Seyed Mohammad Jafari PhD Candidate in Management Graduate School of Management (GSM) University of Putra Malaysia (UPM) May 25, 2011 Research Tools A Thesis Writing Approach
What is this?
Thesis writing is a journey at circuit
Equip yourself
Content Research tools help research student to spend less time on search and more time on discovery Content of Part I: Finding proper keywords Initial appraisal of the topic and getting more familiar with it Conducting a systematic literature review Evaluating a paper/journal quality Keeping up-to-date (Alert system)
Content Content of Part II: Review of “Research Tools I (Part I)” Mind-mapping Searching inside the articles Organizing the references (Reference management) How to avoid plagiarism Plagiarism checking tools
Thesis writing flow using research tools Selecting a topic Finding related Keywords Initial evaluation of the topic Systematic literature review Selecting core papers on the topic Mind-Mapping Keeping up to date Avoid Plagiarism Indexing the sources Cite while you write Reference Management
Selecting a topic Source of a topic Availability of Fund Researcher’s interest Continuing MSc thesis Essential Science Indicator (ESI) Available Supervisors Availability of instrument Exp: Emerging Research Fronts Fast Moving Fronts Top Topics
Finding proper keywords KeyWords Plus Google Wonder Wheel Google AdWords
Initial appraisal of your topic and getting more familiar with it
Evaluating a paper/journal quality 1- Initial Appraisal: o Author o Journal (ISI vs. non-ISI) o Publisher (well known vs. unknown) o Date of Publication (most recent one) o Edition or Revision (make sure you found the latest version) 2- Content Analysis: Intended Audience Objective Reasoning Coverage Writing Style Evaluative Reviews h-index Impact Factor Exp: AutoSummary Tools
h-index A scientist has index h if h of [his/her] Np papers have at least h citations each, and the other (Np − h) papers have at most h citations each (Jorge E. Hirsch)
Publish or Perish
Impact Factor
Journal Citation Reports (JCR)
Conducting a systematic literature review Go Forward Go Backward Systematic Literature Review Related Articles Review Articles (Meta-analysis) Review Articles (Meta-analysis) Webster, J., & Watson, R. (2002). Analyzing the past to prepare for the future: Writing a literature review. MIS Quarterly, 26(2),
Conducting a systematic literature review
Search Engines Advance Search/ Analyze Results Advance Search/ Analyze Results Conducting a systematic literature review
Keeping up-to-date (Alert system) Activate databases alert systems Activate databases alert systems Others Publishers
Research as a Puzzle
Mind-Mapping
Searching inside the articles Desktop Search Smartly keywords selection Boolean search techniques
Organizing the references (Reference management) References Management Save time in reference management Save time in reference management Import into EndNote Cite while you write
How to avoid plagiarism Plagiarism: copying someone else’s words, information or even ideas without acknowledging the source (the person and the work) Plagiarism Similarity Within the acceptance range (e.g. 20%) (%0)
Paraphrasing Solution No direct copy and paste from articles Correct citation to the references Put definitions and direct citations in “quotation” Exclude “Table of content” & “References” before submission How to avoid plagiarism
Plagiarism checking tools Checking tools Needs subscription Free Only for initial appraisal
Plagiarism checking tools
Q&A
References Research Tools Mind Map by Nader Ale Ebrahim Research Tools Mind Map
Good luck in your research