The ISS Doctoral Symposium, held with the ACM International Conference on Interactive Surfaces and Spaces (ISS) 2016, is a forum in which PhD students can meet and discuss their work with each other and a panel of experienced Interactive Surface researchers in an informal and interactive setting. To participate, students submit a paper that describes the problem that their thesis aims to address, their research methodology, the work they have completed thus far, and the plan for the full dissertation work. Doctoral Symposium papers are published in the ISS conference companion distributed at the conference and archived in the ACM Digital Library. Accepted students present their work to a panel of senior researchers in the ISS field, and participate in an intensive workshop around ISS research and profession career development. They also obtain free conference registration.

1. ISS 2016
Doctoral Symposium
Held with the ACM International Conference on
Interactive Surfaces and Spaces (ISS) 2016
Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada Nov 6-9, 2016
Welcome!

2. Today’s Schedule
9:00-9:15 Introduction
Professional
Development
9:15-10:00 Types of research contributions / Making a lasting
impact with your research
10:00-10:30 Professional network / making most of conferencing
10:30-11:00 Coffee Break
11:00-11:45 Post-PhD career choices / career planning
11:45-12:30 Preparing for a faculty / research interview
12:30-1:30 Lunch Break
Research Talks
(20 mins)
+
Mentor Feedback
(25 mins)
1:30-3:00 1: Anton Sigitov; 2: Naghmi Shireen (45 min each)
3:00-3:30 Coffee Break
3:30-5:00 3: Sami Uddin; 4: Fateme Rajajiyazdi (45 min each)

3. Introduction
Co-Chairs: Stacey Scott, University of Guelph
Bongshin Lee, Microsoft Research
Guest Advisor: Andy Wilson, Microsoft Research
Students:
Anton Sigitov, Naghmi Shireen,
Sami Uddin, Fateme Rajajiyazdi

4. Types of research
contributions
&
Making a lasting impact
with your research

5. Research Contributions in HCI
Wobbrock & Kientz. Interactions, June 2016.
1. Empirical Research Contributions
2. Artifact Contributions
3. Methodological Contributions
4. Theoretical Contributions
5. Dataset Contributions
6. Survey Contributions
7. Opinion Contributions

6. Different Types of Contributions Are Needed To
Progress a Research Field Over Time
- New knowledge
- New processes
- New methodologies
- New theoretical underpinings / schools of thought
- New thoughts on the directions a whole field should be going
- etc.

7. Different Contributions, Different Evaluation Criteria
- Evaluation criteria determines “significance”/ “value” of a contribution
- Different criteria are more or less appropriate for a certain type of
contribution
E.g.,
- empirical contrib. (quant.): statistical validity, external validity, etc.
- empirical contrib. (qual.): analysis method used, depth of analysis,
quality of descriptions and other evidence provided
→ Consider how reviewers will assess the value of your contribution when
you publish your work

8. Research Contributions in HCI
1. Empirical Research Contributions
- Scientific contribution
- provide new knowledge through findings based on
observation and data gathering
- data may be qualitative or quantitative, objective or
subjective, from the laboratory or from the
- In HCI: experiments, user tests, field observations,
interviews, surveys, focus groups, diaries, ethnographies,
sensors, log files, etc.
Wobbrock & Kientz. Research Contributions in Human-Computer Interaction. Interactions, June 2016.

9. 2. Artifact Contributions
- Innovation / invention contribution
- creation and realization of interactive artifacts
- come from generative design-driven activities
- Example artifacts: new systems, architectures, tools,
toolkits, techniques, sketches, mockups, and
envisionments that reveal new possibilities, enable new
explorations, facilitate new insights, or compel us to
consider new possible futures
Research Contributions in HCI (cont’d)
Wobbrock & Kientz. Research Contributions in Human-Computer Interaction. Interactions, June 2016.

10. Research Contributions in HCI (cont’d)
3. Methodological Contributions
- New methodologies, research processes
- New knowledge that informs how we carry out our work
- Science or design methodologies
- Improve how we discover things, measure things, analyze
things, create things, or build things
Wobbrock & Kientz. Research Contributions in Human-Computer Interaction. Interactions, June 2016.

11. Research Contributions in HCI (cont’d)
4. Theoretical Contributions
- New or improved concepts, definitions, models, principles, or
frameworks
- Vehicles for thought
- Inform what we do, why we do it, and what we expect from it
- May be qualitative or quantitative, be descriptive and/or
predictive
- Theories should be testable and falsifiable; if they are not, they
do not qualify as scientific theories.
Wobbrock & Kientz. Research Contributions in Human-Computer Interaction. Interactions, June 2016.

12. Research Contributions in HCI (cont’d)
5. Dataset Contributions
- Provides a new and useful corpus, often accompanied by
an analysis of its characteristics
- Benefits the research community
- Benchmark tests may accompany datasets to standardize
comparisons
- Enable evaluations of shared repositories by new
algorithms, systems, or methods
Wobbrock & Kientz. Research Contributions in Human-Computer Interaction. Interactions, June 2016.

13. Research Contributions in HCI (cont’d)
6. Survey Contributions (and Meta-analyses review)
- Synthesize work done on a research topic with the goal of
exposing trends and gaps
- Survey contributions are appropriate after a topic has
reached a certain level of maturity
- Not uncommon for surveys to have references numbering
in the hundreds
- ACM Computing Surveys is devoted to publishing surveys
- Foundations and Trends in HCI publishes HCI surveys
Wobbrock & Kientz. Research Contributions in Human-Computer Interaction. Interactions, June 2016.

14. Research Contributions in HCI (cont’d)
7. Opinion Contributions (Essays, arguments)
- Seek to change the minds of readers through persuasion
- Draw upon many of the other contribution types to make
their case
- Considered a separate research contribution type not
because they lack a research basis, but because their
goal is to persuade, not just inform
- Goal is to compel reflection, discussion, and debate
Wobbrock & Kientz. Research Contributions in Human-Computer Interaction. Interactions, June 2016.

15. PhD Often Makes Different Types of Contributions
What Type(s) of Contributions will yours make?
Take a few minutes to reflect on what type of contributions your PhD work
will produce?
Also, think a bit about where you can publish each of these contributions

16. Making a Lasting Impact with Your Research
- Important for career / personal satisfaction
- Important for career progression / promotion
- What types of impact can you make?

17. Types of Impact / Ways to Make Them
● Industrial / practitioner impact (even for academics)
○ Direct influence on real product, processes, etc. in industry/gov’t -
partner with companies
■ Work for a company (could be during sabbatical if academic)
■ Do / send students to do internships to bring research ideas /
modern ideas into practices, etc.
○ Indirect influence: publish in industry-focused media (trade mags,
whitepapers, etc.)
○ Demonstrate how new technologies can be applied in different
ways

18. Types of Impact / Ways to Make Them
● Academic / Research impact
○ Be strategic when publishing (not all publication is equal)
■ Publish in high-impact venues (conf. w/ low acceptance rates,
journals with high impact factor, ACM DL, track your citations)
■ Publish in venues that target a specific community so your
work gets to the right people
○ More indirect influence: get involved in academic service
(conference/journal reviewing, conference organization, etc.) - not
all service is equal; be strategic about what you say yes to.

19. Keeping Track of Your Impact
For many academic / research careers you will be asked to demonstrate your
impact regularly
Job applications
Annual / biannual performance reviews
Grant / funding applications
There are many useful bibliometrics for demonstrating impact
Citations (e.g., from Google Scholar, Scopus, etc.) per paper or overall
H-index (author-metric) - most cited papers and number of citations they have
Journal impact factor (how much is the journal cited / popularity measure)
Publication awards

20. Example comments and paper-level metrics
Wallace, J.R., Scott, S.D., Stutz, T., Enns, T. & Inkpen, K.M. (2009). Investigating
Teamwork and Taskwork in Single and Multi-Display Groupware Systems.
Personal and Ubiquitous Computing, 13(8), 569-581. Contributed to research
questions, experimental design, design of metrics, and data analysis, HQP
supervisor.
JIF:
5YIF:
GC:
1.13
1.17
37
Kruger, R., Carpendale, M.S.T., Scott, S.D., Tang, A. (2005). Fluid Integration of
Rotation and Translation. Proceedings of CHI 2005: ACM Conference on Human
Factors in Computing Systems, CHI Letters 7(1), April 2-7, 2005, Portland, OR,
601-610. Contributed to conceptual design of technology, experimental
design, and data analysis, HQP co-supervisor.
AR: 25%
GC: 161
ACM DL

21. Conference vs. Journal Publications
In CS and HCI, conference generally hold more weight, but there is value in both,
and each serves a different purpose overall.
- In part, this may depends on your own career needs (what your employer
expects), BUT, it will also depend on what the norms are in your subfield
- Reviewers will be looking for publications in relevant venues (conferences,
journals, etc.) for your specific subfield (e.g., ISS / CHI / UbiComp / InfoVis,
etc.)

22. Professional network
&
Making most of conferencing

23. Maintain a good online presence
Personal / research group website
Update regularly
Professional social networking sites
LinkedIn, ResearchGate, etc.
Making sure your “personal” online presence is also still professional
Be careful about what you post on facebook or twitter

24. In Person Networking Strategies
- Be professional at all times
- Be open-minded and inclusive
- Be sensitive about your own implicit biases
- Gender, race, culture, etc.
- Research cultures, technologies, etc.
- Student volunteer whenever you can
- It’s a great instant networking experience
- Those students will later be your professional peers
- Don’t be afraid to approach senior people

25. Elevator pitch*
*adapted from Slides by Adrian Reetz

26. Elevator pitch
Who is the intended audience of your elevator pitch?
• Peers? Committee? Investors? Relatives?
*adapted from Slides by Adrian Reetz

27. Elevator pitch
Who is the intended audience of your elevator pitch?
• Peers? Committee? Investors? Relatives?
What is the purpose of your elevator pitch?
• Selling your idea? your research? your solution?
• Selling your story? yourself?
*adapted from Slides by Adrian Reetz

28. Who is the intended audience of your elevator pitch?
• Peers? Committee? Investors? Relatives?
Elevator pitch
What is the purpose of your elevator pitch?
• Selling your idea? your research? your solution?
• Selling your story? yourself?
How much time do you have for your pitch?
• 30 seconds? 90 seconds? 5 minutes?
• 15 minutes? 45 minutes?
*adapted from Slides by Adrian Reetz

29. Let’s Practice
Take a few minutes to think about your elevator pitch...

30. Post-PhD Career Choices
&
Career Planning

31. Post-PhD career choices
Academia vs. Industry
-------
Post-Doc
Assistant Professor
Researcher, Research Scientist
UX Researcher
Research Software Development Engineer
Software Engineer
Entrepreneur
etc.

32. What do professors do?
(typically 40% Research; 40% Teach; 20% Service)
Postdoc 2nd Year Prof
*adapted from Presentation by Matthijs van der Meer

33. Where to find about academic/research positions?
● Higher-education magazines / websites
○ Canada: University Affairs
○ US: Higher Ed Jobs, Inside Higher Ed, Chronicle of Higher Education
○ UK: Times Higher Education
○ CRA Job Anouncements (http://cra.org/ads)
● Field-specific magazines / journals
○ Interactions, ToCHI
● Email Listservs
○ CHI-JOBS (HCI-specific jobs, not just academic -
http://www.sigchi.org/connect/mailing-lists)
○ Engineeroxy (Engineering/CS jobs - http://www.engineeroxy.com)

34. Job Search
Job Application Material
CV
Letter of Recommendation
Research Statement + Teaching Statement
On-Site Interview
Research Talk
Interview + Candidate Dinner
Negotiation
Compensation
…
Crossroads (ACM Student Magazine) great resource

35. ❧ ❧
Negotiating*
*adapted from “Negotiations from a Different Perspective” by Erin Chapple

36. Common Fears About Negotiation
❧ “I can’t negotiate”
❧ “It’s out of my comfort zone”
❧ “Maybe what I’m asking for is unreasonable”
❧ “I want to avoid conflict”
*adapted from “Negotiations from a Different Perspective” by Erin Chapple

37. Everyday Negotiation
❧ What typical day-to-day activities involve negotiation?
*adapted from “Negotiations from a Different Perspective” by Erin Chapple

38. What is Negotiation?
Negotiate verb [Oxford Dictionary]
1 try to reach an agreement or compromise by discussion.
2 obtain or bring about by negotiating.
3 find a way over or through (an obstacle or difficult path).
❧ It is NOT a game
❧ It is NOT about winning for you, but for all parties
*adapted from “Negotiations from a Different Perspective” by Erin Chapple

39. Why Are You Doing It?
❧ Define your goals
o Determine your major objective
o Prioritize your goals
❧ Know your limitations
o What are must haves?
o What are nice-to-haves?
❧ Role play these issues for the other party
*adapted from “Negotiations from a Different Perspective” by Erin Chapple

40. I’ve Tried, But It Doesn’t Seem to Work…
❧ I can’t seem to ask the right question to get what I want
❧ I end up not getting what I want
❧ Why do we fail?
o Emotional attachment to the problem
o Not being creative in the solution
o Not prepared
*adapted from “Negotiations from a Different Perspective” by Erin Chapple

41. Negotiation Tips
❧ Equip yourself with information:
o Limit ambiguity - make your case based upon data and facts
o Make your business case – clearly link outcome to the bottom line
❧ Network – gives you access to more information and a
mentor is often a valuable ally
❧ Practice!! Each experience will strengthen your skills!
❧ Women get better reception when they are friendly and
competent versus mean and aggressive; focus on
cooperation and relationship building
From: Women and Negotiation. Agnvall, Elizabeth. HRMagazine; Dec2007, Vol. 52 Issue 12, p69-73, 5p

42. Example – On the Job
❧ Scenario 1:
Manager had asked you to work overtime 3 weeks in a row.
You are new and inclined to say yes but you also want a life.
❧ Scenario 2:
Your team is out of resources to do X. You want to see if the
other team can help you out.
❧ Scenario 3:
You want to get a promotion.
*adapted from “Negotiations from a Different Perspective” by Erin Chapple

43. Key Takeaways
❧ You negotiate a lot more than you know it
❧ You must have a goal
o This is not a street market. Don’t do it for the sake of
doing it.
❧ Be emotionally detached
❧ Be prepared
*adapted from “Negotiations from a Different Perspective” by Erin Chapple

44. Great References
❧ Stanford University Executive Briefings
o http://www.entinst.ca/Stanford_negotiation.htm - or check the
library for these
o The Power of Persuasion
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Cialdini) is a particularly good
one
❧http://www.womendontask.com/
*adapted from “Negotiations from a Different Perspective” by Erin Chapple

45. Career Planning - myIDP.sciencecareers.org

46. Career Planning - myIDP.sciencecareers.org

47. Preparing an Interview & Job Talk

48. Prepare On-Site Interview
Practice your talks
Learn about the organization and interviewers
Connect your talk to the position / organization
Ask good questions during 1:1s

49. Two Excellent Presentations on Preparing for
Academic Careers and Interviews (in Canada / North
America)
Matthijs (Matt) van der Meer, So, you want to be an academic?,
http://www.vandermeerlab.org/MvdM_SoYouWantToBeAnAcademic.pdf
David Clausi, So – You Want To Be a Faculty Member??,
http://www.eng.uwaterloo.ca/~dclausi/SoYoWantToBeAFacultyMemberOnline.pdf

50. Research Talks and Mentor
Feedback

51. Format
~ 20 minute presentation
~25 minute feedback by research mentors and
other Doctoral Symposium participants)