MSTP100

Course Objectives:

Term Paper writing has its objective in the increase of knowledge and the understanding of a particular phenomenon.

1. To appraise and explain a situation by focusing attention on latent attributes that may not surface in class-room discussions.
2. To demonstrate the ability to devise, select and use a  range   of  methodologies and  tools  to  the  chosen/given project,   applying the theoretical knowledge to a real life situation.
3. Formulate a report through self-exploration, practical experience, journals etc.

Pre-requisites: 

Knowledge about Project work to be executed is a prerequisite for students pursuing the term paper as per the guidelines received from the faculty guide.

Student Learning Outcomes:

After completion of the term paper,

• The Term Paper is an exercise in developing perspective on a topic not studied before, via independent work and enhancing presentation skills resourcefulness, and literature survey skills. Students develop research design and/or statistics, evaluate aptness of research conclusions, and generalize them appropriately
• Papers assigned are designed to provide an opportunity to the student to learn about an important topic and to practice a professional style of writing which will be appropriate in most professional settings.
• The paper is thought out in advance as a definite procedure with systematic approach.
• This attempts to link research on college students' experience of learning with ideas from research on students' prior experiences of learning; students' perceptions of their learning situation; students' approaches to learning; and students' learning outcomes.
• Students demonstrate effective written communication skills and use discipline specific writing conventions and formats.

Course Plan

1.0 Briefing Sessions for students

Briefing Sessions are very important for undertaking the TERM PAPER. The Institutional committee introduces Term Paper and explains the process and way to work in it. It is mandatory for the students to attend the same as per the institution’s schedule.

2.0 Finalization and approval of area/topic of Term Paper and schedule of activities

Term Paper Topic can be selected from any domain/ sector or any business issue relevant in the current scenario.  It is usual to give some discretion to the student in the choice of topic for the Term Paper and the approach to be adopted.

3.0 Allocation of Faculty Guides 

1. Each student shall be assigned a faculty guide for the project well in advance in a formal manner depending on the number of students per faculty member.

1. The faculty guide from Amity must closely interact with the student for his or her the progress

4.0 Role and expectations of Faculty Guides and External Guides

1. To advise on:

• The topic, synopsis and work schedule of Term paper and its resources
• To assist the student in identifying problems/issues and suggest/agree on specific action to address those
• Methodologies
• Referencing / plagiarism
• Information sources, including AUUP material, to support planning, monitoring progress of the Project
• Structure and presentation of Project
• To discuss progress of Project
• To offer feedback on partial versions of Project
• To maintain regular supervisory contact.
• To contact any student who fails to attend supervisory sessions

1. Frequency of meetings and contact time (face to face and virtual)

It will be ensured to follow the university stipulated guidelines/ Regulation cited as before.

1. Nature of tutorials/briefing sessions/gap lectures

It will be undertaken in two modes one Personal, face to face contact lecture hours on weekly basis and secondly it would be based tutorials need based. It is expected the student must give in the specified number of self-study hours.

4.1 Role and expectations of students

1. Commit to a schedule of meetings, in order to ensure that the agreed schedule is adhered to and deadlines met.
2. Use supervisory time allocated effectively,
3. Manage tutorial / gap lectures/ briefing sessions effectively by preparing for same in advance,
4. Keep appointments which have been arranged,
5. To send regularly Weekly Progress Report (WPR) to Faculty guide
6. Maintain a record of supervisory meetings, in the format prescribed by the university.
7. Act responsibly and professionally during any kind of interaction with the host organization.
8. Make use of AUUP guidance and documentation to plan and monitor progress of the TERM PAPER, to maximize the benefit of tutorial support, and to implement the feedback and approved action plan for development of the project.
9. Recognize ethical responsibilities and understand the regulations with regard to plagiarism

5.0 Structure of Term Paper, Registration, Conduct of course, progress monitoring

5.1 Registration

The students are required to register on-line on AMIZONE for the Term Paper courses as per the University guidelines. Dates would be notified separately.  The students who have not registered for the Term Paper course as per regulations will not be permitted to submit any report and will be treated as having failed in the course.

5.2 Progress monitoring

The progress of Term Paper would be done weekly by faculty guide through the submitted WPR’s and Monthly by Institutional Committee /Project Review Committee via submission of continuous evaluation.  

The various steps to be followed are as follows:

1) Identification of research areas by the students.

2) Identification of a faculty guide based on common research areas/interests.

3) Online Registration

4) Submission of research proposal by students approved by faculty guide.

5) Post approval preparation and final submission of synopsis.

6) First review on completion and submission of Introduction and literature review.

7) Second review on completion and submission of Data collection and Data analysis

8) Third review on completion and submission of final report is done.

9) Pre submission.

10) Final Viva.

On completion of the Term Paper the student will be required to submit the following:

Project report - The Project report is the principal means by which the work carried out will be assessed and therefore great care should be taken in its preparation. The final report is important component of Term Paper.  Therefore must adhere to following parameters  

5.3 Structure

Term Paper should be composed of the following sections:

Every Term Paper Report shall have three parts:  the pre pages, the main text, and the reference material.

Each part has several sections, which are normally arranged in the order as discussed below.

1. Preliminary Pages

• Title page
• Declaration
• Faculty Guide Approval page
• Acknowledgement(s)
• Table of Contents
• Abstract

2. Text (usually divided into chapters and sections)
3. Reference Material and References

Generally, the introduction, discussion, conclusion and references should account for a third of the paper and the review part should be two thirds of the paper.

5.4 Discussion
The discussion section either follows the results or may alternatively be integrated in the results section. The section should consist of a discussion of the results of the study focusing on the question posed in the paper.

5.5 Conclusion
The conclusion is often thought of as the easiest part of the paper but should by no means be disregarded. There are a number of key components which should not be omitted. These include:

1. summary of objectives and issues raised.
2. summary of findings
3. summary of limitations of the study at hand
4. details of possibilities for related future research

5.6 References
From the very beginning of the research work, one should be careful to note all details of articles or any other material gathered. The reference part should list ALL references included in the paper.

5.7 Formatting

• All reports should be printed double-spaced, Times New Roman and 12 Font size.
• Students are expected to write in clear, grammatical sentences.
• Content is the purpose of a paper; style and packaging can facilitate comprehension of that content, but should never distract the reader from the content.

6.0 Plagiarism

The Term Paper report must be written in student’s own words. However, if required to cite the words of others, all the debts (for words, data, arguments and ideas) have to be appropriately acknowledged.

It is mandatory that each project report shall be checked for plagiarism through Turnitin or similar software before submission. The content, which is based on existing published work, must come from properly quoted material and from the references cited section. After checking the accuracy of the citations and references of such content the plagiarism report should not return similarity index of more than 15% in any circumstance. However, if the matching text is one continuous block, the index of 15% could still be considered plagiarism. Any report with higher than this plagiarism percentage must be explained by the student. The details of copyrights, professional ethics are given in Plagiarism Prevention Policy of the University.

7.0 Submission of final report

The most important aspect of the courses is the final report. Therefore following must be ensured for producing quality report.

1. a) The student will start the project report / dissertation while doing his/her TERM PAPER course as per the prescribed guidelines
2. b) The students will submit 1st draft of the report to the guide for guidance.
3. c) Followed by the submission second of draft of report after making necessary changes as suggested by the guide.
4. d) The final report shall be submitted after checking plagiarism through Turnitin or any other format subscribed by University. Copying material should not be more than 15% provided source is mentioned in the report along with proper acknowledgement and referencing as per plagiarism policy of the university.

8.0 Final Assessment

1. a) The final assessment of Term Paper shall be done only for those students who have qualified on the basis of Conduct and progress monitoring guidelines & Submission of report/thesis guidelines as stated in the assessment Criteria
2. b) The Final assessment will be treated as end semester examination. It is mandatory for the students to appear for final assessment as per scheduled date and time. If fail to appear in the students final assessment as per schedule, he/she will treated as absent. For such cases same rules will be applicable as those for theory examination. The assessment of I category students will be done within one month of final assessment of the batch.

9.0 Assessment criteria

A student will be eligible to submit his report and final assessment provided he/she meets following conditions:

• Online Registration for the Term Paper I.
• Approval of Topic, Synopsis and Project Plan by the guide
• 90 % of WPR were submitted
• 80% of the WPR were satisfactory
• Similarity index not more than 15 % as per Plagiarism Prevention Policy.

Students not meeting the eligibility criteria shall be governed by the following regulation given as per university guidelines.

10.0 Assessment/ Examination Scheme:    

The assessment scheme for the Term Paper is mentioned below as per the University guidelines (03 Credit units):