Knight Talks Tech

Category: 04 – Research Skills

  • Related work

    This is the literature review. Outlines what others have done – current knowledge in area.

  • Introduction

    Brief overview of subject area & context for research. Takes reader from current level of knowledge to be able to follow rest of paper. More comprehensive introduction required if target audience is more general reader.

  • Keywords

    Some publishers require the selection of keywords from a specified list so they can catalogue the paper appropriately, this is less common now due to the availability of full text search engines.

  • Abstract

    Brief but comprehensive summary/overview of entire paper. Describes: topic of research hypothesis being tested results of test conclusions drawn Rest of paper fills out details.

  • Title & Author information

    Usually includes all contributors to paper. Many etiquettes/guidelines covering who to include and in what order. Very between publications and subject areas. Usually first is lead author who has made significant contribution. Also common for many journals to list authors alphabetically. Student papers often list supervisor.

  • What Does a Paper Look Like?

    Structure varies to some extent, review of previous work can vary, key elements always the same: Title & Author information Abstract Keywords Introduction Related work Contribution to knowledge Conclusions Evaluation and future work Acknowledgements References

  • The Process

    Basic cycle is as follows: Read some papers Write literature review Do research Write it up Submit to journal or conference Peer review Acceptance & publication, or rejection (90% in some cases – revise & resubmit) Others read the paper Repeat process

  • Who Publishes Academic Papers?

    Many organisations Learned societies Publishing companies

  • Who Writes Academic Papers?

    Academics Industrial researchers Students Not usually degree students Masters students required to “contribute significantly to the knowledge of mankind” Additionally, anyone can write an academic paper. Peer review process is double-blind therefore author does not need to be expert in subject area. Reviewer does not need to know paper is not from large research institution.

  • What are Academic Papers for?

    Papers validate contributions to knowledge. Reviewed: Subject experts peer review. Published with others in area checking it. Scrutinised by other researchers once in public domain. Tested again and again by many people. Paper can stand up to tests, be modified or thrown out. Papers disseminate knowledge, e.g. discover and share a cure for disease. Papers…