Construction Management
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 … Research Guideline 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 1^st 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. § Dr. Neil Eldin § Dr. Lu Gao § Dr. Lingguang Song 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. § Sample research proposal 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 · CM library resources Sample Student Work 1. Sample research proposal 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
– Research guideline
– FAQ
– Sample student work