Construction Management |
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CM Master Research |
Starting
Your Master’s Research – A General Guideline “The more proactive you are, the
less reactive you’ll need to be!” – E. Harvey and P. Sims Congratulations on the progress you made
this far in the graduate study, and with the final master research on the
horizon! This page will provide you information on taking the first step
toward a successful master research project or thesis. You will find master
research guidelines, Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) in regards to
initiating a research project, as well as sample student work. If you have
any suggestion to this page, please let us
know. Enjoy learning, researching, and to be an out-of-the-box thinker … The following research guideline
provides an overview of the master research process, proposal requirements,
documentation formatting and template, progress meeting, evaluation, and
final submission. Check out the next section for frequently asked questions
specifically on initiating a research project. §
Guideline for CM Master’s
Research FAQ (How to
initiate a research project/course) Procedure
& Timing 1.
What are the major steps involved in
initiating a master research project/course? (1) Identify potential
research topics; (2) discuss with CM
faculty and determine research advisor; (3) prepare and submit a research
proposal before the deadlines (discussed later); (4) once proposal is
approved, work with your research advisor to enroll in the research course. 2.
What is the deadline for submitting a
proposal? For students planning to
start their research in the fall semester, the deadline for the proposal
submission (to your advisor) is July 15. For a start in the spring semester,
the submission deadline is December 1. Therefore, you should start planning
your research project 2-3 months prior to the official start of the intended
1st semester research. 3.
Can I enroll in a research course during
the summer? Research course enrollment
is only available in spring and fall semesters. However, we encourage you to
use the summer time to prepare proposal or do background research/data
collection, so that you can have more time to ensure quality work. Course
Enrollment 4.
Why can’t I find the research course
(CNST6396 or 6399) in myUH or course listing? Since students must have
an approved proposal to enroll in a research course, CNST 6396/6399 sessions
are hidden from the public. Please contact you advisor for the correct class
number, and use that number to enroll in myUH. Please do not share the class
number with others. 5.
Which option should I choose: CNST6396
(project) or 6399 (thesis)? CNST6396 (project) and
CNST6399 (thesis) both require two semesters to complete. CNST6396 (project)
is more focused on applied practical research, while CNST6399 (thesis) can be
both applied and theoretical research with a higher expectation on academic
contributions (an academic publication is expected from a thesis work).
Discuss with your research advisor for more information. 6.
What is the deadline for course
enrollment? Please check out the UH academic
calendar. Research
Advisor 7.
Who will be my research advisor? There are currently 3 CM faculty members who supervise
master’s research, see their web page for research interests and expertise.
Dr. Gao and Dr. Song will be your primary contact for research. Due to his
administrative duty as the CM program Director, Dr. Eldin will only serve as
research committee member providing overall oversight. We will try to match
your research interest to that of a CM faculty member. However, due to
faculty availability and workload, we may have to make adjustment to ensure
the quality of supervision. Research
Topic Selection 8.
What are the options in identifying a
research topic? There are two options of identifying
a research topic: students can (1) identify their own topics based on their
interests in CM; or (2) select a pre-defined topic identified by industry
organizations (e.g. CII, TxDOT) or CM faculty. See below some sample topics
identified by the industry. Please discuss the topic selection with your
research advisor. §
Sample topics by
CM industry advisory board, CII, TxDOT (2011 and 2012) Proposal
Requirements 9.
What types of information should be
included in a quality proposal? A quality proposal should
include: background, problem statement, objectives, preliminary literature
review results, proposed research methodology, research activities, and a
time schedule in 3-5 pages. See the Master Research Guideline for more
details. Below is a sample research proposal with comments. 10.
What are the resources available to
students during literature review? You will find the UH
library very helpful, and many resources are available online for easy access
(e.g. e-books, journals, magazines, and databases). See below for a quick
guide on CM-related literature resources 2. Sample student reports ·
Sample
project report – Quality Management ·
Sample
project report – Lean Construction ·
Sample
thesis – Space Modeling & Planning 3. Sample
student presentation slides 4. Sample student publications We highly encourage students to publish their research
as journal or conference papers. ·
Sample
student conference paper – Lean Construction ·
Sample
student conference paper - Space planning & modeling 5. Sample student oral presentation (on-line). Click the link below, and type in your name as a
participant to start the video and allow a few moment for loading. ·
Practical
Solutions for Challenges in BIM Implementation: A Case Study, by James
Olden |
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