Module 2

Part 1: Literature Review and Technical Reading

Part 2: Attributions & Citations
Literature Review and Technical Reading
• To know the use of
content/ideas/approaches in the
literature to correctly identify the
problem that is vaguely known
beforehand.
• To advocate a specific approach adopted
to understanding the problem, and to
access the choice of methods used.
• Helps the researcher understand clearly
that the research to be undertaken
would contribute something new and
innovative.
New and Existing Knowledge
• New knowledge in research can
only be interpreted within the
context of what is already known
• Cannot exist without the
foundation of existing knowledge.
• Existing knowledge is needed to
make the case that there is a
problem and that it is important.
Features of a Research Paper
• Abstract
• Research question/Hypothesis/Aims
• Literature Review
• Presentation of findings
• Analysis of Interpretation
• Limitations
• Recommendations
• Conclusion
• References
Literature Review is ‘NOT’
• An annotated bibliography
• A list of unrelated sources
• An argument about the importance
of your research
Purpose of Literature Review
• Attain a good knowledge of the field
of inquiry – facts, scholars, etc.
• Methodologies common to the field.
• Proposed research is really needed.
• Helps to narrow a problem.
• Generation of hypothesis, RQs or
questions for further studies.
• Commence a long-term study of
interest.
The Process
Importance of Literature Review
• Identification of a research problem & development or refinement of
research question.
• Generation of useful research questions or projects/activities for the
discipline.
• Orientation to what is known & what is unknown about an area of
inquiry to ascertain what research can best contribute to knowledge.
• Determination of any gaps or inconsistencies in a body of knowledge.
• Discovery of unanswered questions about subjects, concepts or
problems.
• Helps in planning methodology of present research study.
Sources of Literature Review
A good literature survey is typically a two-
step process
• Identify the major topics or subtopics
or concepts relevant to the subject
under consideration.
• Place the citation of the relevant
source (article/patent/website/data,
etc.) in the correct category of the
concept/topic/subtopic (with the help
of a , for example).
 Analysis and Synthesis of Prior Art
Topic Source 1 Source 2 … Source M
A researcher should analyze the relevant
information ascertained in Table by undertaking the Topic 1
following steps:
• Understanding the hypothesis Topic 2
• Understanding the models and the experimental
conditions used …
• Making connections
…
• Comparing and contrasting the various
information Topic N
• Finding out the strong points and the loopholes.
 Bibliographic Databases
Web of Science

• Multiple database
• Good search tool
• Requires Institutional License
• Provides most reliable, integrated,
multidisciplinary research
• Maintained by Clarivate Analytics
Bibliographic Databases
Google Scholar

Google
• “Black box” of information. It searches everything on the Internet, with no
quality control
• There are limited search functionality and refinement options.
Google Scholar
• Some of the results are not actually scholarly. An article may look scholarly
at first glance, but is not a good source upon further inspection.
• It is not comprehensive. Some publishers do not make their content
available to Google Scholar.
• There is limited search functionality and refinement options.
Effective Search
• Should use all search tools for comprehensive search
• No one place or one source exists that will provide all the information
one needs
• Some information is only available in print
• Searching is an iterative process:
• Experiment with different keywords and operators
• Evaluate and assess results, use filters
• Modify the search as needed
• When relevant articles are found, look at their citations and references.
• After the search is complete, the researcher needs to engage in
critical and thorough reading, making observation of the salient
points in those sources, and summarize the findings.
• A detailed comparison and contrast of the findings is also required to
be done.
• This entire process may be needed to be done multiple times.
Technical Reading
• Finding the right work to read • Skimming process - title and
can be difficult. keywords
• Rely on refereed journals and • Abstract – Overview of paper
books published by reputed • Conclusion – Relevance
publishers. • Figures, tables & captions
• Useful to adopt a quick, IF PAPER is of INTEREST
purposeful, and useful way of • Delve into introduction –
reading. background information
• Rereading the paper multiple • Results & Discussions – Heart of
times. paper
• Experimental setup/modelling
Conceptualizing Research (research
Objectives)
• Characteristics of a research • Conceptualizing Research (For PhD)
objective • Know all the literature in the field
• Must have new knowledge at the • Continually read literature to
center • Identify significant problem
• Must be accepted by the • Knowledge that will address it
community of other researchers • Possible way to make new
and recognized as significant knowledge.
• Should be solvable or achievable
• Conceptualizing Research (For PG)
• Needs help of supervisor who is
already an expert.
Critical and Creative Reading
Critical Process
• not be under the assumption that reported results or arguments are correct
• Be suspicious and ask appropriate questions
• Right problem? Simpler solutions? Limitations? Missing links? Assumptions reasonable? Logical
flow? Flaw in the reasoning?
• Judgemental approach
• Flexibility to discard previous erroneous judgments
• Critical reading is relatively easy
Reading Creatively is harder
• look for other applications, interesting generalizations, or extended work which the authors might have
missed
• Plausible modifications
• One might be able to decipher properly if one would like to start researching an extended part of this work,
and what should be the immediate next aspect to focus upon.
Taking Notes While Reading
• Good reading skills – Good writing skills
• Bridge between reading & writing –
Taking notes (during & shortly after)
• Papers or digital tool (aggregator)
• Highlights for later use (definitions,
explanations, and concepts)
• Summary of the paper
• New contributions/Ideas
Reading Mathematics and Algorithms
• Mathematics is often the foundation
of new advances
• Cannot avoid mathematical
derivations or proofs
• Heart of any technical paper
• Avoid skimming them
• Develop sound understanding about
the problem
Reading a Datasheet
• Instruction manuals for electronic components
• Enable a researcher to design a circuit or debug any given circuit with
that component
• Summarizes a part’s function, features, basic specifications, functional
block diagram
• Mechanical and civil engineers would need to read drawings
Part 2: Attributions &
Citations
Citing & Referencing - Giving Credit Wherever
Due
• Citing is the practice of quoting from, referring to other authors’
works and ideas in the text of our work in such a way that the context
is clear to the reader.
• Referencing is the listing of the full publication details of a published
work that is cited so as to give background information to the readers.
Citations: Functions and Attributes
• credit others for their work
• allows the readers to trace the source publication
• Any portion of someone else’s work or ideas in papers, patents, or
presentations must be used in any new document only by clearly citing
the source
• applies to all forms of written sources (texts, images, sounds)
• failure to do may be considered plagiarism
• should learn exactly what to cite
• connection is established between the new and previous work
• help the readers to verify the quality and importance of the new work
and justification of the findings
Cont…
• way to tell readers that certain material in the researcher’s present work
• ethical responsibility
• journal papers, conference proceeding, books, theses, newspaper articles,
websites, or other online resources and personal communication – Can be cited
• given at the end of a sentence or the end of a paragraph
• Eg. Citation must contain enough details so that readers can easily find the
referenced material [1].
• A researcher needs to cite each source twice:
• in-text citation, in the text of the article exactly where the source is quoted or
paraphrased
• in the references
Cont..
• citation styles
• date the source was published – important to mention
• LaTeX – automatically formats documents – effective to track &
update citations
• Functions of Citations
• Verification function
• Acknowledgment function
• Documentation function
Citations
• Currency that authors would wish to accumulate
• Credit – technical community gives for their contributions
• Honor those who initiated the ideas
• Acknowledge ownership of ideas
• Indicate significance of the work
References that do not fulfil the goal of citations
• Spurious citations
• Inappropriate credit
• Do not add any value
• Loss of time for reader
• Biased citations
• Citing works of friends/colleagues
• Not citing genuine work
• Neglect of citations
• Self-citations
• Helpful & ethical only if relevant to present work
• Could be spurious, biased or both
• Coercive citations (Persuading)
• Impact factor – method of quantification of research
• Editors – indulge in coercion
Impact of Title and Keywords on Citations
• Title - most important attribute
• Indication of research area
• Important role in marketing – makes research papers traceable
• Good title – Informative, gains attention
• Influences the download count
• Aspects that provide behaviour to the title
• Types of title
• Length of title
• Presence of specific markers
 Knowledge Flow Through Citation
• Knowledge flows through
verbal communications, books,
documents, video, audio, and
images.
• In engineering research,
knowledge flow is primarily in
the form of books, thesis,
articles, patents, and reports.
• Citing a source is important for
transmission of knowledge
from previous work to an
innovation.
Citing Datasets
Styles for Citation
• ASCE style (American Society of Civil Engineers)2
• IEEE style (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers)3
• ASME style (The Association of Mechanical Engineers)4
ASCE Style
a. Reference List b. In-Text Citation
• IEEE Style
 Acknowledgments and Attributions
• brief appreciation of the contribution of someone or
an organization or funding body to the present work
• to recognize persons or agencies for being
responsible in some form or other for completion of
a publishable research outcome
• displays a relationship among people, agencies,
institutions, and research
• sign of gratitude
• six different categories like moral, financial, editorial,
institutional or technical, and conceptual support
What Should Be Acknowledged?
• should acknowledge quotation, ideas, facts, paraphrasing, funding
organization, oral discussion or support, laboratory, and computer
work.
• Quotations – Direct & Indirect
• People who gave a scientific or technical guidance, take part in some
discussions, or shared information to author
• Assistants, students, or technicians, who helped experimentally and
theoretically during the research work
• Funding Support Agency
• Services & Facilities of any center or organization
Acknowledgments in Books/Dissertations
• usually included at the beginning of a thesis/ dissertation immediately
following the table of contents
• longer than the one or two sentence statements in journal papers or
articles in conference proceedings
• detailed acknowledgments enable the researcher to thank all those
who have contributed in completion of the research work
• should express appreciation in a concise manner and avoid emotive
language
• main supervisor, second supervisor, peers in the lab, other academic
staff in the department, technical or support staff in the department,
colleagues from other departments, other institutions, or organizations,
former students, family, and friends
Dedication or Acknowledgments?
• Dedication - Never used in a journal paper, an article in a conference
proceedings, or a patent, and it is used exclusively in larger
documents like books, thesis, or dissertations
• Acknowledgments - reserved for those who helped out with the book
in some way or another
• Dedication is to whomever the author would like it to be dedicated to,
whether it is the author’s mother, the best friend, the pet dog, or
Almighty God
• Possible to dedicate something to someone while also mentioning
them in the acknowledgments.
Summary
• Citation is a specific form of attribution
• but attribution itself can be done in many different ways.
• For engineers, citation is very useful to their careers due
• Proper citation and reference:
• Gives credit and respect to the original author(s).
• Allows readers to find the original source(s).
• Strengthens the credibility of your report.
• Plagiarism is using another person’s ideas without giving credit
or citation and is an intellectual theft.
Citation - Video
THANK YOU