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| School of Information Technologies |
INFO5993 IT RESEARCH
METHODS
Semester 2, 2009
NewsSemester 2, 2009
| 23/10/2009 |
The presentation schedule for your Assignment 4 in Week13.
|
| 08/09/2009 |
The marks of your Assignment1&2 have been posted on your WebCT. |
| 05/09/2009 |
Please complete your INFO5993 Mid-Semester Survey. |
| 12/08/2009 |
Examples for Research Proposal and
Literature Review |
| 11/08/2009 |
If you have not done so yet, please urgently fill out the form stating your details and supervisor's name and contact. |
| 10/08/2009 |
Suggestions and schedule for your Assignment 2; and short description of Assignment 3 & 4.
|
| 02/08/2009 |
About this week(W02)'s lecture: the first hour is as normal, and the second hour
will be in the SIT Lab 117 for the librarian seminar. |
| 27/07/2009 |
Welcome to INFO5993! |
Outline
This unit will provide an overview of the different research methods that are used in IT. Students will learn to find and evaluate research on their topic and to present their own research plan or results for evaluation by others. The unit will develop a better understanding of what research in IT is and how it differs from other projects in IT.
This unit of study is required for students in IT who are enrolled in a research project as part of their Honours or MIT/MITM degree. It is also recomemnded for students enrolled or planning to do a research degree in IT and Engineering.
Learning outcomes
- To understand what research methods are used in IT and to place your own research in this field;
- To learn to find and evaluate research on your topic and to present your own research plan or results for evaluation by others;
- To develop a better understanding of what research in IT is and how it differs from other projects in IT.
Peter Eades (Weeks 1-8)
peter@it.usyd.edu.au, room 3E-354, consultation time: Mondays 2-3pm
Kalina Yacef (Weeks 9-13)
kalina@it.usyd.edu.au, room 3W-317, consultation time: Mondays 2-3pm
Tom Cai
tomc@it.usyd.edu.au, room 3E-344, consultation time: Mondays 2-3pm
Our offices are in the School of Information Technologies Building, J12, directions
Timetable
Monday, 3-5pm, School of IT Lecture Theatre - lectures and workshops
Assessment overview
|
|
Due | Submission mode | Marked by | Late submission policy |
| Assignment 1: Database search (5%) |
w3,
Monday 3pm |
e-mail submission to your supervisor, cc to Peter | research project supervisor and Peter | No late submissions are allowed |
| Assignment 2: part1: Review lecture (10%) part2: Feedback on other presentations (5%) |
w4-w5, Monday 3pm, in class | present in the class |
course coordinators |
No late submissions are allowed |
| Assignment 3: Research proposal (45%) |
w10, Tuesday 3pm | e-mail submission to your supervisor, cc to Kalina | research project
supervisor and Kalina |
- A
penalty applies: minus 1 mark per each day after the deadline; - Assignments will not be accepted after more than 7 days after the deadline. |
| Assignment 4: part 1: Presentation (25%) part 2: Feedback on other presentations (10%) |
w12,
in class |
part 1: printout of your slides
(preferably 6 slides/page) due at the
beginning of scheduled class when your presentation is due part 2: due 5:00pm on the day following the presentation; email submission to Kalina |
course coordinators | No late presentations/ submissions are allowed |
Important note: You are required to attend research seminars (Basser seminar series, your research group seminars, outside seminars, ..). Your supervisor will confirm your regular attendance (>= ~ one a week). A penalty for non-attendance will be applied (-5% maximum).
-The submissions of Assignments 1 and 3 should include the title of your research topic, your name, the name of your supervisor, the unit of study and the date.
-To maintain and cite references use proper software (e.g. Endnote); chose a style, e.g. IEEE or ACM and be consistent. You can download Endnote from the Library's web page; there is an on-line tutorial and also face-to-face classes.
-Please also read the University Policy on Academic Honesty and submit the appropriate cover sheet with your signature with each hardcopy submission. The cover sheets are available from the link above.
Short description of the assessment tasks
Assignment 1: Database Search (5%)
Submit a report that includes:
1) a list of 10 articles or books which seem very relevant to your research topic
2) a review of 1 paper from this list that you and your supervisor consider particularly important for your research topic. This should be no more than half a page long and include:
-the paper details
-summary of the paper - what is this paper about and what is its main contribution
-1- 2 main strengths and weaknesses of the paper
- how does the paper relate to your research topic, e.g. why is it relevant
- questions that you want to ask the authors
- directions for future research that you think are worthwhile to consider - identified by you or the authors
3) a list of the top conference and journals in your research area (up to 6)
4) a list of the main research groups working in your area (up to 6).
Assignment 2: Review Lecture (15%)
You should choose a research paper and review it in a 9 minute talk.
Here are suggestions for how to structure your talk.
Your talk will be marked and count 10% toward your final grade.
You should also ask questions of at least two other students.
You have been assigned to be a questioner in two talks.
Your questioning will be marked and count 5% toward your final grade.
Here is the schedule of talks and questions.
Assignment 3: Research Proposal (45%)
-Literature Review (30%): Submit a report that is a critical review of the literature you have found that is related to your research topic. The report should be about 5-10 pages. Include at least 20 properly referenced articles or books. Organise the review around the questions or claims relevant to your research rather than just listing the papers you have read.
Assessment criteria: covers the most important relevant work, clearly identifies the contributions of the literature reviewed, identifies the research methods used in this collection of literature, connects the literature to the research topic by identifying its relevance, clarity of presentation and english.
-Outline of research approach (15%): Submit a page or two which identifies the research contribution you intend to make, and outlines how you will gather evidence to back this up. You should provide enough detail to show that you have thought about how to convince readers. For example, if you intend to measure performance, you should describe what aspects will be measured, and what you will compare the measurements to; but you don't need to describe exactly the hardware platform, or details of the harnass that will run the tests etc.
Assessment criteria: clearly states the intended contribution, offers an approach to evidence gathering that is appropriate to the claim, clarity of presentation and English.
Assignment 4: Research Presentation and Feedback (35%)
Part 1: Presentation (25%): **10 mins talk (slides) + 2 mins questions/change over **
For students completing their research project the following semester, this is a presentation of research proposal and should include: motivation and context, objectives (research questions), critical literature review, research method, plan (with tasks and timetable).
For students completing their research project this semester, this is a presentation of research results and should include: motivation and context, objectives (research questions), critical literature review, research method, results, discussion of the results, conclusions and future work.
Assessment criteria: quality of slides, organisation, presentation style; marking scheme.
Part 2: Feedback on other presentations (10%)
Each student will review 2 other presentations and write 1/2 -1 page feedback comments. There are 3 blocks (A, B and C) each student needs to review the presentations of 2 other students presenting in each other block, with the same number as described in the presentation timetable (schedule). You need to complete the following feedback form.
Calendar
| Week | Date | Topic | Lecturer(s) |
Slides
|
| 1 | 27 JUL |
Introduction to Research Methods
|
Peter Eades |
rm01.pdf |
| 2 | 3 AUG |
Bibliographic Search;
Bibliometrics and Publication
|
Kalina Yacef Caroline Regan, SciTech Libraries |
rm02.pdf library contacts web of science |
| 3 | 10 AUG |
Reviews
|
Peter and Kalina |
rm03.pdf |
| 4 | 17 AUG |
Assignment 2: Student Review Lectures (I)
|
Peter and Kalina |
|
| 5 | 24 AUG |
Assignment 2: Student Review Lectures (II)
|
Peter and Tom |
|
| 6 | 31 AUG |
Research Evaluation Styles (I): Performance Evaluation HCI Evaluation |
Michael Cahill Tony Huang |
rm06a.pdf rm06b.pdf |
| 7 | 7 SEP |
Research Evaluation Styles (II) Qualitative Research Methods in IS Empirical Evaluation Research Ethics |
Joseph Davis Yong Xia (RPAH) Peter Eades |
rm07a.pdf rm07b.pdf rm07c.pdf |
| 8 | 14 SEP |
Research in Industry and Commercialisation |
Phil Robertson (NICTA) |
rm08.pdf
|
| 9 | 21 SEP |
IP Law
How To Write A Literature Review |
Greg Gering (Sydnovate) George Ridgway (Learning Centre) |
|
|
Mid-semester-break Week
|
|
| ||
| 10 |
5 OCT |
Labour Day Holiday Assignment 3 deadline: 3PM, 6 OCT (Tuesday) |
|
|
| 11 |
12 OCT |
How To Write A Research Proposal
How To Give Peer Feedback |
George Ridgway (Learning Centre) |
|
| 12 |
19 OCT |
Catch up |
||
| 13 |
26 OCT 1-5pm |
Assignment 4: Student presentations of research proposal and feedback on other presentations ** please note change of time ** (same location) |
Kalina and Tom |
|
Resources
Research and postgraduate studies in IT
How to do Research in the MIT AI Lab by David Chapman (ed.)
How to do Research in Computer Science by Michael Schillo
A Letter to Research Students by Duane A. Bailey
The PhD Process by Dale Callahan, IEEE Potentials - includes hints on how to select a research topic
How to Have a Bad Career in Research/Academia by David Patterson
How to be Terrible Graduate Student by Graeme Hirst
How to Succeed in Graduate School - A Guide for Students and Advisors by Marie desJardins
Graduate Study in the Computer and Mathematical Sciences: A Survival Manual by Dianne O'Leary
-"It's a PhD, not a Nobel Prize: how experienced examiners assess research theses" by G. Mullins and M. Kiley, Studies in Higher Education, 27(4), 2002, pp. 369-386 (available from the library's home page and also here)
-"Early warning signes in postgraduate research education: a different approach to ensuring timely completions" by C. Manathunga, Teaching in Higher Education, 10(2), 2005, pp.219-233 (available from the library's home page)
-Writing for Computer Science, Second Edition, by Justin Zobel, Springer 2004
Presentations
Presenting Your Research: Papers, Presentations, and People by Marie desJardins (talk at the AAAI/SIGART Doctoral Consortium 2003)
Speaker's Guide by Ian Parberry
The Short Talks by Charles Van Loan
Oral Presentation Advice by Mark Hill
Some Lecturing Heuristics by Patrick H. Winston
Ranking and citations
Publish or Perish - software for retrieving citations and calculating metrics such as h-index, g-index, etc.
The Rise and Rise of Citation Analysis by L. Meho
h-index
g-index
Computing Research and Education Association of Australia and New Zealand (CORE) - ranking of IT conferences and journals; code of conduct
Women in Computer Science
CRA-W - useful links and resources
Do Women Hate IT? - interesting discussion
More useful links
An automatic CS research topic generator
An automatic CS research paper generaror
6.xxx at MIT by Patrick H. Winston
A Dictionary of Useful Research Phrases
University policies
Human Ethics
Intellectual Property
University Postgraduate Research Studies Handbook
Code of Conduct for responsible Research Practice and Guidelines for Dealing with Allegations of Research Misconduct
Code of Practice for the Supervision of Research Students
Honours and postgraduate at the School of Information Technology (with useful links to the Faculty of Engineering and the University)
Honours
Postgraduare studies (research)
Postgraduare studies (coursework)