research tools (28 feb. lecture)

Panorama on skills of Research Tools: writing, submission, revised, cover letter and response letter

Friday 21 April 2023 Prepared by Dr. Elhassan1

Research Tools (Lecture 4)

Dr. ZAKI ELDEEN M. ELHASSAN

Karary University (KU)

Paper

General Format of Research Paper

Friday 21 April 2023Prepared by Dr. Elhassan2

IntroductionWhy research neededMethodology How research

completed and results analyzed

Results AndWhat was found (data)DiscussionInterpretation of results

and application

Basic structure of a research paper


Title (and Subtitle)

Abstract

Introduction

Literature Review/Background Analysis

Methodology

Results and Analysis

Conclusion

Bibliography/References

Acknowledgements

Approval

Contents

appendix

Definition of Abstract?

a one-paragraph summary of a research project. a self-contained, short, and powerful statement that describes

a larger work. a condensed version of a longer piece of writing that highlights

the major points covered, concisely describes the content and scope of the writing, and reviews the writing’s contents in an abbreviated form.

Two types of abstracts:

Descriptive abstract

Informative abstract


Many What and why ?

Abstract Parts (checklists) ?


What is the importance of the research? Why would a reader be interested in the larger work?

What answers did you find?

How did you go about solving the problem?

What problem does this work attempt to solve? What is the scope of the project? What is the main argument/thesis/claim?

How does this work add to the body of knowledge on the

topic?

Selection of Key Words?

An abstract must contain key words about what is essential in an article, paper, or report so that someone else can retrieve information from it.


printed underneath the abstract and are useful for readers and researchers. selected from the title and the abstractseparated by a semi-colon(;), comma(,) or larger space. contain 3-6 key words.

Introduction or literature review!!!

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(Clare & Hamilton, 2003, p. 8)

(Manalo & Trafford, 2004, p. 45)

a process of gathering and documenting information from other sources

a critical and in-depth evaluation of previous researchnot a chronological catalog of all of the sourcesnot a collection of quotes and paraphrasing from other sources

Introduction should be contained

Statement of the problem

Background

Rationale

What was done



1. What do we already know in the immediate area concerned? 2. What are the characteristics of the key concepts or the main

factors or variables? 3. What are the relationships between these key concepts, factors

or variables? 4. What are the existing theories? 5. Where are the inconsistencies or other shortcomings in our

knowledge and understanding? 6. What views need to be (further) tested? 7. What evidence is lacking, inconclusive, contradictory or too

limited? 8. Why study (further) the research problem? 9. What contribution can the present study be expected to make? 10.What research designs or methods seem unsatisfactory?

The following questions must answer in the introduction !!!


To demonstrate a familiarity with a body of knowledge and establish credibility

To show the path of prior research and how a current project is linked to it

To integrate and summarize what is known in an area

To learn from others and stimulate new ideas

Why we write Literature Review?Why we write Literature Review?

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Ways of integrating sources?

put quotation marks around the words and identify the source.

put the information into your own words and identify the source. take the key

ideas and paraphrase them and identify the source

http://integrity.mit.edu/academic-writing/incorporating-words-and-ideas-others

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Name the source in an introductory phrase.

Use quotation marks or indent long quotations.

Cite the source appropriately.

How to show the quoting?

When to quote?

When language is particularly vivid or expressive.

When exact wording is needed for technical accuracy.

When the words of an important authority lend weight to an argument.

http://integrity.mit.edu/academic-writing/avoiding-plagiarism-quoting

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OriginalBecause of their unique perspective, Americans fear globalization less than anyone else, and as a consequence they think about it less than anyone else. When Americans do think about globalization, they think of the global economy as an enlarged version of the American economy.(Source: Thurow, L. (1993). Fortune Favors the Bold (p. 6). New York: Harper Collins.)

Economist Lester Thurow (1993) has asserted that the American reaction to globalization is different from that of the rest of the world in that "American's fear globalization less than anyone else, and as a consequence . . . think about it less than anyone else" (p. 6).

The American view of globalization is unlike that of the rest of the world. Because of their unique perspective, Americans fear globalization less than anyone else, and therefore think about it less than anyone else (Thurow, 1993).

Read, Compare and Decide

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Guidelines for Paraphrasing

Use alternative word (synonyms)

Change word forms

Make necessary structural adjustments

Change between the affirmative and the negative

Change the voice from active to passive and vice versa

Change clauses to phrases and vice versa

Include reference to the original source

Lexical transformation

Syntactic transformation

http://integrity.mit.edu/academic-writing/avoiding-plagiarism-paraphrasing


How to make the introduction in more summarize

Start by reading a short text and highlight the main points as you read

Reread the text and make notes of the main points, leaving out examples, evidence, etc.

Restate or repeat the ideas of the source in different words and phrases

Do not add your own ideas, opinions or judgment of the arguments.

Make it shorter than the source


DescribingDescribing MethodologyMethodology

What we did?What we did?

provides the information by which a study’s

validity is judged.

answers two main questions: 1) How was the data collected or generated? 2) How was it analyzed?

The writing should be direct and precise and written in the past tense.

Clear subheadings for methods/materialsClear subheadings for methods/materials

Novel methods must be described in sufficient detail Novel methods must be described in sufficient detail

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Texts

Tables

Graphs

Charts

Results: What did you find and how to show it?

Clear concise heading

Clear, ‘stand alone’ legend

write them in the present tense

Clearly label

Activity : Writing about a graph

Study the graph below. Write a brief paragraph describing the data shown in the graph.

The graph shows the number of international students on a pre-sessional course, at Southfield University, from 2000 to 2008. The horizontal axis presents the years and the vertical axis shows student numbers.

The graph indicates that numbers of international students on the course each year have fluctuated. There was a decline in student numbers from 2001-2002, and 2005-2006, but generally, student numbers have increased over the period.

Compare or Contrast?


Discussing FindingsDiscussing FindingsWhat does it all mean?

Restate your research question and/or any hypotheses presented in the introduction.

Summarize your main findings—make it clear how your study has advanced the field.

Begin with your most important finding. Past tense to describe results (current and published). Present tense to describe their implications. Minimize repetition with other sections. Describe inconsistencies with other papers. Describe the limitations of your study.


Expressions for limiting a claimExpressions for strengthening a claim


Restate key findings and their significance

Propose future studies that might follow on from your current study

Give the reader a ‘take-home’

message

Acknowledgments and References


Your chance to acknowledge anyone who has helped with the study:Anyone who provided technical assistanceAnyone who helped with the preparation of the manuscript or provided a critical assessment of itFunding bodies

For order and cite your References must use relevant software; I recommend using EndNote. For more information about it return to EndNote lecture, which appended in this lecture.


Why you publish?

To share your research findings and opinions with the international research community

Publication success is linked to funding success and career advancement

Many PhD programs require candidates to achieve a set number of peer-reviewed publications

Lead to next step

How to select a suitable journal?

Can be the difference between success and rejection What is the main focus of your research and who will be

interested in it? What are its strengths and weaknesses? How significant are your findings? Are your findings preliminary or are they sufficient to make a

story? How widely will your research appeal? To researchers in the

same field or to the broader scientific community?

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The following items must consider

What are the elements should be considered for journal selection?


o Publishing frequencyo Impact factoro Target audienceo Aims and scopeo Rejection rateo Lead timeso Access (open or subscriber)o Prior publicationso Publication feeso Publication typeso Rapidly citation in website database

How do these relate to your publication needs?How do these relate to your publication needs?

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Publication ethics

Unethical behavior could lead to rejection and a possible ban from a target journal. Multiple submissionsRedundant publicationsPlagiarismData fabrication and falsificationImproper use of human subjects and animals in researchImproper author contribution

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Who classification journal’s types?

Institute for Scientific Information(ISI) was classified journal to many types. ISI was created by Eugene Garfield in 1960. It was acquired by Thomson Scientific & Healthcare in 1992,[1] became known as Thomson ISI and now is part of the Intellectual Property & Science business of Thomson Reuters.

ISI offered bibliographic database services. Its specialty: citation indexing. It maintains citation databases covering thousands of academic journals, including a continuation of its longtime print-based indexing service the Science Citation Index (SCI), as well as the Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI), and the Arts and Humanities Citation Index (AHCI). All of these are available via ISI's Web of Knowledge database service.


The ISI also publishes a list of highly cited researchers, one of the factors included in the Academic Ranking of World Universities.

Compendex, is the computerized version of the Engineering Index,. It is an engineering bibliographic database. It indexes scientific literature pertaining to engineering materials. Beginning in 1884, it was compiled by hand under the original title of Engineering Index (EI).Engineering Index" was renamed "Compendex", and it is now published by Elsevier, which purchased the parent company Engineering Information in 1998.[1] The name "Compendex" stands for COMPuterized ENgineering inDEX.[2]


In academia, proceedings are the collection of academic papers published in the context of an academic conference. They are usually distributed as printed volumes or in electronic form either before the conference opens or after it has closed. Proceedings contain the contributions made by researchers at the conference. They are the written record of the work that is presented to fellow researchers.

Sometimes indexing in EI Compedenx or SCI


Publishing Houses Wiley AIP (American Institute of Physics)

Elsevier Springer France & Taylor Hindawi

IEEE Explore ( Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers)

IET (The Institute of Engineering and Tech.) ASP (American Scientific Publishers ) International Publishing House. Trans Tech Publications. Etc…


Tips for getting accepted

Your cover letter Recommending reviewers Language Good writing Common language problems What do reviewers look for? Submission Final checks Post-referee revisions Checklist

Cover Letters


Your cover Letter is an opportunity to get the journal editor’s attention

General rules for cover letters:Address to the editor personallyBegin by giving your manuscript title and publication typeGive a brief background, rationale and description of resultsExplain why your findings are important and why they would be of interest to the journal’s target audienceConsult the journal’s Guide for Authors for cover letter requirements (e.g., disclosures, statements, potential reviewers) Give corresponding author details


Language

Language and Style: Manuscripts should be written in English in a clear and concise manner.Manuscripts which are not written in fluent English will be rejected automatically without refereeing.

Some journals look seriously to English writing so !!!

Good scientific writing possesses the following three “C”s:

Clarity Conciseness Correctness (accuracy)


Use simple language: it is often clearer, more precise and more concise than using more complex languageSay what you mean in as few words as possibleDelete unnecessary words Avoid circular sentences, redundancies and repetitionOne sentence: one idea

Golden rules for writing paper in a good English


Reviewers What do they look for? Is the manuscript sufficiently novel? Is the manuscript of broad enough interest?


Submission

Critically self-evaluate—could anything be done better?

Double check the Guide for Authors Are all files in the correct file format and of the

appropriate resolution or size? Is your spelling/grammar correct? Do you have contact information for all authors? Have you completed online registration? Have you written a persuasive cover letter?

Final checks

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Revisions Post-referee revisions Rejection from journals is an important part of the

publication process It is not a negative experience

Reasons for rejection: Inappropriate target journal Poor study design Poor written language Inappropriate or incompletely explained methodology Inappropriate statistical tests Incorrect description or overstatement of results Lack of balance or detail in introduction and/or discussion Lack of novelty


Revisions Post-referee revisions

Only 1.5% of papers are immediately accepted without need for any revisions

Journal editor decision

Acceptance with major revision

Reject and resubmit

Acceptance with miner revision

Rejection


When revising your manuscript:Acceptance with miner revision

Address all points raised by the editor and/or reviewersDescribe the revisions in your response letter Perform any additional experiments or analyses requested paper: explain why not in your response letter) Provide a polite and scientific rebuttal to any points or

comments you disagree withDifferentiate comments and responses in your letterClearly show the major revisions in the text Return revised manuscript and response letter within the

requested time period

CFSSCFSS Research Tools

research tools (28 feb. lecture)

Documents

research problem

research project

research designs

research tools lecture

skills of research tools

key concepts

larger work

elhassandefinition of