Academic Writing:
.
FROM IDEAS TO PAPERS
Hj Syahrul Nizam Junaini
Lecturer/Programme Coordinator (Multimedia Computing)
Department of Computing and Software Engineering
Faculty of Computer Science and Information Technology
Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS)
94300 Kota Samarahan, Sarawak
syahruln@fit.unimas.my
www.fcsit.unimas.my

Presentation Outline
idea work/ publish
research
research
paper

from idea…

Where to find the idea?
 Discuss with your friends
 Do literature survey
 Read articles published earlier
 Listen to presentation/seminar

TIC
 Thinking: Try to understand what others say.
 Imaginative: Think differently.
 Creative: make your own logic.

Idea firsts
 First, find an idea that excites others
– But, do not be too ambitious.
– Most papers are trivial improvements
 Methodology is still important
– Logical and scientific methodology

Idea checklist
 Is there an audience for your idea?
 Is your idea high-quality?
 Has your idea already been published
by someone else?

Idea extension

Be the another winner !!
 Even if someone previously published your idea,
your work still may be publishable:
– Can you extend the idea?
– supporting the published paper
– Is your project in a different environment?

From dissertation into papers
1 dissertation = 1 book
OR
1 dissertation = 2-5 papers
Paper is a stand-alone piece of the research (not all dissertation)

Other „sources‟ for papers
1. Initial/pilot studies and findings
E.g. a (short) conference paper
2. Implications for practice
E.g. a paper in a practician‟s journal
3. Accidental interesting findings outside the
focus of the dissertation
E.g. gender differences

Seeing it differently
1. Analysis of the same dataset using other
techniques
– E.g. more advanced statistical techniques
2. Analysis the same dataset from another
perspective
– E.g. in-depth analysis of „ABCD‟, analysis of function
XYZ of, etc.
3. Other spin-offs from the dissertation
– E.g. combined data analysis and joint papers

Eager to write/publish

Research publication cycle

Grants – fuel for research

Old vs New idea

Do research first…

Good Research
 Once you have an idea..
– Draw a big picture
– Think of existing literature
– Discuss with the others

Good Research
 Be concerned with consistency or logical
methodology
 Simplify analysis
 Keep asking ...
– If not?
– What if?
 Be modest ...
– Do not devalue other papers to sell you paper.
– Show difference, Not devalue others.

Research Ranking
1. Making a significant Question
Best
2. Find significant answers to the Question
3. Find other significant answers
4. Modify the answers
5. Find other ways to the answers
worst 6. Find if the answers are right or not
7. Apply the answers to other cases
8. Apply the answers to other cases without
Not
acceptable
consideration
9. Copy others

Some Philosophies
 You need something to write about – DO THE
RESEARCH
 If you don‟t tell people about research, is it really
worth doing?
 Computing/IT papers should demonstrate value (or
potential value) of the work done
 Quality vs quantity
 Try and change the world – just a little bit…
 ENJOY writing – its an incredibly powerful thing

Convert your thesis into papers
Theoretical paper
 based on literature review chapter, meta-analysis, etc.
Methodological paper
 based on a methodology chapter + some results
Empirical research paper
 based on data analysis, results and discussion chapters

Research Objects
1. Literature research
2. Laboratory Experiments
3. Community research
4. Theoretical research

What to research?
 Problem description and documentation
 Solution strategy
 Analysis of results (anticipated & otherwise)
 Recommendations
 for change
 for future researchers

Types of Research Results
 Algorithm (new/better)
 System component ( software, protocol)
 Performance evaluation (simulated, measured)
 Theoretical framework (framework)
 System model (new model/object)

Research Quality
Research
Valid Reliable Unbias

What makes a good research paper?
 Good science
 Good writing
 Publication in good journals

Research – finding concrete answer

What constitutes good science?
 NOVEL – new and not resembling something formerly
known or used (can be novel but not important)
 MECHANISTIC – testing a hypothesis - determining the
fundamental processes involved in or responsible for
an action, reaction, or other natural phenomenon
 DESCRIPTIVE – describes how are things are but does
not test how things work – hypotheses are not tested.

Research – first hand experience

Avoid writing distractions

Avoid writing distractions

Researcher‟s Skills
 experiment with new ideas
 Technical skills - use software
 communication skills
 Content expertise
 credible subject matter knowledge
 Personal characteristics
 able to adapt to new situations

Research and writing skills
for your survival…

Have a discussion…
 Desirable & very important
 Prepare material and data for communication
 Discuss the draft of the paper
 Focus on the improvement of ideas
 Explain what you have done and will do

writing papers

Why writing papers?
Hmmmm…

Why writing papers?
 Ideally
– to share research findings and discoveries
with the hope of improving how we live.
 Practically
– to get funding
– to get promoted
– to get a job
– to keep your job!

Why not writing papers?
 inform others about what
you did
 represent your research
and effort
 promote awareness
of current problems
 kick start a systematic
analysis

Every paper tells a story
 what is the “elevator pitch” of your story?
elevator pitch = summary that is short enough
to give during an elevator ride
 the story is not what you did, but rather
– what you show, new ideas, new insights
– why interesting, important?
 why is the story of interest to others?
 know your story!

Know your audience
 Who are the target readers of the paper?
 Where is it going to be
published/presented/used?
 Can you get hold of and understand
refereeing/marking guidelines?

Decide on the kind of paper
 Presenting new ideas/concepts/methods/
Describing design/prototype?
 Empirical evaluation results, study?
 Comparison, survey?

Papers
1. Peer-reviewed conference proceedings
2. Papers in scholarly journals
3. Peer-reviewed book chapters
4. Other (e.g. journal for practicians)

Where to publish?
 Journals
– Ranking of journals
– Review process of journals
– Publication cycle
 Conferences
– Ranking of conferences
– Review process of conferences
N.B. a good journal / conference tends to have rigorous
review process and long review time

Publication sequence

Plan your writing
 Ask two questions before starting:
– What is new in your work?
– What are you going to write?
 Emphasize on the originality and significance
 Organize your thinking and decide the structure
 Stick on your central points throughout the paper
 Remove all unnecessary discussions

Reader-oriented Writing
 Disseminate your research results
– Don‟t make a simple problem complicated
– Don‟t hide technical details
 Write in a way that would lead readers to follow you
– Well-organize your thinking
– Give enough and clear explanation
– Always assume that you‟re a reader
 Use simple/plain English
– express your idea correctly & clearly

Malaysia Boleh!
Presented by
SYAHRUL NIZAM
SYAHRUL NIZAM

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