Writing Research Papers For Computer Science Steve Blackburn Research School of Computer Science Australian National University

Why write? 2Steve Blackburn | Writing Research Papers | PhD Workshop May 2012

3 The Moral Imperative Why Write? Who is paying you, anyway? “Scientists have a moral obligation to make their findings known to other scientists, and to professionals […]” Guidelines for Publication Ethics at the Karolinska Institute, 2002 “[…] the obligation to publish research results can be regarded both as moral and epistemic standards” Matthias Adam, in Science and Social: Knowledge, Epistemic Demands and Social Values, University of Pittsburgh Press, 2009 “communicate this knowledge” “As scientist and as thinkers, we share a moral imperative to communicate this knowledge, with each other, across disciplinary boundaries, and outside the academic and research spheres.” Kate Neville in The Science Creative Quarterly, Issue 6, 2011

4Steve Blackburn | Writing Research Papers | PhD Workshop May 2012 Where to Publish Why Write? Communicate effectively Think seriously about the venue –Discus this early on in the project –Ideal venue will be sub-discipline-specific Maximize impact –Aim high –Don’t fear rejection Fear of failure retards creativity and impact

Effective Writing Top Down 5Steve Blackburn | Writing Research Papers | PhD Workshop May 2012

6 Know Your Audience What does this audience care about? What does this audience already know? Think about the venue Think about the readership Think about the reviewers –Look at the program committee composition (It is probably not your mother) Effective Writing

7Steve Blackburn | Writing Research Papers | PhD Workshop May 2012 Know Your Message What have you done… –that is interesting (to your audience, not you!) –that is novel –that advances the field? –that forms a single, coherent story? Important v necessary –Include all that is necessary, but the focus must remain on the important –Details of methodology etc must be reported, but in a way that does not dominate nor detract from the focus Don’t start writing until you have a single, clear, coherent story Effective Writing

8Steve Blackburn | Writing Research Papers | PhD Workshop May 2012 The Title It is the first handle readers have –Succinct –Meaningful –If you’re lucky, memorable Make it meaningful and engaging Effective Writing

9Steve Blackburn | Writing Research Papers | PhD Workshop May 2012 The Abstract This is the story of your work –Write v1.0 the day you start the project –Iterate If you can’t capture your work in the modality of an abstract you probably don’t know what you’re doing and/or don’t have enough perspective. Many people will only read your abstract... Effective Writing

10Steve Blackburn | Writing Research Papers | PhD Workshop May 2012 What’s In An Abstract? With thanks to Kathryn McKinley, University of Texas at Austin & Microsoft Research Effective Writing Contribution Result “This paper introduces a new context-sensitive and control-flow sensitive pointer alias analysis. We show that it is one hundred times faster than the prior state of the art.”

With thanks to Kathryn McKinley, University of Texas at Austin & Microsoft Research 11Steve Blackburn | Writing Research Papers | PhD Workshop May 2012 Effective Writing Problem statement Contribution Result Meaning “Precise flow and context sensitive pointer analysis is currently limited to programs with 100,000 or fewer lines of code. Pointer analysis clients, such as verification and testing, are consequently limited to small programs because they need high precision.” “Precise flow and context sensitive pointer analysis is currently limited to programs with 100,000 or fewer lines of code. Pointer analysis clients, such as verification and testing, are consequently limited to small programs because they need high precision. This paper introduces a new context-sensitive and control-flow sensitive pointer alias analysis.” “Precise flow and context sensitive pointer analysis is currently limited to programs with 100,000 or fewer lines of code. Pointer analysis clients, such as verification and testing, are consequently limited to small programs because they need high precision. This paper introduces a new context-sensitive and control-flow sensitive pointer alias analysis. We show that it is one hundred times faster than prior algorithms and can analyze programs up to 1 million lines of code.” “Precise flow and context sensitive pointer analysis is currently limited to programs with 100,000 or fewer lines of code. Pointer analysis clients, such as verification and testing, are consequently limited to small programs because they need high precision. This paper introduces a new context-sensitive and control-flow sensitive pointer alias analysis. We show that it is one hundred times faster than prior algorithms and can analyze programs up to 1 million lines of code. Future work should investigate its effects on the precision and scalability of client analysis.”

12Steve Blackburn | Writing Research Papers | PhD Workshop May 2012 Effective Writing Problem statement Contribution Result Meaning “Precise flow and context sensitive pointer analysis is currently limited to programs with 100,000 or fewer lines of code. Pointer analysis clients, such as verification and testing, are consequently limited to small programs because they need high precision. This paper introduces a new context-sensitive and control-flow sensitive pointer alias analysis. Our key insight is that many pointers have the same aliases, and we show how to find and exploit this equivalence. We show that it is one hundred times faster than prior algorithms and can analyze programs up to 1 million lines of code. Future work should investigate its effects on the precision and scalability of client analysis.” … and be precise With thanks to Kathryn McKinley, University of Texas at Austin & Microsoft Research

13Steve Blackburn | Writing Research Papers | PhD Workshop May 2012 Improving an abstract Interview the writer Effective Writing With thanks to Kathryn McKinley, University of Texas at Austin & Microsoft Research Understand –Problem statement –Contribution –Result –Meaning

14Steve Blackburn | Writing Research Papers | PhD Workshop May 2012 The Rest of the Paper Writers (even technical ones) are story tellers Effective Writing With thanks to Kathryn McKinley, University of Texas at Austin & Microsoft Research Tell a single coherent story Link and organize ideas –Recursively at each level of the document Emphasis –Ensure your story shines through –De-emphasize elements that are necessary but not key to the story

15Steve Blackburn | Writing Research Papers | PhD Workshop May 2012 Recursive structure We’re computer scientists, after all Effective Writing With thanks to Kathryn McKinley, University of Texas at Austin & Microsoft Research paper section paragraph sentence Containers (paper, section, paragraph) –Structure Introduction, discussion, (conclusion) Sentences –Structure Special rules for structuring sentences Linkage of ideas –Story has flow –Structure reflects flow

16Steve Blackburn | Writing Research Papers | PhD Workshop May 2012 The Paper Effective Writing With thanks to Kathryn McKinley, University of Texas at Austin & Microsoft Research introductio n Containers (paper, section, paragraph) –Structure Introduction, discussion, (conclusion) Sentences –Structure Special rules for structuring sentences Linkage of ideas –Story has flow –Structure reflects flow discussion conclusion

17Steve Blackburn | Writing Research Papers | PhD Workshop May 2012 Sections Effective Writing With thanks to Kathryn McKinley, University of Texas at Austin & Microsoft Research introductio n Structure –Composed of paragraphs (or subsections) –Introduction, discussion, (conclusion) Section title –Should be consistent with key idea reflected in first paragraph discussion conclusion

18Steve Blackburn | Writing Research Papers | PhD Workshop May 2012 Sentences Effective Writing With thanks to Kathryn McKinley, University of Texas at Austin & Microsoft Research Familiar ideas Action New ideas subject verb object

Mechanics A Laundry List 19Steve Blackburn | Writing Research Papers | PhD Workshop May 2012

20Steve Blackburn | Writing Research Papers | PhD Workshop May 2012 Have a Template Use a template directory complete with defaults –Include the common LaTeX practices you use –Include boilerplate for grant acknowlegments –Include a bibliography Use a standard naming scheme –My lab uses keyword-venue-year rc-ismm-2012, yinyang-isca-2012, etc Can be invaluable Mechanics

21Steve Blackburn | Writing Research Papers | PhD Workshop May 2012 Version Control Why use version control? –Versioning (especially for thesis!) –Concurrent writing Use LaTeX and an SCM (svn, git, hg, etc) –Break document into multiple files –Put tables etc. into separate files Use the cloud –Google docs etc. –Write concurrently, leave comments, versions Writing is a team sport Mechanics

22Steve Blackburn | Writing Research Papers | PhD Workshop May 2012 Author Order Understand the convention Ensure roles are clear Discuss it explicitly Not something to leave to the last minute Mechanics

23Steve Blackburn | Writing Research Papers | PhD Workshop May 2012 Spelling, Grammar & Style Eliminate passive voice whenever possible –Passivity introduces ambiguity, the antithesis of good science writing Practice, practice, practice, practice Use available tools Read Invite critique Writing errors distract the reviewer / reader Mechanics

Steve Blackburn | Writing Research Papers | PhD Workshop May 2012 Spelling, Grammar & Style Can be fun… …no, really. Mechanics 24

25Steve Blackburn | Writing Research Papers | PhD Workshop May 2012 Captions Make figure + caption stand-alone –Capture the insight and meaning in the caption if possible –Capture only most vital methodology in caption Many readers will only look at the pictures… Mechanics

26Steve Blackburn | Writing Research Papers | PhD Workshop May 2012 Citations and Bibliography Take care to cite the appropriate work. –Gratuitous citations do not impress –Incorrect citations irritate –Missed citations infuriate Take care with bib entries –Include the DOI where possible –Check the citation. Is it correct? Take special care when acknowledging prior work Mechanics

27Steve Blackburn | Writing Research Papers | PhD Workshop May 2012 Feedback & Proofreading You will become blind to your failings –Loss of perspective –Failure to explain key predicates –Familiarity of own writing style –Blindness to typos, omissions Get friends to proofread –Be open to critique –Cultivate a culture of honesty and directness Can be invaluable Mechanics

28Steve Blackburn | Writing Research Papers | PhD Workshop May 2012 Rebuttal Identify key points, factor them out –Points for and points against –Ensure you address all major questions –Ensure you rebut all major concerns Be succinct Be polite Be direct Use it wisely Mechanics

29Steve Blackburn | Writing Research Papers | PhD Workshop May 2012 Credibility Is your work reproducible? –Does the paper contain enough information? Provide full proofs –Publish as an abstract or tech report Publish raw data –Put it on your web page What’s the credibility of this work? Mechanics

30Steve Blackburn | Writing Research Papers | PhD Workshop May 2012 Iterate Learning to write well takes time and practice You cannot leave it to the last minute I recommend a top-down approach –Abstract –Structure –Iteratively fill in content Start writing early & iterate Mechanics

31Steve Blackburn | Writing Research Papers | PhD Workshop May 2012 Questions? Mechanics