Understanding literature and communicating your thoughts on a topic is an essential part of doing research.  In this assignment, I want you to act (or learn to act) as a research scientist and give your fellow class a lecture about your topic.  The individual research lecture presentation will start from Week 2.  Students that present in Week 2 and 3 will receive 4, 2 bonus points of total grade respectively for their significant effort early in the course. 

Learning Goals

• Gain knowledge of cutting-edge research. 

• Develop proficiency in identifying relevant research papers. 

• Develop proficiency in synthesizing the contribution of several research papers.

• Learn how to draw connections among research papers.

• Develop proficiency in giving a research talk. 

Resources

Take a look at videos from the following talk series to learn how to structure your talk

University of California, San Diego, Design@Large, https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLoWuaQlGD1dnRv82i71aSmYQgsZUp73fB

Stanford HCI Talk Series: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLoROMvodv4rMyupDF2O00r19JsmolyXdD

University of Toronto. TUX: Toronto User Experience Speaker Series https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCi3ZH7kOtWXlu-ypJ6iD5Bg

What to do

Stage 1: Take a quick scan of the research papers listed on the schedule page, and be ready to bid for a research area.  We have a total of 13 topics to choose from, and you need to bid on the topic that you would like to read related research articles and give a presentation about.  We will use this google form to bid on the topics and submit the response you have received as proof by 11:59 pm October 6 on canvas.

Stage 2: Identify 3 closely related works, take a careful read of them, summarize the work, and draw connections among them.  The 3 works you will identify must include one of the listed papers under the topic on the schedule page and 2 papers that are not listed. You will need to write a short proposal (300 words max) to explain why and how they are related and form a theme for your research talk.  Share the theme and selected papers in the research-presentation channel at least 2 weeks before your presentation, for which I will provide feedback and recommend relevant work. Failing to post the theme and selected papers on time will result in a loss of grades.

Stage 3:  Prepare the presentation. You need to assume the class will not have read the papers you selected, and you need to give a lecture to the class about the papers you have selected. Think about how you would like to structure the lecture. It is very important to focus on the connections of the papers you have selected rather than just describe each of them as independent projects.  You can potentially structure the talk in this way: 

• part 1 - introduction and motivation 

  • what are the problems that are impeding creativity and productivity

  • what is the core of the problems

  • what is the novel concept of the research that addresses the problems

• part 2 -  research paper 1 

  • the contribution of the paper, You need to describe it in sufficient detail so the class can understand its contribution.   

  • the connection with the overarching theme. It is often a good idea to start with the research that lays the foundation for the next 2 research works, or the simplest one among the 3 so that you can show progression among them.

• part 3 -  research work 2 

  • the contribution of the paper

  • the connection with the overarching theme, and previous paper

• part 4 -  research work 3 

  • the contribution of the paper

  • the connection with the overarching theme, and previous papers

• part 5 - summary of  the work and implication 

  • a summary of the contribution and insights. Have a key takeaway message.

  • what's the implication for future work in the same domain or in others. 

Stage 4:  Prepare for the discussion. The day before the presentation,  all other students' commentaries will be submitted.  You should read through them and think about what to discuss.  Decide on 3-4 key ideas from the readings that you would like the students to understand deeply, and structure your discussion strategy around that. The discussion is where you get other people talking: you can ask one student to elaborate on their ideas; you can moderate a debate if you find different opinions from their commentaries; you can also put students in breakout rooms to discuss.  

Stage 5:  Presentation day. You presentation should be 35-40 mins long, with 20-30 mins for discussion. 

Grading Rubric

Your presentation will be strictly graded based on the following:

• Research work selection and theme (5%, before presentation)

  • Do you identify a set of 3 closely related research papers?

  • Do you present an insightful summary of the common theme of the selected papers?

• Motivation of the research direction (30%)

  • Do you clearly state the research problems that the research papers address? 

  • Do you provide strong and compelling evidence of the significance of the research problem? 

  • Do you clearly  describe the research direction?

  • Do you convincingly motivate the research direction as a logical and suitable solution for the research problem ?

• Research Work (30%)

  • Do you clearly present the core contribution of the research papers?

  • Do you clearly present the connections among the research papers and the overall theme?

  • Do you present the limitations of the research paper?

• Summary and Indication (15%)

  • Does the talk include an insightful summary of all the research papers?

  • Does the talk include an outlook of  future directions?

• Presentation(10%)

  • Is the talk delivered with a compelling narrative?

  • Is the talk well prepared and rehearsed? 

• Q&A and Discussion (10%)

  • Do you address the questions from the instructor and students well?

  • Do you lead an active and in-depth discussion?