Instructions/ Format for the Final Research Project Report EMSc in Information Security
General Instructions
In order to fulfill the requirements of the EMSc in Information Security, students are required to complete the short research/ study and submit the final report in accordance with the guidelines given in this document.
Performance of the completion of the research project module will be assessed in three forms.
• •? Research Report marks - evaluated by the examiner (40%)
• •? Performance of final viva/ research presentation - evaluated by viva panel (30%)
• •? Performance showed during the research work - assessed by the supervisor (30%)
The report should be 7,500 words long (excluding reference list, tables, figures and appendices) minimum. However, students are encouraged to lengthen the report if possible and applicable.
Two (2) copies of the research report should be submitted on or before the deadline stipulated. Report is expected to be submitted in a soft cover, spiral bound (with all other formatting requirements given below). Also, the report should be submitted in digital form on a CD/ DVD (MS Word file with all supplementary content).
The report should be duly certified by the supervisor by signing the supervisor certification page prior to the submission.
Only if the report submitted is accepted satisfactory by the examiner, students will be invited for a viva/ research presentation.
Including the comments/ suggestions for improvements given by the examiner and the viva panel, student is required to submit a finalized research report (2 copies) within two weeks of the viva presentation. The final report is expected to submit in hard-cover book bound. The front cover of the bound copy should be the same as the title page of the report.
Content of the Report
1. Title Page
Use the template given below
2. Declaration of the student Use the template given below
3. Certificate of the Supervisor Use the template given below
4. Acknowledgement
Usually contain written expressions of appreciation for guidance and assistance from individuals and/ or institutions. The acknowledgements should not exceed 250 words.
5. Abstract
The abstract presents a summary of the research which includes the research problem in brief, describe the methods and procedures used in gathering data or studying, and provide a condensed summary of the findings of the study. The abstract should not exceed 250 words.
6. Table of Content
Each report is expected to have a table of contents for the convenience of the reader. The table of contents should be easy to read and consistent. The title of each chapter should be written in full capital with no terminal punctuation. The title of a subdivision of a chapter or section should be in small letters, with the exception of the first letter of significant words.
7. List of Tables
The list of tables follows the table of contents. This list includes the number of each table, the title and the page number.
8. List of Figures
The list of figures follows the list of tables. This list includes the number of each figure, the title and the page number.
9. Chapters
9.1 Chapter 1: Introduction
o •? Background and motivation
o •? Problem Statement
• •? Literature Review
• •? Aims and Objectives
9.2 Chapter 2: Literature Review
9.3 Chapter 3: Methodology
9.4 Chapter 4: Results and Analysis
9.5 Chapter 5: Conclusions, Recommendations and Implications
10. References
All citations given in the report should be listed in alphabetical order. Student should follow the APA standard for referencing.
11. Appendices
Students may include questionnaires, responses of key interviews, coding of software programs of the project etc.
Formatting of the Report
• •? The report needs to be prepared using a standard text processing software (MS Word) and must be printed in black text (images may be colour if necessary) using a laser printer.
• •? The report should be printed on one side of white paper. All copies of the report pages
must be clear, sharp and even, with uniform size and uniformly spaced character, lines
and margins.
• •? The report should be free from typographical errors.
• •? The pages should be in standard A4 size with 1-inch margins of all sides.
• •? Should use standard typeface font such as Times New Roman.
Body text: 12 points
Headings: 14 or higher as appropriate and Bold Line spacing: double space
• •? All tables and figures should conform to the requirements as text. Colour may be used for figures. In exceptional circumstances, if the tables and figures are large and cannot fit into the standard page, may be printed on a separate page and folded just once to flush with the report margins.
• •? Page numbering
o - Beginning with the first page of the text in the report (Chapter 1), all pages should be
numbered consecutively and consistently in Arabic numerals through the appendices.
o - Page numbers prior to Chapter 1 should be in lower case Roman numerals.
o - The title page is considered to be page (i), but the number is not printed.
o - All page numbers should be placed without punctuation in the upper-right hand corner.