Achieving Success With The Engineering Dissertation

The Concepts in Achieving Success......Page 5
How to Use Achieving Success......Page 6
Good Fortune......Page 8
Contents......Page 9
1 What is the Dissertation?......Page 16
1.1.2 Dealing with Uncertainty......Page 18
1.1.3 The Structure of the Project......Page 19
1.2.1 What Types of Projects Are Suitable for an Engineering Dissertation?......Page 20
1.2.3 Design Projects......Page 22
1.2.6 Theoretical Research Projects......Page 23
1.3.1 Introduction......Page 24
1.4 Whose Project is it?......Page 26
1.5 Dissertation Terminology......Page 28
2 Objectives and Expectations......Page 36
2.1.3 What Actually to Expect......Page 38
2.2.1 The Supervisor’s Role......Page 39
2.2.2 Relationship with the Student......Page 40
2.3.1 Who Is the Client?......Page 41
2.3.3 Future Employment......Page 42
2.4.1 Identifying Stakeholders......Page 43
2.4.3 Ethical Approval......Page 44
3 How to Be the Student Who Achieves Success......Page 45
3.2 Before You Start the Project......Page 47
3.3 As You Start the Project......Page 50
3.5 Checklist......Page 53
3.6 Suggestions for Further Reading......Page 56
4 Selecting the Project......Page 57
4.1.2 Selecting the Project and Supervisor......Page 59
4.2.2 Fitting in a Student Project with Your Research......Page 61
4.2.4 Collaborating with Industry......Page 62
4.2.5 The Project Acquisition Process—Selecting a Suitable Student......Page 63
4.2.6 The Etiquette of Dissertation Supervision......Page 64
4.3.1 The Value of Industry-University Collaboration......Page 65
4.3.2 Finding the Right Collaborator......Page 66
4.3.3 Managing Expectations......Page 68
4.3.4 Etiquette......Page 70
4.3.5 Checklist......Page 71
5 The Opening Literature Review......Page 73
5.1 Beginning the Quest......Page 75
5.2 Searching and Making Notes......Page 76
5.3 Structuring the Literature Review......Page 77
5.4 Composing the Literature Review......Page 78
5.5 Formally Recording a Reference......Page 79
5.6 Maintaining the Literature Review as You Work......Page 80
6 The Project Plan......Page 81
6.1.2 Preparing the Project Plan......Page 83
6.1.3 A Proposal......Page 84
6.1.5 Detailed Time Planning......Page 85
6.1.6 Pre-proposal Time-Management Exercise......Page 86
6.1.7 How Much Time Should You Spend on Your Dissertation Project?......Page 87
6.1.8 Using Project Management Techniques and Setting Milestones for Your Project Plan......Page 88
6.1.9 Using CPM on an Individual Project—One Participant......Page 89
6.1.10 Using Project Run-Offs to Finesse Your (Individual) Project Plan......Page 91
6.1.11 Using CPM on a Group Project—Team of People......Page 93
6.1.12 Checklist for Time Management of Your Project......Page 98
6.2.1 About Resources......Page 100
6.2.2 Defining Tasks and Understanding Equipment......Page 101
6.2.5 Risk Management......Page 103
6.2.7 Administrators......Page 104
6.3.2 Relating the Budget to the Project Plan......Page 106
6.3.4 From Estimated to Actual Budgets......Page 107
7 Designing the Dissertation......Page 109
7.1.2 Defining the Feasibility Study Topic and Questions......Page 111
7.1.3 Designing and Commencing the Study......Page 112
7.1.5 What is Not in a Feasibility Study?......Page 113
7.2.2 Defining the Question......Page 114
7.2.4 Control, Dependent and Independent Variables......Page 115
7.2.5 Now Design Your Experiment......Page 116
7.2.6 Writing Up Your Experiment......Page 117
7.3.1 What is Product Design?......Page 119
7.3.2 Defining the Product Design Specification......Page 120
7.3.3 Following the Design Process......Page 121
7.3.4 Using engineering Figures of Merit (FoM)......Page 122
7.3.6 Prototyping......Page 125
7.4.1 Survey as a Means of Gathering Data......Page 127
7.4.2 The Need for Ethical Approval......Page 128
7.4.3 Consideration of Legal Compliance Regarding Personal Data......Page 129
7.4.4 Design of Survey Questions......Page 130
7.4.6 The Survey Instrument......Page 132
7.4.8 Interviews......Page 133
7.4.9 Focus Groups......Page 134
7.4.12 Testing the Survey Instrument......Page 135
8 Acting Professionally......Page 138
8.2 Meeting Etiquette......Page 140
8.3 Dress Codes......Page 141
8.4 Phone and Electronic Messaging......Page 143
8.6 When Things are Going Wrong......Page 145
8.7 Managing Discontent......Page 146
9 Presenting Data......Page 147
9.1.1 Introduction......Page 149
9.1.2 Tables, and Numbers Within Text......Page 150
9.1.3 Graphical Data Presentation......Page 152
9.1.4 Consideration of Errors......Page 153
9.1.5 Sketches, Schematics and Illustrations......Page 154
9.1.6 Drawings......Page 158
9.2.1 Types and Sources of Qualitative Data......Page 159
9.2.2 Logic—Foundation of Analysis......Page 160
9.2.4 Presenting Interviews......Page 161
9.2.5 Critical Discourse Analysis......Page 163
9.2.6 Discussion of Results......Page 166
9.2.7 Numerical Expression of Opinion......Page 167
10 Presenting Engineering Analysis......Page 169
10.2 Carrying Out, Then Writing Up Your Analysis......Page 171
10.3 Writing Up Your Engineering Analysis......Page 173
10.4 An Example of How to Write Analysis—Some Take-Off Distance Calculations......Page 174
11 Drawing and Presenting Conclusions......Page 177
11.2 Type of Conclusions......Page 179
11.3 Further Aspects to Conclusions......Page 182
12 Making Recommendations......Page 183
12.2 Types of Recommendation and How They’re Written......Page 185
13 Reflection......Page 188
13.2 Lifelong Learning, Part of Being a Professional......Page 190
13.3 A Model for Reflection......Page 191
13.4 The Role of Reflection in Group Projects......Page 194
13.5 How is Reflection, or a Learning Log, Assessed......Page 195
14 The Output......Page 196
14.1.4 Contents of the Final Report......Page 198
14.1.5 Assessment of the Final Report......Page 203
14.2.2 The Audience for the Presentation......Page 204
14.2.5 Presentation Prior to Completion of the Final Report......Page 206
14.2.6 Presentations Other Than Live Performance......Page 207
14.3.1 Intellectual Property (IP) and the Dissertation......Page 208
14.3.2 Who Owns the Intellectual Property?......Page 209
14.3.3 Patents......Page 210
14.3.5 Non-disclosure Agreements......Page 212
14.3.6 A General Caution About Intellectual Property and Its Protection......Page 213
15 The Dissertation and the Job......Page 214
15.1.2 Before You Start Making Applications Make Some Decisions......Page 216
15.1.4 Be Prepared to Talk to Random Strangers......Page 218
15.1.6 Present About Your Project—Present Around the World (PATW)......Page 219
15.2.1 Introduction......Page 220
15.2.2 Interview Technique......Page 221
15.3.1 Introduction......Page 222
15.3.2 Demonstrating Your Potential as a Researcher......Page 223
15.3.3 Getting a Reference for a PhD Application......Page 224
15.4.2 Transferrable Skills......Page 225
15.4.4 In Summary......Page 226
16 Publishing Onwards......Page 228
16.1.2 How to Prepare a Research Poster......Page 230
16.1.5 What to Print Your Poster On?......Page 231
16.1.7 Faults in the Bad Poster......Page 234
16.2.1 What is a Conference?......Page 235
16.2.4 Presenting......Page 236
16.3.1 About Publishing in Academic Journals......Page 238
16.3.2 Involving Others in Writing a Paper......Page 239
16.3.3 Beware of Predatory Publishers......Page 240
16.3.4 In Summary......Page 241
A.2 Sources of Information......Page 243
A.3 The Most Common Citation and Referencing Methods......Page 245
AIAA......Page 246
APA......Page 247
Chicago......Page 248
Harvard......Page 249
ISO 690......Page 250
Vancouver......Page 251
A.4 Quoting from Sources......Page 252
References......Page 253
A.5 Final Comments on References and Quotations in a Dissertation......Page 254
B.2 The Basic Types of Standard......Page 255
B.3 Knowing Your Standards......Page 256
B.4 Compliance Checklists......Page 257
B.5 A Caution About Standards Overkill......Page 258
C.1 Introduction......Page 259
C.2 Project Competitions......Page 260
C.3 Presentation Competitions......Page 271
Appendix D About Mr William Heath Robinson......Page 274
References......Page 280
Index......Page 281