CS610 Research Methods
Computer Science Department
Summer 1996

Richard Halstead-Nussloch, Ph.D.

Last update: 3 September 1996

Upon successful completion of the course, each student will be able to:

Define and discuss major categories, techniques, and methods of doing computer-science research.
Plan and design the use of major empirical methods of computer-science research, specifically surveys, case studies, comparisons, testing, and simple experiments.
Plan, design, and implement a significant research project in an area of computer science.
Present and report effectively on research in an acceptable manner for the computer science profession.

Date	Assignment / Instruction
1st week	Introduction, Two Research Article Comparison Assignment, Avoiding Plagiarism, Primary versus Secondary Research
2nd week	Research Reporting and Presentation, ST6000 Account Check, Measurement
3rd week	Presentations of Two Research Article Presentations, Survey Assignment, Survey Questionnaire Construction, Library Tour
4th week	Two Research Article Comparison Due (7/11), Internet/WWW Use Lab, Survey Development, Research Projects
5th week	Study Design, Survey Development, Case Studies, Comparison Studies
6th week	Survey Implementation, Survey Data Analysis, Research Reports, Usability Testing in Computer Science, Software Quality/Testing, LAST DAY TO DROP (8/13), Proposals
7th week	Survey Report Due 8/22, Primary versus Secondary Research Reviewed
8th week	Final Project Proposals Due 8/29, Usability Lab Tour, Final Project Workshop
9th week	Final Project Workshop, Primary (Empirical) Research Project Report Due 9/5
10th week	Final Project Presentations (Mandatory Attendance), Final Project Reports Due (Noon, 9/13, CS Office)

Richard Halstead-Nussloch, E-Mail: rhalstea@sct.edu
Phone: (770)528-5509

Course Structure: Class Lecture/Discussion - Classes are very important. Attendance will be noted. Students are responsible for all items covered including missed lectures.
A Journal: Keeping a journal is highly recommended for this course. Include in it descriptions of your readings, your reviews of your readings, tips and techniques for doing research, the results of your research, logs of, e.g., Internet activity, etc.
Policies:
1. No late submissions for full grade credit except for documented emergencies.
2. All work assigned to be turned in is due at the beginning of the class.
3. Assignments turned in late will be accepted, but at a grade discount. Multiple late assignements will result in additional discount applied to your final course grade.
4. Academic dishonesty will not be tolerated.
Attendance: Class participation and contribution will account for a quarter of your grade. Since one cannot contribute to and participate in the class without attending, attendance is recommended. Regardless of attendance, each student is reponsible for keeping up with materials and information from each class period. This means it is up to the student to arrange with another class member for obtaining notes, handouts, etc., from any class meeting, or portion thereof, missed.