Table of Contents

REM4 2016 course notes

This is the main page for REM4-16-3

2016

T-701-REM4-16-3 Research Methodology / Aðferðafræði Rannsókna

Classrooms: Mondays: M108 – Fridays: M105

Instructors: Kristinn R. Þórisson (KRÞ), Jacky Mallett (JM), Jordi Bieger (JB)



Final Exam

Date: 16 Nov. Time: 9-12 Place: M201

The topics the final 3-hour exam will cover are: Experimental design, statistics and philosophy of science, roughly in the proportions that these have been emphasized in the lectures and lecture notes. The emphasis will be on understanding of the concepts, topics and issues, rather than rote memorization, but of course students should know all the key important issues by heart. Final example example questions from 2015. Note that this is a closed-book no support-material exam. The final exam counts 55% of your final grade.

Course Aims & Goals

The course has two main aims. First, to provide the student with a compact foundation for the principles of scientific knowledge discovery, its foundational principles and concepts, the use of statistics for scientific investigation, and philosophical context out of which science came. Second, to provide the student experience in writing scientific text, focusing on scientific papers with results and data.

After taking the course the student should be able to:

  1. Explain research, research methodologies, research in computer science;
  2. Choose a research subject and conduct a research project;
  3. Write technical reports, papers, thesis, proposals effectively;
  4. Extract key points of a body of scientific research and present in a concise manner;
  5. Read and review technical papers;
  6. Explain professional ethics in science: author credit, conflict of interest, misconduct.


NB: For all homework and correspondence sent via email: PLEASE PUT “REM4” SOMEWHERE IN THE TITLE OF YOUR EMAIL, SO IT GETS CLASSIFIED CORRECTLY IN THE INSTRUCTOR'S INBOX. Thanks.



Readings

By the end of the course you are expected to have read, learned, and thoroughly understood the following texts and topics:

Research methodology

Scientific Concepts & Philosophy

Nature & Evolution of Science

Information

Logical Positivism

Additional Material

Use the Stanford Encylopedia of Philosophy and Google to further explore concepts and ideas that we encounter. Wikipedia is an excellent source of relatively high-quality texts on numerous scientific, philosophical and mathematical topics.

Useful hub on science: http://undsci.berkeley.edu/resourcelibrary.php

Philosophy of Science with humor: http://consc.net/phil-humor.html

Using LateX for writing scientific papers.

LaTeX Reverse Engineering exercise

Excellent talk on Leslie Lamport, Turing Award Winner, by Magnús Már Halldórsson (RU) -- highly recommended for all CS majors




Class Schedule

AUGUST

DateTimeWhoTopicReading MaterialAssignmentDue
Fri 19.08.2016 10:20 - 11:55 KRTh Introduction All the “What is …?” readings listed above
W2 AUG
Mon 22.08.2016 14:00 - 15:40 KRTh Key concepts
First Homework Assignment: Writing Scientific Papers - Pick a topic
Course overview / key concepts
The “What is …?” readings listed above that you still haven't read (or, ok, maybe you read them all before last class :-))
P1. Pick topic for your paper Mon 29/08@noon
Fri 26.08.2016 10:20 - 11:55 KRTh Writing papers
Papers: Abstracts, Introductions, Related Work
Writing papers
Abstracts
Introductions
Related Work, References
RM:Ch17 - Writing Research Reports
P2. Good/Bad Abstract (pass/fail)

P3. Write a short Abstract (pass/fail)
01.09@noon


05.09@noon
W3 AUG/SEP
Mon 29.08.2016 14:00 - 15:40 KRTh Papers: Original contributions, Conclusions, References Related Work, References
How to have your abstract rejected
P4. Write an Abstract for your topic (5%)

P5. Find paper to use as a template for your own (pass/fail)
19.09@noon


08.09@noon

SEPTEMBER

DateTimeWhoTopicReading MaterialAssignmentDue
Fri 02.09.2016 10:20 - 11:55 Markus Schedl Visiting researcher: Research methods for developing music indexes http://www.music-ir.org/mirex/wiki/2016:Main_Page
Markus Schedl slides
W4 SEP
Mon 05.09.2016 14:00 - 15:40 KRTh Philosophy of Science
Review:P1
Philosophy of Science I
Causality
IRPS: Introduction, Science & Pseudoscience IRPS scan
Fri 09.09.2016 10:20 - 11:55 Marta Lárusdóttir Visiting Researcher: Research methods for user interface design and evaluation Prediction of Usability: Comparing Method Combinations by Frökjær & Lárusdóttir
martal-rem4-autumn2016.pptx
UI Methodology - emphasis points
W5 SEP
Mon 12.09.2016 14:00 - 15:40 Magnús Már Halldórsson Visiting Researcher: Mathematical & CS research methods Paul Halmos: In His Own Words by John Ewing
MMH Emphasis Points
Fri 16.09.2016 10:20 - 11:55 Joanna Bryson Visiting researcher: Simulation & social science
W6 SEP
Mon 19.09.2016 14:00 - 15:40 KRTh Philosophy of Science
Review:P5
Philosophy of Science I
Philosophy of Science II
IRPS:pp.38-47 IRPS scan
P6. Introduction (5%) Sep22@noon
Fri 23.09.2016 10:20 - 11:55 KRTh Experimental Design
Review:P3
Experimental Designs I
RM:Chs.7 (RschDes), 8 (Sel Study Des)
P7. Related Work and References (5%) Oct3@noon
W7 SEP
Mon 26.09.2016 14:00 - 15:40 KRTh Philosophy of Science Philosophy of Science II
Philosophy of Science III
IRPS:Chs.2,17,18,19,20 IRPS - selected chapters
Fri 30.09.2016 10:20 - 11:55 KRTh Writing Papers: Contributions & Results Contribution & Results
Submitting to conferences and journals
P8. Review a peer's Abstract IN-CLASS

OCTOBER

DateTimeWhoTopicReading MaterialAssignmentDue
Mon 03.10.2016 14:00 - 15:40 KRTh Experimental Design Experimental Designs II P9. Contribution & Results (5%) Oct13@noon
Fri 07.10.2016 10:20 - 11:55 JB Graphing and data presentation Visualization
RM:Chs.15 (ProcData), 16 (DsplData)
VDQI
W9 OCT
Mon 10.10.2016 14:00 - 15:40 JM Stats: T-test, linear models & beyond T-Tests and Linear Models
Fri 14.10.2016 10:20 - 11:55 KRTh Writing Papers: Conclusions & Future Work Conclusions & Future Work
Review:P9
P10. Conclusions (5%)
P11. Full Paper v. 1.0 (5%)
20oct@23:59

26oct@23:59
W10 OCT
Mon 17.10.2016 14:00 - 15:40 JM Simulation TBD
Fri 21.10.2016 10:20 - 11:55 KRTh Science Ethics Science Ethics
Ethical & Legal Aspects of Informatics Research - Dutch Royal Society (Website)
IIIM Ethics Policy
Authors of scientific papers - Rice U.
RM:Ch13 (EthicsDataColl)
W11 OCT
Mon 24.10.2016 14:00 - 15:40 KRTh Research Environment: Grants & Authorship
Reviewing scientific papers
Research Grants
Paper Author List
Reviewing Scientific Papers
P12. Full Paper Review in-class oct28@noon
Fri 28.10.2016 10:20 - 11:55 KRTh Reviewing your fellow student's full paper In-class review of a fellow student's paper. P13. Final full paper v. 2.0 (15%) 7Nov@noon
W12 OCT/NOV
Mon 31.10.2016 14:00 - 15:40 KRTh Presenting Your Work Doing Presentations P14. Presenting Your Work Nov 2, IN-CLASS

NOVEMBER

DateTimeWhoTopicReading MaterialAssignmentDue
Fri 04.11.2015 10:20 - 11:55 KRTh Student Presentations
W13 NOV
Mon 07.11.2015 14:00 - 15:40 KRTh Student Presentations