Research Seminar – CPIT 695
Course Introduction
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Course Outcome
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To identify research point and potential supervisor
To write MSc research thesis
To defend the research proposal
Course Work Evaluation
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Evaluation will be based on:
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Active participation
Seminar Report
Proposal Defense Presentation
Proposal
Academic Integrity
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Students are encouraged to discuss the materials,
homework, and projects together. However, all written
assignments must be done individually or in assigned
groups. Academic dishonesty includes, but is not
limited to: plagiarism, cheating on exams, unauthorized
collaboration and falsifying academic records. Violating
of these may result in a grade penalty on an assignment,
an "F" in the course, dismissal from an academic unit,
revocation of admission, suspension from the
university, etc.
Course Methodology
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The course will be conducted via different means such
as:
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Open discussion
Researchers presentations
Self reading and research
lecturing
What is an MSc and PhD?
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Then: school,
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Now: university,
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learning (“apprendre”).
understanding (“comprendre”).
Understanding is better than Learning:
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“Learning is brain damage. I’ve spent the last 18 to 20 years
unlearning the things I learned in my Ph.D. studies.” – Gilad
Bracha (2011)
What is an MSc and PhD?
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Fact: You will change
 Your first research paper will mobilize all your intellectual
resources. It will be exhausting.
 Yet by the end of your PhD studies you will have all your
papers in mind, plus your entire domain of research. And you
will make it.
PhD studies: a genuine mind expansion.
One cannot teach on an empty stomach but teaching on a full
stomach is difficult too.
Research: often, not so much a look at new things than a new
look at things.
What is an MSc and PhD?
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MSc, PhD… what does it mean?
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MSc students must demonstrate the ability to do substantial
software development as part of their coursework
MSc degree provides knowledge and skills
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To hold professional positions in the development and design of
computer systems, and in the design and implementation of new
software applications;
To hold administrative positions that require planning and evaluation
of computer-based systems;
To teach in computer science;
To be prepared for further study and research at the doctorate level.
What is an MSc and PhD?
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PhD: The doctoral degree in computer science prepares
students to undertake fundamental and applied research
in computer science, preparing them to apply their
studies in the world of academia, governmental policy
and/or the industrial sector.
What is an MSc and PhD?
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What does it mean to be an MSc or PhD holder?
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Independent
Committed
Hardwork and Smartwork
MSc thesis…?
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What is an MSc thesis?
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[Stanford MS] The research report represents work that is publishable in a
journal or at a high-quality conference, although it is presumably longer
and more expansive in scope than a typical conference paper
The Master's thesis must be a written account of a critical and scholarly
investigation in an area of computer science.
It may represent:
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(a) a piece of independent research (extensions and improvements of
work in a given part of the field are acceptable at a level of novelty
which is less than that required for a doctoral thesis);
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(b) a work of synthesis that gives new significance and insight to
previously-known results; or
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(c) an important constructive contribution to the development of a
computer application.
MSc thesis…?
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What is an MSc thesis?
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What it is made of?
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The thesis may not be a digest of known results from the literature, a
summary of a published report, company classified or government
classified material, or dependent for its background on other non-available
reports.
Hypothesis (research)
Testing (using subjective and objective methods)
Results (---)
Conclusions (observations and comparisons)
What is thesis proposal?
What should you know?
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how research papers are written,
how to read such papers critically and efficiently,
how to summarise and review them.
how to gain an understanding of a new field, in the
absence of a textbook
how to judge the value of different contributions
how to identify promising new directions
What should be our outcomes?
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Find the best examples of research papers in theoretical
computer science which have had impact – in whatever
terms you think are important
Identify the most promising recent research papers,
likely to find application in the future
Learn how best to present contributions in computer
science, how to present evidence for claims made, and
how to evaluate them critically
Choose a thesis topic which will change the world
Become a seasoned, critical, cynical reader of scientific
literature
What should we learn?
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Zotero or Endnote or others
 How to organize papers?
 How to write references?
Tool to write papers
 Latex
Materials to refer:
 How to Succeed in Graduate School: A Guide for Students and Advisors -Marie desJardins
 Michael HAMADA and Randy SITTER, “Statistical Research: Some
Advice for Beginners”, The American Statistician, May 2004, Vol. 58,
No. 2, pp. 93 – 101.
Weekly writing practice:
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http://writing-program.uchicago.edu/toys/archive/index.htm
What is a good MSc thesis?
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Discussion…
Assignment
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What should be the components of the research
proposal…?
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Let’s see the next chapter
References
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CPIT 695 Notes of Dr. Ahmad Barnawi
http://cs.stanford.edu/degrees/mscs/degree.php
http://www.cs.rutgers.edu/graduate/ms_program.html
http://cidse.engineering.asu.edu/forstudent/graduate/computerscience/
http://cs.au.dk/~danvy/tips-and-tricks/index.html
http://www.doc.ic.ac.uk/~phjk/MACResearchSeminar/
Materials to refer:
 How to Succeed in Graduate School: A Guide for Students
and Advisors -- Marie desJardins
 Statistical Research: Some Advice for Beginners -- Michael
HAMADA and Randy SITTER
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References
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http://dept.cs.williams.edu/~bailey/p/research.pdf
http://www.cc.gatech.edu/fac/Spencer.Rugaber/txt/research_paper.txt
http://faculty.washington.edu/wpratt/survive.htm
http://www.cs.indiana.edu/mit.research.how.to.html
http://www.cs.iastate.edu/~honavar/hamming.html
http://www.cs.umd.edu/~oleary/gradstudy/gradstudy.html
Websites with useful information
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http://www.cs.iastate.edu/~honavar/grad-advice.html
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http://www4.stat.ncsu.edu/~davidian/st810a/index.html
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http://faculty.washington.edu/heagerty/Courses/b572/lecture2012.htm
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http://www.cs.rutgers.edu/~eddy.zhengzhang/resources.html
Writing Personal Statements: https://sites.google.com/site/asergrp/statements
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References
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Weekly writing practice:
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http://writing-program.uchicago.edu/toys/archive/index.htm
Books:
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Jacques Barzun's Simple and Direct: A Rhetoric for Writers
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Claire Cook's The MLA's Line By Line
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Chicago manual of style
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The Complete Plain Words, Sir Ernest Gowers
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http://www.ourcivilisation.com/smartboard/shop/gowerse/complete/in
dex.htm
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Common Errors in English Usage by Paul Brians
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Mary-Claire van Leunen. A Handbook for Scholars. Oxford University
Press, 1992.
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The Mayfield Handbook of Technical and Scientific Writing
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http://www.mhhe.com/mayfieldpub/tsw/home.htm
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