Introduction to Research & Getting Started with Research

1. Spring 2014 Introduction to Research & Getting Started with Research Lecture Prepared by: Dr. Peter Bloodsworth Dr. AnjumNaveed & Dr. UsmanIlyas

2. What is Research? In the broadest terms, we do research whenever we gather information to answer a question that solves a problem. (Crafts of Research) Research can be defined as: The search for knowledge or As any systematic investigation with an open mind, to: Establish novel facts Solve new or existing problems Prove new ideas Develop new theories (Wikipedia – edited version)

3. What is Research? - Examples We are all following the same path as the greats including: Sir Isaac Newton Leonardo da Vinci Charles Babbage Alan Turing

4. Basic Vs. Applied Research Basic Research is research carried out to increase understanding of fundamental principles. It is not intended to yield immediate commercial benefits. eg CERN. Applied Research solves practical problems, rather than acquire knowledge for the sake of knowledge. eg Google Labs. ALL GOOD RESEARCH OF ANY TYPE BEGINS WITH INQUISITIVENESS !!

5. Applied Research Methodology Literature Review Observations Known Problem Preliminary Experimentation Literature Review Analytical Modeling / Understanding Technology Modify Assumptions or Revise ideas Model Verification / Theoretical Approach System Design Design Verification / Implementation Commercialization And Journal Paper System Testing and Result gathering

6. Getting Started With Research

7. What do I work on? • Typical issues??? • What exactly is a research worthy problem/topic? • How do I find it? OR • There are so many areas and topics, which one I should work on? • How do I know what is enough for an MS Thesis?

8. How Do I Get Started? • Study Literature (This will be covered later) • Talk to people (Researchers around you) • Try to list three or four areas that interest you the most • Brainstorm a little on each area if it helps • If you don’t know what interests you: • Look at the research pages on the SEECS website and other university websites • Read some accessible articles / project summaries from: • http://spectrum.ieee.org/ • http://cacm.acm.org/ • http://cs.stanford.edu/research/projects • http://www.sciencedaily.com/news/computers_math/computer_science/ • If an article interests you, try to find an academic paper behind the story (often there is one) and read some more

9. Getting Started • Read more… • For each area, list some of the potential ideas you have – don’t worry if these are really rough or a little vague • Try answering following questions: • Are others working on or around the ideas that you have? • If yes, when was the last research paper published on or around your idea? • If no paper has been published recently, why not? • Using your list, identify faculty members that are working in those areas • Arrange a meeting with a few potential supervisors to discuss ideas • Be patient with potential supervisors – it can take time for us to understand what interests you • Matching faculty research interests with student ideas is not always easy • Faculty members may talk about ideas of their own • Also consider these ideas if they appeal you • This may require several iterations – this is good even if it may not feel like it at the time!!

10. Project Area Identified So you have found a project area and a supervisor. what now….? • Next comes a lot of reading to identify a precise research topic • We need to gather evidence that will help us to develop our Thesis argument • Answer questions such as: • What have others done in this area? • How far did they get? • What problem areas remain? • How could I address the problems that I have identified? • Is the scope realistic for me to complete my MSc Thesis on time? • Its not rocket science, its not FYP • Do I have all the resources that I will need and is my supervisor happy with the topic?

11. Where to Look for Literature • Thankfully you are not alone there are many good resources that you can use including: • Citeseer • Google scholar • DBLP • ISI Web of Knowledge • IEEE Xplore • ACM Library • Springerlink • Zetoc • Not forgetting the SEECS Library of course • We will consider each of these in greater detail later on but before that we need to develop a search strategy • How to look for Literature

12. Search Strategy • Before starting to search for relevant material you need to have a clear picture of what you are going to look for • This may not always be as obvious as we think • There are many synonymous or overlapping terms for example: • Workflow • Pipeline • Analysis • This means we need to be careful not to miss important papers • Equally we don’t want to waste time on unrelated work • So before we start searching it is good to list down the terms that are relevant to what we are looking for

13. Domain Specific Terms • Many areas of Engineering have their own specialised terminology • Example: The term Map • A file showing the structure of a program after it has been compiled. • To make logical connections between two entities. • To copy a set of objects from one place to another while preserving the objects' organization. • In computer animation map is a technique or tool used by the programmer to add texture (material) and realism to 3D models.) • We need to identify key terms and use these carefully in our work • Be careful the usage of the same term can vary greatly from area to area • This can mean that some search results are not related to your work at all • If you miss on key terms from your domain, that also means you might be missing on a huge body of related work

14. Bad Search Strategy • Type our intended Thesis area into Google • Look at the first fifty results in detail • Generally they are most accessed but not latest • Use time sorting in google. • Convince ourselves that job is done!! • If we don’t find any new directions to follow then it means that the area doesn’t have any open research problems and everything has been solved • We have now looked at all relevant work • If some of it seems unrelated to our topic we clearly have made a mistake as Google is infallible • Google understands our research theme in detail and always gives us the most accurate results • The material that we find is obviously trustworthy because it is on the Internet and has therefore been thoroughly reviewed by the leading experts in the field

15. Good Search Strategy • Before we begin we remind ourselves that a search engine is just a tool • How we use it determines the success of the resulting output • The Internet is not peer reviewed • Anyone with a web connection can put up misleading or factually incorrect information up whenever they like • We must therefore be discerning regarding the sources we listen to and the resulting weight that we give them • Apply common sense to see if what a resource is telling you is logical

16. Build a Map for your Domain • Build up a “map” of your research area which identifies: • Influential authors • Key reference papers • Books • Workshops / Conferences • Specific terminology • Research groups • Journals • Timelines: how the field has developed over the years, which papers have had a large impact and where is current research activity focused? • This map will need to be continually refined as you do your research • But how do you build it in the first place?

17. Citeseer

18. Google Scholar

19. DBLP

20. ISI Web of Knowledge

21. IEEE Xplore

22. ACM Digital Library

23. Springerlink

24. Zetoc

25. The Library

26. Resources Books 10869 Online Books 45000 Online Journals 23000 Journals 05 Magazines 08 Lecture CDs 358

27. E-Books

28. SEECS Library OPAC

29. Thank You!