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- 1. HOW TO WRITE A RESEARCH PAPER Prof. Yehia M.S. ElShazly Chemical Engineering Department Alexandria University
- 2. What is Research ? Research comprises "creative work undertaken on a systematic basis in order to increase the stock of knowledge, including knowledge of humans, culture and society, and the use of this stock of knowledge to devise new applications." It is divided into two general categories: • Basic research is inquiry aimed at increasing scientific knowledge, and • Applied research is effort aimed at using basic research for solving problems or developing new processes, products, or techniques. Prof. Yehia ElShazly – Alexandria University.
- 3. Web of Science Documents (Thomson Reuters) 0 1,000,000 2,000,000 3,000,000 4,000,000 USA CHINAMAINLAND GERMANY(FEDREPGER) ENGLAND JAPAN FRANCE CANADA ITALY SPAIN INDIA AUSTRALIA SOUTHKOREA BRAZIL NETHERLANDS RUSSIA TAIWAN SWITZERLAND TURKEY SWEDEN POLAND IRAN BELGIUM DENMARK SCOTLAND AUSTRIA ISRAEL FINLAND HONGKONG PORTUGAL MEXICO GREECE NORWAY SINGAPORE CZECHREPUBLIC SOUTHAFRICA NEWZEALAND ARGENTINA MALAYSIA IRELAND EGYPT SAUDIARABIA ROMANIA HUNGARY THAILAND CHILE PAKISTAN UKRAINE WALES SERBIA SLOVENIA http://0811fo7rs.1104.y.https.esi.incites.thomsonreuters.com.mplb.ekb.eg/IndicatorsAction.action Prof. Yehia ElShazly – Alexandria University.
- 4. Web of Science Documents (Thomson Reuters) 10,000 100,000 1,000,000 10,000,000 USA CHINAMAINLAND GERMANY(FEDREPGER) ENGLAND JAPAN FRANCE CANADA ITALY SPAIN INDIA AUSTRALIA SOUTHKOREA BRAZIL NETHERLANDS RUSSIA TAIWAN SWITZERLAND TURKEY SWEDEN POLAND IRAN BELGIUM DENMARK SCOTLAND AUSTRIA ISRAEL FINLAND HONGKONG PORTUGAL MEXICO GREECE NORWAY SINGAPORE CZECHREPUBLIC SOUTHAFRICA NEWZEALAND ARGENTINA MALAYSIA IRELAND EGYPT SAUDIARABIA ROMANIA HUNGARY THAILAND CHILE PAKISTAN UKRAINE WALES SERBIA SLOVENIA 40 http://0811fo7rs.1104.y.https.esi.incites.thomsonreuters.com.mplb.ekb.eg/IndicatorsAction.action Prof. Yehia ElShazly – Alexandria University.
- 5. 0 100,000 200,000 300,000 400,000 500,000 600,000 UnitedStates… China… UnitedKingdom… Germany… India… Japan… France… Italy… Canada… Australia… Spain… SouthKorea… Brazil… RussianFederation… Netherlands… Iran… Switzerland… Turkey… Poland… Sweden… Taiwan… Belgium… Malaysia… Denmark… Austria… Portugal… CzechRepublic… Mexico… Norway… Israel… Singapore… Finland… SaudiArabia… SouthAfrica… Greece… Egypt… HongKong… Romania… NewZealand… Argentina… Thailand… Ireland… Pakistan… Chile… Hungary… Ukraine… Colombia… Serbia… Indonesia… Slovakia… http://www.scimagojr.com/countryrank.php?year=2015 Publication by country in 2015 according to scimagojr: Prof. Yehia ElShazly – Alexandria University.
- 6. 1,000 10,000 100,000 1,000,000 UnitedStates… China… UnitedKingdom… Germany… India… Japan… France… Italy… Canada… Australia… Spain… SouthKorea… Brazil… RussianFederation… Netherlands… Iran… Switzerland… Turkey… Poland… Sweden… Taiwan… Belgium… Malaysia… Denmark… Austria… Portugal… CzechRepublic… Mexico… Norway… Israel… Singapore… Finland… SaudiArabia… SouthAfrica… Greece… Egypt… HongKong… Romania… NewZealand… Argentina… Thailand… Ireland… Pakistan… Chile… Hungary… Ukraine… Colombia… Serbia… Indonesia… Slovakia… http://www.scimagojr.com/countryrank.php?year=2015 Publication by country in 2015 according to scimagojr: 36 Prof. Yehia ElShazly – Alexandria University.
- 7. Publications: scimagojr :http://www.scimagojr.com/countryrank.php?year=2015 Total Population: World Bank: http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.POP.TOTL 0 400 800 1,200 1,600 0 100,000 200,000 300,000 400,000 500,000 600,000 UnitedStates China UnitedKingdom Germany India Japan France Italy Canada Australia Spain SouthKorea Brazil RussianFederation Netherlands Iran Switzerland Turkey Poland Sweden Taiwan Belgium Malaysia Denmark Austria Portugal CzechRepublic Mexico Norway Israel Singapore PopulationinMillion Publications Publications Population in Million(2015) Correlation Coefficient = 0.5508 Prof. Yehia ElShazly – Alexandria University.
- 8. Publications: scimagojr :http://www.scimagojr.com/countryrank.php?year=2015 GDP per Capita: World Bank: http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.PCAP.CD 0 10,000 20,000 30,000 40,000 50,000 60,000 70,000 80,000 90,000 0 100,000 200,000 300,000 400,000 500,000 600,000 UnitedStates China UnitedKingdom Germany India Japan France Italy Canada Australia Spain SouthKorea Brazil RussianFederation Netherlands Iran Switzerland Turkey Poland Sweden Taiwan Belgium Malaysia Denmark Austria Portugal CzechRepublic Mexico Norway Israel Singapore GDPperCapita Publications Publications GDP per Capita Correlation Coefficient = 0.03846 Prof. Yehia ElShazly – Alexandria University.
- 9. Publications: scimagojr :http://www.scimagojr.com/countryrank.php?year=2015 GDP : World Bank: http://data.worldbank.org/data-catalog/GDP-ranking-table 0 4,000,000 8,000,000 12,000,000 16,000,000 20,000,000 0 100,000 200,000 300,000 400,000 500,000 600,000 UnitedStates China UnitedKingdom Germany India Japan France Italy Canada Australia Spain SouthKorea Brazil RussianFederation Netherlands Iran Switzerland Turkey Poland Sweden Taiwan Belgium Malaysia Denmark Austria Portugal CzechRepublic Mexico Norway Israel Singapore GDP(millionsof$) Publications Publications GDP (millions of $) Correlation Coefficient = 0.98194 Prof. Yehia ElShazly – Alexandria University.
- 10. Why do we write a research paper? ▪ Job. ▪ To add to the body of knowledge. ▪ There are also practical benefits: prestige, establishing credentials, requirements for grants or to help one get a future grant proposal, and so on. ▪ Findings will help develop or improve on existing policy. ▪ Inner Satisfaction. Prof. Yehia ElShazly – Alexandria University.
- 11. Prof. Yehia ElShazly – Alexandria University.
- 12. Johannes Gutenberg was a German goldsmith and technological innovator. Gutenberg was born between 1394 and 1400 into an upper-class merchant family. Around 1438 Johannes entered a business arrangement that funded his printing experiments and by 1440 the first printing press was created. His invention's contributions reached further than just a few printing projects. As this technology spread through out Europe by the beginning of the 16th century its effect began. Books and literature became a lot cheaper and more accessible overall to the lower classes. It kept the common 16th century man up to date. It vastly increased science and sprouted rationalism and scientific communities, and also, added the possibility of communal knowledge such as libraries or bookshops. Johannes Gutenberg (1398 –1468) http://therenaissanceandtheotherstuff.weebly.com/game-changer.html Prof. Yehia ElShazly – Alexandria University.
- 13. Prof. Yehia ElShazly – Alexandria University.
- 14. The Research Cycle Prof. Yehia ElShazly – Alexandria University.
- 15. Contents ➢ Components of A Research Paper. ➢ Language & Style. Prof. Yehia ElShazly – Alexandria University.
- 16. Components of A Research Paper Prof. Yehia ElShazly – Alexandria University.
- 17. Idea Research Write Idea Write Research Writing a Research Paper Prof. Yehia ElShazly – Alexandria University.
- 18. Identify your key idea Your paper should have just one “ping”: one clear, sharp idea ASK YOURSELF: • Have I done something new and interesting? • Is there anything challenging in my work? • Is my work related directly to a current hot topic? • Have I provided solutions to some difficult problems? Prof. Yehia ElShazly – Alexandria University.
- 19. Tell a story ➢ Here is a problem ➢ It’s an interesting problem ➢ It’s an unsolved problem ➢ Here is my idea ➢ My idea works (details, data) ➢ Here’s how my idea compares to other people’s approaches Prof. Yehia ElShazly – Alexandria University.
- 20. Prof. Yehia ElShazly – Alexandria University.
- 21. ➢ Title ➢ Abstract (4 sentences) ➢ Introduction (1-2 pages) ➢ Presenting the idea/Methods(2 pages) ➢ Results(1-2 pages) ➢ Discussion (4-5 pages) ➢ Optional: Related work (1-2 pages) ➢ Optional: Further work ➢ Conclusions (0.5 pages) ➢ Optional: Appendices Structure Prof. Yehia ElShazly – Alexandria University.
- 22. Title ➢ Try to catch the reader's attention with the title. ➢ Summarizes the hypothesis of the paper. ➢ The reader should be able to work out what the paper is about from the title. Prof. Yehia ElShazly – Alexandria University.
- 23. Abstract ➢ The can be considered the most important part of a manuscript. ➢ Should be brief, not assume too much, and highlight items of importance ➢ States the hypothesis. ➢ Focus on the results, not the means. ➢ Summarises the evidence that supports or refute it. ➢ Mentions the key contributions of the paper. ➢ Sometimes, it is the last part written in the paper. Most readers will not read beyond the abstract Prof. Yehia ElShazly – Alexandria University.
- 24. The Introduction ➢ Describe the problem. ➢ State your contributions. ➢ Optional: Literature Survey / Background. ➢ The novelty of the work comes next and includes the main objectives. Prof. Yehia ElShazly – Alexandria University.
- 25. Describe the problem ➢ What is the problem? ➢ Why is it interesting? ➢ Who else thinks so? ➢ What other related work is there? ➢ Use example(s) to introduce the problem. Prof. Yehia ElShazly – Alexandria University.
- 26. State your contributions: ➢ What are you trying to do about it? ➢ Write the list of contributions first: it drives the entire paper. ➢ You sell your work: If the reader think you can deliver this, he will buy it and continue reading. ➢ Do not leave the reader to guess what your contributions are! Prof. Yehia ElShazly – Alexandria University.
- 27. Prof. Yehia ElShazly – Alexandria University.
- 28. Literature Survey/Review ➢ Is a broad and shallow account of the field, which helps to place the contribution of the paper in context ▪ What are the rival approaches? ▪ What are the drawbacks of each? ▪ How has the battle between different approaches progressed? ▪ What are the major outstanding problems? (This is where you come in) Prof. Yehia ElShazly – Alexandria University.
- 29. Presenting the idea/Methods (Experimental Methods) ➢ Explain it as if you were speaking to someone using a whiteboard ➢ Conveying the intuition is primary, not secondary: Once your reader has the intuition, he can follow the details (but not vice versa) ➢ Even if he skips the details, he still takes away something valuable. ➢ This is where you get to brag about how much you have done. However, do not recapitulate your personal journey of discovery. Instead, choose the most direct route to the idea. ➢ Include only professional images that demonstrate the experimental apparatus. Prof. Yehia ElShazly – Alexandria University.
- 30. ➢ Include schematic diagrams and describe major pieces of equipment individually as well as the experimental sequence chronologically. ➢ Describe the sampling procedure, if any. ➢ Use tables to summarize the experimental conditions. ➢ List all materials and reagents as well as their purity. ➢ Indicate if the reageants were further purified or were synthesized as part of the study. ➢ Reference the synthesis steps where appropriate rather than repeating them. ➢ Provide the brand and the model of the analytical instruments as well as the conditions. Prof. Yehia ElShazly – Alexandria University.
- 31. Results ➢ Data is everything. Data talks, bullshit walks. ➢ Look at your methods section: for every paragraph in the methods, write 1-2 paragraphs of results to say what you got! ➢ Re-check - did you leave anything out? →Add it to both results and methods ➢ All of your figures and tables should go in the Results ➢ Explain / summarise each figure or table in the text: If it isn’t explained it can’t be included. ➢ Every table or figure needs a detailed caption in addition to be explained in the text of the paper. Prof. Yehia ElShazly – Alexandria University.
- 32. Charles Minard’s 1869 chart showing the losses in men, their movements, and the temperature of Napoleon’s 1812 Russian campaign. Prof. Yehia ElShazly – Alexandria University.
- 33. Discussions ➢ The purpose of the discussion is to interpret and describe the significance of your findings in light of what was already known about the research problem being investigated, and to explain any new understanding or insights about the problem after you've taken the findings into consideration. ➢ The discussion will always connect to the introduction by way of the research questions or hypotheses you posed and the literature you reviewed, but it does not simply repeat or rearrange the introduction; the discussion should always explain how your study has moved the reader's understanding of the research problem forward from where you left them at the end of the introduction. Prof. Yehia ElShazly – Alexandria University.
- 34. Prof. Yehia ElShazly – Alexandria University.
- 35. This section is often considered the most important part of your research paper because this is where you: ➢ Most effectively demonstrates your ability as a researcher to think critically about an issue, to develop creative solutions to problems based upon a logical synthesis of the findings, and to formulate a deeper, more profound understanding of the research problem under investigation. ➢ Present the underlying meaning of your research, note possible implications in other areas of study, and explore possible improvements that can be made in order to further develop the concerns of your research. ➢ Highlight the importance of your study and how it may be able to contribute to and/or help fill existing gaps in the field. ➢ Engage the reader in thinking critically about issues based upon an evidence-based interpretation of findings. Prof. Yehia ElShazly – Alexandria University.
- 36. ➢ Do not be verbose or repetitive. ➢ Be concise and make your points clearly. ➢ Follow a logical stream of thought; in general, interpret and discuss the significance of your findings in the same sequence you described them in your results section. ➢ Use the present verb tense, especially for established facts; however, refer to specific works or prior studies in the past tense. ➢ If needed, use subheadings to help organize your discussion or to categorize your interpretations into themes. ➢ Organize the discussion from the general to the specific, linking your findings to the literature, then to theory, then to practice. ➢ Explain the Meaning of the Findings and Why They are Important ➢ Do not waste time restating your results. ➢ Do not introduce new results in the discussion section. Prof. Yehia ElShazly – Alexandria University.
- 37. Related Work ➢ Compares narrow but deeply between Your Contribution and its main rivals at their critical points of difference ➢ Belongs “logically” to the evaluation since it establishes the originality of the contribution ➢ Is different in purpose, position, breadth and depth from the literature survey. ➢ Can be included in the Discussion or the Conclusions. Prof. Yehia ElShazly – Alexandria University.
- 38. Credit ➢ Never Ever Attack other people work: To make my work look good, I have to make other people’s work look bad. ➢ Warmly acknowledge people who have helped you ➢ Be generous to the competition. ➢ Acknowledge weaknesses in your approach Giving credit to others does not diminish the credit you get from your paper Prof. Yehia ElShazly – Alexandria University.
- 39. Further Work ➢ Describes future research and new directions suggested by the contribution. Prof. Yehia ElShazly – Alexandria University.
- 40. Conclusions Summarizes the research and discusses its significance ▪ The hypothesis and the evidence for and against it are briefly restated. ▪ The original motivation is recapitulated. ▪ The state of the field in the light of this new contribution is reassessed. Prof. Yehia ElShazly – Alexandria University.
- 41. Appendices ➢ Provide information whose inclusion could assist the reader in understanding or assessing the research, but would detract from the flow of the main body of the paper. ➢ Contain for example ▪ glossary of technical terms ▪ technical background that only some readers may require ▪ examples of program code ▪ more details of the examples evaluated and the experimental results ▪ the full versions of proofs ▪ an index Prof. Yehia ElShazly – Alexandria University.
- 42. Draft ➢ When writing your manuscript for the first time, ignore the grammatical rules cited in this document! Write quickly and come back later to correct, do not stop to edit. Concentrate solely on writing ➢ Experience over the years has shown that producing a good paper takes a minimum of three drafts. ➢ Each draft is a separate stage in the progress of the paper. The fi rst draft should be rough and much scribbled over. ➢ First drafts are supposed to be messy. They are supposed to show signs of major rewriting and recursion (that the writer goes back and forth over the material in the process of finding the right words to express ideas on paper). Prof. Yehia ElShazly – Alexandria University.
- 43. Getting Help ➢ Getting Experts to read your work is good ➢ Non-experts are also very good ➢ Each reader can only read your paper for the first time once! So use them carefully ➢ Get your paper read by as many friendly guinea pigs as possible. ➢ A good plan: when you think you are done, send the draft to the competition saying “could you help me ensure that I describe your work fairly?”. Prof. Yehia ElShazly – Alexandria University.
- 44. Prof. Yehia ElShazly – Alexandria University.
- 45. Listening to your reviewers ➢ Treat every review like gold dust and Be (truly) grateful for criticism as well. ➢ Read every criticism as a positive suggestion for something you could explain more clearly. ➢ DO NOT respond “you stupid person, I meant X”. INSTEAD: fix the paper so that X is apparent even to the stupidest reader. ➢ Thank them warmly. They have given up their time for you. Prof. Yehia ElShazly – Alexandria University.
- 46. Language & Style Prof. Yehia ElShazly – Alexandria University.
- 47. The Infinite Monkey Theorem states that a monkey hitting keys at random on a typewriter keyboard for an infinite amount of time will almost surely type a given text, such as the complete works of William Shakespeare. Prof. Yehia ElShazly – Alexandria University.
- 48. Basics ➢ Keep to the length/format restrictions ➢ Always use a spell checker ➢ Give strong visual structure to your paper using ▪ sections and sub-sections ▪ bullets ▪ italics ➢ Use Pictures/Graphs Prof. Yehia ElShazly – Alexandria University.
- 49. Verbs • Avoid the passive voice and the participle of verb to do… It renders the paper dull… • Try, Use, Perform and Make often hide the active verb…Avoid them as well… It can be seen that... We can see that... 34 tests were run We ran 34 tests These properties were thought desirable We wanted to retain these properties Prof. Yehia ElShazly – Alexandria University.
- 50. It might be thought that this would be a type error You might think this would be a type error When using the infrared camera, the calibration was done between 20 oC to 120 oC. The infrared camera was calibrated between 20 oC to 120 oC. a needle valve was used to regulate pressure a needle valve regulated pressure. Prof. Yehia ElShazly – Alexandria University.
- 51. Use simple, direct language The object under study was displaced horizontally The ball moved sideways On an annual basis Yearly Endeavour to ascertain Find out It could be considered that the speed of storage reclamation left something to be desired The garbage collector was really slow Prof. Yehia ElShazly – Alexandria University.
- 52. Expressions to Avoid ➢ If you can delete a parenthetical expression at the beginning of a sentence without changing the meaning, it is extraneous. ➢ Avoid expressions such as • ‘It is clear that’, • ‘Regarding this fact that’, • ‘Is given by the fact’, • ‘Based on our experiments, understanding’, • ‘It takes into account the fact that’, • ‘It is identified that’ • ‘as can be seen from the figure, table’, • ‘It is shown that’, • ‘It can be noticed that’, • ’It has to be mentioned that’, • ‘It should however be noted that’, Prof. Yehia ElShazly – Alexandria University.
- 53. Quantitative vs. Qualitative ➢ Quantitative values are preferable. ➢ Be specific instead of stating that samples were withdrawn often, cite the frequency. ➢ Be quantitative: rates double is better than rates increase a lot, or significantly. the rate is extremely dependent on operating temperature. the rate depends on temperature the rate increases significantly with temperature the rate doubles for every increase in 10 oC samples were withdrawn from the tube very often samples were withdrawn at a frequency of 2 h-1 the test lasted approximately between 5 s to 30 s the test lasted between 5 s to 30 s Prof. Yehia ElShazly – Alexandria University.
- 54. ➢ Be careful to correctly assign the adjective with the physical quantity, height, value, time, ➢ Use the word not sparingly. Texts are easier to read and assimilate when they are structured in the positive tense: Use prefixes when possible. Not accurate Inaccurate Not complete Incomplete Not sensitive Insensitive Not necessary Unnecessary Not correct Incorrect Not favourable Unfavourable Not sufficient Insufficient Prof. Yehia ElShazly – Alexandria University.
- 55. ➢ Reducing the number of words in a document results in a text that is direct and readable. ➢ Avoid using Wordy texts transform adjectives to nouns and hide the active verbs. It has been found that CO2 and H2O formation has been reduced at high temperatures. CO2 and H2O formation is lower at higher temperatures. Less CO2 and H2O was formed at higher temperature. Briefly, it is reported here that the preparation method has involved a solid liquid reaction between an n- hexane solution of small Rh clusters and the powdered oxides (Al2O3, MgO and CeO2). The powder was prepared by reacting 100nm Rh clusters and Al2O3, MgO and CeO2 powder in n-hexane. Conversion over 90% was achieved with a residence time of 20 minutes. Conversion exceeded 90 % in 20 min. Prof. Yehia ElShazly – Alexandria University.
- 56. Coal pyrolysis to acetylene is carried out under ultra high temperature and milliseconds residence time. Coal pyrolyses to acetylene in 10 ms above 1500 oC. ... as already extensively documented [ref1, ref2]. ...[ref1, ref2]. ... was demonstrated to be excellent was excellent ... must be kept to a minimum must be minimized found to be able to account for accounted for Prof. Yehia ElShazly – Alexandria University.
- 57. Reporting Data ➢ Number of experiments. ➢ Errors included carrying too many significant figures and poor choice of units. ➢ Mixing between standard deviation, error, confidence level and uncertainty.
- 58. Graphs & Tables ➢ Make graphs instead of tables. ➢ However, when the trends are simple (straight lines, three data points or less), cite the data within the text of the document: Increasing the temperature from 120 oC to 140 oC doubled the reaction rate. ➢ When discussing graphs, highlight trends and discuss their significance with respect to expectations. ➢ Avoid sentences that give no information other than directing the reader to the figure or table, for example: Figure 1 shows the summary results of the TGA analysis. ➢ Choose the axes so that the experimental data extends to its limits. ➢ The maximum number of major ticks on a graph should be about 5 (excluding the origin). ➢ The maximum number of minor ticks should not exceed 10. Often, minor ticks are unnecessary. Prof. Yehia ElShazly – Alexandria University.
- 59. ➢ Reserve symbols for experimental data and lines for models and correlations. ➢ When the graph contains several sets of data, each set should have its own colour and symbol type (circle, square, diamond, etc.). ➢ Minimize the text in graphs: cooling temperature 690 oC.→Tcooling = 690 oC. ➢ For large or small numbers, adopt the appropriate SI prefix. ➢ For tables, Column titles should contain the symbol name (abbreviate the titles→T instead of Temp. or Temperature). ➢ Include the units in the title instead of reporting the symbol unit after each value in the table. Prof. Yehia ElShazly – Alexandria University.
- 60. References ➢ Furnished as per-request. ➢ Different Styles/format. ➢ Reference Management Software ➢ Endnote: http://endnote.com/ ➢ Mendeley: https://www.mendeley.com/ ➢ Further can be found at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_reference_management_software Prof. Yehia ElShazly – Alexandria University.
- 62. References • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Research • How to write a great research paper; Simon Peyton Jones; Microsoft Research Cambridge, with amendments by Mike Hicks, University of Maryland. • How to write a Research Paper in Computer Science; Compiled by the ICCL Team International Center for Computational Logic; Technische Universität Dresden; Germany. • Writing a Scientic Paper: From Clutter to Clarity; Gregory S. Patience, Daria C. Boto, Paul A. Patience; Department of Chemical Engineering, Polytechnique Montréal, C.P. 6079, Succ. CV; Montréal, H3C 3A7 Québec, Canada • http://libguides.usc.edu/writingguide/ • http://phdcomics.com/ Prof. Yehia ElShazly – Alexandria University.