EMM5100

Research Methodology

Department of Mechanical & Manufacturing Engineering

Faculty of Engineering
Titles
 Titles
The Importance of Titles
The title of your manuscript is usually the first introduction readers (and reviewers) have
to your work. Therefore, you must select a title that grabs attention, accurately describes
the contents of your manuscript, and makes people want to read further.

An effective title should:

• Convey the main topics of the study
• Highlight the importance of the research
• Be concise
• Attract readers

Writing a good title for your manuscript can be challenging. First, list the topics
covered by the manuscript. Try to put all of the topics together in the title using
as few words as possible. A title that is too long will seem clumsy, annoy
readers, and probably not meet journal requirements.
 Titles
(Contd.)
Example:
Does Vaccinating Children and Adolescents with Inactivated Influenza Virus Inhibit the Spread of
Influenza in Unimmunized Residents of Rural Communities?
This title has too many unnecessary words.

Influenza Vaccination of Children: A Randomized Trial

This title doesn’t give enough information about what makes the manuscript interesting.

Effect of Child Influenza Vaccination on Infection Rates in Rural Communities: A Randomized

Trial
This is an effective title. It is short, easy to understand, and conveys the important aspects of the
research.

Think about why your research will be of interest to other scientists. This should be related to the
reason you decided to study the topic. If your title makes this clear, it will likely attract more
readers to your manuscript.
TIP: Write down a few possible titles, and then select the best to refine further. Ask your
colleagues their opinion. Spending the time needed to do this will result in a better title.
Abstract
 Abstract
 The abstract is your chance to describe your research in 200-300 words – so use it
wisely.
 Together, the title and abstract should be able to fully represent your manuscript/thesis,
including for use by indexing services.
 Many authors write the abstract last, so it reflects the content accurately.
 The abstract should summarize the problem or objective of your research, and its
method, results, and conclusion.
 Usually an abstract doesn’t include references, figures or tables.
 It should mention each significant section of the manuscript/thesis, with enough detail
for readers to decide whether or not to read the whole manuscript/thesis.
 While it’s great to make the abstract interesting, above all it should be accurate. Don’t
promise more than your manuscript/thesis delivers.
 Abstract
(Contd.)

 The abstract should be a concise (200 words or less), standalone summary of

the manuscript/thesis, with 1-2 sentences on each of these topics:
 Background: What issues led to this work? What is the environment that
makes this work interesting or important?
 Aim: What were the goals of this work? What gap is being filled?
 Approach: What went into trying to achieve the aims (e.g. experimental
method, simulation approach, theoretical approach, combination of these,
etc.) What was actually done?
 Results: What were the main results of the study (including numbers, if
appropriate)?
 Conclusion: What were the main conclusions? Why are the results
important? Where will they lead?
 Abstract
(Contd.)

 The abstract should be written for the audience of this journal/thesis: do not
assume too much or too little background with the topic.

 Ensure that all of the information found in the abstract also can be found in the
body of the manuscript/thesis.

 Ensure that the important information of the manuscript/thesis is found in the

abstract.

 Avoid: using the first paragraph of the introduction as an abstract; citation in

the abstract; acronyms (but if used, spell them out); referring to figures or
tables from the body of the paper; use of the first person; use of words like new
or novel, or phrases like in this paper, we report, or will be discussed.
 Abstract
(Contd.)

The Abstract is:

• A summary of the content of the journal manuscript
• A time-saving shortcut for busy researchers
• A guide to the most important parts of your manuscript’s written content

Many readers will only read the Abstract of your manuscript. Therefore, it has to be able
to stand alone. In most cases the abstract is the only part of your article that appears in
indexing databases such as Web of Science or PubMed and so will be the most
accessed part of your article; making a good impression will encourage researchers to
read your full paper.

A well written abstract can also help speed up the peer-review process. During peer
review, referees are usually only sent the abstract when invited to review the paper.
Therefore, the abstract needs to contain enough information about the paper to allow
referees to make a judgement as to whether they have enough expertise to review the
paper and be engaging enough for them to want to review it.
 Abstract
(Contd.)

Your Abstract should answer these questions about your manuscript:

• What was done?
• Why did you do it?
• What did you find?
• Why are these findings useful and important?

Answering these questions lets readers know the most important points about your
study, and helps them decide whether they want to read the rest of the paper. Make
sure you follow the proper journal manuscript formatting guidelines when preparing your
abstract.

TIP: Journals often set a maximum word count for Abstracts, often 250 words, and no
citations. This is to ensure that the full Abstract appears in indexing services.
Laser microwelding has been an essential tool with a reputation of rapidity and
precision for joining miniaturized metal parts. In industrial applications, an accurate
prediction of weld bead geometry is required in automation systems to enhance
productivity of laser microwelding. The present work was conducted to establish an
intelligent algorithm to build a simplified relationship between process parameters and
weld bead geometry that can be easily used to predict the weld bead geometry with a
wide range of process parameters through an artificial neural network (ANN) in laser
microwelding of thin steel sheet. The backpropagation with the Levenberg-Marquardt
training algorithm was used to train the neural network model. The accuracy of neural
network model has been tested by comparing the simulated data with actual data from
the laser microwelding experiments. The predictions of the neural network model
showed excellent agreement with the experimental results, indicating that the neural
network model is a viable means for predicting weld bead geometry. Furthermore, a
comparison was made between the neural network and mathematical model. It was
found that the developed neural network model has better prediction capability
compared to the regression analysis model.
Laser microwelding has been an essential tool with a reputation of rapidity and
precision for joining miniaturized metal parts. In industrial applications, an accurate
prediction of weld bead geometry is required in automation systems to enhance
productivity of laser microwelding. The present work was conducted to establish an
intelligent algorithm to build a simplified relationship between process parameters and
weld bead geometry that can be easily used to predict the weld bead geometry with a
wide range of process parameters through an artificial neural network (ANN) in laser
microwelding of thin steel sheet. The backpropagation with the Levenberg-Marquardt
training algorithm was used to train the neural network model. The accuracy of neural
network model has been tested by comparing the simulated data with actual data from
the laser microwelding experiments. The predictions of the neural network model
showed excellent agreement with the experimental results, indicating that the neural
network model is a viable means for predicting weld bead geometry. Furthermore, a
comparison was made between the neural network and mathematical model. It was
found that the developed neural network model has better prediction capability
compared to the regression analysis model.
Keywords
 Keywords

Keywords are a tool to help indexers and search engines find relevant
papers. If database search engines can find your journal manuscript,
readers will be able to find it too. This will increase the number of people
reading your manuscript, and likely lead to more citations.

However, to be effective, Keywords must be chosen carefully.

They should:
• Represent the content of your manuscript
• Be specific to your field or sub-field
 Keywords
(Contd.)

Manuscript title: Direct observation of nonlinear optics in an isolated

carbon nanotube

Poor keywords: molecule, optics, lasers, energy lifetime

Better keywords: single-molecule interaction, Kerr effect, carbon

nanotubes, energy level structure
 Keywords
(Contd.)

Manuscript title: Region-specific neuronal degeneration after okadaic

acid administration

Poor keywords: neuron, brain, OA (an abbreviation), regional-specific

neuronal degeneration, signaling

Better keywords: neurodegenerative diseases; CA1 region,

hippocampal; okadaic acid; neurotoxins; MAP kinase signaling system;
cell death
 Keywords
(Contd.)

Manuscript title: Increases in levels of sediment transport at former

glacial-interglacial transitions

Poor keywords: climate change, erosion, plant effects

Better keywords: quaternary climate change, soil erosion, bioturbation

PRECISION JOINING OF STEEL-ALUMINUM HYBRID STRUCTURE BY CLINCHING PROCESS

ABSTRACT: Clinching joining has become an alternative technique to conventional spot welding.
This innovative joining technology can reduce the production costs and cycle times, and also
offers a great prospective for a new product design and manufacturing. Without a better
understanding on physical phenomena associated with the clinching process, the correcting
unacceptable clinched joint is extremely costly and impossible for some cases. In this study, the
overlap joining of low carbon steel and aluminum alloy in clinching process was experimentally
and numerically investigated. The tensile-shear strength of overlap-clinched joints was evaluated
by tensile-shear test. This test also was used to study the deformation and failure of clinched
joints under tensile-shear loading. The results showed that the higher press load has a great
influence for achieving better interlocking between steel-aluminum hybrid structures. Insufficient
interlocking and thin neck thickness lead to the failure of clinched joints. It also was confirmed
that the most critical region of the clinching tool located at the radius corner of punch and die.
Development of simplified engineering approaches based on numerical simulation and
correlations with experimental data could be very beneficial to industrial applications.

KEYWORDS: Clinching, Undercut, Necking, FEM, Dissimilar Material

Acknowledgement
 References

o and
o Be
o
o Do not
o Use for journal
 References
(Contd.)

Typically, there are more mistakes in the references than any other part of
the manuscript. It is one of the most annoying problems, and causes
great headaches among editors.
 Cite the main scientific publications on which your work is based.
 Do not over-inflate the manuscript with too many references – it
doesn’t make a better manuscript.
 Avoid excessive self-citations.
 Avoid excessive citations of publications from the same region.
 References
 Make the reference list and the in-text citation conform strictly to the
style given in the Guide for Authors.
 Presentation in the correct format is the responsibility of the author, not
the Editor.

 Checking the format is normally a large job for editors. Make their work
easier and they will appreciate the effort.

 Check the following:

 Spelling of author names, years of publications.
 Usage of et al., and punctuations.
 References
(Contd.)

Journal articles:
• Wahle A, Prause GPM, von Birgelen C, Erbel R, Sonka M (1999) Fusion of
angiography and intravascular ultrasound in vivo: Establishing the absolute 3-D
frame orientation. IEEE Trans Biomed Eng 46:1176-1180.
Books:
• Nichols W, O'Rourke M (1998) McDonald's Blood Flow in Arteries: Theoretic,
Experimental and Clinical Principles. 3rd ed. Lea & Febiger, Philadelphia, pp 54-97.
• South J, Blass B (2001) The Future of Modern Genomics. Blackwell, London, pp 32-
56.
Chapter in Books:
• Hovind HJ (1986) Traumatic birth injuries. In: Raimondi AJ, Choux M, Di Rocco C
(eds) Head Injuries in the Newborn and Infant. Principles of Pediatric Neurosurgery,
Springer, Berlin Heidelberg New York, pp 87-109.
 References
(Contd.)

Article in conference proceedings:

Author (Year) Title of article. In: Editor(s) of proceedings, Conference Name, Publisher,
Place, Pages.
Conference Location and Organization may be used in case Publisher and Place are
not available. Some examples are given here:

• Holzapfel GA, Schulze-Bauer CAJ, Stadler M (2000) Mechanics of angioplasty:

Wall, balloon and stent. In: Casey J, Bao G (eds) Mechanics in Biology. The
American Society of Mechanical Engineers; New York, AMD-Vol. 242/BED-Vol. 46,
pp 141–156

Online document:
• Doe J (1999) Title of subordinate document. In: The dictionary of substances and
their effects. Royal Society of Chemistry. Available via DIALOG.
http://www.rsc.org/dose/title of subordinate document. Accessed 15 Jan 1999
 Language - Long Sentences

Direct and short sentences are preferred.

 Long sentences will not make the writing more professional. They only
confuse readers.

 Nowadays, the average length of sentences in scientific writing is about 12-

17 words.

 It is said that we read one sentence in one breath. Long sentences obstruct
readers.

 One idea or piece of information per sentence is sufficient. Avoid multiple

statements in one sentence.
 Language - Long Sentences
(Contd.)

Problems with long sentences:

 Inappropriate use of passive voice or dummy clauses (e.g. “It has been
found that there had been many…”) makes sentence complex.

 Bad structure of sentences with wrongly used conjunctive words or dangling

modifiers (e.g. “because…, so…”, “Although…, but…”, “considering…, it
is…”).

 Excessive use of subordinate clauses in one sentence (e.g. “It has already
been found that when… there would be… which… while…”).

 Mixing different levels of parallelisms connected by “and” in one sentence.

Language - Repetition & Redundancy
As far as … is As for
concerned At present, or now
At the present time
By
By means of
To
In order to
Since; because
In view of the fact that
Red in colour Red
Small in size Small
Until such time as Until
Adequate enough Adequate
Research work Research, or work
Schematic diagram Scheme, or diagram
...
 What Leads to Acceptance?
Attention to detail
Check and double check your work
Consider the reviews
English must be as good as possible
Presentation is important
Take your time with revision
Acknowledge those who have helped you
New original and previously unpublished
Critically evaluate your own manuscript
Ethical rules must be obeyed