Planning and Implementing your Final Year Project - with Success!: A Guide for Students in Computer Science and Information Systems - Softcover

M. Berndtsson; J. Hansson; B. Olsson

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1852333324 ISBN 13: 9781852333324

Publisher: Springer, 2002

Synopsis

This book provides computing and information students with all the tools they need to successfully complete a final year research project. Based on an approach which has been tried and tested on over 500 projects, it offers a simple step-by-step guide to the key processes involved: developing your project proposal, developing the problem description, following objectives, presenting and analysing your data, drawing conclusions, presenting and defending your work, and preparing the final version of your report. Being an essential purchase for students, it also contains lots of useful information for supervisors and examiners including guidelines on how to review a final year project.

About this title

Review

From the reviews:

"The authors have written a short book for students doing final year projects in computer science and information systems. Because the authors are from Sweden, the details of the procedures and expectations will vary in other countries. However, in the hands of a discerning reader, this book could be useful at several levels, at many colleges and universities, and in many countries.

The first section of the book introduces general concepts related to final year projects. Chapter 2 describes research and research methods in computer science and information systems. Chapter 3 discusses the roles of the student, the supervisor, and the examiner. Chapter 4 provides a very brief overview of the process of conducting final year projects.

The second and most extensive section of the book describes chronologically the major steps in the project. Chapter 5 describes the process of choosing a subject and developing a formal proposal. Chapter 6 explains how to handle references in the literature search. Chapter 7 describes the process of narrowing the aim of the project. Chapter 8 covers developing project objectives and choosing methods. Chapter 9 briefly discusses following, or not following, the project objectives. Chapter 10 takes a careful look at presenting and analyzing the data. Chapter 11 discusses drawing your conclusions, evaluating your work, and identifying future work. Finally, chapter 12 discusses the oral defense.

The third section of the book consists of a set of supplementary chapters. Chapter 13 discusses the report itself, including both general writing style and specific citation styles. Chapter 14 turns the tables and examines theexaminer??'s role. The book also includes a bibliography, a list of things not to do, and a list of relevant bibliographies available on the Internet.

According to the authors, "The amount of time spent reading a particular source is not relevant to whether it should be discussed in your analysis.??? The authors provide many such useful suggestions, which, although obvious, might be forgotten in the rush to write. They suggest studying a journal article in the subject area to examine the typical structure of a research report. They also suggest writing the abstract last. In addition, they suggest identifying both good and poor decisions made during the research process. They also point out this useful piece of advice: "You can usually get away with being boring, if what you say is well-organized and clear; but you cannot get away with talking nonsense just by being entertaining.???

About the conclusions of the project report, the authors say, "This is not the time or place to surprise the enthusiastic reader (this is a technical report, and not a novel where the least suspected person is found to be the murderer at the end).??? Similarly, this book has no surprises, just well organized, clear, and useful advice."

by Ann Fleury from Aurora University, Illinois USA.
ACM Computing Reviews, December 2002

"The authors have written a short book for students doing final year projects in computer science and information systems. ??? According to the authors, ???the amount of time spent reading a particular source is not relevant to whether it should be discussed in your analysis.??? The authors provide many such useful suggestions ??? . this book has ??? just well organized, clear and useful advice." (Ann Fleury, ACM Computing Reviews, December, 2002)

From the reviews:

"The authors have written a short book for students doing final year projects in computer science and information systems. Because the authors are from Sweden, the details of the procedures and expectations will vary in other countries. However, in the hands of a discerning reader, this book could be useful at several levels, at many colleges and universities, and in many countries.

The first section of the book introduces general concepts related to final year projects. Chapter 2 describes research and research methods in computer science and information systems. Chapter 3 discusses the roles of the student, the supervisor, and the examiner. Chapter 4 provides a very brief overview of the process of conducting final year projects.

The second and most extensive section of the book describes chronologically the major steps in the project. Chapter 5 describes the process of choosing a subject and developing a formal proposal. Chapter 6 explains how to handle references in the literature search. Chapter 7 describes the process of narrowing the aim of the project. Chapter 8 covers developing project objectives and choosing methods. Chapter 9 briefly discusses following, or not following, the project objectives. Chapter 10 takes a careful look at presenting and analyzing the data. Chapter 11 discusses drawing your conclusions, evaluating your work, and identifying future work. Finally, chapter 12 discusses the oral defense.

The third section of the book consists of a set of supplementary chapters. Chapter 13 discusses the report itself, including both general writingstyle and specific citation styles. Chapter 14 turns the tables and examines the examiner??'s role. The book also includes a bibliography, a list of things not to do, and a list of relevant bibliographies available on the Internet.

According to the authors, "The amount of time spent reading a particular source is not relevant to whether it should be discussed in your analysis.??? The authors provide many such useful suggestions, which, although obvious, might be forgotten in the rush to write. They suggest studying a journal article in the subject area to examine the typical structure of a research report. They also suggest writing the abstract last. In addition, they suggest identifying both good and poor decisions made during the research process. They also point out this useful piece of advice: "You can usually get away with being boring, if what you say is well-organized and clear; but you cannot get away with talking nonsense just by being entertaining.???

About the conclusions of the project report, the authors say, "This is not the time or place to surprise the enthusiastic reader (this is a technical report, and not a novel where the least suspected person is found to be the murderer at the end).??? Similarly, this book has no surprises, just well organized, clear, and useful advice."

by Ann Fleury from Aurora University, Illinois USA.
ACM Computing Reviews, December 2002

"The authors have written a short book for students doing final year projects in computer science and information systems. ??? According to the authors, ???the amount of time spent reading a particular source is not relevant towhether it should be discussed in your analysis.??? The authors provide many such useful suggestions ??? . this book has ??? just well organized, clear and useful advice." (Ann Fleury, ACM Computing Reviews, December, 2002)

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

1.1 Motivation and Purpose of the Book
Computer science and information systems are two areas spanning a wide range of
topics, for example, artificial intelligence, CASE-tools, database systems, human-computer interaction, information systems assessment, programming languages,
operating systems, software engineering, and web based information systems. The
areas are multi-disciplinary in that they have elements from the natural sciences (mathematics, logic etc.) and human sciences (psychology, philosophy etc.). The multi-disciplinary nature of the areas covered does not simplify the task of performing a final year project; indeed it presents profound challenges and
interesting problems. Areas such as social science, psychology, mathematics, and engineering have established guidelines and methods for formulating problems,
and choosing appropriate research methods.

The wide range of areas within computer science and information systems means
that it is not always easy to formulate a problem suitable for a final year project, choose the appropriate research method or develop a structure for a written report.
Furthermore, many students experience uncertainty as to what to expect from a
final year project, how to complete it within the time scale, and how to attain the goals set out for the project. This is understandable since most students will have had no prior experience of a project as complex and as broad in scope as a final year project. It is difficult to envisage in advance what it will be like. These concerns are due partly to the lack of suitable textbooks and dearth of references specifically targeting final year project students in computer science and information systems. Moreover, the final year project is probably the biggest project you, as a student, will have undertaken in your academic life, and maybe even in your life.

This book focuses on the process of carrying out a final year project, with a
particular emphasis on the roles and responsibilities of the student, the supervisor and the examiner. This book is an attempt to bridge the gap between different research methods and the process of carrying out a final year project in the areas of computer science and information systems; in short, the systematic series of actions directed to ensure that the project moves forward. In this book we identify a series of actions that should be of assistance to you when planning and carrying out your final year project.

1.3 Actors in the Project
The three main actors in a final project are you (the student), the supervisor and the examiner. Of the three actors, you are the most important since you are the one who moves the project forward. You focus on solving some well-defined problem in a specific area, and thereby increase your understanding of the area. But you also learn methods that can be used to approach, structure and solve complex problems.

The supervisor is your ally. He or she should not only give you advice to help you achieve success with a good final year project, but will also critically point out strengths and weaknesses. Normally he or she is a domain expert in the area you are going to do your final project. The dialogue between you and the supervisor serves as a compass for establishing directions when exploring new areas.
In contrast, the examiner is the person who critically evaluates, and later on
recommends or decides the grade for your work. The examiner is not necessarily a domain expert in the subject area of your work, but normally has a good
understanding of the area generally. More importantly, the examiner has significant experience, enabling him or her to review your work with respect to both content and method.

The positive interaction between these three actors is vital to the successful
completion of a final year project. Note that while these are three distinct roles and are often performed by three different people, the roles of supervisor and examiner may be carried out by the same person. However, there are many advantages to keeping the roles strictly separate.

1.4 Process
You now know what the different purposes of a final year project are, and who the actors involved are. The final thing you need to know before you embark on your final year project, is how to structure your work in order that the goals are met. The answer is that you to need to apply a process that can guide you through the various stages of the final year project, and at the same time help you to achieve its purposes. This book will outline such a process for you. The process involves the following steps:

(i) Developing your project proposal (Chapter 5)
(ii) Developing your problem description (Chapter 7-8)
(iii) Following the objectives (Chapter 9)
(iv) Presenting and analysing your data (Chapter 10)
(v) Drawing your conclusions and identifying future work (Chapter
11)
(vi) Presenting and defending your work orally (Chapter 12)
(vii) Preparing your final version of the report (Chapter 12)

The process has three checkpoints where the examiner or the supervisor performs a quality control. These checkpoints come after steps (i), (ii) and (v). The first two checkpoints assess the quality of the project proposal and the problem description.
The third checkpoint is the last quality control before the work is presented and defended. The reason for these early checkpoints is based on experience; a good start is facilitated by a strong project proposal and problem description. If the project has a good problem description with clear goals, then the rest of the work becomes easier; it is easier to keep focused. You may have heard the saying:
knowing the problem well is like having half the solution. This is very often true.
Finally, after step (vii) there is a final examination where the examiner
recommends or decides the grade for your work.

Edition details

• Publisher: Springer
• Publication date: 2002
• ISBN 10: 1852333324
• ISBN 13: 9781852333324
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 164