how to write research paper

Research Writing

Manish Godse, Ph.D.

2

Disclaimer

This presentation is purely for academic purpose and does not carry any

commercial value.

All images used in this presentation are property of respective image holders.

Images are used only for indicative purpose and does not carry any other

meaning.

Research 3

What

Why

How

What is Engineering ? 4

Engineers identify a problem, and come up with a solution – often creating

something completely new in the process.

Traditionally, engineering is about infrastructure. Engineers were known to create bridges and vehicles that got us from A to B faster more efficiently. Now engineering is

acknowledged as a discipline that opens up opportunities and creates technology and products that help make our lives easier.

Engineers are shaping the future by applying their skills to almost everything you can think of, from medicine to renewable energy, food technologies to sustainable mining.

There really is no limit to what engineers can do.

Reference: http://www.engineering.unsw.edu.au/what-is-engineering

What is Research ? 5

Solve a Problem.

Do Engineering.

We do research everyday.

But our eyes are closed hence we could not notice it.

Girls Boys

Example Research Problem

Problem: Top 5 Discussion Topics of Teenagers

Girls Boys

Example Research Problem

Problem: Top 5 Discussion Topics of Teenagers

Increase Focus of Problem: Consider only Teenager Girls

Top 5 Discussion Topics of Teenager Girls

1 2 3

4 5

Method to Solve Problem 9

Problem: Top 5 Discussion Topics of Teenager Girls

Steps to solve problem:

Identify all possible topics

Conduct survey

Analyses survey responses

What is outcome?


Study Food Fashion

Relationship Gossip


Study Food Fashion

Relationship Gossip 1 2

3 4 5

Research 12

What

Why

How

Who am I ? 13

I may be any one of these

Expert, Thought Leader,

Researcher

I may be more than one.

I may be all.

I can see future challenges and emerging trends in testing.

I have innovative ideas to influence business and community.

I have in-depth knowledge and skill in particular area.

E.g. Knowledge of Machine Learning

Who am I ? 14

I know the problems, which need to addressed.

I can systematically analyze the problem and find out the most

appropriate solution.

Expert

Thought Leader

Researcher

Knowledge and IT Industry 15

IT industry is knowledge based business.

IT project/product development is a team work.

One has to collaborate within team/organization/outside-organization to complete task/solve problems/write cases etc.

In this process knowledge is generated.

Knowledge: Share & publish 16

Knowledge should be shared.

Publish How to share?

Publish 17

Fallacy about Research…

You need a fantastic idea to write a research paper.

Greatest ideas are worthless if you keep them to yourself.

Spread your idea and get feedback, do research and publish.

Publish-in … 18

Research Papers

Research Books Magazine Article

Case studies

Thought Paper, Point of view

White Papers Blogs, Wikis

Text Books

Level 1 Publication

Level 2 Publication

Level 3 Publication

Research 19

What

Why

How

What is detailed study? Systematic investigation of study of materials

Conduct Experiments, Collect Data, Simulation, Interviews, Case Studies,

Modeling and …

Analysis and reporting

Definition A detailed study of a subject in order to discover (new) information or reach a (new)

understanding.

Cambridge Dictionaries Online, © Cambridge University Press 2003

What is Research?

Method for Problem Solving

Gather information and Study of research material

Think of possible solutions; Choose the best solution

Implement solution; Gather experimental data

Evaluate results and make necessary changes

Repeat necessary steps.

Solution Problem

Research Path?

Start End

Journey - Idea to Research Paper 22

Idea Do research Write research

paper

Idea Write

working paper

Do

research

Write research

paper

Clear focus Crystallizes

understanding Opens ways for

discussions

Preferred approach when conclusions are to be published

General Approach to Research 23

Identify problem/idea: Rationale behind why this problem is important; Is it a open

problem? survey of available solutions to the problem?

Support the problem with theory (Literature study)

Study and identify/decide the method to solve the problem.

Develop solution/ alternative solution

Do Experiments, Simulations, collection of Data etc.

Validation of solution

24

Research Methods & Results

Research Methods 25

Controlled experiments

Case studies

Survey research

Ethnographic

Action research

Mixed-methods approach

Reference: www.cs.toronto.edu/~sme/papers/2007/SelectingEmpiricalMethods.pdf

Research Methods (1/3) 26

Case Studies Selection of cases is crucial.

Case studies are used for investigation, experiments, confirmation of theories

Controlled Experiments Experiments are conducted in controlled manner to reduce complexity.

Few factors/variables of interest/critical are allowed to vary while keeping other controlled/constant.

One has to be very careful while selecting critical variables, otherwise generalization of results will not be possible.

Reference: www.cs.toronto.edu/~sme/papers/2007/SelectingEmpiricalMethods.pdf http://valwriting.com/blog/research-papers/the-different-types-of-research-paper%E2%80%A6


Ethnographic How designer community is adopting UML.

How technical communities build a culture of practices and communication strategies that enable them to perform technical work collaboratively.

Survey Questionnaire or Structured interview

Select of representative sample from well defined population.

Analysis of data to generalize/answer base-rate questions



Mixed Method Approach Methods discussed earlier are combined depending upon the problem

Action Research Implement, observe, modify

Cyclic process


Research Results & Examples (1/2) 29

Research result Example

Procedure or

Technique

New or better way to do some task such as design, implementation,

maintenance, measurement, evaluation, selection from alternatives

Use technique to implement, represent, management and analysis

Technique should be operational, not advise or guideline, but a procedure

Qualitative or

Descriptive Model

Structure or taxonomy for a problem area; architectural style, framework, or

design pattern.

Non-formal domain analysis, well-grounded checklist, well-argued informal

generalization, guidance for integrating other results, well-organized

interesting observations

Empirical Model Empirical model based on observed data

Reference: Mary Shaw, "Writing good software engineering research paper", Proceeding of the 25th International Conference on Software Engineering, IEEE, Computer Society, 2003, pp. 726-736 http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~Compose/shaw-icse03.pdf

Research Results & Examples (2/2) 30

Research result Example

Analytic/ Mathematical

Model Structural model that permits formal analysis

Tool or Notation Implemented tool that embodied a technique

Specific Solution,

Prototype, Judgment

Solution to application problem that shows application of software

engineering – may be design, prototype, or full implementation; careful

analysis of a system or its development, result of a specific analysis,

evaluation, or comparison

Report Interesting observations, rules of thumb, but not sufficiently general or

systematic to raise to level of a descriptive model


31

Research Writing

What is Research Writing ? 32

Is it synonymous to

End-to-end Story Writing ?

Bollywood Movies - Earning Clubs 33

250 crore club Dhoom 3 PK Bajrangi Bhaijaan

200 crore club Kick Chennai Express 3 Idiots

100 crore club Krrish 3 Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani Dabangg Bodyguard

What is your observation ?

Have these movies done

something different?

How ? Movie Story Writing 34

Idea Background Plot Climax Resolution Message

Think you are writing

a movie story.

Story and Research Paper Writing 35

Research

Idea Background Plot Climax Resolution Message

Research Paper

Idea/Problem Background Experimentation Result Validation Conclusion

Contribution to body of

knowledge/theory

Important Points for Research Paper 36

Results and Validation of

solutions/results

Problem, Solution,

Experiments/Data Collection

Useful to academicians as

well as business

Publish in Journals and Conference of Repute

Research Questions 37


1. What is problem and your contribution solve the problem ?

2. What is your result?

3. Why reader should believe in your result?

Following questions has to be answered in research paper.

What is Your Contribution? 38

What question did you answer?

Why should the reader care?

What larger question does this address?

What is contribution to Industry, body of knowledge & society?


What is New Result ? 39

What new knowledge have you contributed that the reader can use elsewhere?

What previous work do you build on? What do you provide superior alternative to?

How is your result different from and better than this prior work?

What precisely and in details, is your new result?


Why Should Reader Believe Your Results ? 40

What standard should be used to evaluate your claim?

Which metrics are used to evaluate results?

What concrete evidence shows that your result satisfies your claim?


General Structure of Research Paper 41

Abstract Problem and solution

Short paragraph

Introduction Background of problem

Necessity to solve the problem

Problem Definition

Contribution of work

Literature Review Earlier research work done in the same

area and gap analysis to show that your are not repeating the work

Body Detailed Problem

Methodology used

Solution/experiment Details

Validation of solution/results

Discussion and Conclusion Discussion of result and show that your

results are better.

Conclusion

References List all the references used during the

research, provide appropriate credit

Reference: lemire.me/blog/rules-to-write-a-good-research-paper

Abstract 42

What is Abstract?

The abstract is a summary of the entire

paper and hence should be written at the

end.

Abstract contains the purpose of the

study - hypothesis, overall question,

research objective , brief of the

experiment, Important conclusions

What should Abstract Contain?

The abstracts to address 4 questions

State the problem

Explain why the problem need to be

solved

Explain how your solution solved the

problem

Explain what follows your solution.

Introduction 43

What is Introduction?

Your introductions should not exceed one

page (double spaced, typed).

The purpose of an introduction is to

acquaint the reader with the

rationale behind the work, with the

intention of defending it. It places your

work in a theoretical context, and

enables the reader to understand and

appreciate your objectives.

What should Introduction Contain?

Describe the problem

State your contribution (all

contributions of your research)

This section should create an entice the

reader to read it fully

Literature Review 44

What is Literature Review?

A literature review is a text of a scholarly

paper, which includes the current

knowledge including substantive findings,

as well as theoretical and methodological

contributions to a particular topic.

Evaluate all necessary knowledge areas

about problem and solution and do

critical analysis.

What should Literature Review Contain?

Analysis of current knowledge about

problem, methodology, solution

and results.

IEEE Xplore Digital Library (ieeexplore.ieee.org)

Springer Verlag (springer.com)

Elsevier (sciencedirect.com)

ACM Digital Library (dl.acm.org)

Body 45

What is Body?

This is your work on problem.

Key concept has to be kept in this section

as concise as you possibly can.

Reader will want to read this material

selectively. The reader may only be

interested in one formula or part of a

procedure.

What should Body Contain?

Describe the hypothesis, methodology,

solution, experiments, data gathered,

analysis, benchmarking, validation and

comparison with earlier published results

Attach data and supporting evidences

about your claims in Appendix

Conclusion 46

What is Conclusion?

Conclusion is summary of your findings

The purpose of a results section is to

present and illustrate your findings.

Make this section a completely objective

report of the results, and use all

interpretation for the discussion.

What should Conclusion Contain?

Summarize your findings in text

Provide a context, such as by describing the

question that was addressed by making a

particular observation

Describe results of control experiments and

include observations that are not presented

in a formal figure or table, if appropriate

Analyze your data, then prepare the

analyzed (converted) data in the form of a

figure(graph), table, or in text form.

References 47

What is Reference?

References is the list of all the literature

used for the paper

Note:

Giving credit to others does not diminish the

credit you get from your paper

Failing to give credit to others can kill your

paper

Warmly acknowledge people who have

helped you

What should References Contain?

List all literature cited in your paper, in

alphabetical order, by first author.

Use style suggested by publisher.

Common styles are Harvard and IEEE

Be cautious about using web sites as

references - anyone can put just about

anything on a web site, and you have no

sure way of knowing if it is truth or

fiction.

48

Different Types of Papers

Different Types of Papers (1/2) 49

Analytical Paper

Contains multiple points of views

Author analyzes all the points and draws a conclusion

Argumentative Paper Contain arguments and personal points of view and solution by the writer

Contains the two sides of a controversial issue

Author needs to be unbiased and neutral

Compare and Contrast Paper Contains two works of the same nature

Discuss about the PROS and CONS of the two works

Always based on Literature and Balanced comparison essential

Reference: http://valwriting.com/blog/research-papers/the-different-types-of-research-paper%E2%80%A6

Different Types of Papers (2/2) 50

Subject-based Paper

Papers based on a particular subject

Mostly written by students as assignments

Reports Contain data about multiple professional fields

These are professional type of research papers

Frequency based Annual, quarterly, monthly etc.

Cause and Effect Paper Talk about the probable reason (cause) and the expected outcome or result

(effect).

Useful in the field of business and education

Reference: http://valwriting.com/blog/research-papers/the-different-types-of-research-paper%E2%80%A6

51

Things to Avoid

52

Ok. I hope you liked the cartoons. Now tell what is wrong with using this? These images are property of Times of India, and its unlawful use may lead to copyright violation.

Things to avoid 53

Things to Avoid 54

Copyright Violation

Copyright is the exclusive right granted to the author or creator of an original work, including the right to copy, distribute and adapt the work.

Original works of authorship includes literary, dramatic, musical, artistic, and certain other intellectual works.

Plagiarism

Using someone else's ideas or phrasing and representing those ideas or phrasing as our own, either, is a serious offense known as plagiarism.

written or spoken material from whole papers and paragraphs to sentences phrases — but it also includes statistics, lab results, art work, etc.

55

Publication Process

Where can I publish? 56

Journal

IEEE

ACM

Springer

Elsevier

Conferences: International and National

IEEE - Conferences & Events

Scientific Conference Index (https://index.conferencesites.eu)

Conference Alerts: Academic conferences worldwide

Information about the primer conferences where one can publish papers is available at http://webdocs.cs.ualberta.ca/~zaiane/htmldocs/ConfRanking.html#2

http://webdocs.cs.ualberta.ca/~zaiane/htmldocs/ConfRanking.html#2

http://webdocs.cs.ualberta.ca/~zaiane/htmldocs/ConfRanking.html#2

Publication process 57

Content Acquisition Pre-Production

Process Production Process Distribution

Call For Papers (CFP)

Abstract

Abstract Review Selection

Full Paper Full Paper

Review and Selection

Workshop / Conference

Short listing of Papers For SB

Author Rewrites Copy Editing

Layout and content proofing

IP Audit

Author Signoff Printing

Distribution

Start

End

Final Words 58

researcher mind…

THE PROBLEM

THE SOLUTION

VALIDATE RESULTS

PUBLISH

Disclaimer

This presentation is purely for academic purpose and does not carry any commercial value.

All images used in this presentation are property of respective image holders. Images are used

only for indicative purpose and does not carry any other meaning.

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