# [11-705 Introduction to Research in Language Technologies]() ## **Fall 2025** - **Time**: Fridays 11:00AM–12:20PM - **Location**: GHC 4215 - **Canvas**: [https://canvas.cmu.edu/courses/48517](https://canvas.cmu.edu/courses/48517) - **Units**: 6 units - **Zoom**: Only by request, 2 days in advance. - For other, e.g., more personal, concerns, email instructors ([11705-instructors@andrew.cmu.edu](mailto:11705-instructors@andrew.cmu.edu)). ----- ### Summary #### Course description This course is designed to introduce **new PhD/MLT students** to the comprehensive landscape of research practices in language technologies, NLP, speech, etc. It aims to provide students with the necessary skills ranging from **technical essentials** (e.g., LTI cluster access), **research methodologies** (e.g., data visualization, statistical testing), to **research communication** (e.g., preparing talks) and **professional development** (e.g., conference networking). Through a combination of lectures, workshops, and hands-on sessions, students will learn to navigate the complexities of academic research, prepare for diverse professional settings, and contribute to a supportive and inclusive research community. #### Learning outcomes After taking this course, students should be: - Familiar with LTI's policies, infrastructure, and practices and able to access LTI clusters. - Able to find and read relevant academic papers. - Able to consider societal and ethical implications of a research project. - Able to craft research problems and to design experiments. - Proficient in data visualization and statistical analysis. - Capable of writing and communicating research effectively. - Knowledgeable about the peer review process, able to assess the quality of a review, and able to review papers - Adept at designing and presenting research talks and posters. - Prepared for professional development and networking. - Aware of challenges, time, and stress in academia, and more empowered to tackle them. - Aware of factors and pitfalls of fostering inclusive research communities.

---- ### Schedule (tentative) | Week | Date | Topics | In-class | Instructors | | ---- | ----- | ------------------------------------------------------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------ | --------------------------------------------------- | | 1 | 08/29 | Introduction to LTI, Research Workflows, Academic Ecosystem | SSH/cluster demo, icebreakers, snacks | Maarten Sap; Mona Diab; Stacey Young; Daniel Vosler | | 2 | 09/05 | Reading Academic Papers: types, finding, staying current | Paper summary (**graded**) & Group paper discussion | Daniel Fried; Sean Welleck | | 3 | 09/12 | Picking & Crafting Research Problems, Scientific Method, Benchmarking, Long-term Planning | Group hypothesis and experiment design | Carlos Busso; Yonatan Bisk | | 4 | 09/19 | Data Visualization & Statistical Analysis for NLP | Upload data visualization and reflection (**graded**) | Carolyn Rosé; Daphne Ippolito | | 5 | 09/26 | Ethical Considerations: Human subjects, IRB, privacy, societal impact, academic integrity | Write societal implications section of a paper (**graded**) | Fernando Diaz; Lori Levin | | 6 | 10/03 | Scientific Writing for Impact, Co-authorship, Writing Tips | Timed writing: sketch an introduction or analyze sample introductions (**graded**) | David Mortensen; Eric Nyberg | | 7 | 10/10 | Peer Review Process, Writing Reviews, Rebuttals | Write and swap peer reviews (**graded**) | Teruko Mitamura; Jamie Callan | | — | 10/17 | *Fall Break* | — | — | | 8 | 10/24 | Research Talks & Posters, Online/Open-Source Presence | Critique research talks and posters | Maarten Sap; Emma Strubell | | 9 | 10/31 | Student Research Presentations | Student presentations with peer feedback (**graded**) | Maarten Sap | | 10 | 11/07 | Student Research Presentations | Student presentations with peer feedback (**graded**) | Maarten Sap | | 11 | 11/14 | Professional Development & Networking: Interviews, Online Presence, Conference Prep | Build or critique personal homepage | Shinji Watanabe; Lei Li | | 12 | 11/21 | Challenges in Academia, Time Management, Mental Health | Small group wellness/time management discussion | PhD students | | 13 | 11/28 | *Thanksgiving break* | — | — | | 14 | 12/05 | Inclusive Research, Mentoring, TAing, Long-term Career Planning: Academic, Industry, Alternative Paths | In-class activity: small group discussions about the topics of the course and this lecture | Alon Lavie | ---- ### Grading The philosophy of this class is that students should have to do as *little work* as possible before the class (except for some weeks), and to maximize the interactivity and engagement by having in-class activities. | **Week** | **Task Description** | **Percentage** | | -------- | ------------------------------------------------------------ | -------------- | | 2 | Post role-based paper summary on Canvas (before class) | 5% | | 4 | Submit societal and ethical considerations section of a paper to Canvas (during class) | 15% | | 5 | Upload data visualization and reflection to Canvas (before class) | 5% | | 6 | Summarize paper for introduction sketching to Canvas (before class) | 5% | | 6 | Submit sketch or intro analysis to Canvas (during class) | 15% | | 7 | Upload annotated paper for review to Canvas (before class) | 5% | | 7 | Upload review to Canvas (during class) | 10% | | 9&10 | Upload research presentation on their or a paper of their choice to Canvas (before class) | 20% | | - | Attendance | 20% | | | **Total** | **100%** | ---- ### Policies **Attendance policy.** You are required to attend all lectures. Attendance will be taken, and **makes up 20% of your grade**. You get two free absences. **Late policy.** There is no late policy for this class. If you do not submit in time, you risk receiving a zero on that assignment. **Academic honesty.** Homework assignments are to be completed individually. Verbal collaboration on homework assignments is acceptable, as well as re-implementation of relevant algorithms from research papers, but everything you turn in must be your own work, and you must note the names of anyone you collaborated with on each problem and cite resources that you used to learn about the problem. The project is to be completed by a team. You are encouraged to use existing NLP components in your project; you must acknowledge these appropriately in the documentation. Suspected violations of academic integrity rules will be handled in accordance with the [CMU guidelines on collaboration and cheating](http://www.cmu.edu/policies/documents/Cheating.html). **AI-assisted writing policy.** We will follow the [ACL 2023 policy](https://2023.aclweb.org/blog/ACL-2023-policy/) on the use of AI assistants for writing. This means you may use AI tools for checking your writing and correcting your grammar; any usage beyond that (idea generation, literature review, etc.) is strongly discouraged or forbidden, see the policy for details. **Accommodations for students with disabilities.** If you have a disability and have an accommodations letter from the Disability Resources office, we encourage you to discuss your accommodations and needs with the instructors as early in the semester as possible. We will work with you to ensure that accommodations are provided as appropriate. If you suspect that you may have a disability and would benefit from accommodations but are not yet registered with the [Office of Disability Resources](https://www.cmu.edu/disability-resources/), we encourage you to contact them via their website. ---- ### Note to students **Take care of yourself!** As a student, you may experience a range of challenges that can interfere with learning, such as strained relationships, increased anxiety, substance use, feeling down, difficulty concentrating and/or lack of motivation. This is normal, and all of us benefit from support during times of struggle. There are many helpful resources available on campus and an important part of a healthy life is learning how to ask for help. Asking for support sooner rather than later is almost always helpful. CMU services are available free to students, and treatment does work. You can learn more about confidential mental health services available on campus through [Counseling and Psychological Services (CaPS)](https://www.cmu.edu/counseling/). Support is always available (24/7) at: 412-268-2922. **Take care of your classmates and instructors!** In this class, every individual will and must be treated with respect. The ways we are diverse are many and are fundamental to building and maintaining an equitable and an inclusive campus community. These include but are not limited to: race, color, national origin, caste, sex, disability (visible or invisible), age, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, creed, ancestry, belief, veteran status, or genetic information. Research shows that greater diversity across individuals leads to greater creativity in the group. We at CMU work to promote diversity, equity and inclusion not only because it is necessary for excellence and innovation, but because it is just. Therefore, while we are imperfect, we ask you all to fully commit to work, both inside and outside of our classrooms to increase our commitment to build and sustain a campus community that embraces these core values. It is the responsibility of each of us to create a safer and more inclusive environment. Incidents of bias or discrimination, whether intentional or unintentional in their occurrence, contribute to creating an unwelcoming environment for individuals and groups at the university. If you experience or observe unfair or hostile treatment on the basis of identity, we encourage you to speak out for justice and offer support in the moment and/or share your experience using the following resources: - [Center for Student Diversity and Inclusion](https://www.cmu.edu/student-diversity/): [csdi@andrew.cmu.edu](mailto:csdi@andrew.cmu.edu), (412) 268-2150 - [CMU anonymous reporting hotline](https://secure.ethicspoint.com/domain/media/en/gui/81082/index.html), (844) 587-0793