Please Discuss the Final Thesis Title with Your Supervisor

1

ACCURATE AND CONCISE TITLE

(Please discuss the final thesis title with your supervisor)

NAME OF STUDENT

A report submitted in partial fulfilment of the

requirements for the award of the degree of

(refer to the UTM Thesis Manual 2007)

Name of the Faculty

UniversitiTeknologi Malaysia

MONTH AND YEAR OF VIVA

TABLE OF CONTENTS

CHAPTER / TITLE / PAGE
DECLARATION / i
DEDICATION / ii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS / iii
ABSTRACT / iv
ABSTRAK / v
TABLE OF CONTENTS / vi
LIST OF TABLES / vii
LIST OF FIGURES / viii
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS / ix
LIST OF SYMBOLS / x
LIST OF APPENDICES / xi
1 / INTRODUCTION / 1
1.1 / Background of the Problem / 1
1.2 / Statement of the Problem / 2
1.3 / Objectives of the Study / 3
1.4 / Scope of the Study / 4
1.5 / Significance of the Study / 5
2 / LITERATURE REVIEW / 6
2.1 / Literature 1 / 6
2.2 / Literature 2 / 7
2.2.1 Literature 2.1 / 8
2.2.2 Literature 2.2 / 9
2.3 / Literature 3 / 10
2.4 / Literature 4 / 11
3 / RESEARCH METHODOLOGY / 12
3.1 / Research Design and Procedure / 12
3.2 / Operational Framework / 13
3.3 / Subjects or Data Sources / 14
3.4 / Instrumentation and Data Analysis / 15
3.5 / Assumptions and Limitations / 16
3.6 / Research Planning and Schedule (Gantt Chart) / 17
4 / EXPECTED FINDINGS / 18
4.1 / Expected Findings / 18
REFERENCES / 19
Appendices A - C / 20

CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

1.1Background of the Problem

General background of the investigated problems may include introduction of the research study and its impact to the fundamental and practices of the key concepts. Students are advice to keep the writing style and format consistent throughout the thesis. They should use either UK English or US English.

Students are encouraged to use Academic Phrasebank as a general resource for academic writing. The resource can be found at aims to provide some examples phraseological "nuts and bolts" of writing. This website is useful for international students whose English is not their first language. Many phrases in the website could assist students to think and write their ideas appropriately. The examples of phrases also may help students avoid plagiarism and enhanced their scientific writing skills. However, students need to be aware that these phrasebankis not discipline specific, and it does not claim to be comprehensive.

1.2Statement of the Problem

This subsection should consist of thesis statement (statement of issues), identified solutions, 5Ws (what, who when, where and why) the problems occurs, vision of your study and concluding remarks of the problems.

The statement should begin with clear description of the issues including vision, issue statement and method used to solve the problem.

The description then followed by the 5Ws of the problems that comprises words to keep the effort focused, represent solvable problems.

For problem statement, one should use words such as identify, define, relate, describe, review, justify, indicate, formulate, explain, compare, contrast, suggest, interpret, analyze, assess, construct, apply, demonstrate, illustrate, categorize, deduce, create, resolve, debate, propose, differentiate, argue, derive, design, evaluate, establish, conceptualize, suggest, integrate, compile, develop, challenge, consolidate, clarify, criticize, ascertain, appraise, calculate, recommend. These words show some examples of good outcomes based verb. Verbs such as understand, explore, investigate, examine and discuss are poor verbsas they describe processes, not outcomes. It is not convincing when discuss something endlessly withoutever having to make recommendations, draw conclusions or offer a result. Students might be exploring, examining or discussing as part of the process, butthey cannot be the end result of the research, which should bemore tangible.

In some cases the postgraduate students are required to formulate their hypothesis in the problem statement section. For that case, the following discussion will emphasize the fundamental of hypothesis.

1.2.1What is Hypothesis?

In Douthwaite(2005, June 2), the hypothesis can be defined as ‘a reasonable scientific proposal’. It is not a statement of fact, but a statement that takes us beyond the known facts and logically anticipates the substance of new knowledge. The hypothesis has two essential elements: it must be based on the known facts and it must be testable. The first criterion can be checked by reading the literature and talking with your supervisor; the second criterion is fulfilled by your experiments.

If the thesis work is based on several sets of experiments, with each set leading to a separate manuscript (and most thesis are like this), then each of these sets of experiments with need its own specific hypothesis. These specific hypotheses should be unified by a single general hypothesis that can be defined in a single sentence. The general hypothesis is the guide-line through the thesis writing. It will probably take students to several attempts to formulate it successfully (and when students have clarified this, they will probably wish that they had done so four years ago). If students cannot formulate a general hypothesis that defines the purpose of their thesis work, then they can always take solace in the fact that there are many other careers to choose from outside science.

The general hypothesis can be included in the summary at the beginning of the thesis. Students do not necessarily have to include it here, but it should at least be prominent in their mind (and preferably hanging above desk where it can be seen) when writing the sections of thesis. They should ask themselves when writing whether what they are putting onto paper is relevant to testing the general hypothesis (or in the case of each manuscript, whether the material is relevant to the manuscript’s specific hypothesis). If the material is not relevant, consider leaving it out. If you cannot leave the material out, consider reformulating your hypothesis.

In real experiments, real hypotheses should be written before the actual experiment (Access Excellence @ the National Health Museum, 2010). The following explanation may answer some questions on what is the hypotheses all about.

What is a Real Hypothesis?

A hypothesis is a tentative statement that proposes a possible explanation to some phenomenon or event. A useful hypothesis is a testable statement which may include a prediction. A hypotheses should not be confused with a theory. Theories are general explanations based on a large amount of data. For example, the theory of evolution applies to all living things and is based on wide range of observations. However, there are many things about evolution that are not fully understood such as gaps in the fossil record. Many hypotheses have been proposed and tested.

When are Hypotheses Used?

The key word is testable. That is, you will perform a test of how two variables might be related. This is when you are doing a real experiment. You are testing variables. Usually, a hypothesis is based on some previous observation such as noticing that in November many trees undergo color changes in their leaves and the average daily temperatures are dropping. Are these two events connected? How?Any laboratory procedure you follow without a hypothesis is really not an experiment. It is just an exercise or demonstration of what is already known.

How are Hypotheses Written?

(1)Chocolate may cause pimples.

(2)Salt in soil may affect plant growth.

(3)Plant growth may be affected by the color of the light.

(4)Bacterial growth may be affected by temperature.

(5)Ultra violet light may cause skin cancer.

(6)Temperature may cause leaves to change color.

All of these are examples of hypotheses because they use the tentative word “may”. However, their form is not particularly useful. Using the word “may” does not suggest how you would go about proving it. If these statements had not been written carefully, they may not have even been hypotheses at all. For example, if we say "Trees will change color when it gets cold" we are making a prediction. Or if we write, "Ultraviolet light causes skin cancer" could be a conclusion. One way to prevent making such easy mistakes is to formalize the form of the hypothesis.

Examples of Formalized Hypotheses

If skin cancer is related to ultraviolet light, then people with a high exposure to uv light will have a higher frequency of skin cancer.

If leaf color change is related to temperature, then exposing plants to low temperatures will result in changes in leaf color.

Notice that these statements contain the words, if and then. They are necessary in a formalized hypothesis. But not all if-then statements are hypotheses. For example, "If I play the lottery, then I will get rich." This is a simple prediction. In a formalized hypothesis, a tentative relationship is stated. For example, if the frequency of winning is related to frequency of buying lottery tickets. "Then" is followed by a prediction of what will happen if you increase or decrease the frequency of buying lottery tickets. If you always ask yourself that if one thing is related to another, then you should be able to test it.

Formalized hypotheses contain two variables. One is "independent" and the other is "dependent." The independent variable is the one you, the "scientist" control and the dependent variable is the one that you observe and/or measure the results. In the statements above the dependent variable is blue and the independent variable is red. The ultimate value of a formalized hypothesis is it forces us to think about what results we should look for in an experiment(Ed 603 - Lesson 6 - Formulation and statement of a research hypothesis).

According to Gay (1996, page 61), a hypothesis is a tentative explanation for certain behaviors, phenomena, or events that have occurred or will occur.

(1)The hypothesis states the researcher's expectations concerning the relationship between the variables in the research problem.

(2)The hypothesis is a refinement of the research problem. It is the most specific statement of the problem.

(3)The hypothesis states what the researcher thinks the outcome of the study will be.

(4)The researcher collects data that either supports the hypothesis or does not support it.

(5)The hypothesis is formulated following the review of related literature and prior to the execution of the study. The related literature leads the researcher to expect a certain relationship.

(6)"A good hypothesis states as clearly and concisely as possible the expected relationship (or differencce) between two variables and defines those variables in operational, measurable terms." (Gay 1996, page 62).

(7)"A well-stated and defined hypothesis must be (and will be if well-formulated and stated) testable. It should be possible to support or not support the hypothesis by collecting and analyzing data." (Gay, 1996, page 62).

Helmenstine(2010) says that words have precise meanings in science. For example, 'theory', 'law', and 'hypothesis' don't all mean the same thing. Outside of science, you might say something is 'just a theory', meaning it's supposition that may or may not be true. In science, a theory is an explanation that generally is accepted to be true. Here's a closer look at these important, commonly misused terms.

Table 1.1 Description of hypothesis, theory and law

Hypothesis / Theory / Law
A hypothesis is an educated guess, based on observation. Usually, a hypothesis can be supported or refuted through experimentation or more observation. A hypothesis can be disproven, but not proven to be true.
Example: If you see no difference in the cleaning ability of various laundry detergents, you might hypothesize that cleaning effectiveness is not affected by which detergent you use. You can see this hypothesis can be disproven if a stain is removed by one detergent and not another. On the other hand, you cannot prove the hypothesis. Even if you never see a difference in the cleanliness of your clothes after trying a thousand detergents, there might be one you haven't tried that could be different. / A scientific theory summarizes a hypothesis or group of hypotheses that have been supported with repeated testing. A theory is valid as long as there is no evidence to dispute it. Therefore, theories can be disproven. Basically, if evidence accumulates to support a hypothesis, then the hypothesis can become accepted as a good explanation of a phenomenon. One definition of a theory is to say it's an accepted hypothesis.
Example: It is known that on June 30, 1908 in Tunguska, Siberia, there was an explosion equivalent to the detonation of about 15 million tons of TNT. Many hypotheses have been proposed for what caused the explosion. It is theorized that the explosion was caused by a natural extraterrestrial phenomenon, and was not caused by man. Is this theory a fact? No. The event is a recorded fact. Is this this theory generally accepted to be true, based on evidence to-date? Yes. Can this theory be shown to be false and be discarded? Yes. / A law generalizes a body of observations. At the time it is made, no exceptions have been found to a law. Scientific laws explain things, but they do not describe them. One way to tell a law and a theory apart is to ask if the description gives you a means to explain 'why'.
Example: Consider Newton's Law of Gravity. Newton could use this law to predict the behavior of a dropped object, but he couldn't explain why it happened.
As you can see, there is no 'proof' or absolute 'truth' in science. The closest we get are facts, which are indisputable observations. Note, however, if you define proof as arriving at a logical conclusion, based on the evidence, then there is 'proof' in science. I work under the definition that to prove something implies it can never be wrong, which is different. If you're asked to define hypothesis, theory, and law, keep in mind the definitions of proof and of these words can vary slightly depending on the scientific discipline. What is important is to realize they don't all mean the same thing and cannot be used interchangeably.

As discussed by Lee (2008, September 17), a dissertation hypothesis is the one of the most significant section in a dissertation which gives a background of the entire research in the dissertation. Good dissertation hypothesis writing requires certain guidelines which should be utilized for proper dissertation hypothesis writing.It is important that the dissertation hypothesis writing is limited to few words as the hypothesis is a short statement which explains the purpose of the research and the argument the dissertation tries to prove. Because most often good dissertation hypothesis write-up requires that the dissertation hypothesis is not more than two paragraphs. Ideal dissertation hypothesis writing requires that the dissertation hypothesis is very short and covers only one page. However limiting the dissertation hypothesis write-up is not easy. This can be very difficult if the topic of research is complicated, but the student should always summarize the crux of the research and must not write in detail as this would make the dissertation hypothesis write-up process quite difficult. This also defeats the purpose of having a dissertation hypothesis write-up in the first place.

The dissertation hypothesis write-up is designed to be a summary of the entire dissertation. Hence it is integral that the dissertation hypothesis write-up process should cover all of the important parts of the research. It sometimes get very difficult to write short hypothesis and limiting the length of the hypothesis to one or two paragraphs, but through the use of clear, short writing techniques any topic can be brought down to the specific word size.While it is important for students to include all the relevant aspects of their research in the hypothesis, they however should not be tempted to discuss anything that is not directly relevant to the study including many of their own individual and original ideas.It sum we can say that the dissertation hypothesis write-up process can be made very easy if there are only to the point ideas presented in the hypothesis and to achieve this purpose the student should practice and possess editing skills which can enable a student to prepare a dissertation hypothesis which has all the relevant ideas included but is very concise and limited.

As an example following are a good hypothesis of NAPL study written by Pantazidou(1995).

Figure 1.1 An example of hypothesis of NAPL written in the introduction

1.3Objectives of the Study

Followings are the objectives proposed for this study: -

(1)To identify the shortcomings of local legislations and guidelines.

(2)To assess the compliance of regulations.

(3)To propose necessary actions.

Students should provide clear, realistic, achievable, and measureable objectives appropriate to the level of degree (i.e., Bachelor, Master or PhD). These objectives should be discussed and approved by their supervisor.

1.4Scope of the Study

This study covers all employees working at height at SapuraKencana Yard.The employees include contractors and sub-contractors, managers, supervisors, foremen, scaffold installers, riggers, welders, grinders, fitters, painters, insulators and general workers.All employees that are working at height in Yard 2 and Sector 10 are considered as workers at risk.

1.5Significance of the Study

Students should show the benefits of the conducted study to the targeted subjects or areas.

CHAPTER 2

LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1Introduction

Since many facts and figures will be included in this chapter, students are advice to use sign-posting points wisely. Give brief introduction of flow of thought on what to be covered in this chapter. Show its relevance to the problem statement and research methodology. Arrange the ideas of reviews from general to specific theories. Make sure the reviews cover all important aspect of the research methodology from the existing studies. Discuss the recommended potential studies closely to the investigated problems. Provide summary of the discussion at the end of this reviews.

The example of comprehensive reviews can be found in Kamaruddin et al. (2011). Students are advice to use EndNote program for an effective bibliography management.The installer of current EndNote program can be downloaded from cyberubp.utm.my. Use a valid ACID username and password to enter the system. After successfully installed the program, one should find EndNote menu at the end of MS Word interface. By using this software students can simply organize and manage their citations and references almost instantaneously.

Many ways can be used to download bibliographic citations in the EndNote. All these citations normally can be obtained from a free and subscribed database provider (e.g., use database subscribed by PSZ UTM). Students can simply download the citations via Google Scholar (the easiest way), Scopus, ScienceDirect, and many other scientific databases.