Writing the Materials and Methods and Summarizing the Thesis
One of the most important steps of performing a thesis is “PLANNING” for it. The plan comes after the rationale for the study has been established and existing literature reviewed thoroughly. Executing the plan is easier said than done and requires rigor at every step to accumulate high-quality data. The document containing this “PLAN” is called the “Manual of Operations” (MOP) and represents all the procedural details essential to ensure the smooth performance of each and every step of the study. While writing a scientific manuscript, it is not only important to report the results of the study but also to enumerate the steps followed to arrive at the results. The latter is referred to as the “Materials and Methods” or simply methods section of the scientific manuscript. It should be described in sufficient detail to allow easy replication by a competent fellow researcher, but the authors should guard against overzealous description and avoid unnecessary technical details. If the MOP i

