Programs and Courses

Source: https://programsandcourses.anu.edu.au/course/COMP4450 Parent: https://programsandcourses.anu.edu.au/program/AACOM

• Code COMP4450

• Unit Value 6 units

• Offered by School of Computing

• ANU College ANU College of Systems and Society
• Course subject Computer Science

• Areas of interest Computer Science, Information Technology, Software Engineering, Ethics, Advanced Computing

• Academic career UGRD

• Course convener
• Prof Hanna Suominen
• Mode of delivery In Person
• Co-taught Course
• COMP6445
• Offered in

First Semester 2026\

See Future Offerings - STEM Course - Graduate Attributes - Critical Thinking

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Computing Research Methods (COMP4450)

• Introduction
• Learning Outcomes
• Indicative Assessment
• Workload
• Requisite and Incompatibility
• Prescribed Texts
• Fees
• Offerings and Dates

The course introduces students to some fundamentals of research methodology. The course comprises a series of lectures which cover the following topics: Philosophy of Science, Quantitative Research Methods, Qualitative Research Methods, Basic Machine Learning Methods, Theoretical Research Methods, How to find a Research Topic, Literature Analysis, Reading and Reviewing Papers, Research Ethics and Commercialising Research.

The lectures will be complemented by a series of workshops, labs and assignments that require students to do some small research focused tasks that help them get a hands-on experience of research, both individually and in teams of students. This includes different tasks such as topic modelling, statistical analysis, applying different machine learning techniques to solve a problem in a team, proving theorems, complexity analysis, designing a research project, reviewing papers and presenting papers.

Workshops cover topics such as research integrity, time management and project management, teamwork, reading strategies, report writing, and presenting research. At the end of the course, students will be confident to start working on their own research projects.

Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion, students will have the knowledge and skills to:

1. Effectively communicate research questions, methods and outcomes in oral, written and graphical forms to a broad audience using appropriate tools.
2. Justify and apply appropriate ethical technological choices based on a consideration of the research question and methods.
3. Apply effective literature search and critical evaluation skills.
4. Explain the process of identifying and formulating ethical research questions.
5. Explain the role academic integrity and the importance of building upon and correctly attributing the work of others.

Indicative Assessment

1. Research Proposal (35) [LO 1,2,3,5]
2. Literature Review (55) [LO 1,4,5]
3. Individual Presentation and Presentation Reviews (10) [LO 1,2,3,4,5]

The ANU uses Turnitin to enhance student citation and referencing techniques, and to assess assignment submissions as a component of the University's approach to managing Academic Integrity. While the use of Turnitin is not mandatory, the ANU highly recommends Turnitin is used by both teaching staff and students. For additional information regarding Turnitin please visit the ANU Online website.

Workload

130 hours from a combination of lectures, workshops/tutorials, assessments and individual study.

Requisite and Incompatibility

To enrol in this course you must be enrolled in the: Bachelor of Computing (Honours) (HCOMP) OR Bachelor of Applied Data Analytics (Honours) (HADAN) OR Computer Science Honours Specialisation (COMP-HSPC) OR (Bachelor of Advanced Computing (AACOM) AND have successfully completed 24 units of COMP coded courses) Incompatible with COMP2550 and COMP6445.

You will need to contact the School of Computing to request a permission code to enrol in this course.

Prescribed Texts

None

Fees

Tuition fees are for the academic year indicated at the top of the page.

Commonwealth Support (CSP) Students\ If you have been offered a Commonwealth supported place, your fees are set by the Australian Government for each course. At ANU 1 EFTSL is 48 units (normally 8 x 6-unit courses). More information about your student contribution amount for each course at Fees. 

Student Contribution Band: : 2

Unit value: : 6 units

If you are a domestic graduate coursework student with a Domestic Tuition Fee (DTF) placeor international student you will be required to pay course tuition fees (see below). Course tuition fees are indexed annually. Further information for domestic and international students about tuition and other fees can be found at Fees.

Where there is a unit range displayed for this course, not all unit options below may be available.

Course fees

Domestic International

Domestic fee paying students

International fee paying students

Note: Please note that fee information is for current year only.

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Offerings, Dates and Class Summary Links

ANU utilises MyTimetable to enable students to view the timetable for their enrolled courses, browse, then self-allocate to small teaching activities / tutorials so they can better plan their time. Find out more on the Timetable webpage.

The list of offerings for future years is indicative only. \

Class summaries, if available, can be accessed by clicking on the View link for the relevant class number.

2026

2027

First Semester

First Semester