Table of Contents

Declaration................................................................................................................................3
Dedication..................................................................................................................................3
Acknowledgement.....................................................................................................................3
Table of Contents......................................................................................................................3
List of Tables.............................................................................................................................3
List of Figures............................................................................................................................3
List of Appendices.....................................................................................................................3
List of abbreviations and symbols (if any).................................................................................3
Abstract.....................................................................................................................................3

CHAPTER ONE....................................................................................................................3
INTRODUCTION..........................................................................................................................3

CHAPTER TWO...................................................................................................................4
LITERATURE REVIEW...................................................................................................................4

CHAPTER THREE.................................................................................................................4
METHODOLOGY (RESEARCH METHOD TO BE USED)....................................................................4

CHAPTER FOUR..................................................................................................................4
EXPECTED OUTPUTS AND IMPACTS.............................................................................................4

REFERENCES.......................................................................................................................5
Make use of the APA referencing style........................................................................................5

APPENDICES.......................................................................................................................6

List of Tables

Table 1: Cost and Material Estimates 7

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 GUIDELINES FOR PROJECT PROPOSAL FORMULATION
GENERAL GUIDELINES IN PROPOSAL AND PROJECT WRITING ACTIVITIES:

Each student will be allocated his/her supervisor.

Each student should, in consultation with his/her project supervisor, draft and gradually refine
a project proposal.

Each student should study the current situation (literature review, state of the art) in a
computer science or IT research area(s). The student should [in the process] clearly identify a
problem/gap in the computer science or IT research area(s).

The student should propose a novel idea that falls under a certain computer science or IT
research area(s) that has the potential to address the aforementioned problem/gap. The
student should describe the research methodology that will be followed in order to fully
develop the proposed idea and to demonstrate that the proposed idea is superior to SOA
and/or complements SOA.

The student will first present the proposal to the department for approval.

In the process of carrying out the actual project, the student should:

● Conduct a thorough literature review in order to show the state-of-the-art (SOA).

● Clearly identify a problem/gap.

● Propose an idea for addressing the problem/gap.

● Describe and show the research methodology followed in order to fully build the
proposed idea (e.g., data collection, requirements obtained, building/developing the
proposed model).
● Demonstrate that, when it comes to addressing the problem/gap, the proposed idea is
superior to SOA and/or complements SOA.
● The above research work should culminate in a working software prototype/product.

● Point out open issues in the research area(s) and indicative possible directions for
future work.

Continual and regular feedback will be expected from each student in the entire process of
the project.

Each student has a responsibility to submit both the project report and the corresponding
working software prototype/product (also on the same CD).

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Each student has a responsibility to give presentations at scheduled times during the phases of
the project and also as the student submits the project report and the corresponding working
software prototype/product.

PROJECT PROPOSAL CONTENT:

Title Page

● Research topic (Title)

● Researcher Names

● Proposed supervisor

● Institution Affiliation

● Date

Title:

The research title should be descriptive, short and SMART. It should reflect the content of
the problem. Generally, the title should have a maximum of 15 words or 120 characters.

Preliminary Pages
Declaration
Dedication
Acknowledgement
Table of Contents
List of Tables
List of Figures
List of Appendices
List of abbreviations and symbols (if any)
Abstract

Abstract

Not exceeding 200 words should state the problem investigated, aims/scope, outline the
methods used and summarize the expected outputs and impacts.

CHAPTER ONE

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INTRODUCTION

Describes the state of knowledge, research questions, aims of the work and the context in
which the work appears.

1.1. Background
1.2. Statement of the Problem
1.3. Justification or importance of the project
1.4. Hypotheses or Research Questions (minimum 3; maximum 5).
1.5. Objectives
1.5.1. Broad Objective
1.5.2. Specific objectives – at least 5 (should be related to the hypotheses or research
questions)
1.6. Scope of study

CHAPTER TWO

LITERATURE REVIEW

This chapter gives the reader an orientation to the research problem by referencing previous
concepts and research in the area of interest, i.e., the literature review should encompass:
• Theoretical and empirical literature.
• Broad to specific literature.
• Existing information and methods used in the past to study the problem. This should
include a review of previous work carried out in the area of study and elsewhere,
which is relevant to the study.
• Problems and their magnitude.
• Gaps in knowledge.
• Approach: what is intended to be done to ameliorate the problems or gaps
identified? The references to literature should be limited to information that is
essential to the reader’s orientation. Most readers do not need long literature
reviews, especially of old references if newer ones are available.

CHAPTER THREE

METHODOLOGY (RESEARCH METHOD TO BE USED)

This chapter should be sectioned as per the stated specific objectives. The purpose of the
chapter is to give enough details so that a competent researcher can easily repeat the research.
It is an explanation of the various strategies intended to be deployed in solving the problem
and may involve the following:
• Research design: (survey)
• Conceptual framework
• Data Collection methods and techniques
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CHAPTER FOUR

EXPECTED OUTPUTS AND IMPACTS

At the end of project work, one expects outputs and impacts of the project findings on society
or organization.

Examples of expected outputs include:

• Increased production of milk, grain, energy, etc., to a level of say 20%.
• A 10% enhanced education level or awareness.
• A 5% increase in efficiency in transport, production and communication systems.
• A more elaborate (40%) network for information transactions.

Examples of expected impacts include:

1. Increase the productivity of water resources by better understanding the complex
interactions between land use and water availability and quantity.
2. Improve livelihood security and reduce vulnerability to climate events through better
planning of water resource use.
3. Enhance the capacity of local resource users, state agencies, National Research Systems,
NGOs and other stakeholders to use scientific and local knowledge in multi-stakeholder
negotiation processes.

REFERENCES
Only literature that is available should be cited. Material not available through libraries, such
as personal communications or unpublished data, should be given in the text as parenthetical
matters. The source of data and date should be included (e.g., Kenneth, C. L.,
Communication Systems, 2011). Where possible only significant, published references
should be cited (preferably more accessible sources of such publications).

Make use of the APA referencing style.

In general, references in the text can be cited as follows. For a single author: either Waweru
(2000) or (Thuku, 2000). For two authors: either Oloo and Wanjiku (2011) or (Oloo and
Wanjiku, 2011). For more than two authors: either Waweru et al. (2010) or (Waweru et al.,
2010). For two or more articles by the same author(s) in the same year, designate them as
follows: Juma (2009a, b) or Juma et al. (2009a, b).

Referencing should be as follows.

(a) Reference to periodical publications Williams L A. Use of computer technology by

family caregivers of patients undergoing blood or marrow transplants. Biology of
Blood and Marrow Transplantation, 2006, 1:10-16. Brauner N; Schacham M.
Identifying and removing sources of impression in polynomial regression.
Mathematics and Computers in Simulation, 1998, 48: 75-91.

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 (b) Reference to textbooks Blanchard B S, Fabrycky W J. Systems engineering and
analysis. New Jersey, Prentice Hall, 1998
(c) Reference to proceedings

Rigney M P; Kranzler G A. Seedling classification performance of the neural

network. Paper No. 897523, St Joseph, MI 49085, American Society of
Agricultural Engineers, 1989.

(d) Reference to website

Information on Gepasi – the website http://gepasi.dbs.aber.ac.uk/softw/gepasi.html

APPENDICES

APPENDIX A: QUESTIONNAIRES (if any)

APPENDIX B: COST AND MATERIAL ESTIMATES

Table 1: Cost and Material Estimates

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