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CS 438/590: GRADUATE STUDENT REPORT

Due Date: Mon., Dec. 9 @ 11:59 pm

Table of contents

1. Background
2. Deliverable
3. Submission
4. Grading

Background

Each graduate student registered for CS 438/590 must submit an individual report in addition to the exams and the homework for the course. This report will count for 10% of the course grade – all other assessments will be readjusted to account for 90% of the student’s grade. A research article related to a topic in artificial intelligence will be selected and a review of it will be provided.

You are required to pick an article from one of these two venues:

• Journal of Artificial Intelligence Research
• AAAI Conference on Artificial Intelligence

Deliverable

A report that summarizes and critiques a primary research article (not a review article) about an artificial intelligence topic will be submitted. Your report should have three sections:

1. A short overview of the topic and questions addressed in the critiqued paper
2. A description of the key findings
3. A brief discussion of the significance of the paper. The report should discuss what the selected paper teaches us about how an artificial intelligence algorithm works or is applied.

In your report, use the following questions to guide your writing:

1. Why is the topic scientifically important?
   • You may have to read several additional papers listed in the references to put this in perspective and may list them as references in your report.
2. What are the conclusions and how are they supported by the data?
3. How did the work advance knowledge in the area?
4. What work remains to be done? Good research often leads to more questions than it answers. What would be your next question if you were doing research in this area?
5. Could this research be applied to an important problem?

Submission

You will submit 3 items:

• Your report should be close to 1000 words, single-spaced, 11 pt Arial or Helvetica font, and with one-inch margins. You will submit two versions of your report:
  • Word document
  • PDF copy
• PDF of the critiqued research article.

You will submit through Blackboard.

Grading

The report will be graded on a scale of 15 points:

• Overview [3pts]
• Methods and Key Findings [3pts]
• Significance [3pts]
• Grammar, Formatting, Files Submitted [3pts]
• Appropriate Paper Selection [3pts]