1. Introduction
The purpose of the handbook is to accompany you during the preparation of your project for the completion of your Master’s program in the Department of Computer Science at the University of Hertfordshire. The successful completion of your MSc Project, your final project report, and your demonstration is worth 60 credits.
It is necessary for the award of a Master’s level qualification to demonstrate your ability to bring together a variety of skills, experience and knowledge derived from different sources. The main purpose of the Master's project is to allow students to extend the principles and concepts they have learnt during study of advanced modules, and apply that knowledge in the context of a substantial piece of independent work.
You are expected to work on a practical investigative or development project. You should be trying to answer some research questions. There needs to be an appropriate balance between research and development and you should demonstrate you have acquired the skills to apply the knowledge gained from your research to your practical work.
The project is a showpiece opportunity for you to demonstrate what you know about current research and practices in your field of study and show off your skills in selecting and using appropriate techniques and tools employed in these areas to conduct a practical investigation into a particular problem. It is a self-directed piece of work, conducted with minimum supervision that demonstrates your ability to plan and manage a substantial piece of work, and steer your own efforts. You are expected to be thorough in your work, and particularly, identify and tackle any difficult or challenging aspects of the problems they are trying to solve. It is not just the quantity, or even the quality of work that is considered when grading the project, but the level of difficulty and the scope of the problem being addressed.
The aims of the MSc Project are to enable the students to
1. Select and use appropriate tools and techniques in order to conduct a practical investigation or solve a problem, and critically evaluate their own work.
2. Demonstrate that they can work independently with minimum supervision, plan their work effectively, and present the outcome of their work in written and oral form.
3. Draw on what they already know about the subject area to identify further areas of study, and extend their knowledge by making critical use of the technical and scientific literature and other materials, and conceive original ideas of their own.
1.1 Useful information on the module
1.1.1 Recommended reading
• “Projects in Computing and Information Systems: A Student’s Guide”, any Edition, Christian W Dawson, Addison Wesley.
• “Thesis Projects: A Guide for Students in Computer Science and Information Systems”, any Edition, Mikael Berndtsson, Jörgen Hansson, Björn Olsson and Björn Lundell, Springer.
1.1.2 Canvas
Where possible, distributed materials for this module will be put onto Canvas in the module area for 7COM1039 Advanced Computer Science Masters Project. All the other masters’ project modules are slaved to this site, so those students registered on other project modules will be redirected automatically to this site.
1.2 Supervision
You must advise the module leader if you’ve agreed supervision with a staff member. Otherwise the module team will assign you to a supervisor.
A typical meeting with your supervisor should approximately last 15 minutes each week for one-semester (full-time) projects and every fortnight for double-semester (part-time) projects. However, there are variances that depend on your needs. Your supervisor may take some annual leave during your project. Supervision meetings could be scheduled with individuals or as a group.
Your individual project supervisor will advise and support you on the project. However, they will not tell you what to do, nor will take responsibility for your mistakes. The supervisor’s role is not to contribute to any part of the project for you. The individual project supervisor is a valuable resource and you should use them wisely since the resource is limited. Therefore, you should make sure you meet with them every week (or every two weeks for part-time students) for during term time, at a time that is mutually convenient for both of you. For these meetings to be beneficial, you will need to do some work every week, or else you won’t have anything to discuss with your supervisor.
It is a general observation that students who do not meet with their supervisors regularly do not achieve good results in their projects.
2. The Process
2.1 Getting started on your project and how it is assessed
The project is an individual, rigorous, critical and complex piece of work. It is not an assignment set by a tutor, where you mainly provide information that is coming from someone else’s research with your personal critical thinking. It is not just a piece of software development. You are expected to study what other people have done, and more importantly generate information yourself and develop expertise in your area of study.
Depending on your study mode, the MSc Project is carried out over an extended period and you should dedicate approximately 600 hours over one or two semesters -- the equivalent of 43 hours a week for one-semester (full-time) projects; for double-semester (part-time) projects, the equivalent of 21.5 hours per week on your project work. It is very important to plan ahead your work and not leave it to the last few weeks. Your participation is imperative. You should never forget to be working full time on your project. Please avoid taking leave in general. If you are absent, then plan with your supervisor and adjust your schedule.
Always keep in touch and keep up!
There are eight different project modules, but only TWO really different kinds of project, investigative or development. You must do the type of project specified by the award you seek.
Learning outcomes for ALL students
1. be able to plan and manage a substantial body of work, identify any risks inherent in their chosen approach, and work independently with minimum supervision;
2. be able to both critically evaluate and discuss the outcome of their project work in written and oral form
3. be able to articulate the broader contexts of their work in relation to legal, social, ethical, and professional issues, and assess the economic impact of their project.
2.1.1 Investigative project
This type of project requires you to work on an investigative and practical project. It applies to those of you who study Software Engineering, AI with Robotics, Networking, Cyber Security, Data Science with Analytics or Advanced Computer Science.
“This type of project involves a thorough investigation of a particular area; improving your understanding of that area, identifying strengths and weaknesses within the field, discussing how the field has evolved, and acknowledging areas suitable for further development and investigation. This kind of project will involve some form of literature search and review. A research-based project may well have to do more than establish the field of study.” (Dawson, 2009)
You need to have a research question or hypothesis to investigate.
Investigative project learning outcomes
• be able to critically evaluate advanced literature in topics relevant to their chosen project.
• be able to refer to the findings of other academic writers to justify their chosen approach to the development of a solution, and to evaluate the outcomes of their project work;
• be able to combine their knowledge of the subject, their reading of research papers and the outcome of their own investigations to conceive original ideas of their own.
AI with/and Robotics project (7COM1036/86)
• be able to undertake a practical piece of work that demonstrates that they can apply their knowledge and skills to the design and development of computerised solutions to a particular problem within the domain of computer science.
Computer Networking Principles and Practice project (7COM1037)
• be able to select and use appropriate techniques and tools employed in computer networking, distributed systems, and system security in order to conduct a practical investigation into a particular distributed systems or system security problem.
Software Engineering project (7COM1038)
• be able to select and use appropriate software engineering models, methodologies, measures and tools in order to conduct a practical investigation or solve a particular software engineering problem.
Advanced CS project (7COM1039)
• be able to select and use appropriate techniques and tools employed in computer science in order to conduct a practical investigation of a particular advanced computer science problem.
Cyber Security project (7COM1070)
• be able to select and use appropriate techniques and tools employed in cyber security in order to conduct a practical investigation into a particular cyber security problem.
Data Science and Analytics Masters Project (7COM1075)
• be able to select and use appropriate techniques and tools employed in data science and analytics in order to conduct a practical investigation into a particular data science and analytics problem.
Computer Networks and Systems Security Project (7COM1077)
• be able to select and use appropriate techniques and tools employed in computer networking, distributed systems, and system security in order to conduct a practical investigation into a particular distributed systems or system security problem.
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