Research Paper Readings and Discussion

A major component of this course is reading and discussing research papers during meetings. To ensure a lively and focused discussion, you should closely read each paper and add comments and questions on Perusall.

Please provide five to 10 substantive comments (some could be in thread replies) for each paper and follow comments from other students and the instructor, by 11:59 PM ET Thursday before the corresponding meeting.

This seminar requires your full participation. Complete all assigned readings before class and come to class on time, prepared with comments and questions. Class participation will be evaluated by the overall quality of your contributions, which includes attendance and listening as well as speaking. You are expected to contribute to a classroom atmosphere of mutual respect and productivity. Each unexplained absence will result in a one-third of a letter grade reduction (e.g. from an A to an A-, and so on) in your participation grade.

COS 597S will use the following criteria, as judged by the instructor (who will also participate in discussions) for the paper discussion component of your class participation grade:

  • Contributing thoughtful questions and comments to the class discussion before the Wednesday 11:59 PM deadline
  • Posing thoughtful questions and comments that elicit responses from classmates
  • Answering questions from others
  • Upvoting thoughtful questions and helpful answers

Please come to each meeting prepared with the following points that will substantially contribute to the group discussion.

  • What problem is the paper solving and why is that problem important?
  • What was the previous state of the art and how does this paper advance that state of the art?
  • How does the protocol, design, or system work?
  • What are the key insights in the design that enabled it to advance the state of the art?
  • How is the design implemented and evaluated and what are the key results?
  • What related problems are still open and is the problem fully solved?

Your seminar participation grade will be determined based on attendance and, more importantly, substantial contributions to paper discussions both on Perusall and in person.