The great 2016 MAS111: Introduction to Research in Media Arts and Sciences scavenger hunt

Fridays, 3-5pm, E15-341

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

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

Grading Information: This class is graded P/D/F. To pass, at minimum you must attend (and participate in) 2/3 or more of the class sessions, and do the final presentation.

5 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)
• Article: Going Paperless
• 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.

12 February: Resources

• Please bring your laptop (or tablet) to class this week!
• What kinds of resources exist and how to find them
• How to read/write a research paper
• Kinds of conferences and journals
• Peer reviewed and non-reviewed publications
• CFP's and review processes
• Open-access publishing
• Assignment #1 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):MIT Libraries (in particular check out the "Search" tab), MIT Libraries Research Guide for MAS.111, PubPub
• Resources (external):IEEE Xplore, ACM Digital Library, Google Scholar, DBLP, Zotero, Britney Spears' Guide to Semiconductor Physics
• Assignment #2 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

19 February: NO CLASS, instructor traveling (Sorry!)

26 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: Patents Research Guide (MIT Libraries)
• Resource: US Patent and Trademark Office General Information Concerning Patents
• Resource: US Patent Database
• Resource: PAIR: Patent Application Information Retrieval
• Resource: Google Patent Search
• Resource: World Intellectual Property Organization
• Resource: About Creative Commons
• Resource: choosealicense.com

4 March: 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

11 March: NO CLASS, instructor traveling again (Sorry again!)

18 March: NO CLASS (since so many of you left early for Spring Break)

25 March: NO CLASS (Spring Break)

1 April: Staying safe

• Health and safety considerations and regulations (MIT Environment, Health and Safety)
• Resource: MIT Office of Sustainability
• Handout: EHS Presentation on Chemical Safety
• Resource: Sample MSDS
• Assignment for next class (3 parts):
  1. Please pick your favorite chemical (!) or one used in your lab, find a Material Safety Data Sheet on the Web, and write a brief summary of any health or safety concerns.
  2. Propose how you might use social media or some other communications means to convey to the MIT student community the culture of safety and environmental responsibility that was discussed in class today.
  3. 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?

8 April: The Fine Arts of the Demo and the Presentation

• How to demo panel discussion
• Ryan Chin's Top Ten Things I Learned About Demos at the Media Lab
• How to make slides and do an oral presentation
• Generic PowerPoint Presentation for MAS111

15 April

• Practice student presentations -- student critiques

22 April

• Practice student presentations (second half) -- student critiques

29 April

• Final presentations (revised)

6 May

• Final presentations (revised)