BIS 4407 Course Work Description, 2010/2011

The coursework is to write a roughly 5000 word hypertext essay on a research topic in Data and Knowledge Engineering. The essay should include a description of the research question that is being addressed and a proposed method for answering the question.

The topic can be any research topic in the area of Data and Knowledge and Engineering. It can be one of the topics of one of the week's discussions, a part of one of those topics, or a topic of your own interest. It does have to be in the area of Data and Knowledge Engineering. If you are concerned that the topic is valid, please feel free to discuss it with the module leader.

A draft question and answer must be submitted at the end of week 12. This should be at least 300 words but of course less than the 5000 words for the final submission. Please submit this document to the student office by the end of Week 12.

Marking Scheme:

percent	criterion
3	Quality of question
3	Quality of method for answering
2	Writingp
2	use of references

In the final version, you should describe the state of the field in the topic. You should provide a background, a description of the current state, a description of methods, and a description of current active research questions.

The essay needs to be written in some form of hypertext, and have a linear translation. Typically this will be HTML, but an XML document is also fine. The idea is to use hypertext as a non-linear format to enable different readers to read the text differently, and a given reader to read it differently at different times. It is entirely acceptable to use an HTML generator, though linking different pages can be difficult. A linear translation means that the whole essay needs to be able to printed in one long document that makes sense. So, the essay needs to come in two formats: (1) hypertext format, and (2) traditional linear book format.

You also need to provide a cognitive map or mind map of the area of the topic. A simple picture will do and it may be scanned from a hand drawing.

The essay should explore a topic that interests you. You should also use standard essay skills including critical thinking and good referencing.

Marking Scheme:

percent	criterion
10	from week 12
10	use of hypertext and links
10	cognitive map
10	use of references
10	background of topic
10	description of state of topic
20	description of question
20	proposed method for answering question

Submission:

You can either submit the essay on a CD or other media, or you can put it on the web and submit the URL; either way please submit a sheet of paper stating your name, ID, word count and whether I can publish the paper on the course web site. I would like to publish these essays on line so that other's can look at them. If you are willing to have this done, please say so on the submission sheet. If you would like it to be anonymous, that would also be ok. Your mark will not show on the web. Submit the essay to the student office, by the end of Week 24 2011.