Writing Research Papers For Computer Science

Writing Research PapersFor Computer Science

Steve BlackburnResearch School of Computer ScienceAustralian National University

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Why write?

Steve Blackburn | Writing Research Papers | PhD Workshop May 2012

3Steve Blackburn | Writing Research Papers | PhD Workshop May 2012

The Moral Imperative

Why Write?

Who is paying you, anyway?

“Scientists have a moral obligation to make their findings known to other scientists, and to professionals […]”

Guidelines for Publication Ethics at the Karolinska Institute, 2002

“[…] the obligation to publish research results can be regarded both as moral and epistemic standards”

Matthias Adam, in Science and Social: Knowledge, Epistemic Demands and Social Values, University of Pittsburgh Press, 2009

“communicate this knowledge”

“As scientist and as thinkers, we share a moral imperative to communicate this knowledge, with each other, across disciplinary boundaries, and outside the academic and research spheres.”

Kate Neville in The Science Creative Quarterly, Issue 6, 2011


Where to Publish

Why Write?

Communicate effectively

• Think seriously about the venue– Discus this early on in the project– Ideal venue will be sub-discipline-specific

• Maximize impact– Aim high– Don’t fear rejection

• Fear of failure retards creativity and impact

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Effective WritingTop Down



Know Your Audience

• What does this audience care about?• What does this audience already know?

• Think about the venue• Think about the readership• Think about the reviewers

– Look at the program committee composition

(It is probably not your mother)

Effective Writing


Know Your Message

• What have you done…– that is interesting (to your audience, not you!)

– that is novel– that advances the field?– that forms a single, coherent story?

• Important v necessary– Include all that is necessary, but the focus must

remain on the important– Details of methodology etc must be reported, but in a

way that does not dominate nor detract from the focus

Don’t start writing until you have a single, clear, coherent story

Effective Writing


The Title

• It is the first handle readers have– Succinct– Meaningful– If you’re lucky, memorable

Make it meaningful and engaging

Effective Writing


The Abstract

• This is the story of your work– Write v1.0 the day you start the project– Iterate

If you can’t capture your work in the modality of an abstract you probably don’t know what you’re doing and/or don’t have enough perspective.

Many people will only read your abstract...

Effective Writing


What’s In An Abstract?

With thanks to Kathryn McKinley, University of Texas at Austin & Microsoft Research

Effective Writing

ContributionResult

“This paper introduces a new context-sensitive and control-flow sensitive pointer alias analysis. We show that it is one hundred times faster than the prior state of the art.”

11With thanks to Kathryn McKinley, University of Texas at Austin & Microsoft Research


Effective Writing

Problem statementContribution

ResultMeaning

“Precise flow and context sensitive pointer analysis is currently limited to programs with 100,000 or fewer lines of code. Pointer analysis clients, such as verification and testing, are consequently limited to small programs because they need high precision.”

“Precise flow and context sensitive pointer analysis is currently limited to programs with 100,000 or fewer lines of code. Pointer analysis clients, such as verification and testing, are consequently limited to small programs because they need high precision. This paper introduces a new context-sensitive and control-flow sensitive pointer alias analysis.”

“Precise flow and context sensitive pointer analysis is currently limited to programs with 100,000 or fewer lines of code. Pointer analysis clients, such as verification and testing, are consequently limited to small programs because they need high precision. This paper introduces a new context-sensitive and control-flow sensitive pointer alias analysis. We show that it is one hundred times faster than prior algorithms and can analyze programs up to 1 million lines of code.”

“Precise flow and context sensitive pointer analysis is currently limited to programs with 100,000 or fewer lines of code. Pointer analysis clients, such as verification and testing, are consequently limited to small programs because they need high precision. This paper introduces a new context-sensitive and control-flow sensitive pointer alias analysis. We show that it is one hundred times faster than prior algorithms and can analyze programs up to 1 million lines of code. Future work should investigate its effects on the precision and scalability of client analysis.”


Effective Writing

Problem statementContribution

ResultMeaning

“Precise flow and context sensitive pointer analysis is currently limited to programs with 100,000 or fewer lines of code. Pointer analysis clients, such as verification and testing, are consequently limited to small programs because they need high precision. This paper introduces a new context-sensitive and control-flow sensitive pointer alias analysis. Our key insight is that many pointers have the same aliases, and we show how to find and exploit this equivalence. We show that it is one hundred times faster than prior algorithms and can analyze programs up to 1 million lines of code. Future work should investigate its effects on the precision and scalability of client analysis.”

… and be precise



Improving an abstractInterview the writer

Effective Writing


• Understand– Problem statement– Contribution– Result– Meaning


The Rest of the PaperWriters (even technical ones) are story tellers

Effective Writing


• Tell a single coherent story• Link and organize ideas

– Recursively at each level of the document• Emphasis

– Ensure your story shines through– De-emphasize elements that are necessary

but not key to the story


Recursive structureWe’re computer scientists, after all

Effective Writing


papersection

paragraphsentence

• Containers (paper, section, paragraph)

– Structure• Introduction, discussion, (conclusion)

• Sentences– Structure

• Special rules for structuring sentences

• Linkage of ideas– Story has flow– Structure reflects flow


The Paper

Effective Writing


introduction

• Containers (paper, section, paragraph)

– Structure• Introduction, discussion, (conclusion)

• Sentences– Structure

• Special rules for structuring sentences

• Linkage of ideas– Story has flow– Structure reflects flow

discussion

conclusion


Sections

Effective Writing


introduction

• Structure– Composed of paragraphs (or

subsections)

– Introduction, discussion, (conclusion)

• Section title– Should be consistent with key idea

reflected in first paragraph

discussion

conclusion


Sentences

Effective Writing


• Familiar ideas• Action• New ideas

subjectverb

object

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MechanicsA Laundry List



Have a Template

• Use a template directory complete with defaults– Include the common LaTeX practices you use– Include boilerplate for grant acknowlegments– Include a bibliography

• Use a standard naming scheme– My lab uses keyword-venue-year

• rc-ismm-2012, yinyang-isca-2012, etc

Can be invaluable

Mechanics


Version Control

• Why use version control?– Versioning (especially for thesis!)– Concurrent writing

• Use LaTeX and an SCM (svn, git, hg, etc)– Break document into multiple files– Put tables etc. into separate files

• Use the cloud– Google docs etc.– Write concurrently, leave comments, versions

Writing is a team sport

Mechanics


Author Order

• Understand the convention• Ensure roles are clear• Discuss it explicitly

Not something to leave to the last minute

Mechanics


Spelling, Grammar & Style

• Eliminate passive voice whenever possible– Passivity introduces ambiguity, the antithesis

of good science writing• Practice, practice, practice, practice

• Use available tools• Read• Invite critique

Writing errors distract the reviewer / reader

Mechanics


Spelling, Grammar & StyleCan be fun… …no, really.

Mechanics

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Captions

• Make figure + caption stand-alone– Capture the insight and

meaning in the caption if possible

– Capture only most vital methodology in caption

Many readers will only look at the pictures…

Mechanics


Citations and Bibliography

• Take care to cite the appropriate work.– Gratuitous citations do not impress– Incorrect citations irritate– Missed citations infuriate

• Take care with bib entries– Include the DOI where possible– Check the citation. Is it correct?

Take special care when acknowledging prior work

Mechanics


Feedback & Proofreading

• You will become blind to your failings– Loss of perspective– Failure to explain key predicates– Familiarity of own writing style– Blindness to typos, omissions

• Get friends to proofread– Be open to critique– Cultivate a culture of honesty and directness

Can be invaluable

Mechanics


Rebuttal

• Identify key points, factor them out– Points for and points against– Ensure you address all major questions– Ensure you rebut all major concerns

• Be succinct• Be polite• Be direct

Use it wisely

Mechanics


Credibility

• Is your work reproducible?– Does the paper contain enough information?

• Provide full proofs– Publish as an abstract or tech report

• Publish raw data– Put it on your web page

What’s the credibility of this work?

Mechanics


Iterate

• Learning to write well takes time and practice• You cannot leave it to the last minute• I recommend a top-down approach

– Abstract– Structure– Iteratively fill in content

Start writing early & iterate

Mechanics


Questions?

Mechanics

Documents

Writing Research Papers For Computer Science