Specialism Research Report
The Specialism Research Report is an individual assessment for the Advanced Research Topics in Computer Science module. The assignment provides students with an opportunity to develop a deeper understanding of a selected computer science research specialism and to investigate an open research question within that area. The available research specialisms are Artificial Intelligence, Networking, Cyber Security, Software Engineering and Data Science. Students are expected to examine the research specialism associated with their degree route and develop their understanding of current research challenges, established techniques and potential future research directions. The report requires students to provide an overview of the research paper presented in the relevant 7COM1084 Research Specialism Lecture. The report must identify and explain the research question addressed by the specialist paper, consider why the research problem is scientifically interesting or relevant to a real-world application, and investigate possible approaches for addressing the question. Students must also identify further research that could build upon the existing work and consider their own personal strengths, interests and experience in relation to the proposed research. The report is structured into five main sections. The first section, Introduction of Research Specialism, provides a general overview of the selected research area and is intended to be accessible to readers with broad computer science knowledge. The second section, Open Research Question, identifies and explains the research problem discussed in the specialist lecture paper and considers its scientific or practical significance. The third section, Existing and Related Work, provides a literature review of research beyond the specialist paper, identifies limitations in existing approaches and discusses related open research problems. The fourth section, Research Approach, examines the methods used in the specialist paper, evaluates their strengths and weaknesses, and proposes an approach for extending the research. The fifth section, Personal Investment, explains the student's interest in the research question and evaluates their personal strengths and experience relevant to conducting the proposed research. Students are expected to use module reading materials and secondary research to support their discussion. The report must use Harvard referencing and include at least 20 references, including the 7COM1084 specialist paper. The references are excluded from the word count. The submission must not exceed 2,800 words, with a permitted range of ±10%. The assessment develops students' ability to understand established research techniques, identify research problems from relevant literature, propose alternative solutions, critically evaluate research literature, develop approaches for future research and communicate research knowledge effectively in a scholarly manner.
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