GUIDELINESONWRITINGAGRADUATEPROJECTTHESIS

SHANBARKATAKI,COMPUTERSCIENCEDEPARTMENT,CSUN

1. PURPOSEANDINTRODUCTION
Thepurposeofthisdocumentistoprovideguidelinesonwritingagraduateprojectthesis.Itisnot
intendedtobeusedinwritingathesisdescribingtheoreticalresearchwork.
Agraduateprojectthesisrepresentstheculminatingexperienceresultingfromyourgraduatestudy.Your
thesisisthemostimportantartifactyoucreateinearningyourdegree.Itwillpersistinperpetuity,long
afteryourgraduation.Itisthethesisthatprovesthatyouhavemasteryinthesubjectmatter.Thethesis
demonstratesthatyouarecapableoffindingsolutionstosignificantproblems.Itshowsthatyoucan
performcriticalanalysisandmakesoundtechnicaldecisionsbasedonthefindings.Mostimportantly,the
thesisisproofthatyoucandescribetheprojectrelatedactivitiesandresultsinawellwrittenscholarly
publication,whichisyourthesis.
1.

YourthesisispublishedbytheCSUNLibrary.Itisavailableforinspectionbyanyone,throughout
theworld.Eachgraduatethesisbearsthesignatureofthisdepartment.Therefore,yourthesis
mustbewrittentoastandardconsistentwithpublishedtechnicalworkinprofessional
publications,suchas:conferenceproceedings,SIGpublications,andscholarlyjournals.

2.

Asuccessfuldemonstrationofthesoftwareproductyouhaveproducedisclearlyveryimportant;
adefenseisnotcompletewithoutsuchademonstration.However,thedemonstrationisseen
onlybythecommittee.Inreality,youearnyourdegreewiththethesis,notwiththe
demonstration.Manystudentsspendmoretimeandenergyingettingthedemonstrationready
andnotnearlyenoughinwritingthethesis.Thatisapoorchoicethatoftenresultsindelayed
graduation.Itisimportantthatyouscheduleenoughtimeforwritingthethesis.

3.

Bythetimeyoustartwritingthethesis,youshouldhaveacquiredsufficientwritingskillsin
English.Thepreparationsection,onthefollowingpage,providessomeideasonhowyoumight
accomplishthis.

2. DISCLAIMER
ThisisaWorkinProgress(WIP)product;itisnotthefinalrelease.Whereas,theguidelinesinthis
documentprovideusefulinformation,ithasnotyetbeenapprovedbythecomputersciencedepartment.
Untilthisdocumentisapprovedandreleasedbythedepartment,pleaseseekguidanceandadvicefrom
yourcommitteechaironhowyoushouldwriteyourthesis.

GuidelinesonWritingaGraduateProjectThesis(DRAFTRev1June9,2011)

3. PREPARATION
1.

Writingyourgraduateprojectthesisisnosimpletask.Ittakesmonthsofpreparationand
meticuloushardwork.Youneedtoworkcloselywithyourthesisadvisoringettingthethesis
readyforcommitteereviewanddefense.Itisnotuncommonforastudenttoproduce4to5
draftsbeforearrivingatacopyreadyfordistributiontothecommittee.

2.

ThethesismustbewritteningrammaticallycorrectEnglishandbeeasytoread.Donotexpect
yourcommitteechairtocopyedityourwork.S/heistheretogiveyouguidanceontechnical
issuesonthesiswriting,suchas:thesisoutlineandtopicstobecovered.S/heisnotthereto
provideyoulessonsinwritingEnglish.Ifthedraftyousubmittothecommitteechairisnotof
reviewablequality,thens/hemayreturnitforyoutoreviseandresubmit.

3.

IfyouareanESLstudent,oryouneedtohoneyourwritingskills,thenconsidertakingwriting
classes.PassingtheUDWPEalonedoesnotprepareyouforwritingathesis.Seekoutclasseson
writingtechnicalpublications.Alsolookforonlineresourcesonthesiswriting.TheCSUNEnglish
departmentprovidesindividual30minutewritingreviewsessionsonproperuseofgrammarand
sentencestructure.Agraduatestudentcanbookonesuchreviewsessionperweek.Checkwith
thewritinglabintheEnglishdepartment.Sometimes,youmayfindtutorswhowillcopyedit
yourworkforcorrectuseofEnglish.Donotasktherevieweroranyexternalconsultanttowrite
thethesisforyou.Thatconstitutesacademicdishonesty.Anylevelofacademicdishonestycan
havesevereconsequences,includingtheneedforyoutostartyourprojectoverwithonanew
topicandanewproposal.

4.

Carefullyconsiderthewordprocessingandotherutilitytools,suchasgrammarandstyle
checkers,thatyouwillbeusingtowritethethesis.Arrangetolearnthetechniquesforusingthe
tooleffectively.Toolissuesareaddressedfurtherinsection7.

4. FIRST,CREATEANOUTLINE
1.

Planoutthethesischaptersandcreateanoutlinelistingthechaptersyouwillhaveinthethesis.
Asuggestedlistofchaptersappearsbelow.Thisispreliminary;youcanchangethechapterlist
asthethesisdevelops.Suggestionsforwhatshouldbecoveredinthesechaptersappearin
Section6,DETAILEDSTRUCTUREANDCONTENTSOFTHETHESIS.
1.1.

Abstract:Asummaryoftheobjectivesandaccomplishments.Typically1pagelong.

1.2.

Objectives:Describetheproblemthatyousetouttosolveandthesolutionsyouhave
achieved.

1.3.

Introduction:Describethebackgroundoftheprojectwork.Establishthecontext.Discuss
whythisproblemisimportant.Brieflydescribethedevelopmentprocessyouwillfollow.

1.4.

LiteratureReview:Provideasurveyandacriticalreviewofrelatedpriorwork.

GuidelinesonWritingaGraduateProjectThesis(DRAFTRev1June9,2011)
1.5.

AnalysisandRequirements:Describetheproblemanalysis,enhancedwithananalysis
modelinUML.Specifytheresultingsetofsystemlevelandsoftwarelevelrequirements.

1.6.

Design:DescribethearchitecturaldesignandthedetaileddesignenhancedwithUML
modeldiagrams.Describeyourrationaleforthedesigndecisionswithsupportingdata
collectedfromtradeoffstudies.Describethespecifictoolsandtechniquesusedin
subchapters.

1.7.

Implementation:Describetheimplementationapproach.Describesoftwarereuse,design
patterns,specialcodingtechniques,etc.Describespecialtoolsused,ifany.

1.8.

Testing:Describethetestingapproach.Describesampletestplansandtestresults.

1.9.

Toolsandtechnologies:Describethetoolsandtechnologiesusedinaccomplishingthe
projectinthecontextoftheprojectactivities.Thiscanbeintegratedintotopics1.5to1.8

1.10. Conclusions:
1.11. Appendices:
2.

Getthethesisoutlineapprovedbyyourcommitteechair.

5. MASTERY
1.

SuccessfulcompletionofagraduateProjectdemonstratesthatyouhavetheabilitytoanalyze
anddevelopsolutionstoaproblemofsignificantcomplexityandstature.Theworkyou
undertakemustbeofmuchhigherdegreeofcomplexitythantheprojectsdoneinComp380,
480,or490classes.Simplyproducingasoftwareapplication,usingarunofthemillmethodand
anadhocprocess,doesnotdemonstratemasteryworthyofagraduateproject.Throughyour
project,youmustdemonstratemasteryofthecurrentsoftwareengineeringandcomputer
sciencedisciplines.Useofcurrenttechniquesandtechnologiesincompletingtheprojectworkis
important.

2.

Inwritingthethesis,youneedtodescribetheproblemsandthesolutionsinanorganizedand
clearmanner.Youshouldusestandardsoftwareengineeringandcomputerscience
nomenclature.Ifindoubt,consulttheIEEEStandardGlossaryofSoftwareEngineering
Terminology(No610.121990)ortheSoftwareEngineeringBookofKnowledge(SWEBOK).Both
thesereferencesareavailableonlinethroughtheCSUNlibrary.

3.

Today,UMLisacceptedasthemodelinglanguageofchoiceinbothcomputerscienceand
softwareengineering.Therefore,useofstandardUMLisstronglyrecommended.Avoidusing
yourownadhocdrawingconventions.IfyoudontknowUML,thenlearnit.Attendaclass,or
takeoneofthemanyonlinetutorialsavailableintheInternet.AtCSUN,UMLmodelingis
introducedinComp380;advancedUMLiscoveredinComp586.Producemodelelementsthat
adheretothecoreUMLsyntacticalandsemanticrules.Thiswillallowthereadertoreadand
interpretthemeaningsofthedrawingsintheanalysisanddesignmodels.

GuidelinesonWritingaGraduateProjectThesis(DRAFTRev1June9,2011)
4.

Stronglyrecommendusingamodern,UMLcapableCASEtocreatetheUMLmodeldiagrams.A
CASEtoolwillmakeiteasytocreatethemodeldiagrams,maintainaconsistentmodel,andwill
(often)guardagainstbreakingUMLsyntacticalandsemanticrules.TherearemanyfreeCASE
toolsavailable,suchas:Visio2010viaMSDNAA,ArgoUML,VisualParadigm,andPoseidon.Find
oneCASEtoolthatyoulike,learnitwell,anduseitcapturetheanalysisanddesignmodels.Use
itasaCASEtool,notasadrawingtool,i.e.,followtherulesofUML.ManyCASEtoolsprovidea
capabilityforgeneratingreportsdescribingthemodelinformationcapturedinthetool.With
someediting,youcanincorporatethesereportsintoyourthesis.

6. DETAILEDSTRUCTUREANDCONTENTSOFTHETHESIS
Ingeneral,agraduatethesisshouldhavethefollowingchaptersandsections.Somechaptersare
mandatory;otherswilldependuponthenatureofthework.Fillinthechaptersinthethesisoutlinethat
youhavealreadydeveloped,asdescribedinsection4.Eachchaptershouldelaborateononemajor
concept,suchaspriorwork,design,implementation,testing,toolsused,etc.

6.1. Abstract
Althoughitappearsfirst,planonwritingtheabstractlast.Theabstractisthehardestpartofthe
thesistowrite,anditisthepartmostreadersofthethesiswillreaditfirst.Theabstractshouldbe
verywellwritten.Itshouldbeclear,easytoread,andtothepoint.Theabstractconveysthemost
importantmessagesregardingyourproject,suchas:whatyousetouttodo?Howdidyoudoit?
Whatresultswereobtained?Youwillhaveamuchbettershotatwritingagoodabstractafteryou
havecompletedalltheotherpartsofthethesis.

6.2. TableofContents(TOC)
1.

2.

ThefollowingTOCsaremandatory.
1.1.

GeneralTOC:listingchapters,sections,andsubsectionstothelowestlevels.

1.2.

Listoffigures.

1.3.

Listoftables.

ThepagenumbersineachTOCshouldbehyperlinkedtotheirtargets(sections,figures,tables).
HyperlinkedpagenumbersshouldworkeveninaPDFformatdocument.Ifyouareusing
MicrosoftWord/OpenOfficeWriterthenstronglyrecommendusingtheTOCgenerationtool.

6.3. ChapteronIntroduction
1.

Thischapterismandatoryand,ataminimum,shouldcoverthefollowingtopics:
1.1.

Introducethereadertotheparticularproblemyourprojectisattemptingtosolve.Most
projectshavemultipleobjectives.Foreaseofcrossreferencing,itisagoodideatostate
theseinanumberedlist.Therestofthethesisdescribeshowyouhaveaccomplished
whatyouhavedescribedastheobjectives.
4

GuidelinesonWritingaGraduateProjectThesis(DRAFTRev1June9,2011)

2.

1.2.

Ingeneral,theobjectivesstatedinthethesisshouldmatchthosestatedintheproject
proposal.IftherearesubstantialdifferencesthenfilearevisedproposalwiththeGRIP.
AlthoughtheGRIPproceduresdonotrequireit,youshouldadviseallcommitteemembers
ofthechangedproposal.

1.3.

Setthescenebyprovidingabackgroundforthework.Whyisthisworkimportantor
interesting?

1.4.

Writeasummaryoftheoverallapproach.Includebriefdescriptionsofthedevelopment
process,design,implementation,andtestingapproaches.

1.5.

Thetoolsandtechnologiesyouusedshouldbementionedherebutdescribedand
discussedinlater,inachapterdealingwiththetechnicaldetails.

1.6.

Provideasynopsisofwhattheotherchapterscontain.Thesedescriptionsshouldbevery
brief,oneortwosentencesforeachchapter.

BythetimethereaderhasfinishedreadingtheIntroductions/heshouldhaveaclear
understandingoftheproblemyousetouttoaddressandhowithasbeensolved.

6.4. ChapteronReviewofLiterature
1.

ThischapterismandatoryandisdifferentfromthebackgroundprovidedintheIntroduction.
Thebackgroundprovidesgeneralinformation.Theliteraturereviewfocusesonissuesthatare
morespecificallyrelatedtotheworkinyourproject.

2.

Describesimilarworkdonebyothersinthepastanddescribedintheliterature.Ifyoucannot
findpriorworkintheliterature,thenitismostlikelythattheworkyouaredescribingistoo
simpletoqualifyasagraduateproject.

3.

Yourthesisneedstodemonstratethatyouhavedonealiteraturesearchandcompletedacritical
analysisoftherelevantliteraturedescribingpriorworkinthefield.Demonstratethisbywriting
somediscussionsonwhatothershavedone,whattheyhaveachieved,andlimitationsoftheir
work.Iftheyexist,thenprovidereviewsofpriorworkintheliterature,thisshowsthatyouhave
doneacomprehensiveliteraturesearch.

4.

Donotcopyandpastetextfromtheliterature;paraphrasethecontentsinyourownwords.
Referencesmustbecitedhereintheintroductionandeverywhereelseinthethesis.Donotjust
provideanumberlike[23].Saysomethingaboutthework.
Example:JonesandBartletreportsthatuseofAgileprocessesreducedmeandevelopmenttime
ingraduateprojectsbyapproximately12%[23].Kissingeropinedthattheseresultsneed
verificationwithawidersample.HepointedoutthattheJonesandBartletstudywasbasedon
resultsfromonlysixprojects[32].AfollowonstudybyJonesandBartletincludedover30
graduateprojectsandsubstantiatedtheresultsreportedintheoriginalstudy[24].An
independentstudybyReifer,involving27industrialprojects,claimsdevelopmentcostsavingof
13%attributabletotheuseofAgilemethods[42].
5

GuidelinesonWritingaGraduateProjectThesis(DRAFTRev1June9,2011)

6.5. TechnicalChapters
Ingeneral,thechaptersdescribedinthefollowingsubsectionsareexpectedinathesisdescribinga
graduateproject.Someofthelistedchaptersmaynotbeapplicabletoyourthesis,andadditional
chapterscoveringspecialtopicsmaybeneeded.Seekguidancefromyourcommitteechaironthe
chaptersyourthesisshouldcontain.Agoodapproachistodescribeeachmajorconcept/taskina
separatechapter,anddescribeminorrelatedconceptsinsections/subsectionswithinthechapters.

6.5.1.

ChapteronDevelopmentProcess

Describethedevelopmentprocessyoufollowed.Todemonstrateyourmasteryinsoftware
engineeringandcomputerscience,yourprojectshouldfollowastandardsoftwaredevelopment
process,ratherthananundefinedoradhocprocess.Generally,aprocessframedontheagile
developmentphilosophyworkswellforgraduateprojectsinsoftwareengineeringandcomputer
science.Ifyouchooseanagileprocess,thenbesuretodescribetheprocessyoufollowedformaking
themultipledeliveriesanddemonstrationstoyourcommitteechairorresearchgroup.Doingan
iterativedevelopmentandmakingmultipledeliveriesisakeypracticeinanyagileprocess;ifyoudid
notdothisthentheprocesscannotbecalledagile.

6.5.2.

ChapteronAnalysisandRequirements

Describehowyoudidrequirementselicitation,conductedtheanalysis,andarrivedatthespecified
requirements.Provideanalysismodels,notjustwords.Somesuggestedmodelelementsare:use
cases,activitydiagrams,sequencediagrams,anddomainmodels.Theanalysismodelsshould
expressthesystemarchitectureandthetoplevelbehavioralrequirements.Dontprovidea
superficialmodelwithjustoneortwocontextlevelusecasediagrams.

6.5.3.

ChapteronDesign

Generallydescribethearchitecturaldesignmodelandthedetaileddesignmodelinseparate
chapters.Always,discussthealternativesconsideredandtherationaleforthechoosingthesolutions
youadopted.Describethearchitecturalanddetaileddesignmodelsinadisciplinedmannerusing
bothtextandcomprehensivedesignmodels,ideallyexpressedinUML.UseofUMLishighly
recommendedoverusingadhocoroldermodelingnotations.SuggestedUMLdesignmodel
elementsare:classdiagrams,interactiondiagrams,structuredclasses,components,subsystems,and
deploymentmodels.ProducethemodeldiagramswithamodernCASEtool,notdrawingtools.
Provideacomprehensivedesignmodelwithsufficientdesigninformation,notjustoneortwotop
levelmodeldiagrams.Notethattodescribeadesignadequatelyyoumustdescribebothitsstatic
viewandthedynamicview.Thestaticviewincludeselementssuchas:classeswithinheritanceand
aggregation,structuredclasses,interfaces,components,subsystems,anddeployment.Thedynamic
viewincludes:activitydiagrams,sequenceorcommunicationdiagrams,andthestatemodel,when
appropriate.Rememberthat,inmostprojects,thedesignmodelisthemainaspectofyourwork,
anditdeservesagooddealofyourattention.

GuidelinesonWritingaGraduateProjectThesis(DRAFTRev1June9,2011)

6.5.4.

ChapteronImplementation

Describetheoverallstrategyforimplementationtasks,suchasincrementalbuilds,riskmitigation
measures.Discussthereasonswhyyouchosethespecificprogramminglanguage,development
tools,testingtools,andtheimplementationplatform.Discussstrategiesforreuseofexisting
productsandcomponents.Useofdesignpatternsintheimplementationdemonstrates
sophisticationinthesubjectmatterandishighlyencouraged.Generally,youdonotneedtoprovide
sourcecodeinthethesis,unlessthatcodeiscentraltoyourthesis,e.g.ifyoucreatednewdesign
patternsandneedtodescribethelogicofthosedesignpatternsusingcode.However,notethat
describingdesignlogicusingdetaileddesignmodelsdemonstratesahigherlevelofexpertisethan
usingcodetodothesame.

6.5.5.

ChapteronTestingandValidation

Describehowtestingandvalidationtaskswereperformed.Describetheplansandstrategies
usedinunittesting,integrationtestingandsystemtesting.Addressregressiontesting.Describe
thetestplansandprovidetestproceduresfortestingthecriticalfunctions.
Describethetesttoolsyouused.Wheneverpossible,involvesomeoneelse,suchasfriendsand
colleagues,inthetestingandverificationprocess,andincludetheircommentsandobservations.
Providetestmetrics,suchasnumberofdefectsfound,defectdensityofthediscovereddefects,
codeandbranchcoveragemetrics.Ideallythereshouldbeananalysisdescribingthedefect
injectionanddiscoverycharacteristics,suchas:typesofdefects,injectionphasesanddiscovery
phases.
Ifyourprojectservesanexternalcustomerthenyoumustinvolveendusers,selectedbythe
customer,inthetestingprocess.Examplesofsuchprojectsare:communityserviceprojects,
projectfromyourplaceofwork,orprojectswithanexternalsponsor.Forgraduateprojects
involvingtheendusersinthetestingservesasanacceptablevalidationprocess.

6.5.6.

ChapteronToolsandTechnologiesUsed

Describeanystateofthearttoolsandtechnologiesyouusedintheproject.THISSHOULDNOT
BEATEXTBOOKLIKEDESCRIPTIONOFTHETECHNOLOGIES.Fillingupathesiswithdescriptions
oftoolsandtechnologiesthatarereadilyavailableinbooksorpublishedliteraturedoesnotadd
anyvaluetothethesis.Youmustprovidesomediscussionsthatdemonstratethatyouhave
performedsomecriticalanalysesofthesubjectmatter.
Itisimportantthatyoudescribehowthetoolsandtechnologiesarebeingappliedtotheproject
youhavecompleted.
Youshouldincludesomediscussionsonevaluationofalternatetoolsandtechniques,provide
comparisonsandstaterationaleforchoosingtheonesyoudid.

GuidelinesonWritingaGraduateProjectThesis(DRAFTRev1June9,2011)

6.6. Conclusions
Intheconclusionchaptersummarizetheproblemyousetouttosolve,describewhatyouhave
achieved,andprospectforfuturework.
1. Referbacktotheproblemsyouencounteredandhowyouovercamethose,orfound
workarounds.Alwaysreferbacktothemainbodyofthethesisforthedetaileddescriptions;the
conclusionsectionshouldnotcontaindetaileddescriptionsoftheproblemsorthesolutions.
2. Addresshowyouhavemettheoriginalobjectivesoftheproject(i.e.proposalcontents).
3. Discusspotentialfuturework.

6.7. Appendices
UseAppendicestopresentmaterialthatwillinterrupttheflowifincludedinthemainbodyofthe
thesis.Typicalcontentsofappendicesinclude:Code,datatables,detailedanalysisanddesign
models.Ifausermanualiscalledfor,thenprovideitinanappendix.

6.8. Bibliography
1.

EverycitationmadeinthebodyofthethesismustappearintheBibliography.Similarly,every
itemlistedintheBibliographymustbecitedinthebodyofthethesis.

2.

Thecommitteemayusethelistofreferencesasayardsticktoassesshowwellyouhave
researchedthefieldbeforesettingouttodoyourproject.Thecommitteemaylookfor
completenessandalsoaccuracyofthereferences.Errorinthebibliographywillneedtobe
correctedbeforeathesisisapproved.

3.

Followasinglestandardmethodforcitingandlistingboththeprintreferencesandtheonline
references.Therearemanydifferentformatsforcitingandlistingreferences,suchas:APA,
MLA,ACMstyle,IEEEstyle,etc.Chooseoneandfollowitconsistentlythroughoutthethesis.
Notethatthereisastandardmethodforlistingonlinereferences,listingjusttheURLisnot
sufficient.

4.

Today,mostprintpublications,suchasjournalarticlesandconferencepapers,alsoexistinthe
web,typicallyindigitallibrariesorintheauthorswebsites.Whenlistingreferencestosuch
printedsources,providereferencestotheoriginalprintedsource,nottheonlinesources.

5.

Ingeneral,publicationsthatarenotpeerreviewed,suchasblogs,arenotcrediblesourcesof
reference.CitationsfromWikipediaaremarginallyacceptablebutshouldbeavoidedifpossible.
ThisisbecausetheWikipediareviewprocessisnotaswellcontrolledasinprofessionaljournals
andinproceedingsfromconferencesorganizedbyprofessionalinstitutes.Technicalpublications
fromwellestablishedandrecognizedorganizationslikeIBM,Microsoft,Apple,Oracle,Motorola,
etc.aregenerallyacceptable.

GuidelinesonWritingaGraduateProjectThesis(DRAFTRev1June9,2011)
6.

Youshouldhavereadeveryreferenceditemyoulistinthebibliographyandeveryiteminthe
bibliographyshouldbeappropriatelycitedinthebodyofthethesis.

7.

IfyouusedtheCitationandBibliographyTools,thenyoucanautogeneratethebibliography.
Thiswillsaveyoualotofworkandtime.

6.9. OtherSections
Thefollowingsectionsarehighlydesirable,becausetheygreatlyimprovethereadabilityofthethesis.
1.

Glossaryofterms.

2.

Listofabbreviations.

7. USEAMODERNWORDPROCESSORANDASTYLEBASEDDOCUMENTTEMPLATE
1.

Unlessyourcommitteechairdirectsyoutodootherwise,stronglyrecommendusingamodern
wordprocessorsuchasMicrosoftWord2007oralaterrelease.MicrosoftWordprovides
comprehensivefacilitiesforwritinglongdocumentsthatarehardtobeat.Thereallyuseful
featuresinclude:planninganoutlineformanagingchapters,sectionsandsubsection;automatic
saves(sayevery10minutes)andrecovery,versioning.Abilitytousestylesseparatingcontents
frompresentation.Toolsforautomaticgenerationofthetableofcontents,thebibliography,
andaglossary.Abilitytocrossreferenceitemswithinthedocumentthatcanbeupdatedwitha
singleclick.Abilitytoinsertfootnotesandendnotesthatmigrateautomaticallyasthedocument
changes.

2.

Microsoftwordalsohaspowerfultoolsforelectronicreviewing,changetracking,andmergingof
commentsfrommultiplereviewers.

3.

AnotheradvantageofusingMicrosoftWordisthatmanyCASEtoolsprovideautomated
documentgeneration.Typically,thesedocumentsareproducedinMicrosoftWordformat,
allowingyoutoedittheautogeneratedtextanddrawingsreadyforinsertionintothethesis.

4.

HowtoobtainMicrosoftOffice2010
4.1.

MicrosoftprovidesfreecloudbasedaccesstoOffice2010throughitsWindowsLive
SkyDrivetechnology.
http://explore.live.com/windowsliveskydriveRetrievedJune8,2011

4.2.

StudenteditionsofOffice2010canbeboughtanddownloadedforhomeusefrommany
Microsoftauthorizedvendors,ordirectlyfromMicrosoft.Thecurrentcostis$79.99.
SearchforMicrosoftStudentOffice2010
http://www.microsoft.com/student/en/us/software/office2010.aspxRetrievedJune8,
2011.

4.3.

MostdepartmentanduniversitycomputersinthelabsprovideMicrosoftWord;youcan
usethesetowriteyourthesis.
9

GuidelinesonWritingaGraduateProjectThesis(DRAFTRev1June9,2011)
4.4.

Asanalternative,youcantryusingOpenofficeWriter,whichprovidescompatibilitywith
MicrosoftWord.However,someoftheadvancedfeaturesarenotcompatible.Searchfor
OpenOffice.orgDownload
http://download.openoffice.org/RetrievedJune8,2011.

5.

Stronglyrecommendusingadocumenttemplate.Youcancreateastylebasedthesistemplate
fromscratch;howeveryoucansavetimebyreusingatemplatefromanexistingthesis.With
yourcommitteechairspermission,getacopyofanexistingthesisthathasusedastylebased
template.Createaskeletaltemplateforyourthesisbydeletingallexistingcontents,butkeeping
allthestyleelements.Startwritingyourownthesisusingthisnewtemplate.Youcanchangethe
templateasthethesisdevelops.

6.

StronglyrecommendusingtheMicrosoftWordstylefeature.Useofstylesissimilartousing
CascadingStyleSheets(CSS)increatingwebpages.Stylesseparatetheconcernsofformatting
fromthecontents.Usestyleswhencreatingsectionheadings,figurecaptions,tablecaptions,
lists,tables,andofcoursethetextinthethesis.Ifyouwritethethesisusingasuitabletemplate
thatusesstylesthenyouwillbeabletobuiltintoolsinMicrosoftOfficetogeneratethetableof
contents,thelistoffigures,thelistoftables,theglossary,andeventhebibliographyinAPAor
MLAformat.

7.

Inchoosingatool,youshouldalsodeterminethecommitteemembersneedsforreviewingthe
thesis.MemberswhodoelectronicreviewsmayinsistongettingathesisinMicrosoftWordor
OpenOfficeWriterformat.

8.

PleasenotethatitisverycumbersometodoelectronicreviewofdocumentsinPDFformat.

8. GENERALGUIDELINESFORTHETHESISCONTENTS
1.

Thereisnorulegoverningthelengthofathesis.Athesisdoesnothavetobe60pageslong!Do
notfillupathesiswithirrelevantmaterialjusttomakeitlong.

2.

Donotmixunrelatedissuesinthesamechapter.Forexample,inthedesignchapter,donot
discusstestingissues.Oneexceptiontothisiswhenargumentsareneededtojustifyactions
relatedtothecurrenttopic.
2.1.

Example:Whenaspecificdesigndecisionwasmadetosimplifysomeimplementation
relatedproblem.Insuchacase,itisreasonabletodiscusstherelevantimplementation
issuesinthedesignsection.

3.

Inathesis,everysentenceshouldhaveapurposeandeverysentenceshouldsaysomething
relevanttotheprojectwork.Besuccinctinwhatyouwrite.Avoidvagueramblingtext.

4.

Yourthesisisapieceofscientificwork.Itshouldnotcontainanyunsubstantiatedopinionsor
claims.Everytechnicalclaimmadeorresultcitedmustbesubstantiatedwithcredible
references,orresultofsomereasoneddiscussioncontainedinthethesis.

10

GuidelinesonWritingaGraduateProjectThesis(DRAFTRev1June9,2011)
5.

Athesisisnotaplatformformakingspeculativecomments,orformakingpredictionsthatare
notgroundedinresultsfrompublishedscientificwork.

6.

Athesisshouldnothaveanytutorialtext;itisnotatextbook.Ifausermanualiscalledfor,then
provideitinanappendix.

7.

Throughoutthethesisusestandardsoftwareengineeringorcomputerscienceterminology.
Providedefinitionsofuncommontermsinaglossary.Seesection6.9

8.

Useaconsistentnamingconvention.Donotrefertothesameconceptorthingbydifferent
namesindifferentpartsofthethesis.

9. GENERALFORMATTINGGUIDELINES
1.

ReadandfollowthestyleguidelinesproducedbytheGraduateStudies,Researchand
InternationalPrograms(GRIP)office.TheGRIPguidelinesfocusontheform,notthecontents
andhavesomestrangerules,butyouneedtoadheretothoserules.

2.

Provideheadingsforallchapters,sectionsandsubsectionsandprefixeachheadingwitha
sectionnumber.ThisiseasytodoifyouuseastylebasedtemplateinMicrosoftWordorOpen
OfficeWriter.

3.

Forimprovedreadabilitytheheadingsshouldbeleftjustifiedratherthancenterjustified.

4.

Numberallfiguresandtables.Itisbesttousealocalizednumberingschemewherethe
figure/tablenumbersareprefixedwiththesectionnumber.Thismakesiteasytolocatetheitem
whenreferencedfromelsewherewithinthedocument.
4.1.

Examples:Thetwofirstfiguresinsection2.0willbenumberedFigure2.01andFigure2.2
2.SimilarlyFigure3.13wouldbethe3rdfigureinsection3.1.Table3.33wouldbethe3rd
tableinsection3.3.

5.

Providecaptionsforallfiguresandtables.Example:Figure2.3.1:TheSystemContextDiagram.It
iscommonforfigurecaptionstoappearbelowandtablecaptionstoappearabove.

6.

IfyouareusingWordorOpenOfficeWriter,thenusestylestomarkthefigureandtable
captions.ThiswillenableyoutoautogeneratetheListofFiguresandtheListofTables.

7.

Figures,tables,andtheirassociatedcaptionsshouldbecentrallyjustified.

8.

Ifyouareprovidingalistofitems,thenuseanumberedlist,notbulletedlist.Itiseasierto
referenceaniteminanumberedlist.

9.

Followaconsistentmethodforcitingreferencessuchas:theAPA,MLA,ACMstyle,orIEEEstyle.
9.1.

IfyouareusingMicrosoftWord,orOpenOfficeWriter,thenconsiderusingtheCitation
andBibliographyTool.Youwillthenbeabletogeneratethebibliographyautomatically
inAPAorMLAstyle.
11

GuidelinesonWritingaGraduateProjectThesis(DRAFTRev1June9,2011)
9.2.

StronglyrecommendusingtheWord/WriteCrossReferencesToolformanagingall
internalreferences.Youwillthenbeabletoautomaticallyupdatethecrossreferences
evenasthethesisdevelopsandthecrossreferenceditemschangetheirnumbers.

9.3.

Useofthesetoolssavesagreatdealoftimeandresultsinathesiswherethecross
referencesandreferencecitationsaremoreaccurate.

9.4.

Therearemanyfreeonlinetutorialsonhowtousethesetools;findoneandlearntouse
them.

10. Whencrossreferencing,insteadofwritingAspreviouslystated.,provideacrossreference
numbertothereferencedsection,figure,ortable;onemorereasontousethe(Word/Writer)
CrossReferencingTool.
11. Expandallacronymsonfirstuse.Itisagoodideatolistallacronymsinalistofabbreviations.
Seesection6.9.
11.1. Example:GraduatestudentsshouldbefamiliarwiththeElectronicThesisDocument(ETD)
system.
12. Allfiguresandtablesshouldbereferencedinthebodyofthethesisusingtheircaptions.
12.1. Bemindfulofthelanguageyouuse.Whenreferencingafigure,write,Theinitialization
logicisillustratedinFigure3.21:SystemInitializationratherthanFigure3.21
illustratestheinitializationlogic.Why?Afigure,byitself,doesnotillustrateanything,
rathersomethingisillustratedinafigure.Useasimilarlanguagewhenreferencinga
table.Picky,butprecise.
13. Ifyouneedtoincludediagramorillustrationcopiedfromsomeotherdocument,thencitethe
sourcewithareferencenumberintheFigurecaptionandalsointhetextthatintroducesthe
diagramorillustration.
13.1. Example:Harperreportstheresultsfromastudythatexaminedtherelationshipbetween
softwarestructuralcomplexityandsoftwarequality[31].Therelationshipisillustratedin
Figure3.41:DesignComplexityandResidualDefectDensity.
13.2. Thefigurecaptionwouldread
Figure3.41:DesignComplexityandResidualDefectDensity[31].
14. Donotcopyandpastediagramsthatareblurry.Redrawthediagraminstead.Youshouldcite
references,evenifyouredrawthediagram,unlessyoumakesubstantialchanges.Thisguideline
appliestoallcutandpasteitems,includinggraphs,andtables.
14.1. Donotincludeanyartwork,suchasphotographs,thatareblurry,ordifficulttointerpret.

12

GuidelinesonWritingaGraduateProjectThesis(DRAFTRev1June9,2011)

10. ELIMINATEPLAGIARISM
1.

Theremustbenoplagiarisminagraduatethesis.Thecomputersciencedepartmenthaszero
toleranceagainstsubmissionofanyworkcontaininganyamountofplagiarizedmaterial.Follow
theguidelinesstatedintheCSUNcataloginthesectionnamedAcademicdishonesty.These
guidelinespreemptanyotherideasthatyoumighthaveonwhatconstitutesplagiarism.Please
followtherulesstatedthere,especiallyonquotingsourcesandparaphrasingcontentswrittenby
others.Consequencesofsubmittingplagiarizedworkisveryserious,includingstartingthe
projectoverwithadifferenttopic.

2.

Doasimilaritycheckofyourthesisusingwww.Turnitin.comanduseittoeliminateallplagiarized
material.AskyourcommitteechairforaTurnitinaccount.Withquotedtextandbibliography
excluded,thesimilarityindexshouldbelessthan10%.TurnitinsometimesflagsURLsas
plagiarizedtext,butyoucanignorethosefindings.

11. WRITINGSTYLE
1.

Writeshortsentencesinactivevoiceinplainlanguage.Eachsentenceshouldaddressasingle
topic.

2.

Writeshort,focused,andcoherentparagraphs.Eachparagraphshouldhaveaclearlystated
topicsentencethatdescribesthemainissuecoveredintheparagraph.Therestofthesentences
shouldprovidediscussionsonthetopicsentence,oranswerthequestionraisedinthetopic
sentence.

3.

Readeachparagraphaloudandlisten.Doesitsoundright?Isthesentencestructureclumsy?Is
itdifficulttounderstand?Listentothesentencesasyoureadthemaloudwouldyouspeaklike
thiswhenmakingaformalpresentationinclass?Reviseandeditasneeded.

4.

Doagrammarandstylecheckusingoneofthetoolslistedinsection13

12. GENERALISSUES

12.1. CriticalAnalysis
Criticalanalysisskillsaretaughtinallgraduatelevelclasses.Thethesisdemonstratingyour
culminatingexperiencemustexhibityourabilitytodocriticalanalysis.Evidenceofcriticalanalyses
canbeplacedinaseparatechapter.Alternatively,thecriticalanalysescanbeintegrateddirectlyinto
thevarioustechnicalchaptersdescribinganalysis,design,implementation,andtesting.Inthe
technicalchaptersdescribehowyouconsideredalternativesandselectedtheonesyoudid.Give
rationaleforthechoicesyoumade.Amastersthesismustdemonstratethatyouarecapableof
makingsoundtechnicaldecisionsbasedonresultsofcriticalanalysis.Describeanytechnical
problemsyouencounteredandhowyouovercamethoseorfoundworkarounds.

13

GuidelinesonWritingaGraduateProjectThesis(DRAFTRev1June9,2011)

12.2. TakeCreditForYourWork
Throughoutthethesis,andespeciallyinthechaptersdescribinganalysisanddesign,clearlystate
whatyouhaveachieved.Takecreditforsuccesses;describelessonslearnedfromunsuccessful
outcomes,includingchangeofplan/approachetc.Addresswhatwouldhavehappenedifyouwereto
useadifferenttoolortechnique.Addresswhatproblemswerecausedbytheneedtouselegacy
products,ifany.Whenappropriate,describeproblemscausedbytheneedtousespecifictools,
platforms,hardware,etc.Withthebenefitofthehindsight,discusshowwouldyoudothings
differently.Suggestfuturework.

13. SOMEUSEFULRESOURCES
(Thispartisincomplete;Iwouldwelcomesuggestionsonadditionalresources)
Youmayfindsomeofthefollowingassetshelpful.Thecommercialproductsareprovidedforinformation
only;nonearespecificallyendorsedorpromoted.

StyleandGrammarChecker
1.

WritingEnhancementSoftwarereviewRetrieved:June8,2011.Agoodsourceforchecking
Englishgrammarandwritingstyle
http://writingenhancementsoftwarereview.toptenreviews.com/

2.

WhiteSmokeGrammartool
http://www.whitesmoke.comRetrievedJune8,2011

3.

EnglishSoftware
http://www.englishsoftware.org/RetrievedJune8,2011

BooksandArticlesonThesisWriting
1.

Trimble,JohnR.WritingWithStyle:ConversationsontheArtofWriting(3rd.Edition).Longman,
NewYork:2010

2.

PurdueOnlineWritingLabRetrieved:June8,2011
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/

3.

Zinsser,William.OnWritingWell,30thAnniversaryEdition:TheclassicGuidetoWriting
Nonfiction.HarperCollins,London:2006.

4.

AResearchGuideforStudentsRetrieved:June8,2011.
http://www.aresearchguide.com/styleguides.html

5.

UniversityofWaterlooguideonThesisandLongDocuments.RetrievedJune8,2011
http://ist.uwaterloo.ca/ew/thesis/ThesisCourse/WordTheses.html

LearningTools

14

GuidelinesonWritingaGraduateProjectThesis(DRAFTRev1June9,2011)
1.

Athesistemplatewithstylesdocumentthatcanserveasastartingpoint;itmustbemodifiedto
matchCSUNrequirements.Retrieved:June8,2011
http://csce.uark.edu/~cwt/ADVISING/MSthesistemplate.doc

2.

Tutorialoncreatingnumberedsectionheadingsetc.inMicrosoftWord.RetrievedJune8,2011
http://www.shaunakelly.com/word/numbering/numbering20072010.html

14. CSUNELECTRONICTHESISDOCUMENT
ThereisasystemforonlinesubmissionofproposalsandthefinalthesisdocumenttoGRIP.Youwillneed
toregistertotakeadvantageofthesefacilities.Detailsinhttp://etd.csun.edu

15. COMMENTSANDSUGGESTIONSONTHISGUIDELINE
Commentsandsuggestionsonthisguidelinearewelcome.Pleaseemailtoshan@csun.edu

15