Guidelines for student projects in Durability of Engineering Materials

A preliminary version of the report can be given to the supervisor in advance, e.g., 2-3 weeks prior to the submission dates given above for feedback. The preliminary version of the report is discussed with the supervisor, who will give recommendations on how to improve the report for the final submission.

The report has to describe the full work performed during the entire project. The report should satisfy the demands of a scientific work. Structure and language should be chosen accordingly.

The report’s ultimate goal is firstly to make the results of the work objectively traceable and repeatable, and secondly to document any new findings. It must be clear at any point in the report, which insights or findings belong to the author of the report and which facts, sources or research results are drawn from other authors. Literature and other sources used need to be properly cited.

Experiments, measurements, numerical models as well as the derived results must be described in such a way that they can be reproduced.

The following aspects and conditions should be considered and respected when writing the report.

Language

The report can be written in German or English. We strongly recommend choosing the language in agreement with your supervisor.

Layout

The layout and formatting can be chosen by the author of the report. It should, however, be optimized for printing on DIN A4 paper. The software used for the writing and formatting is up to the author.

Structure of the report

• Title page including: Title of the thesis/project, semester of study, type of assignment, name and email address of the author, names of all supervisors including the professor, institute, date of submission, official ETH logo)
• Acknowledgement (if applicable: sponsors, external supervisors, assistants, ...)
• Summary (max 1 page. Task, methodology, main results and conclusions, outlook)
• Table of contents
• List of abbreviations (if more than about 10 abbreviations are used)
• Main body of the report (see below)
• References and bibliography (see below)
• Appendices (if needed)
• A filled out and signed declaration of originality

Suggestion for the structure of the main part

1. Introduction

• Introduction and problem statement
• Objective (detailed, clear and unambiguously formulated; possibly with sub-objectives)
• Summary of the content (description of the structure of the report: sequence of chapters, how the chapters are interrelated and what is their essential content)

2. Theoretical background or state-of-the-art review

• Theoretical background relevant for this work
• State of the art, previous works, literature review
  

3. Methods and approach

• Equipment used (instruments, sensors, software, etc.).
• Materials used
• Methods used
• Data analysis procedures used

4. Results

• Presentation of the results in an adequate form such as graphical illustrations, plots, images or tables.
• Description (but not yet interpretation!) of the main results in the text
  

5. Discussion

• Interpretation and critical evaluation of the results
• Generalization of exemplary results to more general cases (if applicable)
• Placing the interpreted results into context with the state-of-the-art and other studies (establishing a connection between this study and chapter 2)
• Placing the interpreted results into context with the problem statement (defined in the introduction)
  

6. Conclusions and outlook

• Conclusions (avoid repeating too much the problem statement and method, but focus on the main results)
• Critical evaluation of achievements and relevance under consideration of previously formulated goals
• Recommended and required future work
  

7. References

• A numbered list of all sources cited

8. Appendix

• After consulting the supervisors: additional figures, detailed charts, short description of constructed Software codes, etc.
• In case of group work: list of contributions of each group member of respective work and of the written report
• The signed and completely filled-in declaration of originality (see Plagiarism) as a scanned page (compulsory)

Report submission

The submission of the report after the final presentation typically marks the end of a thesis. Please submit printed versions of the report. In general, there should be one report per involved supervisor, plus 1 copy to be archived in the Durability for Engineering Materials Research group. Ask your supervisor about the required number of printed reports.

In addition to the printed report, make sure to submit the following documents electronically:

• Final report as PDF and LaTeX source code or the original Word file
• Presentations as source files (e.g. PowerPoint) and as PDF
• All files (CAD, MATLAB, code etc.) used or created during the project with a short note about the folder structure
• All results collected, e.g. in spreadsheets, and additional documentary such as photographs and experimental data (microscopy images, SEM-EDX, etc.)

Poster

Master thesis students only

Master thesis students must hand in a poster (A0, portrait format) (printed and digitally) with the submission of the report. A poster template will be provided. The poster should be written in English.

Plagiarism

Every student has to make himself/herself familiar with the ETH rules regarding plagiarism. We may check your report for plagiarism using specialized software.

Evaluation

After the final presentation and the submission of the final report, your work will be evaluated. For Bachelor, Master, and Master project semester theses the grade consists of

• 40% Final report (including the Poster for Master thesis students)
  
• 30% Final presentation
• 30% Commitment, initiative, and comprehension during the thesis

The midterm presentation does not formally count towards the grade but may be considered as part of the commitment during the thesis.