Responsible Integration of Behavioral Science in Computer Science Research and Development

Cross disciplinary research is essential for technological innovation. For decades, computer science (Comp Sci) has leveraged behavior science (Behav Sci) research to create innovative products and improve end user experience. Despite the natural challenges that come with cross disciplinary work, there are no published manuscripts outlining how to responsibly integrate Behav Sci into Comp Sci research and development. This publication fills this critical gap by discussing important differences between Behav Sci and Comp Sci, particularly with regard to how each field fits under the umbrella of science and how each field conceptualizes data. We then discuss the consequences of misusing Behav Sci and provide examples of technology efforts that drew inappropriate or unethical conclusions about their behavioral data. We discuss in detail common errors to avoid at each stage of the research process, which we condensed into a useful checklist to use as a tool for teams integrating Behav Sci in their work. Finally, we include examples of good applications of Behav Sci into Comp Sci research, the design of which can inform and strengthen digital government, e-commerce, defense, and many other areas of information technology

Development of Computer Science Disciplines - A Social Network Analysis Approach

In contrast to many other scientific disciplines, computer science considers conference publications. Conferences have the advantage of providing fast publication of papers and of bringing researchers together to present and discuss the paper with peers. Previous work on knowledge mapping focused on the map of all sciences or a particular domain based on ISI published JCR (Journal Citation Report). Although this data covers most of important journals, it lacks computer science conference and workshop proceedings. That results in an imprecise and incomplete analysis of the computer science knowledge. This paper presents an analysis on the computer science knowledge network constructed from all types of publications, aiming at providing a complete view of computer science research. Based on the combination of two important digital libraries (DBLP and CiteSeerX), we study the knowledge network created at journal/conference level using citation linkage, to identify the development of sub-disciplines. We investigate the collaborative and citation behavior of journals/conferences by analyzing the properties of their co-authorship and citation subgraphs. The paper draws several important conclusions. First, conferences constitute social structures that shape the computer science knowledge. Second, computer science is becoming more interdisciplinary. Third, experts are the key success factor for sustainability of journals/conferences

The skewness of computer science

Computer science is a relatively young discipline combining science, engineering, and mathematics. The main flavors of computer science research involve the theoretical development of conceptual models for the different aspects of computing and the more applicative building of software artifacts and assessment of their properties. In the computer science publication culture, conferences are an important vehicle to quickly move ideas, and journals often publish deeper versions of papers already presented at conferences. These peculiarities of the discipline make computer science an original research field within the sciences, and, therefore, the assessment of classical bibliometric laws is particularly important for this field. In this paper, we study the skewness of the distribution of citations to papers published in computer science publication venues (journals and conferences). We find that the skewness in the distribution of mean citedness of different venues combines with the asymmetry in citedness of articles in each venue, resulting in a highly asymmetric citation distribution with a power law tail. Furthermore, the skewness of conference publications is more pronounced than the asymmetry of journal papers. Finally, the impact of journal papers, as measured with bibliometric indicators, largely dominates that of proceeding papers.Comment: I applied the goodness-of-fit methodology proposed in: A. Clauset, C. R. Shalizi, M. E. J. Newman. Power-law distributions in empirical data. SIAM Review 51, 661-703 (2009

Science teachers' transformations of the use of computer modeling in the classroom: using research to inform training

This paper, from the UK group in the STTIS (Science Teacher Training in an Information Society) project, describes research into the nature of teachers' transformations of computer modeling, and the development of related teacher training materials. Eight teacher case studies help to identify factors that favor or hinder the take-up of innovative computer tools in science classes, and to show how teachers incorporate these tools in the curriculum. The training materials use the results to provide activities enabling teachers to learn about the tools and about the outcomes of the research into their implementation, and help them to take account of these ideas in their own implementation of the innovations

Cumulative reports and publications

A complete list of Institute for Computer Applications in Science and Engineering (ICASE) reports are listed. Since ICASE reports are intended to be preprints of articles that will appear in journals or conference proceedings, the published reference is included when it is available. The major categories of the current ICASE research program are: applied and numerical mathematics, including numerical analysis and algorithm development; theoretical and computational research in fluid mechanics in selected areas of interest to LaRC, including acoustics and combustion; experimental research in transition and turbulence and aerodynamics involving LaRC facilities and scientists; and computer science

On The Foundations of Digital Games

Computers have lead to a revolution in the games we play, and, following this, an interest for computer-based games has been sparked in research communities. However, this easily leads to the perception of a one-way direction of influence between that the field of game research and computer science. This historical investigation points towards a deep and intertwined relationship between research on games and the development of computers, giving a richer picture of both fields. While doing so, an overview of early game research is presented and an argument made that the distinction between digital games and non-digital games may be counter-productive to game research as a whole

Reinforcing Students’ Research Abilities via Digital Repositories

Computer science graduates are requested to possess complex professional abilities including research skills. In this paper we justify the development of a departmental repository to assist all non-auditorium activities and summarize its benefits. We are convinced that this is the way students and teachers to form interim learning societies

Learning conversions in science: The case of vocational students in the UK

The paper describes two aspects of a research project that focused on vocational science students. The paper begins with a general description of vocational science in the UK, to put the work in context. It then outlines an analysis of the ways in which these students approach problems involving converting between units of measurement. Finally the development and evaluation of computer‐based activities designed to support students in learning about unit conversion are described