Final Year Project Requirements Department of Surveying LKC FES, - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Final Year Project Requirements

Department of Surveying LKC FES, UTAR

Tasks and Deadlines

• 1. Find a topic and get a supervisor

Note: Submit “NEW FYP Title Registration Form” to basket outside room FE (5) Zone 2, 8th Flr (Make a copy for yourself + supervisor) * Write ‘May 2016’ or ‘Jan 2017’ on top right corner of the form (your trimester of FYP1) ** Pls get signature on both sides of form

This semester - Week 13

IMPORTANT: MUST READ! **You must take FYP1 and FYP2 in two consecutive long trimester (Jan + May, or May + Jan), internship is not allowed in between FYP1 and FYP2. **Also,internship is not allowed during the last trimester of your study.

• 2. Project I

Note: “Record of Supervision/Meeting” (Appendix F)

Final Year S1 – Week 10

• 3. Project II

Note: Fill in and update the “Record of Supervision/Meeting” *Overall similarity index is 20% and below for Turnitin

Final Year S2 – Week 12 Moderator

Project I and Project II

Contents Length Mark Project I (a) Introduction 4000 words (±5%) 20%

(Report + General Effort)

(b) Preliminary literature review (c) Research methodology Project II (a) Abstract, Introduction & Literature review 10000 words (±10%) 80%

(Report + General Effort + Oral)

(b) Research methodology (c) Surveys/ interviews/fieldwork results (d) Analysis and discussion (e) Conclusion and recommendation Only Guideline

NEW

FYP Website:

 http://fes.utar.edu.my/current-students/fyp/specific- department-information/fyp-information-for- department-of-surveying/

• 1. Supervisor’s Comments on Originality

Report Generated by Turnitin

• 2. Monitoring and Counselling Form
• 3. Lab Declaration Form
• 4. Return of marked report (FYP1) and (FYP2)

to supervisor

• 5. Submission Venue: Lab
• 6. FYP Poster Competition

Find a topic and get a supervisor

 Subject Areas  Research Topic

Note: Need to fill out the “Project Definition Document”. See Appendix G.

Subject Areas

A subject area consists of a broad range of possible issues (e.g. a module)

– E.g. Procurement Systems in Malaysia

A subject area is usually much too large to be taken as a topic in itself.

Research Topic

The research topic is a specific area within a particular subject. Title of research usually directly announces its topic.

Note: See Attachment 1 for the list of proposed topics and areas of interest of lecturers

Subject and topic

Topic

Subject Area

Identifying Research Topic

 Student needs to explore and discuss with the teaching staff on his/her intended research area of study on the semester before the commencement of Project I.  The student may identify an area of his/her own or select a potential topic from the Project List. the student may then approach the teaching staff to discuss whether the area of study or potential title could be pursued further.  As a general guide, students may refer to the journal and conference articles in order to identify potential topics for their research. Book titles are generally NOT suitable to be used as a research topic!

Identifying Research Topic

 Journals relevant to the built environment research include:

 Construction Management and Economics (CME)  Construction Innovation  Automation in Construction  Information Technology in Construction  Engineering, Construction and Architectural Engineering  Building research and Information … And many more at http://library.utar.edu.my/, and the

click on the “online journals” link.

Confirmation Of Project Title & Supervisor

 If the student and the teaching staff are in agreement with the topic and the teaching staff is willing to act as the supervisor for the student's research, students must prepare and submit a two-page Project Definition Document (Appendix B in Project Guideline - DS) and get it approved by their supervisor before they can officially start to work on their final year project.  A lecturer will become a particular student’s supervisor after signing the PDD. Students are required to specify in the Project Definition Document their own project title, aim, objectives, outline of methodology, anticipated

• utcomes, proposed structure of report, resources and

the programme of work.

Confirmation Of Project Title & Supervisor

 PDD serves as a master plan for both the students and supervisors to refer to from time to time in

• rder to plan the steps in conducting the

research, for deciding on the detailed contents

• f the report and monitoring the progress. This is

critical for ensuring that students can submit a report that meets the rigorous academic standards within the time constraint.  Can the project title, aim, objectives, etc. to be changed later? This is dependent on your supervisor.

Supervisor’s expectation

 Students should treat the supervisor with respect.  The students will take responsibility for their own Project Reports. It must be remembered that it is the students who are being examined, not the supervisors.  Students are to arrange and attend all meetings. This can be on a fixed schedule, to be sorted out between the student and supervisor, to suit both parties. In the case where the student cannot attend a meeting, he/she should provide at least 24 hours notice to the supervisor concerned.  There should be at least four such meetings between the students and their supervisor for Projects I and II respectively. However, individual supervisor may specify different minimum number of meetings for students as appropriate.  Students should undertake all readings requested prior to meetings.

Supervisor’s expectation

 Students should attend meetings with writing and note-taking equipment, together with a file containing all previous work done and comments made.  Students will report on their progress and brief the supervisor on the work done at each meeting and receive advice from supervisor.  Students must keep a “Record of Supervision/Meeting” on the meetings with their supervisors. See Appendix F in the FYP Guidelines  The supervisor may look at outlines of work but will not read drafts.  Students will not expect supervisors to correct grammar.  Once a Project Supervisor is confirmed, it is the student’s responsibility to make and continue regular contact with the supervisor.

Supervisor’s expectation

 Students will set their own directions. The supervisor’s role is to help the student achieve their objectives and ensure that the Project Report belongs to the student. However, the supervisor may require an alteration in the direction or objectives of the Project Report as necessary.  Other than the arranged schedule, students will only contact the supervisor on substantive issues, after having exhausted other avenues to rectify their queries.  Students may present outlines (headings/sub-headings etc.) and drafts of chapters may be discussed during supervision time.

Supervisor’s expectation

 Students must recognize that the supervisor’s support will primarily be concerned with the process, i.e. how the Project Report is to be undertaken, rather than the correctness and detailed content of the Project Report which may fall outside the supervisor’s area of subject expertise.  Students should forward questions of a significant nature to the supervisor 24 hours prior to a meeting. The questions can be forwarded via e-mails or written notes deposited in the supervisor’s pigeon- holes.

Contact With Supervisor

 Once a Project Supervisor is confirmed, it is the student’s responsibility to make and continue regular contact with the supervisor.  It is essential for the students to maintain regular contact with their supervisors. Regular contact helps to ensure that the supervisor is better aware of the student’s progress and the sources of materials as the Project Report develops. Students should be aware that any Project Report which is produced with minimal or zero contact with supervisor will inevitably be scrutinized with extra care with respect to the origin of the work, and they may be referred to the Project Report Coordination Committee for recommendation for viva sessions (as per Item 3.3)

Format of Report

 Cover  Title page  Certificate of Originality  Abstract  Acknowledgements  Contents  Introduction  Literature review  Research methodology  Findings and Discussions  Conclusions and Recommendations  Appendices

Introduction (1)

 This chapter introduces the reader to the area being investigated. In general, the introduction chapter may be composed of five sections, these are:  The first section starts with a general introduction or description of past research which is relevant to the problems or issues. This section contain also a section normally entitled “Rationale for the research” that informs the reader about the problems or issues which are to be investigated in the study, why they are of interest and what the study aims to establish.  Note: Refer to the Chapter 9 of Naoum’s book.

Introduction (2)

 The second section outlines the aim and

• bjectives of the research

 The third section should briefly describe the research method/strategy used to achieve the aim and objectives of the research.  This chapter should also highlight the scope and limitation of the research.  The final part of the introduction tells the reader about the chapters of the report. It tells the reader how the topics will be unfolded and the

• rder of forthcoming material. This part may be

entitled “Report Layout and Contents”.

Literature Review

 The literature review should not be just a compilation/reproduction of the works of

• thers. It requires the student to examine

and comment critically on the literature relevant to the student’s area of research.  Usually a review of half a dozen of the most important works of others with brief comments on a few other less important

• nes will be sufficient.

Turnitin

Research Methodology

 The student must clearly and coherently describe the method he/she has adopted in the carrying out of the research.  The approach that a student take depends on what he/she wants to investigate and what he/she tries to achieve.

Findings and analysis

Data collection

Data can be collected using various methods: survey questionnaires, field

• bservations, experiments, interviews
• r even secondary data from works
• f other researchers.

The choice of a data collection method, or a combination of methods, to be used depends very much on the research methodology adopted by the student.

Findings and analysis

Data Analysis

 Data analysis can take either the quantitative or qualitative approach, again depending on the research methodology and the resulting data typology.  Textual data lends itself easily to qualitative analysis, whereas interval data and ratio data are best analysed using quantitative methods.

Conclusions and Recommendations

This chapter brings together the findings of the research and draws conclusions with specific reference to the research

• bjectives.

It should also mention the recommendations for further research.

Appendices

 Where such material would be inconvenient to include in the text itself, it can be included in as an appendix.  Appendices are labeled alphabetically. The “Record

• f Supervision/Meeting” should be attached as an

appendix.

Writing Style

 The level of writing must be appropriate to the level of the Bachelor’s degree.  It is the student’s responsibility to edit the text for typing errors and uncover all spelling errors..  Normally, there should be no first person references (e.g., I, we, us) in the report. If self-reference is required, reference may be made to “the author” or “this study”. The exception to this is in the conclusion section, where personal comments may be appropriate.

Method of Referencing

 For the sake of uniformity, the Harvard Referencing System shall be used.  Please refer to the sample from UTAR’s library (Refer to the guideline uploaded)

Plagiarism

 Plagiarism is academically unacceptable, and the University views this offense very seriously. Plagiarism can be in one or a combination of the following forms:

(i) Presenting someone else’s work as your own; (ii) Copying, in parts or whole, of another person’s work; (iii) Failure to acknowledge quotations, phrases, ideas or information from published sources.

Viva (only for FYP2) – Week 14/15

 Viva sessions will be conducted on students to provide a way through which the University will be able to ascertain if a piece of work had been plagiarized from other sources.  All the students will be participated for the viva sessions

Assessment Method

Elements of Assessment Benchmark Final Year Project subject matter A topic in construction related areas (including business, management, technology, contract or economics) Research

• bjectives

Clearly defined objectives relating to the topic and based upon the literature in the field Research methodology Must demonstrate an awareness of different research methodologies and must justify, explain, select and recognize the limitations of the strategy chosen. Must explain the practical details of the conduct of the research. Primary research may or may not be conducted. Students may undertake primary research (quantitative or qualitative etc.) or they will need to undertake some re- analysis of existing material (e.g. quantitative – financial data, budgets, trade statistics, or qualitative – minutes of meetings, use of diaries and other archival materials etc.)

Assessment Method

Literature review Discussion of relevant literature critical review explanation of role of the literature in the research References An adequate range and number of journal articles and books are to be used/cited. Data Analysis Application of relevant literature review and theory to the data gathered to gain understanding. Discussion of the data in relation to the theories. Displays competence in the subject matter and related theory. Use of appropriate quantitative/qualitative techniques at a simple level.

Assessment Method

Conclusions and Recommendations Conclusions are drawn from the analysis and supported by the data. Conclusions are related to relevant prior research. Recognition of need for further research

Recommended reading list

 Naoum, S.G. (1997), Dissertation Research and Writing for Construction Students, Architectural Press.  Fellows, R. and Liu, A. (2003) Research Methods for Construction, Blackwell Science.  Sharp, J.A, Peters, J. and Howard, K. (2002), The Management of a Student Research Project (3rd Ed), Gower Publishing Ltd.  Creswell, J. (2002) Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods Approaches: Qualitative, Quantitative and Mixed Method Approaches, Sage Publications.  Richardson S., et al. (2005) How to Research: A Guide for Undergraduate & Graduate Students, Thomson.  Jackson S.L. (2003) Research Methods and Statistics: A Critical Thinking Approach, Thomson Wadsworth.  Guidelines on the writing and supervision of Final year project report, UTAR. http://www.utar.edu.my/fes/index.jsp?fcatid=74&fcontentid=190&f 2ndcontentid=807

For further information:

 http://fes.utar.edu.my/current-students/fyp/specific- department-information/fyp-information-for- department-of-surveying/  WBLE of Project