Academic Research Handbook

• Highlights
• Reading
  • How to Read a Paper
  • 三步提问法呢？
  • How You Should Read Research Papers According To Andrew Ng (Stanford Deep Learning Lectures)
• Writing
  • Thesis Statement
  • Abstract
  • Introduction
  • Literature Review
    • References
  • Methodology
  • Results
  • Discussion
  • Conclusion
  • How To Write A Research Summary
• Tips
  • Words to avoid in academic writing
  • ❌ Words and Phrases to Avoid
• Tools

Highlights

• Academic writing is unadorned (plain), direct, concise, and objective.
• Avoid adding words and phrases that do not add meaning. ❌ Words and Phrases to Avoid
• Syllabus for Eric's Ph.D. students: A practical Ph.D. guide was written by Eric Gilbert.
• Checklist: Writing a Thesis or Dissertation
• Writing a Scientific Manuscript

Reading

How to Read a Paper

🇨🇳

This paper describes the 'three-pass' approach and its use in doing a literature survey. The paper

Researchers must-read papers for several reasons: to review them for a conference or a class, to keep current in their field, or for a literature survey of a new area. If a reviewer cannot understand the gist after one pass, the paper will likely be rejected; if a reader cannot understand the paper's highlights after five minutes, the article will probably never be read.

You can choose to (a) set the paper aside, hoping you don't need to understand the material to be successful in your career, (b) return to the paper later, perhaps after reading background material or (c) persevere and go on to the third pass Paper reading skills are put to the test in doing a literature survey

三步提问法呢？

• 为什么要做这个研究？要明确作者研究这个问题的目的。目前这个领域的理论发展脉络是什么？存在哪些缺陷？这些缺陷是需要我们重点关注的，也通常是作者研究这个问题的原因。
  • 这篇论文的研究背景是什么，问题从何而来？回答不少于 xx 字
• 怎么做这个研究？作者为了论证这个问题，做出了哪些理论假设？为了验证这些假设，设计了哪些实验？实验方法是怎样的？又是如何确保实验的严谨性呢？变量是否控制到位？或者创新点有没有体现在实验过程当中？等等，凡是任何一个可以批判性思考的点，都是我们需要去深入挖掘的信息。
  • 在本文中作者使用了哪些研究方法？回答不少于 xx 字。
  • 在本文中作者使用了哪些研究方法？从理论假设、实验、实验方法、数据分析方法、如何确保实验严谨等角度进行回答，回答不少于 200 字。
• 发现了什么？实验得到了哪些数据？根据这些数据能得到哪些结论？假设是否得到了认证？这些结论有没有实际的作用，可以创造哪些价值？
  • 这篇论文的结论是什么，请从数据分析、假设验证结果、结论的价值等角度进行分析，如涉及实验数据请一并列出，不少于 200 字。
• 文章的局限性体现在哪里？哪里还有改进的措施呢？
  • 这篇论文的局限性有哪些？请从数据、实验、理论等方面进行分析，不少于 200 字。

How You Should Read Research Papers According To Andrew Ng (Stanford Deep Learning Lectures)

Instructions on how to approach knowledge acquisition through published research papers by a recognized figure within the world of machine learning and education

A guide will provide you within instructions on how to go through a research paper effectively:

• A systematic approach to reading a collection of papers to gain knowledge within a domain
• How to properly read a research paper
• Useful online resources that can aid you in searching for papers and key information

Stanford CS230: Deep Learning | Autumn 2018 | Lecture 8 - Career Advice / Reading Research Papers

• Assemble collections of resources that focus on the subject matter.
  • Resources can come in the form of research papers, Medium articles, blog posts, videos, GitHub repository etc.
• Conduct a deep dive of any resource you deem relevant to the subject matter.
  • It is crucial that there’s a method to track the understanding of each shortlisted resources. Andrew Ng, suggests a table of resource plotted against your understanding level that looks similar to the table below.
  • It is advisable to ensure you go through at least 10–20% of the content of each paper you have added to the list; this will ensure that you have been exposed to enough of the introductory content within an identified resource and are able to gauge its relevancy accurately.
  • For the more relevant papers/resources identified, it is expected that you progress to a higher level of understanding. Eventually, you will have identified some appropriate resources with content that you understand fully.
  • According to Andrew, an understanding of 5–20 papers will showcase a basic understanding within the subject matter, perhaps enough understanding to progress to implementation of techniques.
  • 50–100 papers will primarily provide you with a very good understanding of the domain.

• Take structured notes that summarises the key discoveries, findings and techniques within a paper, in your own words.
  • Reading for the purpose of understanding is not done through one pass of the contents within the paper.
  • Be prepared to go through a paper at least three times to have a good understanding of its content
  • In your first pass, start with reading the following sections within the paper: title, abstract and figures.
  • The second pass entails you reading the following sections: introduction, conclusion, another pass through figures and scan through the rest of the content.
  • The third pass of the paper involves reading the whole sections within the paper but skipping any complicated maths or technique formulations that might be alien to you. During this pass, you can also skip any terms and terminologies that you do not understand or aren’t familiar.
  • Those conducting in-depth research into a domain can take a few more passes. These additional passes will mainly be focused on an understanding of the maths, techniques and unknown terminologies presented within the paper.

• Questions To Ask Yourself
  • Describe what the authors of the paper aim to accomplish, or perhaps did achieve.
  • If a new approach/technique/method was introduced in a paper, what are the key elements of the newly proposed approach?
  • What content within the paper is useful to you?
  • What other references do you want to follow?

Writing

What is a thesis | A Complete Guide with Examples

Thesis Statement

• a concise summary of the main argument or claim of the paper.
• 💡clear, concise, and debatable
• a roadmap of your thesis, directing readers through your arguments and findings.
• offers readers an immediate understanding of the context and the gravity of your study.
• ensure clarity and precision

Abstract

Abstract Writing: A Step-by-Step Guide With Tips & Examples

• The purpose of an abstract is to give readers a quick overview of the research paper and help them decide if they want to read the full paper.
• There are different types of abstracts, including descriptive, informative, and structured abstracts.
• A good abstract should be concise, clear, informative, and highlight the key findings of the research.
• The different sections of an ideal abstract include an introduction or background, research methodology, objectives and goals, results, limitations, and conclusion.

Introduction

How to Write an Introduction for a Research Paper

The introduction of your research paper acts as a road map, guiding the reader through the main ideas and arguments. The purpose of the introduction is to present your research topic to the readers and provide a rationale for why your study is relevant. It helps the reader locate your research and its relevance in the broader field of related scientific explorations.

The introduction should inform the reader about the objectives and scope of your study, giving them an overview of what to expect in the paper.

Key elements

• A hook or attention-grabbing statement to capture the reader's interest.
  • a thought-provoking question
  • a surprising statistic
  • a compelling anecdote that relates to your research topic.
• A brief overview of the research topic and its significance.
  • highlighting the gap in existing knowledge or the problem your research aims to address
• A clear research question or problem statement.
  • the foundation of your research
  • guides the reader in understanding the unique focus
  • it should be concise, specific, and clearly articulated
• An outline of the paper's structure and main arguments, to help the reader navigate through the paper with ease.

Literature Review

References

• Blockchain for IoT-based smart cities: Recent advances, requirements, and future challenges
• IoT-Based Smart Irrigation Systems: An Overview on the Recent Trends on Sensors and IoT Systems for Irrigation in Precision Agriculture
• Bibliometric Analysis of OGC Specifications between 1994 and 2020 Based on Web of Science (WoS)
• Describe a system:
• The design of an IoT-GIS platform for performing automated analytical tasks

Methodology

Results

Discussion

The discussion section is where you delve into the meaning, importance, and relevance of your results.

It should focus on explaining and evaluating what you found, showing how it relate to your literature review, and making an argument in support of your overall conclusion. It should not be a second results section.

Steps to write the section

1. Summarize your key findings: a brief recap of your key results
2. Give your interpretations: what do your results mean?
3. Discuss the implications: why do your results matter?
4. Acknowledge the limitations: what can't your results tell us?
5. Share your recommendations: avenues for further studies or analyses

or

• restatement of the research problem
• summary of the main findings
• interpretation of the results
• comparison with previous research
• explanation of any unexpected findings or discrepancies
• discussion of the implications of the results
• identification of limitations and suggestions for prospective research

What not to include?

1. Don't introduce new results: you should only discuss the data that you have already reported in your results section.
2. Don't make inflated claims: avoid over-interpretation and speculation that isn't directly supported by your data.
3. Don't undermine your research: the discussion of limitations should aim to strengthen your credibility, not emphasize weaknesses of failures.

Conclusion

The conclusion is the very last part of your thesis or dissertation. The conclusion should be concise and engaging. Unlike the discussion section, the conclusion is not the place for a detailed analysis of your results. Instead, it's where you wrap up your argument and leave the reader with a clear understanding of your research and its significance.

Steps to write the section:

1. Clearly state the answer to your main research question
2. Summarize the overall argument or key takeaways
3. Reflect any important limitations of the research
4. Show what new knowledge you have contributed
5. Make recommendations for future work on this topic

or

• restatement of the research question
• summary of your main findings
• discussion of the implications of the research
• suggestions for future research

Avoid the common mistakes

• Repeating the introduction.
• Introduce any new data, interpretations, or arguments
• Ending abruptly.

How To Write A Research Summary

• A research summary is a brief, informative snapshot of a complex research paper that comes at the end of the paper and summarizes the topic, methods, and findings.
• An abstract is a description of the topic and context at the beginning of the paper, and the two should not be confused.
• To write a research summary, it is important to thoroughly read and understand the parent paper, identify key elements in each section, write in your own words without plagiarism, double check for word count and grammar, and ask someone to proofread the summary for clarity and comprehension.

Tips

Words to avoid in academic writing

• Avoid using marketing terms (e.g., infinite) that cannot be unquantifiable.
• Avoid using the best, considering rephrase it with To our best knowledge or replace it with the suitable

❌ Words and Phrases to Avoid

• Too informal
  • a bit
  • a lot/couple of-> Several
  • America->the United States
  • isn't or any other contraction
  • kind/sort of->somewhat
  • till->until/to
  • you->one
  • also->Moreover/Furthermore
  • so->Therefore
  • besides->Additionally
  • and
• Too unsophisticated (simple)
  • bad->poor/negative
  • big->sizeable/large
  • get->receive
  • give->provide/offer/present
  • good->prime/useful
  • show->illustrate/demonstrate/reveal
• Too vague (unclear)->specific
  • a long time/while->for more than 30 years
  • thing->finds/details
  • stuff->belongs
• Too exaggerated
  • always/never->frequently/commonly/typically
  • perfect/best->ideal/one of the best solutions
  • extremely/really
• Too subjective
  • good/bad/wonderful->relevant
  • obviously/of course->clearly
  • naturally
• Generally unnecessary
  • helps to
  • have got
• Generally incorrect
  • literally
  • would of
• Other tips
  • Jargon (terminology)
  • Everyday abbreviations (e.g. info, photos)
  • Slang (cool)

Tools

• Scispace Copilot: Scispace Copilot is a platform that helps you access, understand, and create scientific literature.
• [Artigo]: online scientific papers reading platform.
• Connected Papers: Connected Papers is a tool for thought to help researchers and applied scientists find and explore papers relevant to their field of work in a visual way.
• PaperWithCode: An crowdsourcing platform to share free and open resource with Machine Learning papers, code and evaluation tables.
• Diagrams: Diagrams lets you draw the cloud system architecture in Python code.
• Scholarcy: Scholarcy is designed to ingest pdfs of articles and then provide a summary of the paper.