DLMCSSCTCS01 Current Topics in Computer Science Research Essay Tasks | IU

DLMCSSCTCS01 Tasks

There are different subject areas to choose from. Please choose one of the subject areas first. For the concrete selection of your essay topic, you have two possibilities:

• You decide on one of the already given questions or
• You formulate a question yourself within the subject area which you would like to work on in your research essay. In this case, please consider that the question must be agreed upon in advance with the tutor and approved by them. The independent delimitation and formulation of a question represents a good preparation and exercise, especially regarding the later thesis.

Introductory literature references are given for each of the subject areas, which can serve as a starting point. It is expected that further literature sources will be researched and incorporated into the research essay. It should be noted that the theoretical approach and the related literature research are the main focus of the research essay.

1.1 Task 1 : Smart Cities - Environmental Sustainability, Mobility and Healthcare

Please select one of the proposed questions:

• How can smart cities enabling technologies (such as, IoT, Sensors, AI, Cloud, Data science etc) improve environmental sustainability?
• What is the impact/benefits of smart cities technologies on the mobility of elderly and special users?
• What smart cities enabling technologies can be used to enhance the healthcare and how?
• What role does Data mining and machine learning play within Intelligent transportation systems or Smart Mobility – benefits, applications and challenges?
• How will the introduction of 5G revolutionize the Smart mobility/ITS - application, benefits and challenges?

Task 2 : Emerging Technologies: Extended Reality (XR), Mixed Reality (MR), Virtual Reality (VR), Augmented Reality (AR) and IoT

Please select one of the proposed questions:

• What role can XR/VR/AR/MR technologies play in healthcare industry? What possible ways can Artificial Intelligence complement XR/VR/AR/MR here?
• How can XR/VR/AR/MR technologies benefit tourism industry and what specific benefits can be derived during pandemics such as COVID-19?
• How do XR/VR/AR/MR, IoT and 5G complement each other and, what privacy and security issues can arise within IoT which may limit or affect the use of XR/VR/AR/MR ?
• How can XR/VR/AR/MR used for Education- benefits, applications and challenges?
• What possible health (physical and psychological), privacy, security and/or ethical challenges could arise when using XR/VR/AR/MR technologies?

Task 3 : Artificial intelligence- its relationship with other emerging technologies and society

Please select one of the proposed questions:

• Potential applications of AI systems in healthcare and do any ethical challenges exist for these applications?
• What role can AI and machine learning play in education (example, social robots, intelligent tutor systems, smart learning and more)?
• What potential benefits can be derived from AI and machine learning during pandemics such as COVID- 19?
• How can blockchain technologies complement Artificial Intelligence - benefits, applications and challenges?
• Making AI fair: what kind of biases can be introduced in data driven AI, are there possible ways to mitigate it and what are they?

Additional Information for The Evaluation of the Research Essay

When conceptualizing and writing the written assignment, the evaluation criteria and explanations given in the writing guidelines should be considered.

Tutorials Support

In this written assignment task, several support channels are open; as the student, it is your responsibility to select your preferred support channel. The tutor is available for technical consultations and for formal and general questions regarding the procedure for processing the research essay. However, the tutor is not required to approve outlines or parts of texts and drafts. Independent preparation is part of the examination work and is included in the overall evaluation. However, general editing tips and instructions are given in order to help you get started with the written assignment.

Objectives of Academic Writing

A research essay should demonstrate the ability to work independently in a scientific manner. Students should prove that they are able to independently grasp a scientific topic, formulate a research question if necessary, research relevant literature and justify and theoretically underpin their own thoughts and findings on this basis.

Structure of a Research Essay

The structure of the research essay should reflect a logical progression of main points and explanatory points. The text should be a coherent and cohesive whole and follow a linear structure. There should be a logical integration of the main and explanatory points across the various sections, with clear transitions between them. This can be done, for example, by referring to a key argument in a previous chapter, which can then act as a progression to the next point. The main body of the essay is composed of the core argument (around 70% of the essay), preceded by an introduction (around 20%) and followed by a conclusion (around 10%).

Introduction

The introduction is the first section of an essay and should be designed as an integral part of the text. The introduction should contain concise but clear statements of the following points, named in subchapters or subheadings as appropriate:

• Rationale for the topic from the current state of research on the chosen topic (Why is the topic relevant and what are the open questions to be addressed in the paper).
• Aim of the essay or investigation (What is to be presented/found out and why? What research question does the research essay pursue?)
• Delimitation of the topic and possibly topic-related definitions (What can be done in the thesis and what cannot? What should be the scope of the intended results?) A reasonable delimitation of the topic is the prerequisite for a successful seminar paper!
• Overview of structure and argumentation sequence (How is the work structured and what can the reader expect in the main part?)

It makes sense to think about these introductory remarks early on, even if they are written towards the end of the writing process, in order to give your own work a stringent and clear line of argumentation that extends throughout all parts of the research essay and leads to a meaningful conclusion.

Main Body

This part of academic writing should peak and maintain interest through coherent and comprehensible argumentation. This is only possible if the essay has a common thread that links each key point. If something is not considered common knowledge, then it must be explained and supported with the use of a theory-based argument. All assumptions, considerations, and arguments must be proven and discussed. Each argument should be as clear and structured as possible.

The topic sentence should be at the beginning of the paragraph with the supporting points clearly connected to it. The structure of individual paragraphs should loosely follow this framework:

• Clearly state the main point of the paragraph using a topic sentence.
• Explain the topic sentence and elaborate on it using supporting points.
• Conclude the argument in a way that leads the reader to the next point.

Conclusion

The conclusion should give the reader a final, overall impression of the essay. It should not be a repetition of what was written in the essay. This is only useful in a longer essay, for example a master’s thesis. Instead, the conclusion should draw the arguments to a close. It should summarize the key arguments within the essay and seek to conclude the thesis or main claim and answer any questions that were raised. The conclusion can also include any follow-up questions or perspectives regarding the topic that could be further researched. The conclusion should not include any new ideas or arguments, but rather should state the outcomes regarding the central claim or thesis.

Formal Guidelines and Submission Requirements

Components of the Research Essay

The research essay consists of the following parts, listed in the table of contents (except for title page and table of contents):

• Title page
• Table of contents
• List of figures and/or tables (if necessary)
• List of abbreviations (if necessary)
• Text part with introduction, main part, conclusion
• Bibliography
• List of appendices (if necessary)
• Appendices and materials (if necessary)