The third year project is an opportunity for you to exercise your practical problem solving skills; but it is equally an opportunity to develop and exercise your communication skills. In particular, you need to communicate the results of your project in your report. The importance of the report cannot be over-emphasised as it is the main basis for the assessment of your work.
In terms of presentation, the report should be typeset on A4 paper. It should be single spaced in Times New Roman with a font size not smaller than 12 point. Each new chapter of the report should start on a new page, and the pages should be numbered. It should not normally exceed 12,000 words excluding front matter, references and appendices, but speak with your supervisor if you have concerns about this.
Note, however, that it’s quality rather than quantity that is being looked for, and that waffle and irrelevancies will be penalised rather than rewarded! Discuss the length of your report with your supervisor.
You can get a good idea of expected length of reports by looking at past students’ reports.
All undergraduate projects involving user participants must conform to the University guidelines on ethics, and be approved by your supervisor. Be sure that you have used the ethics self-assessment forms posted on the SCC300 Moodle space. If you have worked with participants during your project, you may be asked about your ethical procedures during your project demo.
Below is a suggested structure for the report. As indicated below,you should decide upon a structure that best communicates the nature of the work done, your results and analysis. For example, a project that involves the design of a complex underlying system and a user interface may require two design chapters. You should discuss a suitable report structure for your specific project with your supervisor.
Abstract: You should create a short abstract (200 words at maximum) which is on a page by itself. The abstract should be a very high-level overview: for example 1-2 sentences on the aims of the project, 1-2 sentences on the kind of design, implementation, or empirical work undertaken, and 2-3 sentences summarising the primary contribution or findings from your work. The abstract appears in the front matter of the report: after your title page but before the table of contents.
Introduction: Start with a brief statement of the overall aim of the project. Give an overview of the problem being addressed by the project. Describe aspects of the background such as why the project is worth doing, how the project may be useful or helpful for others.
Then state the aims of the project (preferably as bullet points). End the chapter with a brief chapter by chapter overview of the rest of the report.
Background: Analysis of background research and reading.
Summarise technical problems and approaches. Discuss any relevant work and/or existing related systems. For related work and systems also discuss their implications for your project. For example, any improvements that your system offers, shortcomings that your work addresses, and so on.