INTRODUCTION
This Thesis Preparation Handbookprovides guidelines to help you prepare your thesis for submission purposes. Particularly, this handbook describes the organization and formatting of a thesis and provides sample documents which you may use a reference when preparing your thesis.
ORGANIZATION OF THESIS
Generally, a thesis consists of three major parts: preliminary pages, main body, and closing pages..
The organization of thesis can be as follows:
Title Page
This page is counted but not numbered (i.e., it is counted as page “i” but it does not show the page number).
Declaration
Use the sample declaration page in Appendix as a reference.
Acknowledgements
Acknowledgement is used to express author’s appreciation for guidance and assistance from individuals and organizations.
Dedication
Dedicataion can be used if the author would like to affliate this thesis to individuals
Abstract
A thesis must have an abstract. An abstract is a concise summary of the thesis, intending to inform the readers about its content. The abstract usually provides a brief description of research background, design, findings, and conclusion. An abstract should not have any headings, reference citations, or illustrations. The abstract should not be more than 300 words. In general, an abstract summarizes what have been done, what have been found, and what have been concluded in the research.
Table of Contents
A table of contents lists all the chapter headings as well as section headings and subheadings. Chapter headings are normally in uppercase, preceded by their numbers in Arabic numerals. Section headings and subheadings should normally be in lowercase except the initial letters. When preparing the table of contents, use the sample table of contents in Appendix as a reference.
List of Tables
The list of tables shows the names of all tables in the main body, together with the page number each table first appears. A sample list of tables is in Appendix. When formatting a table, please note:
List of Figures
The list of figures shows all graphs, photographs, charts, and printed images in the main body, together with the page number each figure first appears. A sample list of figures is in Appendix.
When formatting a figure, please note:
List of Abbreviations
When abbreviations and symbols are used in the thesis, a list of abbreviations should be provided. When abbreviations and symbols are used, they should be uniform and consistent throughout the thesis. The list of abbreviations serves as a ready reference to the readers who are not familiar with the abbreviations and symbols. The list should be sorted in alphabetical order. Universally recognized scientific symbols (cm, mm, kg, etc.) need not be listed. A sample list of abbreviations is in Appendix.
Main body
The main body of a thesis generally consists of five chapters: introduction, literature review, research methodology and design, data analysis and findings, conclusion and recommendations. However, please note that the chapters presented in this handbook follow the quantitative research method. If you follow the qualitative research method, please consult with your thesis supervisors.
A chapter can be divided into major sections and subsections, following the scheme as follows
Chapter headings must be bold, uppercase, single-spacing, and centred. The chapter number and title must be separated into two lines and double-spacing
References
The list of references provides pointers to the original literature cited in the thesis. Please follow the Vancover referencing style to prepare the list of references. Vancouver referencing is attached as a separate attachment.
Appendices
Supplementary materials that are relevant to the thesis may be presented in the appendices. When preparing the appendices, please note:
DISSERTATION FORMATTING
Thesis lengthMaster of Science (Anti-aging, Regenerative Medicine And Medical Aesthetic) – minimum 5000 words.
Paper
The thesis must be printed on only one side of good quality A4 size (210mm x 297mm) white bond paper (80gsm). The same grade of paper must be used throughout the thesis.
Pagination
Spacing
Double spacing should be used between lines. However, four-line spacing should be used between paragraphs and sections. Single spacing is permitted for the following:
A new paragraph should have at least two lines if at the bottom of a page. Otherwise, the new paragraph should start on a new page
Margins
The top, bottom, and right margins should be 1” or 2.5 cm in width. Left margin should be 2” or 5 cm in width to allow for loss in binding. Right margin of the text should be justified.
Typeface and Font SizeUnless specified otherwise, font type should be Times New Roman and font size should be 12-point. The same font type must be used throughout the thesis, including headings, subheadings, and page numbers. Text should not be scripted or italicized except for scientific names or terms in a different language. Bold print and uppercase should be used for headings. Footnotes and text in tables should not be less than 8-point. Equations and formulae must be typed.
ADDITIONAL NOTES
FootnotesFootnotes may be numbered consecutively throughout the thesis. Font size should not be less than 8-point. Use single spacing for the same footnote; double spacing between two footnotes.
Unit of measurementArabic numeral should be used before measurement units and should not be spelt out, e.g. 5 kg, not five kg. Exemption is given to the first word of the sentence. Numbers
All numbers should be spelt out unless they are followed by units of measure. Arabic numeral should be used for number “10” or more. If a sentence begins with a number, the number should be spelt out, e.g. “Three examples are provided.”
Levels of headingsIt is recommended to have not more than three levels of headings.