Content Overview

Tentative Schedule

It is important to note that this schedule is evolving and will change based on your interests and how the class is progressing.

Evaluation

Weekly Paper Reviews

Each week you are expected to carefully read two papers. In addition, you are to submit a review of one of the papers (you choose which one). However, if you are doing a paper presentation, then you are excused for that week.

Reviews are due by 11:00 AM on the morning of the class. Please send me email with the Subject "[COMP 5117] Paper Review Student_Name".

A review should be about 500-1000 words long, and submitted as a PDF file.

Your review should address the following points:

1. What were the primary contributions of the paper as the author sees it?
2. What were the main contributions of the paper as you (the reader) see it?
3. How does this work move the research forward (or how does the work apply to you)?
4. How was the work validated?
5. How could this research be extended?
6. How could this research be applied in practice?

Class Participation

Each week you are expected to read all presented papers, as well as participate in the class discussion.

Paper Presentations

In a typical week, we will examine two or three research papers. I will present a few of them on my own, but the other presentations will be done by students.

You will get to select three to five papers you want to present from the course (in the order of your first to last preferences). Please make your selections from the proceedings of the MSR or ICSE conferences (2018-2020): MSR 2020, MSR 2019, MSR 2018, ICSE 2020, ICSE 2019, ICSE 2018. Once you have selected your papers, email me your selection of three papers.This must be done by Tuesday September 22 via email. I will generate a cohesive class schedule once everyone has selected their papers. Each student will be assigned to present one or two papers in class depending on the class size.

You are then to design a presentation of about 20-25 minutes that is both informative and entertaining. Don't feel limited to just the content of the papers.

You should also come prepared with a set of questions to foster a 15-20 minute discussion session that you will lead to follow the presentation (this is where the other students earn their class participation marks).

When you design your talk, keep in mind that the audience has already read the papers. Remind us of the motivation, the big ideas, the context of the problem being addressed, and how all of this relates to what we've already seen in the course.

Presentations can be done using Open Office, Powerpoint, Keynote, or PDF. You must share a set of slides (only PDF) to the Slack channel prior your talk.

Course Project

The project forms an integral part of this course. The projects can be done individually or completed in groups of two students.

You have two options: either create a submission for the 2021 MSR Mining Challenge or come up with an idea of your own that relates to the course material. In either case, the project topic will require my approval (via the proposal).

If you decide to do the MSR challenge, you can optionally decide to submit it to the conference, but note that the deadline is February 2021. Talk to me if you are interested in exploring this. Otherwise, you can just decide to do the challenge as your class project and ignore the actual conference submission.

There are three deliverables for your project:

1. Project proposal. Before you undertake your project you will need to submit a proposal for approval. The proposal should be short (max 2 page PDF in ACM format). The proposal should include a problem statement, the motivation for the project, and set of objectives you aim to accomplish. I will read these and provide comments. The proposal is not for marks but must be completed in order to pass the course. This will be due on September 29 by 11:59 PM via email.


2. Written report. The required length of the written report varies from project to project (8-10 pages, double column format); all reports must be formatted according to the ACM format and submitted as a PDF. This report will constitute 100% of the project report grade. This will be due on December 15 by 11:59 PM via email.


3. Project presentation. Each group will have the opportunity to present their project in class on December 08. This presentation should take the form of a 15 minute (hard maximum) conference-style talk and describe the motivation for your work, what you did, and what you found. If a demo is the best way to describe what you did, feel free to include one in the middle of the talk. Please allocate 3-5 minute time for questions after the project has been presented.

The proposed structure of your presentation:

1. Introduction (describe the problem and motivation)
2. Research questions
3. Methodology: data collection, data cleanup, data mining, data analysis (statistics, machine learning), etc.
4. Results (achieved, preliminary, or anticipated)
5. Implications (why does this study matter? how can your findings be used?)
6. Conclusion (summary, main contributions)

Contact

The best way to get in touch with me is via email: olga.baysal[at]carleton.ca.

University Policies

Academic Integrity

Academic Integrity is everyone's business because academic dishonesty affects the quality of every Carleton degree. Each year students are caught in violation of academic integrity and found guilty of plagiarism and cheating. In many instances they could have avoided failing an assignment or a course simply by learning the proper rules of citation. See the academic integrity for more information.

Academic Accommodations for Students with Disabilities

The Paul Menton Centre for Students with Disabilities (PMC) provides services to students with Learning Disabilities (LD), psychiatric/mental health disabilities, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD), chronic medical conditions, and impairments in mobility, hearing, and vision. If you have a disability requiring academic accommodations in this course, please contact PMC at 613-520-6608 or pmc@carleton.ca for a formal evaluation. If you are already registered with the PMC, contact your PMC coordinator to send me your Letter of Accommodation at the beginning of the term, and no later than two weeks before the first in-class scheduled test or exam requiring accommodation (if applicable). After requesting accommodation from PMC, meet with me to ensure accommodation arrangements are made. Please consult the PMC website for the deadline to request accommodations for the formally-scheduled exam (if applicable).

Pregnancy Obligation

Write to the instructor with any requests for academic accommodation during the first two weeks of class, or as soon as possible after the need for accommodation is known to exist. For more details visit the Equity Services website.

Religious Obligation

Write to the instructor with any requests for academic accommodation during the first two weeks of class, or as soon as possible after the need for accommodation is known to exist. For more details visit the Equity Services website.