CPSC 681 - Topic: Researching and Presenting a Methodology

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Worth: 25% of your grade.

Research a particular methodological topic, present that topic to the class, and produce a web-based handout summarizing that topic (including an example).

Deliverables

See schedule for tentative dates. All students will deliver written materials (presentations / handouts) on the same date. The date of the actual presentation will be scheduled by the instructor.

1. A list of 2 or 3 topics (early in the course) indicating your choice of topic
2. A web-based handout, added to the CPSC 681 student site, in the form of a tutorial that concisely summarizes the methodology and the concrete exercise. The handout should include
   • What it is i.e., an overview of the method, how it works, and (if known)who developed it
   • When and where it is typically used in the development/evaluation/research cycle
   • Benefits and problems of this method
   • A simple worked-through concrete exercise, suitable for teaching, of how to apply the method (should include all material needed to do the method (instructions, materials, etc.)
   • An annotated bibliography of several key papers / resources that others can use to help them get started
3. A classroom presentation that introduces the methodology to the class and that has the class perform the above exercise of how the methodology is applied on a particular problem.

Resources

See the Main reading list and Optional and supplemental readings for resources on evaluation topics. I have a huge number of relevant books in my personal library. This includes textbooks with good introductory chapters on evaluation methods. Browse these for ideas. As well, the ACM Digital Library and the HCI Bibliography include many articles applying evaluation methods.

I will be happy to point you to some key resources once you have chosen a topic. Ask me!

A note on plagiarism. You must avoid plagiarism when using the above resources. Use your own words, quote selectively (with citations), and be careful to list your sources. You can selectively use a few images/examples provided by others, but you must cite them appropriately. Plagiarism - whether intentional or accidental - has severe consequences.

Example topics

Various topics are listed below, structured as groups. This list is far from complete - see the Main reading list, the Optional and supplemental readings and/or peruse the books in my personal library for other possible topics.

While I will ask you to suggest a topic, I will ultimately assign topics so they are balanced across groups. For complex topics or for going into a topic into greater detail, two students may split the topic into two parts.