The purposes of this slide deck:-

1. Suggest an overview of master degree final year project research

2. Cite practices and suggestions to help to avoid vanity (免於枉勞心力)

3. Give information to enable a matured planning of the study

4. Suggest to follow the Course Handbook reliably, faithfully, truthfully and honestly

5. Provide extracts from MDX recommended texts

6. Provide extracts from other texts

Note: Any Regulations, Policies, Course Handbooks from the university, and any instructions from your Supervisors shall supersede this slide deck.

Agenda

1. Set off

2. What is a master degree final year project

3. How it is going to be assessed

4. What is a project proposal

5. Literature survey and review

6. Project report writing

7. Final tips

8. Reference

求學三境界 Three stages of pursuit of learning

《人間詞話》王國維

Kuo-wei Wang. Poetic Remarks in the Human World.¹

『古今之成大業、大學問者，必經過三種境界：

From the ancient time to the present day, all those who have been highly successful in great ventures and in the pursuit of learning must of necessity have experienced thee modes of jingjie.¹

求學三境界 Three stages of pursuit of learning

「昨夜西風凋碧樹，獨上高樓，望盡天涯路。」此第一境也。

"Last night the west wind shrivelled the green-clad trees. Alone I climb the high tower to gaze my fill along the road to the horizon." This expresses the first stage.¹

求學三境界 Three stages of pursuit of learning

「衣帶漸寬終不悔，為伊消得人憔悴。」此第二境也。

"My clothes grow daily more loose, yet care I not. For you am I thus wasting away in sorrow and pain." This expresses the second stage.¹

求學三境界 Three stages of pursuit of learning

「眾裡尋他千百度，驀然回首，那人卻在，燈火闌珊處。」此第三境也。』

"I sought her in the crowd a hundred, a thousand times. Suddenly with a turn of the head, I saw her, that one there where the lamplight was fading." This expresses the third stage.¹

碩士生學習

• 碩士生教育培養的是工作技能。

完成上級交待下來的任何一項事務性工作，都需要進行調查了解基本情況，判斷問題的性質，設計解決問題的方案，找到實施的方案和路徑。

這些解決問題的程序和學術研究的方法很相似，例如，文獻回顧、找到有意義的問題、提出假設、進行實證、做出結論。

MSc Electronic Security and Digital Forensics

• Digital Investigation and Evidence Management (30 Credits) - Compulsory

• Legal and Professional Aspects of Digital Forensics (30 Credits) - Compulsory

• Information Security Management (30 Credits) - Compulsory

• Corporate Compliance and Fraud Analytics (30 Credits) - Compulsory

• Postgraduate Computing Project (60 Credits) - Compulsory

The MDX course content is available here.

Note: In this presentation, the word "postgraduate", the phrases "master degree final year" and "master degree" have the same meaning.

Assessment

For your independent project and dissertation you will plan, conduct and critically analyse data on a research topic or case study of your choosing. You will be assessed on your research proposal, written report and possibly through a viva voce exam[ination], in which you’ll justify and reflect on your work, and discuss possible further developments.

The MDX course content is available here.

Essential texts and recommended texts

The Middlesex reading list is available here. The author of this slide deck cited 1 essential text (Dawson 2015) and 1 recommended text (Sharp 2002) from the list, together with other texts and reference materials recommended by him.

Phrases in the module handbook

• Research problem (Handbook 2016, 4, 8)

• Postgraduate Research Project (Handbook 2016, 6, 8)

• Research methodology (Handbook 2016, 18)

• Originality in the application of knowledge (Handbook 2016, 16, 17, 19)

What is research

• (Phillips 2010)

  • (OECD, 2015)
  • (HECFE 2008)

• (Berndtsson, et al. 2008)

Who is a researcher

The classic position of a researcher is not that of one who knows the right answers, but of one who is struggling to find out what the right questions might be.

What is research (defn.1)

Frascati Manual 2015:

Research and experimental development (R&D) comprise creative and systematic work undertaken in order to increase the stock of knowledge including knowledge of humankind, culture and society and to devise new applications of available knowledge.

3 types of research activities

• Basic research

• Applied research

• Experimental development

3 types of research activities

Basic research is experimental or theoretical work undertaken primarily to acquire new knowledge of the underling foundations of phenomena and observable facts, without any particular application or use in view.

Applied research is original investigation undertaken in order to acquire new knowledge. It is, however, directed primarily towards a specific, practical aim or objective.

Experimental development is systematic work, drawing on knowledge gained from research and practical experience and producing additional knowledge, which is directed to producing new products or processes or to improving existing products or processes.

Nature of research activities

The R&D activities must be:

Novel: to be aimed at new findings

Creative: to be based on original, not obvious, concepts and their interpretation or hypotheses

Uncertain: to be uncertain about its final outcome or at least the quantity of time and resources needed to achieve it

Systematic: to be planned and budgeted

Transferable and / or reproducible: to lead to results that could be either freely transferred or traded in a marketplace

What is research (defn. 2)

Higher Education Funding Council for England:

Research . . . is to be understood as original investigation undertaken in order to gain knowledge and understanding. . . . the invention and generation of ideas, images, performances, artefacts including design, where these lead to new or substantially improved insights; and the use of existing knowledge in experimental development to produce new or substantially improved materials, devices, products and processes, including design and construction.

Original

There is no point in repeating the work of others and discovering or producing what is already known.

Examples of areas of originality

• New tools, techniques, procedures and methods

• Exploring the unknown (no one has thought to investigate before)

• Exploring the unanticipated

  • Side tracks that have not been explored before.
  • Further develop original works of others.
  • Provide new perspective or interpretation that has not been available before

• Use of data in new ways or apply in alternatives areas that have not yet been investigated.

Gain (or no gain)

Is this "gain" satisfying the definition of research?

You can obviously learn things that others already known; shown as expansion to your own knowledge.

Seeking through methodical processes to add to one's own body of knowledge and to that of others, by the discovery of non-trivial facts and insights.

Gain

Gain: contributions to knowledge.

Contribution: sharing of new ideas, theories and results with the rest of the world and expanding what is already known.

Knowledge and understanding

Knowledge is part of a hierarchy of:--

• Data

• Information

• Knowledge

• Wisdom

• Theory

Data

• are raw numbers and text from your own investigations to describe objects or events

• have no meaning on its own (see next slide)

Information

Information represents processed data because:--

• Data has no meaning on its own. It takes on meaning when it is interpreted by some sort of processing.

• Analysed, summarised and processed data provide some insight into their meaning

• Such data provide an idea of what

• Such data becomes information

Knowledge

• is the higher level of understanding of things

• is the interpretation of information in the form of rules, patterns, decisions, models, ideas, etc.

• is the understanding of the why

• that is scientific is often organised into theories

Wisdom

Wisdom represents your ability to put knowledge into practice

Now, you can explain the meaning of "Originality in the application of knowledge".

Theory

While data, information, knowledge and wisdom represent a relatively firm understanding of what is going on and how things can be applied, theory represents ideas, opinions and suppositions based on your observation of the world. A theory is not necessarily true, but, at the moment, it represents the best explanation of what you observe.

What is research (defn. 3)

In an academic context, research is used to refer to the activity of a diligent and systematic inquiry or investigation in an area, with the objective of discovering or revising facts, theories, applications etc. The goal is to discover and disseminate new knowledge. While you, as a student, are learning new things throughout the course of a project, it the goal is also that your results should include some elements of new scientific knowledge

Although the term research is used in a number of ways with different meanings, in this book we take it to mean a systematic problem solving activity, undertaken with care and concern in the context of the situation at hand. In the process of fulfilling the requirements, the research activity is characterised by the researcher's trustworthiness, both with regard to the actual process of undertaking the research and to the actual phenomenon being studied.

Final year project

A master degree project is applied knowledge and learning within a specified time frame with a purpose to bring contribution. It consists of a sequence of planned activities with defined outcomes and deliverables.

Thesis project serves several (sometimes overlapping) purposes

Learning more. The project is an opportunity for studying a subject in more depth A stepping stone towards finding and securing a job. You may view the project as preparation for working life, by practising your skills and knowledge on real world problems. A stepping stone towards graduate studies. You may use the project as preparation for graduate studies, by exploring a research problem and learning about the research process.

Two further purposes seen by universities

The first goal is the "educational" part of the project. This can be viewed as a test to show that you have mastered previously attained knowledge and skills, and know how they can be applied to a problem that is more realistic than those normally presented in courses. In detail, the "educational" part has the following set of learning goals. The project should:

• (1) develop your critical thinking;

• (2) enhance your ability to work independently;

• (3) increase your understanding of how to use and appreciate scientific methods as tools for problem solving; and

• (4) develop your presentation skills, oral as well as written.

Two further purposes seen by universities

The second goal is the "research" part of the project, in which you will deepen your understanding of the subject area, and contribute to the common knowledge and understanding of the subject area. However, to attain this goal, your project must have aspects that are original. In other words, it is generally not enough to repeat the work of others, since it is regarded as a waste of resources (time, money etc), unless, that is, your purpose is to confirm or reject previous findings.

Project presentation (dissertation)

A project report is evidence and presentation of your project in written form. A bad project cannot be turned into a good one by producing a good report. You cannot disguise sloppy investigation, development, implementation, analysis and method with a few carefully chosen words.

A project must be accompanied by a report in which the student summarises the project's objectives, methodology, significance, outcomes, and conclusions or recommendations. The report is usually prepared using the same format as that of a master dissertation.

The project report was described as "dissertation" in the Handbook four times. (Handbook 2016, 6 - 8)

Big picture

• Researchers have broadly been described as studying the nature of realty (ontology), e.g. trying to to fill knowledge gaps or solve problems. The theory to capture or to know ontology is called epistemology.
• Two dominant schools of philosophy have broadly explained ontology and epistemology. They are postivism (also known as traditional school of science, the hypotheses school, objectivism) and interpretivism (also known as constructionism, subjectivism).
• Interpretivists (also known as constructionist in ontology) believe the reality is multiple and relative (reality is different from context to context), e.g. a problem of a firm or a group of firms. The researchers do not know a lot about the topic. They look, observe, listen and interpret what was seen or listened in the firm or firms. The knowledge acquired is socially constructed rather than objectively determined and perceived. They focus on specific context. Therefore, the goal is not to generalise and predict causes and effects. Their research is known as qualitative research.
• Positivists (also know as realist, empiricist, objectivisit in ontology) make time and context free generalisations, e.g. a worldwide problem or industry specific problem. They focus on generalisation and abstraction (single reality). Their research is known as quantitive research.

Quantitative research

. . . the scientific concern is with attaining understanding of how something is constructed / built / works, and to attempt to express such understanding by means of simple laws or principles of general importance. The research is generally driven by hypotheses, which are formulated and tested rigorously, with the goal of showing that the hypothesis is wrong. Hence one attempts to falsify the hypothesis, and if the hypothesis withstands the test, it is considered to be correct until proven otherwise. Repeatability of the experiments and testing of hypotheses are vital to the reliability of the results, since they offer multiple opportunities for scrutinising the findings.

Qualitative research

. . . are primarily concerned with increasing understanding of a substantive area, rather than producing an explanation for it. Qualitative research is typically used in specific social contexts. . . Qualitative research is often associated with fieldwork and analysis in a limited number of organisational setting. . . In undertaking such research, the organisational context itself changes. As humans and organisational conditions change over time, the pre-condition for the study and the analysis of the problem change. Hence, repeatability of experiments may not be possible.

A common mistake by students

. . . do not write in your dissertation that you are doing quantitative, or qualitative, research because of the strategy that you have chosen. A research strategy cannot be, in itself, qualitative or quantitative - it is the combination of your research strategy, your research objectives and your data collection techniques that help to determine the quantitative or qualitative nature of your research.

Linkage between research and thesis projects

It is our view that thesis projects share this core aspect, even if the outcome is not necessarily intended as a scientific contribution. It is also our view that thesis projects should have a stronger emphasis on developing your own learning. This concerns your ability to carry out a bigger project systematically and independently, to apply previously acquired knowledge, and to acquire new in-depth knowledge in the project area. Our notion of research, in the context of thesis projects, simply denotes a structured process for solving complex problems, formulated as research questions.

What is a research method

. . . a method represents the means, procedure or technique used to carry out some process in a logical, orderly, or systematic way. In the context of a research project, a method refers to an organised approach to problem-solving that includes (i) collecting data, (ii) formulating a hypothesis or proposition, (iii) testing the hypothesis, (iv) interpreting results, and (v) stating conclusions that can later be evaluated independently by others.

6 common research methods (Berndtsson, et al. 2008)

• Literature Analysis (not literature review)

• Interviews

• Case study

• Survey

• Implementation

• Experiment

Literature Analysis (not literature review)

By literature analysis we mean a systematic examination of a problem, by means of an analysis of published sources, undertaken with a specific purpose in mind . . . should not be confused with a view of existing work in an area, which you undertake in order to familiarise yourself what has already been done in your area . . . A related difficulty is that of completeness . . . If you are aware of the process and the strategy for selecting sufficient material, then the likelihood is that the reader will also understand and appreciate your strategies, and will trust that enough material has been covered. This depends on your study, of course (its aim and objectives) . . .

Interviews

Different styles of interviews have different strengths and weaknesses, and these are closely linked with your own ability, as a researcher, to undertake interviews . . . An open interview is a form of interview commonly used in qualitative research, where the researcher has no (or only limited) control of the issues raised during the interview session. So, even though the purpose of the interview is clear to the researcher, the specific issues to be covered during the interview session are not planned in advance . . . A closed interview is characterised by a fixed set of questions, which the interviewer asks during the session. This style of interview is sometimes also referred to as a pre-structured interview . . .

Interviews strategies

• Selecting relevant interviewees
• How to plan the structuring of the flow and interaction during the interview
• The use of agendas during the interview
• How to collect and structure replies from interviewees
• Whether or not to use an electronic device for recording interviews
• If preservation of confidentiality is necessary, and (in that case) how to preserve it
• Procedures for handling transcripts of field-notes, and how to allow interviewees to comment on and correct misinterpretations
• The logistics of conducting a session, e.g. where to conduct the interview
• To what extent there is a need to characterise the interviewees, and what aspects of their background that are of significance to the study

Case study

A case study project is undertaken as an in-depth exploration of a phenomenon in its natural setting. A characteristic of a case study is that it involves a limited number of cases, sometimes even a single case. This allows you to undertake a detailed examination of the phenomenon. It has been suggested that the case study method is especially suitable when there is a desire to understand and explain a phenomenon in a field which is not yet well understood . . . In undertaking a case study, you will often be confronted with a large volume of data, which has complex inter-relationships. In addressing these, you will explore particular settings and cases in great detail . . . In reporting on a case study project, it is of fundamental importance that you can make a detailed characterisation of the important aspects of the case being explored. . . . During preparation and planning of a case study project, it is important that you carefully consider the availability of relevant cases.

Survey

Survey research is closely associated with the use of questionnaires, and statistical techniques for analysing their responses. Such research is often used for exploring a relatively well-known phenomenon, for which there exists a large sample of respondents having some knowledge of the issue of concern . . . An inherent characteristic of surveys is that it is difficult to investigate complicated issues . . . Another drawback of surveys is that the motivation for participation is often low, and in general it is difficult to achieve high response rates. It has been said about survey research that it is impossible to know the true impressions of the respondents.

Implementation

Many projects in computer science and information systems consist of developing new solutions. Such a solution can consist of a new software architecture, method, procedure, algorithm, or some other technique, which solves some problem in a new way, which has some advantage over existing solutions. In a project of this type, it is often necessary to implement the proposed solution, in order to demonstrate that it really does possess the proposed advantages. The goal of the implementation, then, is to demonstrate that the solution has certain properties, or that (under certain conditions) it behaves in a specific way. This implementation often needs to be compared with implementations of existing solutions, before conclusions can be drawn. The implementations of the existing solutions may or may not be done by yourself . . . Issues concerning validity and reliability also arise when deciding how to evaluate the implementation.

Experiment (1)

An experiment focuses on investigating a few variables and the ways in which these are affected by the experimental conditions. Typically, experiments are used to verify or falsify a previously formulated hypothesis. For the purpose of experimental testing, the hypothesis is usually formulated as a causal relationship . . . Experiments are then designed and performed in such a way that the results will either support or falsify the hypothesis that graphics degrade the performance. It is important to note that a positive outcome in an experiment can never be said to "prove" that the hypothesis is correct. This is because there could always be some other explanation for the result. There is also an unlimited number of things that may go wrong in any experiment, and which may lead to erroneous and misleading results. Hence, we may say that a positive outcome lends some support to the hypothesis, but we can never claim that it "proves" its correctness . . .

Experiment (2)

. . . In the computer and information sciences experiments are often done by implementing a model of some system and running simulations to see how the model is affected by different variables This again raises the issues . . . about validity and reliability of implementations, since the implementation must obviously correctly reflect the model. In addition, the model itself must also be a correct characterisation of the system being studied, which adds an additional level of difficulty to simulation as a research method.

4 common research methods (Sharp 2002)

• the laboratory experiment

  • The laboratory experiment is relevant to all the major research subject groupings (with the possible exception of the humanities) but is primarily used in physical science, life science and engineering research.

• the field experiment

  • . . . a field experiment suggests that an investigation subjected to certain controls is conducted in non-laboratory conditions.

4 common research methods (Sharp 2002)

• the case study

  • Case study is often the basis for student projects, particularly in the social science.

• the survey

  • . . . whereas the field experiment implies controls and need not necessarily involve people, the survey is viewed separately here has a method of extracting attitudes and opinions from a sizeable sample of respondents.

Model

If the researcher uses a model to explain the reality, note the comments of (Gottman et al. 2002):

How important is it that the model provide a good fit to the data? In Murray's view (Murray, 1993), fitting the data does not tell you that you have the right mechanism. It is quite possible that a worse fit might be the right mechanism or on the right track toward the right mechanism, whereas a better fit might be the completely wrong mechanism . . . Of course, if we did produce the right model (assuming there is one right model) for the mechanism, a good fit would be obtained. . . .

Model

A good example of this model in the history of science is Ptolemy's model of planetary motion, in which the Earth was placed at the center of the planets, in contrast to the Copernican model, which placed the Sun at the center. Unfortunately, until Kepler's addition of elliptic orbits (a change he was quite reluctant to make because the circle was the Greek ideal of perfection), the Copernican model used circles. The Ptolemaic model, in contrast, used epicycles, or "wheels within wheels," to correct errors to the real data, and it gave a much better fit than the Copernican view, even though it was based on a totally false assumption.

Modelling

Dynamic modelling of any process

Step 1 - Science: select the phenomenon to model

Step 2 - Decide what seem to be the key elements that govern the phenomenon

Step 3 - Build a dynamic mathematical model that encapsulates the interaction of these elements

Step 4 - Find steady states

Step 5 - Determine the stability of each steady state

Step 6 - Describe the behaviour of the model near each steady state as each parameter varies

Modelling

Dynamic modelling of any process

Step 7 - Back to the science. What does the model tell you qualitatively? How does it compare with observation?

Step 8 - If qualitative results do not agree with observation, use the reasons for this to modify the model. Go to step 2.

Step 9 - If qualitative results agree with observation, go to step 10.

Step 10 - Use the model to make predictions and pose relevant questions.

Step 11 - Perform an experiment.

Research trends in digital forensic @ 2011

In terms of research methodology, the results indicated that 17% of the sampled publications were secondary research, 36% were exploratory studies, 33% were constructive and 31% were empirical. The results also indicated a lack of basic research in this scientific discipline where most of the research (81%) was applied, and that only 19% of the sample was categorised as basic research. Additionally, results exemplified a lack of quantitative research in the discipline, with only 20% of the research papers using quantitative methods, and 80% using qualitative methods. Furthermore, results showed that the largest portion of the research (42.9%) from the examined sample originated from the United States. The findings also showed a lack of cooperative research between academia and industry, where only 10% of the research studies examined where a collaborative effort between industry and academia.

Workload

The project is an essential part of the Masters degree. It is worth 60 credits. It is work that you must do largely under your own direction, in the field of your chosen Masters programme. The workload is expected to be the equivalent of about 600 hours of study time independent of contact time.

Equivalent to 3.6 hours/day x 6 months

2.4 hours/day x 9 months

• Where 1 study week = 5 week days + 1 week end

  • If 4 hours x 5 (days) + 5 hours x (1 day) = 25 hours = 1 week

• Where 1 study week = 5 week days + 1 week end + Sunday

  • If 3 hours x 5 (days) + 5 hours x (2 days) = 25 hours = 1 week

• Where 1 month = 4 weeks = 25 hours x 4 = 100 hours

• Then 600 hours = 100 hours x 6 (months)

As a part-time student, should you plan to finish the project within 6 months, 9 months or 12 months?

Fail to plan or plan to fail?

Size of project report

Reports should be near the recommended word length (around 15,000 words).

A typewritten manuscript that is 25-page, single-line spaced, single-side printed, typefaced with 10-point Times New Roman font, is approximately equivalent to 15,000 words.

If the typing speed is 40 words per minute, it takes 6.25 hours to type 15,000 words.

Learning model of the course

Module BIS4992 uses a resource-based learning model. The University's virtual learning environment (currently OASIS+) hosts online learning units (5 learning units) corresponding to the syllabus topics. Students study these (learning units) (freely and independently) and (not happening at the same time).

Independent study = 99%.

A hypothetical calendar (part 1)

• Project start (20.vi.2017)
• Learning Unit 1 (20.vi.2017 - 22.vi.2017)
• Learning Unit 2 (Defining your project) (23.vi.2017 - 25.vi.2017)
• Study area review (preliminary literature review) (26.vi.2017 - 4.vii.2017)
• Drafting Draft Project Title (9.vii.2017)
• Submit Draft Project Title (10.vii.2017) (deadline)
  • Draft project title
  • This is a deliverable
  • This is also a milestone.
  • When the draft project title is received, the project coordinator appoints a Supervisor.
• Drafting First Cut Project Proposal (5.vii.2017 - 8.vii.2017; 11.vii.2017 - 16.vii.2017)

A hypothetical calendar (part 2)

• Submit First Cut Project Proposal (17.vii.2017) (deadline)
  • This is a deliverable
  • This is also a milestone
  • Needs sign-off (approval form) by Supervisor (continue; quick fix; rework; rethink)
• Supervisor approves (19.vii.2017)
• Literature review (18.vii.2017; 22.vii.2017 - 30.vii.2017; 1.viii.2017; 5.viii.2017 - 24.xii.2017)
• Learning Unit 3 (Planning your project) (19.vii.2017 - 21.vii.2017)
• Drafting Formal Project Proposal (18.vii.2017; 22.vii.2017 - 30.vii.2017)
• Submit Formal Project Proposal (31.vii.2017) (deadline)
  • This is a deliverable
  • This is also a milestone
  • Needs sign-off (approval form) by Supervisor (agree to supervise unconditionally; agree to supervise subject to conditions; reject the proposed project) (Handbook 2016, 17)

A hypothetical calendar (part 3)

• Supervisor approves (2.viii.2017)
• Learning Unit 4 (Your project in context) (Literature review) (2.viii.2017 - 4.viii.2017)
• Project execution (the individual tasks, some of which are deliverables and milestones) (5.viii.2017 - 23.xii.2017)
  • deliverable 1 (21.viii.2017)
  • deliverable 2 (6.ix.2017)
  • milestone 1 (21.ix.2017)
  • deliverable 3 (7.x.2017)
  • deliverable 4 (23.x.2017)
  • milestone 2 (7.xi.2017)
  • deliverable 5 (22.xi.2017)
  • deliverable 6 (8.xii.2017)
  • milestone 3 (23.xii.2018)
• Drafting notes of project execution and send to Supervisor for comments (5.viii.2017 - 23.xii.2017)
• Drafting Report Plan (24.xii.2017 - 26.xii.2017)

A hypothetical calendar (part 4)

• Submit Report Plan (27.xii.2017) (deadline: 3.i.2018)
  • This is a deliverable
  • This is also a milestone
  • Needs sign-off (approval form) by Supervisor (agree the planned report can be started, subject to the resolution of issues) (Handbook 2016, 17)
• Supervisor approves (29.xii.2017)
  • Learning Unit 5 (Preparing your report (writing, printing and binding of report)) (29.xii.2017 - 31.xii.2017)
• Preparing Final Report (1.i.2018 - 6.i.2018) (Turnitin for final report?)
• Submit Final Report (6.i.2018) (deadline: 13.i.2018)
  • Once project report was submitted, the project coordinator appoints a Second Marker.
• Marking deadline (14.ii.2018)
• Results released (28.ii.2018)
• Re-submission deadline (20.iv.2018)
• Graduation ceremony (July 2018)

Project objectives

• To identify an appropriate topic area taking account of the nature of your course of study and your own particular interests.
• Within the topic area, to select a suitable research 'problem' for investigation and solution.
• To plan the project so as to accomplish its set goals within the allotted time.
• To critically place your problem and its solution within the context of the body of knowledge within your topic area.
• To apply previously-learned knowledge and techniques to the solution of the problem and to the management of the project.
• To critically evaluate the results and/or conclusions of your efforts.
• To present a satisfactory written account of how you did your project and what you found or produced.

Assessment

The report will be independently assessed by the supervisor and a second marker. A viva voce examination may be required. (Handbook 2016, 9)

• Allocation of marks

  • Formal proposal: 10%
  • Intermediate deliverables: 10%
  • Report: 80% (average of supervisor's and second marker's marks)

• The acronym "BCS" appeared in assessment forms and sheets in (Handbook 2016, 16 - 19)

Criteria of BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT

• In 1957, the London Computer Group merged with an association of scientists to become the British Computer Society Limited

• In 2009, BCS became BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT

• Guidelines on courses accreditation: information for universities and colleges, June 2015; available here

BSC guidelines

Postgraduate projects must give students the opportunity to demonstrate (BCS 2015, 14, 15):

1. a systematic understanding of knowledge, and a critical awareness of current problems and/or new insights, much of which is at, or informed by, the forefront of the specialist academic discipline

2. a comprehensive understanding of techniques applicable to their own research or advanced scholarship

3 originality in the application of knowledge, together with a practical understanding of how established techniques of research and enquiry are used to create and interpret knowledge in the discipline

BSC guidelines

Postgraduate projects must give students the opportunity to demonstrate (BCS 2015, 14, 15):

4 deal with complex issues both systematically and creatively, make sound judgements in the absence of complete data, and communicate their conclusions clearly to specialist and non-specialist audiences

5 demonstrate self-direction and originality in tackling and solving problems, and act autonomously in planning and implementing tasks at a professional or equivalent level

6 critical self-evaluation of the process

Various stages of assessment

• First-cut proposal assessment

• Formal proposal assessment

• Milestone assessment

• Report plan assessment

• Final report assessment

First-cut proposal assessment

• Title: Does the title identify a specialist academic discipline?

• Study area review context: Does the Study Area Review show a systematic understanding of knowledge (potentially) at the forefront of the discipline?

  • Study area review research

  • Study area review problem definition

  • Study area review solution

• Aims and objectives: Do the Aims and Objectives (potentially) demonstrate originality in the application of knowledge

First-cut proposal assessment

• Deliverables

• Ethical approval

• Aims: feasibility

• Project type: feasibility

• Research methodology:

  • Does the Methodology show an understanding of how applicable techniques are used to create or interpret knowledge

Formal proposal assessment

• sufficient and feasible

• task-list matches the objectives listed in the first-cut proposal

• effort estimates for each task seem reasonable

• formal milestones are sensibly selected

• formal milestones have meaningful deliverables

• overall schedule seems achievable and will deliver the project on time

• title identify a specialist academic discipline

Formal proposal assessment

• Aims and Objectives (potentially) demonstrate originality in the application of knowledge

• Research Methodology show an understanding of how applicable techniques are used to create or interpret knowledge

Final report marking criteria

• Area

  • Criteria

• Question

  • Problem is current and appropriate;
  • Problem is clearly described;
  • Student displays knowledge.

• Presentation

  • Well written (English);
  • Well organised (structure);
  • Well presented (word-processing)

Final report marking criteria

• Literature Review

  • Good variety and range of sources;
  • Proper citation and referencing;
  • Critical control

• Work Done

  • Effective planning;
  • Good coverage (e.g. life-cycle);
  • Hard work

• Critical Analysis & Conclusion

  • Objective and critical;
  • Insightful and honest;
  • Reflective

Choosing a project

Important principles to consider:-

1 - You must be capable of doing the proposed project in the time available

2 - Choose a project that interests you

3 - Consider your personal development and choose a project that will assist you in your goals.

4 - Your project should have a serious purpose and a clear outcome that will benefit someone.

5 - Your project has a clear outcome (in terms of deliverables) that focuses your work and direction. Without a clear target, you may lose your motivation as your project progresses and you lose your way.

Choosing a project

Important principles to consider:-

6 - Your project links in suitably with your degree course.

7 - Your project is of sufficient scope and quality to fit the requirements of your course.

8 - The resources you require for your project are available or can be obtained

Chapter breakdown

Once you have an idea for your project

. . . it is a good idea to identify how your project will break down into a number of chapters for the final report. If you have difficulty identifying a number of specific chapters for your final report, it may mean you are unclear about the detail of your project and don't really understand what it is you hope to achieve. Breaking down your project into chapters will also give you an indication of its scope. If you can identify two or three chapters then may be your project is not sufficiently broad. Conversely, if you can break identify ten or more chapters you may be trying to do too much.

Project stages

1. Definition: deciding on your project, getting it approved by submitting an acceptable proposal

2. Planning: how you will fulfil your aims by deciding how to approach the work you need to perform, including managing the risks associated with the project

3. Initiation: perform activities to start the main content of project; e.g. arranging routines and rules for the work ahead, performing literature survey;

4. Control

5. Closure

1 + 2 = project inauguration

3 + 4 + 5 = project management activities

Defining project aim (goal) and objectives

An aim is a board statement of intent which identifies your project's purpose. Objectives, on the other hand, identify specific, measurable achievements you hope to make that build towards the ultimate aim of your project. . .

Your project should be defined at two levels. At the top level you define your project's aim or goal. All projects have 1 major aim that they hope to achieve . . . To achieve these aims each project will have a set of objectives. . . .

SMART technique to define your objective

• Specific
  • Is this specific?
  • Does it provide us with enough idea of what we should be doing?
• Measurable
  • Is it measurable?
  • How can we measure progress on this objective?
  • How will we know when the objective is completed?
  • How much literature must we access in order to conclude that the literature search is complete?

SMART technique to define your objective

• Appropriate
  • It is appropriate?
  • It is appropriate objective to have, bearing in mind the long-term goal of our project?
• Realistic
  • It is realistic?
  • Can we realistically expect to complete the tasks in the time we have available?
• Time-related
  • It is time-related?
  • Have we identified how long the task will take?
  • Have we identified when we expect to complete by it?

2 golden rules preparing a project proposal

• Follow any guidelines precisely: for example, project title, project objectives, resource requirements, etc.

• Proofread it thoroughly (and get someone else to check it): any errors and omissions will appear sloppy and put your commitment and proposed project in a bad light.

Implicit content

5 areas that must be addressed implicitly within the proposal's content:--

• Introduction to the subject area

• Current research in the field

• Identify a gap

• Identify how your work fills the gap

• Identify risks and solutions

Introduction to the subject area

This will provide the reader with an understanding of the field in which your project lies and an idea of where and how your project fits into this field. This aspect will set your project into an overall context and will show that it is bound within a recognised field.

Current research in the field

This will emphasise that your project is not based in a field that is out-of-date and that you are aware of current issues within that field of study. It will also imply that you have done some preliminary research into the topic area and are not approaching your project with little background or motivation.

Identify how your work fills the gap

Having identified a gap in the field, your proposal should show how your project intends to fill this gap, or at least go some way to investigating it further. This will emphasise the contribution that your project will make.

Identify risks and solutions

It is also useful in a project proposal to highlight any risks that your project might face, and ways you envisage dealing with those risks. If you do not identify potential risks to your project, your proposal's assessor will not know whether you have considered the risks or not. If they feel you have not accounted for potential risks to your project, your proposal may not be accepted, as they may not appreciate that you have potential contingency plans in place.

Explicit sections: 3 absolute minimum requirements:--

• Title

  • Clear, concise, preferably no acronyms

• Aims and objectives

  • Aims: broad statements of intent; identify the project's purpose
  • Objectives: identify specific, measurable achievements you hope to make that build towards the ultimate aim of your project; quantitative and qualitative measures by which completion of the project can be judged

• Expected outcome / deliverables

  • Identify what will be produced / submitted at the end of the project

Explicit sections: other requirements (part 1)

• Keywords

  • Identify the topic areas that the project draws on

• Introduction / background / overview

  • Overview of the project (Identification of research questions and hypotheses, elaboration of aims)
  • Motivation for the project
  • Motivation for you conducting the project (why the topic interest you and why you chose the project)
  • Why you feel you can do it, what skills are required and how you fulfil these requirements

Explicit sections: other requirements (part 2)

• Related research
  • Identifies other work, publications, and related to the same / similar topic
  • Demonstrate your project does not just exist in an academic vacuum, but relates to research topics and fields that are currently of interest
  • Demonstrate you are aware of what is currently happening in the field and are conversant with other topics that impinge upon it

Explicit sections: other requirements (part 3)

• Type of project
  • For example, research based, development, evaluation, etc
  • Make sure that these terms are recognised and provide more detail if appropriate

Explicit sections: other requirements (part 4)

• Research questions and hypotheses
  • Research question: open-ended opportunities to satisfy one's curiosity
  • Hypothesis: tentative proposition which is subject to verification through subsequent investigation
  • Include a research question you intend to investigate
  • Include potential answers to the research question
  • If the hypothesis is true, so what - was that really worth proving?

Explicit sections: other requirements (part 5)

• Methods
  • Those methods that you are actually using in performing your project
  • Action research, case study, survey and experiment, etc.
• Resource requirements
  • Resource that you have already access to
  • Resource that you will need
  • Including a list of literature material (not literature review) you need to perform the project, e.g. company reports, specific accounts, national surveys, records of legislative bodies, etc.

Explicit sections: other requirements (part 6)

• Project plan
  • Demonstrate project can be completed in the time allowed
  • Demonstrate you have some idea of the work involved
  • Demonstrate you have a clear pathway to follow to complete the work
  • Use Gantt chart (single page)

An example of project proposal

• Project title
• Keywords
• Introduction / background / overview
• Statement of the significance of the study
• Scope, aims and objectives of the study
• Preliminary related research / preliminary literature review / study area review
• Research questions and hypotheses
• Theoretical framework
• Detailed research methodology / type of research / research approach
• Research plan and time-frame
  • Step ID, Research Step, "What I will do", "Timing / When"
  • Expected outcome / Deliverables
  • Milestones
  • Gannt / Pert / CPM Chart
• Resource requirements, if any
• Risks, if any, and their solutions
• List of references

Phrases appeared in the Handbook

• Literature survey x 1

• Study area review x

• SAR x 4

• SAR research x 1

• Reviewing research literature x 1

• Literature review x 5

• Contextualisation (Your project in context) x 1

One way to look at it:

• Before formal project proposal approval

  • literature survey, study area review, study area review research

• After formal project proposal approval

  • literature review, contextualisation, your project in context

• See Unit 4 and (Dawson 2015, 7)

Literature searching and literature review

At taught degree level . . . you would be required to understand how your project fits into its wider context and have some appreciation of developments in that area. Examiners at taught degree level are interested in your own ideas, interpretations, theories and concepts of the particular field of study. They are not expecting a major contribution to knowledge from your project at this level.

Literature search definition

A literature search is a systematic gathering of published information relating to a subject.

Literature search definition

• Systematic
  • A literature search should not be performed in an ad hoc manner, but should be approached in a structured and professional way.

• Published
  • . . . the material you trace should be recognised. In other words, the material is not merely somebody's opinion you happened across through a conversation in a corridor, or a block of un-referred text downloaded from the Internet. Recognised works are those that have been suitably referred before publication. . . you should try to extend your literature search to peer-reviewed sources.

2 Golden rules performing search

Allow plenty of time - it can, and probably will, take a long time. Therefore, you should start as soon as possible . . . and avoid gathering material unrelated to your chosen topic. Ensure that you make note of the full reference of any material you obtain.

Function of a literature review

• Summarise the literature

• Evaluate the literature

• Show relationships between different studies

• Show how published work relates to YOUR work

Format of information

Literature is presented in a number of different formats:

• Journals (about 2 years old)

• Electronic journals (about 2 years old)

• Conference proceedings papers (latest research but not yet published as full papers)

• Government and corporate reports (good if commissioned research)

• Technical reports, theses and dissertation (limited use, researchers usually inexperienced)

• Books (less up to date than journals)

How to do a literature review

• Checklist in (Dawson 2015)

• Academic literature review & procedures and techniques of analysis (19 April 2011), Ming-hwei Perng 彭明輝, Professor Emeritus (Retired), National Tsing Hua University, Department of Power Mechanical Engineering, Design and Manufacturing Division

• Other suggestions

Checklist for reading papers (part 1)

• What kind of article is it? a review paper, an evaluatory paper, a theory paper, a practical paper?

• What can you gain from the article? ideas, techniques, useful quotes, etc?

• Is the author well recognised in his / her field? Are they an authority in this area?

• What contribution is being made by the article? What kind of contribution is it? Can it make a contribution to your own project? If so, how?

Checklist for reading papers (part 2)

• How does the article fit within its context? How does the article fit into and support the context of your project? How important is the article in its field and your own? Does the paper classify and summarise its field in a clearer or more logical way than has been done before? Are alternative conclusions consistent with the discussion?

• Can you differentiate fact from unsubstantiated opinion? If there are opinions in the article, do you agree with them? Are these opinions supported by logical arguments or other authors?

• What do you fell about what has been written? Do you agree with statements that are made? Are there any counter arguments?

Checklist for reading papers (part 3)

• Does the article contradict other viewpoints or support the status quo? How does the article relate to other literature in the field?

• What references does it use? Are these appropriate, relevant and up-to-date? Which references can you use? Is the article referred to by other authors?

• Are there limits to what the author is suggesting? Is his / her argument only applicable in certain cases?

• Can you use the results from the article in your own work? How do these results contribute and fit into their field and your own?

Checklist for reading papers (part 4)

• What is the major problem or issue being investigated?

• How clearly are the major concepts defined / explained?

• Is there a clear research question / hypothesis that had been, and was, tested?

• What type of research design / methodology was employed? Is it suitable and reliable?

• Have algorithms and statistical techniques been used appropriately? Can you apply them in your own work? What are the limitations of these techniques?

• Is the choice of measures, sample sizes and data appropriate? Have extraneous factors / variables been considered?

Checklist for reading papers (part 5)

• Can generalisations be made from these results? What are the limitations of these generalisations?

• Are the implications of the results discussed?

• What is your overall assessment of the study in terms of its adequacy for explaining the research problem and the contribution it is making?

Summary of methods suggested by Perng

• Stage 1:

  • Find some papers relevant to your area of research
  • Find papers from the reference sections of those papers

• Stages 2 and 3:

  • Sort them into most relevant and second relevant
  • Identify and analyse the schools of thoughts in the 2 categories

• Stage 4:

  • Find out supplementary papers because of better understanding

• Stages 5 and 6:

  • Sort them into most relevant and second relevant
  • Identify and analyse the schools of thoughts in the 2 categories

Summary of methods suggested by Perng

• Stage 7
  • Summarise all papers and analyse

First stage

Step 1: Use "Keywords" and "review papers" to find out 30 to 40 papers that are most relevant to your area of research. Skim the "Abstract" and "Introduction" sections of each of them to identify the relevancy of the papers and school of thoughts in relation to your area of research.

Step 2: Supplement to the collection of literature of each school of thoughts by finding those papers mentioned in the "Reference" (Bibliographies) section.

Step 3: Read carefully the "Abstract" and "Introduction" sections. Identify the characteristics and papers of each school of thoughts.

Second stage

Step 4: Identify the school of thoughts that is most relevant to your area of research. Skim the “Main body” section of each paper of your collection of this school of thoughts to arrange the sequence of subsequent reading of them in the next step.

Step 5: Read the “main body” section of each paper. Identify the main assumptions, originality, merits, methods, applications and flow of thoughts.

Step 6: After reading the papers of that school of thoughts, summarise the characteristics, merits, limitations and likely shortcomings. Identify the most valuable original ideas and papers.

Third stage

Step 7: Identify the school of thought second relevant to your area of research from .

Step 8: Skim the “Main body” section of each paper of your collection of this school of thoughts to arrange the sequence of subsequent reading of them in the next step.

Step 9: Read the “main body” section of each paper. Identify the main assumptions, originality, merits, methods, applications and flow of thoughts.

Step 10: After reading the papers of that school of thoughts, summarise the characteristics, merits, limitations and likely shortcomings. Identify the most valuable original ideas and papers.

Fourth stage

Step 11: Summarise all the aforementioned data and information from the most relevant and second relevant school of thoughts. Deduce the characteristics of the problems in the domain of your area of research . Use more appropriate “Keywords” to search and find supplement papers.

Step 12: Read carefully the "Abstract" and "Introduction" sections of the supplement papers. Identify the characteristics and papers of each school of thoughts.

Fifth stage

Step 13: Identify the school of thoughts within the supplementary papers that are most relevant to your area of research. Skim the “Main body” section of each paper of your collection of this school of thoughts to arrange the sequence of subsequent reading of them in the next step.

Step 14: Read the “main body” section of each paper. Identify the main assumptions, originality, merits, methods, applications and flow of thoughts.

Step 15: After reading the papers of that school of thoughts, summarise the characteristics, merits, limitations and likely shortcomings. Identify the most valuable original ideas and papers.

Sixth stage

Step 16: Identify the school of thought within the supplementary papers that are second relevant to your area of research.

Step 17: Skim the “Main body” section of each paper of your collection of this school of thoughts to arrange the sequence of subsequent reading of them in the next step.

Step 18: Read the “main body” section of each paper. Identify the main assumptions, originality, merits, methods, applications and flow of thoughts.

Step 19: After reading the papers of that school of thoughts, summarise the characteristics, merits, limitations and likely shortcomings. Identify the most valuable original ideas and papers.

Seventh stage

Step 20: Summarise and organise the merits, limitations, main original ideas and key papers of each school of thoughts. Analyse the crucial elements of the problems and likelihood of breakthrough. Identify the key papers to carry out the activities described in the next step.

Step 21: Analyse the premise for the merits in connection with the key papers. Find out whether or not the premise can be developed. Analyse thoroughly the cause for the shortcoming. Find out whether or not the shortcoming can be avoided under certain conditions.

Step 22: Organise the aforementioned results of analysis. Propose your methods by summarising the merits of previous researchers, avoiding the shortcoming, breaking through or improving the bottleneck of the problem.

Literature Survey/Review

1. What have we already known in the research area? 我們在研究領域已經知道了什麼？
2. What are the characteristics of the key concepts/factors/variables? 關鍵概念/因素/變量的特徵是什麼？
3. What are the relationships between the key concepts/factors/variables? 關鍵概念/因素/變量之間有什麼關係？
4. What are the existing theories? 現有的理論是什麼？
5. Where are the gaps and inconsistencies in our knowledge and understanding? 我們的知識和理解中的差距和不一致在哪裡？
6. What views need to be further tested? 哪些觀點需要進一步測試？
7. What current research designs or methods seem unsatisfactory? 目前的研究設計或方法，有什麼似乎不令人滿意？
8. What evidence is lacking/inconclusive/contradictory/too limited? 哪些證據缺乏/不確定/矛盾/太有限？
9. What contribution is my research expected to make? 我的研究預計會做出哪些貢獻？

Literature Survey/Review

Analysis of papers by "concept" vs "authors":

Literature Survey/Review

Analysis of papers by "articles" vs "concept/theory":

Science citation index

• Eugene Garfield, PhD, inventor of the Science Citation Index.

• Eugene Garfield. Citation Indexes for Science: a Dimension in Documentation through Association of Ideas. Science, Vol:122, No:3159, pp.108-111.

• The Science Citation Index is now called the Clarivate Analytics Web of Science.

Clarivate Analytics Web of Science

• Web of Science Quick reference guide

• Web of Science training video

• Web of Science training videos are here

Web of Science

• Find a research topic's development and trend

• Find review papers of a research topic

• Find a high-impact paper in a research topic

• Obtain the full text and information of a paper

• Find how a theory in a book has been cited, developed and applied

• Find the institutions, journals, authors who had cited a certain paper

• Keep abreast of the latest developments of a paper or a topic

• Keep your own library within Web of Science

• . . . .

Where to look for information:

• arXiv
• bioRXiv
• BoS China
• Beida Fabao
• British National Bibliography
• Bureau van Dijk
• Consortium of University Research Libraries Online Public Access Catalogue
• Cambridge Core
• Cambridge Law Journal
• China Knowledge Resource Integrated Database

Where to look for information:

• CADAL
• CiteseerX
• CNNIC
• Curia
• Compendex
• DBLP bibilography
• Directory of Open Access Journal
• EBSCO Research Databases
• EThOs e-thesis online service
• Elsevier Open access journals

Where to look for information:

• EconLit
• Free on-line dictionary of computing
• F1000Research
• Google Scholar
• Google Research Papers
• Harvard Journals and Publications
• HCI Bibliography
• hkstudies
• hkhistory
• hkstats

Where to look for information:

• HighWire
• iResearch
• IngentaConnect
• IBM Systems Journal
• IEEE Xplore
• IEEE Computer Society
• Oxford JLA
• JSTOR
• JustCite
• Jurist

Where to look for information:

• Kluwer Law Online
• Lecture Notes in Computer Science
• Law Journal Library
• Legal Technology Resource Center
• Lexis Library
• Microsoft Research Papers
• Nature
• NDLTD
• New Scientist
• Neuron AI directory

Where to look for information:

• Oxford Law Journals
• OCLC ArticleFirst
• Oxford Academic
• Open Access Law Journal
• PeerJ
• ProQuest
• Project MUSE
• PQDT
• Pishu
• Questia

Where to look for information:

• Routledge
• RAND
• Royal Society Open Science
• SAGE Journals
• Scopus
• Science Daily News
• ScienceDirect
• SpringerLink
• SciELO
• SSRN

Where to look for information:

• Taylor and Francis Online
• The Stationery Office
• The British Library Online Public Access Catalogue
• The Collection of Computer Science Bibliographies
• UN Data
• US Census
• UK Official Statistical Publications
• UlrichsWeb Global Serials Directory
• Westlaw UK
• Web of Science

Where to look for information:

• Wiley Online Library
• Yale Law Journal
• Zetoc Informing Research
• Zhongjingwang

Hong Kong Public Libraries (remote access)

• AccessScience
• China Academic Journals Full-text Database
• China Doctoral Dissertations Full-text Database
• Opposing Viewpoints in Context
• Science in Context

The University of Hong Kong Libraries

• Electronic Resources HKU SPACE
• (MDX University Library)

Other quick reference guide

• Scopus Quick Reference Guide
• Scopus training videos are available here

Bibliography management tools

Bibliography management tools

Maintain a database of all the literature that you have read.

• BibMe
• EndNote
• JabRef
• Mendeley
• RefWorks

Other alternatives

• HKU Endnote
• Zotero
• Citavi

Other suggestions

• How to navigate a scientific paper with time constraints.
• Infographic: How to read a scientific paper
• Efficient reading of papers in science and technology
• How to read a scientific article
• How to read a paper: Assessing the methodological quality of published papers
• How to read a paper
• Publication, Publication

Structure

• MDX handbook 2016

• Dawson 2015

• Galsman-Deal 2010

• Araújo 25-30-paragraph method for a manuscript

MDX reports style requirements

Reports should be near the recommended word length (around 15,000 words), word-processed on white A4 paper. Single or one and one-half spacing is acceptable. Chapters/major sections should always begin on a new page, and their titles should be capitalised in bold and centred. Sub-section headings should be in bold, left centred and only have initial capitals. Margins should be 4 cm wide on the left-hand side and 2 cm on the other three sides. Copies of the report should be covered in a white card cover, with the format of the front cover as shown in Appendix C. This white card cover should itself be protected by clear plastic A4 sheets, bound into the front and back of the report (comb, spiral or glue binding are acceptable).

MDX reports style requirements

Reports should have the following overall structure:

• Title Page
• Abstract
• Contents Page
• Body of the Report
• Appendices
• References

Note: the Appendices section is placed before the Reference section

MDX reports style requirements

The title page must follow the same layout as shown in Appendix C and contain the following declaration:

A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in .

Report (and manuscript) writing

• From (Dawson 2015)

• From template approach

  • IMRaD with questions for each topic

  • 25-30-paragraph method for a manuscript, each answering a question

2 approaches of presenting project in written form:

• Top-down approach

• Evolutionary approach

  The two approaches can be combined so that you identify, at the start of your project, the specific sections of some your your report's chapters. You can then begin to write these sections, but will find that they evolve and change as your project progresses.

Top-down approach

Identify the structure of your report with a chapter breakdown structure how many chapters it will have, what each chapter will contain and how each chapter will break down into subsections. With subheadings identified, you can then go on to complete these sections at an appropriate point in your project when results are obtained and information is acquired.

Evolutionary approach

. . . write parts of your report and rewrite these parts as your project progresses (drafting and redrafting). Each part thus evolves and matures over a period of time as new ideas emerge and your understanding increases.

Report structure

• Title page or cover sheet
• Abstract
• Acknowledgements
• Contents listing
• List of figures and tables
• The report itself
  • Introduction
  • Literature review
  • Main body
  • Conclusions / recommendations
• References
• Appendices¹
• Glossary of terms
• Index

Abstracts

Your report's abstract should be one of the last things you write; when you actually know what you have achieved and what the content of your report is.

(Dawson 2015, 209)

Three components:--

• context
• gap
• contribution

Abstracts

Context: introduces the topic area in which your project resides; it can include coverage of related topics and issues, and generally sets the scene for the reader so they can comprehend your project's subject area.

Gap: identifies any gaps or shortfalls within the topic area that your project is going to explore and, hopefully, contribute to.

Contribution: covers the contribution or content of your report itself . . . what does your report contain that fills the gap you have identified or what does your report contain in relation to the context you have discussed.

Presentation of data and results

All figures and tables that you include within your report should be clearly and uniquely labelled with a number and a short description . . . Table 8.1 and Figure 8.1 refer to two different items within a report. When labelling a figure it is usual to put the caption beneath the figure. When labelling a table it is often better to place the caption above the table (because sometimes tables cover several pages).

Checklist for tables and figures:

• Does it have a brief but clear and descriptive title?

• Are the units of measurement used stated clearly?

• Are the sources of data used stated clearly?

• Are there notes to explain abbreviations and unusual terminology?

• Have you stated the sample size?

Checklist for diagrams:

• Does it have clear axis labels?

• Are bars and their components in the same logical sequence?

• Is more dense shading used for smaller areas?

• Is a key or legend included (where necessary)?

Checklist for tables:

• Does it have clear column and row headings?

• Are columns and rows in a logical sequence?

Poor report characteristics (part 1)

A lack of references. What references there are refer to standard texts. You should refer to more than just the standard text books recommended on the first year of your course.

A lot of references to old and obscure texts. This might indicate you have merely copied them from another source rather than reading around the subject and identifying more contemporary sources.

The references in the main body do not match with the list of references at the back of the report. This is sloppy and suggests a failure to recognise the importance of references.

Poor report characteristics (part 2)

The references are swamped with URLs rather than traditional sources. Although the Internet can provide a useful starting point for research, the content is largely unrefereed. A reference list dominated by URLs shows a lack of rigour in your literature search and an element of laziness. It also indicates that your work might not have a firm foundation but may be built on a number of opinions and ideas that have yet to be established.

Referencing styles

Two types of referencing:--

• ordinal-number style

• author-date style

Generally speaking, there are two ways to cite references - the Harvard System and the Numeric System. There are numerous variations on these techniques . . . it is recommended that you use the Harvard style of referencing which is more flexible and clearer than the numeric approach.

Further referencing styles

There are many different referencing styles, but the most commonly used in Middlesex University is the Harvard Referencing system.

Referencing systems other than Harvard:

• American Psychological Association (APA)
• Modern Languages Association (MLA)
• Modern Humanities Research Association (MHRA)
• Oxford University standard for the citation of legal authorities (OSCOLA)
• The Vancouver referencing system
• The Chicago referencing system

Reference style manual web pages

• AMA
• APA
• Chicago
• Harvard
• MLA

Examples of citing (part 1)

• It is often said that computing is an art not a science (Smith and Jones, 2015a: 20).

• This was first suggested by Smith and Jones (2015b: 25) who justified their proposition by . . .

• Smith and Jones (2015c: 30) argued that . . .

• Berndtsson et al. (2016: 35) pointed out that a common mistake . . .

• It is often said that computing is an art not a science (Berndtsson et al., 2017: 15).

Examples of citing (part 2)

• It is often said that computing is an art not a science (Berndtsson et al., 2017: 15; Smith and Jones, 2015a: 20).

• It is often said that computing is an art not a science (Markos et al., 2012: 45 cited by Smith and Jones, 2015a: 20 ).

Examples of citing (part 3)

3 abbreviations that might be used:--

• op. cit. - in the work already cited

• ibid. - in the same place (no intervening references)

• loc. cit. - in the place cited (referring to the same page of an article you have previously cited)

Examples of citing (part 4)

• It is often said that computing is an art and not a science (Johnson, 2015: 25). Smith and Jones (2014: 35) emphasised this point when they compared computing with finer things in life. However, Johnson (op. cit.: 34) went on to discuss . . .

• It is often said that computing is an art and not a science (Johnson, 2015: 25). Johnson (ibid.) stated that . . . .

• It is often said that computing is an art and not a science (Johnson, 2015: 25). Smith and Jones (2014: 35) emphasised this point when they compared computing with finer things in life. However, Johnson (loc. cit.) went on to discuss . . .

Structure of contents

Introduction to the structure

. . . it is symmetrical. This is because many of the things you need to do in the Introduction are done - in reverse order - in the Discussion/Conclusion. . . . it narrows towards the central report section, and widens after it. is represents the way information is ordered in the Introduction and the Discussion / Conclusion: in the Introduction you start out by being fairly general and gradually narrow your focus, whereas the opposite is true in the Discussion / Conclusion.

Skimming of an article

• Read the title

• Look at the name of the author

• Check the date

• Read the abstract

• Look quickly at the first paragraph

• Look quickly at the first sentence of each paragraph

• Look quickly at each figure / table and read its title

• Read the last paragraph

Quick reading

• Read the title:
  • Try to predict the type of information you expect to see
• Look at the name of the author:
  • What you know about the writer will help you predict and evaluate the content
• Check the date:
  • Use it to help you assess the content
• Read the abstract
  • Find out what the researchers did and/or what they found
• Look quickly at the first paragraph:
  • Without trying to understand all the words
• Look quickly at the first sentence of each paragraph:
  • Without trying to understand all the words
• Look quickly at each figure / table and read its title:
  • Try and find out what type of visual data is included
• Read the last paragraph:
  • Especially if it has a subtitle like 'Summary' or 'Conclusion'

IMRaD

Most scientific papers are prepared according to a standard format called IMRaD (Sollaci and Pereira 2004).

The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) adopted the term as the standard, first in 1972 and again in 1979.

• ANSI/NISO Z39.18-1995 Scientific and Technical Reports - Preparation, Presentation and Preservation; available here

• ANSI/NISO Z39.18-2005 (R2010) Scientific and Technical Reports - Preparation, Presentation and Preservation; available here

• Body Matter

  • Summary
  • Introduction
  • Methods, Assumptions, and Procedures
  • Results and Discussion
  • Conclusions
  • Recommendations
  • References

IMRaD

Common overall structure of a paper or a dissertation consisting of 4 sections, each with 4 basic components:

• Introduction (1), (2), (3), (4)

• Methods (what you did / used) (1), (2), (3), (4)

• Results (what you found / saw) (1), (2), (3), (4)

• Discussion (1), (2), (3), (4) and Conclusion

4 sets of questions for "Introduction"

1. Establish the importance of your field. Provide background facts / information. Define the terminology in the title / key words. Present the problem area / current research focus.

2. Summarise, compare and review the previous and current research and contributions

3. By (1) and (2), locate a gap in the research. Describe the problem you will address. Proposed a hypothesis. Present a prediction to be tested.

4. Describe the present paper. Briefly introduce the method, strategy and starting point of your research. What are the methods used to solve the problem(s) mentioned in (3)? What are the final objectives of the research?

Example of Introduction (1)

• Example of a 10-sentence 3-paragraph given by Hilary Galsman-Deal in the book.

1 Polylactide (PLA) has received much attention in recent years due to its biodegradable properties, which offer important economic benefits. 2 PLA is a polymer obtained from corn and is produced by the polymerisation of lactide. 3 PLA has many possible uses in the biomedical field¹. and has also been investigated as a potential engineering material^2,3. 4 However, it has been found to be too weak under impact to be used commercially.⁴

Example of Introduction (1)

5 One way to toughen polymers is to incorporate a layer of rubber particles.⁵ 6 For example, Penney et al. showed that PLA composites could be prepared using blending techniques⁶ and more recently, Hillier⁷ established the toughness of such composites. 7 However, although the effect of the rubber particles on the mechanical properties of copolymer systems was demonstrated over two years ago,⁸ little attention has been paid to the selection of an appropriate rubber component.

Example of Introduction (1)

8 The present paper presents a set of criteria for selecting such a component. 9 On the basis of these criteria it then describes the preparation of a set of polymer blends using PLA and a hydrocarbon rubber(PI). 10 This combination of two mechanistically distinct polymerisations formed a novel copolymer in which the incorporation of PI significantly increased flexibility.

Analysis

1 Polylactide (PLA) has received much attention in recent years due to its biodegradable properties, which offer important economic benefits.

Component: Facts and problems.

Explanation: the writer offers a general overview of the subsection.

2 PLA is a polymer obtained from corn and is produced by the polymerisation of lactide.

Component: Facts and problems.

Explanation: the writer provides background information and justification.

Analysis

3 PLA has many possible uses in the biomedical field¹. and has also been investigated as a potential engineering material^2,3.

Component: Method.

Explanation: the writer provides an overview of the procedure/ method itself.

Analysis

4 However, it has been found to be too weak under impact to be used commercially.⁴

Component: Method.

Explanation: the writer provides details about what was done and used and shows that care was taken.

5 One way to toughen polymers is to incorporate a layer of rubber particles.⁵

Component: Method.

Explanation: the writer continues to describe what was done in detail, using language which communicates that care was taken.

Analysis

6 For example, Penney et al. showed that PLA composites could be prepared using blending techniques⁶ and more recently, Hillier⁷ established the toughness of such composites.

Component: Mini literature survey.

Explanation: the writer describes what was done by referring to existing methods in the literature.

7 However, although the effect of the rubber particles on the mechanical properties of copolymer systems was demonstrated over two years ago,⁸ little attention has been paid to the selection of an appropriate rubber component.

Component: Method.

Explanation: the writer provides more detailed information about the method and shows it to have been a good choice.

Analysis

8 The present paper presents a set of criteria for selecting such a component.

Component: Method.

Explanation: the writer provides more details of the method.

9 On the basis of these criteria it then describes the preparation of a set of polymer blends using PLA and a hydrocarbon rubber(PI).

Component: Method.

Explanation: the writer mentions a possible difficulty in the methodology.

Analysis

10 This combination of two mechanistically distinct polymerisations formed a novel copolymer in which the incorporation of PI significantly increased flexibility.

Component: Finding.

Explanation: the writer announces the findings.

Example of Introduction (2)

• Tsai and Tsai. Changes in Depressive Symptoms, Social Support, and Loneliness Over 1 Year After a Minimum 3-Month Video Conference Program for Older Nursing Home Residents. Journal of Medical Internet Research. 2011 Oct-Dec; 13(4): e93.

• The article is available here.¹

Analysis

The sentences / paragraphs of the "Introduction" section are analysed and divided into the following components:

1. Facts and problems

2. Mini literature survey

3. Gap / Motivation / Question / Problem / Criticism

4. Present study

5. Method

Facts and problems

Similar to other countries, Taiwan has more and more older people living in nursing homes. The number of nursing homes in Taiwan grew from 10 in 1995 to 372 in 2010 [1], indicating the great need for health care professionals trained in taking care of older institutionalized adults. Nursing home placement has been widely discussed in the literature as a stressful life event that challenges older people [2].

Mini literature survey

Older people who live in nursing homes have a higher prevalence of depression, which contributes to excessive morbidity [3], than do those who live in communities [4]. This prevalence of depression varied from 25% to 45% in Western countries [5,6] and was 52%–54% in Taiwan [7-9]. Many nursing home residents also experience loneliness [10], which has been associated with cognitive deterioration and hopelessness [11]. Thus, interventions have been used to enhance the quality of life in this group of people [12].

Mini literature survey

One important aspect of social support for older nursing home residents is continuous involvement of family members. However, one-third of nursing home residents were found to seldom have visitors [18]. . . . [19]. However, support is not limited to in-person visits. Though family members may have limited time to visit residents in person, telephone calls can reduce residents' loneliness [20]. With rapid advances in telecommunication technology, real-time audiovisual linkups are now possible among multiple locations via affordable software and hardware [21]. Providing real-time audiovisual telecommunication systems to nursing home residents in Hong Kong [21] and Japan [22] has been shown to add a new dimension for the majority who lack the skills and capacities to adapt to the nursing home environment.

Gap / Motivation / Question / Problem / Criticism

Elderly nursing home residents in Taiwan were shown by Tsai and colleagues [24] to have significantly fewer depressive symptoms and less loneliness after a 3-month program of 5 minutes/week of video conference interactions with family members. These studies demonstrate that video conferencing is a feasible way for individuals living either in the community or in institutions to communicate. However, those studies had small sample sizes or used a cross-sectional design. Therefore, larger longitudinal studies are needed to make causal claims about the relationship between the effectiveness of video conferencing and participants' depressive status and loneliness and to improve the generalisability of results.

Present study

To date, no empirical studies have used a longitudinal design to examine the effectiveness of video conferencing for nursing home residents in Taiwan. Understanding the effectiveness of video conferencing in Taiwanese nursing homes would fill the knowledge gap on this topic. Thus, the purpose of this study was to evaluate the long-term follow-up effectiveness of a video conference intervention program on nursing home residents' social support, loneliness, and depressive status after a minimum 3-month video conference program.

Method

The video conference program used laptops and Internet communication programs. Nursing home residents were asked to use the Internet at least once a week, with help from a trained research assistant, who spent at least 5 minutes per week with each resident for the first 3 months . . . This weekly frequency . . . in-person visits to a nursing home resident for the majority of families [28,29], . . . After 3 months, whenever residents wanted to have a video communication with their family, they were helped by the nursing home staff . . . The communication programs used were Windows Live Messenger (MSN; Microsoft Corporation, Redmond, WA, USA) or Skype (Skype Technologies SA, Luxembourg) via a 2 M/256 K wireless modem run on a large-screen (15.6 inch) laptop.

Example of Introduction (3)

• Naveed Sattar and et al. Statins and Risk of Incident Diabetes: a Collaborative Meta-analysis of Randomised Statin Trials. Lancet, 2010, Vol.375, 735—742.

• The article is available here. ²

Analysis

The sentences / paragraphs of the "Introduction" section are analysed and divided into the following components:

1. Facts and problems

2. Mini literature survey

3. Gap / Motivation / Question / Problem / Criticism

4. Present study

5. Method

Facts and problems

Statin therapy is effective for reduction of cardiovascular events^1,2 and is generally recognised as being safe and well tolerated.³ However, researchers of six large randomised placebo-control trials^4-9 have reported conflicting results about the development of diabetes in patients taking such drugs.

Mini literature survey

In the JUPITER⁴ trial, 17,802 adults with no clinical or biochemical diagnosis of diabetes based on fasting glucose concentrations were assigned rosuvastatin or placebo for a median of 1.9 years. Significantly more individuals in the statin group than in the placebo group developed diabetes.¹⁰

Mini literature survey

By contrast, results from the WOSCOPS⁵ study suggested that pravastatin therapy might reduce the frequency of diabetes. These findings have raised questions about the safety of long-term use of statins,¹⁰ and led to calls for a systematic exploration of the possible effect of statin therapy on incident diabetes.¹¹

Gap / Motivation / Question / Problem / Criticism

Overestimation of clinical benefit or underestimation of risk is potentially of major public health importance.

Present study

To resolve this uncertainty, we investigated this effect by undertaking a meta-analysis of all available published and unpublished data from large placebo-controlled and standard-care-controlled statin trials.

Example of Introduction (4)

• Yun Wu and et al. Therapeutic Delivery of MicroRNA-29b by Cationic Lipoplexes for Lung Cancer. Molecular Therapy-Nucleic Acids (2013) 2, e84.

• The article is available here. ³

Analysis

The sentences / paragraphs of the "Introduction" section are analysed and divided into the following components:

1. Facts and problems
2. Mini literature survey
3. Gap / Motivation / Question / Problem / Criticism
4. Present study
5. Method

Facts and Problem

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths in the United States with a disappointing 15% overall 5-year survival rate.^1,2 It is estimated that in 2012, there will be approximately 226,000 new cases and 160,000 deaths from lung cancer (non-small cell and small cell combined).² The overall 5-year mortality has changed very little since the 1970s.³ Much of this may be attributed to the lack of adequate screening, the lack of clarity in what constitutes "high risk" for the development of disease, heterogeneity of disease and the limited number of novel therapies.

Mini literature survey

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small (~22 nucleotide) endogenous non-coding RNAs that regulate gene expression at the posttranscriptional level through RNA interference.^4,5 MiRNAs are actively involved in many biological processes and have an impact on many diseases including cancer. Differential expression of miRNAs has been demonstrated in many types of cancer. These miRNAs carry both diagnostic and prognostic information and have been shown to alter cancer cell phenotype by targeting biological pathways critical to tumorigenesis.^6-8 For example, recent studies have suggested that members of miR-29 family may play an important role in cancer by regulating cell proliferation, differentiation, apoptosis, migration, and invasion.^9,10 Down-regulation of miR-29 family members has been observed in leukemia,^11,14 melanoma,¹⁵ liver,¹⁶ colon,¹⁷ cervical,¹⁸ and lung cancer.^19-21

Mini literature survey

In lung cancer, Fabbri et al. recently determined that miR-29 members functionally targeted DNA methytransferases (DNMT) 3A and 3B, two key enzymes involved in DNA methylation and often related to the survival of patients with lung cancer.²⁰ Re-expression of miR-29 in lung cancer cells restored normal DNA methylation patterns and thus induced re-expression of methylation-silenced tumor suppressor genes, such as FHIT and WWOX, and inhibited tumorigenicity in vitro and in vivo. Rothschild et al. determined that miR-29b was involved in the Src-ID1 signaling pathway thus regulating lung cancer cell migration and invasion.²¹ As a result, miR-29 has become an attractive candidate for miRNA-based therapeutics.

Gap / Motivation / Question / Problem / Criticism

However, targeted in vivo delivery of miRNAs faces many challenges including limited stability in serum, rapid blood clearance, off-target effects, and poor cellular uptake.²² Chemical modifications . . . Alternatively, miRNAs can be delivered as a precursor shRNA encoded by a plasmid via viral vectors. Delivery by nanoparticles has the advantages of being more cost-effective, less immunogenic, less toxic and less oncogenic.²³ However, only three groups have published results on the development of nanoparticle delivery systems to systemically deliver miRNAs for lung cancer treatment. Chen et al. established a liposome-polycation-hyaluronicacid–based nanoparticle to effectively deliver siRNA and miR-34a in a syngeneic model of B16F10 lung metastases.²⁴ Wiggins et al. and Trang et al. used a . . .^25,26 Our group developed a cationic lipoplexes (LPs)-based carrier system for miR-133b delivery.²⁷

Present study

In the current study, we used a cationic LPs-based delivery system to efficiently deliver miR-29b to suppress tumorigenicity in vitro and in vivo by down-regulating multiple oncogenes, including cyclin-dependent protein kinase 6 (CDK6), DNMT3B, and myeloid cell leukemia sequence 1 (MCL1).

Structure of contents

4 sets of questions for "Methodology"" (What you did / used)

1. Provide a general introduction and overview of the materials / methods. Restate the purpose of the work. Give the source of materials / equipment used. Supply essential background information.

2. Provide specific and precise details about materials and methods (i.e. quantities, temperatures, duration, sequence, conditions, locations, sizes, etc.). Justify choices made. Indicate that appropriate care was taken.

3. Relate materials / methods to other studies.

4. Indicate where problems occurred.

Example of Methodology

• Example of a 9-sentence 4-paragraph given by Hilary Galsman-Deal in the book.

1 The current investigation involved sampling and analysing six sites to measure changes in groundwater chemistry. 2 The sites were selected from the London Basin area, which is located in the south-east of England and has been frequently used to interpret groundwater evolution.^{2, 3, 4}

3 A total of 18 samples was collected and then analysed for the isotopes mentioned earlier. 4 Samples 1–9 were collected in thoroughly-rinsed 25 ml brown glass bottles which were filled to the top and then sealed tightly to prevent contamination. 5 The filled bottles were shipped directly to two separate laboratories at Reading University, where they were analysed using standard methods suitably miniaturised to handle small quantities of water.⁵

Example of Methodology

6 Samples 10–18 were prepared in our laboratory using a revised version of the precipitation method established by the ISF Institute in Germany.⁶ 7 This method obtains a precipitate through the addition of BaCl₂2H₂O; the resulting precipitate can be washed and stored easily.

8 The samples were subsequently shipped to ISF for analysis by accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS). 9 All tubing used was stainless steel, and although two samples were at risk of CFC contamination as a result of brief contact with plastic, variation among samples was negligible.

Analysis

1 The current investigation involved sampling and analysing six sites to measure changes in groundwater chemistry.

Explanation: the writer offers a general overview of the subsection.

2 The sites were selected from the London Basin area, which is located in the south-east of England and has been frequently used to interpret groundwater evolution.^{2, 3, 4}

Explanation: the writer provides background information and justification.

3 A total of 18 samples was collected and then analysed for the isotopes mentioned earlier.

Explanation: the writer provides an overview of the procedure/ method itself.

Analysis

4 Samples 1–9 were collected in thoroughly-rinsed 25 ml brown glass bottles which were filled to the top and then sealed tightly to prevent contamination.

Explanation: the writer provides details about what was done and used and shows that care was taken.

5 The filled bottles were shipped directly to two separate laboratories at Reading University, where they were analysed using standard methods suitably miniaturised to handle small quantities of water.⁵

Explanation: the writer continues to describe what was done in detail, using language which communicates that care was taken.

Analysis

6 Samples 10–18 were prepared in our laboratory using a revised version of the precipitation method established by the ISF Institute in Germany.⁶

Explanation: the writer describes what was done by referring to existing methods in the literature.

7 This method obtains a precipitate through the addition of BaCl₂2H₂O; the resulting precipitate can be washed and stored easily.

Explanation: the writer provides more detailed information about the method and shows it to have been a good choice.

Analysis

8 The samples were subsequently shipped to ISF for analysis by accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS).

Explanation: the writer provides more details of the method.

9 All tubing used was stainless steel, and although two samples were at risk of CFC contamination as a result of brief contact with plastic, variation among samples was negligible.

Explanation: the writer mentions a possible difficulty in the methodology.

Structure of contents

4 sets of questions for "Results"

1. Revising the research aim / existing research. Revisiting / expanding methodology. General overviews of results.

2. Invitation to view results. Specific / key results in detail, with or without explanations. Comparisons with results in other research. Comparisons with model predictions.

3. Problems with results.

4. Possible implications of results.

Example of Results (1)

• Example of a 13-sentence 4-paragraph given by Hilary Galsman-Deal in the book.

1 Data obtained in previous studies^1,2 using a fixed on-site monitor indicated that travel by car resulted in lower CO exposure than travel on foot. 2 According to Figo et al. (1999), the median exposure of car passengers was 11% lower than for those walking.² 3 In our study, modelled emission rates were obtained using the Traffic Emission Model (TEM), a CO-exposure modelling framework developed by Ka.³ 4 Modelled results were compared with actual roadside CO concentrations measured hourly at a fixed monitor. 5 Figure 1 shows the results obtained using TEM.

Example of Results (1)

6 As can be seen, during morning peak-time journeys the CO concentrations for car passengers were significantly lower than for pedestrians, which is consistent with results obtained in previous studies.^1,2 7 However, the modelled data were not consistent with these results for afternoon journeys. 8 Although the mean CO concentrations modelled by TEM for afternoon journeys on foot were in line with those of Figo et al., a striking difference was noted when each of the three peak hours was considered singly (Fig. 2).

9 It can be observed that during the first hour (H1) of the peak period, journeys on foot resulted in a considerably lower level of CO exposure. 10 Although levels for journeys on foot generally exceeded those modelled for car journeys during H2, during the last hour (H3) the levels for journeys on foot were again frequently far lower than for car journeys.

Example of Results (1)

11 A quantitative analysis to determine modelling uncertainties was applied, based on the maximum deviation of the measured and calculated levels within the considered period. 12 Using this approach, the uncertainty of the model prediction for this study slightly exceeds the 50% acceptability limit defined by Jiang.⁷ 13 Nevertheless, these results suggest that data obtained using TEM to simulate CO exposures may provide more sensitive information for assessing the impact of traffic management strategies than traditional on-site measurement.

Analysis

1 Data obtained in previous studies^1,2 using a fixed on-site monitor indicated that travel by car resulted in lower CO exposure than travel on foot. 2 According to Figo et al. (1999), the median exposure of car passengers was 11% lower than for those walking.²

Components: Revisiting research aim

Explanation: the writer refers to the findings and conclusions obtained by other researchers.

Analysis

3 In our study, modelled emission rates were obtained using the Traffic Emission Model (TEM), a CO-exposure modelling framework developed by Ka.³ 4 Modelled results were compared with actual roadside CO concentrations measured hourly at a fixed monitor. 5 Figure 1 shows the results obtained using TEM.

Components: Revisiting methodology

Explanation: the writer refers back to his / her own methodology and adds more information about it.

Analysis

6 As can be seen, during morning peak-time journeys the CO concentrations for car passengers were significantly lower than for pedestrians, which is consistent with results obtained in previous studies.^1,2

Components: Invite to view results

Explanation: the writer invites the reader to look at a graph / figure / table etc.

7 However, the modelled data were not consistent with these results for afternoon journeys.

Components: Comparison with previous

Explanation: the writer refers to specific results and compares them with those obtained in another study, using subjective, evaluative language.

Analysis

8 Although the mean CO concentrations modelled by TEM for afternoon journeys on foot were in line with those of Figo et al., a striking difference was noted when each of the three peak hours was considered singly (Fig. 2).

Components: Comparison with previous

Explanation: the writer offers a general statement about his / her results to begin a new paragraph.

Analysis

9 It can be observed that during the first hour (H1) of the peak period, journeys on foot resulted in a considerably lower level of CO exposure. 10 Although levels for journeys on foot generally exceeded those modelled for car journeys during H2, during the last hour (H3) the levels for journeys on foot were again frequently far lower than for car journeys.

Components: Comparison with previous

Explanation: the writer refers to specific results and compares them to those obtained in another study, using language that comments on the result(s).

Analysis

11 A quantitative analysis to determine modelling uncertainties was applied, based on the maximum deviation of the measured and calculated levels within the considered period.

Components: Revisiting methodology

Explanation: the writer refers to the method used to analyse the results.

12 Using this approach, the uncertainty of the model prediction for this study slightly exceeds the 50% acceptability limit defined by Jiang.⁷

Components: Problem with results

Explanation: the writer mentions a problem in the results and uses quantity language to minimise its significance.

Analysis

13 Nevertheless, these results suggest that data obtained using TEM to simulate CO exposures may provide more sensitive information for assessing the impact of traffic management strategies than traditional on-site measurement.

Components: Implications

Explanation: the writer makes a reference to the implications and applications of the work s/he has done.

Structure of contents

4 sets of questions for "Discussion / conclusion"

1. Revisiting previous sections. Summarising / revisiting general or key results.

2. Mapping (relationship to existing research)

3. Achievement / contribution. Refining the implications.

4. Limitations. Current and Future work. Applications.

Example of Discussion / conclusion (1)

• Example of a 12-sentence 2-paragraph given by Hilary Galsman-Deal in the book.

1 Prior work has documented the effectiveness of psychosocial intervention in improving quality of life (QoL) and reducing stress in patients suffering from various disorders; Epstein,¹⁸ for example, reports that orthopaedic patients participating in a two-week multimedia intervention programme improved across several QoL indices, including interpersonal conflict and mental health. 2 However, these studies have either been short-term studies or have not focused on patients whose disorder was stress-related. 3 In this study we tested the extent to which an extended three-month stress management programme improved QoL among a group of patients being treated for stress-related skin disorders such as eczema.

Example of Discussion / conclusion (1)

4 We found that in virtually all cases, participation in our three-month stress management programme was associated with substantial increases in the skills needed to improve QoL. 5 These findings extend those of Kaliom, confirming that a longer, more intensive period of stress-management training tends to produce more effective skills than when those skills are input over a shorter period via information transfer media such as leaflets and presentations (Kaliom et al., 2003). 6 In addition, the improvements noted in our study were unrelated to age, gender or ethnic background. 7 This study therefore indicates that the benefits gained from stress-management intervention may address QoL needs across a wide range of patients. . .

Example of Discussion / conclusion (1)

. . . 8 Most notably, this is the first study to our knowledge to investigate the effectiveness of extended psychosocial intervention in patients whose disorder is itself thought to be stress-related. 9 Our results provide compelling evidence for long-term involvement with such patients and suggest that this approach appears to be effective in counteracting stress that may exacerbate the disorder. 10 However, some limitations are worth noting. 11 Although our hypotheses were supported statistically, the sample was not reassessed once the programme was over. 12 Future work should therefore include follow-up work designed to evaluate whether the skills are retained in the long term and also whether they continue to be used to improve QoL.

Analysis

1 Prior work has documented the effectiveness of psychosocial intervention in improving quality of life (QoL) and reducing stress in patients suffering from various disorders; Epstein,¹⁸ for example, reports that orthopaedic patients participating in a two-week multimedia intervention programme improved across several QoL indices, including interpersonal conflict and mental health.

Component: Revisiting previous section.

Explanation the writer revisits previous research.

Analysis

2 However, these studies have either been short-term studies or have not focused on patients whose disorder was stress-related.

Component: Revisiting previous section.

Explanation the writer revisits the Introduction to recall specific weakness in the methodology used in previous studies.

3 In this study we tested the extent to which an extended three-month stress management programme improved QoL among a group of patients being treated for stress-related skin disorders such as eczema.

Component: Revisiting previous section.

Explanation: the writer revisits the methodology used in this study.

Analysis

4 We found that in virtually all cases, participation in our three-month stress management programme was associated with substantial increases in the skills needed to improve QoL.

Component: Summarising results

Explanation: the writer revisits and summarises the results.

5 These findings extend those of Kaliom, confirming that a longer, more intensive period of stress-management training tends to produce more effective skills than when those skills are input over a shorter period via information transfer media such as leaflets and presentations (Kaliom et al., 2003).

Component: Mapping

Explanation: the writer shows where and how the present work fits into the research 'map' in this field.

Analysis

6 In addition, the improvements noted in our study were unrelated to age, gender or ethnic background.

Component: Achievement / Contribution

Explanation: the writer recalls an aspect of the results that represents a positive achievement or contribution of this work.

7 This study therefore indicates that the benefits gained from stress-management intervention may address QoL needs across a wide range of patients. . .

Component: Refining implication

Explanation: the writer focuses on the meaning and implications of the achievements in this work.

Analysis

8 Most notably, this is the first study to our knowledge to investigate the effectiveness of extended psychosocial intervention in patients whose disorder is itself thought to be stress-related.

Component: Achievement / Contribution

Explanation: the writer notes that one of the achievements or contributions of this work is its novelty.

9 Our results provide compelling evidence for long-term involvement with such patients and suggest that this approach appears to be effective in counteracting stress that may exacerbate the disorder.

Component: Refining implication

Explanation: the writer refines the implications of the results, including possible applications.

Analysis

10 However, some limitations are worth noting. 11 Although our hypotheses were supported statistically, the sample was not reassessed once the programme was over.

Component: Limitation, Future work

Explanation: the writer describes the limitations which should direct future research.

12 Future work should therefore include follow-up work designed to evaluate whether the skills are retained in the long term and also whether they continue to be used to improve QoL.

Component: Future work

Explanation: the writer suggests a specific area to be addressed in future work.

Example of Discussion / conclusion (2)

Jourdain, P. and et al. L-Lactate Protects Neurons against Excitotoxicity: Implication of an ATP-mediated Signalling Cascade. Scientific Reports, Vol.6, No.1, pp. 1 - 13.

This article is available here.⁴

Analysis

The sentences / paragraphs of the "Introduction" section are analysed and divided into the following components:

1. Summarising key results

2. Mapping (relationship to existing research)

3. Achievement / contribution

4. Limitations / current and future work / applications

Summarising key results

Initial phases of cellular death triggered by an excessive glutamate stimulation are characterised by a massive ionic and water inflows⁵⁶. Taking advantage of the QP-DHM technique to monitor transmembrane water uxes associated with early stages of neuronal death processes^26,27, we demonstrate that L-Lactate acts as a signaling molecule conferring neuroprotection against excitotoxic insults through well-coordinated mechanisms based on an increase neuronal energy substrates availability, . . .

Mapping (relationship to existing research)

Until now, the few in vitro studies exploring the neuroprotective properties of L-Lactate have suggested a mechanism of action involving the maintenance of the cellular energy charge¹⁸. Indeed, excitotoxicity is classically associated with inhibition of oxidative phosphorylation resulting in a loss of ATP to fuel ion pumps to re-establish the ionic homeostasis^9,10. In agreement with that, the involvement of the L-Lactate / Pyruvate pathway and the mitochondrial activity was also observed in this study. . . .

Mapping (relationship to existing research)

Another important data reported in the present study indicate the existence of an additional mechanism independent of an energetic role of L-Lactate linked to the formation of ATP since ATPγS, a non-hydrolysable ATP, mimicked e ect of L-Lactate (and of Pyruvate). Indeed data indicate that ATP produced by the L-Lactate / Pyruvate neuroenergetic pathway acts as signaling molecule following its release through the ATP channels pan-nexins, a mode of release in agreement with the biophysical properties of the pannexins known to be a mech- anosensitive conduits for ATP sensitive to swelling^46,61. Interestingly, ATP released by neurons acts in autocrine/ paracrine manner triggering an apyrase-sensitive purinergic signaling (Fig. 5). . . .

Achievement / contribution

Our study provides new evidences that L-Lactate can also act as a signalling molecule in pathological contexts such as excitotoxic processes. Considering that astrocytes are the main producers of L-Lactate in brain, our observations point to astrocytes as pivotal cellular elements for neuronal protection against excitotoxicity. . . Therefore, during an excitotoxic situation, the pathological release of glutamate from neurons would strongly activate L-Lactate production and the release from astrocytes which, in turn, would provide neuroprotection by opening KATP channels, through the P2Y2/PI3K pathway.

Limitations / current and future work / applications

In this general context, it would be of interest to determine whether differences in terms of levels of expression and activation of the key elements involved in the neuroprotective cascade induced by L-Lactate as described in this study could explain (or be involved in) the differential physiological response of neurons to L-Lactate . . .

In summary, the present results indicate that L-Lactate can be an attractive candidate as a neuroprotective compound, providing the opportunity to develop neuroprotective strategies aimed at increasing the production of L-Lactate by astrocytes.

Structure of contents

Abstract

. . . you are in a better position to create an Abstract a er you have finished writing the other sections of your paper. The content of the Abstract is derived from the rest of the article, not the other way around. . . Most Abstracts are results-focused . . . The first model is similar to a summary, and is very structured. It deals with all the main subsections of the research article and can even have subtitles such as Background / Method / Results / Conclusions. The second model is more common, and focuses primarily on one or two aspect of the study, usually - but not always - the method and the results.

Model 1

Abstract: 1 The speed of sound in a fluid is determined by, and therefore an indicator of, the thermodynamic properties of that fluid. 2 The aim of this study was to investigate the use of an ultrasonic cell to determine crude oil properties, in particular oil density. 3 An ultrasonic cell was constructed to measure the speed of sound and tested in a crude oil sample. 4 The speed of sound was measured at temperatures between 260 and 411 K at pressures up to 75 MPs. 5 The measurements were shown to lead to an accurate determination of the bubble point of the oil. 6 This indicates that there is a possibility of obtaining fluid density from sound speed measurements and suggests that it is possible to measure sound absorption with an ultrasonic cell to determine oil viscosity.

Analysis

1 The speed of sound in a fluid is determined by, and therefore an indicator of, the thermodynamic properties of that fluid.

Explanation: the writer provides background factual information.

2 The aim of this study was to investigate the use of an ultrasonic cell to determine crude oil properties, in particular oil density.

Explanation: the writer combines the method, the general aim and the specific claim of the study in one sentence.

Analysis

3 An ultrasonic cell was constructed to measure the speed of sound and tested in a crude oil sample. 4 The speed of sound was measured at temperatures between 260 and 411 K at pressures up to 75 MPs.

Explanation: the writer summarises the methodology and provides details.

5 The measurements were shown to lead to an accurate determination of the bubble point of the oil.

Explanation: the writer indicates the achievement of the study.

Analysis

6 This indicates that there is a possibility of obtaining fluid density from sound speed measurements and suggests that it is possible to measure sound absorption with an ultrasonic cell to determine oil viscosity.

Explanation: the writer presents the implications of the study.

Model 2

Abstract: 1 This study investigated the use of a novel water-soluble polymer blend as a coating to control drug release. 2 It was found that using a blend of methyl-cellulose and a water-soluble copolymer significantly slowed the release rate of ibuprofen compounds in vitro and allowed for a more consistent release rate of 10–20% per hour.

Analsyis

1 This study investigated the use of a novel water-soluble polymer blend as a coating to control drug release.

Explanation: the writer combines what the paper does (This paper reports), the method or materials used (water-soluble polymer blend), the contribution (novel) and the aim of the study (to control drug release).

Analsyis

2 It was found that using a blend of methyl-cellulose and a water-soluble copolymer significantly slowed the release rate of ibuprofen compounds in vitro and allowed for a more consistent release rate of 10–20% per hour.

Explanation: the writer refers to the method in more detail and provides numerical details of the results.

5 sets of questions for "Abstract"

1. Background. Aim. Problem. What the paper does.

2. Methodology / materials

3. Results. Achievement / Contributions. Implications.

4. Applications.

5. Limitations. Future work.

• Note:
  • Model 1: 1 to 4 or 1 to 5.
  • Model 2: 2 and 3; or 1, 2 and 3.

25-30-paragraph method for a manuscript

Claudio Gil Soares de Araújo. Detailing the Writing of Scientific Manuscripts: 25-30 Paragraphs. Arquivos Brasileiros de Cardiologia. 2014 Feb; 102(2): e21-e23

This article is available here

Introduction

1. Problem – what is known?

2. Contextualization¹

3. Knowledge gap – what is not known?

4. Definition and purpose of the study – what will be studied and the hypothesis or objective; preferably not including results or conclusions¹

Methods (part 1)

5. Population and sample – inclusion and/or exclusion criteria; reference to the informed consent form and approval by the ethics committee

6. Population and sample II – description of specific sampling subgroups or, when necessary, in-depth detailing of procedures connected to follow-up and losses¹

7. Main methods – most important variable or procedure

8. Main methods II – unfolding the paragraph above¹

9. Secondary methods – less important variables

Methods (part 2)

10. Study protocol – detailing of what has been done and how it has been done

11. Study protocol II – additional data when necessary and justified¹

12. Statistical analysis – descriptive and inferential methods

13. Statistical analysis II – software and significance level¹

Results

14. General data – description of sample and information about the patient selection flow and actual performance of the study

15. Main results – the most important variables

16. Main results II – additional results and other analyses of the most important variables¹

17. Secondary results – the other study variables

18. Secondary results II – additional results of variables or the interrelation or interaction between them¹

19. Secondary results III – additional results of variables or the interrelation or interaction between them¹

20. Other results and analysis carried out in the study¹

Discussion (part 1)

21. The problem and the study's "original" proposal – discussing again the study's problem

22. Interpretation of the main result – meaning of what has been found

23. Comparison with the literature – how this result confirms previous data

24. Further comparison with the literature¹ – exploring methodological or mechanistic differences

25. The main result's contribution to knowledge – the "novelty" or main message or contribution of the research to the current state-of-the-art

26. Interpretation of secondary results – what these results inform or mean

Discussion (part 2)

27. Interpretation of secondary results II¹

28. Comparison of this study with previous ones – the contribution and developments in this study for the area's knowledge

29. Limits of the study – strengths and weaknesses; the weaknesses and methodological problems of the study and, especially, how these limitations may hinder the practical application of the results and their interpretations. The strengths of the study may also be stressed, possibilities may be pointed out, as well as issues to be further researched - other knowledge gaps

30. Conclusions and implications – this represents a synthesis of the study, usually answering the hypothesis reported in the final paragraph of the introductory section, solving the study objective.

Structure of a chapter of the project report

• Introduction: setting the general area of the chapter by briefly-

  • linking back to the previous chapter;
  • identifying the gap in knowledge or understanding in the chapter;
  • explaining how the chapter fills the gap
  • providing an overview of the chapter

• Summary (Conclusion of the chapter): summarise-

  • how the chapter has fitted into the overall picture of the project
  • what has the chapter done
  • main conclusions in the chapter
  • what new issues, if any, have been identified
  • where these questions are or will be dealt with

Structure of a chapter of the project report

• Between Introduction and Summary: paragraphs connected by logical transitions

• A structured paragraph¹:

  • Topic sentence points back to previous text and forward to what is coming up next
  • Start with topic sentence that states the main idea of this paragraph
  • Then explain the topic sentence
  • Then provide evidence and examples to support the explanation

Science of scientific writing

• Gopen, G.D., Swan, J.A. (1990) The Science of Scientific Writing. 550 American Scientist, Volume 78, pages 550 - 558.

• Science of Scientific Writing is available here at the website of the publisher, Scientific American. Another copy is available here.

• The article was recognized in 2011 by its publisher, American Scientist, as one of the 36 "Classic Articles" in its 100-year history of publication.

Get out of writing rut

• Write before you feel ready

• Don't wait to have a clear picture

• Snack writing

  • Short but regular writing sessions: 1 - 2 hours of focused writing a day for postgraduate students
  • 5 days a week

• Writing means putting new words on the page or substantially rewriting old words. It does not mean editing, reading or reformatting.

• Get feedback from mentors.

Chapter 19 Useful phrases

Chapter 19 "Useful Phrases" is available here from Springer, the publisher.

Many non-native researchers begin their writing career by reading extensively about their topic in English, and noting down useful generic phrases . . . You do not risk being accused of plagiarism because of the very generic nature of the phrases.

This document presents lists of frequently used phrases that have a general acceptance in all disciplines that you can use in specific sections of your paper. This means that they are phrases that referees and readers frequently encounter, and this will help to describe your findings using conventional language.

Writing skill training

• Elsevier research writing skills

• Springer tutorials: Writing in English

• Purdue Writing Laboratory: General Writing Resources

• Purdue Writing Laboratory: The Writing Process

Share the pain

• Start a 'Shut-up and write' group to meet at a regular, pre-arranged time
• Participate in person or virtually on Facebook, Twitter

Share the pain

Take a look at the warnings

• Retraction Watch

• Opening up the supervision process

• Big Picture for a Complete Dissertation

• Chabaya, O., Chiome, C., Chabaya R. (2009) Students' Failure to Submit Research Projects on Time: a Case Study from Masvingo Regional Centre at Zimbabwe Open University. Journal of Open, Distance and e-Learning, 24:3, 211 - 221. Abstract is here.

What is a supervisor

A supervisor performs 2 roles:--

• a manager

• an academic advisor

Supervisor as manager

As a manager, your supervisor:--

• is responsible for managing your project in a more general sense

• will be concerned with your overall progress; are you meeting the milestones?

• will be concerned with ensuring you are following institutional guidelines

Supervisor as academic advisor

As an academic advisor, your supervisor:--

• is more concerned with academic or technical content of your project

• asks

  • Are you reading the right journals and books?
  • Are you using the correct research and data gathering methods?
  • Are you performing the right analyses?

• tells you where you are going wrong, e.g. is the academic quality of your work not up to the standards required for your course?

Supervisor as academic advisor

As an academic advisor, your supervisor should be able to advise you regarding:--

• research design and scheduling

• literature surveys

• theoretical and conceptual development

• methodological issues

• development of appropriate research skills

• data collection and analyses

Workflow and Structure

See another overview by Wu (2015) regarding workflow for and structure of a dissertation / thesis.

The scientific method used in a research creates a common structure of a dissertation or a thesis, the five-part model.

The hypothetico-deductive model, or method, is a proposed description of scientific method popularised by Schlick, Carnap, Neurath, Hahn, Hempel and Popper.

Steps of hypothetico-deductive model

• Observe and record carefully the phenomenon in nature or experimental environment

• Explain the observed phenomenon by known theories

• Use the observed phenomenon and theoretical explanation to formulate a set of hypotheses and make predictions about phenomenon not yet observed

• Make further observation and experiment to examine, test and evaluate the predictions; (e.g. the predictions should be capable of being confirmed or refuted by further observation and/or experiment)

• Conclude from the observation, theoretical explanation, hypothetical prediction, observation and testing of prediction

Five-part model of writing

1. Introduction: by experience phenomenon, become aware of problems

2. Literature review: by theoretical explanations, provide concept analysis

3. Research design: by hypothetical model, provide prediction

4. Analysis and discussion: collect data from experience and test validity of hypothetical prediction

5. Conclusion: by an overall evaluation of the research process, establish a scientific discovery of a reasonable explanation

Research process in action

Academic sandglass consists of:

• Research stage

• Dissertation / thesis structure

Research process in action

Dissertation / thesis structure consists of the 5-part model:

• Introduction / the problematic

• Literature review / theoretical stance

• Research design / research methods

• Findings and discussions

• Conclusions

Research process in action

Research stage consists of:

• Preliminary study

• Formal research

• Writing up

Research process in action

Preliminary study consists of:

• Explore research direction and draft dissertation title

• Collect and sort out systematically literature review

• Prepare research proposal

Research process in action

Formal research consists of:

• Clarification of theoretical point of view

• Core literature, comprehensive review of related research / research hypothesis / conceptual composition

• Research design

• Field practice / experiment

• Data analysis and findings of research

Research process in action

Milestones of the formal research stage:

• First draft of Chapter 2 (Literature review)

• First draft of Chapter 3 (Research design)

• Outline of Chapter 4 (Data analysis and findings of research)

Research process in action

Writing up consists of 7 parts:

• First draft of Chapter 4 (Data analysis and findings of research)

  • may divide the contents into no more than 3 chapters

• First draft of Chapter 1 (Introduction)

  • on the basis of the data analysis and findings of research, rewrite research proposal to become Chapter 1

• Second draft of Chapter 2 (Literature review)

  • on the basis of the data analysis and findings of research, rewrite layout and presentation of the literature review

Research process in action

Writing up consists of 7 parts:

• Second draft of Chapter 3 (Research design)

  • Add important events happened in the actual field practice / experiment
  • Change the narrative tone from future tense to past tense

• Second draft of Chapter 4 (Data analysis and findings of research)

  • Examine whether or not the experiment analysis has responded to the theoretical analysis and provide a narrative of such conceptual analysis

Research process in action

Writing up consists of 7 parts:

• First draft of Chapter 5 (Conclusion)

  • From the view of an outsider rather than the researcher, summarise the whole dissertation / thesis and comment on contribution / limitation / enlightenment / further research

• Amend all chapters to get a fair copy and supplement it with the front matters and back matters

Checklist: Planning the project (part 1)

• Draw up a shortlist of topics

  • Talk to colleagues, fellow students, anyone who will listen. Consult library briefly.

• Decide on a shortlist of two

  • Select your first choice and keep the second in mind in case your first choice proves to be too difficult or too uninteresting

Checklist: Planning the project (part 2)

• Make a list of first- and second-thoughts questions or produce a chart of ideas, thoughts, possible problems – anything you can think of.

  • This is for your eyes only. The purpose is to help you to clarify your thoughts about which aspects of the topic are of particular interest or importance.

• Select the precise focus of your study

  • You need to be clear about which aspect of the general topic you wish to investigate. Is your topic likely to be worth investigating? Think about it. The last thing you want is to be stuck with a topic that's going nowhere and which bores you to distraction.

Checklist: Planning the project (part 3)

• Make sure you are clear about the purpose of the study.

• Go back to your charts and lists of questions, delete any items which do not relate to your selected topic, add others which do, eliminate overlap and produce a revised list of key questions.

  • You are aiming to produce researchable questions. Watch your language! Are you absolutely clear about the meaning of the words you use. Words can mean different things to different people.

Checklist: Planning the project (part 4)

• Draw up an initial project outline. Check that you are clear about the purpose and focus of your study, have identified key questions, know what information you will require and have thought about how you might obtain it.

  • Check your submission date. Do you have enough time to carry out the research you have outlined – and to submit on time?

• Consult your supervisor at the stage of selecting a topic and after drawing up a project outline.

  • You don't want to get too far down the research road before you check that all is well.

Checklist: Planning the project (part 5)

• It's best to know about your institution's code of practice for supervision and what to do if the relationship with your supervisor breaks down.

• Keep a brief record of what has been discussed, and agreed, in supervisory tutorials.

  • It will help to remind you about what tasks and targets have been agreed.

Checklist: Planning the project (part 6)

• Remember that a good supervisor is like gold dust and by far the most valuable resource you have, so don't make unreasonable demands.

  • If you have justifiable concerns, try to talk about them and to sort out problems. If that fails, go through formal channels, state your case clearly and fairly and, if that fails, request a change.

• From the start of your research, get into the habit of writing everything down.

  • And don't throw away your drafts until your investigation has been submitted, assessed and/or published. You never know when you might need to refer to them.

Checklist: Review of the literature (part 1)

• Evidence of reading will always be required in any research.

  • Though in a small study, it may not be necessary to produce a full literature review.

• Researchers collect many facts but then must select, organise and classify findings into a coherent pattern.

  • The aim is to produce a critical review, not a list of everything you have read.

• Your framework will not only provide a map of how the research will be conducted and analysed but it will also give you ideas about a structure for your review.

  • It will help you to draw together and summarise facts and findings.

Checklist: Review of the literature (part 2)

• Literature reviews should be succinct and, as far as is possible in a small study, should give a picture of the state of knowledge and of major questions in your topic area.

  • If you have been able to classify your reading into groups, categories or under headings, writing your review will be relatively straightforward.

• Ensure that all references are complete. Note the page numbers of any quotations and paraphrases of good ideas. You cannot use them without acknowledging the source. If you do, you may become involved in a plagiarism challenge.

  • It should be possible for any readers to locate your sources.

Checklist: Review of the literature (part 3)

• Watch your language. Perhaps inferences may be drawn, but 'proof' is hard to come by when dealing with human beings.

  • Make no claims which cannot be justified from the evidence you have presented. Consider again the wording Richardson and Woodley use in the extract from their article.

• Examine your sources critically before you decide to use them.

  • Any sign of bias, inappropriate language, or false claims? Are you able to trust the authors' judgements?

Checklist: Review of the literature (part 4)

• Remember that unless you are comparing like with like, you can make no claims for comparability.

  • Researchers often start their research from different bases and make use of different methods of data collecting. You may still wish to use their findings, but be careful about how you discuss them.

• Do not be tempted to leave out any reports of research merely because they differ from your own findings.

  • It can be helpful to include differing results. Discuss whether they undermine your own case – or not.

Checklist: Review of the literature (part 5)

• Start the first draft of your review early in your reading. Many more drafts will be required before you have a coherent and 'critical' account but better to start small and then build on your first attempt than to have to make sense of everything you have read at one attempt.
  • As you continue, entries will be deleted and others added, but you will have made a start. Better to be faced with a badly- written, inadequate review than a blank page.

Checklist: Interpreting evidence and reporting findings (part 1)

• All data must be recorded as soon as they are available.

  • Make sure you prepare and pilot summary sheets before the main data collection begins.

• Look for similarities, groupings, clusters, categories and items of particular significance.

  • 100 separate pieces of interesting information will mean nothing to a researcher or a reader until they are analysed and interpreted.

Checklist: Interpreting evidence and reporting findings (part 2)

• First-thoughts categories will be a start in the process of collating findings.

  • Though you may find you have to amend them after your pilot studies and when your data are assembled.

• Prepare final summary sheets.

  • Your pilot studies will show you whether they are appropriate for your purposes.

Checklist: Interpreting evidence and reporting findings (part 3)

• Experiment with different ways of presenting findings. Tables, bar charts, histograms? Other diagrams or graphs?

  • If you plan to use computer statistical packages, find out what help is available before you begin your pilot studies and try out possible packages.

• If you need to discover the average of certain values, decide whether the mean, median or mode is the most suitable.

  • Remember that each of these measures of central tendency has different uses.

Checklist: Interpreting evidence and reporting findings (part 4)

• Used on their own, means and medians may not be sufficiently descriptive to provide a complete picture of the data.
  • A measure of dispersion may be required – range, interquartile range or standard deviation.

Checklist: Interpreting evidence and reporting findings (part 5)

• Try out codes for your data. If you plan to use computer statistical packages, you will require numerical codes. If not, letters will suffice.
  • Do not attempt complex statistical techniques unless you have the expertise to cope. It is perfectly possible to produce a worthwhile investigation without an in-depth knowledge of statistics and without access to a computer. However, if you can familiarise yourself sufficiently well with computer techniques, it can save you many hours and produce good-looking charts, tables and figures – once you know how.

Checklist: Interpreting evidence and reporting findings (part 6)

• All data require interpretation.

  • It is not enough only to describe.

• Don't claim more for your research than your evidence will support.

  • And watch out for possible bias.

Checklist: 22 Questions for your final draft (part 1)

• Is the meaning clear? Are there any obscure passages?
• Is the report well written? Check tenses, grammar, spelling, overlapping passages, punctuation, jargon.
• Is the referencing well done? Are there any omissions?
• Does the abstract give the reader a clear idea of what is in the report?
• Does the title indicate the nature of the study?
• Are the objectives of the study stated clearly?
• Are the objectives of the study fulfilled?
• If hypotheses were postulated, are they proved or not proved?

Checklist: 22 Questions for your final draft (part 2)

• Has a sufficient amount of literature relating to the topic been studied?
• Does the literature review, if any, provide an indication of the state of knowledge in the subject? Is your topic placed in the context of the area of study as a whole?
• Are all terms clearly defined?
• Are the selected methods of data collection accurately described? Are they suitable for the task? Why were they chosen?
• Are any limitations of the study clearly presented?
• Have any statistical techniques been used? If so, are they appropriate for the task?

Checklist: 22 Questions for your final draft (part 3)

• Are the data analysed and interpreted or merely described?
• Are the results clearly presented? Are tables, diagrams and figures well drawn?
• Are conclusions based on evidence? Have any claims been made that cannot be substantiated?
• Is there any evidence of bias? Any emotive terms or intemperate language?
• Are the data likely to be reliable? Could another researcher repeat the methods used and have a reasonable chance of getting similar results?
• Are recommendations, if any, feasible?

Checklist: 22 Questions for your final draft (part 4)

• Are there any unnecessary items in the appendix?
• Would you give the report a passing grade if you were the examiner? If not, perhaps an overhaul is necessary.

Checklist: Writing the report (part 1)

• Set deadlines.

  • Allocate provisional dates for sections, sub-sections and the whole report. You may need to make adjustments, but the handover date is fixed, so try to work round it. Keep an eye on your schedule.

• Write regularly if you can

• Create a rhythm of work, if at all possible.

  • Don't stop to check references, but tag or star any omissions or queries which must be checked later.

Checklist: Writing the report (part 2)

• Write up a draft section as soon as it is ready.

  • Try to produce a draft of the literature review, no matter how rough, as soon as the bulk of the reading is completed.

• Stop at a point from which it is easy to resume writing.

• Leave space for revisions.

  • Use one side of the paper only. Try to keep to one paragraph per page on your early drafts.

• Publicize your plans.

  • You may need a little help from your friends to meet deadlines.

Checklist: Writing the report (part 3)

• Check that all essential sections have been covered.

  • Abstract, outline of the research, review of previous work, statement of the scope and aims of the investigation, description of procedures, statement of results, discussion, summary and conclusions and references.

• Check length is according to institutional requirements.

  • You don't want to be failed on a technicality.

• Don't forget the title page.

• Any acknowledgements and thanks?

Checklist: Writing the report (part 4)

• Include headings where possible.

  • Anything to make it easier for readers to follow the structure will help. And it helps you to ensure you are following a logical pattern.

• Number tables and figures and provide titles.

  • Put numbers and titles above tables, but below figures.

• Make sure all quotations, paraphrases, good ideas of authors, etc. are acknowledged.

  • Check that quotations are presented in a consistent format and omissions indicated by . . .

Checklist: Writing the report (part 5)

• Provide a list of references.

  • Unless instructed otherwise, include only items to which reference is made in the report. Check that a consistent system is used and that there are no incomplete references.

• Appendices should only include items that are required for reference purposes. Do not clutter the report with irrelevant items.

  • Unless instructed otherwise, one copy of each data-collecting instrument should be included.

• Remember to leave sufficient time for revision and rewriting.

  • Check that you have written in plain English.

Checklist: Writing the report (part 6)

• Try to get someone to read the report.

  • Fresh eyes will often see errors you have overlooked.

• Read the report aloud.

  • This will often identify any dubious punctuation and poor linkages.

• Check through the 22 questions for a last time. Are you sure you have dealt with each one honestly

  • Make one final check of the typed final draft. Even expert typists can make mistakes.

Tips for successful projects

1. Choose a project that interests you.

2. Have a clear goal and objectives.

3. Put together a project plan and follow it. Fail to plan, plan to fail.

4. Identify risks and put contingency plans in place.

5. Be well organised. Put together a project folder, establish a working area and good working practices. Keep references up-to-date and organised. Arrange data and files logically and make regular back-ups.

6. Start to write early. Get into the habit of writing up notes and work you have completed as you go along.

Tips for successful projects

7. Undertake a literature survey (literature review).

8. Have regular meetings with your supervisor.

9. Aim to finish your project early. It is always a good idea to aim to complete your project one or two weeks before the actual hand-in date (for a 6-month project this should be achievable).

10. Familiarise with assessment criteria for your project in the beginning.

11. Learn a number of skills from your project.

Slides from MDX Learning Enhancement Team (part 1)

• Understanding Assignment Briefs
• Reflective Writing
• Excelling in Your Final Year At University
• Critical Thinking
• Integrating Sources In Your Writing
• Understanding Plagiarism and Referencing
• Reading Journal Articles: Introduction
• Reading Journal Articles: Advanced

Slides from MDX Learning Enhancement Team (part 2)

• Essay Writing
• How to Write a Effective Paragraph
• Understanding Feedback
• How to Write a Proposal
• How to Write an Abstract
• Academic Style
• How to Write a Literature Review
• How to Write a Lab Report
• How to Write a Project

Slides from MDX Learning Enhancement Team (part 3)

• Introduction to Dissertations
• Advanced Dissertation Writing
• How to Proofread Your Work Effectively
• How to Get a First

Perfection

A designer knows that he has achieved perfection not when there is nothing left to add, but where there is nothing left to take away. -- Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

You've got to get the fundamentals down, because otherwise the fancy stuff is not going to work. -- Randy Pausch. (2012) The Last Lecture. Hyperion. (at page 43).

That lesson has stuck with me my whole life. When you see yourself doing something badly and nobody's bothering to tell you anymore, that's a bad place to be. You may not want to hear it, but your critics are often the ones telling you they still love you and care about you, and want to make you better. -- Randy Pausch. (2012) The Last Lecture. Hyperion. (at page 44).

The 3 jingjie of learning

Last night the west wind shrivelled the green-clad trees. Alone I climb the high tower to gaze my fill along the road to the horizon.

• (Climb high and see the horizon. Understand the overview of the branch of learning. Identify clear goals and directions.)

My clothes grow daily more loose, yet care I not. For you am I thus wasting away in sorrow and pain.

• (Focus (Skip one's sleep and meals). Be diligent and tireless. Strive and struggle. Pursue excellence.)

I sought her in the crowd a hundred, a thousand times. Suddenly with a turn of the head, I saw her, [the] one there where the lamplight was fading.

• (Put in enough effort. A wide panorama will be opened naturally. When conditions are right, success will follow.)

求學三境界

「昨夜西風凋碧樹，獨上高樓，望盡天涯路。」

• （登高望遠，了解學科概貌，明確目標與方向。）

「衣帶漸寬終不悔，為伊消得人憔悴。」

• （廢寢忘食、孜孜以求，奮力拼搏，追求卓越。）

「眾裡尋他千百度，驀然回首，那人卻在，燈火闌珊處。」

• （下足功夫，自然豁然開朗，水到渠成。）

Reference (part 1)

Baggili, I., BaAbdallah, A., Al-Safi, D., Marrington, A. (2012) Research Trends in Digital Forensic Science: An Empirical Analysis of Published Research. ICDF2C 2012: 144 - 157.

BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT. (2015) Guidelines on courses accreditation: information for universities and colleges. 2015. BCS, Swindon, United Kingdom.

Bell, J. (2005) Doing Your Research Project: A Guide for First-time Researchers in Education, Health and Social Science.Open University Press, Berkshire, United Kingdom.

Berndtsson, M., Hansson, J., Olsson, B., Lundell, B. (2008) Thesis Projects: A Guide for Students in Computer Science and Information Systems. Springer-Verlag.

Biggam, J. (2015) Succeeding with Your Master's Dissertation: a Step-by-step Handbook. Open University Press, United Kingdom.

Reference (part 2)

Dawson, C. (2015) Projects in Computing and Information Systems: A Student's Guide. Pearson Education Limited, Harlow, United Kingdom.

de Araújo, C. (2014) Detailing the Writing of Scientific Manuscripts: 25-30 Paragraphs. Arquivos Brasileiros de Cardiologia. 102(2), 21 - 23.

Galsman-Deal, H. (2010) Science Research Writing for Non-Native Speakers of English. Imperial College Press, United Kingdom.

Gardiner, M. and Kearns, H. (2011) Turbocharge Your Writing Today. Nature Vol.475, 129 - 130.

Gottman, J., Murray, J., Swanson, C., Tyson, R., Swanson, K. (2002) The Mathematics of Marriage Dynamic Nonlinear Models. MIT Press, England, United Kingdom.

Higher Education Funding Council for England. (2008) Research Assessment Exercise 2008: the Outcome. HEFCE, Bristol, United Kingdom.

Reference (part 3)

Lin, B. (2013) A Must-Read Book for Law Students: Legal Writing and Research. Peking University Press, China.

OECD. (2015) Frascati Manual 2015: Guide for Collecting and Reporting Data on Research and Experimental Development. OECD Publishing, Paris.

Sharp, J., Peters, J. and Howard, K. (2002) The Management of a Student Research Project. Gower Publishing Company, Aldershot, United Kingdom.

Sollaci, L. and Pereira, M. (2004) The Introduction, Methods, Results, and Discussion (IMRAD) Structure: a Fifty-year Survey. Journal of the Medical Library Association, 2004 July. 92(3): 364 - 371

Wallwork, A. (2011) English for Writing Research Papers. Springer United States.

Wu, Zhengzhong. Wu. (2015) Research, Research, Discourse on Dissertation: P Decryption of Research Process and Publicising of Writing of Dissertation SOP. Yuan-Liou Publishing Company Limited. Taiwan.

Reference (part 4)

Zhou, S. (2016) BIS4992 Postgraduate Computing Project Module Handbook for Middlesex Campuses and Collaborative Links Students 2016/2017. Middlesex University, London, United Kingdom.

Epilogue

• Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty's, The Emperor's Norms, Volume 4:

"Aim high and you may attain the average; aim at the average and you can only attain the lower level." (HK LegCo translation)

• Thomas Jefferson (1743 - 1826):

"He who receives ideas from me, receives instruction himself without lessening mine; as he who lights his taper at mine receives light without darkening mine."

• Zhang Guangming, Professor of School of Environment and Nature Resources, Renmin University of China:

"What any teacher can teach, is far less than Google. I told the students, "I do not have new knowledge to teach you. Rather, I hope to learn from you some new knowledge." Research is not working for your teachers. It is for developing one's ability, developing the ability to analyse the problems, propose solutions, obtain resources, solve problems, sum up and promote."