GUIDELINES FOR SYNOPSIS PREPARATION

This document, lists the general and specific requirements governing synopsis preparation including
guidelines for structuring the contents.

1. COMPONENTS OF THE SYNOPSIS

1.1. Title
The title should be in capital letters. It should be concise, specific and reflect the
proposed research programme. Scientific names in the title, if any, must be written in
Latin binomial or trinomial along with the authority.

1.2. Introduction
This section should highlight the scope and significance of the proposed research
work along with the knowledge gaps and objectives of the study under separate
sub-heads in not more than 5000 words. [At least include 6 pages of introduction]
Problem statement should also be given as separate sub-head in this section. This
section should include following sub headings:

1.2.1. Introduction to the Research Area
1.2.2. Problem Statement
1.2.3 Objectives
Objectives should be identified on the basis of the problem statement. That means,
after reading the problem statement it should be immediately clear that the choice of
objectives is relevant and justified. The objectives should focus on concepts and
problems mentioned in the problem statement. Each research proposal should contain
one overall objective describing the general contribution that the research project
makes to the subject area.
1.3. Hypothesis
Hypothesis of the proposed research work should be identified on the basis of gap (s)
in scientific knowledge. Include a hypothesis, which the dissertation will then either
support or negate. Hypothesis is predictions of the outcomes from the study.

1.4. Review of literature
An up-to-date and comprehensive review of literature indicating history,
developments and IPR (if any) relating to the topic of the proposed research problem
should be given.

In this section you present details regarding the research problem. You should
present documentation of the existence of the problem, how it is manifested, who it
affects and involves, what roles and interests the involved actors have, the historical
background to the problem (including what has lead to the actual situation), and the
problems complexity
A critical review of the subject being addressed involves
(i) identification of relevant literature through a thorough and systematic
literature search using combinations of relevant key words in appropriate databases,
(ii) the relevant literature must be critically read, meaning that the soundness of
research approach and conclusions must be evaluated you should of course not
base your arguments on untrustworthy literature, and
(iii) important approaches, conclusions and/or discussions of the literature are
presented in an argument logically leading to your objectives.

Remember, the literature review is not just a list of the methods used/conclusions
made by previous studies. Have a look at research papers published in international
journals for inspiration the introductions most often include highly condensed
literature reviews.

1.5. Programme of work
This section should mention the details of experimental work to be carried out under
following heads:
1.5.1. Objective (s) of the experiment (s)
Identify the experiments that need to bo performed to achieve the overall
objective. Also mention the specific objectives of each experiment.

1.5.2. Location of experiment

1.5.3. Materials to be used along with source
In this section mention about software and hardware requirements. Clearly
specify whether the mentioned software are Freeware or commercial.

1.5.4. Methods or experimental approach to be followed
List down the details of experiments/activities to performed during this work.

1.5.5. Observations to be recorded
Clearly mention the parameters to be observed.

1.5.6. Statistical analysis
Mention if Statistical Analysis or / and Graphical Analysis will be required,
and what tools will be used to achieve the same.

1.5.7. Special requirements like clearance from Institutional Biosafety
Committee, Institutional Ethics Committee etc.

1.5.8. Year wise requirement of funds and proposed source of funds.

1.6. Time schedule of work as flow diagram and milestones to be achieved

1.7. Collaboration (s)

The consent of the Collaborating Centre Coordinator should be obtained and it
should be a part of the synopsis. The extent of work to be carried out in collaborating
centre should be clearly mentioned including the sharing of resources, expenditure
involved and Intellectual Property Rights.

1.8. References

List of all the references used in preparing the synopsis in alphabetical order as per
the approved style for writing the dissertation to be submitted to the university.

1.8.1. Reference Format
For referencing an article in a scientific journal the suggested format should contain
the following information:
authors, title, name of journal, volume number, page numbers and year.
For referencing an article published in a book, the suggested format should contain :
authors, the title of the book, editors, publisher, year, page number of the
article in the book being referred to.
For referencing a thesis the suggested format should contain:
author, the title of thesis, where thesis was submitted or awarded, year.
A few examples of formats of references are given below and the student should be
consistent in following the style.

Journals
H.E. Exner, Physical and Chemical Nature of Cemented Carbides, International
Metals Review, 1979, v. 24, pp. 149-173.
G.E. Spriggs, The Importance of Atmosphere Control in Hard Metal Production,
Powder Metallurgy, 1970, v. 13, n. 26, pp. 369-393.

Conference Proceedings
H.F. Fischmeister, Development and Present Status of the Science and Technology
of Hard Materials, Science of Hard Materials, R.K. Viswanadham, D.J. Rowcliffe,
and J. Gurland (eds.), Plenum Press, New York, NY, USA, 1982, pp. 1-45.

Books
R.M. German, Powder Injection Molding, Metal Powder Industries Federation,
Princeton, NJ, USA, 1990.

Thesis
J.L. Johnson, Densification, Microstructural Evolution, and Thermal Properties of
Liquid Phase Sintered Composites, Ph.D. Thesis, The Pennsylvania State University,
University Park, PA, USA, 1994.

Technical Reports
E.G. Zukas, P.S.Z. Rogers, and R.S. Rogers, Experimental Evidence for Spheroid
Growth Mechanisms in the Liquid Phase Sintered Tungsten Based Composites,
Informal Report: Los Alamos Scientific laboratory, USA, 1976, pp. 1-35.

Patents
Oenning and I. S. R. Clark, U. S. Patent No. 4988386, 1991.

Personal Interview/Communication
Interview [or Personal Communication] with Prof. Elmer Hixon, BCE Department,
The University of Texas at Austin, March 12, 1995. [Date omitted if unknown.]

Course Notes
J. K. Jones, Lab Notes for EE464K, Senior Projects, The University of Texas at
Austin, fall semester, 1994.

Technical Report
R. Cox and J. S. Turner, Project Zeus: design of a broadband network and its
application on a university campus, Washington Univ., Dept. of Comp. Sci.,
Technical Report WUCS-91-45, July 30, 1991.

Letter/E-mail
Letter from J. M. Beck, Project Manager, TI, Bedford, Utah, Sept. 3, 1996.
Database/online

World Wide Web (give author and title if named)
Fuminao Okumura and Hajime Takagi, Maglev Guideway On the Yamanashi Test
Line, http://www.rtri.or.jp/rd/maglev2/okumura.html, October 24, 1998.

1.8.2. Citing References
Citation appear in the line, in square brackets inside the punctuation. Grammatically,
they may be treated as if they were footnote numbers, e.g.,

as shown by Brown [4], [5]; as mentioned earlier [2], [4][7], [9]; Smith
[4] and Brown and Jones [5]; Wood et al. [7]
NOTE: Use et al. when three or more names are given.
or as nouns:
as demonstrated in [3]; according to [4] and [6][9].

2. FORMAT SPECIFICATION FOR HEADINGS AND TEXT

Page Size : A4
Page Margin for all pages
Top = 1 inch
Bottom=1 inch
Left =1.5 inch
Right=1 inch
Font : Times New Roman
Format and Numbering Style for Heading and Subheadings:

1. Introduction : 16 Bold & CAPITAL CASES
1.1 Subheading 1 : 16 Bold Title Case
1.1.1 Subheading : 14 Bold & Title Case
1.1.1.1 Subheading : 12 Bold & Title Case
Any further sub heading should be written in 12 Bold & Title Case format.


Font size for Text : 12 pt.
Line Space for Text: 1.5 line space
Paragraph
Space before paragraph: 6 pt.
Space after paragraph : 6 pt.
Alignment: Justify

NOTE: Follow International System (SI) of Units