The MBC information booklet - RMIT University

Chapter 11: Minor Thesis/Project
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Some people think of a Masters by Research as comprising one quality publication.
The Masters Degree by Coursework and Minor Thesis
Traditionally, Masters degrees in Australia have been of the research variety. The
Masters degree by coursework and minor thesis is a comparatively new degree. It seeks
to combine a formal graded study of current postgraduate topics in Computer Science
with a minor, Masters by Research-level, thesis. It is smaller in scope than a Masters by
Research thesis simply because less time is available. A Masters by Research thesis
usually comprises two full-time years of research. By comparison, a minor thesis
comprises only half a year of full-time research (or one year part-time).
Clearly, in such a short time, the scope of the thesis must be narrowed and the task
carefully refined.
A minor thesis should:
1. review literature relevant to the thesis;
2. critically appraise ones work especially as it relates to the work of others, or
critically appraise the work of others;
3. describe an investigation which may involve the gathering and analysing of
information;
4. present information in a manner consistent with publication in an academic
Computer Science Journal; and
5. demonstrate the carrying out of supervised research.
An Example
To be more concrete, we begin with a mythical problem (sic). The problem is usually
identified by your supervisor. Our mythical problem is in the domain of real-time
applications for an intelligent networking hub. It is found that the robustness and ease of
re-use of code (written in a 3rd generation language) is unsatisfactory. Changes to the
code are increasingly difficult to implement and fraught with side-effects.
The PhD
The PhD candidate undertakes a detailed analysis of the problem. The candidate seeks
to carefully identify the shortcomings of the current approach. In constructing a solution,
the candidate effectively invents a new programming paradigm. The candidate
implements a prototype using the new paradigm and demonstrates its effectiveness not
only in the context of the original problem domain but as a general programming
paradigm. The candidate compares and contrasts the new approach with others and
identifies any open problems.
The Masters by Research
The Masters by Research candidate (who does not go on and convert the thesis to a
PhD) uses a different approach. This involves the construction of a series of specialised
libraries (a repository) which are to be strictly used as the building blocks for a re-write of
the existing system and future enhancements. The code is developed with reference to
a formal mathematical software specification; implementing this specification. A
prototype is built. The thesis examines the approach of repositories in general and
contrasts these to that described in this thesis. The candidate reflects on the
shortcomings of the approach and the advantages. The approach may not be an ideal
solution but useful nonetheless.
The Masters by Coursework
The Masters by coursework candidate works for the networking company in question.
The company has identified the problem but is not that concerned with it because the
economy is in a down-turn; there is little money available for research and development;
and the problem appears not to be hurting sales. The candidate convinces the boss that
the problem should be addressed and points out that newly developed expertise in
formal methods should be used to map out a prototype for a repository. The boss
supports the investigation and the candidate undertakes the research. The thesis
presents only the formal specification and places the specification into the context of the
problem and the overall approach. The literature survey looks at the building of specific
software repositories, investigating those which utilise formal methods 1 .