UNIVERSITY OF ABERDEEN MSC OIL & GAS ENGINEERING

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School of Engineering
MSc in Oil & Gas Engineering Programme

Individual Project EG5908
Guidelines for Students



This document provides the guidelines for the implementation, requirements and assessment
of Individual Project EG5908 for students on the MSc in Oil & Gas Engineering Programme. It
should be read in conjunction with the Universitys Code of Practice for Postgraduate Taught
Students which is available online at http://www.abdn.ac.uk/registry/quality/appendix5x3.pdf




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Diary of Events and Deadlines


Wed, 30 May 2012 Notification of project supervisor

Wed, 30 May 2012

Briefing on conduct of project and writing of dissertation

Wed, 13 June 2012

Commencement of project work

12 noon; Monday
2 July 2012

Submission of project description and objectives, as agreed with
the supervisor, to the Engineering PG office (Appendix D)

12 noon; Thursday
13 Sept 2012
Submission of dissertation to the Engineering PG Office. Two
hardcopies and one electronic copy on CD/DVD are required

5pm; Friday
14 Sept 2012
Submission of electronic copy of dissertation to Anti-plagiarism
software



Key Officials

Head of School Prof T ODonoghue

Coordinator for MSc Oil & Gas
Engineering

Dr T Thevar
Coordinator for Individual Project
EG5908
Dr T Thevar

Computer Officer (Engineering) Mr J Adamson

Engineering PG office staff Ms Yvonne Buckingham
Ms Debbie McKenzie



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Table of Contents

The Structure of the Project

Implementation of the Project

Paired or Group Projects

Assessment Procedures

Preparation and Structure of the Dissertation

Submission

The Conduct of the Project

Educational Objectives

The Role of your Supervisor

Useful Hints on Project Conduct

Monitoring of Project Conduct

Plagiarism and Referencing

Useful Reading

Appendix A: Assessment Criteria for the Dissertation

Appendix B: Example Template of the Title Page

Appendix C: Plagiarism Awareness Declaration Form

Appendix D: Project Description Form
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The Structure of the Project
For those on the 12-month full-time MSc programme, the individual project is a 3-month full-
time module to be carried out from June to September, with a dissertation to be submitted at
a specified date in September of the calendar year following the year of first registration for
the programme. Some students may have the opportunity to carry out the project as part of
an industrial placement; however this can not be guaranteed. You will be assigned a supervisor
in May of the year of the project.

Unless the PG office arranges scheduled meeting, it is your responsibility to make contact with
your supervisor before the project start date to arrange an initial project briefing session. This
will enable you to consider, prepare and plan what is likely to be involved in the project, so
that you are in a position to start your project work in earnest.

Your individual project is a major piece of scholarly research and/or design work. A
considerable importance and weighting is attached to it. The project is a 60-credit points
course; which is equivalent to one-third of the MSc programme total credits requirements.
Because of this it is essential that you have a clear awareness of what is expected from you
and what you should expect to gain from your project.

Implementation of the Project
The work undertaken will probably progress in three phases.

Phase 1 covers the introductory and familiarity stages of the work and should take place in the
first two to three weeks (for full-time students) of the project period. The specification and
objectives of the work must be agreed with your supervisor during Phase 1. A copy of the
agreed project specifications and objectives must be submitted to the Engineering
Postgraduate Office by the set deadline (see the diary of events and deadlines); the template
of the specification form is given in Appendix D. By the end of Phase 1, you must have a clear
understanding of the nature of your project, what you are doing, what the purpose is, and how
you will conduct it. This will certainly involve the review of some relevant literature.

An understanding of what you will be doing and how it will be done will allow you to carry out a
Risk Assessment of the project work. You must complete the School of Engineering Risk
Assessment form, even if your work is computer-based; this must be approved by your
supervisor, and must be included as an appendix in your dissertation. Note that you will not
be allowed to commence any laboratory work without completing a Risk Assessment form. A
copy of School of Engineering Safety Handbook and the risk assessment form are available
School web page at http://www.abdn.ac.uk/engineering/about/safety.php. In carrying out
your project work, you must get familiar with and adhere to the health and safety policies of
the university and of the School as described in the Safety Handbook. If you are carrying out
your project in industry, you must also adhere to the companys policies and procedures on
health and safety and risk assessment.

Further critical and detailed review of literature and implementation of the work are carried out
in Phase 2. For experimental work, it is important that you submit any relevant design to the
workshop for construction and order any materials and components that you will need for the
project work very early. For safety reasons, you will not be allowed access to any of the
School of Engineering laboratories during the project period unless the laboratory technician is
available. Make sure you take this into consideration when planning for your project work.

The writing of the dissertation takes place in Phase 3. Obviously, there will be overlap
between these phases.

It is important that you keep a project logbook and ensure all your project activities are
recorded in the logbook with the date of the activities. This is a standard practice in research
and industry. Your logbook is for your own use and should provide a record of your thought
processes and all activities related to the project, including ideas that were subsequently
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discarded. You will find the contents of the logbook useful when preparing your dissertation.
The project logbook should be in the form of a bound hard or soft cover lab notebook (loose-
leaf folders should not be used).

Paired or Group Projects
Your project may involve you having to work with one or more of your colleagues, either
sharing the same equipment or working on the same general problem or subject area using
different methods. The strategy of such a project will be outlined to you at the outset by your
supervisor. You should bear in mind that all aspects of dissertation assessment will be on an
individual basis; you will be required to write a distinctively separate dissertation from that of
your colleagues.

Assessment Procedures
The final assessment of your project is made up of two parts: your conduct of the project (in
the lab/design office and in supervisory/peer discussions) and the presentations and technical
contents of your dissertation. The conduct is assessed only by your supervisor and contributes
15%, while the dissertation is assessed independently by two assessors and contributes 85%
to the final individual project mark.

The 85% weighting of the dissertation is attributed as 15% for presentation and style of
writing, 45% for technical and merit of the dissertation and 25% for evidence of
critical reasoning. An example of the assessment form and criteria is provided in Appendix A.

The dissertation will be assessed independently by two assessors. If the two marks differ by no
more than 10%, the average of the two will be used to obtain a dissertation mark out of 85%.
The project conduct mark (15%) from the supervisor will then be added to obtain the final
percentage mark for the Individual Project.
In cases where assessors dissertation marks (out of 85) differ by more than 10%, the
dissertation will be referred to a third marker for assessment.

As part of the assessment process, you may be required to give an oral presentation or for an
oral interview/examination on your dissertation. You will be informed in writing and/or email if
you are required to.

Preparation and Structure of the Dissertation
The dissertation should be written in English, typed or word-processed using preferably MS
Word or other equivalent word-processing software, 12 point Arial or Times Roman fonts (or
equivalent), 1.5 line spacing, and justified. It should be printed single-sided on A4 paper with
the page margins set at 2.5 cm top and bottom and 3 cm left and right margins.

The dissertation should be no more than 100 pages long, including the title page, diagrams,
references and appendices. It is expected that the main body of the dissertation, excluding
the appendices, will be no more than 70 pages long. SI units should be used throughout.

A considerable emphasis is placed on the presentation of your work. The presentation is not
simply judged on aesthetic character but on whether, or not, the work is presented in a clear
and logical manner and is, both, technically correct and at a sufficiently high technical level.
Your dissertation should convey all the required information to the reader but it must not be
cluttered with unwanted information. Before you start to write, select the relevant material and
arrange it logically. Write as simply, clearly and concisely as possible, and strive for objectivity.
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It is best to plan out the structure of a report and the contents of each section before
attempting any detailed writing, see the references listed in the Useful Reading section of this
document.

The dissertation should comprise identifiable components:

Title page: Title of project and name of author. The statement that "A dissertation submitted in
partial fulfilment of the requirements of the award of Master of Science in Oil & Gas
Engineering at the University of Aberdeen" should be included at the bottom of the title page;
see Appendix B for an example.

Abstract or Summary: Should be no more than 350 words (equivalent to about one page
maximum), and give a succinct but clear account of the main points of the work, the
background to it and the main conclusions.

Contents: An ordered table of Chapters and section headings with page numbers.

List of tables and figures: An ordered list of tables and figures included in the thesis with
corresponding page numbers.

List of symbols and notation: A list of all mathematical symbols used together with any other
relevant notations employed.

Introduction: This should be a clear exposition of the objectives of the work together with
relevant background information, history, justification and scope. This is one of the most
important chapters. Make sure that the reader wants to read further: if you have lost your
reader by the end of the Introduction you have a struggle to get him or her back!

Literature Review or Background Theory: This provides a review of relevant theories and
previous work in the subject area. You need to demonstrate sufficient level of understanding
of the concepts being described though critical assessment of the context, applications and
limitations, and how they relate to your project objectives.

Main body of text: These chapters contain the bulk of the thesis. It is here that, Experimental
Method, Design Concepts, Design Outline, Mathematical Analysis, Numerical Analysis
are given. These should be described in as many Chapters as are necessary to cover the work.
Just which of the above sections are included will depend on the nature of your project. Make
use of Tables, Graphs and Diagrams (as necessary) to illustrate your work.

Results and Discussion: It is here that you take your results and critically evaluate and
interpret them. What do your results mean? Exercise your powers of reasoning and objective
thought. How do the results compare with literature and your set objectives? This separates
those who merely collect data from those who understand what it means!

Conclusions: This is a summary and succinct outline of the main points you have achieved. No
discussion should be included here. No information should be included which has not appeared
elsewhere in the dissertation.

Recommendations and suggestions for future work: Based on what you have done, what
should be done now? Should it be repeated by different methods or should it be abandoned?
References: A list of cited references appropriately numbered or identified in the text and listed
here in a standard manner (see style and formatting).

Appendices: The appendices are a good place to put useful and essential information, which
would otherwise clutter up the main text and disturb the flow. For example, Gantt chart, risk
assessment form, detailed mathematical derivations, computer programs, manufacturers data
sheets; etc. Appendices should be properly labelled (e.g. Appendix A, B, ) and given
appropriate titles.

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The chapter headings, main headings, second and subsequent level headings should be
numbered (e.g. 7, 7.1, 7.1.1 etc.).

Equations should be indented by one centimetre. Leave one line spacing between paragraph
and the equation, and all equations must be numbered, e.g.

t
D P
o i
2
,
(2.1)
where is the stress, P
i
is the internal pressure, D
o
is the outer diameter and t is the wall
thickness. Note that equations are part of a sentence and usual punctuations rules apply.

Figures and tables should be cited in text as "Fig. 2.1", "Table 6.4" as appropriate, where Fig.
2.1 refers to the first figure in chapter 2. The figure number and title should be placed directly
beneath the figure, while and table number and title should be placed directly above the table.
Avoid, where possible, the use of figures, data or graphs photocopied or scanned directly from
another text or manual. You should instead, where possible, adapt and carefully redraw it in
your own style showing only what is relevant to your needs. Where a figure or table has been
copied or adapted from another source, a reference to the source must be made in the title of
the figure or table, with the phrase Taken from [Ref] or Adapted from [Ref], where Ref
should be replaced with the source reference.

Submission
You must submit two soft or spiral bound copies of your dissertation, together with an
electronic copy on a CD/DVD to the Engineering PG Office by the deadline stated in the Diary
of Events and Deadlines on page 2 of this document. Make sure your name and ID number
are clearly written on the CD/DVD. The hardcopy of the dissertation must be accompanied by
a signed anti-plagiarism form, see Appendix C and WebCT page for the project.

In addition, an electronic copy of your dissertation must be submitted to the anti-plagiarism
software TurnitinUK by the deadline stated in the diary of events. Large files may have to be
saved in pdf format before submitting to TurnitinUK. The School of Engineering reserves the
right to not release your project mark if you do not submit your dissertation to the
recommended anti-plagiarism software.

As a practising engineer, you will be required to meet deadlines both in work objectives and in
report submissions. It is essential therefore that you realise the importance of adherence to
deadlines in all aspects of your project. The deadline for the submission of the dissertation
must be met. There is normally no extension of the submission deadline. However, if you are
unlikely to meet the submission deadline due to medical or other valid circumstances outwith
your control, you should make this known immediately to the project co-ordinator, who will
notify you in writing or by email if you have been granted an extension to the submission.
Please note that problems with computer printer or loss of computer files are not considered
valid reasons for extension of submission deadline. Your supervisor cannot grant you an
extension to the dissertation submission deadline. You must bear in mind that any extension,
if at all you are granted, may impact on your visa requirements and ability to graduate in
November.

Penalties for late or non-submission of dissertation are as follows:

(i) For late submission, 1 CAS mark will be deducted for each late day (including
weekends)

(ii) For non-submission, a mark of zero will be awarded.

If late or non-submission is due to medical or other circumstances outwith your control you
must submit a medical certificate or other formal evidence to the School PG Office no later
than one week after the published submission deadline.


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The Conduct of the Project

Educational Objectives
To enable you to get the best from your project, it is essential that you realise that there is a
clear educational need for the work, which is distinct from any specific engineering aims of
your project. The aims and objectives of your project must be agreed between you and your
supervisor. These will detail the specific body of work you are to carry out be it experimental,
computational design or otherwise and is specific and unique to your own project. In asking
you to carry out your project we hope to develop your broader skills in terms of:
your capacity for independent and creative thought
your ability to plan, direct, discuss and critically evaluate your own work
your ability and confidence to tackle unfamiliar problems
your ability to find and interpret information
your ability to clearly present your work
In a properly conducted and conceived project you should hope to gain expertise and
knowledge in one or more of the following crucial aspects of practical engineering:
information retrieval and review
experimental method
computer modelling and simulation and theoretical interpretation
engineering design methods (including CAD)
analytical investigation
data extraction and numerical evaluation

The Role of your Supervisor
Your supervisor will play a crucial role as your project develops and you should be aware of
what this role is and what you should expect from him/her.

In general, you should consult your supervisor for his or her opinion or advice rather than
seeking instructions. The supervisor is there to provide you with general guidance and an
expert view on your chosen topic/project. The onus is on you to organise your work, to take
any necessary decisions and to consult your supervisor so that he/she is aware of what you
are doing.

Your assigned supervisor will meet with you personally on about five occasions during the
project period. Therefore, you should make full use of the limited time given to you, by coming
to meetings fully prepared and to be prepared to actively participate in the discussion.

All ground rules laid down by the supervisor for meetings and e-mails must be strictly adhered
to. Supervisors can call for meetings at their own discretion.

Attendance to any meetings with the supervisor is mandatory. Any absences other than for
medical reasons which must be followed by a valid medical certificate will not be accepted. You
must show professionalism at all times during these meetings, as you have to bear in mind
that you are indirectly being assessed for your conduct of the project. Your supervisor may
not necessarily mark your dissertation. However, his/her feedback on your performance and
conduct during the scheduled meeting will be taken into consideration in determining the final
grade.

At the beginning of the project, your supervisor will discuss with you the project specification
and may give you some ideas on how to start. As the work progresses, however, more of the
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ideas should come from you. Your supervisor will certainly not expect to (and may not be able
to) solve your problems! It is your work, therefore you are expected to do it; not your
supervisor. Obviously in experimental projects your decisions must meet the approval of your
supervisor and technical staff for safety and other reasons.

Supervisors can provide general idea and guidance for the structure of the dissertation.
However, they are not expected to proof read your dissertation before it is submitted.

Useful Hints on Project Conduct
In your project, considerable emphasis is placed on how you tackle, define and analyse a
problem rather than just on finding a solution or reaching a definite conclusion. In effect, the
assessment of your conduct of the project will take into consideration your attitude and
motivation during the implementation of the set tasks, as well as your self reliance, initiative
and ability to determine or modify the course of the work, and adaptability to unavoidable
factors affecting the project.
Here are some useful hints to assist you with the conduct:
o You must keep a good, daily, dated record of work carried out.
This should be in the form of a bound hard or soft cover lab notebook (loose-leaf
folders should not be used, as it is too tempting to remove pages).
Everything that is done and thought about should be recorded as you do it.
It is just as important to record what has gone wrong as what has gone right. A good
lab/project-book is an essential part of a successful project.
o As early as possible in your work, prepare a work plan of your proposed approach to the
problem. The work plan may be in the form of a bar or Gantt chart.
This should have identifiable goals, decision points and milestones.
Consult it regularly: are you on schedule? Are you deviating? Have you missed
anything?
o You should meet with your supervisor as required, to give a summary of your progress and
what you plan to do next. This enables you (and your supervisor) to keep a check on how
you are getting on. Compare your report with your work plan.
o The first step in any project is usually an extensive, thorough and up-to-date study of
relevant literature and background material.
The aim here should be to gain a firm grasp of the background to the project and how
it fits into your intended work. A balance must be struck between examining the
literature too superficially and reading every article published on the subject or, worse
still, irrelevant articles.
o Familiarise yourself with essential equipment, materials, and procedures, programming
languages or software that may be essential to carrying out your project.
o Familiarise yourself with, and adhere to, University, School and local laboratory safety
procedures and rules.

Monitoring of Project Conduct
The Individual Project for a taught postgraduate programme is just another university course
and it is thus covered by the standard university procedures for monitoring students progress.
Your attendance at arranged project meetings, contributions to discussions at such meetings,
and efforts in carrying out the set tasks are some of the essential criteria for successfully
achieving the objectives of your project. If your project supervisor is concerned about your
attendance and/or performance, you will be reported to Registry as being at risk C6. You
will be reported as being at risk C6 if you are
(i) Absent for a continuous period of 3 weeks without good cause or medical certificate
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being submitted; or
(ii) Absent from three scheduled project meetings with your supervisor without good
cause or medical certificate; or
(iii) Failure to submit a piece of summative or a substantial piece of formative in-course
assessment by the stated deadline.
If following the record of C6 your attendance or performance does not improve significantly
you may then be refused a Class Certificate for the project course. You must note that
students who are refused a Class Certificate for the project may not be able to submit
themselves for any assessment associated with the project; i.e. such students may not be able
to submit the dissertation report.

Plagiarism and Referencing
Critical and informative use and acknowledgement of other peoples work, where it is relevant
to your own work, is an essential and desirable part of any project and report. You MUST
read the statement on Cheating and definition of Plagiarism contained in the Universitys
Code of Practice on Student Discipline, Appendix 5.15 of the Academic Quality Handbook at:
http://www.abdn.ac.uk/registry/quality/appendix5x15.pdf, and the submitted copy of your
dissertation must be accompanied by a signed anti-plagiarism form for dissertation as
provided by the School of Engineering; a copy is given in Appendix C.

According to the Code, Plagiarism is the use, without adequate acknowledgment, of the
intellectual work of another person in work submitted for assessment. A student cannot be
found to have committed plagiarism where it can be shown that the student has taken all
reasonable care to avoid representing the work of others as his or her own.

All submitted dissertations are checked for plagiarism. An electronic copy of your dissertation
must be submitted to anti-plagiarism software. The University uses TurnitinUK
(http://www.submit.ac.uk). Information on how to submit your dissertation to the software
will be communicated to you later. Your submitted dissertation will be checked against
previously published materials by TurnitinUK to ensure the work presented in your dissertation
and submitted for assessment is yours, and that where information has been taken from the
work of others they have been properly acknowledged. The penalties where cheating and/or
plagiarism are detected and proven are described in the Universitys Code of Practice on
Student Discipline.

Some common forms of plagiarism include:
Copying directly from another source without presenting it as a quote and providing a
reference
Using ideas from another source without providing a reference
Using too many words from another source when paraphrasing
Submitting someone else's work or ideas as your own
Including a diagram, image or data table from another source without providing a
reference

Here are some hints and examples of how to avoid plagiarism:
Although it is expected that you will read and consult the work of others in a similar
area, this should be not be reproduced or otherwise used without correct referencing
and/or use of quotation marks.
Wholesale and extensive reproduction of published work (even if acknowledged) must
be avoided. Work presented for assessment must be your own. Verbatim extracts
should be avoided as much as possible; you should write in your own words your
understanding of the concepts or findings from the published work.
If you are including verbatim extracts from texts or papers, these should be very
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minimal and they should be enclosed within double quotes and referenced, e.g.
Chakrabarty [10] states in his book that "a requirement for ductile tearing of metallic
pipes is.....". Extensive verbatim reproduction of published work (even within
quotation marks) must be avoided as it is a sign of lack of understanding of the
concepts, and will have a significant negative impact on the marks for Technical Merit
and Evidence of Critical Reasoning.
References should be numbered sequentially in the dissertation in between square
brackets at the point where it is being referred. For example, Zhang [11] showed that
the damage associated with low-velocity impacts significantly reduces the burst
pressure of filament wound GRP pipes or A number of papers relating to the
mechanical behaviour of subsea pipeline materials have been published [12, 13, 14].
The references should then be listed in the References section, in the following style:
[10] Chakrabarty, J. (1987) Theory of Plasticity. Second Edition, McGraw-Hill, Singapore.

[11] Zhang, X. (1998) Characterisation of filament wound GRP pipes under lateral quasi-static
and low-velocity impact loads, PhD Thesis, University of Aberdeen.

[12] Baek, J-H. Kim, Y., Kim, C., Kim, W. And Seok, C. (2010) (1992) Effectis of pre-strain on
the mechanical properties of API 5L X65 pipe, Materials Science and Engineering A, Vol.
527, pp 1473-1479.

[13] Boekholt, R. (1990) Mechanised welding methods in pipeline construction, Proceedings of
the Pipeline Technology Conference, October. Oostendee, Belgium.

[14] Watson J. (1989) High Resolution Visual Inspection using Underwater Holography. In W.J.
McGonnagle, ed., International Advances in Non-Destructive Testing, Vol. 14, pp 335-360,
Gordon and Breach.


Note the format adopted for the different kinds of publication: books, journal article,
conference proceedings and theses.

Note that materials on web-sites are notoriously unreliable, may be inaccurate, only be
available for a short time, and there is generally no measure of peer review or accountability.
AVOID WEB REFERENCES as much as possible. The exception to this, however, is the,
relatively few, web-based peer reviewed journals these are reliable and can be cited. If you
have to include a web-based reference, you must include the full URL and the date the site
was visited, e.g.

[15] Institution of Mechanical Engineers (2009), Marine energy: more than just a drop in the
ocean. [Online] Available at: http://www.imeche.org.uk [Accessed 4 May 2009].

If you are in any doubt about what constitutes plagiarism you should consult your supervisor
or the project coordinator for advice.

Useful Reading
[1] Barras R, 1978, Scientists Must Write, (Science Paperbacks)
[2] O'Conner M, 1991, Writing Successfully in Science, (Harper Collins)
[3] Miller KJ, A Laboratory Guide for First Year Students
[4] Gibbings JC, 1986, The Systematic Experiment, (Cambridge)
[5] Ashby MF, 2004, How to Write a Paper (Cambridge Univ, www.grantadesign.com)



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Appendix A: Assessment Criteria for the Dissertation



MSc Oil & Gas Engineering
EG5908 Individual Project
Assessment
Students Name:
Student ID Number:
Date of Submission:
Markers Name: 1

Dissertation Details

Title:





Word Count: N/A Page Count
(excl. appendices):
Page Count
(appendices
only):




COMMENTS on overall performance





The mark scheme below should be used as a guide in completing
sections A, B, C & D
MARK (CAS) DESCRIPTOR DEFINITION
18,19,20 Outstanding Near perfect display of engineering knowledge, understanding and
performance
15,16,17 Very Good High level of engineering ability, with reasoning and critical powers,
arguments expressed clearly and precisely; evidence of creative ability
12,13,14 Good Good knowledge of engineering concepts e.g. reasoning, design and
problem solving
9,10,11 Satisfactory General competence in engineering concepts, but without much insight
6,7,8 Below
Average
General ability to perform routine engineering tasks
< 5 Inadequate Lack of knowledge and understanding of basic engineering concepts

A. PRESENTATION AND STYLE OF WRITING
General appearance: Overall look, care, neatness and tidiness.
Structure and organisation: The use of paragraphs to develops ideas, the link between chapters,
presence of main sections, logical order, sections progress into each other; appropriateness, relevance and
level of detail.
Style of writing: Quality of written English, errors of grammar or expression, spelling and typographical
accuracy of text and equations
Use of graphics and tables: quality, content, clarity, level of detail and preparation.
Referencing: Correctness, accuracy & comprehensiveness of referencing
(A) MARK FOR PRESENTATION AND STYLE OF WRITING .................
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B. TECHNICAL CONTENT AND MERIT OF DISSERTATION
Abstract: The comprehensiveness and conciseness of the abstract; coverage of relevant information,
methodology and important findings.
Introduction and Literature Review: Accuracy and clarity of aims and objectives, background to the work
& appreciation of underlying issues and reasons for doing work. Retrieval and use of appropriate literature or
relevant reference material and its assimilation.
Research Approach: Accuracy and clarity of account of the work undertaken and methods used.
Development of ideas, procedures, logical progression to solution, insight or exploration of alternatives,
knowledge of to how to tackle problem. Appropriateness of adopted research methodology. Presence and
appropriateness of risk assessment..
Depth of Analysis: Comparison with initial specification, ability to extend stated objectives. Deep, thorough
and clear grasp of fundamental concepts. Ability to stimulate the reader, relevance of material, level of detail.
Conclusions and Recommendations: Concise and soundly drawn. Linked to the aims and objectives.
Supported by the results and findings presented in the dissertation. Recommendations are clear and relevant
to the work and the topic. .
(B) MARK FOR TECHNICAL CONTENT AND MERIT OF DISSERTATION: .................

C. EVIDENCE OF CRITICAL REASONING
Literature Review: Evidence of imaginative thought and ability to critically analyse and interpret work of
other authors with demonstration of understanding. Link with the project objectives.
Methodology and Analysis: Well reasoned justification for choice of research approach and methodology.
Discussion and awareness of limitations of chosen experimentation, software design, design construction,
data gathering and manipulation, instrumentation etc, and effects of the limitations (if any) on the accuracy
of the results obtained. Demonstration of knowledge and understanding and creativity in the application of
engineering concepts.
Findings and Discussion: Interpretation of results indicating awareness of trends and understanding of
implications, limitations and practical applications. Integration of literature with the findings without using
undigested material or reliance on standard solutions. Demonstrate intellectual contribution to knowledge.
(C) MARK FOR EVIDENCE OF CRITICAL REASONING: .................

D. CONDUCT OF PROJECT
Motivation, enthusiasm & interest, need for encouragement
Ability to contribute own ideas & push project; awareness of time constraints & resource implications; reliance
on supervisor
Demonstration of competence in execution of practical work, application of theory, data handling and critical
thinking
Attendance & active participation at meetings & discussions
(D) MARK FOR CONDUCT OF PROJECT: .................

COMPOSITION OF MARKS:

(A) PRESENTATION AND STYLE OF WRITING

15 %
(B) TECHNICAL CONTENT AND MERIT OF DISSERTATION

45 %
(C) EVIDENCE OF CRITICAL REASONING

25 %
(D) CONDUCT OF PROJECT

15 %

UNIVERSITY OF ABERDEEN MSC OIL & GAS ENGINEERING

Page 14
Appendix B: Example Template of the Title Page




TITLE
(in font size 14pt bold)



By
CANDIDATE NAME, B.Sc., C.Eng., etc.

(12pt bold)




A dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the award of
Master of Science in Oil & Gas Engineering at the University of Aberdeen
(12pt italic)

(Month, year)

Your previous qualifications before starting on this MSc programme (Optional).

UNIVERSITY OF ABERDEEN MSC OIL & GAS ENGINEERING

Page 15
Appendix C: Plagiarism Awareness Declaration Form


DATE RECEIVED:
SUPERVISOR: .

SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING

COVER SHEET FOR MSc Dissertation
COURSE CODE:

SECTION 1: TO BE COMPLETED BY STUDENT

SURNAME/FAMILY NAME: ..
FIRST NAME: ..
ID NUMBER: .
DATE SUBMITTED: .

YOU MUST:
read the statement on Cheating and definition of Plagiarism contained in the Code
of Practice on Student Discipline, Appendix 5.15 of the Academic Quality Handbook at
www.abdn.ac.uk/registry/quality/appendices.shtml#section5, and

attach this Cover Sheet, completed and signed to your dissertation

SECTION 2: Confirmation of Authorship
The acceptance of your work is subject to your signature on the following declaration:
I confirm that I have read, understood and will abide by the University statement on cheating
and plagiarism defined above and that this submitted dissertation is my own work and where
the work of others is used it is clearly identified and referenced. I understand that the School
of Engineering reserves the right to use this submitted dissertation in the detection of
plagiarism.
Signed:___________________________ Date:_____________________________



















UNIVERSITY OF ABERDEEN MSC OIL & GAS ENGINEERING

Page 16
Appendix D: Project Specification and Description Form

Oil & Gas Engineering MSc Programme
School of Engineering, University of Aberdeen

EG5908: Individual Project

Name of student: ID No:
Industry/Academic Supervisor: Organisation:

Project Title:

Project Background:




Project Objectives:




Work Plan:
















Supervisors signature: __________________ Students signature __________________