Workshop Writing Scientific Papers: Abstract

1. Clovis Torres Fernandes Learning and Interaction Laboratory – LAI Computer Science Department – IEC Instituto Tecnológico de Aeronáutica – ITA WorkshopWriting Scientific Papers:Abstract

2. Workshop Goals To present some tips for writing good abstracts for scientific papers To gain hands-on experience applying some of the tips to real examples

3. Paper Structure Abstract Keywords Abstract Keywords

4. Tip 11: Writing Process 9. Writing the abstract

5. Abstract The abstract is a summary of the paper Namely, a brief statement of the main points of the paper

6. Abstract Highlight the main questions the authors investigated Provide the key results of the authors' experiments Give an overview of the authors' conclusions

7. Usually accessible for free: Online at journals' websites: Abstract

8. Abstract Usually accessible for free: In scientific literature databases available in libraries

9. Abstract: GOAL Provide enough information to help others decide if the paper is what they are looking for

10. Abstract: GOAL Provide enough information to help others decide if the paper is what they are looking for, or not!

11. Abstract: GOAL Without spending a long time reading the whole paper

12. Abstract: GOAL Is this paper relevant enough to proceed to the full text, or should I move on to another paper?

13. To serve as a table of contents in sentence form Abstract: Not a GOAL

14. “O artigo introduz uma leve abordagem sobre Análise Orientada a Objetos – AOO – e também à Redes Neurais artificiais, no caso uma Rede Neural de Kohonen. Estando assim situado no espaço de atuação, inicia uma AOO sobre a rede neural de Kohonen. A análise Identifica os problemas, a forma e sua estrutura. Uma vez tendo o problema sob domínio, parte-se para uma implementação, usando para tanto a linguagem C++. Em seguida é exposta e analisada toda a estrutura da rede Neural já na linguagem C++. Discute-se então o método da AOO para representar as Redes Neurais, seus problemas e a sua funcionalidade para tal atividade.” Abstract: Not a GOAL

15. “The behavior of editors is discussed. What should be covered by an abstract is considered. The importance of the abstract is described. Dictionary definitions of “abstract” are quoted. At the conclusion a revised abstract is presented.” – BAAPG, 1951. Abstract: Not a GOAL

16. ”The abstract is of utmost importance, for it is read by 10 to 500 times more people than hear the entire paper. It should not be a mere recital of the subjects covered, replete with such expressions as “is discussed” and “is described.” It should be a condensation and concentration of the essential qualities of the paper.” – BAAPG, 1951. Improved Version

17. Please, revise this abstract: ”This article gives a brief overview of the structure and purposes of rubrics; reviews the benefits of using rubrics as both teaching and grading tools; warns against approaches that limit the effectiveness of rubrics; and urges instructors to take simple steps toward ensuring the validity, reliability, and fairness of their rubrics. Tips for using rubrics with undergraduate and graduate students are also included.”

18. Bad example: ”This article gives a brief overview of the structure and purposes of rubrics; reviews the benefits of using rubrics as both teaching and grading tools; warns against approaches that limit the effectiveness of rubrics; and urges instructors to take simple steps toward ensuring the validity, reliability, and fairness of their rubrics. Tips for using rubrics with undergraduate and graduate students are also included.”

19. “This study suggests that students use rubrics to support their own learning and academic performance. In focus groups, fourteen undergraduate students discussed the ways in which they used rubrics to plan an approach to an assignment, check their work, and guide or reflect on feedback from others. The students said that using rubrics helped them focus their efforts, produce work of higher quality, earn a better grade, and feel less anxious about an assignment. Their comments also revealed that most of the students tend not to read a rubric in its entirety, and that some may perceive of a rubric as a tool for satisfying a particular teacher’s demands rather than as a representation of the criteria and standards of a discipline." What about this abstract?

20. An abstract must stand alone (beself-explanatory): Without referring to any part of the paper Citing a reference entry? Not a chance! Avoid referencing! Attributes of a Good Abstract

21. An Abstract must stand alone (beself-explanatory): No new information: refer to just information used in the paper text! Avoid using abbreviations, symbols, acronyms, and jargon! Attributes of a Good Abstract

22. If necessary, define unfamiliar terms, introduce acronyms E.g. “... Test-driven Development (TDD)…” Attributes of a Good Abstract

23. Avoid using passive voice Example: The abstract was written in the last weekend Attributes of a Good Abstract

24. Avoid using passive voice Example: The abstract was written in the last weekend We wrote the abstract in the last weekend Attributes of a Good Abstract

25. Avoid beginning (or using) with "This paper reports that sex leads to happiness.” Attributes of a Good Abstract

26. Avoid beginning (or using) with "This paper reports that sex leads to happiness.” Get right to the point: "Sex leads to happiness. The more, the better. The 1,000 men and women we interviewed overwhelmingly agree." Attributes of a Good Abstract

27. “This study suggests that students use rubrics to support their own learning and academic performance. In focus groups, fourteen undergraduate students discussed the ways in which they used rubrics to plan an approach to an assignment, check their work, and guide or reflect on feedback from others. The students said that using rubrics helped them focus their efforts, produce work of higher quality, earn a better grade, and feel less anxious about an assignment. Their comments also revealed that most of the students tend not to read a rubric in its entirety, and that some may perceive of a rubric as a tool for satisfying a particular teacher’s demands rather than as a representation of the criteria and standards of a discipline." What about here?

28. Avoid repeating information from the title Attributes of a Good Abstract

29. Read the two abstracts found in TIDIA: ExerciseGoodBadAbstract 01 and 02 Tell if they are good or bad abstracts, and why! Classroom Work

30. Write the problem Tip: Four Sentences Scheme

31. Explain why the problem is a problem Tip: Four Sentences Scheme

32. Write a catchy and startling phrase, which captures the essence of your solution/contribution Tip: Four Sentences Scheme

33. As a result of the previous sentence, write the main conclusion, implication, and recommendation Tip: Four Sentences Scheme

34. 1[The rejection rate for OOPSLA papers in near 90%.]2[Most papers are rejected not because of a lack of good ideas, but because they are poorly structured.]3[Following four simple steps in writing a paper will dramatically increase your chances of acceptance.] 4[If everyone followed these steps, the amount of communication in the object community would increase, improving the rate of progress.] Example: Four Sentences Scheme

35. “This study suggests that students use rubrics to support their own learning and academic performance. In focus groups, fourteen undergraduate students discussed the ways in which they used rubrics to plan an approach to an assignment, check their work, and guide or reflect on feedback from others. The students said that using rubrics helped them focus their efforts, produce work of higher quality, earn a better grade, and feel less anxious about an assignment. Their comments also revealed that most of the students tend not to read a rubric in its entirety, and that some may perceive of a rubric as a tool for satisfying a particular teacher’s demands rather than as a representation of the criteria and standards of a discipline." The following abstract follows the Four Sentences Scheme?

36. Read the two abstracts found in TIDIA: ExerciseStructureAbstractFourParagraphs 01 and 02 Tell if they follow the Four Sentences Scheme, and why! Classroom Work

37. Alternative Methods for Writing Abstracts

38. Write the world before your work: context and objective Write your main results/contributions Write the world after your work: conclusions and implications World Before/After Your Work

39. Context/Background (where they come from) Objective/purpose or rationale of study (why they did it) Methodology/methods (how they did it) Results/findings (what they found) Conclusions/recommendations (what it means) Informative: 5 Sentences

40. Another Model

44. http://www.editage.com/resources/art11.html Good Explanation about Type Informative

45. Contains information that is consistent with that presented in the paper Meets the guidelines of the targeted journal (word limit, type of abstract, etc.) Does not contain typographical errors (typos) Check that the final abstract

46. Choose randomly one paper from your research area Try to dissect its structure, according to the models seen here! Practice

47. The problem of predicting the next request during a user’s navigation session has been extensively studied. In this context, higher-order Markov models have been widely used to model navigation sessions and to predict the next navigation step, while prediction accuracy has been mainly evaluated with the hit and miss score.We claim that this score, although useful, is not sufficient for evaluating next link prediction models with the aim of finding a sufficient order of the model, the size of a recommendation set, and assessing the impact of unexpected events on the prediction accuracy. Herein, we make use of a variable length Markov model to compare the usefulness of three alternatives to the hit and miss score: the Mean Absolute Error, the Ignorance Score, and the Brier score. We present an extensive evaluation of the methods on real data sets and a comprehensive comparison of the scoring methods. Borges et al., International Journal of Information Technology & Decision Making, 9, 2010, 547.

48. Educative sensemaking focuses on the needs of self-directed learners, a nonexpert population of thinkers who must locate relevant information sources, evaluate the applicability and accuracy of digital resources for learning, and determine how and when to use these resources to complete educational tasks. Self-directed learners face a sensemaking paradox: They must employ deep-level thinking skills to process information sources meaningfully, but they often lack the requisite domain knowledge needed to deeply analyze information sources and to successfully integrate incoming information with their own existing knowledge. In this article, we focus on the needs of college-aged students engaged in learning about natural sciences using web-based learning resources. We explored the impact of cognitive personalization technologies on students’ sensemaking processes using a controlled study in which students’ cognitive and metacognitive processes were analyzed as they completed a common educational task: writing an essay.We coded students’ observable on-screen behaviors, selfreported processes, final essays, and responses to domain assessments to assess benefits of personalization technologies on students’ educative sensemaking. Results show that personalization supported students’ analysis of knowledge representations, helped students work with their representations in meaningful ways, and supported effective encoding of new knowledge. We discuss implications for new technologies to help students overcome the educative sensemaking paradox. Butcher et al., Human–Computer Interaction, 26, 2011,123.

49. The End