Writing and Publishing Ranga Rodrigo. Contents Research and publishing Where to publish Publication process Peer review Structure of an article Writing.

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1 Writing and Publishing Ranga Rodrigo

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4 Contents Research and publishing Where to publish Publication process Peer review Structure of an article Writing style Typographical software

5 What Is Research? Searching through Google and finding out something that I or my colleagues do not know about (reinterpretation of old knowledge). Finding out something that the world still does not know about (generating knowledge, originality).

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7 Why Publish? To enable others to replicate my work and put to good use. Then write in a way so that others could understand and use!

8 Which Article Should You Write? There are two possible articles you can write: – (a) the article you planned to write when you designed your study or – (b) the article that makes the most sense now that you have seen the results. They are rarely the same. The correct answer is (b). Writing the Empirical Journal Article by Daryl J. Bem

9 WHERE TO PUBLISH

10 Where to Publish Journals (transactions, letters) Conferences Book chapters Monographs (thesis) Internal technical report (tech-reports) Manuals

11 Journals vs. Conferences Journal Frequent (monthly) issues Comprehensive Prestigious Usually harder 12, double-column pages of tightly packed text Free Rebuttal possible Conference Quick dissemination of research Seen to be easier, some are extremely hard 8 pages of double-column loosely packed text Expensive (registration, travel, lodging) No rebuttal

12 What is a Tech-Report A scientific or technical report describes a research process or research and development results or the current state-of-the-art in a certain field of science or technology. Types: – Reports about laboratory experiments – Construction and design reports – Reports about testing measurements – Various theses – Articles in a scientific journal – Project reports Lutz Hering and Heike Hering 2010 p. 1 Tech-Reports Research Papers

13 Science Citation Index The Science Citation Index (SCI) is a citation index originally produced by the Institute for Scientific Information (ISI) and created by Eugene Garfield. It is now owned by Thomson Reuters. The larger version (Science Citation Index Expanded) covers more than 6,500 notable and significant journals, across 150 disciplines, from 1900 to the present. These are alternately described as the world's leading journals of science and technology, because of a rigorous selection process. The index is made available online through the Web of Science database, a part of the Web of Knowledge collection of databases. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Science_Citation_Index

14 Impact Factor The impact factor of a journal is a measure reflecting the average number of citations to recent articles published in the journal. Calculation for journal impact factor: – A = total cites in 1992 – B = 1992 cites to articles published in 1990-91 (this is a subset of A) – C = number of articles published in 1990-91 – D = B/C = 1992 impact factor http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impact_factor, http://wokinfo.com/essays/impact-factor/

15 Some Impact Factors JournalPublisherIF IEEE Transactions on Pattern Analysis and Machine IntelligenceIEEE4.795 International Journal of Computer VisionSpringer3.623 IEEE Transactions on Image ProcessingIEEE3.199 IEEE Transactions on Systems, Man, and Cybernetics, Part B:IEEE3.236 Eigenfactor Article influence score h indexi10 index Other Measures

16 PUBLICATION PROCESS

17 Ok. Now you have made a discovery that the world does not still know about. You have decided to publish this. You have also made the initial write-up, and done the missing further research. You have identified a journal as well. How should you go about having this published?

18 Write the Manuscript Submit to the Journal Editor’s Decision Revise Submit Camera-Ready Paper Accept Thoroughly Revise Submit Revised Paper Accept with revisions or rejected with encouragement to resubmit Editor Sends for Peer Review Re-Do Some Work, Thoroughly Revise Rejected with no encouragement to resubmit Submit as a Fresh Paper

19 PEER REVIEW

20 Peer-Review Process http://www.justinholman.com/2012/03/24/academic-peer-review/

21 Editor Assigns the Submitting to an Associate Editor Associate Editor Assigns Reviewers Reviewers Review the Paper Associate Editor Receives Reviews and Confidential Reviews Associate Editor Makes the Decision to Accept or Reject Editor Communicates the Decision

22 Peer-Review Types Reviewers are hidden from authors Single-Blind Review Both reviewers and authors remain anonymous. Double-Blind Review: Reviewer and author are known to each other. Open Review http://www.elsevier.com/reviewers/peer-review, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peer_review Note: A conflict of interest arises when a reviewer and author have a disproportionate amount of respect or disrespect for each other.

23 Review Criteria Category (application, research, survey) Correctness Relevance (to the readers of the journal) Readability Originality Contribution Utility Results and comparison References

24 WRITING: STRUCTURE

25 Criteria for Scientific Writing Primary Accuracy Clarity Secondary Interesting Style The first step toward clarity is good organization The second step toward clarity is to write simply and directly Writing the Empirical Journal Article by Daryl J. Bem

26 Structure of an Article

27 AbstractIntroductionMethod Results and Discussion Conclusion References

28 General-Specific-General An article begins with broad general statements, progressively narrows the specifics of your study, and then broadens out again to more general considerations. Writing the Empirical Journal Article by Daryl J. Bem

29 The introduction begins broadly: “Individuals differ radically from one another in the degree to which they are willing and able to express their emotions.” It becomes more specific:“Indeed, the popular view is that such emotional expressiveness is a central difference between men and women.... But the research evidence is mixed...” And more so:“There is even some evidence that men may actually...” Until you are ready to introduce your own study in conceptual terms: “In this study, we recorded the emotional reactions of both men and women to filmed...” The method and results sections are the most specific, the “neck” of the hourglass: (Method) One hundred male and 100 female undergraduates were shown one of two movies...” “(Results) Table 1 shows that men in the father-watching condition cried significantly more...” The discussion section begins with the implications of your study: “These results imply that sex differences in emotional expressiveness are moderated by two kinds of variables...” It becomes broader:“Not since Charles Darwin’s first observations has psychology contributed as much new...” And more so:“If emotions can incarcerate us by hiding our complexity, at least their expression can liberate us by displaying our authenticity.” Writing the Empirical Journal Article by Daryl J. Bem

30 Abstract Introduction Method Results Conclusion

31 Structure of a Thesis Is it primarily different from the structure of an article? No

32 Structure of a Thesis Title Page Abstract Table of Contents List of Figures List of Tables Introduction Literature Survey Material and Methods Results Discussion Conclusions Acknowledgments References Appendices Abstract Introduction Method Results and Discussion Conclusion References http://www.ldeo.columbia.edu/~martins/sen_sem/thesis_org.html

33 Abstract An abstract is a brief summary of a research article, thesis, review, conference proceeding or any in-depth analysis of a particular subject or discipline, and is often used to help the reader quickly ascertain the paper's purpose. Why is this important? Why should I read this? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abstract_(summary)

34 Parts of an Abstract Motivation Problem statement Approach Contributions Results Conclusions https://www.ece.cmu.edu/~koopman/essays/abstract.html

35 Introduction Goal of the paper, motivation Background information (significance and context) Literature (separate section in thesis) – Proper acknowledgement – Only relevant – Provide backdrop Roadmap

36 Methods Establish credibility of your work Information to replicate your work Materials, procedure, theory Limitations assumptions Analytical and statistical methods

37 Results Qualitative and quantitative Statistics, graphs, tables Comparison with recent, closely-related work

38 Discussion Interpret results in the backdrop laid in the introduction and literature review Patterns observed, relationships, trends, generalizations Likely causes Implications

39 Conclusions What are the most important statements that you would make in retrospect of your work that would benefit your reader? Brief summary in retrospect Conclusions Implications

40 Citations and References

41 STYLE

42 12 Contrast: a love letter Planning must be a deliberate prelude to writing. Start from a skeleton. Then fill in the text. Choose a suitable design and hold to it.

43 13 Firs sentence in the topic. It also a sentence of transition. Carefully choose the order of sentence within. Last sentence is the conclusion. Make the paragraph the unit of compositi on

44 14 The active voice is usually more direct and vigorous than the passive: – I shall always remember my first visit to Boston. – This is much better than – My first visit to Boston will always be remembered by me. Use the active voice.

45 There were a great number of dead leaves lying on the ground. Dead leaves covered the ground. At dawn the crowing of a rooster could be heard. The cock's crow came with dawn. The reason he left college was that his health became impaired. Failing health compelled him to leave college. It was not long before she was very sorry that she had said what she had. She soon repented her words.

46 15 Make definite assertions. Avoid tame, colorless, hesitating, noncommittal language. Use the word not as a means of denial or in antithesis, never as a means of evasion. Put statement s in positive form.

47 He was not very often on time. He usually came late. She did not think that studying Latin was a sensible way to use one's time. She thought the study of Latin a waste of time. The Taming of the Shrew is rather weak in spots. Shakespeare does not portray Katharine as a very admirable character, nor does Bianca remain long in memory as an important character in Shakespeare's works. The women in The Taming of the Shrew are unattractive. Katharine is disagreeable, Bianca insignificant.

48 16 Prefer the specific to the general, the definite to the vague, the concrete to the abstract. Use definite, specific, concrete language.

49 A period of unfavorable weather set in. It rained every day for a week. He showed satisfaction as he took possession of his well- earned reward. He grinned as he pocketed the coin. In proportion as the manners, customs, and amusements of a nation are cruel and barbarous, the regulations of its penal code will be severe. In proportion as men delight in battles, bullfights, and combats of gladiators, will they punish by hanging, burning, and the rack.

50 17 Vigorous writing is concise. A sentence should contain no unnecessary words, a paragraph no unnecessary sentences, for the same reason that a drawing should have no unnecessary lines and a machine no unnecessary parts. This requires not that the writer make all sentences short, or avoid all detail and treat subjects only in outline, but that every word tell. Omit needless words.

51 the question as to whetherwhether (the question whether) there is no doubt but thatno doubt (doubtless) used for fuel purposesused for fuel he is a man whohe in a hasty mannerhastily this is a subject thatthis subject Her story is a strange one.Her story is strange. the reason why is thatbecause

52 owing to the fact thatsince (because) in spite of the fact thatthough (although) call your attention to the fact that remind you (notify you) I was unaware of the fact that I was unaware that (did not know) the fact that he had not succeeded his failure the fact that I had arrivedmy arrival

53 More 18. Avoid a succession of loose sentences. 19.Express co-ordinate ideas in similar form. 20.Keep related words together. 21.In summaries, keep to one tense. 22.Place the emphatic words of a sentence at the end. http://www.stat.ufl.edu/~presnell/Various/Strunk-and-White/etes_htm.htm

54 TYPOGRAPHY SOFTWARE

55 TeX TeX is a typesetting system designed and mostly written by Donald Knuth and released in 1978. Within the typesetting system, its name is formatted as Donald Ervin Knuth (born January 10, 1938) is an American computer scientist, mathematician, and Professor Emeritus at Stanford University. He is the author of the multi-volume work The Art of Computer Programming. Knuth has been called the "father" of the analysis of algorithms.

56 He used to pay a finder's fee of $2.56 for any typographical errors or mistakes discovered in his books, because "256 pennies is one hexadecimal dollar", and $0.32 for "valuable suggestions". According to an article in the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Technology Review, these Knuth reward checks are "among computerdom's most prized trophies".

57 LaTeX LaTeX is a document preparation system and document markup language. It is the de facto standard for the communication and publication of scientific documents in many fields, including mathematics, physics, and computer science. LaTeX uses the TeX typesetting program for formatting its output, and is itself written in the TeX macro language.

58 Software to Use LaTeX Install MikTeX Install Ghostscript Install Adobe reader Install WinEdt

59 SOOTHING ADVICE! “They come into the university … knowing precisely who they are: successful and intelligent holders of well-earned qualifications. It is not long before they lose their initial confidence and begin to question their own self- image!” Does this describe you as a young, vibrant researcher a few months back? Well then, you should know that a Ph.D. is “determination and ability rather than brilliance”. http://manchestersteps.wordpress.com/2011/01/24/book-review-how-to-get-a-phd/