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So you want to write a Technical Paper

So you want to write a Technical Paper. Instructions. Open a Word document or pull out a pen and notepad. This presentation has many questions, none of which are rhetorical. To gain maximum utility from this presentation, write answers to ALL questions asked.

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So you want to write a Technical Paper

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  1. So you want to write a Technical Paper

  2. Instructions • Open a Word document or pull out a pen and notepad. • This presentation has many questions, none of which are rhetorical. • To gain maximum utility from this presentation, write answers to ALL questions asked. • Treat this presentation as a workbook to help start your technical paper.

  3. Why Should I Write a Paper? • Why not to • Writing is tough • No benefit • Nothing to write about • Takes too long • Don’t know how to start • Why to • If it not written, it doesn’t exist • Awards, Beneficial to career, salary • Emails are proof you do • Do 1 paragraph a day • Do 1 paragraph a day, read this PPT, make an outline, answer questions

  4. Overview • Selecting a topic – you already know it • First things first • Type of paper – what is it for • Basic how-to’s • Examples • Take it from here

  5. Selecting a topic • One of the hardest tasks is choosing a topic. This could be the easiest task: • What technical project are you working on now? • What topic did you write emails to more than one colleague about in the last week back and forth? • What project do you have to present status on to your supervisor? • What is the longest / most interesting / most rewarded project you worked on in the last 2 months? • Choose one of the above. You now have your topic.

  6. First things first • Create outline • See the outline examples coming up • Identify audience • Why find your audience • Are you writing for a practicing engineer? • For a peer scientist to verify your methods, results? • To share an application for other readers to benefit from? • Primary audiences • Gatekeepers, instructor, faculty, etc. • Secondary audiences • Peers, colleagues, coworkers, etc. • Shadow audiences • Others who may read communication - Internet!

  7. Type of papers • A research paper is the culmination and final product of an involved process of research, critical thinking, source evaluation, organization, and composition • Analytical or argumentative research • Goal: argumentative research paper is persuasion, which means the topic chosen should be debatable or controversial • Goal: analytical asks a question on which author has taken no stance. Paper is often an exercise in exploration and evaluation • Practical applications paper • Cutting-edge technical paper • Experimental, comparative, design, or theoretical paper • Which type is your paper?

  8. Basic how-to’s • Short abstract • Full paper • Extended abstract

  9. Short Abstract how-to’s • Begin – Abstract Purpose • Introduce readers to the article’s content • Help readers decide whether or not to read paper • One or more paragraphs that are coherent, concise, and self contained (often 100-150 words) • Uses an introduction-body-conclusion structure in which the parts of the report are discussed in order: purpose, research questions, methods, findings, conclusions, recommendations • How? • Write 1-2 introduction sentences that explain topic, purpose, and research question(s). • Write 1-2 sentences describing your research methods (this may also include the type of data analysis you used). • Write 1-2 sentences describing the results / findings. • Write 1-2 sentences containing your conclusions and recommendations.

  10. Full Paper how-to’s • Section 1 detail • Purpose/goals • What is the point of the paper? Argumentative? Analytical? • Audience (optional) • Is the audience familiar with topic, terms? • For argumentative • What is your thesis? • For analytical • What are your research questions? • For design • What are your design methods? • Research methods • How did you find your information? • Findings and conclusions • Forecast organization of document • Section 1: • Introduce, explain topic • Section 2: • Discuss history, background; set the context • Section 3: (may have multiple instances of this section – e.g. multiple subtopics) • Discuss research methods or subtopic • Section 4: • Discuss research findings • Section 5: • Conclusions • Works Cited/References • Appendix

  11. Review • Have you written down a specific topic for your technical paper? • If no, go back to slide 5 and work through the questions again. • If yes, congratulations! Save your work on computer and proceed to #2. • Have you written a short abstract for your technical paper? • If no, go back to slide 9 and work through the questions again. • If yes, congratulations! Save your work on computer and proceed to #3. • Have you written an outline for your technical paper? • If no, go back to slide 10 and work through the questions again. • If yes, congratulations! Save your work on computer and proceed to #4. (Next slide.) • Note: if you encounter difficulty completing the above, contact George Earle (email address on slide 17) for assistance.

  12. Review • Have you created an author profile on the NSBE-ASC paper submission portal? • If no, go to http://cmt.research.microsoft.com/NSBE2012/ and click Sign up here under New Users. • Follow the prompts to complete your personal information • Create a new Paper Submission and include the topic and short abstract. If unsure of proper track, select one randomly and conference staff will reassign if necessary. Upload your outline in the file upload section. • If yes, complete the rest of this presentation and begin work on your extended abstract and technical paper. Upload both to the paper submission portal as soon as possible.

  13. Extended Abstract how-to’s • This is a cross between an abstract and a full paper. Essentially start with the abstract and incorporate a shell of the full paper. Work from your full paper outline and partially develop each section. • Each section in the extended abstract should contain roughly 1/4 to 1/3 the content of its counterpart in the full paper. • The purpose of the extended abstract is to help you develop the full paper. It also enables reviewers and/ors to gauge the direction of your paper and provide assistance if needed, rather than completing a full paper and discovering it is not publishable.

  14. Example of a Scientific Abstract Usability and User-Centered Theory for 21st Century OWLs By Dana Lynn Driscoll, H. Allen Brizee, Michael Salvo, and Morgan Sousa from The Handbook of Research on Virtual Workplaces and the New Nature of Business Practices. Eds. Kirk St. Amant and Pavel Zemlansky. Hershey, PA: Idea Group Publishing, 2008. This article describes results of usability research conducted on the Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL). The Purdue OWL is an information-rich educational website that provides free writing resources to users worldwide. Researchers conducted two generations of usability tests. In the first test, participants were asked to navigate the OWL and answer questions. Results of the first test and user-centered scholarship indicated that a more user-centered focus would improve usability. The second test asked participants to answer writing-related questions using both the OWL website and a user-centered OWL prototype. Participants took significantly less time to find information using the prototype and reported a more positive response to the user-centered prototype than the original OWL. Researchers conclude that a user-centered website is more effective and can be a model for information-rich online resources. Researchers also conclude that usability research can be a productive source of ideas, underscoring the need for participatory invention.

  15. Examples • Software architecture • http://www.frame-online.net/Articles/TS23%20Bossom.pdf • Aerospace • http://www.fenwalsafety.com/Files/KiddeAeroSpace/Global/US-en/TechnicalPaper.pdf • Space • http://www.spaceward.org/documents/papers/The%20Space%20Elevator%20Feasibility%20Condition.pdf • http://www.ilcdover.com/products/aerospace_defense/pdfs/2006-01-2141.pdf

  16. Take it from here • Further help • http://www1.cs.columbia.edu/~hgs/etc/writing-style.html • References • http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/

  17. Track Chairs

  18. ASC Technical Paper Vision Increase the visibility of our best African American engineers via peer reviewed paper presentations, published conference proceedings, and paper awards Alter the worldview of African American aerospace industry professionals via the unprecedented gathering of diverse technical talent

  19. National Society of Black EngineersAerospace Systems Conference“The sky is not the limit…it’s where we begin” February 1-4, 2012 Los Angeles, CA

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