This Course Guide has been taken from the most recent presentation of the course. It would be useful for reference purposes but please note that there may be updates for the following presentation.
SCI S410
Research Project in Applied Science
Research Project in Applied Science (SCI S410) is an intensive research and investigation oriented course in Applied Science programmes. You have to apply the knowledge and skills acquired in this programme and draw up a plan to approach a scientific or technical problem in a manner that usually practised in the academic community.
Because of the very academic nature, only a small population of students finished all compulsory courses can be admitted. Once you have enrolled on SCI S410, you need to work with your individual research project (either literature research or lab work). This feature has a lot in common with conventional universities, where final year students often work alongside academic individuals.</p
The main aims of the Project Course may be summarised as follows:
| Week no. | Milestones/Tasks |
| 1 | Student orientation and Project introduced |
| 2 | Projects allocated and literature survey/reading begin |
| 3 | Student define the project “Why, What, and How” |
| 4 | Project coverage defined and research methodology developed |
| 8 | Initial Report submitted to tutor (Assignment 1) |
| 9 – 19 | Outline the project background, Plans, Goals, Strategies and References |
| 20 | Interim Report submitted to tutor (Assignment 2) |
| 21 – 29 | Meet the target or goals set in the Interim Report |
| 30 – 32 | Round up the project |
| 30 – 32 (TBC) | Oral Presentation (part of Assignment 2) |
| 33 | Final Report submitted (Assignment 3) |
Your self-motivations in literature survey, field study or experimental works are major activities in a research project. School Faculty members and staff concerned are responsible for the supervision and give advices to these activities.
This is a project course and it is your final year project. It is mainly carried in self-study mode of the student. We do not have fix tutorial and surgery face-to-face timeslots like the other courses that you have studied previously. In this project course, each of you can choose a topic provided by the Course Coordinator. You can choose to do literature review or lab experiments in your project. However, lab experiments are only limited to be offered in daytime for safety reason. Please make sure that you can attend school during daytime if you want to choose to do experiments. Once you have chosen your topic, the Course Coordinator will give you some guidance on how to work on it. You can make appointment with the Course Coordinator to find a suitable time to come to school if you need to have face-to-face discussion. If you have difficulties in attending face-to-face sessions, you can contact the Course Coordinator by email, or make use of the Online Learning Environment (OLE).
Students may select one research topic as provided by the Course Coordinator. The availability of research topics depends on quota. The Course Coordinator will make the final decision to determine the allocation of topics.
Once the project topic is confirmed, you are required to outline the broad research strategy based on your strengths and weaknesses, and to come up with a preliminary literature survey and reading list. In general, projects in this course are expected to include both an investigative component and a design or integrative element.
You should be well under way with searching the literature and preparing work outlines, such as surveys or experiments, for the Initial Report to be submitted in the 8th week. You are required to submit an Interim Report in the 20th week. The Interim Report should show that you have completed a substantial part of the work, so that the Course Coordinator can offer advice before you begin to write the Final Report. Specific details of the requirements for each report are given in the following sections.
It is strongly recommended that you keep a project diary during the academic year. At the very least this should be checked against your weekly objectives and should contain details of what you have learnt and the time you have taken. You should seriously consider including this approach in your study plan. You will find this useful when you come to write your Final Report, and it could come in handy at the oral examination when the internal examiner is asking questions about the progress of the project. It is of course valueless unless you keep an honest week-by-week record of what you do.
Project Courses in any conventional universities aim to equip students with independent abilities in organising, analysing and integrating information; with decision on and implementation of a workable plan to solve a particular problem as an ultimate goal. Therefore the training obtained by successful project students can be a valuable asset whether they want to succeed in their future career or proceed with academic research.
The focus of project should not be either too narrow or too wide. To some extent the aims should be adjusted within the context of the level of work expected and the time available. It is preferable to constrain the scope so that the project can be completed without leaving a large number of questions unanswered. However, if this can only be done at the cost of trivialising the problem, you will have to reassess your aims. No one expects you to define these perfectly at the beginning of your project, which is why we ask you to reiterate your aims and objectives in both the Initial and Interim Reports.
Commitment can be divided into time and attitude components. Remember that experiments may fail and people may work at different rates. There are ups and downs in all project work and these can be very demoralising. Coping with them constructively and overcoming depression are one of the important aspects for a successful training. If you do appear to be on the wrong track, make sure you contact the Course Coordinator without delay. A research project is academic in nature. It is to do with learning, choices, sifting of evidence, and backing conclusions based on fundamental concepts. It should not be confused with a business or technical report such as you might write for your place of employment.
You are by now quite familiar with the regular mailings, broadcasts and continuous assessment of other undergraduate courses. This project course has no course units, no broadcasts and may have a lot of supplementary materials generated along the way of project development. Nevertheless, you may still need to consult your Project Supervisor about any difficulties that may emerge from this course.
In this project course the programme of study is largely in your own hands. HKMU's obligation is twofold:
i. to give you the best possible support;
ii. to see that your work is properly assessed.
This course (final year project) is mainly carried in self-study mode of the student. We do not have fix tutorial and surgery face-to-face timeslots like the other courses that you have studied previously. Once you have chosen your topic, the Course Coordinator will give you some guidance on how to work on it. You can make appointment with the Course Coordinator to find a suitable time to come to school if you need to have face-to-face discussion. If you have difficulties in attending face-to-face sessions, you can contact the Course Coordinator by email, or make use of the Online Learning Environment (OLE).
General
The continuous assessment in the course comprises three assignments. The weightings towards the course score (CS) for each component are:
| (a) | Assignment 1 (required) | Initial Report (12.5%) |
(b) | Assignment 2 (required) | Interim Report (30%) + Oral Presentation (7.5%) |
(c) | Assignment 3 (compulsory) | Final report (50%) |
* items (a) and (b) count towards overall course assessment score (OCAS)
* item (c) counts towards overall examination score (OES)
To gain a pass in the course you will have to:
(a) Gain at least 40% course score (CS)
(b) Gain at least 40% for the Final Report (OES)
(c) Gain at least 40% for the OCAS
(d) Attend and pass the oral presentation
Result status will be awarded in accordance with the HKMU system, please refer to Student Handbook for details.
Assessment of Project
Your Initial Report may be in note form and will usually be presented with these main headings:
| 1 | Project Definition It should include: (a) The why of the project: why you consider it important and worthwhile. Merely because it is there, or data collection for its own sake, confuse your aims and objectives. (b) The what of the project: a statement of what is to be achieved the expected outcome and possible use or value of the project. In experimental studies, this could be represented by the hypothesis that is to be tested. (c) The how of the project: state how the objective is to be achieved by including the proposed approach and method to be employed. | 20% |
| 2 | Introduction This should be a critical appraisal of any background literature you have found to be important in formulating and developing your project. It should also relate the topic clearly to the existing similar work, where appropriate, and build on concepts and principles you have learnt in this course. This section is allocated the most marks, reflecting the importance that this aspect in your Final Report. | 60% |
| 3 | Project Plan This should include a diagram (a chart or schedule), matching the specific tasks to be completed in your project against the time available. You should also consider the resources required for successful completion of the project (e.g. information or access to equipment and facilities). Be as specific as possible and state the position regarding agreements that have been reached about use of facilities, etc. You may include the following items: (a) References studied, with comments as to their relevance; (b) Understanding of the basic principles underlying the project; (c) Identification of a definite topic and relation to existing similar work; (d) Specification of the goals of the project; (e) Outline of a strategy for achieving these goals. Throughout the report your tutor will be looking for a critical and analytical approach to the problem being investigated. | 20% |
| Total | 100% |
(An Initial Report would be about 500-800 words)
Your Interim Report should be presented in these main headings.
| 1 | Progress since the Initial Report This section should contain a brief statement of the following elements: (a) A restatement of the project objective. Has the objective changed or been developed since the Initial Report? If it has changed or developed, state why. (b) Your progress. A statement of what has been achieved since the Initial Report. (c) Problems and successes. Comments on the successes of the project so far and/or any practical problems that have arisen and how they were tackled. (d) A critical assessment of any further literature you have read, or a reinterpretation of some of the material you presented in the Initial Report, in the light of further experience. (e) Project plan. A summary or diagram of tasks to be completed in the remaining time. | 25% |
| 2 | Draft chapter The draft chapter should be about the method or methods of investigation you are using in your project. It should include, where appropriate, the theoretical background to the project. You should also include a brief discussion of the ways in which the project could have been tackled when you were first considering doing it. This should then lead on to a description of the strategy you decided to adopt and the reasons why this one was chosen. Finally, you should interpret your findings in the light of the literature you have studied to date. Treat this as though it were a chapter in your Final Report, so make sure you read the notes on style and presentation in Sections below. | 50% |
| 3 | Report structure This section should include a list of chapter headings for your Final Report, with a brief synopsis outlining the likely content of each chapter. You should also include an approximate word or page count for each chapter. | 25% |
| Total | 100% |
(An Interim Report would be between 1,000 and 3,000 words)
Your oral presentation will serve two purposes:
Oral presentation 20%
Background Knowledge 30%
Project Methodology 30%
Discussion 20%
Total 100%
Suggested Content in your Powerpoint:
| 1 | Introduction |
| 2 | Background |
| 3 | Experimental Methods (or Literature survey) |
| 4 | Results and Discussion |
| 5 | Conclusion |
Presentation Schedule:
The exact date and sequence of oral presentation schedule will be arranged by individual project supervisors. Please refer to OLE or email for the most updated information.
The Final Report is the most important element in the course and accounts for 50% of the total marks (CS). Please submit your Final Report in Word Format to your Project Supervisor by email. Drawings and diagrams in the electronic copy should be eligible and resolution suitable for printing. Your Final Report should be suitable for printing on A4 size paper. Please make sure that your name, student number, project title and project reference number (if any) are included. No reports can be accepted after the due date of Final Report without special approval.
Assessment Criteria of Final Report:
| 1 | A critical analysis and explanation of the project and clarification of its aims. | 20% |
2 | Integration of technological understanding in achieving the aims of the project. | 25% |
3 | Independent reading and study, and critical use of literature in discussing the findings of the project. | 25% |
4 | Organisation of work and of component activities of the project. | 10% |
5 | Clarity of presentation of the report. | 20% |
Structure of the Final Report:
It is probably wise to follow the commonly accepted practice of dividing your writing into chapters under headings similar to these:
Title page |
The content included the followings:
| 1 | Abstract You must include an abstract with your report. The abstract may be as brief as 200-250 words and should never be more than one side of A4. It should fulfil two purposes: 1. It should provide a general picture of the report and its contents, for someone who has not yet read the report itself, as a result of reading the abstract, may subsequently wish to do so; 2. It should also serve as a very useful aide-memory for someone who has read the report but wishes to have an overview readily available. The range of projects on SCI S410 makes it impossible to be prescriptive about the content and style of abstract. Indeed, there is no agreed standard layout, but students should be aware of the purposes outlined above and structure the abstract accordingly. The abstract should therefore: i. Say something about project objectives and methodology adopted; ii. Include any necessary background information; iii. Comment on any findings or results; iv. Emphasise any major conclusions; v. Have a value as a stand-alone document, giving enough information for the reader to understand what the project has all been about. In other words, the abstract must be concise, self-contained and self-explanatory. |
| 2 | Introduction The introduction should give the content of your project, placing it in the context of other relevant work in the field. This should be followed by the aims of your work. |
| 3 | Results and Discussion The main text consists of sections covering procedure, experimental work, data collections, tabulated or summarised results and an analysis of the accuracy and significance of the results. There are two major factors to consider: 1. The coherence and logic of the argument; 2. A strategy for capturing the reader's interest. |
| 4 | Conclusions The final conclusion and recommendations sum up your achievements and failures and point the way to future work, which may be taken up by students of the project course in future years. |
| 5 | Acknowledgements You should acknowledge help or assistance from any other sources. You are required to specify the kind of support you may have received from those around you. |
| 6 | Reference Reference should be given in the text to any previous work from which you have quoted results, taken tables or reproduced figures, or which you have used for relevant background information. You should use a standard numbered reference such as Jonesl for one reference. If there are more than one articles in one reference, use (a), (b) … to separate them. At the end of your report give a list of references in numerical order: The main point to consider in giving a reference list is that the work should be easily identifiable if the reader wishes to look anything up. References to periodicals should include the name(s) of the author(s), their initials (such as C.W. Chan), the short-form of title of the periodical (italicised, J. Am. Chem. Soc.), the year of publication (bold, 2000), the volume number (italicised, 120), the issue number (where there is one) or the date of issue (particularly for a weekly periodical), the page number of the first and last pages (230-241). Book references should include the title of the book (italicised) and the name of the publisher and place of publication. Give the title of any reports you refer to and a sentence explaining their source if they are not published by a recognised publisher. You must acknowledge all your sources of information, whether publications or people. You will be penalised if you try to claim as your own work something that was not. |
(A Final Report would be between 4,000 and 6,000 words)
The basic structure of any Final Report should follow that described in the previous section.
Although, within the formal structure, most projects will contain substantial differences, the Course Team felt that it would be helpful to include in this section some examples of good practice. As well as dealing with specific aspects of the content of the Final Report, they also give you the opportunity to see some of the different styles of layout and lettering that might be employed.
The examples belong to different disciplines, so you should look at them from the point of view of seeing how something could be done, or incorporated, rather than how it must always be done.
Example 1
ABSTRACT
The original project objective was to investigate the methods available for concentration or density measurement within multi-phase flows. The findings were to be applied to a particular industrial situation that was concerned with oil density measurement in a production process involving glass fibres. It was intended that a suitable transducer would be designed and built based on the findings and that the transducer would be installed on-line to achieve a desired measurement signal.
However, as the project progressed a problem developed concerning electrostatic build up the discharge which prohibited the use of the transducer and associated sensors online. Thus, a change of direction was required and a study of electrostatics with relevance to the particular application was undertaken. The original design and build objective was still continued with, carrying out testing off-line at the appropriate time. In addition to this, a risk assessment study was conducted concerning the electrostatic problem.
The results of the project indicate that it would be possible to use a system based on capacity sensing techniques in order to gain the required measurement signal on-line. Major conclusions to be drawn from the project include that it would be possible to design a system for use, based on the findings, that would be safe for use in a hazardous environment.
Example 2
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background to the project
This choice of project arose from the author's interest in control engineering and his belief that the discipline of engineering in general can benefit from studying how nature solves problems. Fuzzy control fits well in both of these categories. It is finding an increasing number of applications in control engineering and indeed is likely to become an important additional tool for control engineers. It is also the likely method of how humans and possibly other animals adapt to, and learn to cope with, everyday problems - it certainly models the process of animal learning and adaptation.
1.2 Project Objective
The objective of the project is to design and implement, in simulation, a fuzzy logic control algorithm and compare the performance against a conventional reference controller. This will involve understanding the theory of fuzzy control and classifying control schemes to which fuzzy control can be most suitably applied.
1.3 Methodology
In order to meet the objective of the project a thorough grounding in the subject of fuzzy logic and its application to control engineering was required. The first step was to find a body of relevant literature from which to build this grounding and this was done primarily through the searching of a computer database.
An item of plant needed to be selected, to which the fuzzy controller could be applied. Also a reference control scheme was required, against which the performance of the fuzzy controller could be compared. Ideally this scheme had to be flexible enough to be extended should the task of developing the controller prove a simple one, while still being a realistic scheme. Finally both the plant and reference controller had to lend themselves to being easily modelled by computer simulation. The item of plant that fulfilled these criteria was a dc motor which could, if required, be applied to a robot arm that lifted varying loads.
Example 3
AIMS AND OBJECTIVES
The principal aim of this project was to establish energy or fuel consumption guidelines in domestic properties. These properties are council owned and are refurbished estate by estate as finances will allow. These refurbishment schemes, although successfully designed and implemented, provide no actual information to the tenants concerning running costs — will they increase or decrease, will they increase but provide a warmer home? It was decided to carry out this project to obtain running costs, both per week and on a square meter basis which would allow predictions to be provided on future schemes, involving similar house types.
Example 4
Tables, Formulae and Diagrams
| Possible Sampling Rates | |||||
Sampling Frequency | Sampling Interval | Harmonics measured | Samples per period | ||
50 Hz system | 60 Hz system | 50 Hz system | 60 Hz system | --- | --- |
500 Hz | 600 Hz | 2.0 ms | 1.67 ms | 5th | 10 |
600 Hz | 720 Hz | 1.67 ms | 1.39 ms | 6th | 12 |
700 Hz | 840 Hz | 1.42 ms | 1.19 ms | 7th | 14 |
800 Hz | 960 Hz | 1.25 ms | 1.04 ms | 8th | 16 |
Table 3.1 Digital Sampling Rates
Measurements of the 2nd and 5th harmonics are essential for particular transformer protection algorithms. 2nd harmonies are used to restrain tripping actions during the energisation of a transformer. 5th harmonics are used to restrain action during transformer over-excitation.
Example 5
CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
6.1 Conclusions
The work has highlighted the need for a formal design and optimisation procedure that should aid the more widespread understanding and application of fuzzy control. Although no one design methodology is applicable to the implementation of fuzzy control a procedure has been described by which a fuzzy control scheme can be developed, tested and optimised. Graphical methods have been employed in this task and it is the belief of the author that the design process could be improved by extending these methods.
6.2 Recommendations
The recommendations for further work fall into two groups
Relating to the model
As stated earlier, the final model requires checking by implementing in hardware, as only by doing this can complete confidence in the design be achieved. An investigation would be useful as to why the version of the course and fine model, that used more sensitive parameters, failed, when other researchers have reported improved performance.
Relating to fuzzy control in general
There are many areas of fuzzy control that will benefit from further investigation, but those listed below lead directly from the work undertaken in this project or relate to questions that apply to the implementation of the model in hardware.
Example 6
REFERENCES
(Also consult the Style Guide published by Hong Kong Metropolitan University)
END OF COURSE GUIDE
