Transcript Master Seminar SS2009 - uni

How to write a research paper
Winter Semester 2009/2010
26 November 2009
Research article
2
A scientific or research article or paper is a technical (or essayistic?)
document that describes a significant experimental, theoretical or
observational extension of current knowledge, or advances in the
practical application of known principles (O'Conner and Woodford,
1976).
reports on research findings that are not only sound (valid) and
previously unpublished (original), but also add some new
understanding, observation, proofs, i.e. potentially important
information (Gordon, 1983).
Tomislav Hengl and Michael Gould, 2002. Rules of thumb for writing research articles.
http://www.itc.nl/library/Papers/hengl_rules.pdf
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Tell a story
3
Every paper tells a story.
– What: what you want to find. The problem being solved
– Why: purpose and justification
– How: your approach
Write for reader, not for yourself
The ideas in the paper should be new, original
The ideas should be significant enough to justify a paper
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Plagiarism
4
Plagiarism is the “use or close imitation of the language and thoughts
of another author and the representation of them as one's own
original work. Within academia, plagiarism by students, professors,
or researchers is considered academic dishonesty or academic
fraud and offenders are subject to academic censure [...]“
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plagiarism
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Characteristics
5
Original ideas
Address reality
Provides lessons to be learned
Describes the context
Self contained
Focused
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Paper structure
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Title
Abstract
Introduction
Related work
Main part
Conclusions
Acknowledgements
References
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Title
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Indicates content and main discoveries
Attracts the reader’s attention
Should be simple (7-10 words)
Aims at specific audience
Should avoid complex grammar
Should be catchy
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Abstract
8
Reflects the main story of the research paper
Calls attention but without extra explanations
Short and concise sentences
No citations, tables, graphs, equations etc.
Explain what was done, what was found and what are the main
conclusions
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Introduction
9
Introduces the topic and defines the terminology
Indicates the focus of the paper and research objectives
Do not present your results in the introduction
The first paragraph of the introduction is very important. To great
extent determines whether a potential reader will stay away from
the rest of the paper
Comprises justification and purpose
Motivation broadly, what is the problem area, why important
What is the problem you specifically consider
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Related Work
10
To help in understanding the field and the problem
Should be a separate section
Should be generous in citations
Your approach is not more interesting if you state that others have
done it all wrong
Not necessary to cite every single paper
Compare your work with the state of the art
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Main part
11
The body of the text. Sections (chapters)
Describe in detail the findings and your contribution
Provide all explanations required by the reader to understand your
work
Use tables, graphs and other types of illustrations
Use simple(st) examples to explain the methodology
Explains discrepancies and unexpected findings
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Conclusions
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Answers research questions/objectives
States the importance of discovery and future implications
Results should not be recapitulated (no summary here), but sum up
your findings
Strong statements should be made (avoid “it may be concluded…”)
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Acknowledgements
13
People, agencies and so forth that have provided some sort of help
should be acknowledged
Forget nobody
Host institution doesn’t have to be mentioned, because it is already
mentioned in the title section. No extra acknowledgement is
required
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Reference list
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list of related literature and information sources
Should be up to date
Cite the most accessible references
Cite primary sources rather than review papers
Self citation should not exceed 15% percent and should be done in a
modest way
Avoid citing unpublished material
Not all references are equally good
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Rules
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TAKE A READER'S VIEW: Write for your audience not for yourself.
TELL A STORY: Direct your research article but keep a clear focus in the
paper and present only results that relate to it.
BE YOURSELF: Write like you speak and then revise and polish.
MAKE IT SIMPLE: Use simple(st) examples to explain complex methodology.
MAKE IT CONCRETE: Use concrete words and strong verbs, avoid noun
clusters (more than three words), abstract and ambiguous words.
MAKE IT SHORT: Avoid redundancy, repetition and over-explanation of
familiar techniques and terminology.
TAKE RESPONSIBILITY: Make a clear distinction between your work and that
of others.
MAKE STRONG STATEMENTS: “We concluded...” instead of “It may be
concluded...”
BE SELF-CRITICAL: Consider uncertainty of conclusions and their implications
and acknowledge the work of others.
Tomislav Hengl and Michael Gould, 2002. Rules of thumb for writing research articles.
http://www.itc.nl/library/Papers/hengl_rules.pdf
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Paper Writing
16
•
The working desk
•
Footnotes
•
Tables
•
Figures
•
English as a second language
– Grammar
– Text spelling
•
Writing tips
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The working desk
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Miktex distribution of Latex:
http://miktex.org/
Latex editor WinEdt:
http://www.winedt.com/
The Not So Short Introduction to LATEX2:
http://tobi.oetiker.ch/lshort/lshort.pdf
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Springer-Verlag's LNCS Template
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http://www.springer.com/computer/lncs?SGWID=0-164-7-72376-0
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Organizing References
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Some simple rules
Every figure, table, and reference gets a unique id number
Every citation in the text is included in the reference list and vice
versa
Every figure and table needs to be referenced and described in the
text
Latex generates lists and references automatically
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Footnotes
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•
don’t use for parenthetical comments. Important things must be
put in the text
•
Footnotes stop readers
•
Footnotes should be used for things that the typical reader
genuinely can skip
•
Long lists of references, simple bits of algebra, or other type of
documentation are a candidate for footnotes
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Tables
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Tables should have a self-contained caption so that a skimming reader
can understand the fact presented
Captions should not be too long
The content should be explained in the text
If some content is not worth explaining then don’t put in the table
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Figures
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Good figures can make a paper come alive
Good figures communicate ideas, patterns in the data better than big
tables of numbers
Bad chosen figures waste a lot of space
Captions are very important
Be aware of printing resolutions
Papers are usually printed in black and white
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English as a second language
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Always strive to improve your English
Listen to English radio programs (i.e. BBC World Service)
Read high-quality intellectual magazines (i.e. New York Review of
Books) or high quality literature
Watch English-spoken TV programs with subtitles
Practice English by speaking it
Finding help:
The Purdue Online Writing Lab - http://owl.english.purdue.edu/
Paul Brians’ complete website on Common Errors in English Usage
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Grammar
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Implications:
Do not use “this means”, rather “this observation implies”
That and which:
If you can put a comma before that, it must be which
Absolute statements:
Always relate to units
Highlighting:
no exclamation mark, use italic, bold …
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Text spelling
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Consistency: consistent spelling through out the text. English
spelling is different from American i.e. defense versus defence
Hyphens: the use of hyphens should be consistent
Quotation marks: use only one sort all over the text
Full capital abbreviations: such as SOA = Software Oriented
Architecture must be explained. Their meaning should be repeated
in long texts
Conventional abbreviations: (i.e. Figure -> Fig.) check these with
the journal style
Non-alphabetic characters: use and instead of &; at instead of @
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Writing tips
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Use active tense
Avoid the usage of “we” in sole-authored paper
Take responsibility for what you write
Avoid technical jargon whenever possible
Writing should be concrete, not abstract
Don’t repeat things
Don’t use adjectives to describe your work: striking results
Clothe the naked “this”. “This shows that markets really are
irrational…” / “This regression shows that …”
John H. Cochrane. Writing Tips for Ph. D. Students.
http://faculty.chicagobooth.edu/john.cochrane/research/papers/phd_paper_writing.pdf
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Before submitting
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Are proper tenses and voices used (active and passive)?
Are all equations mathematically correct and explained in the text?
Are all abbreviations explained?
Reconsider (avoid) using of words "very", "better", "may", "appears",
"more", "convinced", "impression" in the text.
Are all abbreviations, measurement units, variables and techniques
internationally recognized?
Are all figures/tables relevant and of good quality?
Are all figures, tables and equations listed and mentioned in the text?
Are all references relevant, up to date and accessible?
Tomislav Hengl and Michael Gould, 2002. Rules of thumb for writing research articles.
http://www.itc.nl/library/Papers/hengl_rules.pdf
26 November 2009
Additional reading
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Ad Lagendijk, 2008. Survival Guide for Scientists: Writing Presentation – Email. Amsterdam University Press.
ftp://fast.cs.utah.edu/pub/writing-papers.ps (20.11.2009)
http://www.itc.nl/library/Papers/hengl_rules.pdf (20.11.2009)
http://wwwnet.cs.umass.edu/kurose/talks/top_10_tips_for_writing_a_paper.p
pt (20.11.2009)
http://www.cs.columbia.edu/~hgs/etc/writing-style.html
(20.11.2009)
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