Dissertation Course – Day 4

Dissertation course, day 4 Day 4: ”The End is near” Writing proper conclusions Report structure Handing in through Wiseflow LinkedIn group Keep contact with each other++ About the Exam Trade union or unemployment fund PROSA + HK/SamData Dissertation course, day 4

Writing proper conclusions Dissertation course, day 4

Writing proper conclusions The conclusion is the culmination of your report – do not underestimate it! Last chance to convince the reader that your work was interesting and significant Main purpose: Provide answers to questions posed in the problem definition Dissertation course, day 4

Writing proper conclusions A certain level of symmetry should exist between the problem formulation and the conclusion A reader should (in principle) be able to read the problem formulation and the conclusion, to dermine if it is worthwhile to read the entire report Dissertation course, day 4

Writing proper conclusions Problem formulation (essentially): Question 1 Question 2 Question 3 … Dissertation course, day 4

Writing proper conclusions Conclusion (essentially) With regards to Question 1, we can see from (…) and (…) that we did in fact succeed in (…) With regards to Questions 2, we … Dissertation course, day 4

Writing proper conclusions For the questions posed in the problem formulation, the conclusion should: State what the answer to the question was, and Provide references to the specific sections in the report that provide ”evidence” for the answer Dissertation course, day 4

Writing proper conclusions Example A (problem formulation) Can we improve the usability of the website (…) by applying Jacob Nielsen’s 10 rules of usability to a redesign of the website? Dissertation course, day 4

Writing proper conclusions Example A (conclusion) Answer to question is: Yes Because we: Established a framework for measuring usablity (section A) Applied the framework to measure the usability of the existing website (section B) Redesigned the website using the 10 principles (section C) Applied the framework to measure the usability of the redesigned website (section D) Verified that the measurements were in favor of the redesigned wesbite and were significant (section E) Dissertation course, day 4

Writing proper conclusions Example B (problem formulation) Can we implement a software application which corresponds to the needs of organisation (…) in relation to (…) Dissertation course, day 4

Writing proper conclusions Example B (conclusion) Answer to question is: Yes, but not entirely Because we: Established a proper set of requirements (section A) Designed and developed an application according to the requirements, using the process (…) (section B) Devised a test framework for the application, corresponding to the stated requirements (section C) Applied the test framework to the developed application (section D) Evaluated the outcome of the test results, and determined that most – but not all – requirements have been implemented in a satisfactory way (section E) Dissertation course, day 4

Writing proper conclusions There is obviously room for a lot of reflection in a conclusion, in particular when things did not go as planned… Main reflections: Did I not use the correct methodology? Was the methodology correct, but were the results too vague or inconclusive (and why)? Did I try to solve the wrong problem? Dissertation course, day 4

Writing proper conclusions Should reflection be part of the conclusion section, or be in a separate section? Both are possible, but try not to mix conclu-sions and reflections on a paragraph level… It should be clear to the reader when you are concluding (objective), and when you are reflecting (subjective) Dissertation course, day 4

Writing proper conclusions A conclusion (section) can also contain an ”outlook” Often you end up investigating a much narrower problem than you originally intended During an outlook, you can discuss some ”what if” and ”what comes next” scenarios Dissertation course, day 4

Writing proper conclusions ”What if” I applied this methodology within another domain Scaled up the number of users or data volumes My application must be available on other types of devices A certain technology or trend changes … Dissertation course, day 4

Writing proper conclusions ”What comes next” From prototype to real product Earning money on your product Maintenance and extension New ”spinoff” projects … Dissertation course, day 4

Dissertation course, day 4 Report Structure Dissertation course, day 4

Dissertation course, day 4 Report structure Front page Title leaf Preface Table of Contents List of figures (optional) The content Bibliography + Webography Word list (optional) Index (optional) Appendix and Enclosures If any Dissertation course, day 4

Dissertation course, day 4 Report structure Front page Project Title Project group members' names Educational Programme (Computer Science or WEB-Development) Project period Name of the educational institution Name of supervisor Any informative illustration Title leaf Preface Table of Contents List of figures (optional) The content Bibliography Webography Word list (optional) Index (optional) Appendix and Enclosures Dissertation course, day 4

Dissertation course, day 4 Report structure Title leaf Project Title (again) Project group members' names (again) Project period (again) Supervisors' name (again) Any permission to lend out the report. Abstract: a brief summary with special focus on project issue(s) and conclusion Preface Table of Contents List of figures (optional) The content Bibliography Webography Word list (optional) Index (optional) Appendix and Enclosures Dissertation course, day 4

Dissertation course, day 4 Report structure Preface The purpose of the report Recipient group(s) - it may be practical to recognize primary and secondary recipients Readability instructions To whom are individual sections interesting? Where to find a bibliography, appendices, etc. Acknowledgements of external interested parties and supervisors Date and signatures Table of Contents List of figures (optional) The content Bibliography Webography Word list (optional) Index (optional) Appendix and Enclosures Dissertation course, day 4

Dissertation course, day 4 Report structure Table of Contents Is to be readable on its own merit You should read it! It is not necessary to show all levels of sub-sections List of figures (optional) The content Bibliography Webography Word list (optional) Index (optional) Appendix and Enclosures Dissertation course, day 4

Dissertation course, day 4 Report structure Front page Title leaf Preface Table of Contents List of figures (optional) The content Chapters: Project start Problem analysis Method Problem solving Conclusion Number the chapters of your report! Use headers and footers! Bibliography Webography Word list (optional) Index (optional) Appendix and Enclosures Dissertation course, day 4

Dissertation course, day 4 Report structure Front page Title leaf Preface Table of Contents List of figures (optional) The content Chapters: Project start Who you are Why you are together Problem analysis Method Problem solving Conclusion Bibliography Webography Word list (optional) Index (optional) Appendix and Enclosures Dissertation course, day 4

Dissertation course, day 4 Report structure Front page Title leaf Preface Table of Contents List of figures (optional) The content Chapters: Project start Problem analysis Your interests in relation to this dissertation project Your problem definition (questions) Method Problem solving Conclusion Bibliography Webography Word list (optional) Index (optional) Appendix and Enclosures Dissertation course, day 4

Dissertation course, day 4 Report structure Front page Title leaf Preface Table of Contents List of figures (optional) The content Chapters: Project start Problem analysis Method Activities (what you plan to do in order to answer the problem definition question(s) Your plan(s) Problem solving Conclusion Bibliography Webography Word list (optional) Index (optional) Appendix and Enclosures Dissertation course, day 4

Dissertation course, day 4 Report structure Front page Title leaf Preface Table of Contents List of figures (optional) The content Chapters: Project start Problem analysis Method Problem solving The main chapters of the report Documents your activities Ordered the same way as in the plan(s) Conclusion Bibliography Webography Word list (optional) Index (optional) Appendix and Enclosures Dissertation course, day 4

Dissertation course, day 4 Report structure Front page Title leaf Preface Table of Contents List of figures (optional) The content Chapters: Project start Problem analysis Method Problem solving Conclusion Relate to your problem definition Bibliography Webography Word list (optional) Index (optional) Appendix and Enclosures Dissertation course, day 4

Dissertation course, day 4 Report structure Front page Title leaf Preface Table of Contents List of figures (optional) The content Bibliography / List of references Author(s), title, publisher, year, brief (a few lines) mention of contents. Refer to your bibliography in the report whenever necessary. State source of quotes and other directly copied passages in the report. Webography Word list (optional) Index (optional) Appendix and Enclosures Dissertation course, day 4

Dissertation course, day 4 Report structure Front page Title leaf Preface Table of Contents List of figures (optional) The content Bibliography Webography Word list (optional) Index (optional) Appendix and Enclosures Material that the group has produced, but which is too comprehensive to include in the report, for instance documents relating to charts, program code listing (put it on Github), decision logbook, minutes of meetings and a manual for developed systems (optional), results of questionnaires, or the like. Selected parts of your appendix may be shown and used in your report All appendices should be introduced. Appendices and enclosure may optionally be submitted separately. Dissertation course, day 4

Dissertation course, day 4 About the Exam Dissertation course, day 4

Dissertation course, day 4 Exam For both computer science and bachelor programme, preconditions are: All previous tests are passed Internship is approved The report is handed in Dissertation course, day 4

Dissertation course, day 4 Exam The dissertation/bachelor project is tested at the exam by an individual, oral defence of a duration of 30 minutes. The process of the exam is as follows: First the student(s) gives a 10-minute presentation of the project, followed by a (little less than) 20-minutes examination dialogue. One mark is given which covers assessment of the report and the oral part of the exam.  Dissertation course, day 4

Dissertation course, day 4 Exam, the presentation Tell us something new Do not tell us something that is the report What happened after you handed in the report? Did you show your software to the company? Did you make a version 1.1? 10 minutes is very little time Be precise Bring a few slides Print the slides as hand-outs Prepare The group decides who is going to talk about which subject You prepare You try the presentation in the exam room in front of the other group members Do this a few days before the exam Make a reservation for the room at the administration Dissertation course, day 4