This repository contains information about Data Analysis, including the course objectives, policies and the schedule. Please check this repository regularly for updates to the policies and the schedule.
- Schedule
- Exemplar Projects
- Course Deliverable
- Course Description
- Learning Outcomes
- Distribution Requirements
- Suggested TextBooks
- Other Useful Textbooks
- Policies
- Grading
- Grading Scale
- Definitions of Grading Categories
- Assignment Submission
- Attendance
- Late Submissions
- Extensions
- A note on extenuating circumstances
- Communication
- Bring your own computer to class
- Special Needs and Disability Services
- Honor Code
- Welcome to Computer Science Research!
- Schedule
Dr. Oliver Bonham-Carter (Note: said and written as Bonham-Carter, not Carter)
Office Location: Alden Hall 203
Email: [email protected]
- M/W/F 1:30 PM - 2:20 PM
- 1/16/2024 - 5/7/2024
- Alden Hall, 101 Lecture
Note: There is no lab for this course.
The project link can be found at https://github.com/ReadyResearchers-2023-24/cmpsc-580-exemplar-projects
If you are already on the department's Discord server, then you will be given access to the course's Discord channel, called #data-analytics. If not, then you will need to join the department's Discord server before you can be added to the course's channel.
- Due: 3th May 2024, 7:00pm
- Credits: 4
An investigation of select topics in computer and information science that prepares students for the completion of a senior project with the purpose of identifying knowledge gaps in the discipline. Students learn how to read scholarly papers, state and motivate research questions, create a software prototype or develop scholarly artifacts to address their findings, and collect and organize evidence for evaluating the outcome of their project. During a weekly laboratory session students use industry-grade technology to gain practical skills in technical writing, the presentation of technical concepts, and the production of an artifact. Students are invited to use their own departmentally approved laptop in this course; a limited number of laptops are available for use during class and lab sessions. Prerequisite: Permission of instructor.
None
Students learn to begin and complete an academic research project. In this task, students learn how to;
- Illustrate a component of a viable and appropriate open-source research project idea.
- Identify appropriate sources to motivate the research idea and determine research project objectives.
- Demonstrate feasibility of a research idea through an application of existing computational resources.
- Describe a research idea, its motivation, goals, and anticipated outcomes in writing.
- Present and communicate complex ideas in a variety of media through both informal discussions, peer reviews, and formal presentations.
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Deetjen, Thomas A.. Published: A Guide to Literature Review, Outlining, Experimenting, Visualization, Writing, Editing, and Peer Review for Your First Scientific Journal Article. Poland: Productive Academic Press, 2020. ISBN: 9781734493108
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Dupre, L. (2000). BUGS in Writing: A Guide to Debugging Your Prose. United States: Addison-Wesley.
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Evans, D., Zobel, J., Gruba, P. (2014). How to Write a Better Thesis. Germany: Springer International Publishing.
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Gruba, P., Zobel, J. (2017). How To Write Your First Thesis. Germany: Springer International Publishing. ISBN: 978-1-4471-6638-2
Along with reading the required books, you will be asked to study many additional articles from a wide variety of conference proceedings, journals, and the popular press.
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Think Python, first edition, by Allen B. Downey.
- Available online at; https://greenteapress.com/wp/think-python-2e/
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BUGS in Writing: A Guide to Debugging Your Prose (Second Edition). Lyn Dupre. Addison-Wesley Professional. ISBN-10: 020137921X and ISBN-13: 978-0201379211, 704 pages, 1998.
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Writing for Computer Science (Second Edition). Justin Zobel. Springer ISBN-10: 1852338024 and ISBN-13:978-1852338022, 270 pages, 2004.
Use your Gradebook Repository to receive updates from the instructor. The repository is only for receiving reports -- you will never have to post to this repository.
The grade that a student receives in this class will be based on the following categories. All percentages are approximate and, if the need to do so presents itself, it is possible for the assigned percentages to change during the academic semester.
| Category | Percentage | Assessment metric |
|---|---|---|
| Class Participation | 40% | check mark grade |
| Departmental Project | 30% | letter grade |
| Own Project | 30% | letter grade |
| Total | 100% |
| Letter | Range | Letter | Range | Letter | Range |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | 96 - 100 | A- | 90 - 95.9 | ||
| B+ | 87 - 89.9 | B | 83 - 86.9 | B- | 80 - 82.9 |
| C+ | 77 - 79.9 | C | 73 - 76.9 | C- | 70 - 72.9 |
| D+ | 67 - 69.9 | D | 63 - 66.9 | F | 59.9 and below |
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Class Participation: All students are required to actively participate during all of the class sessions. Your participation will take forms such as completing in-class exercises, leading a discussion session in class, engaging in peer review procesws wigh both fellow 580 and 610 students, complete activities as a part of a joint-session on Fridays with the 610 course.
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Development of Departmental Project: You will be given a project idea from the department to conduct a literature review, a method selection, an implementation of an artifact, complete prototype development, perform testing and complete an analysis of experimental results. At the completion of this project, you will submit a report of the idea.
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Development of Own Project: This project will present you with an opportunity to design and implement a correct and carefully evaluated project. Completion of the final project will require you to apply all of the work and skills that you have already acquired in the course during the semester to address a research problem. At the completion of this project, you will submit a proposal of your own idea. The details for the final project will be given in class.
Your class instructor will be using GitHub Classroom to collect all assignments. It is expected that you are able to effectively use git to submit your work. If you require help, please see your peers, the Technology Leaders, or your instructor.
All assignments will have a stated due date. The electronic version of the class assignments are to be turned in at the beginning of the lab session on that due date. Submissions after the beginning of class are counted as being late. Assignments will be accepted for up to one week past the assigned due date with a 15% penalty. All late assignments must be submitted at the beginning of the session that is scheduled one week after the due date. The honor code (see below) is assumed for all submitted work.
It is mandatory for all students to attend the class and laboratory sessions. If you will not be able to attend a session, then please see/email the course instructor at least one week in advance to describe your situation. Students who miss more than five unexcused classes, laboratory sessions, or group project meetings will have their final grade in the course reduced by one letter grade. Students who miss more than ten of the aforementioned events will automatically fail the course.
All assignments will have a stated due date and a late deadline (the latest date that an assignment will be accepted -- up to a week after the deadline). The electronic version of the class assignments are to be turned in at the beginning of the lab session on the due date. Submissions after the beginning of class are counted as being late.
Assignments will be accepted for up to one week past the assigned due date with a 15% penalty. After that time, the lab will not be accepted.
Please note, lab solutions will be discussed after the one week late submission deadline. Therefore, any submission of the assignments following that deadline will not be possible.
Unless special arrangements are made with the course instructor, no assignments will be accepted after the late deadline. If you are requesting extensions for a lab assignment, then you are to email me with your request and also provide a valid reason for your extension. This request must come before the due date of the lab and not on the due date.
The decision to provide you with an extension (or not) will be weighed in light of fairness to your peers who are still able to complete their labs, regardless of their own busy schedules.
If you should find yourself in difficult circumstances that significantly interfere with your ability to prepare for this class and to complete assignments, please inform me immediately so that we can work something out together! Do not wait until the last day of class to ask for exceptions to what is stated in this syllabus. In such a situation, you may also find it helpful to contact one of the available resources on campus:
- Maytum Center for Student Success
- Allegheny College Counseling Center
- The Winslow Health Center
- Student Life
- Student Accessibility and Support Services
Various digital channels will be used in this course for communication, including email, Discord, and the GitHub issue tracker. It is strongly advised for the student to install the Discord app on their computer and smart-phone to be sure to receive all communications from the instructor, as well as, the other members of the class.
Additionally, the course website will be used to store the syllabus, course schedule and information about the classDocs/ repository using the GitHub. Your grades will be communicated to you by a Gradebook GitHub repository.
The classrooms in the Department of Computer Science no longer provide machines for student use. You are to bring your own wifi-ready device to class to be able to follow along with course material. If the class is meeting online using Zoom, then please be sure that you machine is configured correctly to use these services to connect you to the class. As it is your responsibility to maintain your machine, please perform online research to determine how to configure your machine accordingly, or to install any necessary software to enable online meetings.
During the semester, you will be told which software to install on your machine to be prepared for class. Some of the prominent software that we may be using can be found at the following resource.
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is a federal anti-discrimination statute that provides comprehensive civil rights protection for persons with disabilities. Among other things, this legislation requires all students with disabilities be guaranteed a learning environment that provides for reasonable accommodation of their disabilities. Students with disabilities who believe they may need accommodations in this class are encouraged to contact Disability Services at 332-2898. Disability Services is part of the Learning Commons and is located in Pelletier Library. Please do this as soon as possible to ensure that approved accommodations are implemented in a timely fashion.
The Academic Honor Program that governs the entire academic program at Allegheny College is described in the Allegheny Course Catalogue. The Honor Program applies to all work that is submitted for academic credit or to meet non-credit requirements for graduation at Allegheny College. This includes all work assigned for this class (e.g., examinations, laboratory assignments, and the final project). All students who have enrolled in the College will work under the Honor Program. Each student who has matriculated at the College has acknowledged the following pledge:
I hereby recognize and pledge to fulfill my responsibilities, as defined in the Honor Code, and to maintain the integrity of both myself and the College community as a whole.
It is recognized that an important part of the learning process in any course, and particularly one in computer science, derives from thoughtful discussions with teachers and fellow students. Such dialogue is encouraged. However, it is necessary to distinguish carefully between the student who discusses the principles underlying a problem with others and the student who produces assignments that are identical to, or merely variations on, someone else's work. While it is acceptable for students in this class to discuss their programs, technical diagrams, proposals, paper reviews, presentations, and other items with their classmates or other individuals, deliverables that are nearly identical to the work of others will be taken as evidence of violating the Honor Code.
More information about the code may be found at the Maytum Center for Student Success
Types of computer hardware and software are everywhere! Conducting research in computer science is a challenging and rewarding activity that leads to the production of hardware, software, and scientific insights that have the potential to positively influence the lives of many people. As you learn more about research methods in computer science you will also enhance your ability to effectively write and speak about a wide range of topics in computer science. I ask that you bring your best effort and highest enthusiasm as you pursue research in computer science this semester.
Below is a tentative schedule of covered topics as we cover them, along with their associated activities.
For Monday, Wednesday Meetings, we will be following the below calendar. However, since this course has been integrating with the 610 session, you will have an opportunity to engage with with seniors for comprehensive work shadowing and peer-review opportunities.
| Week # | Dates | Topic |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wed, 17 Jan | Welcome, Activity01: Getting to know you |
| 1 | Friday 19 Jan | (580/610) Activity02: Peer review form for 610 student work |
| 2 | Monday, 22 Jan | Introduction to Literature Review, Activity03: Literature Review, due at start of Friday's class (24 Jan 2024) |
| 2 | Wednesday, 24 Jan | Reading a technical paper for comprehension. Activity04, due at start of class on Monday, 29 Jan 2024 |
| 2 | Friday 26 Jan | (580/610) Running or testing artifact from 610 Activity05, due on Friday, 2 Feb at start of class |
| 3 | 29 Jan - 2 Feb | Overview of Departmental Projects: Literature review of project material, Exemplar Project Assigned |
| 3 | Friday 2 Feb | (580/610) Re-Running and verifying that implementations / improvements were made Activity06 Due on Friday 9th Feb at start of class |
| 4 | 5 - 9 Feb | Dept Project Prototype Development: Method selection |
| 4 | 9 Feb | (580/610) Peer review the Methods chapter from 610 Activity07 Due on Wednesday 14 Feb at start of class |
| 5 | 12 - 16 Feb | Dept Project Prototype Development: Implementation Activity08, Due on Friday 16th at start of class, Reviewing Artifact Activity09 |
| 6 | 19 - 23 Feb | Dept Project Prototype Development: Testing Activity10, Due Friday 1st March at start of class |
| 7 | 26 - 1 Mar | Dept Project Prototype Development: Experiments and results Activity 11 Due Wednesday 13th March at start of class |
| 8 | SPRING-BREAK | Spring Break |
| 9 | 11 - 15 Mar | Work on projects, Video My Step by Step Guide to Writing a Research Paper, The Basics of APA In-text Citations |
| 10 | 18th Mar | Special Note! Dept Project: Due 18th March 2024 at 1:30pm, Activity12 Due Wednesday 20th March at start of class |
| 10 | 18 - 22 Mar | Own Project: Idea exploration and selection: Activity 13 Due Friday 22nd March at start of class, Activity 14 Presentations in class on Wednesday 20th March, Activity 15 Due Wednesday 27th March at start of class |
| 11 | 25 - 29 Mar | Own Project: Literature review and feasibility, Activity 16, Due on Friday: 29th March 2024 |
| 12 | 1 - 5 Apr | Own Project Repository: Prototype development and start proposal writing, Reader Preferences Due on Friday 5th April at start of class. |
| 13 | 8 - 12 Apr | Own Project: Prototype development and continue proposal writing, Project Pitches |
| 14 | 15 - 19 Apr | Reader assignments Own Project: Project Idea Pitches and continue proposal writing |
| 15 | 22 - 26 Apr | Own Project: Project Feedback Activity17 and Revision, Survey: Course Learning Objectives |
| 16 | 29 April | Own Project: Finalize Proposal and Prototype |
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Excelsior's Online Writing Lab: article checklist
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Modern Language Association: article checklist