IMPORTANT INFORMATION before filling the form; please read and understands them carefully.
Project Paper General Format
Due to the varying programs and differing type of academic papers produced within LUCT, students must refer to their individual program guidebook for full requirements and restrictions. However, it has been widely accepted in the academic world, the general format for academic papers are as follows:
Front Matter
Front matter comprises of pages and documentations required by the program, for example (not in proper order), the cover page, title page, approval form, declaration form, distribution authorisation form, table of content pages, list of figures, tables and abbreviations (if necessary), abstract page and acknowledgement (if student wishes to do so).
Main Body
The main body represents the crux of the academic paper. Depending on the program attended by the student, in general, the main body comprises of five (5) chapters, namely:
Chapter 1: Introduction
The purpose of this chapter is to set the stage for the paper to the readers in general terms. It generally states the purpose, objectives and scope of the paper. In thesis writing, this usually states the research problems, issues, hypotheses that will be examined and generally, sub-sections are included in writing the introduction chapter of project paper or thesis for ease of paper organisation and increasing the readability.
Chaoter 2: Literature Reviews
There are many reasons on why literature reviews are carried out. Literature reviews assist students to expand the current body of knowledge in terms of content and context of area under study. It also assists students to define problems and to support the empirical and theoretical bases for the research. This chapter is also used to surface any limitations and expansion of previous research work conducted on the topic under study.
Chapter 3: Research Design and Methodology
This chapter describes the exact steps undertaken by student in preparing their academic papers. It is the aim of this chapter to provide readers and students alike, a complete description in details of the specific steps to be followed and to replicate the study, if necessary. The usual sub-sections in this chapter will vary, depending on whether the research is quantitative or qualitatively in nature.
Chapter 4: Data Analysis and Findings
This chapter describes in details how data were analysed and the considerations made in making deductions. Although qualitative and quantitative data analysis and findings may differ, students have to bear in mind that, the output presented in this chapter is all about "making sense", may it be for conceptual deductions or hypothesis testing.
Chapter 5: Discussions, Conclusions and Recommendations
This chapter can be difficult for many students especially for conclusion. Unlike qualitative and or technical study, the realm of business management and practices is full of non-conclusiveness. Students are encouraged to discuss or to summarise the study more rather than to conclude. This chapter can be used to integrate and interpret the study by comparing to the earlier stated objectives, purpose and scope as mentioned in Chapter 1, Introduction. The limitations of study and recommendations for future research can be highlighted in this chapter.
The above chapters outline is merely a suggestion basing on the generally accepted work in academic writing. However, students may decide on using specific title of each chapter of their academic papers or thesis depending on their individual style, area of research etc. It is always useful for the student to discuss with their supervisor on the structure or organisation of the project paper or thesis before writing commences.
Back Matter
Back matter comprises of pages and documentations required by the program and further information used to support the main body. Examples of materials provided in back matter are (not in proper order) the appendixes, indexes (if required) and bibliography (a must in academic writing).
1. All fields in this form are required; please fill in all the required information.
2. This registration form should be submitted to Centre of Postgraduate Studies upon completing of the Project Paper subject.
3. You are advised to seek a lecturer's advice before proceeding with the proposal.
4. You are to submit the Masters Project Paper Registration Form to Centre of Postgraduate Studies once you have completed your 8th module.
5. You must plan on a six (6) months timeframe from the official approval date to complete the Project paper.
6. The Centre will use student's e-mail addresses for all official communication regarding the project paper. It is the student's responsibility to monitor this email account regularly.
7. Students need to enclose a five (5) page research proposal together with this application as stated in the project paper guidebook. It is the responsibility of the student to ensure that the guidebook is being read and understood.