MANUAL on GUIDELINES, POLICIES, ELEMENTS and FORMAT OF UNDERGRADUATE and GRADUATE THESIS or DISSERTATION

Contributors: Dr. Junel B. Soriano Dr. Priscilla V. San Pedro Dr. Josefina C. Mananguit Engr. Joselito D. Tucit Dr. Anadolia M. Cruz

Republic of the Philippines BULACAN AGRICULTURAL STATE COLLEGE San Ildefonso, Bulacan

December 2008 Rationale The Bulacan Agricultural State College offers degree programs with thesis or dissertation, one of the basic requirements for the student to fulfill a degree program. Students undergo research activities that focus on their specialized field. Research activities contribute much to the training and exposure of the students in solving problems related to agriculture, social development, education, agri-business management, information technology, food technology and the like. With the basic principles of research methodology, all relevant activities are documented and presented in a scientific form with specific format and elements. This manual was organized for the students who are interested and are required to undergo research activities in the form of thesis or dissertation as partial fulfillment of the course requirement of a degree program. This presents guidelines, policies, elements and format of undergraduate and graduate thesis or dissertation. Subject or Course Offering In some degree programs of the College requiring thesis or on-the-job training, students are given option to choose whether they will take thesis or field practice. In others where thesis/dissertation is required, graduating students are allowed to enroll the fifty percent of the required units of thesis/dissertation during the regular semester or summer for the formulation and approval of thesis/dissertation outline provided that the students had finished research methods or any related basic research subject under the curriculum. After approval of the examination committee, students can enroll the remaining fifty percent of the required units for the conduct, presentation of results, and organization and reproduction of the manuscript. Thesis Adviser A student is advised to choose his/her adviser first before he/she decides what research area he/she will be working on. The adviser should come from the faculty of the Institute. He/she can include adviser (co-adviser) from other institute/agency especially if the study will be financed by a certain institution/agency. A letter of request to the adviser shall be made by the researcher which should be conformed by the former. Examination Committee The examination committee shall be composed of the following:

Chairman 2 Members Oral Examination Audience Composition

- Expert on the Field - Faculty members of the Institute

Aside from the Examination Committee, Dean, Adviser(s), faculty members of the Institute, selected students from the Institute may attend the oral exam. One faculty from the Institute should act as secretary during the oral examination. Outline and Final Defense The presenter will be given a maximum of one hour in his/her presentation and it will be followed by a review and evaluation by the examination committee. A form will be provided indicating the marking of the student whether the research (outline or results) is passed, failed or conditional. Working technical paper should be given at least two weeks before the date of oral presentation. After the defense, the researcher should present the improved outline at most three weeks after the oral presentation to the adviser and examination committee. The examination committee will decide after the oral presentation whether the students shall repeat or not the oral presentation with the incorporated suggestions, comments or recommendations. After the oral presentation of research results or manuscript, a circulating copy of the manuscript shall be furnished to the concerned technical staff to further review and evaluate the scientific paper. A circulating page for the confirmation and approval of each technical staff involved in reviewing and evaluating the manuscript, will be required. Manuscript Format Font Use Times New Roman 12 pt script for all text. Page size Page size corresponds to letter size measurement (8.5 x 11 in.) Margins Left margin should be set to 1.50 in., while right, top and bottom margins should be set at 1 in. Text should be justified.

Spacing The entire text should be vertically 1.5 spaced, but double spaced between heading. Style of headings The example below provides four levels of headings in addition to the title. This sequence can be used for chapters of a book as well as for full publications. The sequence is intended to ensure consistency and to help the editors (and authors) understand the intended heading level. For most manuscripts, three or four heading levels are sufficient. Page numbers/ letters should be at the bottom right of the paper. There should be no page number / letter in every chapter page. Normal format for the indent is 0.5 inch. (Refer for more details and specification to sample layout of the manuscript as shown below). THE TITLE The title is in bold, centered. Capitalize all words of the title and in subtitle except for articles, prepositions, and conjunctions. Heading 1 The first-level heading is in bold, and flush to the left margin. Capitalize only the first word of the heading, sub-heading, and proper names. Double line space should be inserted after the heading. Heading 2 The second-level heading is in bold, italics, and flush to the left margin. Capitalize only the first word of the heading, sub-heading and proper names. Heading 3 The third-level heading is in italics and flush to the left margin. Heading 4 The fourth-level heading is in italics, underlined and flush to the left margin.

Formal Tables

Each table should have a number, and brief title (capitalize first letter and proper names only) that describes the content. Tables should be left aligned on the page. Table 1. An example of tables. Aligned 45.2 7.7 0.0 689.0 Not aligned 45.2 7.7 0.0 689.0 Aligned 4.5 7.0 30.5 345.6 Not aligned 5.2 23.2 13.5 1.0

Numbers in columns in tables should be aligned as in the example above. Do not use spacing to align numbers. In Word, set the decimal tabs to align numbers or center tab to align hyphens. Place only one row of numbers in each row on the grid. Footnotes for Tables In the text, keep footnotes to 8 pt font size. In tables, letter footnotes consecutively (a, b, c, etc.), and print them at the bottom of the tables using font size 10. Citing literature Text citations A citation in a text, table, figure, or footnote consists of the author's last name, and the year of publication, enclosed in parentheses (Costa, 1994). Give the names of all authors unless there are more than two, in which case, give the name of the first author followed by et al. (Costa, et. al., 2003). Where more than one publication is cited, list in order of year of publication starting with the oldest, and separate using a semi-colon (Bagadion and Corton, 1985; Costa, 1994; Adams, et. al., 2006). List of citations All literature cited in the text should be listed alphabetically by author at the end of the manuscript. Call the list "Literature Cited" and make sure it contains only citations that are found in the text. Books 1. Names of authors or editors as appearing on the title page. Give all authors names; use of et al. is acceptable when the number of authors exceeds ten, in which case the names of the first three authors should be provided, followed by et al. Use initials in place of authors given names.

2. Year of publication. (Use "n.d." for undated publications.) If a manuscript has been acceptednot merely sentfor publication, use "forthcoming" in place of the year of publication if this is not known. 3. Title, including subtitle, if any. 4. City and country of publication. 5. Name of the publishing company or organizations (acronym/s spelled out). If the publisher is shown as "author" omit it here. In the following examples, note order of author names, punctuation, capitalization of various elements, and the use of italics only for publication titles. Use a hanging indent of 1.3 cm (0.5 in) and a double space between references. Examples Doniger, W. 1999. Splitting the Difference. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Cowlishaw, G. and R. Dunbar. 2000. Primate Conservation Biology. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Laumann, E.O., J.H. Gagnon, R.T. Michael, and S. Michaels. 1994. The Social Organization of Sexuality: Sexual Practices in the United States. Chicago University Press. Wiese, A. 2006. The House I live in: Race, Class, and African American Suburban Dreams in the Postwar United States. In The New Suburban History, ed. Kevin M. Kruse and Thomas J. Sugrue, 99-119. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Kurland, P.B., and R. Lerner, eds. 1987. The Founders Constitution. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. http://press-pubs.uchicago.edu/founders/. Articles in periodicals or journals 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Full names of authors. Year of publication. Title of article. Full name of the periodical/journal. Volume no. Inclusive page numbers of the article.

Examples Smith, J.M. 1998. The Origin of Altruism. Nature 393: 63940. Hlatky, M. A., D. Boothroyd, E. Vittinghoff, P. Sharp, and M. A. Whooley. 2002. QualityOf-Life and Depressive Symptoms in Postmenopausal Women after Receiving Hormone Therapy: Results from the Heart and Estrogen/Progestin Replacement

Study (HERS) Trial. Journal of the American Medical Association 287, no. 5 (February 6) http://jama.ama-assn.org/issues/v287n5/rfull/joc10108.html#aainfo. Thesis or dissertation Example Amundin, M. 1991. Click Repetition Rate Patterns in Communicative Sounds from the Harbour Porpoise, Phocoena phocoena. PhD diss., Stockholm University. Paper presented at a meeting or conference Example Doyle, B. 2002. Howling Like Dogs: Metaphorical Language in Psalm 59. Paper Presented at the Annual International Meeting for the Society of Biblical Literature, June 19 22, in Berlin, Germany. Abbreviations and acronyms Avoid excessive use of abbreviations. Do not use an abbreviation or acronym if it is not or seldom used again in the text. Use a period after a truncated abbreviation (for example, Exp. for Experiment, or Doc. for Doctor) but not after a contraction abbreviation (for example Expt or Dr). Spell out an abbreviation or acronym when it is first used, with the abbreviation or acronym given in parentheses. If there have been long gaps between references to the term, spell it out again to reduce confusion and to support reader comprehension. Abbreviate units of measure in tables and figures. In running text, spell out commonplace units of measures if they stand alone, e.g., 15 kilograms, 120 kilometers, 3 cubic meters, 2 hectares; abbreviate them if they appear in rates (e.g., 5 m3/s). Insert one space between the number and the unit, except in the case of kilobytes and Celsius (e.g., 532K and 27C). Units of measure International System of Units (SI) shall be used. SI must be used except in the case of widely used units such as liter (L), metric ton (t) and hour (h). Similarly, crop yields should be presented in tons per hectare (t/ha). Fertilizer rates should be expressed as kg element/ha, followed by the carrier if necessary.

Numerals When a number begins a sentence, it is always spelled out. In general, spell out numbers below 10 except when they appear with units of time, money, or measurement (e.g., six parts, four plants; 8 years, 3.5 t/ha, Php6.00). Use numerals for all if some numbers are higher than 10 and some are lower than 10, in the same unit (12 eggs, 9 of which were broken rather than 12 eggs, nine of which were broken). Percentages are always given in numerals. In scientific manuscripts, the symbol % is correct (e.g., the treatment resulted in a 10% - 15% increase in yield). Rounding Round data in text and tables to meaningful numbers of significant figures. If data from replicated experiments are being reported, a useful rule "is to round the data so that the change caused by rounding is less than one-tenth of the standard error" (Council of Biology Editors Style Manual). Punctuation of series Use a comma before "and" or "or" in a series of three or more words or phrases in order to prevent ambiguity. Example I visited Paris, London, Rome, and Cairo. The ministry does planning, research and development, and extension. Capitalization Capitalize proper names, but not common words used as a short form of the proper name. Example World Bank, Shared Control of Natural Resources Project, Ford Foundation, but the bank, the project, the foundation. Hyphenation Most words formed with the following prefixes are rarely hyphenated: Anti, ante, bi, bio, do, counter, extra, infra, inter, macro, micro, mid, mini, multi, non, over, post, pseudo, re, semi, sub, super trans, ultra, un, under

Slash Placing a slash or stroke (/) between two words is clumsy and usually ambiguous. Avoid the legalistic "and/or" by choosing one. In most contexts, the use of "and" does not obviate the sense of "either." In unusual cases, use "a, or b, or both." Example Farmers need credit to buy fertilizer and other inputs. Not Farmers need credit to buy fertilizer and/or other inputs. Letter of Requests At the start, the researcher should submit a letter of request for approval to the selected faculty who will act as adviser and/or co-adviser. After acceptance, a second letter should be organized requesting for the approval of the adviser on the thesis title to be conducted. Before the oral presentation, the researcher should furnish a letter at least one week before the presentation, informing the examination committee and other concerned staff. The researcher should submit letter for approval and reference regarding field inspection or visitation of his/her conducted research or experiment the place of the study. Reproduction and Distribution of Manuscript The manuscript shall be reproduced at least 7 copies and will be distributed among the offices of the College working on research and instruction as follows: 1. Adviser 2. Institute 3. College Library (2 copies) 4. RETP Office 5. Researcher 6. Registrars Office Manuscript Form Style and Grammar The student should be responsible for the manuscript format, style and grammar. This should be checked by the adviser.

Appendix A: Elements of Undergraduate and Graduate Thesis/Dissertation Outline

Cover Page Title Page Approval Sheet Table of Contents Chapter I. The Problem and Its Background Introduction Statement of the Problem Significance of the Study Objectives Scope and Limitation of the Study Time and Place of the study Definition of Terms Chapter II. Review of Related Literature and Studies Chapter III. Methodology Literature Cited Appendices Appendix B: Elements of Thesis and Dissertation Manuscript Cover Page Title Page Approval Sheet Acknowledgement Bibliographical Sketch Abstract Table of Contents List of Tables List of Figures Chapter I. The Problem and Its Background Introduction Statement of the Problem Significance of the Study Objectives Scope and Limitation of the Study Time and Place of the Study Definition of Terms Chapter II. Review of Related Literature and Studies Chapter III. Methodology Chapter IV. Results and Discussions Chapter V. Summary, Conclusions and Recommendations Literature Cited Appendices

Appendix C: Sample Format and Elements Manuscript DESIGN, FABRICATION AND TESTING OF A LOWLAND TRANSPLANTED RICED POWER WEEDER

JUAN DELA CRUZ

BACHELOR OF SCIENCE IN AGRICULTURAL ENGINEERING ( Major in Farm Machinery)

November 2008

DESIGN, FABRICATION AND TESTING OF A .0OWLAND TRANSPLANTED RICED POWER WEEDER

An undergraduate thesis (A graduate thesis / dissertation) presented (submitted) to the Faculty of the Institute of Engineering Bulacan Agricultural State College San Ildefonso, Bulacan

In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Bachelor of Science in Agricultural Engineering (Major in Farm Machinery)

JUAN DELA CRUZ November 2008

APPROVAL SHEET 2 ss This ____________________ entitled ______________________________ _______________________________________________________, prepared and submitted by _________________________________ in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of ___________________________________________, has been examined and is recommended for acceptance and approval. 3 ss ENGR. JUNEL B. SORIANO Adviser 2ss
Weight of line = 1.5

1.5 ss Approved by the EXAMINATION COMMITTEE on March ______, 200 _. 3 ss ENGR. JUAN DELA CRUZ Member ________ 1 ss Date 2 ss ___________________________ Chairman ___________ Date 3 ss Accepted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of _________________________________. 3 ss ENGR. LIBERATO B. SILVERIO Dean, Institute of Engineering DR. ANADOLIA M. CRUZ Director for Instruction iii DR. JUNEL B. SORIANO Director for RETP ENGR. PERDO DELA CRUZ Member ________ Date

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT 2 ss Text -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

( maximum of two pages)

J. B. SORIANO (no signature) iv

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH Text --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(maximum of two pages)

v SORIANO, JUNEL B: DESIGN, FABRICATION ----------------------------------------------------------------------------1.5 Adviser: ENGR. JUAN DELA CRUZ 3 ss ABSTRACT 2 ss Text

AND

TESTING

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

( maximum of 250 words)

vi TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page TITLE PAGE APPROVAL SHEET ACKNOWLEDGEMENT BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH ABSTRACT TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES LIST OF FIGURES CHAPTER I. THE PROBLEM AND ITS BACKGORUND Introduction Statement of the Problem Significance of the Study Objectives Scope and Limitation of the Study Location of the Study Definition of Terms CHAPTER II. REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE AND STUDIES CHAPTER III. METHODOLOGY 2 3 1 i ii iii iv v vi

vii Subtopic Sub Subtopic CHAPTER IV. RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS Subtopic Sub Subtopic CHAPTER V. SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS . . . . . Summary Conclusions Recommendations LITERATURE CITED APPENDICES

viii LIST OF TABLES Table No. 1 2 Title Data on the performance of ANOVA table with the effect Page 25 26

ix LIST OF FIGURES Figure No. 1 2 Text text Text text Title Page 22 23

x LIST OF APPENDICES Appendix No. 1 2 2a Title Figure, tables, drawing, forms or letters ( text) text Text text Text Page 45 46

xi CHAPTER I 2 ss THE PROBLEM AND ITS BACKGROUND 3 ss Introduction 3 ss Statement of the Problem 2 ss Text--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------3 ss Significance of the Study Text ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Objectives Text --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Scope and limitation of the Study 1 Text --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Location of the Study Text -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Definition of terms ( in alphabetical order) Water. Is defined as

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Water Holding Capacity. Text

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Water management. Text

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

2 CHAPTER II REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE AND STUDIES

Text ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Text ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

( arrange in a proper order as to how the research study has been conceptualized and organized)

( no specific number of pages)

3 CHAPTER III METHODOLOGY

Subtopic Under R&D Text ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Sub Subtopic Under R&D Text -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Sub - Sub Subtopic Under R&D

Text ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Sub - Sub-Sub Subtopic Under R&D Text ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

CHAPTER IV RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

Subtopic Under Methodology Text -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sub Subtopic Under Methodology Text --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sub - Sub Subtopic Under Methodology Text ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sub - Sub-Sub Subtopic Under Methodology Text ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Table 1. Data on -------------------------------------(single space)------------------------------------------------ available ----------------------------------------------------1 ss

2 ss Text -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------(tables can be placed before or after text, observed proper spacing between text and table)

Text -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------3 ss

figure 1 ss Figure 1. Graphical -------------------------- ( single space)--------------------------------------that represent -------------------------------------------------------------------------CHAPTER V SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS Summary Text --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Conclusions

Text ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Text ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

---------------------------------1. Text ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Recommendations Text ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1. Text -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

LITERATURE CITED Junel B. Soriano, 2004. Efectiveness --------------------------------------------------------of -------------------------------------------------------------Galvez, D. R., Santiago, T. R., Lampayan, M. T., 2005. Performance ---------------the ---------------------

APPENDICES

Appendix E: Circulating Page for Approval and Acceptance

Thesis/Dissertation Adviser Chairman of the Examining Committee Member of the Examining Committee Member of the Examining Committee

Juan A. Dela Cruz

09-25-2009

__________________ __________ __________________ __________ __________________ __________

Institute Dean

__________________ __________

Director for Instruction

__________________ __________

Director for RETP

__________________ __________

College President

__________________ __________

Appendix F: Guidelines for Publishable Format of Paper J. D. Cruz1

1

Graduate or Undergraduate Student, Institute of Engineering, BASC

Abstract Use the standard format of writing as indicated in the manuscript format, except that the spacing should be set in double. The College is intended to highlight some critical elements of manuscript preparation that will help speed the review and editing processes. Media Grab

Please state the most important message of your paper, in less than 25 words, using language that the educated general public can understand. Introduction Students are required to prepare a paper in a publishable format. Your paper should be a succinct account of aspects of your research and key findings. The contents of your paper should include: Title concise, informative, containing key words; do not exceed 1 line length, ideally 10 words Authors initials and family name Authors affiliations and email address of the first author Abstract state concisely the scope of the work and principal findings ( 200 words) Media grab - one key message about the paper (not exceeding 25 words) Keywords - maximum of 5 words Introduction the reasons for the work, essential background & objectives of your research ( 200 words) Methods provide sufficient information for reader to have understand the methods used; refer to appropriate scientific literature where full details may be found Results provide a succinct account of the most important results Discussion discussion should focus on the significance of the results (Results and discussion may be presented in a single section if this works better, depending on the nature of your work) Conclusions and recommendations summarize the key findings, and provide recommendations for end users in relation to research needs for development and impact Acknowledgement please acknowledge all donors and partners who contributed to the research, other than the authors organizations as they are listed on the first page. References