DISSERTATION WRITING GUIDELINES

School of Business Innovation and TechnopreneurshipUniversiti Malaysia Perlis

PreambleAs you begin to prepare your final year project/dissertation following the guidelines given, we would like to emphasize that Universiti Malaysia Perlis upholds the policy of ensuring all

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candidates are trained to practice highest standards of intellectual honesty and academic integrity. Academic integrity means being explicit about where you have borrowed ideas, images, and data for your writing. This transparency in acknowledging sources shows your regard for the standards scholars are expected to uphold and demonstrates your professionalism as an academic writer (Howard, 2007). Therefore ideas and data of other researchers that you used in your research must be duly acknowledged in your report by citing the quoted materials and providing the full references in the reference list. Failure to follow this standard will make you liable for plagiarism. Dissertation is a very formal document and hence a standard format must be followed. The followings are suggested report format that every candidate must adopt in writing the final report. Failure to follow the prescribed format will lead to rewriting of your whole dissertation.

LAYOUT AND ARRANGEMENT OF CONTENTS

The titleThis is the first step and yet the most important decision to be made towards successful completion of your dissertation. You must analyze the following factors before finalizing the topic of research: academic interest, availability of literature and specialization. The title in itself is a summary of the dissertation; while it should be kept concise it should also attract the reader and should distinguish the contents of the dissertation from any similar dissertation.

Acknowledgements: page enables the author to express his/her appreciations to those who have helped him/her in completing the study.

Abstract: an executive summary of the research project of approximately 300 words. It is a summary of the whole report and should contain a brief write-up of the purpose, research methodology, data, and summary of findings in context of the whole study. The abstract is indenter to give potential readers an overall picture of the entire report and the opportunity to decide whether to read and study it more.

Table of contents: comprises the titles of parts, sections or chapters and their subdivisions.

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTIONIntroduce the subject or problem to be studied. This might require the identification of key managerial concerns, theories, laws and governmental rulings, critical incidents or social changes, and current environmental issues, that make the subject critical, relevant and worthy of managerial or research attention.

Questions to be answered• What is the subject area of study?• What is the background of the subject studied?• Why is it important and worthy of study?

The research problemThe statement of the problem or problem statement should follow logically from what has been set forth in the background of the problem by defining the specific research need providing

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impetus for the study, need not met through previous research. Present a clear and precise statement of the central question of research, formulated to address the need.

The Rationale of the StudyThis section answers a basic question of any reader. Why in a general sense? One or two brief references to previous or theories critical in structuring this study to support / understand the rationale, to fully appreciate the need for the study. Its educational significance or own professional experience that stimulated the study or aroused interest in the problem.

Research QuestionsWhat are the Research Questions to be investigated?

Define the specific research objectives that would answer the research questions of the study. What are the specific objectives of the study?

The Significance of the StudyClearly describe the significance of the study.

- Justify why the subject requires attention. - Identify key contributions of the research that can be achieved.- Highlight the contributions that the study seeks to achieve towards: management

practices; theoretical and methodological applications; governmental procedures, policies and laws; nation building.

The Scope of the StudyBreak general Research Problem down to specific sub-problems and results.- Major analysis of the data exposed as one of sub problems- Identify the dimensions of the subject that you plan to study.- Discussion on issues such as types of data the subjects or sources of information utilized, the time period involved and the geographical locations covered in the research may be discussed in this section.

What aspects of the subject do you intend to study?What are the key questions to be investigated?

Definition of termsDefine the important terms used in the study that are necessary for readers to understand the whole report.

Organization of the reportA synopsis of the contents of the chapter that leads on to the introduction of the following chapter and the organization of subsequent chapters.

CHAPTER 2: THE REVIEW OF LITERATURE Identify the appropriate academic and/or professional fields Evaluate and critique the literature – challenge the assumptions

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be highly selective, and include only those aspects of the Research Literature and non- research or Conceptual literature that are relevant to developing the foundation of the current study

must serve a specific study-oriented purpose each major previous study is discussed in a separate paragraphs with the findings

summarized collectively – same as with non-research or Conceptual literature by authorities who hold similar views.

A review of literature should read as a synthesis, written by some one who has read all of the literature and so is able to look across it all, select the highlights, and synthesize these into a totally integrated section in the context of the current study, for further use when writing the discussion of the results and conclusions.

History of Research: Provide a brief history of the empirical research on the subject, pioneering studies, thrust of prior research on the subject, i.e. which issues have received attention, theories explored and viewpoints expressed.

Review of key studies: Identify and summarize the key empirical studies that have a bearing on the research, provide a tabular summary of the subjects, issues studied, research methods used and other pertinent details relating to the studies; and summarize the findings of the studies.

Evaluation of Key Studies: Evaluate the findings of the studies in the light of your concerns, What has been accomplished and what remains to be done? How do you intend to use the experience of these studies in your research?

Summary: a synopsis of contents derived from the researcher’s experience from the readings of research and conceptual literatures should be stated effectively at the conclusion of the review of literature chapter.

CHAPTER 3: THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK AND RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Theoretical / conceptual framework – using material from the previous chapter, produce the working definition of the main concepts you will use in your study. If possible, form them into a conceptual framework of theory or hypothesis to be tested.

Theoretical Framework: Identify the Variables investigated in the study. Illustrate how the Variables interact with each other as hypothesized in the research by the aid of diagrams (if possible).

Research Methodology – discuss the nature of the questions you are asking and choose an appropriate methodological stance for answering the. Justify the research methods you are using. Describe the practical and technical aspects of conducting the research.

Research Approach: Describe the approach adopted in the study, justification for using the approach and issues related to adopting the approach.

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Research Subject: - Provide details about the population and sample used. What sectors of the labour force, industry or groups is the sample drawn? What are the characteristics of the population sample?

- What are the strong points and limitations of the sample?- What is the justification of choosing the sample?- Can the findings be generalized to the population?

Questionnaire:- Describe the questionnaire used in the study – Background of the questionnaire: Is it original?; if any items are taken from existing questionnaire, identify the sources; describe the question categories, describe the scaling methods used and state the reasons for choosing them; and describe issues on validity and reliability.

- Administration of the Questionnaire: Describe how the questionnaire was administered. Discuss problems encountered, if any, that affected the results relating to sample characteristics and their potential impact on reliability and validity of the data.

Statistical Methods: Discuss the selected Descriptive Statistical and Inferential Statistical methods [as in the SPSS] used in analyzing the results.

Summary: - a synopsis of the contents of what has been written about in the Research Methodology chapter.

CHAPTER 4: PRESENTATION OF FINDINGS

Describe what you found out and what it means Refer back to the Literature Review and your Theoretical / Conceptual Framework Present the findings in the form of Tables, figures, charts or other illustrations as needed

in terms of the Research Questions or Hypotheses tested Discuss your findings in terms of what the data actually means in terms of each segment

or cell of data gathered.

Summary: state the conclusions as concretely as possible in terms of each segment or cell of data gathered to answer the Research Questions and Hypotheses.

CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Summarize [recapitulate] the argument of the dissertation in terms of what you attempted to find out and what you accomplished i.e. Address the Research Questions/Hypothesis (es). The final chapter is entitled ‘conclusions and recommendations’. Conclusions here mean that for each of the findings that address the research questions / hypotheses, the researcher draws a conclusion. Recommendations mean that for each conclusion, the researcher suggests a recommendation.

Discussion: discuss the findings of Study in terms of the main Research Questions and Hypotheses as well as the Title of the Research and relate the findings to the Literature

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Review. In addition, try to explain the significance and non-significance of the results using available theory, data and facts as well as the validity and reliability of the findings and arguments in the dissertation as a whole.

Implications: What are the substantive implications of the experience for; Management, Unions and other interest groups; for public policy; Nation building. The Methodological or procedural implications of the experience for other researchers.

Limitations of research: Describe the possible limitations faced in the study especially from the methodological perspective.

Suggestions for further research: Provide concrete suggestions for further research in the field or additional research (if possible) in the research methodological areas encountered in the study. The researcher’s last Recommendation will be ‘Suggestions for Further Research’.

The final conclusion to the chapter addresses the title of the Research as the title reflects the whole study. Discuss how the objectives and research questions of the study have been met with the research. Highlight the key findings, implications, etc. that the research has revealed.

Length of dissertationGenerally a final year project for undergraduate students should not exceed 30,000 word.

PrintingAll copies must be clean and legible. Use 80 gm, A4 size (210 x 297mm) white paper. Print one side only.

CoverCover page compulsory in light blue colour.The cover must contain the following:

- Full thesis title- Your full name- Matric Number- School and University name- Year of submissionPlease refer to Appendix for a sample.

BindingThe final 3 copies must be comb/ring binding for degree dissertation.

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Soft-copySoft-copy for your report including FULL REPORT, RAW SPSS DATA, RESULT SPSS DATA, JOURNALS and TURN-IT-IN RESULTS should be burned in CD.The CD Cover must state the following:

- Full thesis title- Your full name- Matric Number- School and University name- Year of submission

Please refer to Appendix for a sample.

Typing format- Typed on one side.- Times New Roman- Font size: 12- All narratives, tables, and graphs must be typeset and NOT handwritten.

Spacing- Double spacing for text- Single spacing for long tables, table titles, long quotations, notes, footnotes, multiline

caption and bibliographic entries

MarginsAll text, tables, figures and their captions must conform to the following margins:

- Top edge : 1.0 inch- Bottom edge : 1.0 inch- Right side : 1.0 inch- Left side : 1.5 inch

Subdivision- Text in each chapter may be divided under headings and sub headings such as 1.1, 1.2, 1.3

etc and 1.1.1, 1.1.2 etc.- All subdivisions begin from the left margin.

Notes and Footnotes- Font sizes for notes and footnotes must be smaller than general text

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- Footnotes are not encouraged; and should be kept to a minimum.

Tables- All tables must be numbered in relation to chapter, e.g. in chapter 1, tables should be

numbered table 1.1, table 1.2 and so on.- Place tables near to related discussion in text.- Use single space for all tables.

LanguagePlease write your text in good English (American or British usage is accepted, but not a mixture of both).

Envelope Submission on Semester 5Envelope cover pages same as report cover page.All the submission items must be put in TWO envelopes. i) Envelope 1: 1 Report, 1 UniMAP/PPIPT/AKADEMIK/05 Form and 1 UniMAP/PPIPT/AKADEMIK/08 Form to be submitted to your SUPERVISOR;ANDii) Envelope 2: 1 Report, 6 UniMAP/PPIPT/AKADEMIK/03 Form to be submitted to COURSE COORDINATOR.

Envelope Submission on Semester 6Envelope cover pages same as report cover page.All the submission items must be put in TWO envelopes. i) Envelope 1: 1 Report, 1 CD, 1 UniMAP/PPIPT/AKADEMIK/06 Form and 1 UniMAP/PPIPT/AKADEMIK/08 Form to be submitted to your SUPERVISOR;ANDii) Envelope 2: 2 Report, 1 CD, Turn-it-in Result, 6 UniMAP/PPIPT/AKADEMIK/03 Form and 1 UniMAP/PPIPT/AKADEMIK/07 Form to be submitted to COURSE COORDINATOR.

References Responsibility for the accuracy of bibliographic citations lies entirely with the authors.

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CITATIONS IN THE TEXTAPA uses the author-date method of citation. The last name of the author and the date of publication are inserted in the text in the appropriate place. When referencing or summarizing a source, provide the author and year. When quoting or summarizing a particular passage, include the specific page or paragraph number, as well. When quoting in your paper, if a direct quote is less than 40 words, incorporate it into your text and use quotation marks. If a direct quote is more than 40 words, make the quotation a free - standing indented block of text and DO NOT use quotation marks.

One work by one author:

In one developmental study (Smith, 1990), children learned... OR In the study by Smith (1990), primary school children... OR In 1990, Smith’s study of primary school children...

Works by multiple authors:

When a work has 2 authors cite both names every time you reference the work in the text. When a work has three to five authors cite all the author names the first time the reference occurs and then subsequently include only the first author followed by et al. For example:

First citation: Masserton, Slonowski, and Slowinski (1989) state that... Subsequent citations: Masserton et al. (1989) state that...

For 6 or more authors, cite only the name of the first author followed by et al. and the year.

Works by no identified author: When a resource has no named author, cite the first few words of the reference entry (usually the title). Use double quotation marks around the title of an article, chapter, or Webpage. Italicize the title of a periodical, book, brochure, or report. For example:

The site seemed to indicate support for homeopathic drugs (“Medical Miracles,” 2009). The brochure argues for homeschooling (Education Reform, 2007).

Treat reference to legal materials such as court cases, statutes, and legislation like works with no author.

Two or more works in the same parenthetical citation:

Citations of two or more works in the same parentheses should be listed in the order they appear in the reference list (i.e., alphabetically, then chronologically).

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Several studies (Jones & Powell, 1993; Peterson, 1995, 1998; Smith, 1990) suggest that...

Specific parts of a source

Always give the page number for quotations or to indicate information from a specific table, chart, chapter, graph, or page. The word page is abbreviated but not chapter. For example:

The painting was assumed to be by Matisse (Powell, 1989, Chapter 6), but later analysis showed it to be a forgery (Murphy, 1999, p. 85).

If, as in the instance of online material, the source has neither visible paragraph nor page numbers, cite the heading and the number of the paragraph following it. This allows the reader to locate the text in the source. For example:

The patient wrote that she was unimpressed by the doctor’s bedside manner (Smith, 2006, Hospital Experiences section, para. 2).

CITATIONS IN A REFERENECE LIST:

In general, references should contain the author name, publication date, title, and publication information. Include the issue number if the journal is paginated by issue.

For information obtained electronically or online include the DOI:

DOI - a unique alphanumeric string assigned to identify content and provide a persistent link to its location on the internet. The DOI is typically located on the first page of the electronic journal article near the copyright notice. When a DOI is used in your citation, no other retrieval information is needed. Use this format for the DOI in references: doi:xxxxxxx

If no DOI has been assigned to the content, provide the home page URL of the journal or of the book or report publisher. Do not insert a hyphen if you need to break a URL across lines; do not add a period after a URL, to prevent the impression that the period is part of the URL.

In general, it is not necessary to include data base information. Do not include retrieval dates unless the source material has changed over time.

Book:

Strunk, W., Jr., & White, E. B. (1979). The guide to everything and then some more stuff. New York, NY: Macmillan.

Gregory, G., & Parry, T. (2006). Designing brain-compatible learning (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.

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Chapter of a Book:

Bergquist, J. M. (1992). German Americans. In J. D. Buenker & L. A. Ratner (Eds.), Multiculturalism in the United States: A comparative guide to acculturation and Ethnicity (pp. 53-76). New York, NY: Greenwood.

Journal Article with DOI:

Paivio, A. (1975). Perceptual comparisons through the mind's eye. Memory & Cognition, 3, 635-647. doi:10.1037/0278-6133.24.2.225

Journal Article without DOI (when DOI is not available):

Becker, L. J., & Seligman, C. (1981). Welcome to the energy crisis. Journal of Social Issues, 37(2), 1-7.

Hamfi, A. G. (1981). The funny nature of dogs. E-journal of Applied Psychology, 2(2), 38 -48. Retrieved from http://ojs.lib.swin.edu.au/index.php/fdo

Online Newspaper Articles:

Becker, E. (2001, August 27). Prairie farmers reap conservation's rewards. The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com

Encyclopedia Articles:

Brislin, R. W. (1984). Cross-cultural psychology. In R. J. Corsini (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Psychology (Vol. 1, pp. 319-327). New York, NY: Wiley.

Developmental genetics. (2005). In Cambridge encyclopedia of child development. Retrieved from http://0- www.credoreference.com.library.muhlenberg.edu:80/entry/cupchilddev/development al_genetics.

Technical and Research Reports (often with corporate authors)

Hershey Foods Corporation. (2001, March 15). 2001 Annual Report. Retrieved from http://www.hersheysannualreport.com/2000/index.htm

Book Reviews:

Dent-Read, C., & Zukow-Goldring, P. (2001). Is modeling knowing? [Review of the book Models of cognitive development, by K. Richardson]. American Journal of Psychology, 114, 126-133.

NOTE: For articles that have a DOI, see Journal Article with DOI example.

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Data Sets:

Simmons Market Research Bureau. (2000). Simmons national consumer survey [Data file]. New York, NY: Author.

Blog post:

Lincoln, D. S. (2009, January 23). The likeness and sameness of the ones in the middle. [Web log post]. Retrieved from http://www.blogspace.com/lincolnworld/2009/1/23.php

Website with no author or date of publication:

Census data revisited. (n.d.). Retrieved March 9, 2009, from Harvard, Psychology of Population website, http://harvard.edu/data/index.php

Do not include retrieval dates unless the source material may change over time. If no DOI has been assigned to the content, provide the homepage URL.

Reprint from Another Source:

- Citation in the text: (Newton, 1998/1999).

- Reference List Citation: Newton, W. (1999). Return to Mars. In C. Mari (Ed.), Space Exploration (pp. 32- 41). New York, NY: H.W. Wilson. (Reprinted from National Geographic, pp. 2-26, August 1998).

- In this example of a reprinted book review, the author of the book is named first, followed by the editor of the reprinting source, then the reviewer. In your parenthetical citation, it is necessary to name the author of the book, while the reviewer is named to distinguish from other reviews of this book.

(Sample)TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page Number

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS iv

TABLE OF CONTENTS vi

LIST OF TABLES xi

LIST OF FIGURES xiv

LIST OF ABBREVIATION xv

LIST OF APPENDICES xvi

ABSTRAK xviii

ABSTRACT xx

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION Page Number

1.1 Background of the Study 1

1.2 Research Problem 7

1.3 Research Objectives 8

1.4 Research Questions 10

1.5 Significance of the Study 11

1.6 Definition of terms 14

1.7 Organization of the study 16

CHAPTER 2: INSTITUTIONAL REVIEW

2.0 Introduction 18

2.1 The Bangladesh capital market – an overview 18

2.1.1 The Securities Exchange Commission 21

2.1.2 The Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) 22

2.1.3 The Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) 23

2.1.4 Stock Exchange Trends 24

2.1.4.1 Sectoral dominance 26

2.1.4.2 NRB direct investment 28

2.1.4.3 Increasingly crowded primary market 29(Sample)

LIST OF TABLES

Page Number

Table 2.1: Market capital as percentage of GDP 19

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Table 2.2: Bangladesh capital market – at a glance 20

Table 2.3: DSE general index performance (2002-2007) 25

Table 2.4: Comparative strengths of securities 25

Table 2.5: Comparative performance of major sectors 27

Table 2.6: Portfolio Investment by the non-resident Bangladeshis 28

Table 2.7: Oversubscription of IPOs 29

Table 2.8: Ownership concentration by Top shareholders 35

Table 2.9: Comparative analysis of Dhaka Stock Exchange (Yearly) 37

Table 2.10: Comparative analysis of Chittagong Stock Exchange

(Yearly) 39

Table 3.1: Average initial returns in major stock markets 53

Table 3.2: Average initial returns in Asian stock markets 55

Table 3.3: Past research on the determinants of underpricing 61

Table 4.1: Numbers of new listing as of 2005 at DSE and CSE 97

Table 5.1: New issues on an industry to industry basis (DSE) 118

Table 5.2: New issues on an industry to industry basis (CSE) 119

Table 5.3: Overall Levels of IPO underpricing and overpricing (DSE) 120

Table 5.4: Overall Levels of IPO underpricing and overpricing (CSE) 121

Table 5.5: IPO underpricing on a yearly basis (DSE) 122

Table 5.6: IPO underpricing on a yearly basis (CSE) 124

Table 5.7: IPO overpricing on a yearly Basis (DSE) 125

(Appendix 1)

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AN EMPIRICAL INVESTIGATION ON THE UNDERPRICING AND

EARNINGS MANAGEMENT OF INITIAL PUBLIC OFFERINGS IN

BANGLADESH

By

MD. AMINUL ISLAM

121240000

Thesis submitted in fulfillment of the requirements

for the degree of

Bachelor of Business (International Business)

Universiti Malaysia Perlis

June 2011

(Sample)

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REFERENCES

Abdullah Iqbal, Susanne Espenlaub, and Norman Strong. (2004). “Earning Management Around UK Open Offers”, Working Paper Series, Kent Business School, University of Kent.

Aggarwal, Reena; Rivoli, Pietra (1990), “Fads in the initial public offering market?” Financial Management, Winter 90, Vol. 19 Issue 4, pp 45.

Aggarwal, R.; Leal, R. and Hernandez, L. (1993). "The After Market Performance of Initial Public Offerings in Latin America." Financial Management, Vol 22, pp.42-53.

Alex Bal (2006). “Uderpricing of IPOs: Theory and the Role of Dutch Auctions In this Multi-Billion Dollar Market Anomaly”, Working paper, Williams College, Williamstown, Massachusetts.

Allen, D.E. and V. Soucik (2008). “Long-run underperformance of seasoned equity offerings: Fact or illusion?” Mathematics and Simulation, Vol. 78 Issue 2/3, pp146-154.

Allen, Franklin, and Gerald R. Faulhaber, (1989). Signaling by Underpricing in the IPO Market, Journal of Financial Economics 23, 303—323.

Alli, Kasim L., Subrahmanyam, V. and Gleason, K. (2010). “Short and Long Run Performance of Initial Public Offerings in Postapartheid South Africa”. Journal of African Business, Vol. 11 Issue 1, pp 1-25.

Alireza, D. and Daniel, Z (2003). Earnings Management and the Stock Market Environment, Discussion paper, University of New Haven, USA.

Anna P. I. Vong; Duarte Trigueiros (2009) in study in China in Applied financial Economics (19:15, 1257 – 1268): DOI: 10.1080/09603100802570408

Asquith, D. Jonathan D. Jones, & Robert Kieschnick (1998), Evidence on price stabilization and underpricing in early IPO returns, The Journal of Finance, Vol. LIH. No 5 October 1998.

(Sample CD Cover)

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AN EMPIRICAL INVESTIGATION ON THE UNDERPRICING AND EARNINGS MANAGEMENT OF INITIAL PUBLIC OFFERINGS IN BANGLADESH

By

MD. AMINUL ISLAM121240000

Thesis submitted in fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of

Bachelor of Business (International Business)

Universiti Malaysia PerlisJune 2011

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