GUIDELINES FOR PREPARING FINAL YEAR PROJECT PROPOSAL

Prepared by

The Special Committee on Improvement of Guideline on Writing Proposal/Report for STF3012/STF3014

Faculty of Resource Science and Technology Universiti Malaysia Sarawak

17 January 2008
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INTRODUCTION The Final Year Project 1 (STF 3012) constitutes the proposal and preliminary (progress) components of the full final year project undertaken by final year students during the first semester of the final year. The proposal document describes the proposed intention and justification of the project, and generally includes the problem statement, objectives, literature background, proposed methodology and timeline. CONTENT OF THE PROPOSAL The sections and their allocated evaluation marks (in percentage) are as follows: 1. Title and Front Cover (refer to Appendix A). 2. Table of Content 3. List of Abbreviations 4. List of Tables and Figures 5. Summary (10%) 6. Introduction (20%) 7. Literature Review (20%) 8. Materials and Methods (30%) 9. Expected Outcomes (6%) 10. Work Schedule (4%) 11. References (10%) Table of Content All sections and their sub-sections (hence, the headings and sub-headings) should be listed appropriately with their associated page numbers. Arabic numeral (1, 2, and 3) for page numbers should begin from the Introduction Section. Roman numeral (I, II, and III) for page numbers is to be used for Title and Front Cover, Table of Contents, List of Abbreviation and List of Tables and Figures pages. Refer to Appendix C. Summary The summary section should provide a brief outline of proposed intention for the study and should contain the problem statement, main aim, general methodology (approach), expected outcomes and their key implications. This section should not exceed 250 words, and do not require any sub-sectioning. It should comprise only one (1) paragraph of text. Introduction The main items that should be included in this section are the research background, problem statement, and the proposed objectives. The research background should be relevant and focused on the problem statement. Whenever and wherever information is taken or adapted from literature, the source must be cited. In-text citation based on appropriate and standard referencing system should be used (refer to Paragraph 2 of the Literature Review Section). The proposed objectives must be specific and seek to address the research question. The Introduction Section should not exceed 2 pages of written text. This section should not have any sub-section.

Literature Review This section should be devoted to reviewing literatures related to the study. The literature reviewed should be relevant and specific to the proposed study. Students should use this section to strengthen the background of the study so that readers will have adequate knowledge to properly understand the research proposal. This can include a review on the taxonomy, methodology, current state of the knowledge, and gaps in the knowledge. This section should have sub-sections, of which should have sub-headings. Only figures/diagrams, tables or charts (if any) that are directly relevant to the main body of text can be included in this section. Extra figures/diagrams, tables, or chart should be included as appendices. In writing this section, students are advised to include the latest literature relevant to their studies. Except for direct quotations, all statements (or arguments) taken from literature must be paraphrased; and quotations and statements taken/adapted from literature must have proper citation of the source. In referring to sources of literature, in-text citations should be included in the main body of text whenever necessary. In-text citation should follow the APA, MLA or Harvard Referencing system, that is, last name followed by year. Students should avoid using the numbering system. Refer to the example below: A research proposal should represent a research document that explains the intention and rationale of the proposed study (Smith, 1970). According to Jefferson and Wayne (1979), for most types of research study, it is sufficient to have only one research question for each research proposal. However, studies have shown that the complexity of most disciplines today may warrant the need for more that one research question in a single study (Simms et al., 1982). Based on the UNIMAS Academic Regulation for Undergraduate Studies (Item 11.1), plagiarism is defined as any effort/work (including course assignment and final year project proposal/report) that directly reproduces the published work of others without adequate acknowledgement. It also includes direct adaptation or copying of sentences from any reference without citing the source. Plagiarism is an act of academic dishonesty. Perpetrators can be subjected to disciplinary action [Item 11.1, UNIMAS Academic Regulation (Undergraduate Studies)]. Materials and Methods This section should provide a comprehensive description of the materials and methodologies proposed for the study. It should be written using present and future tenses, although still in passive voice style. If the method proposed follows a standard or established protocol (procedures), the name of the method and the source (inventor) should be included. For example: The simultaneous and quantitative analysis of endogenous expression will be carried out using the SAGE assay (Kinzler and Vogelstein, 1990). Subsequently, comparative profiles will be analyzed using the MATCTM Software (Version 1.0.2, Techsource, USA) which is based on the Spearman-Longines Matrix Algorithm (Spearman et al., 1989). Additionally, the Q-Test (Lang, 1995) will be performed for statistical validation of the differential profile among samples.

Sub-sections can be used to demarcate different parts of the methodology, for example, field method, laboratory work, and statistical analysis. Expected Outcomes This section describes the suspected (hypothetical) knowledge contribution of the intended study. It should not be confused with the typical results of established protocols/methodology. For example, students should not state that the use of mist nets will allow them to catch birds and bats, or that electrophoretic separation of DNA fragments will be achieved using the Agarose Gel Electrophoresis system, or that the HPLC assay of chemical extracts will allow them to identify the nature of the compounds therein and claim these statements as expected outcomes of the study. Expected outcomes must be scientific conjectures based on logical and systematic inferences from established facts. In addition, they must be coherent to the research question and hypothesis of the proposed study. Work Schedule The work schedule illustrates the proposed timeline of work associated with the proposed study, and should be in the form of a Gantt chart. Although proposed action plans may change according to progress of study, a logical timeline of work should be outlined. The process of literature search cannot be included as part of the action plan, and should not be in the Gantt chart. Refer to Appendix B for a typical example of a work schedule. References All references cited in the text should be recorded. Statements or methods by previous researchers whose authenticity have been acknowledged must be cited. Generally, each reference should contain the following items: 1. Authors name 2. The publication year of the article 3. Title of the article 4. Name of the journal 5. Volume and page Examples of listing references based on the American Psychological Association (APA) format are as follows: Epperson, B. K., & Walter, R. (2001). Geographic pattern of genetic variation in Pinus resinosa: Area of greatest diversity is not the origin of postglacial populations. Molecular Ecology, 10 (1), 103-111. Jia, B. H., Li, J. F., & Gu, M. (2007). Two-photon polymerization for three-dimensional photonic devices in polymers and nanocomposites. Australian Journal of Chemistry, 60 (7), 484-495. Bergeron, B. (2002). Bioinformatics computing. New Jersey, USA: Pearson Education Inc. and Prentice Hall. Ipor, I. B., Tawan, C. S., Ismail, J., & Bojo, D. (1998). Floristic compositions and structures of forest at Bario Highlands, Sarawak. In G. Ismail, & L. Din (Eds.), A scientific journey 4

through Borneo: Bario, the Kelabit Highland of Sarawak (pp. 113-132). Kuching, Malaysia: Pelanduk Publication. Nyanti, L., Ismail, N., & Lo, M. L. K. F. (2005). Fish, crustacean and cephalopod fauna and their fisheries of the Paloh mangrove, Rajang Estuary, Sarawak. In A. A. Tuen & I. Das (Eds.), Wallace in Sarawak 150 years later. Proceedings of an International Conference on Biogeography and Biodiversity, July 13-15, (pp. 162-177). Kota Samarahan, Malaysia: Institute of Biodiversity and Environmental Conservation, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak. Myers, M. P., Yang, J., & Stampe, P. (1999, December). Visualization and functional analysis of a maxi-K channel (mSlo) fused to green fluorescent protein (GFP). Electronic Journal of Biotechnology, 2 (3). Retrieved March 21, 2000, from http://www.ejbiotechnology.info/content/vol2/issue3/full/3/index.html Bryant, P. (1999). Biodiversity and conservation. Retrieved October 4, 1999, from http://darwin.bio.uci.edu/~sustain/bio65/Titlpage.html U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. (2007). Laws and regulations. Retrieved July 24, 2007, from http://www.epa.gov/epahome/lawregs.html Every student should refer to their supervisor for a specific style/format that is required in the field/department (or is preferred by the supervisor). The 3 common styles used for Science and Technology are the APA, MLA and Harvard Referencing systems. For consistency, only one (1) system/style should be used for each proposal. A combination of different referencing and citation styles in each proposal document should be avoided. This means that a proposal cannot have APA style for in-text citation while conforming to Harvard Referencing style in the bibliography. Students are also advised not to use the numbering system. There is no limit on the number of references used, but web-based (internet/online) information sources should not exceed 5% of total references used. If internet information is used, it must be from valid sources (eg. government agencies, and accredited academic and research institutions). Reference from internet sources must include the retrieval date and URL address, and a hardcopy of the first page to the webpage should be attached as appendix. Online articles from refereed journals (usually also available in printed version) is considered as valid literature/report source and should be listed according to normal journal paper format. Reports from previous final year projects can be considered as published reports and can be cited and listed as book reference. This applies to reports from approved Masters and Doctoral theses also. However, information from documents, data, or reports that cannot be assessed by the public is considered as unpublished data and should be cited as personal communication (or unpublished data).

FORMAT OF THE FINAL YEAR PROJECT PROPOSAL 1. Language: The proposal should be written in English. 2. Margin (A4 size papers: 80 gram) for all pages. The top, bottom, and right margins should be 25 mm wide The left margin should be 30 mm wide 3. Line spacing should be double (except for Title and Summary page). This applies also to footnotes, lengthy quotations, appendices, and headings and sub-headings. However, legends and captions for tables and figures, and list of references should be single spacing. 4. The font type and size for the main body of text should be Times New Roman, size 12. Headings and sub-headings should be highlighted in bold. Headings should also be in Title format (with lower case for conjunctions). Students are advised not to use the chapter system, but should adhere to the section and sub-section system. 5. Tables and figures are only allowed if they support and aid readers in the understanding of the proposal. They should not contain detailed data or extensive amount of raw data. Table and figures with detailed or extensive amount of raw data should be included as appendices. All tables and figures provided should be referred to in the main body of text of the relevant sections (or sub-sections). For tables, a caption should be written at the top of the table while for figures a caption should be written at the bottom of the figure. The caption should be brief and should reflect the content. The font type and size for legends and captions of tables and figures should be Times New Roman, size 10. Tables and figures should be positioned in the main text using insertion or paste. If the tables and figures are taken or adapted from others, the appropriate reference sources should be cited. 6. All text should be in full alignment (justified alignment). For format of cover page (title and summary), refer to Appendix A. The UNIMAS logo is not required on this page. 7. Each proposal document should be between 10 12 pages (excluding appendices). Page numbers should be printed 25 mm from bottom edge and placed in the centre. 8. Printing quality - hardcopy of the proposal should be printed using laser printer.

PROPOSAL SUBMISSION AND EVALUATION

The proposal document should be typed using MS word (one page per sheet). At least two (2) copies (hard copy) of draft proposal should be submitted to the Programme Coordinator for the purpose of evaluation. The draft proposal for each student will be evaluation by the supervisor and at least one examiner (a lecturer other than the supervisor or co-supervisor). This should be carried out before the oral presentation session for proposal. The corrected and final version of the proposal (in stapler-bound form) should be submitted one (1) week after the oral presentation. One (1) copy (hard copy) of this written proposal should be distributed to each of the following person: 1. Programme Coordinator, 2. Supervisor, and 3. Co-supervisor (if any).

Appendix A: Example of the Title and Front Cover page

Title of Final Year Project Proposal (Times New Roman, Bold 12, Centre, Title format with lower case for conjunctions) Students name (Times New Roman, Bold 12, Centre)

A project proposal submitted in partial fulfilment of the Final Year Project 1 (STF 3012) course (Times New Roman, Normal 12, Centre)

Supervisor: Name of supervisor (Times New Roman, Bold 12, Centre)

Name of Programme (Times New Roman, Normal 9, Centre) Name of Department (Times New Roman, Normal 9, Centre) Faculty of Resource Science and Technology (Times New Roman, Normal 9, Centre) Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (Times New Roman, Normal 9, Centre)

Date (dd/mm/yy)

Appendix B: Example of a Gantt chart on work schedule.

Project Activities Data collection Proposal writing and presentation Benchwork and sample processing Progress report Data analysis Data validation: Statistical analysis Report writing and presentation Jul

2007 2008 Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May

Appendix C: Example of the Table of Contents page Table of Contents Title & Front Cover .... Table of Contents ... List of Abbreviations . List of Tables and Figures .. Summary .... Introduction Literature Review ... Heading 1 ... Sub-heading 1 . Sub-heading 2 . Heading 2 ... Sub-heading 1 . Sub-heading 2 . Heading 3 ... Sub-heading 1 . Sub-heading 2 . Materials and Method Heading 1 ... Sub-heading 1 . Heading 2 ... Sub-heading 1 . Sub-heading 2 . Heading 3 ... Sub-heading 1 . Sub-heading 2 . Sub-heading 3 . Expected Outcome . Work Schedule ... References .. I II III IV 1 2 4 4 4 6 8 8 11 13 13 16 18 18 18 21 23 25 27 27 28 29 30 31 32

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