School of Electronics and Computer Science:
COMP6037 Foundations of Web Science
Basic Information
| School | |
|---|---|
| Known as | COMP6037. |
| Status | This syllabus is still provisional. |
| Session and Semester | Semester One, 2009 - 2010 |
| Credit | 20 Credit Points |
| Unit Leader | Leslie Carr |
| Teachers | Dr Mark J Weal Prof Nigel R Shadbolt [hidden] Professor Dame Wendy Hall |
| Study | 200 hours directed reading, coursework, and private study |
| Assessment | Coursework 100% |
| Coursework | Wiki contribution, tutorial contribution, reviewing and book section |
| Teaching | 9 lectures (introduction, process), 9 tutorial sessions, 6 guest lectures (interdisciplinary speakers) |
| Referral | On referral, this unit will be assessed by set coursework assignment(s). |
| Syllabus Approved |
Description
Aims
The World Wide Web has changed the world. It has changed the ways we communicate, collaborate, and educate. We increasingly live in a Web-dependent society in a Web-dependent world. The Web is also the largest human information construct and it is growing faster than any other system. However, it is a striking fact that there is no systematic discipline to study the Web. We need to understand the current, evolving, and potential Web but at the moment we have no means of predicting the impact that future developments in the Web will have on society or business. Web Science aims to anticipate these impacts. It is the study of the social behaviours in the Web at the inter-person, inter-organizational and societal level, the technologies that enable and support this behaviour, and the interactions between these technologies and behaviours. It is therefore inherently interdisciplinary and at even the simplest level represents a fundamental collaboration between computer science and the social sciences.
This unit provides an introduction to Web Science, an overview of current research and an appreciation of the diverse set of disciplines that make up this multidisciplinary research area.
Learning Outcomes
Knowledge and Understanding
Having successfully completed the module, you will be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of:
Having successfully completed the module, you will be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of:
- the nature and history of Web Science as an emerging research area;
- the breadth of disciplines that contribute to Web Science research;
- a detailed understanding of a number of areas of Web Science;
- approaches to interdisciplinary research.
Intellectual Skills
Having successfully completed the module, you will be able to:
Having successfully completed the module, you will be able to:
- carry out a literature survey of a research field in another discipline;
- write editorial summaries of research areas aimed at different target audiences.
Practical Skills
Having successfully completed the module, you will be able to:
Having successfully completed the module, you will be able to:
- accurately proof read and mark up a technical document;
- write a technical summary aimed at a different discipline.
General Transferable (key) Skills
Having successfully completed the module, you will be able to:
Having successfully completed the module, you will be able to:
- appreciate the specific difficulties of working across multiple disciplines;
- gain additional understanding of a research area through acknowledging different perspectives.
Topics Covered
Topics to be covered will vary depending on the particular research area chosen by individual students and the guest lecturers chosen for each cohort. Specific directed reading will be updated to reflect ongoing developments in this rapidly moving field. Topics likely to be included will be:
- Introduction to Web Science
- Web Science and the Law
- Statistical models for use with Web Science
- Methods and techniques for social study
- Game theory and mathematical models for Web Science
- Biological underpinnings for Web Science
- The economics of Web Science
Teaching and learning activities
Teaching methods include
Lectures: two per week during the teaching weeks in Semester 2. These will consist of:
- Process lectures to introduce the subject and facilitate the coursework;
- Guest lectures to provide a wide range of exemplar case studies in Web Science;
- Tutorials structured around directed reading to steer the research activities for the coursework.
Coursework: The coursework is structured around the production of a book containing the state of the art of Web Science relevant research across a broad set of disciplines. The coursework is structured in four phases.
- Collaborative Research: Initially independent research is carried out to find and summarise relevant resources in disciplines identified as being relevant to Web Science research. These resources are collated on a Wiki and during the first phase students are encouraged to help construct the shared resource and comment, summarize and categorize the resources being added.
- Individual Summary: In the second phase, each student is allocated a specific area of Web Science drawn from the Web Science 'cluster' diagram (http://webscience.org/cluster.php). Each student is to provide a summary of a selection of resources providing the best examples of Web Science in the specific area along with two introductions, one for Computer Scientists and one for those working and studying in the other discipline, explaining the relevance of the resources. This assignment is used to familiarise students with a range of research related to Web Science and engage them in providing a critical analysis of the state-of-the-art projects/methodologies/techniques. The assignment is designed to help students better understand the need to approach multi-disciplinary work from different perspectives.
- Peer Review and Editing: In the third phase, the students will apply rigorous editing and proof-reading practices to another students summaries.
- Revision and collation: The final phase involves the revision of the summaries and collation into a book format for final publication.
Phase 1 will be augmented by a series of guest lectures and tutorial discussions to provide direction for the independent research.
The contribution to the collaborative Wiki and to the discussions during tutorials will be assessed by the unit lecturers.
The peer-reviews and final book sections will be marked by the unit lecturers.
During the lectures and presentations there will be discussions with plenary feedback.
Participation in discussion, while not compulsory, is encouraged.
At the end of each teaching week, there will be some directed reading in preparation for discussions the following week. This would form a small part of the reading expected during private study time.
Learning activities include
Methods of assessment
| Assessment method | Number | % contribution to final mark |
|---|---|---|
| Wiki contribution [cwork] | 1 | 20 |
| Participation in tutorials [cwork] | 1 | 10 |
| Summarization of research area [cwork] | 1 | 50 |
| Reviewing of Others Work [cwork] | 1 | 20 |
Feedback and student support during module study
- Assignments will be marked and returned within three working weeks.
- Discussions will take place during tutorial sessions.
- There are further resources on the course web site and accompanying Wiki.
Relationship between the teaching, learning and assessment methods and the planned learning outcomes
The knowledge, understanding and intellectual skills listed will be gained through taught lectures, guest lectures, in-class discussions and self study. In completing the coursework, students will demonstrate an knowledge and understanding of Web Science and will demonstrate the skills listed, including the practical and transferable skills.
Resources
Core Resources
- Module resources, including directed reading, will be maintained on the module web site and the Wiki.
Notes
Background Reading
- Tim Berners-Lee, Wendy Hall, James Hendler, Nigel Shadbolt, Daniel J. Weitzner (2006). "Creating a Science of the Web". Science 313 (11)
- Tim-Berners Lee, Wendy Hall, James A. Hendler, Kieron O'Hara, Nigel Shadbolt and Daniel J. Weitzner (2006). "A Framework for Web Science". Foundations and Trends in Web Science 1(1).
Taught to
COMP6037
Pt IV MEng Computer Science with Artificial Intelligence (Optional)Pt IV MEng Computer Science (Optional)
Pt IV MEng Computer Science with Distributed Systems & Networks (Optional)
Pt IV MEng Computer Science with Image and Multimedia Systems (Optional)
Pt IV MEng Computer Science with Mobile and Secure Systems (Optional)
MSc in Web Science (Compulsory)
Pt IV MEng Software Engineering (Optional)
Students who are not registered on an ECS approved programme may take this module subject to meeting its pre-requisites and the availability of resources. To confirm this, please can you contact the module leader (as listed above) in the first instance. They will then refer you on to the appropriate director of studies for formal approval of your selection.
Change Log
2009-02-06 16:17:42.833 - Roll script2008-09-01 14:42:50.747 - Roll script