CRA-W Grad Cohort 3/08 1 CRA-W Graduate Student Cohort March 2008 Finding a Research Topic Barbara G. Ryder Rutgers University Kristen Walcott University

CRA-W Grad Cohort 3/081

CRA-W Graduate Student CohortMarch 2008

Finding a Research Topic

Barbara G. Ryder Rutgers UniversityKristen Walcott

University of Virginia


Outline• Introductions• What is CS research?• How to choose an advisor?• What to consider while making your choice of topic?

• Focusing from area to topic• How a topic is selected?• Our personal experiences• What to do when you are stuck?• Taking risks• Further discussion

Brown U, A.B. Appl Math1969; wed Jon

Stanford U,M.S. (CS) 1971

worked at Bell Labs,Murray Hill(UNIX, C) 1971-76; Beth 1973,Andrew 1975

Resumed Ph.D. studies Rutgers U, 1977-82

Asst Prof,Rutgers U1982

Tenure,Assoc Prof,Rutgers U1988

Full Prof,Rutgers U1994

ACM Fellow1998

Barbara Career Trail

ACM SIGPLAN 1989-99(Chair, 95-97); ACM Council 2000-08

2008, Graduates: 14 PhDs,3 MS theses


Barbara - Hobbies

• Amateur digital photographer• House plant lover• Beginning gardener• Classical music concert attendee• Reader of historical novels and/or science fiction

• I like to do weight training, aerobics, swimming, cooking, walking on the beach


About Kristen

3rd year PhD StudentUniversity of Virginia•Software testing and debugging•Parallel programming challenges

B.S. in CS and Math (2005)Allegheny College•Discovered a love of research, particularly in software testing

•Reasons for grad school: – Get a broader view of CS– Explore and solve challenging

problems– Desire to teach

Hobbies•Dancing (ballet, jazz, modern, belly dancing)

•Gardening•Cooking•Knitting•Feeding coffee and chocolate addictions•Convincing my friends I’m not a cat lady…

Master of CS (2007)University of Virginia•Switched to architecture•Masters Project: Dynamic prediction of architectural vulnerability factors


What is (CS) Research?• Research - the systematic investigation into and study of materials, sources, etc., in order to establish facts and reach new conclusions (Oxford Dict.)– Experimental scientific research:

• Observe a problem• Formulate a hypothesis• Perform experiments and demonstrate conclusive evidence• Interpret results

– Theoretical scientific research:• Identification of an open question• Formulate a hypothesis• Prove hypothesis

• Research is not knowing the answer or how to get it


What is CS Research? Example from Compilers

• Code executed within loops is costly; some statements have same side effect on every iteration. (Observe a problem)

• Hypothesis: There will be performance gains if such code is hoisted out of loop kernals

• Only can do if semantic checks show no def-use links are broken thereby

• Build this optimization in a compiler and measure results (Gather evidence)

• Observed gains result in invariant code motion as a standard compiler optimization (Interpret results)


Selecting an Advisor• Which comes first? Advisor? Topic?

– For many people “advisor before topic”• Meet faculty member with compelling research interests

– For some people “topic before advisor”• Need a guide in an area already of great interest to you

• Want an advisor – Knowledgeable about your topic

• Interdisciplinary topics may require >1 advisor

– With compatible working style (e.g., solo vs team)

– With lots of research ideas– With strong interest in working with PhD students– ….(more this afternoon)


Things to Consider in Selecting a Research

Topic• Whose interest do you need to grab?– You– Your advisor– Your research community

• Love your topic!– Sets the course for the next 2-3 years of your life

– Defines area for your job search – May work in same/related area for years afterward


More Things to Consider

• What are your strengths? weaknesses?– Programming, design, data analysis, proofs– Key insights vs. long/detailed verification/simulation

• What drives you? bores you?– Technology, puzzles, applications, interdisciplinary

• Do you (i.e., your advisor) have funding for you to work in the area?– Working as a TA– Working as an RA– Having university/college, government, industry, etc… fellowship/scholarship/grant


Focusing from Area to Topic

• Area - usually a subfield of CS• Too broad to be a thesis topic• Determines, in part, opportunities offered to you upon graduation

• Topic: related open questions formulated as a well-defined problem in an area – Needs to be of compelling interest to you, and of interest to your advisor, and CS research community

– Can involve both theoretical and experimental aspects

– Best of not too narrow, to allow exploration of several questions, especially if some don’t work out

– Best if not too many other researchers on same approach


6 Ways to Find a Topic


1) Flash of Brilliance

• You wake up one day with a new insight/idea

• New approach to solve an important open problem

• Warnings:– This rarely happens if at all– Even if it does, you may not be able to find an advisor who agrees


2) The Apprentice

• Your advisor has a list of topics• Suggests one (or more!) that you can work on

• Can save you a lot of time/anxiety

• Warnings:– Don’t work on something you find boring, fruitless, badly-motivated,…

– Several students may be working on the same/related problem


3) The Extended Course Project

• You take a project course that gives you a new perspective– E.g., theory for systems and vice versa

• The project/paper combines your research project with the course project– One (and ½) project does double duty• Warnings:

– This can distract from your research if you can’t find a related project/paper


4) Redo … Reinvent

• You work on some projects – Re-implement or re-do– Identify an improvement, algorithm, proof

• You have now discovered a topic• Warnings:

– You may be without “a topic” for a long time

– It may not be a topic worthy of a doctoral thesis


5) The Stapler

• You work on a number of small topics that turn into a series of conference papers– E.g., you figure out how to apply a technique (e.g., ILP) to several key problems in an area

• You figure out somehow how to tie it all together, create a chapter from each paper, and put a BIG staple through it

• Warnings:– May be hard/impossible to find the tie


6) The Synthesis Model

• You read some papers from other subfields in computer science/engineering or a related field (e.g., biology)

• Look for places to apply insight from another (sub)field to your own– E.g., graph partitioning to compiler optimizations• Warnings:– You can read a lot of papers and not find a connection

– Or realize someone has done it already!


… Combine, Compose… but also Propose!

• Try any combination of these ideas– It’s good to make sure you’re passionate about an area

– BUT focus on tangible progress too•Are you converging to an area?•Have you ruled out an area?• Warnings:– Trying these techniques can take a lot of time without any results!


Kristen’s experienceUndergrad:•Took a seminar about how to do CS research

•Became interested in software testing•Undergrad thesis: Constraint-aware test suite prioritization

Test Suite Prioritization (1st year):•Worked on conference paper 1st semester•Topic was too limited and the flash of brilliance to extend what was started didn’t happen

•Got very bored…

Architectural Vulnerability (1st/2nd year):•Took architecture course (1st sem) and adv. architecture seminar (2nd sem)

•Picked project for seminar using Apprentice approach

•Switched advisors•Project became Extended Course Project, conference paper, and my masters project

•BUT didn’t really enjoy the field

Graphics (2nd year):•Had always wanted to try graphics•Took independent study (1st sem) and adv graphics seminar (2nd sem)

•Did another Extended Course Project and conference paper

•Didn’t officially switch advisors•BUT didn’t want to have a career in graphics

Graphics + Software Testing? (2nd summer)•Loved the math and prettiness of graphics and the applications and community in testing

•Met with 2 possible advisors and read a LOT •Found a way to combine the areas•BUT no one was really excited about it

Testing + Parallel Programs (3rd year):•Heard talk on debugging parallel programs•Switched to original advisor•Started another literature review•Now we’re trying to lay out each of the research questions that I’d like to address


Barbara’s Experience• Became interested in compilers from Bell Labs experiences– Took grad courses and PhD quals at Rutgers

• Chose 1st advisor in Compiler Optimization• Topic - Subproblem from his thesis• Wanted to formulate my own research agenda

• Changed advisors • Picked advisor outside my area on basis of demonstrated mentoring interest and research strength in algorithm design

• Helped me formulate open research questions in SW evolution into a incremental dataflow analysis dissertation

• Continuous, regular meetings throughout research period


Some Tips and Suggestions

• Topic + advisor are both important• Keep an ideas “notebook”• Keep an annotated bibliography listing

• Follow your interests and passion– Key driver for success and impact

•Are you eager to get to work, continue working?

• If not really interested, adapt•Is it tedium or actual lack of interest and motivation?


When You’re Stuck• In the beginning…

– Read/present papers regularly in a research study group to find open research issues

– Practice summarizing, synthesizing & comparing sets of papers

– Write your own slides for presentations

– For a limited time, work with a senior PhD student on their research

– Get feedback and ideas from others• Attend a top research conference in your area of interest– Listen for open problems– Talk to attendees about research

• Attend your dept colloquia series and ask q’s• Do a government or industrial lab internship


When You’re Stuck…– Read a PhD thesis in your area

– Often contain a ‘open problems’ or ‘future work’ section

– Read your advisor’s grant proposals – Attend PhD oral exams and thesis defenses

– Understand how to formulate problems – Understand what constitutes a problem solution

– Assess your progress, with your advisor – Set goals per semester - Have you ruled out an area? converged on an area? Picked a topic for an exploratory research project?

– Focus on measurable ‘good progress in an interval’ not ‘in k months’ goals


When You’re Stuck

• Once started…– Divide your topic into milestones, and develop a plan to work on them one-by-one

– Reward yourself when you finish a milestone

– Publications and/or posters as milestones– Vary what you do during the day, but set aside blocks of time for each activity

– Assess your progress regularly, with your advisor

– Have you submitted a workshop paper? A term project with documentation? A poster at a conference? A talk at a regional conf?


Take Risks• Changing research topics

• May move you out of your advisor’s comfort zone of expertise

• Have to learn the related work in a new area• Starting from ‘scratch’

• Changing research advisor• May have to go through ‘shakedown’ period again• May or may not be better off

• But change can be invigorating• What’s hard? Need to recognize when things are not working out and take action

• Must weigh consequences of changing and not changing


Take Risks

• Choosing a ‘hot’ area with lots of competition in research community

• Good results ensured of impact• May be easier to get funding• But you may be ‘scooped’• Make a context-dependent decision

• Need to take some risk• Should choose significant problem• Reward for solution, but higher risk to obtaining solution– High risk problems may not have solutions– Difficult to publish negative results

• Overall need to balance and to specialize choices for your situation and your interests


Find a topic and get started!

Great relevant article in ACM Crossroads, “How to Succeed in Graduate School: A Guide for Students and Advisors”, (part I, Dec 1994; part II, Feb 1995), available in ACM Digital Library

Questions?Comments?Discussion?

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CRA-W Grad Cohort 3/08 1 CRA-W Graduate Student Cohort March 2008 Finding a Research Topic Barbara G. Ryder Rutgers University Kristen Walcott University