A4RC Undergraduate and Graduate Research Methods Course
Spring 2008
Participating schools: NCA&T, Norfolk State University, Bennett College, Jackson State
University, Virginia Tech, Georgia Tech, University of Colorado at Boulder
Coordinator and Lead Faculty: Scott McCrickard, Virginia Tech
Topics specific to undertaking the research, with an emphasis on producing quality papers and
written documents (adapted from "The Craft of Research" by Booth; most presentations were
given in our summer REU group; we NEED buy-in from the pods to match these topics to their
own pod progress):
* Research, Researchers, and Readers - describes the nature and uses of research, why writing
is important, the roles for writers and readers, the need for collaboration in research and writing
* Asking Questions, Finding Answers - outlines processes for identifying research topics, crafting
a research question, finding a problem to solve, and attacking the problem scientifically
* Making and Supporting Claims through Research - describes the key elements in creating a
convincing research argument
* Reasons and Evidence in Research - describes how to find, write about, and argue for the
reasons and evidence you need
* Making Contributions the Write Way - describes how to plan, draft, and revise a professional
paper
* Ethics of Research - approaches to avoid shortcomings like plagiarism, inaccurate or false data
reporting, failure to address criticisms
Topics related to becoming a professor (adapted from presentations and activities led by Manuel
Perez and Pardha Pyla at VT, given to participants of a seminar here; to a lesser (but still
important) degree, we need pod buy-in here too as above):
* A day in the life of a professor - explains all the things we have to do, meetings, committees,
advising, research, teaching, etc.
* How to research through reading - covers how to search for papers online, how to follow
references, how to organize papers in databases/citations/bibliographies
* How to obtain research funding - explains to students what proposal grants are about, budgets,
funding cycles, funding agencies, etc.
* How to get the most out of attending a research conference - goes into techniques for meeting
people, choosing sessions, getting involved through volunteer opportunities
Other potential topics to be scattered throughout the semester (many are related to successful
panels or discussions I've seen elsehwere; most would benefit greatly from participation of people
at participating institutions--volunteers or suggestions of names would be wonderful):
* Applying to grad school - thoughts on crafting a resume, filling out an application, taking the
GRE, approaching people about letters of recommendation (possible panelists: Marilyn Kershaw,
someone from NCAT/NSU/JSU?)
* Choosing a graduate instition - questions to ask in picking where to apply and attend (possible
panelists: )
* Research in industry vs academia - deciding which is right for you, and doing the right things as
a student to determine your path (possible panelists: Clayton Lewis, Shawn Bohner, Woodrow
Winchester)
* Pitfalls in the graduate process - tips from current or recent graduate students (possible
panelists: Pardha Pyla, Cheryl Seals, NCAT/NSU/JSU?)
* Challenges in moving between HBCUs and RUs (possible panelists: Gerry Dozier, Woodrow
Winchester, NCAT/NSU/JSU?)
* Balancing grad school and family - perspective from those who did it would be tremendously
helpful!
(possible panelists: NCAT/NSU/JSU?)
Important dates:
NCAT--start:01/07;break:03/03;end:04/29
NSU---start:01/12;break:03/10;end:05/02
JSU---start:01/10;break:03/17;end:05/03
Weekly schedule (subject to change):
Week 1 (01/15)
Topic: Being Connected in the Online Age: Blogging, Facebook, and More
Assignment: Manage your online presence, Ethics statement, read CoR ch 1,2
Week 2 (01/22)
Topic: Research, Researchers, and Readers
Assignment: read CoR ch 3,4,5,6
Week 3 (01/29)
Topic: Asking Questions, Finding Answers
Assignment: draft of Related Work document
Week 4 (02/05)
Topic: How to research through reading (Perez/Pyla)
Assignment: final Related Work document; CoR ch 7,8
Week 5 (02/12)
Topic: Making and Supporting Claims through Research
Assignment: draft of Research Claims document
Week 6 (02/19)
Topic: Choosing a grad institution/Applying to grad school
Assignment: position paper on My Plans for Grad School...and Beyond
Week 7 (02/26)
Topic: Pitfalls in the graduate process
Assignment: do your research!
Week 8 (03/04 or 3/11)
Topic: Making Contributions the Write Way
Assignment: outline of Research Report document
Week 9 (03/11 or 3/18)
Topic: Ethics of Research
Assignment: do your research!
Week 11 (03/25)
Topic: A day in the life of a professor
Assignment: draft of Research Report document
Week 12 (04/01)
Topic: How to obtain research funding
Assignment: plan for future research
Week 13 (04/08)
Topic: Challenges in moving between HBCUs and RUs
Assignment: draft of Research Report document
Week 14 (04/15)
Topic: Research in industry vs academia
Assignment: draft of poster for Research Symposium
Week 14 (04/22)
Topic: Research in industry vs academia
Assignment: final Research Report document
Week 15 (04/29)
Topic: Course wrapup
-D. Scott McCrickard
Associate Professor
Computer Science Department Virginia Tech, Blacksburg VA 24061-0106
mccricks@cs.vt.edu
http://www.cs.vt.edu/~mccricks/
phone: (540) 231-6698
fax: (540) 231-6075