Introduction to Research

Code:

M.EEC039

Acronym:

IINV

Keywords
Classification	Keyword
OFICIAL	Electrical and Computer Engineering

Instance: 2024/2025 - 1S

Active?	Yes
Responsible unit:	Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Course/CS Responsible:	Master in Electrical and Computer Engineering

Cycles of Study/Courses

Acronym	No. of Students	Study Plan	Curricular Years	Credits UCN	Credits ECTS	Contact hours	Total Time
M.EEC	176	Syllabus	2	-	6	19,5

Teaching language

Suitable for English-speaking students

Objectives

FRAMEWORK

The main objective of this course unit is to provide students with skills related to structuring a dissertation and best practices in conducting research in engineering. The course is organised in two complementary parts. In the first part, students will have the opportunity to attend a series of formative seminars on scientific writing. In the second part, students will carry out the preparatory work for their dissertation under the supervision of their respective supervisors.

SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES

— Become familiar with the processes, methodologies, and practices associated with scientific research;
— Develop and present a dissertation project plan, including the corresponding state of the art.

Learning outcomes and competences

By the end of this course unit, the student should be able to:

— Search for literature/scientific publications in different databases;
— Apply critical thinking to evaluate and select the most relevant bibliographic references for the scientific problem or question being addressed;
— Situate a scientific problem or question, and possibly formulate a hypothesis/solution, within the state of the art;
— Develop a work plan;
— Properly structure and prepare a scientific manuscript;
— Communicate research results and adequately present the work carried out.

Working method

Presencial

Pre-requirements (prior knowledge) and co-requirements (common knowledge)

1. The student should have a general training in Electrical and Computer Engineering.
2. The student must have a dissertation topic and a supervisor assigned.
3. If no topic is assigned, the student must find an equivalent research topic and a corresponding supervisor.
4. Supervisors must express their availability to participate in the activities of the course unit.

Program

1. Systematic searching methods of scientific information;
2. Design and realization of research work for publication;
3. Invited tutorials;
4. Definition, elaboration and defense of the dissertation project report.

Mandatory literature

James Mauch, Namgi Park ; Guide to the Successful Thesis and Dissertation: A Handbook For Students And Faculty, CRC Press;. ISBN: 9780824742881

Complementary Bibliography

Rita S. Brause; Writing Your Doctoral Dissertation Invisible Rules for Success, Routledge. ISBN: 9780750707442
Ana Carla Madeira, Maria Manuel Abreu; Comunicar em Ciência Como Redigir e Apresentar Trabalhos Científicos. ISBN: 9789725921654

Teaching methods and learning activities

— Organisation of seminars dedicated to common themes in the students' training. This component is compulsory and will be carried out either in person or at a distance;
— Writing a technical interim report on the dissertation project, which will be reviewed and evaluated by the supervisor(s). This review must include constructive feedback and suggestions for improvement. The report should be no more than 5 pages in length and is primarily intended to allow the student to apply the processes learned in the seminars as well as those resulting from the activities with their respective supervisors.
— Production of a video pitch of no more than 2 minutes, which should clearly explain the scope of the dissertation project and will be evaluated by peers.
— Write a final report on the preliminary work of the dissertation. The report must contain a minimum of 15 pages and a maximum of 30 pages of content.
— Public presentation (via videoconference) of the preliminary work to a jury of two members, including the supervisor. The duration of the presentation should not exceed 5 minutes, with a discussion period of 15 minutes.

keywords

Technological sciences > Engineering

Evaluation Type

Distributed evaluation without final exam

Assessment Components

Designation	Weight (%)
Trabalho escrito	54,00
Apresentação/discussão de um trabalho científico	26,00
Trabalho prático ou de projeto	20,00
Total:	100,00

Amount of time allocated to each course unit

Designation	Time (hours)
Frequência das aulas	12,00
Trabalho de investigação	40,00
Apresentação/discussão de um trabalho científico	15,00
Elaboração de relatório/dissertação/tese	50,00
Estudo autónomo	45,00
Total:	162,00

Eligibility for exams

— Complete at least 50% of the activities proposed in seminars, etc.;
— Attendance at the seminars is mandatory and subject to the legislation regarding the maximum allowable number of absences. However, an alternative ruling may be decided in this regard in the case of exceptional circumstances, duly identified by the instructors.

Calculation formula of final grade

— Participation in UC activities (lectures, etc.):

    PT - Participation in tutorials

— During the course of the course, students must prepare an intermediate report and a video pitch:

    RI - intermediate technical report
    VD - video pitch

— The jury assesses the final report and the public presentation of the work. The jury is made up of the supervisor and one to two professors, one of whom is from DEEC, both from outside the supervision team.

    RF - Final report
    CJ - Jury classification
    AP - Public presentation of the work
    OR - Supervisor
    Ext - External element

Each member of the jury proposes an individual classification for the RF and AP components, weighted as follows:

    OR = 0.6×RF + 0.4×AP
    Ext = 0.6×RF + 0.4×AP

The jury's final score is obtained from the average of the scores proposed by its members:

    CJ = 0.5×OR + 0.5×Ext


— The assessment of the intermediate report is carried out by the respective supervisors.

— Based on the content of the intermediate report, students must produce a presentation pitch (video recording of no more than 2 minutes). This component will be peer-assessed

— There will be a component of up to 2 points based on the student's attendance and commitment to the different activities (PT - Participation in tutorials).

— Final grade:

    CF = 0.60×CJ + 0.15×RI + 0.15xVD + 0.1×PT

The student must score a minimum of 10/20 points in each of the following components: CJ, RI or VD. A score of less than 10 in any of these components will result in a final classification equivalent to Failure Due to Missing Component (RFC).

Examinations or Special Assignments

Does not apply

Internship work/project

Does not apply

Special assessment (TE, DA, ...)

Possible exemption of the student from attending seminars and upon request to UC instructors. The remaining activities are mandatory and are also evaluated in the same way as an ordinary student.

Classification improvement

The special characteristics of this curricular unit prevent the activities from being evaluated in other special evaluation periods (of any nature) or at other periods defined for conclusion of the degree.