Thesis Format Prof. Hishamuddin 01

NIVERSITI TEKNOLOGI MALAYSIANIVERSITI TEKNOLOGI MALAYSIAUUSchool of Graduate Studies

Research Report Writing(The format of UTM thesis/project reports)

http://www.sps.utm.my/13 January 2005

Dr.Hishamuddin Jamaluddin 1 August 2004Dr.Hishamuddin Jamaluddin 1 August 2004

Dr. Hishamuddin JamaluddinAssociate Professor

Academic Manager (Research Programme)School of Graduate Studies, UTM

Email: hishamj@fkm.utm.mt

Webpage: http://www.fkm.utm.my/~hishamj

1. Introductiona) Background of the research b) Review of related literaturec) Statement of hypothesis or research questiond) Limitationse) Definition of terms

2. Methodology

THE BODY OF A RESEARCH REPORT

2. Methodologya) Procedures for collection and treatment of data

3. Presentation and Analysis of Dataa) Presentation of datab) Analysis of data

4. Conclusions and Recommendationsa) Summaryb) Conclusionsc) Recommendations

1. Undergraduate : Final Year Project Report

2. Masters Degree

Types (Definition) of “Thesis”

2. Masters Degreea) Taught Course : Master’s Project Reportb) Taught Course & Research : Master’s Dissertationc) Research : Master’s Thesis

3. Engineering Doctorate (Eng.D)4. Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)

a) Taught Course & Research : Ph.D. Dissertationb) Research : Ph.D. Thesis

I) General Guidelines

GUIDELINES ON THEWRITING OF A THESIS/RESEARCH REPORT

(The format of thesis or project reports)

II) Preparation and Binding of a Thesis

III) Writing References

IV) Writing Note or Footnote

V) Electronic Thesis and Dissertation

SECTION I:

SECTION I:GENERAL GUIDELINES

ARRANGEMENT ORDER OF A

ARRANGEMENT ORDER OF A THESIS

1.3 The status of thesis(FORM: PSZ19:16(Pind.1/97)) – Lamp. A

> If the status is restricted or confidential, a letter of request is

needed – Lamp. B

- reasons for the request status- duration of the status requested (3 - 5 yrs)

Restricted = can not be photocopied or taken away from the library

Confidential = can not be disclosed to the public (normally for security reasons)

1.4 Declaration> Supervisor’s Declaration -Lamp. C1> Declaration on Cooperation with Outside Agencies and Certification of

Examination – Lamp. C2

1.5 Tittle Page –Lamp.D- TITTLE OF THE THESIS- NAME OF THE AUTHOR- Statement of Award for the Thesis –Lamp.E- Name of the Faculty/School- Universiti Teknologi Malaysia- MONTH year (Final submission of the bound thesis)

1.7 Declaration –Lamp. F

1.8 Dedication -Lamp. G

1.9 Acknowledgements - Lamp. H

1.10 Abstract –Lamp. I & Lampiran J- Abstract (English) and Abstrak (in Malay)- One paragraph, one page (about 300 words)- May be single or 1.5 spacing

- May be single or 1.5 spacing- Content:

# General introduction/background: area of research# Problem statement# Methodology# Finding/Conclusion

What is the difference ? AbstractSynopsisSummary

1.11 Table of Contents –Lamp. K

1.12 List of Tables – Lamp.L

1.13 List of Figures –Lamp. M

1.14 List of Symbols and Abbreviation – Lamp. N

1.15 List of Appendices –Lamp O

> A thesis may not have an appendix

> Materials that are not directly discussed or referred to should be placed in the appendix

1.16 Text

> Text in a thesis contains chapters and each chapter is given a tittle

> Begin each chapter with a new page> Chapter may be divided into small tittle and sub-tittle

(each must be numbered)

(each must be numbered)> Text is written in paragraphs:

each paragraph describes one issue/subject> Maintain continuity between subsequent paragraphs> Text :

- Introduction to the research- Literature review- Methodology of the research- Results (data analysis) and discussion- Conclusions and recommendations

1.16.1 Reference in the TextAn information, idea or quote taken from any source must be referred to and indicate the reference in the text.

Referencing System:

i) Author and Year (Harvard) System

ii) Number System

1.16.2 Quotation in the Text – Lamp. P> Quotation in the text must be written in a separate paragraph> Quotation in a different language should be written in italic

1.16.3 Table in the Text –Lamp. Q

> Each table must be numbered in Arabic (1, 2 ….)> Caption (Tittle) of the table is placed above the table> Tables are placed immediately after they are mentioned for the

first time in the text

1.16.4 Figures in the Text –Lamp. R> Illustrative materials, such as maps, charts, drawings, graphs,

diagrams and photographs are classified as “Figures” > Each Figure must be numbered in Arabic (1, 2 ….)

> Each Figure must be numbered in Arabic (1, 2 ….)> Caption (Tittle) of the Figure is placed below the Figure> Figures are placed immediately after they are mentioned for the

first time in the text> Other illustrative materials (e.g. diskette or slides) are kept in a

special pocket at the back of the thesis

APPLICATION FOR PERMISSION TO REPRODUCEAIR PHOTO/MAPS OF MALAYSIA (Lamp. S)

1.18 Appendix> Appendix is not part of the Text

It is an additional material which is not directly

It is an additional material which is not directly referred to and discussed in the Text

> It is placed outside the Text (at the back of the thesis) to ensure smooth reading of the thesis

SECTION II:

GUIDELINES ON THE PREPARATION

GUIDELINES ON THE PREPARATION AND BINDING OF THESIS

2.1 Paper and Size> Simile 80 gm high quality paper > Size A4 (210 mm x 297 mm)

> Size A4 (210 mm x 297 mm)

2.2 MarginsFor all pages:

> 4 cm on the left > 2.5 cm on the right

2.3 Numbering the Page> top-right of the page

> top-right of the page- 1.25 cm from the top margin- last digit 2.5 cm from the right margin

2.3 Numbering the Page

> Numbering Procedure:- Preliminary section of the thesis is numbered in small Roman (i, ii,

- Preliminary section of the thesis is numbered in small Roman (i, ii, etc.)

- The first page of the thesis is the Tittle Page (numbered as “i”) but not written

- Text is numbered in Arabic (1, 2, etc.)- The first page of the text is numbered as “1” but not written- Number for the first page of each chapter is not written- The page separating each section of the thesis is not numbered (not

counted in the paging of the text)

2.4 Numbering the Chapters and Sub-Tittles in the Chapters

> Chapter number: CHAPTER 1

> Chapter number: CHAPTER 1CHAPTER 2, etc.

> Numbering the sub-tittle (Arabic):e.g.: 2.1 Level two (sub-tittle)

2.1.1 Level-three (sub-sub-tittle)2.1.1.1 Level-four (sub-sub-sub-tittle)

2.5 Typing –Lamp T> Use computer, normal lettering (no fancy font)> Font size: ≥≥≥≥ 0.2 cm for CAPITAL LETTERS

≥≥≥≥ 0.15 cm for small letters

≥≥≥≥ 0.15 cm for small letterse.g.: Microsoft Words 6.0:

New Times Roman: font 12 or bigger.> Use 1.5 spacing> Type on one side of the paper

> Typing Tittle of the Chapters:CAPITAL LETTERS at the middle of the paper between the left and right margins

2.6 Distance and Format –Lamp. U

i) Distance from the top margin to the chapter number is 2.5 cmii) Distance from the chapter tittle to the chapter number is 4 lines and

distance from the chapter tittle to the first line of the text is 4 linesiii) Distance from a sub-tittle and the last line of the previous

iii) Distance from a sub-tittle and the last line of the previous paragraph is 4 lines

iv) Distance between a sub-tittle to its first line of the text is 2 linesv) Distance between two paragraphs is 2 linesvi) Begin the sub-tittle and its numbering from the left vii) Indent first line of the paragraph: 1.27 cm (0.5 in) from the left marginviii) Avoid “widow” and “orphan” situationix) Distance between the last line and the Table or Figure is 2 lines

2.9 Maximum LimitsMaximum pages for the main text:

# Undergraduate Reports ≤≤≤≤ 100 pages

# Undergraduate Reports ≤≤≤≤ 100 pages# Master’s Project Report/Dissertation/

Thesis ≤≤≤≤ 250 pages# Ph.D. Thesis/Dissertation ≤≤≤≤ 350 pages

These limits includeall figures, tables and appendices

TEXT CAN BE JUSTIFIED

2.10 Binding> Spiral (temporary) binding for examination purposes

a) Colour and Lettering of Thesis Cover

> After examination: permanent binding with “buckra m” cover

> Cover lettering: golden, size ≥≥≥≥ 18 points (Microsoft Word 6.0)

2.10 BindingThesis cover colour (Code):i) Ph.D. Thesis Maroon (567)ii) Master’s Thesis Brown (537)iii) Undergraduate Final Year Project:

a) Fac. Built Environment Purple (551)

a) Fac. Built Environment Purple (551)b) Fac. Civil Eng. Green (557)c) Fac. Geoinfo. Sci. & Eng. Light Blue (548)d) Fac. Electrical Eng. Yellow (520)e) Fac. Chemical & Natural Res. Eng. Black (585)f) Fac. Mech. Eng. Red (530)g) Fac. Education Sky Blue (562)h) Fac. Manag. & Human Res. Dev. New Blue (550)i) Fac. Science Light Green (531)j) Fac. Comp. Sci. & Info. System Red (532)

2.10 Binding (cont’d)

b) Front Cover - Lamp. V

# IN CAPITAL LETTERS:

TITTLE OF THE THESIS

NAME OF THE AUTHOR

UNIVERSITI TEKNOLOGI MALAYSIA

2.10 Binding (cont’d)

c) Back Bone – Lamp. W

NAME OF THE AUTHORNAME OF THE DEGREE (Short-Malay)YearUTM

MUST BE WRITTEN IN BAHASA MALAYSIA

Section IIIGuidelines on the Writing of References

3.1 References Formati) Author and year (Harvard) Systemii) Number System

3.2 Author and Year (Harvard) System3.2.1 Writing Reference in the Text

Use surname of the author:

a) “According to Paredis (1993) most of the various fields such as economic and engineering are categorised as constraints

optimization problems”.

b) “Therefore, research in the pursuit of solving problems related to constraints optimisation is now becoming more popular

(Paredis, 1993)”

3.2.1 Writing Reference in the Text (cont’d)

c) “Maintenance of scheduling has long been studied, an example of which is given in Kralj and Petrovic (1995)”

d) “Safaai et al. (1997) used this approach to solve the organisation’s staff scheduling requirements”

organisation’s staff scheduling requirements”

e) “ILOG Solver by Puget and Albert (1994a) is an example of software using constraints programming language”

f) “The use of an object in the artificial intelligent software development is very common (Puget and Albert, 1994b)”

3.2.2 List of References According to the Author and Year (Harvard) System –Lamp. X

> Sort into alphabetical order> Use chronological order for the same author(s)> Use extra notation (a, b, c, …) for the same author(s) and year

3.2.3 Name of the author(s)

Surname followed by initials: Magee R.J. (for Robert John Magee )

3.2.4 The Content and Format of a List of References

(i) Book

Author (Year). Title. Edition (if not the first). Placedpublished:

Author (Year). Title. Edition (if not the first). Placedpublished:Publisher.

Example:Theusen, G. J. and Fabrycky, W. J. (1984).Engineering

Economy. 6th ed. Englewood Cliffs, N. J.: Prentice-Hall.

(ii) Article in a book

Author of the article (Year). Title of the article. In: Authorof the book.Title of the book. Place published: Publisher. page.

Example:Hussein,S.B., Jamaluddin,H., Mailah,M. and

Zalzala,A.M.S. (2000). An Evolutionary Neural NetworkController for Intelligent Active Force Control. In: Parmee,I.C. ed. Evolutionary Design and Manufacturing. London:Springer-Verlag. 351 – 362.

(iii) Journal articles

Author (Year). Title of the article.Title of the Journal. Volume(Number): page.

(Number): page.

Example:Billings. S. A. (1980). Identification of Nonlinear Systems: A survey. Proc. IEE, Part D. 127(6): 272-284.

(iv) Conference articles

Author (Year). Title of the article.Name of the conference.Dateof theconference. Placepublished: Publisher,page.

Dateof theconference. Placepublished: Publisher,page.

Example:Sheta, A. F. and De Jong, K.(1996). Parameter Estimation of

Nonlinear Systems in Noisy Environments Using GeneticAlgorithms. Proceedings of the 1996 IEEE InternationalSymposium on Intelligent Control. September 15-18. Dearborn,Michigan: IEEE, 360-365.

(v) Thesis

Author (Year).Title of the thesis. Institution: Thesis award.

Example:Adnan bin Hassan (2002).On-line Recognition of Developing

Control Chart Patterns. Universiti Teknologi Malaysia: Ph.D.Thesis.

3.2.5 Types of Reference Materialsi) Bookii) Article in bookiii) Article in journaliv) Thesisv) Legal

v) Legalvi) Standardsvii) Patenviii) Business catalogueix) Measured and technical drawingx) Unpublished materialsxi) Personal communicationxii) Web site ?

3.3 Number System

3.3.1 Writing References in the Text

Every reference is numbered in Arabic:

If the name of the author is mentioned in the text, put the reference number in bracket ( ) or [ ] or superscript immediately and close to the name or at the end of the sentence.

3.3 Number System

3.3.1 Writing References in the TextEvery reference is numbered in Arabic:

“ According to Paredis (1) most of the scheduling problems such as in the areas

“ According to Paredis (1) most of the scheduling problems such as in the areas of economic and engineering are categorised as constraints optimisation.”

“According to Paredis most of the scheduling problems such as in the areas of economic and engineering are categorised as constraints optimisation [1].”

“According to Paredis1 most of the scheduling problems such as in the areas of economic and engineering are categorised as constraints optimisation.”

3.3.2 Guidelines on the Writing of List of References According to the Number System

References According to the Number System

Sort the list of references according to the order in which they are written first time in the text

3.4 References From Internet

> In principle, internet is used as a tool to search for a reference. Therefore, the original reference

for a reference. Therefore, the original reference must be quoted instead.

> Web site as a reference material is questionable due to its impermanence ?

Section IV

Section IVGuidelines on Writing Note and Footnote

4.1 General GuidelinesNote : additional information

footnote, final note etc. is not allowed in a thesis of Science and Engineering

A limited use of note and footnote is allowed in a thesis of humanity and social studies. It is used to clarify or to give an extra information about an item written in the text of the relevant page.

Footnote is numbered in Arabic and follow an order 1, 2, 3….

4.2 Writing a Footnote

» Name of the author is written in full

» Pause notation ( , ) or bracket ( ) is used to separate

» Pause notation ( , ) or bracket ( ) is used to separate the name of the author, the tittle and the publisher

» Font size is 2 points smaller than the text font size

4.2 Writing a Footnote:

10 Name of the author, “Tittle of the article.” publication information, year, page

Example:

10 Mary Duncan Carter, Wallace John Bonk, and Rose Mary Magrill, “Building Library Collection.” Fourth edition (Metuchen, N.J. : Scarecrow Press, 1974), pg 61 - 66.

Writing a List of Reference:

Name of the author (year). “Tittle of the Article.” publicat ion information. page number.

Example:

Carter M.D., Bonk, W.J. and Magrill, R.M. (1974). “Building Lib rary Collection.” 4th Edition. Metuchen, N.J.: Scarecrow Press. Pg 61 - 66.

Section V

Section VElectronic Thesis and Dissertation

DefinitionElectronic Theses and Dissertations or ETD is a documentwhich records results of research or scholarship of a graduatestudent. This document is prepared in a form that isaccessibleglobally through the Internet. ETD is the same as original

globally through the Internet. ETD is the same as originalpaper document which has been approved by a panel ofexaminers and the Senate.

Contents of ETD

An ETD consisted of two (2) files, namely pre-access file and

full text file.

Pre-access FilePre-access file is a file that contains information about theauthor, the panel of examiners and a brief contents of thethesis. By reading this file, a reader will be able to assess therelevance of the document to the reader’s research interest.If a reader wishes to accessthe whole thesis, the reader

If a reader wishes to accessthe whole thesis, the readershould contact the librarian for the full text file

Contents of pre-access file

ALL preliminary pages and the first ten pages of Chapter 1

Full Text File• all contents of the thesis that has been approved by the

Senate.• includes all preliminary pages, main contents of the

thesisand all appendices

thesisand all appendices• Writing style as the original bind hardcopy• All these pages are saved into one (1) file.

Preparation Guidelinei. The electronic version must be the same as the final

bound thesis as approved by the Senate;

ii. Convert the thesis into PDF format. Use the latest version of Adobe Acrobat PDFMaker. Do not set

version of Adobe Acrobat PDFMaker. Do not set Document Security.

iii. All pages which contain signatures of student and supervisor must be scanned.

iv. If the status of a thesis is CONFIDENTIAL or RESTRICTRED, electronic version is still required but must be properly indicated in the Thesis Status Declaration form.

v. v. Two files must be generated. The first file is for the purpose of pre-access that will be make accessible to public.

purpose of pre-access that will be make accessible to public. The second file contains the whole thesis which has been approved. The files are named as follows:

<name><matrixno><tt><ss><c>.pdf

vi. If the status of a thesis is CONFIDENTIAL or RESTRICTED, the pre-access file will contain only information that can be distributed. A full text file is still required but it is only for archive.

vii. ETD must be submitted using high quality CD. Proper

vii. ETD must be submitted using high quality CD. Proper conversion according to this guideline must be verified by the student and witnessed by the supervisor before submitted to SPS.

viii. Two (2) CD’s with three (3) copies of bind thesis must be submitted to SPS together with ETD verification form. Example of ETD verification form is shown in

Appendix Z.

FILE NAMING<name><matrixno><tt><ss><c>.pdf

Code description<name> = student’s first name<matrixno> is the student’s matrix card number is the university where the thesiswassubmitted

is the university where the thesiswassubmittedD – UTM, L – other than UTM

<tt> is the year approved<ss> is the thesis status

SU – confidential, TH – limited, TT – unlimited<c> is the file type

P – pre-access fileT – full texts file

Example:Wan Ahmad Nazri bin Wan Abdullah, a master’s student at FKM,UTM. His matrix card number is mm100123. The thesis is declaredrestricted. His thesis was approved in the year 2002.Therefore:

<name>= wanahmadnazri

<name>= wanahmadnazri<matrixno> = mm100123 = d<tt> = 02<ss> = th

The files are named as follows:wanahmadnazrimm100123d02thp.pdf (pre-access file)wanahmadnazrimm100123d02tht.pdf (full texts file)

Thesis Format Prof. Hishamuddin 01

tmniversiti teknologi malaysia

building library collection

etd verification form

full text file

constraints optimisation

scheduling problems

nonlinear systems

electronic version

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