Post on 12-Apr-2017
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Prof. Muhammad Khurram Khan FIET (UK), FBCS (UK), FFTRA (Korea)
Editor-in-Chief, Telecommunication Systems (Springer) Center of Excellence in Information Assurance King Saud University, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Email: mkhurram@ksu.edu.sa Web: http://faculty.ksu.edu.sa/khurram
14February,2017
CHOOSING RESEARCH TOPICS AND WRITING RESEARCH PAPERS
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Outline
q Researchq HowtoChooseaResearchTopicq WhyDoWePublish?q GoalsofaResearchPublica;onq TypesofResearchPapersq AnatomyofaResearchPaperq Peer-ReviewProcessq ChoosingRightPublica;onVenueq ReputedVenuesforResearchPublica;ons
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Research: What ? q Research
v Diligent process of inquiry and investigation to seek or revise facts, principles, theories, applications, etc.
q Purpose of Research
v Create, review and synthesize knowledge v Provide solutions to a problem v Explore and analyze general issues v Construct a new procedure or system v Explain new phenomenon (facts) v Generate revenue by R&D
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Choosing A Research Topic
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Identification of Research Problems
q Research Problem v A research problem is a
question, which needs an answer or a researcher wants to solve
v I d e n t i f i c a t i o n a n d formulation of a research problem is the most daunting task in the research process
ResearchProblem
Skills
Knowledge
Crea@vity
Mo@va@onSupervisor
Resources
AFtude
“Chooseajobyoulove,andyouwillneverhavetoworkadayinyourlife”Confucius(551-479BC)
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Sources of Research Problems
SourcesofResearchProblem
Exis@ngTheories
Consulta@on
Experience
CurrentandFutureTrends
Exis@ngLiterature
SocialIssues
Brainstorming
IdeasfromWorkshops/Seminars
1. Newproblemandnewsolu;on(breakthrough)ü Case1comesrarely,perhapssomethingyoucouldonly
wish,oncealife-;meexperience• Shannon’stheory
2. Newproblemandoldsolu;on3. Oldproblemandnewsolu;on
ü Cases2and3aretheonesthatyoushouldtargetfor• DataShreddinginCloudcompu;ng
4. Oldproblemandoldsolu;on ü Case4iswhereyoucanstart
• Plenty of out there under the category of“Yetanotherpaperon…“
Research Cases
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The Research Process
Editors, reviewers, and the research community don’t consider these reasons when assessing your work
Why Do We Publish?
Get funding?
“Ifitisnotpublished,itdoesnotexist”(FritzSchaefer)
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Daily Life of a Researcher
Reading Thinking
Discussion
Simulations Writing
Presenting
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Goals of a Research Publication l To conduct academic and professional training from the
paper writing l To add contribution to the body of knowledge l To make recognition in your field l To compete with your colleagues l To keep yourself in-touch with the research community l To stress on quality rather than quantity in publications
– Elimination of garbage papers or low quality papers (re-inventing the wheel)
– Impact to the research field (citations, impact factor, commercialization, sustainability, etc.)
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Types of Research Papers
q Survey/Review Papers (45-60 double spaced
pages)
q Standard/Full-Length Papers (30-35 double
spaced pages)
q Le t te rs /Rap id Commun ica t i ons /Sho r t
Communications (Up to 12 double spaced
pages)
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Survey Papers: Criteria for Publication
Defini;on:Apaperthatreviewsstate-of-the-artinaresearchareacoveringlastfewyearsofworkinthatareaCriteria:v Shouldnotbeatext-bookdescrip;onv Rela;onshipbetweenstudies(chronologicalprogression)v Appropriateclusteringofinforma;onandpaperflowv Authors’owncontribu;ontotheareav Iden;fica;onoftrends,andfutureworkv A detailed discussion on approaches thatworked,why they
worked,andthosethatfailedandwhytheyfailedv Shouldservebothasa tutorial for thosenewto thefieldas
wellasareferenceguideforresearchers
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Standard Papers: Criteria for Publication Defini;on:Apaperthatcanbeoneofthefollowingtypes:
v Atotallyoriginaltechniquefromthescratchv Amodified&detailedvaria;onofanexis;ngtechniquev Integra;onofknownmethodswithtailor-makingfora
par;cularapplica;onCriteria:v Howoriginalisthenoveltyintroduced-ifextensions,thenmajor
orminor?v Isthepapertechnicallycorrect?v Isthepapertothepoint?v Ancomprehensivecomparisonhasbeenperformed?v Isdatasetappropriateandrepresentsreal-worldscenario,etc.v Doesthepaperlinkwelltootherdevelopmentsinthelastfew
yearsinthesamearea?
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Letters: Criteria for Publication
Defini;on:A paper or correspondence that proves a very limited idea forrapid peer-review and publica;on in a journal (within 3 to 4monthse.g.IETElectronicsLe@ers)Criteria:v Shouldnotbeadetailedidea,butshouldbeveryconciseand
briefv Shouldbelimitedwithinfewpagesv Shouldnotsubmitworkmerelybecauseyouneedthepaper
tobepublishedquickly(e.g.inordertograduateorbeforeapplyingforanewjoborpromo;on)
v Shouldnotcontainmanyreferences
“Electronics Le@ers is a forum for the rapid publicaEon of the latest or preliminary results or ideas relaEng to the electronic orelectricalengineeringfields.TheadvancepresentedmustbesignificantenoughandofahighenoughlevelofinteresttothebroadengineeringcommunitytomeritimmediatedisseminaEon,otherwiseadifferentjournalismoreappropriate.”(IETElectronicsLe@ers)
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Anatomy of a Research Paper
q Title v The best representation of a paper: contributions
and unique features (At most 15 words)
Ø Effective titles ü Identify the main issue of a paper ü Begin with the subject of a paper ü Accurate, unambiguous, specific, and complete ü Do not contain rarely-used abbreviations ü Attract readers
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q Abstract v An abstract summarizes the essential ideas of the
paper in about 150 to 250 words v It should entice the reader v It Indicates why your work is new & better v Its content includes:
v Intent or objective of paper; Problem statement; (1-2 sentences)
v Method of study (2-3 sentences) v Results or findings (2-3 sentences) v Conclusion (1-2 sentences)
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Anatomy of a Research Paper
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q Introduc;onv Mo;va;onsandproblemdescrip;onsv Academicimpactandimportancev Literaturereview:
ü Showstate-of-the-art(classicpapers)ü Citereferenceseasilyavailabletogeneralpublicü Avoidoffensiveremarksü Donotcitetoomanywebreferences
v Summaryofthemajorcontribu;onsofthepaperv Organiza;onoftherestofthepaper
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Anatomy of a Research Paper
q Problem Description or Theory v Definitions of all notations (e.g. variables, symbols) v Mathematical equations
q Methodology v Main idea to solve the problem v Theorems and proofs v Descriptions of the approach or algorithm v Performance analysis (and/or Security Analysis) v Unique features of the method
q Results of Experiment v Description of the experiments v Presentation of the results: tables, figures, etc.
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Anatomy of a Research Paper
q Conclusions v Summary of your findings (not a repeat of abstract) v Concluding remarks v Suggest future work (one line)
q Acknowledgment v Acknowledge the supported fund/grant v Thank individuals, if they helped you!
q References v List references in appropriate format (Use Endnote
tool) v Have recent references if possible v Give complete information (vol, number, issue, year,
etc.) v List appropriate numbers of references
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Anatomy of a Research Paper
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Anatomy of a Research Paper
ExperimentalProcess Sec@onofPaperWhatdidIdoinanutshell? Abstract
Whatistheproblem? Introduc;on
HowdidIsolvetheproblem Materialsandmethods
WhatdidIfindout? Results
Whatdoesitmean? Discussion
Whohelpedmeout? Acknowledgment
WhoseworkdidIreferto? Literaturecited
Extrainforma;on Appendices(Op;onal)
v Have you told reader, at the outset, what they might gain by reading your paper? i.e. your contribution
v Have you made the aim of your work clear? v Have you explained the signif icance of your
contribution? v Have you set your work in the appropriate context by
giving sufficient background to your work? v Have you addressed the question of practicality and
usefulness? v Have you identified future developments that may result
from your work? v Have you structured your papers in a clear and logical
fashion?
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Before Submitting Papers…
The Peer Review Process
Submit a paper
Basic requirements met?
REJECT
Assign reviewers
Collect reviewers’ recommendations
Make a decision
Revise the paper
[Reject]
[Revision required]
[Accept]
[Yes]
[No]Review and give recommendation
START
ACCEPT
Author Editor Reviewer
Michael Derntl Basics of Research Paper Writing and Publishing http://www.pri.univie.ac.at/~derntl/papers/meth-se.pdf
Choosing the Publication Venue
v Iden;fy the sector of readership/community for which apaperismeant
v Iden;fytheinterestofyouraudiencev Isyourpaperoflocalorinterna;onalinterest?v Inves;gateallcandidatejournalstofindout:
ü Aimsandscope(Relatednesstoyourarea)ü Acceptedtypesofar;clesü Currenthottopicsü Gothroughtheabstractsofrecentpublica;onsü ISIImpactfactor/Ranking(Quar;le)ü Publica;on;mespan
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Reputed Venues for Research Publications
q IEEE (US)-Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers & IET -Institution of Engineering & Technology (UK): The most prestigious and the biggest EE society (http://ieeexplore.ieee.org)
q Springer-Verlag (Germany) (2900+ journals) (http://springerlink.com)
q Elsevier Science (The Netherlands): (2500+ journals) (http://www.sciencedirect.com)
q ACM (US) – The Association for Computing Machinery q John Wiley & Sons (UK): (1500+ journals) q World Scientific (Singapore): (120+ journals) q IEICE (Japan) – The Institute of Electronics, Information
& Communication Engineers q OUP (UK), SPIE (USA), CRC Press (USA) q ….
What Leads to Acceptance???
q Attention to details q Check and double check your work q Consider the reviewers’ comments q English must be as good as possible q Presentation is important q Take your time with revision q Acknowledge those who have helped you q New, original and previously unpublished q Critically evaluate your own manuscript q Ethical rules must be obeyed
Nigel John Cook Editor-in-Chief, Ore Geology Reviews
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Acknowledgments • Elsevier Science, “Things You Don’t Want to Know in Your Early Research Career”,
MovieClip• Anthony Newman, “How to Get Published”, Publisher Life Sciences, Maastricht
University,20October2011• C.Li,“MyPerspecEveonDoingResearch”,China,2005• B.LI,“ResearchandPublicaEons:APersonalPerspecEve”,HKUST,MSRA• M.Derntl,“BasicsofResearchPaperWriEngandPublishing?”,Sept.2009• Some contents of this presenta;on are derived from different sources in the good
faithforstudentsandresearchers…
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Today’s Research Environment
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Thanks!!!