Outstanding Master's Theses and Projects

Daniel Tkach: Modeling the Enterprise with Object, Processes, and Rules -- Outstanding Master's Thesis Award 1997

David Fuhs: Lindenmayer Systems -- Outstanding Master's Thesis Award 1998.

Lonnie Heinke: Structured Matcher: A Case Study in Object-Oriented Redesign -- Outstanding Master's Project Award 2000.

Jerry Loyd: Fourier Series Tutorial -- Outstanding Master's Project Award 2002.

• Narrative: Well-written and clear
  • a complete description of the project
  • specification of the importance of the project
  The writer needs to tell the reader in a clear and concise way why this is a good and interesting piece of work. What makes this project so special? What does it contribute to the discipline?

  The hard part is that one needs to write this keeping in mind that the reader may not have much knowledge in the area. The trick is to write a clear description that shows the importance of the work but does not baffle, or lose the interest of, readers who do not have previous knowledge of the topic. Often the researcher is so very familiar with the topic that they forget that the rest of the world has not been thinking of only this topic for the past 6 months. One needs to excite the reader and make them want to read the document. This is sometimes hard, but when done well, is beautiful to read.

• Accountabilty:
  • What was done?
  • Who else has done similar work?
  • What was not done?
  • Why?
  When the reader sees information in a document, they do not want to have to asking questions to themselves about what the author knows or does not. The paper should not leave the reader wondering what the writer did or did not do, who the writer referenced or had read, if the writer had thought about this option or that, etc. The author should make it clear. If something you tried did not work, say so! If someone else did similar work, say so! (This makes you look well-read.) Then you have the opportunity to say why your work is better.

  Do not make grandiose claims. As Einstein once said, "Everything should be as simple as possible, and no simpler." Don't make the reader have to "work" to enjoy reading the thesis. As my advisor said to me, "Be kind to your reader". This means it should not give someone a headache to read the work - trying to figure out what you are saying. Information should be pertinent and organized so that reading the document is enjoyable.

• Pride:
  • The writer should be proud of their work and happy to sign their name on the document
  • I (the advisor) should be proud to sign my name.