This course provides an overview of the important issues in information retrieval, and how those issues affect the design and implementation of search engine software. The course emphasizes the technology used in Web search engines and the information retrieval theories and concepts that underlie all search applications. Mathematical experience including basic probability is strongly desirable.
Lecture notes and suggested further readings are available here.
Assignments will be submitted via Subversion. You will need to use your CCIS account to access the repository. Some handy links:
svn checkout https://trac.ccs.neu.edu/svn/cs6200s14/<ccislogin>svn update or svn upsvn status or svn stsvn add <file>svn commit -m "some descriptive message"<ccislogin> is the part of your @ccs.neu.edu e-mail address before the @--username=<ccislogin> to the above.
There will be several homework assignments. Instructions and due dates will be posted on the course website as they are assigned. Some of the problems will be difficult, and it will often be helpful to discuss them with others. Feel free to form study groups; however, the idea is for everyone to understand the problems and experience working through the solutions, so you may not simply "give" a solution to another classmate. In particular, each student must write up his or her own homework solutions and must not read or copy the solutions of others. If you work with others on a problem, you must note with whom you discussed the problem at the beginning of your solution write-up.
Up to three projects will be assigned with more extensive programming.
We will occasionally have quizzes during lectures. These quizzes are strictly for extra credit and are partially meant to measure how well I'm explaining the material.
Several assignments will also offer extra credit problems.
Assignments should be submitted by 10pm on the announced due date. Late submissions will be penalized by 20% per day late.
You may turn in one assignment late with no penalty during the semester. The penalty will automatically be waived for your first late assignment, no questions asked. However, no late assignment will be accepted after the beginning of the following lecture.
If you believe you have a valid reason for turning in an assignment late, please see the instructor in advance to obtain full credit.
We will be automatically comparing student submissions to search for plagiarism. Please ensure that the work you submit is your own. If you're having trouble with the material, please ask questions on Piazza or come to our office hours for help. If you submit someone else's work as your own, or allow someone else to submit yours, you will get zero credit for that assignment and everyone involved will be reported. Please see the university's academic integrity policy.
You may discuss the homework problems or projects with your classmates, the TA, and the instructor. You must acknowledge the people with whom you discussed your work, and you must write up your own solutions.
Any written sources used (apart from the text) must also be acknowledged; however, you may not consult any solutions from previous years' assignments whether they are student or faculty generated.
If you have a disability-related need for reasonable academic accommodations in this course and have not yet met with a Disability Specialist, please visit www.northeastern.edu/drc and follow the outlined procedure to request services.
If the Disability Resource Center has formally approved you for an academic accommodation in this class, please present the instructor with your “Professor Notification Letter” during the first week of the semester, so that we can address your specific needs as early as possible.
Grades will be assigned in the following manner: