CMSC 691B: Basic Research Skills
Spring 2006
Instructor: Marie desJardins
Students will learn basic skills that are essential to becoming a successful
researcher. The objective of the course is to teach research skills in a
systematic fashion, early in a student's graduate program. Lecture topics
will include research methodology, experimental design, career options, professional
ethics and academic integrity, and oral and written presentation techniques.
CMSC faculty members will give short invited presentations on their own research.
The core of the course will be a structured, supervised "mini-research
project" on a topic of the student's choice. Students will be required to
perform a literature survey on their topic, construct a research proposal
that includes an experimental design, and write a paper summary in the style
of a formal scientific paper. Incremental deliverables will provide structure
and feedback over the course of the semester. Each student will be required
to find an outside reader for their literature survey and final paper. Additional
assignments will include participating in class discussions, giving in-class
presentations, preparing a research portfolio (including a CV), and creating
a personal website.
Other topics will include:
- Finding an advisor
- Time management skills
- Career options, internships, and summer jobs
- Teaching skills
This course is open to all CMSC graduate students, and counts as an elective
towards the M.S. or Ph.D. degree. First-year Ph.D. students
and M.S. students who intend to complete a master's thesis are particularly
encouraged to take the class.
Links to Similar Classes
Some of these are regular 3-credit classes, others are less formal seminar
series.
- Georgia Tech, CS 7001
- University of Virginia, CS 696
- CMU, 17-939A
- CMU's Immigration
Course
- University of Southern California, CSCI 597 The
class notes for the first class include a great set of slides on
plagiarism and how to avoid it.
- NCSU's orientation class (see description here)
When and Where
Monday/Wednesday, 1:00-2:15, in ACIV 108.
Instructor
Schedule
The schedule (which is subject to change) is available here.
Textbooks
Communication
All students are expected to participate in classroom discussions, both
by asking questions and by expressing opinions.
In return, I will make myself available to answer questions, listen to
concerns, and talk to any student about topics related to the class (or
not). I welcome your feedback throughout the semester about how the course
is going.
In addition to regular office hours, I maintain an open-door policy: you
should feel to stop by to ask questions, or just say hello, whenever my
door is open (which it generally will be unless I am out of the office,
in a meeting, or deep in thought). (I'm not that great at remembering names,
so please don't be offended if I ask you several times to re-introduce yourself!)
I will also make a concerted effort to answer e-mail in a timely fashion
(generally within 24 hours on weekdays, and on Monday for messages sent
over the weekend).
Grading
Course grades will be based on the following work.
Literature survey
|
25%
|
Research paper
|
30%
|
Written exercises
|
25%
|
Class attendance and participation
|
20%
|
Students are expected to submit all assignments, regardless of the
weight allocated to that assignment. Failure to submit assigned work may
result in additional penalties, including one or more reductions in your letter
grade. Students must find an outside reader for the literature survey
and research paper. (Preferably this reader will be a tenure-track faculty
member in the CS&EE department--ideally your research advisor or potential
research advisor. If you wish to use someone else as your outside readers,
you must obtain permission from Dr. desJardins).
Literature Survey
The first part of your supervised research in this class will consist of
a literature survey on a topic of your choice. The literature survey constitutes
20% of your overall grade, and consists of the following assignments:
- Topic summary (10%)
- Annotated bibliography (20%)
- Literature survey outline (10%)
- Literature survey draft (10%)
- Final literature survey (50%)
Research Paper
Building on the literature survey, in the second half of the semester,
each student will develop a research proposal on an open problem in their
chosen area, and will write a technical paper summarizing related work and
outlining their proposed research. The research paper constitutes 30% of
your grade, and consists of the following assignments:
- Research problem summary (10%)
- Proposal draft (20%)
- Paper draft (20%)
- Final paper (50%)
Written Exercises
A number of written exercises will be assigned over the course of the semester,
and are worth 30% of your grade. The approximate weight distribution for
these assignments is as follows.
- Paper summaries for selected in-class reading assignments (25%)
- Reviews of two other students' literature surveys (10%)
- Research portfolio, including CV (10%)
- Professional website (10%)
- Data analysis mini-project (20%)
- Reviews of two other students' research paper drafts (10%)
- Written feedback on other students' presentations (15%)
For the first item, students must turn in paper summaries for the two
papers discussed in class on February 6, plus paper summaries on
your choice of any three of the papers presented by students in class
(not to include your own presentation).
All summaries are due in class the day that the paper is
presented.
Class Attendance and Participation
Students are expected to attend all classes and participate in class discussions.
Each student will also be required to present and lead a discussion
of one of the papers in their literature survey, and to give an in-class
presentation on their research proposal. Finally, students are expected to
demonstrate professional participation in the research community of the department
by soliciting an outside reader for their literature survey/research proposal,
by meeting with faculty members to discuss research, and by attending technical
talks. These activities are worth 20% of your grade, distributed as follows:
- Consistent class attendance (20%)
- Participation in class discussions ("question quota") (30%)
- Paper presentation (20%)
- Research proposal presentation (slides due one week prior to presentation)
(30%)
The following are not graded, but are required of every student
in the class.
- Outside reader comments
- Summary paragraphs of three meetings with department faculty
- Summary paragraphs of three talks attended during the semester
Late Policy
Homeworks will be due at the beginning of class on the due date.
Any assignments not due on a class day will be due at midnight on the due
date. Assignments that are to be reviewed by other students (i.e., the literature
survey draft and paper draft) must be turned in on time and will receive
a zero if turned in late. For the other assignments, each student will
be granted a total of seven late days to be used over the course of the
semester. (The late days used round up, so if you turn in an
assignment 25 hours late, it will count against two of your late days.)
Any assignments that are turned in late after these late days are used up
will be given a grade of zero. Exceptions to this policy will be granted
only in extraordinary circumstances.
Academic Honesty
By enrolling in this course, each student assumes the responsibilities
of an active participant in UMBC's scholarly community, in which everyone's
academic work and behavior are held to the highest standards of honesty.
Cheating, fabrication, plagiarism, and helping others to commit these acts
are all forms of academic dishonesty, and they are wrong. Academic misconduct
could result in disciplinary action that may include, but is not limited
to, suspension or dismissal. To read the full Student Academic Conduct
Policy, consult the UMBC Student Handbook, the Faculty Handbook, or the UMBC
Policies section of the UMBC Directory. [Statement adopted by UMBC's Undergraduate
Council and Provost's Office.]
Cheating in any form will not be tolerated. In particular, plagiarism of
any published work, another student's work, or your own previously published
or submitted work without proper attribution will not be tolerated. We will
be discussing plagiarism, summarization, and proper citation techniques
in the class. If you have any questions about what is acceptable, please
bring them to me before submitting your work. The
minimum penalty for a violation of the academic honesty
policy is a zero on the assignment. Other penalties may include a
letter grade reduction, failing the class, or, in extreme or
repeated cases, dismissal from the program.
691b mailing list
You should subscribe to the class mailing list by sending a message to
listproc@listproc.umbc.edu with the line:
subscribe cs691b Your Name
Class announcements, hints, and discussion of assignments will be posted
on this list. You can also send messages to the list to ask questions of
your fellow students and professor.
General questions (i.e., anything that another student may also be wondering
about) should be sent to the list, so that everyone will be able to benefit
from the answers. Students are welcome to post answers to questions, even
if the questions were directed at the course staff. Individual concerns,
requests for extensions, questions about individual grades, and the like should
be sent to Prof. desJardins directly.
691b wiki
There will be a class wiki.
Class announcements, links to handouts and useful resources, and the
like will be posted to the wiki. The wiki will also be used as a
forum for student discussions -- feel free to edit and add your own
links and discussion topics! Details TBA...