UniKL MICET FYP
IMPLEMENTATION
2014
Prepared by: UniKL MICET FYP COMMITTEE
Agenda

Project Implementation

Important Deadlines

Project Assessment

Proposal

Project Planning & Execution

Data Presentation & Discussion

Research Ethics

Thesis Format
Project Implementation

Over 1 semester (Diploma),
2 semester (Degree)

Selection of FYP Title and
Supervisor

Project Proposal
Project Implementation (rest
of semester)
 To utilise semester break

Implementation Issues:
Be SMART get early START!

A lot of assignments, lab reports, miniprojects, site visits, quizzes and tests
during semester;

Project Title not clear;

Project has >2 Objectives;

Supervisor not contactable;

Delays due to:






Broken Equipment,
Strong Demand for Equipment,
Missing Chemicals,
Limited Access to Research Journals,
Limited / no access to Company Data
(Confidentiality),
Lab not open after working hours;
Important Dates (FYP 1)

Week 1-14: Progress & Logbook (30%)

Consultation with Supervisor at least once a
week

<Week 5: Submission of JHA & RA Form

Week 5-12: Proposal Presentation (35%)


Exact Date to be announced by Section FYP
Coordinator.
<Week 15: Submission of Project Proposal
Report (35%)
Important Dates (FYP 2)

Week 1-14: Progress & Logbook (20%)


Week 14: Submission Final Draft to
Supervisor and 2nd Examiner for Marking


Submission on Date of Presentation, some
Supervisor may required earlier.
Week 15: Project Presentation (30%)


Consultation with Supervisor at least once a week
Exact Date to be announced by departmental FYP
Coordinator;
<Week 18: Submission of Hardcopy
corrected Thesis, CD, Poster, Clearance
Form, and Library Form to Supervisor (50%)


Get Signature of Supervisor before printing the
Hardcopy of corrected Thesis
Failure to submit signed Thesis to SV on Time will result
in 30 % Mark Deduction.
Important Dates (FYP Diploma)

Week 1-14: Progress & Logbook (20%)

Consultation with Supervisor at least once a week

<Week 5: Submission of Proposal

<Week 5: Submission of JHA & RA Form

Week 14: Submission Final Draft to Supervisor
and 2nd Examiner for Marking


Week 15: Project Presentation (30%)


Submission on Date of Presentation, some
Supervisor may required earlier.
Exact Date to be announced by departmental FYP
Coordinator;
<Week 18: Submission of Hardcopy corrected
Thesis, CD, Clearance Form, and Library Form
to Supervisor (50%)


Get Signature of Supervisor before printing the Hardcopy of
corrected Thesis
Failure to submit signed Thesis to SV on Time will result in
Project Assessment (FYP 1)

Progress Report: Log Book (30%)

Project Proposal Report (35%)

Proposal Presentation (35%)
Project Assessment (FYP 2)

Progress Report: Log Book (20%)

Project Presentation (30%)

Project Thesis (50%)
Project Assessment (Diploma)

Progress Report: Log Book (20%)

Project Presentation (30%)

Project Thesis (50%)
Proposal

First step in implementing a
research project;

Indicator of your understanding of
the research project;

Outlines the feasibility/viability of
the research project.
Proposal Components

Title

Problem Statement

Background Study

Objectives

Methodology
Proposal Title




Represents what you actually plan to
do
Sometimes useful to use catchy
phrases or direct statement to make
your title more interesting
Important when your proposal is
being evaluated for some
competition - funding, prize,
scholarship
Be creative but most important, be
precise and accurate
Example of Title Selection
“Measure O2, nitrite, nitrate, pH in
Merbok area, use data and apply in
mathematical model 5555 and use
model to assess/predict ecosystem
behaviour”
Possible Titles
Title 1: Water quality and mathematical
model in environmental studies.
Title 2: Fluctuation of O2, nitrite, nitrate
and pH in Merbok estuarine area and
application of data in mathematical
modelling for ecosystem prediction
and assessment.
Title 3: Monthly fluctuation of crucial
water parameters in the Merbok
estuarine area and its application in
bio-modelling
Exercise
Modify following Titles so that they
fulfill aforementioned Criteria:





Pollution Prevention Practices – A
Case Study;
Properties of Biocomposites;
Food Contamination Monitoring
Fermentation of Sugar for
Downstream Applications
Optimisation of Distillation Process
Exercise (Solution)
All titles are too general, we need
to narrow down the topic.
How?:

1. Take each keyword and ask
yourself what
Proposal: Problem Statement
A hypothesis?
A hunch?
Can be general / broad in nature.
Examples of Hypotheses
1.
Leaving yoghurt outside the fridge
for 2 days will make it look green
and turn sour.
2.
Presence of H2S in the car exhaust
will reduce the catalytic conversion
efficiency of Carbon Monoxide to
Carbon Dioxide.
3.
Saccharomyces cerevisae
fermentation activity is inhibited at
a certain ethanol concentration.
Proposal Objectives

These are statements qualifying what
you wish to achieve in the project in
relation to your problem statement.

Can use specific phrases such as ‘to
measure’, `to compare’, ‘to assay’, ‘to
isolate’, ‘to determine’ etc.

Very closely related to the actual
experiments you are planning to do.
Proposal Objectives: Example

Hypothesis 1:
To determine the organo-leptic
properties of natural yoghurt at 4
and 25°C over a 5 day period;
 To monitor the total microbial
concentration of natural yoghurt at
4 and 25°C over a 5 day period;
 To carry out a statistical analysis to
test the validity of the hypothesis;

Proposal Objectives: Example

Hypothesis 2:
To measure the car exhaust gas
concentration of H2S, CO and CO2
before and after the catalyst;
 To carry out a statistical analysis to
test the validity of the hypothesis;

Proposal Objectives: Example

Hypothesis 3:
To monitor the fermentation activity
of S. cerevisae in defined growth
medium at 25°C in the presence of
various ethanol concentrations;
 To carry out a statistical analysis to
test the validity of the hypothesis;

Methods & Materials

Describe precisely how the
experiments are to be done.

Proper citations – record author(s),
year, journal title, volume, page
numbers.

Are the experiments ‘DO-ABLE’ here
in our laboratories? Discuss with your
supervisor!

List chemical requirements and place
order early!
Everyday Example
Preparation of D.I.Y. Cake:

Ingredients (Chemicals)
 3 eggs
 150 g sugar
 300 g flour
 125 g butter
 50 mL milk
 3 tbsp. oil
 ½ tsp Vanilla essence
 1 pack Custard powder
Chicken?
Duck?
Ostrich?
Turtle?
Everyday Example
Preparation of D.I.Y. Cake:

Ingredients (Chemicals)
 3 medium-sized chicken eggs
 150 g fine-grained white sugar
 300 g self-raising sieved wheat flour
 125 g salted butter
 50 mL full-cream cow milk
 3 tbl refined sunflower oil
 ½ tsp Vanilla essence
 50 g Custard powder (Vanilla
flavour)
Everyday Example
Preparation of D.I.Y. Cake:

Cooking Ware (Materials)
Bowl
 Whisker
 Tablespoon
 Grease paper
 Spring form
 Sieve
 Oven

Everyday Example
Preparation of D.I.Y. Cake:

Procedure (Methods)
1. Take 3 egg yolk and manually mix
with 150 g of sugar;
2. Add 125 g of butter (roomtemperature) to the egg yolk –
sugar mix and homogenise
manually;
3. Add the sieved flour and form a
dough;
4. …
PROJECT PLANNING &
EXECUTION

Prepare a time-line for the project –
Gantt chart - must take into account
holidays, exams, writing-up,
submission dates.

Very little time..so preparation must be
meticulous – there may not be time for
repeat experiments.

Experiments must be so designed
such that results can be presented
either graphically or tabulated and
amenable for statistical analyses.

Example Gantt Chart
W1 W2 W3 W4 W5 …
Proposal writing
Ordering chemicals
Experiment 1
Submit Chapter 1 to
Supervisor
Hari Raya
…
Documentation

All experimental procedures, raw and
processed data are to be recorded in
a hard-cover LABORATORY BOOK.

The lab book is the property of your
lab and is to be left with supervisor
after completion of project!

All raw data must be processed as
soon as possible (e.g. transfer to
Excel).
Documentation (cont’d)

Thesis writing should start on Day 10
of project – thesis writing is both
laborious and time consuming!

Format of theses – similar to past
years

Completed sections can be submitted
to supervisor for corrections /
comments as and when they are
ready; do not leave it to the last day!

Remember to BACKUP your work
(pen drive, CD)!
Data Presentation & Discussion

Purpose: Generate new Knowledge
and enhance our Understanding
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:DIKW.png
Data Presentation & Discussion

Data can be qualitative or quantitative;

Qualitative data:
Is subjective, rich, and in-depth
information
 normally presented in the form of words;
 derived from 1) interviews and 2) other
sources - observations, life histories and
journals (paper review) and documents of
all kinds including newspapers.
Example: Taste (sweet, sour, bitter, salty)

Example of quantitative Data

20min, 0min, 10min, 50min, 40min, 30min;

298K, 299K, 299K, 298K, 298K

16mg/L, 1mg/L, 8mg/L, 4mg/L, 1mg/L, 2mg/L;

15mg/L, 0.7mg/L, 6mg/L, 5mg/L, 1.1 mg/L, 2.5mg/L;

17mg/L, 1.3 mg/L, 7 mg/L, 3mg/L, 0.8 mg/L, 1.5 mg/L.
Information

Time Temp.
[s]
[K]
Conc. 1
[mg/L]
Conc. 2
[mg/L]
Conc. 3
[mg/L]
0
298
1
0.7
1.3
10
299
1
1.1
0.8
20
298
2
2.5
1.5
30
298
4
5
3
40
299
8
6
7
50
298
16
15
17
Information = Arranged, organised Data.
Knowledge
Time Temp.
[min] [K]


0
298
10
299
20
298
30
298
40
299
50
298
Average Conc. StDev
[mg/L]
[mg/L]
1
1.0
2
4
7
16
0.3
0.15
0.5
1
1
1
Knowledge = Processed Information;
Average and standard deviation were
calculated from arranged data;
Temperature [K]
Temperature [K]
400
Concentration [mg/L]
350
300
y = 0.7142e0.0586x
R2 = 0.9599
250
200
0



20
40
Time [min]
18
16
14
12
10
8
6
4
2
0
Concentration [mg/L]
Knowledge (cont’d)
60
Concentration of ... increases exponentially
at 298K;
Reaction is first order;
Rate constant, k = 0.0586 mg/(L·min).
Understanding
Temperature [K]
20
Concentration [mg/L]
350
15
300
10
250
y = 0.7189e0.0594x
R2 = 0.9643
200
0
0


5
Concentration [mg/L]
Temperature [K]
400
20
40
Time [min]
60
Understanding = Ability to explain
Knowledge;
Example: The increase in microbial
concentration is first order because
microorganisms produce daughter cells every
10 min.
Wisdom
Wisdom = Apply Knowledge the right
Way.

Example (The Right Way):
Fermenter operator understands that ethanol
concentration of 15 % kills the yeast culture.
Hence ethanol concentration is monitored
and controlled to remain <15 %.

Example (The Unethical Way):
Colleague has a grudge against of fermenter
operator and decides to sabotage. Colleague
also understands toxic effect of ethanol and
decides to turn off monitoring system so that
ethanol concentration spirals out of control
and inhibits yeast culture.
Presentation of Information





Table
Line graph
Bar chart
Pie chart
Figure from software/instrument used
Please take Note!
 Whatever diagram you use, an
associated commentary is essential.
 Do not leave it to the reader
(especially supervisor and internal
examiner) to work out what the
diagram shows.
Presentation of Information

Table
Make comparisons between
quantities which are totals and/or
have sub-divisions, at the same
point in time
 Show data that is time series,
nominal or ordinal

Presentation of Information

Table (Example)
Source: K. Openshaw / Biomass and Bioenergy 19 (2000) 1-15.
Presentation of Information

Line Graph
Source: As. J. Energy Env. 2009, 10(04), 221-229

Presentation of Information
Line Graph
Source: Agricultural Wastes 4 (1982) 411-426
Presentation of Information

Bar chart
Make comparisons between
quantities which are totals and/or
have sub-divisions, at the same
point in time
 Show data that is time series,
nominal or ordinal
 Bar charts are inappropriate for
large data sets with many bars and
numerical data.

Presentation of Information

Bar chart (Example)
Source: M. Franz et al. / Carbon 38 (2000) 1807 –1819
Presentation of Information

Bar chart (Example)
Source: Renewable Energy World, Vol. 14(4), p. 8.
Presentation of Information

Bar chart (Example)
Source: Renewable Energy World, Vol. 14(4), p. 47.
Presentation of Information

Pie chart
show the percentage parts of the
whole; they are the circular version
of a percentage component bar
chart;
 highlight a particular component
using an exploded or dynamic pie
chart, where a slice of the pie is
extracted.

Presentation of Information

Pie chart (Example)
Water heater
Fluorescent light
2%
Others
3%
Bulb
6%
2%
Refrigerator
21%
Electric kettle
5%
TV
6%
Air-con
12%
VCD / VCR / DVD
7%
Iron
8%
Washing machine
10%
Rice cooker
8%
Fan
10%
Figure 3. Breakdown of residential electricity consumption in
Malaysia. Refrigerators and air con’s top the list followed by
washing machines, fans, rice cooker, irons etc.
Source: Energy Policy, Vol. 35(2), pp. 1050–1063.
Research Ethics

DO NOT CHEAT!

Present the data you obtained
experimentally and not what you think
it should be!

DO NOT PLAGIARIZE!

‘Cut-n-paste’ is not an acceptable
practice!

If you have to use certain phrases
from a particular source, credit must
be given to original author(s)
FYP Guidelines & Materials

Available online at:
 E-Learning:
 http://elearning.micet.edu.my/