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Monash University

FIT4448 Honours thesis final - Semester 2, 2014

This unit is a research unit and a core requirement for the Bachelor of Software Engineering Honours stream. Due to the nature of IT, a wide range of Honours project types can be offered to students. Some project components are of a practical nature and may involve some software development and/or experimentation, while other components are of a more theoretical nature.

Mode of Delivery

Clayton (Day)

Workload Requirements

Minimum total expected workload equals 12 hours per week. Students will be expected to hold regular meetings with supervisor(s) over the course of the semester.

Unit Relationships

Prohibitions

CPE4000, CSE4000, IMS4000, FIT4126, FIT4186, FIT4246, FIT4606
Only available to students enrolled in the Honours stream of the Bachelor of Software Engineering.

Co-requisites

FIT4442

Prerequisites

FIT4441

Chief Examiner

Campus Lecturer

Clayton

Dr David Squire

Your feedback to Us

Monash is committed to excellence in education and regularly seeks feedback from students, employers and staff. One of the key formal ways students have to provide feedback is through the Student Evaluation of Teaching and Units (SETU) survey. The University’s student evaluation policy requires that every unit is evaluated each year. Students are strongly encouraged to complete the surveys. The feedback is anonymous and provides the Faculty with evidence of aspects that students are satisfied and areas for improvement.

For more information on Monash’s educational strategy, see:

www.monash.edu.au/about/monash-directions/ and on student evaluations, see: www.policy.monash.edu/policy-bank/academic/education/quality/student-evaluation-policy.html

Academic Overview

Learning Outcomes

At the completion of this unit students will have:
  • demonstrated knowledge and understanding in the area of their chosen research project;
  • acquired necessary skills to plan and undertake rigorous independent research;
  • acquired comprehensive research skills in the IT field;
  • developed the capacity to engage in critical thinking and analysis;
  • demonstrated the ability to communicate research activities and findings.
Developed attitudes that enable them to:
  • have confidence in their ability to undertake independent and individual research;
  • have confidence in their ability to plan and execute an individual research project.
Developed the skills to:
  • find and analyse current research literature;
  • critically evaluate research findings;
  • identify open problems in current research;
  • identify promising new research directions based on previous results;
  • define feasible projects based on such problems;
  • set realistic timelines and intermediate deliverables for a research project;
  • communicate research results in a variety of forms, including informal oral presentations, written reports, seminar presentations and poster presentations.
Demonstrated the communication skills necessary to:
  • communicate research ideas effectively in oral and written form;
  • collaborate effectively with their supervisor.

Unit Schedule

Week Activities Assessment
0 Students will research an agreed thesis topic under the guidance of their supervisor and will receive feedback on their progress through regular meetings with their supervisor. No formal assessment or activities are undertaken in week 0
1    
2    
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12   Final Presentation: due Week 14 in the second semester of candidature at a time to be scheduled - 5% and Honours Thesis: due Week 15, Week 15, Friday 3pm in the second semester of candidature (or the first available week day previous to this date if the Friday falls on a University holiday) - 80%
  SWOT VAC No formal assessment is undertaken in SWOT VAC
  Examination period LINK to Assessment Policy: http://policy.monash.edu.au/policy-bank/
academic/education/assessment/
assessment-in-coursework-policy.html

*Unit Schedule details will be maintained and communicated to you via your learning system.

Teaching Approach

Research activities
Students will research an agreed thesis topic under the guidance of their supervisor and will receive feedback on their progress through regular meetings with their supervisor.

Assessment Summary

Research Proposal: 5%; Progress report: 5%; Interim Presentation: 5%; Final Presentation: 5%; Thesis (normally 10,000 - 20,000 words): 80%

Assessment Task Value Due Date
Final Presentation 5% of the 18 cpt thesis Week 14 at a seminar time to be scheduled.
Honours Thesis (10,000 to 20,000 words, normally approximately 15,000 words for an 18 cpt thesis) 80% of the 18 cpt thesis Week 15, Friday 3pm in the second semester of candidature (or the first available week day previous to this date if the Friday falls on a University holiday)

Assessment Requirements

Assessment Policy

Assessment Tasks

Participation

This unit forms part of the sequence of units comprising the Honours thesis in the Faculty of Information Technology.

Two exit points exist for the Honours thesis, FIT4444 - 24 cpts and FIT4448 -18 cpts.

The 24 credit point exit point is applicable to:

  • Honours degree of Bachelor of Business Information Systems,
  • Honours degree of Bachelor of Computer Science,
  • Honours degree of Bachelor of Computing and Information Sciences,
  • Honours degree of Bachelor of Information Technology and Systems.

The 18 credit point exit point is applicable to:

  • Honours stream in the Bachelor of Software Engineering.

FIT4448 Honours Thesis Final is a unit with an enrolled value of 6 cpts and 18 cpt achievable, taken over a single semester but forms the final part of a sequence of units that together allow a student to complete an Honours Thesis of 18 cpts. 

These units include:

  • FIT4441 Honours Thesis Part 1
  • FIT4442 Honours Thesis Part 2
  • FIT4448Honours Thesis Final -18 cpts

At the completion of the requirements for the thesis the following components of assessment will be completed: 

  • Research Proposal:(approximately 3000 words) 5%;
  • Literature Review:(approximately 6000 words) 10%;
  • Interim Presentation: hurdle;
  • Final Presentation: 5%;
  • Thesis (normally 10,000 - 20,000 words): 80%

These assessment tasks will be completed over the course of several units in the Honours program but the overall grade for the thesis will only be finalised on completion of either FIT4444 - 24 cpts or FIT4448 -18 cpts.

Please refer to the Unit Guides for FIT4441, FIT4444 and FIT4448 for a description of the assessment items to be completed over the course of the Honours Thesis.

The following components will be assessed during the course of this unit:

Final Presentation: 5%; Thesis (normally 10,000 - 20,000 words): 80%

  • Assessment task 1
    Title:
    Final Presentation
    Description:
    Present a 20 minute presentation on your research project to your peers with an additional 5 minute question period. The presentation should clearly identify the research problem, significance and aims. The background research context should be outlined and the research approach and method clearly defined.  The research outcomes and possible avenues for further research should be presented. The presentation should be well structured and concisely delivered. The presenter will be required to answer questions raised by their peers and the academic staff.
    Weighting:
    5% of the 18 cpt thesis
    Criteria for assessment:

    Content and Structure of Presentation - /70

    Presentation Delivery - /30

    Total - /100

    Due date:
    Week 14 at a seminar time to be scheduled.
  • Assessment task 2
    Title:
    Honours Thesis (10,000 to 20,000 words, normally approximately 15,000 words for an 18 cpt thesis)
    Description:
    Submit an Honours Thesis of approximately 15,000 words that describes your research.

    The thesis should be well structured and contain, an abstract, table of contents and correct referencing.

    It will provide a clear description of the objectives of the project, will include a comprehensive literature review, and describe the methodology used.

    The thesis will provide a good analysis of the evaluation of results, and contain the correct grammar and expression.

    The presentation of the thesis document will be consistent with the standard expected of academic writing in the field.
    Weighting:
    80% of the 18 cpt thesis
    Criteria for assessment:

    Difficulty of task - /10

    Quality and substance of report consistent with presentation - /40

    Achievement - /50

    Total - /100

    Due date:
    Week 15, Friday 3pm in the second semester of candidature (or the first available week day previous to this date if the Friday falls on a University holiday)

Learning resources

Monash Library Unit Reading List (if applicable to the unit)
http://readinglists.lib.monash.edu/index.html

Faculty of Information Technology Style Guide

Feedback to you

Examination/other end-of-semester assessment feedback may take the form of feedback classes, provision of sample answers or other group feedback after official results have been published. Please check with your lecturer on the feedback provided and take advantage of this prior to requesting individual consultations with staff. If your unit has an examination, you may request to view your examination script booklet, see http://intranet.monash.edu.au/infotech/resources/students/procedures/request-to-view-exam-scripts.html

Types of feedback you can expect to receive in this unit are:

  • Other: Supervisor meetings and seminar presentations.

Extensions and penalties

Returning assignments

Assignment submission

It is a University requirement (http://www.policy.monash.edu/policy-bank/academic/education/conduct/student-academic-integrity-managing-plagiarism-collusion-procedures.html) for students to submit an assignment coversheet for each assessment item. Faculty Assignment coversheets can be found at http://www.infotech.monash.edu.au/resources/student/forms/. Please check with your Lecturer on the submission method for your assignment coversheet (e.g. attach a file to the online assignment submission, hand-in a hard copy, or use an online quiz). Please note that it is your responsibility to retain copies of your assessments.

Online submission

If Electronic Submission has been approved for your unit, please submit your work via the learning system for this unit, which you can access via links in the my.monash portal.

Other Information

Policies

Monash has educational policies, procedures and guidelines, which are designed to ensure that staff and students are aware of the University’s academic standards, and to provide advice on how they might uphold them. You can find Monash’s Education Policies at: www.policy.monash.edu.au/policy-bank/academic/education/index.html

Key educational policies include:

Faculty resources and policies

Important student resources including Faculty policies are located at http://intranet.monash.edu.au/infotech/resources/students/

Graduate Attributes Policy

Student Charter

Student services

Monash University Library

Disability Liaison Unit

Students who have a disability or medical condition are welcome to contact the Disability Liaison Unit to discuss academic support services. Disability Liaison Officers (DLOs) visit all Victorian campuses on a regular basis.

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