GUIDELINE FOR RESEARCH PROJECT IN BUILDING TECHNOLOGY

DEPARTMENT
FEDERAL POLYTECHNIC NEKEDE
BLD

 TABLE OF CONTENTS
 Preliminary pages
 Title Page
This page usually contains the following information
a.The main title of the work and the subtitle (if any)
b. The complete names of the student (s) as the case may be.
c. A follow-up statement describing the research project, the department, school/faculty,
the institution to which it is being submitted and the purpose of the submission.
d. The month and year of publication

 Approval page
This Page expresses statements confirming the fact that the work had been properly
supervised and approved; having met the standard requirements of the department and
institution.

 Dedication
Here, the student researcher writes his/her dedication on this page. Usually, this comes in
a few lines of sentences to form a single paragraph.

 Acknowledgement
In this page, you are expected to recognize all those that made noteworthy contributions
to the success of your project. It allows for comments regarding the roles played by
significant contributors to the successful completion of the project work. The first person
to acknowledge after God is your supervisor followed by HOD and the department (Staff)
before other persons.

 Table of contents
This page usually runs into more pages than one. It outlines all the contents headings
(chapters, headings and sub-heading) of the entire project with the corresponding pages
where they can be found. The content pages are set out in such a way that to its left
hand side, the contents are outlined beginning with the preliminary pages (in roman
numerals) running through the entire chapters (in digital/arabic numerals). Each of the
content item listed is followed by the corresponding page numbers on the right hand while
each of the main and sub-headings carry some designated numbers corresponding to
the chapter number to the inner left-hand margin.

 List of tables
 It outlines all the table labels in the project with the corresponding pages where they can
be found. The tables are usually numbered using chapter heading. E.g. first table in
chapter 3 will be table 3.1.

 List of figures
 It outlines all the figures in the project with the corresponding pages where they can be
found. The figures are usually numbered using chapter heading. E.g. first figure in
chapter 1 will be figure 1.

 Abstract
An abstract is short account of something much longer such that only the salient issues
contained are brought to the fore. This section provides an outline of the prominent issues in
entire project work using future tenses. The abstract is often the last item that you write, but
the first thing people read when they want to have a quick overview of the whole project
work. If done well, it makes the reader want to learn more about your research. The basic
components of an abstract in any discipline are: (1) Motivation/problem statement (2)
Methods/procedure/approach/tools (3)Results/findings/product (4) Conclusion/ implications.
Note, abstract should be written in one paragraph with single line spacing not more than 250
words.

CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION

1.1 Introduction
In this section, you introduce the project topic and what the entire chapter is all
about or covers.

1.2 Background of Study

In this section, you document the general description of the topic, events, trends
or reason that necessitated the choice of the project. You are to document
background information (prevailing circumstance at that point in time that prompted
the project) of the system been understudied with focus on the events that led you
to embark on the project.

1.3 Statement of Problem

Here, the obvious problems and difficulties experienced in the existing system that
you want to solve are highlighted

1.4 Objectives of the Study

 State clearly the main goal of the research work and the specific objectives aimed
at solving the problems stated in 1.3. Each of the specific objectives should
mitigate the problems one after the other.

1.5 Significance of Study

Under this section, you are expected to write the overall impact and potential
benefits of the research work. That is when this work is completed; what will
contribute to humanity or what impact will it make to the organization or related
organizations being understudied.

1.6 Scope of study

The precise area (s) the project will cover from the whole topic is discussed in this
section.

1.7 Limitations of the study

The factors that deterred you and how the deterred you in course of the project
should be documented here.

1.8 Definition of terms

Technical terms and other used in the project that have specific meaning based on
the project are explained in this section. When you finish your work you have to
make sure you update this list.

CHAPTER TWO
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
2.1 Introduction
In this section, you introduce the literature review and topics/concepts to be reviewed
are highlighted.
2.2 -….. Body of the work. Literature review is an account of what has been published
on a topic by accredited scholars and researchers that aim at showing you convince
your readers that you have read extensively and have a good grasp of the published
works concerning the topic, related topics or questions in the research. It is also aimed
at closing some research gap in the area understudy. In closing a research gap, the
researcher (s) will have to explain his/her/their own view about the issue or area
understudy. Efforts must be made to give credit to authors you are using their work by
citing and referencing them properly..

What is literature review

A Literature review is a survey or comprehensive summary of relevant and significant scholarly
publications on a particular topic.  The main reason for writing literature review in a research
work is to convey to the reader what knowledge and ideas have been established on a topic,
and what their strengths and weaknesses are. A literature review can be said to be both the
process and the product.

 It is a process because it involves a systematic examination of prior scholarly works.

 While It is a product because it is a descriptive and analytic summary of the existing
material relating to a particular topic or area of study.

In writing a literature review, you must define a guiding concept such as your research objective,
the problem or issues you are discussing/ working to mitigate.

Objectives of literature review

The 3 main objectives literature review are as follows:
1. It surveys the literature in a chosen area of study or topic
2. It synthesizes the information in those literature into a summary
3. It critically analyses the information gathered by identifying gaps in current knowledge;
showing their limitations, formulating areas for further research and identify areas of
controversy

Purposes of literature review

The main purpose of a literature review in a research project is to provide a review of writings on a given
topic in order to establish the reviewer’s own position on that topic. A literature review provides a
reader with a comprehensive look at previous discussions prior to the one the researcher is making in
his or her own work.

Literature review is written in a research project to achieve the following purposes

1. To help understand a research topic.

2. To establish the importance of a topic
3. To Determine what has already been written on a topic
4. Provide an overview of key concepts in the topic under study
5. Identify strengths and weaknesses of the scholarly publications on the topic.
6. To help one develop his or her own ideas on a given topic.
7. To ensure a researcher is not replicating research others have been successfully
completed.
8. To demonstrate knowledge and show how the current work is situated within, builds on,
or departs from earlier works published on the topic.
9. To Identify gaps and conflicting evidence in the research
10. To understand where one’s own research fits into and adds to an existing body of
agreed knowledge.

What does your literature review say about your research Project?
Your literature review shows your readers whether or not you have an in-depth grasp of your
subject. When you have a rich literature review, it convinces your readers that you have sound
knowledge of the subject you are working on and that your work is not based on assumptions.
Structure of a literature review

A Literature review is usually divided into 3 main parts, as follows

1.Introduction,

2. Body paragraphs or body of the work

3. Conclusion.

NOTE: That the fourth part of the literature is references which usually comes at the end of the
entire project report. The referencing is done using APA referencing style 7th edition

What is APA?

APA referencing style is an author-date referencing system published by the American

Psychological Association (APA). The APA referencing style is made up of two components: in-
text citations and the reference list entries. In-text citations enable one to acknowledge the
source of a particular writing in the body of the work while the reference entries enables one to
include at the end of the work all the sources cited to in the review.

How to cite in the body of your work using APA style otherwise known as
APA in-text citation

An APA in-text citation consists of the author’s last name and year of publication, for example:
(Nwoduh, 2020). If you're quoting the exact words of someone else, then you need introduce
the quote with an in-text citation in parenthesis and you have to include the page number as
well, for example: (Nwoduh, 2020, page. 17). For sources such as websites that have no
page numbers, you have to use the paragraph number, for example: (Nwoduh, 2020, para 2).
In-text citation is used in review, when you summarize, paraphrase, or quote from another
source. For every in-text citation in your work, there must be a corresponding entry in your
reference list.

How to cite a source when there is no author:

When you want to cite a source whose author is unknown, instead of the author's name, include
the first few words of the work's title in the in-text citation. Enclose the title in double quotation
marks when citing an article, web page or book chapter. Italicize the title of periodicals, books,
and reports. Example:( How to site a source without an author, 2019)

How to cite a source when there is No publication date

If you have a publication you want to cite but the publication date is unknown, use “n.d.” (no
date) in the column where you are suppose to have year of publication. For example: (Nwoduh,
n.d.).

How to cite sources with multiple authors

When you have only two authors in source you want to cite, you have to list the two
authors surname connecting both names with & (ampersand) and include the year. Example
(Nwoduh & Emejeamara, 2020).

Sources with more than two authors

APA 7th edition recommends that in-text citation, works or sources with three or more
authors should shortened right from the first citation. You only include th e first
author’s surname followed by “et al.”. Note that in 6 th edition you only shorten with “et
al.” from the second citation but with 7th edition you start using et al from the first
citation.

How to cite group author

Group author refers to when the author of work is an organization or corporate entity such as
central bank of Nigeria (CBN), National center for disease control (NCDC), National Bureau for
statistics (NBS) etc.
When citing such organizations in the body of your work, you have to write the full name with
abbreviation and year of publication the first time you are citing it and subsequently you will be
using abbreviation and year of publication.

The Reference List

All in-text citations in the body of your work should be listed in the reference list at the end of
your review. The purpose of the reference list entry is to contain all the information that a reader
of your work needs to follow-up on your sources. An important principle in referencing is to be
consistent.

When compiling your Reference List using APA stlye, you should do the following:

1. List references on a new page with a centred heading titled: References.

2. Include all your references in one alphabetical listing from A - Z regardless the type or
format of the sources, e.g books, journal articles, online sources,.
3. Order entries alphabetically by surname of author(s).
4. List works with no author under the first significant word of the title. In other words cited
a work whose author is unknown, you have to use part of title as the name of the author
and the first significant word in that title takes the place of the surname
5. Indent second and subsequent lines of each entry (5-7 spaces).
6. Use double spacing.
7. Note that all references in APA end with a full stop except when the reference ends with
a URL or a DOI.
How to Journal article into your reference list

A basic reference list entry for a journal article in APA must include:

1. Author or authors surname. The surname is followed by first initials.

2. Year of publication of the article (in round brackets).
3. Article title.
4. Journal title (in italics).
5. Volume of journal (in italics).
6. Issue of journal .
7. Page range of article.
8. DOI (presented as a hyperlink, for example https://doi.org/xxxxx).
9. The first line of each citation is left adjusted. Every subsequent line is indented 5-7
spaces.

Example:
Ruxton, C. (2016). Tea: Hydration and other health benefits. Primary Health Care, 26(8), 34-42.
https://doi.org/10.7748/phc.2016.e1162.

How to enter Book sources into your reference list

A basic reference list entry for a book from a library database in APA must include:

1. Author or authors surname. The surname is followed by first initials.

2. Year of publication of the book (in round brackets).
3. Book title (in italics).
4. Edition (in round brackets), if other than first edition.
5. Publisher.
6. DOI (where a book has a DOI this must be included, even if you are referring to a print
book).
7. The first line of each citation is left adjusted. Every subsequent line is indented 5-7
spaces.

Example: Arnott, G. D. (2017). The disability support worker (2nd ed.). Cengage Learning. 

How to enter resources from web pages into your reference list

A basic reference list entry for a web page in APA must include:

1. Author or authors. (The surname is followed by first initials if applicable). The author

could be an organization otherwise known as cooperate author.
2. Date of publication (in round brackets).
 3. Article title (in italics).
4. URL
5. Website name except the author’s name is the same with the website name
6. The first line of each citation is left adjusted. Every subsequent line is indented 5-7
spaces.
7. Note that date of retrieval is no longer necessary according on APA 7th edition

Example.
Asmelash, L. (2019, August 14). Social media use may harm teens' mental health by disrupting
positive activities, study says. CNN. https://www.cnn.com/2019/08/13/health/social-media-
mental-health-trnd/index.html

Notable changes made in APA 7th edition.

The biggest changes in the 7th edition are as follows:

1. The publisher location is no longer included in the reference.

2. The in-text citation for works with three or more authors is now shortened right
from the first citation. You only include the first author’s name and “et al.”.
3. Surnames and initials for up to 20 authors (instead of 7 as obtained in 6 th edition)
should be provided in the reference list.
4. DOIs are formatted the same way as URLs. The label “DOI:” is no longer
necessary.
5. URLs are no longer preceded by “Retrieved from,” unless a retrieval date is
needed. The website name is included (unless it’s the same as the author), and
web page titles are italicized.
6. For ebooks, the format, platform, or device (e.g. Kindle or PDF) is no longer
included in the reference, and the publisher is included.
7. When citing a podcast episode, the author, the editor and the host of the episode
should be included; for a TV series episode, the writer and director of that episode
are cited.
8. There is Increased flexibility regarding use of fonts: options such as Calibri 11,
Arial 11, Lucida Sans Unicode 10, Times New Roman 12, and Georgia 11 are
included.