An introduction to the theories, designs, and implementation techniques used to construct modern search engines. Topics include: search engine architecture, search interfaces, query expansion, crawling, indexing, ranking, retrieval models (e.g., TF-IDF, BM25), and search engine evaluation. Additionally, students will study current directions in the research literature. The course is project-based. Lectures will initially cover core concepts, gradually moving toward topics pertinent to student projects. For their projects, students will construct parts of a search engine in groups, provide written reports, and give related presentations in-class.
Important Note: Students are expected to have background comparable to CSCI 331 (Introduction to Intelligent Systems / Introduction to Artificial Intelligence)
Credit Hours: 3
Lectures: Tuesday and Thursday 2:00pm - 3:15pm ( Jan 10, 2022 - Apr 25, 2022 ). Lectures will be both in-person following RIT COVID policies (including mask wearing), and over Zoom. Lectures will be recorded.
1. Students will describe the basics of search interface and search engine architecture and design. (Assignments)
2. Students will select appropriate techniques to address information retrieval problems. (Assignments and Projects)
3. Students will apply performance evaluation methods for information retrieval. (Projects)
4. Students will apply information retrieval techniques. (Project implementations)
5. Students will summarize modern information retrieval techniques verbally and in writing. (Projects and Research Paper Summaries)
Contact information, for the instructor and TA are available through the Contact page.
There is also a class discord account; details are provided in MyCourses.
Office Hours: All office hours will be held online, over zoom (see the Contact page for times). The zoom links for office hours will be made available through MyCourses. Office hours will not be recorded.
Class discord (online chat): Please use the discord channel to ask clarifying questions about assignments and course material, and for general discussion about the course and Information Retrieval. The instructor and TA will try to respond within 24 hours. Do not use the discord channel for anything other than discussions about the course with your instructor, TA, and classmates.
Email: The instructor and TA will try to respond to emails within 24 hours. However, email received on Friday afternoons and weekends may not receive a reply until the following Monday. Also, questions about assignments and other assigned work on the day that they are due will not be answered.
To help students follow their progress in the course, all grades will be posted on MyCourses, including an automatically updated final grade based on completed work, along with class averages and grade distributions for all graded items.
The deliverables and grade breakdown for the course is provided in the table below.
|
Component |
Weight |
|---|---|
|
Weekly Quizzes |
10% |
|
4 Assignments |
40% |
|
3 Research Paper Discussions |
15% |
|
Project Proposal (Group) |
10% |
|
Final Group Project |
25% |
Please make yourself familiar with the RIT policies designed to keep us safe during the current pandemic. Expectations for both students and all RIT community members are available online here, and will be updated throughout the Spring semester.
Most importantly, students without an approved exemption must be fully vaccinated and wear a mask during lecture. While policy may permit drinks in class, this is discouraged now that a new variant (omicron) is spreading rapidly.
If you require accommodations, please let the instructor know so that we can be of assistance.
RIT ADA Statement (from MyCourses). The Disability Services Office is dedicated to facilitating equitable access to the full RIT experience for students with disabilities. We value disability as diversity and work in collaboration with campus partners to foster a welcoming, diverse, and inclusive campus community.
Any RIT student with a permanent or temporary disability can register and request accommodations with the Disability Services Office. Accommodations are determined on a case-by-case basis via a student-centered process, taking into account what is most appropriate and reasonable for an individual student. Visit www.rit.edu/dso to learn more.
RIT Attendance Policy. Attendance requirements are described in RIT Policy D0.4.0 Attendance. Some key details:
- Students are expected to attend all classes on-time.
- Students must make arrangements in advance of absences in order to fulfill course requirements.
- Students do not need to file excuses for absences.
- Instructors are not required to maintain attendance records, but must report prolonged absences to the student's advisor or department.
Illness. In the event of illness, whether COVID-19 or any other, students should continue to notify faculty directly that they will need to be absent and when they anticipate being able to rejoin the class. Per Policy D04.0 – Attendance, students are still responsible for fulfilling normal course requirements during their absence. Students are not required to provide details about or documentation related to health-related absences.
Rescheduling an Exam. Exams and final projects completed during exam week cannot be made up except for real emergencies in which case proper documentation (like a doctor's note) will be required. Oversleeping, cars that don't start etc. do not constitute a valid excuse. Please see RIT's Academic Senate Final Examination Policy for related questions.