Tips for writing a good research paper for top research and scientific journals

2009 SEPTEMBER 22

by Zahid tags: Advises, M.Tech, PhD, Research

Writing a good research paper that get acceptance in top tire journals like IEEE Transaction, Elsevier and Springer publication is a difficult task. As these journals follow a strict blind review process and need a clear and significant contribution and a research flavor. Most of the students usually do a great work during their B.Tech, M.Tech or MCA projects but due to lack of understanding and guidance of writing a good research paper make their efforts go unrecognized and appreciated by the research and academic communities. This post gives a list of basic ingredients and basic structure for a good research paper in Engineering. This structure can also benefit in writing research papers in science and management too. There are six basic elements of a research paper. They are, Abstract, Overview and problem statement, Literature survey, Proposed method, Experimental data analysis and results, Conclusion and References. A good research paper is a combination of these sections, where every section is written as best as it should be.

Abstract: it gives concise information about the paper. Usually it consist of six to seven short sentences and of 150~200 words. A good Abstract includes a statement about problem, proposed solution, and a statement about the datasets and results. A final statement that addresses the contribution of the paper to the relevant field of research. Make this very simple precise and understandable, as readers will decided to read complete paper or not after reading Abstract. Overview and Problem Statement: This section consists of several paragraphs. This section addresses the problem domain (field or area), its importance and applications. Solving an important problem with good application will usually lead to a good paper. The best practice is to make this section simple clear and easy to understand. If possible try to add references each statement addressing the importance and application. Literature survey: This section contains information about the existing methods available to solve the same problem or related problems. A good literature survey usually contains a comprehensive and exhaustive list of methods used in past, their advantages and disadvantages and their applications. Proposed Method: This section and results are heart of the paper. Every minute detail about the proposed method need be explained in this section. It is better to writ this section considering that you are writing it for a person who doesnt know anything about the field and you need to explain him the solution. Experimental data analysis and results: This section contains information about experimental data generation or

collection and its properties. Application of data to proposed and other existing methods and a deep analysis of result and their validation make this as an ideal section. Conclusions: A good conclusion to the paper usually contain two to three paragraphs mentioning the superior properties of the proposed solution compared to existing methods and state its significance in the field with useful applications. References: these research papers published in journals or conferences and relevant to the research work being written for the publications. Make sure that the format given by the journal is followed for all references and all of them are cited in the paper.

Writing a research paper for conference:Basic sturcture and contents

2009 SEPTEMBER 23

by Zahid tags: Advises, B.Tech, M.Tech, PhD, Research

The earlier post on writing a good journal paper gives a basic structure for writing a good research paper and this post gives important differences between a conference and journal paper and how write a good conference paper. During my PhD I applied a simple strategy for writing

conference papers. Whenever I decided to write a research paper, I started with a journal paper in my mind. Most of my conference papers are either shorter version with fewer results of my journal papers or the initial ideas and results. This makes a really ideal research paper for conferences. The following work related to research can be published in conferences.

A new idea with some results Implementation and results of a research paper with availability for testing An idea with strong theoretical support and evidence Implementation of different methods and their comparisons

Any B.Tech, M.Tech, or PhD project work falls in any of the above categories, the work can be worth publishing and useful for other researchers. The basic structure of research paper for journal and conferences is almost same, on can add few more sections or subsection based on requirements. As the length of the very restricted in conferences, every section need to well restricted. Abstract: It will be same as a journal paper abstract. Overview and problem statement: With a brief introduction to the problem a precise problem statement and its application should be written. Additional supportive information should be avoided. Literature Survey: This section either can be avoided or can be merged with Overview and problem statement section. Instead of giving an exhaustive survey of methods,

it is better to cover only few important and frequently used methods in survey. Proposed method: This most important part of the paper. Give all important details, assumptions and working of proposed method without going into minute detail of each and every step. Experimental data and results: In this section give brief information about the data sets used and their properties. Results of proposed method after applying different data set to it must me added. Comparing with other methods can optional but adding them will definitely strengthen acceptability of the paper. Conclusion: write a conclusion to paper stating the contribution, superiority of solution and its applications in one or two paragraphs. References: usually there are 10~15 references are ideal in case of conference paper. Depending on requirement the number may change. These just guide lines for research papers in engineering. Few different sections may be added or replaced while writing science and management papers.