Module 12415.1 (2004)
Syllabus page 2004/2005
06-12415
NC mini-project 1
Level 4/M A
Peter Hancox (coordinator)
Links | Outline | Aims | Outcomes | Prerequisites | Teaching | Assessment | Books | Detailed Syllabus
The Module Description is a strict subset of this Syllabus Page. (The University module description has not yet been checked against the School's.)
Relevant Links
Advanced MSc Programmes Project Page
Outline
The material covered in lectures falls into two areas: information skills -- retrieving and recording bibliographic information from manual and computerised sources; transferable skills -- time management, report writing, oral presentation. Each student also undertakes a piece of research work that can be seen as a preparation for a possible final summer project under the supervision of a research-active member of academic staff. Supervision and the written report should address the development of skills in defining aims, objectives and plans; project and time management skills; systematic literature searching and written and verbal communication skills. There is no requirement for a mini-project to include development of a program. Projects are either negotiated from a list of academic staff's interests or are developed from a student's original idea.
Aims
The aims of this module are to:
- allow the student to deepen their knowledge of an area of computing through individual, supervised study
- learn and develop research skills appropriate to their chosen area of computing
- provide the student with the basis of transferable knowledge and skills necessary for a successful research-oriented career in industry or academia, with a particular orientation to computing-based disciplines.
Learning Outcomes
| On successful completion of this module, the student should be able to: | Assessed by: | |
| 1 | understand modes of communication in the computing sciences | Oral presentation, Written report |
| 2 | appreciate the structure of the literature of the computing sciences in general and a chosen research field in particular | Written report, Project report |
| 3 | methodically search the literature to investigate a research topic | Written report, Project report |
| 4 | make effective presentations both orally and in writing | Oral presentation, Written report, Project report |
| 5 | define aims and objectives for a research project and propose feasible working plans to accomplish the work | Project report |
| 6 | manage their project and their time | Meetings with project supervisor, Project report |
Restrictions, Prerequisites and Corequisites
Restrictions:
None
Prerequisites:
None
Co-requisites:
Teaching
Teaching Methods:
2 hrs/week throughout the semester, consisting of a mixture of lectures, seminars and practical sessions; regular meetings with the mini-project supervisor.
Contact Hours:
Assessment
- Supplementary (where allowed): As the sessional assessment
- The continuous assessment is based on (i) up to three practical tasks, including at least one oral presentation and one written report (ii) a written report on the project work undertaken of a length appropriate to the material presented. Re-assessment is by repeat only.
Recommended Books
| Title | Author(s) | Publisher, Date |
| Keyguide to artificial intelligence/expert systems | P J Hancox; W J Mills & B J Reid | Mansell, 1990 |
| The Chicago manual of style (14th ed) | University of Chicago Press, 1993 | |
| MLA style manual and guide to scholarly publishing (2nd ed) | J Gibaldi | Modern Language Association of America, 1998 |
Detailed Syllabus
-
Key skills
- document preparation in Latex;
- recording bibliographic information.
- Scholarly communication
- scholarly communication in science;
- time delays in publications.
- Information skills
- retrieving bibliographic information from manual sources;
- retrieving bibliographic information from computerised sources.
- Transferable skills
- intellectual property rights;
- time management;
- report writing;
- oral presentation.
Last updated: 24 Oct 2003
Source file: /internal/modules/COMSCI/2004/xml/12415.xml
Links | Outline | Aims | Outcomes | Prerequisites | Teaching | Assessment | Books | Detailed Syllabus