In the following text, you will find all the information needed for the processing of bachelor's and diploma theses at the Department of Information Technologies.
The above text is generally valid for writing theses at KIT. The supervisor can further specify the rules as needed.
The text is not intended for use outside the department.
1. WHAT IS A THESIS?
The diploma and bachelor's theses (hereinafter referred to as the final thesis, ZP) are the students' first scientific works. It is a professional and scientific text on a given topic with a clearly defined goal. Each thesis contains a theoretical and a practical part (more about the division is in chapter 4). In the practical part, the student fulfills the main goal. To achieve the goal, it is necessary to use objective methods so that the result can be verified.
The final thesis should always have some generalizable contribution. It should solve something new, or at least in a new way, using other methods, etc. It can follow on from other research and further expand, refine, or on the contrary refute it.
2. CHOOSING THE TOPIC OF THE FINAL WORK – BANKRUPTCY
Students sign up for topics listed by specific teachers. The dates are announced by the faculty for each academic year and are binding. Registration takes place through the university information system (https://is.czu.cz/).
The student comes to the audition with a draft assignment (if it is not already written by the teacher) and a clear idea of its preparation. We recommend, and some educators require it, to send the assignment proposal in advance. The characteristics of the structure of the assignment and how to prepare it are in chapter 3. Always read the annotation of the topic in the information system. May contain additional requirements and instructions.
The audition usually takes place in the form of a discussion on this task and on specific aspects of the solution. The student should appear for the audition primarily according to the teacher's instructions and respect his specific requirements and deadlines.
3. ASSIGNMENT
3.1 WHAT IS AN ASSIGNMENT
The assignment is binding document that is included final work. It is developed together with the supervisor before starting to write the final thesis. Once approved, the student must adhere to it. The assignment is entered into the ČZU Information System and approved electronically by the supervisor, head of the department and the dean. Changing the entry subsequently is not possible by default.
Completion of the assignment is checked by the leader and the opponent, as well as by the committee at the final exams!
The focus of the work must correspond to the profile of the department, field/programme of study and faculty.
3.2 STRUCTURE
Thesis title
- The title of the thesis (and the entire topic) must correspond to the focus of the department (wp) and field!
- It is better to be more general, but it must be in line with the objectives of the work (see below).
Thesis objectives
Solution area:
Methodology
The theoretical part of the work is based on the study and analysis of professional and scientific information sources.
The methodology contains a brief procedure of the entire solution used methods and data. It characterizes how the objectives of the work will be achieved, how the data will be obtained and how it will be evaluated.
Based on the synthesis of knowledge of the theoretical part and the evaluation of the results of the practical part, the conclusions of the work will be formulated.
Keywords
6 to 10 basic terms with a close connection to the main goal of the work.
Literature
4-5 book sources (printed and electronic). They should then be used in work. Must be in citation format (ISO690). At least one source must be in English. The literature should always be current, preferably from the last 5-10 years (it is appropriate to include some new source from the current or previous year. Recommended sources of information are in chapter 5.
3.3 SCOPE AND OTHER REQUIREMENTS OF THE WORK
In addition, please pay attention to the following requirements and recommendations:
- Range Bachelor work is usually 40 to 50 pages.
- Range Graduates usually works 60 to 80 pages.
- There is always a theoretical part at least ½ from the entire content (practical second ½)
- The scope of work is always calculated from introduction after conclusion.
- The exact scope of work is always specified in the assignment, it is recommended to adhere to it.
- The work solution in a real company or in cooperation with a real company is appreciated.
- The final thesis, which the student defends before the committee, will be published in the university information system and will be publicly accessible.
4. CHAPTERS OF THE FINAL WORK
Attention: Always follow the official template - available at https://www.pef.czu.cz/cs/r-7008-studium/r-7026-informace-pro-studenty/r-12261-zaverecne-prace.
4.0 CONTENT
Only headings up to level 3 belong to the content. When submitting work for consultation, always remember to update the content.
4.1 CHAPTER 1 – INTRODUCTION
Range: ¾ to 1 page
The introduction contains a general introduction to the issue. It can contain the necessary definition of the topic, its importance and placement in the social context. It is divided into paragraphs only, not subsections.
4.2 CHAPTER 2 – OBJECTIVE AND METHODOLOGY
Range: approx. 1 page
The goal and methodology contain either an exact transcript from the assignment, or even better, a specification of the methodology, data and procedures used. It depends on how generally the assignment was written.
Attention! It must never conflict with the assignment of work.
4.3 CHAPTER 3 – THEORETICAL BASIS
Range: min. ½ of the entire content
Contains literature review – characteristics of the current state of knowledge of the given issue. He should be critical, i.e. he should draw from multiple sources, compare sources, debate them and select relevant information from them. Summarize current findings and characterize how other authors view and solve the issue. The goal is to incorporate the most important information from scientific and professional literature. Attention: you are not writing a manual, a textbook, or another book.
The text is divided into subheadings and paragraphs. Contains enough citations (or links to citations). Ideally, each paragraph should contain at least one citation. No page should be without a citation(s).
Recommended sources of information and work with them are listed separately in chapter 5.
Recommended subsections within Chapter 3:
3.X Similar solutions
It contains a list of specific similar solutions to the given problem and how each author solves it. Furthermore, define how the given work differs, how, for example, it solves it better, what aspects it solves in addition, etc. Specify here the definition of the novelty of your work.
This content may be part of previous chapters. In that case, summarize everything in the following chapter.
3.Y Summary
It contains a brief summary of the theoretical part and what follows from it for the practical part, as well as identification of the solved problem (research opportunities).
4.4 CHAPTER 4 – OWN WORK
BP – Own work / Own processing / Own solution / Analytical part *)
DP – Own work / Analytical part / Practical part / Empirical part / Own solution *)
*) only one of the given chapter name options is selected.
The practical part contains the solution procedure, data collection methodology, experiment documentation and application of methods. Write here how the results were achieved. This procedure should allow someone else to repeat everything with the same results.
4.5 CHAPTER 5 – BP – EVALUATION AND RECOMMENDATIONS OR RESULTS AND DISCUSSION *)
Range: 2 to 4 pages
It contains a list of results (graphs, tables, illustrations, ...) of the practical part. It also contains their detailed characteristics and evaluation in relation to the main goal. Discussion means controversy over the results and their comparison with similar research or studies by other authors. Based on the results, answer the basic question - the goal of the work.
*) only one of the given chapter name options is selected.
4.7 CHAPTER 6 – CONCLUSION
Range: 1 to 2 pages
Summarize the results of the work and what follows from them. At the end, the answers to all the objectives should be evident. You can also emphasize the benefit of the work. Include opportunities for further research, extension of your work and opportunities for practical application. Bonding is important goals-conclusion.
5. RECOMMENDED INFORMATION SOURCES
- Book publications (print and electronic)
- Primary source of information
- It is possible to use online databases with full texts (eg: ProQuest Ebook Central): https://lib.czu.cz/cs/r-8833-odborne-databaze/r-8883-infozdroje
- Database of scientific articles Web of Science and Scopus
- It is necessary to log in through the ČZU library portal
- https://lib.czu.cz/cs/r-8833-odborne-databaze/r-8883-infozdroje
- Google Scholar, ResearchGate
- Contains resources from scientific databases
- It may also contain less trustworthy sources, so use with caution
- Websites and articles
- This is where resources are needed compare and think their reliability
- Web articles often do not go through any review or editorial process
- Content may not be verified, truthful or accurate
6. DEADLINES AND CREDITS - SCHEDULE FOR THE PROCESSING OF THE FINAL WORK
Attention: the following obligations and deadlines are the necessary minimum and are binding. Failure to meet them means non-granting of credit or removal from the register.
The exact dates, requirements and method of communication are always determined by the supervisor.
| 1. credit (LS) | |
| Assignment | End of May consult with the manager, put in UIS |
| Min. 20 (BP)/ 30 (DP) pages | ½ of August send by e-mail, consult |
| 2. credit (CS) | |
| Work status check | Two weeks before Christmas send by e-mail |
| Consultation | Before the BP/DP seminar. in person, exact date by appointment |
| 3. credit (LS) | |
| Bachelor seminar (at PEF) | End of January/beginning of February impure defense |
| Diploma seminar in Všeradice | 3rd week in LS, Thursday impure defense |
| Consultation of the final version of the work | A month before submission by email/in person |
| Submission of work | According to the dates of the faculty (standard BP until 15.3. / DP until 30.3.) |
7. KIT SEMINARS
7.1 BACHELOR'S SEMINAR
The Department of Information Technology always organizes a bachelor's seminar for its students at the turn of January and February. It usually takes place in the PEF premises. Here, students will try out the defense of their bachelor's thesis.
The seminar always takes place one morning or afternoon for a group of approximately 12 to 16 students in one of the PEF meeting rooms. The presentation is evaluated by a committee made up of members of the department.
Attention! Participation is a mandatory part of the 3rd credit (for the summer semester)!
7.2 DIPLOMA SEMINAR
A field seminar for graduates is always organized at the end of February. For the last several years, it has been held in the castle grounds in Všeradice. Here, students will try out the defense of their diploma thesis.
The seminar takes place throughout the day and the students are divided into sections. The presentation is evaluated by a committee consisting of members of the department and experts from practice. At the end of the day, the best works are announced and awarded. You can read more about the seminar here: https://kit.pef.czu.cz/archiv-diplomantskeho-seminare-kit.
Attention! Participation is a mandatory part of the 3rd credit (for the summer semester)!
8. THESIS DEFENSE – STRUCTURE OF THE PRESENTATION
The presentation in front of the committee is usually 5-8 minutes long, followed by approx. 5 minutes for questions on bachelor's theses. For theses it is roughly 10-15 and 5-10 minutes for questions. Students of IT fields (or others) also have a PowerPoint presentation at their disposal. Attention: the commission can be "in a slump" and demand a reduction based only on its own results.
The structure of the presentation (similarly for oral forms) should be as follows:
Introductory Slide – 1 slide
- Job title, name, supervisor's name
Objectives of work – 1 slide
- Highlight the Main goal, list sub-goals as well
Methodology – 1 slide
Literature review - 1 slide
- Only a list of topics covered in the theoretical part
Own work - about 3 slides
- Procedure, data collection, use of methods
Results – 1 to 2 slides
Conclusions – 1 slide
Adhere to the general principles of presentations (contrast, font size, brevity). See Chapter 9 for more recommendations.
9. TIPS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
- Don't try to solve everything, "save the world".
- Try to go deep and address a specific issue.
- Always follow the faculty's instructions at pef.czu.cz.
9.1 ASSIGNMENT
- Write everything in the future tense, 3rd person passive.
- The goal is better to write rather more general, but not too much.
- It is tactical to write in such a way that the text is independent of changes that may occur before the submission of the work (length practically more than 3 semesters).
- It is therefore not appropriate to name a specific company where the solution will be implemented (the company may go bankrupt, a key employee leaves, you resign, there is a change in the company's concept, etc.) - it is better to solve in general: "selected company" or "chosen environment".
9.2 METHODOLOGY
- Select and use appropriate empirical methods for solving a given problem.
- Application development using this and that approach, framework, language, development environment not a method!!!
- KIT strongly not recommended usage questionnaires, its possible use must be consulted with the supervisor.
- For comparison, it is possible to use methods of multi-criteria evaluation of variants. However, the choice of criteria and weights is always key. You can't "just" choose it.
- Conducting experiment(s), data collection and their subsequent evaluation is appropriate.
9.3 FORMATTING IN WORD AND THE FORMAL JOB PAGE
- Write from start to templates.
- Don't forget about heading numbering.
- Images, tables and the like must always be supplemented description. Use the tool directly in Word (insert description, add caption) - it will then enable direct links and generate a list.
- Each picture, table or diagram must have its own justification, i.e. bring something new and contribute to a better understanding of the message.
- Break the text into paragraphs - one paragraph = one idea.
- When writing, pay attention to "orphans” – prepositions and conjunctions alone at the end of a line (use Ctrl-Shift-character).
- We recommend using styles for formatting the text of the document (the correct numbering of chapters, creation of content, creation of a list of tables, graphs and images, etc. depends on this)
- Each level 1 heading should start on a new page (can be edited in heading style).
- Number headings up to the 4th level. If necessary, do not number the next heading (level 5). Try to avoid level 5 though.
- Use headings up to the third level in the content.
- Use in the search section citations and references on them - see the next chapter.
9.4 SCOPE OF WORK
- Adhere to the scope of work specified in the assignment.
- The scope is counted from the Introduction to the Conclusion
- Each paragraph should have at least 3 lines
- Each numbered chapter should have at least 3 paragraphs
9.5 INFORMATION SOURCES AND CITATIONS
- Do not quote articles from Wikipedia - author unknown, the content can be changed at any time and by anyone, the last version of the article cannot be dated. Solution: try the listed sources under the article and, if they are functional, you can take over and quote them.
- Use one citation manager and put all the citations in it from the beginning.
- The citation manager takes care of the correct form, numbering and creates a bibliography. It can often generate a citation based on the ISBN, ISSN, or DOI of the article.
- For example: citation.com, Mendeley, or even a built-in tool in Word.
- Compare and verify sources. Especially if you draw from websites and articles, information verify from multiple sources.
- Each figure, table, graph, source code must be referenced in the text, e.g. see Table #666.
- If you want to adopt another figure, table, diagram or diagram, make sure that allows the source license,otherwise, you must obtain written permission from the author. Copying content without the permission of the copyright holder is punishable by law!
9.6 LANGUAGE AND WRITING STYLE
- Use professional language and always be as precise as possible!
- Avoid the popular style that is used in many web articles.
- You are not writing an instruction manual or a textbook.
- Use the 3rd person passive. Eg: "It was found that "; "It has been verified".
- When writing in English, we recommend using: http://www.phrasebank.manchester.ac.uk/referring-to-sources/.
- Before submission, we recommend that the text be read independently by another person.
9.7 PRESENTATION – DEFENSE OF WORK
- Try the presentation at least for yourself, so you have an estimate of the time.
- For the theoretical part, mention only what the work was devoted to, as briefly as possible, what follows from it for the practical part.
- Do not write whole sentences in the presentation! Just the important points.
- Have enough contrast between the text and the background. What may be legible on a monitor may not be legible on a screen where the sun is still shining.
- Do not insert tables that are too large - they may not be legible.
- A graph is better than a table.
- If a table is necessary, print it and make it available to the committee.
- Do not read from a presentation or paper.
- However, you can have printed notes. It is also suitable for "confiscation" of the hands.
- Don't keep your hands in your pockets.
9.8 OTHER SOURCES OF INFORMATION
10. APPENDICES
Thesis title: The effect of CSS on the performance and loading speed of web pages
Thesis objectives
Main goal:
The main goal of the thesis is to evaluate the influence and possibly identify the limits of the so-called expensive CSS properties on the loading of web pages and applications.
Partial objectives:
– Select specific expensive CSS properties for further analysis.
– Create test websites.
– Design and perform experimental measurement of load performance of test pages.
Methodology
The methodology for solving the theoretical part of the thesis will be based on the study and analysis of professional information sources. Based on the knowledge gained in the theoretical part of the thesis, the practical part will identify suitable CSS properties and metrics for measuring the loading, rendering and performance of web pages. Furthermore, experimental measurements will be carried out using suitable instruments. The data obtained will be evaluated. Based on the synthesis of theoretical knowledge and the results of the practical part, the conclusions of the work will be formulated.
Thesis title: Initial user experience
Thesis objectives
The thesis deals with the issue of UX and the usability of mobile applications for new users.
The main goal of the thesis is to implement the methods of the user's initial contact with the application and to evaluate their influence on adaptation to the application environment.
Partial objectives:
– selection of suitable metrics for measuring and tracking the use of the application,
– implementation and data collection for the evaluation of selected quantitative metrics,
– evaluation of individual methods.
Methodology
The methodology for solving the theoretical part of the thesis will be based on the study and analysis of professional information sources. Based on the knowledge acquired in the theoretical part of the work, individual methods of initial contact will be implemented in the practical part in an experimental application. Subsequently, suitable usability tests will be carried out and evaluated, focusing on the methods of the user's initial contact with the application, the initial setup and familiarization of the user with the application environment. Based on the synthesis of theoretical knowledge and the results of the practical part, the conclusions of the work will be formulated.
Thesis title: Using a smart watch while playing the guitar
Thesis objectives
The main goal of the thesis is to propose procedures to analyse and use the data obtained with the help of smart watch sensors to control the rhythm while playing the guitar.
Partial objectives:
– design and execution of experiments
– data collection from sensors
– data description
Methodology
The methodology of the solved issues of the thesis is based on the study and analysis of professional information sources. The practical part is based on own design of experiments, collection and analysis of data obtained from smart watches while playing the guitar. Furthermore, optimal methods of automatic data analysis will be sought. Based on the synthesis of theoretical knowledge and the results of the practical part, the conclusions of the work will be formulated.