Architectural Research Documentation

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Thesis or Dissertation?
Thesis
The guiding principle in terms of which all of your material, examples, illustrations, hypothesis, experiments, and analysis are coherent and relevant

Dissertation
The written up product submitted at the end of a research project to fulfil the (total) requirements of a research degree.

The same word is often used for both. Resolve any confusion by thinking of this as the thesis-asargument and the thesis-as-dissertation 4/24/12

Confusion

Dissertation components
The research question The importance or significance of this question Relationship to previous work in the area How it will build on to existing knowledge in the area both empirical and theoretical Methods of procedure Results Conclusions What this thesis adds to knowledge Suggested future work

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What Is A Synopsis
A synopsis is primarily a condensation, an outline or a short presentation of an article, of an essay or of a book. A synopsis is not a list of opinions, or an examination of the feelings and/or conscious states, e.g. likes, dislikes, preferences, annoyances, etc., of the writer of the synopsis.

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Aim
An aim is where we want to go in the future, its goals. It is a statement of purpose e.g. conservation of landscape for future generation. Objectives are the stated, measurable targets of how to achieve e.g. Identification of species Strategies for conservation Objectives give a clearly defined target , Plans can then be made to achieve these targets
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Objectives
The most effective objectives meet the following criteria: S Specific M - Measurable A - Agreed by all those concerned R - Realistic the objective should be challenging, but it should also be able to

be achieved by the resources available. T- Time specific

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The Difference between goals and objectives

Goals are broad Goals are general intentions Goals are intangible Goals are abstract Goals can't be validated
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Objectives are narrow. Objectives are precise. Objectives are tangible. Objectives are concrete. Objectives can be validated.

Function of the Abstract

Abstracts (and Summaries) serve to reduce a long text to its essential key points - summing up the study. An abstract is generally seen as a more specialized form of summary. Both come at the beginning of a text, and serve to indicate and predict the structure and content of the text which follows.
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Function of the Abstract

Abstracts (and Summaries) serve to reduce a long text to its essential key points - summing up the study. An abstract is generally seen as a more specialized form of summary. Both come at the beginning of a text, and serve to indicate and predict the structure and content of the text which follows.
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abstract is the first thing after the title and table of contents that catches the readers attention, it should be highly attractive. It should have the capacity to force the Reader to read the entire assignment at one go. The purpose of this part of the senior research paper is to put forward the main objective of the research re-establish the topic of the assignment indicate the methodology of research state the main findings

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Include: Purpose: An abstract should identify why the article was written. A brief introduction should reveal the main purpose of the article. Important Specifics: Include only those names, dates, places or costs that are essential to understanding the original. Conclusions or results: Emphasize outcomes of surveys/tests, research conclusions, and proposed solutions to the problem. Recommendations or implications: Include important recommendations,

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 Opinion: Dont include your own opinions. New Data: Dont compare the work with other articles, books or conferences; stick only to that information included in the original. Irrelevant Specifics: Dont include biographical data about the author. Examples: Illustrations, explanations and descriptions are unnecessary in an abstract. Background: Material in introductions to articles provides information and anecdotes that are of little importance to understanding the article. Reference Data: Exclude information from footnotes, tables and bibliographies. 4/24/12 Jargon: Technical language or jargon may

Omit

COMMON PROBLEMS
Too long. If the abstract is too long, it may be rejected - abstracts are entered on databases, and those is usually a specified maximum number of words. Abstracts are often too long because people forget to count their words and make their abstracts too detailed Too much detail. Abstracts that are too long often have unnecessary details. The abstract is not the place for detailed explanations of methodology or for details about the context of the research problem because there is simply no space to present anything but the main points of your research.

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Too short.
Shorter is not necessarily better. If the word limit is 200 but the author only write 95 words, he/she probably have not written in sufficient detail. There is a need to review the abstract and see where he/she could usefully give more explanation Many writers do not give sufficient information about their findings

Failure to include important information. Authors need to be careful to cover the points listed above. Often people do not cover all of them because they spend too long explaining, for example, the methodology and then do not have enough space to present their conclusion.
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What is a hypothesis

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 A hypothesis is an explanation for a phenomenon which can be tested in some way which ideally either proves or disproves the hypothesis. For the duration of testing, the hypothesis is taken to be true, and the goal of the researcher is to rigorously test the terms of the hypothesis. The concept of the hypothesis is a very important part of the scientific method , and it also holds true in other disciplines as well.
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 Salt in soil may affect plant growth. Plant growth may be affected by the color of the light. Bacterial growth may be affected by temperature. Temperature may cause leaves to change color. All of these are examples of Hypotheses because they use the tentative word "may.".

How Are Hypotheses Written?

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For example, if we say

"Trees will change color when it gets cold." we are making a prediction.

Or if we write,
"Ultraviolet light causes skin cancer."

could be a conclusion.

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Formalized Hypotheses
If skin cancer is related to ultraviolet light , then people with a high exposure to uv light will have a higher frequency of skin cancer. If leaf color change is related to temperature , then exposing plants to low temperatures will result in changes in leaf color. Notice that these statements contain the words , if and then. They are necessary in a formalized hypothesis.

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Developing an Outline
Parallelism Coordination Subordination Division

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Parallelism
Each heading and subheading should preserve parallel structure. If the first heading is a noun, the second heading should be a noun. Example: Pune the queen of Deccan Pune : historic Background Choose flowering plants for plantation. Prepare list of flowering plants . ("Choose" and "Prepare" are both verbs.)

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Coordination
All the information contained in Heading 1 Should have the same significance as them Information contained in Heading 2. The same goes for the subheadings (which Should be less significant than the headings) Evaluation of college campus with reference to landscaping elements Heading : Landscaping Features Sub-heading :Plants, Trees, Ground covers Activity Pattern. Sub-Sub- heading : colour, species, foliage.
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Subordination
The information in the headings should be more general, while the information in the subheadings should be more specific. Example: Contribution of Famous Architects Le corbusier Louise Kahn

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Division
Each heading should be divided into 2 or more parts Philosophy of Le-corbusier Imp Projects Books written

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Title of thesis Schools and Environment (title) vs. Conducive environment for nursery schools. A thesis is not an announcement of the subject My subject is The study of living environment in schools vs. A conducive living environment inculcate a good study culture amongst kids.

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Concise statements Fancy glittering interiors are not always represent good architecture, but people have always been fascinated by them, and many architects have experimented with them vs. Fancy glittering interiors appeal to the basic human desire for high Class living(concise). Specific: Lauri Bakers architecture is good. vs. Lauri Bakers architecture helped create a new way for architects to Deal With the vernacular construction practices. Lauri Bakers architecture helped create a new way for architects to Deal With the vernacular construction practices vs Lauri Bakers architecture helped create a new 4/24/12 way for architects to

Conciseness
Use the most effective words. Concise writing does not always have the fewest words, but it always uses the strongest ones. Writers often fill sentences with weak or unnecessary words that can be deleted or replaced. Words and phrases should be deliberately chosen for the work they are doing.

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Replace several vague words with more powerful and specific words. Often, writers use several small and ambiguous words to express a concept, wasting energy expressing ideas better relayed through fewer specific words. More specific words lead to more concise writing.
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Wordy: The Professor talked about several of the merits of extracurricular activities in his speech (14 words) Concise: The Professor advocated extracurricular activities in his speech. (8 words) Wordy: Professor believed but could not confirm that students had feelings of interest for the topic. (14 words) Concise: Professor assumed that students are interested. (6 words) Wordy: Our website has made available many of the things you can use for making a decision on the selection of best metrial. (20 words)
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Concise: Our website presents criteria for determining the best material. (9 words)

Interrogate every word in a sentence

Check every word to make sure that it is providing something important and unique to a sentence. If words are dead weight, they can be deleted or replaced. Wordy: The teacher demonstrated some of the various ways and methods for cutting words from my abstract that I had written for paper. (22 words) Concise: The teacher demonstrated methods for cutting words from the abstract of my paper (12 words)

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Combine Sentences
Some information does not require a full sentence, and can easily be inserted into another sentence without losing any of its value. Wordy: Mud is an environment friendly building material. With its use we can save energy and money as well.
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Concise: Mud is an environment friendly building material in

Quoting, Paraphrasing, and Summarizing

These three ways of incorporating other writers' work into your own writing differ according to the closeness of your writing to the source writing.

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Quotations must be identical to the original, using a narrow segment of the source. They must match the source document word for word and must be attributed to the original author. Paraphrasing involves putting a passage from source material into your own words. A paraphrase must also be attributed to the original source. Paraphrased material is usually shorter than the original passage, taking a somewhat broader segment of the source and condensing it slightly. Summarizing involves putting the main idea(s) into your own words, including only the main point(s). Once again, it is necessary to attribute summarized ideas to the original source. Summaries are significantly shorter than the original and take a broad overview of the source material.

Active versus Passive Voice Wherever possible, use active verbs that demonstrate what is being done and who is doing it.

Instead of:The garden was built by Mughals. Use:Mughals built the garden. Instead of:Six possible causes of failure were identified in the

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Direct versus Indirect Statements Direct statements are clear, concise, and do not wear on reader

Instead of:It should be noted that the shady trees were used for plantation. Use: Predominantly shady trees exists. Instead of:It is common that the presence of water weaken the soils load carrying capacity. Use: Presence of water

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Inclusive Language

Avoid using man or men to refer to groups containing both sexes. Substitute words and phrases such as humankind, humanity, people, employees, workers, workforce, staff, and staff hours. Avoid the use of masculine pronouns to refer to both

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Instead of:When a landscape architect s begins to design an urban plaza , he should consider Try:When landscape architect s begin to design an urban plaza , they should consider Or:When beginning to design an urban plaza, a landscape architect should consider Instead of:An architect should

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In-Text Citations

Research by Wegener and Petty (1994) supports... (Wegener & Petty, 1994) (1)

A Work by Three to Five Authors: List all the authors in the signal phrase or In parentheses

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Ludwig, T. (2002). PsychInquiry [computer software]. New York: Worth. E. Robbins, personal communication, January 4, 2001. Website Lynch, Tim. 1996. DS9 trials and tribble-ations review. Peoria, IL: Bradley University. On-line. Available from

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Thanks for Patient Listening

Dr. Vasudha A. Gokhale

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