1. Writing a PhD Thesis The purpose of this talk is to explain to PhD candidates on what to be aware when writing their thesis. The materials of this talk are sourced from my PhD supervision at Universiti Teknologi Malaysia since 2007.
Ismail Said
Academic Manager of Generic Program
The School of Graduate Studies
UTM
20 NOV 2014

2. PhD research is my baby
REMINDER: In your lifetime, you only write ONE thesis.

3. What is a Thesis?
A scientific document that has to be clear, well explained, well presented and easy to read. “The thesis is the culmination of your project and the quantifiable evidence of your learning and what you have accomplished for your higher degree” (Monash University).
It is a testament of your analytical and critical thinking on your research subject.
It defines your transition from student to scholar. It is a document with substantial and original contribution to knowledge of a particular field.

4. What is a Thesis?
It is cogently written that develops into a story. A story of new knowledge discovered from your investigation.
This means that each chapter is linked to the preceding ones. Each section of the chapter is integrated to explain the purpose of the chapter. Each chapter ends with a conclusion or a summary.
A story worth a thousand pictures.

5. Content of a Thesis Abstract
A brief representation of your thesis
An overall picture of your thesis that should trigger the examiners to go to your Chapter 1: Research Problem and Background
Its content includes RESEARCH PROBLEM AND GAP, AIM AND OBJECTIVES, METHODS, RESULTS AND FINDINGS, CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATIONS, FURTHER RESEARCH.
DOING THE RIGHT THING VERSUS DOING A THING RIGHT.

6. Examiner Comment on Abstract
By Tracey Skelton on Nor Fadzila’s thesis, AFFORDANCE OF SCHOOL GROUNDS FOR CHILDREN’S OUTDOOR PLAY AND ENVIORNMENTAL LEARNING (2014)
The abstract accurately reflects the thesis and captures the content to very good effect. The abstract provides a good insight into what the thesis focuses on and outlines the methods used to gather the data. The innovative question about the role that school grounds play in children’s learning and play activities is clearly laid out. The abstract is followed by an excellent contents page, which is very detailed and well structured.

7. Content of Thesis Chapter 1: Research Problem and Background
It is the main door of your thesis to enthuse the examiner that it is a worthwhile research to be read. In other words, it is the first impression for the examiners.
Its structure comprises of defining the research problem and specifying the gap of study, background and scope of study, research aim and objectives or hypothesis, significance of study, anticipated findings.

8. Content of Thesis Chapter 1: Research Problem and Background
Your problem could be derived from literature as well as your direct experience with the research problem.
The background is the situatedness of your study. It means that the context of your research as a small part of a large research discipline.
It should be written in simple present tense.

9. Supervisor: Assoc. Prof. Dr Ismail Said
Affordances of School Grounds for Children’s Outdoor Play and Environmental Learning
Nor Fadzila Aziz (PB103013)
PhD Candidate
Supervisor: Assoc. Prof. Dr Ismail Said
Faculty of Built Environment
Universiti Teknologi Malaysia
1 October 2014

10. School Grounds
Schools grounds as potential sites for children’s outdoor play and environmental learning
School grounds provide the opportunities for children to interact with the school environment through movement, investigation, concentration and social interaction.
Promotes children’s physical, social and cognitive development and children’s health (Ozdemir and Yilmaz, 2008; Willenberg et al., 2010)
Potential sites for place-based or environmental learning and instruction (Malone and Tranter, 2003a, 2003b; Dyment, 2005; Dyment et al., 2009; Powell, 2007; Stanley 2010)
Children’s outdoor play in the school grounds is a fundamental component of informal learning, which has been referred to as environmental learning by Tranter and Malone (2004).

11. Research Gap
There has been a variety of research about school grounds, but most studies have focused either on the impacts of the physical environment on children’s behaviour and levels of physical activity or on children’s perception of their school ground environment.
The studies overlooked the connection between the physical environment and the social context of school grounds regarding the actualisation of affordances and the formation of children’s preferences.
Research focusing on children’s values of outdoor play for environmental learning in relation to the physical and social contexts of school grounds is less studied.
Therefore, more comprehensive research is required to explore the connection between children’s experiences within the designed school ground environment with their perceptions of the ideal school grounds for environmental learning.

12. Content of Thesis Chapter 2: Literature Review
This chapter presents the critical appraisal of past studies related to your research subject. It shall demonstrate a discursive prose that is you write in your own words.
It is synthesizing a subject from a set of previous studies in your own stance. Therefore, it explains how you evaluate the works of others, show the relationships between different works, and show how it relates to your work. Hence, it is your debate on what has been studied, what is the status quo of the research subject, and lastly, what you want to extend.
Organize the literature review into sections that present themes or identify trends, including relevant theory.

13. Content of Thesis Chapter 2: Literature Review
Here is where you discuss the meaning of research concept or underpinning(s). The discussion ends with a clear research framework of your study referring to past studies and your research objectives.
It shall be written in simple present tense even though you are referring to past studies.

14. Rebuilding identity of the historical area through the use of urban morphology
PhD Thesis Defense, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia
Widya Fransiska Febriati Anwar (PB093004)
Supervisor(s):
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ismail Said
Dr. Dilshan Remaz Ossen
Dr. Moh. Hisyam bin Rasidi
December 2009 – January 2013

15. Situating a research with the current status quo of a subject
Urban Morphology
Environmental Psychology
Conservation
Preservation
Urban Element
Urban Structure Change
Urban Setting
Place Attachment
Image of the city
City Marketing
Culture
Conzen, 1960; Lynch, 1960; Kostof, 1991; Wikantyoso, 1997; Hillier, 2001; Ikaputra, et. Al, 2000; Fattahi and Kobayashi, 2009a, 2009b
Whitehand and Morton, 2004; Rapoport, 2004; Samant, 2004; Tweed and Sutherland, 2007; Smith, 2008; Rabady, 2010; Ragab, 2011, Kim, 2011
Boblic, 1990; Hall, 1997; Purwanto, 2005; Hanh, 2006; Hara, et.al (2008)
Schuller, 1898; Geisler, 1918; Whitby, 1951; Conzen, 1960; Muratori, 1960; Hillier and Hanson, 1984; Forties; 1989; Kropt, 1996; Hall, 1997; Levy, 1999; Canigia, 2001; Jiang and Claramunt, 2002; Chapman, 2006; James and Bound, 2009; Tian et.al, 2010; Topcu and Kubat, 2012
Rodwel, 2007; Kolzlowski and Bowen, 1997; Sevinc, 2009; Wei and Kiang, 2009; Whitehand and Gu, 2010; Albert and Hanzen, 2010; Hillier, 2001
Inn, 2004;Gospodini, 2004, 2011; Doralti, 2004;Watson, 2006; Plaza, 2006, 2008; Butina, 2006; Niebrzydowski, 2007; Novickas, 2007; Lewicka, 2008; Handal, 2009;Chen, 2011; Sainz, 2012
Tuan, 1974; Steele, 1981; Altman and Low, 1992; Hummon, 1992; Jackson, 1994; Cross, 2001; Guillani, 2003; Willian and Vaske, 2003; Smaldone, 2006; Handal. 2006; Beidler, 2007; Hernandez, 2007; Brown and Raymond, 2007; Watson and Bentley, 2007; White et.al, 2008; Liu, 2009; Raymod et.al, 2010; Najafi and Kamal, 2011
Rebuilding City Identity
Place Familiarity
Sense of Place
Identity
Authenticity
Urban Reminder
City's Identity
Place Character
Place Identity
Identity of Place

16. Rebuilding city identity through the use of urban morphology (Widya, 2013)
The interdependency between the urban morphology and identity
Place Identity
The current bonding between people and riverside area
Interview
Questionnai re
Stage 3
The new/ remaining/ disappeared urban elements or setting
The forgotten and memorized elements
High vs. Low appreciation towards the place
Social Character
Physical Character
IDENTITY OF RIVER CITY
Stage 4
RO#1.
The physical and spatial pattern
Urban Morphology
The persistent and new urban element
The physical-spatial pattern changes, streetline and riverline
Superimposed the maps
Stage 1
RO#2
Place character that can establish the identity
Identity with the Place
People's appreciation in the past ( )
People appreciation of the present ( s)
Old paintings / photos
Question naire
Archival studies
Stage 2

17. Examiner Comment on Literature Review
By Tracey Skelton on Nor Fadzila’s thesis, AFFORDANCE OF SCHOOL GROUNDS FOR CHILDREN’S OUTDOOR PLAY AND ENVIORNMENTAL LEARNING (2014)
The literature review, which is largely located in Chapter 2, is extremely comprehensive and clearly written. An extremely good range of literature is examined and the candidate displays clear knowledge of, and the competence to engage with, the scholarly debates that are relevant to her field of study. She draws upon well-established and influential literature and also recent work to very good effect. The literature review is structured clearly and logically.
I was also hoping to read more critical discussion about the conceptual and material problems around the ideas of affordances is all the existing literature accurate and useful? What are the candidate’s own critical perspectives on the literature?

18. Content of Thesis Chapter 3: Research Methodology
It explains the research approach or design on how to elicit data as well as what tools are used to analyze the data leading to results.
It also explains what type is your research either exploratory, explanatory, experimental, descriptive or narrative.
In addition, it describes the general approach of your investigation either positivism, pragmatism or constructivism.
It elaborates the meaning of parameters as well as the interrelationship of parameters.
It describes the background of your study site or setting or context.
Lastly, the justify the validity and reliability of your methods.
It should be written in simple past tense.

19. Supervisor: Assoc. Prof. Dr Ismail Said
Affordances of School Grounds for Children’s Outdoor Play and Environmental Learning
Nor Fadzila Aziz (PB103013)
PhD Candidate
Supervisor: Assoc. Prof. Dr Ismail Said
Faculty of Built Environment
Universiti Teknologi Malaysia
1 October 2014

20. Research Methodology Research Design Measurement Strategies Findings
Exploratory research
Measurement Strategies
STRATEGY
RESPONDENT
OBJECTIVE
a) Walkabout interview and mapping
Children
(n=80)
RO#1
b) Photography and discussion
RO#2
c) Drawing
RO#4
d) Preference survey
RO#3
e) Survey questionnaire
Teachers
(n=71)
Transactional approach
Mixed methods design
(Concurrent nested strategy)
Qualitative
(Predominant method)
Quantitative
(Embedded method)
Children
(Stratified purposeful sampling)
Teachers
(Simple random sampling)
Data analysis and triangulation
Findings

21. Interrelationship between Variables
Environmental Learning
Children’s Outdoor Play
Actualisation of Affordances
potential site for
Preferences
School Grounds Environment
Perception and attitude towards
Conception of ideal school grounds
offered affordances
perceived affordances
BOTTOM UP
Children’s interactions
Children’s
needs
CHILDREN’S BEHAVIOURAL AND PERCEPTUAL RESPONSES
PLANNING AND DESIGN OF SCHOOL GROUNDS
Children’s emotions D1 D2 D3

22. TRIANGULATION Research Objectives
RO #1
Affordances of school grounds
RO #2
Factors that influence level of affordances
RO #3
Environmental learning in school grounds
RO #4
Ideal school grounds for environmental learning
Outdoor play activities
Perceptions & attitudes
Needs & preferences
Place preferences
The use of school grounds environment
Play behaviour patterns & children’s performances
Children’s affection & evaluation towards the environment
Properties & attributes of school grounds
The potentials & barriers of school grounds for environmental learning
Beliefs, preferences & needs
Meaning and understanding on the potential affordances of school grounds
Features, design patterns & aspects considered
Children’s
walkabout interview & mapping
(n=80)
Children’s photography & discussion
(n=80)
Children’s preference survey
(n=80)
Teacher’s survey
questionnaire
(n=71)
Children’s drawing
(n=80)
Descriptive statistics (Univariate)
Spatial analysis (Hotspots)
Content analysis (Interpretative)
Descriptive statistics
Descriptive statistics
RASCH Model
Descriptive statistics
Content analysis
TRIANGULATION
Person-environment relationship
(“ACTUAL” environment)
Physical & social factors
Perceptual & conception
(“IDEAL” environment)
Theoretical & design implication in enhancing school grounds’ potentials

23. Examiner Comment on Research Methodology
By Tracey Skelton on Nor Fadzila’s thesis, AFFORDANCE OF SCHOOL GROUNDS FOR CHILDREN’S OUTDOOR PLAY AND ENVIORNMENTAL LEARNING (2014)
This is a really strong chapter in the thesis and the range of methods utilized for the research is explained very well and in good depth. There is also valuable use of methodological scholarships and discussion and strong argument put forward to the mixed-method approach. There are a few things that I think will strengthen the chapter and form part of the minor amendments.
The methodology chapter provides a very clear, descriptive introduction, but how does this chapter link with the aims of the thesis and the research questions of the thesis? There needs to be more critical discussion of the purpose of this chapter to answer the complexities of the research project. This material is there a little later on but the early part of the chapter needs to be restructured. I would move paragraph 2 on page 86 up in the introduction as it provides a good description of the methods and so would better with the introduction as part of showing why and how the research was done in the way it was.

24. Content of Thesis Chapter 4: Results and Discussion
Here lies the novelty of your research. Your data has been churned into tables and figures, your results. Figures could be maps, illustrations, charts and graphs.
Being critical means you interpret the results rigorously relative to your research objectives, research hypothesis or research questions. Answering all of them means your thesis is complete.
If you found that one of your objectives was not clearly answered, you can revise it in Chapter 1 or you can even drop the objective when you clearly understood that you have reached your research aim.

25. Content of Thesis Chapter 4: Results and Discussion
Situate your findings with those of your literature review either affirm, modify or reject. Hence, there should be many citations. Avoid playing safe in your discussion that is discussing your findings all in consistent with those in the review. You should argue why your finding is in contrast with the findings of previous studies. It means that you either modify the current status of research subject or you create a new theory. This is the novelty of your research, new knowledge.
It should be written in simple past tense.

26. Examiner Comment on Results and Discussion
By Tracey Skelton on Nor Fadzila’s thesis, AFFORDANCE OF SCHOOL GROUNDS FOR CHILDREN’S OUTDOOR PLAY AND ENVIORNMENTAL LEARNING (2014)
The chapter is extremely thorough and takes the reader through all the methods and findings step by step. In some places I think sections could be combined and more connected discussion be provided that provides a more analytical rather than a largely descriptive narrative.
I found the most interesting part of this chapter related to the ideal school grounds that the children invented. Their diagrams were intriguing. I enjoyed the discussion on this too.

27. Content of Thesis Chapter 5: Conclusions and Implications
Here lies the contribution of your research, the milestones that you have generated and has clearly extended the boundary of the current status quo of your research subject. This demonstrates that you are a scholar in the field of study.
The conclusion is constructed from the triangulation of findings answering your research objectives. It is a generalization of findings benefit humanity.
The implication is your idea consists of constructive steps that your findings benefiting stakeholders, organization, government or the people’s community.
It should be written in simple present tense.

28. Conclusion & Theoretical Implications
1. P-E fit
3. Environmental preferences
2. Affordances
The Model of Child-Environment Transactional Process

29. PhD Candidate, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia
PLACE MAKING AND MEANING OF PADANG AS A PUBLIC PLACE IN HISTORIC CITIES OF MALAYSIA
Nor Zalina Harun (PB073042)
PhD Candidate, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia

30. Theoretical Implication
Distinctiveness
Place familiarity
Place dependence
Diversity
Place rootedness
Place identity
Place belongingness
Symbolical / analogical
Valuation
Denotative meaning
Connotative meaning
Abstract meaning
Cognitive attachment
Affective attachment
Symbolic attachment +

31. Examiner Comment on Conclusion and Implication
By Tracey Skelton on Nor Fadzila’s thesis, AFFORDANCE OF SCHOOL GROUNDS FOR CHILDREN’S OUTDOOR PLAY AND ENVIORNMENTAL LEARNING (2014)
A key strength of this thesis is the amount of data and the systematic analysis of that data. There is a wealth of material provided and discussed. This is particularly impressive given that the research could only be carried out in a two-day period in both schools. This is a testament to the mixed-methods approach that garnered a lot of information in a short space of time. The thesis is one of the best written and error-free pieces of work I have examined in quite a while – given the candidate is written in her second language this makes it all the more impressive. The structure and logic of the thesis is very strong and makes for an engaging read. I could almost feel the energy of the children as they talked about and engaged in their different types of play. There is a good engagement with the academic literature throughout the thesis and the candidate demonstrates a good knowledge of the debates – although I think a more critical take on the work would have really strengthened the thesis. The thesis provides insights which will be valuable for policy making and planning.

32. Read Novels The Uncharted Path: The Autobiography of Lee Myung-Bak
 What is a life well lived?

33. Q & A Session