Weekly Topics

Week 1 - April 3, 2007
Topics Resources Assignments/Reading
Presenters: B. Mobasher
* Course Introduction.
* What is academia?
* What is research?
* PhD in Computer Science.
*  Class Notes
* How to be a good graduate student
*  O'leary's Graduate Study Survival Guide
*  What They Don't Teach You in Graduate School (4 Parts)
*  Advice on Research and Writing
*  Take a look at the readings in the column to the left and The resources available on the Resources page.
*  Rank and submit classroom topics for weeks 4-8
*  Start looking for a topic for your Research Proposal.
Week 2 - April 10, 2007
Topics Resources Assignments/Reading
Presenters: B. Mobasher
* Starting the research process: problem formulation.
* How to write - and review a research paper.
* Ethical considerations in research and publishing.
* Doing a Literature Review.
*  Class Notes
*  Elements of Scientific Papers & Proposals
*  Guidelines on Research Practice in Computer Science
*  How to Review
*  Reviewing a Manuscript for Publication
*  Chapters 1-3 of Leedy & Ormrod (LO). Please also read the article: Reliable Research: Towards Experimental Standards for Computer Science, by Justin Zobel. Be prepared to discuss this article next week.
*  Paper review assignment is available. First draft due: April 28.
Week 3 - April 17, 2007
Topics Resources Assignments/Reading
Presenters: B. Mobasher
* Planning the Research Design.
* Writing a Research Proposal.
* Basics of logical argumentation,  logical Fallacies, and validity.
*  Class Notes
*  Beginners Guide to the Research Proposal
*  Guide to Writing a Funding Proposal
*  Proposal Writing Short Course
*  Introduction to Validity
*  Logical Fallacies and Fallacy Files.
*  Chapters 4-6 of LO.
*  Abstracts of Research Proposals Due (April 20).
(Submit via CourseOnline)
Week 4 - April 24, 2007
Topics Resources Assignments/Reading
Presenters: Emilia Apostolova & Mostafa Radwan
* Overview of Research Methodologies.
* The Scientific Method.
* Validity and Reliability
*  Guest presentation:
David Angulo (Slides)
*  Research Methods Knowledge Base (Sections on Foundations and Design)
*  Research Methods Tutorials
*  The Scientific Method Today
*  Reliability and Validity
*  Appropriate Research Methods in E-Commerce
*  Chapter 5 of LO.
*  First Draft of Paper Reviews Due April 28.
*  Class Notes
-- Scientific Method
   [ Example Audio ]
- Research Methodologies
Week 5 - May 1, 2007
Topics Resources Assignments/Reading
Presenters: JJ Sandvig & Brent Shiver
* Research Methodologies: Qualitative Research
* Research Methodologies: Descriptive Research
*  Guest presentation:
James Riely
*  Research Methods Knowledge Base (Qualitative Measures)
*  Qualitative Methods in Information Systems
*  Chapters 7 and 9 of LO.
*  Class Notes
-- Qualitative Research
-- Descriptive Research
Week 6 - May 8, 2007
Topics Resources Assignments/Reading
Presenters: Jacob Costello & Timothy Ayodele
* Research Methodologies: Experimental & Ex Post Facto Designs
*  Guest presentation:
Jane Huang
*  Research Methods Knowledge Base (Internal Validity)
*  Research Methods Knowledge Base (Experimental Design)
*  Research Methods Knowledge Base (Section on Sampling)
*  Chapters 10 of LO.
*  2nd Draft of Paper Reviews Due on May 12.
*  Class Notes
-- Experimental Designs 1
-- Experimental Designs 2
 
Week 7 - May 15, 2007
Topics Resources Assignments/Reading
Presenters: Maryam Ramezani
* Statistical Techniques for Analyzing Quantitative Data.
*  Guest presentation:
Noriko Tomuro
*  Research Methods Knowledge Base (conclusion Validity)
*  Research Methods Knowledge Base (Analysis)
*  Chapter 11 of LO.
*  First Draft of Research Proposals Due (May 20).
 
*  Class Notes
-- Statistical Techniques
Week 8 - May 22, 2007
Topics Resources Assignments/Reading
Presenters: Mohanned Al-arabiat & Charles Kwiatkowski
*  Writing a Research Report: Organization and Style. Writing a PhD Dissertation
* Professional/Research Ethics and Responsibility
*  Discussion of presentations and Proposals.
 > Notes on Presentations
> Writing & Styles
*  The Thesis Writing Process
*  Writing and Presenting Your Dissertation
*  How to Organize Your Thesis
*  How to Write a Dissertation
*  How to Write a PhD Thesis
*  Writing and Empirical Journal Article
*  Professional Ethics
*  On Being a Scientist: Responsible Conduct in Research
*  ACM Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct
*  Chapter 12 of LO.
*  Class Notes
-- Writing a Dissertation
-- Research Ethics

 

 
Week 9 - May 29, 2007

Guest Presentation: Susy Chen (5:50-6:50 PM)
Research Proposal Presentations
(7:20-9:00)

01. Emilia Apostolova
02. Mostafa Radwan
03. JJ Sandvig
04. Brent Shiver
 Max. presentation time: 25 Minutes
  • 20 minutes => Presentation
  • 5 minutes => Q & A
  
Week 10 - June 5, 2006

Research Proposal Presentations (5:50-7:05 & 7:30-8:20)
05. Jacob Costello
06. Timothy Ayodele
07. Maryam Ramezani
08. Mohanned Al-arabiat
09. Charles Kwiatkowski
Max. presentation time: 25 Minutes
  • 20 minutes => Presentation
  • 5 minutes => Q & A

  Final Draft of Research Proposals Due : Sunday, June 10