Masters Dissertation Example

Figure 8 (a) Average number of citations from ISI WoK was not correlated with implementation of 
findings (z=0.2,df=474,p=0.8). (b) 2006 Impact Factor of the journal and proportion of ‘yes’ responses 
were not correlated (t = 0.1787, df = 3, p-value = 0.86) 
The lack of correlation between the Impact Factor of the journal and the proportion of ‘Yes’ 
responses suggests (fig. 8 (b)) that Impact Factor is not an indication of the practical utility of 
research. 
 
4.3.2 Background to the research project 
4.3.2.1 Author residence and capacity 
 
Although there was no overall significant influence of corresponding author residence on the 
uptake of findings (fig. 9), marginally higher levels of implementation were reported from 
authors based in Australasia (z=2.12,df=459,p=0.04). 
 
Fig 9. Continent of residence of the corresponding author was not a significant determinant of uptake of 
findings (X
2
=8.28,df=6,p=0.2) 

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38 
For multiple response questions, such as the professional affiliations of co-authors (Q3, 
Appendix I), each response was treated as a separate variable and examined with logistic 
regression. The only variable with significant explanatory power for the variation around the 
response 
variable 
was 
when 
co-authors 
were 
affiliated 
to 
a 
local 
NGO 
(z=2.89,df=403,p=0.004). 
When co-author affiliations were regressed against corresponding author affiliations, there 
was an interaction between academic corresponding author and academic co-authors (p=0.03, 
df=403), showing that findings were less likely to be taken up when both corresponding and 
co-authors were academics. Similar slopes and non-significance between levels of uptake of 
findings for both corresponding and co-authors affiliated to a local NGO, international NGO 
or government body allowed these factors to be collapsed together into a single two level 
factor for further analysis; research papers in which authors had academic affiliations only 
(and independent researchers), and research papers for which at least one of the authors had an 
affiliation to an NGO or government body (fig. 10).