Communicating Research Findings: Tips for Papers and Presentations

Slides:



Advertisements
Similar presentations
CRA-W Career Mentoring Workshop. What is networking? Making professional connections and using them wisely.
Advertisements

Searching for literature online Today we will go through some ways of obtaining published papers directly from the internet Today we will go through some.
Poster & Project Presentations The Robert Gordon University
Public speaking: the basics
Writing for Publication
How to Give a Journal Club Talk
SENG 531: Labs TA: Brad Cossette Office Hours: Monday, Wednesday.
Writing tips Based on Michael Kremer’s “Checklist”,
Miscellaneous topics and advice Never ever ever ever ……… EVER ….. What you should never ever ever ever ever do Light bulbs, planters, tough experiemts,
Advanced Research Methodology
(Student Name) Mr. Fischer’s Science Class Period __
How to do Quality Research for Your Research Paper
Capstone Presentation Guideline February 2010 Middletown High School Middletown Public Schools.
Chapter 13– Strategies for Effective Oral Presentations The goal of the presentation is to communicate, clearly and concisely, the results and implications.
Top Ten Tips for Giving a Presentation. #1 Identify Your Main Point Identify your main point (finding, opinion, etc.) and state it succinctly up front.
A Guide for Your Project Presentations Tips for a Successful Project Oral.
How to develop an oral presentation You have one chance to make a point.
Presenting in Prof. Eckert’s Classes Please make sure your presentation gives an opinion or argument on some idea: for example, evaluate the book, or.
The Statement of Purpose. Length: Typically words, (~2-3 pages, single spaced). Sometimes shorter or longer. May be submitted either by mail.
Guidelines for Paper Presentation Mei-Chen Yeh 03/30/2010.
Report Writing Format If you have been asked to write a report, one question you may have is “What is the report writing format?” Following is information.
Presentations and Reports. Third Week (2/2/12)  Meet at the Albertsons Library in room LIB 203  Beth Brin will demonstrate the use of several databases.
Thomas HeckeleiPublishing and Writing in Agricultural Economics 1 Observations on assignment 4 - Reviews General observations  Good effort! Some even.
Presenting a Paper (in English) Sean Kung July
Ian F. C. Smith Writing a Research Abstract. Disclaimer This is mostly opinion. Suggestions are incomplete. There are other strategies. 2.
INFOMGP Student names and numbers Papers’ references Title.
Mrs. May LRW January 19, 2016 Take out your yellow sheet and MLK/MX packet. Argumentative Speech.
REPORTING YOUR PROJECT OUTCOMES HELEN MCBURNEY. PROGRAM FOR TODAY: Report Reporting to local colleagues Reporting to the Organisation Tips for abstract.
Reporting your Project Outcomes Helen McBurney. Program for today: Report Reporting to local colleagues Reporting to the Organisation Tips for abstract.
JOURNAL ARTICLES AN INTRODUCTION. WHAT IS A PERIODICAL? Period: amount of time Magazines (every week or month) Newspapers (every day) Journals (every.
3 Simple Steps to Reading Scholarly Articles
Primary vs. Secondary Sources
Instructions for EDP PowerPoint Presentation
Developing your Presentation Skills
HOW TO MAKE AN ORAL PRESENTATION.
Science-terrific Writing
How to Improve your presentations
How to write a paper (and communicate scientific information)
Statistical Sciences 9544A
This PowerPoint can be found on my Moodle page.
What does “assertiveness” mean?
Skills for change Hot off the press! How to get media coverage.
Possible texts for writing
Writing for Academic Journals
Demonstration Speech.
Observations on assignment 3 - Reviews
Unit 4 Introducing the Study.
How to work a Job Fair.
Business Communication
How to read a scientific paper
Introducing the Ideas One of Six Traits:
Reading Research Papers
Business Communication
Essay #1: Your Goals as a Writer
Using networks to be more effective
And a short comment on note taking
Public speaking: the basics
Effective Presentation
Bellwork Assignment On a sheet of notebook paper, answer the following questions in ONE PARAGRAPH: What do you know about the writing process or writing.
Demonstration Speech.
Chapter Four Engineering Communication
How to work a Job Fair.
Chapter Four Engineering Communication
Student Name, Grade, Category, Name of School, and Teacher Name
Chapter Four Engineering Communication
Lecture 10 Organising and Performing An Effective Presentation
Preparing a PowerPoint Presentation
Interpersonal/Social Skills
Biology Writing a Lab Report
Reading and effective note-making
Presentation transcript:

Communicating Research Findings: Tips for Papers and Presentations Stephen Boyles Assistant Professor University of Wyoming

Why is communication so important? You have spent months or years working on a research project and have some results. However, the hard work isn’t over yet!

Why is communication so important? Doing a good job in writing papers and giving presentations is just as important as doing a good job with your research! Does this surprise you?

Reason #1 This is how everybody learns: listening, watching, reading. or So unless you do this well, nobody will learn from you!

Reason #2 You have spent much more time thinking about your research than your audience. 2 years Time spent working

Maximum time spent understanding a paper Reason #2 You have spent much more time thinking about your research than your audience. 2 years 2 weeks Time spent working Maximum time spent understanding a paper

Reason #2 You have spent much more time thinking about your research than your audience. 2 years 15 minutes 2 weeks Time spent working Maximum time spent understanding a paper Time spent listening to a conference talk

Reason #2 You have spent much more time thinking about your research than your audience. 2 years 15 minutes 2 weeks Time spent working Maximum time spent understanding a paper Time spent listening to a conference talk It is not easy to explain 2 years of work in a 15 minute presentation!

Reason #3 It is important when you apply for jobs! Every engineering job will require you to write reports and give presentations. So companies look for this when they hire.

Reason #4 It shows respect for people interested in your research. They are taking the effort to learn about your work, so you should respect them by spending time preparing your papers and presentations.

Reason #5 Effective writing and speaking is a skill that can be learned, just like any other.

Talk Outline General communication principles Writing a technical paper Giving a technical presentation I have provided a copy of one of my own papers and presentation slides, and will share my experience with this research.

Talk Outline General communication principles Writing a technical paper Giving a technical presentation I have provided a copy of one of my own papers and presentation slides, and will share my experience with this research.

The Most Important Rule KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE!!! Experienced researcher Undergraduate class Busy executive Town meeting Introduction  General Principles  Papers  Presentations

The Most Important Rule KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE!!! What do they already know or think? What do you hope to do? Teach something? Convince of something? How can you make the link between these? Introduction  General Principles  Papers  Presentations

The Most Important Rule Example: Writing a paper to submit to a journal Most readers will already have a lot of knowledge in your field. Your goal is to teach them something useful (either methodology or results) So you should not go into too much detail on basic things, and focus on what you’ve done that is new. Introduction  General Principles  Papers  Presentations

The Most Important Rule Example: Writing a paper to submit to a journal Most readers will already have a lot of knowledge in your field. You also want to establish credibility and reputation. So you should also make it clear that you understand the broader field and are an expert. Introduction  General Principles  Papers  Presentations

The Most Important Rule Example: Giving a conference talk Most listeners will already have a lot of knowledge in your field. You want them to read your paper. (It is impossible to teach everything in 15 minutes!) So you should focus on the main findings, and the most interesting parts, so that the audience will want to read your paper and learn the details. Introduction  General Principles  Papers  Presentations

Another Important Rule Respect your listeners and readers by being logical and concise. There should be a clear structure. Every word, every sentence, and every paragraph should have a purpose! If something is important to understand, it should be stated directly. This rule does not apply to all cultures. In some places, it is rude to make things too straightforward. If the audience is American or European, you show respect by helping them learn, so directness and clarity are good. Introduction  General Principles  Papers  Presentations

Introduction  General Principles  Papers  Presentations Structure There is an American proverb about good communication: This is what the introduction, body, and conclusion are for. “Tell them what you’re going to tell them; then tell them; then tell them what you told them.” Introduction  General Principles  Papers  Presentations

Writing a Technical Paper

Introduction  General Principles  Papers  Presentations Remember the most important rule! Who will be reading your paper? Experienced transportation researchers Researchers in related fields Practicing engineers Graduate students learning the field Politicians or policy-makers For different journals, there will be a different “mix” of readers Introduction  General Principles  Papers  Presentations

Introduction  General Principles  Papers  Presentations How to apply this rule If you are sending a paper to a journal for the first time, learn about the journal. Read some recent papers published there See where the authors work How long are the papers? How detailed are they? How much mathematics? Example: Computers and Operations Research vs. Networks and Spatial Economics Introduction  General Principles  Papers  Presentations

Introduction  General Principles  Papers  Presentations Typical structure for research papers Most papers contain the following sections in this order: Abstract Introduction Literature review Description of research problem Results and analysis Conclusion Introduction  General Principles  Papers  Presentations

Introduction  General Principles  Papers  Presentations Abstract Although the abstract appears first, it should be written last! It should be short (200-300 words at most) and be “self-contained.” Introduction  General Principles  Papers  Presentations

Introduction  General Principles  Papers  Presentations The introduction should accomplish the following tasks: Say why your research topic is important. Preview the main contributions. Provide the structure for the rest of the paper. The length of an introduction is very different for different journals – this is why it helps to know the journal! Introduction  General Principles  Papers  Presentations

Introduction  General Principles  Papers  Presentations One effective way to do this is to start generally, and get more specific. Breadth Paragraph 1. Why are transportation systems important? Why is ATIS needed? Paragraph 2. Why is it difficult to figure out how to best use ATIS? Paragraphs 3-6. Related research problems and literature review. Paragraph 7. Specific contributions of the paper, and outline. Introduction  General Principles  Papers  Presentations

Introduction  General Principles  Papers  Presentations Literature Review Why do a literature review if most of your readers are experienced in your field? Establish credibility by proving that you know how your research is related to what others are doing. Show respect to the other researchers who did earlier work in your field – “no research is done in a vacuum”! Help new researchers (such as graduate students!) who are new to your topic. Make your contribution clear by showing how it relates to other research. Introduction  General Principles  Papers  Presentations

Introduction  General Principles  Papers  Presentations Literature Review The most common mistake is just to list papers. How are the papers related to each other? Can the papers be classified in some way? How does your paper fit in? What makes your paper different? Write more about the papers which are more closely related to your research. Best literature review ever: Larsson, T. and M. Patriksson. (1994) “Simplicial decomposition with disaggregated representation for the traffic assignment problem.” Transportation Science 26, 4-17. Introduction  General Principles  Papers  Presentations

Introduction  General Principles  Papers  Presentations Problem Description Here is where you provide specifics on your research problem. If you use mathematical notation, define it rigorously but concisely. If you use a data set, describe how you obtained it, what information it contains, any procedure you used to make the data useful, etc. After reading this section, the reader should know exactly what research problem you solved. Introduction  General Principles  Papers  Presentations

Introduction  General Principles  Papers  Presentations Results and Analysis Here you present the main findings! The most common mistake is to repeat information from tables and figures rather than providing useful interpretation. How long this part is, and what it contains, depends heavily on your research topic and on the journal. Introduction  General Principles  Papers  Presentations

Introduction  General Principles  Papers  Presentations Example: This is bad: “Table 1 shows that the benefits on the Barcelona network were 42.7%, compared to 19.9% on the Chicago network.” Anybody can see this! Introduction  General Principles  Papers  Presentations

Introduction  General Principles  Papers  Presentations Example: This is better: “Table 1 shows that the benefits are smaller for large networks.” This points out a general trend, which is useful. But it still doesn’t show much insight. Introduction  General Principles  Papers  Presentations

Introduction  General Principles  Papers  Presentations Example: This is best: “Table 1 shows that the benefits are smaller for large networks. One possible reason is that the proportion of information nodes is lower.” This offers an explanation, not just repeating figures which can easily be read from the table. Introduction  General Principles  Papers  Presentations

Introduction  General Principles  Papers  Presentations Conclusion A good conclusion should answer two questions: What were the main findings from this research? How might this research continue in the future? Someone should be able to read just the introduction and conclusion, and understand the main points of your research. Introduction  General Principles  Papers  Presentations

Introduction  General Principles  Papers  Presentations Some final tips… Leave plenty of time for revision Have friends and colleagues read the paper and give comments Write an outline first – the more time you spend planning, the less time you will need for writing. Introduction  General Principles  Papers  Presentations

Introduction  General Principles  Papers  Presentations Conclusion A good conclusion should answer two questions: What were the main findings from this research? How might this research continue in the future? Someone should be able to read just the introduction and conclusion, and understand the main points of your research. Introduction  General Principles  Papers  Presentations

Giving a Conference Presentation

Introduction  General Principles  Papers  Presentations So what’s different? A conference talk differs from a technical paper in several important ways: Different audience: More variation in audience interest and background You need different expectations: It is impossible for someone to learn all the details in a 15 minute talk. Introduction  General Principles  Papers  Presentations

Introduction  General Principles  Papers  Presentations So what’s different? This means you have a different objective. In a conference presentation, your goal is to make someone interested enough to read the paper or talk to you afterwards. The paper is the place for the details. Introduction  General Principles  Papers  Presentations

Introduction  General Principles  Papers  Presentations Again… Nobody sits through a PowerPoint presentation or lecture and wishes it was longer. Introduction  General Principles  Papers  Presentations

Introduction  General Principles  Papers  Presentations So what should I do? No matter how long you have to talk, identify a few main points (no more than four) that you want people to remember. “Tell them what you’re going to tell them; then tell them; then tell them what you told them.” Introduction  General Principles  Papers  Presentations

Introduction  General Principles  Papers  Presentations So what should I do? Then, make your presentation around this structure. For example: Introduction, what is the problem? Main point #1 How does this connect to point #2? Main point #2 How does this connect to point #3 Main point #3 Conclusion (repeat 3 main points) Introduction  General Principles  Papers  Presentations

Introduction  General Principles  Papers  Presentations More tips Do not put a huge amount of material on slides and then read directly from them. Not only is this unnatural and difficult to read, but you also lose the connection with your audience. They should be listening to you, not reading your slides. After all, if the slides were important you could have just emailed them and not even shown up to the conference. Also, putting lots of small text on a slide makes it difficult for people to read, especially if they’re sitting far back. You need to be especially careful when you’re working with tables and figures. It’s easy to just cut- and-paste and table and then it’s too small to read. Your slides should never distract from your talk! This means that flashy animations should be kept to an absolute minimum. Take advantage of slides as a visual aid! If there is something that would be useful to present graphically, using a picture, or using an animation, then go for it! Just don’t make it distracting. Is anybody still reading this? I can guarantee you that nobody has gotten this far, and even if they have they haven’t paid attention to a single thing I’ve said on this slide. On the next slide I’ll provide a better version of this. Introduction  General Principles  Papers  Presentations

Introduction  General Principles  Papers  Presentations More tips Keep your slides short. Do not put a lot of text on any slide. Keep eye contact with your audience. They are there to see you, not to read your slides. Use graphics, but not many animations. Introduction  General Principles  Papers  Presentations

Introduction  General Principles  Papers  Presentations Final advice The main thing is to develop your own style; everybody has different ideas about what is best. Good luck! Introduction  General Principles  Papers  Presentations