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UG4/MSc/PhD1: Informatics Research Methodologies

Lecturer

Alan Bundy, A.Bundy@ed.ac.uk, Room 2.15, Informatics Forum, extension 502716

Aims and objectives

The aim of this module is to teach the methodologies of and the skills for conducting research in Informatics.

We will address questions such as:

• Is Informatics a science, a branch of engineering, or both?
• What are the big scientific questions that Informatics seeks to answer?
• What constitutes an experiment in Informatics?
• Do we propose and test hypotheses in Informatics? If so, what form do these take and where do we look for the evidence that tests them?

After taking this module, students should be able to:

• Understand and apply various Informatics methodologies;
• Conduct and report on a literature survey of a small area of Informatics research;
• Present a seminar on an area of Informatics research;
• Review Informatics research papers;
• Deploy their transferable skills of reading, writing and design, more effectively.

Syllabus

The module will cover: the nature of Informatics research; criteria for assessing Informatics research; rival methodologies for Informatics research and how to combine them; the design of experiments and evaluations; software engineering processes appropriate to research; practical advice on conducting research and numerous research skills including: reading, reviewing, presenting, writing, design, etc.

Intellectual skills development

The module will cultivate a large number of research-oriented skills. These skills include: accessing and effective searching of physical and electronic knowledge sources; directed and disciplined reading; the ability to review, summarise and critically compare; evaluating techniques and systems; the design of experiments and the use of statistics both to investigate human and animal cognition and to evaluate artificial systems; clear and succinct, verbal and written presentation; answering questions about a presentation; and knowledge of mechanisms for the design, funding, execution, presentation, assessment and monitoring of research.

Activities

The module will consist of the following components:

• Lectures. These will be on topics of interest to the whole class. Illustrative topics are: the nature of Informatics research; criteria for assessing Informatics research; accounts of the various methodologies used in Informatics and ways to combine them; the design of experiments both to understand natural computation and to evaluate Informatics systems; software engineering processes appropriate to research; how to get a PhD.
• Student Presentations. Each student will give a presentation on a topic of current research. Presentation topics will be chosen by mutual agreement between the student and lecturer.
• Assessment. This will be by 3 practical exercises (see assessment section). Formal assessment will only apply to UG4 and MSc students. PhD students may submit practical work, if desired, to obtain feedback.

Assessment

Assessment will be by the following three practical exercises.

1. The best two reviews of a selection of four research papers.
2. • For UG4 students: An analysis of your project using the ideas you have learnt in IRM.
   • For MSc students: A short research paper (a rewrite of one of the review papers).
3. A presentation on a topic of your choice.

The following table gives the proportion of the overall mark allocated to each aspect of assessment and the minimum and maximum time that should be spent on them in hours.

Number	Exercise	Percentage	Time
1-4	2 paper reviews	30%	20hrs
5	Research Paper/Project Analysis	40%	30hrs
6	Presentation	30%	14hrs

These times include preparation time, eg reading/skimming papers, preparing slides, etc. The numbers should be used during electronic submission of items 1-6. All coursework submissions are marked out of 100%. A weighted sum of these marks is used to calculate the overall course mark, which is also out of 100%.

The relevant hand-in dates are as follows:

• Paper reviews: One per fortnight at 4pm Thursday of weeks 3 to 9 inclusive.
• Research paper/project analysis: By 4pm Thursday week 11.
• Presentation: Some time in weeks 6 to 11 (to be agreed by week 3).

The paper reviews and grant proposal should be submitted electronically using the command, i.e.

   submit msc irm-5  <coursework number> <filename>  

Note that, to simplify the submission process, all students should submit coursework as MSc students. Work will be marked and returned with feedback to students within two weeks of submission.

Context

There are no prerequisites for the module. The module is intended for those UG4 and MSc students intending to do an Informatics-related research degree, and for students in their first year of an Informatics-related research degree.

References

General textbooks are not suitable for a module of this kind. Background and recommended reading, papers for review and slides will be made available electronically or via the libraries. For their presentation and paper re-write, students will be expected to search for appropriate reading materials in libraries and from electronic sources.

Alan Bundy