Moderator’s visit to BHC
December 2004 (Revised January 2005)
Horst Holstein (PhD)
Department of Computer Science
University of Wales
Aberystwyth
Where we are
Map by Roderick I Murchison, 1792-1871, (accessed 19 Jan 05)
http://www.davidrumsey.com/maps4854.html
University of Wales,
Aberystwyth,
UK
The Final Year Project
BIS306
Scientific report organization
Bibiliography
Originality
Contents
Scientific Report Format Writing an Abstract
General Student Examples
Organisation Bibliography
Title Dissertation Guidelines
Introduction Bibliography
Methods Originality
Results Advice
Discussion & Conclusion General
Critical Evaluation End
Scientific report format
Reference:
– http//seg.org/publications/geophysics/writing.shtml
– (date of access: 19 Jan 2005)
A scientific report shares many of the
characteristics of a scientific paper.
The above reference is adapted here
for report writing
Scientific report format
Although the following is aimed at
good practice for report
writing, you may regard this
also as a Guide for
Reading a scientific paper
Writing a scientific paper
General
Write to inform,
not to impress
General
Make clear your
thesis
It must be evident to the reader that there is a
point of view to defend – this is why your
report was written, and that is why a reader
might be interested to read it.
Organization
Title
The sections
Abstract may have other
Introduction labels, but these
Methods sections should
Results be identifyable
and follow in
Discussion
order.
Conclusion
Organization
How do we approach the reading of a
report/paper?
Generally we want to first establish
whether it is relevant, and then, whether
we want to read it in depth.
Good organisation on the part of the
author helps the reader quickly to
establish relevance to the reader.
Organization
The reader will probably assess the
relevance of the work by looking at
– Abstract
– Conclusion
– Introduction
As an author, ensure these sections
convey the necessary information
Title
The Title is a label, not a sentence.
Implementing a rapid web application
development using the example of a
digital rent-a-car business
Web-based car rental
Abstract (most read!)
The Abstract in published works is often
quoted out of context in abstracting
journals. Next to the title, it is the most
widely read part of the work.
The Abstract must give a stand-alone
summary of the work.
Abstract (most read!)
200-300 words
The abstract must not simply list the
topics covered in the paper, but should
1. state the scope and principal objectives of
the research,
2. describe the methods used,
3. summarize the results, and
4. state the principal conclusions.
Abstract (most read!)
The abstract should not reflect intentions,
but should state what has been done,
and indicate limitations, e.g.
system designed but not implemented;
software implemented but not tested;
survey not verified by data
survey data collected, but found to lack
statistical significance
Introduction (setting the scene)
Tell readers why they should want to
read what follows. (viewpoint!)
Provide sufficient background
information for readers to understand
and evaluate the results.
– Do not rederive established results or
indulge in other needless repetition.
Introduction
The introduction should
present the nature and scope of the
problem
review the pertinent literature, within
reason
describe the method of investigation
describe the principal results (and
limitations!) of the investigation.
WHAT WHAT
consclusions?? Introduction methods??
Avoid the comic strip approach:
– “Read on, dear reader, to see what happens in
this exciting story”.
Avoid statements like
– Chapter 3 discusses the methods
– Chapter 6 gives the conclusions
You must spoil the fun, and reveal now
(summarise) what the nature of
methods, and conclusions, are.
Methods (how)
The methodology employed should be in
sufficient detail to allow duplication of results.
More detailed items (e.g., heavy maths,
critical code) are often best placed in
appendices.
Include a table of symbols (acronyms, etc.)
Place all code, executables and test results in
an appended CD
– Not part of the assessed work, but might be referenced in
case of doubt, or future development
Results
Contains applications of the
methodology described above.
Present results of experiments
(logical, physical or computational)
as tables or figures and analyses.
Results
When possible, include an example
of data to illustrate the technology
or concept being proposed.
Results
Selective presentation of results is
important.
Redundancy should be avoided,
The Results section may well be
the short in relation to other
sections.
Discussion and conclusions
(was my thesis upheld?)
Often, scientists hesitate to impose their
interpretations and conclusions on the
reader, especially those that pertain to
the significance of the results.
However, without such interpretations
and conclusions, readers can only
wonder why they read the paper.
Discussion and conclusions
(was my thesis upheld?)
1. Principles, relationships, and
generalizations inferred from the
results (but not a repetition of the
results)
2. Any exceptions to or problems with
these principles, relationships, and
generalizations, as indicated by the
results
Discussion and conclusions
(was my thesis upheld?)
3. Agreements or disagreements with
previously published work
4. Theoretical implications and possible
practical applications of the work
5. Conclusions drawn (especially
regarding significance), with a
summary of the evidence for each
conclusion.
Critical Evaluation
(how well did I meet my targets?)
o The aim of your work should have been
stated in the Introduction, and possibly
elsewhere (e.g. requirements section)
o Your achievement should be stated in the
Results section.
o The Critical Evaluation compares the two.
o could in be a subsection of Discussion and
Conclusions, or a section in its own right.
Writing an Abstract
This takes experience.
Without due care, an Abstract fails to
deliver on the essentials of
background, methods, results and
conclusions.
The importance of good abstract
writing justifies this extra section.
Writing an Abstract
Stress content, not intent.
Avoid empty passive constructs such as:
– methods will be presented, discussed,
developed;
– conclusions will be drawn
Use informative constructs such as:
– A depth-first search is used …
– It is concluded that the method is reliable
in the restricted circumstances of …
Writing an Abstract
An Abstract is not a plan of
work TO BE carried out,
It is a summary of work that
HAS BEEN carried out
Writing an Abstract
Keep it short
Abstract (most read!)
200-300 words
The abstract must not simply list the
topics covered in the paper, but should
1. state the scope and principal objectives of
the research,
2. describe the methods used,
3. summarize the results, and
4. state the principal conclusions.
Student Examples
The following three examples of Title and
Abstract are adapted from final year
dissertations submitted to BHC. They are
included here to stimulate discussion.
The originals are in the BHC Library.
Author details are withheld.
Note: The authors did not have access to
this lecture material.
Student Example 1
Title and Abstract
“Implementing a rapid web application
development using the example of a
digital rent-a-car business
This thesis will present a technology mixture to
implement Rapid Web Application and
Development. This will be accomplished
using a small but extensible example, a
digital rent-a-car business.
Student Example 1
The mixture will include JAVA as front
end, MICORSOFT ACCESS as aback
end and JBOUILDER as the
development environment.
The design will involve tasks such as:
user interface, transactions and the
database.
Student Example 1
To implement the 1st part, a web page will be
designed and tested. To implement the 2nd,
JAVASERVER PAGES (technical part) and
JAVA BEANS (business part) will be
recruited, to implement the 3rd, SQL
statements will be designed and embedded
into the Java source code with which the
business logic will be transmitted to the Data
Base to store information.
Student Example 1
Finally, after module and integrated
testing will take place locally on
JBUILDER with successful results, an
attempt for online testing will also be
commented at the conclusions part.”
Student Example 1
Exercise
To what extent does Example 1 fulfil the
function of title and abstract?
Do you get an indication of the scope of
work carried out?
Student Example 2
“Application Development for a Library
Office SQL/4GL Informix Package
This project is targeted at the library office of
British Hellenic College. I am to handle all
everyday operations of a library office. I will
also provide a report that will analyse the
development and the implementation of the
program.
Student Example 2
The structure of my report is as follows:
In Chapter 1 I deal with the theory of databases
In Chapter 2 I describe some major methods
for designing software applications.
…
In Chapter 5 the final conclusion of my project
is included. ”
Student Example 2
Exercise
To what extent does Example 2 fulfil the
function of title and abstract?
Do you get an indication of the scope of
work carried out?
Student Example 3
“Mobile Commerce and Applications
The contemporary business environment,
under the special conditions that exist
(Economical, political, Social and
Technological) has become extremely
competitive. Therefore new techniques are
needed in order for the enterprises to
promote and sell their products and
services.
Student Example 3
Within the present thesis I will try to stress
the importance of M-Commerce in the
beginning of the 21st century, in order
to succeed the above goals. Our main
scope is to demonstrate the use of M-
Commerce by modern business
through analysis of the basic elements
that are considered.
Student Example 3
We will try to prove the fact that the use of
M-Commerce has matured as a
strategic weapon rather than a simply
support function. Our main goal is to
provide evidence of the above and to
come to possible conclusions of the
future of M-Commerce field. ”
Student Example 3
Exercise
To what extent does Example 3 fulfil the
function of title and abstract?
Do you get an indication of the scope of
work carried out?
Bibliography
Good scientific work is built on work
done by others
Your work is enhanced by reference to
other works
There is a formal way to cite
references
Dissertation Guidelines
This material in the rest of this powerpoint
slide show draws freely on the
Guidelines available on the Computer
Science Department (UWA) web
pages for project guidelines
http://www.aber.ac.uk/compsci/Dept/Teaching/CourseN
otes/current/CS39030/biblio_guidance.html
(date of access: 19 Jan 2005)
This site is password protected
Bibliography
Refer to BIS216 practice
Example (in text)
However, Elben and Jelasity (2002)
point out that “[model] evaluation done
on the test set and not in training set is
not common practice … ”
Bibliography
Note the quotes “ ” for text quoted from
another source,
Note the use of [ ] to indicate a
modification of that source
Bibliography
Bibliography – a section at the end of the
report text, giving the sources of cited works,
using an accepted convention.
….
2002 Elben, A., Jelasity, M. A critical note on
experimental research methodology in EC.
In: IEEE Congress on Evolutionary
Computation, Hawaii, USA, 582-587.
Originality
Good practice
Bad practice
Unfair practice
Originality
Could another person say of any portion
of the dissertation:
I recognise this as my own work. The
current author is presenting it with a
view to obtaining credit for it
Originality - Penalties
Bad practice : (possibly due to
carelessness) parts may be ignored for
purposes of assessment
Unfair practice: (deception – deliberate
or unintended) disciplinary action,
including disqualification of degree.
Penalties!
Originality - Penalties
Don’t put examiners in a situation where
they have to decide between bad
practice and unfair practice.
Originality
Give full references in bibliography
Surround direct quotations in quotation
marks and give reference
Take care to give all web references
and date of access. Ensure references
are current at time of submission.
Originality
A cut-and-paste dissertation, properly
referenced, while satisfying “Good
Practice”, must expect to obtain a very
low assessment.
Ensure you always include sufficient
evaluation of major quotations that you
make (e.g. to support an argument of
yours)
Originality
Your work is
enhanced by
reference to related
works
Advice
Start early
Get someone else to read through your
work and comment on its clarity.
Use “Good Practice”
Advice
Write the report as if for scientific
information dissemination
It will be assessed along these lines
Do not write for an audience of
examiners from whom you wish to hide
the defects of your work
General
Write to inform,
not to impress
END