IMSS005Computer Science Seminar

Lecture 2

Writing a Literature ReviewWriting a Research Proposal

Writing a Literature Review

Literature Review

What is a literature review? A summary of what has been published

In a book In a paper

e.g., after studying a certain method Write a simple summary about

The strength of the method The weakness of the method The applications of the method

Why literature review is necessary?

A thick book and/or many papers vs several pages

To understand all recent/related work and use that knowledge to propose your own solution to the problem at a later stage.

Format of a literature review If it is written as a separate report,

The literature review includes Title page Acknowledgments (Optional) Abstract Table of contents List of figures List of tables Main text References Appendices (Optional)

Format of a literature review Main text

Introduction A simple idea of what the methods are Where are the methods applied?

Method discussion 1 Technical details

Method discussion 2 …

Conclusions Pros Cons

Writing a Research Proposal

Research Proposal What is the difference of research proposal

and literature review? Literature review

can be an independent report can be a part of research proposal

What is a research proposal? A proposal of your new method

Methods/techniques Applications

It includes the pros and cons (or comparisons) of other related methods

Format of a research proposal A research proposal includes

Title page Acknowledgments (Optional) Abstract Table of contents List of figures List of tables Main text References Appendices (Optional)

Format of a research proposal

Main text Introduction Problem Methodology/Approach Expected Outcomes Related work/ Literature Survey Work Schedule

Format of a research proposal Abstract

Viewed as a summary of the document Can be used by the readers to

understand the content of the document quickly

It is also used to determine the relevancy.

Format of a research proposal Abstract

Two types of abstracts1. Informative (used to condense the paper) –

used in conference/journal publications, research proposal1. State the objectives and scope of the

investigation2. Describe the methods employed3. Summarize the results or proposed outcomes4. Summarize the conclusions

2. Indicative (indicates the subjects dealt with in a document) – used in literature review

Format of a research proposal Abstract

It should not be longer than half of a page. If you do not know how to write -> start with a dr

aft Abstract in Chinese. Avoid using long sentences and you will find it e

asier to translate them into English.

Format of a research proposal Abstract

Read these sentences several times to see whether they are clearly expressed or not. Then translate them into English.

Make each sentence short and precise. Again, read it several times. If possible, ask someone to re

ad it and observe how much they understand. Revise them if necessary. Proof read your abstract several times for any errors and t

ypos. It is very ugly if you have mistakes in your abstract.

Format of a research proposal Introduction

Remember, your reader may not be familiar with your area and it is your responsibility to guide him/her into your story.

Begin with introduction to terms and definitions related to your problem.

Start from easy ones and move on to more difficult concepts.

Consistent abbreviations and terms: E.g., Workflow Management Systems (WfMS). You sh

ould not use WFMS or WMS or WfMs in later sections,....

Format of a research proposal

Introduction Once you have introduced the background

knowledge about the domain, you can start talking about your motivations. 

E.g., you might want to give a brief review about recent work and argue that their approaches lack certain

functionalities and therefore should be improved in certain ways.

Should be brief and only address recent work which is directly related to your research. Detail should be postponed to Literature review.

Format of a research proposal Problem

After you have stated your motivations in Introduction Section, you are now ready to describe what is your Thesis problem.

It must be very precise and you can itemize each sub-problem. e.g. How to improve reporting functions in workflow ma

nagement systems based on audit trail data. Remember, these are the problems you are planning

to solve and you should only write them if you are happy with it.

Format of a research proposal Methodology/Approach

You should describe how to solve the problems that you have stated in the previous section. Note: General description only. Technical details literature review.

You can use different approaches for different problems. E.g., case studies for identifying hidden proble

ms, or using simulation for testing the performanc

e,.... itemize your approaches with respect to the problem

s defined in previous section.

Format of a research proposal Expected outcomes

One of the most important sections in your proposal. It is also an agreement between you and the faculty. A lot of students write what they are going to do in this s

ection. No, it is wrong!. You should state what you are going to produce after 12

months. if you have an itemized list, then each item in the list shou

ld start with a Noun. e.g, An novel algorithm for improving the performance of stri

ng matching. A detail analysis of reporting functions in Workflow Mana

gement Systems.

Format of a research proposal

Literature Review The related methods / techniques /

algorithms are discussed. Sometimes, similar problems (to your thesis

problem) with solutions are also discussed. All of them are [usually] from papers /

books. Discuss them in details one by one

Format of a research proposal

Pros and Cons Then, you should pinpoint what is missing or the

weakness of the algorithm with respect to the scope of the research defined in your proposal.

E.g. if your proposal is about new algorithms for string matching in HTML data.

In that case, you can argue that the algorithm for string matching is only good for ASCII text and not suitable for HTML data.

Format of a research proposal

Work schedule You have one year duration to complete

your thesis. See sample Timeline.

Work Plan

Work Plan

WORK PLAN Part I: Data Modelling

Step 1: Build up an automotive engine performance model using Neural Networks based on the collected dataset.

Step 2: The output results from the model built will be verified on a chassis dynamometer.

Step 3: Fine-tune the performance model Estimated period: 4 months

WORK PLAN Part II Parameters Optimization

Step 1: Apply GA to the performance model built

Step 2: The output results of the optimal parameters will be verified though dynamometer tests.

Step 3: Fine-tune the GA parameters for better results

Estimated period: 4 months

WORK PLAN Part III:

Preparation of conference & journal papers and thesis

Preparation for oral defense Estimated period: 4 months

Total period: 12 months

Format of a research proposal References

You have to prepare a list of references which are cited in your proposal.

Next lecture.