How to Read/Find Research Paper

Department of Computer Science, National Textile University Faisalabad. Presenter: Dr. Muhammad Asif

Todays Agenda

How to read a research paper. How to download a research paper. Paper reading class assignment.

Why we read a research paper

You may also need to carefully read a paper if you are asked to review it. If it is relevant to your own research. When you read a research paper, your goal is to understand the scientific contributions the authors are making. This is not an easy task. It may require going over the paper several times. Expect to spend several hours to read a paper

Some Important points to read a paper

Read critically: Reading a research paper must be a critical process. You should not assume that the authors are always correct. Instead, be suspicious. Critical reading involves asking appropriate questions. If the authors attempt to solve a problem, are they solving the right problem? Are there simple solutions the authors do not seem to have considered? What are the limitations of the solution. (including limitations the authors might not have noticed or clearly admitted)? Are the assumptions the authors make reasonable?

Some Important points to read a paper

Is the logic of the paper clear and justifiable, given the assumptions, or is there a flaw in the reasoning? If the authors present data, did they gather the right data to substantiate their argument, and did they appear to gather it in the correct manner? Did they interpret the data in a reasonable manner? Would other data be more compelling?

Some Important points to read a paper

Read creatively: Reading a paper critically is easy, in that it is always easier to tear something down than to build it up. Reading creatively involves harder, more positive thinking. What are the good ideas in this paper? Do these ideas have other applications or extensions that the authors might not have thought of? Can they be generalized further? Are there possible improvements that might make important practical differences?

Some Important points to read a paper

If you were going to start doing research from this paper, what would be the next thing you would do? Make notes as you read the paper: Many people cover the margins of their copies of papers with notes. If you have questions or criticisms, write them down so you do not forget them. Underline key points the authors make. Mark the data that is most important or that appears questionable. Such efforts help the first time you read a paper and pay big dividends when you have to re-read a paper after several months.

Some Important points to read a paper

After the first read-through, try to summarize the paper in one or two sentences. Almost all good research papers try to provide an answer a specific question. If you can succinctly describe a paper, you have probably recognized the question the authors started with and the answer they provide. Once you have focused on the main idea, you can go back and try to outline the paper to gain insight into more specific details. Indeed, if summarizing the paper in one or two sentences is easy, go back and try to deepen your outline by summarizing the three or four most important sub points of the main idea.

Some Important points to read a paper

If possible, compare the paper to other works: Summarizing the paper is one way to try to determine the scientific contribution of a paper. But to really gauge the scientific merit, you must compare the paper to other works in the area. Are the ideas really novel, or have they appeared before? Some papers offer new ideas; others implement ideas, and show how they work; others bring previous ideas together and unite them under a novel framework. Knowing other work in the area can help you to determine which sort of contribution a paper is actually making.

Structure of a Research Paper

The organization of the research paper is ultimately decided by the author and the Journal/Conference where the paper is going to be submitted. There are several parts of a research paper e.g.
Abstract. Introduction. Method. Results. Discussion. Conclusion. Acknowledgements. Reference List.

Abstract

The abstract should be less than 250 words. It should indicate the:
problem to be investigated. purpose of the study. Methods. Major results. Interpretations and implications of the results

Keywords

Keywords: Additionally authors should provide up to 6 keywords. One of these should indicate the topic area and one should indicate the methodology of the paper. Careful selection of keywords will mean that researchers are more likely to retrieve, read and cite your article. By optimizing your article for search engines, you will increase the chance of someone finding it. Think about the words/phrases that will lead people to your article.

Introduction
Writing the introduction is the first part of the process, setting down the direction of the paper and laying out exactly what the research paper is trying to achieve. The introduction should provide the reader with all the background information needed to understand the paper. The author should explain key terms, give historical information on the problem studied, and cite other studies that have obtained relevant results.

Introduction

A good introduction generally consists of three distinct parts, starting with a general presentation of the research problem. You should then layout exactly what you are trying to achieve with this particular research project. stating your own position.

Method
This should be the easiest part of the paper to write, as it is a rundown of the exact design and methodology used to perform the research. Obviously, the exact methodology varies depending upon the exact field and type of experiment. You can assume that anybody reading your paper is familiar with all of the basic methods, so try not to explain every last detail. For example, In the case of a survey, if you have too many questions to cover in the method, you can always include a copy of the questionnaire in the appendix. In this case, make sure that you refer to it.

Method

Results
This is probably the most variable part of any research paper, and depends upon the results and aims of the experiment. For quantitative research, it is a presentation of the numerical results and data, whereas for qualitative research it should be a broader discussion of trends, without going into too much detail. For research generating a lot of results, then it is better to include tables or graphs of the analyzed data and leave the raw data in the appendix, so that a researcher can follow up and check your calculations.

A commentary is essential to linking the results together, rather than displaying isolated and unconnected charts, figures and findings.

Discussion
This is where you elaborate upon your findings, and explain what you found, adding your own personal interpretations. Ideally, you should link the discussion back to the introduction, addressing each initial point individually. It is important to try to make sure that every piece of information in your discussion is directly related to the project statement.

Conclusion
The conclusion is where you build upon your discussion and try to refer your findings to other research and to the world at large. In a short research paper, it may be a paragraph or two. In a dissertation, it may well be the most important part of the entire paper - not only does it describe the results and discussion in detail, it emphasizes the importance of the results in the field, and ties it in with the previous research. Some research papers require a recommendations section, postulating that further directions of the research, as well as highlighting how any flaws affected the results.

Acknowledgements
This section is devoted to thanking any persons or institutions that made the research possible.

Reference List
No paper is complete without a reference list. The resource should be cited according to either APA , CBE Harvard and IEEE guidelines. Examples of citations can be found on the submissions page of the website of Journal/Conference. EndNoteWeb also helps to manage the References

Downloading a Research Paper

There are several data bases for research papers including

Science direct. Springer. Elsevier. ACM Digital Library. Acronym finder. American Mathematical Society. BioMed Central. Compendex. And many more.

Search strategy mind map

Downloading a Research Paper

Select the appropriate database or use search engine to find out relevant papers. Provide user credentials for logging.
The selection of documents is based of followings Is the article scientific? Abstract Key words Citations

Downloading a Research Paper

Using BTH library to get access to different databases. http://www.bth.se/eng/library/

Downloading a Research Paper

Downloading a Research Paper

Downloading a Research Paper

Downloading a Research Paper

Downloading a Research Paper

What is Citations

Paper reading class assignment

Your one page review should include the following:

A one or two sentence summary of the paper. A deeper, more extensive outline of the main points of the paper, including for example assumptions made, arguments presented, data analyzed, and conclusions drawn. Any limitations or extensions you see for the ideas in the paper your opinion of the paper; primarily, the quality of the ideas and its potential impact.

Questions