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CSC498 - Armstrong

Dr. Armstrong: Senior Research Methods

Assignment Deliverables

Topic Description

This is a one-paragraph description of the general area of interest in computer science. While it is not critical that the student be able to express all the details of the project at this point, the more the student knows the better.

Preliminary Bibliography

This is a list of no less than 15 references (managed via Zotero) that are related to the topic.

Annotated Bibliography

This is a complete list of the references the student will use in the literature background. Each includes at least a single paragraph description and a list of specific aspects of the paper that make it relevant. In addition, it contains a separate list of the references from the preliminary bibliography that are no longer relevant with descriptions for why each became irrelevant.

Literature Background Outline

This is a standard outline of the literature background paper. The lit review outline should be in outline form. It should include a bibliography of sources (not annotated, only include referenced sources). Sort the bibliography alphabetically and number each source.

Literature Background Paper

This is a paper describing the literature background for the topic the student has chosen. Keep in mind that this is a formal piece of writing. That means that it should be written in the 3rd person only. Occasionally, this may force you into using the passive voice; that is perfectly acceptable for this paper.

Primary Objective

All projects require a clear, formalized statement of what the project will do and will not do. You will formulate this statement very carefully because it will form the requirements for your completion of CSC 499.

Hypothesis & Experiment Design

All projects must present a clear statement of the expected outcome of the work. For research projects, this is the hypothesis and the experiment design. This deliverable is not graded by itself, instead, the quality of this deliverable effects the grade for the proposal presentation.

Proposal Presentation

This presentation will be given a few weeks before the end of the semester. The purpose of the presentation is to publicly vet your project and your plans to complete it. 

Poster

The poster summarizes your project on a single, large page that will hang in the hallway. The poster should be graphically interesting and very clear.

Final Paper

This is a revision of the literature background paper with the addition of a proposal for the project. These proposals will differ, depending on the type of project being completed. Your final paper will follow the same outline as your proposal presentation with a few minor adjustments.

The Literature Review Research Guide provides more background on organizing research for literature reviews.