Syllabus
Objectives |
Grading |
Policies |
Academic integrity |
Remarks
Course description and learning objectives
Networks pervade all aspects of our lives: networks of friends, communication, computers, the Web, and transportation are examples we experience, while our brain cells and the proteins in our body form networks that determine our survival and intelligence. The network is a general yet powerful way to represent and study relationships. In this course, students explore the study of networks and how they help us understand the complex patterns of connections that shape our lives. Once we acquire the basic tools needed to analyze and model networks through computers, we will explore increasingly complex social, infrastructure, information, and biological networks. Students will be evaluated on the basis of hands-on assignments and exams. Students are expected to learn about several topics, including:
- Network theory and representations
- Statistical descriptors of networks
- Network growth and evolution models
- Small world networks: social networks and Milgram's experiment
- Weighted networks: infrastructure, Internet, transportation networks, airports
- Directed networks: the Web, link graphs, PageRank and search engines
- Modularity and function: biological networks
- Dynamics on networks: rumors, gossip, and epidemics
- Massive social networks: Twitter and Facebook
Additional topics may be covered based on student needs and interests.
Students will:
- learn how to describe and characterize various types of networks;
- become familiar with several models to explain emergent features of complex networks;
- appreciate the broad relevance of network science to many domains and applications; and
- acquire technical skills to build, model, simulate, and analyze complex networks and their dynamics
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Tentative grading
| Component |
Weight |
Notes |
| Attendance |
10% |
Attendance is mandatory |
| Quizzes |
5% |
Based on assigned readings and notes |
| Assignments |
40% |
Four assignments on analysis and modeling of networks |
| Midterm exam |
20% |
Format to be announced |
| Final exam |
25% |
Format to be announced |
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Class policy
- Use of laptops in class is allowed only to take notes. In this case please sit in the front rows of the classroom. No email, facebook, games, or other distractions, please. If you are caught using a laptop, tablet or smartphone to do anything other than taking notes, you owe $1 to the charity fund. Proceeds will be donated to a charity at the end of the semester.
- If your cell phone rings during class, you owe $1 to the charity fund.
- The main communication medium outside of class is Oncourse Forums.
Students are expected to post their questions,
answer other students' questions, post pointers to relevant technology
news (do NOT copy and paste news articles!), and check Oncourse daily
for announcements. Postings must be signed in order to get
participation credit. Direct email to instructors is to be used only for confidential matters.
- Instructors cannot debug code via email. If you need help debugging,
the best option is to go to office hours.
If you cannot go to office hours and can narrow down the bug
to a small snippet (say 2-3 lines) of code, you can post a question
on Oncourse. But one should never post an entire
script or extended code (see academic integrity).
- Students are responsible for making backups of all of their work! This
includes any assignment and other materials you produce.
- Students are responsible for the safe and ethical use of class
accounts on shared servers, according to university policy and
copyright law, and for the sole purpose of carrying out class assignments.
Accounts will be monitored and any abuse will be reflected in the grades.
- Students are responsible for assigned readings PRIOR to class
discussions.
- Students are required to attend class.
- If you miss class, it is your responsibility to find out about any
announcements or assignments you may have missed.
- Late assignments will incur a penalty of 50%
within 24 hours of the deadline, and no
partial or make-up credit will be available after that.
- Extenuating circumstances will normally include only serious
emergencies or illnesses documented with a doctor's note.
- Grades will be given out via Oncourse only.
- The instructor may take into account class trends
in the assignment of final grades, but only to increase grades.
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Academic integrity
The principles of academic honesty and professional ethics will be
vigorously enforced in this course, following the IU Code of Student
Rights, Responsibilities, and Conduct, the Informatics Academic Regulations, and the CS Program
Statement on Academic Integrity.
This includes the usual standards on acknowledgment of help, contributions
and joint work, even when you are encouraged to build on libraries and
other software written by other people. Any code or other assignment you
turn in for grading and credit must be your individual work (except for
group projects). Even if you work with a study group (which is encouraged),
the work you turn in must be exclusively your own. If you turn in work done
together with, or with the assistance of, anyone else other than the instructors,
this is an instance of cheating.
Cases of academic misconduct (including cheating, fabrication, plagiarism,
interference, or facilitating academic dishonesty) will be reported to the
Office of the Dean of Students. The typical consequence will be an
automatic F grade in the course.
Your submission of work to be graded in this class implies acknowledgement
of this policy. If you need clarification or have any questions, please see
the instructor during office hours.
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Final remarks
We would like to hear from anyone who has a disability
or other issues that may require some modifications or class
adjustments to be made. The offices of
Disability Services and
Psychological
Services are available for assistance to students.
Please see the instructor after class or during office hours.
We would like to know early in the semester of any possible
conflicts between course requirements/deadlines and
religious
observances, so that accommodations can be made.
Please see the instructor after class or during office hours.
We welcome feedback on the class organization, material,
lectures, assignments and exams. You can provide us with constructive
criticism via the discussion forum. Please share your comments and
suggestions so that we can improve the class.
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