a gentle introduction to writing research papers alistair edwards …but drawing heavily on slides...
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A gentle introduction to writing research papersAlistair Edwards
…but drawing heavily on slides from Chris Power
Notices
Winners of the Treasure HuntThe Hunters: Bruno, Burak, Jackson, Ke & Vivekhttp://www-users.cs.york.ac.uk/~alistair/HCIT/Treasure%20hunt.html
We need an HCIT Programme Representative
My Tutorial GroupAbstracts, Introductions and Conclusions for next week, please
Objectives
To give a brief introduction to scientific writing in general
To help you prepare for the specific writing task for the assessment of this module
Why do we publish? (principled)
As scientists we work at the forefront of our field, we have new insights into many topics in which we work
We have an obligation to share our improved knowledge, about interaction or any topic, with others
Peer-review self-selects the best work to be shared with the outside world forming a meritocracy
Our work grants us immortality
Why do we publish? (pragmatic)
Publications help us communicate our message to other scientists to foster collaboration
Publications give us ‘esteem’, which is a quality that allows you to influence decision makers
Publications get us money in the form of grants and scholarships
Publications grant us jobs
‘Publications get us money in the form of
grants and scholarships’
Increasingly true
All university departments are being assessed via the Research Excellence Framework (REF)
This will depend to a large extent on bibliographic metrics of publicationsPublish a paper and get lots of people to cite it = £££££££
Your writing tasks
Formative assessmentWeeks 6 – 9Group writing on a given topicPeer reviewed
Module assessmentSpring 7 – Summer 1Individual writing on a negotiated title
Individual projectReportPaper
Organizing your research (paper)
Choosing a topic
Choosing your audience
What is your hypothesis?
What is your story?
Doing your literature review
Finding your evidence
Choosing a topic
One key to success is – What are you going to research?
…but in the context of your assessments
you will have to negotiate your topic
What is your hypothesis?
A classic scientific paper is based on a hypothesis
A hypothesis is a proposition
Your objective is to prove – or falsify – that hypothesis
(QUAN)
Example hypotheses
Animation makes web advertising more effective
Fast-tempo music increases game players’ sense of immersion
Perceived ease-of-use is positively related to flow experience of playing of an on-line game
Data entry by older users is easier when the pocket computer has a keyboard, albeit a small one
The null hypothesis
The negation of the hypothesis
Seek to prove itFail and you have supported the hypothesis
e.g. Perceived ease-of-use is not positively related to flow experience of playing an on-line game
Even a review paper may have a hypothesis
Find a point to argue
and do so with reference to the literature
What is your story?
Every paper has a story
Finding it can be hardbut once you are clear you can write a clearer paper
‘No tale is so good that it can’t be spoiled in the telling’ (Proverb)
Example stories
‘This is my hypothesis and here is the evidence to support or refute it’
A history
Sellingan ideaa product
Teachstart from what the reader knowsand lead them to new knowledge
Doing your literature review
There is always a literature review
Your assessment paper will be mostly a literature review
Doing your literature review
Make notes as you go along
Organize the papers cleverly – use good tools to store and organize papers
Desktop – Bibtex, Endnote, RefManCloud – Mendeley, Citeulike
Do not keep them in a word document or other basic file type – you will drown
With the above tools you can then generate bibliographies for your own paper in whatever format you want
Structuring your paper
You then have to communicate all of the above to your reader
Build constructs of language – sentence to paragraph, paragraphs to sections, sections to papers
All constructs of our paper will have the same structure:
Introduction – orienting the readerContribution – the point of the constructConclusion – sending the reader off
Structuring your paper
Title
Abstract
Introduction
Contribution
Conclusion
References
Acknowledgements
Structuring your paper
Title
Abstract
Introduction
Contribution
Conclusion
References
Acknowledgements
Abstract
Abstract:State the contribution you are makingState the motivation as to why it is interestingState the methodology you followedState the resultsState the conclusions
You get about 1-2 sentences for each of these
The abstract will keep people reading your paper
Extended abstracts – short paper – you get 1 or 2 paragraphs for each of these
Abstract
Abstract:State the contribution you are makingState the motivation as to why it is interestingState the methodology you followedState the resultsState the conclusions
You get about 1-2 sentences for each of these
The abstract will keep people reading your paper
Extended abstracts – short paper – you get 1 or 2 paragraphs for each of these
Abstract
The abstract and paper should be capable of being read independently
Don’t assume that the reader reading one of them has read the other
Introduction
Introduce the topic‘This paper is about…’ very early on‘No one reads the second paragraph’
Journalists’ dogma
Introduce the background
Introduce the paper
Literature review
In this section you will convince the reader that what you are doing is new and interesting
Hit on major themes within the research community
Look for problem areas such as common disagreements or ‘dogma’ that is in the field so that you reference them clearly
This is particularly important in your assessmentYou have not simply read the literature, you have analysed it criticallyDiscussion section?
Conclusions
Simple ruleIntroduce nothing new in the conclusionsIt is a distillation of what has gone before
Not a summary of the paperA summary of what can be learned from it
Conclusions
State – or re-iterate – succinctly:The contribution you have madeThe motivation as to why it is interesting to your audience and how it applies to themThe methodology you already describedThe key resultsWhat the findings mean to the field and how it is original and important
Sources of information
Zobel Writing for Computer Sciencehttp://www.amazon.com/Writing-Computer-Science-Justin-Zobel/dp/1852338024
Strunk and White (2014) Elements of Style, CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform
Mander K. (1994) Writing for Humanshttp://www.cs.york.ac.uk/tutorials/writingforhumans.html
Sources of information
How to Write a Great Research Paperhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g3dkRsTqdDA
Video (34:25) by Simon Peyton Jones
Thimbleby, H (2008) Write now!, (in) Cairns. P & Cox, A. (eds.) Research Methods for Human-Computer Interaction, Cambridge University press, pp.196-211
Pinker, S (2014) Why Academics Stink at Writing, The Chronicle of Higher Education
Read literature critically for style - re-read papers, chapters that you found easy to read
Sources of information
Truss, L. (2003) Eats shoots and leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation Profile Books
Burchfield, R. W (2004) Fowler's Modern English Usage Oxford University Press
How to Write an Abstract by Philip Koopman, Carnegie Mellon University http://www.ece.cmu.edu/~koopman/essays/abstract.html
Exercise
Instructions
Groups of 2 – 3 Consult your tutor
Formative exercise topics
1. Formal methods in HCI
2. Designing for trust
3. Motivations of people in crowdsourcing
4. Effects of font size and line spacing of text on webpages - what should we be recommending to web developers use to make the web easiest for people to read?
1. Formal methods in HCI
Harrison, M., Campos, J. C. & Loer, (2008) Formal analysis of interactive systems: opportunities and weaknesses. (in) P. Cairns & A. L. Cox (Eds), Research Methods for Human-Computer Interaction, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 88-111.
2. Designing for trust
Shneiderman, B. (2000) Designing trust into online experiences, Communications of the ACM, 43 (12) pp.57-59.
3. Motivations of people in
crowdsourcingNov, O. (2007). What motivates
Wikipedians? Communications of the ACM, 50(11), 60-64.
4. Effects of font size and line spacing of text on webpages - what should we be recommending to
web developers use to make the web
easiest for people to read?Ling, J. and van Schaik, P. (2007). The influence
of line spacing and text alignment on visual search of web pages. Displays, 28(2), 60-67.
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