Topic outline

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  • Procedure for Enrolment

    Before making a decision to select the projects module, please carefully read the general information on projects provided on the Module Information tab.

    A special procedure must be followed to enrol for the module. You have to choose a topic for the project and find a superviser who agrees to supervise the project. Typically the topic will be chosen and refined in conversation with the prospective supervisor.

    The deadline for enrolment is the same as for all other modules, and it is your responsibility to choose a topic and obtain agreement from the supervisor by the deadline. You can only enrol after the supervisor has agreed to supervise you on the topic. To formally enrol, you need to then send an email message with the topic and the name of the supervisor to the School Office, and copy that message to the supervisor. If you don't have agreement from a supervisor by the deadline, you cannot enrol and have to select a different module instead.

    You can get an overview of possible topics by browsing the project database. Each entry in the database consists of a topic and a staff member able to supervise a project on this topic. When you have identified one or more topics that you are interested in, you are invited to write to potential supervisors to discuss the details of a project and their availability for supervision. Alternatively, a project may arise from a module you were particularly interested in or you particularly enjoyed. In this case you can write to the organiser of the module in question to discuss the potential for a project and possible supervisors.

  • Week 1 : Confirmation of Project Title and Supervisor

    Please ensure that you obtain written confirmation from a supervisor agreeing to supervise your project, and please forward this information to the School office by the end of Week 1. If you fail to do so, you will need to submit a backup module. If you still have not obtained agreement from a supervisor by the end of Week 2, this module will be taken off your list of modules, and will be replaced with your backup module.

  • Week 3: Typesetting with LaTeX

    Many mathematicians use the LaTeX document preparation system to write their research papers. Your project dissertation must be written using LaTeX, unless you have exceptionally obtained permission from your supervisor to use a different system.

    To help you get started with LaTeX, or allow you to refresh your existing knowledge, a number of resources are provided for self-study. Please complete the following steps before the end of Week 4.

    1. Read the first two resources below, which provide an introduction to typesetting with LaTeX on Overleaf. Overleaf is a free online LaTeX editor that is easy to use.
    2. While you may choose to continue with Overleaf, installing LaTeX on your own device has numerous advantages, and it is recommended that you do so. The <a href="https://qmplus.qmul.ac.uk/mod/url/view.php?id=2689714A">LaTeX Installation Guide</a> provides simple instructions for different operating systems.
    3. For writing more complicated latex documents, you will find it useful to take a look at the guides Getting started with LaTeX and The not so short introduction to LaTeX.

    Tip: At https://arxiv.org/list/math/current you can find a huge number of research papers in mathematics both as a pdf and a LaTeX version. You can look at these documents to see how professional mathematicians use LaTeX, and compare the LaTeX input to the final document. Your supervisor may also be able to provide you with examples of their own use of LaTeX, which may be particularly relevant to your project.

  • Week 4: Use of the Library

    The sessions will be led by Faculty Liaison Librarian James Soderman and will take place in the Library Training Room at Mile End Library. You will receive an invitation to one of the sessions, attendance is mandatory.

    By the end of the session students should be able to
    • Effectively use the library and its resources;
    • Locate information from a range of sources, in and outside the Queen Mary Library;
    • Troubleshoot search results, whether they retrieve too much or too little information.

  • The Module

    For this module students conduct an independent research project under the supervision of an academic staff member. The details of the project will vary depending on the topic and the supervisor, but in all cases the student will write a dissertation that describes the project and the results that were obtained.

    The module contains a limited number of taught components, on use of the library, typesetting with LaTex, and plagiarism and research ethics.

  • Week 5: Plagiarism and Research Ethics

    It is very important that the project is your own work and any sources you use are cited properly. Failure to do so amounts to plagiarism, which is an assessment offence.

  • Week 6: Drop-In Session

    A drop-in session for the module will be held on Wednesday 30th October from 13.30pm to 14.30pm in the Maths Social Hub (MB-B11). Please attend any part of the session if you have any questions about the module on topics such as LaTeX, plagiarism, the project outline due in Week 7, or general module expectations. If you have questions but cannot attend the drop-in session, please get in touch with the module organiser.

  • Week 7: Submission of Project Outline

    A project outline is due for submission this week. For projects in Semester A the deadline is 5pm on Friday 8th November.

    Detailed requirements for the outline and the submission link can be found on the Assessments tab.

  • Reasons for Doing a Project

    The project module does not have a final exam, so by taking the project module you reduce the number of topics you have to revise before exams. However, other factors are more important in deciding whether you should do a project.

    Having completed a project is invaluable when applying for a job or for post-graduate studies. It can help you to demonstrate your experience in researching and communicating technical material, both orally and in writing. It can also show your independence, maturity, and style, and can do so more convincingly than any set of grades. If you have completed a project you will mention it in your application materials and CV, and you will talk about it during job interviews.

    The project module has been designed to make the amount of work required to complete it successfully comparable to a lecture-based module with the same amount of credits. However, a project always involves a greater degree of uncertainty and open-endedness, and successful completion requires a significant amount of motivation and self-direction.Since the topic of the project is a topic of your choice, you may also choose to work longer and harder on the project than you would on a lecture-based module.

    To get an idea of the type of work produced during a project, you can take a look at sample dissertations provided on the assessments tab.

  • Choosing a Project and Finding a Supervisor

    Before being allowed to enrol for the project module, you must choose a project and find a supervisor. The exact procedure for enrolment is described near the top of the Module Content tab.

    To identify potential topics and supervisors, take a look at the project database and contact the supervisors associated with topics you are interested in.

    If you already have a specific topic in mind, or if you are interested in an area of mathematics that doesn't seem well represented in the database, you are also welcome to contact lecturers of any relevant modules and ask if they can supervise a project, suggest a topic, or direct you to others who may be able to do so. As always during module selection, it can be helpful to have a discussion with your advisor to see whether doing a project suits your preferences, and what you can do to identify a suitable topic.

    Depending on the topics, supervisors may be able to supervise multiple related projects, and you are welcome to approach a possible supervisor jointly with other students. However, even in such a case, you will still produce your dissertation independently and be assessed entirely based on the quality of your own work.

  • Module Aims and Learning Outcomes

    Academic Content

    • Independent research under the direction of a supervisor in an area of advanced undergraduate mathematics.
    • Preparation of a project dissertation explaining the project and its outcomes.
    • Preparation and delivery of a presentation providing an overview of the project to supervisors and other students.
    • Use of libraries and online sources.
    • Mathematical typesetting.
    • Plagiarism and academic integrity.

    Disciplinary Skills

    By the end of the module students will be able to:
    • Study independently towards the understanding of material from a reading list.
    • Identify and assimilate background material from a variety of sources.
    • Compose a substantial account of a mathematical topic in an appropriate style, including selection and structuring of material.
    • Prepare and give a short seminar-level presentation of a mathematical topic, including selection and structuring of material.
    • Attribute and cite sources and clearly distinguish their own work from the work of others.

    Attributes

    By the end of the module students will have developed with respect to the following attributes:
    • Connect information and ideas within their field of study.
    • Use writing for learning and reflection.
    • Explain and argue clearly and concisely.
    • Apply different forms of communication in various social, professional and cultural settings.
    • Identify information needs appropriate to different situations.
    • Acquire substantial bodies of new knowledge.

  • Assessment Profile

    The module will be assessed by
    • a project outline submitted in Week 7, worth 10% of the overall mark;
    • a presentation in Week 12, worth 10% of the overall mark;
    • a project dissertation, submitted at the start of the relevant exam period (January for projects in Semester A and May for projects in Semester B), worth 80% of the overall mark.

  • Project Outline

    In Week 7 you will submit a project outline giving the basic plan for the dissertation. The outline should not exceed two sides A4 and is worth 10% of the overall mark for the module.

    The submission deadline for projects in Semester A and MSci projects is 5pm on Friday 8th November.

    The submission deadline for projects in Semester B is 5pm on Friday 7th March.

    The outline should be understandable to a final-year undergraduate student in mathematics and should cover background (what is the question?), motivation (why is the question worth studying?), objectives (what do we expect or hope to learn?), and necessary techniques (these could be proof techniques, statistical techniques, or computational techniques). It should include an anticipated table of contents for the dissertation and a project timeline.

  • Presentation

    In Week 12 you will give a short presentation about your project. The presentation is worth 10% of the overall mark for the module.

    The length of presentations is 5 minutes for BSc students and 10 minutes for MSci students.

    Presentations are assessed according to the following criteria:
    • Content: Is the topic of the presentation suitable for the given duration? Is the content of the talk well chosen? Is the maths generally correct?
    • Presentation: Is the presentation well organised with a clear structure? Are slides or board used effectively? Does the speaker respond well to questions?
    • Delivery: Does the speaker engage with the audience? Do they speak and write clearly? Are they enthusiastic about their chosen material?

  • Project Dissertation

    The project dissertation is worth 80% of the overall mark for the module.

    The submission deadline for projects in Semester A is 5pm on Monday 6th January.

    The submission deadline for projects in Semester B and MSci projects is 5pm on Thursday 8th May.

    Length

    If you are studying for a BSc, the guidance length for your dissertation is 4000 words. There are no hard limits. However, a dissertation of fewer than 3000 words is unlikely to contain enough material to achieve high marks. Some dissertations are much longer than 4000 words, and such dissertations can be very good if the student finds a lot of interesting material that they want to include. If you want to submit a dissertation that is longer than about 8000 words, please consult your supervisor first to see whether this is appropriate for the material you are presenting. A very long dissertation may lose marks if the markers feel it is too long relative to its content.

    If you are studying for an MSci, the guidance length is between 6000 and 8000 words. The same qualifications as above apply, and you should consult your supervisor before submitting a project longer than about 16000 words.

    There are different ways to count words in a text, so these numbers should be seen as indicative and you should consult your supervisor if you are in any doubt.

    Own Work

    The project dissertation must be your own work in the sense that it provides an original account of the material, including your selection and structuring of the material and the selection of bibliographic references. It need not contain new mathematical results, but you should aim to make some original contribution, especially if you are an MSci student. For example you might
    • give a new interpretation or view of the mathematics;
    • give new examples;
    • perform your own detailed calculations or data analysis;
    • write, test, and run your own computer program.
    You must
    • make clear where you are making an original contribution and where you are paraphrasing existing contributions,
    • list and clearly reference all sources,
    • give sources for all pictures, data sets, etc. that are not your own,
    • not include material which has been used for other assessment purposes.

    Format

    The report must be written in good English and precise mathematics, and should include
    • a brief summary,
    • an introduction,
    • the main body of the report, and
    • a comprehensive bibliography.

    The report should be formatted for A4 paper, typeset using LaTeX (unless an exemption has been granted by the supervisor), and submitted as a compiled pdf.

  • Late Submissions

    Late submissions without approved extenuating circumstances are subject to standard College penalties.

  • Marking

    Project outline and presentation are assessed by the supervisor.

    The project dissertation is marked independently by your supervisor and a second checker, who then agree on a mark. All projects are finally considered together in moderation meetings to ensure that marking criteria have been applied consistently across all projects.

  • Sample Dissertations and Marking Guidelines

    • Sample Dissertation 1 File

      This is the dissertation for a sample BSc project. It lacks an introduction, which you may want to include, but otherwise is well written.

      394.5 KB
    • Sample Dissertation 2 File

      This is the dissertation for another sample BSc project.

      2.2 MB
    • Marking Guidelines for Project Dissertations File

      This document is provided as a rough guidance and marks scheme for the project dissertations. Please note that the judgement concerning the quality and exposition of a dissertation is made by the project supervisor/marker.

      117.4 KB

  • Week 12: Project Presentations

    Each student will give a short presentation on the topic of their dissertation. Presentation should last 5 minutes for BSc students and 10 minutes for MSci students.

    Students are required to present in person and attend the entire session their presentation is part of. Supervisors may attend remotely with prior agreement.

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