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Computer Science 324 |
You may work individually or in groups of two or three. Groups must be formed by Friday, November 13, 2009.
Please start thinking about a topic right away and come to me with your ideas. By 8:35 AM, Tuesday, November 17, 2009, submit a proposal, at most one page in length, that describes your topic, what specifically you plan to investigate about your topic, and how you plan to go about it. Describe the major milestones for your project, a rough schedule for achieving these milestones, and which milestones you believe are most important for your project to be considered a success. If you will need access to any special hardware or software, include that in your proposal. Your proposal should convince me that you have an interesting and worthwhile topic and that it is feasible in the time available.
By 8:35 AM, Tuesday, December 1, 2009, submit a progress report. This should consist of a detailed outline (or better yet, an early draft) of your paper including sources, and a description of the design and current implementation status of your software or circuit, as well as a more specific timetable for completion of the project.
This is to be a formal research paper, and should be organized as such. You should begin with a title, author list, and abstract. The main body of the paper should be organized into sections including (i) an introduction in which you describe the general topic and the particular aspects you will be examining, (ii) one or more sections comprising your main text, where you describe what you have done, how you have done it, and what you have learned, (iii) a conclusion, which should include ideas for future investigation into your topic which were beyond the scope of your project and the paper, and (iv) a complete list of citations. Citations of web pages are acceptable in some circumstances, but books, articles in conference proceedings or journals, or technical reports are preferred.
Proper English and a good technical writing style are important. Writing well is very difficult - it is an iterative process and cannot be done all at once. Be precise and be concise in your writing. Group members should proofread and make suggestions about each other's writing. Check your spelling and grammar carefully. I expect most papers will be around 15 single-sided pages, using 1.5 spacing, one inch margins, and a 12-point Times Roman font (or similar). Please do not adjust margins and font sizes to force a certain length. You are encouraged but not required to use LaTeX to typeset your paper. The LaTeX example in my shared area is already set up with an appropriate format. Length is not important - content and quality are. Papers shorter than 10 pages or longer than 20 pages are acceptable, if the length is appropriate for the content.
Submit a complete draft by 8:35 AM, Tuesday, December 15, 2009. The more complete this draft, the better feedback I can give you to improve it and the more you can focus on programming at the end. You may also submit additional drafts for feedback, but keep in mind that it may take me a day or two to get to them. Submit your final version by 4:00 PM, Monday, December 21, 2009.
For projects involving software development, you should submit your source code and instructions on how to build and run it. For projects involving software development or circuit construction, submit design documentation and arrange for a full demonstration. The software and/or circuit should be described in the paper, in addition to some discussion of relevant research work. Source code should be submitted and demonstrations completed by 4:00 PM, Monday, December 21, 2009.
Each group will present a summary of their work to the class. Include background information on your topic, the motivation for your project, a description of what you did, and a summary of what you learned. Software demonstrations may also be appropriate. Prepare slides or web pages. Rehearse your presentation, paying special attention to timing. Given how busy everyone will be at the end of the semester, our schedule will be tight, so groups will not be allowed to run over the allotted time. Presentations will take place during a class minisymposium at 1:15 PM, Friday, December 18, 2009, in Kendade 307. All group members must participate in the presentation. Attendance is required at the entire presentation session, not just when your group is speaking.
This final project accounts for 15% of the course grade. The grade will be based on all aspects of the project, including the proposal (5%), the progress report (5%), the design, documentation, style, and correctness of the software developed or circuits designed (0-30%), the content and writing style of the complete draft (15%) and final version (30-60%) of the paper, and quality of the presentation (15%). The breakdown between software/circuit development and the final paper will depend on the amount of programming or circuit development required for each project. No credit is given for attendance at the minisymposium, but penalties will be applied for missing all or part of it.
Here are some ideas to consider when choosing your topic:
These are just ideas, and you should not restrict yourself to this list. I hope everyone can find an appropriate topic that they find interesting. You might also find it useful to browse recent journals and conferences proceedings to get a feel for some current research projects in computer architecture. MHC recently purchased a subscription to the ACM Digital Library, so you will have access to a wide variety of current and historic journal articles.
Collaboration within a group is unrestricted. Since each group is working on a different project, you are free to discuss your projects with each other. If you wish to use or refer to any software libraries or outside source code beyond the standard language (C, C++, Java) libraries, check with me first. All sources must be cited properly. If in doubt about anything related to Honor Code, ask now and avoid problems later!
You have several weeks, so the expectation is for several weeks of work. You will not be able to do a good job if you put it off. I don't expect a Ph.D. thesis, but I do expect much more than your average lab assignment.