Basic Research Methods

1. Basic Research Methods • The “secret” • Build on the “magical” questions • What’s the problem? • Why’s the problem a problem? • What’s the solution? • Why’s the solution a solution? • Don’t ignore other researchers’ solutions • Fulfil expectations (raised by the questions) • Conclude well (clearly say that you succeeded and why)

2. Background Search (I) 1. Is the work you are proposing new? (How can you know if you don’t check Prior Art (i.e.what has already been done?)‏ 2. To avoid wasting time by repeating Prior Art 3. If you are going to research a topic, you need to become knowledgeable about it. 4. To make your proposal better: in what you write about; in how you write about it; and in the ideas used to create your proposal. If the literature search doesn’t affect, change or improve your proposal, you did it wrong.

3. Background Search (II) Where to do Literature Search: Citations 1. Google Scholar (http://scholar.google.com/)‏ 2. Cite Seer (http://citeseer.ist.psu.edu/cs)‏ Try the on-line resources (above) first 3. Citation index (Hard Copy - library)‏ 4. From references of related papers and journals

4. Background Search (III) The Mechanics 1. Read the Abstract and conclusions. Is it related? Does it apply? If yes, read more. Else terminate session. 2. What are the main claims/results of the paper? You should be able to summarize this (high level) in 2-3 sentences. 3. Include a summary with your annotated bibliography, e.g., Head, L.I.T., and Lift, U. Helium: More than a Balloon - more than to make you talk funny. In Proceedings of Chemical Magic, 2001, 123-135. This paper illustrates the diverse uses of helium and claims that … 4. Categorize your references into a few (< 8) groups and select 2-3 of the best (seminal) papers from that group. Your references do not need to be exhaustive, only representative.

5. Background Search (IV) How do I know when I am done? 1. A good paper should usually have between 15 and 20 references. (varies with topic, journal vs conference, proposal vs thesis/dissertation, etc.)‏ 2. When you keep coming across the same paper(s)‏ 3. When you start hitting cycles when you follow the references in the papers. That is, you keep cycling back to the same papers. 4. Like coming into a movie half-way. When the “scenes” (papers)‏ start looking familiar (been there, seen that) you are probably just about done.

6. Positioning Your Research • Importance Value (If I solve the problem, it is important because …)‏ • Leverage • Foundational • Demographic • Economic • Widely recognized • Solution Value (If I solve the problem, it is valuable because …)‏ • Existence • Usability • Efficiency • Power • Developing a Function • Formal Proof • Breadth • Functional Relationship

7. Writing • Characteristics of the best writers: concise, clear, active voice • Elements of a research paper: abstract, intro, related work, results, conclusion, references • CS research writing: qualifying paper, research proposal, funding proposal, dissertation, peer-reviewed paper • Paper submission process to conferences/journals • Plagiarism • Citing the work of others

8. Resources on Writing • “The Elements of Style” by Strunk & White (http://www.bartleby.com/141/) • “Style: Ten Lessons in Clarity & Grace” by Williams • “The Craft of Scientific Writing” by Alley • “Writing for Computer Science” by Zobel