CSC8208 : Research Methods and Group Project in Security and Resilience
- Offered for Year: 2025/26
- Module Leader(s): Professor Shishir Nagaraja
- Lecturer: Dr Aydin Abadi, Dr Mujeeb Ahmed
- Owning School: Computing
- Teaching Location: Newcastle City Campus
Semesters
Your programme is made up of credits, the total differs on programme to programme.
| Semester 2 Credit Value: | 20 |
| ECTS Credits: | 10.0 |
| European Credit Transfer System | |
Aims
The module aims to provide students with learning to address sophisticated issues in cyber security such as building a secure system catering for the various stages, including literature review, software design, implementation, presentation of design and demonstration of the implemented system. The students will have access to technical guidance from faculty members but will essentially work as a small independent team under their own initiative.
The module with aid student learning of possible research approaches and the types of research projects. It will aid students in formulating valid research questions appropriate to a domain of interest within the area of computer science and evaluating the relationship between questions, methodology and methods. It will serve to prepare the students for working on group research projects.
The module will also aid students in reflecting on the experience of applying the techniques taught in preceding modules to the safety, security and resilience analysis and development of a computing system.
Outline Of Syllabus
Material on research methods will include:
• Introduction to research methods in computer science.
• Leadership and management techniques in group projects.
• Identifying research questions and hypotheses.
• Conducting literature reviews.
• Experimental design methods.
• Approaches to analysis and drawing valid conclusions.
• Methods for evaluating research projects (e.g. quantitative data collection and analysis)
• Writing up and presenting research.
• Ethical considerations.
Students will also work in groups on research topics chosen by module leaders. Groups work together, forming reading circles to collaboratively produce a literature review. Groups will then begin work on the software development exercise. Development will involve research, requirements elicitation, security modelling, and developing appropriate evaluation functionality (e.g. benchmarking suites). Selection of appropriate development methods and tools will be done by each group.
Teaching Methods
Teaching Activities
| Category | Activity | Number | Length | Student Hours | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Guided Independent Study | Assessment preparation and completion | 20 | 1:00 | 20:00 | Literature review. |
| Structured Guided Learning | Lecture materials | 8 | 1:00 | 8:00 | Lecture materials on research methods, Asynchronous online materials. |
| Guided Independent Study | Project work | 60 | 1:00 | 60:00 | Project coursework. |
| Guided Independent Study | Student-led group activity | 18 | 1:00 | 18:00 | Reading circle (not timetabled, scheduled by students in person or online as appropriate). |
| Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Drop-in/surgery | 4 | 1:00 | 4:00 | Synchronous in person sessions, if available. Else additional synchronous online sessions. |
| Guided Independent Study | Student-led group activity | 60 | 1:00 | 60:00 | Formal/informal meetings (not timetabled, scheduled by students in person or online as appropriate). |
| Guided Independent Study | Independent study | 20 | 1:00 | 20:00 | Background reading. |
| Guided Independent Study | Independent study | 10 | 1:00 | 10:00 | Lecture follow-up. |
| Total | 200:00 |
Teaching Rationale And Relationship
Lecture materials and online sessions will be used to introduce the learning material and for demonstrating the key concepts by example. Students are expected to follow-up lectures within a few days by re-reading and annotating lecture notes to aid deep learning. Students aiming for 1st class marks are expected to widen their knowledge beyond the content of lecture notes through background reading.
Project meetings both formal and informal, will provide team members with the opportunity to follow progress and address team issues. These meetings can be held online or in person.
Students gain knowledge in research skills from lecture materials and working together on the literature review and reading circle. Students gain experience in development of a significant software project from the student-led activities and project work.
Assessment Methods
The format of resits will be determined by the Board of Examiners
Other Assessment
| Description | Semester | When Set | Percentage | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Report | 2 | M | 30 | Group literature review. |
| Report | 2 | M | 70 | End of module, group report. |
Formative Assessments
Formative Assessment is an assessment which develops your skills in being assessed, allows for you to receive feedback, and prepares you for being assessed. However, it does not count to your final mark.
| Description | Semester | When Set | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oral Presentation | 2 | M | Poster presentation - feedback to students. |
Assessment Rationale And Relationship
The literature review provides an opportunity to assess practical research, communication and collaboration skills in a realistic environment. Students will assess each other's contribution to the literature review.
The group work is used to award a mark to each group.
Reading Lists
Timetable
- Timetable Website: www.ncl.ac.uk/timetable/
- CSC8208's Timetable