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Forum: BSc Computer Science dissertation project ideas

Hi,

I'm currently studying computer science and I wish to specialise in bio-computing, I need to work on a project and write a dissertation for my degree and I was wondering if I could get some help in narrowing down which topics would be realistic. I have a basic background in biology and I'm interested in epigenetics so I wish to somehow incorporate that into my project. A software engineering based project would be preferred.

My current idea is to make a (visual?) tool based on Bayesian networks to predict likelihood of disease or expression of a gene associated with a disease based on already known links with e.g. high levels of methylation. Firstly is there much data available about these sorts of links? Is there a need for a tool like this? Is it feasible to estimate the likelihood of disease or at least suggest genes to target for study?

My second idea is also to create a tool to make a Boolean network model of gene regulatory networks and use methylation data to influence the GNR. Would there be a useful application of this in the real world?

I know very little details about both topics so I'm hoping this post hasn't just been a string of key words but actually makes sense!

Thank you in advance!

gene bayesian-network regulatory-network

5 answers

I am not sure I can truly answer this as I am a student my self as I only have the following advice: Try to get in contact with a local group that works in bioinformatics (or some other scientific computing, the topic of your bachelor thesis is less important than you may think) and work with them. You may think that you can pull off something nice on your own with just a good topic but that (in all honesty) should not be what you want. Although you may be able to learn most things and ask all your questions on the internet, there is nothing that will help you more than having a local advisor who you can ask when you have problems. I once had an advisor whom I saw once every two weeks but even that level of contact was enough to reflect on my own work and see what I have to do next and where I may be totally wrong.

I second this. No other easier way to do work that is completely irrelevant than failing to at least talk with local experts in the field. But coming to Biostars is also a good start!

Well, such complex topics should definitley be discussed with your supervisor or at least a person who is working in this field. I'm not sure reading about such things would be of much help but at sciencedirect.com there is a reference to a nice article 'Biocomputing — tools, aims, perspectives' by Evgeny Katz and there the auther actually pays lots of attention to new subfields in biocomputing. This is indeed a nice read. Also, to format your paper properly you can refer to dissertation writer blog. There is some general stuff but it is quite useful. Also, Katz's article was published in the journal 'Current Opinion in Biotechnology.' I'm not sure whether ou heard of it or not but you will find a lot of interesting information and data there.

Discussing with your supervisor is of course a must, I am assuming this is essentially what elsewhere we would call an Honours Project or Senior Project? So you want your scope to be fairly tight and not overly broad if you only have about 6 months to a year to work on it and write it up. Finding local experts to discuss things with would also be helpful so you can avoid doing what's already been done. I'm not an expert on either of the two things you propose, but i suspect there has already been work in the area. A lot depends on how much time you have to do this work and what the requirements for novelty are.

A dissertation is a serious type of academic writing that presupposes a scientific research taken and thoughtfully carried out with making proper conclusions that could be further implemented in a practical field of studies. BSc Computer Science is not an exception. It's up to each individual to choose a proper title for a scientific research that one could easily cope with, though the dissertation ideas can be given by a scientific supervisor. I think it's the best option to decide on a proper thesis title that is thus actual and concrete.

Dissertations are one of the main pieces of work students undertake at university and they provide you with an opportunity to work independently and on something that really interests you.

Computer Science is usually defined as the study of computers and technological systems. It also refers to the theories and practices adopted to reinforce Information Technology (IT). In contrast to computer or electrical engineers, computer scientists often deal with software programs, application evaluation, and programming languages. Major areas of study within the field of Computer Science include project management, artificial intelligence, computer network or systems, security, information systems, and the virtualisation of computer interfaces. Dissertation topics related to this field include:

• A survey of the different technologies and algorithms for parsing and indexing multimedia databases. • How to visualise text categorisation with complex hierarchal structures and machine learning? • What are the different tools and techniques in software requirements understanding in the United Kingdom? • Conducting autonomous navigation within both indoor and outdoor environments and settings. • How to improve the value of inter-organisational knowledge management using IT? • Intelligent Marketing: Applying the concepts and methods of artificial intelligence in advertising & marketing process. • Computing a virtual model of an environment using an autonomous mobile robot. • How to identify the cybersecurity challenges of adopting automated vehicles in the United Kingdom? • How to identify the best approach to perform successful System-Level Testing of Distributed Systems. • What are the analysis and design requirements for a Next Generation Software Release Management System? • How to design a cloud-based Information System for an oil storage company based on Internet Technologies? • How to identify the requirements of Enterprise Content Management System for a software development company? • How to determine the various underlying factors that have significant impact on the information systems development process? • Investigation of ‘agile project management methods’ risk management evaluation and project management tools that integrate risk analysis into project management practices. • How to effectively implement risk approaches during software development process to prevent unsuccessful implementations? • What are the contemporary challenges/ issues in database design and information systems development? • Effectively implementing Bio-informatics to improve the provision of healthcare services in the United Kingdom.

Where did you copy that from? ;-D

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