COMP7640: Databases Systems and Administration
Fall 2008 Course Paper Guidelines

• All email communications to me should
  • have subject line prefix "comp7640", and
• Submissions for grading should be in word format.
• Your paper outline can be a Powerpoint presentation.
• Submit diagram and source files (e.g., Visio, Rational Rose models, XML files, etc.) if they have not been included in the main word file. If you have several files, compress them into a .ZIP file.
• For all the filenames, prefix it with: "comp7640-<YourName>-<StudentNo>-<BriefTitle>", e.g., "COMP7640-ChanTaiMan-12345678-eEnterpriseDatabase-abstract.doc".
• Declare if your file contains confidential materials - such topics however are discouraged. Otherwise I assume you agree to trust me to handle all the publication and disclosure of the paper with me. Good papers shall be posted to the class for educational purposes. If appropriate, I shall even try to publish the best papers with you to workshops, conferences, and/or journals for the honor of you, the class, and the department.
• You may submit draft materials for comment 5 or more days before the deadline, but note the turn around time of 48-72 hours.
• Late submissions will be accepted with a 5% penalty per day.
• The paper will be evaluated on correctness, novelty / creativity, clarity, and quality.
• Early submission of abstract / paper outline, etc., for feedback is strongly encouraged. It is extremely difficult to write a good paper in a hurry.

Paper format

• Format you paper in the IEEE CS conference paper format (unless previously approved, say, for extending my paper that is already in another format)(template from IEEE)(example paper), though you may use the APA citation style for convenience (example paper). Note: double column is not necessary for easy working.

• For diagrams, please use packages that output vector graphics to word instead of bit map, e.g., Microsoft PowerPoint that are common.  Either embed the source diagram in the Word file (e.g., Visio) or submit all separate source diagram files (like Rational Rose models) in a zip file.

• Make sure you include enough related work survey and citation in your writing.

• Although you may discuss with your classmates, you should be the only author of the paper and write in such tone and settings (unless you are extending my paper, but of course I will not write with you for the course - you are just using the existing papers to work on).

• Structure and present your paper according to the lecture notes on how to write a good IT paper.

• Include your name, student number, and email address (best include one that can reach you after your graduation, like gmail) - best also with your phone number.

• Include adequate reference list and citation in your paper (though you can include those cited in my papers where appropriate) - you are suggested to start including that in you paper outline so that I can help you early. Highlight the main related work so that I can give you more hints to beat them!

• There are no page limit but unclear presentation affects the quality of your paper, but typical good papers are around 10 pages in IEEE format excluding appendix.

Mid-Term Draft Paper Scope

• Students are encouraged to discuss the topic with lecturer as soon as possible.
• Each student picks a domain of one's own interest or familiarity. Explain why this is important and interesting.
• Provide essential background information of the business sector. Analyze the typical requirements of various stakeholders especially related to database problems.
• Survey some typical problems / solutions in the chosen domain as well as any related industrial products and academic research. Adequate references are expected.
• You should have at least work on some database design (ER diagrams), if not completed the first draft.