Computing & Mathematical Sciences Individual Project (UQC121D3)
Computing & Mathematical Sciences Individual Project (UFCE4H-40-3)
1 What is it?
The Individual Project is a double module (40 credits = 1/3 of your final year marks) for students on the BSc (Hons) Computing and Mathematical Sciences award. The project requires you to work on a topic chosen by you. You will have a supervisor who will guide and monitor your progress but the work will be yours alone.
The project will involve both computing and mathematics/statistics. It could be based around an area of computing with a significant mathematical content (such as graphics or genetic algorithms say) or a mathematical topic requiring complex programming (such as fluid dynamics, numerical analysis, non-linear systems, etc). The relative weighting of computing and mathematical sciences within the project is up to you. The official module specification suggests a maximum of two thirds weight to one subject but this is only a guideline.
The main assessment of the project is via a report of 10,000 and 15,000 words describing what you have done. We may also take into account how well work was planned and how professionally the project was approached.
2 Why do we make you do it?
The purpose of a degree is not just to teach you lots of facts and techniques but also to teach you to think critically, make judgements, deal with new problems, manage your time, plan ahead. A project requires all these things as well as using the facts and skills you have learned.
We also want you to have a chance to apply what you have learned to a sizable problem. Even a year long module doesn’t allow much time for practical work – the project module is 1/3 of your final year or about 300 hours of work. Many students will tell you it is the most enjoyable part of their course.
Most awards here and in other universities include a final year project. Employers know this and often place a lot of weight on how well you did in your project.
3 What do I have to do?
Some of these activities should be taking place in parallel. Most of them are described further below.
1. Select a project. This doesn’t have to be done until the beginning of the final year but it can be done earlier.
2. Find a supervisor. There is some scope for students to choose supervisors. Some staff may have ideas they’d like to see turned into a project. If not we’ll allocate a supervisor to you.
3. Plan what you are going to do in discussion with your supervisor. We will expect a project plan to be made and handed in.
4. Research/design whatever you’ve decided on. We may have a small budget for obtaining software/hardware if necessary.
5. Attend a ‘project in progress’ session with other students where you will have an opportunity to discuss your project with staff and other students.
6. Implement your proposal. A program will usually form part of the project but computing isn’t just programming.
7. Write a report. Don’t assume either that this can be done entirely at the end of the project (when everything else is finished) or just written as you go along.
8. Possibly attend a viva, an interview with a couple of staff to discuss your project. We will probably chose a few students a random for this.
4 What makes an acceptable project?
The basic rule for what makes an acceptable project is that it should be an academic study, of significant depth and rigor either going beyond what is covered on your award or investigating areas not covered.
By an ‘academic study’ we mean that it should not be, for example, the sort of work you might do in a normal computing/maths/stats job. I.e. it won’t be just to design a database, produce a set of figures from given data or solve a standard OR problem using techniques you have already been taught. Typically, the project should require analysis of a problem, research into ways of solving it (via the web, books, journals, research papers), a plan for implementing a solution and a working solution.
Depending on the subject you choose, the balance between research and design/implementation of a solution may vary. In some cases the implementation may be a small scale example of the application of research ideas, in others producing a working program may be the main focus.
Here are some examples of computing projects and proposals with a mathematical flavour.
a) An Analysis of Electoral Procedures. An analysis of actual electoral results and research on existing work on voting patterns and preferences. The outcome of the 1982 general election was predicted under different voting systems (such as ‘Single Transferable Vote’). Conclusion: under one scheme the SDP might have won!
b) Traffic Flow in Bristol. A part-time student working in Bristol’s Transport Department plans to look at recent research on improving traffic flow and see if it can be applied here. Let’s hope he succeeds!
c) Simulating a Marionette. One of the best projects I’ve seen. The student invented a language for describing the movements of a string puppet (different parts of the body moving simultaneously) and implemented a graphics model of it.
d) Timetabling League Sports. Every team plays every other with (as far as possible) equal numbers of home and away matches. Unexpectedly difficult.
5 Where do I get ideas from?
Ideally the project should be in an area which interests you. This could be a hobby (one Computing project was about bell ringing) or it arise out of a placement or job.
We are very happy to have projects linked to placement as long as they fit our criteria. Sometimes employers would like research done into new technology or new ideas which might impact on them.
If you have an idea, contact me with some details. I may be able to say whether it’s appropriate or suggest a member of staff with an interest in the topic.
If you particularly enjoyed some course you could contact the module leader to see if they have any ideas on how a project could be derived from it. Some students take the reverse approach and contact a member of staff who they think might have interesting ideas. Most staff spend part of their time doing research and are often keen to get other people interested in their area.
6 What does the supervisor do?
Ideally your supervisor will have knowledge of, or at least interest in, the subject of your project but it is not their job to teach it to you. Their role is to be your manager for the duration of the project. Even if they are not familiar with the detail of your chosen topic they should:
a) help to formulate a proposal for a suitable project;
b) discuss your initial project plan (time to be spent on different parts of the project, your own deadlines) and how reasonable it is;.
c) provide guidance on initial sources of information;
d) help with specific problems of understanding as they arise;
e) check that you are doing an appropriate amount of work, at the right level;
f) advise on the structure the report and give feed back on content and style;
You will be expected to meet your supervisor for about an hour a fortnight to discuss your progress though usually students and supervisors meet more often in some parts of the project and less in others.
7 How do I get a good mark?
There is no one ‘right’ way of doing a project but good projects tend to have features in common.
a) They either bring together skills from several areas or take one subject to much greater depth.
b) There is evidence of imagination or innovation (an unusual way of solving a problem perhaps).
c) The report is critical and reflective: the student can make sensible judgements about what they have read, decide what is appropriate and what not in particular cases. They can perhaps see links to other problem areas.
d) Students have read (and understood) material at ‘post-graduate’ level. This is a vague definition: in some case it might just be that the material is from a very different discipline rather than being harder.
e) The whole project has been planned rather than developing ad hoc. This doesn’t mean you have to know in advance exactly what you are doing throughout the project – you start with general plans and refine them as you learn more.
f) The student has a realistic idea of the strengths and weaknesses of their project.
8 What will the report look like?
The report is, in the end, what you get the marks for. It will be read by your supervisor and another member of staff. The format and language of the report should be at a level appropriate to be read by an academic with a knowledge of maths/stats/computing but who is not necessarily an expert in the topic you have chosen.
The 10,000-15,000 word limit should be kept to. Surprisingly perhaps, more students have problems keeping below the upper limit than exceeding the lower one. A good policy is to write the document without considering word limits and then trim it by cutting out padding and repetition and by thinking of the most concise way of saying what’s left.
Don’t forget to include diagrams, charts, graphs, quotes as appropriate to make the report more readable and to illustrate your ideas. Formulae, diagrams, charts and graphs do not contribute to the word count.
If we don’t understand your report we will assume you don’t understand what you have done!
8.1 Structure of the Report
There is no fixed format for a project but we recommend:
a) An introductory chapter, describing the aims and scope of the project. This could be paraphrased as: what I’m going to do, why it’s worth doing, what it’s related to, what background you need to understand it.
b) The body of the report. The form and content will depend on the nature of the project. Your supervisor will be able to give you more guidance.
c) A concluding chapter which draws together the threads of the project and assesses what has been achieved (and what hasn’t – a ‘failure’ can still be a pass if you have attempted a difficult problem or were experimenting with a novel technique). In addition it is valuable to reflect on: what you could do if you had more time; what you have learnt about time and project management; what you would do differently if you did the project again; key readings, moments of inspiration or other events which clarified or refined the aims of the project.
d) An ordered list of references, using the format found in technical books and papers. When you refer to material you have consulted in the report it should be ‘cited’ using one of the formats found in papers and technical reports. To use material and not indicate its source is cheating: you will receive a fail grade if we find evidence of it. You may also wish to include a list of sources consulted but not directly referenced.
e) Appendices such as code listings, detailed design diagrams, test results. This will only be read by the markers if they feel it helps to clarify their understanding of the project and it doesn’t contribute to the word count for the report.
8.2 Practical Details
The final report should be:
a) between 10,000 and 15,000 words not including appendices (we may penalise reports which are outside this range);
b) on A4 paper, single sided, double spaced, all pages numbered, with a 1½ inch left hand margin;
c) produced using either a word processor or LATEX (recommended for reports with a strong mathematical content);
d) prefaced by a short abstract summarising the content;
e) presented as three bound copies, each with an outside copy showing the author’s name, award, the year and the project title. One copy will be kept by the faculty, a copy of good projects will be placed in the library.
f) detailed program design and code listings may be bound separately, if appropriate a disc with software may be included;
g) submitted on or before the final hand-in date in the Spring Term (details to be announced later).
8.3 Basis of Assessment
There is no fixed set of assessment criteria for the report because of the varied nature of projects but the following factors are taken into account:
a) Aims and Scope
· clear definition of sensible project objectives;
· focussed approach to problem.
b) Academic Content
· rigour and academic underpinning;
· use of relevant literature and resources;
· building on award content;
· use of appropriate techniques and methodologies.
c) Exposition.
· clarity and readability;
· accuracy, completeness and relevance of citations;
· appropriateness of style;
· overall structure of report;
· quality of argument/explanation.
d) Evaluation
· assessment of project strengths and weaknesses;
· scope for future development.
e) Learning
· extent of learning relative to knowledge/understanding at start;
· amount of guidance necessary.
9 What should I do now?
Think about subjects which might be appropriate for a project. If you think you a suitable project might come out of your placement talk to us and to your employer (but remember we must agree the project).
If you have an idea related to something you have done at UWE or know a member of staff is working on something you are interested in, do contact them but remember they are busy with this year’s courses and anyway may not be supervising projects next year (if they are interested in the idea they can probably fix that).
Read as widely as you can if you have a project idea. What else has been done in the area? Are there any web sites devoted to it? News groups can be a source of information about resources. Some students have emailed researchers directly (be polite and realistic in what you ask).