2015 University of Human Development College of Science and technology Department of Computer Science [GRADUATION PROJECT] This document outlines the aims and objectives of the final year project which will be undertaken by final year computer science students. It also outlines marking procedures and mark distribution for the project. Graduation Project Contents 1. Course over view....................................................................................................................................... 3 2. Course objectives ...................................................................................................................................... 3 3. Project selection procedures .................................................................................................................... 3 3.1. Project criteria.................................................................................................................................... 3 3.2. Project proposal ................................................................................................................................. 4 4. Project time table...................................................................................................................................... 4 4.1. First viva ............................................................................................................................................. 5 4.2. Second Viva ........................................................................................................................................ 5 4.3. Final Viva ............................................................................................................................................ 5 5. Marking procedures .................................................................................................................................. 5 5.1. Mark distribution ............................................................................................................................... 6 6. Final report format.................................................................................................................................... 6 Chapter 1....................................................................................................................................................... 7 Chapter 2....................................................................................................................................................... 7 Chapter 3....................................................................................................................................................... 7 Chapter 4....................................................................................................................................................... 8 7. Meeting agenda form ............................................................................................................................... 9 Help references for students ...................................................................................................................... 13 2 Graduation Project 1. Course over view Academic projects like all other projects are complex and need variety of different knowledge and skills to complete. Through out the duration of a degree course, students have been taught many different skills and their levels of knowledge about given subjects, have been increased. This course is designed so that students can demonstrate their skills and manipulate their knowledge to solve problems. Having said this it is important that the students rely on themselves totally to finish the project. Supervisors are only guiders throughout the project; students should not expect practical help from them. 2. Course objectives 1- To give students the opportunity to use their skills and knowledge to solve computer science related problems. 2- To provide students with an environment to show and develop their creativity. 3- To help students build self-belief and confidence in completing the project with supervisors guidance only. 4- To teach students the value of team work and sharing. 5- To strength the link between the University and outside businesses through providing solutions to today’s business problems. 3. Project selection procedures Students at their final year of a degree course will be asked to choose a project topic to work on and complete through out the year. The selection procedures are as bellow: 1- List of topics will be announced by supervising lecturers at the beginning of the academic year. 2- Students will then choose a topic in consultation with the topic supervisor. 3- Students are allowed to suggest their own topic under the condition that a supervisor can be found and the topic is approved by the supervisor. 4- Both students and supervisors will agree on a proposal. 5- Project proposals will then be assessed by the scientific committee of the department. The committee can modify, accept and refuse titles after assessment. The assessment will be according to the set of criterion specified in the next section. 3.1. Project criteria For a project to be deemed as acceptable, it should possess the following features: 1. Should have a strong connection to the field of computer science 2. Should consist of a mixture of practical and theory. It can be just theory if the research is in an area which is new and have the potential to be an invention. 3. The aims and objectives of the project are set out clearly in a proposal. 3 Graduation Project 4. The scientific content and the challenge to the student should both be in an acceptable level suitable for BSc final year projects. 5. The project has at least a supervisor. 6. Project proposal should be signed by both supervisor and students. 7. The project can be completed within an academic year. 3.2. Project proposal The project proposal should contain the following: 123456- Project title. A brief description of the background. Problems to be addressed. Aims, essential and recommended objectives. Software and hardware that will be used to complete the project. An outline plan of action and a time table. 4. Project time table Title Topic announcement Date 15/9/2012 Choosing topics 1/10/2012 Project proposal 15/10/2012 First viva xx/12/2012 Second viva xx/3/2013 Project hand in date 19/5/2013 Final Viva 19/5 – 27/5 2012 Details List of topics is announced by the department. By this date students should have chosen their project topics Students and supervisors agree on a proposal. Student presentations will be scheduled in order to demonstrate their progress. Student presentations will be scheduled in order to demonstrate their progress. Students should have finalised their projects and have submitted it by this date. Students will give their final presentation. Table 1: time table 4 Graduation Project 4.1. First viva This is the first presentation by the students to demonstrate the following: 1234- Their understanding of the topic The references that they have viewed and collected for the project Plan for the project Basic introduction of the main objectives and aims of the project 4.2. Second Viva This is the second presentation by the students to demonstrate the following: 1- Their progress on the project in general 2- A working prototype if software development is involved 3- Brief explanation of the projects contribution and achievements so far. 4- Brief explanation on the next stage of the project 4.3. Final Viva This is the final presentation of the project and should show: 1234- Achieved aims and objectives An overview of the project methodology Limiting factors such as difficulties and obstacles in achieving the main objectives of the project Recommendations and future work. 5. Marking procedures The department will appoint a committee which consists of three lectures or more. The committee will schedule viva times according to table 1. The committee will mark students according to requirements of each stage as specified. The supervisor will mark the student the same way as the committee. Both marks will be added and divided by two to get an average. The final mark for each student in any stage is the average explained in the next page. 5 Graduation Project 5.1. Mark distribution First viva 5% Second Viva 15% Complete project and final viva 80% The final 80% breakdown will divided over two main parts 30% for the final presentation and 50% for the final project report and other deliverables such as developed software see table 2. The form that will be used to assess students at each stage is as form 1, 2 and 3 on page 9, 10 and 11 of this document. Assessment criterion Presentation Report contents and deliverables Committee 30% Supervisor 30% Average Committee+ Supervisor Committee+ Supervisor 0% 50% Supervisor mark Table 2: final mark distribution 6. Final report format The report should be between 25-40 pages maximum written in Calibri (Body) font with size 12. Heading 1 should be size 14, heading 2 size 13 and heading three size 12 Margins all around should be 1 inch The report should contain the following sections and chapters: Title page The Title Your group Names Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirement of the BSc degree in Computer Science Date of the report Abstract This is a short writing max 200 words to introduce and explain the content and findings in the report. Table of content This section should tell you what information can be found in what page for example; Introduction.............................................................................1 Literature Review....................................................................3 Methodology...........................................................................5 List of Figures Bar Chart of Answers to Question 1...................................8 Pie Chart of Socio-economic Status of the Respondents.....9 6 Graduation Project Acknowledgement I would like to thank my supervisor, Mr./Mrs. _______, for the valuable advice and support he/she has given me in the writing of this report and completing this project. I would also like to thank………….. Chapter 1 Brief overview of the chapter Introduction This section is very important a reader should be able to understand What the report is about What method is used to get required data for the report What results have been achieved What conclusion can be drawn How the report can contribute to the area of the study, which the report is written on. Aims and objectives of the project Students will specified all the aims and objectives of the project in this section Project limitations In this section students identify all the limitations on the project Chapter 2 Brief overview of the chapter Literature review (background) This section is about background information on the topic e.g. works that others have done on the topic. Brief overview of the chapter Methodology This section should explain what method or approach has been used during the project to collect, process and display results and why this method has been chosen. Chapter 3 Brief overview of the chapter Findings This is where all the results and findings of the report and project is presented and organized in a way that reader can understand. Analysis and evaluation In this section the findings and results are analyzed to point put weaknesses and strength of the project and what could have been done to get better results. 7 Graduation Project Chapter 4 Brief overview of the chapter Conclusion The conclusion is an important part of any report, it should summarize everything in the report fo readers and tell them to what extend the objectives have been achieved. The limiting factors should be outlined in this part as well so others can look out for should this project is repeated. Recommendations In this section tell the reader what are your recommendation that you can offer as a result of your project References This section should list all the references that have been used during the project. The references should be complete enough that one can find the stated information in the reference. References can be books, websites, videos…. And so on. IEEE referencing format should be used in for all references Apendix This section is where all other related but not important details are put. 8 Graduation Project 7. Meeting agenda form This form should be filled in every time a supervisor meets his/her students. A copy will be keep by both students and supervisors for future references. Meeting agenda form Supervisor Name: Student Names: S1: S2: S3: S4: Date: Time: Location: Current meeting topics: Plan of action: Supervisor signature: ........................................... Student Signature: ............................................ 9 Graduation Project 10 Graduation Project 11 Graduation Project 12 Graduation Project Help references for students 1. http://www.elearners.com/guide/success-in-an-online-program/tips-for-tests-papers-andhomework-assignments/how-to-conduct-research-online 2. https://personal.cis.strath.ac.uk/~marc/project-report.pdf 13