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The Art of Developing an Academic Paper

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DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.22853.40165

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 30/07/2019

Science of Research No. 6 Outline

 Philosophy for academic writing
 The Art of Developing an Academic Paper
 The Art of Using Microsoft Word to develop journal paper.
The Art of Developing an Academic  Techniques for improving the academic writing.
Paper  Science of Research
 Read: Sun Z (2017) Science of Research, BAIS No. 17006, Research
Centre of Big Data Analytics and Intelligent Systems, PNG UoT. DOI:
10.13140/RG.2.2.15233.15204 at
Prof. Dr Zhaohao Sun, PhD
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Zhaohao_Sun
Department of Business Studies
PNG University of Technology, Lae, PNG
Phone: +675 473 4406
Email: zhaohao.sun@gmail.com (private)

2 © Prof. Dr Zhaohao Sun, PNG University of Technology 2019

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Motivation Research points of A University

 Some scholars have not learn how to design  Peer reviewed article in listed Js (ERA, ISA, SCOPUS, JSTOR) 10
template in writing  Peer reviewed article in a non-listed journal 6
 Peer reviewed conference paper (up to 21 points) 3
 Many universities encourage to publish papers  Book chapters in professional edited book 3
 This motivated me to develop  Single or Co-authored academic text book 4
Methodology of Academic Writing  Peer reviewed Research Monograph 8
Science of Research  Our University encourages us to publish journal articles rather than
any kind of books
The former is a part of the latter  Unitech shows its great generosity, because it has not used any
The Art of Developing an Academic Paper ranking system to force us to publish top level journal paper.
 However this is coming (ISI SCI, SCOPUS and ERA, ….)
 Ref: RECOMMENDED CRITERIA FOR MEASURING RESEARCH OUTPUT THROUGH
SCHOLARLY PUBLICATIONS, PNG Unitech, 2018

3 © Prof. Dr Zhaohao Sun, PNG University of Technology 2019 4 © Prof. Dr Zhaohao Sun, PNG University of Technology 2019

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Philosophy for Academic Writing Research as a Search (RaaS)

1. Looks good, all good  1. visit https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page to know the related
 template and its design. information for your topic, also to use it as references
2. Everything can be improved  2. visit http://www.wikicfp.com/cfp/ to detail or refine your topic
 3. visit https://scholar.google.com.au/ or
 Attitude for development of academic writing https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Zhaohao_Sun to get scholar
(including journal paper) articles for your research,
3. End good, all good  4. visit https://www.google.com.au/?gws_rd=ssl get more
information, including organisations information
 You will be happy when you get your paper published
 5. visit
 First of all: do everything following academic rules https://www.google.com.au/imghp?hl=en&tab=wi&authuser=0 to get
 Learn from academic rules, learning by examples. model or framework or tables or images for your development
 6. visit https://www.youtube.com/ to get video information of the
 Learning as a search
related topic or organisation.
 This can not be done easily by everyone  This is an iterative and incremental process of Research as a search

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How to draft papers Dialectics of Write and Read

 Forward (chaining) development  Reading is important.
From text development to references Reading and thinking are simultaneous
Publish in order to read Reading without thinking is ineffective reading.
 Backward (chaining) development: From references  学而不思则罔
to text development  Writing is more important
Read and learn in order to publish
Whenever I write, I find that my reading is not
Goal-driven working style.
enough.
Google (scholar) searches papers as references
Reading in order to write is an effective reading.
Citation information (attribution): intellectual properties
 思而不写则殆 (Sun Z 10 08 16)
reading, thinking, writing in a parallel, simultaneously,
iteratively Writing is thinking.

7 © Prof. Dr Zhaohao Sun, PNG University of Technology 2019 8 © Prof. Dr Zhaohao Sun, PNG University of Technology 2019

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Science of Research Methodology

An example can lead to a science

 Template: a unified way of writing
 A case study can lead to a theory
 A proof can lead to a top journal paper  High quality of references and its management
 A counterexample can overthrow an existing theory  High quality of citation and cross-references
 A story can lead to a book
 Write professionally
 A approach can lead to an industry
 A formula can lead to a world class company (Dupont, Google)
 An idea can rich a country, industry, family and individual and found a
research field or discipline (McKinsey & Company)
 Research is the process of transforming from the former of each of
the above mentioned to the latter of that mentioned. Research
science aims to scientific investigation into these processes.

9 © Prof. Dr Zhaohao Sun, PNG University of Technology 2019 10 © Prof. Dr Zhaohao Sun, PNG University of Technology 2019

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High quality of references and its

Template management
 Template first, the most important  Use Microsoft Word references/manage sources
Writing without template is a product without quality To realize a unified management for all the references
standard one used for his or her academic writing
 Realization of “Looks good, all good” A personal digital library or bibliography
 Template provided by CFP of international journals, Replacement of EndNote
conferences or publishers  One must comply with
 Templates for CS and IT Search, get and put the references in manage sources
 Template of ACM, IEEE, AIS (ACIS2017), Springer Reading, writing, thinking and referencing in a parallel
LNCS or LNAI of Springer way, simultaneously, iteratively
 Self-design template based on the CFP of Journals or  My own experience: a book corresponds to an xml file
Conferences. of manage sources of references-Have a look

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High High quality of references High quality of citation and cross-references

 High quality of citation and cross-references avoids
 List of references should be up-to-date : If all references
are somewhat old (5 years ago)
plagiarism.
The better, the more away from plagiarism
 A simple Googling by a referee shows that there are later
papers on the same topic which were not mentioned by  Cross-references (as precise as possible: when write
the authors, this is not a good sign. design in chapter 3 see section 2.3 )
 It is the authors’ responsibility to show how what they are  Referencing or insert citation at paragraph level.
doing is better than what was done before. One important statement must have at least one
 (Kreinovich, 040416) emailed to to BISC citation; a few referencing is better
More citations and referencing should be occurred in
some sentences and paragraph.
Pervasive occurrences of Referencing or insert citation
in the text

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Good Distribution of References/Academic

Paper Cross-References
 Molecular biology/biochemistry papers contain about 45  R/S used to verify what level approach you have used
R/S (local, national, international, website)
 Math papers contain 15 R/S
 R/S used to not violate the copyright law.
 Every ISI publication contains about 23 R/S
 Publications := B + BP + CP + JP + TP; B:= M + MA  R/S used to tell others that my idea is motivated and
 References should have a good distributions in the terms developed based on this R.
of books, journal papers, conference papers, TRs and  Cross-reference design must be parallel to
Websites. development of your manuscript.
 Extremist viewpoint: One cannot rely on no refereed Whenever you draft your manuscript, develop your
articles, even abstract are quite useless, whereas I do not
cross-reference using the special tools of publishing
agree with it completely
software (Word, EndNote, FrameMaker)

15 © Prof. Dr Zhaohao Sun, PNG University of Technology 2019 16 © Prof. Dr Zhaohao Sun, PNG University of Technology 2019

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How to Write Professionally Using Microsoft Word Write Professionally

 Order is important,  How to write title
 First click heading-x then write,  How to write abstract
 First click format (e.g.) then write  How to write introduction
 First click reference or citation, then referencing  How to write literature review
 If an action has been repeated often, please think  How to write “related work and discussion”
about using automated methods.  How to write conclusion
 Order is a part of rules.
 Learning rules of writing using MS Word always.

17 © Prof. Dr Zhaohao Sun, PNG University of Technology 2019 18 © Prof. Dr Zhaohao Sun, PNG University of Technology 2019

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How to write title How to write abstract

 Title should be written in title style  An abstract is a short summary of your completed
 Title should be written less than 20 words research. If done well, it attracts the reader to learn more
about your research (Berkeley, 2003).
The more concise, the better
 An Abstract consists of
 Title should have a certain fuzziness  1. Significance, (why?)
rather than in a relative long text  2. Research questions (what?),
Fuzziness is a kind of beauty  3. What you plan to do, (How?)
 4. Research results or findings,
 5. Impact of research (where impact).
 Each points consists 1-2 sentences. Normally an abstract
consists of 100, 150, 200 words respectively.
 Meet the word count limitation!

19 © Prof. Dr Zhaohao Sun, PNG University of Technology 2019 20 © Prof. Dr Zhaohao Sun, PNG University of Technology 2019

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How to write introduction Elements in Introduction

 There are some important things you need to do in
 The introduction is a key element in the structure of your
report or article.
the introduction (Monash, 2012-1):
define what you are going to talk about.
 Pull audience and ask them to listen/read to what you will
say or write after reading your abstract and the audience background information necessary to their
has interest in it. understanding.
 Its relationship with abstract show what you are trying to do with your topic - your
 It is the extension of abstract direction.
 The abstract focuses on what, how, and where or statements, show what you are going to cover (and what you're
whereas introduction focuses argumentation or proof what you not, if need be).
mentioned in abstract through brief literature reviews or
motivation. Basic organisation of your work.
 Some literature review here are necessary.

21 © Prof. Dr Zhaohao Sun, PNG University of Technology 2019 22 © Prof. Dr Zhaohao Sun, PNG University of Technology 2019

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Organisation of Introduction The introduction of the paper

 Introduction is normally organised  It must explicitly address the following questions in
Significance and Motivation succinct and informal manner:
 (based on literature review briefly) Why is the problem important?
Define variable and then use it- art of programming What is the problem?
Research problems (based on literature review briefly) What has been done so far on the problem?
 Normally 1-3 research questions  What is the main contribution of the paper on the
How to address these questions, what is your research problem?
results Why is the contribution original? (see below for
Impact of your research results. clarification)
How to organise your research [a lot of scholars have  Why is the contribution non-trivial?
ignored this point]

23 © Prof. Dr Zhaohao Sun, PNG University of Technology 2019 24 © Prof. Dr Zhaohao Sun, PNG University of Technology 2019

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The introduction of the paper (Cont) Introduction: a place for rejection

 If this paper extends a conference paper, how is the  Reason
journal paper different from the “Introduction is too concise and does not include the
 conference paper. real motivation and objectives of the paper” a paper
 The results, already published in the conference paper, for JIFS
will be still counted as an original result for JSC refereeing No organized structure for the paper.
process. if
 Al Make it complete
 l the related works and issues must be completely and
carefully discussed.
 All the previous relevant papers must be properly cited and
discussed.
 All the important definitions/theorems/algorithms must be
illustrated by well chosen examples.
25 © Prof. Dr Zhaohao Sun, PNG University of Technology 2019 26 © Prof. Dr Zhaohao Sun, PNG University of Technology 2019

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How to write literature review Organisation of Literature Review

 The functions of literature review  Literature review consists of
focuses on previous research and find the right 1. Reading,
conclusions and weakness of the research. 2. What are the main findings of the reference,
through the weakness you should point out the issues 3. Comments to the reference, and find its weakness
or research questions. 4. Your idea development or verification.
Convince others you are standing on the shoulder of
 You should use backward reasoning to conduct
giants or scholar guru
Literature review (4, 1, 2, 3) (Sun 050813, 040817,
 show how your study fills the gap. 230719).

27 © Prof. Dr Zhaohao Sun, PNG University of Technology 2019 28 © Prof. Dr Zhaohao Sun, PNG University of Technology 2019

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How to write main sections of the paper How to write conclusion

 Write them logically with referencing like a waterfall from  The conclusion is also a key element in the structure of
mountain. your report or article. When you finish writing, leave
 Write them systematically taking into account system yourself time to stand back from your report or article so
networks and interrelationships you can get some perspective on it. Read the whole thing
Use Boolean structure to develop the interrelationships through again, making notes before you start the
conclusion (Monash, 2012-2).
 Use tables and diagrams to make your arguments
attractive  The conclusion of many research articles also include
future (research) work as the final part of the conclusion.

29 © Prof. Dr Zhaohao Sun, PNG University of Technology 2019 30 © Prof. Dr Zhaohao Sun, PNG University of Technology 2019

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Organisation of conclusion Market-driven Research

 There are some important things you need to do in  IDC, McKinsey, and Gartner and Forrester are
the conclusion (Monash, 2012-2): influencing ICT, business and management
link it to the rest of your report. development
highlight the significant elements from your report  CFPs of International Journals, Conferences and
(from both parts). Books are important market for research.
draw out the main points you want to make about the  AI is a market-driven research area.
topic - and make them at a general level.
 If you agree, you are using backward chaining
avoid introducing new material. method to undertake research, starting from market.
 Market here is publication or product or service or
presentation.

31 © Prof. Dr Zhaohao Sun, PNG University of Technology 2019 32 © Prof. Dr Zhaohao Sun, PNG University of Technology 2019

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Academic Integrity Far Away from Plagiarism and beyond

 Do not copy work that is not yours. Do not allow others to
 Ghostwriting or contract cheating are unethical. copy your work.
 Turnitin is an anti-plagiarism software that has been  Acknowledge and make references to sources from other
used by universities and organisations. people’s work if using them.
It can search a variety of online and academic content,  In order to avoid plagiarism, one is advised to establish a
to check one’s research work profile in Researchgate.net, and publish his or her
 How can understand the following research as a “Preprint” to get the review from the
 https://scholarlyoa.com/
researchers in the world.
 Scholarly open access  The more one cites, the less one plagiarizes, the farther
 Beall’s List of Predatory Publishers 2016 away one leaves from plagiarism
 https://scholarlyoa.com/2016/01/05/bealls-list-of-predatory-
publishers-2016/#more-6533

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PRINCIPLES OF CITATION & REFERENCING Conclusion

 A citation is a reference to a published or unpublished  Any publication of your research means
source (not always the original source).  1. you have systematized one of your ideas and your
 Citation content can vary depending on the type of thoughts,
source and may include some of the following types; 2. You have improved your teaching/research because
 Book: author(s), book title, publisher, date of publication, and of your publication.
page number(s) if appropriate 3. You have made some contributions to the civilization
 Journal: author(s), article title, journal title, date of publication, of human being.
and page number(s).
 Newspaper: author(s), article title, name of newspaper, section
Only these three are the most important for human
title and page number(s) if desired, date of publication. being.
 Web site: author(s), article and publication title where  This is also the encouragement to us to publish
appropriate, as well as a URL, and a date when the site was academically.
accessed.

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References
 Sun Z (2018) How to use Microsoft Word to Develop a Journal Paper,
 Thank you for your patience and time Researchgate.net.
 Berkeley, HOW TO WRITE AN ABSTRACT: Links and Tips
http://research.berkeley.edu/ucday/abstract.html
 Questions?  Philip Koopman (1997), Carnegie Mellon University
http://www.ece.cmu.edu/~koopman/essays/abstract.html
 Monash University for students writing
 Sun Z (2015) Research Methodology of IT and IS -160813-I.docx
 Sun Z (2015) Methodology of Publishing Academically for Academia,
PNG UoT
 Sun Z (2011) Research Methodology of Computing. Hebei Normal
University, China
 Sun Z (2011) Methodology of Publishing academically, PNG University
of Technology, May 2015

37 © Prof. Dr Zhaohao Sun, PNG University of Technology 2019 38 © Prof. Dr Zhaohao Sun, PNG University of Technology 2019

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Index of Journal of Information Systems DBLP, INSPEC, ISI: Important indices

 http://lamp.infosys.deakin.edu.au/journals/?page=su  Important indices for academic publications and
ggestion research activities
 DBLP: http://www.informatik.uni-trier.de/~ley/db/index.html
 INSPEC: http://www.iee.org/Publish/INSPEC/
 ISI: http://www.isinet.com/products/citation/sci/
Web of Knowledge
Web of Science
 ACM portal
 ACM Turing Awards (winners)
 http://www.acm.org/awards/taward.html

39 © Prof. Dr Zhaohao Sun, PNG University of Technology 2019 40 © Prof. Dr Zhaohao Sun, PNG University of Technology 2019

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Scopus, Clarivate Analytics, and Google Scholars Guidelines for Using Graphs
 Scopus: European standard  Further guidelines for using graphs are
 Clarivate Analytics (from ISI (SCI)), USA standard Include a key to indicate differently colored lines,
 Google Scholars: global standard shaded bars, or crosshatched areas
If your research has been cited by Google scholar, then
your research is a genuine research. One likes to say.

41 © Prof. Dr Zhaohao Sun, PNG University of Technology 2019 42 © Prof. Dr Zhaohao Sun, PNG University of Technology 2019

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Types of Graphs
 Line graphs
 Column charts
 Bar charts
 Pie charts

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