Technical writing in computer systems and networks -- DAT147

Autumn semester,
study period 1, 2015

(Course code for Göteborg University: DIT665)
   

News:

• [2015-11-06] All students have now been passed and reported to LADOK.
                      Thank you for participating and for the good cooperation.
• [2015-10-22] The schedule for the paper presentations (15-10-26 and 29) has been updated
  
• [2015-10-22] All authors were notified about the status of their papers
  
• [2015-10-21] The notification for paper acceptance was extended to 2015-10-22
• [2015-10-19] The presentation feedback form was added (see Lecture 7)
• [2015-10-17] The schedule for the paper presentations was updated
• [2015-10-14] The schedule for the paper presentations was added (see course schedule or here)
• [2015-09-28] The homework task for lecture 4 was added
• [2015-09-28] The edition of the course book (Zobel) was updated
• [2015-09-21] A link to the review form and the EasyChair introduction were added to Lecture 3.
                        The events, deadlines and todos list has been updated with new information about Urkund.
  
• [2015-09-14] A link to the paper template was added to Lecture 2.
  
• [2015-09-11] The list of how to swap groups in the peer response session Sept. 21st was added
                      Take contact before Sept. 18th.
• [2015-09-01] The list of student representatives was published
• [2015-08-31] The events, deadlines and todos list has been updated with one new event
• [2015-08-31] Please answer to the three questions in https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/VLVY5CT
                      preferably before Sept. 5th.
• [2015-08-31] The student grouping and supervisor allocation has been published below
• [2015-07-29] Please note that some lectures are compulsory including the first lecture
• [2015-07-29] The course page was created

Course Description

This course aims to develop the student's awareness of the underlying structure of scientific and engineering research papers, and to improve proficiency in reviewing and writing scientific research papers as well as presenting such papers in public. To this end the student examines and surveys current state of the art in a specific field, such as e.g. data communication, computer networks, distributed systems, computer security, real-time systems, computer architecture and computer system engineering and writes an analytical survey paper in this field. Ethical issues in general and in connection with scientific writing, e.g. plagiarism and authorship, is an important part of the course.

Recommended text book
Writing for Computer Science, 3rd ed., by Justin Zobel, ISBN 978-1-85233-802-2
(Full Text Online, Chalmers Library)

Template papers
These papers will be used as illustrative survey examples in the lectures and workshops:
"Model-Based Evaluation: From Dependability to Security" by Nicol et al
 
"Prudent Practices for Designing Malware Experiments Status Quo and Outlook" by Christian Rossow et al.

"Little words can make a big difference for text classification" by Ellen Riloff

Examiner and teachers

Course schedule

Lectures and workshops
(Participation in some Lectures below is compulsory.)

• Lecture 1: Course and teacher introduction.
  Course introduction - language part. Writing an abstract.
  Brief questionnaire about students' exectations.
  Mon 2015-08-31, 13.15-15.00, room EB
  This lecture is compulsory.
  
  
• Lecture 2: Scientific reading and writing. Paper template. (Use option 1 - do not include the footnote on page 1, left coloumn)
  Mon 2015-09-07, 13.15-17.00, room EB, plus EL43
  The two first hours, i.e. 13.15-15.00 are compulsory.
  
  
• Lecture 3: Critical reviewing and peer response.
  Survey paper review form, Easychair introduction.
  Mon 2015-09-21, 13.15-17.00, room EE, plus EL42, EL43
  The two first hours, i.e. 13.15-15.00 are compulsory.  
  Please read How not to review a paper before class.
  Student swap groups for in-class peer response.
  
  
• Lecture 4: Research Ethics, The Milgram experiment
  Mon 2015-09-28, 13.15-15.00, room EA
  This lecture is compulsory.
  Homework: Write a small essay (one per group, max 2 pages) on one of the final questions
  of the lecture, as follows:
  Q1: Groups 1, 4, 7, 10, 13, 16
  Q2: Groups 2, 5, 8, 11, 14, "17"
  Q3: Groups 3, 6, 9, 12, 15
  Send it as an email attachement to the examiner (Erland). State your group number in the subject
  as usual.
  
  
• Lecture 5: Optional lecture for those who want additional support
  Mon 2015-10-05, 13.15-17.00, room EE.
  
  
• Lecture 6: Lecture on presentation techniques
  Paper presentation guidelines.
  Giving a talk (44MB) -  guest lecturer Dave Sands
  Thu 2015-10-08, 10.00-11.45, room ED
  
  
• Lecture 7: Paper presentation dry-runs. Presentation feedback form.
  Mon 2015-10-19, 16.15-19.00, room EL42 (and EL43)
  
  
• Student paper presentations 1: The students' presentation of their papers
  Thu 2015-10-22, 08.00-11.45, room EA, schedule
  
  
• Student paper presentations 2: The students' presentation of their papers
  Mon 2015-10-26, 13.15-17.00, room EA, schedule
  
  
• Student paper presentations 3:  The students' presentation of their papers
  Thu 2015-10-29, 08.00-11.45, room EA, schedule

Milestone dates - overview 

Extra Reading

Course Evaluation

• Information on the process of course evaluation is found on the Course Evaluation page.

• Student representatives for the course are: 
  
  
• Gebrecherkos Haylay Alemayoh
• Julia Gustafsson
• Daniel Gunnarsson
• Emil Kristiansson
• Maksims Smirnovs