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Reading Research Papers. George Corser. Agenda. Why are we here? Why read research papers? What is a research paper? What is in a research paper? What is the research process? How to find significant papers How to read critically Time and material management. Why Are We Here?.
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Reading Research Papers George Corser
Agenda • Why are we here? • Why read research papers? • What is a research paper? • What is in a research paper? • What is the research process? • How to find significant papers • How to read critically • Time and material management
Why Are We Here? Research !
Why Read Research Papers? • Make sure your idea has not been published already • Become an expert in a research area (stand on the shoulders of giants) Image source: http://www.hitrecord.org/records/34896
What is a Research Paper? • Conference paper, journal paper, book chapter • Types • Theoretical: algorithm or mathematical proof • Empirical: analysis of simulation or real-world implementation • Survey: documentation of state of the art • Tutorial, case study, others… • Peer reviewed
What is in a Research Paper? Paper Sections Sample Paper (Excerpt)
How to Find Significant Papers • Find papers in journals with high impact factor (IF): IEEE Xplore, ACM Digital Library, Google Scholar • Find papers that cite other significant papers • Find papers that have been cited by others
Impact Factor Examples Computer Science (2011) All Fields (2003) Source for “Computer Science (2011): http://www.spinellis.gr/blog/20120703/ Source for “All Fields (2003)”: http://in-cites.com/research/2005/july_18_2005-1.html
Frequent Citation Examples IEEE Xplore Google Scholar
How to Read Critically • What problem(s) are they solving? Why are these problems important? Are the author’s claims reasonable and realistic? • What did they really do? (as opposed to what the authors say or imply they did) Do the authors present evidence that they know why they are doing this research? What is the larger picture? • What is the contribution of the work? (i.e. what is interesting or new?) • What methods are they using? Is the approach clearly described? Can you summarize the approach? Does the approach seem objective? Reasonable assumptions? • Would you have solved the problem differently? Can you think of counter-examples? • Do all the pieces of their work fit together logically? • What were the results? Do the results address the problem stated at the beginning of the paper? Source: DrQu
Time and Material Management • Nickname the papers you read: AMOEBA, REP, AOSA, PARROTS, FLARES • Keep a log of the most interesting points in each paper • Save the files using naming convention (nickname) in one searchable directory
Conclusion • Why are we here? • Why read research papers? • What is a research paper? • What is in a research paper? • What is the research process? • How to find significant papers • How to read critically • Time and material management
Peer-reviewed journal growth Source: M A Mabe, The number and growth of journals, Serials 16(2), 191-7, 2003
Impact Factor (IF) • Average number of citations per article • Example • Let A = number of times articles from 2006 and 2007 were cited in a journal in 2008 • Let B = the number of “citable” items published in the journal • Impact factor, IF = A / B Source: http://www.sciencegateway.org/impact/
Impact factor analysis Source: Elsevier 201062216345377
What is the Writing Process? Paper Sections Writing Tasks