MANUAL on GUIDELINES, POLICIES, ELEMENTS and FORMAT OF UNDERGRADUATE and GRADUATE THESIS or DISSERTATION

Contributors:

Dr. Junel B. SorianoDr. Priscilla V. San PedroDr. Josefina C. MananguitEngr. Joselito D. TucitDr. Anadolia M. Cruz

Republic of the PhilippinesBULACAN AGRICULTURAL STATE COLLEGESan Ildefonso, Bulacan

December 2008Rationale

The Bulacan Agricultural State College offers degree programs with thesis or dissertation, one of the basic requirements for the student to fulfill a degree program.

Students undergo research activities that focus on their specialized field.

Research activities contribute much to the training and exposure of the students in solving problems related to agriculture, social development, education, agri-business management, information technology, food technology and the like. With the basic principles of research methodology, all relevant activities are documented and presented in a scientific form with specific format and elements.

This manual was organized for the students who are interested and are required to undergo research activities in the form of thesis or dissertation as partial fulfillment of the course requirement of a degree program. This presents guidelines, policies, elements and format of undergraduate and graduate thesis or dissertation.

Subject or Course Offering

In some degree programs of the College requiring thesis or on-the-job training, students are given option to choose whether they will take thesis or field practice.

In others where thesis/dissertation is required, graduating students are allowed to enroll the fifty percent of the required units of thesis/dissertation during the regular semester or summer for the formulation and approval of thesis/dissertation outline provided that the students had finished research methods or any related basic research subject under the curriculum. After approval of the examination committee, students can enroll the remaining fifty percent of the required units for the conduct, presentation of results, and organization and reproduction of the manuscript.

Thesis Adviser

A student is advised to choose his/her adviser first before he/she decides what research area he/she will be working on. The adviser should come from the faculty of the Institute. He/she can include adviser (co-adviser) from other institute/agency especially if the study will be financed by a certain institution/agency. A letter of request to the adviser shall be made by the researcher which should be conformed by the former.

Examination Committee

The examination committee shall be composed of the following:Chairman - Expert on the Field

2 Members - Faculty members of the InstituteOral Examination

Audience Composition

Aside from the Examination Committee, Dean, Adviser(s), faculty members of the Institute, selected students from the Institute may attend the oral exam. One faculty from the Institute should act as secretary during the oral examination.

Outline and Final Defense

The presenter will be given a maximum of one hour in his/her presentation and it will be followed by a review and evaluation by the examination committee. A form will be provided indicating the marking of the student whether the research (outline or results) is passed, failed or conditional. Working technical paper should be given at least two weeks before the date of oral presentation. After the defense, the researcher should present the improved outline at most three weeks after the oral presentation to the adviser and examination committee. The examination committee will decide after the oral presentation whether the students shall repeat or not the oral presentation with the incorporated suggestions, comments or recommendations.

After the oral presentation of research results or manuscript, a circulating

copy of the manuscript shall be furnished to the concerned technical staff to further review and evaluate the scientific paper. A circulating page for the confirmation and approval of each technical staff involved in reviewing and evaluating the manuscript, will be required.

Manuscript Format

Font

Use Times New Roman 12 pt script for all text.

Page size

Page size corresponds to letter size measurement (8.5 x 11 in.)

Margins

Left margin should be set to 1.50 in., while right, top and bottom margins should be set at 1 in. Text should be justified.

Spacing

The entire text should be vertically 1.5 spaced, but double spaced between heading.

Style of headings

The example below provides four levels of headings in addition to the title. This sequence can be used for chapters of a book as well as for full publications. The sequence is intended to ensure consistency and to help the editors (and authors) understand the intended heading level. For most manuscripts, three or four heading levels are sufficient.

Page numbers/ letters should be at the bottom right of the paper. There should be no page number / letter in every chapter page. Normal format for the indent is 0.5 inch. (Refer for more details and specification to sample layout of the manuscript as shown below).

THE TITLE

The title is in bold, centered. Capitalize all words of the title and in subtitle except for articles, prepositions, and conjunctions.

Heading 1

The first-level heading is in bold, and flush to the left margin. Capitalize only the first word of the heading, sub-heading, and proper names. Double line space should be inserted after the heading.

Heading 2

The second-level heading is in bold, italics, and flush to the left margin. Capitalize only the first word of the heading, sub-heading and proper names.

Heading 3

The third-level heading is in italics and flush to the left margin.

Heading 4

The fourth-level heading is in italics, underlined and flush to the left margin.

Formal Tables

Each table should have a number, and brief title (capitalize first letter and proper names only) that describes the content. Tables should be left aligned on the page.

Table 1. An example of tables.

Aligned Not aligned Aligned Not aligned 45.2 7.7 0.0 689.0

45.27.70.0689.0

4.5 7.0 30.5 345.6

5.223.213.51.0

Numbers in columns in tables should be aligned as in the example above. Do not use

spacing to align numbers. In Word, set the decimal tabs to align numbers or center tab to align hyphens. Place only one row of numbers in each row on the grid.

Footnotes for Tables

In the text, keep footnotes to 8 pt font size. In tables, letter footnotes consecutively (a, b, c, etc.), and print them at the bottom of the tables using font size 10.

Citing literature

Text citations

A citation in a text, table, figure, or footnote consists of the author's last name, and the year of publication, enclosed in parentheses (Costa, 1994). Give the names of all authors unless there are more than two, in which case, give the name of the first author followed by “et al”. (Costa, et. al., 2003). Where more than one publication is cited, list in order of year of publication starting with the oldest, and separate using a semi-colon (Bagadion and Corton, 1985; Costa, 1994; Adams, et. al., 2006).

List of citations

All literature cited in the text should be listed alphabetically by author at the end of the manuscript. Call the list "Literature Cited" and make sure it contains only citations that are found in the text.

Books

1. Names of authors or editors as appearing on the title page. Give all authors’ names; use of “et al.” is acceptable when the number of authors exceeds ten, in which case

the names of the first three authors should be provided, followed by “et al.” Use initials in place of author’s given names.

2. Year of publication. (Use "n.d." for undated publications.) If a manuscript has been accepted—not merely sent—for publication, use "forthcoming" in place of the year of publication if this is not known.

3. Title, including subtitle, if any.4. City and country of publication.5. Name of the publishing company or organizations (acronym/s spelled out). If the

publisher is shown as "author" omit it here.

In the following examples, note order of author names, punctuation, capitalization of various elements, and the use of italics only for publication titles. Use a hanging indent of 1.3 cm (0.5 in) and a double space between references.

Examples

Doniger, W. 1999. Splitting the Difference. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Cowlishaw, G. and R. Dunbar. 2000. Primate Conservation Biology. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Laumann, E.O., J.H. Gagnon, R.T. Michael, and S. Michaels. 1994. The Social Organization of Sexuality: Sexual Practices in the United States. Chicago University Press.

Wiese, A. 2006. “The House I live in”: Race, Class, and African American Suburban Dreams in the Postwar United States. In The New Suburban History, ed. Kevin M. Kruse and Thomas J. Sugrue, 99-119. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Kurland, P.B., and R. Lerner, eds. 1987. The Founders’ Constitution. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. http://press-pubs.uchicago.edu/founders/.

Articles in periodicals or journals

1. Full names of authors.2. Year of publication.3. Title of article.4. Full name of the periodical/journal.5. Volume no.6. Inclusive page numbers of the article.

Examples

Smith, J.M. 1998. The Origin of Altruism. Nature 393: 639–40.

Hlatky, M. A., D. Boothroyd, E. Vittinghoff, P. Sharp, and M. A. Whooley. 2002. Quality-Of-Life and Depressive Symptoms in Postmenopausal Women after

Receiving Hormone Therapy: Results from the Heart and Estrogen/Progestin Replacement Study (HERS) Trial. Journal of the American Medical Association 287, no. 5 (February 6) http://jama.ama-assn.org/issues/v287n5/rfull/joc10108.html#aainfo.

Thesis or dissertation

Example

Amundin, M. 1991. Click Repetition Rate Patterns in Communicative Sounds from the Harbour Porpoise, Phocoena phocoena. PhD diss., Stockholm University.

Paper presented at a meeting or conference

Example

Doyle, B. 2002. Howling Like Dogs: Metaphorical Language in Psalm 59. Paper Presented at the Annual International Meeting for the Society of Biblical Literature, June 19–22, in Berlin, Germany.

Abbreviations and acronyms

Avoid excessive use of abbreviations. Do not use an abbreviation or acronym if it is not or seldom used again in the text. Use a period after a truncated abbreviation (for example, “Exp.” for “Experiment”, or “Doc.” for “Doctor”) but not after a contraction abbreviation (for example “Expt” or “Dr”).

Spell out an abbreviation or acronym when it is first used, with the abbreviation or acronym given in parentheses. If there have been long gaps between references to the term, spell it out again to reduce confusion and to support reader comprehension.

Abbreviate units of measure in tables and figures. In running text, spell out commonplace units of measures if they stand alone, e.g., 15 kilograms, 120 kilometers, 3 cubic meters, 2 hectares; abbreviate them if they appear in rates (e.g., 5 m3/s). Insert one space between the number and the unit, except in the case of kilobytes and Celsius (e.g., 532K and 27°C).

Units of measure

International System of Units (SI) shall be used. SI must be used except in the case of widely used units such as liter (L), metric ton (t) and hour (h). Similarly, crop yields should be presented in tons per hectare (t/ha). Fertilizer rates should be expressed as kg element/ha, followed by the carrier if necessary.

Numerals

When a number begins a sentence, it is always spelled out. In general, spell out numbers below 10 except when they appear with units of time, money, or measurement (e.g., six parts, four plants; 8 years, 3.5 t/ha, Php6.00). Use numerals for all if some numbers are higher than 10 and some are lower than 10, in the same unit (12 eggs, 9 of which were broken rather than 12 eggs, nine of which were broken). Percentages are always given in numerals. In scientific manuscripts, the symbol % is correct (e.g., the treatment resulted in a 10% - 15% increase in yield).

Rounding

Round data in text and tables to meaningful numbers of significant figures. If data from replicated experiments are being reported, a useful rule "is to round the data so that the change caused by rounding is less than one-tenth of the standard error" (Council of Biology Editors Style Manual).

Punctuation of series

Use a comma before "and" or "or" in a series of three or more words or phrases in order to prevent ambiguity.

ExampleI visited Paris, London, Rome, and Cairo.

The ministry does planning, research and development, and extension.

Capitalization

Capitalize proper names, but not common words used as a short form of the proper name.

ExampleWorld Bank, Shared Control of Natural Resources Project, Ford Foundation, but

the bank, the project, the foundation.

Hyphenation

Most words formed with the following prefixes are rarely hyphenated: Anti, ante, bi, bio, do, counter, extra, infra, inter, macro, micro, mid, mini, multi, non, over, post, pseudo, re, semi, sub, super trans, ultra, un, under

Slash

Placing a slash or stroke (/) between two words is clumsy and usually ambiguous. Avoid the legalistic "and/or" by choosing one. In most contexts, the use of "and" does not obviate the sense of "either." In unusual cases, use "a, or b, or both."

Example

‘Farmers need credit to buy fertilizer and other inputs’.Not ‘Farmers need credit to buy fertilizer and/or other inputs’.

Letter of Requests

At the start, the researcher should submit a letter of request for approval to the selected faculty who will act as adviser and/or co-adviser. After acceptance, a second letter should be organized requesting for the approval of the adviser on the thesis title to be conducted.

Before the oral presentation, the researcher should furnish a letter at least one week before the presentation, informing the examination committee and other concerned staff.

The researcher should submit letter for approval and reference regarding field inspection or visitation of his/her conducted research or experiment the place of the study.

Reproduction and Distribution of Manuscript

The manuscript shall be reproduced at least 7 copies and will be distributed among the offices of the College working on research and instruction as follows:

1. Adviser 2. Institute3. College Library (2 copies)4. RETP Office5. Researcher6. Registrar’s Office

Manuscript Form Style and Grammar

The student should be responsible for the manuscript format, style and grammar. This should be checked by the adviser.

Appendix A: Elements of Undergraduate and Graduate Thesis/Dissertation Outline

Cover PageTitle PageApproval Sheet Table of ContentsChapter I. The Problem and Its Background

Introduction Statement of the Problem Significance of the StudyObjectivesScope and Limitation of the StudyTime and Place of the studyDefinition of Terms

Chapter II. Review of Related Literature and StudiesChapter III. MethodologyLiterature CitedAppendices

Appendix B: Elements of Thesis and Dissertation Manuscript

Cover PageTitle Page Approval Sheet Acknowledgement Bibliographical SketchAbstractTable of ContentsList of TablesList of FiguresChapter I. The Problem and Its Background

Introduction Statement of the Problem Significance of the StudyObjectivesScope and Limitation of the StudyTime and Place of the StudyDefinition of Terms

Chapter II. Review of Related Literature and StudiesChapter III. Methodology

Chapter IV. Results and DiscussionsChapter V. Summary, Conclusions and RecommendationsLiterature Cited Appendices

DESIGN, FABRICATION AND TESTING OF A LOWLANDTRANSPLANTED RICED POWER WEEDER

JUAN DELA CRUZ

BACHELOR OF SCIENCE IN AGRICULTURAL ENGINEERING

( Major in Farm Machinery)

November 2008

Appendix C: Sample Format and Elements Manuscript

DESIGN, FABRICATION AND TESTING OF A .0OWLAND

TRANSPLANTED RICED POWER WEEDER

An undergraduate thesis (A graduate thesis / dissertation) presented (submitted)

to the Faculty of the Institute of Engineering

Bulacan Agricultural State College

San Ildefonso, Bulacan

In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the

Degree of Bachelor of Science in Agricultural Engineering

(Major in Farm Machinery)

JUAN DELA CRUZ

November 2008

APPROVAL SHEET

2 ss

This ____________________ entitled “ ______________________________

_______________________________________________________”, prepared and

submitted by _________________________________ in partial fulfillment of the

requirements for the degree of ___________________________________________, has

been examined and is recommended for acceptance and approval.

3 ss

ENGR. JUNEL B. SORIANOAdviser

2ss Weight of line = 1.5

1.5 ssApproved by the EXAMINATION COMMITTEE on March ______, 200 _.

3 ss

ENGR. JUAN DELA CRUZ ENGR. PERDO DELA CRUZ Member Member

________ 1 ss ________ Date Date

2 ss

___________________________Chairman

___________ Date

3 ssAccepted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of

_________________________________.

3 ssENGR. LIBERATO B. SILVERIO

Dean, Institute of Engineering

DR. ANADOLIA M. CRUZ DR. JUNEL B. SORIANO Director for Instruction Director for RETP

iii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

2 ssText --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

-----------------

( maximum of two pages)

J. B. SORIANO

(no signature)iv

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH

Text ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(maximum of two pages)

vSORIANO, JUNEL B: DESIGN, FABRICATION AND TESTING -----------------------------------------------------------------------------

1.5 Adviser: ENGR. JUAN DELA CRUZ

3 ss

ABSTRACT

2 ssText

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

------------------------------------

( maximum of 250 words)

viTABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

TITLE PAGE i

APPROVAL SHEET ii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT iii

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH iv

ABSTRACT v

TABLE OF CONTENTS vi

LIST OF TABLES

LIST OF FIGURES

CHAPTER I. THE PROBLEM AND ITS BACKGORUND 1

Introduction

Statement of the Problem 2

Significance of the Study 3

Objectives

Scope and Limitation of the Study

Location of the Study

Definition of Terms

CHAPTER II. REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE AND STUDIES

CHAPTER III. METHODOLOGY

vii

Subtopic

Sub Subtopic

CHAPTER IV. RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

Subtopic

Sub Subtopic

CHAPTER V. SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS . . . . .

Summary

Conclusions

Recommendations

LITERATURE CITED

APPENDICES

viii

LIST OF TABLES

Table No. Title Page

1 Data on the performance of 25 2 ANOVA table 26

with the effect

ix

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure No. Title Page

1 Text 22text

2 Text 23text

x

LIST OF APPENDICES

Appendix No. Title Page

1 Figure, tables, drawing, forms or letters ( text) 45 text

2 Text 46 text

2a Text

xiCHAPTER I

2 ss

THE PROBLEM AND ITS BACKGROUND 3 ss

Introduction

3 ss

Statement of the Problem

2 ssText---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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3 ss

Significance of the Study

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Objectives

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Scope and limitation of the Study

1Text

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Location of the Study

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Definition of terms( in alphabetical order)

Water. Is defined as

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Water Holding Capacity. Text

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Water management. Text

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2

CHAPTER II

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE AND STUDIES

Text

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( arrange in a proper order as to how the research study has been

conceptualized and organized)

( no specific number of pages)

3CHAPTER III

METHODOLOGY

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Sub Subtopic Under R&D

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Sub - Sub Subtopic Under R&D

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CHAPTER IV

RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

Subtopic Under Methodology

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Table 1. Data on -------------------------------------(single space)------------------------------------------------ available

----------------------------------------------------- 1 ss

2 ssText

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(tables can be placed before or after text, observed proper spacing between text and table)

Text

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3 ss

1 ssFigure 1. Graphical -------------------------- ( single space)--------------------------------------- that represent --------------------------------------------------------------------------

CHAPTER V

SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Summary

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figure

Conclusions

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1. Text ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Recommendations

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1. Text -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

LITERATURE CITED

Junel B. Soriano, 2004. Efectiveness --------------------------------------------------------- of --------------------------------------------------------------

Galvez, D. R., Santiago, T. R., Lampayan, M. T., 2005. Performance ----------------the ---------------------

APPENDICES

Appendix E: Circulating Page for Approval and Acceptance

Thesis/Dissertation Adviser Juan A. Dela Cruz 09-25-2009

Chairman of the Examining Committee __________________ __________

Member of the Examining Committee __________________ __________

Member of the Examining Committee __________________ __________

Institute Dean __________________ __________

Director for Instruction __________________ __________

Director for RETP __________________ __________

College President __________________ __________

Appendix F: Guidelines for Publishable Format of Paper

J. D. Cruz1

1 Graduate or Undergraduate Student, Institute of Engineering, BASC

Abstract

Use the standard format of writing as indicated in the manuscript format, except that the spacing should be set in double. The College is intended to highlight some

critical elements of manuscript preparation that will help speed the review and editing processes.

Media Grab

Please state the most important message of your paper, in less than 25 words, using language that the educated general public can understand.

Introduction

Students are required to prepare a paper in a publishable format. Your paper should be a succinct account of aspects of your research and key findings. The contents of your paper should include:

Title – concise, informative, containing key words; do not exceed 1 line length, ideally 10 words

Authors – initials and family name

Authors’ affiliations and email address of the first author

Abstract – state concisely the scope of the work and principal findings (200 words)

Media grab - one key message about the paper (not exceeding 25 words)

Keywords - maximum of 5 words

Introduction –the reasons for the work, essential background & objectives of your research ( 200 words)

Methods – provide sufficient information for reader to have understand the methods used; refer to appropriate scientific literature where full details may be found

Results – provide a succinct account of the most important results

Discussion – discussion should focus on the significance of the results

(Results and discussion may be presented in a single section if this works better,

depending on the nature of your work)

Conclusions and recommendations – summarize the key findings, and provide recommendations for end users in relation to research needs for development and impact

Acknowledgement – please acknowledge all donors and partners who contributed to the research, other than the author’s organizations as they are listed on the first page.

References