Master Thesis in Telecommunications Systems

Master Thesis in Telecommunications Systems

Patrik Arlos

Outline

• Motivation for Process• Example; John and Jane• Details on process

– External projects– DDP/Exchange

• FAQ

Master Thesis Project• Done in pairs of two students

– Academic Supervisor and Faculty Reviewer– Maybe industry advisor/contact

• 30 ECTS credits, approx. 6 months– May --- Sept– Oct --- January/2012– With additional presentations in March/June– If you have not presented within one year from

accepted proposal, you fail.• Three parts: Proposal, Work, Presentation

Proposal Phase

Thesis Proposal Template• Basic information• Students suitability• Background• Aims and Objectives• Research Questions• Expected Outcomes• Research Methodology• Time plan• References

Key areas to address

• Subject Introduction (1 paragraph)• Current state-of-the-art (2-3 paragraphs)• Identify a gap (1 paragraph)• Describe how your work fill the gap (rem.)• Formalia (who, when, how? etc…)

Proposal RubricBackground & Justification

Aims & Objectives

Research Questions, Hypotheses

Research Methodology

Originality, Inventiveness & Creativity Motivations, Alternatives

Language Spelling Wording Grammar Sentence structure Paragr. structure Flow & Voice

Formalia Format, Layout, Style & Length

References & Citations

Type

Scope

Work Phase

-2w

-(2w+n) Upto supervisor

Presentation Phase

-1w

0w

Defense RubricCriteria 4 - Superior command 3 – Good control 2 – Fair/some/little control 1 – Minimal or no control

Eye contact Constantly looks at and maintains eye contact with different parts of the audience.

Occasionally looks … with parts of the audience. Only focuses on one part of the audience. Does not scan audience.

Does not attempt to look at audience at all. Reads notes or looks at computer throughout.

Gestures Natural hand gestures and body language are demonstrated. Well adapted to the content.

Some … Somewhat adapted … Few … No hand gestures are noticed and/or body language is not adapted to presented content.

Posture, Poise Stands up straight with both feet to the ground. Turned to audience.

Occasionally slumps. Multiple slumps. Too static or dynamic movements.

Sits during presentation or slumps repeatedly.

Enthusiasm Demonstrates a strong, positive feeling about work and results.

Occasionally shows positive feelings about work and/or results.

Shows some negativity towards work and/or results.

Shows no interest in the presented work and/or results.

Poise Relaxed and self-confident with no mistakes. Makes mistakes but recovers quickly from them. Displays little or no tension.

Mild tension; trouble recovering from mistakes. Nervous. Problems recovering from mistakes.

Vocalized pauses (ah, um, well etc)

Multiple vocalized pauses noticed at appropriate places in presentation or in answering questions.

Some … A few … only some at appropriate … No vocalized pauses noticed.

Voice variations Varies the pitch, timbre and energy of the voice according to the needs of the presentation to maintain interest.

Some variations in … Small variations in … No variation in pitch, timbre or energy of voice. A constant and boring voice which is hard to listen to. Mumbling.

Timing Presentation falls within required time frame Presentation is on the edges of the required time frame.

Presentation is less than minimum time. Presentation is more than maximum time.

Visual aids Enhances presentation and keeps interest. All key points articulated/covered.

Key points articulated/covered but not engaging/enhancing.

Adds nothing to presentation. Poor, distracts audience and is hard to read/interpret.

Completeness * Thoroughly explains all points. Majority of points covered in depth, some glossed over.

Several key points glossed over. Incomplete; several key points omitted. Hard to understand work and/or results.

Flow, Coherence * Clear organization with good and logical flow between parts.

Thoughts articulated clearly, but flow is somewhat hampered.

No or unclear logical flow between parts. Confusing order and organization.

Language * No misspellings or grammatical errors. 1-2 misspellings or grammatical errors. 3 … 4 or more …

Subject knowledge * Demonstrates full knowledge. Can answer all questions with explanations and elaborations.

At ease with material. Can answer questions but without elaboration.

Uncomfortable with information. Can answer only basic questions.

Incomplete grasp of information. Cannot answer questions.

Opposition

• Each student must also be opponent :– Get thesis one wee before presentation– Read thesis and criticize– Answer questions for opposition– At defense: Ask critical questions 5~10 min– Write opponent report and submit to examiner

Finalization Phase

+1w

+2wTR

Thesis Rubric3.P. Research problem, aim and research questions/hypothesis are...

3.MA. Research materials are all materials collected by the students that build up the theoretical and empirical base for the thesis

3.R. Research results

3.D. Analysis/Discussion...

3.ME. Research methods in a thesis can be judged from two main perspectives….

3.K. Student(s) knowledge of the research area...

3.C. Conclusions are….

3.RS. Reference list and use of sources/references as well as the quality of the references are….

3.L. Language and knowledge of scientific language…

The expected level of contents and quality related to the grade of a Master’s thesis

A – The thesis addresses a relevant problem and investigates a reasonably novel idea. The overall level of ambition is shown to be very high. The outline and flowof text is excellent, with well-formulated research questions, a clear and concise overview of related work, a comprehensive description of the applied researchmethod(s), and a well-presented and evaluated contribution. Not only should the research method be clearly described and motivated, the presentation of theresearch method should also reflect a sound understanding of research methodology in general and the applied method(s) in particular. The evaluation should besuitable for the problem at hand, i.e. it may be quite limited empirical character if the main contribution is theoretical. The thesis should contain a rigorousanalysis of the results, an insightful discussion, and logical conclusions drawn from the work conducted. Moreover, the analysis and the conclusions thereof shouldanswer the research questions posed. This implies that synthesis is achieved. References are very good with a good coverage of the area. The reference listcontains an adequate number of peer-reviewed articles, preferably from relevant journals and the references are well balanced over the years in which the researcharea has existed. The citations included are of original sources and not of secondary sources. The goal is that publication should be extractable from the thesispublishable in a peer-reviewed venue. The language should only contain very minor flaws.

B – The thesis manages almost to reach grade A, but it contains some minor problems. For example, the idea is not really that novel, the students do not refer tothe original sources or something else of fairly trivial nature or the language contains several minor mistakes. In general this is a very well designed, executed,and reported research project.

C – The thesis meets most of the requirements for grade A, but contains one or two major problems (or weaknesses). For example the research method(s) applied arenot properly compared to alternatives and thus motivated (observe, in this example the method(s) used are well defined). The presentation of the thesis could beimproved and the language can contain some faults.

D – The thesis makes a reasonable contribution, but it fails on several aspects in relation to a thesis of grade A.

E – The thesis lacks integral parts or includes several very weak parts in relation to a thesis of grade A. It is still an acceptable thesis, and the thesis assuch is not flawed. The grade E represents the fact that the thesis on average is mediocre. A typical example of a weakness that may be acceptable for a level Ethesis is a lack of an extensive analysis. The weakness can also be in the level of ambition and execution, that is, too few data points to draw any realconclusions in combination with weak analysis of the data that is there.

F – The thesis is flawed or such major parts are missing that it is clear that the student(s) does not have basic understanding of how to conduct a research study.Alternatively, the thesis could very well meet most of the requirements of a grade E thesis but the grammar and spelling is poor to the degree that major pointsare a matter of subjective interpretation.GENERAL – Any thesis with an E or higher (passing) grade should be complete in terms of containing the bare minimum level of components. For example, an E thesismust include a research methodology section or equivalent. It is important to recognize that an E-level thesis is complete and has a contribution (albeit limited).

External Projects

• Follows the same procedure• Only ‘alternate’ is single student if external

party requires it.

DDP Exchange

• Case 1; done at BTH, follows procedure• Case 2; done at your home university.

DDP Case 2; (rough)Topic or Area

Assigns Shadow Supervisor

Initial Contact

SupervisionWorkContinuous

contact

Present and Defend

Examiner BTH StudentShadow Supervisor Home University

Grade

Grade

Finalize

Grade

Assigns Supervisor

FAQ1. How to find a topic?• www.bth.se/com/mscee TOPICS

– Research areas, Research Group, External• Search the web for companies…• Past projects/papers (check future work)• Resent papers in area • THINK / Brainstorm• Talk with colleagues and companies• DO not CONTACT other UNIVERSITIES!

FAQ2. Work alone?

• No! Experience shows:– Two is better than one– Pr{finish| two students}>Pr{finish|one student}

• ONLY if;– 3 directly relevant courses with A-B/5/VG (up

to examiner)– and project require it

FAQ3. Distance Defense

• Not allowed! – Must present and defend thesis physically!– Dates found on www.bth.se/com/mscee

deadlines

Indications of failure

• Students DOES NOT:– Send proposal / work on time– Write continuously– Write readable and understandable– Keep in contact with supervisor for longer

periods– Update thesis/work based on feedback

Tips• Weekly status emails to supervisor• Write early and regularly• Keep a journal• Write with the reader/audience in mind

(junior/senior researcher)• Be honest and modest, but also bold!• Logical structure and clear story.• Consider Alternatives and motivate choices• Avoid plagiarism

Online

• http://www.bth.se/com/mscee• http://se-ts.weebly.com/snippets.html

– For SE but useful here as well• http:/www.bth.se/com/dv2512

– For CS but useful here as well• http://iaser.tek.bth.se/pa2403

– For SE but useful here as well