Essential Additional Information for

Individual Study 1 -- Level 3/H
(2009/10)

Note about the Module Name

The "1" in the name is to do with the Level, NOT the semester. The module may be taken in EITHER SEMESTER. The module is for:

Undergraduates at Level 3 (whether in 3-year programmes or in 4-year programmes).
Master's students wishing to make up credits in options below Level 4.

Master's students desiring modules at Level 4 and undergraduates at Level 4 (necessarily in MEng or MSci programmes) should take Individual Study 2.

Marking Schemes and Sheets

report marksheet
presentation marksheet

Choosing the Module, and a Special Permission Form

As well as selecting the module in the same way as you select other optional modules, you need to fill out THE SPECIAL PERMISSION FORM for the module. Both you and the Module Coordinator must sign this once your Supervisor has agreed to supervise you on a mutually acceptable topic (see below). YOUR REGISTRATION FOR THE MODULE IS NOT COMPLETE UNTIL YOU HAVE PROPERLY DEALT WITH THE FORM.

Module Coordinator

In Term 1:
In Term 2:

I (John Barnden) encourage you to come to my office hours (see my timetable) to ask questions or make comments. If you cannot manage the assigned times for some important reason, please contact me to arrange an appointment.

What You Do in the Module

Please make sure you have read and FULLY UNDERSTAND the Outline, Aims and Learning Outcomes in the Syllabus Page for the module.

Notice the strong role of your Supervisor for the module. He or she is the person who will guide you in your work, not the Module Coordinator. The Coordinator's function (unless of course (s)he happens to be your Supervisor) is largely administrative, though also having a hand in the assignment of marks.

The reason for the restriction of the module to "particularly strong students" (see Outline in Syllabus Page) is because the study will be at your own initiative, both in terms of sorting out the topic in conjunction with staff (see below) and in terms of the management of the study process itself.

Some particular points:

Unlike the case of the final-year Software Project module, Individual Study does NOT normally involve the creation of software. However, it MAY do so, in special cases, if your Supervisor thinks this is beneficial for serving the Aims and Learning Outcomes of the module.
It may also involve trying out existing software pacakages created by other people, though again this is relatively unusual.
The module is not designed for just learning a programming language or some other software tool. However, your study could be to critically examine the principles, advantages, disadvantages, etc. of one or more programming languages, tools, etc.

The main task in your study is to be CRITICAL in the "critique-like" sense of teasing out the (relative) advantages and disadvantages of any systems, theories or whatever that you look at, seeing whether they are WELL-CONCEIVED, delving into what their REAL UNDERLYING PRINCIPLES are, and so forth.

Finding a Topic and Supervisor

The module is for people who have some enthusiasm to study some area OF THEIR OWN CHOICE (and that is not covered by the ordinary taught modules available for you to take at Level 3/H in your degree programme). DO NOT come to the Module Coordinator or go to a possible Supervisor with a request for THEM to suggest an area to you.

Moreover, it's best if you have some specific topic, or set of possible specific topics, in mind, not just a broad area.

Once you have an idea of at least a broad area and hopefully also some specific topics within it, try to determine which members of staff might be appropriate as a Supervisor, by looking at their webpages if necessary. You are welcome to ask the Module Coordinator (John Barnden now) for suggestions about whom to approach.

It is for you to approach particular members of staff as potential Supervisors. You will probably need to negotiate with one or more of them the exact topic of your study. For instance, they may disagree with you about whether what you've suggested is at the right level of ambition.

Assessment

There is no examination, so assessment is entirely "continuous". You have to write a report (60% of the mark) and give a presentation (40%).

The Report

The report will be due by a date towards the end of the semester in which you are doing the Individual Study. The exact date will be announced later.

You can get an idea of what we are looking for in the report by looking at the report marksheet.

The exact form of and length constraints for the report depend very much on the topic of your Individual Study, and therefore can only be defined by your Supervisor (in consultation with the Module Coordinator if necessary). As a guide, the report should be at least 3000 and at most 6000 words long (excluding references, figures, tables, etc.).

For matters such as good citation and bibliographic practices, proceed as for project dissertations in the final-year Software Project module.

The Presentation

This will take place during a period that will be announced. You will give the presentation to a small audience that will normally include your Supervisor, the Module Coordinator, some other Individual Study students, and possibly other members of staff.

The presentation will consist of a talk by you lasting 15-20 minutes (exact length to be announced later) followed by approx 5 minutes of question time.

There is no particular requirement concerning the form of, or media used in, the presentation. Presentations can range from ones with fancy animated graphics to ones not involving any audiovisual aids at all.

You can get an idea of what we are looking for in the presentation by looking at the presentation marksheet.

Last mod 12/01/10

Essential Additional Information for Individual Study 1 -- Level 3/H (2009/10)