Research Methods Technical Writing Thesis Report Writing Thesis Presentation Research Methods Costas Kyriacou

Writing a Thesis: Writing Style and Format: Thesis Content: Follow guidelines and/or templates provided by the Department Consult your Advisor Thesis Content: Acknowledgements (Optional) Table of Contents – Table of Figures – Abbreviation and Acronyms Abstract (No references) Introduction Background Information – Related Work (Title can change according to your project – Can be more than one chapter) Methodology (Title can change according to your project) Technical description of your work Evaluation Evaluation Methodology Results Discussion of Results Conclusions References Appendices The decimal system needs ten distinct symblos or states0 to 9. This can not be supported by digital electronics. Research Methods Costas Kyriacou

Thesis - Acknowledgements Thank the people who helped you in the project Your advisor(s) for his/their guidance The members of your evaluation committee for participating in the committee and their comments on the Thesis PhD students must submit their Thesis early enough for the evaluation committee to read and make suggestions Your colleagues for sharing their views or reviewing your work Your sponsors Research Funding Agencies (if your studies are funded through a research program) Others who provided you with equipment, software licences, access to data, etc Others Family, Friends, God Don’t overdo it This section is optional If omitted it shows that you either did everything by yourself or you show no gratitude to the people who helped you Bad for you and your work In both cases The decimal system needs ten distinct symblos or states0 to 9. This can not be supported by digital electronics. Research Methods Costas Kyriacou

Thesis - Abstract This is a short summary of your work PhD abstracts are often published in Scientific Periodicals from professional organizations (IEEE etc) Bulletins (Networks-of-Excellence, Forums etc) Web sites (University or Specialized such as the Computer Architecture Portal) Use it to promote your work People read first the Abstract and if found interesting can search for your papers or contact you for more information Must contain three main components Introduction to the problem solved by your work Motivation for doing this work Aim of the research work and overview of the methodology used to solve the problem Evaluation methodology and summary of main results achieved No references/citations must be included in the abstract Often needed in English (If the report language is not English) Typical size – 1 page The decimal system needs ten distinct symblos or states0 to 9. This can not be supported by digital electronics. Research Methods Costas Kyriacou

Thesis - Introduction This is an extended summary of your work Main components of the Introduction: Opening Part (one or two paragraphs) State what is the problem to be solved and Your Thesis (the main aim of your project) Present State-of-the-Art work in the area Summary of the methodology used Must relate to the objectives specified in the project proposal and how they are met. Evaluation Summary of the evaluation methodology and the main results achieved Overview of the structure of your Thesis (Last / Optional) E.g. { Chapter 1 presents an overview of the ….. Chapter 2 describes the ????. The evaluation methodology is presented in Chapter 3 etc. For PhD include also Statement of the contributions of your work List of the publications that describe your work 3 to 5 pages for MSc, 5 to 10 pages for PhD The decimal system needs ten distinct symblos or states0 to 9. This can not be supported by digital electronics. Research Methods Costas Kyriacou

Thesis – Background Information This chapter must provide the necessary background for someone working in the general area of your work to understand it It should not include what is considered a general knowledge for a Masters graduate in the specific area A detailed description of the state-of-the-art work related to your project With adequate references on text and diagrams or pictures used Well structured Not just a list of unrelated references to the work of others It should help in justifying your approach in solving the problem This is and extended version of the Literature Review of your project proposal It Shows that you have studied and mastered the area of your project Places your work into content Shows that you acknowledge and give credit to the work of others The decimal system needs ten distinct symblos or states0 to 9. This can not be supported by digital electronics. Research Methods Costas Kyriacou

Thesis - Methodology Detail description of how you have solved the problem and how the objectives of the project have been met. Justify your design choices Use of diagrams and flowcharts and provide a clear and technically sound description of your work Use of examples to clarify your methodology Can be more than one chapters Chapter Title must be related to your work The decimal system needs ten distinct symblos or states0 to 9. This can not be supported by digital electronics. Research Methods Costas Kyriacou

Thesis – Validation/Evaluation This chapter shows how successful is your work It must contain: Validation/Evaluation Methodology Describe in detail the methodology used to evaluate your work Use of experiments, simulations, surveys, analytical modelling Give the technical specification and settings of equipment used for your experiments or describe the sample used for your surveys and statistical analysis Justify your evaluation methodology Results achieved Use tables and Graphs Discussion of results Critically discuss your results Avoid describing in words what is given by the tables or figures If possible relate your results with the results obtain by others Make sure you compare similar and compatible things The decimal system needs ten distinct symblos or states0 to 9. This can not be supported by digital electronics. Research Methods Costas Kyriacou

Thesis - Conclusions This is the overall judgement of your work State whether you have met the project objectives stated in the Project Proposal and how good are your results It should include: Overview of the problem and the methodology used to solve it Significant problems encountered and how they were solved Overview of the evaluation methodology used and a summary of the results achieved Future work Important Issues related but not addressed in your work Significant for PhD students They are expecteed to continue carrying out research Academia Research Organizations Research & Development Departments The decimal system needs ten distinct symblos or states0 to 9. This can not be supported by digital electronics. Research Methods Costas Kyriacou

Thesis – References and Appendices For Reference use information in “Publications” lecture Follow the format set by your Department – if any Appendices may include: Extended results of experiments that could no be shown in the main text Source code of software Datasheets and Manuals Other useful information The decimal system needs ten distinct symblos or states0 to 9. This can not be supported by digital electronics. Research Methods Costas Kyriacou

Presentation Structure for Thesis (1/2) Keep in mind that your audience will be the members of the assessment committee (well aware of the topic your presenting - some of the members might not know you in person) In some cases your defence might be open to the public or to other students If the presentation is open to the public make sure that prepare the presentation to satisfy your assessment committee – not the public First Slide Present yourself, your affiliation and the title of your Thesis Thank your advisor and the members of the committee (or other audience) for being there Add the logos of organizations that supported/funded your work and thank them Presentation Overview List the main contents of your presentation Use this slide as a table of contents with bookmarks This can be very useful when you will answer questions and need to navigate in your presentation Present this slide fast and avoid details that will be presented later in the main body of the presentation. Research Methods

Presentation Structure for Thesis (2/2) Introduction One or two slides explaining the problem your addressing It should lead to the motivation of the research You may add one or two slides from the literature review section of your Thesis to emphasise the motivation for your work (if applicable) One slide introducing your solution to the problem Thesis Aims and Contributions One or two slides describing the objectives of the project Emphasize Your contributions That the idea in novel and interesting Implementation Methodology Few slides describing the main components of the methodology Use a Conceptual Diagram to describe your methodology Use a simple example to explain your methodology Research Methods

Presentation Structure for Thesis (3/2) Evaluation Methodology One or two slides on how you evaluated the outcome of your research Results Using graphs and charts describe the results obtained Analyse, verbally, your results during the Thesis defence If appropriate relate/compare your results with the results of others Conclusions Stress that your idea is novel and interesting Use your results to point out that your project is a success Future Work Briefly present how your research work can be continued/enhanced Be careful not to show that your work is incomplete Ask for Questions? No! This is the work of the chairman of the committee Just add a “Thank You” slide at the end. Don’t forget to add “Rescue” or “Lifesaving” slides at the end Research Methods