1. Writing an Introduction of the Proposal (Chapter 1)
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By Madam Maisara Azad Bt Mat Akhir

2. What is an introduction section?
The introduction section is the first section in your proposal.
It includes background information  information about the topic of the thesis.
It should draw readers in and make them want to read more
It has several functions such as:
Preparing information on the overall background of study
Presenting the preview of the whole written report
Help the reader to focus on the issue or problem addressed
in the study

3. HOW TO WRITE A GOOD THESIS INTRODUCTION:

4. The five elements of the Introduction can be seen as answering the questions:
What is the research about? [Background]
What is the problem that are currently faced? [Problem Statement]
What is the aim of the study? [Objective]
What you want to study? [Research Question]
What are the limits or boundaries of the study? [Scope]

6. Element 1 – Background: What is the subject of the report?
The background information provides an understanding of the issue or problem studied and your reason for conducting the study
Generally, there are 3 important steps in writing background of the study:
Begin with general context.
Then, gradually narrow down your writing to include specific statements made by other researchers in their studies in relation to the issue or problem that your highlighting in your study.
You could include statements that indicate the need to further explore the issue or to do a thorough investigation on the problems.

7. Element 1 – Background: What is the subject of the report
Element 1 – Background: What is the subject of the report? FROM GENERAL TO SPECIFIC
A well-written background section should progress from the general ideas to the more specific ideas and eventually zooms in to the specific research focus of the project.

8. Element 1 – Background
You can chose how to start your background writing style
There are several background writing styles:
Background using Statistic
Background using Definition
Background using Historical Development
Describing the problem
Comparing the methods or ideas
You can choose or combine these elements

10. Language Conventions -Background of the Study-
Simple present & present perfect tense are most commonly used
“Being in a non-earthquake zone, buildings in Singapore are usually designed without considering earthquake conditions. But with an increase in earthquake occurences in Sumatra recently, there is a growing awareness of the damaging effects of ground tremors on buildings, structures and reclaimed land. “
Present Perfect Tense
- happened in the past up until now
Simple Present Tense
- general/factual

11. Language Conventions -Background of the Study-
“In the past few years, the Internet has proven to be a huge and powerful media for users to access and retrieve information fast and free of charge.”
“In the last decade, extensive deployment of GPS satellites to give satellite coverage has made GPS a superior global space-based positioning.”

12. Language Conventions -Background of the Study-
Sometimes the simple past tense is also used especially when you wanted to indicate specific time in the past. This happens when you start background of the study by giving historical background.
“Optical fibres were first used in laser Doppler velocimeter for the measurement of average localised blood flow velocity in 1975.”
Passive Simple Past Tense

13. Element 2 – Problem statement
Element 2 – Problem statement. What is the problem that are currently faced?
Problem Statement is a single statement that defines the issue or problem investigated in the study.
It is usually accompanied by several other paragraphs that further describe the severity and complexity of the issue or problem.
When writing a research report, it is important to carefully define and describe the issue or problem examined in order to justify the relevance of the study
You need to explain current situation that needs for an improvement/new solution.

14. When do you have a problem?
(cont.) Statement of Problem
When do you have a problem?
When there is a GAP between current situation and ideal situation.
Ideal Situation
Current Situation
GAP
Knowledge
Understanding
Solution
QUESTIONS
What? (what didn’t we know?)
Why? (Why it happen?)
How? (How to solve)

15. How to prove a problem exist?
Since a problem is a GAP between current and ideal situations, you need to provide:
Justification of why we need the IDEAL situation!
Hard facts (e.g. data, reports, etc.) as evidence to the CURRENT situation.

16. Formulation of Research Problem Steps
Identify a broad field or subject area of interest
Dissect the broad area into sub areas
Select what is of most interest to you
Perform preliminary literature survey
Come up with general problem statement
Raise research questions
Identify the aim of the study
Separate the research problem
Make problem more specific by resolving ambiguities
Think and rephrase into operational terms
Feasibility of the corresponding solution must be considered
Concise clear and manageable statement
Discussions and brain storming with the supervisor

17. Element 3 – Objectives. What is the aim of the work you are reporting?
Consist of:
The purpose of the study
Objectives of the study

18. The purpose of the study Objectives of the study
The reason why your study was conducted
Alert the readers’ interests towards the issue or problem explored
Eg: The purpose of the study is/was to……………………, This research aims to investigate………………, The overall goal of this research is to………………………..
The purpose of the study
This part should state clearly and explicitly the specific aims or goals of the research.
An explicit and concise objective may be able to:
Show the extend of your study
Prompt the reader to the possible information or data that will be included in the findings section (Chapter 4)
Provide insight potential recommendations or rewards of the study
Objectives of the study
The purpose of the study explain the reason why the study was carried out, while the objectives of the study shows the expected results or outcome of the study.

19. Points of language for objectives
The use of the infinitive of the verb “to…” is a key language feature of a well-formed objectives section.
The project has the following aims: to measure … to investigate, …to compare…, to test …, to study …
Should have bloom taxonomy verbs
What is bloom taxonomy verbs?

20. Make sure you have at least 1 objective with C5 and above

21. Language Conventions - Objective of the Study-
Ensure too that you must use standard and formal words and expression
Х Informal: I want to find out if the quantity of rainfall in Malaysia is always the same in the months of June to July.
√ Formal: The objective of this study is to investigate the consistency of rainfall in Malaysia in the months of June and July.

22. Example of Objective:
1) To investigate the effect of inorganic silicon nanowires at various sizes for sensitivity measurement of the reaction between nanowires and bio-molecule samples..
2) To assess the performance of surface modification of in-organic material (silicon) for better attachment of bio-molecule marker on the inorganic nanostructure surface for immobilization and hybridizatio process.

23. Element 4 – Research Question. What you want to study?
The primary research question is the basis for data collection and arises from the Purpose of the Study.
A research question is a question that your research study/project sets out to answer.
These questions are important since they are the focus of your research
Answering your questions is THE main aim of your study or thesis and “everything else follows from them”.
When the research is finished, the contribution to the knowledge will be the answer to these questions.
Thus, the research questions must be accurately and clearly defined

24. To formulate your research questions, you could begin by asking yourself the following questions:
What do I know about the topic of my research and its literature?
What have been researched and what needs further exploration
Could my study fill a gap or lead to greater understanding of the problem/issue?
Has a great deal of research been conducted in this topic area
Has this study been done before? If so, is there room for improvement?
Is the timing right for this question to be answered? Is it a hot topic, or is it becoming obsolete?
Most importantly, will my study have significant impact on the field?

25. The next step is to refer to the objectives of your study.
You need to turn the objectives of your study into your research questions.
Example:
The objectives of the study are:
To describe the current trends in consumer decision making, attitudes and behavior in relation to hand phone usage
To investigate the extend of knowledge and anxiety level of public about potential health risks of the hand phone usage.
To find out if there any health related effect that hand phone users may have experience
The study will provide answers to the following questions:
What are the current trends in consumer decision making, attitudes and behaviours in relation to hand phone usage
What does the public knowledge about potential health risks of the hand phone usage and how do they feel about it?
Are there any existing health related effects on hand phone usage by local consumers

26. Element III – Scope. What (or How much) does the research cover?
This section is an elaboration of the objectives section, putting a kind of frame around the research so that the reader is clear about what is and what is not, included in the study.
Function:
To indicate the direction of the study
To map out the boundaries or parameters of the research
To outline the method of investigation used in the study
To give a preview of the written report
The study’s focal issue is to determine which mode of imagery – still pictures or dynamic video is more effective in aiding vocabulary acquisition.

27. Components in Scope • What to be examined or compared • Sample size
• Methodology
• Equipment / Data collection instrument
• Duration

28. Scope of the Study
Example:
“ This study is designed to understand the use of the design- build project delivery system in interior design firms; therefore, the intent of this study is to exclusively address firms with interior design as their primary concern. A survey will be carried out which will include both firms that lead a design-build team, and firms that may not lead a design- build team but are involved in the design-build process. The results of the research conducted therefore will be collected from interior design firms and design-build projects that these firms are working on. This research does not represent the views of all organisations that use the design-build project delivery system and it does not represent clients’ (the owners’) perspectives on the projects surveyed.”

29. References and citation

30. APA Format of Referencing Method.
A term used to refer to the inclusion of detailed information about the source of quotes, ideas, or illustrations you insert into your term paper to avoid plagiarism
Citing an information source used in an academic work means to employ a standardized method of acknowledging that source.
Refer guide book for method of referencing
APA Format of Referencing Method.

31. Example of citation
During dry period, snail will cover its body in mud and also in water with low oxygen content (Wilmol & Amaret, 2003).
Sam et al., (1991) demonstrated the possibility to use scanning electron microscopy,…… to ascertain the authenticity of EBN.
Wilmol, C., Amaret, B. (2003). Isolation and Characterization of Pathogens
Attacking Pomacea Canalicuta, Journal of Nature, Vol 422, pp
Sam, C.T., Tan, P.H & Lim, C.H. (1991) Establishing the Authenticity of
Edible Bird’s Nest. ISFM Medicine Scientific Review, pp .

32. References Style
Book : Author Name(s), Author Sir Name(s), (Year). Title, Edition number, Publisher, Location:
Example:
Holmlund, C. (1969). Fried, Avionic Navigation Systems, 1st edition, New York: John Wiley and Sons, Inc. USA
2. Conference Proceedings : Author(s), (Year). Article title, Name of conference, Location of conference, Pages.
Dore S.D., and Kershenbaum, L.S. (1994). Application of geometric nonlinear control in the process industries – a case study, Proc. IFAC Symposium, ADCHEM ‘94, Kyoto, Japan, pp
3. Journal Paper : Author(s), (Year). Article title, Name of journal , Volume number, Pages.
Example :
Finkelstein M, (2006). Microfluids: Cliks and Chips, Journal of Nature, Vol 422, pp
4. Electronic sources:
Web pages- Author(s) or Company, (Year), Title, URL, date found.
Vice President, University of Calgary Research Policies and Procedures Handbook. Accessed on 23 February 1999.
Graphics from Encarta (or similar) needs to be referenced.

33. Tenses – General Guidelines
“Choose proper tenses”
Executive summary - present tense and future tense
Introduction – present tense
Literature:
past tense – when discussing the previous works done by other researcher.
Present – when you are giving opinion or comment on others researchers’ works
Method – future tense (Eg: will be done, will be investigated by…)
Expected result – present tense

34. Any question??

35. Thank you