FACULTY OF INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

DEPARTMENT OF COMPUTER SCIENCE

NAME OF COURSE

Project IV

NQF

LEVEL

NQF

CREDITS

QUALIFICATION & SAQA ID COURSE CODE

8

B Tech Software

Development and Technical

application

PJT414/414R/411B/411E/411R

COMPILED BY DR MN MOETI

2021

2019 S2 STUDENT COURSE GUIDE

PAGE 2 OF 12

©COPYRIGHT : Tshwane University of Technology

Private Bag X680

PRETORIA

0001

All rights reserved. Apart from any reasonable quotations for the purposes of research criticism or review as permitted under the Copyright Act, no part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy and recording, without permission in writing from the publisher.

Printed and distributed by :

FACULTY OF INFORMATION AND

COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

Tshwane University of Technology

Private Bag X680

Pretoria

0001

PAGE 3 OF 12

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

Welcome 4 1. Introduction 5 Submission and work plan 6 Your completed research work report must contain the following chapters: 6 Chapter 1: Orientation 6 Chapter 2: Literature review 6 Chapter 3: Research methodology – Not the same as system design and development 7 Chapter 4: System design and development 8 Chapter 5: Research results 8 Chapter 6: Discussion, conclusions and recommendations 8 2. Staff 9 2.1 Contact Details 9 2.2 Staff availability 10 3. Requirements, resources and recommended material. 10 3.1 Requirements for the course 10 4. Code of conduct 10 4.1 Attendance 10 PAGE 4 OF 12

4.2 Responsibilities of students 10 4.3 Grievance procedure 11 5. Assessment 11 5.1 Assessment methods and criteria 11 5.2 Promotion requirements 11 6. Submission schedule 13 WELCOME

PAGE 5 OF 12

A warm welcome to all the Project IV students at the Computer Science Department in Faculty of Information and Communication Technology of the Tshwane University of Technology (TUT). May the next few months of the year that you spend in this subject be days of personal growth and of acquiring new knowledge. On completion of this subject you should have KNOWLEDGE and SKILLS needed to be successful in academic research projects. We trust that you are looking forward to an exciting semester of studying. The staff members of the Department of Computer Science are there to support and guide you through your studies and courses. The whole team consists of capable lecturers and willing to assist students wherever necessary.

1. INTRODUCTION

The objective of this report is to provide you with guidelines for your B-Tech research report. The main purpose of the B Tech (project IV) research project is for students to demonstrate their ability to:

• Do independent research under the guidance of your study leader.

• Make a contribution to knowledge with research by using an appropriate research methodology.

• Develop a system which is a proof of concept of the proposed solution.

• Write a report documenting the research.

Use appropriate language and demonstrate professionalism Both research reports and academic articles are written in formal language, as objectively as possible, using the subject-specific technical vocabulary correctly. It is customary to write in the third person, referring to yourself as “the researcher” and not as “I”, “Me”, “Us”, etc. You need to demonstrate your mastery of the subject terminology. It is the responsibility of the student, not the supervisor or promoter, to ensure that the language used is of a high standard, and that the overall technical editing is done. Always write in the third person. If you are not able PAGE 6 OF 12

to do this yourself, you must obtain the services of an expert. Do not expect your supervisor to do this for you.

Submission and work plan

The deliverables of this research project can’t (WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED) be done in a ‘single bang’ submission, that is, all chapters submitted all at once. You need to have been working, consulting, and submitting individual submissions (chapters) to your supervisor on a regular basis during the course of the semester as outlined in the schedule in this document and also by your study leader. Over and above this information a study leader may supplement this information as he/she deems fit to ensure that students complete the project as needed. Your completed research work report must contain the following chapters: Chapter 1: Orientation

The fact that this is the first chapter in the research report does not necessarily mean that it is written first. This chapter is often much easier to write and finalise towards the end of the research process. The purpose of the first chapter is to provide the reader with an outline of what the research entailed, but it does not reveal any of the research results.

In this chapter you should lead your reader to a clear understanding of the broad objectives and purpose of your study. The statement of the problem and sub-problems should be given here, since they guide the entire focus of the study. Chapter 1 is usually an appropriate place to delineate your field of study, by clearly expressing the focus of the study, and what is deliberately excluded in the study. This chapter could also be used to clarify key concepts in the study by giving the definition of these as generally accepted in the literature. This chapter must capture the imagination of the reader, and should be easy to read. The importance of your study should be apparent in this chapter. Chapter 2: Literature review

It entails the review of the literature dealing with the present problem. You must indicate what has already been done in the field of your study, and how your study is going to contribute and fit in with what has been reported in the literature so far. All relevant studies must be critically analysed and evaluated in the literature review. Shortcomings of published studies must be indicated. For example, weaknesses in PAGE 7 OF 12

research design, poor or inadequate controls, biased sampling, unreliability and lack of validity of measuring instruments, unsuitable statistical analyses, could be mentioned here. If you are convinced that there is a total absence of knowledge, it should be clearly pointed out. Studies that have been well done, yielding reliable results, should be identified, and ought to serve as a point of departure for future studies. An author-by-author summary of the literature is not appropriate. An integrated synthesis of the literature demonstrates your mastery of the chosen topic, and that you have fully grasped the thinking

(and perhaps the lack of thinking) in the chosen topic.

• Academic journals should form at least 70% of your sources,

• Conference papers, Books and other sources could form the remaining sources This chapter is where you need to be extremely careful of plagiarism. Make sure that you acknowledge all your sources and use your own words. Only give direct quotes when it is absolutely necessary. Remember that plagiarism is also committed when you copy the structure of another author, and if you only rephrase by substituting words with synonyms. This link may be helpful in guiding you in writing your literature review. http://subjectguides.library.american.edu/c.php?g=175218&p=1154222 Chapter 3: Research methodology – Not the same as system design and development

It is appropriate to repeat the statement of the problem and sub-problems in this chapter. The problem should first be stated in general terms, and then in the form of a series of sub-problems. For each sub- problem, the propositions and/or hypotheses are also given. For each hypothesis a brief rationale must be given, since all hypotheses must be theoretically founded. A hypothesis can only be tested if you have suitable data to conduct a statistical hypothesis test or series of tests. If your research problem is of such PAGE 8 OF 12

a nature that you cannot use data to test your hypothesis, it should rather be formulated as a proposition. A proposition can be supported or rejected by making use of logical reasoning and induction. Propositions are more appropriate when your chosen topic is qualitative in nature. In this chapter a full exposition of your own investigation must be given. The following aspects require special attention:

Appropriate and justification of chosen methodology: You must clearly indicate what research methodology has been chosen in your research study and why. Chapter 4: System design and development

This chapter discusses your system design and development – the process followed. It should discuss the architecture of your system. The tools and techniques that have been used for designing and development of the system should be discussed.

Chapter 5: Research results

In this chapter the results of your study should be given. Every table/figure/diagram/ graph must be clearly described in the text, and no interpretation of your results must be given in this chapter. You should not refer to other studies in this chapter, because it only leads to confusion. If your study was quantitative in nature, tables and graphs can be used extensively to report your results. This chapter should be very readable.

Chapter 6: Discussion, conclusions and recommendations In chapter 5 the outcome / results of your study should be fully discussed, with cross-references to other relevant studies as covered in your literature review in Chapter 3, and the underlying foundation covered in Chapter 2. You can close this chapter with a general conclusion, where you elaborate on the potential implications of the research results. The chapter usually concludes with recommendations for further research.

It is important to have a golden line of logic throughout all the chapters. Do not dilute your report with related, but strictly speaking irrelevant issues.

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2. STAFF

2.1 CONTACT DETAILS

NAME CAMPUS

ROOM

NO

TEL NO. / E-MAIL

CONSULTATIO

TIMES

Dr N Gcaza Soshanguve 20-G05 012-***-**** adqc0j@r.postjobfree.com In class / as p

supervisor

Dr MN Moeti Polokwane 20-102-***-*** 0760 adqc0j@r.postjobfree.com In class / as p

supervisor

Dr M Lall Soshanguve adqc0j@r.postjobfree.com

In class / as p

supervisor

Ramabu Soshanguve adqc0j@r.postjobfree.com

In class / as p

supervisor

Mr J Dehinbo Soshanguve adqc0j@r.postjobfree.com

In class / as p

supervisor

Mr O Seoke Soshanguve adqc0j@r.postjobfree.com

In class / as p

supervisor

Dr M

Makamba

Soshanguve adqc0j@r.postjobfree.com

In class / as p

supervisor

Manqele Soshanguve adqc0j@r.postjobfree.com

In class / as p

supervisor

Mrs

Makhanani

Mashaba

Soshanguve

Bld

6:G04

012-***-****

adqc0j@r.postjobfree.com

PAGE 10 OF 12

2.2 STAFF AVAILABILITY

Please check with your supervisor for his/her availability for consultation. Note that you need to be in constant contact with your study leader and submit required work as required in order to make required progress in this subject. From time to time individual study leaders may set up meetings with their students as they may deem necessary, this means you need to check myTutor regularly for announcements. 3. REQUIREMENTS, RESOURCES AND RECOMMENDED MATERIAL. 3.1 REQUIREMENTS FOR THE COURSE

3.1.1 PRESCRIBED RESOURCES

This subject has no prescribed textbook. The knowledge gained in the Principles of research module is needed in this subject and must be applied.

4. CODE OF CONDUCT

Please take note of the following regulations. These regulations are in addition to the standard rules and regulations as determined by TUT. Please familiarise yourself with the TUT rules and regulations as set out in the student diaries received on registration.

4.1 ATTENDANCE

Attendance of class meetings which may be called by individual or collective study leaders are of primary importance. These meetings are meant to communicate important information to students and missing them may mean that you have missed important information which may hinder your progress in this subject. 4.2 RESPONSIBILITIES OF STUDENTS

It is your responsibility to:

• Contact and communicate with your study leader regularly. PAGE 11 OF 12

4.3 GRIEVANCE PROCEDURE

As this faculty is proud to uphold the principle of academic freedom, grievances and problems must be discussed with the relevant study leader first. If the problem cannot be resolved satisfactorily, discuss it with the subject head, in the presence of the relevant lecturer. If the problem is still not resolved the complaint must be submitted to the Section Head or the Head of the Department of Computer Science in writing, in the presence of the lecturer in question. The Dean of the Faculty of Information and Communication Technology may be approached at this stage if this is deemed necessary. No grievance or complaint regarding the study leader may be taken to higher authority without his/her knowledge. The right channels have to be followed, should these channels be ignored, the grievance will be deemed null and void.

5. ASSESSMENT

5.1 ASSESSMENT METHODS AND CRITERIA

There are no written tests or exams written in this module. Students submit their sub-tasks as outlined below, then a supervisor assesses the submitted work and provide feedback in writing and/or verbally to a student. A student is also expected to continuously demo the system which accompanies the research on a regular basis as when a supervisor deems necessary. Once all the sub-tasks have been deemed fine by the supervisor, a student will be required to combine and package all the chapters into a research report. Furthermore, once the supervisor is also satisfied with the system, then the student will be required to put it on a CD. On the day of final presentation, a student is required to bring two copies of the report and the CD for external evaluation. 5.2 PROMOTION REQUIREMENTS

In order to pass the subject, the student needs a minimum of 50% for the subject when the marks of the two components are combined. A student must pass each component (research part and system part) to pass this subject. Failing any component will result in failing the subject. See TUT examination policy (Promotions Requirements) for more information.

This means to pass this subject the following must be achieved: Pass = Research component >= 50% (that is, a student must get a subminimum of 50% to pass) PLUS System component >= 50% (that is, a student must get a subminimum of 50% to pass) / 2. PAGE 12 OF 12

5.3 PROJECT EVALUATION (MARKSHEET)

Section (A and B) are highlighting on how you will be evaluated. Students will be evaluated by 3 lectures at least on the day of presentation.

Section A

Presentation (10) Marks

• Problem definition & study background (3) /3

• Discussion on methodology (how, data collection, if any, simulation, etc,)

(4)

/4

• Findings (2) /2

• Recommendations (1) /1

Sub-Section Total marks out of 10 Marks / 10

REPORT (50)

• Problem definition (showing gap in literature), study background, Objectives, Research question(s).

/10

• Alignment of Objectives, Research Question(s) and Problem statement. /5

• Literature review (synthesis and relevancy to the problem under consideration, etc).

/10

• Methodology (Suitability, articulation of aspects related to the methodology used, etc).

/10

• Results and findings (show that question(s) have been addressed and problem addressed).

/5

• Recommendations /2

• Conclusion /2

• Style of writing (logical, coherent, etc.) & Document presentation /3

• Referencing / References /3

Sub-Section Total marks out of 50 Marks / 50

Section Total marks out of 60 Marks /60

Section B: System evaluation

Functionality and usability The prototype/system is fully functional, usable,

error free

and addressing the

identified problem

domain.

/ 35

Technology used Appropriate technologies

are used and are explained

in the documentation and

/ 5

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presentation

Sub-Section Total marks

out

of 40 Marks

/ 40

Total for the two sections (A + B): / 100

6. SUBMISSION SCHEDULE

Submission Content Date

Chapter 1 See summary above Before 18th March 2020 Chapter 2 See summary above Before 18th March 2020 Chapter 3 See summary above

18th March 2020

(all three chapters)

Chapter 4 See summary above 08th April 2020

Chapter 5 See summary above 29th April 2020

Chapter 6 See summary above 13th May 2020

• Final research report,

• Publishable research paper

• System on CD/USB.

See research report

template on myTUTor

30th May 2020

Final Presentations Schedule will be

published in due time

15th – 19th June 2020

Presentation dates: To be announced

NOTE: No ‘complete’ research report of a student will be accepted unless individual chapters were submitted and approved by the supervisor.

Contact this candidate