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