Writing a thesis synopsis that gets approved the first time

A synopsis (or protocol) is the plan for your entire thesis. A well-written one gets through the departmental review, the university board and the Institutional Ethics Committee (IEC) without rounds of corrections — and makes the thesis itself far easier to write.

Start with a good question

Before writing a word, check your question against the FINER criteria:

• Feasible — enough eligible patients, time, money and expertise within your PG tenure
• Interesting — to you, your guide and your field
• Novel — confirms, extends or refutes earlier findings, or studies a new population
• Ethical — acceptable risk, with valid consent
• Relevant — to clinical practice, policy or future research

Frame it using PICO (Population, Intervention/Exposure, Comparison, Outcome) and most of your methodology will follow.

The usual structure

Formats vary between universities, so always follow your own university's template. Most include:

1. Title — specific: population, exposure or intervention, outcome and setting.
2. Introduction — the problem, what is known, and the gap your study fills.
3. Need for the study — why this study, here, now.
4. Aims and objectives — one aim; a primary objective and a few secondary ones.
5. Review of literature — a brief, organised summary of key studies (the full review comes in the thesis).
6. Materials and methods
   • Study design, setting and duration
   • Study population with inclusion and exclusion criteria
   • Sample size with formula, assumptions and reference
   • Sampling technique
   • Study procedure and data collection tools
   • Variables and operational definitions
   • Statistical analysis plan
7. Ethical considerations — IEC approval, informed consent, confidentiality, and CTRI registration for clinical trials.
8. References — usually Vancouver style.
9. Annexures — proforma or case record form, participant information sheet and informed consent form.

Objectives that match your analysis

Write objectives that are specific and measurable, and make sure each one maps to an analysis:

Objective	Analysis
To estimate the prevalence of X among Y	Proportion with 95% CI
To compare mean Z between groups A and B	t-test or Mann–Whitney U
To identify factors associated with X	Chi-square, then logistic regression

If an objective has no corresponding analysis — or an analysis has no objective — reviewers will notice.

What ethics committees look for

IECs in India review against the ICMR National Ethical Guidelines. Expect questions on:

• Risk–benefit — especially for interventions, invasive procedures or vulnerable groups.
• Consent documents — clear participant information sheets in English and the local language, with assent for minors where applicable.
• Confidentiality — how data will be anonymised and stored.
• Compensation and care for research-related injury, where relevant.
• CTRI registration — required before enrolling participants in a clinical trial.

Common reasons synopses are returned

• A title that doesn't match the objectives
• Sample size without a formula, reference or allowance for non-response
• Vague inclusion and exclusion criteria
• No statistical analysis plan, or tests that don't fit the data
• An unrealistic timeline for recruitment
• References that are outdated or inconsistently formatted

Before you submit

Read your synopsis against your university's checklist, have your guide sign off on the methodology, and check that the title, objectives, sample size and analysis plan all tell the same story. A day spent on that consistency check saves weeks of back-and-forth later.