#4 Civil Engineering Department

College of Engineering

FLEX Course Material

To be able to
identify the
components of
Chapter 1 of Thesis
Manuscript
To develop METHODS OF
fundamental
knowledge on RESEARCH
THESIS 1
writing Chapter 1
of Thesis
.

FMETHDL/FMETHOD
1st Trimester, AY 2020-2021

Manny Anthony M. Taguba

Program Chair, Environmental &
Sanitary Engineering Department
 #4

To be able to
identify the Thesis
components of
Chapter 1 of
Thesis
Manuscript:
Manuscript Chapter 1
To develop
fundamental
knowledge on
writing Chapter
1 of Thesis

Prepared by:
Manny Anthony M. Taguba
CE,SE, MS EnE

2
 FOCAL POINTS

Thesis Manuscript:
CHAPTER I

?
INSIDE • Introduction
• Objectives of the Project
• Significance of the Project
• Scope and Limitation of the Project
• Definition of Terms
• Date and Place of Study
• List of Acronyms
• Nomenclature
 1.1 Introduction
• The introduction leads the reader from a general subject area to a
particular topic of inquiry. It establishes the scope, context, and
significance of the research being conducted by summarizing
current understanding and background information about the topic,
stating the purpose of the work in the form of the research problem
supported by a hypothesis or a set of questions, explaining briefly
the methodological approach used to examine the research
problem, highlighting the potential outcomes your study can reveal,
and outlining the remaining structure and organization of the paper
(USC Libraries, 2020).
Roscoe, J.T. (1975)
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INTRODUCTION
 SPSE – Situation, Problem,
Solution, and Evaluation.
 Three-Point Technique:

 Current state of the field

 Establish the gap

 Bridging the gap

5
INTRODUCTION
• Subdividing Approach
• Divide the general area into
progressively small units, subdividing
it until one reaches a subject that is
interesting to research.

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Introduction (cont.)?
• What types of information should you include in your
introduction?
• In the introduction of your thesis, you’ll be trying to do
three main things, which are called Moves:
• Move 1 establish your territory (say what the topic is
about)
• Move 2 establish a niche (show why there needs to be
further research on your topic)
• Move 3 introduce the current research (make hypotheses;
state the research questions)
Stages in a thesis introduction
• state the general topic and give some background
• provide a review of the literature related to the topic
• define the terms and scope of the topic
• outline the current situation
• evaluate the current situation (advantages/ disadvantages)
and identify the gap
• identify the importance of the proposed research
• state the research problem/ questions
• state the research aims and/or research objectives
• state the hypotheses
• outline the order of information in the thesis
• outline the methodology
• Source: UNSDW SYDNEY
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1.2 Objective of the
Project
•Objectives of the project describe
what the proponents are trying to
achieve. Objectives can be classified
into general and specific objectives
to give the reader a better
understanding of what will be done
during the project.

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Objective of the Study
(cont.)
•To get the right solution to a problem,
clearly defined objectives are very
essential.
•General objective
• should capture the title of the study (main
topic of the research).
• Clear, concise, declarative statement in
which provides directions.
•Specific objectives
• It must be SMARTER
• Arranged accordingly from EASY to
DIFFICULT
• What researcher will be able to achieve at
the end of the research study.

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Objective of the Study
(cont.)
•Is the objective/research
problem Researchable?
•Has the problem been specified?
•Is the problem amenable to
research?
•Is the problem too large?
•How is the availability of the data?
•Am I capable of solving the
problem?

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1.3 Significance of the
Study
▪ The significance of the study will mainly
focus on the question “Who will benefit
from the study?”
▪Discusses the reasons in conducting the
research.
▪ This section will state the contribution of
your study and the usefulness of your
study in the society.
▪This section explains the contribution of
the project to possible users and readers.
This explains why such project is needed
to be done.
▪If you have few beneficiaries, you can just
write it in one or two paragraphs (why is it
important to conduct the study and all
the beneficiaries and how they can
benefit from the study).

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1.3 Significance of the
Study
Significance of the study is written as
part of the introduction section of a
thesis. It provides details to the reader
on how the study will contribute such
as what the study will contribute and
who will benefit from it. It also includes
an explanation of the work's
importance as well as its potential
benefits.
Will the result be significant?
The question include
▪Will the result advance knowledge?
▪Will the research have some value?
▪Will the results be of interest to others?

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• The scope and limitations of
the study are those
characteristics of design or
methodology that impacted
or influenced the
interpretation of the findings
from your research/project
(USC Libraries). This is where
you enumerate and explain
what the study only covers
and the reasons why your
study needs to be limited to
certain extent only. 13

1.4 Scope and Limitation of

the Project
Scope and Limitation
(cont.)

The scope is mainly the

coverage of your study
and limitation of study
or topic.

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Scope and Limitation
(cont.)
The scope and limitations should include
the following:
•A brief statement of the general
purpose of the study.
• The subject matter and topics studied
and discussed.
•The locale of the study, where the data
were gathered or the entity to which
the data belong.
•Selection and Justifications of Research
variables.
•Standards used in the study.

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• This section lists down
terms that are
operationally defined
and used in this project.
This includes specific
terms used that may
have additional or
another meaning from
the common definition. 16

1.5 Definition of Terms

• Operational definition:
Terms, words, or phrases
which have special or unique
meanings in the study.
• Terms should be defined
operationally, that is how
they are used in the study.
• The researcher may develop
his own definition from the
characteristics of the term
defined. 17

1.5 Definition of Terms

Definition of Terms

The definition of terms must be

arranged alphabetically. It must be
also stated if your definition of terms
in technically (i.e. conceptual
definition) or operationally (i.e.
operational definition).
Conceptual Definition – working
definition of a concept or term.
Operation Definition – words or
terminologies with special definition
or structured definition for the
thesis.

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Definition of Terms

• An alphabetical list of
important terms or acronyms that
you define, particularly
ambiguous terms or those used in a
special way. Your thesis proposal will
likely include terms that are not widely
known outside of your discipline.
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Definition of Terms

• Definitions should be brief, clear, and

unequivocal as possible.
• Acronyms should always be spelled
out fully.

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Time and Place of Study

• Includes the period when the study

was conducted starting from the
preparation of outline, data
gathering (preliminary and conduct
of experiment), to completion of
writing of the manuscript.

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Nomenclature

▪ Systems of symbols or characters

used in the study.
▪ Should be arranged alphabetically

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SUMMARY

Chapter 1 Thesis

• CHAPTER 1: THE PROBLEM AND ITS

BACKGROUND

• 1.1 Introduction

• 1.2 Objective of the Project

• 1.3 Significance of the Project

• 1.4 Scope and Limitation of the Project

• 1.5 Definition of Terms

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SUMMARY

“What is not started will

never get finished”
-JW Gothe

“Everything is theoretically
impossible until it is done”
-Robert Heinlein

KEY TERMS

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SUMMARY

KEY TERMS

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[email protected]
[email protected]
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