MIDDLE EAST TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY

DEPARTMENT OF COMPUTER ENGINEERING

NON-THESIS MSc. PROGRAMS IN COMPUTER ENGINEERING AND SOFTWARE
ENGINEERING
CENG 590 RESEARCH METHODS AND ETHICS (section 2)
FALL 2019-2020
Syllabus, v1.0

Instructor: Dr. Halit Oğuztüzün

Contents: Legal and ethical issues that practicing computer/software engineers encounter,
including intellectual property rights. Issues related to the impacts of Information and
Communication Technologies (ICT) on society. Social, environmental, organizational, business
and human aspects of ICT. Research methods for computer/software engineers. Ethical issues
in scientific research and publication particularly in reference to ICT related disciplines. Case
studies related to recent developments in ICT and the impacts of their application.
Class Schedule:
Thursday, 18:15-21:05 lectures, presentations, discussions.
Reading Material: Provided on the course ODTUclass page.
Grading:

Deliverable/Activity Weight
(percent)
Participation in-class 15
Presentation 20
Midterm exam 25
Final exam 40
Total 100

Presentation: You present a timely topic related to ICT in the context of society. Your
presentation should summarize an issue arising from a recent development in ICT and its
impact on society, understood in the broad sense. The presentation should take about 15
minutes (technological development, issues arising from its use, possible resolution) plus 5
minutes for discussion. You need to submit your presentation in revised and commented form
to appear on the course page. Please, schedule your presentation as early as possible, and
receive an early presentation bonus.

Midterm Exam: It will be a written exam on the topics discussed thus far, supplemented with
the core list of readings, provided on the course odtuclass page. You may bring in the core
readings in printed form.

Final Exam: It will be a comprehensive written exam focusing on the contents of presentations,
with connections to the core list of readings. You may bring in the presentation materials and
core readings in printed form.
 Weekly Schedule
Week 1 Out of town –no class
Sep 23
Week 2 Overview of the ICT profession
Sep 30
Week 3 Codes of ethics for engineers
Oct 7
Week 4 ICT related laws
Oct 14
Week 5 Intellectual and industrial property
Oct 21
Week 6 National Holiday –no class
Oct 28
Week 7 Digital Transformation
Nov 4
Week 8 Research methods in software engineering
Nov 11
Week 9 Legal and ethical issues in research and publication
Nov 18
Week 10 Midterm exam
Nov 25
Week 11 Presentation and discussions (Current issues in ICT & Society)
Dec 2
Week 12 Presentation and discussions (Current issues in ICT & Society)
Dec 9
Week 13 Presentation and discussions (Current issues in ICT & Society)
Dec 16
Week 14 Presentation and discussions (Current issues in ICT & Society)
Dec 23