Guidelines in Writing Seminar Paper

PSCM 2235 – Philippine Public Administration

SET A
Structure and Contents

Part 1 – Introduction Number of words: 2,000

a. Background of the study
The background of the study captures the general direction of your paper. Try to answer the
following questions: What does the study intend to achieve? What will you discuss? Why do
you decide to embark on this study? What are the things or ideas that may not be considered in
the study? The study's background provides a snapshot of all the things the writer intends to
convey in brief.

b. Statements of the problem

Provide two statements of the problem that the study intends to satisfy. Answer all of them in
the latter part of the study. Link the statement of the problem with the theory, an approach, or
a framework. A theory explains the outcome of the statement of the problem.

The problem statement also points out the materials to be used (documents, interviews,
speeches, official reports, and others).

c. Theoretical Framework or Approach

Find an appropriate theory, approach, or model. Explain the relationship of the
theory/model/approach to the study. Choose any of the following theories:
(1) New Institutionalism. Read Cairney (2012, 69-91)
(2) Structuralism. Read Cairney (2012, 111-129)
(3) Rational Choice (Read Cairney (2012, 132-151)
(4) Institutionalism and Its Variants. Read B. Guy Peters and Philippe Zittoun, eds. (2016, 57-71)
(5) Administrative Theories: (Read Bidyut Chakrabarty Prakash Chand, 2012)
The Classical Organization Theory (p. 49)
The Scientific Management Theory (p. 53)
Bureaucratic theory (p. 59)
Post-bureaucratic theory (p. 70)
Gandhi's Model of Oceanic Circle (p. 71)
The Human Relations Theory (p. 74)
Decision-making Theory (p. 82)
Fred Riggs' Ecological Approach (p. 89)
Socio-psychological Approach/Theories (p. 93)
(6) System Theory (David Easton)
(7) Elite Theory (Pareto or Mosca)
(8) Two "faces of power" (Bachrach and Baratz (1962, 952)
Go for the original proponent of the theory. If not, use concise ideas written in the journal or a
book. Use at least journals or books to support the theory. Websites would not count as a
source. Those who will use websites in their theory will be returned without grades.

The theoretical framework/approach goes this way: the first paragraph defines the meaning of
the theory. Cite the original proponent. The second paragraph discusses the assumptions and
details of the theory. The third paragraph explains the relevance of the theory to the study. All
in all, the theoretical framework will consume 500 words.

d. Methods and Materials

First, locate the unit of analysis. Is it an office or an agency of government? Does the study refer
to a process, policy, or person? Take a pick. Second, describe the method used. They can be (1)
narrative analysis, (2) phenomenology, (3) ethnography, (4) case study, (5) grounded theory, (6)
documentary method, (7) discourse analysis, or any other way of analyzing the data. Third,
what is the type of data the study will use? Is it primary or secondary data? Is it an interview
transcript or a document? Show how the paper will use the data.

Data can be speeches, official documents, interviews, news, and others. Be explicit of the
materials to be analyzed.

For example, what kind of speeches use? Is there a timeline of the speech, say, from 2005-
2010? If it is a document, what type of document? What makes it relevant to the paper?

Part 2 – Literature Review Number of words: 350 minimum

The literature review provides the existing knowledge of the topic. A researcher
establishes it by doing a reading of key experts who contributed to the knowledge. By reading
them, the researchers know the side of the debate (see online lecture on literature review and
related videos posted).

Part 3 – OPTIONS (pick any of the options):

Option 1 – Findings/Results of the study [if data is available] Number of words: 1,000

or

Option 2- Research Insights [if data is not available] Number of words: 1,000

Option 1
This section primarily answers to questions you posed in our "statement of the problem." Each of the
questions becomes a subheading of the chapter. In short, transform the statement of the problem into a
category or a phrase. Chapter III carries three subheadings to correspond to your two statements of the
problems.

Every subheading should have answers. Every answer must have evidence that comes with the
data you gathered. Use text from interviews, focus group discussions (FGD), an official document, a
graph, a table, and a news report. You apply a direct quotation or paraphrase from your source (Note:
don't forget to cite your source).

Subheadings may have multiple answers. In an interview, say, all respondents agree in their
response. Then, treat their reply as one. If they disagree, show the two responses through (again!) direct
quotation or by paraphrasing them. Don't leave a quote on its own. Comment on it. Just like when our
mom comments on us, we don't leave it hanging (pun intended!).

Explain how the quote or evidence supports your claim. At the end of the chapter, summarize all
your claims.

Don'ts
Never include data that was NOT asked in the statement of the problem. The same goes for the
methodology of your paper. Refrain from discussing the methods because that was already discussed in
the previous section.

This is the structure of every subheading:

Claim - directly answer to the question

Evidence - direct quote from respondents, a

table, a line from official document

Explanation - provide a description to

the evidence

To conclude, the findings of your study show the meat of your paper. This is the part where you
offer the data to your audience. It may not be the full explanation, but you are leading them to a
conclusion. A thorough analysis will be given in the next chapter.
Option 2
This option shows your insights – the tentative and probable answer to your two statements of the
problem. It crystallizes your idea after doing the theory, literature review, and reading of relevant
materials on your topic.

Organize your paragraphs into the theme. Provide details, cite evidence to prove your claim. Evidence
may come from a reading you come across or a text of an interview.

Part 3- Conclusion Number of words: 500

This portion presents the following: summary of the findings/insights, linkage of your results to
the literature and theory, and the development of themes.

First, the researcher must share a summary of the findings. This part could be presented in one
paragraph.

Two, link the findings to your review of related literature. Check if the results affirm the existing
literature or how do the findings deviate from the literature. Verify if the findings warrant a contribution
to existing literature.

Apply the theory you mention under the theoretical framework. How will your theory explain
the findings? Expect a full utilization of your theory. If your theory cannot explain a few of your findings,
point it as a limitation of your study. Perhaps, you can say that the theory may have a limit. Then, point
out that limitation. By checking the literature and the theory, you broaden the discussion of your
research.

Three, look for patterns or deviations in your study. Is there something unique in your research?
At the end of the chapter, conclude in one paragraph.

Part 4 – Recommendation Number of words: 200

Our subject slants toward public policy. You should make at least two recommendations for the
government or any private institutions that may be concerned about the findings. Dedicate this portion
to recommend a new policy or modification of existing ones. The recommendations must emanate from
the paper that you made. Share the reasons behind your recommendations.

Part 5 – Reference
Place all your sources (books, journals, websites, and others) under this heading. All the
sources you made above must be written in this portion.

Total number of words: minimum of 3,050

 SET B
Tips
Format
Exclude the reference from the total number of words. You don't have to make a cover page.
The font has to be Times New Roman, size 12, margin (1.5" left, 1" top, 1" right, and 1"
Bottom), line spacing 1.5. We use Chicago as a citation format. Submit in pdf. Use this
suggested filename to submit in Turnitin: (Title of the Paper_Student Name.Schedule), for
example, "Duterte’s War on Drugs: Impact to the Poor_JohnGracie.7.40M”.

Sources
Use the university library to do research. We have abundant materials to choose from.
Books in political science and international studies are available. Access Sage, JSTOR,
and other online resources using the Daigler account.

Avoid plagiarism. Subscribe to Turnitin to gain access to plagiarism check online. I

accept the paper with a similarity index of five percent (5%) or lower. A little beyond 5% require
a verification from the teacher. Check and re-check the essay before submission.

Tips
Talk to classmates while conceptualizing the paper. They may offer ideas. Talking is also
communicating. It helps you know the paper better.

Every operational concept carries theoretical underpinnings. Go beyond the operational

concepts like steps in disaster preparedness, securing a license to drive, or acquiring a business
permit. Read studies on red tape, on time and motion study in organization management, or on
governance.

Do not make the paper night before the deadline. It accompanies risks. It jeopardizes many
submissions in the past. Avoid adding unnecessary words to inflate the number of words. They
can be detected. The teacher will also return papers that use full quotes in paragraphs to skip
Tunitin similarity index (SI).

These are the handy tools in making your paper: https://www.citefast.com/?s=Chicago#_Book

or “citationmachine.net” for a convenient format (for citation), Grammarly Pro (writing), sci-
hub (access to online journals), and your library. Never use sources from Academia.edu,
Researchgate, Slideshare, and others. I explained in the lecture the reasons.

Submit the final paper at Turnitin. An account will be made for you.
 SET C
Criteria

The paper is evaluated according to the following criteria:

Criteria Notes Points

Format /5
- observes the structure of the paper
- follow the recommended citation format
Originality /5
- avoided plagiarism issue through Turnitin similarity index
Critical Thinking /15
- ability to use pieces of evidence to prove the thesis statement
- use theory and literature review in analyzing
Credibility /10
- use materials judiciously (books, journals to credible websites)
Total 35