I am in my final year of college and I have to put forward some sort of thesis for my final year project.

The project is a web based attendance system that I am building for the college. I have it about 70% complete in Java. After completing it in Java, the plan is for me to rewrite the server bit in Erlang and then release the bitter rivals in a head to head cage match. The idea being that there is some sort of grounds for comparison. There are a few hurdles along the way, such as me learning Erlang.

I understand that a performance comparison like this isn't strictly scientific as there are many factors such as the programmer (myself); the hardware it runs on; etc... but it is meant to be a reasonable comparison of the merits of using Java vs. Erlang for web development.

I need help in identifying what the relevant questions are that my project could address. Even though the project scope is fixed, I am trying to shoehorn in some worthwhile scientific inquiries.