THIS COURSE IS AIMED AT PROVIDING CANDIDATES WITH KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS IN CONDUCTING EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH, EITHER QUALITATIVE OR QUANTITATIVE IN THEIR AREAS OF SPECIALIZATION. THE CANDIDATE IS REQUIRED TO CONCEPTUALIZE HIS/HER RESEARCH BASED ON SOUND THEORIES SO AS TO PRODUCE A COMPLETE RESEARCH MODEL. THE RESEARCH PROPOSAL CONTAINING THE FIRST THREE CHAPTERS, I.E. INTRODUCTION, LITERATURE REVIEW (INCLUDING CONCEPTUAL/THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK OF THE STUDY) AND METHODOLOGY SHOULD BE PRESENTED FOR EVALUATION BY THE APPOINTED DISSERTATION COMMITTEE. THE CANDIDATE IS PERMITTED TO CONDUCT THE RESEARCH ONLY AFTER THE PROPOSAL IS APPROVED BY THE DISSERTATION COMMITTEE. THE LENGTH OF THE DISSERTATION MUST BE BETWEEN 37,500 TO 50,000 WORDS (OR APPROXIMATELY 150-200 PAGES, BASED ON 250 WORDS PER PAGE) AND IS WRITTEN IN THE FORMAT SPECIFIED BY THE INSTITUTE OF POSTGRADUATE STUDIES, USM. THE EVALUATION OF THE DISSERTATION WILL BE CONDUCTED IN THE FORM OF VIVA VOCE BY THE SAME DISSERTATION COMMITTEE AND WILL BE CONFIRMED BY THE EXTERNAL MODERATOR. CANDIDATE IS CONFERRED PASS AFTER SUBMITTING THREE FINAL HARDCOPY OF THE DISSERTATION TO THE SCHOOL OF EDUCATIONAL STUDIES.