TABLE OF CONTENTS
CERTIFICATION………………………………………………………………………………….i
DEDICATION…………………………………………………………………………………….ii
ACKNOLEDGEMENTS…………………………………………………………………………iii
TABLE OF CONTENTS…………………………………………………………………………iv
LIST OF FIGURES……………………………………………………………………………..viii
LIST OF TABLES…………………………………………………………………………………ix
ABSTRACT………………………………………………………………………………………..x
CHAPTER ONE……………………………………………………………………..…………….1
INTRODUCTION……………………………………………………………….…………………1
1.1 BACKGROUND INFORMATION…………………………………………………….1
1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM….…………………………………………………2
1.3 AIM AND OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY.……………………….………………….2
1.4 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY.………………………………………………………3
1.5 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY…………………………………………………….4
1.6 LIMITATION OF THE STUDY……………………………………………………….4
1.7 PROJECT ORGANIZATION…………………………….……………………………4
CHAPTER TWO…………………………………………………….……………………………5
LITERATURE REVIEW………………………………………….………………………………5
2.1 INTRODUCTION TO SOCIAL MEDIA CONCEPT…………………………………5
2.1.1 History of the Social Media……………………………………………….………….5
v
2.1.2 What is an Online Forum?………………………………………………………………………………..7
2.1.3 Structure of an Online Forum………………………………………..………………..8
2.1.4 Features of an Online Forum….………………………………….…………………10
2.1.5 Applications of Online Forums………………………….………………………….12
2.2 REVIEW OF EXISTING SYSTEMS…………………………………………………13
2.2.1 The Student Room………………………….………………………………………..13
2.2.2 Google Groups……………….……………….……………………………………..14
CHAPTER THREE………………………….…………………………………………………..16
REQUIREMENTS ANALYSIS AND DESIGN…………………..……………………………16
3.1 INTRODUCTION……………………………………………………………………16
3.1.1 Proposed System…..………………………………………………………………..16
3.2 SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS AND ANALYSIS…………………………………….17
3.2.1 Software Architecture of StudentHub……..…………………….………………….17
3.2.2 System Analysis………………………..….………………………………………..18
3.2.3 System Requirements….……………….……………………………………………19
3.3 SYSTEM DESIGN……………………………………………………………………21
3.3.1 Object Oriented Analysis and Design………………….……………………………21
3.3.2 Unified Modeling Language (UML)……………….……………………………….22
3.3.3 Use Case Diagram………………………………………………………….……….22
3.3.4 Sequence Diagram….…………………………………….…………………….……29
3.3.5 Activity Diagram……………………………….……………………………………30
vi
3.4 THE USER INTERFACE DESIGNS…………………………………………………32
3.4.1 The StudentHub Home Page……………………………….……………………….32
3.4.2 The Guest User Registration Interface……………………….………..……….……32
3.4.3 The Login Page Interface……………………………………….…………….…….33
3.5 DATABASE DESIGN………….……………………………………………………..34
3.5.1 Description of Tables…..…………..….……………………………………………34
CHAPTER FOUR………………………………………………………………………………..35
SYSTEM IMPLEMENTATION…………………………………………………………………36
4.1 INTRODUCTION……………………………………………………………………..36
4.1.1 Platforms and Tools Used for Implementation………………………………….…..36
4.2 THE DIFFERENT FORUM USER INTERFACES…………………………………..37
4.2.1 The Guest Student’s Post Page………………………………………………………37
4.2.2 The Guest Student’s ‘My Posts’ Page……………………………………………….37
4.2.3 The Student’s ‘View Posts’ Page……………………………………………………38
4.2.4 The Moderator’s Add News Page……………………………………………………39
4.2.5 The Administrator’s Delete Accounts Page…………………….……………………40
4.3 SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS…………………………………………………………40
4.4 THE HARDWARE REQUIREMENTS……………………………………………….41
CHAPTER FIVE…………………………………………………………………………………42
SUMMARY, RECOMMENDATIONS AND CONCLUSION…………………………….……42
5.1 SUMMARY……………………………………………………………………….42
vii
5.2 RECOMMENDATIONS AND FURTHER WORKS…………………………..42
5.3 CONCLUSION…………………………………………………………………..43
REFERENCES…………………………………………………………………………………..44
APPENDIX………………………………………………………………………………………49
viii
LIST OF FIGURES
FIGURE I: Usergroups of an Online Forum………………………………………………………9
FIGURE II: The Student Room………………………………………………………………….14
FIGURE III: Google Groups…………………………………………………………………….15
FIGURE IV: Software Architecture of StudentHub……………………………………………..17
FIGURE V: The Use-Case diagram for the Online Forum………………………………………23
FIGURE VI: The Administration and Interaction Subsystems………………………………….24
FIGURE VII: Registration Subsystem……………………………………………………………25
FIGURE VIII: The Sequence diagram for the System…………………………………………..30
FIGURE IX: The Activity diagram for the Guest Student………………………………………31
FIGURE X: StudentHub Home Page……………………………………………………………32
FIGURE XI: Guest Student Registration Interface………………………………………………33
FIGURE XII: The Log-in Interface………………………………………………………………33
FIGURE XIII: The Ask Questions/ Posts Interface.…..…………………………………………..37
FIGURE XIV: Guest Student’s View Post Interface.……………………………………………38
FIGURE XV: Student’s View Posts Interface.……..……………………………………………39
FIGURE XVI: Add News Interface……………………………………………………………….39
FIGURE XVII: Delete Accounts Page…………………………………………………………..40
ix
LIST OF TABLES
TABLE I: Research Objectives and Methodology……………………………..………..………….3
TABLE II: Manage Accounts Use Case……………………………………………………..25 – 26
TABLE III: Manage Posts Use Case…………………………………………….………….26 – 27
TABLE IV: Register Use Case…………………………………………………….…………….28
TABLE V: Database Schema for StudentHub………………………………………………34 – 35
TABLE VI: The Software Requirements……………………………………………..…….40 – 41
TABLE VII: The Web Client Software Requirements……………………………….………….41
TABLE VIII: The Hardware Requirements……………………………………………………..41
x
ABSTRACT
The internet has been a platform for individuals, groups of people and companies to interact with
one another through the social media. The social media has truly aided interaction and even other
business services through social networks, forums, blogs, etc. Forums are now been used as
tools/platforms to create discussions, connect to people (mostly of similar interests) and as
sources of relevant information. This work intends to make use of forums as tools in helping
prospective university students to make the right decisions about their choice of career, choice of
environment, etc.
Based on an in-depth review of some relevant literatures, some key requirements have been
considered in the development of a suitable web application. This online forum will be
developed for students to cater for some of their needs and solve some of the issues they face
with their choice of career, their course of study, the accessibility of relevant information about
any institution, etc.
1
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Communication is a basic human need and for that reason, man has always found a means of
meeting this need. The media, which is an umbrella term for various means of communication,
has become an integral part of human life around the world. The earliest forms of personal
media, speech and gestures, had the benefit of being easy to use and did not necessarily need
complex technology (Idakwo, 2011).
Through the social media, the internet community has drastically increased over the years. The
social media has become a significant part of today’s modern civilization. It is a defining trait of
how integrated social interactions have become. The impact of the social media have been seen
in basically five different contexts; news, interactions, political landscapes, learning and
marketing (Guha, 2013).
With over 80 percent of teen Internet users frequenting social media sites, it’s no wonder the real
world social lives are seeing some changes. Social media is definitely changing the way people
communicate, but in many ways it’s for the better as we expand our social circles and explore
new horizons through our online connections (Chopra, 2013).
Every age it has passed through has been based on beliefs and new technologies, responding to
the needs of individuals anxious to adjust to new forms of socialization. A time of great change
is a period in which society looks for meaning. Information is already a tool, the principal tool,
which people use to perceive and understand their environment (Idakwo, 2011).
The emergence of online forums has become hugely popular in recent times with interactions
based on similar discussions, posts and threads (Xiaolin, et al., 2009) (Sumit & Prasenjit, 2010).
Online forums have become powerful tools for sharing information (Bedmar, 2010). Online
discussion forums have also become one of the most popular places to ask and answer questions
(Falls, 2012).
2
Online Forums, compared to the other social media sites, have various unique features like
threads; where discussions and posts are made, RSS feeds, polls, etc. Online Forums, provide a
unique type of social environment that enables people to share and access information freely.
Users can either start new topics or leave comments in the threads of existing topics (Xiaolin, et
al., 2009).
1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
Prospective students of an institution (the University) have had issues in the past when it comes
to selecting careers, choosing their course of study and indecisions about the right school to
apply for (Ogu, 2008) (Orndorff & Herr, 1996). However, to solve these problems, a platform
needs to be created where these students can relate with others who can answer these questions.
Consequently, relevant requirements have to be taken into consideration in the development of a
web application to solve these problems stated above.
1.3 AIM AND OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
To develop a web/online platform where students can share different questions or views on
various topics and majorly make information about any institution accessible. This will be
achieved through the following objectives:
1. Gathering the right requirements for this application.
2. Modeling the requirements gathered using a Unified Modeling Language (UML).
3. Implementing the system by creating a user-friendly platform that will be easier for these
students to interact with each other and ask questions using threads and topics.
3
1.4 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
The research work will be conducted by using different sources of relevant data for research like
online surveys, journals, books and reviews of relevant literature. The requirements needed for
the development of this application will be gotten by a review of existing systems. A platform
where users who will reply to the questions from other users or provide any form of information
will be created by some ‘question and answer’ techniques to solve the problems stated above
successfully. The online forum will also be designed showing all the different functions that will
be performed by using UML diagrams like use cases, class diagrams, etc. The implementation of
the web application can now be done by making use of the design diagrams and programming
will be done with PHP and the database management will be done by MySQL database taking a
clue from existing forum softwares. The system will later on be evaluated by making use of
feedbacks and reports from relevant users.
The objectives stated above will be achieved through these means:
Table I: Research Objectives and Methodology
S/N OBJECTIVES PROPOSED METHODOLOGY
1 Gathering the right requirements for this
application
Requirements Elicitation
Review of Existing Systems
2 Modeling the requirements gathered
using a Unified Modeling Language
(UML).
Review of Existing Models
Using UML diagrams like class
diagrams and activity diagrams
3 Implementing the system by creating a
user-friendly platform that will be easier
for these students to interact with each
other and ask questions using threads
and topics.
The code for the front-end i.e. the
interface will be written in PHP
The messages and threads will be stored
by using MySQL relational database.
Review of Forum Softwares like
phpBB, vBulletin, etc.
4
1.5 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
This study has its relevance in solving real life problems affecting students today like indecisions
about student’s course of study, career choices and misinformation about that institution. The
application will also be flexible to provide different categories where users can have specific
choices to select from. Lastly, this application will be focused on one institution i.e. Covenant
University rather than addressing a greater audience, in other student forums.
Information is the bane of decision-making for students and present time web applications
cannot live up to providing real time information that can be accessed from anywhere by the end
user. It is important to put interest into the development and usage of online forums in solving
these problems.
1.6 LIMITATION OF THE STUDY
The basic limitation of this project is that the right set of university students with the right
information and answers to any question may not be available to make this project a success.
But, this will also be taking into consideration during the implementation of the project.
1.7 PROJECT ORGANIZATION
In Chapter Two, relevant literatures will be reviewed so as to elicit requirements for the proposed
system. In Chapter Three, the requirements for the proposed system using the unified modeling
languages will be designed. Chapter Four will be discussing and showing the system
development, deployment and evaluation. Chapter Five will summarize the work and give
recommendation for future work.
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