How to Do Computer Science Research
Computer science offers numerous opportunities for exciting and creative research at any academic level. Since it is a broad field, it is most important to narrow the desired area of interest. Computer science draws on mathematics, physics and engineering, and consists of fields such as graph theory, cryptography, systems administration, programming languages, user interface design, animation and many others. Besides determining the field of the research, determine its scope and objective. A research project leading to a doctorate is much broader than one leading to publication in a journal. Finally, the most important aspect of research is planning, so stay organized and on track.
Things You'll Need
- Access to a library
- Access to a computer research laboratory
- Personal computer with Internet access
- Access to a computer science faculty member at a university
Instructions
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Narrow the sub-field within computer science where you would like to focus your research.
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Locate recent scholarly articles in your chosen sub-field and study them while taking notes about interesting unanswered questions and topics.
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Determine whether you have sufficient experience to proceed. If not, determine where your knowledge is lacking and learn the necessary material either by taking additional classes or through self-study.
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Write down your research proposal, focusing on the question that you wish to answer and the experiment or study that you need to conduct.
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Once you have a written research proposal, approach a faculty member in the computer science department at a university.
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Schedule a meeting with the faculty member and be prepared to discuss your preliminary research, as well as your proposal.
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When meeting with a faculty member, discuss the goals of your research and the support and resources that you will expect to receive.
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Work together with the faculty member to plan a schedule for the various research milestones that you will need to meet.
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Obtain all the necessary permission forms and documentation that you will require if your experiment involves human subjects or specialized equipment.
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Begin your research and document every step.
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Write up the results of your research as either a research paper, journal article or a presentation at a conference.
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Tips & Warnings
If you are having a difficult time narrowing the specific topic for your research, look at the kind of research that different faculty at your university are conducting. Often faculty are most interested in taking on students who want to contribute to the research that they are already doing.
Research that involves human subjects often takes significantly longer to complete, so if your experiment requires volunteers, factor in additional time in your schedule to accommodate the participants.
Most computer science research at the undergraduate level requires very little funding outside the budget of the department. If your proposal requires the purchase of unusual equipment or other expenses, it may be rejected if the budget of your department can't cover the costs.
It is very easy to lose focus once you begin to conduct research. Students and experienced researchers often can't help but explore various tangents and parallel topics of interest. If you are working with a deadline in mind, stay focused on your chosen topic. If interesting diversions come up as you conduct your experiment, simply document them and revisit the question at a later date. Staying focused is critical to successful completion of research projects.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit student image by Vasiliy Koval from Fotolia.com
