Thesis is a final assignment for students of master’s program. It can be in the form of scientific writing which is written based on the result of research. Thesis is written in a way and format that must follow the established guidelines and under the supervision of thesis advisor committee. Thesis is equal to 12 credit units for students admitted before 2014-2015 academic year and equal to 40 credit units for students admitted at 2014-2015 academic year.
The process of thesis writing consists of several stages; (a) thesis proposal writing (b) thesis proposal examination (c) ethical clearance review by ethical clearance commission of FMUB (d) research implementation (e) journal article writing and thesis writing (f) research result seminar (seminar paper is written using the format of journal article) (g) feasibility study of the thesis manuscript.
1. Thesis Proposal Writing
Thesis proposal is a scientific writing containing research plan. This serves as the final assignment in the master’s program of biomedical sciences. The writing of thesis proposal must follow the established guidelines. The proposal covers;
Introduction discusses the background of the study, the existence of phenomena worth researching, theoretical framework, the formulation of research problem, and objective of the research.
Review of Related Literature presents data and/or scientific information from various journals, journal articles, etc that are used to support or contradict the proposed research problem. This also includes inconclusive opinions on the problem being investigated. Based on the literature review, students analyze the problem to come up with a new concept to research.
Research Methodology covers methodology used by the researcher to approach the problem, sample selection, kinds of variables used in the research, how to measure, analyze, and test them, what instrument/devices or program to use, and how the result is presented. Information on place and time of the research, as well as other relevant information concerning the research is also presented in this chapter.
References contain a list of scientific publications that the researchers cite in the process of writing the proposal. References are written using number as demonstrated in the guideline of thesis and dissertation writing of Postgraduate Program of FMUB.
2. Feasibility test of Thesis Proposal
Students may propose a feasibility test of their thesis proposal after they have taken 24 credit units with a GPA of ≥ 3.00 and no “D” grade on any subjects for students admitted before 2014-2015 academic year. For students admitted at 2014-2015 academic year they must have taken 32 credit units with a GPA of ≥ 3.00 and no “D” grade on any subjects. The thesis proposal manuscript is submitted to the thesis advisor committee for approval. After being approved, the manuscript is ready for a feasibility test.The chairman of the thesis advisor committee sends a written proposal for the feasibility test to the head of the program.
The feasibility test is done by a forum led by the chairman of thesis advisor committee. If, for one reason or another, the chairman is unable to supervise the test, he/she can ask a member of the committee to take his/her place. The test can be administered if it is attended by the two thesis examiners and, at least, one thesis advisor. The test cannot be administered outside the test forum. The test takes around 90 minutes and focuses on the student’s thesis proposal. The components of the evaluation are the thesis proposal manuscript, presentation, and student’s ability to argue scientifically.The test is attended by the chair or one of the members of the monitoring team and thesis evaluation in order to monitor the test administration and the required documentations.
Although the examiners determine what grade a certain examinee gets, the result of the test is decided by means of discussion. Passing grade for the test is “B” at minimum. If a student gets less than “B”, he/she is given the chance to repeat the test once. If he/she fail the test the second time, he/she has to revise his/her thesis proposal or is pronounced “fail” to complete study in the program.
Research proposal that has been approved by the thesis advisor committee and passed the feasibility test is legalized by the head of the program. Following the legalization of the proposal, the concerned student may conduct the research.
3. Research Implementation
A research is an academic program for student. This program can use an experimental or non-experimental design, the result of which will be used in writing the thesis.
A research can be conducted in other areas outside Malang or in any laboratories which serve the objective of the research and are approved by the advisor committee. Before commencing a research, a student has to complete all administration requirements in the academic division of graduate program of FMUB included ethical clearance review by ethical clearance commission of FMUB.
The research is under the supervision of the chairman of the thesis advisor committee or anyone who is appointed to represent the chairman. The result of the supervision is reported by the chairman of the committee to the head of the program or academic division. The result of the supervision is documented to be used as one of the considerations in the evaluation of the research. Students who have completed their research, is advised to immediately write a journal article for research result seminar and thesis manuscript. The research is documented in a log-book provided by the students themselves.
4. Journal Article and Thesis Manuscript Writing
Journal article is a scientific writing which is written based on a part or all result of the research. Journal article approved by thesis advisor committee is used as the material for research result seminar. Journal article is written in accordance with the established guideline of thesis and dissertation writing in graduate programs FMUB.
Thesis manuscript is a scientific writing written based on the result of the research and in accordance with the established guideline of thesis and dissertation writing. Thesis manuscript is used as the material for thesis examination.Journal article is written based on the instructions of the designated journal. The selected journals are those which at least are nationally accredited. All supervisors must be responsible for the substance of the journal and have authority to be included as authors.
5. Research Result Seminar
Research result seminar is held by the Master Program in Biomedical Sciences of FMUB and attended by thesis advisor committee, thesis examiners, students of graduate programs, and other interested parties who are intended to attend the research result seminar or who are purposefully invited by the panel to contribute constructive suggestion to improve the thesis manuscript. A student is allowed to hold a research result seminar if he/she has attended at least 10 research result seminars of relevant topic. Research result seminar is held on the recommendation of chairman of thesis advisor committee given to the head of the program. Then, the program processes the recommendation and invites the thesis examiners team. The invitation includes such information as time and place of the seminar and the journal article manuscript. The seminar can be held by more than one forum panel (three at maximum). The seminar is led by one of the students of the program.
Research result seminar is evaluated based on several criteria; journal article manuscript, presentation, and the student’s ability to argue scientifically. Material for the seminar is the thesis-advisor approved manuscript. The seminar produces journal article to be published in accredited national or international journals.
6. Feasibility Test of the Thesis Examination
A student whose thesis proposal has been approved by the advisor committee and who has conducted a research result seminar, and has submitted the manuscript of a thesis-related article to accredited national and international journal (at least a statement from the journal editor board that the article is in the process of publication is required) is eligible for a feasibility test on his/her thesis examination Thesis examination is held on the recommendation of the chairman of thesis advisor committee given to the head of the program. Then, the program processes the recommendation and invites the thesis examiners team. The invitation includes such information as time and place of the seminar and the journal article manuscript.
The feasibility test is led by the chairman of thesis advisor committee. If, for one reason or another, the chairman is unable to supervise the test, he/she can ask a member of the committee to take his/her place. The test can be administered if it is attended by the two thesis examiners and, at least one thesis advisor. Examination is attended by the chair or one of the members of the monitoring team and thesis evaluation in order to monitor the examination administration and the required documentations. The test takes around 100 minutes. The material is the student’s thesis manuscript. The test cannot be administered outside the test forum. Some of the evaluation components are thesis mastery and the ability to present and defend the thesis comprehensively.
The result of the test is determined by the examiners by means of a discussion and is personally informed to the concerned student right after the test.
For students admitted before 2014-2015 academic year, there are six evaluation components of the test with the following proportion.
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- Thesis proposal 16.67 % (2 credits)
- Research implementation 16.67 % (2 credits)
- Thesis writing 16.67 % (2 credits)
- Journal article writing 25 % (3 credits)
- Research result seminar 8.33 % (1 credits)
- Thesis examination 16.67 % (2 credits)
For students admitted at 2014-2015 academic year, there are six evaluation components of the test with the following proportion.
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- Thesis proposal 5 credits
- Research implementation 10 credits
- Thesis writing 10 credits
- Journal article writing 10 credits
- Research result seminar 5 credits
- Thesis examination 5 credits
Evaluation on point number (ii) is done by thesis advisor committee, while point number (i), (iii) (iv) (v) and (vi) are done by thesis examiners. The grade is given in accordance to the established system (A, B+, B, C+, C, D+, and D). Final grade is the average of the total sum of the four points (based on the proportion). The passing grade for the feasibility test of thesis manuscript is “B” at minimum. If a student gets less than “B”, he/she is given the chance to repeat the test once. If he/she fail the test the second time, he/she has to revise his/her thesis proposal (with the thesis advisor’s consent) or is pronounced “fail” to complete study in the program. Thesis manuscript revision, as suggested by the thesis examiners, must be completed within a month after the thesis examination. If a student fails to finish his/her thesis revision within the time limit and cannot provide a satisfactory explanation to the advisor committee, the chairman of the committee may propose that the concerned student repeat the thesis examination. Students who pass the thesis feasibility test and complete the thesis revision (with the advisor’s approval) should make at least three copies of the thesis manuscript (for advisor committee and the program). The copies of thesis manuscript are legalized by being signed by the chairman of the thesis advisor committee and the dean of the faculty.