Instructions on Final Project/Paper

The final project/paper is the equivalent of the final exam in Introduction to Cryptology. Here is the agenda for the last part of our work.

1.

Look over the list of topics (on paper or updated on the web) and make a final decision about which one you will pursue.

2.

Locate some sources for your report. These could be articles, textbooks, websites (although not exclusively).

3.

Prepare a brief written proposal due Nov. 5 stating the subject of your study and at least one or two sources you will be working out of. Your proposal should be written as a brief paragraph in complete sentences.

4.

Start reading, studying, programming, calculating, whatever you plan to do. I strongly recommend you keep a notebook recording the information you learn during your reading. Here are some things to think about.

(a)

Learn the historical or technical facts, algorithms, theorems, etc., whatever might be appropriate. Work on your own exposition of them.

(b)

Look up references in your primary sources and prepare notes on what those papers contain. You don't have to read them completely; usually the introductions or the abstracts will tell you what's in them.

(c)

Try to relate the material to things we have discussed in class: what are the algorithms, keys, methods of cryptanalysis? What were the problems in security?

(d)

Try to think of possible variations, or generalizations of the work in the paper.

5.

On November 28, give me a rough draft of contents of your report. We will schedule 10-15 minute presentations for the last week of class starting Nov. 3. You don't have to give the whole report just a brief overview of it. There will be no criticism involved; the audience will be invited to ask questions if they are interested.

6.

The final version of the paper is due 5 PM on Friday Dec. 3 in MS 401.

Your report should be about ten to twenty typed pages (single-spaced) in length. It should be divided into sections including:

Introduction:

This should describe very briefly the subject of your report. A clean statement of the facts should be given. You should have a listing of all the sections in your report. The sections should have descriptive titles.

Definitions and clarification of terminology and basic facts:

All notation and terminology must be explicitly defined or references to textbooks where the definitions may be found (with explicit page numbers) must be given. Expansion of the basic facts. For a historical paper, a timeline might be given.

Discussion:

One or more sections discussing in depth your subject. Explain your algorithms in words, if a program. Prove a theorem if that's what your subject is about.

Examples:

Example calculations, or output, or excerpts from texts.

Generalizations and variations:

Anything you can think of, or possible subjects this paper leads into. Contemporary consequences of historical subjects. Projections about the future.

Description of other sources:

Your observations on what's contained in the paper's references.

Bibliography:

Should follow something like the format below.