Research Writing

1. Research Writing Prof. Shrisha Rao, srao@iiitb.ac.in Revised May 2008

2. Basic Points • Management guru Peter Drucker said that an organization has only two basic functions—innovation and marketing. • In the same vein, we can say that a researcher has two basic tasks: fact discovery (or problem-solving) and communication. • Almost anyone can discover facts (or solve problems), but few can communicate effectively.

3. Communication • Communication by a researcher can be to three types of audience. • The first, and easiest, is to communicate with other specialists. • Less easy is to communicate with non-specialists with technical training. • Communicating with a lay audience is most difficult.

4. Communication—cont’d • The most common (and possibly the most significant) communication is with technical non-specialists. • For such communication, it is necessary to be aware of the background and expectations of the specific audience.

5. Written Communication • This is by far the most important form of research communication. • It has to be work of similar quality as found in world-class journals in its area. • Norms applicable to the field (e.g., CS) and the relevant area within the field (e.g., distributed computing), must be carefully followed.

6. Written Communication—cont’d • Use Standard English, without colloquialisms or informal jargon. • There is a very low tolerance for errors of grammar, usage, or style, when it comes to peer reviewers (editors, referees). • Prevailing standards in India are woefully inadequate (think NY Times, not the Times of India).

7. Some Mistakes to Avoid • Do not use the present continuous tense in place of the present tense (“I am having a pen” suggests you are giving birth to a pen). Likewise with the future continuous. • Use articles (a, an, the) appropriately but not unnecessarily. (Hint: Indians tend to leave out `the’ at the start of a sentence, and add it in the middle.)

8. How Research is Judged • A paper submitted to a research conference/journal is judged by one to three anonymous referees. • The referees judge not only the value of the work, but also its clarity. • Referees are known to harshly reject poorly written papers, with no thought to their value.

9. Types of Writings • Research can be presented in writing in the form of papers, technical reports, white papers, and monographs. • Of these, papers and monographs are generally the most important, as they are peer-reviewed.

10. Research Papers • Research papers themselves can be of two kinds—conference papers and journal papers. • Conference papers tend to have page-length restrictions (usually 6-10 pages), but can be a little more preliminary (“extended abstracts”).

11. Research Papers—cont’d • Journals are much more generous in terms of allowable page length. • Journal papers are considered “archival” material, and are written (esp. for tier-1 journals) to a much higher standard. • The cycle time for a paper to be published can range from months to years.

12. Writing Research Papers • It is necessary to have some research in hand when starting to write a paper, but the process of writing is for the most part concurrent with the conduct of research. • Be very clear about the exact type of paper (conference, journal, white paper, tech report) and its audience, from the start.

13. Research Problems • Research problems are “fundamental” problems, often needing mathematical or algorithmic analyses, which are publishable in peer-community publications. • Non-research problems are those involving technology (e.g., J2EE, Siebel, .Net) and its applications.

14. Research Problems—cont’d • Sometimes, a seemingly mundane technology or application area may contain difficult research problems, but only if approached in the right way. • For instance, software testing is a common application domain, as well as a field with research problems needing thought leadership.

15. Parts of a Research Paper • Title • Abstract, Keywords • Introduction • Literature Review • <<Main Body>> • Conclusions • References

16. Title • This should concisely describe the field/problem, as well as the important innovation/improvement in the paper. • Sometimes, a brief “running title” (printed at the top of every page after the first) is also required.

17. Abstract and Keywords • The abstract is a summary in 50-200 words (usually 150 words) of the results in the paper. • After reading just the abstract, a reader should know what is new and significant in the paper. • Keywords are 3-6, to aid people who may be interested in the subect matter of the paper.

18. Introduction • This is an introduction to the work in the paper. It is typically 1-2 pages in length. • It is not an introduction to the world, or even to the general principles of the subject, so should be kept focused. • After reading the intro, a reader should clearly understand the research presented, except for the details.

19. Literature Review • This is a concise summary of the important prior work that forms the context of the research presented. • All relevant prior work must be noted and carefully mentioned; referees are known to reject papers for missing mention of some prior work known to them.

20. <<Main Body>> • The main body of the paper should be broken up into relevant sections and subsections. • Each section/subsection should address one point/topic. • Logical ordering of sections is very important.

21. Conclusions • This is usually the final section, and summarizes the work and describes possible further work and improvements. • This section must be written with care, not just as an afterthought.

22. References • References must be given in some appropriate format (IEEE, ACM, APA, Chicago Manual of Style). • Refereed and published work, and original (rather than secondary) sources, are preferred.

23. References—cont’d • References must be given for all prior work mentioned in the paper. • The number of references depends on the length and type of paper (journal vs. conference). • A conference paper typically as 10-15 references, whilst a journal may have 30 or more.

24. How a Paper is Read • Title • Abstract • Introduction • Conclusions • All the rest

25. General Do’s • Do be keenly aware of the standards and trends in the peer community where your paper will be read. • Do make a special effort to be aware of similar earlier work in the same journal/conference, and to mention the same.

26. General Don’ts • Do not plagiarize ideas/text, even by accident. This is virtually a “death penalty” offense for a researcher. Always give credit where due. • Do not write/submit a paper with no knowledge of the peer community, and expect it to be accepted by them.

27. Related Resources • Recent issues of the the Journal of the Association for Computing Machinery (JACM), and other ACM journals • Recent issues of the IEEE Transactions on Software Engineering (IEEE-TSE), and other IEEE journals • Recent issues of the SIAM Journal on Computing (SICOMP), and other SIAM journals • Links sent, handouts