2.1 Normal Type

The total number of pages for the normal type Project Paper is around 

60 - 100 pages excluding the Preliminary pages (see para. 3.3 for details) and Appendices. 

2.2 Article Type

The article type Project Paper should be written within 20 - 40 pages. 

The literature review of article type Project Papers emphasize the 

essence derived from the literature review in the project proposal of the preceding semester. The emphasis of the article type Project Paper is on analysis of results and discussion. The article type Project Paper also contains the chapters found in the normal type Project Paper. However, the chapter contents are merged and presented as a single chapter. 

2.3 Arrangement of Parts/ Chapters 

The Project Paper should be in the form of a scientific paper. It should include the following parts in sequence: 

I- Preliminary Section 

    a. Title Page 

    b. Abstract 

    c. Acknowledgements 

    d. Declaration of Originality of Project 

    e. Table of Contents 

    f. List of Tables 

    g. List of Figures 

    h. List of Abbreviations 

II. Main Section 

    a. Introduction 

    b. Literature Review 

    c. Research Methodology 

    d. Results and Discussion 

    e. Conclusion and Recommendations 

III. Supplementary Materials 

    a. List of References 

    b. List of Appendices 

2.3.1 PRELIMINARY SECTION

a. Title Page 

     Contains the following particulars: 

        i. Project title 

        ii. Name of student 

        iii. Name of programme 

        iv. Academic session 

a. Abstract 

A brief statement on the objectives and contents of the project paper. It must be written according to the project paper structure, with emphasis given to the problem statement, methodology / research method, result/ research findings and conclusion. An abstract must not exceed 300 words. 

b. Acknowledgements 

Naming and giving thanks to specific individual(s)/ institution(s) that have provided assistance and support in the research process. The acknowledgements must be moderate and appropriate for the kind of assistance received. 

c. Declaration of Originality Of Project 

The project paper should be based on the research conducted by the 

student him/herself. All quotations and references should aknowledge sources accordingly. Plagiarism is a serious offence and can be penalized by the polytechnic. 

d. Table of Contents 

Lists the main parts of the project paper, beginning with the particulars of the preliminary pages except the title page. This is followed by particulars of the main section of the project paper and subsequently, the supplementary pages. Page referencing should be given for each. 

e. List of Tables, Figures and Abbreviations 

Lists the tables, figures and abbreviations dispayed in the text. The list should be written in full as in the text of the project paper. The reference number for both tables and figures must be written in Arabic numerals. Page referencing should also be included. 

2.3.2 MAIN SECTION

a. Chapter 1: Introduction 

Chapter 1 introduces the problems/ issues to be researched and indicates its importance and validity. It sets forth the context, the hypotheses to be tested, the research questions, the research objectives and the research significance. 

b. Chapter 2: Literature Review 

Chapter 2 contains reviews of literature related to the topic of the Project Paper. It is meant to act as a base for the rest of the Project Paper. 

Literature selected must be up-to-date, analyzed and synthesized logically. 

It is not a mere summary of works of different authors. The analysis of 

literature usually forms the basis for the development of the framework for research. Subsequently, a theoretical or conceptual framework should be included. 

c. Chapter 3: Research Methodology 

Chapter 3 describes the methods and techniques used, such as the population and sample size, variables and measurement, types and methods of data collection, and techniques of data analysis. It must also provide justifications for the methods used. 

d. Chapter 4: Results and Discussion 

Chapter 4 discusses two things: the analysis results obtained and interpretation of those results. The analysis results covers descriptive analysis and inferential analysis. Descriptive analysis describes the sample characteristics such as age, gender, education and others. Inferential analysis covers hypothesis testing analysis. The interpretation of results in the text must precede the showing of tables or diagrams. 

e. Chapter 5: Conclusion and Recommendations 

Chapter 5 highlights the findings of the study upon which a conclusion is drawn in line with the objectives set. It is suitable as well to discuss the alternative methods that could be taken to solve the identified research problems or research questions. 

2.3.2 MAIN SECTION

a. Chapter 1: Introduction 

Chapter 1 introduces the problems/ issues to be researched and indicates its importance and validity. It sets forth the context, the hypotheses to be tested, the research questions, the research objectives and the research significance. 

b. Chapter 2: Literature Review 

Chapter 2 contains reviews of literature related to the topic of the Project Paper. It is meant to act as a base for the rest of the Project Paper.Literature selected must be up-to-date, analyzed and synthesized logically. It is not a mere summary of works of different authors. The analysis of literature usually forms the basis for the development of the framework for research. Subsequently, a theoretical or conceptual framework should be included. 

c. Chapter 3: Research Methodology 

Chapter 3 describes the methods and techniques used, such as the population and sample size, variables and measurement, types and methods of data collection, and techniques of data analysis. It must also provide justifications for the methods used. 

d. Chapter 4: Results and Discussion 

Chapter 4 discusses two things: the analysis results obtained and interpretation of those results. The analysis results covers descriptive analysis and inferential analysis. Descriptive analysis describes the sample characteristics such as age, gender, education and others. Inferential analysis covers hypothesis testing analysis. The interpretation of results in the text must precede the showing of tables or diagrams. 

e. Chapter 5: Conclusion and Recommendations 

Chapter 5 highlights the findings of the study upon which a conclusion is drawn in line with the objectives set. It is suitable as well to discuss the alternative methods that could be taken to solve the identified research problems or research questions. 

2.3.3 SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIALS 

What is referencing? 

Referencing is a standardised way of acknowledging the sources of information and ideas that you have used in your assignments and which allows the sources to be identified. 

Why reference? 

Referencing is important to avoid plagiarism, to verify quotations and to enable readers to follow up what you have written and more fully understand the cited author’s work. 

Steps in referencing 

• Record the full bibliographic details and relevent page numbers of

       source from which information is taken

• Insert the citation at the appropriate place in the text of your

      document

• Include a reference list that includes all in-text citations at the end

       of your document

In-text citations

• In an author-date style, in-text citations usually require the name

         author(s) and the year of publication

• A page number is included if you have a direct quote, paraphrase 

        a passage or you want to direct the reader to a specific page or 

        idea. Page number may also be included if the you are referring 

        to a long work and the page numbers might be useful to the 

        reader 

How to create a reference list/bibliography 

• A reference list includes just the books, articles and web pages 

    etc that are cited in the text of the document. A bibliography 

     includes all sources consulted for background or further reading.

• A reference list is arranged alphabetically by author. If an item 

        has no author, it is cited by title, and included in the alphabetical 

        list using the first significant word of the title 

• If you have more than one item with the same author, list the

        items chronologically, starting with the earliest publication

• Each reference appears on a new line

• Each item in the reference list is required to have a hanging

        indent 

• References should not be numbered

Referencing Software 

The Polytechnic of Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah Library will provide access to EndNote and RefWorks which assist in creating reference lists. The APA 5th style is included with the Endnote program. You can also download an additional APA style from the UQ Library that includes the “APA Style Guide to Electronic References” at: 

http://www.library .psa.edu.my/fags/endnote/styles.html 

References from books: 

Author (s) of books - family name and initials, use & for multiple      

                    authors. (year Publication). Title of book_ italicised. Place of   

                   publication: Publisher

Berkman,R.I.(1986). Find it fast: How to uncover expert information.        

                   New York: Harper Perrenial 

Johnson, L., Lewis, K., Peters, M., Harris, Y., Moreton, G., Morgan, B. Et

                  al. (2005) How far is? London: McMillan 

American Psychological Association. (2001). Publication manual of the     

                Americann Psychological Association (5th ed.). Washington,

                DC: Author 

References from edited books: 

Raz, N. (2000). Aging of the brain and its impact on cognitive         

            performance: Integration of structural and functional findings. In

             F. I. M. Craik & T. A. Salthouse (Eds.), Handbook of aging and

            cognition (2nd ed., pp. 1-90). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum. 

References from journals articles: 

Nik Mustapha, R. A. (1993). Valuing outdoor recreational Resources in   

           Tasik Perdana using dichotomous choice contingent valuation

            method. The Malaysian Journal of Agricultural Economics, 10,

            39-50. 

Schafer, J.L & Kang, J. (2008). Average causal effects from

            nonrandomized Studies : A practical guide and simulated

            example. Psychological Methods, 13, 279-313 

American Educational Research Association. (2006). Standards for

            reporting on empirical social science research in AERA

            publications.Educational Researcher, 35(6), 33-40. 

References from conference proceedings: 

Bohrer, S., Zielke, T., & Freiburg, V. (1995) Integrated obstacle detection 

            Framework for intelligent cruise control on motorways. Paper

            presented at IEEE Inteligent Vehicles Symposium. Detroit, MI:

            Piscataway 

References from government documents: 

Ministry of Human Resources. (2008). Labour and human resources

            statistics. Putrajaya, WP: Malaysia. 

References from manuscripts: 

Moher, D., Liberati, A., Tetzlaff, J., Altman, D. G. & the PRISMA Group.

            (2008). Preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and

            meta-analysis: The PRISMA statement. Manuscript submitted

            for publication. 

References from doctoral dissertations (published & unpublished): 

Darling, C. W. (1976). Giver of due regard: the poetry of Richard Wilbur. 

             Dissertation Abstracts International, 44, 4465. (AAD44-8794).       

              Zahira, M.I. (2008), Unconscionability in the law and practice of

              franchising. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Universiti Putra 

              Malaysia, Serdang, Selangor. 

References from seminar papers: 

Leclerc, C. M. & Hess, T. M. (2005, August). Age differences in     

            processing of affectively primed information. Poster session

            presented at the 113th Annual Convention of the American

            Psychological Association, Washington, DC. 

References from the Internet: 

Merriam-Webster’s online dictionary. (n.d.). Retrieved April 20, 2007, from http://www.m-w.com/dictionary/

 The writings referred to within the text must state the name of the authors (excluding the initials) and the year of publication. If there are more than two authors to a particular work, use et. al. as an option after the first name, e.g. (Abdullah et. al.,2009). However, the name of all authors must be stated in the List of References. 

When there are more than one reference to a particular matter, the arrangement of the authors must follow alphabetically, e.g. (Abdullah et. al, 2009; Barton, 2005; and Cheng, 2006). When there are more than one reference from the same author and the same year of publication, the alphabet a,b and subsequently, must be added at the end of the reference, with the earlier works in front, e.g. (Abdullah et. al, 2009a); (Abdullah et. al, 2009b); or (Abdullah et. al, 2009a,b). 

b. List of Appendices

This contains data, additional calculations, analysis output and 

questionnaire forms (if any) as additional information or reference to the text.