ICS 100: Senior Project 1

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Xavier University Computer Center Department of
Computer Science
Preparing the Senior Project/Thesis Proposal and
the Introduction
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What is a research project?
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Research

• research.
• 1.a. the systematic investigation into and study
  of materials, sources, etc, in order to establish
  facts and reach new conclusions. b. an endeavor
  to discover new or collate old facts etc by the
  scientific study of a subject or by a course of
  critical investigation. (The Oxford Concise
  dictionary )

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Research Methods

• Common research methods within the field of
  Computer Science
• implementation driven research
• This approach progresses by iteratively building
  better and better systems.
• mathematical proof techniques
• This approach uses formal proofs to reason about
  the validity of a hypothesis given some evidence.
  For example, mathematical reasoning can be used
  to demonstrate that an algorithm can cover all
  possible input cases

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Research Methods

• Common research methods within the field of
  Computer Science
• empiricism
• This approach follows a clearly laid out sequence
  of steps hypothesis methods results and
  conclusion. Statistical measures are often use to
  determine whether an experiment actually supports
  a hypothesis.

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Research Methods

• Common research methods within the field of
  Computer Science
• observational studies.
• This approach removes many of the constraints
  associated with empiricism by analysing the
  utility of a system in its eventual context of
  use. For example, the success or failure of a new
  programming language can only be assessed in this
  view if real programmers are trained to use the
  system on a real project.

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Research Factors

• clear problem definition
• If you don't understand the problem clearly then
  it is unlikely that you will arrive at a
  reasonable solution.
• clear problem definition
• There is a danger that you will re-invent the
  wheel' if you do not have a good grasp of
  previous work in an area.

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Research Factors

• good documentation
• It is critical that you spend some time
  documenting your daily activities when engaged on
  a research project
• effective time management
• Research is labor intensive

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Thesis Statement

• A thesis statement informs the readers of the
  content, the argument, and often the direction of
  a paper.
• a clear, concise, unified statement to inform /
  convince the hostile/skeptical audience
• Often the basis for creating the title

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Thesis Statement

• a statement, not a question
• Question Why are biofeedback techniques
  excellent methods of stress reduction?
• Thesis Because of its simplicity, accuracy, and
  lack of toxicity, biofeedback is often a
  successful technique for migraine relief.

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Thesis Statement

• idea / point of view / theory / opinion (not
  fact)
• Fact Computers are being used to teach.
• Thesis Students have different learning styles
  and preferences therefore computer-aided
  instruction software should be able to determine
  a suitable course material for a particular
  learner.

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Thesis Statement

• Not announcements of the authors purpose
• Announcement The author will demonstrate how
  session IDs can be manipulated by Script X and
  then prove that it is a way of penetrating
  secured websites.
• Thesis The ability of Script X to generate
  sessions IDs makes it possible to penetrate
  websites that rely on session IDs for security.

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Thesis Statement

• Not arguable personal opinion
• Opinion Users prefer PHP over ASP.
• Thesis Though both belong to the same
  programming language paradigm, PHP has shown a
  better edge than ASP in terms of security and
  portability.

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Writing the Research Proposal
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Research Proposal

• to provide the student's supervisory committee
  with sufficient information to decide if the
  proposed research is needed and is likely to be
  fruitful
• the committee checks the projects feasibility,
  scope, availability of resources, and usefulness

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Research Proposal

• present the logical need for conducting the
  proposed piece of research
• provide an analysis of the most important past
  research as a context for the proposed study
• specify the objectives and/or the hypotheses or
  research questions, and
• outline the basic procedures to be followed

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Research Proposal

• Enough detail should be provided so the committee
  can
• be certain that the student is aware of the
  relevant prior research,
• detect any of the student's misconceptions, and
• identify potential errors in the proposed study

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Research Proposal

• Contents
• Chapter 1 Introduction
• Statement of the Problem
• Objectives
• Scope and Limitations
• Definition of Terms
• Chapter 2 Review of Related Literature
• Chapter 3 Proposed Methodology/Expected Output/s
• Appendix Schedule of Activities Work
  Assignments
• References

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Introduction

• Contents
• Introduction
• Statement of the Problem
• Objectives (General and Specific)
• Scope and Limitations
• Project Rationale/Significance of the Study
• Definition of Terms

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Introduction

• Statement of the Problem
• a clear, concise, well-supported statement of the
  problem to be overcome
• could include data collected during a needs
  assessment that would illustrate the problems to
  be addressed
• must be based on fact

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Introduction

• Statement of the Problem
• use objective language
• the observations you make about the problem are
  from the perspective of an observer looking at it
  dispassionately, without his or her own
  qualitative or subjective views being expressed

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Introduction

• Statement of the Problem Guide Questions
• What is happening? Describe the problem/needs you
  want to address by providing data/statistics,
  historical information, etc
• Why is it happening? Describe the causes of the
  problem or circumstances creating the need by
  providing literature reviews, historical
  information
• What is being done or what will be done? Identify
  approaches or solutions to the problem

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Introduction

• Statement of the Problem
• If you have found a thesis statement, try fitting
  it into one or more of the following
• Most people believe that ___________, but a
  closer look will show that __________.
• What we know about _________ is that __________
  what we dont know is _________.

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Introduction

• Statement of the Problem
• If you have found a thesis statement, try fitting
  it into one or more of the following (cont)
• If we (do not) understand __________, we will
  (not) understand __________.
• The researcher is analyzing/comparing ___________
  so that he can explain/understand __________.

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Introduction

• Statement of the Problem Example
• There is currently a lack of research available
  on the questioning techniques used by early
  childhood teachers during oral reading time.
  Therefore, a study to support that an Early
  Childhood teachers perception of the importance
  of higher cognitive questioning techniques
  impacts the implementation of the questioning
  techniques done in the classroom. To accomplish
  this study, kindergarten and pre-kindergarten
  teachers will be interviewed and observed during
  oral reading time.

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Introduction

• Objectives
• statements of the intended outcomes of the
  project
• projects the major anticipated findings that will
  form the major conclusions of the research thus,
  they serve to guide the work to be done
• Objectives and conclusions should match i.e. if
  you state an objective, you should expect to
  produce a conclusion stating how, or if, the
  objective was met.

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Introduction

• Objectives
• addresses the Statement of the Problem
• specific, measurable outcomes (quantitative/object
  ive )
• must not confuse objectives with methods (what to
  do, not how to do something)

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Introduction

• Objectives
• if subjective/qualitative, must be supported by
  quantitative/objective proof
• Quantitative The project aims at increasing the
  speed of Quick Sort twice as much by
• Qualitative The project aims at developing a
  computer-aided instruction that will improve the
  learning attitude of students.

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Introduction

• General Objective
• provide a short statement of the development goal
  being pursued by the research

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Introduction

• Specific Objectives
• operational in nature
• unequivocal must be precise and have only one
  interpretation
• objectives against which the success of the
  project will be judged

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Introduction

• General objective
• The general objective of this project is to
  develop an affordable amd comprehensive
  computer-aided instruction courseware in Data
  Structures that is adaptive to the needs and
  preferences of the learner.

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Objectives

• Specific objectives
• Develop a set of instructional design principles
  for instruction and to evaluate those principles
  using existing evaluation methods
• Survey courseware prices and produce an
  affordable option.
• Implement the Data Structures curriculum as
  defined in IEEE Computer Society.
• Develop a learner analyzer module that will
  assess the learner's knowledge scope of the
  topic, learning pace, and interface preferences.
• Develop content knowledge base from which the
  learner analyzer will gather content to be
  delivered to each type of learner.

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Introduction

• Scope and Limitation
• This section describes the scope of the project
  and what the size of the sample.
• The characteristics of the sample size will be
  specified in this section including the
  limitations of the project in any possible areas.

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Scope and Limitations

• Scope Limitation Example 1
• The techniques demonstrated in Critters are most
  useful for animation and mouse interaction,
  though they are not limited to those areas. This
  section discusses some of the strengths and
  limitations of Critters. Many of the limitations
  could be avoided by adding new primitives, but in
  most cases the additions would not take advantage
  of the strengths of geometric computation.

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Introduction

• Scope Limitation Example 2
• One major limitation is that Critters has no way
  of using text. Although it can respond to single
  keypresses and mouse clicks, it has no support
  for drawing characters or manipulating strings.
  Interfaces to host operating system services such
  as the file system or process control are also
  unavailable.

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Introduction

• Scope Limitation Example 3
• The project is not a feasibility study of
  implementing Computer-aided Instruction (CAI) in
  the preschool. Though the teaching methodologies
  are studied, it is not the intention of the
  researcher to analyze the efficacy of the present
  curriculum.

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Introduction

• Scope Limitation Example 4
• It is not the intent of this thesis to find
  alternative methods of long distance education,
  but to seek out ways to supplement, complement,
  and enhance the education for students at ADMU.

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Introduction

• Rationale/Significance of the Study
• develops theory
• expands the current knowledge or theory base
• advances current research methodology
• is related to a current technology or policy
  issue
• is exploratory research on an unexamined issue
• is necessary at a time when it is badly needed
  (timely)

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Introduction

• Rationale/Significance of the Study Example 1
• The development of a learner analyzer would allow
  computer-aided instruction systems to adjust to
  the needs and preferences of learners. This has
  the potential to become the method of analyzing
  learners and design a course curriculum pattern,
  pacing, and interface that well suits different
  users.

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Introduction

• Rationale/Significance of the Study Example 2
• This project will benefit NPS by providing a set
  of validated guidelines for web-based
  instruction. It will assist professors in
  designing better courses over the web (and
  perhaps, from anywhere in the world).