Studying at York
Project: Computer Science - COM00015H
Module will run
| Occurrence | Teaching period |
|---|---|
| A | Autumn Term 2022-23 to Summer Term 2022-23 |
Module aims
The aims of this module are:
- To provide a culmination of three years' teaching, in a substantial ISM
- To provide an introduction to independent study in an engineering context
- To support synthesis and application of material from the taught degree course
- To demonstrate an appreciation of engineering methods and techniques, through coverage, as appropriate, of requirements, ethical considerations, specification, design, implementation and evaluation (an engineering "lifecycle").
Module learning outcomes
On completion of the project, the student will have gained the practical skills that can only be gleaned from the experience of undertaking independent (supervised) study. The student will also have the experience of having written a substantial academic report. Specifically, the student should be able to do the following:
- Demonstrate that they have acquired specialisation in a particular part of the subject area, including enhanced or new technical skills that build on taught theory. Examined in the overall project report.
- Demonstrate that they have acquired suitable skills to undertake a computer systems (software and/or hardware) engineering project, including design, implementation and evaluation. Examined in the overall project report.
- Demonstrate a practical understanding of how established techniques of research and enquiry are used to create and interpret knowledge. Examined in the overall project report. The project report may present the student's approach to a known problem, or present an existing approach applied to a new problem. It may present an analysis or critique of well-known work. It may devise a new method, or extend an existing method into new areas. The student should evaluate the contribution made.
- Formulate a moderately sized problem, to select and justify an appropriate approach, and to follow the approach systematically. Examined in the design/implementation chapters of the project.
- Recognise alternatives, selecting and justifying the approach taken at each point in the report, identifying parts of the project area that are feasible within the time (etc) constraints of the project. Examined in the design/implementation chapters of the project.
- Appreciate the latent issues of the subject area (for example, in software engineering they might meet and tackle such as emergent requirements, design flaws, equipment/application problems). Examined in the project design/implementation and evaluation chapters.
- Prepare a written report on the work done, according to the defined criteria. In particular, the student should be able to prepare a report with a good structure and clear presentation, and in which the referencing is of publishable academic standard. The report must demonstrate critical abilities and evaluation of work done and methods applied. Examined in the overall project report.
- Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of legal, ethical, social, professional and commercial issues involved in the project.
Indicative assessment
| Task | % of module mark |
|---|---|
| University - project | 100 |
Special assessment rules
Non-compensatable
Indicative reassessment
| Task | % of module mark |
|---|---|
| University - project | 100 |
Module feedback
Feedback on written report draft (where draft provided to supervisor in a timely manner).
Written feedback after written project report.
Indicative reading
*** Dawson, C. W Projects in Computing and Information Systems. Addison-Wesley 2005
*** Gowers, E. The complete plain words. Penguin 1987
*** Kopka, H and Daly, P.W. A guide to LATEX : document preparation for beginners and advanced users, 3rd edn. Addison-Wesley 1999
*** Zobel, J. Writing for computer science, 2nd edn. Springer 2004