How do I decide on a project? Who decides what I work on for a thesis, me or my supervisor?
Research something that you are really excited about, because you will be spending a lot of time on it over the next year!
There are many ways to decide on a research project. What was your favorite class last year? Try talking to the prof who taught it to get some research ideas. You may already have a topic (and possibly even funding) in mind, in which case you need to convince a faculty member, presumably someone with expertise in the subject, to be your supervisor.
However you choose a project, make sure that you and your supervisor agree on the scope of the research, a schedule, the methods, and the source(s) of funding BEFORE you get too far into your project. And then - HAVE FUN!
How do I find a thesis supervisor?
Knock on doors! (The personal touch is better than email for initial contact with a potential supervisor.) Most faculty members will welcome a potential undergraduate thesis student and will be happy to talk to you about potential projects. Ask around; students from the previous year will have opinions as to who was a good thesis supervisor. Graduate students (including your TAs) will have suggestions about which faculty will supervise projects in specific areas.
When should I start my background research? How do I start?
It is never too early to start your research! Begin by reading all of the relevant journal articles or books suggested by your supervisor or his/her graduate students working on similar topics. Start typing a reference list into your computer; do field work; process samples; get specimens submitted for thin section; book time on analytical instruments in the department; design and build any special apparatus that you will need for your research; write a draft thesis outline; discuss unfamiliar or new concepts or ideas or lines of research with your supervisor or suitable graduate students; start jotting down sentences for your Introduction or other background sections of your thesis - there is a lot to do and the year will go quickly.
How much work do I have to do for my thesis? How much is the actual research and how much is writing and formatting?
For a typical 3 credit Science course with lectures and a lab, you would spend 5 hours in class per week plus an equivalent time studying = 10 hours per week.
EOSC/ENVR/ATSC 449 is a 6 credit course that runs over both terms, so you should expect to spend an average of 10 hours/week on your thesis for the entire university year. Yes, that is a lot of time. Some weeks you will do little or nothing on your thesis (e.g., during midterms or final exams when you have to put more time into your other courses) and other weeks you should plan to put in much more than 10 hours. You will do a lot of work on your thesis over holiday breaks (e.g., Christmas/New Years, Reading Week), too. It is up to you to plan and stick to a schedule that fits with the rest of your courses/work/life. Whenever you have free time (yeah, I know that that is an oxymoron) there will always be something that you can do that will decrease the amount of work that remains to finish your thesis.
How "polished" do the two written sections that are due in December have to be?
The purpose of writing these sections by December, even though your thesis is not due until March, is for the EOSC/ENVR/ATSC instructor to identify anyone who needs extra help or who has a specific problem with writing, and to give you some practice in formal science writing along with experience in how to incorporate editing comments into your work. Therefore, this exercise will improve the quality of your final written thesis. It will also put you ahead of the game before the final push. These two written sections should be as polished in format and in style as those that will be submitted for your final thesis in March, and include all necessary, properly formatted and legible, figures and tables. Also please include a properly formatted list of 'References cited' that pertains to those two sections.
I keep finding new aspects of my research project to explore. (Or my supervisor keeps suggesting additional things for me to do). How do I constrain my research so that it doesn't turn into too big of a project for a B.Sc., and so that I do not run the risk of not being able to finish by the deadline?
Most good scientific research asks more new questions than it answers, so it is not surprising that you can always think of more research to do for your thesis.
Always keep the initial project scope in mind and try to stick to it. Refer back to your original Thesis Proposal form which was due at the end of September. Some plans will need to be modified for a variety of reasons - equipment breakdown, change in focus of research due to unexpected results, etc. but the scope of your project should not increase beyond what you can reasonably get done in one university year. The B.Sc. thesis in our department is limited to 9000 words or approximately 24 pages of 1.5X spaced text, not counting figures or tables, to help you constrain your project.
You and your supervisor should not let your B.Sc. thesis turn into a Master's project. If you want to do a Master's degree (on the same or any other subject), finish your B.Sc. thesis in a timely fashion and move on to bigger and better things.
What is the true breakdown of how much time it will take me to get my data versus how much time it will take me to write my thesis?
Every project is different. In a perfect world you would define your project no later than the end of September (earlier is better!), start writing the background sections of your thesis in the fall, have all or most of your data by December (yes! that is coming up sooner than you think), write up the data sections of your thesis, discuss your results with your supervisor and think about and synthesize your results in January, finish writing in February, have a draft of your thesis ready for your supervisor at the beginning of March, and turn in your final thesis at the end of March. (And create a poster summarizing your thesis, explain it in a short oral presentation, and answer questions about it on "poster day" in early April).
A good rule of thumb for estimating the time that it will take to complete any part of your thesis (e.g., get your data, write up your results, have your supervisor review your draft) is to estimate the time - and then double it. (Seriously!)
How much funding will it take to do my thesis research? Where does the funding come from?
The amount of funding needed for your thesis depend on the nature of research that you are doing. A thesis involving travel, lots of field research, or lots of analytical data requires more funding than a thesis based on numerical modeling or an existing data set.
If your project is related to your supervisor's research program, he/she may have existing grant funding that will cover your thesis expenses. You may have a sponsor and/or co-supervisor from industry who will pick up all field costs and/or analytical costs. This is why it is really important to work out all funding issues and have an idea of all costs by the end of September, when you and your supervisor both sign off on the Thesis Proposal form. (Remember that if you have a supervisor from outside of the department, you must also have a full-time faculty co-supervisor.)
Students are expected to have their own computer for word processing, to pay for printing, photocopying and binding their theses, and for all incidental expenses, although supervisors may cover these costs if your project is within the scope of their own funded research. The Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences department makes $100 available to every student enrolled in EOSC/ENVR/ATSC 449 to help defray the cost of services available in the department, such as chemical analyses or machine shop time (see answer to the next question below). See the Undergraduate Awards Officer in the department for information about availability of Dumoulin Black Awards which support undergraduate thesis research in Geological Sciences, Geophysics, or Geological Engineering.
What analytical facilities are available in the department and commercially and how do I find out about them?
Services available in the department include: equipment loan from EOS Stores, a machine shop, chemical and isotopic analyses from the Pacific Centre for Isotopic and Geochemical Research (PCIGR), various computing facilities belonging to individual research faculty, and SEM, microprobe, XRF, and XRD analyses, etc. Your supervisor or graduate students in the same field of research as your thesis will know where or how to obtain access to specific types of analyses or equipment.
Thin sections can be obtained commercially from Vancouver Petrographics; your supervisor will advise you on how to cut blocks for thin sections on the department rock saws. See Pablo is Stores for details on billing and how to package samples to send them to Vancouver Petrographics.
How much do chemical analyses cost? And how many do I need?
Talk to your supervisor about where to get specific types of analyses done. Commercial analyses are generally more expensive than analyses done in the department. PCIGR lists their rates on the department website, and they have a cheaper rate for “academic” clients.
Discuss how many analyses that you need with your supervisor. This will depend on the scope of your project and on the funds available.
I'm nervous (terrified) when I have to speak to my supervisor, who knows so much more than I do. How do I talk to him or her?
All supervisors are human (I think) and they realize that initially you may be nervous as you make the transition from communicating with them as a course instructor, where you may have had little direct contact, to as a fellow researcher, where you will be discussing your project on an on-going basis. Things that you can do that will increase your confidence and go a long way towards creating a professional working relationship with your supervisor include: showing genuine interest and enthusiasm for a project, coming prepared to meetings (e.g., with a draft of one of the parts of your thesis that you said you would have to your supervisor by a certain date), showing up on time, asking relevant questions, and not wasting your supervisor’s valuable time by asking questions that you can get the answers to easily elsewhere.
If you cannot interpret your data, discuss it with your supervisor. Research commonly yields unexpected and/or uninterpretable results, so you should expect to have some interesting conversations with your supervisor as you brainstorm various hypotheses that explain your data.
How often should I meet with my supervisor?
It is important to keep in contact with your supervisor throughout your thesis project, so when you first talk to your supervisor and you agree on a project, you should come to some mutual agreement about how often to meet (e.g., every week, every two weeks, maybe more often during critical stages of your research) and on how to communicate in between meetings (e.g., email? drop in? phone?). It is especially important to meet with your supervisor any time that you get new data that need to be discussed and interpreted. Find out if and when your supervisor is going to be off campus over the course of your thesis and plan accordingly. For example, if your supervisor is going to be out of the country during March, you need to plan accordingly to be certain that he/she can review your draft thesis and get it back to you in time for you to revise it and to submit your final thesis by the due date.
What should I do if I have problems communicating with my supervisor?
Establish clear communication with your supervisor from the beginning and problems are unlikely to occur. If a problem does occur, try to work it out; do not let a problem fester and worsen. Maintain a professional tone and keep emotions out of the discussion.
Supervisors will be kept informed and potentially be cc-ed on emails sent to students so that everyone involved has a record of agreements with respect to deadlines, funding, etc.
What if my research does not result in any useful results??
Well-planned projects seldom yield unusable results. If your project is not viable, hopefully you and your supervisor will realize this in time that you will be able to modify or switch your research topic before it too late to finish by the deadline. Null results may also push back the scientific frontiers; they just are not as much fun to write about.
Who really knows how to get things done around the department?
Secretaries, technicians, and graduate students - these folks are your best friends!
Created
by Mary Lou Bevier. Last Updated 1 March 2018.
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