Course Guide: CSCI 437W 

Research Method | Know | Retrieve | Evaluate | Use | Act Ethically

Just as original research papers incorporate the scientific method, so do literature reviews incorporate a research method. As you examine articles, notice what sections are being used and observe how the article is organized. Graphics or illustrations incorporated into your paper or presentation must be cited and included in your Literature Cited. In computer science, no standard universal style is widely adopted. However, for help in writing or formatting your paper, go to the Reference section in the library (Call Number QA 42 H54 1993) to consult the Handbook of Writing for the Mathematical Sciences. Citing Computing Science may also help you decide how to format your paper.

In general, you need to understand what resources you may use and decide on how many references or resources you will need.  For this particular assignment, your paper will need references from appropriate databases that will lead you to computer science journal literature. Any references from the "open" Internet must be from authoritative, reliable journal sources. Consult your professor or mentor to determine how many references you will need.

The search engines and databases you will use for this assignment allow you to limit your search by the kind of information (book, journal, etc.). The free Internet search engine you may use for this assignment (Scirus) allows you to choose from abstracts, articles, books, company homepages, conferences, patents, preprints, scientist homepages, as well as theses and dissertations. The free index, ACM Guide to Computing Literature, allows you to choose from journals, proceedings, books, theses, reports, bibliographies, and more. One of the subscription databases you will use for this assignment (MathSciNet) allows you to choose from books, journals, and proceedings. ScienceDirect allows you to choose from journals and books.

In science, "current" typically means the last 5 years; but, if no relevant citations can be found during that time period, then you can extend the time period backward. Because of the time lag involved with the publication of books, they are often thought not to contain the most recent scientific thought and research. For that reason, the journal literature is often preferred.

For this course, limiting your search to articles or journals from MathSciNet, ACM Guide to Computing Literature, Scirus, or ScienceDirect, and specifying the publication dates (e.g., 2004-2009) will typically generate current citations from the primary scientific literature. In Scirus and ScienceDirect, further limiting your search to Computer Science will generate citations from the computer science literature.

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Outcome: The student will effectively and efficiently locate and retrieve journal citations in MathSciNet, ScienceDirect, and other databases related to computer science.

Outcome: The student will navigate to the Periodical Titles database and determine whether or not the library can link to a full-text journal article and whether or not an article should be requested via Interlibrary Loan.

Outcome: The student will navigate to the Interlibrary Loan request page and demonstrate how to request material from another library.

In deciding a topic, you should "browse" the computer science or scientific periodical literature (journals, magazines, authoritative web sites) to get a broad understanding of what has been or is being written about your topic.  Developing a search strategy that allows you to retrieve pertinent references is effective and doing so in the least amount of time is efficient. Below is a systematic way to develop a search strategy that is effective and efficient.

A useful search strategy for obtaining keywords when you have not decided on a topic is to go to PERIODICAL TITLES and use the dropdown box under the "Browse journals by subject" heading to select "Engineering and Applied Sciences." This will allow you to navigate to a list of full-text computer science journals, any of which you can "browse" to get ideas for a topic.  Use the topics pertaining to computer science as keywords in a science search engine (e.g., Scirus) or in a library database (e.g., MathSciNet).

A useful search strategy is to use keyword searching on the name of a topic and use the Boolean AND operator to add other keywords or concepts. The NOT operator may also be available. Some search engines or indexes require you to group phrases together with parentheses whereas others require you to use quotation marks. Use the Help guides offered by the resource to determine the best search strategy.

Once you complete a search, use the limiters available in the database to narrow your results further. For example, in the free Internet web resource, Scirus, use the ADVANCED search and limit your results by date, information type, content source, and subject area.  Examine the search results for possible topics that interest you. If Scirus cannot link you to full-text, search the library's PERIODICAL TITLES list to see if the library can provide the full-text in one of its databases or in the print collection. If the library cannot immediately provide you the full-text and you can wait 7-10 days, submit an Interlibrary Loan Journal Request and the library will notify you when the article is available for you at the Circulation Desk.

For the capstone project, the key databases are MathSciNet and ScienceDirect. However, Academic Search Complete, Business Source Complete, Computer Source, Science & Technology Collection (EBSCO databases) provide fulltext access to key computer science journals. Each of these databases offers different search capabilities. You should conduct searches in each one to determine which one allows you to retrieve the most relevant list in the least amount of time. SciFinder Scholar, even though primarily for Chemistry, is also an excellent choice because it is the most comprehensive (10,000 journals); before you can logon to SciFinder, you must register and create a username. One simple way to retrieve hits from multiple databases is to conduct a Computer Science Metasearch (a QuickSearch) but doing so will prevent you from using the specific limiting abilities that are unique to each database.

Regardless of which source you consult, an integral part of your search strategy is to use the limits and features available to you in the resource. The key feature that sets MathSciNet and SciFinder apart from other databases is the ability to search by using the controlled vocabulary or index terms that professional indexers have created for the literature they cite.

In MathSciNet, one way to use the index terms is to click on the number that appears at the END of a citation. That will allow you to navigate to a list of all citations associated with that official index term. You can also initiate a search by clicking the "Free Tools" tab and using the dropdown for "Classification" to select a subject in which you are interested. Then, click SEARCH and you will retrieve a list of all citations associated with that index term.

In SciFinder, once you have retrieved a list of citations, use the RIGHT pane to ANALYZE BY and dropdown to choose CA CONCEPT HEADING. This will re-sort your list and include ONLY those items that use the subject heading you selected. In SciFinder, once you have retrieved a list of citations, checkmark relevant articles and use the GET CITING button to retrieve a list of articles that cite the articles you have checkmarked. Articles that cite a relevant article are likely to be relevant to your topic as well.

Once you have determined a topic, refine your initial problem statement or question.

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Outcome: The student will identify authoritative resource material, approved by the course professor, that might be used in the course assignments.
 

Initially, evaluate the abstract or title, along with the credentials of the author or publisher, for its relevance to your topic. If you find it relevant, retrieve the full-text by linking to it from within the database you are in, or by searching the PERIODICAL TITLES list to see if the library can provide it in another database or in the print collection. If need be, submit an Interlibrary Loan Journal Request if you can wait 7-10 days.

If the article is relevant, examine its reference list for articles related to your topic. Often, databases will have a link to related articles, which is another way to obtain relevant information.

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Outcome: The student will write and present two papers that meet the criteria specified by the professor.
 

Incorporate the information from the references you have identified to support your topic, following the advice of your mentor or professor.

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Outcome: The student will obtain and cite scholarly journal articles in an ethical and legal manner.

Analyze the economic, legal, and social issues surrounding the use of your information, and then access and use the information ethically and legally.  As an ethical professional, to avoid plagiarism and to abide with copyright provisions, you must inform your audience (whomever is receiving the information you are presenting) of your sources. You must abide by TLU's policy on academic honesty and plagiarism. Consult the Plagiarism Policy of the Communications of the ACM.

Communications of the ACM in its Author Guidelines states that "references ... to previous work should be included at the end of the article. References must be ordered alphabetically by first author and numbered. All listed references must be referred to in text by their corresponding number." Your professor prefers you to spell out the journal name instead of using its abbreviation. You can use MRef to discover the complete journal name if your citation uses

Standard citation style allows others to retrieve the document or source material that you utilize, in the same way that a description of the scientific method used in original research allows others to repeat the exact experiment that is conducted. If possible, use an official citation manual, recognized by your profession, in forming the description of the documents or sources that you utilize.  Your professor recommends that you consult the Sample Citations in Computer Science for help in formatting your citations. Citing Computer Science may also assist you.

If you incorporate graphics, tables, charts, etc. from other sources into a PowerPoint presentation or poster, you must cite each graphic on the slide or poster so that it is clear to viewers where each graphic appeared originally.

Citing documents and graphics can be confusing, so if you need assistance in creating a citation, ask your professor, mentor, or Ask-A-Librarian.

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