Thesis (The Hardest Errand Student Is Suffering)

The

Hardest

Errand

Student

Is

Suffering

whooOoOoO! After few minutes of thinking, finally, I've come up of an acronym for the word "thesis" 
-- The Hardest Errand Student Is Suffering.

Definition of Errand from the Internet:

"A trip to accomplish a small mission or to do some business (dropping items by, doing paperwork, going to a friend's house, etc.)"

I compared thesis as errand because it's a trip/journey a student should go through in order to accomplish its mission -- to graduate. This is the part of the whole journey where the roads are full of potholes. The road that is hardest to travel on. The trip full of obstacles and cross roads. Some may go through long cuts, others on shortcuts. Some may pass through it without experiencing such sufferings. Some may consider it as deadly road. Some people may not continue to that trip causing them to be stranded and will not reach their destination. But most of the people try their best to pass through it because they know, in the end, they will attain that success and satisfaction. Just like thesis, it's really the hardest trip on college. Students treat/handle it differently. Some may fail but most of them succeed in the end because they know, by passing it, a bright future awaits them.

At our school, thesis is a hard errand too. A suffering that every each of us (students of PM and IE Project) experience right now. Research. Interview. Encode. Think. Act. Ask. Cry. Worry. Express. Revise. Rush. Rush. Rush. Oh rushing is my most hate part. Meeting up deadlines is always a problem of the students like me.
As of this moment -- August 15, 2010, we are doing the first part of our Thesis -- The first 3 chapters. Our adviser discussed what are the things to put on these areas of our paper. Below are some details regarding these chapters:

Chapter 1

• Background of the Study
• In this part, we need to discuss what are the trends today. We should be good in "story telling". We should tell the things in the past going to the present (noon at ngayon). We should also present the macros and micros -- specifying the problem situation from world, asia, philippines up to local that is similar to our study.We also need to define what the problem is by using basis such as statistics. We need to justify the existence of the problem and also explain why the researchers/developers choose the particular topic by giving its importance. At the end of the background of the study, don't forget to put "punch line" or a clinching statement that will support your study.
• Theoretical Framework
• Just put theories that will support your study and that may be useful to your study.
• Conceptual Framework
• Use the IPO Concept (Input - Process - Output)
• Sample Research Paradigms

                For Project:

From Mr. Cristian Rey C. Seco, MIT

                 For Research:

From Mr. Van Raoul V. Datuin

•  Explain also the diagram at the succeeding paragraphs
• At the inputs, you may put the things on Statement of the Problem/Objectives
• At the process, put the the SDLC (Software Development Life Cycle) model used and its phases -- for IT Project. (see the examples above).
• Statement of the Problem
• In research, it must be entitled "Statement of the Problem"
• In project, it must must be "Statement of the Objectives"
• written in Declarative Form
•  Significance of the Study
• State the importance/usefulness of the study.
• Example:

                Students. Blah blah blah

• Definition of Terms
• Define the terms in your Title and in your Statement of the Problem/Objective
• You may define it from a dictionary or define it based on your study.
• Defining the term is like the example above.
• Scope and Limitation
• within a year, duration, venue, platform: web-based, lan, server-client, standalone, etc.

Chapter 2

• at least 10 references. 10 years back. 2000 - 2010. explain the Statement of the Problem/Objective in sequence.

Chapter 3

• Research Design
• For research: (Qualitative or Quantitative approach) state.define.justify
• For project: illustration of the model used and state. define. justify each phase of the model.
• Source of Data
• Primary Source (interview, letter, speech, survey)
• Secondary Source (internet, books, journals)
• Instrumentation
• Interview Guide (state.define.justify)
• Survey Form
• Document Analysis
• Tools for Data Analysis
• For research: Formula, chi-square, AWM, frequency count
• For project: wireframe, database instance and schema, ERD, plates, storyboards

Those are the areas of the thesis we are busy doing this semester. Another bunch of works await as next semester. Hope all of us will pass this errand and go to the right destination =)

Zai Jian!