Research in Computing

Continuous Assessment 2

(MSCCYB1)

Dr Babak Habibnia

Administrative Data

This second Continuous Assessment (CA) is worth 80% of the nal grade awarded. As published in the School portal, the deadline for submission of the assignment is:

Wednesday 11^th
August 2021 23:59hrs

Extension/Re-run

Should any student miss the assessment deadline with a valid reason, the student can apply for an extension/rerun using the Extension/Re-run Form online, via NCI360.

N.B.

All submissions will be electronically screened for evidence of academic misconduct (plagiarism and collusion).

1 Module Introduction

It is expected that the knowledge and skills gained from the module will contribute to scholarship and to the generation of innovative solutions to intuitive research questions. Speci cally, the learning outcomes of this module are:

LO1 Understand what constitutes a good research question. Propose a research question and identify

its implications with regard to the choice of subject.

LO2 Propose research objectives and identify possible deliverables.

LO3 Create a literature review which situates the work with regard to state of the art and seminal work. Develop a research and development design and methodology.

LO4 Critically assess and select methods for addressing the research question, including originality

considerations.

LO5 Show an awareness of the ethical issues that need to be addressed when conducting research.

LO6 Understand the need for reproducibility as a minimum standard for assessing the validity of the

results of research.

LO7 Demonstrate an ability to write a comprehensive research plan that explores research methods

and deliverables for a speci c subject in computing.

1

2 Assignment

2.1 Research Proposal

This assignment must include the following components:

Title Choose a title that encompasses the speci c topic within the area chosen.

Abstract Renders a summary of your proposal and therefore should introduce the topic, state what was carried out, and outline the key points. It should be 150{200 words. References are not cited in an abstract.

Contents Table Enables the reader to easily nd the information they require. It should be automat-ically generated by Microsoft Word or L^ATEX.

Introduction Should provide information on the background to the topic. This section must:

• present the general context of your question within the sphere of Cybersecurity;

• clearly identify the research question(s) and de ne the key terms;

• motivate the purpose of the literature review | why is it important to research the chosen

topic?

• outline what the general ndings of the review are | this is where you can give the key element of your argument; and,

• describe the structure of your document |- give the exact headings of each section and outline the key argument points you will be making in each section.

This section should be 1-2 pages in length.

Research Question Phrase your research question addressing the speci c topic and the measurable side. Explain why this question is worth investigating and how it will contribute to knowledge in the eld of research. Describe why the question is feasible (tools), clear (measurable), signi cant, and ethical.

This section should be maximum 1 page in length.

Literature Review Must compare, contrast and relate to previous work, en0umerate the objectives of

the previous work and specify their foreseen contributions. This section must:

• introduce each previous work by outlining the key argument points that you will be covering;

• nish each subsection with a brief conclusion of what have been covered in the previous work and then link to the next subsection by outlining what you will be discussing next;

• present a logical order of the reviewed previous works;

• critically contrast at least two previous works in each paragraph, as opposed to just ‘reciting’ what the previous work say. Every paragraph should explain the signi cance of the previous works are in the context of your own research question;

• ensure there is consistent referral back to the research question {{ do not be afraid to consistently remind the reader why a point is relevant in the context of your own question; and,

• Make sure the previous works are properly cited.

Overall the literature survey should not consist of a series of paragraphs beginning, ‘Jones/Smith argues....’. Focus upon concepts, issues, cases, with reference to authors, and then critically contrast them, clearly highlighting advantages and shortcomings.

The literature review must nish identifying the research niche and the expected contribution of the research.

This section should be between 4-6 pages in length and contain some 20 references, mostly using recent academic articles from reputable journals (JCR Impact Factors) and/or conferences (Australian CORE ranking: http://portal.core.edu.au/conf-ranks/). The complete list of computing databases and journals is available from the NCI Library at: https://www.ncirl.ie/Library/ NCI
Library/.

Continuous Assessment 2, Research in Computing.

Please include the CORE Ranking

^[1]

of the cited journals and conferences. If unavailable, quote the number of citations in Google Scholar.

Research Method and Speci cation Must describe your proposed methodological approach to the research as well as the expected/next research steps to bring your research project to completion. This section must:

• provide a speci cation to describe the techniques analysis methods that will eventually un-

derlie the implementation (1-2 pages);

• furnish a complete analysis and design documentation in order to explain each of the ma-jor design decisions and choices to be made. Consider using software engineering diagrams to illustrate your proposed approach e.g., class and object diagrams, component diagrams, deployment diagrams, CRC cards, activity diagrams, communication diagrams, statecharts, and/or sequence diagrams, software tools that you use (4-5 pages);

• include a project plan which speci es the expected tasks to be carried out during the Capstone

project semester. It should have a Gantt chart with the related dependencies (1 page);

• describe how you plan to evaluate your approach. Must describe how you answer the research question that you pose and what evidence you bring to support your claims/approach. What experimental evidence you bring to bare in order to show the e ectiveness of your approach (2 pages);

This section should be maximum 8-10 pages in length.

There is a speci c template available on Moodle that you must use.

2.2 Video Presentation

There is a short individual oral presentation in this second assignment that students are required to deliver as a video. This 5-minute video presentation should highlight the main aspects of the student’s research interests and should address the main topics of the proposal. This will be assessed by the lecturer and possibly by other sta members of the School of Computing. The presentation should use visual aids as appropriate including slides (e.g., Microsoft PowerPoint, LaTeX Beamer). The presentation will be assessed for:

• Coverage and Accuracy

• Structure and Timing

• Clarity and Style

• Use of Visual Aids

• Answers to Questions

Please record your video presentation and upload it to YouTube as an UNLISTED video (see https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/157177 for instructions. Please include here a brief explanation of your video and the URL to your unlisted video.

3 Submission Instructions

The two deliverables must be submitted via Moodle:

Report The report should be submitted in PDF format only. The report should be formatted as described in Section 2.1.

Video The URL to your unlisted youtube video presentation must be included in the report as described in Section 2.2.

4 Style guidelines

It is duly noted that the assignment should comply with the presentation style of this module and use the

Microsoft Word or L

^ATEX document preparation system.

The following guidelines are not exhaustive, but should help you with general and stylistic points. All pieces of work must be referenced, with a bibliography at the end, created using the built-in bibliographic tool available in Microsoft Word or BibTEX tool for L^ATEX.

References All concepts, gures and other evidence, should be referenced using the ‘IEEE’ referencing style.

Bibliography At the end of the assignment, you should have a section marked \References" where all

your references should be listed in full e.g:

Book

Article

Book Chapter

Conference Paper

Additional guidelines on referencing can be obtained directly from the library at:

https://libguides.ncirl.ie/referencingandavoidingplagiarism.

Academic writing The Learning Development Service of the National College of Ireland can assist you with academic writing, reading, researching and exam techniques.

Plagiarism Do not copy other student’s coursework irrespective of cohort, course, or institution. This is a disciplinary o ence.

Quotes Do not over-quote. Stringing quotes together, however good they are, is no substitute for developing your argument in your own words, with your own emphasis. A judicious use of quotes, where it enhances the point you wish to make, is all that is needed. Where you do quote, do not quote paragraphs; often single sentences, or even phrases, contain the essential point you want. You should never insert bits of the literature into your assignments without using this proper system of quotation or acknowledgement as this may be interpreted as plagiarism by the marker. Nonetheless, do keep full quotes to a minimum. Where you refer to an author’s work, you should still give the full reference: author, date, pages, etc., particularly in complete monographs or books.

Facts Avoid assertions, vagueness, and value-judgements.

Review Check your grammar and spelling. Do not use paragraphs either too short or too long; each should be a coherent unit.

5 Marking Grid

Worth 80% of the nal mark, this coursework will be graded using the marking grid shown in the following page.

Continuous Assessment 2, Research in Computing.

[1] See the CORE Portal at https://www.core.edu.au/conference-portal

Continuous Assessment 2, Research in Computing.