University of Surrey
Department of Computing
School of Electronics and Physical Sciences
MSc Dissertation Handbook
MSc in Information Systems
MSc in Internet Computing
October 2003
CONTENTS
1.
INTRODUCTION
3
2.
DEADLINES
3
3.
DISSERTATION DELIVERABLES
3
4.
INDUSTRIAL DISSERTATIONS
5
5.
PROJECT ASSESSMENT
6
6.
MEETINGS AND YOUR SUPERVISORS
6
7.
OTHER SUPPORT AVAILABLE DURING YOUR DISSERTATION
7
7.1
The Dissertation Coordinator
7
7.2
English Support provided by the Department
7
8.
PROJECT FAILURE OR NON-SUBMISSION OF REPORTS
7
8.1
Delayed Submission
7
8.2
Project Deferment
7
8.3
Re-submission of Report
7
8.4
Project Failure
8
9.
RECOMMENDED FORMAT FOR DISSERTATION
10. EXAMPLE OF PAST MSC DISSERTATIONS
9
12
APPENDICES
APPENDIX 1: Dissertation Supervision Form
APPENDIX 2: Plagiarism
APPENDIX 3: Plagiarism Agreement Form
APPENDIX 4: Dissertation Cover Template
16
17
19
20
2
1. INTRODUCTION
These guidelines contain requirements, suggestions and comments for your MSc Dissertation. All these are
intended to provide a foundation on which your Dissertation will have the best chance of being successful. It is
important to realise, however, that it is your Dissertation first and foremost. Please remember that while you
will be supported by your supervisor and other members of the School, it is your responsibility to bring it to a
successful conclusion - the award of the MSc.
The research related to your dissertation project is divided into two phases; the preparatory phase and the fulltime phase. The preparatory phase begins with the assignment of the project titles and continues until the
Diploma examinations. The full-time phase extends from the end of the examinations until the Dissertation
submission date. During the preparatory phase you are expected to spend approximately 3-4 hours per week on
your Dissertation. Throughout the full-time period, 40 hours per week is reasonable. It is in your own interest
to participate fully in the preparatory phase. Please note that you will only be allowed to proceed to the fulltime dissertation phase when you successfully complete the Diploma examinations.
The normal arrangement is that students carry out a dissertation project in the Department, however some
dissertations are available in collaboration with industry.
University Dissertation Projects: These are usually carried out in association with one of the full-time
academics who will be appointed as Academic Supervisor.
Industrial Dissertation Projects: It may be possible to undertake a project in industry or one which is carried
out in collaboration with industry. Each year organisations are canvassed by the Department to provide
dissertation project placements or suggestions. In such cases, an Industrial Supervisor would be necessary as
well as an Academic Supervisor. If you are interested in an Industrial Dissertation, an up-to-date CV should be
sent electronically to the Postgraduate Administrator via h.tye@surrey.ac.uk
2. DEADLINES
The important deadlines for your Dissertation for which you should make a diary note are as follows:

3 November 2003 (5 pm)
Dissertation Supervision Form

19 December 2003 (5 pm)
Project Inception Report (5%)

15 March 2004 (5 pm)
Preparatory Phase Report (10%)

22-26 March 2004
Preparatory Phase Presentations (5%)

9 August 2004 (5 pm)
Final Dissertation Report (70%)

11-23 August 2004
Final Presentations - Vivas (10%)
Submission of Project Reports:
All written submissions should be handed in by 5 pm on the respective dates, via the School MSc Post Box in the
Student Common Room, BB Building, or to Mrs Helen Tye directly. (Do not hand in reports via supervisors.)
3. DISSERTATION DELIVERABLES
3.1 Dissertation Supervision Form: Monday, Week 9 of the Autumn Semester
It is your responsibility to complete the Dissertation Supervision Form with yours and your proposed
supervisors signatures, to formally register for your Dissertation by the date given above. The Dissertation
Supervision Form will be circulated electronically to you; a copy is also found in the Annex of this Handbook
for your information. Once the dissertation project title has been agreed, students must discuss the project
requirements with their supervisor.
3
3.2 Project Inception Report (5%): Friday, Week 15 of the Autumn Semester
This document should record the formal agreement between you and your supervisor(s) as to the overall
objectives and outcome of your research proposal, together with the criteria by which your achievement is to be
evaluated. It should also put forward a provisional workplan, which makes clear how you mean to go about
meeting those objectives. All resources that may be required must be identified at this stage; it is your
responsibility to ensure that these will indeed be available to you. This document must be countersigned by you
and your supervisor.
If you intend to work with any outside organisations or individuals, they should be identified here and the nature
of their involvement made clear. It is strongly recommended that a written undertaking be obtained from any
such organisation that they accept the Department’s 'Guidelines for Supervisors'.
3.3 Preparatory Phase Report (10%): Monday, Week 9 of the Spring Semester
This should constitute an outline draft of your research proposal, wherein certain parts may as yet be present
only in skeleton form. It should therefore contain:
a)
a ‘Table of Contents’, which shows your intended overall structure;
b) Introductory chapters;
c)
chapters which describe the significant results or insights obtained during analysis, specification and design,
a rationale for the decisions you have made, the methods used and so on (as appropriate to the specific
objectives of your dissertation);
d) a statement as to how you mean to approach testing, user validation and acceptance (again, as specifically
related to your dissertation).
By this stage you should make a clear distinction between the “academic report”, which is meant to be a wellstructured commentary on your work, and the actual output from the dissertation – i.e. your product. For a
software development dissertation the latter would normally include a user manual and supporting technical
documentation; alternatively, it may take the form of a study and recommendations for delivery to a real
customer. All such material should be set out as a self-standing “Annex” to your dissertation. Dissertation
supervisors may approve whatever format is most suitable. This submission should be accompanied by a short
summary of your workplan for the remaining period.
3.4 Preparatory Phase Presentations (5%): Monday-Friday, Week 10 of the Spring Semester
This short presentation will normally involve you giving a 15-20 minute talk about your research proposal,
including what you have done and what you intend to do. This will be attended by your supervisor and an
internal examiner. You and your supervisor(s) are responsible for arranging the date, time and venue of your
examination. The aim of the presentation is to:

ensure that you understand what is involved in your research proposal;

ensure that you are making good progress and are managing your time effectively;

give you timely feedback and advice on your dissertation and your presentation skills.
3.5 Final Dissertation Report (70%): Monday, Week 11 of the Summer Semester (3 soft bound copies
required)
Your completed submission should be a professionally presented report covering the objectives, methods and
achievements of the dissertation. It should conclude with a critical appraisal of your own work, and reflections
on what you have learnt in the process. The Dissertation - excluding any annex containing the ‘product’ should
normally be between 15,000 and 20,000 words. The University Library keeps copies of past MSc Dissertation
Projects that can be used to judge the normal length and standard of reports.
Your Dissertation will be assessed on both presentation - that is, English structure, grammar, layout and so on and on your achievements and argumentation shown in the report. Typically, these might be weighted 20:50. A
couple of weeks after submitting your Dissertation, you will be required to give a presentation on it - see 3.6.
Your Final Dissertation should be submitted in a 'soft-bound' format - three copies are required though you
should keep a fourth copy for yourself. Students with an industrial project should also arrange to give a copy
to their industrial supervisor. If you use hot glue binding or channel binding at AVS, any corrections required
can be incorporated into your Dissertation, without the need to reprint it.
4
3.6 Final Presentations: Vivas (10%): 11-23 August 2004
Your Final Presentations will take place during the period 11-23 August 2004, when you will be required to
present your final dissertation to your supervisor(s) and an examiner. Your supervisor will provide advice about
what is expected in this oral examination. You and your supervisor(s) are responsible for arranging the date,
time and venue, which should typically be an hour's slot; including a 15-20 minute presentation by yourself,
which is then followed up with questions from your supervisor and the internal examiner.
During your viva you will be instructed by your supervisor/examiner whether any further corrections will be
required. If either 'minor' or 'specified' corrections are required, you will have 40 days to complete these and
submit a revised copy of your Dissertation to your supervisor. Once the corrections are acceptable to the
examiners, your supervisor must certify to the Postgraduate Administrator in writing that the corrections have
been satisfactorily incorporated. After the Board of Examiners has met, you will be able to formally bind your
Dissertation.
After any corrections have been approved, binding should be arranged through the School Postgraduate Office
before you leave the University. One hard bound copy and one soft bound copy of your Dissertation are
required by the Department, one of which will be put in the University Library.
In order to graduate at the Higher Degree Ceremony to be held in April 2005, you will need to submit your
bound copies of your Dissertation by the end of October.
4. INDUSTRIAL DISSERTATIONS
If you wish to undertake an Industrial Dissertation; that is a dissertation project provided by an outside
company, and jointly supervised by the company and an academic member of staff, please send an electronic
copy of your CV to Mrs Helen Tye via h.tye@surrey.ac.uk
4.1 Supervisory Arrangements
Supervision is split between the Industrial supervisor and the University supervisor, but the necessary
information relating to the project is supplied by the industrial contact. The Industrial supervisor is responsible
to the student's University supervisor for guiding the student on his/her industrial project and planning the
dissertation project realistically. The University supervisor will be responsible for the overall direction and
development of the Dissertation project. A programme of regular meetings will need to be agreed to maintain
effective oversight of the Dissertation project.
4.2 Assessment
The Dissertation will be examined jointly between the University and the Industrial supervisor. It is important,
therefore, that you maintain contact with both the University supervisor at the start of the dissertation and at
regular intervals during the course of your Dissertation.
4.3 Timescale
As with Academic Dissertations, students would be available from 20 January 2003 to work on their
Dissertations on a part-time basis to meet the deliverables set, and from June onwards after the end of their
examinations, move over to full-time study on the Dissertation.
4.4 Workplace Arrangements
The student may carry out his/her work relating to the Dissertation project at the University, or may be located
at the Industrial company's premises if deemed necessary to carry out the project; or he/she may move between
the two sites. In the latter case some student expenses may be required and these may be sorted out on an adhoc basis.
4.5 Intellectual Property Rights (IPR's)
IPR's are negotiable, and the University is happy to discuss the IPR arrangements.
5
4.6 Confidentiality Agreements
Such agreements between the university supervisor, internal examiner, student and company would be signed if
deemed necessary. Furthermore, arrangements can be made under which the Dissertation project would not be
placed in the University Library for up to five years after the project if so desired.
5. PROJECT ASSESSMENT
Possible Factors Contributing to Overall Assessment:
Intellectual Content
Approach
Preparation
Implementation
Testing
Personal Qualities
Documentation
Presentation
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
difficulty of material, relation to taught material, analytical skills
method, originality, judgement
thoroughness, selection of material, design
quality of engineered product, accuracy
own aims (verification), customer requirements (validation)
productivity, motivation, supervision requirements
adequacy, structure, clarity, style
preparation, relation to report, suitability for audience
Assessment Guidelines
80-100%
Reserved for really outstanding work which makes significant contribution to the
field. Likely to be worthy of publication.
70%
Borderline for consideration of distinction. Needs to have demonstrated considerable
command of the subject and made a good contribution to knowledge or real progress
in carrying out the project.
50%
Borderline MSc standard. Should have understood project material, made a good
review of previous work and a competent attempt at the required task.
40%
Borderline Diploma level. Shows some understanding and achievement, but not of
MSc standard.
6. MEETINGS AND YOUR SUPERVISORS
It is part of your professional training to become used to preparing carefully for meetings and discussions in
advance, so please practise this in your dealings with your supervisor.
Ensure that you fully understand the obligations on both you and your supervisor by discussing the supervisory
relationship with your supervisor at the earliest opportunity. If there are aspects which you do not fully
understand, talk them through with your supervisor.
Once the dissertation project title has been agreed, students must discuss the project requirements with
their supervisor.
Discuss with him/her the type of guidance and comment you would find most helpful and agree a programme of
study and background reading which best suits your needs in the light of your proposed Dissertation project.
Agree with a schedule of regular meetings, and /or tutorials.
Take the initiative in raising with your supervisor any problems or difficulties which you may encounter. Your
supervisor's time is not limitless and there may be occasions when he or she may simply not be available.
Within reason, however, every effort will be made to meet with you as and when necessary.
Ensure that you attend agreed scheduled meetings on time and maintain the progress of your work in accordance
with the stages agreed between you.
6
7. OTHER SUPPORT AVAILABLE DURING YOUR DISSERTATION
7.1 The Dissertation Coordinator
The Department has a Dissertation Coordinator - Mr Chris Handy, Course Tutor (Room 33AA03; e-mail
c.j.handy@surrey.ac.uk While your Academic Supervisor will allocate you tasks where appropriate and will
examine you, the Dissertation Coordinator will meet with you on a regular basis to monitor your progress, and
will ensure that you have access to available resources. The following is the schedule of meetings with the
Dissertation Coordinator – the Dissertation Coordinator will advise as to the timings of these meetings shortly
before they are due:
1.
Autumn Semester
Week 10:
One session;
2.
Spring Semester
Week 3:
One session;
Week 10:
One session;
3.
Summer Vacation
Minimum one session per month.
The Dissertation Coordinator is also available outside of these scheduled meetings should you have any
problems you wish to discuss. Please contact Mr Handy directly to arrange an appointment if you would like to
see him.
7.2 English Support provided by the Department
The Department's Course Tutor in Communications and Presentations, Ms Christine West, will be available
during the summer months to assist you with the writing of your Dissertation, and if necessary, tutorial sessions
will be run during this period. You will be notified of the English support available nearer the time.
8. PROJECT FAILURE OR NON-SUBMISSION OF REPORTS
The normal submission dates for dissertation project reports will be notified to the students via the School
Postgraduate Office.
Reports submitted after the normal submission date will not be considered by that year’s Examiners'
Board, ie you will not obtain your award until the following year.
Consideration will however be given to any matters which may have prevented the student from submitting a
satisfactory dissertation report on time. Only circumstances outside the student's control and which could
not reasonably have been anticipated by the student will qualify for consideration. Last-minute problems
in the production and duplication of reports are considered to be foreseeable and are not acceptable in
mitigation.
For full-time students a delayed submission may well entail the payment of continuation fees as a
continuing student - for most non-EU students a continuing student status will not entitle you to a student
visa and thus you may become subject to deportation.
8.1 Delayed Submission
It is the responsibility of the student to ensure that the Course Director is notified in writing of any problems in
meeting a deadline before the deadline is reached. Delayed submission without authorisation from the Course
Director may attract penalties.
8.2 Project Deferment
If a student is considered to have good reason for failure to submit a Dissertation, the Board of Examiners may
recommend that the date of submission be deferred for a period not exceeding 12 months. The student will be
required to re-register and pay a continuation fee.
8.3 Re-submission of Report
If a student is considered to have carried out dissertation project work of an unacceptable standard, the Board of
Examiners may decide that the student should be allowed to submit a revised dissertation report by a specified
date for re-examination, subject to payment of a re-examination fee. The Board may take account of its
previous decision and the attendant circumstances when recommending a final award.
7
If a project report is judged to need only minor amendments and the mark given, taking into account the defects
of the report, is sufficient to justify an award, then the award may be made subject to approval of the revised
report by an examiner designated by the Board.
8.4 Project Failure
If the mark for a dissertation project, taking into account penalties, is less than 40%, or if the dissertation is
grossly inadequate, then the Board of Examiners will normally recommend that the student be regarded as
incapable of achieving the standard required for the award of a Master’s degree, and will award a Postgraduate
Diploma if the student is eligible for this on the basis of taught modules alone.
In exceptional circumstances, when there are grounds to believe that a student may have suffered some
impediment in carrying out the dissertation project, the Board of Examiners may recommend that the student be
allowed time to carry out further project work, to allow an award of a Master’s degree to be obtained. Such a
recommendation may be subject to payment of normal composition fees and, if appropriate, bench fees.
8
9. RECOMMENDED FORMAT FOR DISSERTATION
1.
INTRODUCTION
The report – excluding the annex – should be between 15,000 and 20,000 words (absolute
maximum). Front covers will be provided by the MSc Secretary via e-mail. The front page
of each copy must show the copyright holder (eg 2001 Author’s name or 2001 Company
name). Only reports of a confidential nature (refer to your supervisor if you think this applies
to you) must be accompanied by the special (pink) form of Copyright declaration obtainable
from the Postgraduate Office.
UNIVERSITY REQUIREMENTS
The University requirements on format are:
The dissertation shall be typed on A4 size paper. It shall be bound in a form specified in the
Programme Regulations. All pages should be numbered. The title page shall bear the title,
approved in accordance with the Programme Regulations, the student’s name, the Degree for
which the student is registered, and the year in which the dissertation is presented. A
summary of the work, not exceeding three hundred words in length must follow the title
page. Wherever possible, subsidiary papers and other material should be bound in but a
student is at liberty to submit such material separately for consideration by the examiners.
Revised May 2001
2.
LAYOUT
Prepare your Dissertation in a single-column, in 1.5 line spaced text, and in left aligned
format. Please use a blank line to denote the end of a paragraph.
2.1
Typefaces
Times New Roman 11 point for body text, figures and tables, equations and formulae.
9
2.2
Headings

MAIN HEADINGS (numbered 1, 2, etc): Size 12 pt, typed in capital letters,
using bold type, flush with the left-hand margin. Allow one line space above. DO
NOT number individual paragraphs.

Sub-headings (numbered 1.1, 1.2, etc): Size 12 pt, initial capital letter only, using
bold type, flush with the left-hand margin. Allow one line space above.

2.3
Table headings: Size 12 pt, initial capital letter only, centred above the table.
References
References should be complete - their use is to demonstrate your knowledge of, and
reflections about, current thinking and activity in your field of study, and to help subsequent
readers follow up your work. Any material that you use in your dissertation that is taken
from other sources MUST be referenced; in other words ALL your sources MUST be
indicated, including, for example, concepts, ideas, words, information, processes or protocols,
and figures.
Any material copied or used from sources, but not appropriately
referenced, leads you open to a charge of plagiarism, which may result in loss of marks,
at the very least, or even complete rejection of your Dissertation.
Please refer to Appendix 2 on Plagiarism in this Handbook for full details of what this
means. You will be asked to sign a Plagiarism Agreement Form as in Appendix 3, to say
that you have understood this and will comply with it.

The departmental agreed system for references to published work is the Harvard
method. The referencing and citation must be consistent throughout the dissertation.
The author, year and page reference should be included next to the reference, in
parentheses. If you make reference to two publications by the same author in the same
year, use lower case letters to denote alternate texts: eg (Mingers 1995b:76).
bibliography in alphabetical order of the author’s surname must be included.
10
A

Shorter quotations of about 20 words should be incorporated in the sentence or body of
your writing. Longer quotations (30+ words) should be indented once, on the left-hand
side only, and kept separate from the body text by one line. See Departmental Guidance
for more detail. A longer document on Harvard referencing is available on the Library
site. http://www.surrey.ac.uk/Library/dilis/Harvard.htm
2.3
Dissertation Examples
The University’s Library keeps copies of past MSc dissertations that can be used to judge the
normal length and standard of reports.
11
10. EXAMPLE OF PAST MSC DISSERTATIONS
The following are some examples of dissertations to be found in the University Library from students
graduating from the Information Systems and Internet Computing programmes:
Mr
Olawale
Mr
Andre
Miss Azuan
Adeniyi
Agbamu
Ahmad
MSc IS
MSc IS
MSc IS
Open Governance in Nigeria
The Evolution of the Internet in Africa
Legal information system - a case study in Malaysian law
Miss Nur Azyyati
Ahmad
MSc IC
Miss Aisha
Mr
Shaikh Parvez
Ahmed
Ahmed
MSc IS
MSc IS
Miss Adebunmi, Elizabeth
Ajala
MSc IS
Miss Folashade
Mr
Zeeshan Alam
Mr
Oluseyi
Akeju
Akhund
Akinkugbe
MSc IC
MSc IS
MSc IS
Miss Sevira Antonia
Alevizaki
MSc IS
Adopting the role-based paradigm to component-based
software engineering
Internet for the blind
Knowledge discovery: a case study in advanced
semiconductors
Knowledge trolutions in Chemistry and the roles of
symbols
News publishing on the web
Modelling technique for web based solutions
Identifying and defining user requirements for
information systems
Load balancing in constrained multi-agent environments
Mr
Faisal Abdul Hameed
Al-Qaed
MSc IC
Mr
Hamza
Al-Sibaai
MSc IS
Miss Maria
Athanasiou
MSc IS
Mr
Balasundaram
MSc IS
Miss Oluremi
Mr
David Spencer
Banjo
Barton
MSc IS
MSc IS
Ms Georgina
Miss Sandhya
Bingham
Boodhram
MSc IS
MSc IC
Mr
Mr
Mr
Mr
Richard James
Ngat
Kok
Tony
Cardall
Chan
Chin
Chiu
MSc IS
MSc IC
MSc IS
MSc IS
Mr
Mohammad Yasser
Chuttur
MSc IC
Mr
Mr
Shaun David
Konstantinos
Crowley
Daskagiannis
MSc IS
MSc IS
Mr
Jonathan
Miss Sutasinee
Denne
Dhamrongsirivadh
MSc IS
MSc IS
Mr
Miss
Ms
Mr
Ms
Dunn
Fauzia
Frehen
Ganjbakhsh Fard
Garner
MSc IS
MSc IC
MSc IS
MSc IS
MSc IS
Arunan
Paul
Bibi
Johanna (Chris)
Mohammad
Natasha
12
An analysis of security techniques used in the operation
of the World Wide Web
Component technologies: putting components together
Development of the DIMITRA on-line expert system for
the carers of paraplegics and tetraplegics
Development of a computer hardware fault diagnosis
system
Adaptive web pages
The indexing and retrieval of computer-based texts virtual corpora
Marking Up Scientific Archives for Digital Access
Study and implementation of public key infrastructures
Online presence for a charitable organisation
An analysis of the threat posed by modern viruses
Genetic Algorithms: Artificial Poetry
Building a computer hardware maintenance expert
support system
French language information extraction system to
monitor fluctuations in financial markets
Creating a call logging system
An Exploration of Web Site Design for Educational
Institutions
Classification of URI brain scans
Building a small business on the internet by using XML
Creating the Virtual Editor
The digital library of students reports
A text-based image classification system
Intelligent E-Notes
Enabling small charities to raise their awareness using
Internet technologiies
Mr
Mr
Mr
Mr
Adrian
Michael
Ammaniel
Alexandros
Gaskell
Graham
Habte
Hatziandreou
MSc IS
MSc IC
MSc IS
MSc IC
Miss
Mr
Mr
Ms
Mr
Mr
Miss
Farhana
Sifei
Kazuyoshi
Chun-Hui
Fei
Thomas
Saimah
Hazra
He
Higashi
Ho
Huang
Ioannou
Iqbal
MSc IS
MSc IC
MSc IS
MSc IS
MSc IS
MSc IC
MSc IS
Mr
Marvin
Ishmael
MSc IS
Mr
Mr
Mr
Mr
Mr
Mr
Mrs
Miss
Amar
Panagiotis
Sohail
Michael
Ruan Thomas
Efthymios
Farah
Yoney
Jalil
Kalaitzoglou
Kalhoro
Kampouris
Kendall
Kessissoglou
Khan
Kirsal
MSc IS
MSc IS
MSc IS
MSc IS
MSc IC
MSc IS
MSc IS
MSc IC
Mr
Popsook
Kosaikanont
MSc IS
Mr
Georgios
Koumanos
MSc IC
Mr
Aslak Valebrokk
Kristoffersen
MSc IS
Miss Su Li
Len
MSc IS
Mr
Mr
Adrian
Youxin
Leung
Li
MSc IS
MSc IS
Mr
Zacharias
Litinas
MSc IS
Mr
Ji
Liu
MSc IS
Miss Pit Voom
Loh
MSc IS
Miss Yew-Cheng
Loi
MSc IC
Mr
Ms
Jawad
Pensiri
Malik
Manomaisupat
MSc IS
MSc IS
Mrs
Pratima
Mathur
MSc IS
Mr
Sotiris
Miss Xiao Yi
Mr
Sheraz Khan
Moschoyiannis
Mu
Niazi
MSc IS
MSc IS
MSc IS
Mr
Usman Masood
Miss Felicia
Noor
Okeke
MSc IS
MSc IS
Miss Gry
Oppedal
MSc IS
13
The Internet as a fund raising resource
Extracting Emotion from Film
Evolution of cryptography in industry/business
A greek language information extraction system to
monitor fluctuations in the financial markets
Change Management & Language
Java-based display processor for structured data sets
Managing XML with databases
Annotation-based video retrieval system
Plant information system for pocket PC
A system that demonstrates puplic key encryption
Urdu language information extraction system to monitor
changes in financial markets
The development of a website for the TACT organsiation
ideas
Review of wireless networking technologies
An Agent-based Distributed Database System
Search-oriented Web Portal
e-Milk
A dynamic virtual reality art gallery
Using Audio Description for Video Annotation
Knowledge Management and Complexity
A demonstration of some attacks on security protocols
CASE configuration to capture distributed transaction
models
The design and implementation of a decentralised
authorisation framework
Automatic generation of a knowledge base to access art
Human computer interaction (HCI) issues in a
multimedia interface for an on-line art gallery
Public key infrastructure for access control
Automatically generating knowledge for multimedia
systems
E-commerce revolution and its impact on the Greek
banking system
A comparison of the security of the logon procedures in
Unix and Windows NT/2000/XP
Term extraction and text categorisation in a digital
library
The use of bayesian networks for automated prediction of
usage context in mobile devices
Strategic Deliverance of 3G Financial Services
Web and its competitive advantages for a Thai company
A study of key escrow and its implementations by
government and commercial organisations
Group theory and error detecting/correcting codes
An overview of Internet Security
Web based public service broadcasting in the United
Kingdom and Pakistan: a comparison
Knowledge Management and Semiconductor Industry
Panning for knowledge: finding precious nuggets in bulk
communications streams
Comparison of websites in Norway and UK
Miss Christabel Idenyemen
Osoata
MSc IS
Mr
Aristeidis
Papadimos
MSc IC
Mr
Peter
Papagiannellis
MSc IS
Miss Nicoletta
Mr
Ed
Pavlou
Pipe
MSc IS
MSc IS
Mr
Mr
Miss
Mr
David
Ademola Olayemi
Sha
Jun
Pizarro de la Iglesia
Popoola
Qiao
Qiu
MSc IS
MSc IS
MSc IS
MSc IC
Ms
Rosie
Rayner
MSc IS
Mr
Sotiris
Rompas
MSc IS
Mr
Xue
Rui
MSc IS
Mr
Akira
Saito
MSc IS
Mr
Sagadeven
Miss Stella
Sathan
Savvidou
MSc IS
MSc IC
Mr
Mr
Shah Syed
Shah
MSc IS
MSc IS
Miss Marguerite
Shepherd
MSc IS
Mr
Mr
James George
Xiantang
Stathatos
Sun
MSc IC
MSc IS
Mr
Mr
Rozbeh
Hayssam
Tajallizadeh Khob
Traboulsi
MSc IS
MSc IC
Miss
Mr
Mr
Mr
Miss
Wen-Ling
Georgio
Suntharalingam
Aristidis
Cindy
Tseng
Tsiappas
Varathungan
Vrakas
Wang
MSc IS
MSc IC
MSc IS
MSc IC
MSc IS
Mr
Mr
Xin
Kun
Wang
Wei
MSc IS
MSc IC
Miss Zeshu
Miss Wei-Ling
Mr
Aliyu
Wu
Wung
Yabani
MSc IS
MSc IS
MSc IS
Miss Xiaofang
Miss Jing
Mr
Xiaoqi
Yan
Yang
Yang
MSc IS
MSc IS
MSc IS
Mr
Yi Wei
Miss Yee Man
Yang
Yip
MSc IS
MSc IS
Meeran
Sapan Kirtikumar
14
A critical comparison of the C++ and C# programming
languages
Review and experiments using Java Enterprise
Technologies
Requirements management for component-based
software development
Strategy as Complex Adaptive System Concept
Context awareness and location sensing on the
University of Surrey campus
A compiler visualisation tool
Web-based application tracking system
Problems of implementing ERP systems
The secure Web-based messaging system with public key
encryption
Is Information Systems Analysis and Design Influenced
by Gender?
Text classification for on-line conversations visualization
Managing electronic case histories with XML +
relational database technologies
The knowledge sharing Web-based system for ADHD
sufferers
Complexity Theory and Management
Indexing Cypriot crime scene images using Greek textual
descriptions
'Dynamic Vocabulary' Hyperlinker
Cost benefit analysis for software process improvements
Simulation of document processes within government
agencies
GPS tracking for runners
Representing knowledge about paintings for the
Semantic Web
Validation of Transfer E-mail through the Internet
Information extraction and finanical prediction for
Aarabic market place
Multimedia language teaching with animations
Role-based access control on the web
Computer aided analysis and design of structures
Online flight booking system
Fostering an online presence for a non-profit making
organisation
Similarity measure of images through machine learning
An analysis of security features of windows NT 2000 XP
Chinese language process and identify proper nouns
Online Timetabling System
New applications of Broadband Digital Communications
Technologies
Generic model for e-commerce transactions
Requirements for software components
The Development of an XML-based Database for
Botanical Data using UML
Generic digital library models
A critical comparison of the replacement of DES with
AES
Ms
Nadia
Younus
MSc IS
Miss Haiwen
Zang
MSc IS
Mr
Constantinos
Zappas
MSc IC
Mr
Tian
Zhang
MSc IC
Electronic prescribing: The future of IT within the
pharmaceutical industry
Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL) for the
Chinese language (Mandarin)
A collaborative framework for agent-based distributed
systems
Medical Imaging for Telemedicine: Web-based I-Browse
Mr
Mr
Weigang
Weishan
Zhang
Zhang
MSc IS
MSc IC
Network security
Cross document coreference in text-based video retrieval
Miss Yujie
Mr
Zhengkai
Zhang
Zhang
MSc IS
MSc IS
Miss Yanning
Mr
Shengjun
Zhao
Zhu
MSc IS
MSc IS
Visualization of training data for runners
Requirements information system to support
development of real-time embedded software
Automatic generating annotation for medical images
Information system to support efficient logistic systems
Mr
Ms
Zhu
Zi
MSc IS
MSc IC
PDA application programming
Artificial neural networks for environmental analysis
Lifeng
Huijie (Jane)
15
APPENDIX 1: DISSERTATION SUPERVISION FORM
MSc in Information Systems/Internet Computing
Dissertation Supervision Form
This form is to be completed by the supervisor and the student, after agreeing on a
dissertation proposal. The second supervisor/internal examiner should be arranged by the
first supervisor. Please return the completed form to Helen Tye in the School Postgraduate
Office (Room 29BB04).
Preliminary Title of Dissertation:
Name of Student:
Name of Academic Supervisor:
Name of Industrial Supervisor:
(if appropriate)
Name of Internal Examiner:
COMMENTS:
Signature (student): ……………………………………
Date: ……….…………………
Signature (supervisor): …………………………………..
Date: …………….…...……….
ACADEMIC
Signature (supervisor): …………………………………..
INDUSTRIAL - if appropriate
16
Date: …………….…...……….
APPENDIX 2: PLAGIARISM
An aim of our course is to educate and advise our students at many levels. Technical aspects of the course are
most obvious but we also hope to instruct students in the accepted social and ethical standards of a professional
engineer. We formally assess students via examinations and coursework. The coursework is intended to help
students learn as well as to assess their achievements. With the growth of readily available electronic media and
the WWW, we are very concerned when students either copy the work of others or do not acknowledge the
contribution of others. This is a form of cheating which both distorts our assessments but also means that the
student does not learn and understand the work. In this short document we define what constitutes academic
misconduct, state our policy on punishing it and offer some advice on acceptable working practices.
Students should note that certain forms of unethical behaviour are defined by the University’s regulations as
“academic misconduct”. The relevant section of the University’s Regulations for the Conduct of Examinations
and Other Forms of Assessment reads as follows:
It will be regarded as academic misconduct for any candidate to commit an act whereby he or she seeks
to obtain for him- or herself, or for another candidate, an unfair advantage. Academic misconduct shall
be taken to include:
i)
impersonation of another candidate or knowingly allowing another candidate to impersonate
him/her;
ii) copying or communicating with another candidate in a formal, timed examination;
iii) introducing into an examination room any manuscript or printed material not specifically
permitted, any unauthorised calculator or other improper aid or source of information;
iv) plagiarism1 or otherwise misrepresentation of his or her participation in and responsibility for any
material submitted for assessment as part of a prescribed assessment;
v) fabrication of the results of work which he or she claims to have undertaken (for example,
experiments, interviews, observations or other forms of research and investigation) which he or
she has not carried out or of results which he or she has not obtained.
1
. Plagiarism is defined as “taking and using another person’s thoughts, writings or inventions as
one’s own” (Concise Oxford Dictionary, 1964).
It is the policy within the School that where any student is found to have committed “academic misconduct” in
any piece of examined or assessed work, a Fail mark of 0% will always be awarded for that piece of work.
Repeat offences may be punished by failing a student in all modules assessed during the relevant semester.
Plagiarism. While most of the forms of academic misconduct defined above are self-explanatory, some students
may be less familiar with the notion of “plagiarism”. One dictionary definition is offered in a footnote to the
regulations themselves. Other dictionary definitions include:

“to take and use as one’s own the thoughts, writings or inventions or another”
(Oxford English Dictionary, CD-ROM 1994)

“to appropriate and pass off (the ideas or words of another) as one’s own”;

“to commit literary theft”;

“present as new and original an idea or product derived from an existing source”
(Longman’s Dictionary of the English Language, Harlow: Longman 1984)
In simple terms, therefore, plagiarism involves knowingly making use of someone else’s work without
acknowledgement, and representing it as your own. It is worth noting several points:

It does not matter whether or not the work or idea has been published. For instance, using a passage
from another student’s essay without acknowledgement would be plagiarism. So would using a passage
from a published article or book, or from an internet site, or from the study guide for the course.

Plagiarism takes place when you give the impression that someone else’s work is your own, even if the
other person has permitted you to do so. For instance, even if a friend allows you to use a passage from
their essay, you are plagiarising if you do not acknowledge their work.
17

The words and ideas in any piece of writing are the property of the author. Plagiarism may therefore
also involve specific civil offences, such as breach of copyright.
Avoiding Plagiarism. Plagiarism is a serious offence: how can you avoid it? After all, every piece of writing
involves using the ideas of other people. The academic enterprise involves precisely building on, criticising, and
evaluating, the work of other people. In many cases, you have to explain what they have said. How can you do
this without plagiarising? There are two key rules to follow to avoid plagiarism:
1. Always acknowledge your sources
2. Avoid direct (word-for-word) copying
Acknowledge your Sources. It is vital always to acknowledge where an idea, or argument, which you use
originates. There are no exceptions. Occasionally, you may find yourself in situations which seem to demand an
exception. What should you do, for instance, if you wish to draw on writing or material which has been given to
you in confidence? Situations like this are, in fact, quite common. The key is to acknowledge the fact that you
are using confidential material. It may still be necessary to ensure that the precise origins remain confidential,
but you should never give the impression that the work is your own.
Avoiding Copying. As a general rule, direct quotation should be kept to a minimum in academic writing. But
there are a few exceptions. Sometimes you may want to use a quotation as the starting point for your own
counter-argument. In this situation, direct copying is acceptable. But in all direct copying it should always be
very clear that what is copied is being quoted. It is never permissible to use someone else’s words without
stating that the words are quotations, and you should always acknowledge where they come from.
By and large, it is preferable to explain (or “paraphrase”) other people’s arguments in your own words. But
remember, even here you must show that you are explaining someone else’s argument. If you do not
acknowledge the origin and author of an argument you wish to paraphrase, you are plagiarising.
There are several highly acceptable styles of acknowledging your sources in academic writing. You should
adopt one, and follow it consistently through any piece of work. A practical approach is to adopt the style of one
of the main journals in your field.
18
APPENDIX 3: PLAGIARISM AGREEMENT FORM
An aim of our course is to educate and advise our students at many levels. Technical aspects of the course are
most obvious, but we also hope to instruct students in the accepted social and ethical standards of an IT
professional. We formally assess students via examinations and coursework. The coursework is intended to help
students learn as well as to assess their achievements. With the growth of readily available electronic media and
the WWW, we are very concerned when students either copy the work of others or do not acknowledge the
contribution of others. This is a form of cheating which both distorts our assessments, but also means that the
student does not learn and understand the work.
In simple terms, plagiarism involves knowingly making use of someone else's work without acknowledgement,
and representing it as you own. It is a policy within the School that where any student is found to have
committed plagiarism in any piece of examined or assessed work, a Fail mark of 0% will always be awarded for
that piece of work.
I have read and understand the above, and confirm my submitted project report is all my own work.
Name:
Dissertation Title:
Signature:
Date:
19
APPENDIX 4: DISSERTATION COVER TEMPLATE
The Title of your MSc Dissertation
A N Author
Submitted for the Degree of
Master of Science in Information Systems/Internet
Computing (delete as appropriate)
from the
University of Surrey
Department of Computing
School of Electronics and Physical Sciences
University of Surrey
Guildford, Surrey GU2 7XH, UK
September 2004
Supervised by: A N Supervisor
A N Author 2004
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