CMPT 880/890: Research Methods in Computer Science

Purpose of the Course

In this course you will learn the basic elements of doing research in Computer Science, including methods of inquiry, research techniques, and communication of research. In the Wednesday classes we will focus on aspects of planning, organizing, and carrying out research; in the Friday classes, we will focus on written communication of research and research results.

Instructor

Carl Gutwin
Office: Thorvaldson 373.1
email: gutwin@cs.usask.ca

Text

Wayne C. Booth, Gregory G. Colomb, and Joseph M. Williams. The Craft of Research, 3rd edition. University of Chicago Press, 2008.
Available at the U of S bookstore.

Grading

Class Participation: 10%
Writing Assignments: 25%
Paper Review: 15%
Project: 50%

Academic Honesty

Academic integrity and honesty are a critical element of the research enterprise; all students should read and agree to the Department's policies on academic honesty. Any questions about the policies should be directed to the instructor.

Research Assignments and Project

Writing Assignments

Wednesday Schedule

Friday Schedule

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Research Assignments and Project

Notes on handing in

  • The research assignments in 880 (the paper review and the project) are marked by your research advisor. Please hand these in to your advisor in whatever form they prefer, and email a copy to me as well (gutwin@cs.usask.ca).
  • Electronic submissions, when requested, should be in PDF format.
  • For those cases where you do email things to me, please prepend "880 - " to your subject line.

    Policy on late assignments

    Late assignments will not be accepted without a medical note.

    Term Project

    The 880 term project is carried out in second term (January to April 2009), and the results are presented at the annual Graduate Symposium in April. The term project is negotiated between each student and their research supervisor. All projects, however, should fit into the following framework:

    Paper Review

    Together with your research supervisor, choose a conference-sized paper in your research area for review. The review is intended to be a peer review such as would be done for a conference in your area. We will discuss how to do reviews in class (see the schedule for more information and readings).

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    Writing Assignments

    Breakdown of the 25% given to writing assignments

    Notes on handing in

  • Most Friday writing assignments are to be handed in on paper in class. Do not hand these in by email; only paper handins will be marked. If you cannot attend a Friday class, please get a classmate to hand in your work for you.
  • The standard formatting for most writing assignments is 12-point Times Roman or similar font, 1.5-line spacing (to simplify feedback). Handwritten assignments will not be accepted unless specifically noted.

    Graduate Writing Workshops

    Students are strongly encouraged to take part in the seminars and courses put on by the University Learning Centre. In particular:

    Paper Summaries

    Each Friday following a Wednesday where we discuss papers, you will will write and hand in a two-page summary of the readings. The goals of these assignments are to provide general practice in writing clearly and correctly, and to provide practice in identifying the arguments and contributions in others' writing.

    A summary of a paper should include:

    Summaries should be written in prose, not point form. You are limited to a maximum of two pages (12-point Times Roman font, 1.5 spacing).
    An example summary.

    Rhetoric and Grammar Exercises

    These will be five small practice exercises to be determined during the term. More information will be given during the friday lectures.

    Two-Page Paper

  • Due December 5

    Write a two-page paper describing a research project. The research does not have to be yours. The goal of the assignment is for you to communicate research clearly, argue well, and present your work in a standard format. Following Simon Peyton-Jones' guidelines, include the following parts in your paper:

    Other points: How you will be marked: There are many good examples of two-page conference papers in the ACM Digital Library. Try to find examples that fit the type of paper you are planning to write.

    A further note on plagiarism: Although you are allowed in this assignment to present someone else's research results, you are not allowed to copy sentences or figures from published work. Any instances of plagiarism will be forwarded to the Department's Academic Honesty committee.

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    Wednesday Schedule

    Please have the week's assigned readings completed before the Wednesday class.

    Week 1 (Sept. 3): Introduction

    There will be no lectures this week, but if you want to get an early start, have a look at the following general readings (these will be applicable anytime, so come back to them later if you don't have time this week):

    Week 2 (Sept. 10): Science and computer science

    Readings for this week: Reference:

    Week 3 (Sept. 17): The scientific method and research methods in CS

    Readings for this week:

    Week 4 (Sept. 24): Choosing a research problem

    Readings for this week:

    Week 5 (Oct. 1): The literature review

    Readings for this week:

    Week 6 (Oct. 8): Library resources for finding literature


    Week 7 (Oct. 15): Evaluating solutions

    Readings for this week:

    Week 8 (Oct. 22): Research ethics

    Readings for this week: Resources:

    Week 9 (Oct. 29): Reviewing

    Readings for this week: Resources:

    Week 10 (Nov. 5): Experimental design

    Readings for this week: Resources:

    Week 11 - Wednesday (Nov. 12):

    Wednesday and Friday class this week are cancelled as Carl is away at ACM CSCW.

    Week 12 - Wednesday (Nov. 19): Giving presentations

    Readings:

    Week 12 - Friday (Nov. 21): Poster Design


    Week 13 - Wednesday (Nov. 26): Student presentations


    Week 13 - Friday (Nov. 28): Student presentations (cont'd)


    Week 14 - Wednesday (Dec. 3): Question session for 2-page paper

    (Optional session). Bring your writing questions and problems; we will look through and solve as many as we can during the class session.
    Last modified: Wed Sep 5 21:25:14 CST 2007