Writing a Research Paper for Publication ACM Format Guide for preparing and writing paper, review and publication Bobby D. Gerardo, Ph.D. PSITE NCR Seminar October 10, 2011, TIPQC

Writing a Research Paper Based on ACM Format/content recommendations

Major Messages Follow the Major Research Work Areas ◦ Major Sections: Abstract, Introduction/Background, Work Done/Contributions, Evaluation, Conclusion, Future Work, References Outline First ◦ Major Points => Paragraph Topic Sentences Edit at the Outline Level ◦ Much less work gets thrown away

Research Process (Methodology) Initial Idea Background Investigation Refinement of Idea Core Work ◦ Investigation and Development of Ideas; Contributions ◦ Prototype (if appropriate) Evaluation Identification of Future Work Presentation

Research Paper Sections Abstract ◦ Condensed (one paragraph) version of paper ◦ Write this last Introduction ◦ Statement of problem Background ◦ What others have done Work Done/Contributions ◦ What you have done to improve the situation; your contributions

Research Paper Sections (2) Evaluation ◦ How you know your work has been valuable ◦ Perhaps the most difficult section… Conclusions ◦ Summary of your work and contributions Future Work ◦ What work is left for you and/or others References

Writing a Research Paper Writing Well ◦ Takes practice ◦ Takes organization ◦ Takes thought Goal ◦ Find a process that is efficient ◦ Leaves you more time for your work

Techniques - Outline Outline Your Paper ◦ By sections (as above) ◦ Within sections  Major points within each section ◦ Develop paragraph topic sentences for each point  A topic sentence around which you can write more detail

Techniques - Editing Edit at Outline Level ◦ Much more efficient than editing written text  Throw away much less  Maintain organizational structure much more easily Goal – One Draft Paper ◦ Once you get a good paragraph topic sentence outline, the rest is just adding on/filling in details

Techniques – Parallel Structure Use Similar Forms/Structures Across Paper Purpose: Help Readers Understand Example (positive): ◦ “We see three major benefits to this approach. First, …. Second, …. Third, …. “ Example (negative) ◦ “This approach helps in two ways: 1) it makes your writing more understandable; and 2) you have organized your thoughts more accurately…” Example (positive) ◦ Paper with multiple sections, each section having two subsections: 1) goals, and 2) structure.

Techniques – Active Voice Active voice leads to more powerful, convincing writing Example: ◦ “We developed four database system projects.”  vs. ◦ “Four database system projects were developed by us.” All sentences (especially PTSs) should have active voice

Techniques – Quality Assurance Use a spell checker Use a grammar checker Read it once more very carefully for anything the previous two checks missed Then have someone else read it and consider their suggestions/comments Point: good content is suspect if it’s not presented clearly and accurately

Techniques – Avoid Common Mistakes Know and avoid the common usage mistakes; e.g. ◦ Your vs. You’re  “We’re taking your word on this….”  “You’re the one implementing this system….” ◦ Its vs. It’s  “It’s time to go….”  “I’ve seen its effects…” ◦ Many others… Making one or more of these mistakes detracts from your work

Paper Format Usually constrained by receiving body Make sure you understand and follow it Areas: ◦ Margins ◦ Font size ◦ Spacing ◦ Columns ◦ Reference format ◦ Others….

Examples p1- astrachan.pdf?key1=199694&key2= &coll=portal&dl=ACM&CFID= &CFT OKEN= p1- astrachan.pdf?key1=199694&key2= &coll=portal&dl=ACM&CFID= &CFT OKEN= “Composite” paper with following: ◦ Several typos and bad sentence structure ◦ Fairly good ideas, but hadn’t actually done the work ◦ Multiple major ideas within some paragraphs ◦ Over the page limit ◦ Confusing abstract

End of section Thank you Bobby D. Gerardo