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Thesis Guide 2016 PDF
Thesis Guide 2016 PDF
UNDERGRADUATE
THESIS FORMATTING
GUIDE
COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING
UNIVERSITI TENAGA NASIONAL
ii
PREFACE
The need for a comprehensive thesis formatting guide to help students prepare their
undergraduate final year project thesis has been felt for some time. To address this need,
the Final Year Project (FYP) Committee of College of Engineering, in August 2005, led
by Mr. Faris Tarlochan, had revamp the existing guidelines completely. The guide
produced have been used for 10 years until it is revised to perfection by the present FYP
Committee.
This guide has been prepared following styling conventions used by various
internationally reputed professional organisations including IEEE, ASME and ASCE in
their publications, so that our engineering graduates can be familiar with the major
elements of styling in their disciplines. However, unlike many conventional guides, the
provisions of this guide are formulated on the presumption that students will use any
word processor program, not a type writer or professional software, in preparing the
thesis. Therefore, we hope that students should be able to implement the provisions with
relative ease.
The guide has been made as comprehensive as possible keeping in mind the need
of the young undergraduates who have little or no exposure to formal and professional
writing styles. Therefore, as much guidance and explanations as possible have been
provided, and logical reasoning behind those provisions have been given where viewed
necessary. A large number of examples in the form of exact replicas have been added to
demonstrate the results of the application of various provisions of this guide. The
contents of this guide have also been formatted, where possible, exactly following the
style prescribed under this guide in order to provide additional guidance. With these
efforts, we hope that this guide will be able to meet the requirements of the young
learners effectively.
The FYP Committee would like to thank everybody who contributed to
preparation of this guide. All efforts have been made to make this guide free from errors.
Any suggestion, however, for improvement will be cordially welcomed, and will be
seriously considered in future revision of the guide.
April 2016
iii
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Contents
Page
PREFACE
ii
TABLE OF CONTENTS
iii
LIST OF TABLES
vi
LIST OF FIGURES
vii
CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION
1.1
Overview
2.1
General
2.2
Length
2.3
Paper
2.4
Printing
2.5
Binding
2.6
Margins
2.7
2.8
Page Numbers
2.9
Paragraphs
2.10
Footnotes
2.11
Thesis Cover
2.11.2 Spine
2.12
Language
10
3.1
Introduction
10
3.2
Title Page
11
3.3
Declaration
11
iv
3.4
Dedication
11
3.5
Acknowledgements
12
3.6
Abstract
12
3.7
Table of Contents
13
3.8
List of Tables
14
3.9
List of Figures
14
3.10
14
3.11
15
3.11.1 Chapters
16
16
3.11.3 Quotations
17
3.11.4 Equations
18
19
3.12
End Pages
19
3.13.1 References
19
20
22
4.1
General
22
4.2
22
4.3
Placement
23
4.4
Numbering
23
4.5
24
4.6
24
26
5.1
Units of Measurement
26
5.2
Use of Numbers
29
5.3
Use of Dates
30
5.4
31
5.5
32
5.5.1
32
33
34
6.1
Introduction
34
6.2
34
6.2.1
Books
34
6.2.2
36
36
36
37
6.2.6 Reports
37
37
37
39
39
39
6.2.12 Maps
39
39
6.3
40
APPENDICES
42
Sample Pages
43
Roman Numerals
58
Greek Alphabets
59
60
vi
LIST OF TABLES
Table No.
Page
2.1
5.1
27
5.2
5.3
28
29
vii
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure No.
Page
A.1
43
A.2
44
A.3
45
A.4
46
A.5
47
A.6
48
A.7
49
A.8
50
A.9
51
A.10
52
A.11
53
A.12
54
A.13
55
A.14
56
A.15
57
CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
1.1
Overview
Thesis presentation has two aspects. Firstly, it is inherently formal, for good
reasons of maintaining scientific and academic standards, ensuring clarity, consistency
and uniformity. Secondly, a thesis should be unambiguous and precise in meaning,
accurate in information, and easy to comprehend. A good set of prescriptive rules can
be very effective in achieving the elements of the first aspect. However, it is difficult to
explore all elements of the second aspect, which comprises issues of effective writing,
writing style, information design, and skills that extend well beyond any set of
prescriptive rules.
Style or format refers to the overall layout of a thesis. Style does not only make
a thesis easier to read but also visually engaging. For lucidity and consistency, it is
important to strictly adhere to a consistent set of style rules or formatting conventions
commonly followed in published professional works within a field. It is very important
The word thesis means an unproven statement or opinion which serves as a premise in an argument,
and which is discussed in a logical way and presented with evidence in order to prove that it is true.
2
More commonly an M.Sc. or a Ph.D. degree. Undergraduate research work may also be termed as term
paper, project paper, etc.
to be accurate in following style rules in all aspects from the organization of the
contents and use of references to spacing, punctuation and capitalisation.
Your thesis may be your first encounter with such prescriptive rules. Therefore,
preparation of your thesis following a set of guidelines can be an important learning
experience to prepare yourself for participation in professional activities to fuller extent.
This guide sets forth the specifications as to the style and formatting of
undergraduate thesis to be submitted to the College of Engineering, Universiti Tenaga
Nasional. However, for guidance on the elements of good writing students have to
depend on knowledge gained from the relevant specialised courses offered at UNITEN
or elsewhere. They are also advised to attend seminars and read books on the subject
(key words: presentation skills, technical writing, effective writing, public speaking).
For style issues not addressed specifically in this guide, the comprehensive
references that can be consulted are: The Chicago Manual of Style (published by the
University of Chicago, USA), and the Publication Manual of the American
Psychological Association (APA Manual), in that order.
CHAPTER 2
2.1 General
Thesis must be prepared using computer. Any word processor program, such as
Microsoft Word can generally be sufficient. However, thesis with complex equations
can be prepared using any scientific typesetting package such as LATEX and TEX
available free on the Web.
2.2 Length
Thesis should be normally between 80 and 120 pages long, exclusive of front matter
and appendices.
2.3 Paper
All copies of the thesis to be submitted must be printed on ISO A4 size (210 297 mm)
80-gram plain paper, or bond paper. Text must be printed on one side of the paper only.
2.4 Printing
A laser quality printer should be used in producing the final copy. Dot matrix printouts
are not acceptable. Additional copies may be reproduced by high quality photocopying.
All signatures appearing on all copies must be original photocopy of signatures are
not acceptable on any copy.
2.5 Binding
Only standard hard binding is acceptable. Slide binding, two- or four-hole punching,
spiral binding or comb binding are not acceptable for final copies.
2.6 Margins
Set margins according to the distances specified in Table 2.1. These margins are
necessary to allow for binding and trimming.
Margins
Portrait
Landscape
Top margin
30 mm
38 mm
Bottom margin
25 mm
25 mm
Left margin
38 mm
25 mm
Right margin
25 mm
25 mm
Header (here, for page numbers) should be set 12.7 mm from the top margin for
pages in portrait and 25 mm for pages in landscape, aligning right margin. Footer (for
footnotes) should be set at 12.7 mm from bottom margin for both the portrait and
landscape pages.
All materials (except the cover, footnotes, endnotes and long offset quotations)
must be typed using 12-point font size. Footnotes, endnotes, and long offset
quotations should be typed in 10-point font size. Contents of a table may
optionally be typed in 10-point font size to accommodate large contents. Fonts
used in illustrations and drawings should not be smaller than 8 points. Use
consistent fonts on all your figures. See respective sections for more details.
The use of excessive italic or bold font for the purpose of emphasis within the
text is discouraged.
Main body of the text must be typed using one and a half (1.5) lines or 21 point
(preferable
There should be 6-point space between the items in a bulleted or numbered list
and also between the top of the list and the preceding text.
Leave at least 24-point blank spaces before and after tables and figures except
at the very top or bottom of pages.
Unless specified explicitly, general purpose word processor programs, e.g. MS Word, use variable
spaces between lines as a visual aid. E.g. for single line spacing, actual line spacing varies between 1.1
and 1.2 times the font size, depending on the font type and the tallest letter appearing on a line.
Space once:
-
Between words
Use no space after the beginning parenthesis and before the ending parenthesis.
Example: Use (John & Curie 2001) instead of (John & Curie 2001).
All pages of the thesis (including blank pages, if any) should be accounted for.
Front matter (all the pages before Chapter I) pages are numbered consecutively
using small Roman numerals (i, ii, iii, ). Although the title page and approval
page count as pages i and ii, respectively, numbers should not appear on these
pages.
Arabic numerals (1, 2, 3, ) begin with the first page of Chapter I. The
numbering begins here at 1 and continues to the end of the thesis, including
Appendices and References. Page number should not appear on the opening
pages of chapter, References and Appendices, but these pages should be
counted.
2.9 Paragraphs
All paragraphs in the main text should be justified between margins.
First paragraph is not indented. First line of the second and subsequent
paragraphs are indented by 12.7 mm1.
The purpose is to visually emphasise the change of paragraph, by making the first line appear
different. In typewriter, this was done by leaving only one or two blank lines, but no indent.
There should be 12-point space between a paragraph heading and the following
first paragraph, and also between paragraphs. There should be a 24-point space
between a last paragraph and the following heading.
A paragraph spanning between two pages should leave at least two lines of text
on both the pages. A single line of text appearing as widow or orphan1 is not
permitted.
2.10
Footnotes
A widow is the last line of a paragraph printed by itself at the top of a page. An orphan is the first line
of a paragraph printed by itself at the bottom of a page.
The footnote 1 will appear at the bottom of the respective page as:
1
Many believe that the phenomenon was first observed by T.R. Wilson in 1897, long before it was
formally published by Westergrad (1905).
2.11
Thesis Cover
2.12
Language
The thesis should be written in English. Spelling convention should generally follow
the British Commonwealth practice.
Text should be written in third person and in indirect speech. Use the terms
author, authors, etc. instead of I, we, us, or phrases like personally speaking....
Use past tense in abstract, introduction and methodology, and present tense for results
and discussion sections.
CHAPTER 3
ARRANGEMENT OF CONTENTS
3.1 Introduction
Every thesis is composed of three physical content divisions:
Text pages
following sequence:
Front Matter
Title Page
Declaration
Dedication (Optional)
Acknowledgment (Optional)
Abstract
Table of Contents
List of Tables
List of Figures
Symbols and/or Abbreviations
Main Body of the Work Text
Chapters (Introduction, sections and sub-sections and a concluding
section).
References
Appendix or Appendices (Optional)
11
A long thesis title should be avoided. As a guide, title should not be more than
100 characters long including spaces between words.
Common symbols, such as scientific fonts, should not be used in the title. Thesis
titles containing formulas, symbols, superscripts, Greek letters, or other nonalphabetical symbols should use word substitutes for those symbols. For
example, Gamma Ferric Oxide Dispersion instead of Fe2O3 Dispersion
; Alpha- and Beta-Globulin instead of - & -Globulin ,
The Neodymium-Barium-Copper Oxide System instead of Nd-Ba-Cu2O
System .
3.3 Declaration
This page should contain the signed declaration from the student on the authenticity of
the thesis. The title DECLARATION in all caps, bold, centre-aligned should be typed
30 mm from top edge, followed by 36-point space below before the text. The exact
wording and format of the declaration should be that shown in the example.
See Figure A.6 for example.
3.4 Dedication
The dedication should honour those who inspired or encouraged the work of the thesis.
Names of persons whom the author hopes to inspire through his/her writing may also
be mentioned. The title DEDICATION in all caps, bold, centre-aligned should be typed
30 mm from the top edge, followed by 36-point space below before the text. Dedication
text must be in single space, with 12-point space between paragraphs; may be in any
number of paragraphs but should not exceed one page.
12
3.5 Acknowledgements
Any form of substantial professional assistance or financial support extended or granted
by an individual or organization that was critical for the project or in the preparation of
the thesis are recorded on this page. Typically, your acknowledgments should include
specific references to the following:
Any help received from various other members of the University faculty or other
researchers in the preparation of the thesis.
You may extend thanks to those friends and family members who have provided
personal support throughout the thesis process.
The title ACKNOWLEDGEMENT in all caps, bold, centre-aligned should be
typed 30 mm from the top edge, followed by 36-point space below before the text.
Acknowledgement text must be in single space, 12-point space between paragraphs;
may be in any number of paragraphs but should not exceed one page.
3.6 Abstract
This page contains the synopsis of the thesis. Abstract should be between 150 and 250
words long. It must contain the following information:
13
An abstract should not contain technical jargon and should be written in plain
language for a general engineering audience. Do not include mathematics, direct quotes
or references to other literature in an abstract. As a general guide, use past tense for
procedures and present tense for results.
The title ABSTRACT in all caps, bold, centre-aligned format should be typed
30 mm from the top edge followed by 36-point space below before the text.
Abstract text should be typed in a single paragraph, on single line spacing.
See Figure A.7 for example.
3.7 Table of Contents
Table of contents is used to locate the contents of the thesis. Every chapter and main
titles, and all numbered headings and sub-headings within the text, along with the page
on which they appear, should be listed verbatim in the table of contents.
The title CONTENTS in all caps, bold, centre-aligned format should be typed
30 mm from the top edge, followed by 36-point space below before any text.
First Level
First Level Text, Indented 12.7 mm (Half Inch)
4.1.1
Second Level
Second Level Text, Indented 25.4 mm (One Inch)
4.1.1.1 Third level
Third level text, indented 38 mm (one and a half inches)
Use 6-point additional space between entries. Any wrap-around text in entries
should be in single space.
14
Entries should be left-aligned. Page numbers should line up flush right. For
example, the 2 in page number 92 should line up with the 7 in page
number 117. Page numbers should not be in italic or bold.
See Figure A.8 for example.
The title LIST OF TABLES in all caps, bold, centre-aligned format should be
typed 30 mm from the top edge, followed by 36-point space below before any text.
Entries should be left-aligned. Page numbers should line up flush right. There
should be 6-point additional space between entries.
See Figure A.9 for example.
3.9 List of Figures
This list should include all diagrams, graphs, maps, photographs, and all other
illustrations.
The title LIST OF FIGURES in all caps, bold, centre-aligned format should be
typed 30 mm from the top edge, followed by 36-point space below before any text.
Entries should be left-aligned. Page numbers should line up flush right. Use 6point additional space between entries.
See Figure A.10 for example.
3.10
List all symbols (except units), major abbreviations or terminology (as the case may be)
in an alphabetical order. In determining alphabetical order, the Roman letters (capital
letter first) should be listed first, followed by Greek letters or symbols.
15
The
title
LIST
OF
SYMBOLS,
LIST
OF
ABBREVIATIONS,
or
3.11
The main technical contents start after the front matter or preliminary pages described
above. The main technical contents should be between 80 and 120 pages long.
Every part of the thesis should be set down in a logical pattern so that readers
are never unsure about what the author is trying to prove and how a particular fact or
point fits into the development of the work. A carefully organised outline can make
writing of a thesis much easier.
16
(iii) Methodology
This part contains the details of the methods, means or procedures adopted for
the work/research, along with their advantages, limitations, etc., and the bases
of their selection. Provide sufficient information about your methods or
procedures so that it is possible for someone who reads the thesis to replicate
the work.
(iv) Observation and results
This part contains the details of results of observations, results of analysis or
design, and behaviour or characteristics of a design.
(v) Analysis of results and general discussions
The purpose of this section is to evaluate and interpret the results, especially
with respect to the original research question. This part contains the detail
analysis of all results and comparison of results with theoretical expectation and
results of other researchers. This part may also contain the discussion on
characteristics or behaviours of a design as compared to a fixed decision.
(vi) Conclusions and recommendations
The overall outcomes of the project are summarized clearly. All findings, results
and invention must be summarised irrespective of whether they are expected or
otherwise. You might (or might not) also mention any limitations of the study,
and any suggestions for future research in this section.
3.11.1 Chapters
All contents of the text should be divided into chapters. Each chapter will start on a new
page. Chapters do not have preceding title pages. After typing the chapter heading, leave
36-point space between chapter number and title and starting text.
17
Capitalisation, bold- or italic-face types have more attention value than plain
text. Attention value is also enhanced by blank spaces above and below.
Each primary heading (Level 1 headings) of section in the text should be
numbered consecutively and according to the chapter number. Primary headings should
be typed bold with the first letter of all the major words capitalised, and aligned left.
Example, correct heading style: The Algorithm of the Ant Colony System-Based
Constrained Load Flow (non-major words or articles not capitalised); incorrect style:
The Algorithm Of The Ant Colony System-Based Constrained Load Flow (all
words capitalised).
Secondary section headings (Level 2 headings) should be numbered following
the primary headings. Secondary headings should be typed bold, italicised with the first
letters of all major words capitalised, and left-aligned.
Tertiary headings (Level 3 headings) should be numbered following the
secondary headings. Tertiary headings should be typed bold, with only the first letter of
the title capitalised, and aligned left.
Quaternary section headings are rarely necessary but can be used, if necessary.
They should be formatted same as the tertiary headings but italicised and not numbered,
and placed at the beginning of a paragraph (see an example in Section 4.3).
3.11.3 Quotations
Quoting someone is using their exact words. Quotations are sparingly used in
engineering text. Frequent or long quotations should be avoided. Paraphrasing is
preferable to quotations. Use quotation when it is necessary (e.g. the passage loses
something when paraphrased or summed up in your words). Page numbers should be
cited for direct quotes.
A quotation which is not more than 40 words long should be inserted as part of
a sentence and must always be written within quotation marks. However, use smart
quotes, or instead of straight quotes, "" or ''.
Quotations, which are more than 40 words long, must be typed as a separate
block of text (a separate paragraph), left indented by 12.7 mm, typed in 10-point font,
18
single-spaced, and with 6-point space from the text above and between quoted
paragraphs. Note that no quotation marks are required. Include the page number in
parentheses after the last period.
Example 1
Short quotation embedded as part of a sentence:
These nightmares and revelations marked, in the words of mathematicians Davis and
Hersh (1986), the beginning of the modern world, our world of triumphant rationality
(p. 25).
Example 2
Long quotation (more than 40 words):
The overall situation in developing countries has, possibly, been best described by
Coutts (1992), an authority in this field. He writes:
The tendency in developing countries was to neglect the research of natural fibres for use in
composites, that is until the explosion of interest, as evidenced by the scientific and patent
literature, which occurred in the mid 1980s and is expanding to the present time.
Having stated the above I now hope to convince you of the great potential of natural plant
fibres as a source of reinforcement for fibre cement products. (pp. 93-941)
3.11.4 Equations
Simple equations can be typed within the line of text, e.g. From the above we note
that sin = (x + y) z, and . However, relatively complex ones and all referred
equations should be typed on separate lines using an equation editor found in most word
processing programs. Equations should be centre-aligned. Number referred equations
consecutively following chapter number, and place the number within parentheses at
the end of the line, aligning right margin and with no leader.
Within body of text, always refer to equations as Eq. 4.1, Eqs. 4.74.9, etc.
19
End Pages
3.12.1 References
Any thesis that makes use of other works, either in direct quotation or by reference,
must contain a reference listing of these sources.
Type the heading REFERENCES in bold, all caps and centre-aligned at the top
of the page. Leave 36-point space before the first entry.
Each entry should be typed single-spaced, with 6-point additional space between
individual entries. Use 12.7 mm left indent for the second and subsequent lines
of individual entry.
20
List only the sources, which have been cited in the text1.
If there are more than one appendix then they should be marked APPENDIX
A, APPENDIX B, etc. and a cover sheet should be used before them. On the
centre of the cover sheet, type APPENDICES, centre-aligned, in 12-point bold
font. The cover sheet should be counted, but page number is not printed on it.
Leave 12-point space and type the title of the material in all caps and bold
font. Allow 24-point space below the title.
A list which contains items not necessarily directly quoted in the text but consulted or relevant is
called bibliography.
21
Each appendix and its title should be listed separately in the Table of Contents.
All materials used in the appendices must be distinct, legible, and of professional
quality.
22
CHAPTER 4
4.1 General
All photographs, diagrams, drawings, graphs, maps and all other non-verbal materials
used in the body and appendices should be classified as figures. The word table
designates tabulated numerical data used in the body and appendices of the thesis.
A set of data should be either presented in table form or as graph based on the
suitability and purpose. The same set of data should not be repeated as both table and
graph, to avoid unnecessary duplication.
Caption of a figure should be placed below the figure. The caption should start
with the word FIGURE (in all caps, no bold), a single space, followed by the
figure number (e.g. 4.6), a space and the title of the figure. There should be a
12-point space between a figure and its caption.
Caption of a table should be placed above the table itself. The caption should
start with the word TABLE (in all caps, no bold), a single space, followed by
the table number (e.g. 6.7), a space and the title of the table. There should be a
6-point space between the caption and the table.
23
Captions as they appear with the tables and figures must be the same as their
listing in the List of Tables or List of Figures. Long captions may be abbreviated
in the list if the identification is not impaired.
For long tables broken between pages, the phrase Contd should be placed
on the right side, just below the first part. The full caption should be repeated
for the second part appended with the word (Contd.) including the parentheses.
4.3 Placement
All figures (i.e. diagrams, graphs, maps, photographs, and all other illustrations) and
tables must be placed within the text body as near (before or after) as possible to the
location they are first referred. They should be centre-aligned.
Figures or tables (together with captions) should be offset 24-point from the text
body above and below (if any).
See Figure A.14 for example of a figure in portrait orientation.
Landscape tables and figures. Tables and figures may be in landscape orientation. In
such case, they should be placed on a separate page of their own, with no main text
running above or below them. The captions and legends for rotated tables and figures
must have the same orientation as the table or figure. Thus for a landscape figure (or
table), the top of the figure should be nearest to the binding edge. Remember that any
text or legend should be readable either from front or right hand side only.
See Figure A.16 for example of a figure in landscape orientation.
4.4 Numbering
Figures should be numbered consecutively in the order in which reference is made to
them in the text and according to chapters and appendices, restarting a separate series
for each chapter or appendix (e.g. Figure 1.2, Figure 2.2, Figure A.2, etc.). Tables
should also be numbered in the same fashion but in separate series of their own.
24
24
If photographs are used, they must be high resolution. Both color (minimum 400
dpi, 8 bit per pixel, uncompressed) and grayscale images (minimum 220 dpi, 8
bit per pixel) may be used. Low resolution highly compressed images used in
Web or taken by certain mobile phones are not acceptable.
Diagrams, drawings, figures, etc. must be sufficiently clear, sharp and large to
be easily readable. Images output by engineering analysis and design software
should be carefully checked whether they meet this requirement.
Text in graphs, diagrams, drawings, figures, etc. should not be smaller than 8point or larger than 12-point size.
Graphs should not use any colour or shaded background. Only major gridlines
can be used when they are necessary. Graphs should not have any border, except
uniform chart area border.
25
Contents in a row of a table should have equal space (min. 3-point) above and
below. Contents of a table may be typed in 10-point font if required for space
reasons, but different font sizes cannot be mixed together.
Borders above and below the heading row of a table, and the bottom border
should be 1-point thick. Remaining grid/border should be -point thick. Left
and right borders are not used.
Make tables only as wide as they need to be. A table in portrait orientation does
not always have to cover full width of a page (see Table 2.1).
Small photographs on photographic paper, if used, should be mounted with
white casein (e.g. Elmers brand), glue stick (e.g. UHU, Scotch brand), or dry mounting
tissue. Do not use any gummed or cellophane tapes or rubber cement for mounting,
since these materials deteriorate rapidly.
26
CHAPTER 5
27
Base units
Quantity
Unit name
Unit symbola
Amount of substance
mole
mol
Electric current
Ampere
Length
Metre
Luminous intensity
Candela
cd
Mass
Kilogram
kg
Thermodynamic
temperature
Kelvin
Time
Second
Radian
rad
Steradian
sr
Plane angle
Supplementary
units
Solid angle
a
Prefixes are applied directly to unit symbols (e.g. millimetre, mm; megawatt,
MW; kilonewton, kN; gigapascal, GPa) except in the case of the kilogram, for which
all prefixes are applied directly to the gram; thus, for example, Mg (megagram) is 103
kg.
28
Unit name
Unit symbola
Formula
Absorbed dose
Gray
Gy
J/kg
Becquerel
Bq
1/s
Celsius temperature
Degree Celsius
Dose equivalent
Sievert
Sv
J/kg
Electric capacitance
Farad
C/V
Electric conductance
Siemens
A/V
Electric resistance
Ohm
V/A
difference, electromotive
force
Energy, work, quantity of
heat
Volt
W/A
Joule
Nm
Force
Newton
kgm/s2
Hertz
Hz
1/s
Illuminance
Lux
lx
lm/m2
Inductance
Henry
Wb/A
Luminous flux
Lumen
lm
cdsr
Magnetic flux
Weber
Wb
Vs
Tesla
Wb/m2
Watt
J/s
Pressure, stress
Pascal
Pa
N/m2
Coulomb
As
29
Factor
Prefix
Symbola
109
Giga
106
Mega
103
Kilo
102
Hecto
101
Deka
da
101
Deci
102
Centi
103
Milli
106
Micro
109
Nano
30
31
However, a single style should be followed throughout the entire thesis. Writing
dates entirely in figures such as 17/5/93 (day/month/year, UK style) or 5/17/93
(month/day/year, US style) can create confusion and therefore, should be avoided.
Use en dash (), with no spaces before and after, for a compound adjective.
Examples: BoseEinstein condensate, antiAmerican sentiment, preWorld
War II system, high-strengthhigh-ductility metal, etc.
Use en dash (), with a single space before and after, or an em dash () with
no spaces, for a parenthetical statement which indicates a sudden break in
thought. Example: Demec gauge commonly used for measuring small
strains was found not suitable for .
Use figure dash (in absence, use en dash) to write a number with dash in it.
Example: Phone no. +60389212020.
Ellipsis () is used to indicate one or more omitted words. When the omission
occurs at the end of a sentence, the ellipsis appears together with a period.
32
5.5.1
e.g.
viz.
et al.
(et alia) means and others; replaces a list of names of persons. Note
no period after et.
etc.
(et cetera) means and so forth; ends a list. Not preceded by and
and always preceded by a comma. Example: grease, wax, tar, etc.
instead of grease, wax, and tar, etc./ grease, wax, tar, and etc. Do not
use with a list of people.
vs.
ed./eds.
edition(s) or editor(s)
fig./figs.
figure(s)
eq./eqs.
equation(s)
33
5.5.2
Common Acronyms
Use UK, USA, UNHCR instead of U.K., U.S.A., U.N.H.C.R. Do not use
periods1.
34
CHAPTER 6
REFERENCE STYLES
6.1 Introduction
When you quote or paraphrase or summarize information, or use an idea or method from
a source, you need to give them credit with a citation or in-text reference of the source.
An in-text reference briefly identifies source of your information and allow readers to
locate the full reference from the list of References. Enough information should be
included, so that if someone interested, can precisely retrieve the source materials.
References cited in text must appear in the list of References (with the exception of
personal communication, well-known encyclopaedia, dictionary, etc.); conversely, each
entry in the list of References must be cited in text. Arrange entries in the list in
alphabetical order.
Reference and citation styles vary considerably with the type of source. Various
categories of references and their styles are listed with examples in the following
sections. Note carefully every space, punctuation, period, capitalisation, italicisation
and abbreviation used with them.
Note that entries in the list of References are single spaced, left-indented by 12.7
mm except the first line, and there should be 6-point additional space between entries.
Books
Generally:
Author, A. A., Author, B.B. & Author, C.C. Year. Title of Work. City [or the first of the
cities]: Publisher.
Anders, G.J. 2005. Rating of Electric Power Cables in Unfavourable Thermal
Environment. New York: Wiley-IEEE.
35
Ahmad, Z., Yusoff, M.Z. & Aziz, K.A. 2003. Engineering Graphics with AutoCAD
2002. Petaling Jaya: Prentice Hall.
New edition and reprint:
Brndlein, J., Eschmann, P., Hasbargen, L. & Weigand, K. 1999. Ball and Roller
Bearings: Theory, Design and Application. 3rd Ed. New York: Wiley.
Publication identified by title:
Hand Book of Cocoa, Coconut and Tea Statistics 1993: 14. Department of Statistics,
Malaysia.
Encyclopaedia of Polymer Science and Engineering. c.19851989. 2nd Ed. New York:
Wiley.
Texas Almanac: 2004-2005. 2004. Dallas, Texas: Dallas Morning News.
Book with editor(s):
Dongarra, J., Madsen, K. & Wasniewski, J. (Eds.). 1995. Applied Parallel Computing.
Berlin: Springer-Verlag.
Chapter in a book:
Used when a book has separate author(s) for each chapter and editor(s).
Author, A. A. & Author, B. B. Year. Title of chapter. In A. Editor & B. Editor (Eds.),
Title of Book, Nth Ed., xxxxxx. City: Publisher.
Halin, H.J. & Strebel, R. 1995. Transient response of a two-phase half-wave rectifier.
In W. Gander & J. Hrebicek1 (Eds.), Solving Problems in Scientific Computing
Using Maple and MATLAB, 2nd Ed., 285297. Berlin: Springer-Verlag.
Multiple volumes:
Crisfield, M.A. 1997. Non-linear Finite Element Analysis of Solids and Structures. Vol.
1. Chichester: John Wiley & Sons.
Unlike authors names (Last Name, First Name initial), name of editors are not reversed.
36
Monograph:
Stephanopoulos, G. 1987. Knowledge-Based Systems in Process Engineering: An
Overview. Series of Monographs on AI in Chemical Engineering. Cambridge:
MIT Press.
6.2.2
Well-known general reference books, such as major encyclopaedias and dictionaries are
normally cited in text but not shown in the list of References. Example:
In the fifteenth edition of the New Encyclopaedia Britannica, Guido Gergorietti notes
about ...
6.2.3
Author, A. A., Author, B. B. & Author, C. C. Year. Title of article: Subtitle if there is
one. Title of Journal xx[= volume number in bold](x[= issue number in
parenthesis]): xxxxxx[= range of pages].
Peng, G. 2005. A practical combined computation method of mean through-flow for 3D
inverse design of hydraulic turbomachinery blades. Journal of Fluids
Engineering 127(6): 11831190.
Vlachogiannis, J.G., Hatziargyriou, N.D. & Lee, K.Y. 2005. Ant colony system-based
algorithm for constrained load flow problem. IEEE Transactions on Power
Systems 20(3): 12411249.
6.2.4
37
6.2.5
Jin, H. 2005. Scalable sensor localization algorithms for wireless sensor networks.
Ph.D. dissertation. University of Toronto.
Zamri, M.Y. 1997. An improved treatment of two-dimensional two-phase flows of
steam by a Runge-Kutta method. Ph.D. thesis. University of Birmingham.
6.2.6
Reports
ASTM A210. 1998. Standard specification for seamless medium-carbon steel boiler and
superheater tubes. Annual Book of ASTM Standards 1998, 01.01: 102105.
Pennsylvania: American Society for Testing and Materials.
BS EN 60885 Part 2. 2003. Electrical test methods for electric cables: Partial discharge
tests. London: British Standards Institution.
AISI Specification. 1996. Specification for the design of cold formed steel structural
members. 1996 Ed. Washington: American Iron and Steel Institute.
6.2.8
The terms dissertation and thesis are more commonly used for Ph.D. and M.Sc. research work
respectively, or vice versa. Their use varies from country to country and amongst universities.
38
39
6.2.9
Articles in Magazines
Idris, M.A. 1999. Virtual classroom: A focus on interactive and collaborative learning.
Berita UNITEN 3(4).
Nicholson, P. 2005. Hurricane Katrina: Why did the levees fail? ASCE News 25(10):
1012.
6.2.10 News or Features in Newspapers
News or feature with name of author provided:
Othman, Z. 2005. Scrap metal thieves costing TNB millions. Malay Mail, 18 December:
1.
Lipton, E. 2004. Ground zero: Before the fall. New York Times, 27 June.
News or feature with name of author not provided:
Petronas Towers declared the world's tallest. 1996. New Straits Times, 14 April: 1.
Letters to the editor:
Harpaz, R. 2006. Scientists and Stardom. Letter to editor. New York Times, 2 January.
6.2.11 Film or Video Recording
Alternative energy. 1998. DVD. Indiana: Grant Wood AEA Mediagraphy.
6.2.12 Maps
Geological Map of Peninsular Malaysia. 1985. 8th Ed. Two sheets. Scale 1: 500,000.
Kuala Lumpur. Geological Survey of Malaysia.
Mineral Distribution Map of Peninsular Malaysia. 1988. 8th Ed. Two sheets. 1120 mm
760 mm. Scale 1 : 500,000. Kuala Lumpur. Geological Survey of Malaysia.
6.2.13 Personal Communications
Personal communications may be things such as email messages, interviews, speeches,
and telephone conversations. Because the information is not retrievable they should not
appear in the list of References. They should be cited in text as shown in Section 6.3.
See Figure A.13 for an example of list of References.
40
41
Note: In case the publication can only be identified with a long title, use a few words
from the beginning of the title for citation in text.
Authors with the same last name:
Evans, D.J. (1992) and Evans, J.R. (1992)
Multiple references:
Multiple citations in parentheses are placed alphabetically and are separated by a
semicolon and a space. More than one references by the same author(s) with year are
separated by a comma.
(Bamkole 1987; Curle 1967; Henson 1995, 1996; Reiss 1967)
(Rembold et al. 1989a, 1989b, 1993)
Personal communications:
Personal communications such as email messages, interviews, speeches, and telephone
conversations, should be cited as follows:
J.L. Meyers (personal communication, 18 April 2003) indicated that
. In a recent interview (J. Burnitz, personal communication, September 20, 2000) it
was learned that .
As mentioned earlier, personal communications do not appear in the list of References.
Citation of a work that is cited in another reference:
According to Curtis (1998), the system does not work unless coupled with another
DSC device (as cited in Smith & McClelland 2000).
Note: The reference Curtis (1998) will not be listed in the list of References. The best
thing to do is to collect the Curtis article.
42
APPENDICES
43
APPENDIX A
SAMPLE PAGES
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
APPENDIX B
ROMAN NUMERALS
Capital letters
Small letters
Corresponding Arabic
numerals
II
ii
III
iii
IV
iv
VI
vi
VII
vii
VIII
viii
IX
ix
10
50
100
500
1000
Examples:
XXXIV
34
DLXXIX
579
MCMXCVIII
1998
59
APPENDIX C
GREEK ALPHABETS
Capital letters
A
Small letters
Names
alpha
beta
gamma
delta
epsilon
zeta
eta
theta
iota
kappa
lambda
mu
nu
xi
omicron
pi
rho
sigma
tau
upsilon
phi
chi
psi
omega
60
APPENDIX D
LIST OF STANDARD ABBREVIATIONS
Abbreviation
Meaning
app.
appendix
art./arts.
article(s)
b.
born
bk./bks.
book(s)
c.
copyright
ca.
cf.
compare
chap./chaps.
chapter(s)
col./cols.
column(s)
comp./comps.
compiler(s);compiled by
dept./depts.
department(s)
d.
died
div./divs.
division(s)
e.g.
ed./eds.
et al.
et seq.
etc.
fig./figs.
figure(s)
ibid.
id.
i.e.
infra.
below
l.v.
61
ms./mss.
Abbreviation
manuscript(s)
Meaning
n/nn
footnote(s)
n.d.
no./nos.
n.s.
o.s.
p./pp.
par./pars.
passim
pt./pts.
q.v.
sc.
sec./secs.
sic.
supp./supps.
s.l.
no date
number(s)
new series
old series
page (p.)/pages(pp.)
paragraph(s)
here and there
part(s)
(quod vide): which see (refer to)
scene
section(s)
so, thus
supplement(s)
(sinoloco): place of publication not
mentioned
(sine nomine): details of publication
not mentioned in the referred material
(sub-verbo, sub-voce): under the word
or heading
translator; translated by
verse(s)
(videlicet): namely
volume(s)
(versus): against
s.n.
s.v.
trans.
v./vv.
viz.
vol./vols.
vs.