What is the relevance of your chosen topic within the current situation in our society?

What is the main reason for you to choose this topic and is it helpful for others to know about this?

Your professor may ask you to summarize the important points of your research

1. The most common question you may be asked is what you learned from the study you have done.
You have to sum up your entire study in a few sentences and remember the technical terms you
have mentioned n your research because that is what your examiner wants to hear from you.
2. The next question to follow by default is why you chose this particular topic or what your
inspiration behind this study was. This is one of the trickiest questions as you have to prove your
convincing power to the panel of the teachers that what you did is valuable for the society and was
worth their time. Tell about how zealous you were about this particular problem.
3. What is the importance of your study or how will it contribute or add up to the existing body of
knowledge?
4. You may be asked to summarize your key findings of the research.
5. What type of background research have you done for the study?
6. What are the limitations you have faced while writing?
7. Why did you choose this particular method or sample for the study?
8. What will you include if you are told to add something extra to the study?
9. What are the recommendations of your study?
10. Who formed your sample and why you selected this particular age group?
11. What was your hypothesis and how you framed it?
12. If given a chance, would like to do something different with your work?
13. What are the limitations you faced while dealing with your samples?
14. How did you relate your study to the existing theories?
15. What is the future scope of this study?
16. What do you plan to do with your work after you have completed your degree?
17. What are the research variables you used?
18. Do you have any questions to be asked?
19. Did you evaluate your work?
20. How would you improve your work?

These are some of the very general but a bit complicated questions you may be asked during your
interview.

1. Why did you choose this topic?

This might be the first question you will be asked, and you need to have a good response. You
should talk about the motivations for the study. Talk about the research problem you wanted to
address which made you embark on the study.
2. Briefly, explain what your research project is all about?
To respond to this question, you need to fully understand your research project. Basically, be
able to repeat your abstract.
3. What is the scope of the study
Here you briefly state the specific aspects of your project topic that was covered.
4. What is the significance of the study?
To answer this question, you will need to state how your research work will help other
researchers, educators, organizations(like the case study used), practitioners and policymakers.
5. Did you bridge any gap from your study?
Here you should talk about how your study addressed the existing problems/concerns that made
you carry out the research.
6. What are your research variables?
This question is asked in order to find out if you really know what your research project is all
about. Explain your independent and dependent variable(s) to show them you really grasp the
concept of your research topic. Identify the variables in your project topic, define and explain
them.
7. What research methodology did you use?
This is usually the chapter three of your project report. To respond to this question, you should
briefly state the research design procedure you adopted for the research. Talk about the data
collection methods and sampling techniques employed in the research.
8. Why did you use that research methodology?
This is where you state the reason(s) for the choice of research methodology used. For example,
if you used the survey research method, you can state reasons such as: no interviewer bias, cost-
effective, it enabled you (the researcher) to collect information from the sample without
influencing the population of the study e.t.c
9. Why do you think your research is reliable?
To answer this question, simply tell your audience/panel of assessors that the threats to research
reliability (which are participants error, participant bias, research error, and researcher bias) did
not occur during the research. Or you can simply say that you made sure the threats were
reduced to the barest minimum.
10. Why do you think your research is valid?
To answer this question, simply tell your audience/panel of assessors that the findings from
your study can be generalized to other relevant settings, group or case study.

11. In what way(s) does your research project contributes to knowledge?

This question is similar to your significance of the study. You should talk about how your
research is aimed at addressing a problem that was not addressed by previous researchers in
your field of study. You should also briefly state how your project will advance understanding
in your research field.
12. What are the limitations encountered
No research project is perfect. It is common for at least one limitation to be identified. To
answer this question, talk about the weaknesses that were out of your control. You can talk
about how weaknesses such as the short time frame for the research, lack of research
studies/materials on the topic, lack of available data, the combination of lectures, exam and
project research, limited sample size and selection, e.t.c impacted the analysis of your research
data.
13. Which programming language did you use to write your program? (for computer
science students)
State the programming language and database used in the development of your
software/program. If you did not design the program yourself or you were assisted by a friend
or colleague, find out from the person which programming language was used. You might also
ask the person to give you a crash course on the programming language.
14. Show us how your software works (for computer science students)
Make sure you are familiar with how the software works. Also, be sure that there are no errors
in the software. Go ahead and show the panel of assessors how the software functions. You can
also show them some records which you entered previously.
15. What source of data was employed for the research?
Here, you simply state the data collection methods that were used in the study. You should state
if primary sources such as questionnaires, interview, observation OR secondary sources such
as textbooks, journals, articles, e.t.c were used. If you combined primary and secondary sources,
briefly talk about it.
16. What are your findings?
Show the descriptive results from the study in a convincing and clear style. Make sure your
findings refer to your research objectives/questions.
17. Based on your findings what are your recommendations/suggestions?
This is where you talk about the importance and implications of your findings from three levels
namely:
1. Research (various ways other researchers can improve or refine the study)
2. Theory (the new contributions that you are adding to the body of knowledge) and
3. Practice (how the information gotten from your study can make practice better, improve the
operational procedures, solve problems, improve policy making e.t.c).
Note: Avoid the temptation to make recommendations that are not supported by your findings.
Do not recommend based on your beliefs.
18. What is the strongest point in your project?
The duration of the defense might just be 10 - 15 minutes, as such the questioners will not have
the time to ask you about every detail. They will want to focus on the major ideas and ask you
the most important aspects of your research. Be ready to answer.
19. If you could change something regarding your study, what would it be?
The answer to this question can be gotten from the limitations of your study. You can give
answers such as:
1. Given the constraints (like the short time frame for the research or lack of sufficient funds) I
was working with, this was what I was able to do but if I could do more, this is what I would
have done.
2. In doing this I learned a problem with this kind of data collection. Next time, I will do it this
way.
20. What questions do you have for us
You can ask them if there any revisions they want you to make in your report. Ask them to
summarize the major revisions, so you can take some notes.
21. Do you have any closing comments
Thank the panel of assessors and let them know that the revisions/corrections that were given
(such as rewriting the conclusion, tables/graphs that are not in the right format, something you
said during the defense and they what you to include it in the report or some other issues they
noticed you did not capture) would be implemented and shown to your supervisor.

In a project defense you are expected to:

- Present yourself as a scholar in the discipline and an authority on your subject.
- Cogently and clearly explain your work.
- Have a conversation with the panel of assessors.
- Defend any idea that might be disagreed upon. (That is why it is called a project defense).
Project Defense tips
1. Be academically, mentally and physically prepared for your presentation.
2. Practice, practice, practice. Rehearse several times with the equipment you will use for your
presentation.
3. Have a thorough understanding of the nature of your research problem.
4. Make eye contact with more than one member of the panel of assessors during the course of
your presentation.
5. Don't speak too fast. Talk calmly with confidence.
6. Bring a copy of your project report with you for reference.