CS 430
Information Discovery
Fall 2002

Professor William Y. Arms

Lectures: Tuesday and Thursday, 12:20 to 1:10 pm
Discussion class: Wednesday 7:30 to 8:30 p.m.

3 Credit Hours


Check this file regularly for information about schedule, assignments, etc.


Notice: Final Examination (Note Location)

Examination date: Wednesday, December 18, 12:00 noon - 1:30 p.m. Location: Olin 165.

Early examination: Thursday December 12, 12:00 noon - 1:30 p.m., Conference Room, Information Science Building, 301 College Avenue. Contact Anat Nidar-Levi (anat@cs.cornell.edu) if you plan to take the early examination.

The format of the final examination will be similar to the Midterm Examination.  It will include questions on all lectures, including the guest lectures, and the readings for the discussion classes. 

11/19/02

Notice:  Extra Submission Instructions for Assignments

Addition submission instructions for assignments have been added to the Assignments page of the web site.  They give information about how to submit programs.  Please read and follow these instructions. 

11/4/02

Midterm Examination Paper

Here is the midterm examination paper:  MSWord

11/4/02

Notice: Midterm Examination

The Midterm Examination is on Wednesday, October 23, in Upson B17, 7:30 to 9:00.  It will be open book.  

The midterm examination from Spring 2001 (lightly edited) and a set of slides that discuss the solution are mounted at the following. Note that this examination had four questions; the Fall 2002 midterm will have three questions.

Sample Midterm Examination
MSWord
HTML
 
Slides that discuss the solutions
PowerPoint
HTML

The midterm and final examinations aim to reward regular attendance in class (including guest lectures) and careful reading for the discussion classes.

10/16/02

Notice: Final Examination

The final examination will be on Wednesday, December 18 from noon to 2:30, in Olin 165.

10/11/02

Notice: Assignment 2

Assignment 2 has now been posted.  Note that the due date has been changed to October 21.

This assignment builds on Assignment 1. If you did not complete Assignment 1, please contact a Teaching Assistant (email to cs430@cs.cornell.edu) to help you prepare for this assignment.

10/8/02

Notice:  Assignment 1

There has been a delay in setting up the email address for this assignment (cs430-1@cs.cornell.edu).  If this address is not set up when you submit, please send your assignment to cs430@cs.cornell.edu.

Several people have asked for more details about the file formats for Files 1a, 1b and 2a.  Designing these formats is part of the assignment.  There is no single correct answer.  Your report should specify the format and explain the choices that you made.

9/19/02


Course Description

This course looks at the methods used to search and discover information in web information systems and digital libraries. Methods that are covered include information retrieval, which includes techniques for searching, browsing and filtering information, descriptive metadata, the use of classification systems and thesauruses, with examples from web search systems and online information systems.

Basic Information

Lectures: Tuesday and Thursday 12:20-1:10, Olin Hall 155
Discussion classes: Wednesday 7:30 to 8:30, Upson Hall B17
Instructor: William Arms
wya@cs.cornell.edu,
104, Information Science
301 College Avenue
607-255-3046
Instructor's Office Hours: Tuesday 9:30 to 10:30 and Thursday 10:30 to 11:30 or by appointment
Instructor's Assistant: Anat Nidar-Levi, anat@cs.cornell.edu
101, Information Science
301 College Avenue
607-255-9555
Teaching Assistant 1: Matthew Schultz, schultz@cs.cornell.edu
Teaching Assistant 2: Doug Mitarotonda, dcm14@cornell.edu
Teaching Assistant 3: Trishul Patel, typ1@cornell.edu

To communicate with the course team, please send email to the entire team: 

        cs430@cs.cornell.edu

Course Structure

  • The course consists of:
        2 lectures per week
        1 discussion class per week
            readings before each discussion class
        4 homework assignments
        mid-term examination
        final examination
  • Readings will be assigned to prepare for the discussion classes.  Contribution to the discussion classes is one of the factors that will be used to determine the final grade.

Text Book

William B. Frakes and Ricardo Baeza-Yates, Information Retrieval Data Structures and Algorithms.  Prentice Hall, 1992.

Assumed Background

This is class requires a moderate level of maturity in understanding computer systems and architecture, such as CS211 (or equivalent).  Several assignments will include programming, in Java or C++.  Prior knowledge of either Java or C++ is required.

Computing Equipment

Unix and NT computers with appropriate software are available in the Computer Science Undergraduate Lab, Upson Hall Room 315/317.  M.Eng. students may also use the M.Eng computing lab.

Assignments and Grading

The course grade will be based on course assignments, participation in the discussion classes, and the examinations (mid-term and final).  All assignments are individual assignments. The weightings given to these components are expected to be as follows, but these weightings may be changed:

Individual assignments 33%
Class participation 33%
Examinations 33%

William Y. Arms

(wya@cs.cornell.edu)
Last changed: December 17, 2002