Types of final projects (students may choose either one):
Research Project: An original research related to the content of the course. The final
report should be a paper in the format of a journal or a conference article, containing some element
of innovation, even if it is small or incremental. The topics may range from theoretical to applied;
applied research projects should aim to introduce some of the course-related techniques to a problem.
Survey Project: A survey of a topic related to the content of the course. The final report
should be a paper in the format of a journal or a conference paper that provides a survey of the
chosen topic. This type of project should have a detailed survey component and a simulation component
(i.e., replicate empirical work in the surveyed papers). The report should be unbiased and
well written.
Project Proposal (Due: on 03/24/25, in class):
The research paper proposal should state the problem that you are trying to solve, including setup, key
assumptions, and methods to be used. For a survey project, the goal is a more detailed overview of the area.
Please include realistic plan of action proposed, including action
items and a timeline. At least 2-3 papers
that you have read should be cited. Proposal format: 1-2 pages in
length (2 pages preferred) with 11pt or 12pt font, single spacing, and
standard 1 inch margins.
Evaluating final reports (the reports are due 04/28/25, 11:59pm):
Research Paper
(15 points) In the Introduction section, the article should provide background on the general area and motivate the research project.
(10 points) In the Introduction (or a Problem Statement) section, clearly describe the objectives of the project. (Ideally, they should
be very close to the objectives outlined in the project proposal.)
(65 points) The main part of the paper should provide concise problem statement, setup, and key assumptions; description of methods (any derivations, algorithms employed, etc.); explanation of the project contributions illustrated with analytical and/or simulation results; and give some insight and provide suggestions for future work.
(10 points) Since this is a report, please take care of clarity and style thereof.
Survey Article
(15 points) In the Introduction section, the article should provide background on the general area and motivate the survey.
(10 points) The references should be relevant to the topic of the
survey. Journal papers are strongly preferred.
Including references which present different approaches to the
solution of the same problem is desirable.
(65 points) The main part of the article -- survey of the area --
should provide details about the area/problem being surveyed; give a
thorough description of the contributions in the cited papers;
compare and contrast different contributions, including numerical/simulation illustrations; and give some insight and provide suggestions for future work.
(10 points) Since this is a report, please take care of clarity and style thereof.
PAC learnability of influence functions in social networks.
H. Narasimhan, D. C. Parkes, and Y. Singer,
"Learnability of influence in networks,"
Proceedings of the 29th Annual Conference on Neural Information Processing Systems, Montreal,
Canada, December 7-12, 2015: 3168-3176.