This unit presents students with the theory and practice underlying computerised information retrieval. Topics covered include: history and context of information retrieval systems, retrieval models, Boolean, vector space and probabilistic, evaluation strategies, test collections, web search engines, indexing, content-based multimedia retrieval and relevance feedback.
2 hrs lectures/wk, 2 hrs laboratories/wk
A rough estimate of the hourly commitment in this unit breaks down as follows:
Additional to this would be time taken to study for the final exam. These figures are just approximations but can be taken as a general guide.
Campbell Wilson
Michael Niemann
Viranga Ratnaike
Shan (Dora) He
Campbell Wilson
| Week | Activities | Assessment |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | This schedule is subject to change, please refer to the Lecturer for updates | Only basic details are included in this guide. Please refer to the unit website (on Moodle) for details. Further information will be provided in the week 1 lecture. Assessment due dates may be subject to change. Any changes will be communicated to you by the Lecturer. |
| 1 | Introduction | |
| 2 | The Boolean Model and Simple Linguistic Analyses | |
| 3 | The Vector Space Model | |
| 4 | Web Search | |
| 5 | Evaluation | |
| 6 | Relevance Feedback | |
| 7 | Language Models | |
| 8 | The Probabilistic Model | Assignment 1 (Implementation) Due |
| 9 | Text Classification | |
| 10 | Practical IR | Assignment 2 (Report) Due |
| 11 | Content-based Image Retrieval | Student Presentations |
| 12 | Advanced Topics | Student Presentations |
| SWOT VAC | No formal assessment is undertaken in SWOT VAC | |
| Examination period | LINK to Assessment Policy: http://policy.monash.edu.au/policy-bank/ academic/education/assessment/ assessment-in-coursework-policy.html |
*Unit Schedule details will be maintained and communicated to you via your learning system.
Examination (2 hours): 50%; In-semester assessment: 50%
| Assessment Task | Value | Due Date |
|---|---|---|
| Information Retrieval System Implementation | 20% (including interview) | Week 8 |
| Information Retrieval Report/Essay | 25% essay, 5% presentation | Week 10 with presentations in Weeks 11 and 12 |
| Examination 1 | 50% | To be advised |
Faculty Policy - Unit Assessment Hurdles (http://www.infotech.monash.edu.au/resources/staff/edgov/policies/assessment-examinations/unit-assessment-hurdles.html)
Academic Integrity - Please see the Demystifying Citing and Referencing tutorial at http://lib.monash.edu/tutorials/citing/
Please ask lots of questions during lectures and tutorials. You won't be assessed on the quality of your questions, but you will get a lot more out of the unit!
The degree to which the assignment implementation matches meets the requires specifications. Criteria also include an assessment of student understanding of their submission.
The report will be assessed on the usual criteria, namely: breadth of literature survey, quality of analysis of literature and topicality.
Monash Library Unit Reading List
http://readinglists.lib.monash.edu/index.html
Submission must be made by the due date otherwise penalties will be enforced.
You must negotiate any extensions formally with your campus unit leader via the in-semester special consideration process: http://www.monash.edu.au/exams/special-consideration.html
Students may generally resubmit assignments 1, 2, 3 and 4 any number of times before the due date. More details will be provided in class.
Referencing should follow the IEEE style.
It is a University requirement (http://www.policy.monash.edu/policy-bank/academic/education/conduct/plagiarism-procedures.html) for students to submit an assignment coversheet for each assessment item. Faculty Assignment coversheets can be found at http://www.infotech.monash.edu.au/resources/student/forms/. Please check with your Lecturer on the submission method for your assignment coversheet (e.g. attach a file to the online assignment submission, hand-in a hard copy, or use an online quiz). Please note that it is your responsibility to retain copies of your assessments.
Details as to how to submit assignments 1, 2, 3 and 4 online will be provided in class.
Recommended reading will be provided during the lectures as appropriate.
Monash has educational policies, procedures and guidelines, which are designed to ensure that staff and students are aware of the University’s academic standards, and to provide advice on how they might uphold them. You can find Monash’s Education Policies at: www.policy.monash.edu.au/policy-bank/academic/education/index.html
Key educational policies include:
The University provides many different kinds of support services for you. Contact your tutor if you need advice and see the range of services available at http://www.monash.edu.au/students. For Sunway see http://www.monash.edu.my/Student-services, and for South Africa see http://www.monash.ac.za/current/.
The Monash University Library provides a range of services, resources and programs that enable you to save time and be more effective in your learning and research. Go to www.lib.monash.edu.au or the library tab in my.monash portal for more information. At Sunway, visit the Library and Learning Commons at http://www.lib.monash.edu.my/. At South Africa visit http://www.lib.monash.ac.za/.
For more information on Monash’s educational strategy, see:
www.monash.edu.au/about/monash-directions and on student evaluations, see: www.policy.monash.edu/policy-bank/academic/education/quality/student-evaluation-policy.html
Student feedback as to what they believe would be improvements can be summarised as:
1. More recorded lectures
2. Less assignments
3. More mathematical training
Response for 2013:
1. We will endeavour to provide more recorded material during the semester, in particular for those concepts that could be considered more difficult.
2. Last year assignments were broken up into sections and automatically graded for some sections. This approach is not being used in 2013. There are less assignments in 2013, but the effective number of tasks remains the same.
3. A degree of mathematical literacy is assumed, and some aspects of the unit will necessarily require mathematical skills. While there will be time to explain some basic concepts, students should be prepared to seek out extra learning resources that will help them with mathematics.
If you wish to view how previous students rated this unit, please go to
https://emuapps.monash.edu.au/unitevaluations/index.jsp