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Faculty of Engineering, Environment and Computer Coventry University
VTC6000CEM Individual Project Preparation &
VTC6001CEM Individual Project
Study Guide for Students
2021-22
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INTRODUCTION 3
1. INDIVIDUAL PROJECT -THE BASICS 4
1.1 What is it? 4
1.2 Project support sessions & milestones 4
1.3 Elements of a project 7
2. CHOOSING A SUITABLE PROJECT 8
2.1 Seven golden rules 7
3. PROJECT DELIVERABLES 12
3.1 Project proposal 12
3.2 Prototype 12
3.3 Progress milestones 13
3.4 Final product 13
3.5 Project report 13
4. THE SUPERVISOR’S ROLE 17
5. DOING THE PROJECT 18
6. ASSESSMENT 19
7. PLAGIARISM AND COLLUSION 20
8. CITATIONS AND REFERENCES 20
9. DEMONSTRATION 20
10. THE FINAL REPORT 21
11. SUBMIT YOUR REPORT 21
APPENDIX A: MODULE SPECIFICATIONS 22 APPENDIX B: PROPOSAL TEMPLATE AND MARKING CRITERIA 31
APPENDIX C : FINALREPORT MARKING CRITERIA & GRADING NOTES 37 APPENDIX D : UARC ETHICS APPROVAL LOW RISK PROJECTS 40 APPENDIX E : DECLARATION OF ORIGINALITY 48 APPENDIX F: RECORD OF SUPERVISOR MEETING 49
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Introduction
The purpose of this study guide is to provide you with a set of guidelines to direct and support work from topic selection through to completion of an Information Technology or related Individual Project. This guide will cover the contents which include 10 credits module “Individual Project Preparation” in semester 1 and 20 credits module “Individual Project” in the following semesters and the consecutive workload of these two modules contributes around quarter of your study workload over the academic year. Hence, it will have a dominant influence on your final degree classification. Please take your own time to read the guide carefully.
Besides often being deterministic to the classification of your degree, the project is your opportunity to showcase your skills to potential employers. Many graduates of this programme shared their experience that at job interviews their interviewers would most probably ask them to elaborate the major achievements in their final year project. Therefore, the project is one of the best ways for you to:
i) Provide evidence of your ability to do a substantial piece of work in IT or related field.
ii) Demonstrate your self-management skills, initiative, and relevant technical skills.
Having a good project can often be a great advantage in an interview. Hence you should make every endeavor to perform well in your project as it can often make a fortune to your future job prospects.
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1. Individual Project – The Basics 1.1 What is it?
The aim of this module is to allow students to conduct primary research (with secondary research support) in a topic area relevant to their degree title. Students are expected to design, implement and critically evaluate a functional or simulated system, object or concept and to acquire further knowledge of a specialist technical area. To this end, students will undertake a substantial project which will exercise the in-depth technical, problem-solving, creative and other skills required of a professional practitioner. Students will be required to ensure that their work conforms to appropriate codes of practice and meets the ethical requirements of the University. Successful completion of the project will require methodical planning, record keeping and self-management and effective communication, execution and delivery of an agreed artefact.
Support and guidance will be provided by a project supervisor who will be the primary point of contact for a student on this module. The topic of the individual project will be agreed between you, your supervisor and the co-marker. Suitable topics may stem from staff, you and occasionally other outside organisations. You can also refer to Appendix A for details of module descriptions.
1.2 Project Support Sessions & milestones
Project consultation sessions will be held throughout your study to support your project work. These sessions cover different aspects of the work you will be expected to carry out, demonstrate and report on. You are strongly recommended to attend these sessions to ensure that you are aware of the details of the submission requirements stipulated in the scheduled milestones.
1.2.1 Full Time Students Project Schedule
29 Oct-12 Nov
Students and supervisors meet and work out a draft project specification (multipage)
Dates Milestones Details
24 Sep 2021
Individual Project Preparation
Semester 1 starts, and students are assigned supervisors
15 Oct
1) Project Summary (1 page A4) – project preference/proposal – project statement
Propose project by supervisor or students – submit project summary electronically thru email or on e- platform (e.g. moodle)
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26Nov -10 Dec
10 Dec (by 6:00pm)
late Jan
19-20 May
2) Project proposal Presentation
3) Submit Project Proposal and Plan (45%), Mini Literature Review (1,500 word limit) (45%), SHAPE Ethics Process (10%)
4) Review and comments on specification (Marks given to each student for the proposal)
Implementation of Individual Project
14) Demonstrations/oral presentations
Individual Project preparation assessments (soft copy submitted electronically)
Feedback and Formal Mark back by supervisor to student for project specification
Semester 2 starts (Tentative) Students arrange to meet supervisors to review & present the project progress
Students submit and present first draft of final report for supervisor’s comments & review
Students submit and present second draft of report for supervisor’s comments & review Students submit and present final draft of report for supervisor’s comments & review
17 Jan 2022
21 Jan
28 Jan – 4 Mar
18 Mar
22 Apr
6 May
5) Interim project progress review
6) Literature review, primary & secondary research results summary & analysis, design prototype and implementation
7) First draft of final report
8) Brief presentation on report draft
& software/hardware deliverables
9) Second draft of report
10) Brief presentation on report draft &
software/hardware deliverables
11) Final draft of report
12) Brief presentation on report draft &
software/hardware deliverables
Students give oral presentations and demonstrations of their projects
Submit project outcome/deliverables (2 copies of associated documents)
27 May
13) Project deliverablessubmission
Overall project marks to be submitted and project reports to be returned by supervisors and second markers
18 June
15) Overall project marks
1.2.2 Part Time Students Project Schedule
Dates Milestones Details
1 Sep 2021
Individual Project Preparation
Project brainstorm and discuss with supervisors
25 Sep
Confirmation of project supervisors assignment
16 Oct
1) Project Summary (1 page A4) – project preference/proposal – project statement
Propose project by supervisor or students – submit project summary electronically thru email or on e- platform (e.g. moodle)
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students present proposal with PowerPoints
Students report the progress by drafting and presenting the first few chapters of the report for comments

17 Oct-17 Dec
2 Jan 2022
26 – early Mar
30 Mar
27 Apr
22 Jun, 20 Jul
3) Submit Project Proposal and Plan (45%), Mini Literature Review (1,500 word limit) (45%), SHAPE Ethics Process (10%)
Students and supervisors meet and work out a draft project specification (multipage)
Feedback and Formal Mark back by supervisor to student for project specification
Semester 2 starts (Tentative) Students arrange to meet supervisors to review & present the project progress
Students submit and present first draft of final report for supervisor’s comments & review
Students submit and present second draft of report for supervisor’s comments & review
Progress report demonstration
students present proposal with PowerPoints
Individual Project preparation assessments (soft copy submitted electronically)
18 Dec
31 Dec (by mid-night)
2) Project proposalPresentation
late Jan
4) Review and comments on specification (Marks given to each student for the proposal)
Implementation of Individual Project
5) Interim project progress review
6) Literature review, primary & secondary research results summary & analysis, design prototype and implementation
9) First draft of final report
10) Brief presentation on report draft &
software/hardware deliverables
11) Second draft of report
12) Brief presentation on report draft &
software/hardware deliverables
13) Final draft of report
14) Progress presentation on report draft
60-70% completed project demonstration& software/hardware deliverables
Students report the progress by drafting and presenting the first few chapters of the report for comments
Students submit and present final draft of report for supervisor’s comments & review
28 May
15) Progress report
16) Demonstrations/oral presentations
Students give oral presentations and demonstrations of their projects
6 Aug
Submit project outcome/deliverables
20 Aug
13) Project deliverablessubmission
Remarks: Schedule will be updated according to actual learning pace and environment. Please refer to updated FT & PT schedule provided by programme coordinator.
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Overall project marks to be submitted and project reports to be returned by supervisors and second markers
24 Sep
15) Overall project marks

1.3 Elements of a Project report
Students are required to write a thesis which tells people about the research you have done. This can be structured in whatever sensible way you prefer, but it needs to have the following parts:
 An introduction. What’s your hypothesis? Why is your work interesting? What are your trying to achieve?
 A literature survey. What have other people done? What new knowledge will your work add? What is the current state of the art missing and how are you going to address that?
 Your methodology. How did you go about validating / disproving your hypothesis? Why is your method sound? Why should anyone trust your results?
 Your results. What did you do? How?
 Your analysis of your results. What do your results mean? Why are they interesting?
Did you validate your hypothesis or disprove it?
 A reflection on the management of your project and the social, legal or ethical issues that you needed to consider. Your first supervisor may have a very good idea of how well you tackled your project – however second supervisors may not have any idea. For this reason, you need to include an account of the conduct of the project. What problems you encountered, how you overcame them, how diligently you worked, how you sought advice.
 Conclusions. What did your work contribute and how could it be continued by others?
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2. Choosing a Suitable Project
A critical part of the success or failure of any project is the initial choice of what to work on. This is a surprisingly difficult part of any project, in some ways the most difficult part, and it’s something that we see students struggle with year on year.
2.1 Seven golden rules:
When deciding on the project topic you wish to work on the first key to success i s :
Know yourself – Do something you are interested in
A final year project is a six month, single person project and in most Universities in the UK. Students will have to study several other modules concurrently. This is a long time to be working on a single piece of coursework, so it is important to choose a project which will hold your attention for that length of time. Moreover, you will be working on other things at the same time, so ideally you need to choose a project that is compelling enough that you want to work on it, in preference to doing other things.
Secondly:
Choose a small but difficult project
A “difficult” project is likely to be looked upon favourably because it will be a bigger step away from what you have already been taught, you will need to be reading more academic literature, you will be showing more independent learning, and so on. These are some of the most important factors in getting a good grade, and far outweigh factors such as finishing every part of your practical work.
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Thirdly:
Have a research question
A project proposal should pose a problem, not a solution to a problem. Ideally, it is best to phrase this as a research question, such as the following:
 Is algorithm X more efficient than algorithm Y?
 Is it possible to implement product Z on the cloud?
 Can feature L be added to programming language P?
 Can theorem T be proven?
 Can algorithm Z be adapted to be used in conditions D?
… and so on. There are several advantages to this. One is that this is a standard form of writing in academia, and your project will be marked against academic criteria. Secondly, if the aim of your project is to answer a question then you leave the issue of how to answer that question reasonably open ended. It may be that you have a very clear idea, at the start of the project, what you are going to do. That’s fine, but as you progress through the project you may well find literature that enlightens your views on how your question can be answered. Thirdly, your answer to the question may not be what you expect. That’s fine, it’s OK to find out that actually, your algorithm isn’t as efficient as you thought, or the theorem cannot be proved, so long as you give solid, convincing evidence for your answer.
Fourthly:
Do something practical
If you are working in the sciences, it really is important that you do something practical as part of your work. For these purposes “practical” can mean experimental work or mathematical work – it’s OK to prove a theorem, for example, as the main part of the “practical” content of your work. What you should avoid though, is vague, nebulous, ‘thought-pieces’, which have no clear results and cannot be evaluated. Avoid anything with a title like “an investigation into X” or “a dissertation on Y”. These sorts of writing are well accepted in the humanities (BA courses), but for a scientific (BSc Courses) piece of work
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you need to propose a question and find some answer to it. Equally, a literature review is not really a project in itself; it needs some research question and evaluation with it to form a complete project.
Fifthly:
Focus on evaluation from the start
Evaluating your work will likely be the last practical work you complete before finishing your project writing. However, you should know from the start of your project how you plan to do this. As with unit-testing, or usability testing, it is best to have designed you evaluation in as much detail as possible before you start you practical work. That way, you know that what you are aiming for is something that can be evaluated in the manner in which you have planned. Remember, the purpose here is to determine whether your project has answered your original research question.
In general, your evaluation will fall into one of the following categories:
 Performance evaluation: either testing the speed, memory footprint, scalability, load- balancing, or other aspect of the performance of a program or system. This is often the easiest form of evaluation — it can be performed by a program and so automated, the results can be analysed and presented using a statistics and you will not be reliant on users. Work in programming languages, networking, operating systems, databases, and hardware tend to suit this sort of evaluation well.
 User-acceptance testing and usability: if your project involves creating a product for end-users to test, especially if you have an industrial client, then it is essential that you perform some sort of user acceptance testing. Good options for this are the talk-aloud protocol or semi-structured interviews. NEVER, EVER, EVER think that a “heuristic” evaluation is sufficient. Heuristic methods only catch basic errors; they tell you nothing about how your users will actually experience your product.
 Formal or semi-formal methods: such as proving a theorem, using a model checker (such as SPIN), using a formal method such as B or Z to show that your work is free of particular types of errors.
Sixthly:
Take (academic) advantage of your supervisor
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Every student will have at least one supervisor, who will usually be actively involved in research, consultancy or something similar. This sort of work can provide a wealth of good ideas for projects and has several advantages. Firstly, your supervisor will propose projects that have the right scope and difficulty for your degree course. Secondly, if your supervisor has an interest in what you are doing, they will have a vested interest in seeing you succeed and of course will have a lot of relevant expertise with which they can advise you. Lastly, it is likely that your work will be used by other members of a research group which will give you access to feedback on what you have done.
Seventhly:
Be flexible (within reason)
Remember that a project is a marathon, not a sprint. It may well be that you get part way along the journey and find out that what you had first set out to do is actually impossible, or impossible within the scope of the project. Or it may be that you find some other way of answering your research question, or you uncover some literature which shows that the question can actually be answered very simply. In this case, you should speak with your supervisor and find a way to reword or even completely change your original research question. This is quite a reasonable thing to do and happens often in “real” research projects, so you should not be worried about it. Your final project does not have to match the original proposal exactly, but you should be able to explain why the changes you made were necessary.
Summary
 DO choose a project that will hold your interest for the duration of the project.
 DO NOT choose a project that is the same size or scope as a coursework, or
something that is very similar to work you have been set in a module.
 DO propose a “difficult” problem — it is easier to pass a challenging project than an
“easy” one!
 DO propose a research question, and an idea for solving it.
 DO propose a project with some sort of practical or mathematical component, DO NOT
set out to write a commentary on a topic.
 DO have a very clear plan for how you will evaluate your project. This should clearly
state how you will determine whether or not you have answered your research
question.
 DO NOT evaluate an end-user product with only heuristic methods. 11

 DO test end-user products with real users.
 DO take advantage of the expertise of your project supervisor and their research
interests.
 DO be flexible, if you find that your original research question cannot be answered, or
if you find that a more “interesting” research question emerges during your project.
Reference and recommended readings:
Awesome Projects in Computing. Every, P and Mount, S. (2016 Document). (n.d.) available from www.moodlesp.vtc.edu.hk
3. Project Deliverables
3.1 Project Proposal
The objective of the detail project proposal is to help you refine your general research question down to a well-focused and achievable piece of practical research work.
The first section: “Defining your research project” focuses on your research question and the plan for conducting your primary method. The second section: “Abstract and Literature Review” is to help you identify current academic sources of literature that are highly relevant to your project and to help you get a head-start in producing your literature review.
Your detailed project proposal will be graded in the second semester – however, it is highly recommended that you submit it as soon as possible in order to obtain detailed supervisor feedback on your project.
There is no suggested word length for the detailed proposal – although 2000 words would be in order.
The Detailed Project Proposal is worth 20% of the project mark (Appendix B & D).
3.2 Prototype
The Prototype is intended to be a rough outline of your proposed final product. It is not expected to be complete or perfect.
However it should demonstrate that you are making satisfactory progress towards your final project aim and final product.
Prototypes will typically be software, but for some projects may take other forms.
You will be required to demonstrate your prototype to your supervisor
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and second marker as part of the assessment for the module. During the demonstration you will also be expected to discuss the motivation for the main features of the prototype and answer questions relating to the proposed design of your final product.
3.3 Progress Milestones
Progress milestones should be set and presented along with your Project Proposal.
As with any project, you may find that you need to review your progress and adapt your plans to meet your final deadline.
Your progress in relation to the milestones you have set will be assessed during meetings with your supervisor and form a continual assessment of your project management skills.
You will need to demonstrate to your supervisor that you are making satisfactory progress and can complete the project in the time remaining.
3.4 Final Product
Your Final Product will be demonstrated during the final meeting with your supervisor and second marker.
Ideally you will be able to provide a fully completed product, however the nature of a project such as the one you are undertaking is unpredictability.
If your product is incomplete, it should be clear which parts are finished, which are still at a prototype stage and which are yet to be undertaken.
Again, during the demonstration you will be expected to discuss the development and testing of the product and answer questions relating to the project as awhole.
3.5 Individual Project Report (Not least than 10,000 words)
The appropriate structure of the Report varies according to the scientific, engineering, or business research method that you have used, the features you have chosen to emphasise, and the degree title you are pursuing. It is your responsibility to make sure that you are clear
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about where your project’s contribution (‘novel contribution to knowledge’) lies and that all work is explained clearly and in the correct format.
The following Report structure should therefore be seen as a guide only. It is probably the case that few Reports will stick to it rigidly. It is your responsibility to consult with your Supervisor and adapt to suit your particular project. Types of problem-solving project other than software development projects are likely to need a different structure.
1. Title page (Mandatory), including title, author, student ID, degree title, name of Supervisor, name of institution (‘Department of Computing, Coventry University’) Date of submission.
2. Statement of Originality. (Mandatory) – This is a one page, signed statement. A pro-forma will be provided. It is your signed statement that you have not plagiarised the work in part or in full.
3. Preamble, including (a) Table of Contents; (b) Abstract (suggested length: half a page); (c) Acknowledgements.
4. Abstract should be a succinct and self-standing summary of the basis, context and achievements of the project. Minimally an abstract does three things: (1) It states the problem that you set out to solve, (2) It describes your solution and method, (3) It states a conclusion about the success of the solution. Be straightforward and factual and avoid vague statements, confusing details and “hype”. Do not be tempted to use acronyms or jargon to keep within the half-page limit. Consider that search engines, librarians and non-computer scientists wishing to classify your Report rely on the abstract. You may if you wish provide a short list of keywords (2-6 is reasonable) at the end of the abstract.
5. Introduction. In this section, you should describe the problem that you set out to solve with the project. An introduction might, for example, begin by stating, “The aim of the work described in this Report was to provide a software tool with which people can arrange meetings.” Avoid starting a Report with an irrelevant history of information technology. For example, the following would not be a good introductory sentence, “Since Bill Gates launched Outlook people have been using technology to arrange meetings.”
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Explain whatever background the reader will need in order to understand the problem. The background might refer to previous work in the academic literature that provides evidence that the problem is a real and significant problem worth solving. The background may identify a community, organisation or set of users that will benefit from your research. Include a clear and detailed statement of the project aims and provide an overview of the structure of the solution.
CRITICAL! Use the introduction to define any terms or jargon that you will be using throughout the rest of the report. Why? Because people define and understand terms differently from one another. Your definition of ‘cloud computing’ may be different to your supervisor’s definition of ‘cloud computing’. By stating your definition clearly you can avoid misunderstandings of your work.
Conventionally, the last part of the introduction outlines the remainder of the Report, explaining what comes in each section – keep this brief.
6. Literature Review (Mandatory). Please read Chapter 4 of ‘Awesome Projects’. A lecture will be given on literature reviews.
7. Method: This chapter should describe what you did to answer your research question (or to support your thesis, if you think of it that way), and how you went about it (essentially your research design). You should describe your research design in sufficient detail that another researcher could recreate your work to check your results.
8. Evaluation / Results: In this chapter, you should evaluate what you have done, and say what answer (to your research question) you have arrived at. It may be that in your method you describe some experiments, and this section records your results and analysis of those results. This is an important section — most students gain or lose marks in either their literature review or evaluation. The key to producing a convincing evaluation is to plan very early in the project what information or results you will need to write this section.
9. Discussion. Here you will summarise your achievements and also the deficiencies of your project. You can also say what you would or could have done, if you had had more time or if things had worked out differently. It is important to be completely honest about the deficiencies and inadequacies of your work, such as they are. Part of
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your aim is to demonstrate your ability to recognise problems that remain.
10. A reflection on the management of your project and the social, legal or ethical issues that you needed to consider, including your response to feedback from your presentation (Mandatory). Your first supervisor may have a very good idea of how well you tackled your project – however second supervisors may not have any idea. For this reason you need to include an account of the conduct of the project. What problems you encountered, how you overcame them, how diligently you worked, how you sought advice, how you responded to feedback. This chapter will be evidence driven – which is why you need to keep a log or diary of your project, maybe a project management timeline with milestones, keep evidence of each supervision meeting (signed off by your supervisor), Keep notes of supervisor feedback to your presentation and reflect on them in this chapter.
11. Conclusion. Give a brief statement of how the solution that you have provided addresses the problem stated in the introduction. Provide an evaluative statement based on the results. You should not introduce new material.
12. References For your Final Year project it is required that you cite and reference work to which you owe an intellectual debt. It is required that you cite and reference work that provides supporting evidence. It is required that you cite and reference work so that the reader can find the sources that have been quoted. (Remember that we use the APA referencing system of ‘in text citations’ and a list of references at the back of the report. There will be a lecture on this)
13. Appendices. (More on these later)
A List of mandatory elements to be included with your report
 Statement of Originality
 Certificate of Ethical Approval
 A copy of your original ‘detailed project proposal’ (appendix)
 Signed supervisor meeting records (appendix)
Feedback notes from your presentation (appendix)
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Reference:
https://www.coventry.ac.uk/globalassets/media/global/writing-a-report.pdf
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4. The Supervisor’s Role
You will be assigned a supervisor who will meet regularly with you and other students as a group to help plan and manage the work. It is your responsibility to research material and techniques appropriate to the subject of the project. The responsibilities of the supervisor are primarily to provide guidance on the management of the project, the standard of work required, what can realistically be achieved in the available time and to give feedback on work done (including the writing of the report).
Wherever possible you will be assigned a supervisor with an interest in the project topic but this cannot be guaranteed.
In the initial stages of the project, you and your supervisor will discuss objectives that must be achieved and appropriate scope for the project. The relative importance of the various aspects of the project will be defined by negotiation between the two of you. Projects develop unpredictably, the initial objectives are only intended as a guide to the level expected and details may change. One learning objective is concerned with you coming to terms with creatively and proactively managing the scope of the project.
You and your supervisor will meet regularly throughout the duration of the project. Your progress will be reviewed and assessed in these sessions and will include milestone assessment, where simple milestone tasks must have been completed, i.e. prioritised requirements or research questions. You should stay in contact with and make use of your peers for support, guidance and review.
As well as providing guidance, your supervisor will mark your work with the support of a second marker. You will be expected to attend demonstration sessions as timetabled or make alternative arrangements to show and explain your work to your assessors.
The Project Report should be submitted for marking by your supervisor and co-marker, accompanied by supporting material in the form of software and documentation; hardware design and build; and any other relevant documentation and materials.
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5. Doing the Project
I. Plan and get start as early as possible.
II. Attend the project consultation Sessions regularly and record the progress and
discussion with supervisor (Appendix F)
III. Think of a project topic and discuss it with your supervisor.
IV. Prepare a proposal and discuss the ethical issues with your supervisor (refer to Appendix B & D).
V. Conduct literature survey and study similar existing system which is related to your project/research focus. Submit your proposal and literature review; and complete the SHAPE Ethical approval checklist before end of semester 1(refer to Appendix B & D).
VI. Follow your project plan to gather user specifications, design and implement your systems and evaluate the outcomes.
VII. Start drafting your report early – that way you will be less daunted by the amount you have to write.
VIII. Let your supervisor see drafts early on. If you have a problem with your writing style and appropriateness of technical contents, you need to know about it when you have written the first few chapters, not when you have written the whole report.
IX. Keep going!! You have only very limited time to complete the project. Keep in pace with your project plan and review project progress regularly.
X. Do not get stuck in one phase – if the primary research is going slowly see if you can make progress with secondary research or literature survey. Try and meetthe milestones in your project plan.
XI. If it becomes clear you have chosen a project so difficult that we may not finish it in time or you think your project may be too simple and lacking challenge, negotiate revised aims with your supervisor before it is too late.
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6. Assessment
Your project will be independently marked by your supervisor and a second- marker
In case of disagreement between markers the module leader will arrange f o r a third opinion
A detailed set of criteria that are used by markers to establish the classification of your project are included in Appendices B and C
These criteria give guidance on the level of achievement we expect you to have reached to obtain a given class of project
Be aware, however, that all criteria are somewhat subjective (rather than objective) and are subject to interpretation by markers
Your project will be marked under the following headings. Weightings are given to indicate the approximate proportion of the total time available for the project that we expect you to spend on each section and the relative value of each area and outcomes (Refer to Appendix A: Module specifications for details).
Modules
Assessments
Individual Project Preparation (10 credits)
Project Proposal and Plan (45%) (1,000 word limit). Mini Literature Review (45%) (1,500 word limit). SHAPE Ethics Process (10%)
Individual Project (20 credits)
individual written project report (10,000 word limit).
You can also refer to Appendix B & C for details of working template and marking criteria.
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7.
Plagiarism and Collusion
You will be required to submit an electronic copy of your project by the deadline. This will be used for checking plagiarism and collusion. Software tools will be used to check for similarity with other literatures in the academic database. In addition, all markers routinely check work for signs of assessment cheating. Supervisors and co-markers are very good at detecting these academic misconducts! The penalties range from getting 0% and having to rework and resubmit the project (capped at 40%) to failing your degree Programme.
You are also required to declare the originality of your project (Appendix E)
Citations and References
If you are using anyone else’s work in any way you must reference it. The standard referencing system used at Coventry/SHAPE is following the standard stipulated in the “APA 7th Ed referencing format’’ and it is expected that you will use this style when writing your references.
You can follow this link to see more details:
https://libguides.coventry.ac.uk/referencing
8.
9. Demonstration
You will be required to attend a demonstration/presentation session. The purpose of this session is to allow your markers to see and discuss with you what you have done.
The demonstration/presentation will consist of around 20 minutes session with your supervisor and co-marker in a laboratory. You are expected to prepare a PowerPoint for the presentation, though you may wish to demonstrate your final deliverables as well. Hence, you need to plan and manage the flow of your presentation yourself by prior rehearsals and practices. You may arrange demonstration with your supervisor and co-marker in earlier session by appointment in advance.
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10.The Final Report / Dissertation 10.1 What is it?
Your Individual Project Report will describe in detail the research you undertook in support of your project. The Final Report of around 10,000 words covers everything else you did for the project: what you did, why you did it, how you did it, what are your achievements, any room for improvements, etc.
You can have a quick reference for report format and structure in section 3.5 of this study guide or refer to Coventry University Academic writing resources for report writing style, referencing, report writing skills and procedures in the following link:
http://www.coventry.ac.uk/study-at-coventry/student-support/academic- support/centre-for-academic-writing/support-for-students/academic-writing- resources/
11.Submitting your Project
Submit your Project reports to the SHAPE Office / Moodle
Two copies are required – neither will be returned to you
All projects must be bound in some way (loose sheets in a folder are not acceptable!)
Many students chose to have their reports hard-bound. This is not obligatory, but is quick and easy for you and gives a very professional finish to your work Do not include lengthy printed program listings – put these on a CD/DVD/USB stick and attach to the report
You are also required to submit an electronic copy of the report in Word (.doc/.docx) format
Details of how to submit the electronic copy will be given nearer the time
Noted to part time students: Electronic copy through Moodle is fine. If the overall size of your digital copy of the project is over 1Gb, you need to store it in a media and submit to SHAPE office)
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Appendix A – Module Specifications
Individual Project Preparation
1. MODULE SUMMARY
VTC6000CEM
Aims and Summary
The Level 6 project, taken in the final year of BSc degrees, allows students to conduct an in-depth investigation on a topic in the domain of computing. This will usually involve the technical development of a tool / product / algorithm or piece of software and its evaluation.
The aim of this first module is to prepare students for the primary research to take place in 6001CEM: including topic selection, supervisor allocation, project planning, literature review and completion of the Coventry University Ethics process.
Module credits and availability
Assessment / CATS Credits
10.0
ECTS credits 15.0
Learning credits 10.0
Open/Restricted Open
Availability on/off campus
SHAPE Total student study hours 100
Number of weeks 13
Faculty responsible
Academic Year 2021–2022
Faculty of Engineering, Environment and Computing
Entry Requirements (pre-requisites and co-requisites)
None
Excluded Combinations
None
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Pass requirements
Coursework must be at least 40% and Module Mark must be at least 40%.
Special Features
During the module, project supervisors are allocated and work with students to develop their project proposals. A series of workshops are provided to be undertaken by supervisor and student together, to help orient students in the preparation of their proposal.
Course stages for which this module is mandatory
 BSc Stage 3 Computing at SHAPE
Course stages for which this module is a core option
N/A
2. TEACHING, LEARNING AND ASSESSMENT
Intended Module Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this module a student should be able to:
1. Identify and refine a project topic of interest (which is in the domain of their degree title) into an achievable primary research question.
2. Critically summarise the state of the art in an area through an initial literature review using a variety of sources.
3. Scope and produce a detailed and achievable plan for the project using professional methodologies.
4. Consider and critically reflect upon the impact of social, legal and ethical dimensions of their proposed research.
Indicative Content
The indicative content will vary widely depending on each student’s choice of project topic.
But in addition to self-study and supervisor meetings on the topic of the individual project there will be a series of lectures and self-study exercises provided by the module leader. These covers topics including the following:
 What is research?
 Research Design
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 How to write a Literature Review
 Surveys and Data Analysis
 Coventry University Ethics System
 Report Structure
 Project management
 How to read academic articles
 Avoiding Plagiarism
Teaching and Learning
Learning will be facilitated through a variety of methods which may include lectures, seminars, lab, workshops, online activities and group work. Students are expected to engage in both class and online activities and discussions. This module also requires students to participate in additional guided reading and self-directed study to reinforce the learning gained from timetabled sessions. Formative assessment will be used to prepare students for summative assessment and give students an early indication of their progress towards the course intended learning outcomes.
As part of this module, you are required to submit an online ethics application and to obtain ethical approval for the research project that you are proposing to undertake. At SHAPE, formal ethical approval must be obtained before any data is collected for a research project. Failure to submit your ethics application and to gain appropriate ethical approval for the research you will undertake by the relevant deadlines (and before any data is collected) may result in disciplinary action and will be subject to the Ethics Misconduct
process which is outlined in the General Regulations, Appendix 1. Penalties can include zero for your work and possible exclusion for Non-compliance with the ethics process.
Assessment Components
Component
Component Type (Core (P/F) Credits for this
Learning Outcomes Assessed
1, 2, 3 and 4
/ Applied Core (%)) Cw Applied Core
component 10
Method Of Assessment (normally assessed as follows)
The Cw component consists of:
Project Proposal and Plan (45%) assessing learning outcomes 1, 3 and 4 (1,000 word limit).
Mini Literature Review (45%) assessing learning outcome 2 (1,500 word limit).
SHAPE Ethics Process (10%) assessing learning outcome 4.
Re-assessment is by new coursework.
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3. MODULE RESOURCES
Essential Reading
Every, P. and Mount, S. (2016) Awesome Projects in Computing. Self-
published: available from Module Moodle Page.
Recommended Reading
Dawson, C.W. (2015) The Essence of Computing Projects: A Student’s Guide, , , The essence of computing series, 3rd Edition.
Cornford, T. and Smithson, S. (2006) Project Research in Information Systems: A Student’s Guide. Chapter 7 – ‘Collecting Research Data’, 2nd Edition, Palgrave information systems series, , Basingstoke.
Required Equipment
Specific to subject area of project
4. MODULE ORGANISATION
Module leader (Full Time)
Name
Telephone number E-mail
(Part Time)
Name
Telephone number E-mail
CY CHENG
WONG, Hang-chit 2595-8113
Length and month of examination
None
Common Exam(s)
None
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Exam Equipment Required
None
Expected teaching timetable slots
Please refer to CU-SHAPE Student Handbook
Subject Quality and Approval information
Board of Study Computing, Electronics and Mathematics Shortened title
Date of approval by BoS May 2021
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Availability on/off campus
SHAPE Total student study hours 200
Number of weeks 13
School responsible
Academic Year 2021–2022
Individual Project VTC6001CEM
1. MODULE SUMMARY
Aims and Summary
The Individual Project allows students to conduct an in-depth investigation on a topic in the domain of computing. This will usually involve the technical development of a tool / product / algorithm or piece of software and its evaluation.
The aim of this second module is for students to build on their preparation in VT6000CEM and conduct the development, reach relevant and useful conclusions in its evaluation, and communicate these in a professional academic report.
Module Credits and Availability
Assessment / CATS Credits
20.0
ECTS credits 10.0
Learning credits 20.0
Open/Restricted Open
Faculty of Engineering, Environment and Computing
Entry Requirements (pre-requisites and co-requisites)
None
Excluded Combinations
None
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Pass requirements
Coursework must be at least 40% and Module Mark must be at least 40%
Special Features
During the module students will meet regularly with their project supervisors as allocated during the preparatory module VT6000CEM.
Course stages for which this module is mandatory
 BSc Stage 3 Computing at SHAPE
Course stages for which this module is a core option
N/A
2. TEACHING, LEARNING AND ASSESSMENT
Intended Module Learning Outcomes
On completion of this module the student should be able to:
1. Design and undertake the technical development of a tool / product / algorithm / piece of software.
2. Report, utilising appropriate academic communication tools, on the independent research in the evaluation of the above, utilising critically selected primary methodologies.
3. Contextualise the above against the state of the art through the delivery of a full literature review, analysing and synthesising appropriate sources.
4. Critically evaluate any legal, social and ethical implications of their research project.
5. Critically reflect on their own organisation and learning during the conduct of the project and preparation.
Indicative Content
A limited set of lectures will be provided for signposting the requirements of the project process.
The majority of interaction on this module will be regular student/supervisor meetings to review progress and agree future tasks.
Teaching and Learning
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Learning will be facilitated through a variety of methods which may include lectures, seminars, lab, workshops, online activities and group work. Students are expected to engage in both class and online activities and discussions. This module also requires students to participate in additional guided reading and self-directed study to reinforce the learning gained from timetabled sessions. Formative assessment will be used to prepare students for summative assessment and give students an early indication of their progress towards the course intended learning outcomes.
Prior to taking this module, you are required to submit an online ethics application and to obtain ethical approval for the research project that you are proposing to undertake. At SHAPE, formal ethical approval must be obtained before any data is collected for a research project. Failure to submit your ethics application and to gain appropriate ethical approval for the research you will undertake by the relevant deadlines (and before any data is collected)
may result in disciplinary action and will be subject to the Ethics Misconduct process which is outlined in the General Regulations, Appendix 1. Penalties can include zero for your work and possible exclusion for Non-compliance with the ethics process.
Assessment Components
Component Type (Core (P/F) Credits for this / Applied Core (%)) component
Cw Applied Core 20
Learning Outcomes Assessed
1, 2, 3, 4 and 5
Component
Method Of Assessment (normally assessed as follows)
The Cw component is an individual written project report (10,000 word limit).
Re-assessment is by new coursework.
3. MODULE RESOURCES
Essential Reading
Every, P. and Mount, S. (2016) Awesome Projects in Computing. Self-
published: available from Module Moodle Page.
Recommended Reading
Dawson, C.W. (2015) The Essence of Computing Projects: A Student’s Guide, , ,The essence of computing series, 3rd Edition.
Cornford, T. and Smithson, S. (2006) Project Research in Information Systems: A Student’s Guide. Chapter 7 – ‘Collecting Research Data’, 2nd Edition, Palgrave information systems series, , Basingstoke.
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Required Equipment
Specific to subject area of project
4. MODULE ORGANISATION
Module leader (Full Time)
Name
Telephone number E-mail
(Part Time)
Name
Telephone number E-mail
CY CHENG
WONG, Hang-chit 2595-8113
Length and month of examination
None
Common Exam(s)
None
Exam Equipment Required
None
Expected teaching timetable slots
Please refer to CU-SHAPE Student Handbook
Subject Quality and Approval information
Board of Study
Shortened title
Date of approval by BoS May 2021
Computing, Electronics and Mathematics
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Appendix B – Proposal Template and Marking Criteria
VTC6000CEM Detailed Project Proposal
SECTION ONE: DEFINING YOUR RESEARCH PROJECT
1.1 Detailed research question
Help: Your detailed research question is the statement of a problem within the computing domain which you will address in your project. Refining the research question involves narrowing down an initial question until it is answerable using a primary research method(s) that you will conduct during the time of your project. The refined research question must not be so general that it is answerable with a yes or no answer. It must not be so broad that you would be unable to achieve a solution during your project. The key to this is BEING SPECIFIC: Narrow down the method or technology you will use, narrow down the group that the question refers to (localize a general question) If the project is still ‘too big’, can you think of a way to work on a part of the problem? Avoid using words that cannot be measured, by you, without a huge research budget e.g. ‘effects on society’, ‘effects on business’. Example: The initial question “Does cloud computing effect business” needs narrowing down (for a start the answer is yes) What is meant by cloud computing? Or ‘effect’? Or ‘business’, in this question? Refining this first question will involve narrowing it down to something you, personally, can measure. A refined version of this question might be: “Does implementing a cloud based voting system improve the speed of decision making in a small company in Coventry?” This refined question is implementable: You can now identify a small company to work with, document their current decision making processes, implement a cloud based voting system, compare decision making speeds over a limited time period (say 1 month) and evaluate your findings. A small piece of genuinely new knowledge is produced.
1.2 Keywords
Help: Include up to 6 keywords separated by a semi-colon; what keywords are appropriate to describe your project in an online database like Google Scholar? Keywords should include the general research area and the specific technologies you will be working with. Example. A project that proposes a novel way of visualising large amounts