Engr 694-60: Research Methods in Computer Science
Spring 2014

Final Project Paper and Presentation
Revised Due Date For Paper: Sunday, 4 May 2014 at 11:59 P.M. American Samoa Time (Monday, 5:59 A.M. CDT)
Presentation: Tuesday, 6 May 2014 at 4:00 p.m.

For this assignment, you are required to produce a final paper:

• Choose a computer science topic you wish to investigate. Ideally, this should be in an area that you are considering for a possible dissertation, thesis, or other research project. It may be (but is not required to be) the same topic that you chose for the annotated bibliography assignment.


• Select three or four important papers on your chosen topic. (Some or all of these may be among those you selected for your annotated bibliography assignment.)


• Clarification added after semester: The papers you choose should be scholarly papers of reasonable length published in reputable computer science journals or refereed conference proceedings (or post-proceedings). The journals, transactions, and conference proceedings published by ACM and IEEE are good sources for papers. But you may choose other reputable publishers of scholarly papers with significant computer science content.


• Read and study the papers carefully.


• Using what you have learned this semester, write a 5-to-6 page (approximately 2500-word) summary (and critique) of the selected papers. Your summary should be an integrated overview of the papers, not just independent summaries of each paper concatenated together. Additional papers, books, or other materials can be referenced as needed.


• Your paper must be your own work. Be sure to include appropriate quotations, citations, bibliography, and acknowledgements as we have discussed in this course. Use the IEEE citation style and IEEE Transactions template. (Do not include annotations in the reference list.)


• Format your paper using either LaTeX or a word processor that produces a document that is compatible with Microsoft Word.


• Submit the source files and a PDF of your paper electronically via Blackboard by the paper's due date. Turn in a hardcopy of the paper to Dr. Cunningham in class or in his mailbox.

For this assignment, you are also required to give a final presentation:

• Be ready to make a 12-to-15-minute presentation to the class on your paper on the date scheduled for the presentation. I will schedule you to present in one of the two final exam periods available to this class, either May 6 or May 8 at 4:00 p.m. All students are expected to attend all presentations.


• Design your presentation to fit within the allocated time budget. Practice the delivery as needed. Be prepared to answer questions from your classmates or me.


• Try to resolve all technical issues with your presentation in advance. If you plan to use the Windows computer, projector, and/or document camera in the classroom, make sure that appropriate software, fonts, etc., are available and that you can operate the equipment as needed. If you plan to bring your own computer, make sure you can connect it to the projector expeditiously. If you need to use files on a server or web pages, may sure you can access them from the classroom.


• If you produce slides, handouts, or web pages to support your presentation, please submit the materials electronically to Blackboard.

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