Course Description
for Seminar in Computer Science (CS 4960)

20990 #CS 4960 001 Seminar in Computer Science 1.0 Th 16:00-17:00 P-103 1 

• To explore aspects of computer science beyond what you have encountered in your previous course work,
  
  
• To benefit from similar research done by your fellow students, and
  
  
• To present an important body of work in both written and oral form.

• Sign up at the beginning of the semester for a presentation date.
  
  
• Choose a computer science topic to research and present to an audience. The audience will include, but not be limited to, the rest of the members of the class.
  
  
  1. The topic must have significant academic, as opposed to merely technological, content.
     
     
  2. The research must draw on multiple sources, and embody concepts that may be expected to endure beyond any particular current technology.
  
  
• Propose the topic to the instructor in writing (hard copy or e-mail). The proposal must specify multiple sources you intend to use (full citations in bibliograpic form). The proposal must also describe the nature of the academic content you will include in the presentation.
  
  
• To pass the course, you must turn in a satisfactory proposal. You must get the instructor's formal approval of the proposal. Work out an agreement. Your presentation must correspond to what you say in your proposal.
  
  
• Create a written report on your topic based on material from a variety of sources. Synthesize and summarize the knowledge you gained from the research. Infuse the exposition of the report with freshness and originality. The report must tell what you learned about the subject matter, and what you think, feel, and wonder about it. What interesting questions has the research answered? What interesting questions remain unanswered?
  
  
• Turn in your written report one week in advance of your presentation date. Give a copy to the instructor and a copy to each member of the class so they can review the information before the talk.
  
  
• On your assigned date deliver a one-hour oral presentation of the content of your written report. (Seminar presentations will be publicly announced and will be open to visitors who may wish to attend.)
  
  
• Attend all the presentations of the other members of the class, and react to them by asking questions and by writing a short critique which will be collected and given to the presenter.

1. your grade on your written report,
2. your grade on your oral presentation, and
3. your participation grade.

1. you receive a a score of 60 or above in each of the three components, and
2. your average over the three components is 70% or above.

How to Cite Your Sources of Information

It is very important to good scholarship and intellectual honesty that you accurately and fully report the sources of information you employ in preparing your report. Do your utmost to get correct information from reliable sources.

Your List of References

Make a list of references. In the list, cite all your sources of information. Attach the list to the end of your written report.

Entries in your list of references must include certain information:


• An entry for an article in a periodical should include the name of the editor of the issue of the periodical, the title of the periodical, the date of publication of the issue of the periodical, the name(s) of the author(s) of the article, the title of the article, and the page numbers where the article is located. If you accessed the article on-line, then you must also cite the full URL.
  
  
• An entry for a web page that is not an on-line article in a periodical should include the title of the web page, the author (if known), the date the page was written (if known) , the date you viewed the page, and the full URL. If you don't see all that information right away, then look around for it. Add any additional information you think may be helpful and/or necessary.
  
  
• An entry for a book should include the title, author, publisher, edition number, date of publication, and ISBN.

When You Quote a Source

You may directly quote a few small passages from your sources.

In this type of report, it is seldom appropriate to quote a long passage from a source, or a large number of small passages. It is definitely not appropriate to closely paraphrase a long passage from a source.

You must place quotation marks ("") around all direct quotes. You must also indicate, in close proximity to the quote itself, which reference you are quoting, and where to find the quote within the reference. You can use an in-line comment or a footnote to identify the location of the quote.

For example, if you number the references in your reference list like this:


[1] Comer, "Computer Networks and Internets, Second Edition," Prentice Hall, 1999, ISBN 0-13-083617-6.

[2] Sobell, "Unix System V: a practical guide, Third Edition," Benjamin Cummings, 1995, 0-8053-7566-X.


Then you can identify the location of a quote with a simple in-line comment like this:

As Comer states on page 158 of [1]: "To achieve high bit rates over conventional twisted pair wiring, ADSL uses an adaptive technology in which a pair of modems probe many frequencies on the line between them ..."

DEFINITION: Plagiarize


• Transitive Verb:
  • To use and pass off (the ideas or writings of another) as one's own.
  • To appropriate for use as one's own passages or ideas from (another).
  
  
• Intransitive Verb:
  • To put forth as original to oneself the ideas or words of another.


Do not plagiarize any part of your written report or oral presentation.

Penalties

If there is compelling evidence of plagiarism, I will withhold credit.