Today’s Class

• Module introduction
• Thinking about your project

• Visualisation (of data, results, etc)

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Module Introduction
• Module Study Guide is available on Blackboard under
‘Course Information’ of the module

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Module Aims and Objectives
This module will assist you in the various stages involved in undertaking a
substantial and independent research project at MSc level, including:

a) choosing research topic,

b) writing research proposal,
c) conducting literature review,
d) developing research methods and strategy,
e) writing MSc dissertation

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Module Aims and Objectives
This Module should:
 Enable you to plan and undertake research in various areas of computing
 Provide a deep and systematic understanding of the nature and conduct of
research
 Enhance your abilities to develop research strategies and methodologies.
 Develop your skills to critically understand research findings from the literature
 Enhance your ability to identify and plan the development of transferable
research skills

Knowledge – Skills - Behaviour

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Module Aims and Objectives

What do we mean when saying:

- Knowledge
- Skills
- Behaviour

Knowledge – Skills - Behaviour

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Module’s Purpose
• Develop general skills related to planning, performing and
reporting Research
• Prepare you for your MSc Project

RESEARCH METHODS PROJECT

(SEMESTER 2) (SEMESTER 3)

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Module Assessment
Method of
Indicative Submission &
Pass
Type of Assessment Word Count Weighting Submission Date of
Mark
week Feedback (refer
to BB)

Online
submission to
Literature Blackboard via
As your live Turnitin
review 1,500 – 2,500 40%
schedule
(element 1)
Feedback in 30
days
Written 50%
Assignment overall
Online
submission to
Dissertation Blackboard via
As your live Turnitin
proposal 2,000 – 3,000 60%
schedule
(element 2)
Feedback in 30
days

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 A typical project journey

1. Pick your topic for the project

2. Literature search – find out how other people have dealt with the problem
3. Try to identify a gap, or how you would like to approach the problem
4. Find/generate the data
5. Identify appropriate methodology for solving your problem (e.g. a ML
algorithm or any general IT solution for the problem)
6. Generate results, critically analyse them
7. Write the project report
8. Demonstrate the results
Think about your project topic

Eventually you will need to define the following:

1. The Project Title (could be provisional)
2. Motivation: why do you want to do the proposed research?
3. Aims and Objectives of the Project
4. Define one or several Research Questions (some element of research)
5. Propose how will you initially approach the problem (i.e. the methodology)

Some examples will be provided on BB

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Assessment 1: Literature Review

• Introduction
• Background
• Evaluation (critical, your views, find the ‘gap’)
• Conclusion
• Dictionary
• References

In text citation and references: Harvard style – ‘Cite-them-right’

(there will be a guest lecture on this topic from our subject librarian – week 3)

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Assessment 2: Project Proposal

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Aims and objectives
Motivation for the dissertation proposal is an interest in the quantum level of the living world and the laws
ruling there. The studies in this area could be extended based on the existed achievements in nanomedicine,
so the research in both fields are closely related and the mutual collaboration can benefit any of them.
The importance of the proposed research is hypothetical and only time can tell how valuable for the science
it could be.
The aim is an accurate prediction of the desired features and respectively forecast the possible behaviour of
the engineered nanoparticles (ENPs).
The hypothesis is that the predictions on the nano-particles behaviour for medical purposes could be
improved through the accumulation of the current understanding of them combined with the laws, theories
and principles of Quantum Physics and life science. Although the strategy will not solve the problem, it is
expected to be a useful tool for future discoveries. The data for the project will be collected from studies,
implemented in machine learning and provided for exploitation through software.
The reviewed literature led to the following Research questions:
1) what could be done more in comparison with what has been already achieved?
2) how to develop a globally applicable approach?
3) how the current technology could boost nanomedicine research in a convenient and user-friendly way?

Objectives are:
- Assembling the available studies, providing concise models for further research by interested.
- Select an appropriate ML algorithm and collect data for the algorithm training and testing
- To develop the algorithm
- To test and validate unseen data 12
Start to think of

• Your research interests, possible MSc project topic

Discuss with peers and exchange/share thoughts

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Introduction to Computer Science

Think and discuss

• What is Computer Science

• What are the disciplines of Computing Science
• What area(s) of CS you are interested in for
your MSc project

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