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📌 M.Sc. Thesis

Proposal Quality Assessment Checklist

A well-structured proposal is essential for establishing a strong research foundation. This checklist helps ensure the quality of M.Sc. thesis proposals. It incorporates the higher academic standards and rigor expected of master's-level research while retaining essential structural and formatting guidelines.

Students should review each item before submitting their M.Sc. proposal to me.

1. General Structure and Formatting

  • Title page includes the thesis title, student’s name, supervisor’s name, and institution details
  • Uses correct formatting style (e.g., IEEE, ACM, APA) as required by the department
  • Page numbering, font consistency, and margins are properly set
  • The English font size is 2pt smaller than the Persian font size (if bilingual)
  • Uses standard styles in MS Word or a LaTeX engine for typesetting the proposal
  • All figures and tables have captions and are consistently referred to in the main text
  • Includes a list of abbreviations and acronyms where necessary

2. Research Problem and Objectives

  • Clearly defines a significant and novel research problem with academic or industrial relevance
  • At least three contributions (one major contribution and two minor contributions) are mentioned and listed the introduction
  • Objectives are precise, measurable, and aligned with the research problem
  • Proposal explains why the problem is worth investigating and provides a gap analysis

3. Background and Literature Review

  • Provides sufficient technical and theoretical background for understanding the research context
  • Literature review critically evaluates key research papers, theories, and methodologies
  • Identifies gaps in existing work and explains how the research will address them
  • Cites references correctly using the required citation style
  • Includes state-of-the-art publications (within the last 2 years)
  • Base papers are selected from top-tier journals or conferences in computer science

4. Proposed Methodology

  • Clearly outlines the methodology (e.g., system design, algorithm development, empirical study)
  • Specifies data sources, tools, technologies, frameworks, or programming languages used
  • Defines the evaluation metrics or criteria for success (e.g., scalability, accuracy, precision)
  • Identifies limitations, assumptions, and challenges in implementation
  • Utilizes appropriate UML diagrams, flowcharts, or system architectures for clarity

5. Expected Outcomes and Contributions

  • States the expected scientific contributions and their impact on the field of computer science
  • Explains how results will be validated (e.g., experimental testing, comparative analysis)
  • Discusses potential real-world applications or societal impacts of the research

6. Ethical and Practical Considerations

  • Addresses any ethical concerns related to data usage, privacy, security, or AI bias
  • Defines any required approvals, such as institutional ethics reviews (if applicable)
  • Confirms feasibility based on available resources, time, and expertise

7. Timeline and Work Plan

  • Presents a comprehensive timeline with milestones for each major phase (using a Gantt chart or similar)
  • Includes detailed phases such as literature review, methodology design, implementation, testing, and thesis writing
  • Demonstrates realistic scheduling to avoid delays

8. Writing Quality and Clarity

  • Ensures the proposal is logically organized with clear transitions between sections
  • Uses formal, precise, and professional language free from grammatical errors
  • Avoids redundancy and minimizes technical jargon where unnecessary

9. Supervisor-Specific Requirements

  • Meets all departmental and supervisor guidelines
  • Includes any additional supporting materials (e.g., appendices, technical feasibility reports)
  • The proposal has been proofread and reviewed multiple times for accuracy and coherence

M.Sc. Thesis Defense Submission Checklist

This checklist ensures that all required materials are submitted and are in a ready state for review before the M.Sc. thesis viva session. Optional items marked.

1. Thesis Document

  • Finalized thesis document adhering to the department’s formatting guidelines
  • All sections are complete, including the abstract, introduction, literature review, methodology, results, conclusions, and future work
  • Figures, tables, and equations are numbered and cross-referenced within the text
  • All references are correctly cited using the specified citation style (e.g., IEEE, ACM, APA, etc.)
  • Includes a signed plagiarism report or similarity index document as per institutional policy
  • An approval form signed by the supervisor

2. Replication Package

  • Complete source code of the developed algorithm, tool, or software
  • Dataset(s) used for training, validation, testing, or experiments
  • Parameter settings and configurations for the proposed algorithm or tool
  • Log files or raw results from experiments (if exists any)
  • Scripts for data preprocessing, analysis, or result generation (if exists any)
  • Any proprietary tools or libraries are accompanied by license information (if applicable)

3. Running Instructions

  • A clear README file explaining how to set up and run the replication package
  • Details of the runtime environment, including operating system, software dependencies, and versions
  • Step-by-step instructions for replicating key results or validating claims made in the thesis
  • Includes sample input files and output examples for verification

4. Technical Documentation (Optional)

  • Functional and technical documentation for the developed system, tool, or algorithm
  • Includes descriptions of the system’s architecture, design, or flowcharts (where applicable)
  • UML diagrams or equivalent visual representations (if needed)
  • Performance analysis or evaluations that support the claims in the thesis

5. Presentation Slides

  • Presentation slides for the viva session summarizing the thesis
  • Covers key areas such as the research problem, methodology, results, and contributions
  • Includes visuals like charts, graphs, and tables for effective communication
  • Proofread and rehearsed for clarity and timing

6. Supporting Documents (Optional)

  • Copies of published papers or conference presentations based on the thesis work (if any)
  • Permission letters for using proprietary or third-party datasets/tools (if applicable)
  • Ethics approval forms for human or animal studies (if applicable)

7. Thesis Submission Formalities

  • Submission of a soft copy (PDF format) of the thesis and all artifacts to the supervisor
  • Submission of a printed version (if required) as per institutional policy
  • Compliance with file naming conventions specified by the department
  • Submission of all materials through the required platform or method (e.g., email, repository, physical medium)

8. Poster for Visual Presentation (Optional)

  • A well-designed poster summarizing the thesis
  • Highlights key areas such as objectives, methodology, key results, and contributions
  • Uses clear and readable formatting with relevant visuals
  • Prepared for conference or exhibition presentation (if applicable)