Bài giảng Technical writing and presentation - Chương 7: Introduction to research writing

Nhập môn CNTT&TT

2016

Contents

TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC BÁCH KHOA HÀ NỘI

HANOI UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

1. What is research?

2. Publication

Technical Writing and Presentation

Introduction to Research Writing

3. Structure of a scientific paper

4. Coherence and cohesion

5. Variety and clarity

6. Common grammar and punctuation errors

7. Editing and proofreading

SOICT - 2020

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What is research?

“All truths are easy to understand

once they are discovered;

the point is to discover them”

WHAT IS RESEARCH?

“And yet it moves”

Galileo Galilei

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What is research

° Cambridge dictionary

What is research?

a detailed study of a subject, especially in order to discover

(new) information or reach a (new) understanding

“The best way to predict the future

is to invent it”

° Research Whisperer

Research is defined as the creation of new knowledge

and/or the use of existing knowledge in a new and creative

way to generate new concepts, methodologies and

understandings

Alan Kay

Computer Scientist

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Publication in Computer Science

° You need publish your work to the world

° If people don’t know about it, they won’t use it

° Increase probability of adoption

° Requirements of writing

° Standard form, structure

° Good content, style, organisation

PUBLICATION

° Requirements of quality

° a valid publication, published in the right place

like in peer-reviewed journals, conferences

° contain results with sufficient information to

enable (i) assess, (ii) repeat experiments

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Publication in Computer Science

° Kinds of scientific publication: book,

dissertation, conference proceedings, journal

article, etc.

Number of publications

conference proceedings

book

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dissertation

journal

Source: DBLP

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Publication in Computer Science

Journal article

Conference paper

° Book: most often a monograph written by

• Have page limits

• Unlimited/longer page limits

specialist(s), reviewed by experts, focuses

on a specific topic

• Provide higher visibility

and greater impact

• Opportunity to revise and

re-submit paper for review

° Dissertation: scientific work of Phd students

• More timely

• Longer review

• High requirement of

novelty

• Require 30% content to be

new, compared to eariler

conference version

° Conference proceedings: a collection of

papers, posters presented at a conference

° Journal article: final “extened version” of a

conference paper

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Publication in Computer Science

° Ranked publications

° Scimago - Journals:

https://www.scimagojr.com/journalrank.php?ar

ea=1700

° CORE - Conferences:

http://portal.core.edu.au/conf-ranks/

° List of Call for papers:

STRUCTURE OF A SCIENTIFIC PAPER

http://www.wikicfp.com/cfp/

° Researchers’ publications: https://dblp.uni-

trier.de/pers, https://scholar.google.com/

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Structure of a scientific paper

° Three core parts in a paper: introduction,

body, and discussion

° Introduction: general motivations and

research problems

° Body: research methods and results in detail

° Discussion: general conclusions and

implications from the results

° Additional parts: title, abstract, references,

appendix, acknowledgment

Parts in a paper

Source: Michael Derntl, Basics of research paper writing and publishing,

Int. J. Technology Enhanced Learning, Vol 6, No. 2, 2014

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Title – Different types

Title

° Descriptive titles: describe what the paper is

• read first and most often

about

• good title “the fewest possible

words that adequately

describe the contents of the

paper”

° Investigating the role of academic conferences on

shaping the research agenda

° Declarative titles: make a statement about the

results presented in the paper

– identify the main issue of the

paper

° Academic conferences shape the short-term

research agenda

– accurate, unambiguos,

specific, and complete

– do not contain abbreviations

unless they are well known

e.g., HTML, CPU

° Interrogative titles: pose a question

° Do academic conferences shape the research

agenda?

° Compound titles: combined approach

ways to attract Vietnamesenews readers

J4F

° Do academic conferences shape the research

agenda? An empirical investigation

– attract readers

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Title – Examples

Abstract

° One-paragraph summary of the whole paper

° Two types of abtract

° Review some examples belows:

° ‘Educational Technology and Culture: The

Influence of Ethnic and Professional Culture

on Learners’ Technology Acceptance’

° Informative abstract: extracts everything relevant

from the paper, an aggregated substitute for the full

paper

° Descriptive abstract: describe outline of the paper

° ‘HT06, tagging paper, taxonomy, Flickr,

academic article, to read’

° Checklist

° Motivation: why do we care the problem and results?

° Problem: what problem that the paper is trying to

° ‘A New Framework for Dynamic Adaptations

and Actions’

solve

° Solution: what was done

° Results: what is the answer to the problem

° Implications: what does the answer imply?

° ‘Go To Statement Considered Harmful’

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Abstract - Example

Paper interfaces for learning geometry

Unsupervised auto-tagging for learning

object enrichment

Paper interfaces for learning

geometry

Unsupervised auto-tagging for

learning object enrichment

Motivation

-

Paper interfaces offer tremendous

possibilities for geometry educaiton in

primary schools

-

Online presence is becoming an

essential part of learning

Large porition of learning meterial is

availabe

• Motivation

• Problem

• Solution

• Results

• Problem

• Solution

• Results

Problem

Solution

-

Existing computer interfaces do not

consider the integration of school tools

Tools disregard classroom-level

-

Challenge to ensure accessibility,

support retrieval and comsumption of

learning objects

-

Augmented reality-based tabletop

system with interface elements made of

paper

Conduct an exploratory user study

based on three learning activities.

-

Automatically annotate specific

learning resources using method ꢀ-

TaggingLDA

• Implications

-

Results

-

Automatically generated tages were

preferred 35% more than the original

authors’ annotations

Implications

-

Automatic tagging facilitates effective

informaiton access to relevant

learning objects

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Introduction

Body

° Answers two questions:

° Leads the reader from a general subject area

° How was the research question addressed?

° What was found?

to a particular field of research

° Three phrases

° Comprise serveral sections, subsections

° Example

° Establish a territory: point out the importance of

the subject, present an overview on current

research

° Empirical paper: describes material, data used

for the study, methodology and results obtained

° Case study paper: describles the application of

existing methods, theory, or tools.

° Theory paper: describes principles, concepts,

° Establish a niche: oppose an existing assumption

or reveal a research gap or formulate a problem

° Occupy the niche: sketch the intent of own work

and/or outline important characteristics of the

work, important results

models on which work is based

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Discussion

References

° Cite related work at the end of the paper

° Other terms: Discussion and Conclusion,

Conclusion, etc.

° Contains

° Many formats/styles for citing a paper, and

listing references

° Some common styles

° Background information of the research aim

° Brief summary of the results

° Name and year system: e.g., Chuck and Norris

(2003) define...

° Alphabet-number system: As reported in [4],...

° Comparision of results with previously

published work

° Conclusions or hypothesis drawn from the

results

° Citation order system: similar to the alphabet-

number system with one difference, i.e.,

references in the order of apperance in the text

° Two rules

° Outlook on future work

° Every cited sources must be listed

° Every listed sources must be cited

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Coherence and Cohesion

° Vital feature of writing in order to enhance

reader’s understanding of text

° Coherence

° Connection of ideas at the idea level

° Refers “rhetorical” aspect of writing which includes

developing arguments, organizing and clarifying

ideas

° Cohesion

COHERENCE AND COHESION

° Connection of ideas at the sentence level

° Focuses on “grammatical” aspect of writing

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Source: British coucil - IELTS

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Cohesion - Approaches

° Repetition: use a particular word/phrase arcross

° Synonyms: use a word/phrase which has a

similar meaning to a keyword in the first

sentence

different sentences

° E.g.,

° E.g.

Of course, materials development or adaptation is not the

only priority for the professions in South Africa. However, the

focus on materials development is appealing because it

provides a very tangible and practical focus for speech and

language therapists (Pascoe et al., 2013).

The purpose of population genetics is to quantify and

explain the processes generating variation in natural

populations (Vargo & Husseneder, 2011). Sociogenetic

studies of eusocial insects are generally based on the

approach that the colony functions as a discrete entity

within the population (Thorne et al., 1999).

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Cohesion - Approaches

Cohesion – Cohesive Words/Phares

1. Additive words: Also, and, as well as, at the same

time as, besides, equally important, further,

furthermore, in addition, likewise, moreover, too,

not only... but also.

° Pronous: use a pronoun to refer back to a

word/phrase already used

° E.g.

When scientific experiments do not work out as expected,

they are often considered failures until some other scientist

tries them again. Those that work out better the second

time around are the ones that promise the most rewards.

2. Amplification words: As, for example, for instance,

in fact, specifically, such as, that is, to illustrate

3. Repetitive words: Again, in other words, that is, to

repeat

4. Contrast words: But, conversely, despite, even

though, however, in contrast, notwithstanding, on

the one hand / on the other hand, still, although,

though, whereas, yet, nevertheless, on the

contrary, in spite of this

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Cohesion – Cohesive Words/Phares

5. Cause and effect words: Accordingly, as a result,

because, consequently, for this reason, since, as,

so, then, therefore, thus

10.Order words: At the same time, firstly,

secondly, lastly, next, today/yesterday/next

year, then, until, while, in the end, eventually

6. Qualifying words: Although, if, even, therefore,

unless

11.Explanation: in other words, that is to day

12.Attitude: Of course, fortunately, unfortunately,

certainly

7. Example: For example, for instance

8. Emphasizing words: Above all, more/most

importantly

13.Summary: finally, in conclusion, in short, to

summaries

9. Reason words: For this reason, therefore

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Cohesion - Example

Coherence

°

The hotel is famous. It is one of the most well-known hotels in the

country. The latest international dancing competition was held at the

hotel. The hotel spent a lot of money to advertise the event. Because

the hotel wanted to gain international reputation. But not many people

attended the event.

° Combincation of every paragraph, every

sentence, and every phrase to contribute to

the meaning of the whole text

° Two factors: paragraph unity and sentence

cohesion

° Paragraph unity:

°

The hotel, which is one of the most well-known hotels in this region,

wanted to promote its image around the world by hosting the latest

international dancing competition. Although the event was widely

advertised, not many people participated in the competition.

° Paragraph must have a topic sentence

° Every other sentence in the body (i) contains

more specific information than the topic

sentence and (ii) maintains the same focus of

attention as the topic sentence

The latest international dancing competition was held at the hotel,

which is one of the most well-known hotels in this region. The hotel

spent a lot of money on advertising the event since it wanted to

enhance its international reputation; however, it failed to attract many

people.

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Coherence - Example

° Paragraph:

As a reminder, please promptly return the lecture notes

you borrowed. Slide the notes under my door if I am not

there. I may become agitated if you are late, much like my

Uncle Chester after several eggnogs on Christmas Eve.

Most Christmases I liked to stay up and open my stockings

after midnight. Staying up late was exciting and would be

repeated a week later at New Year’s. So would Uncle

Chester’s disgraceful behavior.

VARIETY AND CLARITY

° Cohesion: ?

° Coherence: ?

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Variety and Clarity

1. Do adjacent sentences contain the same

subject and/or the same verb? If yes,

° Paper containing sentences of one short

patterns bores both reader and writer

° Repetition of simple sentence pattern draws

combine them in a single, concise sentence

attention to itself, not the ideas

° Join sentences by omitting a repeated

subject (1)

° Simple or short sentences cannot show many

° Original: Radio advertisements are broadcast daily or

weekly. Radio advertisements reach a wide

audience.

relationships among the ideas

° Should revise the sentences to express

the ideas more clearly and add variety to

the paper

° Revision: Radio advertisements are broadcast daily

or weekly and reach a wide audience.

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Variety and Clarity

1. Do adjacent sentences contain the same

subject and/or the same verb? If yes,

1. Do adjacent sentences contain the same

subject and/or the same verb? If yes,

combine them in a single, concise sentence

° Join the sentences by omitting repeated

subjects and verbs and by using adjectives (2)

subjects and verbs and by using adverbs (3)

° Original: The city council conducted a study of public

transportation. The study was lengthy. The study was

detailed.

° Original: the negotiators worked to gain approval for the

contract. The negotiators worked at a steady pace.

However, they worked slowly.

° Revision: The city council conducted a lengthy, detailed

° Revision: The negotiators worked steadily but slowly to

study of public transportation.

gain approval for the contract.

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Variety and Clarity

° so/as a result/therefore shows logical consequence:

Industries affect the environment, so coping with

environmental issues is a necessary part of industrial

studies.

° nor shows addition of a negative point: The

environment cannot sustain constant resource

depletion, nor can it recover quickly from wide-scale

resource extraction.

° or shows choice: Businesses can design their own

programs for recording statistical data, or they can use

purchased, pre-designed programs.

° yet shows contrast: More secondary schools are

implementing programs designed to increase

teenagers' awareness of the dangers of drinking and

driving, yet alcohol-related traffic accidents continue to

be one of the leading causes of death for people

between the ages of fifteen and twenty-two

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2. Do adjacent sentences contain ideas of equal

importance? If yes, use coordination

° Using comma: combines with seven types of

conjunctions

° and/in addition/along with shows addition: The

strike divided the town, and it strained labor-

management relations.

° but/however/except/on the other hand shows

contrast: Negotiators resolved the strike, but the

town remained divided.

° for/because/the reason shows reason: Coping with

environmental issues is a necessary part of

industrial studies, for industries affect the

environment.

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Variety and Clarity

° instead/rather: Neither bold colors nor heavy lines made

the painting striking; instead, the sheer size of the canvas

drew attention.

2. Do adjacent sentences contain ideas of

equal importance? If yes, use coordination

° Using semicolon: when you want to keep

° consequently/as a result: The speech required

preparation and an in-depth analysis of the situation;

consequently the student surveyed the population on the

issue.

two closely related ideas in one sentence

° however/but: The actress's performance electrified the

audience; however, lighting and sound problems

diminished the play's overall impact.

° nevertheless/however: The recently established bio-

social theory helps us see the evolution of human

behavior with a new perspective; nevertheless, few

scientists endorse it.

° furthermore: The project required extensive

research; furthermore, budget cuts reduced the

available funds.

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Variety and Clarity

3. Do adjacent sentences contain ideas of unequal

importance? If yes, use subordination

° though, although, even though, while express concession and

contrast of ideas

° when, until, after, as soon as, before, ever

° Original: Equipment failures and labor strikes delayed the

submarine's completion. Naval engineers continued the

project.

since, as, while show a relation that indicates time:

° Original: The two countries reached an agreement on

trade policies. They then were able to complete their

peace treaty.

° Revision: After the two countries reached an agreement

on trade policies, they were able to complete their

peace treaty.

° Revision: Although equipment failures and labor strikes

delayed the submarine's completion, naval engineers

continued the project.

° of, as if, provided that, unless, as though show condition

° because, since show a relation that indicates causality

° Original: Video game manufacturers plan to impose a rating

system to indicate violence. The ratings system will be

ineffectual without an accompanying plan for reinforcement.

° Original: The statistics in the proposal were inaccurate.

It was this that made the proposal fail.

° Revision: The proposal failed because its statistics

were inaccurate.

° Revision: Unless video game manufacturers issue an

accompanying plan for enforcement, their ratings system will

be ineffectual.

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Variety and Clarity

° whichever, whenever, wherever, whoever indicate

° where indicates place

general possibility

° Original: The male hornbill builds a nest for his mate. He

chooses a nest site that will protect her and her chicks from

predators.

° Original: The program's format allows individual

users to make changes. This can be done each

time users encounter problems in

implementing the program.

° Revision: The male hornbill builds a nest for his

mate where she and her chicks will be protected from

predators.

° Revision: The program's format allows

individual users to make changes whenever

they encounter problems implementing the

problem.

° so that shows result

° more, less than shows comparison of ideas

° Original: The author wanted people of all income levels to be

able to read her book. To achieve this, she stipulated that

the book be sold for under five dollars.

° Original: The beginner's manual contains few

technical terms. However, the advanced

manual contains several.

° Revision: So that people of all income levels would be able

to read her book, the author stipulated that the book be sold

for under five dollars.

° Revision: The advanced manual contains more

technical terms than the beginner’s manual.

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Variety and Clarity

° who, whom, whose, that: persons

° that, which: things

° Original: Peter Tchaikowsky, a Russian

composer, lived from 1840 to 1893. He

composed Peter and the Wolf.

° Original: Peter and the Wolf is often

performed for audiences of children. The

composition uses different instruments to

represent different characters.

° Revision: Peter Tchaikowsky, a Russian

composer who lived from 1840 to 1893,

composed Peter and the Wolf.

° Revision: Peter and the Wolf, which uses

different instruments to represent different

characters, is often performed for audiences

of children

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Variety and Clarity

° where: place; when: time

° which: explanatory clause

° Original: The judges scored the performances

using a new set of standards. This different

method of scoring resulted in unanticipated

victories for several new competitors.

° Original: A press conference is an ideal place

to find out information. Many journalists meet,

discuss, and question current political issues

at a press conference.

° Revision: The judges scored the performance

using a new set of standards, which resulted in

unanticipated victories for several new

competitors.

° Revision: a press conference where many

journalists meet, discuss, and question

current issues, is an ideal place to find out

information.

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Common grammar and punctuation errors

1. Subject – Verb agreement errors

° Example 1:

° Incorrect: An important part of my life have been the

people who stood by me

° Correct: An important part of my life has been the

people who stood by me.

° Example 2

COMMON GRAMMAR AND

PUNCTUATION ERRORS

° Incorrect: A huge number has been asked here

° Correct: A huge number have been asked here

° The number: singular, a number: plural

° Example 3

° Incorrect: Each of the women in the class were nurses

° Correct: Each of the women in the class was nurse

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Common grammar and punctuation errors

2. Miss comma after introductory element

° Example 1:

3. Misusing its and it’s

° Example 1:

° Incorrect: In case you haven’t noticed my real

name doesn’t appear in the article.

° Correct: In case you haven’t noticed, my real

° Incorrect: I don’t believe its finally Friday

° Correct: I don’t believe it’s (it is) finally Friday.

name doesn’t appear in the article.

° Example 2

° Incorrect: The cat was licking it’s tail.

° Correct: The cat was licking its tail.

° Incorrect: Before she had time to think about it

Sharon jumped into the icy pool.

° Correct: Before she had time to think about it,

Sharon jumped into the icy pool.

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Common grammar and punctuation errors

5. Lack of parallel structure

° Example 1:

4. Ambiguous pronoun reference

° Example 1:

° Incorrect: He wanted to learn more about careers in

programming, engineering, biochemist, and research

scientist.

° Correct: He wanted to learn more about careers in

programming, engineering, biochemist, and researching

scientist.

° Incorrect: When Jonathan finally found his dog, he

was so happy. (The dog or Jonathan?)

° Correct: Jonathan was so happy when he finally

found his dog.

° Example 2

° Incorrect: Don felt a lot of anger and bitterness as a

result of Marie’s decision. This is what ended

everything. (What ended everything? Don’s anger

and bitterness or Marie’s decision?)

° Correct: Don felt a lot of anger and bitterness as a

result of Marie’s decision. Her choice ended

everything.

° Incorrect: The key directives of his boss were clear:

• Meet monthly sales quotas.

• Aggressive marketing techniques.

• Reporting in every day.

° Correct: The key directives of his boss were clear:

• Meet monthly sales quotas.

• Aggressive marketing techniques.

• Report in every day.

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Common grammar and punctuation errors

6. Daling modifier: the intented subject or the

modifier is missing from the sentence, an

instead another subject appears in its place

6. Daling modifier – Revise the following

sentences:

° Having arrived late for practice, a written

° Example 1:

excuse was needed.

° Incorrect: While driving to work, a car

accident was witnessed on the highway.

° Correct: While driving to work, Jane witnessed a

car accident on the highway.

° Without knowing his name, it was difficult to

introduce him.

° To improve his results, the experiment was done

° Example 2:

again.

° Incorrect: Having finished the assignment, the

TV was turned on

° Correct: Having finished the assignment, Jill

turned on the TV.

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Common grammar and punctuation errors

7. The Oxford comma

° The comma before the final item in a list:

standard in Bristish writing

° US writing: skip the last comma, especially in

journalism

° It’s a matter of preference, no right or wrong

when it comes to the Oxford comma

° Example:

EDITING & PROOFREADING

° Oxford comma: My favorite foods are pizza,

spaghetti, and steak

° without Oxford comma: My favorite foods are

pizza, spaghetti and steak

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Editing and proofreading strategies

Editing

° Begin as soon as you finish the first draft

° Same: both demands close and careful

° Reread the draft to see whether the paper is

well organized, the tranistion between

paragraphs are smooth, etc.

° Edit on several levels

° Content:

reading

° Different: two different stages of the

revision stage, using different techniques

° General strategies

• Have you done everything the assignment/goal

requires?

• Are the claims make accurate?

° Get some distance from the text

° Find a quiet place to work

• Is all information in your paper relevant to the

assignment/goal?

• Have you supported each point with adequate evidence?

° Try chaning the look of the document

° Use ruler or page, card to read line by line

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Editing

° Edit on several levels

° Overall structure:

° Clarity

• Is the meaning of each sentence clear?

• Is it clear what each pronoun (he, she, it, they, etc.)

refers to?

• Have you chosen the proper words to express your

ideas?

• Have you defined any important terms that might be

unclear to reader?

• Does your paper have an appropriate intro and

conclusion?

• Is it clear how each paragraph in the body is related to

the goal?

• Are the paragraphs arraged in a logical sequence?

• Have you made clear transitions between paragraphs?

° Style

° Structure within paragraphs?

• Have you used an appropriated tone (formal, informal,

etc.)?

• Have you varied the length and structure of sentences?

• Does each paragraph have a clear topic sentence?

• Does each paragraph stick to one main idea?

• Are there any extraneous or missing sentences in any

paragraphs?

• Do you tends to use the passive voice too much?

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Editing

° Edit on several levels

Proofreading

° The final stage of the editing process

° Citations

° Only after you have finished all of your

• Have you appropriately cited quoted, paragraphs,

ideas you got from sources?

other editing revisions

° Focus on surface errors such as

misspelling, mistakes in grammar and

punctuation

• Are your citations in the correct format?

° After editing at all levels, you make

significant revisions to the content and

wording of the paper

° Check pattern of error you tend to have

for correcting future instances

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Proofreading

° Don’t rely entirely on spelling checkers

because they are far from foolproof.

° Proofread for only one kind of error at a time

° Read slow, and read every word

° Separate the text into individual sentences

° Circle every punctuation mark

° Read the paper backwards: useful for

checking spelling

° Ignorance may be bliss, but it won’t make

you a better proofreader. If you’re not sure

about something, look it up.

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Bài giảng Technical writing and presentation - Chương 7: Introduction to research writing - Vũ Văn Thiệu