COMP2410 Networked Information Systems

1
COMP2410 Networked Information Systems Topic
Analysis and Essay Writing Paul Preston 14 March
2008
2
First, read and understand the instructions

• Length 2500 to 3000 words?
• Due 6pm 30 March (16 days)
• Research 4 sources provided but not limited to
  these 4
• Time Management two hours a day over 10 days
  will give 20 hours (more than enough?)

3
Second, allocate time in your time management plan
Hours

• Analyse the question 1
• Find sources 2
• Read and take notes 6
• Outline your essay 1
• Write your first draft 4
• Seek other sources if necessary ?
• Ask ASLC to read draft 1
• Write further drafts 3Total 18

4
Allocate specific times for these hours in your
time management plan

• Work back from the due date
• Be specific
• Be flexible
• Be in charge

My God, do you realize the years half over?
5
Third, Understanding what is expected in your
essay
6
What is expected in your essay

• It is expected that your essay will be clearly
  focused on the set topic and will deal fully with
  its central concerns.
• It is expected that your essay will be the result
  of wide and critical reading.
• It is expected that your essay will present a
  reasoned argument.
• It is expected that your essay will be
  competently presented

7
Understanding the Question?

• SUBJECT Ethics the IT Professional
• ANGLE area of controversy, problem What should
  I do and WHY - apply ethical principles to the
  scenario
• PROCESS direction wordsThree courses of action
  distinguished by their different effects and
  their relationship to particular aspects of the
  code.Rank them

8
Exploring your case study

• Read the 4 documents listed in the question
• Look through social networking sites
• Identify the relevant issues in the question (for
  instance privacy, security, accountability,
  commercial consequences, and so on)
• Find extra sources to inform you on these issues
• Identify relevant ethics or code of conduct
  principles applicable to the scenario
• Analyse and rank three possible courses of action
  
• Evaluate each course of action according to
  specific aspects of the ACS Code

9
A warning about DISCUSS/DESCRIBE

• DISCUSS/DESCRIBE is misleading as it is too vague
  and general
• You are required to develop an argument a
  logical sequence of ideas, supported by evidence,
  leading to your conclusion.

10
What is an argument?

A disagreement? or Making a case?
Source Google Images http//www.statvoks.no/konse
pt/norsk2/litthist/bilder/argument.jpg
11
Argument

• The amount of description or explaining you
  do, the amount of detail you include, should be
  controlled by what is needed toensure your
  argument is strong.

12
Procedures which MAY be involved in developing an
argument
 Define Describe Elaborate Give
Examples Paraphrase Quote Summarise
13
Procedures are ALWAYS involved in developing an
argument
ANALYSE break your material into units which
suit your argument CRITIQUE consider both
strengths and weaknesses of the different
positions/arguments and their evidence EVALUATE
reach a (tentative) conclusion indicating your
position on the issues discussed
14
Your argument will be about the relationship
between ethical principles and their application

• These relationships might be
• Temporal a history of codes of conduct
• Causative what are the consequences or
  constraints of implementing or not implementing
  the ethical guidelines?
• Adversative whose interests are in conflict in
  the scenario (professional, economic, legal,
  social)?
• Additive is there a consensus across interest
  groups (superficial or genuine)

15
Summary points
Argument is an appeal to reason You will need to
take a position on topic, develop a point of view
or thesis in the body of your essay. It is NOT a
matter of right or wrong, true or false but how
reasonable the argument ishow strong or weak it
is. A strong argument demands quality ideas Your
ideas need to be strongly supported by evidence.
16
It is expected that your essay will be the result
of wide and critical reading

• Not everything you read is authoritative
• Refereed/non-refereed Moderated/unmoderated

No one view, solution, approach Recent research
17
It is expected that your essay will present a
reasoned argument

• Have an introduction and conclusion
• Use paragraphs (approx 10-12 lines each)
• Each paragraph should have
• A topic sentence
• Sentences which explain, expand and give
  examples
• A link to the next paragraph
•   Give evidence for each of the claims you make
•   Give citations for facts, statistics, quotes
  and paraphrasing other peoples ideas (Bartlett,
  2004 5).

18
It is expected that your essay will be
competently presented

• Length and clarity
• Work within the word count limit preferably not
  the minimum.
• Use gender neutral language
• Be grammatically accurate
• Punctuate appropriately
• Make sure spelling is correct
• Proof read the document

19
Plagiarism
20
Avoiding Plagiarism

• Summarising ideas in your own words also means
  acknowledging the source (Bartlett, 2003).
• Cobbling using chunks of anothers work is
  easily recognizable, and unacceptable revisit
  your understanding of the content.
• See ANU Code of Practice for Academic Honesty
  http//info.anu.edu.au/policies/Codes_Of_Practice/
  Students/Other/Academic_Honesty.asp

21

• Example 1

Johns (20014) estimates that 75 of the
processors are based on the CISC architecture,
and this despite the fact that RISC chips have
been on the market for a decade. Good practice
22

• Example 2

RISC has been around on a competitive level for
over 10 years, but still it has not been able to
get CISC out of the market. It is estimated that
AMD and the intel x86 chips have over 75 of the
market. Plagiarism
23

• Example 3

Despite RISC chips having been on the common
market for over 10 years, it is still estimated
that about 75 of the processors are based on the
CISC architecture (Jones, 20053). Plagiarism
24

• Beware and Prepare

Electronic detection of plagiarism is used in
Computer Science   For Advice Visit the ASLC Web
site http//academicskills.anu.edu.au Electronic
Resources referencing links and advice.