CS 569 Fall 2014 (Tentative) Schedule

This schedule will grow and change throughout the course, so check back regularly, and be sure to hit REFRESH to make sure you have the most recent version.

• Week 1 (week of 9/29): What are different kinds of empirical studies, how they work, what's achievable with each, when case studies are the right empirical strategy.
  • Read Runeson Chapters 1-2.
  • (Optional): In case it's useful to you, here is the think-aloud study described in lecture.
  • HW #1: Ethics of working with human subjects (email your certificate to Dr. Burnett, due Thursday 10/9 8:30 am).
  • Assignment of HW #2 temporary team.
  • Read Runeson Chapter 3 through 3.2.7 in time to get HW #2a done (see Week 2).
  • Read the Seaman/Basili ICSE'97 paper with an eye toward HW #2.


• Extra classes to make up for Week 2: Friday 10/3 2:00-3:20 and Monday 10/6 11:00-12:20. Room KEC 1007 for both. (These are the best days/times from http://doodle.com/fitydcs7diupm4pn.): What are case studies, designing and conducting case studies.
  • Discussion of case study project possibilities.
  • Team skills inventory activity.
  • Discussing Runeson Chapter 3 (thru 3.2.7) and the Seaman/Basili paper.
  • HW #2A: Anatomy of a case study (hardcopy due Monday 10/6, by beginning of class). We'll discuss this in the 2nd special class (Monday 10/6).


• "Usual" Week 2 (week of 10/6): No class: Dr. Burnett is co-chairing the HCI Track of Grace Hopper. (We made up for Week 2 with the special extra classes).


• Week 3 (week of 10/13): What are case studies, designing and conducting case studies (cont.)
  • Examples of multiple case studies.
  • Read Runeson Chapter 4 and Section 5.4
  • Scientific rigor in case studies.
  • HW #2B: Anatomy of a case study (hardcopy due Tuesday 10/14 beginning of class). We'll discuss this in class.
  • Friday: Term project installment 1: Team members + project title is due via email to Dr. Burnett by midnight.


• Week 4 (week of 10/20): Designing/conducting (cont.). Collecting qualitative data for case studies.
  • Read Runeson Sections 3.2.8-end of Chapter 3.
  • (Optional): In case it's useful, you could also skim Runeson Section 4.3 on interviews, but this is not required.
  • Begin discussion of: Collecting data, observations, interviews.
    • Lecture slides on observing.
    • Beki Grinter's advice on recording field observations.
    • Observation example: Observing teachers in system tutorial.
    • Field observation example: Observing people in E-cafe. (This example was done as a cs 569 assignment)
    • Read what Preece et al. (2002 edition) have to say about interviewing. (Some of the lecture material on interviewing was drawn from here.)
    • Lecture slides on interviewing
  • HW #3: Observing People in the Field is due (hardcopy AND emailed to me due Thurs beginning of class). We'll discuss/compare these in class on the due date.
  • Theory
  • (Optional): In case it's useful to you, here is Dittrich et al.'s nice summary of qualitative work in software engineering (which came from here), potentially useful as a source of theory ideas for your case study as well.
  
  
• Week 5 (week of 10/27): Collecting qualitative data for case studies (cont.). Qualitative Analysis & integrating theory.
  • Read Runeson ch. 5 lightly, except focus on Section 5.3.3.
  • Tuesday: Term project installment 2a is due: The executive summary (table), Introduction (bullets only), and Design (bullets only) are due as powerpoints or bullets-only documents (pdf, doc, or whatever). Print them and bring to class. ALSO email electronically to me.
  • Tuesday: Design studio on Term project installment 2a.
  • Project: Start collecting data.


• Week 6 (week of 11/3): Qualitative analysis (cont): Codes, memos, theory.
  • Read Preece (2007), sections 8.4 and 8.6.1.
  • Term project installment #2b is due Tuesday (hardcopy AND emailed to me). It is the same as Term project #2a, but this time fleshed out into words, serving as a draft of part of your final report. (Example: pp. 1-10 of Sample #2, which was worthy of an A, but needed to analyze fewer interviews to fit into the remaining weeks of the term.)
  • Tuesday: coding (cont.). Example code set
  • Midterm is Thursday. Covers material through Week 5.


• Week 7 (week of 11/10): Qualitative analysis (cont.)
  • Project: Work on coding (in parallel with whatever data collection remains).
  • Coding (cont.)
  • Patterns, diagrams, integration
  • Thurs: coding day -- bring 1-2 pages of coded data for discussion (we'll project it). Coding problems and issues especially encouraged.


• Week 8 (week of 11/17):
  • Project: Work on patterns/diagrams/integration/logic chains (in parallel with whatever coding remains to be done). As results settle, incrementally write about them in your project report.
  • With your teammate, look at the results of any one paper from either Runeson's ch 10-14 (keeping in mind the caveats of ch. 9) or this selection of good case study papers, with an eye toward how they analyzed/presented their Results.
  • Thursday: analysis day -- bring some analyses for discussion (we'll project it). Analysis problems and issues especially encouraged.


• Week 9 (week of 11/24): Analysis (cont) and Reporting case studies in research publications
  • Tuesday: in class: Project installment 3 due: Pilot and the part of Results (or Methodology) that describes the code set and coding procedures.
  • If time permits: Class discussion of how to write up case studies.. This is also a good time to revisit the research paper your team looked over last week, to discuss how they analyzed/presented their Results.
  • Wednesday: I'll have Project installment 3 feedback ready for you before I leave for Turkey-day.
  • Thursday: Thanksgiving holiday.


• Week 10 (week of 12/1): Final presentations of your term projects. Each should be 20 minutes + 5 minutes for QA.
  • Tuesday: Presentations by Tahmid/Chad and Charles/Pooria/AJ and Laxmi/Sruti.
  • Thursday: Presentations by Michael/Shane and Ayda/Rana.
  • Thursday in class: hardcopy and electronic copy of final project report is due.

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