Dear all,
A couple of points to think about:
1) When making your choice of Pro gradu project, choose carefully based on
all of the information you can get. I screen the project plans, but you are
responsible for finding out not only if the science is good, but also to
check if you will probably receive adequate supervision and if the group has
the funding/equipment needed for the project. This involves talking to
people other than the group leader. Talk to current group members, try to
talk to former students who have done a project in the same group. This is
the most important decision of your MSc, make sure you have all of the
information you need to make the right choice.
2) When writing up the Pro Gradu the formal rules are vague in a few places
(they will be updated again early in the new year). What you should remember
though is that you are trying to "sell" your work and your abilities and
especially to demonstrate that you know what you were doing and why. 40% of
the final mark goes on the "Results" and "Discussion" sections. It is
possible to get the highest possible mark with virtually no results if you
can demonstrate that you have done 5 months work, that the methodologies
chosen were sensible and if you can show scientific reasoning as to why few
results were obtained, that it was not due to poor choice of methodologies
and how you could take the project forward. In addition, unless you have
very large numbers of results you should try to ensure that in your thesis
you cover all of the work you did during the 5 months. Controls and
replicates are especially important to mention in your thesis. Remember, any
work you have done, but not included in your thesis cannot be marked.
3) If in doubt ask.
VBW,
Lloyd