ABPT4106/ABCP4106 Project Paper

FACULTY OF APPLIED SOCIAL SCIENCES

PROJECT PAPER
ABPT4106/ABCP4106

BACHELOR OF PSYCHOLOGY
BACHELOR OF COMMUNICATION

First Edition, April 2012

Copyright © Open University Malaysia (OUM), April 2013, ABPT4106/ABCP4106

All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced in any form or by any means
without the written permission of the President, Open University Malaysia.

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FOREWORD

This guideline aims to assist students in the academic writing process

especially for their final year Project Paper. All students pursuing graduate
degrees in programmes under the Faculty of Applied Social Sciences (FASS)
are required to undertake two semesters of research exercise called Part 1 and
Part 2 respectively.

Part 1 requires students to develop a project proposal. The proposal

developed will be used as the blueprint to carry out an empirical
investigation the following semester as Part 2. A total of six credits weight is
given to Part 1 and Part 2, with each part carrying three credits respectively.
Students have to do both individually.

This guideline is divided into three main topics, namely:

(a) General requirements of a project;
(b) Format for Project Proposal (Part 1); and
(c) Format for Project Report (Part 2).

The appendices section provides students further illustrations to understand

the requirements, specifications as well as evaluation criteria of the project.

The project being a capstone course for the FASS programmes, envisages
students learning outcomes that achieve high levels of cognitive skills (i.e.
able to evaluate), psychomotor skills (i.e. able to construct), affective skills
(i.e. able to propose) and social skills (i.e. able to manage resources) .

Upon undergoing the systematic research process, the project modules

envision creating human capital with sound problem-solving and decision-
making abilities.

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CONTENTS
Foreword 3

Section

1. General Requirements of Project 6

1.1 Introduction 6
1.2 Nomination of Supervisor 6
1.3 Language 6
1.4 Technical Specification 6
1.4.1 Font Type and Size 7
1.4.2 Margin 7
1.4.3 Line Spacing 7
1.4.4 Page Numbering 7
1.4.5 Paper Type 8
1.4.6 Binding 8
1.4.7 Project Proposal and Project Report Submission 8
1.4.8 Page Layout 9
1.4.9 Subdivisions 9
1.4.10 Process Flow 9

2. Project Proposal Format

(a) General Guidelines 12
(b) Chapter Organisation 12

3. Project Report/Dissertation Format

(a) General Guidelines 13
(b) Chapter Organisation 13
(i) Front Section 13
(ii) Main Section 14
(iii) Back Section 15

References 17

Appendices 19

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SECTION 1
General Requirements of Project

1.1 INTRODUCTION
The purpose of this guideline is to assist students in preparing and
completing their Project Proposal and Project Report. Students are advised to
communicate regularly with their respective supervisors for subject matter
guidance. This means you will be assigned a supervisor to guide you in
conducting your research.

1.2 NOMINATION OF SUPERVISOR

You are required to find a supervisor by submitting a Nomination of
Supervisor form (FASSRP01) to the faculty via e-mail or mail together with
his/her curriculum vitae (see Appendix A & B).

A supervisor is appointed for the duration of the project. During this period,
the supervisor and the learner are required to follow the ÂProject Paper
GuidelinesÊ when preparing his/her Project Paper. Learner and supervisor
must interact F2F/Online (minimum four times per semester).

Students are required to nominate supervisor who has at least a Master

Qualification in a related field.

You can do your Project Paper within two semesters ă one semester for Part I
(Project Proposal) and another semester for Part II (Project Final Report).

1.3 LANGUAGE
The project proposal and project report can be in English or Bahasa Malaysia
(BM). The writing style should be standardised, using either but not both
American English and British English.

1.4 TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

This is an individual final year Project Paper. The Project Proposal and
Project Report/Dissertation submitted for grading should be typed using a
word processor and printed using a laser printer.

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Students are required to comply with the following requirements:

1.4.1 Font Type and Size

The entire text of the Project Proposal and Project Report including title and
page number should be in font size 12 and font type Times New Roman or
Arial.

1.4.2 Margin

The first page of each chapter should have the following margins:
Top : 5 cm/2 inches
Right : 2.5 cm/1 inch
Left : 3.5 cm/1 ó inches
Bottom : 2.5 cm/1 inch

The text in the subsequent pages should have the following margins:
Top : 2.5 cm/1 inch
Right : 2.5 cm/1 inch
Left : 3.5 cm/1 ó inches
Bottom : 2.5 cm/1 inch

These specifications should be adhered to in order to facilitate binding.

1.4.3 Line Spacing

The dissertation must have double line spacing. Figures and tables should be
single line spaced. Quotes of three lines or more must be indented and be
single line spaced. Each reference in the References section should also be
single line spaced. Single line spacing should be used within titles and within
each entry in lists and footnotes.

1.4.4 Page Numbering

All front matter page numbers must be in lowercase Roman numerals

centred at the bottom of the page. The first page of the front matter after the
title page should be numbered „ii‰, not „i‰. The first page of the body of the

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dissertation should be numbered as page 1. Students should use Arabic

numbers. Words, dashes or any other symbol before or after the page number
is not allowed. The font size of the page numbers should be the same as that
of the text in the dissertation.

Dissertation page numbers can either be at the:

(a) Top right corner; OR
(b) Bottom right corner; OR
(c) Bottom centre.

Page numbers on landscape-oriented pages must be placed to be consistent

with the numbering placement used in the dissertation. Pages must be
numbered consecutively throughout the dissertation.

1.4.5 Paper Type

Students should use 80 grams white coloured A4 (210mm X 297mm) sized

paper for printing.

1.4.6 Binding

Students should submit for binding only after obtaining supervisorsÊ

approval. The project proposal requires comb binding whereas the final year
project dissertation should be bound in hardcover (blue colour).

Information on the front of the hardcover that includes project title, studentÊs
name, faculty, institutionÊs name and the academic session should be printed
in capital letters and Arial Narrow size 18 gold font (see Appendix C).

Information on the spine of the hardcover that includes studentÊs name,

programme name and academic session should be printed in capital letters
and Arial Narrow size 18 gold font (see Appendix C).

1.4.7 Project Proposal and Project Report Submission

The Project Proposal and Project Report / Dissertation should be submitted

to the Faculty of Applied Social Sciences one week before the start of final
examination in their respective semesters.

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1.4.8 Page Layout

Text should be typed on a portrait layout. Landscape layout is allowed for

tables and figures.

1.4.9 Subdivisions

The internal organisation of the text should be consistent throughout the

dissertation. The text should be divided into chapters, for example, Chapter
1, Chapter 2, etc. Subdivisions can also be used. Content of each chapter may
be divided under headings and sub-headings such as 1.1, 1.2 and 1.3 and so
on. Headings should only be presented at a maximum of three levels (see
Appendix G).

1.4.10 Process Flow

The process flow for these procedures is presented in Figure 1.

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SECTION 2
Project Proposal Format

2.1 GENERAL GUIDELINES

The project proposal should not exceed 60 pages and should consist of three
chapters.

2.2 CHAPTER ORGANISATION

The project proposal is a scientific document, hence should comply with a
systematic writing sequence as shown below:
Chapter 1: Introduction
(a) Background of study
(b) Problem statement
(c) Research question
(d) Study objectives
(e) Study contribution
Chapter 2: Literature Review
(a) Review of literature
(b) Concepts and theory
(c) Conceptual framework
Chapter 3: Methodology
(a) Research design
(b) Sample and sampling instrument
(c) Research method
(i) Data collection
(ii) Data analysis
(iii) Study plan (Gantt Chart)
References

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SECTION 3

Project Report / Dissertation Format

3.1 GENERAL GUIDELINES

The Project Report / Dissertation should comprise written documentation
between 50 and 60 pages excluding the front section (3.2.1) and the
appendices.

3.2 CHAPTER ORGANISATION

The Project Paper/Dissertation is a scientific document, hence should comply
with a systematic writing sequence as shown below:

3.2.1 Front Section

(a) Title page should includes the following:

(i) Project title
(ii) AuthorÊs name
(iii) Programme name (see Appendix D)
(b) Abstract
Pay attention to the preparation of your abstract. The abstract should be
as informative as possible and cover six key areas:
(i) Purpose
(ii) Scope
(iii) Methods used
(iv) The results
(v) Conclusions; and
(vi) Recommendations
Limit your abstract to 350 words. (see Appendix F)

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(c) Acknowledgement
This section allows the author to express gratitude to people and
organisations that have assisted in completing the dissertation
successfully such as your supervisor, family members, organisations,
etc.

(d) Originality Declaration

The author declares that the work carried out in completing the Project
Paper/Dissertation is original, true to research ethics and without
plagiarism (see Appendix E).

(e) Table of Content

Provides guidance to readers of the main and sub-topics discussed in
the Project Paper/Dissertation (see Appendix H).

(f) List of Tables and Figures/Illustration

Title of tables and figures/illustration should be written in the same
manner as in actual text.

3.2.2 Main Section

Chapter 1: Introduction
(a) Background of study
(b) Problem statement
(c) Research question
(d) Study objectives
(e) Hypothesis
(f) Study contribution
(g) Limitation of study

Chapter 2: Literature review

(a) Review of literature
(b) Concepts and theory
(c) Conceptual framework

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Chapter 3: Methodology
(a) Research design
(b) Sample and sampling
(c) Instrument
(d) Research method
(e) Data collection
(f) Data analysis

Chapter 4: Findings and Discussion

(a) The results section will have the plots that show your results.
(b) Your text will describe what you see in the figures in some detail. Point
out significant observations.
(c) Describe what is there factually.
(d) The discussion section explains your deductions about the data, your
speculations and describes how these fit into the general project and the
implications of the results.

Chapter 5: Conclusion
(a) Summarises the preceding chapters;
(b) Discusses any constraints, failures or weaknesses of your project;
(c) Emphasises the researchÊs contributions to the field;
(d) Indicates possible future research;
(e) States the potential impact of your accomplishments if work on the
project were to continue.

3.2.3 Back Section

Formatting the References List

(a) Start the reference list on a new page, with the word References in the
top centre of the page.
(b) Arrange the items alphabetically by author (if no author is given, then
start with the title).
(c) Do not spell out an authorÊs first or middle name: Shock, P.J. (not
Shock, Patti J.).

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(d) In titles of books, articles, websites and other major works, only the first
words of the title and subtitle are capitalised (except proper nouns,
which are still always capitalised): Conferences and Conventions: A
global industry. However, significant words in the titles of journals,
magazines and newspapers are capitalised: Journal of Hospitality and
Tourism Research

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REFERENCES LIST EXAMPLES – SELECTED COMMON

SOURCE TYPES

Journal or Magazine Articles

Print version:

Monteson, P. A., & Singer, J. (2004). Marketing a resort-based spa. Journal of

Vacation Marketing, 10(2), 282-288.

Electronic version:

Milman, A., & Ricci, P. (2004). Predicting job retention of hourly employees in
the lodging industry. Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Management,
11(1), 28-41. Retrieved from the Hospitality & Tourism Complete
database.

Schoolfield, J. (2008). Desert oasis. Funworld March 2008. Retrieved April 9,

2012 from http: // www. iaapa. org / industry / funworld / 2008 /mar/
features/DesertOasis/DesertOasis.asp

Books

Parker, R. M., Jr. (2003). Bordeaux: A consumerÊs guide to the worldÊs finest
wines (4th rev. ed.). New York: Simon & Schuster.

O'Halloran, R. M., Jarvis, K., & Allen-Chabot, A. (Eds.). (2006). Cases in

hospitality and tourism management. Upper Saddle River, N.J.:
Pearson/Prentice Hall.

Chapter in an Edited Book

Whorton, J. C. (2000). Vegetarianism. In K. F. Kiple & K. C. Ornelas (Eds.),

Cambridge world history of food (pp. 1553-1564). Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press.

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Brochure/Pamphlet

Print version:

Crystal Cruises. (2003). Cruise guide 2004 [Brochure]. Los Angeles: Crystal
Cruises.

Film / Video / DVD

Educational Institute of the American Hotel and Motel Association

(Producer). (1997). Supervisory skill builders: Leadership [Motion
picture]. East Lansing, MI: The Institute.

McCallum, R. (Producer), Lucas, G. (Director), & Lucas, G., Hales, J.

(Writers). (2002). Star wars II: Attack of the clones [Motion picture].
Beverly Hills, CA: Twentieth Century Fox.

Webpage

Cope, J. (2003). Towards a dynamic learning perspective of entrepreneurship

[White paper]. Retrieved April 9, 2012 from
http: //eprints.lancs.ac.uk/id/eprint/48679

Appendices

Include in this section all the relevant support materials especially the
research instruments, scoring procedures and other materials pertinent to the
study. An appendix is indicated by the word APPENDIX, capitalised and
centred on the page with label of the material below it.

The first page of the appendix is the title APPENDIX A with the label of the
material, followed by its contents, and then APPENDIX B and so forth. This
will indicate to whoever assesses your research report that it is a complete
and quality product.

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APPENDIX A

FASSRP01 FORM

FACULTY OF APPLIED SOCIAL SCIENCES

NOMINATION OF SUPERVISOR FOR PROJECT PAPER

PART A TO BE COMPLETED BY STUDENT

Name : ____________________________________________

Programme : ____________________________________________

Learning Centre : ____________________________________________

IC/Passport Number : ____________________________________________

Matric Number : ____________________________________________

Intake : ____________________________________________

Nomination for Semester : JAN MAY SEPT Year ______

Postal Address : _____________________________________________

____________________________________________
____________________________________________

Telephone No. : __________________ H/P : ___________________

E-mail : ____________________________________________

TITLE OF RESEARCH (use BLOCK LETTERS)

_______________________ ______________________
Signature of Student Date:

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PART B TO BE COMPLETED BY SUPERVISOR (S)

DETAILS OF SUPERVISOR 1

Name of Supervisor* : _______________________________________________

Specialisation : _______________________________________________

Institution & Address : _______________________________________________

Telephone : (O) ___________________ (H/P) ___________________

_____________________________ ________________________
Signature of Supervisor Date:

DETAILS OF SUPERVISOR 2 (if necessary)

Name of Supervisor* : _______________________________________________

Specialisation : _______________________________________________

Institution & Address : _______________________________________________

Telephone : (O) __________________ (H/P) ___________________

_____________________________ ________________________
Signature of Supervisor Date:

* Please attach your CV. (see Appendix B)

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PART C FOR OFFICE USE

FOR PROGRAMME COORDINATOR FOR FASS ONLY

ONLY
I-Campus Updated
Approved/Not approved
Endorsed by:

_______________________
________________________
(Signature & Stamp)
(Signature & Stamp)
Date: _____________
Date: _____________

Remarks (if any) : ___________________________________________________

___________________________________________________

___________________________________________________

___________________________________________________

___________________________________________________

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APPENDIX B
CV FORMAT

TO BE FILLED BY CANDIDATE FOR PROJECT PAPER SUPERVISOR

Name : ...........................................................................................................................

Institutions: ..................................................................................................................

Date of Birth: ................................................................................................................

Address: .......................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................

Telephone No.: Off:. .................................................... H/P: ....................................

Email: ............................................................................................................................

Areas of Specialisation: ..............................................................................................

Academic and professional qualifications:

........................................................................................................................................
........................................................................................................................................
........................................................................................................................................
........................................................................................................................................
........................................................................................................................................
........................................................................................................................................

List of previous publications (journal/books/conference papers):

........................................................................................................................................
........................................................................................................................................
........................................................................................................................................
........................................................................................................................................
........................................................................................................................................
........................................................................................................................................

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Any other relevant information:

........................................................................................................................................
........................................................................................................................................
........................................................................................................................................
........................................................................................................................................
........................................................................................................................................
........................................................................................................................................

Number of research degree students supervised: ..................................................

Currently supervising: .................................................................................................

Previously supervised to successful completion: ....................................................

....................................................... ...................................................
Signature of Supervisor Date:

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APPENDIX C
FORMAT OF FRONT COVER AND SPINE

THE ROLE OF ENVIRONMENT IN PERSONALITY DEVELOPMENT

THE ROLE OF ENVIRONMENT IN

PERSONALITY DEVELOPMENT
(Arial Narrow, size 18, Upper Case)

ROSHIZAN MAHMOOD
(Arial Narrow, 18 size, Upper Case)

(Arial Narrow, Size 18, Upper Case)

ROSHIZAN MAHMOOD

OPEN UNIVERSITY MALAYSIA

2012
BPSY 2012

(Arial Narrow, Size 18, Upper Case)

*Do not indicate the box on the Front Cover and Spine

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APPENDIX D
FORMAT OF TITLE PAGE

THE ROLE OF ENVIRONMENT IN PERSONALITY DEVELOPMENT

(Arial Narrow, size 14, Upper Case)

ROSHIZAN MAHMOOD
(Arial Narrow, size 14, Upper Case)

A Project Paper submitted in partial fulfilment of the

requirements for the degree of Bachelor in Psychology

Faculty of Applied Social Sciences

Open University Malaysia

2012
(Arial Narrow, size 14, Lower Case)

*Do not indicate the box on the Title Page

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APPENDIX E
FORMAT OF DECLARATION PAGE

DECLARATION
(Times New Roman / Arial, size 14, Upper Case)

Name:

Matric Number:

I hereby declare that this Project Paper is the result of my own work,
except for quotations and summaries which have been duly acknowledged.

Signature: Date:

*Do not indicate the box on the Declaration

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APPENDIX F

FORMAT OF ABSTRACT

THE ROLE OF ENVIRONMENT IN

PERSONALITY DEVELOPMENT
(Times New Roman / Arial, size 14, Upper Case)

ROSHIZAN MAHMOOD

May 2012

ABSTRACT
(Times New Roman / Arial, size 12, Upper Case)

_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
___________

* Limit your abstract to 350 words

*Single spacing
*ONE (1) page only

*Do not indicate the box on the Abstract

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APPENDIX G

(5 cm/2 inches)

CHAPTER 1

CHAPTER HEADING
(Times New Roman / Arial, size 12, Upper Case)

1.1 Main Heading 1

----------------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------------
(3.5 cm/1 ½inches) (2.5 cm/1 inch)

1.1.1 Sub – heading 1

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

1.1.2 Sub – heading 2

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

1.1.3 Sub – heading 3

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

(2.5 cm/1 inch)

*Do not indicate the box on the Chapter Heading

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APPENDIX H
FORMAT OF TABLE OF CONTENTS

TABLE OF CONTENTS

TITLE PAGE
DECLARATION ii
ABSTRACT iii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS v
TABLE OF CONTENTS vi
LIST OF TABLES
LIST OF FIGURES
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of Study 1
1.2 Problem Statement 1
1.3 Research Question
1.4 Study Objectives 2
1.5 Hypotheses 3
1.6 Study Contribution 5
1.7 Limitation of Study 7

CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Review of Literature 9
2.2 Concepts and Theory 10
2.3 Conceptual Framework 11

CHAPTER 3 METHODOLOGY
3.1 Research Design
3.2 Sample and Sampling Procedures
3.3 Instrument
3.4 Research Method
3.5 Data Collection
3.6 Data Analysis

CHAPTER 4 RESULTS
4.1 Findings and Discussion

CHAPTER 5 CONCLUSION

REFERENCES
APPENDICES

* Do not indicate the box on the Table of Contents

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