CS6742 Fall : Final-project proposals

This page last modified Fri October 16, 2015 4:21 PM. Important updates will be posted to Piazza; and the updates of Friday Oct 16th are indicated in red.

Goal: help you complete a successful final project by the end of the semester, one that we hope can eventually become a research publication. (Keep in mind the submission deadlines for ICWSM and NAACL 2016, both a little after the end of the term.) This goal is what motivates the requirements below.

Now that you have had exposure to a variety of topics and have developed at least three small project proposals in this course, you should now be in a good position to formulate your final project proposal. (That's intentional ambiguity as to what the word "final" is modifying, there).

Your proposals (and hence projects) should be done in teams, but teams consisting of a single person are fine. Henceforth, the words "you" and "your" refer to a team.

Proposal content requirements: we are expecting 3-4 paragraphs. The following must be included:

• At least one clear and concrete hypothesis
• Identification of at least one appropriate data source
• An indication of what language features you plan to employ
• A plan for at least one concrete feasibility test. You technically need not have started the test by the time you submit, although we strongly recommend that you do start such tests before submitting; that will not only help you hone your proposal, but as a pragmatic matter, the test will need to be done by your mandatory feasibility discussion.
  • An example of a feasibility test is the shuffling test that Cristian described in the accommodation lecture. (Remember that that was a real-life example; feasibility testing is an instinct and skill you want to develop as a researcher.)
  • Other possible examples: some counts from your data source showing that there are enough examples of the phenomenon of interest; an initial check that a first cut of a sentiment classifier you intend to use has sufficient accuracy (samples of) your data.
• A listing of the members of your team, and acknowledgments of sources of other input/inspiration - For example, if you were inspired by a particular reading, cite it; if your proposal incorporates work or ideas you've already talked about (or plan to talk about) with other students/your advisor/an internship mentor/the instructor of another class/or so on, give the names of all such people.
  • Policy for working with "external" team members:

  • If you want to work on your project with somebody that is not enrolled in our class (henceforth "external"), you can do so under these conditions:

    a) You need clarify in the proposal who the "external" is and what his/her role would be. 

    b) The project can not also count as a project for another class.

    c) You need to verify with all parties involved that co-working is OK and that all members understand that the project is done in the context of the final project for this class.

    d) In particular, the "external" needs to be OK with the the possibility of co-authoring with the instructors. (We state this as a possibility because the instructors may or may not contribute enough to your project to merit coauthorship. We will discuss this issue later in class, and all decisions will be made on a case-by-case basis.)

    e) You need to document your individual effort (as a class member) that you are putting into this project during the course, and this will be factored into the project grade.

Your proposal can be based on proposals previously submitted for this class (we are indeed hoping that some of the proposals you've come up earlier will blossom into full-blown projects!), but if so, your proposal should incorporate any feedback that was given.

Deadlines: In all cases, we recommend trying to finish each milestone ahead of its deadline.

• (Optional) Before Thursday the 15th: if you want to talk in-person with about your ideas, you can make an appointment for Thursday the 15th during class hours in the usual classroom; use the link https://cs6742-checkups.youcanbook.me/ . If you need additional feedback, you can also see during regularly-scheduled office hours; see the main course page for contact details. These appointments are all optional.
  • Because of this activity, you do not need to come to class on Thursday the 15th. ( will be there regardless)
• Friday the 16th, 3pm: Post your proposal to Piazza, as a "Question".
• [Between the proposal posting and the next deadline: give each other helpful feedback on Piazza. If it seems like some teams should merge based on the posted proposals, arrange this among yourselves and update the Piazza proposals accordingly.]
• Monday the 19th, 11:59pm: Post your feasibility-check results as a "resolved" followup to your proposal on Piazza. And, make an appointment at the link https://cs6742-checkups.youcanbook.me/ for your mandatory feasibility check to be held on Tuesday the 20th or Thursday the 22nd during class hours in the usual classroom.
• Tuesday the 20th and Thursday the 22nd: Come to the feasibility-check appointment you scheduled. You will be presenting/discussing the results of your feasbility check with only.
  • Because of this activity, you do not need to come to class on Tuesday the 20th or Thursday the 22nd except during your appointment slot.
• Friday the 23rd, 3pm: Submit to Piazza a short commitment statement: "what do I promise to accomplish on my project next week?". Do so as an unresolved followup to your proposal.
• The week after that: Do what you committed to. State the results as a reply to your followup, and mark the commitment followup as resolved.

Assessment criteria: Proposals: thoughtfulness, creativity, and feasibility are most important to . On-time completion of all requirements will be factored in.

• Extra "karma" will be awarded for thoughtfulness and creativity of the feedback you give to others on Piazza.