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Introduction

This site represents a class in a box that you are welcome to use to develop and /or apply to your own class of a similar theme.

Here, you will find a wealth of objectives, notes, assignments, ideas and systems of structure which may help to strengthen your approach to pedagogy, for seemingly any level of teaching.

These materials comprise a course that continues to be developed by Oliver Bonham-Carter, PhD. at Allegheny College in Meadville, Pennsylvania, USA.

If you find these materials helpful, I invite you to use them to the benefit of your students and to enrich your class!

I look forward to hearing from you if you would like to get in-touch.

• Oliver Bonham-Carter
• obonhamcarter (a) allegheny (dot) edu

Welcome to Computer Science Research!

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.

Description

An introduction to computational methods of data analysis with an emphasis on understanding and reflecting on the social, cultural, and political issues surrounding data and its interrogation. Participating in hands-on activities that often require teamwork, students study, design, and implement analytics software and learn how to extract knowledge from, for instance, financial, political, and scientific sources of data. Students also investigate the biases, discriminatory views, and stereotypes that may be present during the collection and analysis of data, reflecting on the ethical implications of using the resulting computational techniques. During a weekly laboratory session, students use state-of-the-art statistical software to complete projects, reporting on their findings through both written documents and oral presentations.

Course Objectives

Students learn to begin and complete an academic research project. In this task, students learn how to;

• Determine ideas for own research projects
• Locate literature for idea
• Determine research project goals and research question
• Assess scope
• Demonstrate feasibility
  • Create preliminary data, code, or a product.
• Determine next steps in the project
• Write a proposal
• Other steps involved with research

An Ethical Interest

Throughout the semester students will be exposed to famous dilemmas in technology which will arrive with discussions to encourage positive thinking in ethics. For example, the course will introduce students to ethically inclined concepts in the generation of technology. Such terms include liability, ethics, responsibility, privacy, information governance, data security and others.

TextBooks

• 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

• Dupre, L. (2000). BUGS in Writing: A Guide to Debugging Your Prose United States: Addison-Wesley.

• Evans, D., Zobel, J., Gruba, P. (2014). How to Write a Better Thesis. Germany: Springer International Publishing.

• 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.

Other Useful Textbooks

• Think Python, first edition, by Allen B. Downey.

  • Publisher Website –>

• BUGS in Writing: A Guide to Debugging Your Prose (Second Edition). Lyn Dupr'e. Addison-Wesley Professional. ISBN-10: 020137921X and ISBN-13: 978-0201379211, 704 pages, 1998. References to the textbook are abbreviated as “BIW”.

• Writing for Computer Science (Second Edition). Justin Zobel. Springer ISBN-10: 1852338024 and ISBN-13:978-1852338022, 270 pages, 2004. References to the textbook are abbreviated as “WFCS”.