| CORE 139 |
Methods and Issues in Cryptology |
Fall 2007 |
Term Project
The term project can take several forms, depending on your
interests. The two main choices are a research paper or a programming
project.
Research Paper
One possibility is a research paper on a topic related to cryptology,
such as a historical issue, a social issue, or an ethical issue. Some
possible topics:
- cryptology in the ancient Arab world
- cryptology during World War I
- the PURPLE machine used by Japan in World War II
- the role of the NSA (National Security Agency) in cryptology
- deciphering of an ancient language
- the key escrow debate
- the history of some particular cipher
- machine cryptography
- !! current debate about NSA listening to US citizens without a court (FISA court) warrant !!
There are many other possibilities, and many of the topics listed
above are quite broad. You should limit your topic to some area that
can be covered in depth in 8-10 pages (1.5- or double-spaced). You
should reference several sources, which may include books, journal
articles, and Internet sources. At least two sources must be
non-Internet sources.
Programming Project
If you a taking or have taken a programming class, you may choose to
do a computer project.
Such a project might involve writing a program to break a particular
type of cipher or creating a program to allow the user to
encrypt/decrypt using several different ciphers.
Your code must be well documented, and you
should include a short paper describing how to use your program(s).
Citing References
You must reference the source of any ideas which are not your own,
whether or not you quote directly from the source. If you do not cite
material that you use or if you cite it incorrectly, you are guilty of
plagiarism.
You may use either footnotes, in-text citations, or another accepted
system to reference ideas in the text (just be consistent).
Information gathered through conversations with other people should be
cited as personal communications. Works you
have referenced in the text are also listed in a separate list
appearing at the end of the paper. There are many styles for the list
of references - you may choose any style, as long as it contains the
relevant information and you use the same style for the whole list.
Project Deadlines
- Monday, Nov 12
- Project topics: A one or two paragraph description of your
intended project.
Monday, Nov 19 (before Thanksgiving)
- Sources/outline: If you are doing a research paper, a list
of the sources you intended to use with a brief summary (a few
sentences) of the contents and relevance of each source. If you are
doing a computer project, an outline of the functionality and
organization of your program including the different data types and
functions.
Nov. 28, Dec 3, Dec 5:
Project presentations
- Wednesday, Dec 5
- Project written reportdue at 5pm.