Final Year Project

Requirements

Department of Surveying

LKC FES, UTAR

Tasks and Deadlines

1. Find a topic and get a supervisor

Note: Submit “NEW FYP Title Registration

Form” to basket outside room FE (5)

Zone 2, 8th Flr (Make a copy for yourself

+ supervisor)

* Write ‘May 2016’ or ‘Jan 2017’ on top

right corner of the form (your trimester of

FYP1)

** Pls get signature on both sides of

form

This semester -

Week 13IMPORTANT: MUST READ! **You must take FYP1 and FYP2 in two consecutive long trimester (Jan + May, or May + Jan), internship is not allowed in between FYP1 and FYP2.

**Also,internship is not allowed during the last trimester of your study.

2. Project I

Note: “Record of Supervision/Meeting”

(Appendix F)

Final Year S1 –

Week 10

3. Project II

Note: Fill in and update the “Record of

Supervision/Meeting”

*Overall similarity index is 20% and below

for Turnitin

Final Year S2 –

Week 12

Moderator

Project I and Project II

Contents Length Mark

Project I (a) Introduction 4000 words

(±5%)

20%(Report +

General

Effort)

(b) Preliminary literature review

(c) Research methodology

Project II (a) Abstract, Introduction &

Literature review

10000 words

(±10%)

80%(Report +

General

Effort +

Oral)(b) Research methodology

(c) Surveys/ interviews/fieldwork

results

(d) Analysis and discussion

(e) Conclusion and recommendation

Only

Guideline

NEW

FYP Website: http://fes.utar.edu.my/current-students/fyp/specific-

department-information/fyp-information-for-

department-of-surveying/

1. Supervisor’s Comments on Originality Report Generated by Turnitin

2. Monitoring and Counselling Form

3. Lab Declaration Form

4. Return of marked report (FYP1) and (FYP2) to supervisor

5. Submission Venue: Lab

6. FYP Poster Competition

Find a topic and get a

supervisor

Subject Areas

Research Topic

Note: Need to fill out the “Project Definition Document”. See Appendix G.

Subject Areas

A subject area consists of a broad range of

possible issues (e.g. a module)

– E.g. Procurement Systems in Malaysia

A subject area is usually much too large to

be taken as a topic in itself.

Research Topic

The research topic is a specific area

within a particular subject.

Title of research usually directly

announces its topic.

Note: See Attachment 1 for the list of proposed topics

and areas of interest of lecturers

Subject and topic

Topic

Subject Area

Identifying Research Topic

Student needs to explore and discuss with the

teaching staff on his/her intended research area of

study on the semester before the commencement of

Project I.

The student may identify an area of his/her own or

select a potential topic from the Project List. the

student may then approach the teaching staff to

discuss whether the area of study or potential title

could be pursued further.

As a general guide, students may refer to the journal

and conference articles in order to identify potential

topics for their research. Book titles are generally NOT

suitable to be used as a research topic!

Identifying Research Topic

Journals relevant to the built environment research include:Construction Management and Economics

(CME)

Construction Innovation

Automation in Construction

Information Technology in Construction

Engineering, Construction and Architectural Engineering

Building research and Information

… And many more at http://library.utar.edu.my/, and the click on the “online journals” link.

Confirmation Of Project Title & Supervisor

If the student and the teaching staff are in agreement with the topic and the teaching staff is willing to act as the supervisor for the student's research, students must prepare and submit a two-page Project Definition Document (Appendix B in Project Guideline - DS) and get it approved by their supervisor before they can officially start to work on their final year project.

A lecturer will become a particular student’s supervisor after signing the PDD. Students are required to specify in the Project Definition Document their own project title, aim, objectives, outline of methodology, anticipated outcomes, proposed structure of report, resources and the programme of work.

Confirmation Of Project Title & Supervisor

PDD serves as a master plan for both the students and supervisors to refer to from time to time in order to plan the steps in conducting the research, for deciding on the detailed contents of the report and monitoring the progress. This is critical for ensuring that students can submit a report that meets the rigorous academic standards within the time constraint.

Can the project title, aim, objectives, etc. to be changed later? This is dependent on your supervisor.

Supervisor’s expectation

Students should treat the supervisor with respect.

The students will take responsibility for their own Project Reports. It

must be remembered that it is the students who are being

examined, not the supervisors.

Students are to arrange and attend all meetings. This can be on

a fixed schedule, to be sorted out between the student and

supervisor, to suit both parties. In the case where the student

cannot attend a meeting, he/she should provide at least 24

hours notice to the supervisor concerned.

There should be at least four such meetings between the

students and their supervisor for Projects I and II respectively.

However, individual supervisor may specify different minimum

number of meetings for students as appropriate.

Students should undertake all readings requested prior to

meetings.

Supervisor’s expectation

Students should attend meetings with writing and note-taking

equipment, together with a file containing all previous work

done and comments made.

Students will report on their progress and brief the supervisor on

the work done at each meeting and receive advice from

supervisor.

Students must keep a “Record of Supervision/Meeting” on the

meetings with their supervisors. See Appendix F in the FYP

Guidelines

The supervisor may look at outlines of work but will not read

drafts.

Students will not expect supervisors to correct grammar.

Once a Project Supervisor is confirmed, it is the student’s

responsibility to make and continue regular contact with the

supervisor.

Supervisor’s expectation

Students will set their own directions. The supervisor’s

role is to help the student achieve their objectives and

ensure that the Project Report belongs to the student.

However, the supervisor may require an alteration in

the direction or objectives of the Project Report as

necessary.

Other than the arranged schedule, students will only

contact the supervisor on substantive issues, after

having exhausted other avenues to rectify their queries.

Students may present outlines (headings/sub-headings

etc.) and drafts of chapters may be discussed during

supervision time.

Supervisor’s expectation

Students must recognize that the supervisor’s

support will primarily be concerned with the process,

i.e. how the Project Report is to be undertaken,

rather than the correctness and detailed content of

the Project Report which may fall outside the

supervisor’s area of subject expertise.

Students should forward questions of a significant

nature to the supervisor 24 hours prior to a meeting.

The questions can be forwarded via e-mails or

written notes deposited in the supervisor’s pigeon-

holes.

Contact With Supervisor

Once a Project Supervisor is confirmed, it is the student’s

responsibility to make and continue regular contact with the

supervisor.

It is essential for the students to maintain regular contact with

their supervisors. Regular contact helps to ensure that the

supervisor is better aware of the student’s progress and the

sources of materials as the Project Report develops. Students

should be aware that any Project Report which is produced

with minimal or zero contact with supervisor will inevitably be

scrutinized with extra care with respect to the origin of the

work, and they may be referred to the Project Report Coordination Committee for recommendation for viva sessions (as per Item 3.3)

Format of Report

Cover

Title page

Certificate of Originality

Abstract

Acknowledgements

Contents

Introduction

Literature review

Research methodology

Findings and Discussions

Conclusions and Recommendations

Appendices

Introduction (1)

This chapter introduces the reader to the area being investigated. In general, the introduction chapter may be composed of five sections, these are:

The first section starts with a general introduction or description of past research which is relevant to the problems or issues. This section contain also a section normally entitled “Rationale for the research” that informs the reader about the problems or issues which are to be investigated in the study, why they are of interest and what the study aims to establish.

Note: Refer to the Chapter 9 of Naoum’s book.

Introduction (2)

The second section outlines the aim and objectives of the research

The third section should briefly describe the research method/strategy used to achieve the aim and objectives of the research.

This chapter should also highlight the scope and limitation of the research.

The final part of the introduction tells the reader about the chapters of the report. It tells the reader how the topics will be unfolded and the order of forthcoming material. This part may be entitled “Report Layout and Contents”.

Literature Review

The literature review should not be just a compilation/reproduction of the works of others. It requires the student to examine and comment critically on the literature relevant to the student’s area of research.

Usually a review of half a dozen of the most important works of others with brief comments on a few other less important ones will be sufficient.

Turnitin

Research Methodology

The student must clearly and

coherently describe the method

he/she has adopted in the

carrying out of the research.

The approach that a student

take depends on what he/she

wants to investigate and what

he/she tries to achieve.

Findings and analysis

Data collection Data can be collected using various

methods: survey questionnaires, field observations, experiments, interviews or even secondary data from works of other researchers.

The choice of a data collection method, or a combination of methods, to be used depends very much on the research methodology adopted by the student.

Findings and analysis

Data Analysis

Data analysis can take either the quantitative or qualitative approach, again depending on the research methodology and the resulting data typology.

Textual data lends itself easily to qualitative analysis, whereas interval data and ratio data are best analysed using quantitative methods.

Conclusions and

Recommendations

This chapter brings together the findings of

the research and draws conclusions with

specific reference to the research

objectives. It should also mention the

recommendations for further research.

Appendices

Where such material would be inconvenient to

include in the text itself, it can be included in as an

appendix.

Appendices are labeled alphabetically. The “Record

of Supervision/Meeting” should be attached as an

appendix.

Writing Style

The level of writing must be appropriate to the level of the

Bachelor’s degree.

It is the student’s responsibility to edit the text for typing errors

and uncover all spelling errors..

Normally, there should be no first person references (e.g., I,

we, us) in the report. If self-reference is required, reference

may be made to “the author” or “this study”. The exception

to this is in the conclusion section, where personal comments

may be appropriate.

Method of Referencing

For the sake of uniformity, the Harvard

Referencing System shall be used.

Please refer to the sample from UTAR’s

library (Refer to the guideline uploaded)

Plagiarism

Plagiarism is academically unacceptable, and the University views this offense very seriously. Plagiarism can be in one or a combination of the following forms:

(i) Presenting someone else’s work as your own;

(ii) Copying, in parts or whole, of another person’s work;

(iii) Failure to acknowledge quotations, phrases, ideas or information from published sources.

Viva (only for FYP2) –

Week 14/15

Viva sessions will be conducted on

students to provide a way through

which the University will be able to

ascertain if a piece of work had been

plagiarized from other sources.

All the students will be participated for

the viva sessions

Assessment Method

Elements of

AssessmentBenchmark

Final Year Project

subject matter

A topic in construction related areas (including business,

management, technology, contract or economics)

Research

objectives

Clearly defined objectives relating to the topic and based

upon the literature in the field

Research

methodology

Must demonstrate an awareness of different research

methodologies and must justify, explain, select and

recognize the limitations of the strategy chosen. Must

explain the practical details of the conduct of the research.

Primary research may or may not be conducted.

Students may undertake primary research (quantitative or

qualitative etc.) or they will need to undertake some re-

analysis of existing material (e.g. quantitative – financial

data, budgets, trade statistics, or qualitative – minutes of

meetings, use of diaries and other archival materials etc.)

Assessment Method

Literature review Discussion of relevant literature critical review

explanation of role of the literature in the research

References An adequate range and number of journal articles

and books are to be used/cited.

Data Analysis Application of relevant literature review and theory to

the data gathered to gain understanding.

Discussion of the data in relation to the theories.

Displays competence in the subject matter and

related theory.

Use of appropriate quantitative/qualitative techniques

at a simple level.

Assessment Method

Conclusions and

Recommendations

Conclusions are drawn from the analysis and

supported by the data. Conclusions are related to

relevant prior research. Recognition of need for

further research

Recommended reading list

Naoum, S.G. (1997), Dissertation Research and Writing for Construction Students, Architectural Press.

Fellows, R. and Liu, A. (2003) Research Methods for Construction, Blackwell Science.

Sharp, J.A, Peters, J. and Howard, K. (2002), The Management of a Student Research Project (3rd Ed), Gower Publishing Ltd.

Creswell, J. (2002) Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods Approaches: Qualitative, Quantitative and Mixed Method Approaches, Sage Publications.

Richardson S., et al. (2005) How to Research: A Guide for Undergraduate & Graduate Students, Thomson.

Jackson S.L. (2003) Research Methods and Statistics: A Critical Thinking Approach, Thomson Wadsworth.

Guidelines on the writing and supervision of Final year project report, UTAR. http://www.utar.edu.my/fes/index.jsp?fcatid=74&fcontentid=190&f2ndcontentid=807

For further information:

http://fes.utar.edu.my/current-students/fyp/specific-

department-information/fyp-information-for-

department-of-surveying/

WBLE of Project