Capstone Design Seminar

Instructor

• Office: Steinmetz Hall 221
• Email: tartaroa@union.edu
• Office hours: Tuesdays and Wednesdays 10:30-12:30

General Information

• Meeting time: Thursdays 1:55-3:40
• Meeting place: Olin 107
• Description: Development of the skills necessary for independent research: Reading scholarly works, designing experiments and empirically evaluating their results. Development of a comprehensive senior capstone project proposal. Investigation of professional ethics, skills and responsibilities. Normally taken in spring of the junior year.
• Class format: Discussion, weekly writing assignments, background paper, final paper.

Books

The Craft of Research, 3rd Edition, Wayne C. Booth, Gregory G. Colomb & Joseph M. Williams, University of Chicago Press, 2008.

Your Research Project: How to Manage It, Andy Hunt, Routledge, 2005.

Available at the bookstore.

Additional readings are linked from the schedule, below, or on Blackboard.

Requirements, policies, etc.

Course goals

• Learn about research in Computer Science
• Develop critical reading skill
• Develop skills for presenting scholarly work and participating in presentations as an audience member
• Develop a research question for your senior project and a proposal for answering that question.

Class attendance, participation and preparation

Classes will involve a lot of discussion. It is therefore important that you attend all classes, come prepared (do all the readings for a class PRIOR to class) and participate. After the first absence, your final grade will be reduced by 1/3 for each further unexcused absence (eg. A- to B+ or B to B-). If you have a convincing reason why you have to miss a class, come talk to me well in advance so we can discuss how you will make up missed work.

CS Seminar attendance, participation and preparation

Attendance at the Computer Science Seminar Series is required. This is a great opportunity to hear about exciting research projects. You are encouraged to ask questions at the end of the talk. You may be assigned a reading that we will discuss in class the week before the seminar. Seminars are Thursdays during the common hour, 12:50-1:50, and the schedule is included in your course schedule below.

Weekly assignments

There will be weekly assignments of varying lengths. Writing helps thinking - no one develops a research question overnight. Research questions are the product of exploring an area in different directions, asking questions, looking at them from different angles and revising them. Writing during this process helps to avoid going around in circles, focus ideas and learn how to formulate questions clearly. Similarly, no one writes a research paper in one sitting nor without feedback. Assignments will also including reviewing your peers' and your own work.

Handing in assignments

Turn in both a hard copy and an electronic copy of each assignment. Hard copies are due at the beginning of class. Electronic copies should be handed in on Blackboard in the digital dropbox. Be sure to click "Send File" - "Add File" does not hand in a document; it is only available to you. The file name should be lastname_asgn#, for example, tartaro_asgn1. Unless otherwise specified, put everything in one .doc or .pdf file.

Late assignments

Late work and make ups will not be allowed, since the assignments build on each other and the schedule is tight.

Academic Integrity

Scholastic dishonesty is misrepresenting someone else's work as your own, which is a form of stealing, and will not be tolerated. You are responsible for reading and understanding Union's policies regarding Academic Conduct in the student handbook (http://www.union.edu/StudentLife/Handbook/) and Union's statement on plagarism (http://www.union.edu/Library/refroom/statement.htm). If you need help understanding how and when to cite sources, please see me.

In addition, each assignment indicates whether you may work on the assigment with others in the class, and what kinds of collaboration are acceptable. When in doubt please ask. Always indicate who you worked with on an assignments.

Grade Allocation

• Background paper: 15%
• Final paper: 25%
• Weekly assignments (background & final papers excluded): 25%
• Presentations: 15 %
• Class participation: 10%
• CS Seminar participation: 10%

Students with disabilities

It is the policy of Union College to make reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with disabilities. I encourage students with disabilities to make an appointment to meet with me as soon as possible to discuss accommodations that might help facilitate your learning. You will need appropriate documentation from the Student Support Office. All discussions will remain confidential.

Schedule

Note: Subject to change. Be sure to check for updates at: http://cs.union.edu/~tartaroa/csc497/