Final Year Project Requirements

Final Year Project Requirements

Final Year Project is the peak point of the life of a undergraduate student. All the knowledge gathered throughout the years of study are utilized to create a novel solution for an existing problem in Micro or Macro environments. Following are the two main components of the FYP:

1. Identify an appropriate project idea [Identify a problem area which needs attention in micro environment (inside an organization) or macro environment (a solution to serve a nation)]
2. Produce Documentation and Artifact (a prototype with the key functions)

At the initial stage, project proposal, project specification and project plan have to be submitted. Final Year projects runs for a period of 9 months or 33 weeks during which the student has to conduct his research and submit the prototype including mid point interview. Following are the key points to be considered during the project.

• Feasible- 
• The project have to be completed during the given period of time. A gantt chart is to be maintained throughout the project life time marking all the important events.
• The biggest milestone which is the midpoint interview must be faced successfully since it weighs 20% of the final grade of the project.
• Supervisory clinics: Supervisors must be consulted regularly, at least 9 times for 9 months.
• Useful-
• The solution which is constructed must to be a useful and a usable model or a method
• Balanced-
• A mix of qualitative and quantitative methods

The Proposal

• In the proposal, the student must clearly elaborate the topic he have chosen and the area of research.
• Specify the objectives (time period + facts to backup + Measurable)
• The project title have to be written accurately explaining what is expected to be done? For whom the solution is and what is to be done?
• The aims have to be clearly written
• Relevant and credible list of sources have to be used and the reference list must be included.
• Research method must be clearly defined
• Project proposal must be presented accordingly that the project is feasible academically and technically.

Content of the Project

• Abstract
  [Abstract is the last thing to be written on the project however it is the first section of the project. There has to be mainly 3 paragraphs in this section as follows]
• Paragraph 1- Introduction, Problem Statement 
• Paragraph 2- Methods used in the projects'
• Paragraph 3- Outcomes of the project, brief conclusions, brief recommendations
• Define key words
• Introduction
• Table of contents
• Table of tables
• Table of figures
• Acronyms
• Body
  [Body is divided into chapters with each chapter clearly defining its purpose]
• Chapter 1: Introduction, Problem Statement, Research Question, Aims and Objectives
• Chapter 2: Industry Analysis (PEST, SWOT, Porter's Analysis, Value Chain)
• Chapter 3: Academic Research (what is read on the area of research)
• Chapter 4: Software Analysis and Design (ER diagrams, DFD, Use cases...)
• Chapter 5: Code implementation and Testing (Test cases and Results)
• Chapter 6: Critical Evaluation and Conclusions
• Conclusion
• List of References
• Bibliography
• Appendices
• Project Log (PAGOL)

Literature Review

Literature Review

What is Literature Review?

Literature Reviews are conducted by many people on a topic of what they know and what they don't know. According to Language Center, Asian Institute of Technology(2005), "the literature" means the works you consulted in order to understand and investigate your research problem. These sources can be journal articles, books, Conference proceedings, Government/corporate reports, Theses and dissertations, News papers, Internet, CD-Roms and Magazines. The Writing Center(2012), defines literature review as a discussion on published information in a particular subject area, and sometimes information in a particular subject area within a certain time period. Taylor (2012) gives a simpler definition of Literature Review as an account of what has been published on a topic by accredited scholars and researchers. 

From the above information the author can get a clear picture as what literature review is, which is discussion, investigation or a publication of work on a subject area or a research problem.

Purposes of Literature Review

There can be many reasons for a literature review to be conducted. According to Cooper(1988) cited in  Language Center, Asian Institute of Technology(2005), the main reasons to conduct a literature review is to describe, summarize, evaluate, clarify and/or integrate the content in primary reports. As said by Bruce (1994) cited in Language Center, Asian Institute of Technology(2005), the purpose of a review is to provide the background to and justification for the research undertaken.

However, as said by The Writing Center(2012) Literature Review is mainly to provide a handy a guide on a particular topic. If one have limited time to conduct research, literature reviews can give them an overview or a stepping stone on their particular subject. These also provide a solid background for a research paper’s investigation.

How to Write a Literature Review?

University of Houston Victoria(2012), describes in 14 steps the process of writing a literature review. Given below are the steps in brief.

1. Find articles that is related to the research topic. Go through their bibliographies and consider repeated sources as credible sources.
2. Be clear of what you have to accomplish during the literature review.
1. ) Define your Research Problem
2. ) Read and Evaluate significant works for the relevant problem
3. Once you begin reviewing, make an entry with complete bibliographical information and comments for each work that you are going to include in the review.
4. Compare and contrast the similarities and differences between these articles.
5. Form a clearly written thesis which is logically supported by different literature.
6. View the articles briefly and jot down any notes that may seem related.
7. Decide on the best organizational pattern and format for the topic.
8. Construct an appropriate outline for the literature review.
9. Write an introduction that introduces the topic, reveals your thesis statement, and arranges key issues
10. Organize the body of the paper and write it to an appropriate format: topical or chronological
11. Write a conclusion that reconciles similarities and differences on the topic and reemphasizes the criteria used to arrive at this conclusion. 
12. Complete the final draft of the literature review
13. Check over the final draft for grammar and punctuation errors.
14. Use the checklist provided here to make sure that all parts of the literature review are addressed and focused

Literature Review
(Google Images, 2012)

Conclusion

   There are number of definitions on what a literature review is, but the simplest possible definition which can be derived from all the definitions the author went through is that Literature Review is a research overview on a specific topic conducted by the aid of credible sources to answer unanswered questions about the topic.
A well written literature review consists of the following components.

• Organizes literature
• Evaluates literature
• Identifies patterns and trends in literature
• Synthesizes literature

References

Google Images, 2012. [Online] Available at: http://eloquentscience.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/All+About+Dissertation+Literature+Review+Examples.jpg [Accessed 10 December 2012].

Language Center, Asian Institute of Technology, 2005. WRITING A LITERATURE REVIEW. [Online] Available at: http://web.pdx.edu/~bertini/pdf/literature_review.pdf [Accessed 10 December 2012].

The Writing Center, 2012. How to Write a Literature Review. [Online] Available at: http://www.class.uidaho.edu/mihelich/UNC%20Lit%20Review.pdf [Accessed 10 December 2012].

University of Houston Victoria, 2012. Literature Review. [Online] Available at: http://www.uhv.edu/ac/wac/pdf/litreview.pdf [Accessed 10 December 2012].

University of Toronto, 2012. The Literture Review: A Few Tips on Conducting it. [Online] Available at: http://www.writing.utoronto.ca/advice/specific-types-of-writing/literature-review [Accessed 10 December 2012].

Week Two- Research Methods

Research Methods

What is Research?

Research is one of the main areas a student must master in when doing his study activities. According to Oliver (2000), "Research is about advancing knowledge and understanding." One may gain knowledge from what he/she studies. But the further reading and findings about the particular subjects advances his knowledge and makes the subject knowledge perfect.This is called Research. However, according to Sekaran (2008), Research is described as "An organized, systematic, data based, critical, objective scientific inquiry or investigation into a specific problem undertaken with the purpose of finding answers or solutions to it

The above two definitions  however do clash since the first one addresses Research as a method of advancing the current knowledge while the second definition says that Research is an investigation where there is a specific question and finding answers to it.

Research can be addressed in many ways. Research is a step-by-step process which has to be done systematically. It is a process of finding solutions to a problem after a thorough study and analysis of the situational factors.

Research is all about the discovery of new Data. Data can be divided into two main parts called 'Primary Data' and 'Secondary Data'. Primary data is basically the data which is available in a public domain, like Research Papers. "Primary Data is normally regarded as being data which is collected by the original researcher who is using it for some investigation" (Oliver, 2000). Secondary Data are mainly conclusions driven by the help research, interviews, quiz and other other data collection methods. As said by Oliver, (2000), "Secondary Data is data which has been collected by someone else for separate purpose, and is then used by the researcher."

References

Oklahoma State University (2012) Office of University Research Compliance. [online] Available at: http://compliance.vpr.okstate.edu/images/research.jpg [Accessed: 17 November 2012].

Oliver, (2010) Research for Business Marketing and Educaton. 10th ed. Berkshire: NTC Publishing Group, p.59.

Sekaran, (2008) Research Methods for business. 4th ed. Delhi: John Wiley and sons, p.128.

Week one- Day Two : Time Management

Time Management

Time Management is the first lesson of our syllabus to be covered. In the beginning of the lecture, an activity was carried out to understand a simple logic.

In the given image a container is showed. Here we are supposed to put all the big pebbles as well as the small ones and finally water. According to what students suggested, big pebbles were added first, then the small pebbles and finally water.

The capacity have to be properly managed. If big pebbles are added first, the small ones will fit in through the small spaces in midst of the big pebbles and if even a smaller substances like sand is added, they will fit into the smaller spaces in between the pebbles. Finally water will also have space in midst of all the above mentioned substances to fit in.

Therefore to utilize the given space properly one have to start with bigger substance and go to smaller ones.

The image above shows the next activity which was performed by the students on how they manage the time for main activities during one week. Above figures are related to the authors activities she perform during a day. The author utilizes only 117 hours a week out of total 168 (70%), which means she've got 51 remaining hours for study.

The lecturer next asked us to fill in the grid below where we are asked to list the normal set of activities we perform during a week and put them in relevant cages. The activities which fall under Urgent + Important cage are 1st priority list activities. They have to be done anyway to lead a good lifestyle. Next cage is where Urgent + Not Important activities are listed. These are the 2nd priority list activities which are not so important to perform but if they aren't performed on time, then they will turn out to be important activities. Next is the 3rd priority list activities which are Not Urgent + Important. These activities can be performed when ever you want to but it is crucial that you perform them when ever you get time. Finally, the 4th priority list activities are Not Urgent + Not Important activities. If one is busy with some work, they can simply activities which fall under this category.

Time Management is an important factor to be considered in everyone's life. Cottrell (2008), in her book speaks about importance of organizing your time. Following are few factors according to Cottrell (2008), on how to manage time.

• "Be aware of your own time management"
• "Be aware of how much time it takes you to complete each type of study task" 
• "Be aware that many aspects of study take much longer than expected"
• "Schedule time for unseen events"
• "Schedule time for relaxation and leisure"
• Be very specific in your time planning" 

(Cottrell, 2008)

Are you a Slob, Doer, Perfectionist or a Time Manager?

• Slob- A person who is not focused at the task given or even the organization. These type of people are a cost to organizations as well as the society. Clark (2001) 's definition for slob is "Always in disarray and does not focus on task".
• Doer- A person who is highly focused on the task he/she is assigned to but is low in organization. "Focuses on task, but cannot get it accomplished because things are in disarray" (Clark, 2001)
• Perfectionist- A person who is highly capable in organization the task but the task focus is at its lowest. They make sure that the factors which help in performing the task are organized properly. Perfectionist as said by Clark (2001) is "Spends too much time arranging, but does not focus on the task"
• Time Manager- This type of people sought by business organizations the most since they are the ones that have high focus on the task provided as well as the organization. However, these type of people are very scarce in the market. "Focuses on the task on hand and is organized enough to get it accomplished" is Clark (2001)'s definition for Time Manager.

By considering the above the author considers himself more of a doer. She definitely wants to accomplish the task given by some means, however she is not very particular about how to accomplish this task and organize her resources. 

References

Clark, 2001. Leadership. [Online] Available at: http://www.scribd.com/doc/50864338/70/Organization-and-Task-Focus


Cottrell, 2008. The Study Skills Handbook. 3rd ed. Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan.

Week one -Day One

Week one

Day one

An introduction of the module is given together with a brief explanation of the methods of assessment followed by a discussion about the 12 week blog which have to be maintained by us. 

The students are supposed to come up with a Project Proposal for the Final Year Project they are planning to submit at the end of their undergraduate study. The project proposal have to cover the following points,

1.  Ability to identify a business problem
2. Ability to apply suitable technology solution
3. Ability to design the solution
4. Ability to implement the solution.

Next discussion was 'Business'...

After a brain storming session the students were able to find a the simplest definition of what business is, which is "A profit or a non for profit organization". According to Timms (2011), an organisation is a social entity that that provides the necessary structures to achieve specific aims. However Timms (2011), presents a more elaborated and a slightly different definition for business, which is "a commercial enterprise or establishment that trades in goods or services."
From the above definitions the author comes into a conclusion that the term organization can be used for both profit oriented  and non-profit oriented businesses. But the term business mostly focuses on profit oriented organizations.

One of the main objective of a profit oriented business is to maximize profit. Profit maximization can be of two natures which is maybe to increase revenue (mainly involving Marketing department, Sales department, Distribution department) and to decrease cost (mainly involving Accounting department, Finance department, Human Resource department)

Profit Maximization
Google Images (2012)

The main three factors which decides on the profit and the performance of a business is time, cost and resources. The nature of the business processes are decided on how the above three factors behave. Too much usage of time, cost and resources result in inefficiency.