MINOR THESIS GUIDELINES

FOR UNDERGRADUATE PROGRAM

AT FACULTY OF MEDICINE
UNIVERSITAS PADJADJARAN
 CHAPTER I
GENERAL INFORMATION

1.1. Definition
The minor thesis is an original research study carried out using
scientific approaches that are appropriate to the research questions to
generate new facts and apply concepts and methods from one or more
branches of medical and/or health sciences relevant to the population
health problems, and is presented in a scholarly format.

1.2. Objectives
The minor thesis is compulsory for the accomplishment of the
community research program IV. It represents the culmination of the
Bachelor Degree Program (Undergraduate in Medicine), and an
opportunity to integrate and apply the concepts in medical science and
research methodology learned during the program.
Upon completing the minor thesis, the student would be able to:

• select and justify an issue or problem of medical or health

importance

• carry out an effective searching, a critical review and an evaluation

of the published literature

• grasp the principle of research methods, specially to select, describe,

and justify an appropriate research design in accordance with
problem identification and research question(s)

• select and justify an appropriate sample through proper sample size

calculation and sampling technique selection

• select and justify appropriate methods for data collection including

develop and pretest relevant instruments as necessary

• demonstrate skills in using appropriate methods to analyze a set of

medical or health data

• demonstrate skills in developing a written research proposal

• identify the potential ethical issues of the research and complete an

ethical clearance form

• demonstrate skills in interpreting the analysis of medical or health

data in such a way that it has relevance for medical or health
knowledge and/or practice
 • demonstrate skills in communicating the research results and
findings

1.3. Feasible designs

Several different types of projects may fulfill the thesis requirement:
a. Descriptive studies:
A qualitative or quantitative study measures magnitude, variability
of a need or problem and to explore associated factors. Descriptive
studies are often guided by questions rather than formal hypotheses,
and are often the first step in more directed research.

b. Analytic studies
An analytic study may take the form as either a case control or
cohort study, although other approaches may fit into this category.
Analytic studies utilize quantitative methods, and are often guided
by hypotheses. For doing such study, a student is strongly
recommended to join/involve in a collaborative research with
his/her supervisor(s).

c. Experiments
A study with randomized or otherwise highly controlled allocation
of two or more identifiable intervention strategies which test a
hypothesis regarding causation or treatment effectiveness/efficacy.
Feasibility of conducting an experiment is usually limited within the
time frame and resources available to the student, given that the
student must take significant initiative in the study design and
execution. As with the analytic study, in conducting this study, the
student is also strongly suggested that he/she attach him/herself with
a particular research project.

d. Case studies
A detailed review of a unique or important clinical case or public
health program that captures the background, process, outcomes,
successes, failures and lessons learned. The case study may include
either qualitative or quantitative data or both. The case study
provides an opportunity to explore a single or small number of
clinical case or public health program in depth.

e. Policy analysis
A synthesis of existing and newly collected data brought together in
an organized, structured and thoughtful manner to answer a policy
question or present and evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of
policy options for decision makers. A policy analysis usually
employs multiple sources and types of information (e.g., literature,
documents, interviews, and secondary data.

f. Intervention or program evaluation.

A structured study which assesses whether a program, intervention
or technique is effective in achieving its goals (effectiveness or
efficacy for interventions). A program evaluation addresses explicit
questions, and the methods and measurement may be complex.
 CHAPTER 2
ADMINISTRATION PROCEDURE

2.1. Eligibility
Eligibility criteria for commencing the minor thesis are:
• Have taken at least Community Research Program
(CRP) 1, CRP 2, CRP 3, CRP 4, and or taking CRP 5 enrolled
in at least third year class for 2010 batch and afterward

2.2. Time table

Several steps should be taken in conducting a minor thesis:

No. Activity Time

1. Topic dissemination and selection September 17-October
5, 2012
2. Selected topic registration October 8-9, 2012
3. Selected topic compilation October 10-12, 2012
4. Supervisor’s assignment October 15-19, 2012
5. List of topic announcement October 26, 2012
6. Topic switching October 29-November
23, 2012
7. Proposal submission February 27-29, 2013
8. Proposal presentation March 25-29, 2013
9. Draft submission December 2-4, 2013
10. Sorting and scheduling December 9-13, 2013
11. Schedule revision December 16-20, 2013
12. Rescheduling December 23-24, 2013
13. Seminar schedule announcement January 3, 2014
14. Draft delivery January 6-10, 2014
15. Seminar January 13-17, 2014
16. Revision January 24, 2014
Journal article submission

2.3. Title selection

Nomination of tentative topics for minor thesis work issued by
the department
• Each year a list of topics from every department will
be released by SBP office (4th year officer).
• The student must choose three topics (in priority
order) from the list and submit those through SATPT (on line)
as time scheduled.
Request for tentative topics for minor thesis work not issued by
the department
2.4. Title approval
• In any case where the topic is selected by two or more
students, then decision will be arranged based on time of
admission (first priority will be given to the first student
submitted the same topic).
• Should all the submitted topics already been assigned to other
students, the particular student will be given other choices
provided by the minor thesis coordinator
• When a topic had to be changed, both supervisors have to give
a written approval in the log book prior to proposal
presentation, and the change should be reported to the minor
thesis coordinator through the group coordinator

2.5. Supervisor assignment

• Department will assign supervisors based on the field of study
• First supervisor comes from the department from which the
topic is originally submitted
• The department of second supervisor is meant to enrich or
broaden the student’s insight from clinical or pre-clinical
perspectives
• List of topics and students will be delivered to the Head of
selected department in order to finalize the supervisors
assignment.
• Supervisors’ qualification:
o Lektor Kepala, or
o a Master degree holder, or
o a Specialist degree holder
• Supervisor assignment letter will be issued by Dean of the
Faculty of Medicine which is valid for 1 year
• In case, a supervisor is permanently absent (more than 2
consecutive months), a replacement should be provided by the
head of the particular Department which will be reported to
the Dean through SBP
• A supervisor can be subtituted upon a very special case
assessed by the group coordinator in coordination with the
assigned department. The subtitute is assigned by the head of
the department or Bachelor Degree Education coordinator of
each department.

2.6. Group coordinator

• Staff from Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics
• Assigned according to tutorial group
• Job description:
o To monitor minor thesis process and progress
 o To discuss any arising problem and prospective
solution the problem during minor thesis process and
communicate with supervisor(s)
o To manage a proposal presentation and report the feed
back to the supervisors

2.7. Log book

• A tool to monitor the process of minor thesis preparation and
writing
• Contents :
o student-supervisors agreement to be agreed at the first
meeting
o title approval and revision
o proposal preparation report
o proposal approval and presentation
o data collection approval dan journal
o draft preparation report
o draft approval and seminar
o revision consultation and approval
o final version submission report
• To be filled together with supervisors through out the whole
process.

2.8. Data collection

• Could be started after proposal presentation with enquiry
permit issued by Dean through SBP
• Should be reported in the log book

2.9. Reports
There are 3 types of reports that must be written by students:
1. Proposal:
a. Basically is the first three chapters of the whole report
b. Should be presented with approval from both
supervisors
2. Draft Report:
a. The complete report of the study
b. Will be presented during minor thesis seminar with
approval from both supervisors
c. Should be submitted one month prior to the minor
thesis seminar
3. Final Report:
a. Revised version of draft report
b. Should be submitted within one month after seminar
but at least 2 days prior to the date of final result
decision (judicium)
 c. Is a pre requisite for final result decision (judicium)
4. Journal article :
Based on letter from Dirjen Dikti (General Director of Higher
Education) and Rector decree :
Candidate for Bachelor degree should at least publish one
article in a journal (research article)
 CHAPTER 3
WRITING FORMAT AND COVERAGE

3.1 Content
The content of the minor thesis should be arranged as follows:

3.1.1 Preface
The preface consists of :
• Title (and sub-title) page (inner cover)
• Supervisory Team Approval page
• Statement of Minor Thesis Seminar
• Abstract page
• Foreword page
o Should be written in ‘official style’
• List of contents page
• List of tables page (if any)
• List of pictures page (if any) → include graph and diagram
• List of attachments page (if any)
o Lists of page should be written in double space line
o Should the title consist of more than 1 line, write it in single
space

Abstract page:
o Should the report be written in Indonesian, abstract should be
provided in Indonesian and English.
o The abstract renders concisely, background, research objective,
methods in brief, result, discussion/ conclusion, and key words.
o The abstract should not exceed 150-200 words for Bahasa Indonesia’s
version and 100 words for English version.
o English version of abstract should be typed in past tense.
o Paragraph layout
- The first line of text should be 4 spacelines from the title
(ABSTRACT)
- New paragraphs should be typed 1.5 cm from the left margin of the
text, with 1.5 spacelines
o References to literature, citations, tables and figures are not belong in an
abstract.

3.1.2 Chapter I: Introduction

Chapter I should include:
1.1 Background:
The purpose is to describe the background, the importance
justification or why the study needs to be conducted
 1. State the problem and, especially, the consequences of the
problem-the state-of-affairs before your investigation
2. Tell the reader what is known
3. State a specific “unknown” that is crucial to solve the problem
4. Tell the reader how we can help to solve the problem by
learning more about that specific unknown

1.2 Problem Identification:

Identify the problem(s)/Research Question(s), arose from the
background (discrepansy beteween theory and reality)

1.3 Objective(s):
The research objective resulting in an outline of a clear
research questions on one or more hypotheses

1.4 Conceptual framework

Conceptual framework of the research should be constructed
(except for descriptive study). It should explains, either
graphically or in narrative form, the main things, such as
concepts, key factors or variables, to be studied and the
predicted relationships.

1.5 Research hypotheses if appropriate.

Hypotheses should be prepared for analytical study

1.6 Research Benefit: outline the benefit(s) of the study toward:

theoretical and practical benefit

3.1.3 Chapter II: Literature Review

The literature review usually starts with a short survey of the most
significant findings of previous research (review of existing literature)
on the same subject. Any contradictory research outcomes are discussed.
The literatures cited should have high relevance with the focus of the
study and derived from update or recent publication. It should be
obtained from scientific/scholar sources and not from popular site such
as popular magazine. Should a website be used, use those with author(s).
Popular web such as Wikipedia and personal blog should not be used.
The literature review may not contain any findings or conclusions from
the research that the report is about.

• One paragraph in this chapter should consist of mininum 5

sentences.
• One subtitle should consist of more than 1 paragraph.
• Beware of plagiarism.
Be careful in citing any literature, fail to do so will be
considered as plagiarism, and consequences will be applied.
 Keep it simple and cover only the correlated subjects.

Citation
1. Direct citation (in original language or translation), which comprise not
more than 3 lines, could be typed into the text in double spaceline,
followed by number of reference (Vancouver style).
2. Direct citation (in original language or translation), which comprise
more than 4 lines, should be typed separately from the text with single
spaceline and indented 5 strokes from the left margin, followed by
number of reference (Vancouver style).
3. Space between lines of direct citation as in point (2) above and space
between direct citation and first line of the next text is double spaceline.
4. Using other’s ideas or work (figures, photos, tables) in any level should
be refered to the original source as listed in the ‘Reference’.

3.1.4 Chapter III: Methods

The research plan and methods are described as follows:
• Research population/subjects
• Selection (inclusion and exclusion criteria) and dropping out of
subjects or respondents
• The variables and operational definition of variables,
- descriptive study  definition, procedure, reference or standard,
appropriate scale of measurement
- analytical study  independent variable? Dependent variable?
confounding variable (if any) plus definition, procedure, reference or
standard, appropriate scale of measurement
• The materials/instruments used
• The research procedures
• Data collection and analysis.
- descriptive study  descriptive statistic
- analytical study  appropriate statistical test, H0? H1?, p-value to
reject H0?
- appropriate data presentation  choose the most appropriate data
presentation methods, (for proposal  dummy tables, graphs, charts)
- software used to analyze data (name, version)
• Ethical issue  specify the potential threats and how to overcome them,
compensation (due to potential loss), confidentiality (refer to
formprovided by Ethical Committee)

It is important that the procedure described in the method is appropriate

(valid and reliable) for the objective of the Research and completed with
reference.

3.1.5 Chapter IV: Results and discussion

In the result, the findings are described and, if applicable, condensed in
tables and/or figures. Every table or figure must have an informative
caption, which will enable the reader to understand the contents without
referring to the running text. Each table or figure must be referred to in the
text. Avoid repetition, i.e. what has been clearly described in tables or
graphs does not need to be rewrite in the narrative. Further elaboration is
recommended.

If statistical analysis is applied, its interpretation should be described.

In the discussion, the significance of the results of the research is discussed

in relation to the problem outlined in the introduction, the research
questions and/or any hypotheses.
The main purpose of the discussion is to explain the outcome of one's own
research, to interpret the results, to compare the results with results from
other research and to draw conclusions. Unexpected findings, shortcomings
in the research plan or the way the research was conducted and causes of
any mistakes or limitation are explicitly discussed.
Proposed further research might be elaborated in this part.

3.1.6 Chapter V: Conclusion and recommendation

Conclusion should correlate with the research objective
Recommendation should be put forward to implement the results of the
study toward the beneficiary of the study.

3.1.7 Reference
A minor thesis is an exercise in academic writing. Each academic report
should acknowledge the published research which it support or refutes.
References to literature are necessary when original ideas of authors are
used, views of various authors are compared, or data/figures have been
taken from publications. References to literature clarify which elements
have been taken from other people's work. It enables the reader to verify
whether a source is used correctly and whether important sources are
missing. A reference made in the text must be listed in the bibliography as
well. Conversely, the bibliography may not list a book or article to which
no references are made in the text. Reference writing formats for minor
thesis is Vancouver style (please refer to lay out part)

3.2 Lay out

General condition
1. Paper to use
• The paper for minor thesis is paper in A4 size (80 gram, size
21.5x28 cm)
 • The front cover needs a buffalo or linen paper, in the form of hard
cover. The base color of it is yellow.
• The inner cover and the rest of the pages use white 80 gram A4 size
paper.
• Light-yellow colored papers are inserted between two parts or
chapters, locally known as ‘doorslag’. The paper is thin and may
contain logo of UNPAD on each sheet of paper.

2. Typing
• Should be typed only on one side of paper
• Font : Times New Roman
• Alignment : Justified
• Font size : 12; 16 for title
• Colour : black
• Print : good quality

3. Spaceline
• 2 spacelines, unless mentioned as other; no space before or after
paragraph
• 2 spacelines from CHAPTER to TITLE OF CHAPTER
• 4 spacelines from TITLE OF CHAPTER to the first text
• 3 spacelines before next section heading
• 1 spaceline for title, section heading, table and picture heading
which consist of more than 1 line
• New paragraphs should be typed 1,5 cm from the left margin of the
text
• 4 spacelines from the last text to the title of next sub chapter

4. Page lay-out

Page lay-out should follow some rules, as follows:

• The use of word processor is strongly recommended.
• This guideline is written based on Microsoft Office word.
• Indentation for the first line of the paragraph is 1.5 cm
• Do not leave the bottom part of the page empty, except at the end
of the chapter.
• Special pages follow special rules

5. Page numbering
Page numbering count starts from the inner cover page,
• The page number is not printed for the first three pages (inner cover,
approval, and statement of seminar).
• The next page is the ‘abstract’, and starting at this point the page
numbers are printed in roman style ( iv, v, and so on ) until last
page for the list of attachments (or the last page, prior to first page
 of chapter 1). Page numbers are put in the center at bottom of page
(in the footer section).
• Page number on the pages without section heading are put in the
right corner of top of page (in the header section).
• Number of pages from the “title page” to the “List of appendix
page” should be typed with small Roman.
• From the page of “Abstract” to the page of “list of appendix”,
number of pages should be typed with small Roman style, which is
continued from the page of “inner title” and the page of “supervisor
approval”.
• Page number should be typed on the top right of the Page, 3
spacelines from the first text and the last number of the page
number should be typed in 1 line with the right margin of the text.
• For each page which consist of title, from “Abstract” to the “List of
appendix page”, and chapter title, number of pages should be typed
in center, 3 spacelines below the last text.

Number for Chapter, Sub Chapter and paragraphs

o Number of chapter should be typed in center with Roman
capital style
o Number of sub chapter and paragraph should be typed in the left
margin with Arabic style
o Number of sub chapter and paragraph should be appropriate
with number of chapter
 1. Content page

4 cm

4 cm 3 cm

3 cm
 2. Cover page

6 cm

5 cm

4 cm 3 cm

Logo in the
midway

3.5 cm
3. Approval page for Proposal Presentation or
Seminar

4 cm

4 cm 3 cm

3 cm
 4. Approval page for Final Version

4 cm

4 cm 3 cm

3 cm
 5. Seminar statement on the final version

4 cm

4 cm 3 cm

3 cm
Table layout

Tables capture information concisely, and display it efficiently; they also

provide information at any desired level of detail and precision. Title,
heading, reference number (if appropriate) and unit of measurement should
be included, use one line spacing.
Number tables consecutively in the order of their first citation in the text
and supply a brief title for each.
Authors should place explanatory matter in footnotes, not in the heading.
Explain in footnotes all nonstandard abbreviations.
For footnotes use the following symbols, in sequence:
*,†,‡,§,_,**,††,‡‡

Do not use internal borders.

Table should be printed in one page, use smaller font if necesary. If it is
impossible to put a table in one page, the same heading should be included
in the continued table.

Put the table in the center of the line, but the title on the left side with
justify alignment.
The number of the table should consist of 2 parts :
1. First number is the chapter number where the table is placed
2. Second number is the number of the table in sequence within that
chapter
Ex. Table 3.2 showed that the table is in chapter 3 and is the second table in
that chapter.

Put 3 spacelines before and after a table.

Table 2.1. Hemoglobin Concentrations in 85 Healthy Women with Proven

Iron Stores19
Hemoglobin (g/dL) Nonpregnant Midpregnancy Late
Pregnancy
Mean 13.7 11.5 12.3
• Less than 12.0 1% 72% 36%
• Less than 11.0 None 29% 6%
None 4% 1%
• Less than 10.0
Lowest 11.7 9.7 9.8
Note: ________
Figure layout

Figure should be self explanatory. Title, unit of measurement, legends, and

note should be included, use one space line, below the picture/figure/graph.
Source (if appropriate) should be put under “note”.

Figure 2.1 A dark, low quality egg with an irregular shape from a 41 year
old. The egg is the ovoid structure in the center surrounded by
hundreds of ovarian cumulus cells.ref

Put the picture/figure/graph in the center of the line, but the title on the left
side with “justify” alignment.

The number of the figure should consist of 2 parts :

1. First number is the chapter number where the figure is placed
2. Second number is the number of the figure in sequence within that
chapter

If a figure has been published, acknowledge the original source.

Put 3 line space before and after a figure.

Units of Measurement

Measurements of length, height, weight, and volume should be reported in

metric units (meter, kilogram, or liter) or their decimal multiples.
Temperatures should be in degrees Celsius.
Blood pressures should be in millimeters of mercury, unless other units are
specifically required by the journal.
The use for reporting hematological, clinical chemistry, and other
measurements, authors must refer to the particular journal and should report
laboratory information in both the local and International System of Units
(SI). Drug concentrations may be reported in either SI or mass units, but the
alternative should be provided in parentheses where appropriate.
 Abbreviations and Symbols

Use only standard abbreviations; the use of non-standard abbreviations can

be extremely confusing to readers. Avoid abbreviations in the title.
The full term for which an abbreviation stands should precede its first use
in the text unless it is a standard unit of measurement.

Reference layout

References are written in the modified Vancouver Style formats. It is

strongly recommended to use EndNote program as reference manager.
The general principles in the modified Vancouver style format are:
1. References should be numbered consecutively in the order in which
they are first mentioned in the text.
2. Identify references in text, tables, and legends by Arabic numbers in
superscripted figures, after a fullstop sign.
Example: ………..degeneration.1,2,3
3. References cited only in tables or figure legends should be
numbered in accordance with the sequence established by the first
identification in the text of the particular table or figure.
4. The name of author(s) should appear first in the list, and appear in
original sequence of the source itself.
5. If one reference consists of two lines or more, keep it left aligned
with the first capital in the first line.
Look at the examples on the following page.
6. The formats of references are classified according to the source.
Further explanation on how to write them is provided.
7. Using reference manager program such as EndNote will help in
managing the reference and its lay-out in the reference list, but be careful
during data entry of the bibliography, choose the appropiate type of
reference to get a standard sequence of reference list.

Examples:

A. Journals
1. Gleicher N, Cohen CJ, Kerenyi TD, et al. A blocking factor in amniotic
fluid causing leukocyte migration enhancement. Am J Obstet Gynecol.
1979 February 15; 133(2): 386-90. [3 or more author]

2. Diabetes Prevention Program Research Group. Hypertension, insulin,

and proinsulin in participants with impaired glucose tolerance.
Hypertension. 2002;40(5):679-86. [the author is an organization]

3. Vallancien G, Emberton M, Harving N, van Moorselaar RJ; Alf-One

Study Group. Sexual dysfunction in 1,274 European men suffering from
 lower urinary tract symptoms. J Urol. 2003;169(6):2257-61. [personal
and organization as author]

4. 21st century heart solution may have a sting in the tail. BMJ.
2002;325(7357):184. [no author]

B. Books and Other Monographs

1. Murray PR, Rosenthal KS, Kobayashi GS, Pfaller MA. Medical

microbiology. 4th ed. St. Louis: Mosby; 2002. [book with personal
author]

2. Gilstrap LC 3rd, Cunningham FG, VanDorsten JP, editors. Operative

obstetrics. 2nd ed. New York: McGraw-Hill; 2002. [editor as author]

3. Royal Adelaide Hospital; University of Adelaide, Department of Clinical

Nursing. Compendium of nursing research and practice development,
1999-2000. Adelaide (Australia): Adelaide University; 2001.
[organization as author]

4. Meltzer PS, Kallioniemi A, Trent JM. Chromosome alterations in human

solid tumors. In: Vogelstein B, Kinzler KW, editors. The genetic basis of
human cancer. New York: McGraw-Hill; 2002. p. 93-113. [book section]

C. Dissertation and Thesis

25. Borkowski MM. Infant sleep and feeding: a telephone survey of Hispanic
Americans [dissertation]. Mount Pleasant (MI): Central Michigan
University; 2002.

D. Other Published Material

Newspaper article

26. Tynan T. Medical improvements lower homicide rate: study sees drop
in assault rate. The Washington Post. 2002 Aug 12;Sect. A:2 (col. 4).

Legal Material

28. Veterans Hearing Loss Compensation Act of 2002, Pub. L. No. 107-
9, 115 Stat. 11 (May 24, 2001).

29. Healthy Children Learn Act, S. 1012, 107th Cong., 1st Sess. (2001).

30. Cardiopulmonary Bypass Intracardiac Suction Control, 21 C.F.R.

Sect. 870.4430 (2002).
31. Arsenic in Drinking Water: An Update on the Science, Benefits and
Cost: Hearing Before the Subcomm. on Environment, Technology
and Standards of the House Comm. on Science, 107th Cong., 1st
Sess. (Oct. 4, 2001).

Map

32. Pratt B, Flick P, Vynne C, cartographers. Biodiversity hotspots [map].

Washington: Conservation International; 2000.

Dictionary and similar references

33. Dorland's illustrated medical dictionary. 29th ed. Philadelphia: W.B.

Saunders; 2000. Filamin; p. 675.

Journal article on the Internet

36. Abood S. Quality improvement initiative in nursing homes: the ANA

acts in an advisory role. Am J Nurs [serial on the Internet]. 2002 Jun
[cited 2002 Aug 12];102(6):[about 3 p.]. Available from:
http://www.nursingworld.org/AJN/2002/june/Wawatch.htm

Monograph on the Internet

37. Foley KM, Gelband H, editors. Improving palliative care for cancer
[monograph on the Internet]. Washington: National Academy Press;
2001 [cited 2002 Jul 9]. Available from:
http://www.nap.edu/books/0309074029/html/.

Homepage/Web site

38. Cancer-Pain.org [homepage on the Internet]. New York: Association

of Cancer Online Resources, Inc.; c2000-01 [updated 2002 May 16;
cited 2002 Jul 9]. Available from: http://www.cancer-pain.org/.

More information on reference can be obtained from International

Committee of Medical Journal Editors National Library of Medicine. -
Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical
Journals.html . Available from : http://www.icmje.org/
 CHAPTER 4
EVALUATION AND ASSESSMENT

4.1. Supervision

A log book is provided for each student and must be filled in by students
and supervisor after every consultation. The log book is also a tool to
monitor each step of minor thesis process starting from the title approval to
proposal preparation and proposal presentation, from data collection
approval to seminar and revision.

Monitoring will be based on the achievement on the log book. The best
way to optimise the written product and limit the stress that many students
experience in the process of writing is to start writing (parts of) the thesis as
early as possible. Many students spend too little time critically reviewing
their text (which consists of more than correcting mistakes!) and as a result
their work does not reflect their true abilities. By postponing the work and,
consequently, due to lack of time, there is often insufficient time for
revision. Students who produce a good minor thesis are usually the ones
who plan the process of writing well in advance and therefore don't run out
of time; also, these students often pay more attention to 'polishing and
refining' their text. It is advisable to leave a finished draft for a few days.
This allows the author to take a fresh look at his/her written work, which
often results in considerable improvements. Running a spell-check over the
text may help to prevent annoying (typing) errors in the final version.

4.2. Proposal presentation

The aim of proposal presentation is to show the student’s readiness to

conduct the research. The proposal presentation will also be used to assess
the student and the research for grant promotion.
The proposal presentation will be guided by the group coordinator and
participated by all of group members. Supervisors are very welcomed to
participate but not obligatory. The proposal manuscript should be submitted
to the group coordinator 1 week prior to the schedulled day. Each student
will present his/her proposal which has already been approved by BOTH
supervisors (as signed in the log book AND in the approval page of the
proposal). Each student will be given 10 minutes for presentation and 30
minutes of discussion.
Feed back arise during the discussion will be reported in the log book to be
informed to the supervisors.
4.3. Seminar
1. Administration
Seminar will be held, as scheduled in academic schedule, in 5
consecutive days, 4 students in 4 consecutive time in each room
per day.
Each student should register one month prior to the arranged week
by submitting 6 copies of final draft approved by supervisors and
approval for seminar on the log book to SBP.
Fail to register at the particular time, 2nd seminar will be arrranged
one week before next judicium with maximum mark B+.

2. Examiners
One week prior to scheduled seminar, each examiner should
recieve a copy of the minor thesis draft handed by the student.
Should any of the examiner fail to present at the time of the
seminar, the seminar committee will find a replacement. Should
both supervisors fail to present at the time of the seminar, the
seminar will be postponed, unless a replacement appointed by the
head of the department of the supervisor is informed to the
committee at least 2 week before hand.
During the seminar, a student has to defend his or her minor thesis
before 3 examiners and 2 supervisors from at least 3 different
departments. Every student has the opportunity to present his/her
minor thesis in 10 minutes using power point presentation. 30
minutes discussion and clarification will follow.

3. Mark
Marks should be given based on a form provided by the
committee. Basically, assessment is based on the process of
research and report writing. Ninety percent of the mark are on
those processes, the other 10% are given during the seminar itself.
The mean of supervisors mark will be 60% of the final mark,
while the mean of examiners mark is 40% of it.
Should all examiners consider that the minor thesis is not well
prepared or not satisfactory, they are allowed to postpone the
seminar until the next schedule. In such condition, the mark should
be D at most.
All marks will be kept and not available for judicium until
approved revised version as a hard copy and soft copy (in CD),
accompanied by the log book are submitted to SBP.

4.4. Score and scoring system

Assessment will be based on student activity (log book), the quality of
the thesis, student presentation, and discussion.
The final grade will be based on the following table:

Score Grade Index Qualification

Highly
80 – 100 A 4.00
Satisfactory
76 - 79 B++ 3.50
Satisfactory
72 - 75 B+ 3.25
68 - 71 B 3.00
64 - 67 C++ 2.75
Fair
60 - 63 C+ 2.50
56 - 59 C 2.00
45 - 55 D 1.00 Poor
< 45 E 0 Fail