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(It is common to number the pages before and including the TOC in Roman numerals, and to number the thesis pages in Arabic numerals.) Page numbering is usually lineal in the body of the thesis, that is, the chapters have their pages numbered in a single sequence, not in the form of ``C.P'', where C is the chapter number and P the number of the page within that chapter, starting again at 1 in each new chapter. However, both forms are acceptable.
Numbering of pages in appendices usually reverts to the form ``A.x'' where the first character is a capital letter designating the appendix, starting with A, and the second character is the page number, which restarts at 1 in each new appendix. A single bibliography follows the appendices.
Citations are made using Arabic numerals in square brackets, thus: [12], [13,14,19], or [7--11].
Harvard-style citations, such as (Smith, 1983) or (Jones 1985, Bloggs 1986) are not common in engineering documents. Where a cited reference is a journal, you must include author's names, the journal title should be in Italics, volume number, issue number, and page numbers should be included, and the date of publication, month and year, should be included. In the case of a textbook, the chapter or chapters should be given, along with title, author, publisher, year of publication, and edition (if not the first). Where the reference is a WWW page, both the URL and the date of access should be given.
Readers will look to the bibliography as an indication of how widely and deeply you have researched your topic. A mere couple of web references generally indicate very poor research. Content is hard to prescribe or proscribe, but some advice is offered. Put simply, a thesis should cover;
1. an identification of the problem, and why is it important, relevant
2. the theory, background and what others have done, your literature research on the topic
3. what you, the student, have done, your research
4. what results were obtained, and
5. your conclusions and your suggestions for further work.

The structure of your thesis:
Title page
Statement of Achievements
Statement of Compliance
Abstract
Acknowledgments
Table of Contents
Chapter 1 Introduction
Chapter 2 Background
Chapter 3 Design
Chapter 4 Analysis
Chapter 5 Conclusion
Appendices
Bibliography
.
Example of the intended working method
A thesis research project is usually a once- in-a-lifetime experience. In order to get an impression in advance of what such a research consists, an example working method is given below. The words printed in italics relate to the most common parts of such a research project.
1. Start with a brief outline. What is the organization structure like? How does the topic fit in with the rest of the course?
2. Describe the purpose of the research.
3. Design a hypothesis. A hypothesis is an important question and therefore needs to be phrased as a question. A good hypothesis is phrased in a brief, clear and concise way. An important consideration while phrasing a hypothesis is its feasibility. Important tools are a planning and a risk analysis of the thesis project concerned.
4. Elaborate on the different aspects of the hypothesis in a number of independent research questions, each of which requires its own research method. Be careful that during this phase, the hypothesis is not extended.
5. Make research questions operational. Explain for