The great 2014 MAS111: Introduction to Research in Media Arts and Sciences scavenger hunt

Fridays, 3-5pm, E14-525

V. Michael Bove, Jr., E15-448, x3-0334, vmb (at) media (dot) mit (dot) edu

Patsy Baudoin, 14S-230, x3-4979, patsy (at) mit (dot) edu

This syllabus will be updated from time to time throughout the term so please check back regularly!

7 February: Research

A brief overview of the semester
What is research, and what kind do we do at the Media Lab?
How to design an experiment
How and why to keep a lab notebook
Resource: Instructions on keeping a lab notebook (from Course 2)
Assignment for next class: Find a popular-press article or blog discussion of some science or engineering result or design achievement, and also find the researchers'/designers' own write-up of the results. In your opinion, did the press understand and correctly report the most significant aspects of the work? Write one page explaining your thoughts.

14 February: Resources

What kinds of resources exist and how to find them
Please bring your laptop (or tablet) to class this week!
Assignment for next class: Literature search -- find a new paper/reference/informational resource (that you didn't have already) related to your project and write a brief summary of it. Also tell how you found it.
Resources (MIT):VERA, MIT Libraries Research Guide for MAS.111
Resources (external):IEEE Xplore, ACM Digital Library, Google Scholar, DBLP, Zotero, Britney Spears' Guide to Semiconductor Physics

21 February: IP

Understanding intellectual property, copyright, patents (Kate Darling)
Assignment for next class: Patent search -- find a patent that is relevant to your research and write a brief summary of it. For extra fun, find a seemingly silly, useless, or inexplicable patent and share it with class next week.
Handout: Kate Darling's IP Presentation
Handout: Example patent
Resource: US Patent Database
Resource: Google Patent Search
Resource: Patents Research Guide (MIT Libraries)
Resource: World Intellectual Property Organization
Handout: US Patent and Trademark Office General Information Concerning Patents
Handout: About Creative Commons

28 February: Ethics in research

Research involving human subjects (Dr. Leigh Firn, Chair of COUHES)
Resource: MIT COUHES Web site
Assignment for next class: Find out about a human-subjects study (on the MIT campus or some other local institution). Who is doing it, what is the topic and what is being done to the subjects, what (if any) compensation is offered?
Resource: Ethical Expectations for UROP at MIT
Resource: IEEE Code of Ethics
Resource: ACM Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct
Resource: AIGA Standards of Professional Practice for Designers
Resource: The Online Ethics Center for Engineering and Science

7 March: What's "peer review," anyway? And what about non-peer-reviewed publications (like the Web)?

How to read/write a research paper
Kinds of conferences and journals
CFP's and review processes
Open-access publishing
Assignment for next class: Conference search -- find out from your UROP supervisor or colleagues which conference or meeting is a typical place for research like that done by your group to be presented. Look up the conference on-line and write a brief summary of it.
Resource: IEEE Conference Search
Resource: ACM Conference Calendar
Resource: NASA document on how to do technical presentations
Resource: How to review a technical paper

14 March: Staying safe

Health and safety considerations and regulations (MIT Environment, Health and Safety)
Handout: EHS Presentation on Chemical Safety
Resource: Sample MSDS
Assignment for next class: 1) If you led MIT, identify three ways that you would implement and communicate to all levels at MIT the concept of culture of safety. What do you think is the most important way to communicate to your community, the undergraduates of MIT? 2) For occupants of the Media Lab, what is the assembly point should there be an incident requiring an evacuation from the building? What do flashing blue lights at the entrances to E15-023A (in E15-001, 015, and 039) plus a sounding fire alarm indicate? 3) For chemical safety, please pick your favorite chemical(!), research a Material Safety Data Sheet on the web and describe its health effects.

21 March

28 March

4 April: The Art of the Demo

11 April: Presenting

18 April

25 April

2 May

9 May