.
Prof J A (Juan) Nel, MA (Research Psych)

(UP); MA (Clin Psy) (Unisa), D Litt et Phil
(Unisa)
e-mail:
nelja@unisa.ac.za
tel.:
(012)429-8089
Health psychology: crime and violence prevention the victim
empowerment and support movement; application of psychology to policing practice; health management in multi-disciplinary teams; social psychology: management of diversity and
social transformation; group psychotherapy; life skills training;
psychology of gays, lesbians and bisexuals: mental health issues,
especially with regard to identity formation, relationships and
sexuality; advocacy; group, couples and individual psychotherapy
with gays, lesbians and bisexuals; heterosexism in psychology.
Teaching disciplines: Community and Health Psychology.
Prof J M (Johan) Nieuwoudt, MA (Stell),

e-mail:
nieuwjm@unisa.ac.za
tel:
(012)429-8318
Personal relations; social identity; social motivation; nation building and ethnic attitudes; the application of psychology to social
problems.
Teaching disciplines: Therapeutic Psychology, Social
Psychology.
Dr C (Caryl) Ochse, MA (Unisa),

e-mail:
ochsec@unisa.ac.za
tel:
(012)429-8244
Social psychology, especially the psychological factors
inuencing motivation and academic performance: locus of
control; perceptions of the causes of success and failure; expectations; perceived academic self-determination and competence;
optimism & pessimism: causes and effects; factors contributing
to (un)satisfactory relationships.
Teaching disciplines: Social Psychology, Questionnaire development and design, Cognitive Psychology.
Dr M (Maria) Papaikonomou, H.E.D (UP),

MA(Research Psychology) (UP), DLitt et
Phil (Unisa)
e-mail:
papaim@unisa.ac.za
tel:
(012) 429-8266
Medical psychology, especially psychosomatic illnesses and
a holistic approach to health and disease. Dealing with illness,
injury, death and bereavement. Family functioning and childhood
cancer.
Teaching disciplines: Interpersonal skills in diverse contexts,
Community and Health Psychology, Physiological Psychology.
Ms B (Boshadi) Semenya, MA (Clin) (UP)

e-mail:
semenb@unisa.ac.za
tel:
(012) 429-8093
Individual and group psychotherapy; social and racial identity
issues; womens reproductive health issues, especially termination of pregnancy; traditional African views of mental health
and pathology; ecosystemic and psychodynamic therapeutic
approaches.
Teaching disciplines: Ecosystemic Psychology, HIV/ AIDS care
and counselling, BPsych, Clinical Psychology.
Prof F J A (Ricky) Snyders, MA (Clin Psy)

(Unisa),DLitt et Phil (Unisa)
e-mail:
snydefja@unisa.ac.za
tel:
(012) 429-8088
Family and couples psychotherapy; psychotherapy supervision
and training; cybernetics; groups and organisations as systems.

Psychology.
Prof M J (Martin) Terre Blanche, MA

e-mail:
terremj@unisa.ac.za
tel:
(012) 429-8085
Knowledge politics; poststructuralism and postmodernism;
collaborative learning; discourse analysis; critical psychology;
subjugated, marginalised and fringe knowledges.
Teaching disciplines: Community and Health Psychology,
Research methodology.
Prof S H (Vasi) van Deventer, MSc (Stell),

PhD (Unisa)
e-mail:
vdevesh@unisa.ac.za
tel:
(012) 429-8259
Theoretical psychology; philosophical psychology; postmodernism and psychology; mathematical modelling and computer
simulation in psychology; research methodology; psychometrics;
philosophy of science; psychology of cyberspace; learning in the
information age; self-referential systems.
Teaching disciplines: General Psychology, Psychometrics,
Research methodology, Consulting Psychology
Prof A C (Alta) van Dyk, BSocSc (Hons)

(Nursing Science) (UOVS), MSc (Psy)
(Unisa), PhD (Unisa)
e-mail:
vdykac@unisa.ac.za
tel:
(012) 429-8514
HIV/AIDS education, care and counseling; Health psychology;
social psychology; the traditional African world worldview:
implications for AIDS education in Africa; African and Western
perspectives on mental health.
Teaching disciplines: HIV/AIDS education, care and counselling.
47
Dr R (Ren) van Eeden, MA (Unisa), D Litt

et Phil (Unisa)
e-mail:
veeder@unisa.ac.za
tel:
(012) 429-8252
Psychometrics: development of tests and questionnaires, especially for use in a cross-cultural context; validity of tests in various situations; psychological evaluation of cognitive functioning
and personality characteristics; combining procedures (including
testing) for selection and counselling; research methodology: research design; statistical analysis.
Teaching disciplines: Psychometry, Research methodology.
Prof F J (Fred) van Staden, MSc (RAU),

MA (City Univ NY), PhD (Unisa)
e-mail:
vstadfj@unisa.ac.za
tel:
(012) 429-8087
Human-environment theorising; environmental concern; place
identity; psycho-ecological phenomena such as privacy, territoriality, and personal space; the implications of crowding in different applied (everyday) settings; socio-political structures
and environmental stress; the relevance of ecological validity in
research design.
Teaching disciplines: Research methodology, Environmental
Psychology.
48
Ms E (Elmari) Visser, MA (Clin Psy) (UOFS)

e-mail:
vissee@unisa.ac.za
tel:
(012) 429-8270
Psychopathology: the study, treatment and prevention of abnormal behaviour; community psychology; therapeutic psychotherapy; child custody evaluation and mediation.
Teaching disciplines: Psychopathology, Clinical Psychology.
Dr B C (Beate) von Krosigk, MA (Unisa),

D Litt et Phil (Unisa)
e-mail:
vkrosbc@unisa.ac.za
tel:
(012) 429-8224
The prevention of psychopathology and the promotion of positive mental health with a focus on inter-relatedness between body,
mind and spirit; forgiveness as an underlying construct for the
development of positive mental health; promotion of positive
functioning of body, mind and spirit in interaction with others in
contexts of the natural environment, home, school and work.
Teaching disciplines: Psychopathology.
Appendix 5
Learning contract
The following learning contract is signed by both the student and the supervisor/promoter, as well as the joint supervisor/promoter (if a joint supervisor/promoter has been appointed), as a formal acceptance and recognition of registration.
In essence, it spells out the rules of the research collaboration that takes place between student and mentor. A students
registration will only be accepted by the Department of Psychology when this contract has been signed.
Contract on Research Collaboration: Masters and Doctoral Studies in the Department of

Psychology
South African universities refer to a masters dissertation as one that is written under the guidance of a supervisor and a
co-supervisor, whereas a doctoral thesis is written under the guidance of a promoter and a joint promoter. Except where
differentiation is required, only the terms dissertation and supervisor are used in the stipulations of this contract for
both masters and doctoral studies.
The commitments below have been formalised within the Universitys general rules and regulations for masters and
doctoral studies.
Commitments after registration
1.1
The roles of the supervisor and the co-supervisor (if one has been appointed) are negotiated between them immediately after the students registration. (Usually, the co-supervisor brings specialist knowledge to the study and
does not have to review every chapter, but is available for discussions with the supervisor and student on any aspect
of the study. In some cases, the co-supervisor may want to assist the supervisor with all aspects of the supervision
process.)
Within the rst six months after the students registration, and before any work is formally submitted, the student
should ask the supervisor to clarify the roles of the supervisor and co-supervisor, as well as the submission procedure that has to be followed.
The student should adhere to the supervisors directives on the form, content and scope of the respective submissions. These directives may change at different phases of the study.
Unless stipulated otherwise at a students rst registration, co-supervisors are non-examining appointments.
Depending on the supervisors recommendation, the student may be required to submit a more detailed research
proposal for assessment during the rst year of registration. If the standard of the proposal is unsatisfactory, re-registration may be refused upon recommendation of the departmental research committee.
Depending on the supervisors recommendation, the student has to make at least two major submissions of his/her
work per year (such as successive drafts of dissertation chapters) for discussion and feedback. The supervisor should
draw the students attention to any inadequately substantiated or poorly formulated statements that should be improved by the student. On no account should the supervisor rewrite any part of the students work.
The student undertakes to attend to recommendations and make all the required corrections. If differences of opinion occur, the student should discuss these with the supervisor and come to an agreement. If a dispute persists, the
supervisor should call upon the Departments research committee to resolve the matter.
The student is responsible for the linguistic quality of the dissertation and should, if recommended by the supervisor,
make use of a scientically literate editor. Supervisors only point out types of linguistic errors and are not expected
to correct them.
Before submitting any work, the student should inform, and negotiate with, the supervisor a suitable time frame
for feedback. In the normal course of events, feedback should be given within one month after the supervisor has
received the submission.
Upon request, the supervisor is committed to arrange discussions as soon as possible with the co-supervisor
and the student on any issue pertinent to the progress of the study.
The student is committed to adhere to the principles of scientic honesty and ethical conduct in executing research.
1.2
1.3
1.4
1.5
1.6
1.7
1.8
1.9
49
1.10 The supervisor has to advise the student on the scientic merit of the dissertation. As such, the supervisor evaluates
the work submitted and offers guidance.
1.11 It is the students responsibility to obtain the most recent literature sources as well as the most relevant older works
on which the study is based. All sources and authors cited should be acknowledged in draft chapters as well as in the
nal text of the dissertation.
The student should avoid plagiarism at all times. These include:
verbatim reproduction of small sections or single sentences from literature sources (including the internet), unless clearly presented and acknowledged as a quotation
translating from any source without acknowledging the source or explaining that it is a translated quotation
taking over information from any source without acknowledging the source
1.12 The student may use consultants to help with data analyses and other technical tasks relating to the research and
writing of the dissertation. However, the student remains personally responsible for every aspect of the research and
should be able to explain and justify every aspect of the dissertation.
1.13 Before registration for the third year of a masters study or the fourth year of a doctoral study, students will be requested to submit written proposals of their expected progress towards the conclusion of their studies within that
year. Supervisors have to approve the proposals before nal registrations take place.
Students who do not complete their studies within this time frame will be required to postpone their re-registration until they are ready to commit themselves for a nal fourth year of masters studies or a nal fth year of
doctoral studies. Again, registration will be dependent on a formal commitment by the student to conclude the dissertation within that year.
1.14 Students may apply for the deferment of their registration at any point during their studies by submitting a justied
request to the Registrar (Academic). When not registered, students cannot claim formal supervision and have to apply for library access via the Department of Psychologys Secretary for Masters and Doctoral Studies.
1.15 The outcome requirements for dissertations of limited scope are the same as for a masters degree by dissertation
only, namely work on which a full length research article can be based. Nevertheless, dissertations of limited scope
should be limited to about 100 pages by limiting the length of the literature survey and theory. Also, a qualitative
difference exists in the depth of scope of the research topic of a dissertation of limited scope and a dissertation. In
concrete terms this means that a dissertation of limited scope primarily describes its research topic and procedure
(as is done in a scientic article), whereas a full dissertation provides a critical appreciation of its research topic and
procedure thereby demonstrating the students broad knowledge base of content and procedure.
(Guidelines for doctoral theses follow the same principles as those presented for full masters dissertations,
although a more complex research topic and critical appraisal that includes the paradigmatic approach of the study
is required. In practical terms, it also means that the research topic should be extensive enough to yield at least two
full-length journal articles.)
Commitments before submitting the dissertation for examination
2.1
A rst complete draft of the dissertation should be submitted and commented on before the supervisor may give
his/her consent for the student to formally notify the Registrar (Academic) of his/her intent to submit the dissertation
for examination.
Only after receiving the consent of the supervisor may the student notify the Registrar (Academic) of his/her intention to submit the dissertation for examination. This should be done before the 15th of April for the September
graduation ceremonies, and before the 30th of September for the following years April/May graduation ceremonies.
Final examination copies of the dissertation, with the accompanying article, should be submitted by 15 June for the
September graduation ceremonies and 30 November for the April/May graduation ceremonies.
Before the dissertation is examined, the manuscript should be presented to the supervisor in its nal (unbound) form
for nal reviewing. The student should ensure that it adheres to the prescribed format as stipulated in the Universitys brochure on masters and doctoral studies.
Except for the masters programme in Clinical Psychology (only up to rst registrations for 2004), all other students should submit, as part of the examination procedure, an article extracted from their dissertations. The original
composition of the article is the students responsibility and, under the guidance of the supervisor, an appropriate
2.2
2.3
2.4
2.5
50
2.6
peer-reviewed journal should be selected in which the article could be published. The journals guidelines for the
composition of the article should be followed.
The extraction of the article takes place after the supervisor has made a nal review of the full manuscript.
Supervisors and co-supervisors will act as second/third authors of the scientic articles yielded by the study. In
return, they are available for guidance on the composition of the rst draft of the article.
Commitment after examination of the dissertation
3.1
After the examination of the dissertation and based on the feedback received from the examiners, supervisors, cosupervisors and the student undertake to prepare a nal draft of the article and to submit it to a peer-reviewed journal
for possible publication. The student will normally be the rst author of the article, except where there is consensus
that the supervisors or co-supervisors contribution was so substantial as to merit rst authorship.
Where students elect to write additional articles or book chapters based on their dissertations, they are under an obligation to invite their supervisors and co-supervisors to co-author such articles. If supervisors and/or co-supervisors
accept the invitation, they are expected to contribute substantially to the drafting of the articles.
3.2
Supervisors and co-supervisors have no claims to the authorship of other products (eg books or documentary lms that are
based on the students research). In this case the University requires formal recognition as the institution that supported
the research. The student should then apply to the Registrar (Academic) for permission to proceed with the publication or
development of other products based on the study.
51
Appendix 6
Examination guidelines
The general requirements for dissertations are that The dissertation shall show proof of the candidates ability to work
independently. The language shall be correct and the technical workmanship satisfactory. (see Part 1 of the University
Calendar, Rule PG15(4)). In the case of doctoral candidates (see Part 1 of the University Calendar, Rule PG23(3)), A thesis must show proof of original work and must be a decided contribution to the knowledge of and insight into the subject.
These requirements are incorporated in the Universitys ofcial instructions to examiners. Guidelines of the Department
of Psychology for examiners are summarised below.
Guidelines for examiners of masters dissertations and doctoral theses in the Department
of Psychology
The examination of dissertations/theses is conducted according to the Instructions to Examiners adopted by Senate and
provided by the Department of Student Administration (Postgraduate Enquiries). The purposes of the following additional guidelines is are to indicate how these instructions, in so far as they relate to academic aspects of the examination,
may be interpreted and applied in the Department of Psychology.
General approach
A dissertation/thesis in Psychology (as well as in the Social Sciences in general) is essentially a comprehensive research
report, describing the candidates own research. The examiners task is to evaluate the quality of both the research and the
reporting thereof in terms of current knowledge and accepted practice in the particular discipline or sub discipline.
The entire dissertation/thesis (including the wording on the cover and spine) should be carefully read to ensure that
it does not contain errors or omissions that compromise the scientic or academic value of the work.
Content of the examiners report

The purpose of an examiners report is to describe the dissertation/thesis briey, evaluate it thoroughly and recommend
what should become of it (in that order).
The descriptive part forms the introduction to the report and provides the background for the evaluation. It indicates
briey what the research is about but need not attempt to summarise the whole dissertation/thesis. Usually the description
requires less than 300 words. However, some examiners prefer to integrate their description of the work with their evaluation.
The evaluation accounts for the major part of the report. Its purpose is to justify the subsequent recommendations.
The evaluation of good and poor dissertations/theses should be done equally thoroughly, that is, a recommendation
that the dissertation/thesis be accepted should be justied just as thoroughly as a recommendation that it be rejected.
Examiners are free to comment on any aspect of a dissertation/thesis but may be assisted by considering questions
such as the following (where applicable):
Is the research context or problem (the shortcoming in current scientic knowledge that will be addressed), the contribution to knowledge that the candidate wishes to make or the specic aim(s) of the research clearly explained in
the rst chapter?
Is the topic suitable for research at masters or doctoral level? More specically, is its scope adequate but not overambitious? Is it important enough to warrant further research, in the light of recently published ndings?
Is sufcient relevant literature cited and is it discussed satisfactorily? More specically, to what extent does the literature review prove (or disprove) the candidates ability to understand the literature; distinguish between relevant
and irrelevant information; critically evaluate previous research on logical, theoretical and methodological grounds;
etc?
Are key concepts clearly explained?
52
Are the literature review and discussion of theory balanced in that conicting ndings and viewpoints are discussed
objectively?
Is the theoretical background that is included in the dissertation/thesis relevant to the research?
Is the specic purpose of the investigation (or the hypothesis to be tested) based on recent research ndings and/or
theoretical developments? In other words, does it provide an acceptable rationale?
Are the research methods described in enough detail and are they adequately justied by the candidate?
Was the research planned and executed in accordance with currently accepted methodological principles?
Are the techniques that were used to analyse the results appropriate, were they correctly applied and are the computations accurate, as far as can be ascertained?
Have all the data been analysed and all the results interpreted?
Are alternative interpretations of the results and the limitations of the study taken into account? In other words, is
the interpretation of the results objective and balanced, and is over-generalisation of the ndings avoided?
Is the information in the dissertation/thesis presented systematically and is it divided logically into chapters, sections, paragraphs and sentences?
Is the candidates style suitable for scientic communication, that is, clear, precise, logical, concise and as simple
as the subject matter allows?
Are references presented accurately, consistently and in accordance with the Departments preferred referencing
style?
Is the title of the dissertation/thesis clear and appropriate?
Is the summary a clear and accurate representation of the content of the dissertation/thesis?
Is the technical nish of the dissertation/thesis satisfactory?
Aspects of the research or dissertation/thesis that are singled out for praise or criticism should be described clearly and
specically. Examiners should try to indicate in what specic points are excellent: perhaps the candidate made special
effort to consult unusual but important sources, or perhaps the review reects outstanding insight or critical ability. It may
be useful to indicate (and perhaps justify) the relative importance the examiner attaches to particularly excellent and poor
components of the work. These components may include portions of the content of the dissertation/thesis (eg, statement of
the research problem, the literature survey, discussion of theory, delineation of the research context, hypotheses, empirical
research, data analysis, interpretation of the results and recommendations for further research) as well as aspects of the
presentation of the material (eg quality of organisation, writing style, language and number of technical errors). Knowing
the relative importance attached to these components allows one to compare the reports of different examiners, and to
reconcile their sometimes conicting evaluations and recommendations.
Occasionally a dissertation/thesis may contain an error or shortcoming that an examiner considers to be fatal, that
is, so important that the dissertation/thesis cannot be accepted even if it is satisfactory in all other respects. Examples of
fatal aws are plagiarism, a serious transgression of the generally accepted ethical principles governing research, a methodological shortcoming that invalidates the research ndings or anything that proves the candidates incompetence as a
researcher. Any such aw should be described very specically and should be justied. Also, the examiner should indicate
whether the candidate might be able to correct it by revising the dissertation/thesis (and resubmitting it for examination),
or whether it reects an irreparable shortcoming in the research or in the candidates abilities. In the latter case the examiner should recommend that the dissertation/thesis be rejected outright.
Typographical and other minor errors (with the page and line numbers where each occurs) should be listed on a
separate page. The non-examining chairperson will supply a copy of this page to the candidate, via the supervisor/promoter, to correct the additional copies of the dissertation/thesis.
53
Appendix 7
Guidelines for compiling a manuscript based on a
dissertation or thesis
The compilation of a manuscript in the form of an article that reects the most important aspects of the study forms part
of the requirements for submitting a dissertation/thesis for examination. In addition to their report on the dissertation/thesis, examiners are also asked to assess the publishability of the accompanying article. Only the dissertation/thesis will be
examined for degree purposes. However, examiners are free to use their views of the article in support of their assessment
of the study as a whole.
The manuscript should be compiled with a specic journal in mind and the editorial rules of the journal should be
adhered to. Please indicate on the cover page of the manuscript the name of the journal whose editorial and publication guidelines you have followed. Also attach a copy of the journals Instructions to Authors to the manuscript. The
references below can be used if general guidelines for compiling the article are required.
Examiners will be asked to assess the suitability of the manuscript for publication. The following statements will be
used to review the article:
The manuscript reects the most important aspects of the dissertation/thesis.

The aim(s) of the study is/are clearly stated.
Pertinent literature is adequately synthesised and referenced.
Theoretical and methodological aspects are appropriately related.
Analytic techniques are appropriate and correctly applied.
The results are properly and fully interpreted.
Appropriate attention is paid to the use of language and writing style.
According to the guidelines of the selected journal, technical details and format of the manuscript have been adhered
to.
The article makes a contribution to scientic knowledge.
The manuscript should be considered for publication (after suitable revision as indicated above).
If publication is recommended, does the examiner consider the selected journal most appropriate? If not, what other
journal(s) would he/she suggest?
The completed reviews will be collated by the non-examining chairperson of the examination panel and returned to the
student via his/her supervisor/promoter. In collaboration with the supervisor/promoter, students are then expected to redraft the manuscript for submission to an appropriate journal. Supervisors/promoters are entitled to be listed as co-authors
and should guide students on the nal submission and publication of the article.
54
Appendix 8
The research process for different
types of research
The following tables represent an attempt to summarise the processes involved in different types of research (overlap is
possible). Social science research can be broadly classied as empirical or theoretical. Empirical research can further be
subdivided into quantitative or qualitative research.
Empirical research: A typical quantitative research process
Identify a problem
What is the problem? What do you want to know? Why is it important?
Do a literature survey
How did other people see it, what did they do about it? Which psychological theories exist
about this theme and how are they related to the problem that is to be investigated?
Identify key variables
What constructs (conceptual structures) do you believe to be involved, to make the problem what it is?
Set up hypotheses
How do you expect these constructs to be related; i.e. what are your expectations about the
relationships among variables?
Select appropriate
measuring instruments
How can the constructs be operationalised i.e. by what procedures can they be quantied
or turned into variables that serve as measurements?
Develop a research design
Find a way to control the situation in which the measurements will be made, to make sure
that any results yielded will be as clear and unambivalent as possible
Draw a representative
sample
Get some research participants to represent the population of interest, in which to observe
the relationship among the constructs/variables
Collect the data
Make the necessary measurements that produce quantied information
Do appropriate statistical
analysis of the data
What patterns exist in the data? How are the constructs related in the actual data?
Interpret the results
What can you infer from the data? Does the statistical analysis conrm the hypotheses or
not?
Discuss
What do your results tell you about the original problem? How is it related to the research,
theories and speculations of other people? What further research is needed?
55
Empirical research: A typical qualitative research process

In the case of qualitative research the structure is less formal. Many of the steps are of course similar, as set out below.
Identify a problem
What do you want to know? What is the problem? Why is it important?
Specify it as a research question
Clarify the problem to be investigated as precisely as possible; some kind of

hypothesis formulation is often also useful also in qualitative research (unless
you are working purely to describe a situation): you have to have some kind of
idea on what you are looking for.
Do a literature survey
How did other people see the situation, what did they do about it? What relevant theories exist, and what is your evaluation of these theories, etc.?
Find a method to investigate the
In what way will the problem be investigated; what data is to be collected?
problem
Qualitative research usually implies collecting text in some form; but note
that, for example, behaviour can also be regarded as text to be interpreted.
So the method will relate to how you deal with text, what procedures of interpretation you will follow, how you will nd what the text means. The philosophical angle with which the researcher approaches the data is of importance
here (e.g. phenomenological, social constructivist, feminist, and so on). Note
that hybrid methods like content analysis and grounded theory also exist
i.e., hybrids which allows an overlap between qualitative and quantitative
approaches.
Find research participants (a sample) Find suitable participants to study and decide how many are needed. Sometimes you work on a saturation principle; you add participants until you nd
you can learn nothing new.
Collect the data
Get the participants to provide the text which is to be interpreted.
Interpret the data
Applying the method to interpret the text. Qualitative analysis always implies
nding a way to interpret text, and to justify your interpretation.
Discuss your interpretation
What do your results tell you about the original problem? And how is it related
to theories and to the literature - to the research, expectations and speculations
of other people? What further research is needed?
A theoretical study
A third kind of study is a purely theoretical exercise: examples would be evaluating the work of Jung from an existentialist point of view, or reconsidering the meaning of a notion like attitude from a social constructionist point of view. Here
there may be little empirical work (no actual research participants being observed or tested; or the data and interpretations
already available in the work of others may be reconsidered). The data is the writings of various authors; the method is a
kind of critical philosophical analysis. In such a case it is difcult to specify a typical process and structure of the study,
but some kind of problem needs to be specied, along with possible solutions or clarications, and its relationship to
psychological theorising has to be considered.
56
The following are aspects of a typical theoretical study:
What is the problem or central issue that you wish to investigate?
Why is it a problem? Why is it important? How has the problem been addressed until now in existing literature
and theories?
Why are the existing theories and explanations inadequate (if that is what you claim)?
How do you propose to explain the phenomena that you are discussing? Do you have a theory that is an improvement on existing theories, or a way of deciding among existing theories, or a more comprehensive or more valid way
of dealing with the phenomena under investigation?
In what way is it an improvement on existing explanations?
What still needs to be explained? What limits exist in your explanation? Can you suggest ways of dealing with
shortcomings, e.g. by suggesting directions for future research?
57
Appendix 9
Ethics checklist
The Ethics Checklist which follows should be lled in and attached to your proposal. If the response to any of the questions is yes, add details on a separate sheet of paper. Add the number of the point to which your remarks refer (e.g 2.03).
Also describe how you will deal with any possible ethical problems that may be encountered.
Ethics approval screening checklist

Section 1: Research topics
Are any of the following topics to be covered in part or in whole?
1.01 research about parenting
1.02 investigating sensitive personal issues
1.03 investigating cultural issues
1.04 explorations of grief, death or serious/traumatic loss
1.05 depression, mood states, anxiety
1.06 gambling
1.07 eating disorders
1.08 illicit drug taking
1.09 substance abuse
1.10 self report of criminal behaviour
1.11 any psychological disorder
1.12 suicide
1.13 gender identity
1.14 sexuality
1.15 race or ethnic identity
1.16 any disease or health problem
1.17 fertility
1.18 termination of pregnancy
Yes no
Section 2: Research procedures

2.01 use of personal data obtained from external agency without participants knowledge
2.02 deception of participants
2.03 concealing the purposes of the research
2.04 covert observation
2.05 audio or visual recording without consent
2.06 recruitment via a third party or agency
2.07 withholding from one group specic treatments or methods of learning, from which they may
benet (e.g., in therapy, medicine or teaching)
58
Are any of the following procedures to be employed? (continued)

Yes no
2.08 any psychological interventions or treatments

2.09 administration of physical stimulation
2.10 invasive physical procedures
2.11 iniction of pain
2.12 administration of drugs
2.13 administration of other substances
2.14 administration of ionising radiation
2.15 tissue sampling or blood taking
2.16 collecting body uid
2.17 genetic testing
2.18 use of medical records where participants can be identied or linked
2.19 drug trials and other clinical trials
2.20 administration of drugs or placebos
Section 3: PARTICIPANT VULNERABILITY
Do any of the participants fall within the following targeted categories?
Yes no
3.01 suffering a psychological disorder

3.02 suffering a physical vulnerability
3.03 people highly dependent on medical care
3.04 minors without parental or guardian consent
3.05 people whose ability to give consent is impaired
3.06 resident of a custodial institution
3.07 people who are unable to give free informed consent because of difculties in the understanding of
information (e.g. language difculties)
3.08 members of a socially identiable group with special cultural or religious needs or political
vulnerabilities
3.09 those in dependent relationship with the researchers (e.g. lecturer/student, doctor/patient, teacher/pupil,
professional/client)
3.10 will it be possible to identify any participant in any nal report when specic consent for this has
not been given?
Section 4 - RESEARCH WHICH MAY PUT RESEARCHERS OR FIELD WORKERS AT RISK

Does the research involve any of the following?
Yes no
4.01 research being undertaken in a politically unstable area

4.02 research involving sensitive cultural issues
4.03 research in countries where criticism of government and institutions may put participants and/or
researchers at risk
59
EXTERNAL REQUIREMENTS
Yes no
Is the research being funded by an agency outside the University which requires formal approval by an
Ethics Committee?
If you have answered yes to any of the statements above, please supply details on how you will deal with the ethical issues
involved on one or more separate sheets of paper. Indicate the section number (e.g. 1.11) to which you are referring.
COMMENTS
Please describe any other risks to the participants or researchers that you would like to mention, or make any comments
related to ethical considerations that you would like to make.
Researchers signatures: ________________________________________________
Date: __________________
60
Appendix 10
Unisa library services
The library, with its extensive range of information resources, forms an integral part of your research towards your degree.
The services offered by the library have recently undergone a dramatic change and have been streamlined to facilitate
seamless access and online availability via the librarys homepage.
The Unisa Library subscribes to many core online subject databases to which all registered students have access. These
are important because they contain references to academic, peer-reviewed journal articles in your eld as well as references to theses, books and chapters in books which are not necessary available in the library:
http://oasis.unisa.ac.za > Search subject databases > resources by subject > Select your discipline
All the databases have online Help or Search Tips which maximise your use of them.
It is very tempting to search Google when you are looking for information but always remember that it does not give you
peer-reviewed, scholarly literature. It is advisable to use Google Scholar (http://scholar.google.com ) in addition to the
librarys information resources. It is not as comprehensive but it does provide academic material. Important databases
for the Social Sciences are:
EBSCOHost databases e.g. Academic Search Premier; International Political Science Abstracts; Public Administration Abstracts
CSA databases e.g. PsycINFO; Sociological Abstracts & Social Services Abstracts
ISI Web of Knowledge: Social Sciences
Southern African databases e.g. Africa-wide NiPAD that incorporated African Studies and South African
databases.
Many of the journals (or parts of them) in the Unisa library are available electronically. This means that you can print
journal articles from your computer rather than requesting them from the library:
http://www.unisa.ac.za > Library > Search for information resources > a-z list > U > Unisa Library E-Journal
Finder > Type in your title > Select.
The Branch Librarians at each Unisa regional centre offer training in the use of the Librarys catalogue and subject databases. If you require further assistance, you should submit a request for a literature list on your topic at:
http://oasis.unisa.ac.za > Request a Literature Search.
E-mail: lib-search@unisa.ac.za
Fax: 012 4292925
If you intend visiting the Pretoria or Florida campuses, you are welcome to make an appointment with your Personal
Librarian, who will show you how to use the librarys resources as a researcher. This will include subject specic
61
assistance in the use of databases suitable to your research topic; how to nd the electronic full text from selected articles;
searching the online catalogue and making use of Google Scholar.
The Personal Librarian for Psychology is Ms Talana Erasmus. Her contact details are as follows:
Postal address:
Library Services
P O Box 392
UNISA
0003
SOUTH AFRICA
Tel:
(012) 429-3101
Fax2email:
0866912887
E-mail:
erasmta@unisa.ac.za,.
62

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Guide For Master's & Doctoral Studies in Psychology at UNISA

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a guide to

masters & doctoral studies

2009 University of South Africa

This Guide has been written for

Masters degree by dissertation only (MA)

What this Guide is about

Prof Piet Kruger

Mrs Christa Barrish

3 Applying for admission and registration

4 Preparing your research proposal

6 Submitting the dissertation/thesis for examination

Guidelines for compiling a manuscript based on a dissertation or thesis

Masters degree in Research Consultation (registration codes: DIS434L/443M/456S)

Course work masters degree in Clinical Psychology (registration code: DIS680Y)

Doctors degree by thesis only (registration codes: DIS833X, DIS841X or DIS8546)

recognise and describe a promising research problem in Psychology

Registrations from outside South Africa

Registrations for studies involving clinical or counselling

Alternative registration recommendations

Diagrammatic summary of the application procedure

of degrees and course work for

send one copy to prospective

initial admission acceptable

Redraft research outline and

Submit nal registration along with

(If initial submission was not in

Selecting a research topic

The need for a literature search

How to do a literature search

Justifying the proposed research

Techniques of assessment or data collection

4.6 Research design

4.6.1 Useful resources

4.6.2 Ethical considerations

4.7 Compiling your research proposal

4.7.1 Useful resources

evaluate research proposals, research proposals and proposed titles of dissertations/theses

Writing the dissertation/thesis

5.1.1.1 Useful resources

5.1.2 Chapter divisions

5.1.2.2 Theoretical background

5.1.2.3 Literature survey

5.1.2.4 Research design

5.1.2.6 Discussion, conclusions and recommendations

5.1.2.7 List of references and appendices

Some general guidelines on language and style

5.2.1 Useful resources

5.2.2 Applications for re-registration

5.3 Diagrammatic summary of procedures after registration

Sign and submit learning contract

First year study:

If outcomes are not met, the

Sign learning contract

Submit an outline of expected

Registration request is concidered

6.1 The examination panel

a non-examining chairperson (usually a senior member of the Department)

Extracting an article from the dissertation/thesis

6.3 Article appraisal

6.4 Diagrammatic representation of submission and examination

About three months before

Permission not granted:

Collects and forwards article