1. Reading Research Papers George Corser

2. Agenda Why are we here? Why read research papers? What is a research paper? What is in a research paper? What is the research process? How to find significant papers How to read critically Time and material management

3. Why Are We Here?

4. Why Read Research Papers? Make sure your idea has not been published already Become an expert in a research area (stand on the shoulders of giants) Image source: http://www.hitrecord.org/records/34896http://www.hitrecord.org/records/34896

5. What is a Research Paper? Conference paper, journal paper, book chapter Types – Theoretical: algorithm or mathematical proof – Empirical: analysis of simulation or real-world implementation – Survey: documentation of state of the art – Tutorial, case study, others… Peer reviewed

6. What is in a Research Paper? Paper Sections Abstract 1 Introduction 2 Background 3 Method, terms 4 Results / Analysis 5 Conclusion 6 Sample Paper (Excerpt)

7. What is the Research Process? Define research topic Find significant papers Classify papers Develop hypothesis Experiment (measure) Write a paper

8. How to Find Significant Papers Find papers in journals with high impact factor (IF): IEEE Xplore, ACM Digital Library, Google Scholar Find papers that cite other significant papers Find papers that have been cited by others

9. Impact Factor Examples Computer Science (2011)All Fields (2003) Source for “Computer Science (2011): http://www.spinellis.gr/blog/20120703/ Source for “All Fields (2003)”: http://in-cites.com/research/2005/july_18_2005-1.html

10. Frequent Citation Examples IEEE XploreGoogle Scholar

11. How to Read Critically What problem(s) are they solving? Why are these problems important? Are the author’s claims reasonable and realistic? What did they really do? (as opposed to what the authors say or imply they did) Do the authors present evidence that they know why they are doing this research? What is the larger picture? What is the contribution of the work? (i.e. what is interesting or new?) What methods are they using? Is the approach clearly described? Can you summarize the approach? Does the approach seem objective? Reasonable assumptions? Would you have solved the problem differently? Can you think of counter-examples? Do all the pieces of their work fit together logically? What were the results? Do the results address the problem stated at the beginning of the paper? Source: Dr Qu

12. Time and Material Management Nickname the papers you read: AMOEBA, REP, AOSA, PARROTS, FLARES Keep a log of the most interesting points in each paper Save the files using naming convention (nickname) in one searchable directory PaperKey Points AMOEBAMix zone Silent period REPRandom encryption period AOSAAnonymous LBS access, Group leader acts as proxy Privacy metrics SPCPSynchronized pseudonym changing protocol PARROTSVehicles mimic signals of other vehicles FLARESVehicles emit decoy messages, scalable: no reliance on other cars

13. Relax. Then Refocus.

14. Conclusion Why are we here? Why read research papers? What is a research paper? What is in a research paper? What is the research process? How to find significant papers How to read critically Time and material management

15. The End

16. Extra Slides

17. Peer-reviewed journal growth Source: M A Mabe, The number and growth of journals, Serials 16(2), 191-7, 2003

18. Impact Factor (IF) Average number of citations per article Example – Let A = number of times articles from 2006 and 2007 were cited in a journal in 2008 – Let B = the number of “citable” items published in the journal – Impact factor, IF = A / B Source: http://www.sciencegateway.org/impact/http://www.sciencegateway.org/impact/

19. Impact factor analysis Source: Elsevier 201062216345377

20. What is the Writing Process? Paper Sections Abstract 1 Introduction 2 Background 3 Method 4 Results / Analysis 5 Conclusion 6 Writing Tasks Results / Analysis 5 Method 4 Background 3 Conclusion 6 Introduction 2 Abstract 1