COIS71208 Database Management & Security
MODULE COIS70735/COIS71208 – DATABASE MANAGEMENT & SECURITY
Assignment 1: Research Paper and Seminar
Submission Deadlines:
If these submission dates or times change, or if there is a variation to this specification, you will be informed.
Introduction
This document forms the specification for one of your assignments in this module (there are two assignments in total). This assignment will address and assess Learning Outcome 2 as indicated below and in the Module Handbook:
Learning Outcome Skill Assessed Through
1. Discuss critically the major developments and research in database security Learning Practical assignment
2. Discuss critically the major developments and research in database administration Knowledge and Understanding Research paper and seminar
3. Analyse, design and build an appropriate secure database system Analysis Practical assignment
Requirements
You are required to write a research paper and to present this in a seminar session. The theme of the paper is a critical review of database administration developments and research in contemporary digital environments.
Your paper should focus directly on the above theme. You will need to determine the specific scope and content, and the manner in which you identify, include, synthesize and report your findings – liaise with your Tutor regarding this and see Point 2.2 below.
When determining the scope of your research paper, you must liaise with the module team to ensure you are ‘on track’ with your approach. Also refer to the Assignment FAQ on Blackboard, which will be updated as the course progresses.
The paper and seminar should be structured in accordance with the sections outlined in the Paper Requirements and Assessment Scheme below (see Section 3 and Section 4).
The paper must be formatted in accordance with the formatting guidelines for an IEEE paper. Note: if you have specific accessibility requirements then adopt a format that is in accordance with your needs. Let your Tutor know in advance if this is the case.
The word count limit for the paper will be 2,500 words, with a 10% variation allowance (plus or minus).
The seminar will have a duration of 15 minutes.
The seminar element consists of both a submission and a presentation, and is to be submitted (see Section 5) by the deadline prior to presentation.
The seminar presentation will take place during the dates specified in the heading of this document. This session will occur in the usual scheduled laboratory for the weekly taught sessions unless you are informed otherwise.
This coursework is weighted at 40% of the overall module mark. Further to this, the individual weightings of the paper and seminar are 80% and 20% respectively.
The coursework should be completed and submitted as an individual piece of work. It is not group work.
You should be aware of the rules on academic misconduct. These rules are very clear. The Faculty takes a strict line in enforcing them. It is important that you understand the regulations as the penalties for infringement can be very serious including: module failure; grade point zero; downgrading your degree classification; award failure; expulsion from the University. To avoid plagiarism please consult the guidelines on the University website.
Paper Requirements
The following table shows the sections that you are required to include in your paper and which you will be assessed upon. The assessment of your paper will be a matter of academic judgement in the context of the Assessment Guide detailed in Section 4.
Paper Section
Paper Title, Author, Affiliation
Abstract
Introduction
Body – Incorporating the Literature Survey/Review and Critical Analysis
Conclusion and Future Work
References
(Quality of formatting and general paper presentation)
Assessment Scheme
The following sections aim to provide you with guidance when producing your research paper and seminar. Only grades D (Distinction), M (Merit) and P (Pass) are pass grades. Pass is divided into Good Pass and Low Pass.
Paper (Distinction): An excellent paper (Distinction) will excel in each of the sections listed in Section 3.1 and provide the assessor with a high degree of confidence in the student’s understanding and ability in the area under investigation. The paper may provide a basis for subsequently developing a real paper suitable for publication. The paper will follow the suggested structure, and within this contain content that is further structured in a manner suitable for the topic under investigation. The style of academic writing will be excellent, with minimal or no spelling and grammatical errors. The title and accreditation of the paper will be unambiguous, concise, and provide the reader with a clear indication of the topic being addressed. The abstract will articulate an overall position and statement of the work, and be written in a clear and concise manner. The introduction will provide an excellent context to the work, outlining key areas of focus or concern and the importance of the topic. If appropriate, any methodology will be briefly described along with associated rationale. An overview of the paper structure will also be presented. The body of the paper will demonstrate excellent critical insight and analysis into the domain under investigation, and the construction of this will demonstrate excellent synthesis of the contributing areas. Journal papers, appropriately referenced, will underpin this. The conclusion will draw the paper to a close in a coherent manner by summarizing the key areas of concern and provide an overall concluding statement and position, supported by evidence drawn from the body of the paper. The future work section will outline areas of possible further development as a consequence of the work presented in the paper. The references will be accurate with no omissions or errors.
Seminar (Distinction): The seminar will aim to convey all key aspects of the work, articulated in a clear and comprehensive narrative. The overall clarity of the seminar and associated content will be of an extremely high academic and professional standard.
Paper (Merit): A Merit paper will demonstrate a good level of engagement in each of the sections listed in Section 3.1 and provide the assessor with a good degree of confidence in the student’s understanding and ability in the area under investigation. The paper will follow the suggested structure, and within this contain content that is further structured in a manner suitable for the topic under investigation. The style of academic writing will be good, and may contain some minor spelling and grammatical errors. The title and accreditation of the paper will be unambiguous, concise, and provide the reader with a clear indication of the topic being addressed. The abstract will articulate an overall position and statement of the work, and be written in a clear and concise manner. The introduction will provide a good context to the work, outlining key areas of focus or concern and the importance of the topic. If appropriate, any methodology will be briefly described along with associated rationale. An overview of the paper structure will also be presented. The body of the paper will demonstrate a good level of understanding into the domain under investigation, and the construction of this will demonstrate an overall understanding of the contributing areas. Journal and conference papers, appropriately referenced, will underpin this. The conclusion will draw the paper to a close in a coherent manner by summarizing the key areas of concern, supported by evidence drawn from the body of the paper. The future work section will outline areas of possible further development as a consequence of the work presented in the paper. The references will be accurate with no omissions or errors.
Seminar (Merit): The seminar will aim to convey many significant aspects of the work, although the presentation and articulation of this may not be entirely clear or comprehensive. There will be good evidence of a high academic and professional standard being adopted.
Paper (Good Pass): A good pass paper will demonstrate a reasonable level of engagement in each of the sections listed in Section 3.1 and provide the assessor with confidence in the student’s understanding and ability in the area under investigation. The paper will follow the suggested structure, and within this contain relevant content – though some of that content and the associated sub-structuring may be lacking. The style of academic writing will be reasonable, though spelling and grammatical errors may be present. The title of the paper will provide the reader with an indication of the topic being addressed and the accreditation should be present, but perhaps vague. The abstract will articulate an overall position and statement of the work, though the clarity of this may be lacking somewhat. The introduction will provide an overview of the paper. If appropriate, any methodology briefly described though the associated rationale may be lacking. The body of the paper will demonstrate an acceptable level of understanding into the domain under investigation, though the construction of this may be weak in parts. Mainly conference papers, appropriately referenced, will underpin this. The conclusion will draw the paper to a close although this may be brief and somewhat disjoint from the body of the paper. The future work section may be weak or speculative and not based on the core content of the paper. The references will be generally accurate with some omissions and errors.
Seminar (Good Pass): The seminar will aim to convey the core aspects of the work, and the presentation and articulation of this may not be entirely clear or comprehensive. There will be some evidence of a good academic and professional standard being adopted.
Paper (Low Pass): A low pass paper will demonstrate a weak level of engagement in the sections listed in Section 3.1, but will provide the assessor with some confidence in the student’s understanding and ability in the area under investigation. The paper will attempt to follow the suggested structure but the associated content may be weak and sparse. The style of academic writing will be acceptable though spelling and grammatical errors may be present. The title of the paper will provide the reader with an indication of the topic being addressed, though the clarity of this may be poor, or the title may be misleading. The accreditation will be incorrect or missing. The abstract may be weak and written in a speculative/discursive manner. The introduction will provide an overview of the topic under investigation. If appropriate, any methodology will be described though the associated rationale may be lacking or weak. The body of the paper will demonstrate a weak level of understanding into the domain under investigation, and the content may appear fragmented in parts, and the focus of the paper will not be clear. This will be underpinned mainly by some conference papers, and Internet-based non-academic references. The conclusion may be brief and somewhat disjoint from the body of the paper. The future work section will be very weak, speculative, or missing. The references may be weak or have omissions and errors.
Seminar (Low Pass): The seminar will convey minimal aspects of the work. Some aspects of the work may not be reflected, or missing or superficial – and the overall construction, whilst demonstrating academic and professional engagement, may be weak and disjoint.
Submission Guidelines
The primary method of submission is via Blackboard.
You should submit a PDF copy of your paper and a Powerpoint, or equivalent, copy of your seminar slides by the submission deadlines. You may be asked to submit other file formats. In this case your Tutor will inform you accordingly. Note that the seminar will consist of both the Powerpoint slides and an in-person or remote presentation.
If necessary, you may be asked to submit via another secondary method – such as an email attachment. In this case your Tutor will inform you accordingly.
PDF documents should not be password protected or have restricted permissions – specifically, they should allow modifications (for annotations and comments).
You are advised to keep copies of all your work for your own records.
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This assignment requires you to write a research paper and give a seminar on the theme of a critical review of database administration developments and research in contemporary digital environments. You will need to determine the specific scope and content of your paper and consult with the module team to ensure you are on the right track. The paper should be structured according to the sections outlined in the paper requirements and assessment scheme provided, and should follow the formatting guidelines for an IEEE paper. The word count limit for the paper is 2,500 words with a 10% variation allowance. The seminar will have a duration of 15 minutes and will be both submitted and presented on the dates specified in the document. This coursework is worth 40% of the overall module mark, with the paper being worth 80% and the seminar worth 20%. The coursework should be completed as an individual piece of work and plagiarism will not be tolerated.
