General information about DissertationBSc (Hons) Software Development

2015 - 2016

Agenda1. The Dissertation Process2. Literature Sources3. What is (not) a valid dissertation?4. Past/Current Dissertations5. Q&A

The Dissertation Process1. Contact lecturers 2. SOI Submission (October)3. SOI approval by an institute board.4. Tutor allocation5. Dissertation Proposal (by end of November)

The Dissertation Process6. Dissertation proposal approval 7. Dissertation submission (mid-June)8. External verification of dissertations (End-

June)9. Communication of results

10. Hardbound submission for archival purposes

Literature Sources● Use appropriate and credible sources of

literature.● Although books may be used make sure that

their content is still relevant to your context.● Wikis, blogs and forums should not be used.

Literature Sources● Your work should be vendor neutral.● Be careful when quoting vendor

documentation. Remember, vendors want to make profit!

● Citeseer, ACM, IEEE, Springer Link & Google Scholar are good literature repositories.

Past Dissertations● Allow your mentors to recommend past

dissertations for your reference.● Do not just go and pick up random

dissertations from the library.● Dissertations at the library are not graded!

Invalid Dissertations● Simple comparison of technology.

○ Java Vs .NET○ Android Vs iOS○ Play Store Vs Apple Store

Invalid Dissertations● Dissertations with the business aspect as

their main focus. ○ The main focus should be the technical element.○ The business aspect may be used to sustain your

technical argument.

Invalid Dissertations● Research based solely on interviews and

questionnaires.○ These tools should be used solely to strengthen your

argument.○ They should never be basis of your conclusions.

Valid Software Dissertations● There has to be a research element with

academic value under investigation.● Apply to a specific scenario● Question various aspects of an existing

research● Prototype is just proof-of-concept and not

market ready

Past/Current DissertationsSome notable dissertations

Using IDS and IPS to improve the effectiveness of a firewallStudent: Robert Gosney Mentor: Robert AbelaYear: 2015

Analysis of NAT Traversal Approaches for P2P Networks

Student: Oliver Ciappara Mentor: Robert AbelaYear: 2015

Electronic identification for crisis management

Student: Andrew Quattromani Mentor: Kevin Borg Year: 2015

An RFID enabled system for improved postal logistics Student: Frank Xuereb Mentor: Alvin Cardona Year: 2015

Real-time Pathfinding in dynamic environmentsStudent: Owen Attard Mentor: Frankie Inguanez Year: 2015

The application of the A* algorithm in different types of games using different heuristic approaches

Student: Justin Bonnici Mentor: Roderick Vella Year: 2015

Using Glowworm Swarm Optimization to Improve the Selection Process of Genetic Algorithms

Student: Francesco Borg Elia Mentor: Diane Borg Year: 2015

The effect of impact-based deformation of 3D-Objects on Computer GamesStudent: Rudvic Bonnici Mentor: Elaine Farrugia Year: 2015

Procedural Generation of Suburban City Areas for Games

Student: Stefan Cauchi Mentor: Elaine Farrugia Year: 2015

A real time tracking system for gathering live sports statistics

Student: Lee-Jamie Galea Mentor: Neil Aquilina Year: 2015

Scaling the Mathematical Abilities of Users through User ProfilingStudent: Rebecca Mintoff Mentor: Annalise Sultana Year: 2015

Investigating the potential of soft computing techniques in indoor positioning using Wi-Fi access points

Student: Darren Vassallo Mentor: Paul Pulis Year: 2015

Using Soft Computing to recognise license plates and building an argument on its accuracy

Student: Owen Faenza Mentor: Paul Pulis Year: 2015

Text Recognition and Translation of Multi-Oriented, Multi-Language and Curved Text in Natural Scene Images

Student: Cristina Vassallo Mentor: Diane Borg Year: 2015

Improving music recommendation systems by considering compression ratios

Student: Danjel Attard Mentor: Olena Sammut Year: 2015

Visualizing Connections between Recognized Named Entities to Improve Digital Reading Experience

Student: Louis Miguel Grima Mentor: Olena Sammut Year: 2015

Exploring the Automation of Tree Structures within the Context of Musical Chords Progression

Student: Stephen Compagno Mentor: Christine Dimech Year: 2015

Creating a single metric that measures website usability by using a testing tool

Student: Vanessa Mangion Mentor: Gerard Said Year: 2015

Acoustic Classification of Touch Gesture on Touch-Enabled Devices using Own Microphone

Student: Joseph Grech Mentor: Frankie Inguanez Year: 2015

Optimizing Lazy Learning Speech Recognition based on Facial Electromyography

Student: Matthew Buhagiar Mentor: Frankie Inguanez Year: 2014

Developing a prototype application as a driving aid by applying Augmented Reality for parking maneuvering

Student: Jonathan Zammit Mentor: Silvio Nocilla Year: 2015

Secret Ingredients1. Motivation Motivation Motivation2. Dedication3. Literature as background4. Make good use of Summer5. Time management

Q&A Session

Questions?