A gentle introduction to
writing research papers
Alistair Edwards
…but drawing heavily on slides from Chris Power
Objectives
To give a brief introduction to scientific
writing in general
To help you prepare for the specific
writing task for the assessment of this
module
Why do we publish?
(principled)
As scientists we work at the forefront of our field,
we have new insights into many topics in which we
work
We have an obligation to share our improved
knowledge, about interaction or any topic, with
others
Peer-review self-selects the best work to be shared
with the outside world forming a meritocracy
Our work grants us immortality
Why do we publish?
(pragmatic)
Publications help us communicate our message
to other scientists to foster collaboration
Publications give us ‘esteem’, which is a quality
that allows you to influence decision makers
Publications get us money in the form of grants
and scholarships
Publications grant us jobs
‘Publications get us money in
the form of grants and
scholarships’
Increasingly true
All university departments are being assessed
via the Research Excellence Framework (REF)
This will depend to a large extent on bibliographic
metrics of publications
Publish a paper and get lots of people to cite it =
£££££££
Why do we publish?
‘Publish or perish’
Your writing tasks
Formative assessment
Weeks 4 - 8
Group writing on a given topic
Peer reviewed
Module assessment
Spring 7 – Summer 1
Individual writing on a negotiated title
Individual project
Report
Paper
Organizing your research (paper)
Organizing your research
(paper)
Choosing a topic
Choosing your audience
What is your hypothesis?
What is your story?
Doing your literature review
Finding your evidence
Choosing a topic
One key to success is – What are you going to
research?
…but in the context of your assessments
you will have to negotiate your topic
Think of your audience
Formative exercise?
Module assessment?
Project report?
Project paper?
What is your hypothesis?
A classic scientific paper is based on a
hypothesis
A hypothesis is a proposition
Your objective is to prove – or falsify – that
hypothesis
(QUAN)
Example hypotheses
Animation makes web advertising more effective
Fast-tempo music increases game players’ sense of
immersion
Perceived ease-of-use is positively related to flow
experience of playing of an on-line game
Data entry by older users is easier when the pocket
computer has a keyboard, albeit a small one
The null hypothesis
The negation of the hypothesis
Seek to prove it
Fail and you have supported the hypothesis
e.g. Perceived ease-of-use is not positively related to flow
experience of playing an on-line game
Even a review paper may have
a hypothesis
Find a point to argue
and do so with reference to the literature
What is your story?
Every paper has a story
Finding it can be hard
but once you are clear you can write a
clearer paper
‘No tale is so good that it can’t be spoiled in the
telling’ (Proverb)
Example stories
‘This is my hypothesis and here is the evidence to
support or refute it’
A history
Selling
an idea
a product
Teach
start from what the reader knows
and lead them to new knowledge
Doing your literature review
There is always a literature review
Your assessment paper will be mostly
a literature review
What’s your story?
Structuring your paper
You then have to communicate all of the above to
your reader
Build constructs of language – sentence to
paragraph, paragraphs to sections, sections to
papers
All constructs of our paper will have the same
structure:
Introduction – orienting the reader
Contribution – the point of the construct
Conclusion – sending the reader off
Structuring your paper
Title
Abstract
Introduction
Contribution
Conclusion
References
Acknowledgements
Structuring your paper
Contribution
Generally
Method
Results
Discussion
Structuring your paper
Contribution
Show reasoned judgement
Do not express opinions
Structuring your paper
Title
Abstract
Introduction
Contribution
Conclusion
References
Acknowledgements
Structuring your paper
Introduction
Contribution
For the assessment mainly discussion
Conclusion
Abstract
Abstract:
State the contribution you are making
State the motivation as to why it is interesting
State the methodology you followed
State the results
State the conclusions
You get about 1-2 sentences for each of these
The abstract will keep people reading your paper
if it is likely to be useful to them
Abstract
Abstract:
State the contribution you are making
State the motivation as to why it is interesting
State the methodology you followed
State the results
State the conclusions
You get about 1-2 sentences for each of these
The abstract will keep people reading your paper
if it is likely to be useful to them
Abstract
The abstract and paper should be capable of
being read independently
Don’t assume that the reader reading one of
them has read the other
A good abstract?
Introduction
Introduce the topic
‘This paper is about…’ very early on
‘No one reads the second paragraph’
Journalists’ dogma
Introduce the background
Introduce the paper
Literature review
In this section you will convince the reader that what
you are doing is new and interesting
Hit on major themes within the research community
Look for problem areas such as common disagreements
or ‘dogma’ that is in the field so that you reference
them clearly
This is particularly important in your assessment
You have not simply read the literature, you have analysed it
critically
Discussion section?
Conclusions
Simple rule
Introduce nothing new in the conclusions
It is a distillation of what has gone before
Not a summary of the paper
A summary of what can be learned from it
Conclusions
State – or re-iterate – succinctly:
The contribution you have made
The motivation as to why it is interesting to your
audience and how it applies to them
The methodology you already described
The key results
What the findings mean to the field and how it is
original and important
Sources of information
Zobel Writing for Computer Science
http://www.amazon.com/Writing-Computer-Science-Justin-Zobel/dp/1852338024
Strunk and White (2014) Elements of Style, CreateSpace
Independent Publishing Platform
Mander K. (1994) Writing for Humans
http://www.cs.york.ac.uk/tutorials/writingforhumans.html
Sources of information
How to Write a Great Research Paper
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g3dkRsTqdDA
Video (34:25) by Simon Peyton Jones
Thimbleby, H (2008) Write now!, (in) Cairns. P & Cox, A. (eds.)
Research Methods for Human-Computer Interaction, Cambridge
University press, pp.196-211
Pinker, S (2014) Why Academics Stink at Writing, The Chronicle of
Higher Education
Read literature critically for style - re-read papers, chapters that you
found easy to read
Sources of information
Truss, L. (2003) Eats shoots and leaves: The Zero
Tolerance Approach to Punctuation Profile Books
Burchfield, R. W (2004) Fowler's Modern English
Usage Oxford University Press
How to Write an Abstract by Philip Koopman,
Carnegie Mellon University
http://www.ece.cmu.edu/~koopman/essays/abstract.html
Sources of information
Academic phrasebook
http://www.phrasebank.manchester.ac.uk/
Exercise
Instructions
Groups of 2 – 3
Consult your tutor