How To Become A Researcher PDF

HOW TO BECOME
A RESEARCHER?
Published by
CAFET-INNOVA Technical Society

Hyderabad, INDIA
www.cafetinnova.org
CAFET-INNOVA Technical Society
1-2-18/103, Mohini Mansion, Gagan Mahal Road, Domalguda
Hyderabad – 500 029, Andhra Pradesh, INDIA
Website: http://www.cafetinnova.org
Mobile: +91-9866587053
Regd: 1575
Registered by Government of Andhra Pradesh under the AP Societies Act. 2001
The chapters published in this book have been peer reviewed by experts and the authors
are solely responsible for content of the chapters published in this book.
Copyright © 2011 CAFET-INNOVA Technical Society
All rights reserved with CAFET-INNOVA Technical Society. No part of this book should
be translated or reproduced in any form, Electronic, Mechanical, Photocopy, Recording
or any information storage and retrieval system without prior permission in writing,
from CAFET-INNOVA Technical Society.
PREFACE
“Imagination is more important than knowledge” – Albert Einstein
“How to become a Researcher?” is an effort to motivate young talent especially

students towards R&D and harness their intellectual capabilities according to the
industrial requirements. Academic institutions produce a large pool of talented
manpower, but few innovations and patented products. This is because of lack of
necessary technical and practical skills, lack of cultural fit and attitudes towards
teamwork. Due to insufficient guidance, even faculties are unaware of latest
happenings and in-turn fail to deliver research aptitude to students.
The aim of this book is to provide necessary information about basics of research
and the actual methodologies applied while doing research. Highlighting the
details of technical writing followed by both academic and commercial research.
Describing the importance of technical events and publications along with
explaining the various preventive steps taken against plagiarism, infringement,
counterfeits, etc. Presentation skills are also included to guide researchers to
market their research ideas.
The book is intended to be accessible to under-graduate and post-graduate

students as well as research scholars and someone who would like to take up
research either full-time / part-time or consider research as a hobby.
Professor D. Venkat Reddy

Department of Civil Engineering, NIT-Karnataka
President, CAFET-INNOVA Technical Society
Editor-in-Chief, International Journal of Earth Sciences & Engineering
Executive Editor, International Journal of Biological Sciences & Engineering
26th JUNE, 2011

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I take this opportunity with much pleasure to thank all the authors who have
contributed their chapters to suture the content of this book. I sincerely thank
Professor D. Venkat Reddy of NIT-Karnataka for his guidance, help and
motivation. I would like to express my gratitude to Dr. S. D. Sivasubramaniam of
Nottingham Trent University, UK for his review and many helpful suggestions.
My sincere gratitude also goes to Professor K. Laxminarayana (Project Director

Retd. DLRL-Hyderabad) and Dr. V. Balaram (Director Grade Scientist, NGRI) for
their encouragement.
Special thanks go to Suchismita Mallick for her great support in maintaining high
standards of the book with her proof-read, and Pradeep Kumar Das for sharing his
creative ideas that turned into the cover page of this book.
I gratefully acknowledge the support from Professor Suresh Kumar, Dr. Neelima
Satyam, Dinesh Pandian, Mohd Abubakr, Prakash Raju, and Nafeesa Parveen.
Finally, this book “How to become a Researcher?” would not have been possible
without the confidence, endurance and support of P. Nikhil Prakash and Raju. A
Hafeez Basha. R
Editor – “How to become a Researcher”
Contents
1. What it takes to become a researcher? 1-12

By Mohd Abubakr
2. Awareness on Paper-presentation 13-24

By Hafeez Basha. R and S. D. Sivasubramaniam
3. Importance of Technical Programs & Publications 25-34

By Raju. A
4. Journal Publishing – An inside story 35-44

By Hafeez Basha. R and D. Venkat Reddy
5. Research Methodology 45-52

By Neelima Satyam
6. Nuts and Bolts of Intellectual Property 53-72

By Dinesh Pandian and P. Nikhil Prakash
7. Presentation and Interpersonal Skills 73-84

By R. Suresh Kumar
How to become a Researcher?
This chapter isn’t about theorems, lemmas or prepositions.s. This chapter is a about human phycology. To
be precise, this chapter is about phycology of researchers and their life.. We will discuss about ab
researchers, their life, the decisions they make and how a researchers can make best use of their talent.
This chapter is meant for
• Students who want to be researchers but don’t know where to start

• Researchers who are re finding extremely difficult to determine whether they have
hav made a right
decision in life by taking up research
While the primary audience is to-be

be researchers, however, the content presented in this chapter can be
read and enjoyed by one and all.
1 Research and Researchers

For some, research is a profession. For some, research is a recreation. For some, research is business.
For some, research is a crime. For some, research is fear. And so on. But for a true researcher,
researc research
is a way of life. The influence
luence of research can be seen in all works of the life of researcher.
researcher Researchers
live their life through research. Even though this might sound like an exaggerated movie dialogue,
dialogue this is
indeed true. For example, true
rue sportsmen live their life through the sport they play. Take away the sport
from them, their lives would be empty. Remove cricket from Sachin Tendulkar’s life or remove driving
from Michael Schumacher’s life, what would you find in their lives? Similarl
Similarly,
y, if you remove research
from the life of a true researcher, you won’t find anything. Research is the life for a researcher.
But how do researchers live life through research? Research isn’t merely about writing research papers
or inventing machines. There
re is much more to it. The process of writing a research paper doesn’t merely
start from the time researcher holds the pen. A lot goes on behind the scenes. In order to make
1|Page
discoveries or inventions, a researcher must have the unquenchable thirst for knowledge, unceasing
passion for discovering the truth and unending zeal to fight against failures. The greatest of ideas occur
only to those who experience highest amount of failure and yet don’t give up.
Some say that the greatest pleasure that a human can experience is immortality. And research gives that
pleasure. Successful research makes the researcher immortal. The names of researchers are echoed
with respect for centuries and millennia by all civilizations. Their names become synonymous with
human excellence and intellectuality. Even after 350 years since his times, the name of Newton is known
to more than 3,000 million people on this planet. It speaks volumes of the fame research gives to a
human being. And this is not the kind of fame that dies down with the decline of power. This is the
immortal kind of fame that would remain forever.
However, research is heart-breaking too. Sometimes the problems don’t crack even after lifetime of
effort and many researchers had lived such lives. In the rapidly changing technological fields, there is
deep-throat competition on new ideas. One idea replacing another within no time is very common.
Naturally, not all researchers gain the fame of the likes of Newton or Einstein. There have been
numerous researchers who have produced outstanding ideas, yet they are little known outside their
research circles. Though the fame depends on the kind of discovery the researcher has done, fame isn’t
the primary reasons why researchers do research. They do research because they want to do research. If
fame follows, it’s not their fault! However, on many occasions, depending on the popularity of the
problem, researchers know the fame it would fetch when they solve such a problem. (Ask a researcher
who is trying to solve one of the Millennium problems!) The desire for such fame can be tricky.
Sometimes it motivates and sometimes it distracts. Also, on many occasions, discoveries happen all of a
sudden and even to the surprise of the researcher. Researcher might be solving a much lesser known
problem but somehow an idea leads to discovery of much higher magnitude. Bottom line is that,
researcher don’t do research for fame. And those researchers who do research for fame seldom
succeed.
The common misconception among people is that research only relates to fields of science and
technology. This is not true. Research is fundamental to all fields of knowledge, whether be it arts,
sports or sciences. So what is research? Depending on your sensibility, the answer to this question can
be simple or complicated. Curiosity for knowledge is natural to human beings. It is that curiosity that
pushes the human being to acquire knowledge in their field of his/her interest. However, the level of
curiosity and curiosity in which field of knowledge varies from person to person. Music, arts, dance,
sports, science, politics, etc. are all fields of knowledge. Depending on your curiosity in that field, you
choose to acquire more knowledge in that field. In any field that you choose, to be the best among that
field, you need to be a ‘researcher’. The best musician invents new sounds and produces new music, the
best sportsman presents new skills, the best scientist invents new machines or discovers new theories,
and best politician finds new ways to fool people and so on. To be the best in any field, you need to
research on the new ideas, implement them and put it on display.
In this chapter, we shall be taking exclusive of scientific research. However, you can take these ideas and
apply it elsewhere. Most of them are valid for non-scientific fields too.
2|Page
2 Qualities of a Researcher
In previous section, we briefly discussed about the life of researchers and how research applies to all
fields. In this section, we will further probe the lives of researchers and talk about the qualities they
own. Almost all researchers possess some distinct qualities compared to ordinary people. It is these
qualities that help them do research even in the most hostile conditions. The qualities of researchers
include guts to think and question, guts to challenge existing ideas, guts to propose new ideas, guts to
accept new ideas and courage to overcome defeat. Though there isn’t any rule that one must possess
these qualities to be a researcher but given the fact that almost all researchers have these qualities,
these qualities can be used to judge whether a person (ex: student) can be a researcher or not. Also, if
you aspire to be a researcher, make sure that you have these qualities.
Researchers not just exhibit these qualities while doing research but also in their day-to-day life. We
shall now discuss briefly about each of these qualities and why such qualities are essential to doing path-
breaking research.
2.1 Guts to Think and Question

Human beings have the ability to think and decide what is best for them. However, most of us
decide to blindly follow what has been told to us instead of thinking and understanding various
aspects of life. While, we all agree that thinking liberates human being from the shackles of
slavery, but at the same time, we promote blind follower-ship, which is nothing but being slave to
another mind. This weakness of human beings is exploited by politicians, media, religious
preachers, etc. for their benefits.
Especially, in Indian context, ‘the ability to think and question’ is suppressed from the childhood
itself. Children are repeatedly told not to question the elders and follow as they say. In schools
they are told to follow teachers and accept whatever that is written in their books. At religious
places, they are forced not to question what has been written in the scriptures and asked to
perform rituals without understanding them. By the time such child grows up, he/she has lost the
ability to think and question. This social problem is deeply affecting the scientific output of India.
If an event or phenomenon is happening and the cause is unknown, there are two options before
us. The first option is to continue living under the impression that, you can’t do anything about
that event or phenomenon. The second option is to think why that event or phenomenon is
happening and what it means to us. People who choose the second option in their day-to-day
activities have high chances of producing outstanding ideas.
2.2 Guts to challenge existing ideas

Often in life, there is a situation where you know that something is going wrong but you don’t
speak out against it. If we all had the courage to speak-out against wrong stuff, then this planet
would have been a peaceful place to live. But not all of us have the courage to speak out and
challenge the wrongdoers. Similarly, in the context of research, in order to improve science, you
need to have courage to challenge existing ideas.
3|Page
Science needs to be improved and refined every day. The science of today is more advanced and
better than science of yesterday. Similarly, if the science of future has to be better than that of
todays, it needs to be improved. Improvement cannot happen if one doesn’t challenge existing
ideas. Sometimes the existing ideas might be wrong and such ideas needs to be replaced. An idea
cannot be proved wrong until it’s challenged. Merely opposing an existing idea isn’t challenging
the idea. Keep the following guidelines in mind when you challenge existing ideas:
• The challenge has to happen in the mind of the researcher not necessarily in public. That
is, when you understand something and say you disagree, don’t instantly express your
disagreement in public. Think of a solution to the problem and then challenge.
• Getting into unnecessary debates with your friends or teachers on existing ideas will
only waste your time. Unless you are very lucky, you won’t find supporters. If you have
an idea, publish it. If it is scientifically correct, your friends and teachers have no other
option but to accept it.
• Remember that, until you have something more worthy than the existing idea, people
will not pay attention to your challenge. Anyone Tom, Dick and Harry can challenge.
What really happens is, do you have a solution to the problem. Challenge only if you
have a better solution.
2.3 Guts to propose new ideas

When Galileo discovered telescope, he was able to prove that, earth isn’t center of the universe.
But to propose such idea before everyone involved risk. During the times of Galileo, it was a
religious belief that earth is at the center of the universe. Going against the religious belief was
death penalty. Galileo had to make a decision, whether to propose the new idea or not. He chose
to propose the new idea and subsequently he was killed by poisoning. The story of Galileo doesn’t
end there. In fact, the story of Galileo will not end until the end of human race. Thinking involves
understanding thoroughly about an event or phenomenon. Challenging the existing ideas
regarding an event or phenomenon involves identifying proofs on why the existing ideas are
wrong. And then proposing new ideas involves finding the new explanation about the event or
phenomenon. Researchers must have the guts to propose new ideas.
Keep the following in mind when you propose new ideas:
• When you propose new ideas, make sure that you highlight the limitations and
assumptions of your idea. Don’t exaggerate.
• Don’t use unnecessary verbs to describe your work. Talk in terms of science, more
specifically in terms of mathematics.
• Make sure you do necessary homework before going public with your ideas. Prepare
yourself for criticism.
• Don’t object to criticism. Criticizers are more important than your friends who agree
with your ideas.
4|Page
• Be scientific but not over confident. Don’t disrespect other researchers and scientists.
Let your research speak for you.
• Be honest about your ideas. You can fool the people but it isn’t people the one who
decide whether your idea is valid or not. If people had the power, politicians would have
been scientists too!
2.4 Guts to accept new ideas

A researcher is not merely someone who questions or proposes new ideas. Researcher is also the
one who accepts the new ideas. One must realize here that, there are millions of researchers
across the world are continuously producing new ideas. Each new idea needs to be critically
analyzed by other researchers and if the idea is found to be better than the previous one, they
must accept such new ideas.
Keep the following in mind when accepting new ideas:
• Be constructive while reviewing the ideas proposed by other researchers. Don’t over
criticize.
• Don’t reject any idea without understanding it. Why should people make an attempt to
understand your ideas when you reject the ideas of others without understanding
them?
• Keep yourself updated with the current research. Appreciate new discoveries. Drop a
letter of appreciation to the author whenever you come across a good research paper.
• Promote new ideas wherever you can, even if those ideas were discovered by the
person whom you hate the most.
• Don’t be biased towards ideas. Being biased towards a particular idea without any
scientific justification reveals the weakness in your character.
• Don’t accept new ideas just because everyone is accepting them. Analyze, understand
and then decide.
2.5 Courage to overcome failure

Failures happen and often people give-up. A good researcher fights all odds to overcome failures.
To overcome any failure, one must first recognize that failure has occurred. The recognition of
failure itself is the first step towards overcoming failure.
Keep the following in mind when you face failures in research:
• If your idea gets proved wrong or is replaced by a better idea, accept the new idea
without being egoistic or sad. Being egoistic or feeling sad about it is not going to help.
Trying improving the new idea.
• If you fail to produce results even after repeated experiments, don’t get disheartened.
Edison did over 2000 experiments over the span of several decades before he was able
5|Page
to successfully invent light bulb. Let each failure serve as fuel for producing profound
results.
• Analyze your failure and don’t repeat mistakes. If you want to improve science then you
need to improve every day.
• The greatness of the hero lies not in his skills but the villains he defeated. As a
researcher, you would face many villains. Those villains will not accept your ideas;
instead, they would try to suppress you and your ideas. Keep faith in your ideas. If your
ideas are indeed true, they will emerge as a winner.
• Failure forces us to make compromises. Avoid making compromises in life as much as
possible.
• When you face failure, people will start showing their true colors. Don’t feel concerned
that you are losing people. All lesser mortals die and their identity will disappear from
this world. Remind yourself that you aren’t one among them and move on in life.
• ‘Lack of funding’ is an excuse given by untalented or misguided people who claim to be
researchers. True researchers always figure out a way to overcome lack of funding
instead of using as an excuse for not producing outstanding research. Majority of great
experiments were performed by researchers who had no funding. Instead they invented
new devices to conduct their experiments. Also, once a researcher produces
outstanding theoretical results, he/she is bound to get invited to participate in the
renowned experiments.
3 The five acts of researcher

In previous sections of this chapter, we discussed about the lives of researchers and the qualities they
possess. Once a student has all the qualities of being a researcher, then by now, he/she must already be
producing new ideas and breaking the conventions. In this section, we will discuss about how a student
must go about doing formal research. Our attempt here is to present a systematic methodology for
carrying out research. Of course, this methodology is just for reference. Your actual journey as a
researcher might be different and revolutionary.
3.1 Read
First and foremost thing as a researcher you must do is ‘read’ as much as possible. Reading helps
you gain knowledge and get a command over subject. Identify the textbooks in the area of your
interest and start reading them. For any particular topic, if you find explanation is missing, try
finding info about that topic on World Wide Web. Common misconception among students is that
WWW has everything and text books are redundant. Even though a lot of information is available
on WWW, in most cases it is not available at one single website. This is where the standard
textbooks scores over WWW. Once, you have gone through at least two standard books in your
area of interest, start reading the journals in that subject. Initially, understanding research papers
can be very difficult as they are written very formally.
6|Page
Keep the following guidelines in mind when reading textbooks or journals:
• Start from the basics. Unless you are strong in the foundations of the subject, you won’t
be able to challenge existing ideas or produce new ideas.
• Don’t hesitate to refer even to your school textbooks to get an understanding of the
subject. Getting a strong hold on school mathematics is critical to do research in any
branch of science. Refer to Khan Academy Online for excellent lectures on elementary
topics.
• If you get distracted by another subject, do not hesitate to read further about it.
Scientific distractions are good. You are getting distracted by something, because
unknowingly you are finding it interesting. Make advantage of that.
• Do not set time goals on reading. Setting goals such as “will finish reading a particular
book in ‘n’ days” will not help your research. Assume that, you have all the time in the
world to read the book.
• Maintain running notes while reading. Note down important points and questions that
comes across your mind.
• If you come across any formula, spend time deriving that formula. The real pleasure of
understanding the formula comes when you know how to derive it.
3.2 Understand
Reading a subject without understanding is of no use. A rule of thumb: if you are reading a
subject and you aren’t being tempted to understand it then you aren’t interested in that subject.
If that’s happening with you, then choose another subject. There is no point in reading a subject
when you aren’t interested in it. Also, to do research, you need to have a high level of
understanding in that subject. There is a difference between ‘just understanding’ and ‘high level
of understanding’. Keep these points in mind for better understanding
• Every time you read an existing idea, try understanding in what conditions that idea is
valid and what assumptions the author is making.
• Make an attempt to understand why that idea is important to the subject.
• Carefully note down the advantages and limitations of the idea. While doing so, you
might find something that would actually improve the idea.
• Never disrespect or ignore an existing idea. When you disrespect or ignore an idea, you
are losing valuable information. If an idea is wrong, then try replacing it with a better
idea. Sometimes, for lack of better ideas, we adopt ideas which are only approximate.
This doesn’t mean there aren’t better ideas, it just that, as of now it is the best we have.
• Spend time understanding equations and you would start loving them.
7|Page
3.3 Question
Once you have read and understood a particular subject, you will land on any of the two paths,
both taking you to different destinations. If you land on the first path, you would be completely
satisfied with what you have read and understood and you would have no questions. You would
be convinced whatever you have read is completely true. Or at least, you find no discrepancy in
what you have read. Generally, people who take up teaching profession have landed on the first
path. The second path is rather crazy. Even after reading and understanding, you won’t be
satisfied. You would have hundreds of questions in mind and you find that subject is incomplete.
Generally, researchers land on the second path. If such researcher takes up ‘teaching profession’,
instead of teaching the students about what’s in the subject, such researcher would tend to focus
on what’s incomplete in the subject. That’s why often great researchers don’t make good
teachers. Richard Feynman is an exception!
After reading and understanding a particular subject, if you still have lot of unanswered questions,
then it’s the time for you to start doing research. Generally, a good idea here would be meeting
an expert in the field who can answer some of your questions. However, finding an expert who
can help is very difficult, at least in Indian context. In such cases, participate in discussions on
online forums. Post your questions and have a constructive debate. Also, keep in mind that, on
online forums, even the non-knowledgeable people pose as knowledgeable. Don’t accept any
answer blindly.
Following are some good practices on asking questions:
• Before posing a question to a professor or in an online forum, give them the context on
why such question is important to the subject.
• If you believe your question is advanced then drop an email to professors of various
universities. Explain in detail on why you think such question is important. Some
professors do reply. (My personal experience with Indian professors has been very bad. I
wonder if majority of Indian Professors even check their emails!)
• Always pose the question politely. The answers that you get often depend on how you
pose the question. Note that, science is not owned by anyone. If someone is defending
an idea which you think is wrong, then you don’t have to argue with that person.
• Science is not democracy. The opinion of majority doesn’t matter in Science. In science,
only the truth matters. So, even if majority of the people disagree with you, don’t get
disheartened. When nobody has answers, it’s an indication that, you have to find the
answer through your research.
3.4 Solve
You read the subject, understood it and still you have lot of questions. What does it mean? It
means that, a lot of ideas in that subject can be either improved or replaced. It’s the time for you
start thinking and producing answers to your questions. This is the most exciting phase of time for
8|Page
the researcher. This is the phase when the researcher is giving birth to new ideas. This is the
phase when the researcher is adding his name to field of science.
If there exists a question and its answer hasn’t been found yet, such question is referred as
‘problem’ in academic circles. To successfully complete a PhD, one must solve a ‘problem’ of
important nature. A famous quote is that, ‘a researcher doesn’t choose a problem to solve, the
problem choses the researcher’. The meaning of the quotation is not that, a researcher will be
assigned to solve a problem but rather it means, unknowing the researcher will be led to solving
such problem. To produce outstanding research, you have to choose a problem that you find
interesting. Unless you find pleasure in working on that problem, you won’t be able to dedicate
your uninterrupted attention towards it.
Following are some good practices on solving the problems:
• As a researcher, you should find abundant open problems in this universe. Pick the
problem that gives you immense pleasure in solving.
o Note for PhD students: Don’t choose the problem because your guide wants
it to solve. Choose the problem that you would find pleasure in solving.
• Believe in yourself that you are going to solve the problem no matter what. People
would try to bring down your confidence, don’t give up.
• For every solution you arrive, note down carefully all conditions and assumptions you
are making.
• Frequently discuss about the problem with someone who has no knowledge about the
problem. Explain the problem to such person and tell them why it’s important. Often
such discussion leads to a solution.
• Take criticism constructively. Whenever someone critics your approach or solution,
take some time out to think, why you are being criticized. All great researchers face
criticism, so don’t be disappointed or frustrated at criticizer’s remarks.
• Don’t reduce the scope of the problem by making unnecessary assumptions.
• Don’t pressurize yourself by setting time-limits for solving the problem.
• Sometimes, solving the problem can be frustrating. You might find it far more complex
than you actually expected it to be. Naturally, you would get angry because of it, which
might affect your personal life. If you are in a relationship, it might affect it too. If your
partner doesn’t understand your situation, then you might have to choose between
your partner and the problem. (Remember that, you can get a partner after you solve
the problem, but once you lose the problem, you can’t get it!)
• Remember that, solution requires just one idea and such idea can arrive at any time.
Make sure that, you note down every idea you get. Many times, new ideas arrive at
odd times and we tend to forget them. It’s really difficult to recollect them again.
• When you are trying to solve a problem, it is always a good idea to start writing a
‘book’ in that subject. If you end-up solving the problem, the book will serve as a
reference in that field.
9|Page
3.5 Publish
The most difficult phase in the life of the researcher is ‘publish’ phase. After a researcher solves a
problem, he/she has to publish the solution in a standard journal or a conference. Keep the
following guidelines in mind while publishing papers:
• After you complete your paper, think about which journal suits your paper. Top journals
accept only those papers which present solutions to important problems. Don’t be over
ambitious. Know the type of problem you have solved. Depending on the value of the
problem you have solved, select an appropriate journal.
• Make sure that you are submitting the paper to a journal of considerable repute. Read
the papers published by that journal before submitting your paper to it.
• Now-a-days, a lot of journals are advertising themselves using a term called impact-
factor. Don’t let such advertisements make you fooled. Impact-factor can be inflated
and is not a testimonial for the quality of the journal.
• Most of the journals have Editorial committees for namesake. Don’t make a decision of
submitting your paper to that journal just because it has so and so member in its
editorial committee.
• Rate the journal based on its readership than based on impact-factor. Publishing your
paper in a journal of high impact factor doesn’t guarantee citations for your paper. Your
paper gets citations only when it makes significant contribution to that subject. A good
paper published in a journal that has sufficient readership is bound to attract large
audience.
• If your paper gets rejected, it doesn’t necessarily mean your solution is wrong. It could
be because you haven’t been able to express yourself properly. Polish your words and
try to be as clear as possible. Take feedback about your writing style from a non-
technical person. Simplicity of writing is a hallmark of all great researchers.
4 Finding a research guide

Finding good professors who can guide for research can be very difficult. And it becomes even more
difficult if the student is looking out for a professor who can guide for PhD in Indian Universities.
Approaching a wrong professor for guidance can be very damaging psychologically and physically. Often
students give up their enthusiasm for research just because some professor ill-treated or has
discouraged them. In India, the general perception among all is that every professor is capable of
guiding students for research. And often students fall victim to such perception. Guiding students for
doing research is an art and that’s not obtained by gaining a PhD degree. For that matter, there is no
degree that certifies whether a professor has the capability to guide students or not. In such a case, how
do you identify good professors? Honestly, guidance depends on the inter-personal relationship
between the student and the professor. And it varies from person to person. Nonetheless, following are
some tips on how to identify a good professor for research guidance:
10 | P a g e
• Approach only those professors who are actively pursuing research in the field of your
interest. Someone who has done PhD several years ago and hasn’t kept himself/herself
updated with current research won’t be able to guide you on research. Approaching
such professors will be waste of your time.
• Generally, the ‘research-oriented’ professors are the ones who regularly visit journals
section of your university library.
• Good teachers might not be good researchers. Therefore, don’t approach a professor
just because he/she is teaching a particular subject very well. That professor might just
be doing a ‘teaching job’ but not research. Generally, good teachers tend to defend the
stuff written in books rather than critically pointing the problematic areas where further
research is needed.
• Search the name of the concerned professor on internet. If he/she has published quality
research papers, then you should be able to find several links pointing to the papers.
Read about the research done by your professor. You would be able to get some idea on
the knowledge of the professor.
• Read at least two papers written by the professor before approaching. If you aren’t able
download/obtain the papers written by him/her, then approach the professor for those
papers. Note that, if the papers are readily available for download and yet you have
approached the professor for a copy of those papers, he/she would consider you dumb
and incapable to do research. In this modern era, a student who can’t search and find
content on internet, can’t do research. If a student can’t find the content that’s already
available, how can you expect such student to discover new content?
• While reading the papers written by the professor, make sure you take down some
notes. When you approach the professor, those notes would be highly useful during the
conversation with the professor.
• Before you approach the professor for a conversation, take an appointment. Before you
start the conversation, ask the professor whether he is busy with some other work.
• When you approach the professor for guidance, don’t directly start the conversation by
stating what you need. Good professors will guide you only when they find the
intellectual spark in the conversation. Discuss the latest paper you have read and the
related research ideas you have. Agreeing to every idea proposed by the professor is not
the trait of a researcher. Ask questions and don’t be afraid to debate on an idea. Good
professors love intellectual debates.
• During the first conversation itself, if the professor tilts the discussion towards research
funding or bureaucratic work, then he/she isn’t capable of guiding you for research. A
good professor always discusses ideas during first conversation.
11 | P a g e
About the Author:
Mohammed Abubakr is a physicist and an author of book

titled ‘Cosmos Redefined’. He has published 12 research
papers in journals and conferences in subjects such as optical
solitons, VLSI and cosmology.
He is currently working at Microsoft India as performance

engineer. Though settled in Hyderabad, Abubakr is an avid
traveller and has travelled to four different continents. When
at Hyderabad, he lives with his telescope, an SLR camera and a
motorbike.
12 | P a g e
Every year above 5, 00,000 engineers are passing out from the 1500 technical colleges as per the
details from the formal technical education board of India.
Populace has started misinterpreting that engineering and technical courses have just turned into a
simple graduation degree leading to fall in quality education. Getting into an engineering college has
become so simple that it is now difficult by a fresher to crack corporate entry with good job profile and
salary.
Top policy makers are worried that post graduate studies in engineering are abysmally low and only
about 5% of the engineering graduates continue to complete M-Tech and, of these only 3% go on to do
a doctorate. This not only causes a severe shortage of qualified faculty, it also blunts the edge in
research and innovation.
Here comes the need of academic research and investigation in various areas of science and
engineering that can add value to the technical education. Creating research interests among the
young talents can ignite great innovations. This chapter inculcates such interests among students which
will guide them with basic information and awareness on paper presentation.
The four major queries that students generally ask about paper presentation are:
• What is a Paper?
• How to write Research Papers?
• Where to submit Papers?
• Benefits of Paper Presentation / Publication
13 | P a g e
2.1 What is a Paper?

We can describe papers as working drafts of research that often appears in final form as publications.
However the published version of the paper may differ from the working version. Depending on the
usability, papers can be categorized into Regulatory or business papers and technical / research papers.
2.1.1 Regulatory / Business
2.1.1a Green Papers

Green Paper is a government report which is published to stimulate discussion and launch the process
of consultation. They invite individuals or organizations to participate who can contribute their views
and information on the basis of the proposals they put forward.
It is a tentative document of a proposal without any commitment to action and is limited to the
knowledge economy. They are produced early in the policymaking process, while ministerial proposals
are still being formulated.
However Green Paper may give rise to legislative developments that are then outlined in White Paper,
an official set of proposals that is used as a vehicle for their development into law.
2.1.1b White Papers

White Papers generally refer to documents used by businesses as marketing or sales tools and as
marketing communications to promote a specific company's solutions or products. It combines high-
level business benefits with technical details in a single document.
They make a business case for a certain technology or methodology and describe how a certain
technology works and highlight information favorable to the company authorizing or sponsoring the
paper. Such white papers are often used to generate sales leads, establish thought leadership, make a
business case, or to educate customers
2.1.2 Technical / Research

In academic publishing, a research paper is an academic work that is usually published in an academic
journal. It contains original research results or reviews existing results. Such a paper, also called an
article, will only be considered valid if it undergoes a process of peer review by one or more referees in
order to check that the content of the paper is suitable for publication in the journal.
2.1.2a Contributed Papers

The research work documented by Research Scholars, Academicians, Scientists, Professors and Industry
Professionals at an academic level can be termed as Contributed Papers. This requires original research
work will well simulated results, tabulated readings, graphs, etc.
2.1.2b Student Papers

It is an opportunity given to under-graduate and post-graduate students to express their ideas and
imaginations in terms of emerging trends. This need not be an original innovation but the involvement
of the student in the paper is highly essential.
14 | P a g e
2.2a How to write research papers?
2.2a.1 Selection of Topic

The first step in preparing a research paper is the selection of topic. It is advisable to the authors to
always prefer selecting the topic from his/her area of interest. This would enable the author to
contribute his/her best while carrying out their research.
2.2a.2 Choice of Co-Author

Co-author is a collaborating or joint author who shares the writing of the research article with the
author of the paper. The co-author plays an important role in planning, executing and preparing stages
of a manuscript. While choosing a co-author it is extremely important to have the ‘area of interest’ of
the co-author to match with that of the author so that they can mutually contribute in preparing the
paper.
2.2a.3 Gathering Information

Research papers generally require directed information gathering, which includes looking for sources
online and in the library that will support your manuscript. Books are generally a great resource that
often contains a lot of information gathered into one place, and they can give you a more thorough
investigation of your topic. However sometimes a book can have a great title, but no information and
on the other hand, a book that doesn't seem to go along with what you are doing can turn out to have
a lot of usable information.
Another great place to look for information in a library is periodical literature in the form of journals,
magazines and newsletters which are published monthly, bi-monthly, quarterly, etc. However internet
is the major source that provides information.
Memberships with professional bodies and societies like IEEE, IETE, ISTE, CITS, etc benefit the authors
with newsletters and proceedings.
2.2a.4 Segregating Information

There are a lot of resources on the internet that are not going to be valuable to you. Part of your
internet research will include evaluating the resources that you find. Personal web pages are not a
good source to go by as they often have incorrect information on them and can be very misleading. Be
sure that your internet information is from a recognized source such as the government, an agency that
you are sure is a credible source, or a credible news source.
Taking notes is an important part of doing research. You should take notes on ideas and concepts that
you think are important to include in your paper. You also can include supporting examples that would
be helpful to refer to. You should NOT write the words down exactly as they appear on the page, unless
you are putting them in quotations. Otherwise, you might accidentally write them into your paper that
way, and that would be plagiarism.
Summarizing and paraphrasing are similar to quoting in that you are recording the author's ideas.
However, when you summarize or paraphrase, you record ideas as opposed to exact language; the
language is yours. Any time you summarize or paraphrase, you MUST acknowledge the source of your
information. Not only is it a professional requirement, it is a way to avoid plagiarism.
15 | P a g e
2.2a.5 Formatting the Paper

Most of the periodicals have a standardized system for formatting research papers and citing
resources. You can write a paper that conforms to standard guidelines by following its rules. Your paper
will appear professional and scholarly and readers will easily understand how to find your resources.
Also chances of paper selection is more for a well formatted paper
2.2b General Steps for preparing an academic research paper:
2.2b.1 Title
This is an opening and important part of a paper because this would bring the readers to be interested
in your article. The authors should always try choosing a catchy title and use good punctuation and
grammar. Therefore this should be as attractive as possible. However it should truly reflect your
scientific work; in other words what you have achieved by doing this work. Avoid giving general titles.
For example, “The effects of serotonin in placental vascular reactivity” is a better heading than
“placental vascular reactivity” because the former one is specific to the work carried out and the data
obtained.
16 | P a g e
Sometimes scientists start working with the belief that they would obtain positive results (or a positive
co-relation); however the data and the statistical analysis may have given a negative interpretation. In
this case there is no harm in giving a negative heading (e.g. “Substance P does not produce vascular
relaxation in placental vessels”). This is perfectly acceptable as it truly reflects the data obtained.
2.2b.2 Authors and Affiliation

It is usual to list the authors in the order of their involvement with the investigation. That is the
scientist who carried out most of the work becomes first author. However the senior author (i.e. the
main supervisor who had the grant to do the investigation) is listed at the end. This is important
because it gives the readers the information about the investigators and the institutions involved in this
study. Therefore they can contact one of the authors (mostly the senior author) for clarification, and
collaborations. It also gives fame to the authors and their affiliated institutes.
Name and Details of authors mentioning the department,

name of organization, postal and digital address
2.2b.3 Abstract
An abstract is a brief summary of a research article that summarises the major aspects of the entire
paper. It usually has the limit of 250 to 500 words. Therefore it should be brief with the following
prescribed sequence;
• The research question(s) and the purpose (from Introduction) - State the purpose very clearly
in the first or second sentence.
• Information about the experimental design and methods used, (from Methods) - Clearly
express the basic design of the study (without giving excessive details).
• The major findings including key quantitative results, or trends (from Results) - Report the data
that give answers to the research questions
• A brief summary of the interpretations and conclusions. (from Discussion) - Clearly state the
implications of the data should be clearly stated.
17 | P a g e
Abstracts are widely and readily available to the scientific community via internet, and therefore it
should be concise and make an impact on to the readers. Avoid lengthy background information or
references to other literature, abbreviations or terms that may be confusing to readers, and any sort of
illustration, figure, or table.
2.2b.4 Introduction
The function of the introduction is to establish the context of the work being reported. It should discuss
the relevant primary research literature (with citations) and a summary of current understanding of the
problem which is being investigated. It should describe what has been carried out in this field and
highlight the importance of current investigation. State the purpose of the work in the form of the
hypothesis, question, or problem you have investigated. Briefly explain the rationale, the approach and
the possible outcome that this study can reveal.
Relevant information from original research articles should be used to “build-up” the introduction.
Most importantly give credit to the original authors by citing them (and giving details of the whole
article in the reference section).
2.2b.5 Methodology
This is the easiest section to write in a paper. Methods have been carried out by the authors in their
investigation and therefore they should remember it. However make it a pint to describe the protocol
in sufficient detail that other scientists could repeat this work to verify the findings. This section should
also include details of hypotheses tested, controls, treatments, variables measured, how many
replicates, what was measured, what form the data, and how the data was analysed (statistical
analysis). Always identify treatments by the variable or treatment name, NOT by an ambiguous, generic
name or number. If the paper includes more than one experiment, use subheadings to help the
presentation.
18 | P a g e
2.2b.6 Results
This section should contain the key (but not all) results without any form of interpretation. It should be
presented in a logical sequence using illustrative materials (Tables and Figures) to support the text.
Summaries of the statistical analyses may appear either in the text (usually parenthetically) or in the
relevant tables or figures (in the legend or as footnotes to the table or figures). The text of the results
section follows the sequence of tables, graphs and figures to highlight the answers to the questions
investigated. Important negative results should be reported, too.
Write the text of the Results section concisely and objectively in passive voice. Always use the past
tense, as the results have already been obtained. Avoid repetitive paragraph structures. Do not
interpret the data here.
2.2b.7 Discussion
This is the major and the most difficult section to write. This is the place where the results should be
interpreted and critically analyzed in relation to published data. Try to explain how the results have
improved the understandings of the subject or problem. The discussion should always connect to the
introduction by way of the question(s) or hypotheses in the literature cited. Note this is not a simple
repeat or rearrangement of the Introduction. Instead, it tells how this study has moved the scientific
community forward.
Following questions may help to structure the discussion
• Do these results provide answers to the testable hypotheses? If so, how it can be interpreted?
• Do these findings agree with what others have shown? If not, is there any alternative
explanation for this finding; or are there any un-foreseen design flaws in the current
experiment?
• What would be the next step in this study (e.g., what experiments can be carried out next? This
is important as it tells the reader that the authors intend to continue this investigation in
future.
2.2b.7 Conclusion
Finally try to explain what conclusions can be drawn from this study. Always remember most of the
investigations do not give any clear conclusions (if so, then there is no future for this investigation!).
Therefore avoid sentences like “from these results it can be concluded” instead use “the data from this
study suggest”. Now days it is extremely difficult to conclusively and flawlessly prove anything in
science.
2.2b.8 Acknowledgements
If, in your experiment, you received any significant help in designing, or carrying out the work, or
received materials from someone who did you a favour by supplying them, you must acknowledge
their assistance and the service or material provided.
19 | P a g e
2.2b.9 References/Literature cited

Most of the scientific journals expect the authors to give a reference list either according to (a)
chronological order of their citation in the body of the text (also known as Vancouver style of
referencing) or (b) alphabetical order of first author's last name (Harvard style of referencing). Each
journal expects different style of referencing and therefore it is important to read “the instructions to
authors” section carefully before you start writing your article.
Please note that reference list is different from “Bibliography”, as the later contains references that are
used to get the background knowledge (but not specific to the paper). Bibliography sections are found
in books and other literary writing, but not scientific journal-style papers.
2.3 Where to submit Papers?

In most of the cases authors write research papers and then consider where to submit them. But the
decision is best made early, before the writing begins. In this way the paper can be geared
appropriately to the scientific readers.
The following are some of the most excellent places where you can exhibit your research work based
on the level of the paper:
2.3.1 Technical Symposiums

If the paper is prepared by a beginner preferable by engineering or science student to express his/her
ideas or imaginations over what he/she has well-read from their regular subjects, then a technical
symposium conducted by academic institutions would be a right platform to exhibit the work.
Technical symposiums are generally referred to as paper presentation contests where students
compete with their co-participants for a best paper. The presentation skills of the author along with the
technical content are considered as weightage and are awarded accordingly.
Further details of Technical Symposium can be found in 3.1.1 page-25
20 | P a g e
2.3.2 Conferences
In most cases a conference is considered as a meeting for exchange of information with a formal
agenda. An academic conference is such a program for researchers to present and discuss their work.
Conferences provide an important channel for exchange of information between researchers with the
participation of professionals from research centres, government organizations, corporate agencies,
and people from industrial sector apart from academicians and students.
Further details of Conferences can be found in 3.2 page-26
2.3.3 Publications
If an author desires to make his/her content available to the public, the research work may have to be
submitted to organizations involved in publications. However the author of a work remains the initial
owner who in turn can transfer its ownership to others.
In academic publishing the research work is generally submitted in the form a manuscript for possible
publication in a scientific journal or a technical magazine.
Further details of Journals can be found in 3.6 page-31
2.3.4 Patents
Apart from academic research the authors should also be aware of how to commercialize his/her
research. Since every innovation involves years of research, huge resources, energy, and time of a
researcher it is important to focus on the outcome of the work.
A patent is an exclusive right given by law to inventors to make use of, and exploit, their inventions for
a limited period of time. By granting the inventor a temporary monopoly in exchange for a full
description of how to perform the invention, patents play a key role in developing industry around the
world.
Further details of Patents can be found in 6.2 page-55
2.4 Benefits of Paper Presentation / Publication

Most of the students are unaware of the benefits that they can get in the long run by contributing in
paper presentation and producing research outputs. It is very true that any research requires
encouragement from funding bodies and approvals from universities / institutes. It is very essential
that innovative ideas do get dissipated due to some limitations.
A researcher should always continue to produce when ever he/she gets a chance to work on. However
if there are no possibilities to make research a profession, it can still be continued as a hobby.
21 | P a g e
The following are some of the benefits that a researcher can avail:
• Distinguished Student / Engineer

• Increases employment potential
• Enhances your career
• Appreciation from College / University
• Well respected by Academicians
• Considered for technical committees
• Will stand unique among fellow students
• Remembered by Mentors / Guides
• Awards & Recognition
Other benefits of paper presentation and publishing include:
• Promoting creativity and critical thinking skills

• Encouraging collaborative learning
• Refining communication skills
• Developing enthusiasm for scholarly pursuits
• Feelings of competence and familiarity with the entire research process
• Obtaining feedback from independent reviewers
2.5 Plagiarism
Plagiarism has long been a problem in education which is further aggravated by the advent of the
internet and the worldwide. Therefore, Higher Education institutions in the developed countries are
following certain rules in academic writing. A working knowledge of these rules is critically important for
undergraduates (and postgraduates) to avoid plagiarism. The concept of ‘undergraduate plagiarism’ is
well focused and researched. However, the information on plagiarism at school level is limited. One
recent study on avoiding plagiarism at secondary school level has concluded that ‘attempts should be
made to engage the students to evade plagiarism’ (McGregor and Williamson, 2005).
Therefore, when an undergraduate enters the university he/she may be unaware of good academic
practice and methods needed to avoid plagiarism. The universities in developing countries may not be
so insistent on documenting sources or the concept of ‘plagiarism’. These institutions, as Yamada (2003)
puts, may also take into consideration of (a) students’ inability to understand the new concepts which
are mainly written in English - a language other than their mother tongue and (b) their cultural beliefs.
Most of the universities are incorporating lectures, seminars and student workshops to enhance the
ability of all students (both home and especially international) to understand plagiarism and most
importantly how to avoid it. This is carried out via implementation of institutions’ policies without
evidence that these formative lectures/seminars are actually improving the students’ academic writing
skills.
22 | P a g e
Since learning and writing in a second language is a continuous process, it is not clear whether these
‘one day’ seminars can help the students to improve their academic writing skills. This study aims to
investigate whether formative lectures alone would (a) enhance the students’ understanding of
plagiarism and (b) improve their academic writing and avoidance of plagiarism.
References:
[1] Notes on "Gathering information for essays which require research" from State University of
New York Empire State College http://www.esc.edu
[2] Robert A. Day and Barbara Gastel - How to write and publish a scientific paper? Sixth Edition,
Cambridge University Press www.cambridge.org/9780521671675
[3] Stephen Bailey - Academic Writing: A Handbook for International Students (Routledge Study
Guides) [Paperback].
[4] John Swales , Christine B. Feak - Academic Writing for Graduate Students: Essential Tasks and
Skills (Michigan Series in English for Academic & Professional Purposes) [Paperback].
[5] James Hartley - Academic Writing and Publishing: A Practical Handbook [Paperback]
[6] Beasley, JD (2004) The impact of technology on plagiarism prevention and detection: research
process automation – a new approach for prevention Proceedings on Plagiarism: prevention,
Practice & Policy (eds) Smith AP and Duggan F (Plagiarism Advisory Service) 23-30.
[7] Brogan KM and Brogan JD (1983) Yet another ethical problem in technical writing.
[8] ERIC, Reviewed in Pecorari (2003)
[9] Currie, P (1998) Staying out of trouble: Apparent plagiarism and academic survival. Journal of
Second Language Writing, 7(1) 1-18.
[10]Deckert, GD (1993) Perspectives on plagiarism from ESL students in Hong Kong Journal of
Second Language Writing, 2(2), 131-148
[11]Howard, RM (1995) Plagiarism, authorships, and the academic death penalty College English 57,
788-806
[12]Sivasubramaniam, SD (2004) Plagiarism amongst biomedical science undergraduates concerned
academics versus ignorant students. Proceedings on Plagiarism: prevention, Practice & Policy
(eds) Smith AP and Duggan F (Plagiarism Advisory Service) 205-224.
23 | P a g e
About the Authors:
Hafeez Basha. R did his B-Tech in Electrical and Electronics Engineering

from Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University, JNTU Hyderabad and M-
Tech in Computer Science Engineering from Acharya Nagarjuna University,
Guntur.
He is recipient of Young Scientist Award and was earlier Research Engineer
Trainee at Pentagram Research Centre. He is currently working as Research
Analyst with the scientific division of Thomson Reuters, worlds’ leading
Information company that accelerates research, scientific discovery and
innovation globally.
He served as Advisory / Technical member in various expert committees
Hafeez Basha. R
and even organized International Conferences and Technical Symposiums.
He is also Managing Editor for International Journals published by Cafet-
Innova Technical Society an international non-profit organization helping
the scientific community.
Dr. Shiva Das Sivasubramaniam is module leader and research supervisor

for M.Sc and Ph. D projects, course developer for pharmacology and
physiology and International student recruitment officer at School of
Science & Technology, Nottingham Trent University, UK.
His research interests include Pre-eclampsia and pre-natal medicine. He is

serving as Vice-President of Cafet-Innova Technical Society and Editor-in-
Chief for International Journal of Biological Sciences and Engineering.
He is also an Advisor for plagiarism prevention, assisting students to avoid

S. D. Sivasubramaniam plagiarism at Nottingham Trent University, UK.
24 | P a g e
Participation in technical programs and presenting research papers is very essential for students,
researchers, scientists, academicians and professors. This chapter gives an insight on the importance of
such technical programs with clarity on each type of program and its significance. Technical
symposiums, conferences, workshops, seminars and guest lectures are some of the most common
technical programs. The main reason to have a separate chapter on importance of technical programs
and publications is to give lucidity in identifying a particular program and distinguishing it with other
programs. There are situations where the event is organized as a workshop but it turns out to be a
symposium or a seminar. This chapter shall help the organizers in correctly taking up the technical
program and conduct the event accordingly.
3.1 Symposiums
3.1.1. What is a Symposium?

Symposium is an educational event where participants get together to discuss thoughts and exchange
ideas, rather than to be lectured at. It is generally regarded as a meeting of the minds to discuss a
specific topic.
3.1.2. How to conduct a Symposium?

The first needed in order to conduct a symposium, is a huge topic. A topic that many people have
expressed a need to address. The topic can refer to acquiring safety equipment in the gymnasiums at a
particular school district; many people have voiced an opinion about already. Set a date, hire an event
planner, invite your distinguished experts on your topic, and invite the crowd. There you have your
symposium.
25 | P a g e
The invitation for the participants may be in the form of brochures, pamphlets, posters, emails etc. Ex:
International Engineering Symposium 2011(IES 2011) organized by Kumamoto University, JAPAN on 3rd
- 5th March, 2011 It intends to provide a common platform for bringing together researchers from
universities and research organizations in India and Japan for expanding academic collaboration. This
event focuses on the current research and development activities in both countries on topics of current
interest, with special emphasis on “Engineering & Technology”. It is expected that the emerging
technologies and scientific advancements in these themes will be disseminated during the Symposium.
Presentations will also feature new and innovative technologies in the relevant fields.34th International
Symposium on Remote Sensing of Environment on April 10-15, 2011 at Sydney, Australia.
3.2 Conferences
An academic conference is a large gathering of students, researchers, scientists, academicians and
professors along with participation from industry and corporate companies to share their ideas and
research work. The conferences are generally organized by academic institutions, colleges, universities,
Government bodies or non-profit scientific societies and professional bodies. Conferences provide an
important channel for exchange of information between researchers together with academic or
scientific journals. Conferences are mainly of three categories:
3.2.1a Themed Conference:

These conferences are organized by specific departments or scientific groups on their relevant theme or
related area. They invite participants for discussing about the emerging and current trends in that
particular stream only. These events are held annually or sometimes on regular basis.
Ex:
a) International Conference on Advances in Civil Engineering organizing by Department of Civil
Engineering, KL University, Guntur, Andhra Pradesh, INDIA.
b) International Conference on Earth Sciences and Engineering (ICEE) organized by CAFET-INNOVA

Technical Society (CITS) with the collaboration of Malla Reddy Group of Institutions, Hyderabad
on 21st August, 2010.
3.2.1b General Conference:

These conferences are organized with a wider focus, with sessions on a wide variety of topics and invite
participants from different streams to discuss on common platform. This is not theme specific but
instead a general program with broader theme.
Ex: International Conference on Emerging Trends in Engineering (ICETE) organized by Dr. J J Magdum
College of Engineering, Jaysinghpur, Maharastra with technical support of CAFET- INNOVA Technical
Society (CITS) on 20th February, 2010.
26 | P a g e
3.2.1c Professional Conference:

It differs from an academic conference and has broader objectives with greater number of participants.
These are usually organized on a national or international basis by federations or groups of the national
societies in a subject. These are often held annually, or some other recurring basis.
Ex: Conference held by the International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA).
Apart from the above three categories, conferences can also be classified as National conference if it is
organized by one nation; Conferences between two countries like Indo-Japanese Conference, etc.;
Continental conferences like Asian Conference, European Conference, etc.; and International
conferences with participation from different countries.
3.2.2 Call for papers:

Conferences are generally inviting papers from the authors by the way of Call For Papers in one or more
announcements. In these announcements they clearly mention the main themes of conference and who
has to send the papers for the conference. The International Conferences generally ask the abstracts in
their first announcement. After completion of the review on abstracts they prepare the selected
abstracts list and based on the same in their second announcement they call the Full length papers from
the authors. Those papers again forwarded to the review committee by the organizing committee. The
announcement in the form of Brochures, pamphlets, posters, emails etc.
3.2.3 Paper Selection Process for Conference:

Once the organizing committee receives the abstracts from authors, they are forwarded to the
conference evaluation or review committee. After evaluation the committee sends its comments on
each individual paper to the organizing committee. As per the comments the organizing committee
prepares the list of selected abstracts along with the comments. The selected authors are then asked to
send their full length paper before the dead line.
After review of full length papers few are accepted with minor or major corrections and intimated to the
corresponding author. The authors then need to present this paper before the session chair during the
conference after registration.
3.2.4Registration for Conference:

The authors may have to register their paper for the conference by paying registration fee to avail the
conference kits, proceedings, food and other facilities. The registration amount will be varying from
conference to conference depending on the organizing institution or social body. Based on the selected
list of papers the committee arranges parallel sessions for oral presentation during the conference.
27 | P a g e
3.2.5 Presentations during conference:

Presentations tend to be short and concise, with a time span of about 10 to 20 minutes; they are usually
followed by a discussion. In the themed conferences all the selected papers will be presented by the
authors in a single session since all the papers come under single theme, and even the participants
belongs to same specialization. In General and Professional conferences the selected papers will be
separated as per the theme and arrange number of parallel sessions during the conference for
presentations. Every session should have one session chair (area expert) and one session co –chair
(another expert) who shall lead the whole session and give ranking to the presentations.
3.2.6 Conference proceedings:

Proceedings are generally collection of all accepted full length conference papers that are published in
the context of an academic conference. They are generally printed in the form of books and distributed
to all the participants of the conference. The collection of papers are generally organized by editorial
team (one or more persons belongs to same organization). After receiving the papers for the conference
the editorial team reviews the papers and accepts the same for proceedings. Proceedings are published
in-house, by the organizing institution of the conference, or via an academic or commercial publisher.
Increasingly, proceedings are published in electronic format on CD only, or distributed on Internet.
Note: The papers published in conference proceeding will not be considered as publications unless it is
published in an academic journal. For this reason most of the conferences work in tie-up with journal
publishers and bring out journal special issues based on conference.
3.2.7 Sponsors
The identity of the sponsors is an indicator of the quality of the conference. The conferences organized
by commercial companies go for profit-making and the papers presented at such conferences are
generally of lower quality. In most cases, conferences sponsored by professional bodies, non-profit
societies, universities or groups of academics are worth participating.
3.2.8 Location
Location of the conference is an important factor for the success of the event. Major conferences held in
capital cities are often easier to attend in terms of transport and accommodation. Huge participation
can be expected for such conferences, unlike the one organized in remote places.
3.2.9 Theme
If the conference covers a broad area, it is likely that the audience will be bigger, with added benefits in
terms of exposure and networking. At the same time, it may be hard to find participants with a serious
interest in particular area of research. A smaller conference tends to be more tightly focused and is
possible that you will find yourself in closer contact with the experts in your field. You will need to strike
a balance in such cases.
28 | P a g e
3.2.10 Benefits:
Attending conferences is a critical part of scientific networking in these days. However, you will gain the
most benefit if you present a paper as the conference papers are a means by which you can attract the
attention of potential experts and influence academic debate in your field.
Some other benefits of presenting a conference paper include:
• A higher personal profile

• Early dissemination of the results of your research
• Opportunities to receive useful criticism
• Experience in the process of peer-review
• Interact with well experienced people
• Lean more advanced trends in your research
3.3 Academic Workshops
3.3.1. What is an Academic Workshop?

Academic Workshops are generally training programs, established for the students, academicians,
researchers and professors. This is the best way of sharing information regarding the educational
research innovations as well as the progress in all fields of studies. One of the most important features
about the workshops is that they allow you to acquire a required experience of studying and improve
useful skills when practicing. They also give an opportunity to find out more information that can be of
use for future learning and beyond the college. Many organizations arrange a course of workshops
lasting from few days to several weeks. Workshops which last more than several hours presuppose
other activities. Now a day’s workshops are an excellent option for academicians to share knowledge
and learn emerging trends in their study area.
3.3.2. Why are academic workshops so valuable?

During the educational workshop the participants gain useful priceless experience and form the abilities
of research work. Besides they may get to know more info concerning the topic of the studies, the
methodology and research way of the study they chose as their field, get familiar with the instances and
practical issues which are coupled to the subject of their research this or that way. These are generally
held by professionals from all over the world. During these workshops we can interact with well
experienced people and lean so many things from them for our bright future. We can also visit new
places or sometimes these workshops are conducted by premier universities, we can know about their
system, facilities, courses offered for students etc.
Ex: National workshop on “Paper Presentation Awareness & Research Methodology” organized by
CAFET-INNOVA Technical Society at Hyderabad definitely creates an excellent research interests among
engineering and science students. For all the academicians this is right platform for get an excellent
knowledge about paper presentations, preparation and publication of research papers and research
methodologies.
29 | P a g e
The educational institutions generally organize national workshops for their students and faculty
developments. Sometimes well institutions collaborate with foreign universities and organize
international workshops on advanced research areas. These brings good exposure for those
organizations and participants also get enormous knowledge from those training programs and
participants should have an excellent opportunity to learn highly advanced technologies in their
research areas.
3.4 Seminars
Seminar is generally a large lecture by an expert in the particular area or subject. It is generally
organized by academic institution or professional or commercial organization. These seminars start
vfrom class room and ends at international. Seminars are generally technical and general seminars.
Technical seminars are mainly covers advanced trends and applications of technical topics such as
Technical Seminar on “Computer Aided Design” or “Geographical Information System” or “Embedded
Systems” etc.
A “Seminar,” according to Webster's dictionary, is a group of advanced students studying under a

professor with each 0doing original research and all exchanging results through reports and discussions.
A presentation is more like a lecture, a speech, or a sales presentation, made by one person, usually
with the opportunity for the audience to ask a few questions afterwards.
A seminar is more like a workshop, where the presenter offers some information in a participatory
learning setting, and the participants discuss among each other and/or ask questions of the presenter.
Then they move on to the next topic.
Seminar and Presentation are two different things. Seminar is based on a theme whereas presentation is
based on a subject. There can be many presentations in a seminar. A seminar can be whole day affair
whereas a presentation is short. In short, a presentation can be a subset of a seminar whereas the
reverse is not true. I would expect a seminar to be more educational than a presentation. In t seminar
everyone has an equal right to be heard and an equal responsibility for keeping the seminar working
properly. The most difficult and important skill in effective seminar participation is good listening. You
need to attend carefully to what others are saying. And then you need to learn to respond intelligently
and helpfully.
A seminar is not just a collection of individual points of view declared one after the other. It has a
rhythm, often an unpredictable rhythm, which is established, above all, by the ways in which the
participants respond to each other. If someone’s contribution is puzzling, then ask him to continue,
taking care of a particular trouble you have with a point he raised. If the contribution is very good, tell
the speaker so. If you disagree or have an alternative point, then put that on the table. As in a
conversation, in a seminar the participant has to be prepared to be flexible, adjusting her participation
to what is happening moment by moment throughout the seminar. This is the major challenge of the
process.
30 | P a g e
3.5 Guest Lectures
3.5.1. What is Guest Lecture?
Guest lecture is usually a lecture given by an expert in particular discipline or well experienced in
research and came from outside of the organization. These are generally organized by academic
institutions for create awareness and motivating the students and faculty on advanced disciplines or
technologies or research methods and applications. Sometimes corporate companies also conduct guest
lecturers to train their staff members in advances technologies. The person who gives guest lecture is
generally called as guest speaker.
3.5.2. Who is Guest Speaker?

Guest speaker, the person who is well experience in a particular subject or discipline or research and
belongs to well known organization. By the special invitation of academic or professional or commercial
organizations guest speakers will go there place and deliver the lecture on their requirements and
motivate the people towards topic.
3.5.3. How to conduct a Guest Lecture?

Now a day’s the guest lectures are occupy a major place in academic, professional and commercial
organizations. In academic institutions it became necessary for academicians for their bright carrier.
Every academic institute conducting two or more guest lecturers per academic semester. Based on their
requirement first the academic institute find out well experienced person and send the official invitation
for him. If he accepts your invitation prepare the arrangements and make the program success.
3.6. Journals
3.6.1. What is a Journal?

Journal is a part of publication unit, but journal al publish only pure scientific and research articles
written by the students, researchers, scientists, academicians and professors. The articles which are
published in the journals are called as research paper. Paper published in the journal is not an easy task
for everyone.
After preparation of the research paper the author has to search for right journal in the society then as
per their requirements (it means size and font style of the title, text, main headings, sub headings,
figures, tables, etc) paper has to be modified and then submit the paper through electronic submission
or post the hard copy of the paper.
Each journal has its own Editor-in-Chief, Executive Editors, Sub Editor and an editorial board. Generally
Editor-in-Chief is also called as Managing Editor, who is full time employed and manages all
communications between the author and r reviewers. The Executive and sub editors are support the
managing editor in all aspects.
31 | P a g e
An editorial board includes a number of referees (also known as reviewers) who are responsible for
reviewing and evaluating the submitted papers. Having reviewed a paper, each referee independently
advises the editor whether to accept or to reject the paper. This is usually done using a peer review form
provided by the editor. However, final decisions are made by the editor. It is common practice that
editors assign external referees to review submissions, for example when the referees of the editorial
board do not have appropriate expertise to make constructive comments on a particular paper.
The most important function of an editor (can also be a group of persons) is to make the final decision
whether to accept or to reject a submitted paper. Indeed, the comments of the referees just serve as
suggestions. Nevertheless, as the editor alone would not be able to review and comment on all
submissions in detail, he usually relies on the advice of his editorial board, where he can choose from a
pool of experts in diverse fields of the journal’s main topics. If there is consensus on acceptance or
rejection, the editor’s life is fairly easy. It becomes difficult only when there is significant disagreement
in the reviewer’s suggestions. In such a case the editor may make a final decision based on the own
opinion or after consulting additional referees.
Completion of Research
Preparation of Manuscript
Submission of Manuscript
Review of Manuscript
Decision
Rejection Revision
Resubmission
Publication Acceptance Re-review Rejection
Fig. The process of publishing a paper in a journal
Journals are generally divided in to two types; one is national journals and another is International
journals. National Journal are belongs to one nation or country, these publish articles or research papers
with in the country. International Journals are worldwide journal they can publish research papers from
all over the world.
32 | P a g e
3.7. Magazines
3.7.1. What is a Magazine?

Magazines are a mechanism for providing people with current information on a broad range of topics on
a regular basis - usually monthly, but in some cases even weekly. Simply A magazine is a periodical that
usually contains a miscellaneous collection of articles, stories, poems, and pictures and is directed at the
general reading public.
Its generally contains articles in popularized science, social, political & cultural affairs, etc and published
for a general or mass market to promote those groups' services or products.
Ex: India Today, Newsweek, Sports Illustrated etc.
Magazines are usually divided based on their themes, example sports, business, fashion, aviation,
comics, education, computers, automobiles, Entertainment etc.
For examples Science magazine, it covers news, opinions and reports about science for a non-expert
audience. Science magazines are read by non-scientists and scientists who want accessible information
on fields outside their specialization.
3.7.2. What are the types of magazines?

There are two basic types of magazines - trade or specialized magazines and consumer magazines. Trade
magazines are usually mailed to readers, whereas consumer magazines are available on the stands.
Consumer magazines cater to different groups. There are magazines exclusively targeted for children
and there are other theme magazines such as fashion, cinema, hobby, health and fitness, sports,
women's magazines, men's magazines, political magazines, news magazines and so on.
Generally magazines do not contain bibliographies and are not refereed.
Magazines and newsletters are both serials and periodicals - publications that are published on a
regular, recurring schedule for an indefinite period of time. That schedule could be weekly, monthly,
quarterly, or every other day of every other month that has more than 4 letters.
In general, the differences between newsletters and magazines come down to how they are written,
who they are written for, and how they are distributed. Additionally, most newsletters and magazines
provide visual clues as to their identity.
Magazines come in a variety of sizes from digest to tabloid size. Newsletters do as well, although letter
size is a typical newsletter format. Most magazines are significantly longer than a newsletter, from a few
dozen pages to a few hundred. Newsletters are not generally more than 12-24 pages in length and some
may be only 1-2 pages.
The most common, significant visual difference between a magazine and a newsletter is the cover.
Magazines usually have a cover that includes the name of the publication, graphics, and perhaps
headlines or teasers about what is inside that issue. Newsletters typically have the nameplate and one
or more articles right on the front, no separate cover.
33 | P a g e
3.8. Newsletters
3.8.1. What is a Newsletter?

A Newsletter is generally used as a publication that gets circulated out to its subscribers after a regular
time interval. Newsletter generally belongs to a particular organization and its covers all the internal
news which is going on in an organization. In academic institutions newsletters plays major role in the
form of covering current events, admissions, achievements etc. Generally newsletters are published by
societies, Associations, Clubs, educational institutions and companies, to provide information of interest
to their students and faculty members, customers or employees.
3.8.2. What are the types of Newsletters?

Newsletters can be divided into two distinct types; one is printed on paper and another on is in digital
formats, which are usually distributed via email, it’s also called as e-Newsletter. The digital formats vary
from the simplest format, text to highly designable formats like Portable Document Format (PDF) and
HTML.
3.8.3. How to start a Newsletter?

Creating and successfully running an electronic newsletter is much easier and less costly endeavor than
trying to put together a paper version of the same newsletter. You will save the costs of copying and
postage, not to mention the supplies you would need to purchase, and the time that the project would
take to put together.
References
[1]. Yuksel, A.: Writing publishable papers. Tourism Management (In Press)
[2]. National Institute for Regional and Spatial Analysis: Questions editors are often asked.
http://www.may.ie/nirsa/geo-pub/geo-editors.html (2003)
[3]. Davis, M.: Scientific Papers and Presentations. Academic Press, San Diego (1997)
[4]. Day, R.A.: How to Write and Publish a Scientific Paper. Second edn. ISI Press, Philadelphia (1983)
[5]. Dees, R.: Writing the Modern Research Paper. Second edn. Allyn & Bacon, Boston (1997)
[6]. American Psychological Association: Apa style. http://www.apastyle.org/ pubmanual.html
(2003)
About the Author:

Raju. A did his B-Tech in Electrical & Electronics Engineering and M-Tech in
Environmental Management from Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University
(JNTU), Hyderabad.
He is recipient of Green Environment Award and currently working as Assistant
Professor at Department of Civil Engineering, KL University, Vijayawada. He is
serving as Secretary General of Cafet-Innova Technical Society an international
non-profit organization helping the scientific community.
Raju. A
34 | P a g e
Publishing research work is very essential for researchers in their academic pursuit. It is
therefore important to know the editorial policies of a particular journal before he submits his
research work. After the submission of manuscript the researcher should also be aware of
review process so that there will be transparency in the evaluat
evaluation.
The author should receive the feedback positively from the referee and develop the manuscript
based on the suggestions to meet the journal standards. This chapter gives the methodology
followed in general, by most of the publishers to evaluate the m
manuscripts.
anuscripts. The researchers will
get a better idea to submit quality papers which would easily clear the review process and get
accepted for publication.
Abstracting and Indexing process which is done post

post-publication
publication is also equally important for
both researchers and publishers. This chapter shall discuss how a researcher can make use of
this process during his data search while preparing manuscripts and also how important is his
research work if it gets indexed.
Publishing research papers in journals with greater impact factor adds value to researchers for
their research work. But the actual story behind the impact factor calculation is known to very
less people involved in teaching and research. This chapter shall cover all details of citations
and impact
pact factor calculation which will be useful to researchers in choosing the publication for
their research work.
35 | P a g e
4.1 Editorial policies and procedures:

The legislation, programs and practices that govern the publication of research work are called as
editorial policies. In simple it is a principle or rule to guide the researchers to submit their manuscripts
based on the requirements of the publishers.
The principal criteria used to evaluate contributions are:

• The contribution must present scientific findings that are original, i.e., they must not have appeared elsewhere
and must not be under consideration by any other publication.
• The contribution must be scientifically constrained, i.e., any interpretations made or conclusions drawn must
be based on the objective evaluation of scientific data.
• There must be effective separation of scientific facts and observations from interpretations and inferences.
• The article should make a contribution toward our deeper understanding of processes, broadly defined.
4.1.1 Guidelines to Authors:

Authors submitting papers for publication warrant that their papers are not currently under
consideration by any other publication and that the material contained within the work is not subject to
any other copyright, unless required consents have been obtained. All authors of articles accepted for
publication must sign a copyright form. The refereeing process is most efficient when papers are
submitted electronically in Microsoft Word. New manuscript submissions should be sent via electronic
mail directly to the Editor-in-Chief. Review papers are welcome as long as they represent original, new
syntheses. Special issues are also encouraged but terms for these must be negotiated with the Scientific
Editors.
4.1.2 Submission of Manuscripts:

The preferred method for submission of manuscripts for review is for them to be completely in an
electronic format such as Microsoft Word zipped or PDF and submitted to the Editors by e-mail. Hard
copy manuscripts also may be submitted. In the latter case, three copies of the complete manuscript
must be addressed to the Scientific Editors. All pages should carry the authors name and be properly
numbered. Authors are encouraged to include with their submissions the names and e-mail addresses of
persons they deem suitable to be referees of their manuscript. At their discretion, the Editors may use
them.
4.1.3 Preparation of Manuscripts for Review:

Manuscripts for review should be submitted double-spaced and authors are requested to consult
previous issues to see what that is. The title page should include the title of the manuscript, initials,
surname, affiliation and e-mail address of each author and corresponding address. The Abstract should
be a short summary of the paper. Avoid using deferring phrases such as “…is discussed.” and include no
references. Remember that your abstract may be the only part of your paper that is read so it should
help readers to become quickly informed about your results and to decide if your paper is relevant to
their interests. Abstracts are circulated by international retrieval systems. The text or main body of the
manuscript should be logically organized into sections but please avoid overuse of subsection
constructs. There must be a clear separation of facts and observations from interpretations and
inferences. An alphabetical and then chronological list of all references sited should follow the main
36 | P a g e
text. The format of references can be obtained in any issue and the names of journals should be spelled
out in full. Papers “in preparation” and “submitted” cannot be used as references. Please make a careful
crosscheck of the reference list against citations in the text. Tables should be compiled on separate
sheets and designed to fit across a single or double column width of the journal page. Use of decimal
points, rather than commas, is required for all reported numbers. Illustrations should be legible and
contain only relevant information. Place names and other locations mentioned in the text must appear
clearly on maps. Clear instructions must be provided on how mathematical symbols and equations
should be printed. For Greek and non-Roman letters, authors must identify the symbol in words the first
time it is used. Receipt of manuscripts will be acknowledged by e-mail or by post if an e-mail address is
not provided.
4.1.4 Submission of Revised Manuscripts:

Revised manuscripts should be returned to the Editors in electronic format either on a disk or CD or as e-
mail attachments. The text should be in Word, tables in Excel and figures should be in CorelDraw or
Freehand, uncompressed TIFF or PDF format. Figures submitted in TIFF or PDF should have resolutions
of 300 dpi for colour, 600 dpi of grayscale, and 1200 dpi for black and white. Colour should be CMYK not
RGB. Figures must not be embedded in the main body of the manuscript. The cost of colour illustrations
will be charged to the authors. Authors will receive copies of their articles as high quality PDF files. No
reprints will be provided. If figures cannot be submitted in electronic format, they should be submitted
as high quality, camera-ready prints. In the covering letter, the authors must explain in detail how they
dealt with each of the referees’ comments and suggestions.
4.2 Review Process:
4.2.1 Internal Review by Editorial Committee:

The Editor-in-Chief / Executive Editor will perform an initial appraisal of submitted manuscripts which
are judged on the interest and importance of the topic, use of scientific method, clarity of presentation,
and relevance to the journal’s readers. Articles meeting the required criteria and accompanied by the
appropriate documentation are then passed to external peer review. The corresponding authors are
informed whether their paper is progressing to external review, within fifteen days of acknowledgement
of receipt.
4.2.2 External Peer Review:

The aim of the peer review process is to ensure publication of unbiased, scientifically accurate relevant
articles. All manuscripts are peer reviewed by members of the journal’s international editorial
committee and / or other specialists of equal repute before a decision on publication is made. Peer
reviewer identities are kept confidential, but author identities are known to the reviewers. Peer
reviewers are asked to disclose potential conflicts of interests that may affect their ability to provide an
unbiased review of an article.
37 | P a g e
4.2.3 Clearance for Publication:

After receiving feedback from external peer review the Editor-in-Chief conducts the final checks before
giving clearance for publication. The manuscript will be published in same form in case it meets the
journal standards and positive feedback from reviewers. After making necessary changes to the
manuscript the paper shall be published, if referee recommends this in the evaluation. The letter of
Acceptance is issued to the corresponding author before the actual publication.
The copy-right form and reviewers’ evaluation form are shown below:
To,
The Editor-In-Chief,
International Journal of Earth Science and Engineering,
CAFET-INNOVA Technical Society, Hyderabad, India
Sir,
Sub: Copyright Form
I/We ________________________________________________________________ Author (s) name)
The copyright owner(s) of the Article
____________________________________________________________________ (Title of the article)
Do hereby authorize you to publish the above said article in the
“International Journal of Earth Sciences and Engineering published by CAFET-INNOVA Technical Society,
Hyderabad, India”
I/We further state that:
1) The Article is my/our original contribution. It does not infringe on the rights of others and does
not contain any libelous or unlawful statements.
2) Wherever required I/We have taken permission and acknowledged the source.
3) The work has been submitted only to “International Journal of Earth Science and Engineering.
CAFET-INNOVA Technical Society, Hyderabad, India”
4) That it has not been previously published or submitted elsewhere for publication.
5) I/We hereby authorize you to edit, alter, modify and make changes in the Article to make it
suitable for publication.
6) I/We hereby assign all the copyrights relating to the said Article to the CAFET-INNOVA Technical
Society, Hyderabad, India.
7) I/We have not assigned any kind of rights of the above said Article to any other
person/Publications.
(Signature)
Name of the Authors:
38 | P a g e
ISSN-0974-5904 Indexed in CAS-USA-Ref No: 172238

International Journal of Earth Sciences and Engineering (IJEE)
EVALUATION OF PAPER –REFEREE / REVIEWER
Research/technical papers, review articles ,short communications ,notes submitted to International
Journal of Earth Sciences and Engineering (IJEE) must be, original, clear, related to the subject,
complete, concise, with precise logic, and honestly appraised
Title:
Authors Name:
PAPER PROFILE
Place a check in the boxes which, in your opinion, best describe the following features of the manuscript.
Item Poor Average Good Honours

Originality of the work
Scientific relevance
Engineering /technological relevance
Completeness of the work(-Field-lab)
Organization of the manuscript
Clarity in abstract, manuscript writing, tables,
graphs and illustrations
Acknowledgement of the work of others by

references
Item YES NO
Does the manuscript fall within the scope of the (IJEE) journal?
Are you aware of prior publication or presentation of this work?
In your opinion, is the technical treatment free of errors?
Is the paper too lengthy
Is the English grammar and punctuation good?
Any other ( )
Recommendation check only one

Honours quality
Acceptable in the same form
Acceptable with minor modifications
Acceptable with major revisions* (review required after revision)
NOT ACCEPTABLE*
*Justify for not accepting the paper
39 | P a g e
Comments by Reviewer: Modifications in manuscript before publication/further work
I have gone through the above paper which presents the physicochemical characteristics of ore fluids
associated with the Kallur copper deposit. My general remark is that approach of this type to
understand role of fluids involved in the copper mineralization is appreciable. This paper presents the
results of specific interest. Except for the minor modification which is required for the ultimate
publication of the paper, the paper deserves publication in the journal. My other specific comments are
marked in the text, tables, and diagrams and figure itself.
The paper may be accepted for publication once the changes are incorporated.
Date:
Name of the reviewer / Referee:
Email:
NOTE: (name will be deleted-before sending –authors)
4.3 Abstracting and Indexing Process:

This is a post-publication process done by various Abstracting and Indexing service organizations in
order to avoid researchers, to manually search the journal articles of their interest by looking through
various physical journals or consulting literature overviews. Since most of the journals are published
electronically, the data can be searched through internet hence minimizing the time of the researcher in
acquiring related data to his research. At the same time being represented in an Abstracting and
Indexing services is an essential factor for the success of journal publishers.
The abstracting and indexing are practical arts and have two general purposes i.e. minimizing the time &
effort and maximizing the searching success. The function of an index is to give users systematic and
effective shortcuts to the information they need.
Some of the most important and few abstracting and indexing organizations that cover all disciplines are
Google Scholar and Thomson Reuters ISI Web of knowledge. While the well known discipline specific
indexing service include PubMed/Medline (in the field of medicine), ChemAbstracts (chemistry), ADS
(astronomy & physics), Zentralblatt für Mathematik (mathematics), among many others.
4.4 Citation:
A citation is an enumeration that quotes a reference to a precedent by acknowledging the relevance of
other’s works. It represents the conceptual association of scientific ideas where the authors of a
research paper make explicit linkages between their current research and prior work.
However there is a difference in terminology between “citation” and “reference”. The reference is
generally included in the current paper acknowledging the previous work. Also that particular previous
work now will have a citation in the current paper, which will be recorded.
Similarly there is a variation in the words “cited” and “citing”. The cited work is a paper that has been
mentioned in the references of other works, while the citing work is the one that contains the
references.
40 | P a g e
The basic citation data gives the number of articles published during that year and the number of times
the articles in the journal were cited during the year by later articles in itself and other journals.
It also gives detailed tables showing:
• The number of times the articles in the journal were cited during the year by later articles in
itself and other journals.
• The number of citations made from articles published in the journal that year to it and other
specific individual journals during each of the most recent ten years.
• The number of times articles published in the journal during each of the most recent ten years
were cited by individual specific journals during the year
4.4.1 Advantages of Citation:

The citation-based method of algorithmic subject indexing includes title words, author-supplied
keywords, and abstract words which are algorithmically processed to identify the most-commonly
recurring words and phrases.
The following are some of the advantages of citations:

• Calculation of Impact factor
• Duplication of research work can be avoided
• Time, effort and funds can be well managed
• Scientists need not stress on literature searching
4.5 Impact Factor:

The Impact Factor (IF) is a measure of the frequency with which the “average article” in a journal has
been cited in a particular year or period. In a given year, the impact factor of a journal is the average
number of citations received per paper published in that journal during the two preceding years.
However this is not a measure for the quality of research work done in a particular paper.
4.5.1a Calculation for Journal Impact Factor:

The Journal Impact Factor is calculated by dividing the number of current year citations to the source
items published in that journal during the previous two years.
If A represents total number of cites in a current year, B represents the number of cites to articles
published in previous two years, and C represents the number of articles published in previous two
years, then the Impact Factor is given by the ratio of B to C.
41 | P a g e
Example:
A = total cites in 2007

B = 2007 cites to articles published in 2005-2006 (this is a subset of A)
C = number of articles published in 2005-2006
D = B/C = 2007 Impact Factor
However the impact factor for the year 2007 will be published in 2008
Important Note: New journals, which are indexed from their first published issue, will receive an impact
factor after two years of indexing; in this case, the citations to the year prior to Volume 1, and the
number of articles published in the year prior to Volume 1 are known zero values. Journals that are
indexed starting with a volume other than the first volume will not get an impact factor until they have
been indexed for three years.
4.5.1b Calculation for five-year impact factor:

An alternative five-year impact can be calculated based on adding citations in 2003-2007 articles
published in the same five-year period. And yet another is possible by selecting one or two earlier years
as factor “B”.
A = citations in 2007 to articles published in 2002-2006

B = articles published in 2002-2006
C = A/B = five-year impact factor
4.5.1c Calculation for impact factor revised to exclude self-citations

A = citations in 2007 to articles published in 2005-2006
B = 2007 self-citations to articles published in 2005-2006
C = A - B = total citations minus self-citations to recent articles
D = number of articles published 2005-2006
E = revised impact factor (C/D)
4.5.1d Unified 2007 impact factor calculation for title change

A = 1992 citations to articles published in 2005-2006 (a1 + a2)
A1 = those for new title
A2 = those for superseded title
B = number of articles published in 2005-2006 (B1 + B2)
B1 = those for new title
B2 = those for superseded title
C = unified impact factor (A/B)
C1 = A1/B1 = Impact factor for the new title
C2 = A2/B2 = Impact factor for the superseded title
42 | P a g e
4.5.2 Uses of Impact Factor:

The most important use of Impact Factor is in the process of academic evaluation. The following are
some of the other uses:
• Used to provide a gross approximation of the prestige of journals in which individuals have been
published
• Useful in clarifying the significance of total citation frequencies.
• Eliminates some of the bias of such counts which favor large journals over small ones, or
frequently issued journals over less frequently issued ones, and of older journals over newer
ones.
4.5.3 Applications of Impact Factor:

There are many applications of Impact Factor including market research for publishers which provides
quantitative evidence for editors to position their journals in relation to the competition.
References:
[1] Price D. J. D. Little science, big science...and beyond. New York: Columbia University Press, 1986.
301 p.
[2] Small H. G. Cited documents as concept symbols. Soc. Stud. Sci. 8:327-40, 1978.
[3] Merton R. K. Foreword. (Garfield E) Citation indexing—its theory and application in science,
technology, and the humanities. Philadelphia: ISI Press®, 1983. p. vi.
[4] Kochen M. How do we acknowledge intellectual debts? J. Doc. 43:54-64, 1987.
[5] Urey H. C. Lifelike forms in meteorites. Science 137:623-8, 1962.
[6] Selye H. General adaptation syndrome. J. Clin. Endocrinol. 6:117-230, 1946.
[7] Gray W. A. & Harley A. J. Computer assisted indexing. Inform. Storage Retrieval 7:167-74, 1971.
[8] Garfield E. & Sher I. H. KeyWords Plus—algorithmic derivative indexing. J. Amer. Soc. Inform. Sci.
44:298-9, 1993.
[9] Martyn J. Unwitting duplication of research. New Sci. 21:338, 1964.Gross P L K, Gross E M.
College libraries and chemical education. Science 66:385-9, 1927.
[10] Brodman E. Methods of choosing physiology journals. Bull. Med. Libr. Assn. 32:479-83, 1944.
[11] Garfield E. Citation analysis as a tool in journal evaluation. Science 178:471-9, 1972.
[12] Citation indexing for studying science. Nature 227:669-71, 1970.
[13] Which medical journals have the greatest impact? Ann. Intern. Med. 105:313-20, 1986
[14] http://ccp.wkpharma.com/pdfs/CCPolicy.PDF 2010 Wolters Kluwer
43 | P a g e
About the Authors:
Hafeez Basha. R did his B-Tech in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from
Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University, JNTU Hyderabad and M-Tech in
Computer Science Engineering from Acharya Nagarjuna University, Guntur.
He is recipient of Young Scientist Award and was earlier Research Engineer

Trainee at Pentagram Research Centre. He is currently working as Research
Analyst with the scientific division of Thomson Reuters, worlds’ leading
innovation globally.
Hafeez Basha. R He served as Advisory / Technical member in various expert committees and
even organized International Conferences and Technical Symposiums. He is
also Managing Editor for International Journals published by Cafet-Innova
Technical Society an international non-profit organization helping the
scientific community.
Professor D. Venkat Reddy did his M.Sc (Geology) and M.Sc (Tech)
Hydrogeology from Osmania University, Hyderabad. He obtained his Ph. D in
Geology from the same University and currently working as Professor in
Department of Civil Engineering, National Institute of Technology (NIT),
Karnataka.
He is serving as President of Cafet-Innova Technical Society and Editor-in-

Chief for International Journal of Earth Sciences and Engineering. He is also
Associate Editor for Dream Earth publication, Journal Pradushan Nirmulan
and Drilling world along with expert in the field of geology in allexperts.com
D. Venkat Reddy
He is member of International Gondwana Research Association (Japan),
Geological Society of India, Indian Geological Congress, Mineralogical Society
of India, and Indian Society of Technical Education.
44 | P a g e
If we knew what it was we were doing, it would not be called research, would it??
- Albert Einstein (1879-1955)

(1879
Introduction
The way in which research is conducted may be conceived of in terms of the research philosophy
subscribed to, the research strategy employed and so the research instruments utilized (and perhaps
developed) in the pursuit of a goal - the research objective(s) - and the quest for the solution of a
problem i.e., the research question. Research is an academic activity and as such the term should be
used in a technical sense. According to Clifford Woody research comprises defining and redefining
problems, formulating
ating hypothesis or suggested solutions; collecting, organizing and evaluating data;
making deductions and reaching conclusions; and at last carefully testing the conclusions to determine
whether they fit the formulating hypothesis. D. Slesinger and M. Ste Stephenson
phenson in the Encyclopedia of
Social Sciences define research as “the manipulation of things, concepts or symbols for the purpose of
generalizing to extend, correct or verify knowledge, whether that knowledge aids in construction of
theory or in the practice
ice of an art.”Research is, thus, an original contribution to the existing stock of
knowledge making for its advancement. It is the pursuit of truth with the help of study, observation,
comparison and experiment. In short, the search for knowledge through objective and systematic
method of finding solution to a problem is research. The systematic approach concerning generalization
and the formulation of a theory is also research. As such the term ‘research’ refers to the systematic
method consisting of enunciating
ciating the problem,, formulating a hypothesis, collecting the facts or data,
analyzing the facts and reaching certain conclusions either in the form of solutions(s) towards the
concerned problem or in certain generalizations for some theoretical formulation.
45 | P a g e
5.1 Research Philosophy

A research philosophy is a belief about the way in which data about a phenomenon should be gathered,
analysed and used. The term epistemology (what is known to be true) as opposed to doxology (what is
believed to be true) encompasses the various philosophies of research approach. The purpose of
science, then, is the process of transforming things believed into things known: doxa to episteme. Two
major research philosophies have been identified in the Western tradition of science, namely positivist
(sometimes called scientific) and interpretivist (also known as antipositivist) (Galliers, 1991).
5.1.1 Positivism
Positivists believe that reality is stable and can be observed and described from an objective viewpoint
(Levin, 1988), i.e. without interfering with the phenomena being studied. They contend that phenomena
should be isolated and that observations should be repeatable. This often involves manipulation of
reality with variations in only a single independent variable so as to identify regularities in, and to form
relationships between, some of the constituent elements of the social world. Predictions can be made
on the basis of the previously observed and explained realities and their inter-relationships. "Positivism
has a long and rich historical tradition. It is so embedded in our society that knowledge claims not
grounded in positivist thought are simply dismissed as ascientific and therefore invalid" (Hirschheim,
1985, p.33). This view is indirectly supported by Alavi and Carlson (1992) who, in a review of 902 IS
research articles, found that all the empirical studies were positivist in approach. Positivism has also had
a particularly successful association with the physical and natural sciences. There has, however, been
much debate on the issue of whether or not this positivist paradigm is entirely suitable for the social
sciences (Hirschheim, 1985), many authors calling for a more pluralistic attitude towards research
methodologies (Kuhn, 1970; Bjørn-Andersen, 1985; Remenyi and Williams, 1996). Indeed, some of the
difficulties experienced in research, such as the apparent inconsistency of results, may be attributed to
the inappropriateness of the positivist paradigm for the domain. Likewise, some variables or constituent
parts of reality might have been previously thought un-measurable under the positivist paradigm and
hence went unresearched (after Galliers, 1991).
5.1.2 Interpretivism
Interpretivists contend that only through the subjective interpretation of and intervention in reality can
that reality be fully understood. The study of phenomena in their natural environment is key to the
interpretivist philosophy, together with the acknowledgement that scientists cannot avoid affecting
those phenomena they study. They admit that there may be many interpretations of reality, but
maintain that these interpretations are in themselves a part of the scientific knowledge they are
pursuing. Interpretivism has a tradition that is no less glorious than that of positivism, nor is it shorter.
5.1.3 Research Strategy

A large number of research methodologies have been identified, Galliers (1991) for example listing
fourteen, while Alavi and Carlson (1992), use a hierarchical taxonomy with three levels and eighteen
categories. In Table 1 below, listed the methodologies identified by Galliers (1991, p.149), indicating
whether they typically conform to the positivist or interpretivist paradigms. Before introducing the
methodologies we use in this research, we summarise the key features of the key methodologies in the
table, identifying their respective strengths and weaknesses. In the following sections, we justify our
choice of methodologies and explain how they both operate and interoperate in our research.
46 | P a g e
Laboratory experiments permit the researcher to identify precise relationships between a small number
of variables that are studied intensively via a designed laboratory situation using quantitative analytical
techniques with a view to making generalisable statements applicable to real-life situations. The key
weakness of laboratory experiments is the "limited extent to which identified relationships exist in the
real world due to oversimplification of the experimental situation and the isolation of such situations
from most of the variables that are found in the real world"(Galliers, 1991, p.150).
Field experiments extend laboratory experiments into real organisations and their real life situations,
thereby achieving greater realism and diminishing the extent to which situations can be criticised as
contrived. In practice it is difficult to identify organisations that are prepared to be experimented on and
still more difficult to achieve sufficient control to make replication viable.
Table 1 - Taxonomy of Research Methodologies
Scientific/Positivist Interpretivist/Anti-positivist
Laboratory Experiments Subjective/Argumentative
Field Experiments Reviews
Surveys Action Research
Case Studies Case Studies
Theorem Proof Descriptive/Interpretive
Forecasting Futures Research
Simulation Role/Game Playing
Surveys enable the researcher to obtain data about practices, situations or views at one point in time
through questionnaires or interviews. Quantitative analytical techniques are then used to draw
inferences from this data regarding existing relationships. The use of surveys permit a researcher to
study more variables at one time than is typically possible in laboratory or field experiments, whilst data
can be collected about real world environments. A key weakness is that it is very difficult to realise
insights relating to the causes of or processes involved in the phenomena measured. There are, in
addition, several sources of bias such as the possibly self-selecting nature of respondents, the point in
time when the survey is conducted and in the researcher him/herself through the design of the survey
itself.
Case studies involve an attempt to describe relationships that exist in reality, very often in a single
organisation. Case studies may be positivist or interpretivist in nature, depending on the approach of the
researcher, the data collected and the analytical techniques employed. Reality can be captured in
greater detail by an observer-researcher, with the analysis of more variables than is typically possible in
experimental and survey research. Case studies can be considered weak as they are typically restricted
to a single organisation and it is difficult to generalise findings since it is hard to find similar cases with
similar data that can be analysed in a statistically meaningful way. Furthermore, different researchers
may have different interpretations of the same data, thus adding research bias into the equation.
Simulation involves copying the behaviour of a system. Simulation is used in situations where it would
be difficult normally to solve problems analytically and typically involves the introduction of random
variables. As with experimental forms of research, it is difficult to make a simulation sufficiently realistic
so that it resembles real world events. Forecasting/futures research involves the use of techniques such
as regression analysis and time series analysis to make predictions about likely future events. It is a
useful form of research in that it attempts to cope with the rapid changes that are taking place in IT and
predict the impacts of these changes on individuals, organisations or society. However, it is a method
that is fraught with difficulties relating to the complexity of real world events, the arbitrary nature of
future changes and the lack of knowledge about the future. Researchers cannot build true visions of the
future, but only scenarios of possible futures and so impacts under these possible conditions.
47 | P a g e
Subjective/argumentative research, for example hermeneutics and phenomenology) requires the

researcher to adopt a creative or speculative stance rather than act as an observer. It is a useful
technique since new theories can be built, new ideas generated and subsequently tested. However, as
an unstructured and subjective form of research, there is a strong chance of researcher bias.
Action research is a form of applied research where the researcher attempts to develop results or a
solution that is of practical value to the people with whom the research is working, and at the same time
developing theoretical knowledge. Through direct intervention in problems, the researcher aims to
create practical, often emancipatory, outcomes while also aiming to reinform existing theory in the
domain studied. As with case studies, action research is usually restricted to a single organization
making it difficult to generalize findings, while different researchers may interpret events differently.
The personal ethics of the researcher are critical, since the opportunity for direct researcher
intervention is always present.
5.2 Objectives of Research

The purpose of research is to discover answers to questions through the application of scientific
procedures. The main aim of research is to find out the truth which is hidden and which has not been
discovered as yet. Though each research study has its own specific purpose, we may think of research
objectives as falling into a number of following broad groupings:
1. To gain familiarity with a phenomenon or to achieve new insights into it (studies with this object
in view are termed as exploratory or formulative research studies);
2. To portray accurately the characteristics of a particular individual, situation or a group (studies
with this object in view are known as descriptive research studies);
3. To determine the frequency with which something occurs or with which it is associated with
something else (studies with this object in view are known as diagnostic research studies);
4. To test a hypothesis of a causal relationship between variables (such studies are known as
hypothesis-testing research studies).
5.3 Motivation in Research

What makes people to undertake research? This is a question of fundamental importance. The possible
motives for doing research may be either one or more of the following:
1. Desire to get a research degree along with its consequential benefits;

2. Desire to face the challenge in solving the unsolved problems, i.e., concern over practical
problems initiates research;
3. Desire to get intellectual joy of doing some creative work;
4. Desire to be of service to society;
5. Desire to get respectability.
However, this is not an exhaustive list of factors motivating people to undertake research studies.
Many more factors such as directives of government, employment conditions, curiosity about new
things, desire to understand causal relationships, social thinking and awakening, and the like may as well
motivate (or at times compel) people to perform research operations.
48 | P a g e
5.4 Types of Research

The basic types of research are as follows:
(i) Descriptive vs. Analytical: Descriptive research includes surveys and fact-finding enquiries of
different kinds. The major purpose of descriptive research is description of the state of affairs as it
exists at present. In social science and business research we quite often use the term Ex post facto
research for descriptive research studies. The main characteristic of this method is that the
researcher has no control over the variables; he can only report what has happened or what is
happening. Most ex post facto research projects are used for descriptive studies in which the
researcher seeks to measure such items as, for example, frequency of shopping, preferences of
people, or similar data. Ex post facto studies also include attempts by researchers to discover
causes even when they cannot control the variables. The methods of research utilized in
descriptive research are survey methods of all kinds, including comparative and correlational
methods. In analytical research, on the other hand, the researcher has to use facts or information
already available, and analyze these to make a critical evaluation of the material.
(ii) Applied vs. Fundamental: Research can either be applied (or action) research or fundamental (to
basic or pure) research. Applied research aims at finding a solution for an immediate problem
facing a society or an industrial/business organization, whereas fundamental research is mainly
concerned with generalizations and with the formulation of a theory. “Gathering knowledge for
knowledge’s sake is termed ‘pure’ or ‘basic’ research.” Research concerning some natural
phenomenon or relating to pure mathematics are examples of fundamental research. Similarly,
research studies, concerning human behavior carried on with a view to make generalizations about
human behavior, are also examples of fundamental research, but research aimed at certain
conclusions (say, a solution) facing a concrete social or business problem is an example of applied
research. Research to identify social, economic or political trends that may affect a particular
institution or the copy research (research to find out whether certain communications will be read
and understood) or the marketing research or evaluation research are examples of applied
research. Thus, the central aim of applied research is to discover a solution for some pressing
practical problem, whereas basic research is directed towards finding information that has a broad
base of applications and thus, adds to the already existing organized body of scientific knowledge.
(iii) Quantitative vs. Qualitative: Quantitative research is based on the measurement of quantity or
amount. It is applicable to phenomena that can be expressed in terms of quantity. Qualitative
research, on the other hand, is concerned with qualitative phenomenon, i.e., phenomena relating
to or involving quality or kind. For instance, when we are interested in investigating the reasons for
human behavior (i.e., why people think or do certain things), we quite often talk of ‘Motivation
Research’, an important type of qualitative research. This type of research aims at discovering the
underlying motives and desires, using in depth interviews for the purpose. Other techniques of
such research are word association tests, sentence completion tests, story completion tests and
similar other projective techniques. Attitude or opinion research i.e., research designed to find out
how people feel or what they think about a particular subject or institution is also qualitative
research. Qualitative research is especially important in the behavioral sciences where the aim is to
discover the underlying motives of human behavior. Through such research we can analyze the
various factors which motivate people to behave in a particular manner or which make people like
or dislike a particular thing. It may be stated, however, that to apply qualitative research in practice
is relatively a difficult job and therefore, while doing such research, one should seek guidance from
experimental psychologists.
49 | P a g e
(iv) Conceptual vs. Empirical: Conceptual research is that related to some abstract idea(s) or theory. It
is generally used by philosophers and thinkers to develop new concepts or to reinterpret existing
ones. On the other hand, empirical research relies on experience or observation alone, often
without due regard for system and theory. It is data-based research, coming up with conclusions
which are capable of being verified by observation or experiment. We can also call it as
experimental type of research. In such a research it is necessary to get at facts firsthand, at their
source, and actively to go about doing certain things to stimulate the production of desired
information. In such a research, the researcher must first provide himself with a working
hypothesis or guess as to the probable results. He then works to get enough facts (data) to prove or
disprove his hypothesis. He then sets up experimental designs which he thinks will manipulate the
persons or the materials concerned so as to bring forth the desired information. Such research is
thus characterized by the experimenter’s control over the variables under study and his deliberate
manipulation of one of them to study its effects. Empirical research is appropriate when proof is
sought that certain variables affect other variables in some way. Evidence gathered through
experiments or empirical studies is today considered to be the most powerful support possible for
a given hypothesis.
(v) Some Other Types of Research: All other types of research are variations of one or more of the
above stated approaches, based on either the purpose of research, or the time required to
accomplish research, on the environment in which research is done, or on the basis of some other
similar factor. Form the point of view of time, we can think of research either as one-time research or
longitudinal research. In the former case the research is confined to a single time-period, whereas in
the latter case the research is carried on over several time-periods. Research can be field-setting
research or laboratory research or simulation research, depending upon the environment in which it
is to be carried out. Research can as well be understood as clinical or diagnostic research. Such
research follow case-study methods or in depth approaches to reach the basic causal relations. Such
studies usually go deep into the causes of things or events that interest us, using very small samples
and very deep probing data gathering devices. The research may be exploratory or it may be
formalized. The objective of exploratory research is the development of hypotheses rather than their
testing, whereas formalized research studies are those with substantial structure and with specific
hypotheses to be tested. Historical research is that which utilizes historical sources like documents,
remains, etc. to study events or ideas of the past, including the philosophy of persons and groups at
any remote point of time. Research can also be classified as conclusion-oriented and decision-
oriented. While doing conclusion oriented research, a researcher is free to pick up a problem,
redesign the enquiry as he proceeds and is prepared to conceptualize as he wishes. Decision-oriented
research is always for the need of a decision maker and the researcher in this case is not free to
embark upon research according to his own inclination. Operations research is an example of
decision oriented research since it is a scientific method of providing executive departments with a
quantitative basis for decisions regarding operations under their control. The above description of
the types of research brings to light the fact that there are two basic approaches to research, viz.,
quantitative approach and the qualitative approach. The former involves the generation of data in
quantitative form which can be subjected to rigorous quantitative analysis in a formal and rigid
fashion. This approach can be further sub-classified into inferential, experimental and simulation
approaches to research. The purpose of inferential approach to research is to form a data base from
which to infer characteristics or relationships of population. This usually means survey research
where a sample of population is studied (questioned or observed) to determine its characteristics,
and it is then inferred that the population has the same characteristics. Experimental approach is
characterized by much greater control over the research environment and in this case some variables
50 | P a g e
are manipulated to observe their effect on other variables. Simulation approach involves the
construction of an artificial environment within which relevant information and data can be
generated. This permits an observation of the dynamic behavior of a system (or its sub-system) under
controlled conditions. The term ‘simulation’ in the context of business and social sciences
applications refers to “the operation of a numerical model that represents the structure of a dynamic
process. Given the values of initial conditions, parameters and exogenous variables, a simulation is
run to represent the behavior of the process over time.” Simulation approach can also be useful in
building models for understanding future conditions.
Qualitative approach to research is concerned with subjective assessment of attitudes, opinions and
behavior. Research in such a situation is a function of researcher’s insights and impressions. Such an
approach to research generates results either in non-quantitative form or in the form which are not
subjected to rigorous quantitative analysis. Generally, the techniques of focus group interviews,
projective techniques and depth interviews are used. All these are explained at length in chapters
that follow.
5.5 Importance of Knowing How Research is done

The study of research methodology gives the student the necessary training in gathering material and
arranging or card-indexing them, participation in the field work when required, and also training in
techniques for the collection of data appropriate to particular problems, in the use of statistics,
questionnaires and controlled experimentation and in recording evidence, sorting it out and interpreting
it. In fact, importance of knowing the methodology of research or how research is done stems from the
following considerations:
(i) For one who is preparing himself for a career of carrying out research, the importance of knowing
research methodology and research techniques is obvious since the same constitute the tools of
his trade. The knowledge of methodology provides good training especially to the new research
worker and enables him to do better research. It helps him to develop disciplined thinking or a
‘bent of mind’ to observe the field objectively. Hence, those aspiring for careerism in research
must develop the skill of using research techniques and must thoroughly understand the logic
behind them.
(ii) Knowledge of how to do research will inculcate the ability to evaluate and use research results
with reasonable confidence. In other words, we can state that the knowledge of research
methodology is helpful in various fields such as government or business administration,
community development and social work where persons are increasingly called upon to evaluate
and use research results for action.
(iii) When one knows how research is done, then one may have the satisfaction of acquiring a new
intellectual tool which can become a way of looking at the world and of judging every day
experience. Accordingly, it enables use to make intelligent decisions concerning problems facing
us in practical life at different points of time. Thus, the knowledge of research methodology
provides tools to took at things in life objectively.
(iv) In this scientific age, all of us are in many ways consumers of research results and we can use
them intelligently provided we are able to judge the adequacy of the methods by which they
have been obtained. The knowledge of methodology helps the consumer of research results to
evaluate them and enables him to take rational decisions.
51 | P a g e
5.6 Criteria of Good Research

Whatever may be the types of research works and studies, one thing that is important is that they all
meet on the common ground of scientific method employed by them. One expects scientific research to
satisfy the following criteria:
1. The purpose of the research should be clearly defined and common concepts be used.
2. The research procedure used should be described in sufficient detail to permit another
researcher to repeat the research for further advancement, keeping the continuity of what has
already been attained.
3. The procedural design of the research should be carefully planned to yield results that are as
objective as possible.
4. The researcher should report with complete frankness, flaws in procedural design and estimate
their effects upon the findings.
5. The analysis of data should be sufficiently adequate to reveal its significance and the methods of
analysis used should be appropriate. The validity and reliability of the data should be checked
carefully.
6. Conclusions should be confined to those justified by the data of the research and limited to
those for which the data provide an adequate basis.
7. Greater confidence in research is warranted if the researcher is experienced, has a good
reputation in research and is a person of integrity.
In other words, we can state the qualities of a good research as under:

1. Good research is systematic: It means that research is structured with specified steps to be taken in
a specified sequence in accordance with the well defined set of rules. Systematic characteristic of
the research does not rule out creative thinking but it certainly does reject the use of guessing and
intuition in arriving at conclusions.
2. Good research is logical: This implies that research is guided by the rules of logical reasoning and
the logical process of induction and deduction are of great value in carrying out research. Induction
is the process of reasoning from a part to the whole whereas deduction is the process of reasoning
from some premise to a conclusion which follows from that very premise. In fact, logical reasoning
makes research more meaningful in the context of decision making.
3. Good research is empirical: It implies that research is related basically to one or more aspects of a
real situation and deals with concrete data that provides a basis for external validity to research
results.
4. Good research is replicable: This characteristic allows research results to be verified by replicating
the study and thereby building a sound basis for decisions.
About the Author: Dr. D. Neelima Satyamr did her B-Tech in Civil Engineering from Sri Venkateshwara
University, Tirupathi and M-Tech from IIT-Delhi, in Geo-technical Engineering. She
obtained her Ph. D from IIT-Delhi. She was earlier Associate Professor at VNR
Vignana Jyothi College of Engineering and currently Assistant Professor at
International Institute of Information Technology (IIIT-Hyderabad). She is also
Visiting faculty at National Academy of construction and associated with professional
bodies like Indian Concrete Institute, Indian Geotechnical society, Indian Society of
Earthquake Technology, Institution of Engineers (India), American Society of Civil
Engineering, Earthquake Engineering Research Institute, International Society for Soil
Dr. D. Neelima Satyam Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering
52 | P a g e
Intellectual Property (IP) is a buzz word that you as a young researcher should expect to know more.
Most of us have heard words like patent, copyrights, trademarks, trade names, service marks, industrial
designs, undisclosed indications, geographical indications, etc... But do we really know what they are?
Well, if your interest is towards knowing them, then you have the right book in your hand. This section
of this book will address your needs. Happy reading!
We have organized the contents into two big chunks: Intellectual Property Overview; Patents. All though
patents are a part of intellectual property, keeping in mind the extensive information that you guys
would be interested in, we choose to take Patents as a division. This division is again sliced into five
modules: Patents; How to Get a Patent; Patenting Abroad; Commercializing Patented Technology;
Enforcing Patents.
6.1 Intellectual Property Overview

Day in and day out, we encounter intellectual property in one form or the other. In IP, ownership is the
word which defines the property. Ownership is the power to possess, use to our advantage, sell or
transfer an object and the power of excluding others. In other words, property is a set of rights
conferred on a person by law. IP is an intangible property created by our mind, and our thoughts give
the value to the property.
In simple words, the ideas or thoughts that one owns is a form of property. Hence, it’s imperative to
protect ones property and cash it. You might have a question, what if someone uses my idea or
technology (infringement) or how do I protect my ideas or work or what can I protect and what cannot.
To understand more, let’s drill in and see the types of IP.
53 | P a g e
6.1.1 Major types of IP

Although there are several ways to protect ones IP and the following are a few basic ones:
• Patent
• Copyright and related rights
• Trademarks, Trade names and Service Marks
• Industrial Designs
• Undisclosed Indications
• Geographical Indications
• Layout Designs of IC
Copyright is granted to original artistic, musical, audio, usual, literary works, which are created by
artists. The rights include rights of reproduction, communication to the public, adaptation and
translation of work. Copyright protection applies to a wide range of works, including computer
programs. These are usually indicated by symbol: ©
Trademarks and Service marks are distinctive symbols, signs, logos that help the consumer to
distinguish between competitor goods or services and are a major part of the good will the company
enjoys in the trade. A Trade name is the name of an enterprise which catches the attention of the
public. They are Indicators of good quality. There are no quality standards for trade mark. Trademarks
are usually indentified by the symbol: ™ e.g. ABC™
A Geographical indication is a sign used on goods that have a specific geographical origin and posses the
specialties of the particular region. These goods have an advantage over other goods in the race. This IP
is having great commercial significance.
An Industrial design is the aesthetic design for an article. It can have shape and surface, color, and they
improve the aesthetic appearance of the product.
A patent is a statutory right granted for a limited period (usually 20 years) to an inventor in respect of an
invention to exclude any other person from manufacturing, using or selling the patented product or
from using the patented process, without the consent of the owner.
Layout design of IC is a relatively new area in IP which has appeared with electronics field making
advances. The design of circuitry of a chip requires great investment of knowledge. You may be able to
obtain protection for an original layout design (or topography) of an integrated circuit used in
microchips and semiconductor chips. Such protection may extend also to the final product incorporating
the layout design. Protection of a layout design is not a monopoly right.
54 | P a g e
New plant varieties. In many countries, a breeder of a new plant variety, which fulfils the requirements
of novelty, distinctness, uniformity and stability, and is designated with a suitable denomination may
obtain protection in the form of “plant breeder's rights.” For more information on the protection of new
plant varieties, see: www.upov.int
6.2 Patents
6.2.1 What is a patent?

A patent is an exclusive right granted by the State for an invention that is new, involves an inventive step
and is capable of industrial application. It gives its owner the exclusive right to prevent or stop others
from making, using, offering for sale, selling or importing a product or a process, based on the patented
invention, without the owner’s prior permission. A patent is a powerful business tool for companies to
gain exclusivity over a new product or process, develop a strong market position and earn additional
revenues through licensing.
A complex product (such as a camera, mobile phone, or a car) may incorporate a number of inventions
that are covered by several patents, which may be owned by different patent holders.
A patent is granted by the national patent office of a country or a regional patent office for a group of
countries. It is valid for a limited period of time, generally for 20 years from the date of filing of the
patent application, provided the required maintenance fees are paid on time. A patent is a territorial
right, limited to the geographical boundary of the relevant country or region.
In return for the exclusive right provided by a patent, the applicant is required to disclose the invention
to the public by providing a detailed, accurate and complete written description of the invention in the
patent application. The granted patent and, in many countries, the patent application is made public via
publication in an official journal or gazette.
What is an invention?
In patent jargon, an invention is generally defined as a new and inventive solution to a technical
problem. It may relate to the creation of an entirely new device, product, method or process, or may
simply be an incremental improvement to a known product or process. Merely finding something that
already exists in nature generally does not qualify as an invention; an adequate amount of human
ingenuity, creativity and inventiveness must be involved.
While most inventions nowadays are the result of considerable efforts and long-term investments in
Research and Development (R&D), many simple and inexpensive technical improvements, of great
market value, have yielded significant income and profits to their inventors or companies.
55 | P a g e
Invention refers to a technical solution to a technical problem. It may be an innovative idea or may be in
the form of a working model or prototype. Innovation refers to the translation of the invention into a
marketable product or process.
Why should you consider patenting your inventions?

Short product cycles and increasing competition put enormous pressure on enterprises to become
innovative and/or obtain access to other companies’ innovations, so as to become and remain
competitive in domestic and export markets.
The exclusive rights provided by a patent may be crucial for innovative companies to prosper in a
challenging, risky and dynamic business climate. Key reasons for patenting inventions include:
Strong market position and competitive advantage: A patent gives its owner the exclusive right to
prevent or stop others from commercially using the patented invention, thereby reducing uncertainty,
risk and competition from free riders and imitators. If your company owns or obtains the permission to
exploit a valuable patented invention it may be able to create a market entry barrier for competitors in
respect of the same inventions. This will help it to become a pre-eminent player in the relevant
market(s).
Higher profit or returns on investment. If your company has invested a significant amount of time and
money in R&D, patent protection of the resulting inventions would help in recovering costs and
obtaining higher returns on investments.
Additional income from licensing or assigning the patent: As a patent owner you may license your
rights over the invention to others in exchange for lump sum payments and/or royalties, in order to
generate additional income for the company. Selling (or assigning) a patent implies transfer of
ownership, whereas licensing implies only permission to use the licensed invention under specified
conditions.
Access to technology through cross-licensing: If your company is interested in technology owned by

others you may use your company’s own patents to negotiate cross-licensing agreements, by which your
company and the other party agree to authorize each other to use one or more of your respective
patents under conditions specified in the agreement.
Access to new markets: Licensing of patents (or even pending patent applications) to others may
provide access to new markets, which are otherwise inaccessible. In order to do so, the invention must
also be protected in the relevant foreign market(s).
Diminished risks of infringement: By obtaining patent protection you will be able to prevent others
from patenting the same invention and also reduce the chances of infringing the rights of others when
commercializing your products. While a patent by itself does not provide the “freedom to use”, it does
56 | P a g e
prevent others from patenting the same or similar inventions and provides a reasonable indication that
the invention that you have patented is new and significantly different from the “prior art.”
Enhanced ability to obtain grants and/or raise funds at a reasonable rate of interest. Ownership of
patents (or license to use patents owned by others) may enhance your ability to raise capital to take a
product to market. In some sectors (e.g., biotechnology), it is often necessary to have a strong patent
portfolio to attract venture capitalists.
A powerful tool to take action against imitators and free riders: In order to effectively enforce the
exclusivity provided by a patent, it may occasionally be necessary to litigate, or bring your patents to the
attention of those who are violating your patent rights. Owning a patent considerably improves your
ability to take successful legal action against copiers and imitators of the protected invention.
Positive image for your enterprise: Business partners, investors, shareholders and customers may
perceive patent portfolios as a demonstration of the high level of expertise, specialization and
technological capacity of your company. This may prove useful for raising funds, finding business
partners and raising your company’s profile and market value. Some companies mention or list their
patents in advertisements to project an innovative image to the public.
If an invention is patentable, is it always wise to apply for patent protection?

Not always. If an invention is patentable, it does not necessarily follow that it will result in a
commercially viable technology or product. Therefore, a careful weighing of pros and cons and an
analysis of possible alternatives is essential before filing a patent application.
A patent may be expensive and difficult to obtain, maintain and enforce. To file or not to file a patent
application is strictly a business decision. It should be based primarily on the probability of obtaining
commercially useful protection for the invention that is likely to provide significant benefits from its
eventual business use. Factors to be taken into account in deciding whether or not to file a patent
application include:
• Is there a market for the invention?
• What are the alternatives to your invention, and how do they compare with your invention?
• Is the invention useful for improving an existing product or developing a new product? If so,
does it fit in with your company’s business strategy?
• Are there potential licensees or investors who will be willing to help to take the invention to
market?
• How valuable will the invention be to your business and to competitors?
• Is it easy to “reverse engineer” your invention from your product or “design around” it?
• How likely are others, especially competitors, to invent and patent what you have invented?
• Do the expected profits from an exclusive position in the market justify the costs of patenting?
• What aspects of the invention can be protected by one or more patents, how broad can this
coverage be and will this provide commercially useful protection?
• Will it be easy to identify violation of the patent rights and are you ready to invest time and
financial resources for enforcing your patent(s)?
57 | P a g e
What can be patented?

• An invention must meet several requirements to be eligible for patent protection. These
include, in particular, that the claimed invention:
• Consists of patentable subject matter
• Is new (novelty requirement)
• Involves an inventive step (nonobviousness requirement)
• Is capable of industrial application (utility requirement)
• Is disclosed in a clear and complete manner in the patent application (disclosure requirement)
The best way of understanding these requirements is to study what has been patented by others in the
technical field of your interest. For this, you may consult patent databases.
What is patentable subject matter?

In most national or regional patent laws, patentable subject matter is defined negatively, i.e., by
providing a list of what cannot be patented. While there are considerable differences between
countries, the following are examples of some of the areas that may be excluded from patentability:
• Discoveries and scientific theories;
• Aesthetic creations;
• Schemes, rules and methods for performing mental acts;
• Mere discoveries of substances as they naturally occur in the world;
• Inventions that may affect public order, good morals or public health;
• Diagnostic, therapeutic and surgical methods of treatment for humans or animals;
• Plants and animals other than microorganisms, and essentially biological processes for the
production of plants or animals other than non-biological and microbiological processes; and
• Computer programs.
How is an invention judged to be new or novel?

An invention is new or novel if it does not form part of the prior art. In general, prior art refers to all the
relevant technical knowledge available to the public anywhere in the world prior to the first filing date
of the relevant patent application. It includes, inter alia, patents, patent applications and non-patent
literature of all kinds.
The definition of prior art differs considerably from country to country. In many countries, any
information disclosed to the public anywhere in the world in written form, by oral communication, by
display or through public use constitutes prior art. Thus, in principle, the publication of the invention in a
scientific journal, its presentation in a conference, its use in commerce or its display in a company’s
catalogue would all constitute acts that could destroy the novelty of the invention and render it not
patentable. It is important to prevent accidental disclosure of inventions prior to filing the patent
application.
58 | P a g e
Assistance of a competent patent agent is often crucial for a clear determination of what is included in
the prior art. Prior art often includes “secret prior art” such as pending unpublished patent applications,
provided they are published at a later stage.
When is an invention considered to “involve an inventive step”?

An invention is considered to involve an inventive step (or to be non-obvious) when, taking into account
the prior art, the invention would not have been obvious to a person skilled in the particular field of
technology. The non-obviousness requirement is meant to ensure that patents are only granted in
respect of truly creative and inventive achievements, and not to developments that a person with
ordinary skill in the field could easily deduce from what already exists.
Some examples of what may not qualify as inventive, as established by past court decisions in some
countries, are: mere change of size; making a product portable; the reversal of parts; the change of
materials; or the mere substitution by an equivalent part or function.
What is meant by “capable of industrial application”?

To be patentable, an invention must be capable of being used for an industrial or business purpose. An
invention cannot be a mere theoretical phenomenon; it must be useful and provide some practical
benefit. The term “industrial” is meant here in the broadest sense as anything distinct from purely
intellectual or aesthetic activity, and includes, for example, agriculture. In some countries, instead of
industrial applicability, the criterion is utility.
The utility requirement has become particularly important for patents on genetic sequences for which a
utility may not yet be known at the time of filing the application.
What is the disclosure requirement?

According to the national legislation of most countries, a patent application must disclose the invention
in a manner sufficiently clear and complete for the invention to be carried out by a person skilled in the
specific technical field. In some countries, patent law requires that the inventor discloses the “best
mode” for practicing the invention. For patents involving microorganisms, many countries require the
microorganism to be deposited at a recognized depositary institution.
What rights are granted by patents?

A patent grants its owner the right to exclude others from commercially using the invention. This
includes the right to prevent or stop others from making, using, offering for sale, selling or importing a
product or process, based on the patented invention, without the owner’s permission. It is important to
note that a patent does not grant the owner the “freedom to use” or the right to exploit the technology
covered by the patent but only the right to exclude others.
59 | P a g e
While this may seem a subtle distinction, it is essential in understanding the patent system and how
multiple patents interact. In fact, patents owned by others may overlap, encompass or complement
your own patent. You may, therefore, need to obtain a license to use other people’s inventions in order
to commercialize your own patented invention and vice versa. Also, before certain inventions (such as
pharmaceutical drugs) can be commercialized other clearances may be required (e.g., marketing
approval from the relevant regulatory body).
Who is an inventor and who owns the rights over a patent?

The person who conceived the invention is the inventor, whereas the person (or company) that files the
patent application is the applicant, holder or owner of the patent. While in some cases the inventor may
also be the applicant, the two are often different entities; the applicant is often the company or
research institution that employs the inventor. The following specific circumstances merit further
analysis:
Employee inventions: In many countries, inventions developed in the course of employment are
automatically assigned to the employer. In some countries, this is only so if it is so stated in the
employment contract. In some cases (e.g., if there is no employment agreement) the inventor may
retain the right to exploit the invention, but the employer is given a non-exclusive right to use the
invention for its internal purposes (called “shop rights”). It is important to find out about the specific
legislation in your own country and to ensure that employment contracts deal with issues of ownership
over employee inventions to avoid future disputes.
Independent contractors: In most countries, an independent contractor hired by a company to develop

a new product or process owns all rights to the invention, unless specifically stated otherwise. This
means that, unless the contractor has a written agreement with the company assigning the invention to
that company, in general, the company will have no ownership rights in what is developed, even if it
paid for the development.
Joint inventors: When more than one person contributes in significant ways to the conception and
realization of an invention, they must be treated as joint inventors and mentioned as such in the patent
application. If the joint inventors are also the applicants, the patent will be granted to them jointly.
Joint owners: Different countries and institutions have different rules concerning the exploitation or
enforcement of patents that are owned by more than one entity or person. In some cases, no single co-
owner may license a patent or sue third parties for infringement without the consent of all other co-
owners.
60 | P a g e
6.2.2 How to get a patent?
Where should you start?

Generally the first step is to perform a prior art search. With over 40 million patents granted worldwide,
and millions of printed publications, which are potential prior art against your patent application, there
is a serious risk that some reference, or combination of references, may render your invention non-
novel or obvious, and, therefore, un-patentable.
A prior art patentability search can prevent you from wasting money on a patent application if the
search uncovers prior art references that are likely to preclude the patenting of your invention.
A prior art search should extend to all relevant non patent literature, including technical and scientific
journals, textbooks, conference proceedings, theses, websites, company brochures, trade publications
and newspaper articles.
Patent information is a unique source of classified technical information, which companies may find of
great value for their strategic business planning. Most significant inventions are disclosed to the public
for the first time only when the patent or patent application is published. Thus, patents and published
patent applications provide means of learning about current research and innovations often long before
the relevant innovative product appears on the market. Patent searches should be part of the essential
inputs to any company’s R&D effort.
How and where can you conduct a prior art search?

Patents and patent applications published by many patent offices are accessible on-line, thus making it
easier to conduct prior art searches. A list of IP offices that have made their patent databases available
online, free-of-charge, may be found at: www.wipo.int/ipdl/en/resources/links.jsp.
In addition, most national patent offices offer patent search services for a fee. While access to patent
information is considerably simpler thanks to the Internet, it is not easy to perform a high-quality patent
search. Patent jargon is often complex and obscure and professional searching requires considerable
knowledge and expertise. While preliminary searches may be performed through free on-line patent
databases, most companies requiring patent information for making key business decisions (e.g.,
whether to apply for a patent or not) will generally rely on the services of patent professionals and/or
use more sophisticated commercial databases.
A prior art search can be done based on keywords, patent classification or other search criteria. The
prior art uncovered depends on the search strategy employed, the classification system used, the
technical expertise of the person who conducts the search, and the patent database being used.
61 | P a g e
How to apply for patent protection?

After a prior art search has been performed and the decision to seek patent protection has been made,
a patent application has to be prepared and submitted to the relevant national or regional patent office.
The application will include a full description of the invention, the patent claims that determine the
scope of the patent applied for, drawings and an abstract. Some patent offices make it possible for
applicants to submit their application through the Internet. In some countries, there may be an option
for filing a provisional patent application.
The task of preparing a patent application is generally performed by a patent attorney or agent who will
represent your interests during the application process. The box on the following page provides a basic
overview of the application process. Note that there may be important variations between countries
and it is always best to check with the patent office of the relevant country or a patent law firm in the
relevant country to obtain up-to-date information on procedures and applicable fees.
How much does it cost to patent an invention?

The costs vary considerably from country to country and within a country depending on factors such as
the nature of the invention, its complexity, attorney’s fees, the length of the application and objections
raised during the examination by the patent office. It is important to keep in mind and properly budget
the costs related to patent application and maintenance:
• There are generally costs associated with performing a prior art search, particularly if you rely
on the services of an expert;
• There are official filing fees that vary widely from country to country. The relevant national or
regional patent office will be able to give you details on the fee structure. Some countries have
discounts for SMEs and/or for applicants filing the application on-line. In addition, some
countries allow expedited examination on payment of additional fees.
• If you rely on the services of a patent agent/attorney to assist you in the application process
(e.g., provide the patentability opinion, draft the patent application, prepare the formal
drawings and correspond with the patent office), you will incur additional costs;
• Once a patent has been granted by the patent office, you must pay maintenance or renewal
fees, generally on an annual basis, to maintain the validity of the patent;
• In case you decide to patent your invention abroad, you should consider also the relevant
official filing fees for the countries in question, the translation costs and the costs of using local
patent agents (which is a requirement, in many countries, for foreign applicants).
• In case of inventions involving microorganisms, where the deposit of the micro-organism or
biological material with a recognized depositary institution is necessary, fees for filing, storage
and viability testing of the deposited material will have to be paid.
62 | P a g e
When should you file a patent application?

In general, it is preferable to apply for patent protection as soon as you have all the information
required for drafting the patent application. However, there are a number of factors that help an
applicant to decide the best time to file a patent application. Reasons for ensuring that your application
is filed early include the following:
• In most countries worldwide (with the notable exception of the United States of America)
patents are granted on a first-to-file basis. Thus, filing an application early is important to
ensure that you are the first to file an application on that particular invention so that you do not
lose your invention to others.
• Applying for patent protection early will generally be useful if you are seeking financial support
or wish to license your invention to commercialize it.
• You can generally only enforce a patent once it has been granted by the relevant patent office,
which is a procedure that may take a few years.
Nevertheless, rushing to file a patent application as soon as you have an invention may also be a
problem for the following reasons:
• If you apply too early and subsequently make changes to your invention it will generally not be
possible to make significant changes to the original description of the invention.
• Once you have filed your application in one country or region, you normally have 12 months to
file an application for the same invention in all the countries of interest to your business in
order to enjoy the benefit of the filing date of your first application. This may be a problem if
the costs of applying in various countries and paying the maintenance fees are too high for your
company. One way of mitigating this problem, is by postponing the payments of translation and
national fees for a period of 30 months by using the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT).
When deciding on the timing for filing a patent application, it is important to bear in mind that the
application should be filed before disclosing the invention. Any disclosure before filing the application
(e.g., for test-marketing, to investors or other business partners) should be done only after signing a
confidentiality or nondisclosure agreement.
How important is it to keep an invention confidential prior to filing a patent application?

If you wish to obtain a patent on your invention, keeping it confidential prior to filing the application is
absolutely necessary. In many circumstances, public disclosure of your invention prior to filing the
application would destroy the novelty of your invention, rendering it un-patentable, unless the
applicable law provides for a “grace period”. It is, therefore, extremely important for inventors,
researchers and companies to avoid any disclosure of an invention that might affect its patentability
until the patent application has been filed.
63 | P a g e
What is a “grace period”?

The legislation of some countries provides a “grace period” of 6 or 12 months, from the moment an
invention was disclosed by the inventor or the applicant until the application is filed, in which the
invention does not lose its patentability because of such disclosure. In such countries, a company may
disclose its invention, for example by displaying it in a trade show or publishing it in a company
catalogue or technical journal, and file the patent application within the grace period without the
invention losing patentability and being barred from obtaining a patent.
However, as this is not the case in all countries, relying on the grace period in your own country would
preclude you from patenting the invention in other markets of interest where a grace period is not
available.
What is the structure of a patent application?

A patent application has a range of functions:
• It determines the legal scope of the patent;
• It describes the nature of the invention, including instructions on how to carry out the invention;
and
• It gives details of the inventor, the patent owner and other legal information.
Patent applications are similarly structured worldwide and consist of a request, a description, claims,
drawings (if necessary) and an abstract. A patent document may be anywhere between a few pages to
hundreds of pages long, depending on the nature of the specific invention and the technical field
Request: It contains information on the title of the invention, the date of filing, the priority date and
bibliographic data such as the name and address of the applicant and inventor.
Description: The written description of an invention must describe the invention in sufficient detail so
that anyone skilled in the same technical field can reconstruct and practice the invention from the
description and the drawings without putting in further inventive effort. If this is not the case, the
patent may not be granted or may be revoked after it is challenged in a court action.
Claims: The claims determine the scope of protection of a patent. The claims are absolutely crucial to a
patented invention since, if they are badly drafted, even a truly valuable invention could result in a
worthless patent that is easy to circumvent or design around. In patent litigation, interpreting the claims
is generally the first step in determining whether the patent is valid and in determining whether the
patent has been infringed. It is strongly advisable to seek the advice of an expert to draft patent
applications, particularly the claims.
Drawings: The drawings show the technical details of the invention in an abstract and visual way. They
help to explain some information, tool or result set out in the disclosure. Drawings are not always a
necessary part of the application. If the invention is for a process or method of doing something,
drawings usually are not required. If drawings are required, formal rules govern their acceptability.
Abstract: The abstract is a brief summary of the invention. When the patent is published by the patent
office, the abstract is included on the front page. The abstract is sometimes improved or drafted by the
patent examiner in the relevant patent office.
64 | P a g e
How long does it take to obtain patent protection?

The time taken for a patent office to grant a patent varies significantly from office to office and between
fields of technology and may range from a few months to a few years, generally between 2 to 5 years.
Some patent offices have established a procedure for accelerated grant that can be requested by
applicants in specific circumstances.
From what date is your invention protected?

Your rights effectively begin on the date of grant of your patent, as you can only take legal action against
unauthorized use of the invention by third parties once it has been granted. In some countries, you may
sue infringers after the grant, for infringement that occurred between the date of publication of the
patent application (generally 18 months after the first application has been filed) and the date of grant.
Typically, you may claim reasonable compensation for use between publication and grant. But this is not
the case in all countries.
In some countries, it is possible to file a patent application and a utility model application for the same
invention. This is sometimes done in order to benefit from utility model protection (which is generally
granted faster) until the patent is eventually granted.
How long does patent protection last?

The current international standard provides for a term of protection of 20 years from the filing date of
the application, provided the renewal or maintenance fees are paid on time and that no request for
invalidation or revocation has been successful during this period. While the above relates to the legal life
of a patent, the business or economic life of a patent is over if the technology covered by it is outdated,
if it cannot be commercialized or if the product based on it has not been successful in the market. In all
such circumstances, the patent holder may decide to no longer pay the maintenance or renewal fees,
leaving it to expire earlier than the term of protection of 20 years, and thus, let it fall into the public
domain.
In some countries, protection may be extended beyond 20 years or a Supplementary Protection
Certificate (SPCs) may be granted in very specific circumstances. This is the case, for example, for
patents on pharmaceuticals, due to delayed commercialization resulting from time required to obtain
marketing approval from the appropriate governmental authorities. SPCs have a limited duration and
generally cannot exceed five years.
Do you need a patent agent to file a patent application?

Preparing a patent application and following it through to the grant stage is a complex task. Applying for
patent protection means:
• Making a prior art search in order to identify any prior art that renders your invention
unpatentable;
• Writing the claims and full description of the invention combining legal and technical jargon;
• Corresponding with the national or regional patent office especially during the substantive
examination of the patent application;
• Making the necessary amendments to the application requested by the patent office.
65 | P a g e
All these aspects require in-depth knowledge of patent law and patent office practice.
Therefore, even if legal or technical assistance is generally not mandatory it is strongly recommended. It
is advisable to rely on a patent agent who has the relevant legal knowledge and experience as well as
the technical background in the technical field of the invention. Most laws require foreign applicants to
be represented by a registered patent agent who is resident in the country.
Can you apply for protection of many inventions through a single application?
Most patent laws provide for certain limitations in respect of the number of different inventions that
may be included in one patent application. These limitations include the so-called requirement of unity
of invention. Whereas some patent laws provide for other types of requirements of unity of invention
(for example, the patent law of the United States of America), others (e.g., the European Patent
Convention and the Patent Cooperation Treaty) permit groups of inventions so linked as to form a single
“inventive concept” to be included in a single application. In case of lack of unity of invention, the
applicant may be required to either restrict the claims or divide the application (divisional applications).
As a result of differences in the applicable law, one patent application may suffice in some countries,
while in others; two or more applications may have to be filed to cover the same ground.
6.2.3. Patenting abroad
Why apply for patents abroad?

Patents are territorial rights, which means that an invention is only protected in the countries or regions
where patent protection has been obtained. In other words, if you have not been granted a patent with
effect in a given country, your invention will not be protected in that country, enabling anybody else to
make, use, import or sell your invention in that country.
Patent protection in foreign countries will enable your company to enjoy exclusive rights over the
patented invention in those countries. In addition, patenting abroad may enable your company to
license the invention to foreign firms, develop outsourcing relationship, and access those markets in
partnership with others.
When should you apply for patent protection abroad?

The date of your first application for a given invention is called the priority date and any subsequent
applications in other countries filed by you within 12 months (i.e., within the priority period) will benefit
from the earlier application and will have priority over other applications for the same invention filed by
others after the priority date. It is highly advisable to file your foreign patent applications within the
priority period.
66 | P a g e
After the expiration of the priority period and until the patent is first published by the patent office
(generally 18 months after the priority date) you will still have the possibility to apply for protection for
the same invention in other countries, but you can no longer claim priority of your earlier application.
Once the invention has been disclosed or published, you may be unable to obtain patent protection in
foreign countries, due to loss of novelty.
Where should you protect your invention?

As protecting an invention in many countries is an expensive undertaking, companies should carefully
select the countries in which they require protection. Some of the key considerations when selecting
where to patent are:
• Where is the patented product likely to be commercialized?
• Which are the main markets for similar products?
• What are the costs involved in patenting in each target market and what is my budget?
• Where are the main competitors based?
• Where will the product be manufactured?
• How difficult will it be to enforce a patent in a given country?
How do you apply for patent protection abroad?

There are three main ways of protecting an invention abroad:
The national route: You may apply to the national patent office of each country of interest, by filing a
patent application in the required language and paying the required fees. This path may be very
cumbersome and expensive if the number of countries is large.
The regional route: When a number of countries are members of a regional patent system, you may
apply for protection, with effect in the territories of all or some of these, by filing an application at the
relevant regional office. The regional patent offices are:
• The African Intellectual Property Organization (OAPI) (www.oapi.wipo.net);
• The African Regional Intellectual Property Organization (ARIPO) (www.aripo.wipo.net);
• The Eurasian Patent Organization (EAPO) (www.eapo.org);
• The European Patent Office (EPO) (www.epo.org); and
• The Patent Office of the Gulf Cooperation Council (www.gulf-patent-office.org.sa).
The international route: If your company wants to have the option of protecting an invention in any
number of member countries of the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT), then you should consider filing an
international PCT application. To be eligible to do so, you must be a national or resident of a PCT
Contracting State or, your business must have a real and effective industrial or commercial presence in
one of these countries. By filing one international application under the PCT, you may simultaneously
seek patent protection for an invention in the more than 125 member countries of the PCT. This
application may be filed either at your national or regional patent office and/or at the PCT receiving
office at the World Intellectual Property Office (WIPO) in Geneva, Switzerland.
67 | P a g e
6.2.4 Commercializing patented technology

How do you commercialize patented technology?
A patent on its own is no guarantee of commercial success. It is a tool that enhances a company’s
capacity to benefit from its inventions. In order to provide a tangible benefit to a company, a patent
needs to be exploited effectively and will generally make money only if the product based on the patent
is successful in the market or boosts the firm’s reputation and bargaining power. To take a patented
invention to market, a company has a range of options:
• Commercializing the patented invention directly;
• Selling the patent to someone else;
• Licensing the patent to others;
• Establishing a joint venture or other strategic alliance with others having complementary assets.
How do you take a patented product to market?

The commercial success of a new product in the market does not only hinge on its technical features. As
great as an invention may be from a technical point of view, if there is no effective demand for it or if
the product is not properly marketed it is unlikely to attract consumers.
Commercial success, therefore, also depends on a range of other factors, including the design of the
product, the availability of financial resources, the development of an effective marketing strategy and
the price of the product in comparison with that of competing or substitute products.
To take an innovative product to market, it is generally helpful to develop a business plan. Business
plans are effective tools for examining the feasibility of a business idea. A business plan is essential for
approaching an investor to obtain financial resources to take a new patented product to market.
Including information on your company’s patents and patent strategy in the business plan is important,
as it is a strong indicator of the novelty of your company’s products, provides evidence of due diligence
and reduces the risk of infringement of other companies’ patents.
Can you sell your patent?

Yes, this is called assigning your patent, and it will permanently transfer ownership of the patent to
another person. Such a decision must be very carefully considered. By licensing your patent instead of
assigning it, you obtain the benefit of royalties for the remainder of the life of the patent. Licensing can
be a very financially rewarding strategy for that reason. Assignment, on the other hand, means you
receive an agreed-upon payment once, with no future royalties, regardless of how profitable the patent
ends up being.
There may be occasions when an assignment is advantageous. If a patent is sold for a lump sum, you get
the value immediately, without having to wait up to 20 years to realize that value progressively. You also
avoid the risk that the patent may be superseded by another technology. In addition, assignment of the
patent to a start-up company may be a precondition for funding, if the patent does not belong to the
company.
68 | P a g e
In each case, it is an individual decision, based on your needs and priorities. However, assigning a patent
is generally not recommended and patent owners generally prefer to maintain ownership over their
inventions and grant licenses.
How do you license your patent to be exploited by others?

A patent is licensed when the owner of the patent (the licensor) grants permission to another (the
licensee) to use the patented invention for mutually agreed purposes. In such cases, a licensing contract
is generally signed between the two parties, specifying the terms and scope of the agreement.
Authorizing others to commercialize your patented invention through a licensing agreement will enable
your business to obtain an additional source of revenue and is a common means of exploiting a
company’s exclusive rights over an invention. Licensing is particularly useful if the company that owns
the invention is not in a position to make the product at all or in sufficient quantity o meet a given
market need, or to cover a given geographical area.
As a license agreement requires skillful negotiations and drafting, it is advisable to seek the assistance of
a licensing practitioner for negotiating the terms and conditions and for drafting the licensing
agreement. In some countries, licensing agreements need to be registered with a government
regulatory authority.
What royalty rate should you expect to receive for your patent?
In licensing deals, the owner of the right is generally remunerated through lump-sum payments and/or
through recurring royalties, which may be based on sales volume of the licensed product (per unit
royalty) or on net sales (net sales-based royalty). In many cases, the remuneration for a patent license is
a combination of a lump-sum payment and royalties. Sometimes, an equity stake in the company of the
licensee may replace a royalty.
While industry standards for royalty rates exist for particular industries and may usefully be consulted, it
must be remembered that each licensing agreement is unique and the royalty rate depends on the
particular and very distinct factors being negotiated. Therefore, industry standards may provide some
useful initial guidance but too great a reliance on such standards is often misplaced.
What is the difference between an exclusive and non-exclusive license?

There are three types of licensing agreements depending on the number of licensees that will be
allowed to work the patent:
• Exclusive license: a single licensee has the right to use the patented technology, which cannot
even be used by the patent owner;
• Sole license: a single licensee and the patent owner have the right to use the patented
technology; and
• Non-exclusive license: several licensees and the patent owner have the right to use the
patented technology.
69 | P a g e
In a single licensing agreement, there may be provisions that grant some rights on an exclusive basis and
others on a sole or non exclusive basis.
Should you grant an exclusive or non-exclusive license for your patent?

It depends on the product and on your company’s business strategy. For example, if your technology can
become a standard that is needed by all players in a specific market to perform their business, a non-
exclusive, widely held license would be the most advantageous. If your product needs one company to
invest heavily to commercialize the product (e.g., a pharmaceutical product that requires investments in
performing clinical trials),a potential licensee would not want to face competition from other licensees,
and may rightly insist on obtaining an exclusive license.
When is the best time to license your invention?

There is no best time to license your invention, as the timing will depend on the specificities of the case.
However, for an independent entrepreneur or inventor, it is often advisable to start the search for
licensees as early as possible in order to guarantee a revenue stream that will be useful to cover the
costs of patenting. There is no need to wait for the patent to be granted. More than the right time, it is
critical to find the right partner(s) to generate profits from the commercialization of the patented
invention.
If you are interested in a competitor’s patent, can you obtain permission to use it?
It may not always be easy or affordable to obtain authorization to incorporate technology owned by a
competitor into your products/processes. However, if your competitor is also interested in your
company’s patents, then you should think of cross-licensing. Cross-licensing is very common in
industries where a number of patents covering a wide range of complementary inventions are held by
two or more competitors. Such competing companies seek to ensure their freedom to operate by
obtaining the right to use patents owned by their competitors while providing the right to use their own
patents to the competitors.
7.2.5 Enforcing patents
Why should you enforce patent rights?

If you launch a new or improved product and it is successful in the market, it is likely that competitors
will sooner or later attempt to make products with technical features that are identical, or very similar,
to those of your product. In some cases, competitors may have the benefit of economies of scale,
greater market access, or access to cheaper raw materials, and be able to make a similar or identical
product at a cheaper price. This could put heavy pressure on your business, especially if it has invested
significantly in R&D for creating the new or improved product.
70 | P a g e
The exclusive rights granted by a patent give the patent owner the opportunity to prevent or stop
competitors from making products and using processes that infringe on its rights and to seek
compensation for damages suffered. To prove that infringement has occurred, it must be shown that
each and every element of a given claim, or its equivalent, is contained in the infringing product or
process. Enforcing your rights when you believe that your patented invention is being copied may be
crucial to maintaining your competitive edge, market share and profitability.
Who is responsible for enforcing patent rights?

The main responsibility for identifying and taking action against infringers of a patent lies with its owner.
As a patent owner, you are responsible for monitoring the use of your invention in the marketplace,
identifying any infringers and deciding whether, how and when to take action against them.
Independent inventors and SMEs may decide to shift this responsibility (or part of it) to an exclusive
licensee. It is advisable to contact a patent lawyer to assist you in taking any steps for enforcing your
patent, both domestically and/or in any export markets. A lawyer will also advise you on the costs and
the risks involved and the best strategy.
What should you do if your patent is being used by others without your authorization?
If you believe that others are infringing your patent, i.e., using it without your authorization, then, as a
first step, you need to collect information about infringing parties and their use of the infringing product
or process. You should accumulate all available facts to determine the nature and timing of your action.
Always engage a patent lawyer to assist you in making a decision on the infringement of your patented
invention. In some cases, when infringement is detected, companies choose to send a letter (commonly
known as a “cease and desist letter”) informing the alleged infringer of a possible conflict between your
rights and the other company’s business activity. This procedure is often effective in the case of non-
intentional infringement since the infringer will in many such cases either discontinue such activities or
agree to negotiate a licensing agreement.
Sometimes, however, surprise is the best tactic in order to avoid giving the infringer time to hide or
destroy evidence. In these circumstances, it might be appropriate to go to court without giving notice to
the infringer and to ask for an “interim injunction” in order to surprise the infringer by a raid, often with
the help of the police, at his business premises. The court may order that the alleged infringers stop
their infringing action pending the outcome of a trial (which may take many months or years).
However, the question of whether a patent has been infringed may be very complex and a decision may,
therefore, only be taken in proceedings on the merits of the case. Where the company decides to
initiate civil proceedings, the courts generally provide a wide range of civil remedies to compensate
aggrieved owners of patent rights. A patent lawyer will be able to provide you the relevant information.
In order to prevent the importation of goods infringing patents, measures at the international border
may be available to patent holders in some countries through the national customs authorities. Many
countries, however, provide for border measures in accordance with their international obligations only
in cases of importation of counterfeit trademark goods and pirated copyright goods. As a general rule, if
you identify infringement, it is highly advisable to seek professional legal advice.
71 | P a g e
What are your options for settling the patent infringement out of court?
If the dispute is with a company with which there is a signed contract (e.g., a licensing agreement), then
first check whether there is an arbitration or mediation clause in the contract. It is advisable to include a
special provision in contracts for the dispute to be referred to arbitration or mediation in order to avoid
long and expensive litigation. It may be possible to use alternative dispute resolution systems, such as
arbitration or mediation, even if there is no clause in the contract or no contract at all, as long as both
parties agree to it.
Arbitration generally has the advantage of being a less formal and shorter procedure than court
proceedings, and an arbitral award is more easily enforceable internationally. An advantage of
mediation is that the parties retain control of the dispute resolution process. As such, it can help to
preserve good business relations with another enterprise with which your company may wish to
collaborate in the future. The WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center provides services for alternative
dispute resolution. More information on arbitration and mediation can be found at:
arbiter.wipo.int/center/index.html.
References:
1. www.wipo.int/sme
2. www.patentoffice.nic.in
3. www.uspto.gov
4. www.patentoffice.nic.in
About the Authors:

P. Nikhil Prakash did his B-Tech in Electrical & Electronics Engineering from
Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University, Hyderabad and Higher diploma in
Software Engineering from National Institute of Information Technology.
He is currently working as Business Analyst at Thomson Reuters, worlds’ leading
innovation globally. He is planning co-ordination member was earlier Secretary
P. Nikhil Prakash General of Cafet-Innova Technical Society an international non-profit organization
helping the scientific community.
Dinesh Pandian did his M Sc. in Polymer Science from University of Madras and
M-Tech in Plastic Technology from Central Institute of Plastics Engineering and
Technology (CIPET) Chennai.
He also did his PG-Diploma in Intellectual Property Rights Management from Indra
Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) and is currently working as Senior
Process Lead at Intellectual Property & Science, Thomson Reuters.
Dinesh Pandian
72 | P a g e
Generally most of the research work fails to attract the market even though the quality of
research is very high due to inefficient presentation of the work by the researchers. This chapter
on impact of presentation skills for professional development is added in this book so that the
researcher can learn the tactics of marketing his research work and bring out his innovation for
the industry.
7.1 Presentation Skills

A Presentation is heavy and delivered to a small knowledgeable audience at conference, a seminar
or business meeting. The purpose of a presentation is to inform, persuade, or present a point of
view, which is then followed by questions from the audience. Being a good orator is an asset in
any profession. Speaking skill can be cultivated and developed with some knowledge of the formal
aspects of public speaking and with practice.
To really succeed at presenting and build up effective presentation skills, there are several key
areas that one should know. These key skill areas are:
• Planning and Preparation of the presentation

• Presentation Material and Using visual aids effectively
• Overcoming presentation nerves
• Delivering the presentation confidently
• Answering questions competently
73 | P a g e
7.1.1 Planning and Preparation of the presentation

7.1.1a Planning
Planning the presentation involves much of the work that is done before the actually delivery of
the presentation. This is a very important where people should consider improving their skills in. A
key part of this planning is to research your presentation audience. The more one knows about
the audience, the easier it is to understand them as to what preconceptions they might have.
7.1.1b Preparation
The most important thing while preparing the text is to decide exactly what to say, where to find
the required information, and how to give it a proper shape. It must be logical and should have a
smooth flow from one point to the next. For beginners, it is advisable to write down the whole
speech, include the address, the opening sentences and the ending sentences. The tone of the
speech is less formal than the tone of writing. All the same there is a formality in official speaking
as distinguished from social or personal style of speaking. Bad habits, often picked up in
conversation, should not be allowed to creep into a speech, repeating phrases should be avoided
7.1.2 Presentation material & using visual aids

Once the planning is done it is important to consider as to what visual aids would be used during
the presentation.
• Think about what you want to do here – why you actually need the visual aids in your
presentation and what are they going to be used for.
• Often they are fairly redundant – people put them in for the sake of it.
Some key presentation skills we’ll be looking at involve reducing the number of slides in a
presentation to the minimum required to support the message. We will further look into as how
we can make visual aids effective and what type of visual aids would help in a presentation. For
example handing out supplemental materials like articles, reports, etc. along with the
presentation, or handing out copies of the presentation, like handing out copies of the slides that
could be used as a reference during the presentation or might use transparency slides or showing
slides from a personal computer.
• If you plan to project your slides from a computer onto a projection screen, then be sure
to check out the computer system before people come into the meeting room, if at all
possible.
• Use a consistent layout, or organization of colors and images, on your materials.
• If you use transparencies on an overhead projector, then allocate one slide for every 3-5
minutes of your presentation. Include 5-8 lines of bulleted phrases on each slide.
• If you provide the supplemental information during your presentation, then your audience
will very likely read that information during your presentation, rather than listening to
you. Therefore, hand out this information after you have completed your presentation.
74 | P a g e
Or, hand it out at the beginning of your presentation and ask them not to read it until you
have completed your presentation.
• If you hand out copies of your slides, be sure that the text on the slides is large enough
that your audience can read the text on the table in front of them without having to hold
the handouts up to their faces. Be sure to leave space on the handouts for the audience to
make notes on them.
7.1.3 Overcoming presentation nerves

We’re then going to look at You Yourself! To start considering your personal presentation skills.
When most people when they hear the word presentation – previously built “presentation skills”
are often forgotten about and nerves kick in. So we’re going to help you overcome your nerves
and become more confident in your personal presentation skills. There are lots of techniques and
things you can do to help you to control your nerves and build your confidence even before you
actually start your presentation as well as while you’re speaking and delivering it.
7.1.4 Delivering the presentation confidently

It is important to think about how an individual is actually going to deliver his / her presentation.
This section would give an insight at some of the key techniques and skills that would help one to
speak confidently, how to keep the audience’s interest, and engage with them. Usage of personal
resources is very important while delivering a presentation.
• If you plan to project your slides from a computer onto a projection screen, then be sure
to check out the computer system before people come into the meeting room, if at all
possible.
• Use a consistent layout, or organization of colors and images, on your materials.
• If you use transparencies on an overhead projector, then allocate one slide for every 3- 5
minutes of your presentation. Include 5-8 lines of bulleted phrases on each slide.
• If you provide the supplemental information during your presentation, then your audience
will very likely read that information during your presentation, rather than listening to
you. Therefore, hand out this information after you have completed your presentation.
Or, hand it out at the beginning of your presentation and ask them not to read it until you
have completed your presentation.
• If you hand out copies of your slides, be sure that the text on the slides is large enough
that your audience can read the text on the table in front of them without having to hold
the handouts up to their faces. Be sure to leave space on the handouts for the audience to
make notes on them.
7.1.5 Answering questions competently

Finally it is important that one should have the confidence to interact with the audience and deal
with any questions that the audience might throw at you. This section will give an insight to the
techniques to deal with the difficult questions – the different scenarios that one might face while
interacting with the audience
75 | P a g e
Summary
So these are the 5 key elements (or presentation skills areas) for building and delivering a
successful presentation.
Get to grips with each of them, build your skills and then apply them to you next presentation –
and you’ll be surprised just how much you’ve progressed.
7.2 Communication Skills

The ability to communicate is the primary factor that distinguishes human beings from animals.
And it is the ability to communicate well that distinguishes one individual from another.
Every individual needs to be well equipped with the tools to communicate effectively, whether it
is on the personal front, or at work. In fact, according to the management gurus, being a good
communicator is half the battle won. After all, if one speaks and listens well, then there is little or
no scope for misunderstanding. Thus, keeping this fact in mind, the primary reasons for
misunderstanding is due to inability to speak well, or listen effectively.
Communication skills are the set of skills that enables a person to convey information so that it is
received and understood. Communication skills refer to the repertoire of behaviors that serve to
convey information for the individual.
Communication skills are the ability an individual displays in consistently demonstrates the ability
to effectively communicate with clients, colleagues, subordinates, and supervisors in professional
manner and in the personal department.
Communication skills are generally understood to be the art or technique of persuasion through
the use of oral language and written language. To understand the basic of communication skills,
one need to understand that communication is one of those words that is most hyped in
contemporary culture. It includes a large number of experiences, actions and events; also a variety
of happening and meanings, as well as technologies.
Identification is one of the key ingredients of effective communication. In fact, unless your
listeners can identify with what you are saying and with the way you are saying it, they are not
likely to receive and understand your message.”
The quote above is the underlying factor that explains the importance of communication skills. In
fact, there are other such quotes, which are as follows that explains the importance of effective
communications skills.
Good communication is as stimulating as black coffee, and just as hard to sleep after.
The newest computer can merely compound, at speed, the oldest problem in the relations
between human beings, and in the end the communicator will be confronted with the old
problem, of what to say and how to say it.
The way one communicates does not only have an impact on their own profession and personal
relations, but also an effect on others. Those who do not have appropriate communication skills
are usually ignored or simply kept at bay. Where those with good communication skills are are
76 | P a g e
looked upon and well respected. After all a good listener and a good orator are popular in their
groups - professional and personal.
Communication is an important aspect of behavior; human communication is complicated by all

factors that influence human behavior. Communication is the process of exchanging information,
ideas, and feelings.
7.2.1 The Communication Process

It is essential that the basic elements of communication be identified. These elements are:
• Sender/encoder/speaker
• Receiver/decoder/listener
• Message
• Medium
• Feedback/reply
7.2.1a Sender/encoder/Speaker:
The person who initiates the communication process is normally referred to as the sender. From
his personal data bank he selects ideas, encodes and finally transmits them to the receiver.
7.2.1b Receiver/decoder/listener:
The listener receives an encoded message which he attempts to decode. This process is carried on
in relation to the work environment and the value perceived in terms of the work situation.
7.2.1c Message:
Message is the encoded idea transmitted by the sender. The formulation of the message is very
important for an incorrect patterning can turn the receiver hostile or make him lose interest.
7.2.1d Medium:
Another important element of communication is the medium or channel. It could be oral, written,
or non-verbal, prior to the composition of the message, the medium/ channel should be decided.
7.2.1e Feedback:
This is the most important component of communication. Effective communication takes place
only when there is feedback. The errors and faults that abound in business situations are a result
of lack of feedback. Basic Model of Communication:
77 | P a g e
7.2.2 Purpose of effective communication:

• Saves time of communication
• Helps in coordinating, controlling and issuing instructions
• Brings improvement in speaking abilities, listening, interacting, writing, convincing and
persuading.
7.2.3 7C’s & 4S’s in Effective communication:

In any business environment, adherence to the 7C’s & 4S’s helps the sender in transmitting his
message with ease and accuracy.
7.2.3a C’s Relevance

1. Credibility Builds trust
2. Courtesy Improves relationship
3. Clarity Makes comprehension easier
4. Correctness Builds confidence
5. Consistency Introduces stability
6. Concreteness Reinforces confidence
7. Conciseness Saves time
7.2.3b 4S’s
S’s Relevance
1. Shortness------ Economizes
2. Simplicity----- Impresses
3. Strength------- convinces
4. Sincerity------ appears
7.2.4 Barriers in Communication

• Sender-oriented
• Receiver-oriented
7.2.4a Sender oriented barriers:

It can be either voluntary or involuntary. At any cost, efforts should be made on the part of the
sender to identify and remove them. Some of the barriers that are sender oriented are:
• Badly expressed message: concrete ideas and well structures message

• Loss in transmission: correct choice of medium or channel
78 | P a g e
• Semantic problem: simple words and accurate understanding of intension

• Over/under communication: quantum of information should be right
• ‘I’ Attitude: avoid I attitude
• Prejudices: mind free of bias
Rules to overcome the sender oriented barriers:

• Plan and clarify ideas
• Create a climate of trust and confidence
• Time your mind carefully
• Reinforce words with action
• Communicate efficiently
7.2.4b Receiver-oriented barriers:

• Poor retention: jot down points
• Inattentive listening: improve concentration
• Tendency to evaluate: delay evaluation
• Interest and attitudes: develop interest
• Conflicting information: confirm with feedback, clarify
• Differing status and position: encourage juniors to come up with ideas and listen
• Resistance to change: be flexible
• Refutations and arguments: enter into healthy discussions
It matters not so much what you say as it does how you say it. Your communication style is a SET
of various behaviors and methods of relaying information that impact all facets of life “How to
speak.”
Guidelines:
• Speed
• Clarity
• Punctuation
• Pronunciation
• Familiarity
• Fluency
• Expression….
Teaching communication skills can be a rather daunting task, considering that almost every
individual feels that they are very good communicators. In fact, most trainers prefer to be
regarded as facilitators, who are able to bring to light the nuances that occur while communicating
ineffectively, rather than pointing a direct finger and saying - You all cannot communicate well'
79 | P a g e
and when this occurs the participants are ready to delve deeper within and bring out the negative
aspects of their communications and replace it with the corrective measures.
7.2.5 Some tips to good communication skills:

• Maintain eye contact with the audience: This is vital as it keeps all those present involved
in the conversation. It keeps them interested and on the alert, during the course of the
conversation.
• Body awareness: One needs to be aware of all that their body is conveying to them, as
well as others. For instance, if there is anxiety rising during the course of a conversation
then one feels thirsty and there may be a slight body tremor. At that point one needs to
pause and let someone else speak. A few deep breaths and some water works as the
magic portion at this point.
• Gestures and expressions: One needs to be aware of how to effectively use hand gestures
and the way they need to posture their body to convey their messages effectively.
Sometimes it may happen that they verbally convey something, but their gestures and
facial expressions have another story to tell.
• Convey one's thoughts: It is important for one to courageously convey what they think.
This is because when things are left unsaid, then what is being spoken is not as convincing
as it should be. Then a lack of confidence develops.
• Practice effective communication skills: One should practice speaking and listening skills
as often as possible.
In order to practice effective speaking skills one can be read passages from a book aloud, in front
of a mirror, or simply perform a free speech in front of the mirror. And where listening is
concerned, one can try transcribing from the radio or television, etc. this helps in honing sharper
listening skills.
7.3 Group Discussion Skill

Group discussion (GD) is a discussion by a group of people which involves an exchange of thoughts
and ideas. Group Discussions are largely used by institutes where there is a high level of
competition. Group discussions occur in many different formats – from very informal ones
between friends to highly structured and challenging discussions included as part of a selection
process. In both cases, there are a number of specific skills that we can help our students develop
to become better able to contribute effectively to group discussions.
A Group of 6-15 candidates are made to sit in a circular or a semi-circular (U Shaped) fashion so
that they can see each other and take part in the discussion easily. Roll Numbers may be allotted
to participants for easy recognition. Before the GD, the examiner (observer) announces the topic
for discussion and informs candidates about the time-limit. He may also draw attention towards
the etiquette, rules and regulation, procedure to be followed. He also clears any doubts/queries.
The individuals of the group might be given some initial time to put down their thoughts on the
topic. The examiner observes the proceedings of the discussion from a distance without directly
80 | P a g e
interfering into it. He examines the performance of each candidate without any prejudice or
favour.
Every candidate is supposed to express his opinion and views on the topic given. The time for
discussion is approximately 20 minutes. A group discussion can be categorically divided into three
different phases:
• Initiation/ Introduction
• Body of the group discussion
• Summarization/ Conclusion
7.3.1 Initiation/ Introduction

When you initiate a Group Discussion, you not only If you can make a favorable first impression
with your content and communication skills after you initiate a Group Discussion, it will help you
sail through the discussion. But if you initiate a Group Discussion and stammer/ stutter/ quote
wrong facts and figures, the damage might be irreparable. If you initiate a Group Discussion
impeccably but don’t speak much after that, it gives the impression that you started the Group
Discussion for the sake of starting it or getting those initial kitty of points earmarked for an
initiator! When you start a Group Discussion, you are responsible for putting it into the right
perspective or framework. So initiate one only if you have in depth knowledge about the topic at
hand.
7.3.2 Different techniques to initiate a Group

Discussion and make a good first impression:
• Quotes
• Definition
• Questions
• Shock statement
• Facts, figures and statistics
• Short story
• General statement
7.3.2a Quotes:
Quotes are an effective way of initiating a Group Discussion. If the topic of a Group Discussion is:
Should the Censor Board be abolished?, you could start with a quote like, ‘Hidden apples are
always sweet’. For a Group Discussion topic like, Customer is King, you could quote Sam (Walmart)
Walton’s famous saying, ‘there is only one boss: the customer. And he can fire everybody in the
company — from the chairman on down, simply by spending his money somewhere else.
81 | P a g e
7.3.2b Definition:
Start a Group Discussion by defining the topic or an important term in the topic.
For example, if the topic of the Group Discussion is Advertising is a Diplomatic Way of Telling a Lie,
why not start the Group Discussion by defining advertising as, ‘Any paid form of non-personal
presentation and promotion of ideas, goods or services through mass media like newspapers,
magazines, television or radio by an identified sponsor’?
For a topic like The Malthusian Economic Prophecy is no longer relevant, you could start by
explaining the definition of the Malthusian Economic Prophecy.
7.3.2c Questions
Asking a question is an impactive way of starting a Group Discussion. It does not signify asking a
question to any of the candidates in a Group Discussion so as to hamper the flow. It implies asking
a question, and answering it yourself. Any question that might hamper the flow of a Group
Discussion or insult a participant or play devil’s advocate must be discouraged. Questions that
promote a flow of ideas are always appreciated. For a topic like, Should India go to war with
Pakistan, you could start by asking, ‘What does war bring to the people of a nation? We have had
four clashes with Pakistan. The pertinent question is: what have we achieved?’
7.3.2d Shock statement

Initiating a Group Discussion with a shocking statement is the best way to grab immediate
attention and put forth your point. If a Group Discussion topic is, The Impact of Population on the
Indian Economy, you could start with, ‘At the centre of the Indian capital stands a population clock
that ticks away relentlessly. It tracks 33 births a minute, 2,000 an hour, 48,000 a day which
calculates to about 12 million every year. That is roughly the size of Australia. As a current political
slogan puts it, ‘Nothing’s impossible when 1 billion Indians work together’.
7.3.2e Facts, figures and statistics

If you decide to initiate your Group Discussion with facts, figure and statistics make sure to quote
them accurately. Approximation is allowed in macro level figures, but micro level figures need to
be correct and accurate. For example, you can say, approximately 70 per cent of the Indian
population stays in rural areas (macro figures, approximation allowed). But you cannot say 30
states of India instead of 28 (micro figures, no approximations).
7.3.2f Short story

Use a short story in a Group Discussion topic like, Attitude is everything. This can be initiated
with, ‘A child once asked a balloon vendor, who was selling helium gas-filled balloons, whether a
blue-coloured balloon will go as high in the sky as a green-coloured balloon. The balloon vendor
told the child, it is not the colour of the balloon but what is inside it that makes it go high.
82 | P a g e
7.3.2g General statement

Use a general statement to put the Group Discussion in proper perspective. For example, if the
topic is, Should Sonia Gandhi be the prime minister of India?, you could start by saying, ‘Before
jumping to conclusions like, ‘Yes, Sonia Gandhi should be’, or ‘No, Sonia Gandhi should not be’,
let’s first find out the qualities one needs to be a good prime minister of India. Then we can
compare these qualities with those that Mrs. Gandhi possesses. This will help us reach the
conclusion in a more objective and effective manner.’
7.3.3 DO’s and DON’Ts of Group Discussion

7.3.3a DO’s
• Listen to others. It is not necessary to initiate a Group Discussion
• Initiate the discussion if you are familiar with the topic
• Intervene if the discussion is turning out to be hostile. (It reflects your leadership)
• Speak to the point without Repeating
• Back your points with Facts and Figures
• Be gentle with your presentation
• Be Natural, Calm and Maintain your Composure
• Be Participative and Reciprocate
• Say ‘Thank You’ before ending your presentation
• Think before you speak
• Say what you feel, without going in “Favour”/“Against”
7.3.3b DON’Ts
• Do not be loud or aggressive
• Do not go overboard with enthusiasm if you are familiar with the topic
• Do not interrupt other speakers
• Do not deprecate other speakers
• Do not speak first if you are unfamiliar with the topic. Grab the opportunity to speak, you
also grab the attention of the examiner and your fellow candidates
• Do not change your opinions
• Do not ask irrelevant questions
• Do not stop abruptly
• Do not get nervous if the previous speakers have presented their points in a better way
• Do not exhibit your emotions
83 | P a g e
7.3.4 Tips:
• If you are a participant always try to be the most key participant.
• Put points firmly and always try to get others support too
• If you find that the discussion is going off the track then never lose an opportunity to bring
it back to stream this is the best point to score max
• Try to keep latest information on the topic
• Be very polite, people may try to provoke you to get more points but try to keep cool
• Most important, don’t wait for your turn to speak when discussion is on. Interrupt politely
if you want to put forward your points
• Last but not the least keeps a tab on the time given for discussion. Score points by
wrapping up the discussion if you feel that the discussion is heating but the time is going
to be over
• During conclusion, do end with the conclusion note. That shows your leadership quality.
References:
• Business Communication, Urmila Rai and S.M. Rai, Himalaya Publications
• Business Communication, RK Madhur, Vikas Publications Pvt Ltd
About the Author:
Dr. R. Suresh Kumar did his MBA and M-Phil from Shivaji University,
Maharashtra and obtained his Ph. D from the same university. He has
more than 15 years of teaching experience and is a pre-placement
trainer for MBA, MCA, B-Tech and B-Pharm students. He is visiting
faculty for AP Productivity Council and also corporate trainer for
various MNCs, Research Centres and Government organizations.
Contact details: drrongala@gmail.com

Dr. R. Suresh Kumar 9948962356, 8008820556
84 | P a g e

How To Become A Researcher PDF

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

How To Become A Researcher PDF

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

HOW TO BECOME

CAFET-INNOVA Technical Society

Registered by Government of Andhra Pradesh under the AP Societies Act. 2001

Copyright © 2011 CAFET-INNOVA Technical Society

“How to become a Researcher?” is an effort to motivate young talent especially

The book is intended to be accessible to under-graduate and post-graduate

Professor D. Venkat Reddy

26th JUNE, 2011

My sincere gratitude also goes to Professor K. Laxminarayana (Project Director

1. What it takes to become a researcher? 1-12

2. Awareness on Paper-presentation 13-24

3. Importance of Technical Programs & Publications 25-34

4. Journal Publishing – An inside story 35-44

5. Research Methodology 45-52

6. Nuts and Bolts of Intellectual Property 53-72

7. Presentation and Interpersonal Skills 73-84

This chapter is meant for

• Students who want to be researchers but don’t know where to start

While the primary audience is to-be

1 Research and Researchers

2.1 Guts to Think and Question

2.2 Guts to challenge existing ideas

2.3 Guts to propose new ideas

Keep the following in mind when you propose new ideas:

2.4 Guts to accept new ideas

Keep the following in mind when accepting new ideas:

2.5 Courage to overcome failure

Keep the following in mind when you face failures in research:

3 The five acts of researcher

Keep the following guidelines in mind when reading textbooks or journals:

Following are some good practices on asking questions:

Following are some good practices on solving the problems:

4 Finding a research guide

About the Author:

Mohammed Abubakr is a physicist and an author of book

He is currently working at Microsoft India as performance

2.1 What is a Paper?

2.1.1 Regulatory / Business

2.1.1a Green Papers

2.1.1b White Papers

2.1.2 Technical / Research

2.1.2a Contributed Papers

2.1.2b Student Papers

2.2a How to write research papers?

2.2a.1 Selection of Topic

2.2a.2 Choice of Co-Author

2.2a.3 Gathering Information

2.2a.4 Segregating Information

2.2a.5 Formatting the Paper

2.2b General Steps for preparing an academic research paper:

2.2b.2 Authors and Affiliation

Name and Details of authors mentioning the department,

Following questions may help to structure the discussion

2.2b.9 References/Literature cited

2.3 Where to submit Papers?

2.3.1 Technical Symposiums

Further details of Technical Symposium can be found in 3.1.1 page-25

Further details of Conferences can be found in 3.2 page-26

Further details of Journals can be found in 3.6 page-31

Further details of Patents can be found in 6.2 page-55

2.4 Benefits of Paper Presentation / Publication

• Distinguished Student / Engineer

Other benefits of paper presentation and publishing include: