© Swinburne University of Technology1
Modules 08-09
Delivered by Prof. Yun Yang
ICT80011/40005 - Research Methods
2 ICT80011/40005 (Research Methods), © Swinburne
Outline
Writing skills
Style, format and organisation of
a (research) report/paper/thesis
Scientific and technical writing in general
Using the bibliographical tools
Case studies of reports
Reading: Textbook Chapter 13
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Essential elements of a (research) report
Description of the problem (or objective)
Description of the method
Presentation of the data
Analysis and interpretation of the data
Possible weaknesses
Concluding remarks
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Structure of a (research) paper
Title (and Author(s), Affiliation(s))
Abstract (and keywords if needed)
Introduction
Review of literature (related work)
- can be after the main parts of the work
Main parts of the work
Approaches and methods
Results and discussions
Conclusions and future work
(Acknowledgement)
References© Swinburne University of Technology2
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Structure of a (research) report/thesis
Title (and Author(s), Affiliation(s))
(Declaration – for a degree thesis)
[Acknowledgement]
Abstract
[Table of contents]
[List of figures & List of tables]
Introduction etc. (Individual sections/chapters)
References
[Appendices]
Maintaining Academic Integrity
Appropriately crediting the words and ideas of other people
Maintaining confidentiality and protecting participants’ right to privacy
Explicitly identifying any biases in your sample selection
Describing participants who were dropped from the sample and
explaining why
Describing limitations of measurement instruments
Describing procedures to fill in missing data points
Providing a comprehensive report of the findings, including those that
do not support your hypotheses
Explicitly identifying any potential confounding variables
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The story of a report/thesis (explained simple)
Once upon a time researchers believed that… (literature
review)
but then I thought that maybe… (aims)
so what I did was… (methods)
and I’ve discovered that… (results)
which I think means… (discussion)
which changed the way we… (conclusion)
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Title
Label for your research (i.e., not a complete sentence)
Used for indexing and abstract services
State the title in terms of the variables investigated in
the study
No more than 12 - 15 words
Avoid waste words:
Study on
Investigation of© Swinburne University of Technology3
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Abstract
One paragraph summary of the paper:
Aim/Purpose
Problem
Method
Results
Conclusion/Discussion/Evaluation
Less than 250 words (100 for a short report)
Do not state information not included in paper
Do not cite references
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Keywords
Mainly used for indexing
Only several needed/listed
Should be meaningful – not too broad
Standard keyword sets available
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Introduction
Provides a rationale for your work
Describe the nature and scope of problem
Review key relevant literature to orient the reader
State the method of study and reasons for choice of method
State the principle results
State principle conclusions (evaluated)
(paper organisation as final paragraph)
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Literature review (related work)
Provides background information that allows reader to understand
and evaluate your work
Begin with a general statement of introduction to the field of
research
Provide general theoretical and empirical background relevant to
the research
Use the literature to build an argument that establishes the
significance of your aim and the soundness of your hypotheses
(predictions)© Swinburne University of Technology4
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Main parts of the work (1)
Method, e.g.
E.g. design, procedures
Results
E.g. summary of the data, data analysis
(Discussion)
implication, significance, predications
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Main parts of the work (2)
Method, e.g.
General design
– qualitative or quantitative or both, any previous research
traditions
(Research) setting
the samples
Assessment instruments
procedures
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Main parts of the work (3)
Results, e.g.
the produced data in terms of problem
presentation of data – thoroughly & accurately, tables,
figures
statistical analysis – why you used it
Interpretation of the data – the essence of research! Must not
go too far beyond the data
Specify what the data was and how it was
prepared/preprocessed
Present a textual summary
Present descriptive statistics in a suitable graphical or tabular form
Summarise the most important features of the above
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Conclusion and future work
Summary of the results
What you have done
- not simply straight repeat of abstract
Emphasise novelty and significance
May state Implications and limitations of results
Do not state information not included in paper
Do not cite references
Future directions
Further work not completed yet
Extensions© Swinburne University of Technology5
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Acknowledgement
Sponsors including grants
Supervisors, colleagues and team members
Other people involved
Sometimes anonymous reviewers
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References and citation
Report all&only references used in the text
Use an approved format (Tools: e.g. EndNote)
Name and year (APA: American Psychological Association)
It has been found that… (Trimpop, 1994)
Moore and Gullone (1994) found that…
It has been found that… (Moore & Gullone, 1994)
Levitt, Selman and Richmond (1991) found that… (1st
citation)
Levitt et al. (1991) also found that… (2nd citation)
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References and citation
Alphabet-number
It has been found that… [18]
Citation order
It has been found that… [1]
Sometimes, e.g. no number, just [Trimpop1994]
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Name and year
Levitt, M. L., Selman, R. L., & Richmond, J. B. (1991). The
psychosocial foundations of early adolescents’ high-risk
behavior: Implications for research and practice. Journal of
Research on Adolescence, 1, 349-378.
Hogan, R. (1987). Personality psychology: Back to basics. In J.
Aronoff, A. I. Rabin & R. A. Zucker (Eds.), The emergence of
personality. (pp. 79-104). New York: Springer.
Zuckerman, M. (1979). Sensation seeking: Beyond the optimal level
of arousal. New York: John Wiley & Sons.© Swinburne University of Technology6
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Alphabet-number
1. Hogan, R. (1987). Personality psychology: Back to basics. In
J. Aronoff, A. I. Rabin & R. A. Zucker (Eds.), The emergence
of personality. (pp. 79-104). New York: Springer.
2. Levitt, M. L., Selman, R. L., & Richmond, J. B. (1991). The
psychosocial foundations of early adolescents’ high-risk
behavior: Implications for research and practice. Journal of
Research on Adolescence, 1, 349-378.
3. Zuckerman, M. (1979). Sensation seeking: Beyond the
optimal level of arousal. New York: John Wiley & Sons.
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Citation order
1. Zuckerman, M. (1979). Sensation seeking: Beyond the
optimal level of arousal. New York: John Wiley & Sons.
2. Hogan, R. (1987). Personality psychology: Back to basics. In
J. Aronoff, A. I. Rabin & R. A. Zucker (Eds.), The emergence
of personality. (pp. 79-104). New York: Springer.
3. Levitt, M. L., Selman, R. L., & Richmond, J. B. (1991). The
psychosocial foundations of early adolescents’ high-risk
behavior: Implications for research and practice. Journal of
Research on Adolescence, 1, 349-378.
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Principles of writing
Neatness and clarity
Precision
Logical structure
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Example paper structure
- system development related research
Title
author(s) with affiliations
Abstract & (keywords)
Introduction
Related work
Requirements analysis (why and what)
Framework/mechanisms – design (how)
Prototyping & discussion – implementation
Conclusions and future work
Acknowledge & References© Swinburne University of Technology7
Developing a writing schedule
Identify small, easily accomplishable goals
Write easier sections first
Set reasonable target dates
Reward yourself for reaching goals
Seek regular feedback
Plan for revisions
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Reviewer/Examiner looks for
Relevance
Originality – if research related
Significance
Organisation – logical structure issue
Presentation – precision and neatness & clarity issues
Note: reviewers/examiners normally read
‘Abstract’ & ‘Conclusion’ first to get a basic idea of your results
‘Related work’ to check your originality, jointly with own expertise
For thesis, also summary of each chapter
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Guidelines and support
The guidelines for writing a (research) report can be
generally applied to a technical report
Many general suggestions for writers online
E.g. http://owl.english.purdue.edu
- Online Writing Lab at Purdue Uni.
‘Student Support’ from Swinburne
English Language and Academic Skills (LAS) Advisory Service
http://www.international.swinburne.edu.au/currentstudents/support/
E.g. Writing, Reading and Study Skills Workshops (Hawthorn)
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Learning from good cases
Case study:
Get some good reports suiting your needs
Get to know what and how the others write
Practice, practice and more practice© Swinburne University of Technology8
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Developing a workable schedule
Identify small, easily accomplishable goals
Set reasonable target dates for achieving each goal
Reward yourself each time you reach one of your goals
Seek regular feedback
Build time into your schedule for at least 2 to 3 revisions
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More references
Many references are listed in the unit outlines
To make your writing more readable, you may read:
The elements of style (Strunk & White)
The art of readable writing (Flesch)
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More document styles
Letters
Resumes
Memos
Instructions
User manuals
Developer manuals
…