GENERAL WRITING FORMAT The doctoral dissertation should be written in a uniform and coherent manner. Below is the guideline for the standard format of a doctoral research paper: I. General Presentation Style LANGUAGE The language of the project paper is English. PAPER Size: Quality: Color: A4 (21.0cm X 29.7cm) Acid-free paper of at least 80gm weight White TYPE OF PRINTING MACHINE Students are encouraged to use a personal computer (PC) to write their project paper. Near-letter quality impact printers or laser-jet printers may be used; however, dot-matrix ink-jet printers are not acceptable. Students are recommended to use Microsoft Word to write the project paper. Students may also use Microsoft Excel, Lotus 123 etc. for tables, calculations or any other readable applications. TABLE OF CONTENTS Include the main sections and subsections of the report in the table of contents. Check that the numbering system for the main sections of the dissertation for headings and subheadings within the body are easy to use. Indicate the number of the page on which each main heading appears. The page numbers for the front matter are shown in Roman numerals. The page numbers for the reminder of the report are shown as Arabic numerals. FONT TYPE Candidates must use the Times New Roman font. No other fonts are acceptable. FONT SIZE For text For tables and figures For footnotes use 12-point font. use 10-point. use 10-point. Please use bold for headings and subheadings. Headings should be typed in all uppercase letters while sub-headings are to be typed in upper and lower case letters. Page 1
FONT STYLE Only one font style (Times New Roman) may be used through the entire dissertation, including the title page, approval page, acknowledgment, bibliography and appendices. Exceptions to this can only be made for tables/figures/illustrations imported from other sources. Italic variants of the same font style may be used for labels, foreign words, book titles or occasional emphasis. The usage of bold variants of the same font style and underlining in the text of headings and titles is at the student s discretion. HEADINGS Chapter headings are to be centered and written in bold, upper case letters. The font size for chapter headings is 16 point. Other sub-headings are to be aligned to the left margin and should be 14 point in font-size. Sub-headings should be in upper and lower-case. Underlining and boldface in the sub-headings is at the student s discretion. PARAGRAPHS Spacing between two paragraphs in the basic text should be set at 4.0 spaces. The first sentence of a paragraph should be indented to 6 spaces. A heading that appears as a last line on a page will not be accepted. There should be a minimum of two lines of a paragraph at the bottom of the page under the heading. PHOTOCOPYING All photocopied material must be clear, clean and sharp. Photocopied material on any page should be numbered as part of the dissertation and should be within the margins required by these guidelines. LINE SPACING The report should be typed on one side of the page. The text should be double-spaced throughout with single-spacing for exceptional circumstances only: MARGINS AND JUSTIFICATION Set the justification to full and the margins to the following measurements: TOP : 1 BOTTOM : 1.5 LEFT : 1.5 RIGHT : 1 Page Justification The text should be left and right justified. Page 2
PAGINATION The following plan of page numbering has been standardized and must be observed. All page numbers should be centered at the bottom of the page. When inserting the page numbers, set the position to the bottom of page (footer) and alignment to the Center. Title page: This page should not be numbered though it is counted as page number (i). Preliminary pages: Preliminary pages include all the sections that precede the text. They are arranged and numbered using small Roman numerals (i, ii, iii, etc.). Text pages: Use Arabic numerals. Page one should be the first page of Chapter One. Supplementary pages: No pagination. No hyphens, periods, underlining or other marks should appear before, after or under the page number. USE OF FOOTNOTES Footnotes must not be used for citing references. They should be used only for useful extensions and excursions of information in the body of the text. Footnotes should be numbered consecutively with superscript numerals. Footnotes should be in single spacing, using font size 10-point. ABSTRACT An abstract is required in English only. The abstract is a one-paragraph, self-contained summary of the most important elements of the project paper. It should NOT be more than 200 words in length. Heading - The word ABSTRACT in all capital letters, centered at the top of the page. Format - It should be written in block form (i.e. without indentations) and in complete sentences. Content - The abstract should contain statements of the (1) research problem, (2) method, (3) results, and (4) conclusions and implications. Write in the past tense to report specific manipulations and procedures employed in the study and the present tense to describe conclusions based on the findings. TEXT CITATIONS For Text Citation students must follow the American Psychological Association (APA) style. It is necessary that students get a copy of the latest APA manual and thoroughly understand and apply its guidelines to the doctoral dissertation text citation. APA IN-TEXT CITATIONS alert readers to the material used from outside sources. These citations function with alphabetical references at the end of the dissertation that contain information which enables the readers to retrieve the sources quoted. APA style requires IN-TEXT CITATION that identifies a SOURCE by a name (usually an Page 3
author s name) and a year (for print sources, usually the copyright year). Please follow the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 6th edition guidelines for citation purposes. Please refer the relevant note for further information QUOTATIONS Short quotations of fewer than 40 words should be incorporated into the text and enclosed by double quotation marks ( ). Long quotations: Display quotations of 40 or more words in a double-spaced block of typewritten lines with no quotation marks. Do not use single-spacing. Indent five (5) to seven (7) spaces from the left margin without the usual opening paragraph indent. If the quotation is more than one paragraph, indent the first line of second and additional paragraphs five (5) to seven (7) spaces from the left margin. Exact page reference MUST be given for all quotations. II. Arrangement Of Dissertation Contents The dissertation should be properly arranged and organized so the committee members as well as other readers are able to follow its contents in a clear and easily comprehendible manner. The following ordered list of the dissertation contents is supposed to serve as a general guide. Not all reports will include all items listed below, so students are advised to discuss this with their respective supervisors well in advance before they start writing to avoid unnecessary changes in the final version of their dissertation: Cover (same as the title page) Blank page Title page Declaration Form Acknowledgments Dedication (Optional) Abstract Table of contents List of Tables List of Figures (if applicable) List of Abbreviations (if applicable) Main Text (Chapters) References Appendices Blank page Page 4
COVER (SAME AS TITLE PAGE) Please refer to Appendix A TITLE PAGE The following information should be provided on the title page in size 18-point font: Full name of dissertation (in uppercase) Full name of author (in uppercase) Student ID Number Degree for which the dissertation is submitted Name of the institution to which the dissertation is submitted School in which the author is registered Year and month of submission (See Appendix A) DECLARATION FORM The declaration form must be completed upon submission on the dissertation and this form is part of the preliminary section. (see Appendix B) ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Acknowledgements are written expressions of appreciation for guidance and assistance from individuals and institutions that had helped the author in the writing and preparation of the dissertation. ABSTRACT The abstract is a short summary of the entire dissertation and should be given the same careful attention as the main text. The abstract should not exceed 300 words and should include the following: A brief statement of the problem. Objectives and purposes of the research. A concise description of the research method and design. Summary of major findings, significance of study and conclusions. An abstract should be written in an objective, precise and easy to read manner. An abstract should NOT contain the following information: Additional information, corrections or any new information not included in the dissertation. Tables, illustration or direct references to literature Page 5
TABLE OF CONTENTS The Table of Contents lists in sequence, with corresponding page number, all relevant subdivisions of the dissertation. (See Appendix C) LIST OF TABLES Tables should be numbered consecutively throughout the dissertation including in the appendices. In the list of tables, the exact titles or captions of all tables should be listed according to the page number of each table. LIST OF FIGURES (IF APPLICABLE) This list includes graphs, maps, charts, drawings, sketches and printed images. The exact title or caption and its corresponding page number is listed. LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS/GLOSSARY OF TERMS (IF APPLICABLE) If an assortment of abbreviations and acronyms (e.g. NPV, WHO, WTO, SWOT) is used in the dissertation, it is recommended to list them in the List of Abbreviations/Glossary of Terms, with their meanings, even though the full names are given at the first mention in the text. The list serves as a ready reference to readers who are not familiar with the abbreviations. Universally recognized scientific symbols (cm, mm, kg, ha, $) need not be listed. MAIN TEXT (CHAPTERS) The main text (chapters) of the dissertation which are organized as separate chapters. The following are the recommended divisions for dissertation writing. Students may have more chapters if they can justify their inclusion. Brief Outline The Introduction Chapter. The Literature Review Chapter. Research Design or Methodology Chapter. The Results (Findings) and Discussions Chapter. The Conclusion and Recommendations Chapter. Introduction This introductory chapter should provide a clear idea about the central issues of concern in your research. The statement of the problem as well as the research questions needs to be clearly identified and defined, given the time and resource constraints. This chapter sets forth the context, the hypotheses to be tested, and the research objectives to be attained. Page 6
Literature review This section deals with the critical review of literature related to the topic of the dissertation. It is meant to act as a base for the analytical section of the study and to show how your study supplements /support the work that has already been done in the area of research. Therefore, the literature selected must be current, evaluated, analyzed, and synthesized logically. Relevancy to some theoretical background should be indicated or linked. Literature review is not a mere review or summary or repetition of work by different authors. Research Design or Methodology This chapter explains the methods and techniques used in the study. The main aim of this section is to provide sufficient information so that the reliability and validity of the research can be verified. Methods of data analysis and design of the study should be explained in this chapter. A theoretical or conceptual framework of research should also be included. Results and Discussion This chapter presents a complete account of results and analyses of the study in the form of figures, tables, or text so that the key information is highlighted. The purpose of this chapter is to communicate the findings of the research. Discussion of the findings should be included in this chapter. Conclusions and Recommendations The section should be used to demonstrate whether the research questions raised in Chapter One have been answered and as well as to provide recommendations for further studies. REFERENCES This section is the list of works cited or used in the study. The reference style used in the dissertation should be based on the APA System. APPENDICES An appendix or appendices, if any, should be placed after the reference list. Details of the appendix are listed by type in the Table of Contents. Each appendix should be identified separately using an uppercase letter beginning with A, B, and so on. Appendices include original data, tables that contain data of lesser importance, supporting decisions, forms, and documents. Appendix material should be grouped by type, e.g. Appendix A: Questionnaire, Appendix B: Original Data, Appendix C: SPSS result Printouts Page 7
PLAGIARISM Plagiarism is a form of cheating. Plagiarism occurs when a student copies or uses work from another source and then implies the work is his or her own, without attributing it to the actual author. Please refer the supplementary notes for further information about University s Plagiarism Policy Page 8
(Appendix A Title Page) (TITLE OF THESIS/DISSERTATION) A dissertation presented to Honolulu University in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Business By (Author s Full Name) Student ID Number (Year and Month) Page 9
(Appendix B Declaration Form) DECLARATION I hereby declare that the dissertation is submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements of an Honours degree in Business Administration under Honolulu University. The dissertation is my own work, it has not been copied in part or in whole from any source except where duly acknowledge. Uses of previously published work (from books, journals, internet, etc.) have been properly acknowledged within the report to an item in the references. I declare that the dissertation has not been previously included in a thesis, dissertation or report submitted to this University or to any other institution for any degree, diploma or other qualification. I hereby submit my dissertation, (date) for review and assessment. Date: Signature or print your name Name: ID No.: Supervisor s Approval obtained / Not obtained for submission of dissertation Signature Name of Supervisor: Date: Page 10
(Appendix C Table of Contents) TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ABSTRACT LIST OF TABLES LIST OF FIGURES LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS Page ii iii v vi vii CHAPTER1 :INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background 1 1.2 Statement of the Problem 2 1.3 Research Question 5 1.4 Significance of Study 7 CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Traditional Costing 13 2.2 Activity Based Costing 14 2.3 Diffusion of Target Costing 17 2.2 Application of Target Costing 18 2.3 Benefits gained from Target Costing 23 CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY 3.1 Introduction 24 3.2 Data Requirements 25 3.2.1 Selection of Methods 27 3.2.2 Analysis Method 27 3.3 Questionnaire Survey 29 3.4 Sampling Method 30 3.5 Pilot Study 33 3.6 Reflective statements 38 CHAPTER 4: RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 4.1 Introduction 39 4.2 Analysis of Questionnaire 39 4.2.1. Respondents Background 39 4.2.2.Different costing method 44 4.3 Hypothesis testing- One Sample T test 48 Page 11
4.3 Summary of Findings 54 CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 5.1 Conclusions 59 5.2 Recommendations 68 REFERENCES 76 APPENDICES A Copy of Questionnaire 80 B SPSS Statistical printout 85 Page 12