CS 3790 Research Paper
The goal of this research paper is to give you hands-on experience in conducting cognitive science research utilizing the knowledge you have learned in the class. You should expect to spend at least 60 person hours on this.
You will choose a topic from a selection of topics listed below, and write a research paper which addresses the topic via a detailed analysis of the problem from the perspective of cognitive science and a survey of the related literature. Note that the set of topics is merely a placeholder: you are free to select your own topic if you wish. It would be helpful to look into the existing literature on the topic or specific research question that you are interested in studying toes what others have done. Feel free to talk with the TAs about your topic. It is important to scope your topic sufficiently small to make the paper feasible.
There will be three milestones throughout the course. All of these milestone deliverables should be written and submitted as PDF files in the APA format. Refer to the specific milestone assignment for applicable due dates. Milestone 1 (25% of the paper grade)
The goal of this milestone is to ensure that you have identified the project topic/theme from the list, and given some thoughts to the research questions and literature that you want to explore. You should scope your research questions properly so the project is feasible to pursue in this class. You should also show the detailed plan for how to carry out this mini research project.
Milestone 2 (25% of the paper grade)
The goal of this milestone is to make sure that you are halfway through in conducting the literature review. You should be able to show some preliminary findings based on your explorations so far and reflect.
Milestone 3 (50% of the paper grade)
This is the final paper.
Detailed requirements for each milestone are given in the particular milestone assignment. Other details
Your paper should not be longer than 10-12 pages, typed, single spaced, 12-pt font, no fewer than 5,000 words, including references. You should consult 10 or more sources other than the textbook: for pointers, see the references in the textbook. The MIT Encyclopedia of Cognitive Science is a good place to start. Google Scholar is a good guide to the most cited works.
Indicate your sources. Avoid Wikipedia and other sources of variable quality.
Refer to the assignment for applicable due dates.
Extensions will be granted for reasons of documented medical illness or family emergency, but not workload.
The penalty for plagiarism (passing another person’s work off as your own) is a preliminary course grade of incomplete and referral to the Dean of Students for assessment of academic misconduct.
Papers will be evaluated on the basis of:
- Relevance: pose and try to answer an important question in cognitive science.
- Research: use resources beyond the textbooks.
- Writing: write intelligibly.
- Argument: make a compelling case for the answer you prefer, and consider alternative answers. Papers will be graded on the quality of the argument, not on the particular conclusion you reach.
Make sure that you indicate all your sources, including Web sites. This is a research paper so you should use 10 or more sources in addition to the textbooks, although you should include at least one reference to the textbooks.
Your paper MUST have the following explicit headings:
- The issue. State the question you are trying to answer.
- State possible answers to your question.
- Describe whatever psychological, computational, and neurological evidence is relevant to the different potential answers.
- On the basis of the evidence for the different alternatives, argue for what you see as the best answer to the question.
Suggested research paper topics
- Is formal logic an important part of human thinking? Evaluate the arguments of Rips and Johnson-Laird.
- Is language rule-governed? Evaluate the arguments of both the pro side (Pinker, etc.) and the con side (connectionists).
- What representations play a more important role in human thinking, rules or concepts?
- Are concepts innate?
- Are analogy and metaphor peripheral or central to human cognition?
- Is there convincing evidence that people think using mental imagery?
- Is the connectionist approach to cognition compatible with the symbolic approach? Which is better for what?
- How important are emotions in human cognition? Do emotions make people less rational, or more?
- What is consciousness? Is it computational?
- Is the mind a dynamic system?
- How do minds have intentionality (aboutness)?
- Are brains computers?
- Is the mind a quantum computer?
- Propose your own topic. This must be approved in advance: discuss the topic with the TAs before you begin. The topic must be closely connected with the contents of the course.