Research Methods in Computer Science

Dr. Muhammad Adnan Hashmi

Department of Computer Science &

Information Technology

University of Lahore

Who am I?

● I am Dr. Muhammad Adnan

Hashmi!

● I am a professor of Computer

Science in the Department of CS & IT.

● My specialty is Artificial

Intelligence and in particular Multi-Agent-Systems.

Course Outline

● Overview of Research

● Getting Started in Research

● How to solve the research problems ● How to become a good researcher ● Literature Review

● Selecting and defining a Research Problem ● How to Read a Research Paper

● How to Write a Research Paper

● Using LATEX to write a manuscript

● How to make Good Presentations

Learning Objectives

● Be informed about the knowledge required in conducting good quality research in computer science and engineering;

● Be familiar with the research process;

● Be able to carry out critical review of the literature on a selected area of research interest in computing;

● Be able to articulate and harmonise ideas both in written and oral communications;

● Be able to use the appropriate tools for managing research resources (material (tangible and intangible) and human);

● Be familiar with issues involved in research ethics as it relates to computer science and engineering.

Assessment of Course

Sr.# Contents Weightage Pre-Mid Assessment 1 Paper Review 15% 2 Paper Presentation 10% Post-Mid Assessment 3 Research Proposal 15% 4 In-Class Activities 10% 5 Term Paper 40%

6 Term Paper Presentation 10%

What is Computer Science

●

Fellows and Parberry: "Computer science is

no more about computers than astronomy is

about

telescopes,

biology

is

about

microscopes, or chemistry is about beakers

and test tubes. Science is not about tools. It

is about how we use them, and what we find

out when we do."

What is Computer Science

●

Brookshear: "Computer Science is the discipline

that seeks to build a scientific foundation for such

topics as computer design, computer programming,

information processing, algorithmic solutions of

problems, and the algorithmic process itself.“

– Most fundamental concept of CS is an

algorithm

:

a set of steps that defines how a task is performed

– An algorithm is instantiated in a program and

Research

●

Literally speaking, research is repeated

searching

●

Technically speaking, “Research is the

process of searching through what other

people may have searched with the aim of

uncovering what is yet to be discovered.”

●

Main

theme

of

every

research

is

What is Research

Assume A and B are known before the research is conducted.

The research has contributed to knowledge if:

● It can confirm the validity (success or failure) of A and/or B in

another context.

● It can provide more information about the behaviors or attributes of A

and/or B.

● It shows how A and B are related.

● It provides new technique by which A and/or B can be derived or

computed.

● It provides a new application for A and/or B.

Research

●

Thesis

– A new idea

●

Antithesis

– Contradicting a previous idea

●

Synthesis

What is Bad Research

●

It is not based on the work of others

●

Plagiarizing other people’s work

●

Falsifying data to prove a point

●

Misrepresenting information and misleading

Why do we need research

● To get PhDs, Masters and Bachelors??

● To provide solutions to complex problems ● To investigate laws of nature

● To make new discoveries ● To develop new products ● To save costs

● To improve our life ● Human desires

Advice on Getting started in research

Research is hard

Research is exciting and addictive What is a good research problem How to find good problems

Read a lot and listen to others Have an attack

Be Curious

Ask good questions Hedge your bets

Be aware of research density Intelligence is multifaceted

Advice on getting started in research

Appreciate elegance and beauty Seek simplicity

Induce obsolescence Open doors

It’s a complicated world Reinventing a better wheel

Abolish NIH(Not invented Here) Be free to exploit outside knowledge Keep Unsolved problems in mind

Advice on solving research problems

● Expose and challenge hidden assumptions

● Don’t always believe experts

● Filter the noise

● Investigate Anomalies (abnormalities,irregularities)

● Find the root of the solution

● Find a simpler unsolved problem

Advice on solving research problems

Examine extreme cases

Alternate between the general and the specific Work backwards

List all possibilities and check them all Solve the problem in different ways Use your tools wisely

Develop necessary tools

Advice on becoming a good researcher

Be technically excellent and work hard Don’t fear mistakes

Admit your mistakes Enjoy successful failures Be flexible

It’s the process that counts Have a vision and defend it

Advice on becoming a researcher

View research as an art Be a leader

Respect intellectual property and be generous and magnanimous Don’t get discouraged and never give up

A lot of people can be wrong

Recognize when you are mentally tired and rest Learn from the past

Abilities of a Researcher

●

Analytical

●

Literature

●

Contextualization

●

Problem Formulation

●

Synthesis

●

Communication

●

Research Ethics

Critical Thinking in Research

●

Association

●

Classification

●

Deduction

●

Induction

●

Inference

●

Sequencing

●

Detecting Fallacies

●

Problem Solving

Problem Solving Strategies

● Abstraction: solving the problem in a model of the system before

applying it to the real system

● Analogy: using a solution that solves an analogous problem

● Brainstorming: (especially among groups of people) suggesting a large

number of solutions or ideas and combining and developing them until an optimum solution is found

● Divide and conquer: breaking down a large, complex problem into

smaller, solvable problems

● Hypothesis testing: assuming a possible explanation to the problem and

trying to prove (or, in some contexts, disprove) the assumption

● Lateral thinking: approaching solutions indirectly and creatively

● Means-ends analysis: choosing an action at each step to move closer to

Problem Solving Strategies

● Method of focal objects: synthesizing seemingly non-matching

characteristics of different objects into something new

● Morphological analysis: assessing the output and interactions of an

entire system

● Proof: try to prove that the problem cannot be solved. The point where

the proof fails will be the starting point for solving it

● Reduction: transforming the problem into another problem for which

solutions exist

● Research: employing existing ideas or adapting existing solutions to

similar problems

● Root cause analysis: identifying the cause of a problem

Purpose of reading

● It will give you ideas

● What other researchers have done in your area

● Broaden your perspectives and set your work in context ● Direct personal experience can never be enough

● Legitimate your arguments

● It may cause you to change your mind

● To effectively criticize what others have done

● Learn more about research methods and their application ● Spot areas which have not been researched

Types of Research Papers

● Review paper

– a survey of a specific area, technology, methods, etc. – you need to do this anyway

– can be published

● Analysis paper

– workplace study – theoretical analysis

– technical analysis, comparison, or review

● Design paper

– a new technical design

– UI techniques / UI design / Interaction Design – software architecture...

Types of Research Papers

● Systems paper

– describe a system / piece of technology – Proff-of-Concept

● Theoretical paper

– Proves some properties ...

● Evaluation paper

– Technical evaluation – Usability evaluation – Pilot study

● Methods paper

– a new method / methodology for ... – new process

● Position Paper

Types of Research Papers

● Technical Report ● Workshop Paper ● Conference Paper ● Journal Paper ● Term Paper ● Position Paper ● Survey Paper ● Patent

Qualitative categories of journals

● W- Category

– Having an Impact Factor

● X- Category

– Not having an Impact Factor – Reviewed by at least one expert

● Y- Category

– Not having an Impact Factor

– Not reviewed by at least one expert

● Z- Category

– Not having an Impact Factor

Summary of research paper

● Motivations for the work ● Proposed solution

● Evaluation of the work

● Relationship of the proposed solution to the other proposed solutions

● Analysis of the problem, idea and evaluation ● Key contributions

● Future directions ● Left questions

Parts of a research paper

●

Abstract

●

Introduction

●

Materials and Methods

●

Results

●

Discussion

Abstract

●

1st model ~ systems kind of papers

– Background

– However, gab

– What we did ~ innovation

– Contributions

Abstract

●

2nd model ~ study/medical kind of papers

– Background & Purpose

– Methods

– Results

Introduction

● Background

– Motivation – a real issue?

– What is the research context? – What is the state-of-art?

● Hypothesis / Problem

– What is broken/missing (the ”gab”) – Thesis or Problem statement

Introduction (Cont…)

● Goals and methods

– What are the operational goals of this paper? – And how were they achieved?

● Results

● Contributions ● Paper overview

– Outline of the rest of the paper

Body + Conclusion

● Main body

– Section organization reflects how your argument unfolds

– Each section should have a main point – Each paragraph should have a main point

● Summary/Conclusions

– Tell them what you’ve told them

● some people only read abstract, intro and

conclusions

– Relate back to general area – Introduce future work

Reading a research paper

● Read Critically

– Don’t assume that authors are always correct – Ask appropriate questions

– Are they solving the right problem?

– Are there simple solutions the authors may not have considered?

– Limitations of the solution (stated and unstated) – Are the assumptions reasonable?

– Did they gather the right data?

Reading a research paper

●

Read Creatively

– What are the good ideas in the paper?

– Do these ideas have other applications or extensions? – Can they be generalized further?

– Starting point for further research?

Make notes as you read the paper.

After the first read-through, try to summarize the paper in one or two sentences.

Reading a research paper

● Three pass approach ● First Pass

– Carefully read title, abstract, introduction – Read section, and sub-section headings – Read conclusions

– Skim through references

● Answer the five C’s

– Category – Context – Correctness – Contributions

Reading a research paper

●

Second Pass

– Read the paper with greater care

– Would take almost an hour or so

●

Third Pass

– Virtually re-implement the paper

Review of a research paper

● Summary of the paper

● A more extensive outline of the main points

– Assumptions made – Arguments presented – Data analyzed

– Conclusions drawn

● Any limitations or extensions ● Your opinion of the paper

– Quality of the ideas – Potential impact

Choosing a Supervisor

(Student’s Expectations)

●

To be supervised

●

To read their work well in advance

●

To be available when needed

●

To be friendly, open and supportive

●

To be constructively critical

●

To have a good knowledge of their research area

●

To structure the tutorial so that it is relatively easy

to exchange ideas

●

To have sufficient interest in their research to put

more information in their path

Choosing a Supervisor

(Supervisor’s Expectations)

●

To be independent

●

To produce written work that is not just a first draft

●

To have regular meetings

●

To be honest when reporting upon their progress

●

To follow the advice that they give

●

To be excited about their work, able to surprise

them and fun to be with

Why must I do Research

●

Motivation

●

Contribution to the area

●

Current and pertinent problem

Criteria for selecting a research

problem

●

Interest

●

Size/scope

●

Economy/Cost

●

Researcher’s Capabilities and Limitations

Evaluating the problem

●

Question yourself

Is the research problem

researchable?

●

Has the problem been specified?

●

Is the problem active to research?

●

Is the problem too large?

●

How available are the data?

Will the result be significant?

●

Will the research advance knowledge?

●

Will the research have some value?

Selecting a Research Area

●

Deep interest and commitment

●

Access to Current Literature

●

Able to read and understand

●

Technical skills

●

Material resource

Why Write Research Proposal

●

To clearly define

1. What to be done

2. Why to be done

3. How to be done

4. The cost that will be incurred in doing it

5. Possible challenges that may arise in the

process

Research Proposal

●

Working title

●

Abstract: A statement of research problem and

justification as to why its an important and

interesting problem

●

A statement specifying the characteristics of the

specific problem and the solution desired. This

will provide the scope of the research

●

Related and relevant work in the literature on the

area of research

Research Proposal

●

The methodology for addressing the problem.

●

Possible contribution to knowledge

●

A plan of action

●

List the resources required and probable cost

implications

Plan your work…

● State your research task for the year

● Break the task down into two (You must achieve each half

in six months)

● Break each of the six months tasks into two (you must

achieve one half of each in three months)

● Break each of the three months task into two (you must

achieve one half of each task in One months and two weeks)

Reasons for Rejection

●

Nature of the problem:

– It is doubtful that new or useful information

will result from the project.

– The basic hypothesis is unsound.

– Scientifically premature due to the present

inadequacy of supporting knowledge

●

Approach to the problem:

– The research plan is vague

– The research is not adequately controlled

Reasons for Rejection

●

Competence of the Investigators

– Need to acquire greater familiarity with the

pertinent literature

– The problems to be investigated are more

complex than the applicants realize

●

Research environment

– The investigators will be devoting too much

time for teaching or other non-research duties

●

Unreasonable Budget

Criteria for Judging a Research Study

● The Review of Previous Research

1. How closely is the literature reviewed in the study related

to previous literature?

2. Is the review recent? Are there any outstanding references you know of that were left out?

The Problem and Purpose

3. Can you understand the statement of the problems? 4. Is the purpose of the study clearly stated?

5. Does the purpose seem to be tied to the literature that is reviewed?

6. Is there a justification for why the study is an important one to do?

The Method

●

References

8. Is the list of references current? 9. Are they consistent in their format? 10. Are the references complete?

11. Does each reference cited in the body of the paper appear in the reference list?

General Comments About the Report

15. Is it clearly written and understandable?

16. What are the strengths and weaknesses of the research? 17. What would you do to improve the research?

Paper Review Criteria

●

Problem Statement, Conceptual Framework, and

Research Question

●

Reference to the Literature and Documentation

●

Relevance

●

Research Design

●

Instrumentation, Data Collection, and Quality

Control

Paper Review Criteria

●

Reporting of Statistical Analyses

●

Presentation of Results

●

Title, Authors, and Abstract

●

Presentation and Documentation

●

Scientific Conduct

Problem Statement, Conceptual

Framework, and Research Question

●

The introduction builds a logical case and context

for the problem statement

●

The problem statement is clear and well

articulated.

●

The conceptual framework is explicit and justified.

●

The research question is clear, concise, and

complete.

●

The variables being investigated are clearly

identified and presented.

Reference to the Literature and

Documentation

●

The literature review is up-to-date.

●

The number of references is appropriate and their

selection is judicious.

●

The review of the literature is well integrated.

●

The references are mainly primary sources.

●

Ideas are acknowledged appropriately (scholarly

attribution) and accurately.

Relevance

●

The study is relevant to the mission of the journal

or its audience.

●

The study addresses important problems or issues;

the study is worth doing.

●

The study adds to the literature already available

on the subject.

●

The study has generalizability because of the

selection of subjects, setting, and educational

intervention or materials.

Research Design

● The research design is defined and clearly described, and is

sufficiently detailed to permit the study to replicated.

● The design is appropriate (optimal) for the research

question.

● The design has internal validity, potential confounding

variables or biases are addressed.

● The design has external validity, including subjects,

settings, and conditions.

● The design allows for unexpected outcomes or events to

occur.

Instrumentation, Data Collection, and

Quality Control

● The development and content of the instrument are

sufficiently described or referenced, and are sufficiently detailed to permit the study to be replicated.

● The measurement instrument is appropriate given the

study's variables; the scoring method is clearly defined.

● The psychometric properties and procedures are clearly

presented and appropriate.

● The data set is sufficiently described or referenced. ● Observers or raters were sufficiently trained.

Population and Sample

● The population is defined clearly, both for subjects

(participants) and stimulus (intervention), and is

sufficiently detailed to permit the study to be replicated.

● The sampling procedures are sufficiently described.

● Subject samples are appropriate to the research question.

● Stimulus samples are appropriate to the research question.

Reporting of Statistical Analyses

● The assumptions underlying the use of statistics are

considered, given the data collected.

● The statistics are reported correctly and appropriately.

● The number of analyses is appropriate.

● Measures of functional significance, such as effect size or

proportion of variance accounted for, accompany hypothesis-testing analyses.

Presentation of Results

● Results are organized in a way that is easy to understand.

● Results are presented effectively; the results are

contextualized.

● The results are complete.

● The amount of data presented is sufficient and appropriate.

● Tables, graphs, or figures are used judiciously and agree

Title, Authors, and Abstract

● The title is clear and informative.

● The title is representative of the content and breadth of the study (not

misleading).

● The title captures the importance of the study and the attention of the

reader.

● The number of authors appears to be appropriate given the study. ● The abstract is complete (thorough); essential details are presented. ● The results in the abstract are presented in sufficient and specific

detail.

● The conclusions in the abstract are justified by the information in the

abstract and the text.

● There are no inconsistencies in detail between the abstract and the text. ● All of the information in the abstract is present in the text.

● The abstract overall is congruent with the text; the abstract gives the

Presentation and

Documentation

● The text is well written and easy to follow.

● The vocabulary is appropriate.

● The content is complete and fully congruent.

● The manuscript is well organized.

● The data reported are accurate (e.g., numbers add up) and appropriate;

tables and figures are used effectively and agree with the text.

Scientific Conduct

●

There are no instances of plagiarism.

●

Ideas and materials of others are correctly

attributed.

●

Prior publication by the author(s) of

substantial portions of the data or study is

appropriately acknowledged.

Research Process

●

Research is an extremely cyclic process.

– Later stages might necessitate a review of earlier work.

●

This isn’t a weakness of the process but is part of

the built-in error correction machinery.

●

Because of the cyclic nature of research, it can be

difficult to determine where to start and when to

stop.

Step 1: A Question Is Raised

●

A question occurs to or is posed to the researcher

for which that researcher has no answer.

– This doesn’t mean that someone else doesn’t already have an answer.

●

The question needs to be converted to an

appropriate problem statement like that

documented in a research proposal.

Step 2: Suggest Hypotheses

●

The researcher generates intermediate hypotheses

to describe a solution to the problem.

– This is at best a temporary solution since there is as yet no evidence to support either the acceptance or

Step 3: Literature Review

●

The available literature is reviewed to determine if

there is already a solution to the problem.

– Existing solutions do not always explain new observations.

– The existing solution might require some revision or even be discarded.

Step 4: Literature Evaluation

●

It’s possible that the literature review has yielded a

solution to the proposed problem.

– This means that you haven’t really done research.

●

On the other hand, if the literature review turns up

nothing, then additional research activities are

Step 5: Acquire Data

●

The researcher now begins to gather data relating

to the research problem.

– The means of data acquisition will often change based on the type of the research problem.

– This might entail only data gathering, but it could also require the creation of new measurement instruments.

Step 6: Data Analysis

●

The data that were gathered in the previous step

are analyzed as a first step in ascertaining their

meaning.

●

As before, the analysis of the data does not

constitute research.

Step 7: Data Interpretation

●

The researcher interprets the newly analyzed data

and suggests a conclusion.

– This can be difficult.

– Keep in mind that data analysis that suggests a

correlation between two variables can’t automatically be interpreted as suggesting causality between those variables.

Step 8: Hypothesis Support

●

The data will either support the hypotheses or they

won’t.

– This may lead the researcher to cycle back to an earlier step in the process and begin again with a new

hypothesis.

– This is one of the self-correcting mechanisms associated with the scientific method.

Reasons for Systematic Reviews

● To summarize the existing evidence concerning a

treatment or technology.

● To identify any gaps in current research in order to suggest

areas for further investigation.

● To provide a framework/background in order to

Systematic Review

● Start by defining a review protocol

– Research question being addressed

– Methods that will be used to perform the review

● Defined search strategy that aims to detect as much of the relevant literature

as possible.

● Document the search strategy so that readers can access its rigour and

completeness.

● Explicit inclusion and exclusion criteria for the potential primary studies.

Review Protocol

● Background. The rationale for the survey.

● The research questions that the review is intended answer.

● The strategy that will be used to search for primary studies including search terms and

resources to be searched, resources include databases, specific journals, and

conference proceedings. An initial scoping study can help determine an appropriate strategy.

● Study selection criteria and procedures. Criteria for including in, or excluding a study

from, the systematic review. It is usually helpful to pilot the selection criteria on a subset of primary studies.

●

● The protocol should describe how the criteria will be applied e.g. how many assessors

will evaluate each prospective primary study, and how disagreements among assessors will be resolved.

Review Protocol (Cont…)

● Study quality assessment checklists and procedures. The researchers should

develop quality checklists to assess the individual studies. The purpose of the quality assessment will guide the development of checklists.

● Data extraction strategy. This should define how the information required from

each primary study would be obtained. If the data require manipulation or assumptions and inferences to be made, the protocol should specify an appropriate validation process.

●

● Synthesis of the extracted data. This should define the synthesis strategy. This

should clarify whether or not a formal meta-analysis is intended and if so what techniques will be used.

●

Conducting the Review

●

Identification of research

●

Selection of studies

●

Study quality assessment

●

Data extraction and monitoring progress

Writing a Survey Paper

●

Abstract

●

Introduction

●

Survey :

Critical analysis of each paper

●

Your analysis of the work done so far, gaps

and opportunities

●

Conclusion

Introduction

- A clear description of the field. What is it a subset of? What is the current status?

-Boilerplate is not useful ! bla-bla-bla networks have seen a lot of interest in recent years.

-short history: was there a inspiring paper, research funding, special

event, invention of an algorithm which encouraged the development. e.g; 9/11 spurred a lot of research development (and funding) in

surveillance system. The introduction of java gave a new push to just-in-time compiler optimization research, and so on.

-Which are the conferences, workshops, journals, special editions which are carrying the papers related to the topic?

Terminology

Introduce the terminology of the field, describe what the various terms mean.

For example, in the sensor network domain, mobile sink, mobile agent, mobile data collectors usually means the same thing. In addition, some researchers borrow terms like actuator, or invent specific new terms like “mole" for the same thing.

You need to clarify these things, so start by keeping a note of the various terms while you are reading papers.

Survey: A Challenge

The description of the various research challenges of the field. This is the hardest to write, because it is the part which is creative. You need to provide an integral view on the research activity of the field.

You should start noting out the various objective descriptions from various papers. But it is not enough to just put them together: you need to rewrite them in your own words. Partially for the reason of copyright, and second,

because you need to write a good write up, which covers all the papers not just one.

In the Survey part, you need to give critical analysis of each paper presented in the survey. This includes your critical assessment of the research problem, solution,

performance evaluation and conclusion presented in the paper. A classification of the research approaches adopted can make your writing a lot easier and more

understandable.

It is helpful to identify 3-4 main research directions, around which you will organize your papers.

What mathematical techniques or algorithms they rely on? (eg. genetic algorithms, neural network, hidden Markov models' etc.). Is this a theory or application paper?

Is it the continuation of another work? is it an improvement on another work? (you might want to present them in order!!!).

do they use theoretical proofs? simulation? hardware testbed? real life deployment?

Which other technology they compare themselves with? In which way are they better? Note: all the papers you will encounter are at least in some ways better than others. You need to identify the authors claim; higher performance (under certain assumptions)? higher robustness? lower computational complexity?

Research Methods

●

Implementation driven research

●

Mathematical proof techniques

●

Empiricism

– Hypothesis, Methods, Results,

Conclusion

Research Paradigms

● Theoretical – Define abstraction, prove results (theorems) e.g., computability

theory, complexity theory, learning theory …

● Experimental – Build and experiment with, measure, evaluate systems ● Creative – Invent new artifacts e.g., Computer, Internet, World-wide web,

search engine etc

● Synthetic – Unify a body of research results – generalize, specialize results ● Cross-disciplinary – Apply computing to solve problems in other disciplines

(e.g., bioinformatics), construct computational models (e.g., cognitive science, computational biology)

The Content

●

First you need to know your goal and your audience

●

Don’t just repeat the presentation that you had made

for another venue

The Content

●

Need to convince the audience of three things

●

The problem is worthwhile

– It is a real problem and a solution would be useful

●

The problem is hard

– Not already solved or there are not other ways to achieve equally good results

The Slides

●

Slide titles

– Should use descriptive slide titles

– Should not use same title on multiple slides

●

Introduction

– Start your talk with the motivation and examples

– Convince your audience that this talk is worth paying attention to

The Slides

●

Outline Slides

– Don’t start with an outline slide

– Show an outline after the introduction

●

Conclusion

– Remind the audience of the take-home message of the talk – What do you want to be the last thing that the audience sees

The Presentation

●

Make eye contact with the audience

●

Don’t face the screen which puts your back to the

audience

●

Don’t stand in front of the screen

The Presentation

●

Never point at your laptop screen, the audience cannot

see your screen

●

A laser pointer is fine, but it tends to shake

●

If you get flustered, taking a drink of water is good

Using graphs to represent data

●

A graph is a visual representation of a relationship

between, but not restricted to, two variables

●

Graphs are effective visual tools because they present

information quickly and easily

●

Sometimes, data can be better understood when

presented by a graph than by a table because the

graph can reveal a trend or comparison

Using graphs to represent data

We use graphs to present data, because they:

●

are quick and direct

●

highlight the most important facts

●

facilitate understanding of the data

●

can convince readers

Literature Review

●

A literature review is necessity.

– Without this step, you won’t know if your problem has been solved or what related research is already

underway.

●

When performing the review:

– Start searching professional journals.

– Begin with the most recent articles you can find. – Keep track of relevant articles in a bibliography.

– Don’t be discouraged if work on the topic is already underway.

Literature Review

●

Be very careful to check your sources when doing

your literature review.

●

Many trade magazines are not peer reviewed.

– Professional conferences and journals often have each article reviewed by multiple people before it is even recommended for publication.

– The IEEE and ACM digital libraries are good places to start looking for genuine research.

The purpose of Literature Review

●

To limit the problem area

●

To define the problem

●

To avoid unnecessary repetition

●

To search for new approaches

●

To recommend a suitable method

Useful websites for research

1) http://www.yourdictionary.com 2) http://www.thefreedictionary.com 3) http://www.answers.com

4) Google on Cambridge Advanced learners Dictionary 5) Google on Wikipedia

For research papers 1. citeseerX (http:/citeseer.ics.psu.edu) 2. www.Scopus (http:www.scopus.com) 3. www.sciencedirect.com 4. www.google.scholar.com 5. www.reearchgate.net 6. www.academia.edu

Why the need to write research

Reports/Papers/Thesis?

It is obvious that every research needs good and proper documentation.

1. To share research results with other researchers. 2. To obtain some form of degree.

3. To get views for improvement. 4. To get recognition.

Quotations from a Vice-President of a Large Construction Company

(Taken from “How Does Your Writing Measure Up…? by J. R. Gould, Chemical Eng. Journal)

● “Every engineer has to write at some time or another”.

● “Of course, all of us in our college days had visions of passing the writing job

to our secretary, or even the office boy, but in reality it has turned out differently”.

● “Today the engineer is responsible for all kinds of communication jobs.

Reports have to be turned in to government agencies, inter-company memoranda have to be written, and articles must be prepared for trade journals”.

● “Also if the engineer wants to get ahead, he may find it necessary to deliver

papers before professional societies”.

Research Paper Writing

● The Body of a Technical Paper

1. Abstract

2. Introduction

3. Description of system

- Describe the new algorithm or approach 4. Simulation examples of algorithm

- Real-time experiments 5. Discussion of Results

6. Conclusion

7. Acknowledgements 8. References

Paper Preparation

1. Formulate idea for paper or article. Discuss with your supervisor and colleagues to determine if a paper should be written.

2. Search the literature to determine what has been written on the subject. 3. Write a comprehensive outline. A good outline reads like a table of contents.

4. Think the article through. Ask yourself if your outline will allow you to present the right amount of data in the best manner.

5. Gradually expand outline headings in-to sentences and paragraphs. Keep one idea to a paragraph.

6. Smooth transitions and expend on key words and ideas. 7. Rough out illustrations.

Introduction

• Did you properly orient the reader?

• Did you tell why the study (device, etc.) was needed? • Why it is significant or unique?

• What problem did you solve ?

• Are the scope, limitations, and problems of the study well defined?

• Does the introduction generate enough interest in the reader for him to read the entire paper ?

Body of Paper

• Have you given necessary background material? • Is it too much?

• Is the problem, concept, or system adequately and accurately cover the theory, test results, applications, methods of implementation?

Conclusion

• What was the original problem? • How was it solved?

9. Revise the draft as required.

10. Have it typed double-spaces with at least one copy (or follow the journal’s or conference’s format).

11. Proofread manuscript carefully. 12. Review with you supervisor. 13. Submit.