1. 1 First Workshop on Scientific Research Methodology, KASU, Kaduna February 17, 2010 Proposal Writing, Data Presentation and Report Writing: The Case of Computer Science Sahalu Junaidu sahalu@abu.edu.ng Department of Mathematics Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria

2. 2 First Workshop on Scientific Research Methodology, KASU, Kaduna February 17, 2010 Proposal Writing, Data Presentation & Report Writing  Introduction  Proposal Writing  Data Presentation  Report Writing  Conclusion

3. 3 First Workshop on Scientific Research Methodology, KASU, Kaduna February 17, 2010 Introduction  Graduate studies can be challenging without adequate preparations  Prospective students should have sufficient grounding on  All core areas of computing  Writing and communication skills  Presentation skills  This paper presents issues and tips on  Writing research proposals  Data collection and presentation  Thesis report writing

4. 4 First Workshop on Scientific Research Methodology, KASU, Kaduna February 17, 2010 Proposal Writing: Readiness Check-list  Motivation and drive to pursue the research project  Availability for the research work  Familiarity with research conducted in the proposal areas  Clear understanding of the steps to follow in conducting the research  Ability to get through each of the steps necessary to complete the research project

5. 5 First Workshop on Scientific Research Methodology, KASU, Kaduna February 17, 2010 Proposal Writing  Why write a research proposal?  Demonstrate ability to define a research problem  Demonstrate background knowledge in a chosen area  Win potential supervisors  Win studentship grants  A good proposal provides a basis for the final thesis write-up  Your proposal conveys an initial impression to your potential supervisors about yourself  It must be written well  You may not have a second chance!

6. 6 First Workshop on Scientific Research Methodology, KASU, Kaduna February 17, 2010 Elements of a Good Proposal  A precise topic from a specific area  An overview of the area  Relevant literature  Key research questions  Research rationale  Methodology  Research plan  Bibliography

7. 7 First Workshop on Scientific Research Methodology, KASU, Kaduna February 17, 2010 … Elements of a Good Proposal  A precise topic from a specific area  A precise research topic helps to convey your proposed research area and intent clearly to your readers  helps potential supervisors to see if you are in their area of interest  Avoid extremely broad topics that lack focus or understanding of the issue to address  “computer science”, “software engineering”, “programming languages”  An overview of the area  Here goes an abstract about the topic and the area of computing within which it falls  Your exposition of the area should demonstrate your background knowledge of the area.  Mention previous work/publications you have in the area  Outline major research issues, debates and research approaches in the area

8. 8 First Workshop on Scientific Research Methodology, KASU, Kaduna February 17, 2010 … Elements of a Good Proposal  Relevant literature  You should read far and wide, collect relevant and up-to- date literature  Your potential supervisors can easily tell important references not cited  Key research questions  A careful literature review helps to identify unanswered questions, unsolved questions and to formulate a statement of inquiry  State clearly the research questions you plan to address  Research questions should be precise and manageable and their outcomes measurable

9. 9 First Workshop on Scientific Research Methodology, KASU, Kaduna February 17, 2010 … Elements of a Good Proposal  Research rationale  A Computer Science research proposal should explain the worthiness of its intent  Potential benefits that may accrue from the research output should be highlighted  Mention the stakeholders that will benefit from the research outcomes  Research methodology  Highlights the approach to adopt to manage the research questions  Alternative approaches within the various tasks of the research should be mentioned and justified  You should mention any specific hardware, software, etc., that are necessary to accomplish your research

10. 10 First Workshop on Scientific Research Methodology, KASU, Kaduna February 17, 2010 … Elements of a Good Proposal  Research plan  If you fail to plan, you plan to fail  Design a timescale for each aspect of the research  Helps convey your consciousness of the need for planning  Be conservative in your timings by adding extra time to your end dates  Factor risk analysis in your plan  Bibliography  Lists the relevant literature you consulted in the course of writing the proposal  Ensure you obtain copies of these papers for further reference during final write up

11. 11 First Workshop on Scientific Research Methodology, KASU, Kaduna February 17, 2010 Tips for a Good Proposal  Review a couple of research proposals to gain insight  Use simple, plain and crystal clear language to express your ideas  Do not use ambiguous language  Write formally, following stringent rules of grammar  Ensure each question or objective may be atomically addressed, clearly and indisputably using the findings, statistics and outcomes of your research  Organize your ideas logically with a coherent and sound progression  Avoid quoting literature second hand, without reading them yourself.

12. 12 First Workshop on Scientific Research Methodology, KASU, Kaduna February 17, 2010 Data Presentation  A computer science research may involve experimentation, data collection and analysis  Type of data to collect may be categorical, continuous or a matrix of these  Data analysis techniques to be used may depend on the type of data collected  There is a wide range of classical statistical methods and tools for data analysis  The essence of your data presentation and analyses is to provide evidence in support of your thesis

13. 13 First Workshop on Scientific Research Methodology, KASU, Kaduna February 17, 2010 Report Writing  Writing a dissertation report is one of the most crucial and delicate tasks in graduate studies  You are about to start documenting your findings and conclusions that substantiate your achievements  Your thesis writing should be enjoyable when the research proposal, data collection and analysis were done well

14. 14 First Workshop on Scientific Research Methodology, KASU, Kaduna February 17, 2010 General Thesis Structure  Introduction  Background information (optional)  Literature review  Research questions  Thesis contribution  Conclusions  References  Appendices

15. 15 First Workshop on Scientific Research Methodology, KASU, Kaduna February 17, 2010 … General Thesis Structure: Thesis Contribution  The first four parts derive heavily from the proposal  Thesis contribution  This may be broken down into one, two or three chapters  The main purpose of these chapters is to convince your examiners that you answered the research questions  You should carefully document all  the relevant things that you did and  how you did them to arrive at the answers to your research questions

16. 16 First Workshop on Scientific Research Methodology, KASU, Kaduna February 17, 2010 … General Thesis Structure: Thesis Conclusions  The contributions summary, conclusions and future research directions may be in a single or separate chapters  In the summary, you list the contributions of new knowledge that your thesis makes  which were substantiated in the main body of your thesis  the list of contributions should be organized from most important to least important  Conclusions should be short, concise statements of the inferences that you made because of your work  These statements should also be organized from most important to least important  Ensure these conclusions are directly related to your research questions

17. 17 First Workshop on Scientific Research Methodology, KASU, Kaduna February 17, 2010 … Thesis Conclusions  Highlight any limitations of your contributions or conclusions  Have you provided complete answers?  Are there assumptions that you made which limit the generality of your answers?  What can be done to improve your findings a step further?  What other approaches you discovered can be followed to answer the same or similar questions?

18. 18 First Workshop on Scientific Research Methodology, KASU, Kaduna February 17, 2010 … General Thesis Structure: References & Appendices  References  All references given must be referred to in the main body of the thesis  Organize your references according to the standard format adopted by your graduate school  Reread papers of your examiners that you cited in your work prior to your thesis defense!  Appendices  This is the place to put important supporting material that is bulky to be placed in the body of the thesis  because it can disturb the smooth flow of your write-up  Examples include computer programs, elaborate tables of data, lengthy mathematical proofs or derivations, etc.

19. 19 First Workshop on Scientific Research Methodology, KASU, Kaduna February 17, 2010 Tips for a Good Thesis Report  Review a couple of well organized and presented dissertations  Start writing your dissertation inside-out  writing the core chapters that carry your contributions and then write the others that complement them  Ensure you number, title, introduce and explain all tables and figures in your dissertation  The distance between a figure or table and its explanation should not exceed one page  Be consistent in terminology use; do not overuse alternate words that mean the same thing  Do not write dissertation to dazzle or entertain readers  Write formally, clearly, unambiguously and convincingly  Make sure that your Suggestions for Further Research and Recommendations emanate from the findings and experiences of your research work  Check that they could not have been made before conducting your research.

20. 20 First Workshop on Scientific Research Methodology, KASU, Kaduna February 17, 2010 Conclusions  Presented issues related to  Motivation for and proposal writing  Data collection, analysis and presentation for a thesis  Thesis write up  Provided tips to assist potential graduate students handle these issues appropriately

21. 21 First Workshop on Scientific Research Methodology, KASU, Kaduna February 17, 2010 The End Questions / Comments