How to Write/Review a Research Paper BPT Group Summer Semester 2011
Contents 2 Recommended reading & acknowledgments Scientific paper goals Document preparation systems Paper structure Related research Paper style Do s and Dont s Reviewing
Acknowledgements 3 Prof. Dr. Jan Mendling Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin www.mendling.com
Recommended Reading (I) 4 Ad Lagendijk Survival Guide for Scientists Writing - Presentation Email
Recommended Reading (II) 5 William Zinsser On Writing Well
Recommended Reading (III) 6 William I. Strunk, E. B. White The Elements of Style
Contents 7 Recommended reading & acknowledgments Scientific paper goals Document preparation systems Paper structure Related research Paper style Do s and Dont s Reviewing
Paper Goals 8 The primary goals of a scientific paper are: maximize the number of readers minimize the time to read your paper maximize the fraction of satisfied readers maximize the number of citations the paper will get Make life easy and pleasant for your reader
Plagiarism 9 Plagiarism is the wrongful appropriation, close imitation, or purloining and publication, of another author's language, thoughts, ideas, or expressions, and the representation of them as one's own original work. within academia plagiarism is considered academic dishonesty punished by sanctions ranging from suspension to termination, along with the loss of credibility and integrity http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/plagiarism, accessed 10.5.11
Plagiarism 10 http://de.guttenplag.wikia.com/wiki/guttenplag_wiki
Contents 11 Recommended reading & acknowledgments Scientific paper goals Document preparation systems Paper structure Related research Paper style Do s and Dont s Reviewing
12 Document Preparation Systems
LaTeX References 13 Miktex distribution of Latex www.miktex.org Latex editor WinEdt www.winedt.com Latex editor TeXnicCenter www.texniccenter.org
Springer LNCS Template 14 LNCS templates and instructions for: Word LaTeX Link: http://www.springer.com/computer/lncs?sgwid=0-164-7-72376-0
15 Springer LNCS Template
Contents 16 Recommended reading & acknowledgments Scientific paper goals Document preparation systems Paper structure Related research Paper style Do s and Dont s Reviewing
Paper Title 17 Indicates content and main discoveries Attracts the reader s attention Should be simple (7-10 words) Aims at specific audience Should avoid complex grammar Should be catchy
Paper Title Examples 18 Symbolic Execution of Acyclic Workflow Graphs Structuring Acyclic Process Models A Fresh Look at Precision in Process Conformance BPM in Practice: Who Is Doing What? How Novices Model Business Processes BPM 2010 Proceedings
Abstract 19 Reflects the main story of the paper Explains the findings and main conclusions No citations, tables, graphs, equations
Paper Structure 20 Introduction Background Elaboration of Contribution Related Research Conclusion References
Paper Structure: Introduction 21 Introduction Problem motivation Contribution outline Paper structure Funnel principle
Paper Structure: Background 22 Background Preliminaries (optional) Illustration (optional) Example (optional)
Paper Structure: Conclusion 23 Conclusion Summary Limitations Future research
Contents 24 Recommended reading & acknowledgments Scientific paper goals Document preparation systems Paper structure Related research Paper style Do s and Dont s Reviewing
How to learn about related work? 25 Watch the grass grow Chase for trophy
Chase for Trophy 26 You are about to write a paper You want to clarify the contribution You want to assure that you don t re-invent the wheel You want to appreciate the work of your colleagues
Where do you want to publish? 27 Who publishes in this journal or conference series? What topics are published there? Who is in the program committee or editorial board? What concepts is the audience familiar with? Your audience is irritated when you do not relate to seminal work in the respective area.
28 How to Search
Watch the Grass Grow 29 You work on a set of research topics You want to keep up with recent developments You want to learn what others work on You want to plan your future contributions
Which outlet matters to me? 30 Which journals do relate to my work? Which conferences do relate to my work? Which communities and special interest groups are related to my work?
31 Subscribe to Mailing Lists
32 Identify Conferences and Journals
Quality Indicators (I) 33 How is the publication ranked according to: ISI Web of Knowledge AIS Journal Ranking CORE.edu.au WKWI Ranking (http://www.wirtschaftsinformatik.de/pdf/wi2008_2_155-163_mitteilg-wkwi.pdf)
Quality Indicators (II) 34 What is the reputation of the author? How many papers and books has s/he published? How often is s/he member of program committees? How reputable is the paper itself? How often is it cited? How well is the contribution elaborated?
Writing the Related Work Section 35 Organize the section according to topics Discuss, don t just list related work Don t exaggerate differences Explain how your work complements the work of others
Related Work Checklist 36 What is my contribution? How does my work relate to other contributions? Have I checked the major outlets? What is my audience familiar with?
Contents 37 Recommended reading & acknowledgments Scientific paper goals Document preparation systems Paper structure Related research Paper style Do s and Dont s Reviewing
General Do s and Don ts (I) 38 Paragraphs: A paragraph containing more than 10 sentences is too long, 2 sentences too short Spaghetti: Do not continuously refer to earlier pages Structure: Do not surprise reader with original structure Length of Sentences: Try to keep sentences short. Replace dependent clause (which, that) with sentence.
General Do s and Don ts (II) 39 Abstract: Write the abstract last Introduction: Use the intro to describe the field Conclusion: A conclusion is not a summary. Sum up what you have found, not what you have done. References: Citing papers that are not in English is futile
General Do s and Don ts (III) 40 Implications: Do not use this means, rather this observation implies Absolute statements: Always relate to units Highlighting: no exclamation mark, use italic Abbreviations: Do not introduce new abbreviations
General Do s and Don ts (IV) 41 Every figure, table, and reference gets a unique id number Every citation in the text is included in the reference list and vice versa Every figure and table needs to be referenced and described in the text Latex generates lists and references automatically
Footnotes 42 Important things must be put in the text Footnotes stop readers Footnotes should be used for things that the typical reader genuinely can skip Long lists of references, simple bits of algebra, or other type of documentation are a candidate for footnotes
Figures 43 Be aware of printing resolutions Papers are usually printed in black and white
Terminology 44 Introduce a term before use Consistent use of terms
Spelling 45 Consistency consistent spelling throughout the text English spelling is different from American use only one sort all over the text Conventional abbreviations (i.e. Figure -> Fig.) check these with the journal style Non-alphabetic characters use and instead of &; at instead of @
46 Talk vs. Paper What's in a paper? Evidence Detail Proof Definitions Formalizations Statistics What's in a talk? Illustration Visualization Translation Animation Exaggeration Provocation
Contents 47 Recommended reading & acknowledgments Scientific paper goals Document preparation systems Paper structure Related research Paper style Do s and Dont s Reviewing
Review s Goal 48 Evaluate the paper quality Help the author to improve
Review s Format 49 1 page of prose with a verdict
Structure of a Review 50 Contribution summary (1 paragraph) Contribution discussion (1 paragraph) Paper structure The use of figures and tables The use of references English language Verdict (summarizing paragraph)
Contribution Discussion 51 Flaws Feasibility of limitations and assumptions Support your argumentation with facts reasoning related work references
52 Reviewing: Verdict Conference Strong Accept Weak Accept Borderline Weak Reject Strong Reject Seminar 1.0 5.0
Questions 53??????
Business Activity Monitoring Master Seminar Contact sergey.smirnov@hpi.uni-potsdam.de