Is my final year project feasible?

[touch]

Not that I'm necessarily disagreeing, but for many (most?) undergraduate CS degrees, the kind of scientific approach that you describe isn't a requirement; a properly documented development project is perfectly acceptable.

You need to have a specific question that your project aims to answer, you cant just aimlessly write whatever application you want. The actual code you write is not worth a lot of marks (in my case it was worth nothing at all), the research and analysis of the results in relation to how they answer your question is where all the marks come from.

A question like "Is it possible to write an application that does xyz" is not a valid question but it is possible to decide what you want to write and base a question on that For example, if you wanted to do the project described in the OP, you could focus your question on designing a search algorithm or some sort of database/data storage aspect.

 

[AJK]

You need to have a specific question that your project aims to answer, you cant just aimlessly write whatever application you want.

I'm not sure what you mean. No, you can't just start coding and hope that something decent comes out the other end, but for many/most institutions, a properly specced and documented piece of software development is a perfectly acceptable final year project, even if the specification is contrived for your own purposes and not driven by academic research or commercial sponsorship. (Assuming that it's complex enough for a degree, naturally.) And then your project supervisor will advise on the suitability of your chosen project title, and may suggest alterations or a change of focus - each institution and the specific courses they offer will vary.

For example, if you wanted to do the project described in the OP, you could focus your question on designing a search algorithm or some sort of database/data storage aspect.

Sounds like a great idea, if you are interested in designing a search algorithm or some new kind of database or data storage algorithm or technique. But if that's where your interest lies, then wrapping it in a comparison website is pointless - the project will be the algorithm itself, not the spec, design, etc. for the website surrounding it.

 

[D.P.]

You need to have a specific question that your project aims to answer, you cant just aimlessly write whatever application you want. The actual code you write is not worth a lot of marks (in my case it was worth nothing at all), the research and analysis of the results in relation to how they answer your question is where all the marks come from.

A question like "Is it possible to write an application that does xyz" is not a valid question but it is possible to decide what you want to write and base a question on that For example, if you wanted to do the project described in the OP, you could focus your question on designing a search algorithm or some sort of database/data storage aspect.

This exactly. If you just code something and document what you did then you will get precisely 0% at most institutes in a computer science degree worth doing. The code won't be looked at and will have no marks associated to it, you don't go to university to learn to program. Computer science is a scientific research field, graduates conduct scientific research for their final year project. Of course is won't be the standards expected of a postgrad but should be in a similar vain with much more help and more simplifications.

 

[D.P.]

I'm not sure what you mean. No, you can't just start coding and hope that something decent comes out the other end, but for many/most institutions, a properly specced and documented piece of software development is a perfectly acceptable final year project, even if the specification is contrived for your own purposes and not driven by academic research or commercial sponsorship. (Assuming that it's complex enough for a degree, naturally.) And then your project supervisor will advise on the suitability of your chosen project title, and may suggest alterations or a change of focus - each institution and the specific courses they offer will vary.


Sounds like a great idea, if you are interested in designing a search algorithm or some new kind of database or data storage algorithm or technique. But if that's where your interest lies, then wrapping it in a comparison website is pointless - the project will be the algorithm itself, not the spec, design, etc. for the website surrounding it.

The spec, design and code surrounding the website won't be considerd in marking for a degree in computer science. The underlying algorithm designs, scientific methodology, data analysis, results, presentation of findings, novelty of solution, literature review will all be considered as the basis of the grade.

 

[Kreeeee]

At my old university (University of Bristol) computer science is studied under the faculty of engineering, not science. I graduated top of my class with a sports tracking piece of software, focusing on the effective design of mobile applications, so not every computer science course favours the same attributes in a final year project.

With respect D.P., I think your insistence on getting the OP to follow the specific guidelines at your university is not incredibly useful advice.

 

[AJK]

The spec, design and code surrounding the website won't be considered in marking for a degree in computer science. The underlying algorithm designs, scientific methodology, data analysis, results, presentation of findings, novelty of solution, literature review will all be considered as the basis of the grade.

The spec, design and code will be considered insomuch as they form the basis for the results, analysis and presentation of findings; I didn't say that the project mark would be based on a code review. (Though a commercially driven project, which some institutions allow, may still involve one I suppose.)

I'm not saying that a CS project can simply consist of code and a quick "I did this" write up; of course the project needs to be fully documented from inception through to presentation, including sufficient commentary on each aspect to show (for lack of a better way to put this) that you know what the hell you're talking about. Of course there needs to be a question that you are trying to answer with your project. All I am saying is that you don't have to create a piece of pure scientific research; software development can be a project in its own right.

[ EDIT: And there's usually the "original work" requirement, of course, which generally means that you can't just take a previous student's title that you like the sound of and say "yeah, I'll have a crack at that too", unless you plan to expand on or further the work. Original work doesn't quite mean the same thing with software development though - your concepts don't have to be new, if the project itself is somehow an original take on them. ]

Different institutions and supervisors will vary of course, which I'm sure is the source of this disagreement, but what I've described is most certainly acceptable at some top 10 universities in the UK.

As always, students, speak to your supervisor. They will know the specific requirements your university imposes for a final year project, and can advise.

[ EDIT2: I'm not commenting on the suitability of the OP's suggested project, by the way. That's a matter for the OP to discuss with his or her supervisor at their earliest convenience. ]