Exposé and guidelines

1. Introduction

These guidelines are intended to make it easier for you to start working on your thesis at the Chair of Optical 3D Metrology, to familiarize you with the processing procedure and to give you an overview of what we expect from you and what you can expect from us in return.

In the following sections, we provide you with numerous tips for your thesis. Our particular concern is to prepare you for the scientific work process. The description and documentation of working methods and results will also accompany you in your professional life after completing your academic career. If you still have any questions, you can always contact your supervisor.

2. Requirements and Expectations

With your work you show that you are able to

select the methods suitable for processing the task from the content taught in your degree program and apply them in a scientifically correct manner.
acquire additional content necessary for the work.
analyze results and present conclusions in a coherent chain of argumentation.
reflect on and discuss your work and place it in the context of scientific knowledge.
structure their work in a topic-specific, complete and logical manner ("red thread"). This includes the description of the motivation, the relevant basics, the presentation and analysis of the results as well as a final conclusion.
support the presentation of complex issues with concise and technically correct formulations, meaningful illustrations and clear tables.
work on a given task in an independent, structured (in terms of content), organized (project management) and binding manner.
present their work in writing in accordance with academic standards (source work, citation, formatting, layout).
prepare professional discussions with the supervisor in a meaningful way and present your problems in a comprehensible manner.

The following supervision principles apply:

The supervisory relationship is based on reliability and honesty.
You are responsible for maintaining contact with the caregivers.
Please do not drop by unannounced, but keep agreed appointments.
An appropriate style of e-mail correspondence is expected.
Prepare consultations thoroughly and inform the caregivers of your questions in advance.
We answer e-mail inquiries within 2 working days if possible.
We will inform you in good time if we are likely to be out of the office for more than a week.
We also try to make consultation appointments possible at short notice.

Procedure of the support process:

Consultation appointments are arranged as required.
An interim defense should be held halfway through the thesis (only for Master's theses). This gives you the opportunity to ask questions to the participating members of staff.
The supervisors will not proofread the thesis before submission. Feedback on text excerpts can be arranged individually.

3. Choice of topic and Exposé

Choice of topic

First of all, consider the area in which your topic should lie and whether you want to work on a more algorithmic topic (development/programming) or an application-related topic. Most topics now have a more or less large programming component. You should also see this as an opportunity for your career prospects!

You can find a list of available topics on the Chair's website. Shortlist several topics and find out about the content in an initial discussion with the supervisors. As a rule, a single topic will then crystallize. If you would like to suggest a topic of your own, please feel free to contact us.

Exposé

You then write a 1-2-page (Bachelor's thesis) or 2-3-page (Master's thesis) synopsis on the topic and the planned approach to working on it. The synopsis should include the following points:

Motivation of the thesis
State of the art with literature sources
Preliminary outline of the thesis
solution ideas
rough time schedule of the work
expected goal of the work

You must submit this exposé to your supervisor within 4 weeks. On this basis, it will be decided in a second meeting by mutual agreement whether you will work on the topic.

4. Examination Modalities

The current examination regulations can be found on the pages of the Examination Office(Geodesy and GIT). If you have any questions about the examination modalities, please contact the Examination Office.

Admission requirements

Only students who have already achieved at least 112 (B.Sc.) or 55 (M.Sc.) credit points are entitled to register for a Bachelor's or Master's thesis.

Issue of the topic

The official issue of the topic for a thesis is carried out by the Examination Committee. The necessary registration form must be submitted to the Examination Office by the student after it has been signed by the supervisor. The Examination Office registers the thesis after it has been reviewed by the Examination Committee. The Examination Office also determines the start and submission date. Applications for registration are processed in blocks of months. The decisive deadline is the 15th calendar day of the respective month.

Processing time and Extension

The processing time for the Bachelor's thesis is 10 weeks, that for the Master's thesis 21 weeks. In justified exceptional cases, an extension of 4 weeks (Bachelor's thesis) or 8 weeks (Master's thesis) may be requested from the Examination Committee. This is subject to the approval of the supervising university lecturer (Prof. Maiwald).

Submission of the Thesis

The thesis must be submitted to the Examination Office in German in two typed and bound copies as well as in digital text form on a suitable data carrier by the deadline; the submission date must be recorded. Upon submission, the student must declare in writing whether he or she has written his or her work - in the case of group work, his or her appropriately marked part of the work - independently and has not used any sources or aids other than those specified. In documented agreement between the student and the supervisor, the work may also be written in another language.

Furthermore, the following documents must be submitted digitally (USB stick, TU Cloud) to the supervisor in a well-structured and documented form

digital version of the thesis as a PDF document and all source files such as Latex documents, images or Office files
Illustrated short summary of the thesis (motivation, approach, results, evaluation of the results) as a PDF for presentation on the website
comprehensibly documented source code and executable version of the software developed in the thesis with brief operating instructions
Collected data sets depending on the topic and in consultation with the supervisors

5. Written Work

Formalities (scope, format template)

There are no general specifications regarding the scope of the written paper. You decide how much text is required for a comprehensible presentation. The ratio of theoretical foundations and your own contribution to the field of research should be balanced. The focus is on your own developments or investigations.

There are no explicit guidelines for the layout of your document. Please follow the usual academic standards. Format templates for theses are included in the TU Dresden corporate design, for example:

Some formatting parameters are listed below as a guide:

Font: Open Sans, Times New Roman, Calibri black
Font size: 10 or 11
Line spacing: 1.0
Number figures and tables and provide them with meaningful captions (place figures not referenced in the body text in the appendix)
Create a table of contents, list of figures, list of tables, bibliography and list of abbreviations (optional)

Decide on a citation style and use it consistently. Examples of citation styles:

APA -> Müller & Schneider, 2020
Bibliography: Müller, A., Schneider, B., 2020 Title. Journal/...
Harvard -> (Müller/Schneider 2020)
Bibliography: Müller, A., Schneider, B., 2020. title. Journal/...
Vancouver -> [1]
bibliography: [1] Müller, A., Schneider, B., 2020. title. Journal/...

Structure of the Paper

The logical structure of the paper ("red thread") facilitates reading and supports the understanding of the facts presented. Your paper could be structured as follows (depending on your task):

Motivation
Relevant basics (known procedures and methods + literature used in your work => "Material & methods section")
Methodology used in your work ("experiment/investigation part")
Presentation and analysis of the results ("Results section")
Summary, conclusion and outlook ("Discussion")

Further notes:

Pay attention to comprehensible chains of argumentation.
Avoid vague statements in the subjunctive mood.
Always describe facts and substantiate all findings with the help of your results
Make sure you use scientific language.
Document all essential work steps/experiments (no diary style!). Even experiments that did not work can provide insights and be mentioned in the paper.

Notes on Literature Research

Literature research is essential for good scientific work and working methods. You can use suitable literature to support your theses, solve problems and draw on existing methods, algorithms or workflows.

Use Google Scholar or comparable search platforms for your literature research. Work with concise keywords, phrases or author names. From the TUD network, you can access all online journals subscribed to by the SLUB free of charge. To the best of your knowledge and belief, make sure they are reputable.
If you have researched a suitable (overview) article on your topic, use the sources in the bibliography to find further or related literature.
The use of Wikipedia is possible provided that you cite the original source. Wikipedia itself is not a citable source in a thesis. The same applies to any internet source without an obvious author.
In general, always try to cite the original source (e.g. Brown's indexing parameters -> Brown, 1976 instead of Luhmann, 2010).

Notes on the Writing Process

Allow enough time for the writing phase. The written thesis is the main component of the assessment!
Record thoughts, screenshots, results, etc. in your written work from the beginning of the processing time, at least in the form of bullet points, which will of course be formulated or designed later.
Use the entire processing period for writing your paper and not just the last few weeks. For example, the basic section can be written in the first half of the processing time.
Make sure that your wording and statements are clear and easy to understand.
Have your work proofread by another person (fellow students, friends).
Do not hesitate in case of blockages or problems. Talk to us!

You can find basic tips, methods and checklists for all phases of writing in the Writing Starter Guide. If required, you can also take advantage of writing workshops, advice or further training courses.

6. Defense

The defense serves to present the main contents of the thesis. You should demonstrate that you have a sound knowledge of the subject area and have applied this in a meaningful way in your thesis. The thesis should be presented in a structured and professional manner. The slides should be easy to read and facts should be illustrated. A common thread should be recognizable. The focus should be on the presentation of your own results and their classification in the current state of research.

The duration of the presentation should not exceed 15 minutes (Bachelor's thesis) or 20 minutes (Master's thesis).

In the subsequent discussion, you should demonstrate that you can respond to questions in a well-founded manner. You should be proficient in technical language and use it confidently.

7 Assessment and Feedback

Assessment

Your thesis will be assessed according to the criteria of content, working method and presentation.

Feedback

After completion and defense, we offer an additional discussion between you and the supervisors. The aim is to discuss

what went well and what did not
how your grade was arrived at
some tips for future work

This guide was originally written at the Chair of Photogrammetry and has now been adapted. Thanks go to Dr. Katja Richter and Dr. Melanie Elias.