Research Chung-Kuan Cheng
Research Techniques: Scopes Goals Methods Tools Results CSE 246
Scopes What is the problem? Where is the problem? How to solve the problem? CSE 246
Goals Aim high: Significant Impact Set the target for (3-5 yrs) Don’t stop at incremental improvements Set the target for (3-5 yrs) Given unlimited resources, what could we achieve in five years? Would we be happy if we get to achieve our goals? CSE 246
Why is impact important? Computers are tools Computers impact our daily lives Moore’s Law CSE 246
Why not long-term research? No target No map No money Too boring No IMPACT CSE 246
Methods Simplify Start from simplest non-trivial cases Aim high, but start low Be exhaustive on the approaches View the problem from different angles Find the niches Identify the strengths CSE 246
Tools Networking Attitude Parallel Processing External Internal (Adviser) Attitude Parallel Processing CSE 246
External Networking Web search Contact the leaders IEEE, ACM, research inst., schools, awards Identify the leaders of the field Contact the leaders Discuss ideas Obtain benchmarks & packages The experts of the field will provide feedbacks CSE 246
Advantages of an Adviser Apprentice system Authority in the field Encouragement Scheduling Collaboration CSE 246
The Nature of Research 3-5 years Can be hard Not much light in the beginning Adviser provides encouragement CSE 246
Chemistry Must have good chemistry with Adviser What if there is bad chemistry? Cannot change the other person Change self to match his style As a last resort, try someone else CSE 246
No Negative Attitudes If I tried six different things, and nothing worked, how can I not be negative? If it worked too soon, it would not be research If part of it works right away, then you are lucky AQ is one key ingredient of the success. CSE 246
Parallel Processing Work in parallel, pipeline More productive Uses all parts of the mind Dream about the research CSE 246
Results Experiments: Plan ahead Conjectures CSE 246