1. Cleveland State University EEC 414/503, ESC 720 Writing in Electrical and Computer Engineering Lecture 4 – How to Read Dan Simon

2. How to Read 1.Reading Basics Video (Blackboard) 2.Video Review 3.Find Sources 4.Summarize Sources 2

3. How to Read: Video Review Your short-term memory can handle between 3 and 7 chunks of information at a time The average attention span is about 90 minutes; after 90 minutes, we need a 15- minute break 3

4. How to Read: Video Review Read with your hands: preview the article by flipping through pages, turn section headings into chunks Don’t read for more than 90 minutes at a time Take a refreshing break every 90 minutes Draw pictures to help you remember what you’ve read (Moonwalking with Einstein) Define your goal: are you reading for a quiz, a test, or to write a paper? 4

5. How to Read: Video Review Do not carefully read through every paper – This is one of the differences between reading for research, and reading for pleasure Carefully read only your core sources Make yourself comfortable 5

6. How to Read 1.Reading Basics Video (Blackboard) 2.Video Review 3.Find Sources 4.Summarize Sources 6

7. How to Read: Find Sources Virtual Reference Desk: Encyclopedias, books, theses, articles www.ulib.csuohio.edu/research/vrd www.ulib.csuohio.edu/research/vrd Academic Search Premier: IEEE Xplore, Compendex, etc. www.ulib.csuohio.edu/research/databases www.ulib.csuohio.edu/research/databases Databases in your subject area www.ulib.csuohio.edu/research/databases/subject.html www.ulib.csuohio.edu/research/databases/subject.html Google Scholar – http://scholar.google.com http://scholar.google.com 7

8. How to Read: Find Sources LexisNexis: Newspaper articles for general background information – not source material http://web.lexis-nexis.com/universe http://web.lexis-nexis.com/universe CSU library catalog http://scholar.csuohio.edu http://scholar.csuohio.edu OhioLink: Books and book chapters (~ 1 week) http://olc1.ohiolink.edu/search http://olc1.ohiolink.edu/search Interlibrary Loan (~ 2 weeks) www.ulib.csuohio.edu/services/ill www.ulib.csuohio.edu/services/ill 8

9. How to Read: Find Sources Find and read a few non-academic titles for your own general background information – Web sites, Wikipedia, newspaper articles, magazine articles Find 40 titles in the databases – academic books, journals, and conference papers – No magazine articles – No web sites 9

10. How to Read: Find Sources Out of 40 titles, only about 25 will be available (some will be missing, others don’t arrive in time from interlibrary loan, others don’t relate to your subject well) Skim your 25 sources and make a quick decision: yes or no? Save only those that relate well to your research question Select the 10 best sources for careful reading 10

11. How to Read: Find Sources Evaluate your source list Do you have too many or too few sources? – Do you need to expand or limit the publication dates? – Is the relevance of the sources to your subject too broad or too narrow? – Do you need to expand or narrow your topic? Do a few of your sources seem especially relevant? Check their reference lists. 11

12. How to Read: Find Sources The Engineering Librarian can help you find more sources, or narrow down your list. Make an appointment at: www.ulib.csuohio.edu/services/ask www.ulib.csuohio.edu/services/ask 12

13. How to Read 1.Reading Basics Video (Blackboard) 2.Video Review 3.Find Sources 4.Summarize Sources 13

14. How to Read: Summarize Sources Summarize the article In a few seconds, glance through the article. What do you expect it to be about? Section headings, tables, and pictures can give you clues. Next, carefully read the abstract and conclusion. Now what do you expect the article to be about? Next, read the article somewhat carefully. What’s different from what you expected? What are your personal reactions to the article – excited, challenged, confused, bored? Write the main point (focus, thesis) of the article in one sentence What are the broader implications (social, technological, moral, etc.) of the main point? 14

15. How to Read: Summarize Sources Summary structure 1.Bibliographic details 2.Your reactions 3.Your questions What’s the point of writing a summary? It helps you systematically study your source material It helps you organize your source material 15

16. How to Read: Summarize Sources Summary structure: (1) Bibliographic details Full reference (author, title, date, etc.) Qualifications of the author Number of references (a good source for other material for your report) Focus or thesis (one sentence) Significance of the thesis to the author (the “so what”) 16

17. How to Read: Summarize Sources Summary structure: (2) Your reaction Intellectual: reasoning, evidence, conclusion excites or bothers you Moral, Ethical, or Emotional Intuitive: some aspect excites or bothers you, but you don’t know why Cultural Timing: some aspect reminds you of something else – another article, a person, an event, etc. Concentration: the article concentrates on only a few things, and forgets something important 17

18. How to Read: Summarize Sources Summary structure: (3) Your questions What questions about your report topic does the article raise in your mind? How does the article’s thesis relate to the topic of your report? The answers to your questions may require more research or consultation with a research librarian 18

19. How to Read: Summarize Sources Example: (1) Bibliographic details Full reference: A. Kapti and M. Yucenur, “Design and control of an active artificial knee joint,” Mechanism and Machine Theory, vol. 41, pp. 1477-1485, 2006 Qualifications: University faculty Number of references: 12 Thesis: A newly proposed active leg prosthesis with a rule- based controller gives better performance than passive prostheses. Significance: The new prosthesis helps amputees with daily living activities. 19

20. How to Read: Summarize Sources Example: (2) My reaction Intellectual: Active prostheses should always outperform passive ones. What is the contribution here? Intuitive: There are not enough details (PID control parameters, rule parameters, and so on). Position control is used in stance phase. Timing: Other active prostheses are proposed in the literature, but discussed only briefly in this article. Concentration: The article is very skimpy on details. It mentions various activities (sitting, standing, etc.) but does not give experimental results. It does not mention any drawbacks of the proposed design (for example, power consumption). 20

21. How to Read: Summarize Sources Example: (3) My questions How many different modes are needed in prosthesis control? How accurately do we need to control knee angle? Are there other aspects of gait we need to control? What are the advantages and disadvantages of active control? 21

22. How to Read: Summarize Sources Example: (3) My questions (continued) Author’s thesis: A newly proposed active leg prosthesis with a rule-based controller gives better performance than passive prostheses. My thesis: An active prosthesis with impedance control can improve prosthesis performance. Relationship: The two theses are similar, except: the author’s thesis involves rule-based trajectory control while mine involves rule-based impedance control; and the author’s thesis uses only one performance criterion while mine uses several. 22

23. Conclusion 1.Lots of short study sessions 2.Skim lots of material 3.Carefully read a limited amount of material 4.Use the library to find source material 5.Use informal sources for background info 6.Distill 40  25  10 formal sources 7.Spend 2 minutes each on 25 sources to narrow them down to 10 sources 8.Three-part detailed summary of 10 sources 23

24. Conclusion Next class: Visit the CSU library to learn how to use their resources Homework 4 due in two weeks Next lecture topic: Select a thesis for your report 24

25. Acknowledgments CSU Writing Center www.csuohio.edu/academic/writingcenter www.csuohio.edu/academic/writingcenter 25