Methodology for Computer Science Research Lecture 1: Introduction · Lecture 1: Introduction September 8, 2011 3/47 Credits and grading Credits: I 5crfor Mobile Computing students

Methodology for Computer ScienceResearchLecture 1: IntroductionAndrey LukyanenkoDepartment of Computer Science and EngineeringAalto University, School of Science and [email protected]

September 8, 2011

Lecture 1: IntroductionSeptember 8, 2011

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To pass the course...

... during the course:

1. Attend the lectures: Thursdays, 16-18:8.9, 15.9, 29.9, 6.10, 3.11, 24.11, 1.12, 8.12.

2. Choose one research topic of your interest, select one ofthe given or choose yourself (be cautious!).

3. Write diaries after each lecture related to the methods andyour topic.

4. Write an assignment on the topic you chose (here thediaries could help!).

5. Short presentations on your topic.


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Credits and grading

Credits:

I 5cr for Mobile Computing students

I 3cr for NordSecMob students

I 3cr/5cr other students.Note: based on the size of scientific part of an assignment,1.5-2 pages result in 3cr, 4-5 pages result in 5cr)

Grading:I Diaries gives: 35% of the mark. (gd )I Presentation gives 15% of the mark. (gp)I Assignment gives 50% of the mark.(ga)

The final grade g will be calculated as g =35·gd+15·gp+50·ga

100 .


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Assignment topicsEach student have to choose one topic, and during the coursestudy it with given methods.

Topics are...

I Transmission Control Protocol (TCP).I User Datagram Protocol (UDP).I Distributed Hash Tables (DHTs) protocols.I Unstructured Peer-to-Peer (p2p) protocols.I Cloud computing Systems.I Mesh Networks.I Sensor Networks.I Ad-hoc Networks.I ...


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Assignment topics (cntd)

I Security in DHT.I Datacenter architecture.I Bittorrent protocol.I Security in BGP.I Publish/Sbuscribe systems.I P2P reputation systems.I Energy consumptions in Wireless systems.I Denial-of-Service attack.I Multicast protocols.

OR you can choose your own topic.It may be what you have as Master Thesis topic, or any topicyour are interested in.


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Structure of the Course

Course outline:

1) 08.09 Introduction (this lecture).2) 15.09 Computer Simulation.3) 29.09 Agile Software development.4) 06.10 Mathematical modeling.5) 03.11 Data analysis.6) 24.11 Experimental research.7) 01.12 Network business models.8) 08.12 Presentation.Assignment deadline is 15.12 (one week after the lastpresentation).


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Studying process (1/3)

I After the first lecture choose your topic, and send it [email protected] with title "T-110.6130assignment topic" (easier to find). Inside the letter nameyour own topic (if you choose the own topic say few wordswhy did you choose it), or list 5 topics by priority from theprovided ones, e.g.“My priority topics are:

1. TCP.2. DHT.3. DoS attack...”

or “Own topic: <Title> (I choose this because it’s my MScthesis topic)”.

I Before the second lecture you will be provided with uniqueassignment topics.

[email protected]


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Studying process (2/3)

I After each methodological lecture (lectures 2-7) youI write a short diary (1 page, no need to write too much)

before the next lecture.I put/upload (in case of tex/pdf/doc format) it to

optima.aalto.fi. Log in and you will see T-110.6130workspace, with diary subsection there.

In this short diary you write how using exactly thismethodological type your topic was studied (or, rarely,when you cannot find exactly corresponding study with thismethod, explain how would you study it from differentperspectives).

Try to avoid unnecessary information (such introduction),just list methods, compare them, suggest own opinion, etc.

optima.aalto.fi


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Studying process (3/3)I Last lecture is a presentation lecture. All students will have

short presentations (≈ 5min) on what they have studiedduring the course on their own specific topic.

I One week after the presentation is an assignmentdeadline. The assignment is to study the topic you choosefrom methodological point of view.Your paper should

I contain short introduction to the topic,I clearly states all methods used to study the topic in

literature,I compare them (pro and con),I present own opinion: what the study is missing and why?

Your diaries on the same topic will help you with the finalassignment!

I Results will be available one month after that (≈15.01).


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What is this course about?

This course is about Scientific Research in the field ofComputer Science (more precisely, in the field of DataCommunications).

The course tries to answer on the questions:I How to do the Scientific Research?I How to do the Scientific Research efficiently?I How to do what a Scientific Community needs, in the form

which the Scientific Community demands?I How to do the presentation of your Scientific Research to

the Community?


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What is Computer Science Research?

It is about studying an Idea: your Idea.

Novelty of the Idea.Research is a study of new ideas in the field wherethe research belongs to.

Significance for the Community.One of the most important questions of research isto study what idea is actually needed for thecommunity “today”.

Contribution from the Researcher.An amount of efforts made by a researcher tostudy the idea.

But before...


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But before...

... understanding Novelty and Significance you have to knowthe state-of-the-art of the Scientific Community.

How to be up-to-date?1. Read recent journal articles, and conference papers. Almost all

of them has “History”, “Introduction” and “Future work” parts.(they correspond to “Past”, “Current” and “Possible Future” of theresearch.)

2. Talk to colleagues and scientific advisers :) (they may suggestideas and explain the field development, without studying).

3. See the business tendency and technology levels (news fromindustry).

4. Read the views of the future (Sometimes knowledgeable peoplepublish their visions of the future).


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Literature sourcesThe search engines (and sources) for scientific publicationsare:

I Google Scholar: http://scholar.google.comI Academic Microsoft:

http://academic.research.microsoft.comI ACM Portal: http://portal.acm.orgI IEEE xplore: http://ieeexplore.ieee.org

Especially, what is published in the most famous conferences,such as

I ACM SIGCOMM: http://www.sigcomm.orgI INFOCOM: http://www.ieee-infocom.org

Additionally, many famous publications appear in less famous,but still important conferences.AR - acceptance rates for the conferences and IF - impactfactor for the journals.

http://scholar.google.com

http://academic.research.microsoft.com

http://portal.acm.org

http://ieeexplore.ieee.org

http://www.sigcomm.org

http://www.ieee-infocom.org


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Accessing the publications1. Traditional way: To go to the library and get an article or

order it (an obsoleted way).

Unfortunately, the articles and conference books in thelibrary are quite old. Some journals are available in thecoffee room.

2. Internally: Inside Aalto University ACM, IEEE, Springer, etcwebsites allows to fetch articles freely.

3. Remotely: Outside Aalto University you can fetch themI directly from the Internet, some of them are publicly

availableI indirectly using the search site nelliportaali.fi or

adding the proxy libproxy.aalto.fi, e.g.portal.acm.org.libproxy.aalto.fi

nelliportaali.fi

libproxy.aalto.fi


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Reading as a part of ResearchThe reading refers to the studying of the field (rememberSignificance and Novelty?).

Reading:I adds knowledge about the field.I adds the confidence in own knowledge about the field.I helps new Research Ideas to pop up in the mind.

Do not underestimate the Reading as a part of Research:I Even if you have the full confidence in the new Idea, check

the literature, search for it.I If the Idea popped up after reading some paper, check who

citing this paper. May be the Idea was already developed.Remember: the previously mentioned paper search enginesare able to search by criteria: “cited by”.


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Writing as a part of Research

The writing refers to the production of own Research(remember Contribution?).

Writing:I allows you to document your work for own needs.I allows others to see your work, to see that you are actually

working.I putting an Ideas on a paper allows to polish it and invent a

new or extend the Idea.

Writing is always hard in the middle of research, but it willgreatly help you later if you put on the paper even small Ideas,points, thoughts.


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Reeding←→WritingQuestion: When should I switch from reading to writing?

Answer: Never.

I Starting the research you mainly read.I Finishing the research you mainly write.I In between, you write, but continue to keep abreast of the

development of the Community.Conferences happen all the time, papers appears. If youproduce your research based on other authors paper, alwayscheck who is citing it.

Question: When to switch from mainly reading to mainlywriting?

Answer: Whenever you have confidence in the field and doublechecked the Idea.


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What is an outcome of the Research?Accomplished research is determined by written results.

Outcome of the Research may be:I A survey of the field, if it is necessary overview, timely and

shows new facets of the field.I A new algorithm/protocol, if it gives some benefits

compared to already existing ones.I A mathematical model of a protocol/algorithm, if it is better

predicts different features of the protocol/algorithm.I A performance measurement of existing protocols, with

additional analysisI many more...

All this is “Scientific Findings”.Your written results should address it clearly.


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How to develop a new “clever” idea?There is no rule for Idea generation process, but when youhave an Idea remember:

“There is nothing new except what is forgotten” (c) Rose Bertin

I Whenever you have a new idea, doublecheck that it was not studied previously.Even in closed/related fields.

I It can be an old idea from a differentfield, but was forgotten and the time forit has come.

The checking allows to skip waste of time to study somethingthat already was studied and will concentrate on application ofthe idea to the field.


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Before the research...

There is a big difference what you see when you look insideyour paper, and what others see!

Good to know from the start: Peer Review a common practicein the Scientific Community

An Example: Peer-review process in SIGCOMM:Papagiannaki, K. and Rizzo, L. 2009. The ACM SIGCOMM2009 technical program committee process. SIGCOMMComput. Commun. Rev. 39, 3 (Jun. 2009), 43-48

Find and read the paper yourself, you know how and also readthe one which is citing it!!


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TPC Review System (An Example)Traditional points of review process:

*** Contribution: Rate the evaluation of work and contribution.*** Significance: Rate the significance to theory and practice.*** Novelty: Rate the originality and novelty.*** Relevance: How relevant is the paper to the call for

papers?*** Readability: Rate the readability and organization of

content.*** Overall recommendation: Would you recommend this

paper for conference?*** Best paper award: Do you consider the paper a candidate

for a best-paper award?*** Detailed comments


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When you are finally ready!Ready?

I You have the Idea.I You have the confidence in the idea (novelty and

significance).I You need Contribution!!!

This is what the course is about.

The optimal process of the idea study is not unique and is fullydependent on the case, however, it has a set of known studymethods:

I Mathematical Modeling.I Computer Simulation.I Experimental research.I Data Analysis.I Software Development (demo or product).


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Methods: Mathematical Modeling

Mathematical modeling is a research method that performs theproblem abstraction, when different properties of a system aredefined using a set of parameters and interactions of theseproperties are defined with functions over the parameters.

Mathematical modeling provides a set of features, it allows toI investigate properties of the whole system, based on a

subset of measured parameters.I see the system’s asymptotic behavior.I find optimal conditions for a system.


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Methods: Computer Simulation

Computer Simulation is a research methods, when a smallsample program representing the studying algorithm/protocol iscreated for an existing toolkit (or seldom from the scratch),which simulates the network work.

Computer Simulation allows toI produce “cheap” evaluation research.I do research, when the development time is crucial.I do research, when the sources (money, number of

devices) are limited.I do research even in the black-box architecture, real

development is limited.


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Methods: Experimental research

Experimental research is a research method, which is mainlybased on an experimentation.

Experimental research allows toI produce a research even in case if the modeling is difficult.I acquire result, when a simulation may be a very slow

process.I see non-trivial dependencies between parameters.


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Methods: Software development

Software development is a part of the research, when aproduct-like software (demo) is produced. Sometimes it is evenin the form of commercial product, i.e., this methods allows toshow that the research idea is fully feasible.

Software development allows to:I create a proof-of-concept.I see design errors/pitfalls in the idea.I produce the research with most realistic environment.


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Methods: Data Analysis

Data Analysis is a research methods, that in a form of a bridge,connects together other methods, allowing to compare results,make the research consistent in different aspects and produceestimations for parameters.

Data Analysis allows toI match mathematical models and experimental research.I give estimations on the parameters for models and

algorithms.I prove some properties with high probability rates.


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Methods: Networking business methods

Networking business research methods are the researchmethods examines telecommunications from the business pointof view.

Networking business methods allows toI study commercialization of the research.I focus on the factors affecting the commercial success.I predict future trends of the research and industry.


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Iterative process: Big Cycles

Research

Mathematical Modeling

Computer Simulation

Data Analysis

Experemental research


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Iterative process: Short Cycles

Research


Computer Simulation


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Iterative process: with paper outcomes

Data Analysis

Experemental research


Computer SimulationResearch

Updates Simulation Section

Updates Model Section

Updates Analysis Section

Updates Experemintation Section


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On the paper.

Section Content- Title- Abstract1 Introduction2 History (Related work)3 Idea, Algorithm4 Model5 Simulation, Measurements6 Evaluation, Data Analysis7 Implementation (Demo)8 Discussion (Results), Future work9 Conclusion- Reference


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On the paper: General.


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On the paper: Abstract.


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On the paper: Introduction.


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On the paper: Related work.


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On the paper: Finalizing the paper.


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On the paper: Discussion.


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On the paper: Conclusion.


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On the paper: Acknowledgement.


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On the paper: References.


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Time usage

Try to optimize your time. You paper should be multi-sided,address different aspects, different methods. Find time forevery side, even for self-criticism.

Remember:I Conferences happens all the time, but try to aim at some

conference with fixed date.I Put as much deadlines for yourself as possible. This help

you to organize your time.I All documented small outcomes that are collected in one

work produce big work.I Having all pieces on the paper put your ideas in order and

allow not to lose results.I Find time for reading (and studying), find time for writing.


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Tools to useResearcher has a various set of tools to use for all theResearch methods. They are not emerging as often as newpapers, but still remember to keep track of the current tools.They are created to help you.

There are a lot of tools for Data communication researcher:I Simulators (NS-2, NS-3, OverSim, OMNeT++).I Development tools (Eclipse, Visual Studio, EMacs).I Document preparation systems (WYSIWYG) (TEX, MS

Word, OpenOffice).I Networking tools (BRITE, Wirshark).I Data Analysis tools (R, GnuPlot).I Mathematical labs (MatLab, Mathematica).I Networking labs (PlanetLab, OneLab).


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Other methods to increase own understanding

There is a set of other methods to increase the quality of aresearch:

I attend Computer Science courses and border Sciencecourses.

I attend public presentations, especially with presentersfrom other groups and Universities.

I take part in the review process.

What else?

Non-formal collaboration!!!


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Questions and Comments?

Thank you.

Documents

Methodology for Computer Science Research Lecture 1: Introduction · Lecture 1: Introduction September 8, 2011 3/47 Credits and grading Credits: I 5crfor Mobile Computing students