How did you decide your dissertation/project title?

RastaManBob · 8 Apr 2009 at 11:33

Hi,

A bit early to be considering my dissertation/project title for the academic year but considering a lot of members are starting to bring theirs to a close, I thought it'd be a good time to ask!

I'm struggling to decide what title I'd like to suggest; At my University students apply for title out of a long list and depending on your ranking (Within the school) you'll get one of your choices. Certain students are allowed to suggest titles and select a supervisor if it is agreed... I am in this category and would therefore like to think of a title and suggest it before the end of this academic year.

Of course, I want to select something manageable, though ideally impressive, but certainly that will keep me interested/entertained.

I'm studying Electrical and Electronic Engineering and would like a project that involves programming and ideally related in someway to motor sports. I was considering something (Though what I don't know!) relating to telemetry or similar... But of course, it all seems beyond reach at the moment! And only because at the moment I've had no better idea... If you have any suggestions I'd be glad to hear them!

I'm interested in hearing how you made your decision on what your dissertation/project title would be? Do you have any suggestions on how to select a suitable topic?

Thanks!

Lashout_UK · 8 Apr 2009 at 11:49

Regarding picking a subject, well as you've already ascertained pick something you're interested in. It'll make it so much easier to put the effort in to do the required research, work, development, whatever. Do, however, make sure you can take whatever you're looking at far enough to satisfy the requirements for your dissertation. There's no point doing a report on something that interests you if it doesn't deliver the content or opportunities required to get a good grade.

This is where it's good to talk to your lecturers (not just your main, but maybe ones related to what you want to do and potentially others in different faculties) to start getting some ideas and grounding, to help you finalise what it is you're going to do.

For the title, well, I broke it down into chunks. I knew what my subject was (i.e. the focus of the work). That gave me part of the title. I would also be doing a lot of work into the design and development of that device, which would be the bulk of the dissertation. Lastly, I also knew what the intended application was, as it was, after all, what I was doing all the work for.

So for me, mine ended up as:

"The Development & Design of Air-Independant Propulsion Engines for Competitive Use"

Of course, "AIP engines" being the subject, "the design and development" being the work I was doing and the "competitive use" being the application

Might be some help

poosemon · 8 Apr 2009 at 11:55

mine has a running title of;

How does the current best practice in environmental management affect the service quality and wow factor for customers in high quality hotels?

see how it changes as the project goes on...

Lashout_UK · 8 Apr 2009 at 11:56

The nice thing about telemetry of course, is there's plenty of areas - not only from the suspension, steering and brakes - but also from the powertrain. You get lots of information from the engine and all it's associated sensors, the gearbox and even data from the final drive. They also monitor G-forces, timing and inputs from the driver so along with the other data can build up a pretty comprehensive idea of how the car is performing in certain conditions and where it can be improved, or reined in slightly.

You could even look into two-way telemetry where the engineers not only recieve data from the car but can also feed new data to it, activating and deactivating certain features or controls and changing the engine and gearbox response to suit differing conditions, all on the fly.

Consequently, if you're interested in a particular area, there's plenty of opportunities to find something to write about.

RastaManBob · 8 Apr 2009 at 12:07

Thanks for the feedback... Some interesting ideas and a lot of food for thought... Certainly, it's confirmed for me that *I* want to have a significant say into the title rather than entering into the Options/Selections scheme that the majority of students have to use...

It's clear there is a lot of stuff I will have no interest in and areas I'll be very interested in... Now I've just got to decide *exactly* where they lie.

I think the suggestion of going to meet a few different lecturers is a good one, and I'll follow that up after the Easter vacation. Certainly, it seems current final year students (Studying the same course as me) either appear to a research driven project or a more hands-on design and construction project. Considering I'm keen to do some programming I'm not sure which route would be best followed (Could either do something theoretical or literally program some IC's if I get that far) but finding a lecturer who I would work well with under their supervision seems very important... And then getting their feedback on what would be a suitable title would be advantageous.

Again, thanks for the feedback!

SentineL-X · 8 Apr 2009 at 12:45

I chose one that I knew I could copy/hack/plagiarise/et all.

Less work for me to do then.

semi-pro waster · 8 Apr 2009 at 12:48

Seems a rather odd thing to have your title chosen for you - that only happened at my university if you failed to think up a title despite multiple opportunities to do so. Definitely consult with your supervisor as much as possible, get them to read drafts of it at various stages so that you can be fairly sure you are progressing along the right lines - even ask friends/family/other lecturers if you get on well with them to see what criticisms they can provide.

RastaManBob · 8 Apr 2009 at 13:09

semi-pro waster said:
Seems a rather odd thing to have your title chosen for you - that only happened at my university if you failed to think up a title despite multiple opportunities to do so. Definitely consult with your supervisor as much as possible, get them to read drafts of it at various stages so that you can be fairly sure you are progressing along the right lines - even ask friends/family/other lecturers if you get on well with them to see what criticisms they can provide.

Thanks for the suggestions.

I glossed over the method that dissertation/project titles are normally decided with but in doing so I didn't make it very clear. What happens is that during in the last few weeks of University (Before the final academic year) a booklet is distributed with lots of titles in, each falling under different sub-headings. Students have to effectively select up to six of these (In order) that they would be happy to get. Usually there is only space for one student per selection and hence the student with the highest rank within the school (As distributed with exam results) gets priority if there is competition for a title. If after this process you are still not matched with one of your six, then you have to rely on the "Insurance" option you selected; This is a title that many students (Of course, still individually!) can have - But in my opinion is usually not as well received.

There is the option that students with a clear interest in a subject can arrange their supervisor and title outside of the scheme - This is what I intend to do. I have already been approached by one lecturer who has said I'd be welcome to work with them but at the moment I'd rather keep my options open until I know exactly what title I'd like to study.

Cheers.

ironman · 8 Apr 2009 at 13:26

I look at which companies I have easy access to and then analyse what it is they are doing, what projects they are developing and why and then somehow link that into one of my modules and attack it with academic theory. I've started my second dissertation now and I think it's the way to go.