Comp 7220 Research Methodologies
R10 A02 (January 2010 to August 2010)
Course Outline (ROASS)
- Instructor:
-
Helen Cameron
E2-477 EITC
Phone: 474-8466 (voicemail)
Fax: 474-7609
Email:
Helen_Cameron@umanitoba.ca
- Instructor's office hours:
-
January to April: noon to 1:00 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays
(or by appointment)
May to August: To Be Announced (TBA)
- Lectures:
-
Usually at 10:30-11:45 a.m. on Mondays and Wednesdays in E2-461 EITC,
but some classes may be held 1:00-2:15 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays
in E2-461 EITC (the department's reserved time for
seminars and meetings) or at other times to accommodate other
speakers.
Always check the schedule to
see whether a class will be held and where. Sometimes there will
be no class, sometimes a class will be held in a different location,
and sometimes classes will be held at a different time.
- First class:
-
Wednesday January 20 at 10:30 a.m. in E2-461 EITC.
- Required text:
-
Writing for Computer Science by Justin Zobel, Springer, 2nd edition.
(ISBN 1852338024).
Please ask your supervisor if you can borrow a copy,
as some faculty members own extra copies. (I may be able to find
a copy to loan to you if your supervisor does not have one.)
This book can also be ordered from
the Springer website or
amazon.ca.
I have not placed a book order with the bookstore.
- Outline:
-
I expect to cover the following topics (not necessarily in this order):
- Grad Studies rules and regulations:
-
You are responsible for making sure that you satisfy all requirements
for your degree. This part of the course will help you find out what
these requirements are.
- Computing facilities:
-
An introduction to the computing facilities available to you.
- Library Skills:
-
Searching through the myriad of resources available to perform
research is an extremely daunting task. The library provides many short
courses on searching and finding materials both on campus and around the
world. A suitable seminar will be organized by the library for the
graduate students in the department.
- Plagiarism:
-
What is plagiarism? What does "write in your own words" mean?
What is the correct way to reference other people's work?
- Writing well:
-
Writing a thesis proposal, seminar reports, project reports, and a
thesis are all part of a graduate degree. This part of the course will
help you remember how to write well.
- Using LaTeX and BibTeX:
-
LaTeX is a document preparation system used by many computer
scientists. BibTeX makes preparing a reference list easy.
All assignments for this course must be prepared using
LaTeX and BibTeX, unless otherwise indicated by the instructor.
- Graduate research:
-
Find out what constitutes graduate research and what a thesis should
look like.
- Thesis proposal:
-
As part of this course, you must write a thesis proposal. This part
of the course will describe what your thesis proposal should
contain and what form it should take.
- Presentation skills:
-
How to prepare and give a good presentation.
- Design and Analysis of Experiments:
-
Computer science research is not just theory and programming; most
theses involve the investigation of the properties and performance of
a system. Proper experimental design is crucial to reaching valid
and meaningful conclusions. Elements of design, implementation,
and description of experiments in computer science
will be reviewed. This review may involve investigation of
simulation, statistical analysis, and graphical presentation software.
- Departmental research seminars:
-
Seminars are presented throughout the year by members of the department
and external experts describing research in universities, research labs,
and industry. As a computer scientist, you should attend as many as
possible, even when the topic is not directly related to your thesis or
course work. Please read "Requirements" below to see seminar attendance
requirements for this course.
- Others?
-
Depending on the needs and knowledge of students in the class, we may
discuss other topics. For example, we may discuss filling in applications
for University of Manitoba Graduate Fellowships (UMGFs), PowerPoint for
constructing presentations, or spend more time on composition and
language editing.
- Requirements:
-
This courses is evaluated on a
"pass"/"fail" basis. To receive a "pass" in this course, you
must:
- Attend the classes:
-
You are required to attend all classes, to be on time,
and to stay until the end of class. You will be required to sign
in at each class. You are responsible for finding out when and
where classes are held (check the
class schedule).
- Attend departmental research seminars:
-
Some departmental research seminars will be designated as "required".
You must attend these seminars (and sign in).
These seminars will also be listed in the class schedule.
- Write two essays:
-
You must write and get a "pass" on each of two essays.
Essays
will be assigned to re-inforce the
material described in the outline above, for example, a topic review to use
library search and bibliography preparation skills or an outline of an
experimental design and proposed implementation.
The essays will also be used to develop editing and self-checking
skills for good grammar and effective style.
- Write a thesis proposal:
-
You must write and get a "pass" on a thesis proposal. We will
discuss what a thesis proposal should look like in class.
- Present your thesis proposal:
-
You must prepare and give a presentation of your thesis proposal.
We will discuss in class how to prepare and give a talk.
Other presentations may also be required of you.
- Writing in COMP 7220:
-
In your writing for COMP 7220, I will be looking for:
- Content:
-
Display an understanding of computer science appropriate to
a Masters student. Write about your content in your own words.
- Organization:
-
Organize your writing into appropriate
sections, subsections, and paragraphs.
- Clear, simple, and brief:
-
Use short words
to write short sentences that contain one topic each.
Organize those sentences into short, one-topic paragraphs.
Avoid long words, complex sentence structures, and
decorative language. Get to the point and say what you mean
in understandable language. Write in an active voice.
- Citation:
-
Refer to relevant research literature by citing a source
in a sentence that discusses the main contribution of the research.
Place the citation beside the authors' names in a sentence
that uses the authors as the subject of the sentence
and uses a strong verb (e.g., prove, experiment on, study,
hypothesize, and so on). Example: "Omercevic et al. [1]
design and evaluate a nearest-neighbour approximation algorithm."
- Bibliography:
-
Construct references that are complete, correct,
and useful to your readers. Use BibTeX to do so (see below).
- LaTeX and BibTeX:
-
Use LaTeX and BibTeX to format your text and references appropriately.
All these ideas will be thoroughly discussed in class.
- Important dates:
-
- Winter Term Classes: January 20 - April 9
-
I hope that you will have written one essay by April 9
(I cannot be certain, since we are starting this class late.)
Due dates and detailed course requirements
will be discussed in class and then listed on the
class schedule.
- May to August Classes:
-
I expect that our classes will resume in the second week of
classes in the second week of May.
Details will be given in the class schedule.
- University Calendar
-
Please consult the
Important Dates section of the University of Manitoba General Calendar
for information on holidays, exams, and voluntary withdrawal dates.
- Plagiarism, Misuse of Computer Facilities, and Cheating:
-
These serious offences carry sanctions. Copying of another's work and
presenting it as your own (e.g., without appropriate references), cheating
on exams or misusing facilities will result in punishment ranging from
course failure to criminal prosecution. Please read
Section 7 of the
General Calendar (on Academic Integrity). If you are unsure about
these issues, do not hesitate to consult with the course instructor.
A declaration sheet, which states that the work being submitted is
completely your own is available at
http://www.cs.umanitoba.ca/newsite/honesty.htm.
This sheet must be printed out, filled in, signed and
submitted for every assignment.
No assignment will be marked unless this declaration is attached.
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Last modified: Wed Jan 20 10:01:16 CST 2010