STRICTLY NOT FOR SALE OR REPRODUCTION WITHOUT CONSENT

UNIVERSITI TEKNOLOGI MARA

(UiTM)

PROJECT PAPER

HANDBOOK

Guidelines for the BBA

(Hons) Finance/Islamic

Banking Project Paper

-First Edition-

Editor: Roslina Hj Mohamad Shafi

CONTENTS

~~~~~~~ Preface

1. Introduction 1

Course Objectives

Course Content

Role of Supervisors

Role of Second Examiner

Submission of Project Paper

Report Assessment

The Project Paper Process

2. General Format of Writing the Project Paper 3

Language

Paper

Font Size and Type

Font Style

Headings

Paragraphs

Line Spacing

Margins and Justification

Pagination

Use of Footnotes

Abstract

Body

Note on Plagiarism

Bibliography

Tables and Figures

Appendix

3. Guidelines for Research Proposal 9

Abstract

Introduction

Background of the Study

Research Problem

Review of Literature

Research Methodology

Conclusion/Planning

4. Structure of the Project Paper 12

Front Cover

Title Page

i

Abstract

Acknowledgement

Table of Contents

List of Tables and Figures

Glossary

Introduction

Review of the Literatures

Research Design and Methodology

Data Analysis and Findings

Conclusion and Recommendations

Appendices

References

5. Never Do These Common Errors 17

6. Viva Tips 18

Bibliography

Appendices

ii

PREFACE

This project paper handbook aims to facilitate and guide our BBA (Hons) Finance/ Islamic

Banking students in conducting their research. Thus, we feel that guidance is needed to help

ensure the quality of the project papers. This guideline has been produced in handbook for

easier reference and greater convenience to both supervisors and students. Please read and

follow these procedures carefully to avoid unnecessary, costly and time consuming revisions.

We wish you all the best in your project paper and we welcome feedback from supervisors

and students.

Project Paper Course Leader Department of Finance

Faculty of Business Management UiTM Johor

January 2011

iii

1. INTRODUCTION

Course Objectives

The course is designed to enable students to exhibit their creativity and innovativeness in

soliciting, analyzing, synthesizing and reporting information about an area of their interest

experienced during the attachment and within the perimeters of the students’ program of

study.

Course Content

Students are required to address only specific issue pertaining to their field of study. If

necessary they have to conduct a comparative study of theory vs. practice whereby a

literature review must be incorporated to expose them to research articles in academic or

trade journals. They are then required to obtain information on practical aspect of the issue

being addressed at the organization where they are attached to. Based on theory/best

practice vs. organization practice, students then identify gaps or missing areas, and make

suggestions for improvements to the organization.

Role of Supervisor

• To assist wherever possible and to advise prior to approval organizations identified and

proposed by the student under his/her advice

• To facilitate and advise on the appropriateness of the area/topic of study for the project

report, identified by the student

• To be available for consultation on any day of the week based on the mutual agreement

with the student

• To inform and ensure that the students fulfill all rules, regulations and requirements of the

program, the Faculty and University

• To bring the attention of the Head of Program, any difficulties or problems relating to the

industrial training and the students

• To continuously assess and evaluate the students industrial training log book and

industrial training report and to submit the grade to the Head of the Program

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Role of Second Examiner

To assess and evaluate the students’ industrial training report and to submit the grade to the

Supervisor.

Submission of Project Paper

A spiral bound copy of the report shall be submitted to the Supervisor and to the Second

Examiner according to the industrial training schedule and the requirement of department.

One (1) report in the form of compact disc (CD) and abstract or executive summary shall be

submitted to the Head of Program for storage and future references.

Report Assessment (100%)

Report assessment shall be based on 2 parts, namely

Items Total Weightage

Supervisor 2nd Examiner

Proposal 20% 10% 10%

Presentation/VIVA 20% 10% 10%

Final Report 60% 40% 20%

The Project Paper Process

The project paper started with identification of the proposed research areas. Students are

encouraged to do some readings to get a better idea of the possible areas of research that

are of interest to them. They should then approach a potential supervisor by referring to the

list of potential supervisor which is available online via www.uitmjohor.blogspot.com .

Selection on potential supervisor should be based on the expertise/research interest.

Students should then approach the potential supervisor to seek his/her approval to

supervise their research.

If the supervisor is agreeable, students need to discuss the proposed research in more

details and with the guidance of the supervisor, complete and submit the abstract form to

him/her and also the second examiner. Students will then require submitting their proposal

form to the supervisor and second examiner. After the proposal has been endorsed by the

supervisor, students are required to finished their report and provide brief presentation/viva

of the project paper to the Project Paper Panel Committee. Any corrections after the

presentation/viva should be made after that.

2

2. GENERAL FORMAT OF WRITING THE PROJECT PAPER

Language

The language of the project paper is English; preferably use British English rather than

American English. However, the final choice is up to the student, but it must be consistent.

Paper

Size : A4 (21.0 cm x 29.7 cm)

Quality : Acid-free paper of at least 80gm weight

Color : White

Font size and type

Candidates must use Times New Roman font. No other fonts are acceptable

Font size:

• For text use 12-point font

• For tables and figures, use 10-point

• For footnotes, 10-point

• For title page, 18-font, Bold, Centred, please refer to Appendix A

• For Table of Contents, please refer to Appendix

Please type in bold for headings and subheadings. Headings should be typed in all upper

case letters while sub-headings are to be typed in upper and lower case letters.

Font style

Only one fonts style (Times New Roman) may be used through the entire thesis.

Exceptional to this can only be made for tables/figures/illustrations imported from other

sources. Italic variants of the same font’s style may be used for tables, foreign words,

book titles or occasional emphasis. The usage of bold variants of the same style and

underlining in the text of headings and title is at the student’s discretion.

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Headings

Chapter headings are to centred and written in bold, upper case letters. The font size is 16

point. Other sub-headings are to be aligned to the left margin and should be in 14 point

font-size. Sub-headings should be in upper and lower case. Underlining and boldfare in

the sub-headings is at the student’s discretion (however, constancy is needed)

Paragraphs

Spacing between two paragraphs in the basic text should be set at 2.0 spaces. The first

sentence of paragraph should be indented to 6 spaces. A heading that appears as a last

line on a page will not be accepted. There should be a minimum of two lines of a

paragraph at the bottom of the page under the headings.

Line spacing

The project paper should be typed on one side of the paper. The text should be double-

spaced throughout, with single-spacing for exceptional circumstances only:

i. Abstract

ii. Appendices

iii. Long headings or sub-headings

iv. Long captions to tables, figures or plates

v. Bibliography

vi. Tables

vii. Quotations

Margins and justification

Set the justification to ‘full’ and the margins to the following measurements:

TOP : 1”

BOTTOM : 1.5”

LEFT : 1.5”

RIGHT : 1”

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Pagination

All page numbers should be centred at the bottom of the page.

• Title page: this page should not be numbered though it is counted as page number (i)

• Preliminary pages: preliminary pages include all the sections that precede the text.

They arranged and numbered using small Roman numerals (i, ii, iii etc)

• Text page: page one should be the first page of Chapter One

• Supplementary pages: no pagination

No hyphens, periods, underlining or other marks should be appear before, after or

under the page number

Use of Footnotes

Footnotes must not be used for citing references. They should be used only for useful

extensions and excursions of information in the body of the text. Footnotes should be

numbered consecutively with superscript numerals. Footnotes should be in single

spacing, font size 10-point.

Abstract

Abstract is one-paragraph, self-contained summary of the most important elements of

the project paper. It should NOT be more than 250 words in length.

• Heading- the word “ABSTRACT’ in all capital letters, centred at the top of the page.

• Format: it should be written in block form (i.e. without indentations) and in complete

sentences

• Content: The abstract should contain statements of the (1) research problem, (2)

methodology, (3) results and (4) conclusions and implications. Write in the past tense to

report specific manipulations and procedures you employed in the study and the present

tense to describe conclusions based on the findings.

Body

In the preparation of the body of the text, rules pertaining to margins, font type, font size,

line spacing, justification, pagination, etc. must be observed at all times without

exception.

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Text citations

Source material must be documented in the body of the paper by citing the author(s) and

date (s) of the sources. The underlying principle here is that the ideas and words of

others must be fully acknowledged. The reader can obtain the full source citation from

the list of references that follows the body of the paper.

i. When the names of the authors of a source are part of the formal structure of the

sentence, the year of publication appears in parentheses following the

identification of the authors. Consider the following example:

Wirth and Mitchell (1994) found although there was a reduction in insulin dosage

over a period of two weeks in the treatment condition compared to the control

condition, the differences was not statistically significant. [Note: and is used when

multiple authors are identified as part of the formal structure of the sentence.

Compare this to the example in the following section.]

ii. When the authors of a source are not part of the formal structure of the sentence,

both the authors and years of publication appear in parentheses, separated by

semicolons. Consider the following example:

Review of research on religion and health have concluded that at least some types

of religious behaviors are related to higher levels of physical and mental health

(Gartner, Larson, & Allen, 1991; Koenig, 1990; Levin & Vanderpool, 1991; Maton &

Pargament, 1987; Paloma & Padleton, 1991; Payne, Bergin, Bielema, & Jenkins,

1991). [Note: & is used when multiple authors are identified in parenthetical

material. Note also that when several sources are cited parenthetically, they are

ordered alphabetically by first authors’ surnames. +

iii. When a source that has two authors is cited, both authors are included every time

the source is cited.

iv. When a source that has three, four, or five authors is cited, all authors are

included the first time the source is cited. When that source is cited again, the first

author’s surname and “et.al”. are used. Consider the following example:

Reviews of research on religion and health have concluded that at least some

types of religious behaviors are related to higher levels of mental physical and

mental health (Payne, Bergin, Bielema, & Jenkins, 1991).

6

Payne et al. (1991) showed that….

v. When a source that has six or more authors is cited, the first author’s surname and

‘et al.’ are used every time the source is cited (including the first time).

vi. Every effort should be made to cite only sources that you have actually read.

When it is necessary to cite a source that you have not read (“Grayson” in the

following example) that is cited in a source that you have read (“Murzynski &

Degelman” in the following example), use the following format for the text

citation and list only the source you have read in the References list:

Grayson (as cited in Murzynski & Degelman, 1996) identified four components of

body language that were related to judgments of vulnerability.

vii. To cite a personal communication (including letters, e-mails, and telephone

interviews), include initials, surname, and as exact a date as possible. Because a

personal communication is not “recoverable’ information, it is not included in the

References section. For the text citation, use the following format:

B.F. Skinner (personal communication, February 12, 1978) claimed…

A note on Plagiarism

UiTM IS STRICTLY AGAINSTS THE PLAGIARISM. Plagiarism is a very serious offence.

Plagiarism occurs when people “steal the words, the ideas, and/or the work that rightfully

belong to others and then present these words, ideas, and/or work as if this material were

their own words, ideas, or work”. Students must pay serious attention on this matter and

the best way to avoid plagiarism is to make proper documentation of the sources to which

referred to in the project paper.

THE FACULTY RESERVES THE RIGHT TO FAIL THE STUDENT CONCERNED & TO REPORT THE

STUDENT TO THE DISCIPLINARY COMMITTEE OF THE UNIVERSITY.

7

Bibliography

Any research work, which makes use of other works, either in direct quotation or by

reference, must contain a bibliography, listing all of the sources. Only works directly cited or

quoted in the text should be included in the bibliography.

The bibliography must be presented according to the Publication Manual of the American

Psychological Association (APA) format. The bibliography should be single-spaced, with a

font size of 12-points. All the references cited are listed in alphabetical order. Do not

number the references.

• Pagination: the bibliography begins on a new page

• Headings: BIBLIOGRAPHY (centred, in upper-case letters, on the first line)

• Format: many references on APA format are available *on-line]. Among other are:

1. http://www.apastyle.org/

2. http://www.iirp.org/pdf/APAFormat.pdf

Tables and figures

Use font size 10-point and single-spacing. Number all tables and figures with Arabic

numerals in the order in which the tables are first mentioned in the text. Title of the

tables and figures must be placed on the top. Charts and graphs must be centred. Source

(s) of data must be placed at the bottom left of the tables and graphs, printed in font size

10-point.

Appendices

All appendices should be placed after the bibliography. This section is optional and will

depend on the content of the individual project paper. Any figures or tables included in

the appendix should be numbered and captioned as for all text tables and figures.

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3. GUIDELINES FOR RESEARCH PROPOSAL

“It’s never been clear to me why I’m expected to do a research proposal”

“My research proposal is rejected…..”

“How to write a good research proposal?”

9

PROJECT PAPER PROPOSAL FORM

Student Name:

Matric No:

E-mail & Contact No:

Program/Batch:

Project Title:

Supervisor Name:

Supervisor’s signature:

Student’s signature:

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ABSTRACT

200-250 words abstract (please describe what you want to investigate, the basis for doing it

and how you intend to to it)

1. INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

(this should be based on your review if the literature and be based on 20-30 recent articles

from academic journals. Please list references after description of methodology. This should

be 7-10 pages)

1.1 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

(please explain your general and specific objectives of the study)

1.2 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

(please explain in what way is your research problem is important in terms of either practical

application or understanding of theories in the subject investigated)

1.3 RESEARCH PROBLEM (should indicate what issues you are intending to answer at

the end of this study. Should state relationship/s you want to examine)

1.4 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY (please explain in what way is your research problem is

important in terms of either practical application or understanding of theories in the subject

investigated)

2. METHODOLOGY OF THE STUDY (should describe how you intend to conduct your study by

explaining i) how you intend to collect data, ii) how you intend to analyze it iii) must be

able to show that your answers to i) and ii) will help you address your research problem)

Explains together the Scope of the Study and Research Hypotheses/Research Questions

-Proposal should be between 20-25 pages, however it is depends on your scope of study-

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4. STRUCTURE OF THE PROJECT PAPER

FRONT COVER (See Appendix A)

TITLE PAGE (See Appendix B)

The title page should be including in the following:

a) The title of the project paper

This title should have been registered with the Head of the Program with the

agreement of the advisor before the project paper is submitted. Title should

obviously give an immediate indication of the scope of the project

b) The name of the student

c) The course for which the project is being submitted

d) The name of the school

e) The (month and) year of submission

ABSTRACT

The abstract would comprise one paragraph. It should concisely mentioned the

purpose of the project, the issue of the study, the data and methodology, what

previous studies has achieved and the findings of YOUR study.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Student may wish to formally acknowledge anyone who has provided exceptional

assistance or organizations that have given the student ready access to their facilities.

The wording should be simple and concise.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS (See Appendix C)

A table of contents must be drawn up and included at the beginning of the project

paper. It should include the commencing page of the acknowledgements and each of

the lists of tables, figures, abbreviations and abstract (in Roman numerals eg. i, ii, …iv,

etc) if these appear in the project paper. The page numbers in the table of content

should be stated on the right side of the page. Note that the title page at the front of

the project paper is considered to be page i, but the number is not typed. Roman

numeral ii appears on the first page that follows the title page.

LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES (OPTIONAL)

If the report contains many tables and/or figures a list should be provided, giving the

table or figure number, the title and the number of the page as which it is presented.

GLOSSARY (OPTIONAL)

In writing a project paper it is sometimes convenient to use symbols, abbreviations or

‘jargon’ that are unfamiliar to the general reader. It may be helpful to provide a key to

these at the beginning of the project paper and should be presented as separate page.

INTRODUCTION

One of the most common problems found in project reports concerns the intelligibility

of the work to the general reader. Student must remember that, unlike his/her

supervisor, the general reader has not had the benefits of discussing his/her work

with opportunity to ask the student questions. The introduction provides an

opportunity to lead the reader ‘gently’ into the report, beginning by setting the scene

very broadly and then progressively focusing on the nature of the topic to be

addressed, and the reason it was chosen as the subject of study.

13

Narrated Abu Hurayrah [RA]: The Prophet [SAWS] said: He who does not thank Allah does not thank people. [Abu Dawud] In other words, whosoever does not thank people, has not thanked Allah .Supposed someone did you a favor. Either you: •thank no one! •thank the person but not Allah [SWT] •thank Allah [SWT] and not the person •thank Allah [SWT] and then also thank the person “If your arm is too short to give a reward, keep your tongue long enough to thank”.

Generally, the following sub-sections are included in writing the introduction chapter

of the project paper:

i. Background of the Study- This section should inform the reader with the

problem to be dealt with, by establishing a frame of reference for the problem.

ii. Objective (s) of the Study, Research Questions and/or Hypotheses- This

section should describe in detail, the research objectives, research questions,

and/or hypotheses of the research.

iii. Significance of the Study- This section should state the contribution of the

research to theory, practice and policy

iv. Limitations of the Study- This section should discuss the

limitations/constraints of YOUR STUDY. (NOT YOUR LIMITATION i.e. lack of

time/experience)

v. Definitions of Terms- This section provides operational definitions of all

principal variables in the study

vi. Organization of the Project Paper- This section is always placed last in chapter

one and informs readers on the summary of contents to be presented in each

of the remaining chapters.

REVIEW OF THE LITERATURES

This section should give detailed account of the topic to be studied, a comprehensive

discussion (with references where appropriate) of relevant work which has previously

been carried out by other workers on the field of the study. All material taken

verbatim from article, textbooks etc. must be presented in quotation marks. This

chapter needs to clarify the relationship between the proposed study and previous

work conducted on the topic. Sub-headings should reflect the major variables of the

literature review. It is recommended that the sub-section under each sub-heading

begin with sentence introducing the purpose, content or relevance of the literature to

be reviewed in the sub-section and end with a sentence summarizing the conclusions

or trends evident from the literature reviewed in that sub-section.

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RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY

The structure of the report will largely be determined by the nature of the project,

and only general guidance can be given here. In general, a detailed account will be

given of the source of data and information, how it was collected, and how it was

processed and/or analyzed. Any results obtained will also be presented here, but not

the discussion of these result

DATA ANALYSIS AND FINDINGS

This is the heart of the report where students will present a critical appraisal of what

has been written before, make comparisons and present arguments supported by

his/her analysis of the results. Student should make clear the logical steps which lead

to the conclusions he/she has drawn, and relate these conclusions to the objectives of

the project.

CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

The conclusions should follows naturally from the analysis and should need no further

comment, apart from any qualifications, which may apply to the conditions under

which they hold. It is felt that actions should be taken on the basis of the conclusions

then such recommendations should be stated there. This chapter has the following

functions:

i. To conclude or summarize the findings of the study in the form of conclusions. It

is useful to begin the last chapter with a summary of the main findings. This

helps to orient readers to the discussion that follows.

ii. To interpret-Here, this section is designed to answer the following questions:

What do the findings mean?

Why did the results, if any, not turn out as expected?

What circumstances accounted for the unexpected outcomes, if any?

What were the some of the limitations of the study?

iii. To integrate- This section attempts to tie the results together to achieve

meaningful conclusions and generalizations

iv. To theorize- Wherever possible, the conclusions chapter should also attempt to

integrate the findings into an existing theory or generate original theory.

15

v. To recommend or apply- Since management and business administrations are

applied fields, research in these areas should provide recommendations that

can be applied in practice. (Do not be stingy in recommending since you know

your study limitations and you should help future researcher to expand the

body of the knowledge!).

APPENDICES

Any materials which is not necessary for the general reader to follow the report’s

arguments should be placed in an appendix such material should, nevertheless, must

be relevant to the work, and is included for those readers who may wish to question

the findings or to pursue the work further.

REFERENCES

Detailed references should be given so that the reader may know what sources the

writer drew on, which information is attributed to which sources and to find the

original information to check it or obtain more information.

Pagination

The project paper should be paginated continuously in Arabic numerals placing the

number at the centre of the bottom of the page, about 1 cm from the bottom edge

the middle of the margin lines of text.

Corrections

Before sending the project to a binder the student should proof read it to correct any

typing errors. If the project paper is submitted with errors it will probably be returned

to the student for correction before it is finally accepted.

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5. NEVER DO THESE COMMON ERRORS!

i. The problem statement:

• The problem statement is too long or too trivial or not important

• The problem statement is ambiguous, wordy, and too long

• Important definitions are omitted

ii. Review of Literature

• Not related to the objectives of the study

• Merely a list of summaries- lack of connection or flow of ideas

iii. Methodology

• Research method is inappropriate

• Sources of data are not identified

• Tests of validity and reliability not undertaken

• Inappropriate statistical procedures

iv. Findings

• Incomplete findings

• Discussion of major findings are not linked to the research objectives,

research questions and/or hypotheses presented in the introduction chapter.

• Biasness in reporting

• Not sufficiently supported by empirical evidences and facts

• Results and analysis poorly summarized

• Over generalization- concluding beyond the data collected and the scope of

the study.

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5. VIVA TIPS

Before the viva:

1. Understand your project paper. Read through once again. (again and again)

2. Read through the papers listed in your references so that you understand the significance

of your work in relation to other researcher’s work.

3. Read through the relevant theories related to your thesis.

4. If you spot errors in your project paper summary, prepare an error list and the

replacement pages. Give it to the panel before the viva starts. Apologize for the errors and

don’t wait for the panels to point out the errors.

5. Write down the questions the panels are likely to ask in each chapter of your project

paper. Prepare the answers to these questions. Be prepared for more difficult questions like

‘What is the significance of your findings?’, ‘How did you do your literature search?’ etc.

6. Prepares slides for your presentation. Remember, you have to present your three or four

months’ work in 15 to 20 minutes! Therefore, prepare well so that the panels can

understand what your problem is, how you solved it and what you have achieved. Do not

explain the theories in your presentation. The examination panels do not want to listen to a

lecture! Make sure your slides consist of at least: Title page, Objective of research, Past work

(literature review), Experimental and analysis procedure, Discussion of results, Conclusion

and Further work. Use large font size (at least 20) and do not put too much text on each

slide. Choose good contrast colors so that the texts stand out sharply from the background.

Do not use fancy background graphics or annoying animations. Use plain background if

possible. Use more pictures and diagrams to make your presentation interesting. Do not

read from the slides! Prepare about 15 to 20 slides for a 20-minute presentation.

7. Burn your slides on a CD and bring it along, just in case your pen drive or hard disk fails!

Otherwise keep it in your e-mail box!

8. Remember to bring your copy of the data/figures and related materials!! Just in case

panels asking for it.

9. Practice and rehearsal.

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During the viva:

1. Come at least 30 minutes early and prepare your presentation. Test the computer and

projector so that everything works fine. Dress properly. Remember, viva is a formal

event.

2. Make sure you hand over the marks form to the panels.

3. Be relaxed when you start your presentation. Remember that you know more about your

work that the examiners or the panel members. But, the examiners may know more about

the technical issues related to your field of research.

4. Understand the question fully before answering. Take your time to answer the questions

and restrict your answer to the question. Be frank. If you are not sure of something, don’t

defend it very strongly. This will only encourage the panels to dig further to test your

knowledge.

Best of luck!

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Bibliography

Fisher (2007). Researching and Writing a Dissertation- A Guidebook for Business Students

(2nd ed.). England: Pearson Education.

Project Paper Handbook for BBA (Hons) Finance (FIN 660), Unpublished, UiTM

Project Paper Committee (2008). Project Paper Handbook: Guidelines for the MBA/MMgt

Project Paper, Management Centre: IIUM

Faculty of Business Management, Unpublished (internal circulation), Syllabus ISB665,

Universiti Teknologi MARA.

Thomas and Brubaker (2008). Theses and Dissertation (2nd ed.). California: SAGE Publications

Company.

Appendix