final year project 1

THESIS W RITING AND

GENERAL GUIDELINE AND
TIP S
Dr Norazlina Binti Bateni

D E PA R T M E N T O F C I V I L E N G I N E E R I N G ,
FA C U LT Y O F E N G I N E E R I N G , U N I M A S
Writing the Thesis:

Ch a pt e r 2 Lit e r a t u r e Re v ie w

Dr Norazlina Binti Bateni

(Phd-Stormwater Management; MEng-Hydrology & Water
Resources; BEng-Civil engineering)
Department of Civil Engineering
Faculty of Engineering
Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS)
E : bnorazlina@unimas.my
P: +6082-581000 F:+6082-583410
Introduction to
T h e s is Wr it in g
Wha t The s is is All Ab out
•An in d ivid u a l p ro je c t, with a d e q u a te re s e a rc h g a p

a n d s o lve d p ro b le m .

•Thesis must show two important things:

- you have identified a problem not previously answered
- you have solved the problem / answered the question
 01 Identify a problem and form
INTRODUCTION
a thesis statement.

02 LITERATURE Review literature related

REVIEW to your topic.

Thesis Contents
03 Come up with method and
METHODOLOGY procedure

04 RESEARCH &
Analyse your data and present in
Table or Figure, IEvaluate and,
DISCUSSION discuss your results

05 Interpret the results and

CONCLUSION write your conclusion.
Recomendation
 Best way is
to prepare
GETTING STARTED an extended
outline

Ta b le o f Brie f p o in t -fo rm O u t lin e yo u r A t im e t a b le

Co n te n ts d e s c rip t io n o f c h a p te r Make a schedule,
Begin with Table of
c o n te n ts Use general gantt chart
Contents, listing each guideline with
for each section and
section and sub-section
sub-section reference to other
previous Thesis work
Tips
-Get copies of good Thesis project
Style
•The text must be clear, easy to read
a nd und e rs ta nd
•Good grammar and thoughtful writing
easier to read, writing a story with
beginning, middle and end
•Scientific writing is a little formal No
slang
•Short, simple phrases and words are
better than long ones
•Thesis must be a connected, convincing
argument not just a list of facts and
observations
Tips
Pla n the s tructure w ell/ refer TOC
•Avoid repetitions (copying your own
sentences several times)
•Must not copy other peoples’ sentences
Develop your own style
•Maintain thread between adjoining
chapters (“joining“ words/sentences)
•Define all variables in equations and in
calculations. Use variables according to
general practice. Do not use the same
variables for different things
•Describe test and computational
conditions.
Tip s
• Sp e nd e punctuations
noug h tim e p la nning the
•Apply correctly
s tructure
•Avoid bombastic words and rarely
used vocabulary
•Ge t copie s of othe r (good) the s e s . Ta lk to your s upe rvis or
•Writing in the “active voice“ improves
the reading pace and dynamics.
•Illustrations and diagrams readable in
terms of graphic style and explanations
of variables
C h a p te r 2 Lite ra tu re Re vie w
What is known about the issue background, from where the problem arose, and
how others have attempted to resolve it
•Summary of recognized facts and information in academic literature
•What other methods have been tried to solve it?
•Should be organized by ideas rather than by authors or works
•Concentrate on most important publications: Use primary literature
•Keep it confined to topics really relevant to your own work
•Do not try to show off by citing too many papers
•Make sure you do not miss the latest developments
•Make sure you understood what you have cited
–under-pinning model/theory/law-
–discussion on existing studies related to current study-
–gaps of knowledge (summary of review of literature, table, e.g new
proposed/design parameter etc.
Chapter 2: Literature Review
Chapter 2: Literature Review
 The longest chapter
Selective and underpinning theory, identify research gap
Chapter that is closely scrutinizing
Beautifies your dissertation
 Chapter 2: Literature Review
Chapter Outlines: Literature Review
•Introduction
•Global Literatures
•Regional Literatures
•Country Specific Literature
•Theories Underpinning your research
•Gap in the Literature
•Theoretical Framework and Justification
•Summary
 Chapter 2: Literature Review
Chapter Outlines: Literature Review
•Introduction
•General background
•Regional Literatures
•Country Specific Literature
•Theories Underpinning your research
•Gap in the Literature
•Theoretical Framework and Justification
•Summary
C h a p te r 2 Lite ra tu re Re vie w
What is a LR
-In LR, the term “literature” meas the works we consult in order to understand and
investigate our research problem
-Find research paper to understand , problem, theory difficulties, methodology

-LR surveys books, scolarly articles and any other resources relevant ti a particular
issue, area of research or theory, and by so doing. Provides a description, summary and
critical evaluation of these works in relation to the research problem being investigated

-The purpose of LR is to gain an understanding of the existing research and debates

relevant to a particular topic or area of study, and to present that knowledge in the form
of a written report. LR does help us building knowledge in the relevant field.
 How it’s w ork
St ep
•Identify issues, differences and
s im ila rities in other w orks ,
•integrate key points of research
and make relationship with your
topic
•review literature available from
past and present
•introduce the topic and describe
the scope
•Get data from any journals,
books, magazines, reports, news
papers.
*more focus to journals with more
established journal
•Mus t b e org a nized to cover
id entified a nd d efined p rob lem
• Mus t ta ke a ll the evid ences a b out
the p rob lem w ith the a uthor’s
exp eriences
• As m uch a s p os s ib le, g et the la tes t
p ub lis hed m a teria ls . Avoid old
p ub lis hed m a teria ls
-4 0 % to b e la tes t tha n five yea rs
-g et orig ina l p a p er of the theory
• It m us t rela ted to your top ic. If not,
d o not g et it.
• On the la s t p a rt, you m us t ha ve
s ta tem ent how this old p ub lis hed
m a teria l help s the res ea cher in their
current s tud y a nd rela te to your
s tud y
Tip s
Literature Review tips
• How widely/deeply have you read this subject area?
• Have the key seminal texts been mentioned?
• Has there been critical engagement with the literature?
• You need to give your opinions/commentary on the literature.
• Do you agree with what the literature is saying? It is ok to
disagree
• To what extent is the text adequately referenced?
• Is there a separate list of references?
• Are there a reasonable number of recent references?
 Chapter 2: Literature Review
How to start
• Broad Issues & Background; Begin by establishing
context, or background, for the argument explored in
the rest of the paper. Convey to your reader what
knowledge and ideas have been established on a topic.
• Theme/s of Your ResearchNext, narrow the focus:
Discuss literature that aligns with the specific focus of
your paper. Give an overview of literature that relates to
the theme/s of your research.
• Direct RelevanceSpend the most time discussing the
sources which are most directly relevant to your
research. This lets the reader see what came before,
and how you will contribute to the field by moving
research forward.
 Beginning a literature review.
Problem formulation— what is the subject/topic or
area being reviewed and what are its component
issues?

Literature search—finding materials relevant to the

subject being explored.

Data evaluation—determining which literature

makes a significant contribution to the
understanding of the subject and letting go of
information clutter. Not everything is relevant.

Analysis and interpretation—discussing the findings

and conclusions of pertinent literature.
 Chapter 2: Literature Review
Question to ask yourself
• Identify the appropriate academic and/or professional fields
• Evaluate and critique the literature – challenge the assumptions
• Be highly selective, and include only those aspects of the Research Literature
and conceptual literature that are relevant to developing the foundation of the
current study
• Must serve a specific study-oriented purposed
• Each major/ key previous study is discussed in a separate paragraph with the
findings
• Summarized collectively
• A review of the literature should read a synthesis, written by some one who has
read all of the literature and so is able to look across it all, select the highlight,
and synthesize these into a totally integrated section in the context of the
current study, for further use when writing the discussions of the results and
conclusions.
 Chapter 2: Literature Review
Organizing the LR
• Chronological (by date)- Changes of the idea over their history
• Broad to Specific – general idea to more focus idea
• Major models or Major Theories - outline the theories or
models that are applied the most in your articles, to get a
good overview of the prominent approaches to your concept
• Prominent Authors- grouping the famous author/researchers
and what each is known to have said about the topic
• Contrasting Schools of thought - dominant argument, group
your literature review by those schools of thought and
contrast the differences in their approaches and ideas
 Chapter 2: Literature Review
Broad

Ways to structure the LR Specific

•Topical order (by main topics or issues, More specific

showing relationship to the main problem or Narrow down
topic)
To the most specific
•Chronological order (simplest of all, organise
by dates of published literature)
•Problem-cause-solution order General link
•General to specific order specific between them

•Known to unknown order

•Comparison and contrast order
specific specific
•Specific to general order
Incorp ora ting refereces

Citing the references

•Think like sandwich with your own words as
bread
•Top piece intro and bottom conclusion
•Middle items are the quoted information
Verb s to
introd uce
q uotes
Tip s
Literature Review tips
• How widely/deeply have you read this subject area?
• Have the key seminal texts been mentioned?
• Has there been critical engagement with the literature?
• You need to give your opinions/commentary on the literature.
• Do you agree with what the literature is saying? It is ok to
disagree
• To what extent is the text adequately referenced?
• Is there a separate list of references?
• Are there a reasonable number of recent references?
Chapter 2: Literature Review
Example of TOC​
Example of LR​
Synthesis Table based on
every objectives