“IE Thad to- teach architecture... vould strive to inculcate in my pupils keen sense of control--unbiased judgment and of the “how” and the “why.” [ would encourage them to cultivate this sense tll their dying day. But | woruld want them to base iton an objective seties of Facts, Facts are fluid and changeable especially nowadays, so L would teach them to distrust formulas and impress.on them that everything is relative.” =-Le Corbusier FOREWORD ‘Your THESIS is the one project that should integrate all your learning in your 4-year (or so...) stay in BS Architecture. It is suppose to justify your right to graduate, So, you will have to dig into all the knowledge that you have acquired (architectural and otherwise) ta come up with a project that is not only feasible, but is also believable and distinctive, In begins with problem, and ends af finding a solution to that problem, This is not an easy task, With a series of research works and evaludtions (and wevaluations... and probably more research work), you need to-come up with enough proaf that your solu iam is right. But that's getting abead af the jot Right now, you are faced with ane big problem, That is, HOW DO YOU COME UP- WITH THE PROBLEM? But before we get inta that, you have to choose a certain topic first. This will help you maow down the number, the extent and the magnitude of the problem you want (?) to solve. PROBLEM AREAS Formulation or development of a project that does no exist yet Generation of useful technical data or technical properties of new material or process Improvement of existing knowledge New application of an existing knowledge Comparative study of two or more entities or development of an improved xersion of an existing one 6. Physical development of a research work 7. Documentation 1 2 CRITERIA FOR CHOOSING A TOPIC OR PROBLEM ‘The research topic must he ane which YOU selected. Ht mst be within your interest It must be within your specialization I must be based an your competence ta tackle the necessary work Kt must be within your financial capabilityI should have definable limits to suit your available resources must be researchable and manageable. It mast be completed within a reasonable span of time, Its solution must require original, critical and reflective thinking. 10, It must be significant, important and relevant to the present time and situation 11, It must contribute to the national development goals far the improvement of quality of life. 12 It must contribute to the Institute's “body of knowledge.” 13, It must not undermine nor compromise the moral and spiritual values of the people. 14 I must advocate changes in the present order of things. 15, K must offer some kind of return for your efforts, 16, I mustinot invalve any hazards such as physical, social or legal 6. 1. 8 9 ‘These criteria, by the way, are not the only bases for your selection, You may have samme criteria of your own that will help you decide. PROPOSING A PROJECT When you have already set your mind an a certain topic or problem, the next step is to find out its physical application. Your thesis, after all, does not just involve research. Mast of the time, the topic or prablem chosen must be translated into a strcture ar a set Of guidelines. Here are some questions to help you determine what kind of project you may curry out to interpret your reseamh 1. What are your interests? Do you know of am’ organizations or groups that support your interest? They may have possible projects, 2. Do you know of any passible proposal hy a gavernment agency and unit which you can further develap? 3. ‘Are you aware of any new concept, technology or project which may be tested for feasibility in local application? 4. Again, you may have other bases that you might want to add to these. Now that you're set at zeraing in on the topic and the project that you want to wark on, it might be really useful in the future to list them dawn, Read and reread them. one does nat sound goad 1o you, maybe it does not deserve to be in the list, This means you will have to wrack your brains one more time to come up with another one, but then again, it has a big chance of being better than the one you struck out, right? ‘Ta further assist you in the final decision, you can use a table such as the one shown, in Figure |CRITERIA Project | Project | Project 1 2 3 availability of data persona] interest financial capability 4- Very Goal time requirement 5 - Excellent 1 2 3 4 5. etc 6. 7 Figure 1, Selection of Project Please note that this exercise is not part of the book, but far sure yau would do things, like this ta-ease your way. After all, the acceptance of the respansibility of undertaking “whatever” is needed to meel your goals is the mast important part in selecting a topic. aside from truly undetstanding every purpose, scape and requirements of the praject. Lastly, here ane some husic rules in writing your thesis. In this exercise, it is nat enough that you know the data, have analyzed them and made your awn conclusions haved on them, It is also very important that you know why and how you should present such data on yourthesis book. DOs AND DON"Ts in writing your pape I. Don't ever copy text from any published woxks. That is a capital offense in thesis ‘writing. In ease youdon't know ityet, you could be jailed for that! Write in your own work, Your comprehension of the things you wrile can only be shown by your ability to summarize reports ‘Don't include photacopied texts in your book except as an appendix. Do acknowledge and cite your source. This applies to all possible data sources including personal interviews. This will save you a lot of effort in explaining some ‘concepts that are nat really your awn to begin with. 4 Do read and check your work, Checking includes grammar, spelling and ‘composition, Remember, it’s always nice to be short and sweet, © 5. Do include pictures, graphs, maps, charts and sketches. Architecture is a visual medium so always winforce your ideas with figures, OF course, there should be ‘proper captions, Make your reader understand the significance of that graph that took ‘you hours to-make! 6, Don'Luse abbreviations, and unnecessary acronyms and contractions, 7. Do make the effart to intmduce new ideas, new chapters, etc. This will create a smoother flow of your discussions, 8. Don’t be afraid of computers. They will facilitate editing and help you come up with better visual presentations