Aim
To assess the student ability to apply research methods in a real scenario that will produce a high quality literature review, data analysis and approach the specific technical project.
Objective
To evaluate the skill acquisition in research methodology techniques, in terms of source and critically review literature, range of data analysis methods and approaches relevant to the chosen project topic.
Task:
A critical study report of the project work undertaken and done during RM stage has to be presented in this coursework and shall be called the critical study report. This report should have a clear start beginning with the introduction to the project and end at the pre-design stage. Information within submissions should also be logical and well grouped. Students are advised to follow the instructions given below to present the Critical Study Report.
Critical Study Report should be structured and submitted in the order as given below:
1. 2 cover sheets - front page
2. 1st page - Details of the Project (as per template given in page 4)
3. Turnitin report
4. Project Risk Assessment form
5. Formal Project Proposal (Approved)
6. Abstract
7. Table of contents
8. List of Figures
9. List of Tables
10. List of Symbols
11. Chapter 1: Introduction
12. Chapter 2: Literature review
13. Chapter 3: Data Analysis/ Pre-Design
14. Conclusion
15. Future work to be carried out in Technical Project.
16. Gantt Chart
17. References
All the contents taken from the external sources such as internet, journals and text books must be compulsorily cited and the corresponding references should be included in the reference page. Text contents without proper citation will be considered as plagiarism and students may need to face disciplinary action as per college policy.
Students are expected to present the following contents under each heading: Abstract
The Abstract may contain the description of the topic, need of the present study, important applications of the topic, a brief description about previous literatures, predesign, future work to be carried out in Technical Project and conclusions. The word count is limited to 250.
Chapter 1: Introduction
The introduction may contain an overall view of the topic, Identification of the need, Problem description, Objectives, Scope, Value & Importance of the research and feasibility study.
The student may provide an introduction to the research problems pertaining to the project with detailed explanation.
Chapter 2: Literature review
The students are expected to critically evaluate minimum of five previous literatures pertaining to their project topic that contain key finding of previous authors such as methodology adopted, parameters used, results obtained and important conclusions along with shortcomings / gap areas. In text citation must be made without fail. The in text citation and referencing should be in CCE Harvard referencing style. This chapter should precisely link the present study to the collected literature with gap areas identified. Finally a chapter summary may be presented. Chapter 3: Data Analysis / Pre-Design
Students may provide statistical tools planned to use in Technical Project (TP), 2-D, 3-D drawings, Proposed model/ circuit diagram, other data interpretations using graphs, surveys results, case studies, research plans, activity flow charts, Gantt charts etc. The outcome of this chapter would be useful to do the experimentation, fabrication and associated detailed analysis of the research problem during TP stage. Finally a chapter summary may be presented.
Conclusion & Future work:
The conclusion made in the report should correlate with the aims and objectives of the project. Future works planned for Technical Project stage are to be mentioned.
Instructions for presentation in MS Word
• The Critical Study Report must be neatly typed using any word processing software package.
o Paper: White A4 sheet, typed on only one side.
o Margin: Left 1.5", top 1", right 1" and bottom 1".
• Typing:
o Body text: Arial, size 11,
o Colour: Black
o Chapter Title: Impact (Upper Case), size 16, Aligned to left side ( e.g.
CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW )
o Main Heading: Arial Bold, size 12 (e.g. 2.1 Solar System)
o Sub Heading: Arial Bold, size 11 (e.g. 2.1.1 Position )
o The title of each chapter will be designated by Numeric like CHAPTER 1, CHAPTER 2 ... etc. The sections of a chapter will be numbered using decimal type notations, e.g., 3.2 refers to the second section of chapter 3.
o Figure and Table captions: Arial, size 11
- Decimal type notations will be used for numbering the figures/photos, charts, tables and drawings in a chapter (e.g. Figure 3.1, Chart 3.1, Table 3.1 etc.)
- Equations should also be numbered in decimal type notation within the brackets, e.g: (3.1).
o Appendixes will be numbered with capital Roman numerical, e.g. Appendix I, Appendix II .....etc.
• The pages carrying Abstract, Table of contents, List of Figures, List of tables, nomenclature will be numbered by using one set of small roman numerical (i, ii, iii...).
o Footer: Page numbers at the bottom right hand side (e.g: 29 - for page number 29 in the report).
o Header: Chapter name & title in Arial, Italic, 9 point font size on right side
• Paragraph alignments:
o Paragraphs: Justified
o Spacing: Before 6pt, After 6pt
o Line spacing: 1.5 line spacing
• Binding:
o The report must be stapled and bound using „tape? type binder Further / Directed- Reading List:
Kothari, C.R., 2010. Research Methodology, Methods and Techniques. 2nd Edition. India: New Age International Publishers.
Sharp, J.A., Peters, J. & Howard, K., 2002. The Management of a Student Research Project .3rd Edition. USA: Gower Publishing Limited.
Ford R., Coulston C., 2008. Design for Electrical & Computer Engineers: Theory, Concepts, and Practice. McGraw-Hill.