University of Balamand

Faculty of Engineering
Electrical and Computer Department

Advanced Research Analysis

And
Research Methods

Ch9: Report and Presentation

Dr. EL Berbari
1
Fall 2015
Content
I- Writing Report
II- Data representation
III- Making presentation

Dr. EL Berbari
2
Fall 2015
I- WRITING REPORT

Dr. EL Berbari
3
Fall 2015
 The title
• 10-15 words is most common.
• Must be sufficiently specific.

Dr. EL Berbari
4
Fall 2015
 The Abstract – a general guide
• 2 sentences on the wider field – context and
significance.
• 2 sentences on the research method
• 2 sentences on the results and conclusions.

Dr. EL Berbari
5
Fall 2015
 The Abstract – an example
• High speed electronic beam switching is a
desirable feature of smart antennas.

Dr. EL Berbari
6
Fall 2015
 The Abstract – an example
• High speed electronic beam switching is a
desirable feature of smart antennas. Most
smart antennas are too large for most
applications and require significant power
during normal operations.

Dr. EL Berbari
7
Fall 2015
 The Abstract – an example
• High speed electronic beam switching is a
desirable feature of smart antennas. Most
smart antennas are too large for most
applications and require significant power
during normal operations. A thirteen element
switched parasitic antenna was optimised for
gain, speed and beam coverage.

Dr. EL Berbari
8
Fall 2015
 The Abstract – an example
• High speed electronic beam switching is a
desirable feature of smart antennas. Most
smart antennas are too large for most
applications and require significant power
during normal operations. A thirteen element
switched parasitic antenna was optimised for
gain, speed and beam coverage. Antenna
characteristics were determined at 1.8 GHz by
finite element modelling and measurements
on a prototype.

Dr. EL Berbari
9
Fall 2015
 The Abstract – an example
• High speed electronic beam switching is a desirable
feature of smart antennas. Most smart antennas are
too large for most applications and require significant
power during normal operations. A thirteen element
switched parasitic antenna was optimised for gain,
speed and beam coverage. Antenna characteristics
were determined at 1.8 GHz by finite element
modelling and measurements on a prototype. The
antenna had a gain of +9.8 dBi, a footprint of less
than one half wavelength squared and was switched
ion less than 100 ms.

Dr. EL Berbari
10
Fall 2015
 The Abstract – an example
• High speed electronic beam switching is a desirable
feature of smart antennas. Most smart antennas are
too large for most applications and require significant
power during normal operations. A thirteen element
switched parasitic antenna was optimised for gain,
speed and beam coverage. Antenna characteristics
were determined at 1.8 GHz by finite element
modelling and measurements on a prototype. The
antenna had a gain of +9.8 dBi, a footprint of less than
one half wavelength squared and was switched ion less
than 100 ms. This is a better performance compared to
previous antennas.

Dr. EL Berbari
11
Fall 2015
 Scientific writing style
Do’s and Don’ts
• Past tense
• Third person
• Usually timing of events is not included unless
it is essential to data collection.
• Sections and subsections (one level? two
level? three level?).
• Quotes from other authors – not common!

Dr. EL Berbari
12
Fall 2015
 Creating equations
• There are standard symbols for quantities (eg V=IR).
• There are standard forms for scalar symbols (often
lower case, italics, not-bold) and vector symbols
(upper-case, bold).
• The symbols must be the same font on every
occasion used in the equations and in the main text.
• All symbols must be defined.
• MS Equation editor allows for equation creation.
• There are standard upper-case and lower-case type
settings.

Dr. EL Berbari
13
Fall 2015
II- DATA PRESENTATION

Dr. EL Berbari
14
Fall 2015
 Types of Data
• Quantitative data (numerical)
– Integers (eg animal counts, packets received, bit
error rate)
– Non-integers (eg analog sensor output)
• Qualitative data (descriptive words)
• Binary data (yes/no, success/failure,
present/absent etc)
• Scalar information (1D, 2D, 3D, nD)
• Vector information (1D, 2D, 3D, nD)
Dr. EL Berbari
15
Fall 2015
 Quantitative Data
• Kelvin’s First Law of Measurement: “The
measurement must not alter the event being
measured”.
– Microwave current measurements?
– The impedance of an antenna?

Dr. EL Berbari
16
Fall 2015
 Data Presentation
• Plots (2D and 3D), histograms, pie charts, tables of numbers.
• Printed papers usually black and white (lines distinguished by
dots, dashes, ellipse, legend etc)
• Colour in power point slides and web publishing.
• For comparison plot more than one data set on the same
graph using the same scale.
• Images and flow charts.
• Interpolation and extrapolation.
• Curve fitting (covered in later lectures)
• Contour plots.

Dr. EL Berbari
17
Fall 2015
 Plotting and analysis tools
• MS EXCEL (Chart Wizard - 4 steps)
• Matlab (plot, subplot, contour, quiver, etc)

Dr. EL Berbari
18
Fall 2015
 Graphing Guidelines
• Always plot discrete points clearly.
• Do not join points unless you have a
continuous mathematical function.
• To compare data plot several lines on the
same axes.
• Consider including error bars on all points

Dr. EL Berbari
19
Fall 2015
 3.5
3
2.5

Voltage (mV)
2
1.5
1
0.5
0
0 2 4 6 8 10 12
Time (secs)
3.5
3

X
2.5
Voltage (mV)

3.5
2
3

X
1.5
2.5
Voltage (mV)
1
2
0.5
1.5
0
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 1

Time (secs) 0.5

0
0 2 4 6 8 10 12
Time (secs)

Dr. EL Berbari
20
Fall 2015
 8

Matlab scalar 2D plots 7

6
50

5
40

30 4

20
3

10
8 2
6 8
4 6
4 1
2 2 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
0 0
contourf: Filled 2D contour plot
surf: 3D shaded surf plot
1

2
50

3
40

4
30
5
20
6

10
8 7
6 8
4 6
8
4
2 2
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
0
mesh: create mesh plot Image: display 2D image object
Dr. EL Berbari
21
Fall 2015
 Matlab vector 2D plots
Quiver: velocity plot
8

North-south 5

(metres)
4

1
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

East-west (metres)

Dr. EL Berbari
22
Fall 2015
 Qualitative Data
• This can be a challenge as everyone will use a
different description.
• One approach is to convert qualitative data to
quantitative data (eg rate from very bad to
very good on a score of 1 to 10).

Dr. EL Berbari
23
Fall 2015
 Decision Matrix
Delivery Total
Vehicle Cost Size Warranty time Comfort Score

Mazda 3 6 8 7 8 8 37

Mazda 2 8 6 7 7 6 34

Ford
Focus 6 7 7 8 7 35
Honda 6 6 5 6 5 28

Toyota
Camry 4 8 6 7 8 33
VW 2 6 5 3 7 23
Dr. EL Berbari
Fall 2015 Copyright: David Thiel 2009
 Decision Matrix - Histogram
Score
40
35 Mazda 3
30
Mazda 2
25
Ford Focus
20
Honda
15
Toyota Camry
10
5 VW
0
st ze ty e rt re
o i n tim fo o
C S rra m Sc
a ry o
W liv
e C t al
De To

Survey Questions
Dr. EL Berbari
25
Fall 2015
 Data Collection
• Asking the right questions without leading the
person (survey instruments - questionaires).
• Use redundant questions that always need a
positive response (discussed in a later lecture).
• Survey results (Is 35% return good enough?).

Dr. EL Berbari
26
Fall 2015
Flow Charts (MS Word)
Initiate equipment

Yes/No?

Stop process

Dr. EL Berbari
27
Fall 2015
 Activity
• Plotting analysis using MS eXcel.
• Flow chart using MS word.

Dr. EL Berbari
28
Fall 2015
Dr. EL Berbari
29
Fall 2015
III- Making a Presentation

Dr. EL Berbari
30
Fall 2015
 Preparing a Power Point Presentation

• Maximum number of slides – one per minute!

• Optimal number of slides – one per 2 minutes
• Use slides as a reminder of what you will say.
• During your presentation, do not read what is
on the slides.
• 100 words maximum on each slide.

Dr. EL Berbari
31
Fall 2015
• Font size? (large!)
• Graphs? (large!)
• Colours? (clearly distinguishable, high contrast,
minimal background colour – not dark)
• Movies? (check on the presentation computer before
your talk – usually they don’t work!)
• Pictures? (not too dark)
• Lighting? (Keep the room lights up so you can see the
audience)

Dr. EL Berbari
32
Fall 2015
 Images
• You MUST acknowledge the source of image if
it is not yours including
– MS word image library (in this presentation)
– Pictures taken from web sites
– Pictures taken from colleagues
– Graphs taken from papers etc
– From collaborating part

Dr. EL Berbari
33
Fall 2015
 Organisation: 10 minute talk
• Title slide (Name and affiliation) 1
• Outline slide (Major sections) 1
• Introduction (Wider research context) 1
• Main text (method, apparatus, results) 4-6
• Conclusions 1
• References 1

Dr. EL Berbari
34
Fall 2015
 Nervous?
Hints for overcoming nervousness:
• Memorise the first 2-3 sentences (opening
sentences).
• Make sure you have key words on your power
point to trigger your memory.
• Do not start speaking until the title slide is
visible to the audience.

Dr. EL Berbari
35
Fall 2015
 Being Polite! Before you speak
• Introduce yourself to the session chair before
the session starts.
• Load your presentation before the session
starts.
• Wait for the chair to introduce you before you
speak.
• Switch off your mobile telephone.

Dr. EL Berbari
36
Fall 2015
 Being Polite! During your talk
• Thank the chairperson for the introduction.
• Speak clearly
• Pretend you are talking to the back row of seats in
the room (project your voice).
• Acknowledge your co-authors in Slide 1.
• Rigidly stick to the allocated presentation time.
• Clearly indicate the presentation is finished by a slide
and say “thank you” to the audience.
• Do not invite questions from the audience. (This is
the role of the chair person)
Dr. EL Berbari
37
Fall 2015
 Being Polite! After your talk
• Go quickly back to your seat.
• Do not discuss your paper with others during
the next talk.
• If necessary, leave the room (politely – do not
slam the door).
• Once the session is complete, thank the chair
person.

Dr. EL Berbari
38
Fall 2015
 Why References?
• For scientific rigour.
• In case someone in the audience has made a
major contribution to the field.
• So the audience can follow up on your
previous publications.

Dr. EL Berbari
39
Fall 2015