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Guide For Thesis Preparation: Institute of Technology of Cambodia
Guide For Thesis Preparation: Institute of Technology of Cambodia
December 2013
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
- Dr. OM Romny
- Dr. CHUNHIENG Thavarith
- Mr. NUTH Sothan
- Mr. PHOL Norith
- Mr. CHHOUK Chhay Horng
- Mr. SIEANG Phen
- Dr. HUL Seingheng
- Dr. LY Sarann
- Dr. KUOK Fidero
- Mr. SOY Ty
- Dr. SEANG Chansopheak
- Ms. BUN Polyka
- Dr. BUN Kimgnun
- Mr. LAY Heng
- Mr. TO Dara
- Mr. SOEUN Somuny Ontdom
- Mrs. SIO Sreymean
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................... 4
2. SUBMISSION OF THESIS ................................................................................................. 4
2.1. Submission of thesis ...................................................................................................... 4
2.2. Revision after submission of thesis ............................................................................... 4
2.3. Thesis binding ............................................................................................................... 4
2.4. Copyright ....................................................................................................................... 4
2.5. Plagiarism ...................................................................................................................... 5
2.5.1. Definition ................................................................................................................ 5
2.5.2. Punishment ............................................................................................................. 5
2.5.3. Plagiarism avoidance .............................................................................................. 5
3. FORMATTING ................................................................................................................... 6
3.1. Language ....................................................................................................................... 6
3.2. Structure ........................................................................................................................ 6
3.3. Text layout..................................................................................................................... 6
3.4. Pagination ...................................................................................................................... 6
3.5. Title selection ................................................................................................................ 6
3.6. Thesis title pages ........................................................................................................... 7
3.7. Acknowledgments ......................................................................................................... 7
3.8. Abstract ......................................................................................................................... 7
3.9. Abbreviations and symbols ........................................................................................... 7
3.10. Table of contents ......................................................................................................... 8
3.11. List of figures .............................................................................................................. 8
3.12. List of tables ................................................................................................................ 8
3.13. Introduction ................................................................................................................. 9
3.14. Literature review ......................................................................................................... 9
3.15. Methodology or Materials and Methods ..................................................................... 9
3.16. Results and discussion............................................................................................... 10
3.17. Conclusions (and Recommendations) ....................................................................... 10
3.18. References ................................................................................................................. 10
3.19. Appendices ................................................................................................................ 12
References ................................................................................................................................ 13
Appendices ............................................................................................................................... 14
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1. INTRODUCTION
This guide for thesis preparation has been developed and prescribed by the Scientific
Committee (SC), Institute of Technology of Cambodia (ITC) in the aim of assisting not only
Associate Degree in Engineering, Engineer’s Degree, and Master Student but also ITC
lecturer in preparing the thesis. In this means, ITC is holding the Intellectual Property Rights
adopted by Royal Government of Cambodia together with the research partners. Students and
lecturer in all departments are compulsorily required to strictly follow this guide for thesis
preparation to ensure the standard of uniformity and preservation of standard archival thesis
copy. Any query not specified in this guide should be referred to the respective department
officer or the SC via info@itc.edu.kh.
2. SUBMISSION OF THESIS
2.4. Copyright
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2.5. Plagiarism
2.5.1. Definition
Student must understand the definition, nature, and how to avoid the plagiarism.
Plagiarism could be defined as follows:
“An obvious form of plagiarism is copying any direct quotation from your source
material without providing quotation marks and without crediting the source. A more subtle
form, but equally improper, is the paraphrasing of material or use of an original idea if that
paraphrase or borrowed idea is not properly introduced and documented.” (Lester, 1976, pp.
48).
“One area that can be confusing to researchers involves the use of information
classified as “common knowledge”. If a fact or an idea is well known, it does not have to be
documented, even if it is taken from another source…to be considered common knowledge,
information must be well known to a general audience.” (Clines and Cobb, 1993, pp. 20).
2.5.2. Punishment
Associate Degree in Engineering, Engineer’s Degree, and Master theses are subjected
to the plagiarism verification. In case that plagiarism is founded, student will account for the
Intellectual Property Rights adopted by Royal Government of Cambodian and be required to
revise thesis until proven satisfied by Advisor.
It is necessary that the use of the previous published materials in thesis must be
acknowledged properly within the text by either putting quotation or paraphrasing; this means
that the author’s name with the year of publication should appear in the text while the
reference list should contain all references. The in-text quotation styles could be founded in
the following examples (Om et al., 2011):
- For many authors: in the case that we would like to cite the guide for thesis
preparation by Dr. OM Romny, Dr. CHUNHIENG Thavarith, Mr. NUTH Sothân,
Mr. PHOL Norith, and Mr. SIEANG Phen, it is as follows:
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Om et al. (2011) introduced the guide for thesis preparation……
In the thesis preparation for ITC student (Om et al., 2011),……
-In case of NGOs, student could cite the report published by NGOs, e.g., Food and
Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) as follows:
3. FORMATTING
3.1. Language
The Associate Degree in Engineering thesis shall be written in Khmer while those of
Engineer and Master Degree shall be written either in French or English based on Advisor
Preference.
3.2. Structure
When preparing the thesis manuscript, all students must follow this order: Title pages,
Acknowledgments, Abstract, Abbreviations and Symbols, Table of Contents, List of Figures,
List of Tables, Introduction, Literature Review, Methodology or Materials and Methods,
Results and Discussion, Conclusions (and Recommendations), References, and Appendices.
Text must be written using Times New Roman (12 pt font size) with 1.5 lines spacing
and the margins shall be 25.4 mm from top, bottom, left, and right on white paper. A full
justification shall be used and each new paragraph shall be clearly indicated with indentation
(12.7 mm) and no-space between paragraphs. Tables and figures should be presented in the
text with spacing before and after text of 12 pt (See Example in Appendices).
3.4. Pagination
Theses of all degrees shall be started with the title pages consisted of the first cover
page, second cover page, and third cover page; these cover pages shall not be paginated and
prepared single-sided while the following pages of theses shall be prepared double-sided.
The acknowledgment page, abstract page, abbreviations and symbols page, table of contents
page, list of figures page, and list of tables page, shall be paginated with roman numerals—
i.e., i, ii, iii, etc. From the introduction page to final part of thesis, all pages shall be paginated
in one consecutive numbering sequence—i.e., 1, 2, 3, etc. All page numbers shall be at the
bottom-center of pages. Moreover, each heading shall be started with a new page by using
page breaking.
The title selection for the thesis for all degrees shall be done carefully to ensure that
the consistency between title and thesis manuscript is achievable. Therefore,
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Be sure to select a title that reflects and/or provides a meaningful description
of the content of the thesis manuscript;
Be sure to select a title that in overall covers all the specific objectives aimed
for in the thesis; this means that from the title, a number of specific objectives
could be developed.
The first title page must contain the information on the department, type of degree
(Associate Degree in Engineering, Engineer’s Degree, or Master Degree), thesis title, name
of author, main course of study, name of thesis advisor, and academic year. The second title
page must be written in Khmer and bear the original signatures of Director General of ITC,
Head department, Supervior, and Enterprise Representative while the third title page must
be written in French and containt the same information as that of the second title page. The
template for these title pages could be found in the following link:
Download Sample.
3.7. Acknowledgments
The acknowledgment page shall be included in the thesis manuscript. In this section,
author could express his/her sincere gratitude to his/her family for support and so on. Author
could also include his/her special thank to Professors, Thesis Advisor, Lab Assistant, and
other personnels who have been providing help during the research and the preparation of
thesis. The order of gratitude shall be classified based on the degree of supporting. It means
that person who has been of great help should appeared first.
3.8. Abstract
Each thesis shall contain a concise and factual abstract of maximum 1 page. The
abstract should contain the purpose of the research, the materials and methods, the principal
results and major conclusions. An abstract must be written in 3 languages (Khmer, French
and English in order) except Associate Degree Abstract must be written only in Khmer. In
the case of Abstract in Khmer, all technical terms must be remained in original language
except common and well-known technical terms could be used in Khmer. Moreover, this
abstract should be presented separately from the thesis manuscript, so it must be able to stand
alone. Therefore, references should be avoided, but if essential, then cite the author(s) and
year(s). Moreover, non-standard or uncommon abbreviations should be avoided, but if
essential they must be defined at their first mention in the abstract itself.
All abbreviations and symbols that are not standard and well known in the field of
enginnering should be defined in the abbreviations and symbols page. In the case that any
abbreviations that are unavoidable in the abstract, they must be defined at their first mention
in the abstract. Furthermore, it is necessary to maintain the consistency of abbreviations and
symbols throughout the thesis manuscript.
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3.10. Table of contents
Table of contents should contain all informations on heading and sub-heading of all
chapters presented in the thesis manuscript. Title pages, Acknowledgements, Abstract,
Abbreviations and Symbols, Table of Contents, List of Figures, and List of Tables must not
be numbered in the Table of Contents (See Example in Appendices). The sequencing numeral
shall be started from Introduction (e.g., 1. INTRODUCTION) while the subdivision
contained within Introduction chapter should be numbered 1.1. (then 1.1.1., 1.1.2., ...), 1.2.,
etc. This numbering system should also be used in the following chapters—i.e., 2.
LITERATURE REVIEW, 3. METHODOLOGY or MATERIALS AND METHODS, 4.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION, 5. CONCLUSIONS (AND RECOMMENDATIONS).
On the other hand, REFERENCES, and APPENDICES should appear without any
numbering system.
All figure captions must be presented in this page together with the page number
where the figures exist. Figure caption must be numbered in a consecutive sequence—i.e.,
Figure 1.1., Figure 2.1., Figure 3.1., etc., in accordance with their appearance in the thesis.
Figure 1.1. refers to the first figure appeared in chapter 1, Figure 2.1. refers to the first figure
appeared in chapter 2, Figure 3.1. refers to the first figure appeared in chapter 3, etc. A
caption should comprise a title which is a description of the illustration. Author must keep
text in the illustrations themselves to a minimum but explain all symbols and abbreviations
used within the illustrations. In the case that Figure is cited from other sources, student must
put the reference after the Figure caption.
All tables titles must be presented in this page together with the page number where
the tables are shown. Tables must numbered consecutively (Table 1.1., Table 2.1., Table
3.1., etc.) in accordance with their appearance in the text. Table 1.1. refers to the first table
appeared in chapter 1, Table 2.1. refers to the first table appeared in chapter 2, Table 3.1.
refers to the first table appeared in chapter 3, etc. In the case that Table is cited from other
sources, student must put the reference after the Table caption (see Example in Appendices).
All numbers used in thesis content/tables must be Arabic numerals (0, 1, 2, 3, etc.).
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manuscript. In the case of simple one parameter tables, author is recommended to present
such information in the text itself.
3.13. Introduction
Introduction should contain the rationale/background, goal and objectives, and scope
together with the limitation of the study. Student should begin with the establishment of a
study territory by showing the importance, interesting, and/or problems of the general study
area, and/or by reviewing the previous studies. Student could then continue with the
indication of gab or weakness of previous study based on which the present study must be
conducted. At last, student should finish the introduction section with the announcement of
the goal and specific objectives of the study with the scope/limitation of present study
(Hartley, 2008).
Author could prepare the literature review by taking into account the following
criteria:
In this section, title of this section could be chosen either Methodology or Materials
and Methods accordingly to Advisor Preference. In general format, Author must provide
sufficient detail to allow the work to be reproduced; in addition, methods already published
should be indicated by a reference while only the modifications should be described.
Methodology is usually sub-divided into many sub-sections viz:
②. Experimental operation for the study: author must describe (in detail) how
laboratory or full-scale experimental set-up is constructed. Author is also
required to describe how set-up is operated to ensure that the re-fabrication of
the experimental system.
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For example:
For example: “A DNA extraction kit, ISOIL for Beads Beating (Nippon Gene
Co., Ltd., Toyama, Japan), was used for the extraction of DNA from the
compost samples collected at days…”
In the case that author would like to include the formulae and equations in the
manuscript, each formulae/equation should be given separate numbering—i.e., (Eq. 1.1.),
(Eq. 2.1.), etc. Eq. 1.1. refers to the first equation/formulae appeared in chapter 1 while Eq.
2.1. refers to the first equation/formulae appeared in chapter 2.
The results should be clear and concise, separated into different sub-sections
depending on the findings, and discussing the significance of the results/findings, not repeat
them. In this part, author should state the main findings in order and evaluate how the results
fit in the previous findings; therefore, citation and discussion of the published work should be
included in this part.
The main conclusions drawn from results should be presented in a short conclusions
section. Author must ensure that the conclusions response/reflect the specific objectives
stated in the introduction section. Any discussion must not be included in this section.
3.18. References
It is a must to ensure that each reference cited in the thesis manuscript is also
presented in the reference list, and vice versa. It is recommended that the unpublished results
and personal communications should not be used for citation. References list should be
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arranged alphabetically. In the case that more than one reference from the same author(s) in
the same year, it must be identified by the letters “a”, “b”, “c”, etc; these letters should be
placed after the year of publication.
For example: Author “Mongkul” has published two journals in 2013 and we would
like to reference these two journals; thus, the citation will be “Based on the recent study
(Mongkul, 2013a, 2013b),…”.
Reference list should be prepared based on the type of document, for instance:
Hul, S., Ng, D.K.S, Tan, R.R., Chiang, C.L., Foo, D.C.Y., 2007. Crisp and Fuzzy
Optimisation Approaches for Water Network Retrofit. Chemical Product and
Process Modeling. 2, 1934– 2659.
Reference to a book:
Nester, E.W., Anderson, D.G., Roberts, C.E., Pearsall, N.N., Nester, M.T., 2004.
Microbiology-A human perspective. 4th ed. McGraw-Hill, New York.
Mettam, G.R., Adams, L.B., 2009. How to prepare an electronic version of your
article, in: Jones, B.S., Smith, R.Z. (Eds.), 2009. Introduction to the Electronic
Age. E-Publishing Inc., New York, 281–304.
A clear source and official website can be used as reference. However, a clear
authors and date of the website or the agency creating the website should be
stated. For example:
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations 2011. Cambodia and
FAO achievements and success stories, http://www.fao.org/fileadmin/templates/
rap/files/epublications/CambodiaedocFINAL.pdf (Consulted on March 01, 2013).
Arun, A.B., Chen, W.M., Lai, W.A., Chou, J.H., Shen, F.T., Rekha, P.D., Young, C.C., 2009.
Lutaonella thermophilagen. nov., sp. nov., a moderately thermophilic member of the
family Flavobacteriaceae isolated from a coastal hot spring. International Journal of
Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology. 59, 2069–2073.
Boone, D.R., Castenholz, R.W., Garrity, G.M., 2001. Bergey’s manual of systematic
bacteriology. 2nd ed. Springer, New York.
Page 11 of 26
Bosshard, P.P., Zbinden, R., Altwegg, M., 2002. Turicibacter sanguinis gen. nov., sp. nov., a
novel anaerobic, Gram-positive bacterium. International Journal of Systematic and
Evolutionary Microbiology. 52, 1263–1266.
……
3.19. Appendices
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References
Clines, R.H., Cobb, E.R., 1993. Research writing simplified. Harper Collins.
Fowler, H.R., Aaron, J.E., 1992. The little, brown handbook. 5th ed. Harper Collins.
Hartley, J., 2008. Academic writing and publishing. Routledge Taylor & Francis Group, New
York.
Lester, J.D., 1976. Writing research papers: a complete guide. 2nd ed. Scott, Foresman and
Company Glenview, Illinois.
Om, R., Chunhieng, T., Nuth, S., Phol, N., Sieang, P., 2011. Guide à la rédaction de
mémoire. ITC, Phnom Penh.
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Appendices
1. Acknowledgments
2. Abstract
4. Table of Contents
5. List of Figures
6. List of Tables
7. Introduction
8. Literature Review
12. References
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Page 15 of 26
ABSTRACT
Page 16 of 26
ABBREVIATIONS AND SYMBOLS
Page 17 of 26
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ..................................................................................................... i
ABSTRACT ............................................................................................................................. ii
ABBREVIATIONS AND SYMBOLS .................................................................................... iii
TABLE OF CONTENTS ......................................................................................................... iv
LIST OF FIGURES ................................................................................................................. v
LIST OF TABLES ................................................................................................................... vi
1. INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................... 1
1.1. Background .................................................................................................................. 1
1.2. Goal and objectives ...................................................................................................... 3
2. LITERATURE REVIEW .................................................................................................... 5
3. METHODOLOGY ............................................................................................................. 31
4. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION ......................................................................................... 51
5. CONCLUSIONS................................................................................................................. 71
REFERENCES ....................................................................................................................... 77
APPENDICES ........................................................................................................................ 85
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LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 2.1. Forecasts of world and regional annual growth rate of fertilizer demand
between 2011 and 2015 (FAO, 2011). .............................................................. 10
Figure 2.2. Time courses of the number of publication related to effects of turning on
composting from 1980 to 2012. ........................................................................ 15
Figure 2.3. Number of publication related to application of molecular methods (DGGE, T-
RFLP, SSCP, ARDRA, ARISA, and DHPLC) in compost. ............................. 17
Figure 3.1. Schematic diagram of the composting system. ................................................. 48
Figure 4.1. Schematic diagram of the experimental system. ............................................... 52
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LIST OF TABLES
Table 2.1. Municipal solid waste generation and its composition in different countries. . 11
Table 2.2. Plant diseases suppression (Litterick et al., 2004). .......................................... 13
Table 2.3. C/N ratios of various organic wastes (Golueke, 1977). ................................... 15
Table 2.4. Thermal deathpoints of some common pathogens (Golueke, 1977). ............... 16
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1. INTRODUCTION
1.1. Background
The text following the sub-heading should be started with the indentation and written
using Times New Roman, 12 pt font size, justification text, 10 pt from the heading and 1.5
line spacing.
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2. LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1. Sub-heading
The text following the sub-heading should be started with the indentation and written
using Times New Roman, 12 pt font size, justification text, 10 pt from the heading and 1.5
line spacing. In the case that author would like to embed the figures in the text, figure must be
placed in the center of the text with 12 pt spacing before and after text as follows:
Figure 2.1. Time courses of the number of publication related to effects of turning on
composting from 1980 to 2012.
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3. METHODOLOGY
3.1. Sub-heading
The text following the sub-heading should be started with the indentation and written
using Times New Roman, 12 pt font size, justification text, 10 pt from the heading and 1.5
line spacing. In the case that author would like to embed the tables in the text, tables must be
placed in the center of the text with 12 pt spacing before and after text as follows:
Table 3.1. Nitrogen content and C/N ratios of various organic wastes (Golueke, 1977).
In the case that author would like to include the formulae and/or equations in the
manuscript, each formulae/equation must be given in separate numbering as follows:
where Q is the cumulative CO2 emission at a given composting time (mol), CP is the potential
amount of carbon in the compost sample that can be released as CO2 (mol), α is the
degradability coefficient based on the carbon of organic materials in the compost sample
(h−1), and t is the composting time (h).
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4. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
4.1. Sub-heading
The text following the sub-heading should be started with the indentation and written
using Times New Roman, 12 pt font size, justification text, 10 pt from the heading and 1.5
line spacing.
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5. CONCLUSIONS
The text following the sub-heading should be started with the indentation and written
using Times New Roman, 12 pt font size, justification text, 10 pt from the heading and 1.5
line spacing.
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REFERENCES
Arun, A.B., Chen, W.M., Lai, W.A., Chou, J.H., Shen, F.T., Rekha, P.D., Young, C.C., 2009.
Lutaonella thermophilagen. nov., sp. nov., a moderately thermophilic member of the
family Flavobacteriaceae isolated from a coastal hot spring. International Journal of
Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology. 59, 2069–2073.
Boone, D.R., Castenholz, R.W., Garrity, G.M., 2001. Bergey’s manual of systematic
bacteriology. 2nd ed. Springer, New York.
Bosshard, P.P., Zbinden, R., Altwegg, M., 2002. Turicibacter sanguinis gen. nov., sp. nov., a
novel anaerobic, Gram-positive bacterium. International Journal of Systematic and
Evolutionary Microbiology. 52, 1263–1266.
Page 26 of 26