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Towards best writing a thesis
Prof Ahmed ZeeneldinProfessor of Medical Oncology
NCI, Cairo University2014
Agenda
Prof Topic TimeAhmed Zeeneldin Introduction 5’Rabab Gaafar Review of literature
Discussion20’
Manar Monir MethodsResults
20’
Ahmed Zeeneldin Other sectionsReferencesStyle
15’
Audience Questions and comments 10’
Thesis structure• Title Page• First few pages; numbered in letters (i, ii, iii,...)• CONTENTS with Arabic numbers (1, 2,......)
1. Introduction and Aim of the work2. Review of Literature3. Methods4. Results5. Discussion6. Conclusions7. Recommendations8. English summary9. References10. Appendices (optional)11. Arabic Summary
• Arabic Title Page
Title PageEnglish
1. Exactly as in the protocol2. Full Title in CAPITAL letters with no
abbreviations
3. The degree 4. The candidate and qualifications5. The supervisors and their post6. Faculty/Institute7. University8. Year
Arabic
مثل البروتوكول1.
بحروف كبیرة عنوان البحث2.كامال غیر مختصر
الدرجة العلمیة المقدم لھا3.
الطالب و درجتھ العلمیة4.
المشرفین ووظائفھم5.
المعھد/الكلیة6.
الجامعة7.
السنة8.
First few pages• Numbered in Roman letters (i, ii, iii,...)• Approval sheet of discussion panel• Table of contents with corresponding pages
– Chapters/sections ............................20• Subsections............................................21
• List of tables with corresponding pages• List of figures with corresponding pages• List of abbreviations in alphabetical order (a-z)• Acknowledgment• Abstract
Approval sheetاعتماد لجنة الممتحنین
Acknowledgements
• You thank those who helped you
• List these aspects• Supervisors and others• Has implications in the
publications
Table of contents
• Sections– Subsections
• Corresponding pages• List of figures• List of tables• List of abbreviations
Abstract
• We will discuss it with the summary at the end
Introduction and Aims• Introduction
– Short opening section (1-2 pages)– Explain clearly why you researched this topic– Summarise any necessary background information– Set the scene that existed at the start of the project – Clearly state your research question
• PICO?• P: population under study• I: Intervention• C: Comparator• O: outcome
– Example”In patients with locally advanced breast cancer, does the addition of celecoxib to standard chemotherapy improve efficacy?
Introduction and Aims• Aim(s)
– Exactly as the protocol– TO + VERB– SMART: specific, measurable, achievable, relevant,
time-bound
– To assess safety and efficacy of (…..) in patients with (…..)
– To assess the prognostic/prdictive value of (…) in (…)– And to calculate the cost/effectiveness– To assess the impact on QoL
Review of LiteratureDiscussion
Prof Rabab GaafarProfessor of Medical Oncology
Methods and Results
Prof. Manar MonirHead of Cancer Epidemiology and
Biostatistics Dept.
Conclusions and recommendations
• Conclusions– Summary of the results
• Recommendations– For routine practice– For improvements– For future research
Conclusions • In conclusion, HCC affects males than females mostly in themiddle-age group. Most patients had chronic HCVinfections and cirrhosis......TACE in the current study produced 25% overallresponse rates that lasted for a median of 12months. The median overall survival was 29months. The median PFS was 12 months. It wasgenerally tolerable with PES being the mostcommon toxicity (90%) and live cell failure beingthe most dangerous.
Recommendations
It is recommended that:• TACE using beads to be the standard practice
at the NCI.• Standard doses of chemotherapeutics rather
than the higher doses be used• MDT be set to discuss all HCC cases• Predictive markers be developed to predict
which patients can benefit from TACE and with the least toxicity
Summary and Abstract
• Both – Reduce a long text to its essential key points – Should be composed after work completion.
• An abstract:– More specialized summary.– Structured summary– Less exhaustive than summary and word-limited
e.g. 500 words and never exceeds a page– Contains key words
Summary and Abstract
Abstract• Structured :IAMRC• Word limit: 250-500 words• Page limit: one page max• One paragraph• Key words
Summary• Non-Structured :• No Word limit• No Page limit 2-3 pages as
needed• More than one paragraph• No Key words• الملخص العربي ھو ترجمة لمعني
الملخص االنجلیزي و لیس ترجمة حرفیة و یراعي استخدام قاموس المصطلحات الطبیة
Abstract and Key words• One page ONLY• Word limit:
200-500• Structured:
– Background– Aims– Methods– Results– Conclusions
• Key words:– 5-6 key words
Examples of summary
English summary• This study was conducted
on # of patients with ........• to ......• They were divided into two
groups. Group 1 received.........
• Key results• ± conclusions• ± recommendations
الملخص العربيمریض # أجریت ھذه الدراسة علي •
.......مصاب ب........وكان الھدف من الدراسة•و قد تم تقسیم المرضي إلي •
..........األولي تلقت . مجموعتین........و قد أظھرت النتائج أن •........و قد استنتجنا أن •........و ننصح •
ترجمة بعض المصطلحات الطبیة
rate نسبة/معدل Median وسیطOverall Response اإلستجابة الكلیة Mean متوسطComplete response اإلستجابة التامة Overall survival البقاء حیاPartial response اإلستجابة الجزئیة Disease free survival البقاء خالیا من المرضStable disease ثبات المرض Progression free survival البقاء خالیا من
ازدیاد المرض /تطورProgressive disease ازدیاد المرض/تطور Relapse free survival البقاء خالیا من إرتجاع
المرض Toxicity سمیة Relapse/recurrence ارتداد/ارتجاعAdverse events العكسیة األحداث Remission ظاھري كمونSide effects الجانبیة اآلثار Predictive factors عوامل تنبؤIncidence rates معدل الحدوث Prognostic factors عوامل تكھنPrevalence rates معدل اإلنتشار
Writing Style and references
طریقة الكتابةWriting Style
• Volume: – MSC: 100 pages– MD: 150 pages– ROL: not more than 1/3
• Margins:– Upper, lower, outer: 3 cm– Inner: 4 cm
• Header of chapter name: optional• Page number: upper right corner• Spacing:
– English: 1.5– Arabic: 2
• Paragraph indents: 7 spaces• Spacing between paragraphs: 2
References
• Why should you reference?– Credit to original authors– Authorize to your work, strengthens your
argument and demonstrates the breadth of your research.
– Verify your sources of information.– Avoid being accused for Plagiarism
Referencing style
• Alphabetical (author and date):– References are arranged in the reference list
alphabetically in an ascending order. No numbers– In-text citations mention author last name and
year. Not numbers– Used in academic writing e.g. Theses
Harvard style
Citation and reference
Breast cancer is the commonestmalignancy in Egyptian females (Zeeneldin etal., 2013). COX-2 expression is encountered in46% of patients (Abdelwahaab et al., 2012).
Reference listAbdelwahaab A (2012) COX2 in Egyptian …….Zeeneldin A (2013) Breast cancer laterality……
Author names
• Citation: surname ONLY – (Zeeneldin, 2014)
• Reference: surname + first name initials ± middle name initials– Zeeneldin A (2014) breast cancer.....– Zeeneldin AA (2014) breast cancer.....
Citing within the text
Artificial intelligence can be defined as the scienceof making machines do things that would requireintelligence if done by men (Minsky, 1968).(Minsky & Sriver, 1968) (Minsky et al., 1968).
According to Striver (2001 p21) “all aspects ofrational thought should be considered to involvesome degree of experimentation” (Striver, 2001)
Citing within the text(alphabetical)
• Rules– include the author’s surname and the year of
publication and also any page numbers if you are quoting from a specific page
– If more than 2[3] authors, give only the first authors surname and initials followed by et al.
– If you state the authors name within your work then just include the date of publication to indicate the work being cited
4 Essential components of a reference
Who (When) What WhereAuthors Year of publication Title (article,
book, book chapter, thesis)
Journal, book, website, thesis. Exact numbers
Zeeneldin A (2012) Breast cancer in Elderly Egyptians
JENCI 13(7):23-29
سھل سھل
Essential componentsWho (authors)
– Surname, initials (Zeeneldin, A [AA])– List all authors without AND– List some followed by et al.
• 6: 5 et al.• 4: 3 et al.
– Be consistent
Essential componentsWhere (source)
Article Journal name Volume Issue pagesBook Edition if not 1st Publisher City pagesBook chapter In -à bookWebsite [online]. Available at: Web address (access date)Thesis Degree thesis Faculty/university
Essential componentsWhere (source)
Article Journal name Volume Issue pagese.g. JENCI. 12(3):27-29Book Edition if not 1st Publisher City pagese.g. 5th ed. Madbooli: Cairo. pp 202-213Book chapter In -à book
In khaled H et al. (eds.) Lymphoma. 2nd ed. Cairo Univ: Cairo. pp 100-160Website [online]. Available at: Web address (access date
[online]. Available at: www.clinicaltrials.gov (access date 20 March, 2014)Thesis Degree Faculty/university
MD Thesis . NCI, Cairo University.
Bibliography(reference list)
• Alphabetical (author and date):– References are arranged in the reference list
alphabetically in an ascending order of author sur. No numbers
Zeeneldin A (2011) …..Zeeneldin A (2012) …..Zeeneldin A (2013a)…….Zeeneldin A (2013b)…….Zeeneldin A, Taha F, ….. (2009)….
Examples
• Book:– Halliday, D., Resnick, R., Walker, J. (2005)
Fundamentals of physics. 7th ed. New York: Wiley. pp 20-50.
• Book chapter:– Murray, A.P. (1999) Fundamental equations of
surface theory. In: Ledermann, W. & Vajda, S. (eds.) Combinatorics and geometry. 2nd ed. Chichester: John Wiley, pp. 23-66.
Examples
• Article: – Kim, H.S. (2007) ‘A new model for communicative
effectiveness of science’. Science Communication, 28(3), pp. 287-313.
• Webpage:– Allen, S. (2007). Referencing: a guide for
University of Liverpool online students [Online]. Available from http://www.liv.ac.uk/library/ohecampus/ref.htm(Accessed 15 August 2007).
Examples
• Thesis– McDonald, L.R. (2005) Assessment of body
composition using magnetic resonance imaging. Ph.D. thesis. University of Liverpool.
Referencing software
• Endnote• Ref manager• Ref works• Zotero• PubMed (my bibliography)• -• -
Appendices (optional)
• Any thing you feel it is worth adding e.g.– Master sheet– questionnaires– Raw results– IRB approval– ICF– A modification of a standard method.
Timing of each section
First:1. Title Page, Arabic Title Page2. Introduction and Aim of the work3. Methods
Second 1. Results
Third:Review of LiteratureDiscussionReferences
Fourth:Conclusions, RecommendationsAppendices (optional)English summary, Arabic Summary, Abstract
Fifth: First few pages; numbered in letters (i, ii, iii,...)i. Acknowledgementsii. Table of Contents with corresponding pagesiii. List of Tables, List of Figures, List of Abbreviations
Sixth:i. Approval sheet
First• Title Page:
English and Arabic
• Introduction & Aims
• Methods
Second• Results
Third• Review of
Literature• Discussion• Reference
s
Fourth• Conclusions,
Recommendations
• Appendices (optional)
• Summary: English and Arabic ,
• Abstract
Fifth• Acknowle
dgements• Table of
Contents• List of
Tables, Figures, Abbreviations
Sixth• Approval
sheet
Timing of each section
Thank YOU