Dissertation Help, anyone :(

sandeep

sandeep

sandeep

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Gidea Park, Essex
Hi everyone,

Due to an extreme amount of coursework given during my last 2 semesters at uni, I've not been able to start my dissertation, and now all the works been completed, I'm stuck with doing a whole dissertation from the start within a deadline of 24 days!

It is a programming based project therefore a little extra on some areas are needed.

My main struggle is what research I need to provide, can anyone help me with this first struggling step to actually get somewhere?

Thanks
 
sandeep said:
Hi everyone,

Due to doing the least amount of work possible and using downtime to get pi**ed and try to pick up lucky ladies at uni, I've not been able to start my dissertation, and now all the works been completed, I'm stuck with doing a whole dissertation from the start within a deadline of 24 days!

OMG PLEASE HELP ME I'M DESPERATE!!
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Corrected for you.
 
He won't be able to get hold of a tutor on a weekend, so he'll lose another 2 days.

You should have guidelines for your dissertation on your uni intranet. All universities will follow a different scheme, but it sounds as though you just need to follow a basic project lifecycle, e.g. requirements (comes from research), design (use cases, etc), develop (programming), test (ensure your development works accorrding to a test plan), implement (put your development 'live'), and then some form of user acceptance testing, followed by concluding your project.

There are a vast number of different methodologies you can follow, again you should have had some guidance on areas to look in to?

You know you need to do research by the sounds of things, so I would use this weekend to gather some key requirements for your project by using some research techniques, e.g. surveys, questionnaires, reading newspapers, internet (remember to keep a log of all links or materials you have used for references sake)

Oh, and also start by giving your disseration a good catchy title, something that reflects what your software will achieve, or the problem it will solve.

And one final thing, it is about the programming to a large extent, however most disserations want to see your overall skill base, for example your ability to research, your ability to conduct test plans, your ability to reflect on your project upon completion and to realise areas that could have been better, that you would improve on in subsequent projects, etc.
 
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Thanks for the replies guys, some sarcy and some worth reading.

Well OK to clarify things.

Mitigating Circumstances, I won't really think I would have a valid case to actually apply for this so I believe it could be out.

Extensions, I think my University's actually quite strict on the deadline and aren't budging.

I've already e-mailed my tutor and had no reply from the past 2 days so I don't know.

Research, I just need to know if I were to do a silverlight application what I'll be attempting to research?

What components I'll need in my application, any code snippets or tutorials perhaps?
 
Don't sit about waiting for him to come to you with a reply. Go knock on his door and make sure he has to speak to you...on Monday obviously. Don't expect your tutor to be particularly forthcoming with help though. They're far more inclined to help people that start early and put the work in throughout the year. Chances are they'll think if you can't be arsed then why should they, and, whether you agree or not, leaving it until a month before the deadline makes it look like you can't be arsed.

All the best.
 
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sandeep said:
Research, I just need to know if I were to do a silverlight application what I'll be attempting to research?
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Try...researching Silverlight then?

sandeep said:
What components I'll need in my application, any code snippets or tutorials perhaps?
Click to expand...

See above.


Seriously, these post aren't showing you in a good light and it is understandable that you've not started and have no clue about what you are doing. I'm surprised you've gotten this far through university in honesty.

I basically did my dissertation in about 4 weeks, one of research on the subject matter, tools, etc., coding for two weeks and the report for one week (give or take a few days)...and I had loads of time off because I was being lazy with it.

Knuckle down, don't keep going out, put in some effort and you'll do it. If you have to ask such basic questions as 'what should I research for x topic?' then to be honest, it isn't looking good for you at all.

That may be harsh, but seriously, you've only got yourself to blame. No amount of excuses will change that.
 
InvaderGIR said:
Try...researching Silverlight then?



See above.


Seriously, these post aren't showing you in a good light and it is understandable that you've not started and have no clue about what you are doing. I'm surprised you've gotten this far through university in honesty.

I basically did my dissertation in about 4 weeks, one of research on the subject matter, tools, etc., coding for two weeks and the report for one week (give or take a few days)...and I had loads of time off because I was being lazy with it.

Knuckle down, don't keep going out, put in some effort and you'll do it. If you have to ask such basic questions as 'what should I research for x topic?' then to be honest, it isn't looking good for you at all.

That may be harsh, but seriously, you've only got yourself to blame. No amount of excuses will change that.
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I understand, I would say the same thing if I saw someone post basic questions.

It's not that I don't know what to research it's just I think I'm over thinking it and just think that my Uni wants something crazy for my research, I wouldn't just think that they want research topics I found about silverlight, and what code I need to get cracking.

If you could confirm, research would just consist of:

  • What is silverlight
  • what libraries I need, and what they are needed for
  • Information on perhaps a database, like SQLite
  • Some information on the IDE used, Visual Studio and Expression Blend

Are these relative research ideas?
 
To be quite honest, anything and everything related to the subject matter is research you should use. You may then go on in the report to say that it was not needed, but it is far better to have more research and discount some of it than to have the bare minimum.
 
Lashout_UK said:
To be fair, I think I did mine in about 6 solid days. I had fleshed it out an awful lot in my head, and in notes, beforehand though.
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Well makes 24 days feel so much more relaxed lol.

Well OK I've been going through the net finding different topics etc, also looking through chapters in certain books, but where would the research be shown, in the project proposal or progress report?
 
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