Excerpt from the book of Dr. Gloria P.

Gempes (UM)
entitled A SIMPLIFIED HANDBOOK FOR QUALITATIVE RESEARCHES

THESIS/DISSERTATION ADVISER’S REVIEW GUIDE FOR QUALITATIVE RESEARCH

Program: ____________________________________ Subject: ________________________________________

Name of Adviser: _____________________________ Name of Advisee:_________________________________

Title of Research: _____________________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________________
Date Received by Adviser: ____________________ Date Acted by Adviser: _________________________

READ: This guide together with the thesis/dissertation will be returned to the adviser if found out by the panel that any of the items in column
2 is not complied with.

Item (√)Complied(X) Page No. Signature of

No. Not " (NA) If Adviser
ITEMS FOR REVIEW Complied

1 Title page
-Title contains the central phenomenon being studied
-Title contains the people being studied. Site is optional
2 Approval Sheet
-Four and five panel members for thesis and dissertation respectively
3 ABSTRACT
-Not more than 250 words; not indented; concise single ¶; past tense; one
sentence introduction, purpose; informants/participants/materials; method; key
findings; implications and contribution; no recommendation; concluding remarks
-Keywords not more than 6 items; Starts with the field of the study, variables,
concerns, last word is Philippines. Written in italics
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4 TABLE OF CONTENTS/LIST OF TABLES/LIST OF FIGURES (if any)
Page nos. match content

Chapter 1
INTRODUCTION
5 Rationale
-3 to 5 pages only
-Clearly state what the problem/issue is in relation to the topic; background as to
results and implications of previous works leading to the rationale of the study
-Evidence provided that the issue is important
-Research problem/issue fit a qualitative approach
-Last ¶ - what was done in the present study, urgency, research gap, contribution
of the study
6 Purpose of the Study
-Purpose statement indicates central phenomenon of the study
-Indicates the people and place where the study will occur
-Contains the basic elements in the template of John Creswell re purpose of the
study
7 Research Questions
-Central question indicates the central phenomenon, the people and place of study
-Subquestion/s narrow the central question to topic area/s
8 Theoretical Lens
-Theory appropriate to the study and traceable in the internet. With sources
-Link to the study justified
-Add theories once themes have been generated
-Each major theme generated should be supported with theory/theories
9 Significance of the Study
-Overall importance of the study
-Possible contribution to the field of study
- One or two ¶ but not exceeding one page
10 Definition of Terms
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 -Only the keywords in the title are defined operationally, how they are used in the
study
11 Delimitations and Limitations
-Scope of the study clearly discussed
-Possible weaknesses of the study laid down, like generalizability issue in qualitative
research; data collection, etc.
12 Organization of the Study
-Description of each chapter clearly defined

Chapter 2
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
13 -Literature review of the research problem under study provided
-Titles of related articles may be adopted as sidehead as long as other related
articles could be integrated to form a comprehensive section
-Coherence between & among ¶ by using appropriate transition terms
-Sources not earlier than 2005; except for theories and very important authors.
10% from old articles may be allowed
-Current style on related literature followed (e.g. resonation, inventory, compare
& contrast, etc.)
-Paraphrased, not copy pasted
- Synthesis as last ¶ of RRL, a general summary (not conclusion) & last sentence
is contribution to the study;
-Citing family name only of author, year
-Every ¶ contains authors.
-An inventory of three or more authors, arranged in alphabetical order, of a
particular concept present in majority of the pages
-At least 15 pages (thesis), 20 (dissertation)

Chapter 3
METHODOLOGY
14 Opening ¶ introducing the content of the entire chapter
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 This chapter is sometimes considered as technical review of related literature
15 Research Design
-Appropriate qualitative approach , with author; justification for its use &
contextualized to the study (e.g. education, business, etc.)
-Detailed description of the chosen qualitative research approach
(Phenomenology, Ethnography, Case Study, Grounded Theory, Narrative,
Discourse/Content Analysis, etc.). More authors cited, the better
16 Role of the Researcher
-Description of relevant aspect of self, including any biases and philosophical
assumptions
-Description of expectations and experiences to qualify one’s ability to conduct the
research
-Description of role whether emic or etic. Emic is an insider who is a full participant
in activity, program, or phenomenon. Etic is more of an objective viewer.
-Description of one’s research journal re personal reactions and reflections, and
how bracketing takes place
17 Research Participants/Materials
-Description of the participants (for FGD) or informants (In-Depth Interview) or
materials (Discourse/Content Analysis) is clear and detailed.
-Description of how the participants/informants/materials are chosen. Inclusion
and exclusion criteria fully explained.
Context/setting of the study adequately described
18 Data Collection
-Description of extensive steps taken to obtain access to people and sites.
-The unit of research may be people, events, institutions, conversations, written
materials. Whatever is the unit, a detailed explanation is presented; what makes
the unit of research unusual or important is fully explained.
-Explanation/justification of specific sampling (purposeful, theoretical, quota,
snowball, etc.) used in the study
-For triangulation; multiple data sources, multiple methods, multiple theories are
used
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19 Data Analysis
-Detailed description and reference how the analysis is done
-Adequate discussion of how themes, concepts and categories are derived from the
data.
20 Trustworthiness
-Measures to test the validity of the findings like credibility, conformability,
transferability and dependability discussed in detail
-Adequate sources to back up the four measures well presented
21 Ethical Considerations
- Confidentiality issue adequately dealt with
-Informed consent documentation properly discussed

Chapter 4
RESULTS
22 -Data presented systematically following the sequence of research questions in
Chapter 1
-Findings presented in themes or categories in table/chart/visuals so that multiple
perspectives can be easily seen
-Findings realistic and accurate
-Selected actual transcripts with English translation presented to support important
themes
Chapter 4
DISCUSSION
23 Discussion of Findings
-Sequence of interpretations of findings follow the sequence in Chapter 3
supplemented with researcher’s perspectives and literature support
-Theories for every major themes generated discussed here comprehensively with
the findings whether complementary or not
23 Implications for Practice
-Each important findings with corresponding implications
-Suggestions maybe made in this section
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 -Literature support is made for every implication
24 Concluding Remarks
-A brief paragraph summarizing the Discussion section
-Personal journey/insights of the researcher in connection with the study maybe
presented here

25 REFERENCES
-APA format
-Alphabetical order
-All authors cited in the reference, correct spelling, correct year

A P P E N D I C ES
26 -Page break for every appendix with page # but none for appended documents
-Informed Consent
-Interview Guide
-Interview Guide validation sheets
-Certificate of grammarian
-Certificate of Debriefers at least 2
-Certificate for Member Check
-3 Sample letter requests for survey
-3 sample certificates of appearance
-Other documents deemed important
-Curriculum vitae
27
FORMAT
- No big vacant space within the chapter
-Wiki and blogs not acceptable references, hence not included
-No artistic fonts for preliminary pages
-No year for cited author
-No web sites/search engines in the text; only in the reference section.
-Citing key words of article title if no author and only year of retrieval if no date.
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 -No contractions (e.g. won’t, didn’t, etc)
-Margin: 1.2” left, 1” right, 1.2” top, 1.0” bottom
-Page # upper right hand
-Avoid one sentence ¶ and one whole page ¶
-Numbers below 10 – in words; Numbers 10 & above – in figures
-Avoid numbered enumeration in literature review. Must be in ¶ form.
-Tenses:
Chapter 1 – present tense
Chapter 2 – past tense
Chapter 3- past tense
Chapter 4 – past tense for researcher’s account of the data collected
Chapter 5 – present tense but past tense for statements referring to results
and literature review.

RMARKS: _____________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________

Signature of Adviser________________________

Note: 1.The ultimate use of this guide is to have a complete document before routing the revised thesis/dissertation to the panel for review

2. Another use of this guide is for the adviser to have a thorough evaluation of the paper before outline defense ( Items 1-21 )
or final defense (all items)

3. No defense will be allowed unless this guide (accomplished by the adviser) is attached to the thesis/dissertation proposal.

Revised copy as of June 15, 2017