CIS5935 Introduction to research

Fall 2001

Instructor: Ashok Srinivasan

Room 102C, Carothers Hall

Phone: 644-0559

Email: asriniva@cs.fsu.edu

Course URL: http://www.cs.fsu.edu/~asriniva/courses/intres/

(Project list -- A list of projects that I am offering: http://www.cs.fsu.edu/~asriniva/courses/projects.html)

Office Hours: T 3:15 pm - 4:15 pm W 3:00 pm - 4:00 pm or by appointment Room 102C, Carothers Hall

Class Hours: Fri: 3:35 pm - 4:50 pm,DIF 0201

Text book: None

Prerequisites:

Course rationale:

Course objectives:

Course description:

An important component of this course will listening to talks given by CS faculty. You will also be given training on using the library, and other research tools.

Grading criteria:

• Attendance and participation in the talks given by the faculty: You should not miss more than three classes. Attendance will be taken when class begins, and so you will be marked absent if you come late. You will also be marked absent if you leave before class ends!

• Library orientation: You will need to attend the one of the library orientation sessions specially scheduled for CS grad students on Sep 7, 2001: (i) 2:00 pm - 3:30 pm or (ii) 3:30 pm until 5 pm. I will email you your scheduled session by Sep 5. (Please read the Important dates topic too.) We will meet in the New Book section of Dirac Science Library before proceeding to the tutorial room. (As you enter DSL through the main entrance, turn right to reach the New Book Room.)

• Research tools: You will learn Latex and be given an assignment on using it. Other tools may be introduced too, depending on interest.

• Literature search and writing: You will choose a topic (as specified below), on which you should do a literature search. You need to find recent papers on that topic and write a short paper of around 3 pages summarizing them. Your paper should be written in a professional manner, and should include references. You will be graded on both the presentation and on content. The topic you choose should be related to the talks given by any of the faculty members. If none of those topics interests you, you may choose another with my permission.

Course policies:

• Deadlines: Assignments should be submitted by 3 pm the day they are due. If you are late, you will get a 20% reduction in points for up to one day late, and no points after that. Please do not depend on our watches being exactly synchronized; do submit a few minutes early.
• Cheating: You should not collaborate with anyone in any way while working on the assignments. Students are expected to uphold the academic honor code published in "The Florida State University Bulletin" and the "Student Handbook". Please read the provisions of the Academic Honor Code: http://www.fsu.edu/Books/Student-Handbook/codes/honor.html.
• Attendance: You should not miss more than three classes. Otherwise you will get an Unsatisfactory grade. In rare cases (such as jury duty or sickness), an absence may be excused with appropriate documentation. You should let me know in advance, when possible, and submit the required documentation. Attendance will be taken when class begins, and so you will be marked absent if you come late. You will also be marked absent if you leave before class ends! Furthermore, you are responsible for making up for any materials missed due to absences -- excused or unexcused.
• ADA: Students with disabilities needing academic accommodation should (1) register with and provide documentation to the Student Disability Center, and (2) bring a letter to the instructor indicating the need for accommodation and what type. This should be done during the first week of class. This syllabus and other class materials will be made available in alternative format upon request.

What I expect from the student:

• I am particularly strict about deadlines and following instructions. Please read instructions carefully, and schedule your activities so that you submit assignments well in time. You should check your email and the class web page regularly, and note other announcements in class.
• You should attend all the talks and participate by listening and asking questions.
• Written assignments should be printed using a good quality printer. You should run your document through a spell check, your punctuations should be right, the grammar correct, and the formatting should look professional. I may ask you to resubmit your assignment if there are spelling mistakes that could have been caught by a spell check program.

Important dates:

• Sep 4: Email me your name and email address, so that I can add you to the course mailing list. You will need to check your email frequently for important course announcements. Please also let me know by 3 pm, 4 Sep, whether or not you will be able to attend a library orientation session from 2 pm until 3:30 pm on Sep 7. We will need to have two sessions since the library can accommodate only 40 students. Based on your response, I will schedule the session that you should attend. If you do not send me an email, I will assume that you can attend either session!

• Sep 7: Library orientation.

• Sep 24: Latex assignment will be announced.

• Oct 4: Latex assignment due.

• Oct 15: Email me the topic for your literature search assignment. If you choose a topic other than from the faculty talks, then you need to get my permission by 15 Oct. If too many students select the same topic, then I may suggest a different topic for some of you.

• Nov 2: Paper from your literature search assignment due.

Lecture schedule (tentative):

Useful links:

• Library: http://www.fsu.edu/~library/
• Latex tutorials: There are several available on the web. You can search google, for example, to find some. I have given a couple of examples below:
  • From our department: http://www.cs.fsu.edu/reference/tex-latex.html
  • http://www.ldc.upenn.edu/jms/latex/tableofcontents2_1.html