Monash University Handbook 2010 Undergraduate - Unit

Synopsis

This unit introduces the student to independent research. Most projects are software-oriented, although some projects may be purely theoretical and others may involve hardware work.

Objectives

At the completion of this unit students will have -

• acquired a significant level of expertise in the chosen field of research, including: knowledge of current state-of-the-art open problems and research methods used in the respective field;
• successfully addressed an open research question in the chosen field and reported these results.
• learned the skilled use of particular software packages that are relevant to the chosen research direction;
• acquired a significantly higher level of competence in programming.

• find and analyse current research literature;
• critically evaluate research findings, including critical argument analysis and statistical analysis of experimental results;
• identify open problems in current research;
• identify promising new research directions based on previous results;
• define feasible projects based on such problems;
• set realistic timelines and intermediate deliverables for a medium-scale project;
• conduct such a project, including time and resource management, intermediate evaluations of results and re-assessment of original aims;
• communicate research results in a variety of forms, including informal oral presentations, written reports, seminar presentations, poster presentations and web sites;
• collaborate effectively in a (small) research team.

Assessment

Research Proposal: 5%; Literature Review: 10%; mid-year interim presentation (hurdle); Final report & presentation: 85%

Chief examiner(s)

Dr Alan Dorin

Contact hours

Regular meetings with supervisor(s) over the course of the semester.

Prerequisites

Entry to the Bachelor of Software Engineering Honours stream. By invitation only.

Prohibitions

FIT4013, FIT4126, FIT4186, FIT4246, FIT4606

Additional information on this unit is available from the faculty at:

http://www.infotech.monash.edu.au/units/fit4003/