University of Surrey

Department of Computing

School of Electronics and Physical Sciences

MSc Dissertation Handbook

MSc in Information Systems

MSc in Internet Computing

October 2002

CONTENTS

1. INTRODUCTION 3

2. DEADLINES 3

3. DISSERTATION DELIVERABLES 3

4. INDUSTRIAL DISSERTATIONS 5

5. PROJECT ASSESSMENT 6

6. MEETINGS AND YOUR SUPERVISORS 6

7. OTHER SUPPORT AVAILABLE DURING YOUR DISSERTATION 7

7.1 The Dissertation Coordinator 7

7.2 English Support provided by the Department 7

8. Project Failure or Non-Submission of Reports 7

8.1 Delayed Submission 7

8.2 Project Deferment 7

8.3 Re-submission of Report 7

8.4 Project Failure 8

9. RECOMMENDED FORMAT FOR DISSERTATION 9

10. EXAMPLE OF PAST MSC DISSERTATIONS 12APPENDIX 1: Dissertation Supervision Form 14APPENDIX 2: Plagiarism 15APPENDIX 3: Plagiarism Agreement Form 17APPENDIX 3: Dissertation Cover Template 18

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1. INTRODUCTION

These guidelines contain requirements, suggestions and comments for your MSc Dissertation. All these are intended to provide a foundation on which your Dissertation will have the best chance of being successful. It is important to realise, however, that it is your Dissertation first and foremost. Please remember that while you will be supported by your supervisor and other members of the School, it is your responsibility to bring it to a successful conclusion - the award of the MSc.

The research related to your dissertation project is divided into two phases; the preparatory phase and the full-time phase. The preparatory phase begins with the assignment of the project titles and continues until the Diploma examinations. The full-time phase extends from the end of the examinations until the Dissertation submission date. During the preparatory phase you are expected to spend approximately 3-4 hours per week on your Dissertation. Throughout the full-time period, 40 hours per week is reasonable. It is in your own interest to participate fully in the preparatory phase. Please note that you will only be allowed to proceed to the full-time dissertation phase when you successfully complete the Diploma examinations.

The normal arrangement is that students carry out a dissertation project in the Department, however some dissertations are available in collaboration with industry.

University Dissertation Projects: These are usually carried out in association with one of the full-time academics who will be appointed as Academic Supervisor.

Industrial Dissertation Projects: It may be possible to undertake a project in industry or one which is carried out in collaboration with industry. Each year organisations are canvassed by the Department to provide dissertation project placements or suggestions. In such cases, an Industrial Supervisor would be necessary as well as an Academic Supervisor. If you are interested in an Industrial Dissertation, an up-to-date CV should be sent electronically to the Postgraduate Administrator via h.tye@surrey.ac.uk

2. DEADLINES

The important deadlines for your Dissertation for which you should make a diary note are as follows:

11 November 2002 (5 pm) Dissertation Supervision Form

20 December 2002 (5 pm) Project Inception Report (5%)

14 March 2003 (5 pm) Preparatory Phase Report (10%)

24-28 March 2003 Preparatory Phase Presentations (5%)

8 August 2003 (5 pm) Final Dissertation Report (70%)

11-22 August 2003 Final Presentations - Vivas (10%)

Submission of Project Reports:

All written submissions should be handed in by 5 pm on the respective dates, via the School MSc Post Box in the Student Common Room, BB Building, or to Mrs Helen Tye directly. (Do not hand in reports via supervisors.)

3. DISSERTATION DELIVERABLES

3.1 Dissertation Supervision Form: Monday, Week 10 of the Autumn Semester

It is your responsibility to complete the Dissertation Supervision Form with yours and your proposed supervisors signatures, to formally register for your Dissertation by the date given above. The Dissertation Supervision Form will be circulated electronically to you; a copy is also found in the Annex of this Handbook for your information. Once the dissertation project title has been agreed, students must discuss the project requirements with their supervisor.

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3.2 Project Inception Report (5%): Friday, Week 15 of the Autumn Semester

This document should record the formal agreement between you and your supervisor(s) as to the overall objectives and outcome of your research proposal, together with the criteria by which your achievement is to be evaluated. It should also put forward a provisional workplan, which makes clear how you mean to go about meeting those objectives. All resources that may be required must be identified at this stage; it is your responsibility to ensure that these will indeed be available to you. This document must be countersigned by you and your supervisor.

If you intend to work with any outside organisations or individuals, they should be identified here and the nature of their involvement made clear. It is strongly recommended that a written undertaking be obtained from any such organisation that they accept the Department’s 'Guidelines for Supervisors'.

3.3 Preparatory Phase Report (10%): Friday, Week 8 of the Spring Semester

This should constitute an outline draft of your research proposal, wherein certain parts may as yet be present only in skeleton form. It should therefore contain:

a) a ‘Table of Contents’, which shows your intended overall structure;

b) Introductory chapters;

c) chapters which describe the significant results or insights obtained during analysis, specification and design, a rationale for the decisions you have made, the methods used and so on (as appropriate to the specific objectives of your dissertation);

d) a statement as to how you mean to approach testing, user validation and acceptance (again, as specifically related to your dissertation).

By this stage you should make a clear distinction between the “academic report”, which is meant to be a well-structured commentary on your work, and the actual output from the dissertation – i.e. your product. For a software development dissertation the latter would normally include a user manual and supporting technical documentation; alternatively, it may take the form of a study and recommendations for delivery to a real customer. All such material should be set out as a self-standing “Annex” to your dissertation. Dissertation supervisors may approve whatever format is most suitable. This submission should be accompanied by a short summary of your workplan for the remaining period.

3.4 Preparatory Phase Presentations (5%): Monday-Friday, Week 10 of the Spring Semester

This short presentation will normally involve you giving a 15-20 minute talk about your research proposal, including what you have done and what you intend to do. This will be attended by your supervisor and an internal examiner. You and your supervisor(s) are responsible for arranging the date, time and venue of your examination. The aim of the presentation is to:

ensure that you understand what is involved in your research proposal;

ensure that you are making good progress and are managing your time effectively;

give you timely feedback and advice on your dissertation and your presentation skills.

3.5 Final Dissertation Report (70%): Friday, Week 11 of the Summer Semester (3 soft bound copies required)

Your completed submission should be a professionally presented report covering the objectives, methods and achievements of the dissertation. It should conclude with a critical appraisal of your own work, and reflections on what you have learnt in the process. The Dissertation - excluding any annex containing the ‘product’ should normally be between 15,000 and 20,000 words. The University Library keeps copies of past MSc Dissertation Projects that can be used to judge the normal length and standard of reports.

Your Dissertation will be assessed on both presentation - that is, English structure, grammar, layout and so on - and on your achievements and argumentation shown in the report. Typically, these might be weighted 20:50. A couple of weeks after submitting your Dissertation, you will be required to give a presentation on it - see 3.6.

Your Final Dissertation should be submitted in a 'soft-bound' format - three copies are required though you should keep a fourth copy for yourself. Students with an industrial project should also arrange to give a copy to their industrial supervisor. If you use hot glue binding or channel binding at AVS, any corrections required can be incorporated into your Dissertation, without the need to reprint it.

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3.6 Final Presentations: Vivas (10%): Monday-Friday, Weeks 12-13 of the Summer Semester

Your Final Presentations will take place during the period 11-22 August 2003, when you will be required to present your final dissertation to your supervisor(s) and an examiner. Your supervisor will provide advice about what is expected in this oral examination. You and your supervisor(s) are responsible for arranging the date, time and venue, which should typically be an hour's slot; including a 15-20 minute presentation by yourself, which is then followed up with questions from your supervisor and the internal examiner.

During your viva you will be instructed by your supervisor/examiner whether any further corrections will be required. If either 'minor' or 'specified' corrections are required, you will have 40 days to complete these and submit a revised copy of your Dissertation to your supervisor. Once the corrections are acceptable to the examiners, your supervisor must certify to the Postgraduate Administrator in writing that the corrections have been satisfactorily incorporated. After the Board of Examiners has met, you will be able to formally bind your Dissertation.

Binding is your responsibility, and can be arranged through the Audio Visual Services (AVS) on campus. Should you have to leave the University before the bound copies of your dissertation are ready, please speak to the Postgraduate Administrator for an alternative arrangement. One hard bound copy and one softbound copy of your Dissertation are required by the Department, one of which will be put in the University Library.

In order to graduate at the Higher Degree Ceremony to be held in April 2004, you will need to submit your bound copies of your Dissertation by the end of September.

4. INDUSTRIAL DISSERTATIONS

If you wish to undertake an Industrial Dissertation; that is a dissertation project provided by an outside company, and jointly supervised by the company and an academic member of staff, please send an electronic copy of your CV to Mrs Helen Tye via h.tye@surrey.ac.uk

4.1 Supervisory ArrangementsSupervision is split between the Industrial supervisor and the University supervisor, but the necessary information relating to the project is supplied by the industrial contact. The Industrial supervisor is responsible to the student's University supervisor for guiding the student on his/her industrial project and planning the dissertation project realistically. The University supervisor will be responsible for the overall direction and development of the Dissertation project. A programme of regular meetings will need to be agreed to maintain effective oversight of the Dissertation project.

4.2 AssessmentThe Dissertation will be examined jointly between the University and the Industrial supervisor. It is important, therefore, that you maintain contact with both the University supervisor at the start of the dissertation and at regular intervals during the course of your Dissertation.

4.3 TimescaleAs with Academic Dissertations, students would be available from 20 January 2003 to work on their Dissertations on a part-time basis to meet the deliverables set, and from June onwards after the end of their examinations, move over to full-time study on the Dissertation.

4.4 Workplace ArrangementsThe student may carry out his/her work relating to the Dissertation project at the University, or may be located at the Industrial company's premises if deemed necessary to carry out the project; or he/she may move between the two sites. In the latter case some student expenses may be required and these may be sorted out on an ad-hoc basis.

4.5 Intellectual Property Rights (IPR's)IPR's are negotiable, and the University is happy to discuss the IPR arrangements.

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4.6 Confidentiality AgreementsSuch agreements between the university supervisor, internal examiner, student and company would be signed if deemed necessary. Furthermore, arrangements can be made under which the Dissertation project would not be placed in the University Library for up to five years after the project if so desired.

5. PROJECT ASSESSMENT

Possible Factors Contributing to Overall Assessment:

Intellectual Content – difficulty of material, relation to taught material, analytical skillsApproach – method, originality, judgementPreparation – thoroughness, selection of material, designImplementation – quality of engineered product, accuracyTesting – own aims (verification), customer requirements (validation)Personal Qualities – productivity, motivation, supervision requirementsDocumentation – adequacy, structure, clarity, stylePresentation – preparation, relation to report, suitability for audience

Assessment Guidelines

90-100% Reserved for really outstanding work which makes significant contribution to the field. Likely to be worthy of publication.

70% Borderline for consideration of distinction. Needs to have demonstrated considerable command of the subject and made a good contribution to knowledge or real progress in carrying out the project.

50% Borderline MSc standard. Should have understood project material, made a good review of previous work and a competent attempt at the required task.

40% Borderline Diploma level. Shows some understanding and achievement, but not of MSc standard.

6. MEETINGS AND YOUR SUPERVISORS

It is part of your professional training to become used to preparing carefully for meetings and discussions in advance, so please practise this in your dealings with your supervisor.

Ensure that you fully understand the obligations on both you and your supervisor by discussing the supervisory relationship with your supervisor at the earliest opportunity. If there are aspects which you do not fully understand, talk them through with your supervisor.

Once the dissertation project title has been agreed, students must discuss the project requirements with their supervisor.

Discuss with him/her the type of guidance and comment you would find most helpful and agree a programme of study and background reading which best suits your needs in the light of your proposed Dissertation project. Agree with a schedule of regular meetings, and /or tutorials.

Take the initiative in raising with your supervisor any problems or difficulties which you may encounter. Your supervisor's time is not limitless and there may be occasions when he or she may simply not be available. Within reason, however, every effort will be made to meet with you as and when necessary.

Ensure that you attend agreed scheduled meetings on time and maintain the progress of your work in accordance with the stages agreed between you.

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7. OTHER SUPPORT AVAILABLE DURING YOUR DISSERTATION

7.1 The Dissertation CoordinatorThe Department has a Dissertation Coordinator - Mr Chris Handy, Course Tutor (Room 33AA03; e-mail c.j.handy@surrey.ac.uk While your Academic Supervisor will allocate you tasks where appropriate and will examine you, the Dissertation Coordinator will meet with you on a regular basis to monitor your progress, and will ensure that you have access to available resources. The following is the schedule of meetings with your Dissertation Coordinator – the Dissertation Coordinator will advise as to the timings of these meetings shortly before they are due:

1. Autumn Semester Week 10: One session;

2. Spring Semester Week 3: One session;

Week 10: One session;

3. Summer Vacation Minimum one session per month.

7.2 English Support provided by the DepartmentThe Department's Course Tutor in Communications and Presentations, Ms Christine West, will be available during the summer months to assist you with the writing of your Dissertation and with tutorial sessions which will be run during this period. You will be notified of the English support available nearer the time.

8. Project Failure or Non-Submission of Reports

The normal submission dates for dissertation project reports will be notified to the students via the School Postgraduate Office.

Reports submitted after the normal submission date will not be considered by that year’s Examiners' Board, ie you will not obtain your award until the following year.

Consideration will however be given to any matters which may have prevented the student from submitting a satisfactory dissertation report on time. Only circumstances outside the student's control and which could not reasonably have been anticipated by the student will qualify for consideration. Last-minute problems in the production and duplication of reports are considered to be foreseeable and are not acceptable in mitigation.

For full-time students a delayed submission may well entail the payment of continuation fees as a continuing student - for most non-EU students a continuing student status will not entitle you to a student visa and thus you may become subject to deportation.

8.1 Delayed Submission

It is the responsibility of the student to ensure that the Course Director is notified in writing of any problems in meeting a deadline before the deadline is reached. Delayed submission without authorisation from the Course Director may attract penalties.

8.2 Project Deferment

If a student is considered to have good reason for failure to submit a Dissertation, the Board of Examiners may recommend that the date of submission be deferred for a period not exceeding 12 months. The student will be required to re-register and pay a continuation fee.

8.3 Re-submission of Report

If a student is considered to have carried out dissertation project work of an unacceptable standard, the Board of Examiners may decide that the student should be allowed to submit a revised dissertation report by a specified date for re-examination, subject to payment of a re-examination fee. The Board may take account of its previous decision and the attendant circumstances when recommending a final award.

If a project report is judged to need only minor amendments and the mark given, taking into account the defects of the report, is sufficient to justify an award, then the award may be made subject to approval of the revised report by an examiner designated by the Board.

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8.4 Project Failure

If the mark for a dissertation project, taking into account penalties, is less than 40%, or if the dissertation is grossly inadequate, then the Board of Examiners will normally recommend that the student be regarded as incapable of achieving the standard required for the award of a Master’s degree, and will award a Postgraduate Diploma if the student is eligible for this on the basis of taught modules alone.

In exceptional circumstances, when there are grounds to believe that a student may have suffered some impediment in carrying out the dissertation project, the Board of Examiners may recommend that the student be allowed time to carry out further project work, to allow an award of a Master’s degree to be obtained. Such a recommendation may be subject to payment of normal composition fees and, if appropriate, bench fees.

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9. RECOMMENDED FORMAT FOR DISSERTATION

1. INTRODUCTION

The report – excluding the annex – should be between 15,000 and 20,000 words (absolute

maximum). Front covers will be provided by the MSc Secretary via e-mail. The front page

of each copy must show the copyright holder (eg 2001 Author’s name or 2001 Company

name). Only reports of a confidential nature (refer to your supervisor if you think this applies

to you) must be accompanied by the special (pink) form of Copyright declaration obtainable

from the Postgraduate Office.

UNIVERSITY REQUIREMENTS

The University requirements on format are:

The dissertation shall be typed on A4 size paper. It shall be bound in a form specified in the Programme Regulations. All pages should be numbered. The title page shall bear the title, approved in accordance with the Programme Regulations, the student’s name, the Degree for which the student is registered, and the year in which the dissertation is presented. A summary of the work, not exceeding three hundred words in length must follow the title page. Wherever possible, subsidiary papers and other material should be bound in but a student is at liberty to submit such material separately for consideration by the examiners.

Revised May 2001

2. LAYOUT

Prepare your Dissertation in a single-column, in 1.5 line spaced text, and in left aligned

format. Please use a blank line to denote the end of a paragraph.

2.1 Typefaces

Times New Roman 11 point for body text, figures and tables, equations and formulae.

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2.2 Headings

MAIN HEADINGS (numbered 1, 2, etc): Size 12 pt, typed in capital letters,

using bold type, flush with the left-hand margin. Allow one line space above. DO

NOT number individual paragraphs.

Sub-headings (numbered 1.1, 1.2, etc): Size 12 pt, initial capital letter only, using

bold type, flush with the left-hand margin. Allow one line space above.

Table headings: Size 12 pt, initial capital letter only, centred above the table.

2.3 References

References should be complete - their use is to demonstrate your knowledge of, and

reflections about, current thinking and activity in your field of study, and to help subsequent

readers follow up your work. Any material that you use in your dissertation that is taken

from other sources MUST be referenced; in other words ALL your sources MUST be

indicated, including, for example, concepts, ideas, words, information, processes or protocols,

and figures. Any material copied or used from sources, but not appropriately

referenced, leads you open to a charge of plagiarism, which may result in loss of marks,

at the very least, or even complete rejection of your Dissertation.

Please refer to Appendix 2 on Plagiarism in this Handbook for full details of what this

means. You will be asked to sign a Plagiarism Agreement Form as in Appendix 3, to say

that you have understood this and will comply with it.

The departmental agreed system for references to published work is the Harvard

method. The referencing and citation must be consistent throughout the dissertation.

The author, year and page reference should be included next to the reference, in

parentheses. If you make reference to two publications by the same author in the same

year, use lower case letters to denote alternate texts: eg (Mingers 1995b:76). A

bibliography in alphabetical order of the author’s surname must be included.

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Shorter quotations of about 20 words should be incorporated in the sentence or body of

your writing. Longer quotations (30+ words) should be indented once, on the left-hand

side only, and kept separate from the body text by one line. See Departmental Guidance

for more detail. A longer document on Harvard referencing is available on the Library

site. http://www.surrey.ac.uk/Library/dilis/Harvard.htm

2.3 Dissertation Examples

The University’s Library keeps copies of past MSc dissertations that can be used to judge the

normal length and standard of reports.

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10. EXAMPLE OF PAST MSC DISSERTATIONS

The following are some examples of dissertations to be found in the University Library from students graduating from the Information Systems and Internet Computing programmes:

Mr Olawale Adeniyi MSc IS Open Governance in NigeriaMr Andre Agbamu MSc IS The Evolution of the Internet in AfricaMiss Azuan Ahmad MSc IS Legal information system - a case study in Malaysian lawMr Shaikh Parvez Ahmed MSc IS Knowledge discovery: a case study in advanced

semiconductorsMiss Adebunmi, Elizabeth Ajala MSc IS Knowledge Management in Chemistry and the use of

symbolsMr Zeeshan Alam Akhund MSc IS Modelling technique for web based solutionsMr Oluseyi Akinkugbe MSc IS Identifying and defining user requirements for

information systemsMiss Sevira Antonia Alevizaki MSc IS Load balancing in constrained multi-agent environmentsMr Arunan Balasundaram MSc IS Development of a computer hardware fault diagnosis

systemMiss Oluremi Banjo MSc IS Adaptive web pagesMr David Spencer Barton MSc IS The indexing and retrieval of computer-based texts -

virtual corporaMs Georgina Bingham MSc IS Marking Up Scientific Archives for Digital AccessMiss Sandhya Boodhram MSc IC Study and implementation of public key infrastructuresMr Richard James Cardall MSc IS Online presence for a charitable organisationMr Ngat Chan MSc IC An analysis of the threat posed by modern virusesMr Kok Chin MSc IS Genetic Algorithms: Artificial PoetryMr Tony Chiu MSc IS Building a computer hardware maintenance expert

support systemMr Mohammad Yasser Chuttur MSc IC French language information extraction system to

monitor fluctuations in financial marketsMr Konstantinos Daskagiannis MSc IS An Exploration of Web Site Design for Educational

InstitutionsMr Paul Dunn MSc IS Creating the Virtual EditorMiss Bibi Fauzia MSc IC The digital library of students reportsMr Mohammad Ganjbakhsh Fard MSc IS Intelligent E-NotesMr Ammaniel Habte MSc IS Evolution of cryptography in industry/businessMr Alexandros Hatziandreou MSc IC A greek language information extraction system to

monitor fluctuations in the financial marketsMiss Farhana Hazra MSc IS Change Management & LanguageMr Sifei He MSc IC Java-based display processor for structured data setsMs Chun-Hui Ho MSc IS Annotation-based video retrieval systemMr Thomas Ioannou MSc IC A system that demonstrates public key encryptionMiss Saimah Iqbal MSc IS Urdu language information extraction system to monitor

changes in financial marketsMr Marvin Ishmael MSc IS The development of a website for the TACT organisation

ideasMr Amar Jalil MSc IS Review of wireless networking technologiesMr Panagiotis Kalaitzoglou MSc IS An Agent-based Distributed Database System

Mr Sohail Kalhoro MSc IS Search-oriented Web PortalMr Michael Kampouris MSc IS e-MilkMr Ruan Thomas Kendall MSc IC A dynamic virtual reality art galleryMr Efthymios Kessissoglou MSc IS Using Audio Description for Video AnnotationMrs Farah Khan MSc IS Knowledge Management and ComplexityMr Popsook Kosaikanont MSc IS CASE configuration to capture distributed transaction

modelsMr Aslak Valebrokk Kristoffersen MSc IS Automatic generation of a knowledge base to access art

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Miss Su Li Len MSc IS Human computer interaction (HCI) issues in a multimedia interface for an on-line art gallery

Mr Adrian Leung MSc IS Public key infrastructure for access controlMr Youxin Li MSc IS Automatically generating knowledge for multimedia

systemsMr Zacharias Litinas MSc IS E-commerce revolution and its impact on the Greek

banking systemMr Ji Liu MSc IS A comparison of the security of the logon procedures in

Unix and Windows NT/2000/XPMiss Yew-Cheng Loi MSc IC The use of bayesian networks for automated prediction of

usage context in mobile devicesMr Jawad Malik MSc IS Strategic Deliverance of 3G Financial ServicesMs Pensiri Manomaisupat MSc IS Web and its competitive advantages for a Thai companyMrs Pratima Mathur MSc IS A study of key escrow and its implementations by

government and commercial organisationsMr Sotiris Moschoyiannis MSc IS Group theory and error detecting/correcting codesMiss Xiao Yi Mu MSc IS An overview of Internet SecurityMr Sheraz Khan Niazi MSc IS Web based public service broadcasting in the United

Kingdom and Pakistan: a comparisonMr Usman Masood Noor MSc IS Knowledge Management and Semiconductor IndustryMiss Felicia Okeke MSc IS Panning for knowledge: finding precious nuggets in bulk

communications streamsMiss Gry Oppedal MSc IS Comparison of websites in Norway and UKMr Peter Papagiannellis MSc IS Requirements management for component-based

software developmentMiss Nicoletta Pavlou MSc IS Strategy as Complex Adaptive System ConceptMs Rosie Rayner MSc IS Is Information Systems Analysis and Design Influenced

by Gender?Mr Akira Saito MSc IS The knowledge sharing Web-based system for ADHD

sufferersMr Sagadeven Sathan MSc IS Complexity Theory and ManagementMr Meeran Shah Syed MSc IS 'Dynamic Vocabulary' HyperlinkerMiss Marguerite Shepherd MSc IS Simulation of document processes within government

agenciesMr Rozbeh Tajallizadeh

KhobMSc IS Validation of Transfer E-mail through the Internet

Mr Hayssam Traboulsi MSc IC Information extraction and financial prediction for Aarabic market place

Miss Wen-Ling Tseng MSc IS Multimedia language teaching with animationsMr Georgio Tsiappas MSc IC Role-based access control on the webMr Aristidis Vrakas MSc IC Online flight booking systemMiss Cindy Wang MSc IS Fostering an online presence for a non-profit making

organisationMr Kun Wei MSc IC An analysis of security features of windows NT 2000 XPMiss Zeshu Wu MSc IS Chinese language process and identify proper nounsMr Aliyu Yabani MSc IS New applications of Broadband Digital Communications

TechnologiesMiss Xiaofang Yan MSc IS Generic model for e-commerce transactionsMr Constantinos Zappas MSc IC A collaborative framework for agent-based distributed

systemsMr Zhengkai Zhang MSc IS Requirements information system to support

development of real-time embedded softwareMr Weigang Zhang MSc IS Network securityMiss Yanning Zhao MSc IS Automatic generating annotation for medical imagesMs Huijie (Jane) Zi MSc IC Artificial neural networks for environmental analysis

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APPENDIX 1: DISSERTATION SUPERVISION FORM

MSc in Information Systems/Internet ComputingDissertation Supervision Form

This form is to be completed by the supervisor and the student, after agreeing on a dissertation proposal. The second supervisor/internal examiner should be arranged by the first supervisor. Please return the completed form to the School MSc Postbox (Student Common Room) or Helen Tye directly.

Preliminary Title of Dissertation:

Name of Student:

Name of Academic Supervisor:

Name of Industrial Supervisor:(if appropriate)

Name of Internal Examiner:

COMMENTS:

Signature (student): …………………………………… Date: ……….…………………

Signature (supervisor): ………………………………….. Date: …………….…...……….ACADEMIC

Signature (supervisor): ………………………………….. Date: …………….…...……….INDUSTRIAL - if appropriate

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APPENDIX 2: PLAGIARISM

An aim of our course is to educate and advise our students at many levels. Technical aspects of the course are most obvious but we also hope to instruct students in the accepted social and ethical standards of a professional engineer. We formally assess students via examinations and coursework. The coursework is intended to help students learn as well as to assess their achievements. With the growth of readily available electronic media and the WWW, we are very concerned when students either copy the work of others or do not acknowledge the contribution of others. This is a form of cheating which both distorts our assessments but also means that the student does not learn and understand the work. In this short document we define what constitutes academic misconduct, state our policy on punishing it and offer some advice on acceptable working practices.

Students should note that certain forms of unethical behaviour are defined by the University’s regulations as “academic misconduct”. The relevant section of the University’s Regulations for the Conduct of Examinations and Other Forms of Assessment reads as follows:

It will be regarded as academic misconduct for any candidate to commit an act whereby he or she seeks to obtain for him- or herself, or for another candidate, an unfair advantage. Academic misconduct shall be taken to include:

i) impersonation of another candidate or knowingly allowing another candidate to impersonate him/her;

ii) copying or communicating with another candidate in a formal, timed examination;

iii) introducing into an examination room any manuscript or printed material not specifically permitted, any unauthorised calculator or other improper aid or source of information;

iv) plagiarism1 or otherwise misrepresentation of his or her participation in and responsibility for any material submitted for assessment as part of a prescribed assessment;

v) fabrication of the results of work which he or she claims to have undertaken (for example, experiments, interviews, observations or other forms of research and investigation) which he or she has not carried out or of results which he or she has not obtained. 1. Plagiarism is defined as “taking and using another person’s thoughts, writings or inventions as one’s own” (Concise Oxford Dictionary, 1964).

It is the policy within the School that where any student is found to have committed “academic misconduct” in any piece of examined or assessed work, a Fail mark of 0% will always be awarded for that piece of work. Repeat offences may be punished by failing a student in all modules assessed during the relevant semester.

Plagiarism. While most of the forms of academic misconduct defined above are self-explanatory, some students may be less familiar with the notion of “plagiarism”. One dictionary definition is offered in a footnote to the regulations themselves. Other dictionary definitions include:

“to take and use as one’s own the thoughts, writings or inventions or another”(Oxford English Dictionary, CD-ROM 1994)

“to appropriate and pass off (the ideas or words of another) as one’s own”;

“to commit literary theft”;

“present as new and original an idea or product derived from an existing source” (Longman’s Dictionary of the English Language, Harlow: Longman 1984)

In simple terms, therefore, plagiarism involves knowingly making use of someone else’s work without acknowledgement, and representing it as your own. It is worth noting several points:

It does not matter whether or not the work or idea has been published. For instance, using a passage from another student’s essay without acknowledgement would be plagiarism. So would using a passage from a published article or book, or from an internet site, or from the study guide for the course.

Plagiarism takes place when you give the impression that someone else’s work is your own, even if the other person has permitted you to do so. For instance, even if a friend allows you to use a passage from their essay, you are plagiarising if you do not acknowledge their work.

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The words and ideas in any piece of writing are the property of the author. Plagiarism may therefore also involve specific civil offences, such as breach of copyright.

Avoiding Plagiarism. Plagiarism is a serious offence: how can you avoid it? After all, every piece of writing involves using the ideas of other people. The academic enterprise involves precisely building on, criticising, and evaluating, the work of other people. In many cases, you have to explain what they have said. How can you do this without plagiarising? There are two key rules to follow to avoid plagiarism:

1. Always acknowledge your sources 2. Avoid direct (word-for-word) copying

Acknowledge your Sources. It is vital always to acknowledge where an idea, or argument, which you use originates. There are no exceptions. Occasionally, you may find yourself in situations which seem to demand an exception. What should you do, for instance, if you wish to draw on writing or material which has been given to you in confidence? Situations like this are, in fact, quite common. The key is to acknowledge the fact that you are using confidential material. It may still be necessary to ensure that the precise origins remain confidential, but you should never give the impression that the work is your own.

Avoiding Copying. As a general rule, direct quotation should be kept to a minimum in academic writing. But there are a few exceptions. Sometimes you may want to use a quotation as the starting point for your own counter-argument. In this situation, direct copying is acceptable. But in all direct copying it should always be very clear that what is copied is being quoted. It is never permissable to use someone else’s words without stating that the words are quotations, and you should always acknowledge where they come from.

By and large, it is preferable to explain (or “paraphrase”) other people’s arguments in your own words. But remember, even here you must show that you are explaining someone else’s argument. If you do not acknowledge the origin and author of an argument you wish to paraphrase, you are plagiarising.

There are several highly acceptable styles of acknowledging your sources in academic writing. You should adopt one, and follow it consistently through any piece of work. A practical approach is to adopt the style of one of the main journals in your field.

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APPENDIX 3: PLAGIARISM AGREEMENT FORM

An aim of our course is to educate and advise our students at many levels. Technical aspects of the course are most obvious, but we also hope to instruct students in the accepted social and ethical standards of an IT professional. We formally assess students via examinations and coursework. The coursework is intended to help students learn as well as to assess their achievements. With the growth of readily available electronic media and the WWW, we are very concerned when students either copy the work of others or do not acknowledge the contribution of others. This is a form of cheating which both distorts our assessments, but also means that the student does not learn and understand the work.

In simple terms, plagiarism involves knowingly making use of someone else's work without acknowledgement, and representing it as you own. It is a policy within the School that where any student is found to have committed plagiarism in any piece of examined or assessed work, a Fail mark of 0% will always be awarded for that piece of work.

I have read and understand the above, and confirm my submitted project report is all my own work.

Name:

Dissertation Title:

Signature:

Date:

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APPENDIX 3: DISSERTATION COVER TEMPLATE

The Title of your MSc Dissertation

A N Author

Submitted for the Degree ofMaster of Science in Information Systems/Internet

Computing (delete as appropriate)

from theUniversity of Surrey

Department of ComputingSchool of Electronics and Physical Sciences

University of SurreyGuildford, Surrey GU2 7XH, UK

September 2003

Supervised by: A N Supervisor

A N Author 2003

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