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Technical Paper Writing

Dr. S.N. SridharaPrincipal/Director,

K.S. School of Engineering and Management

Bangalore

sridharasn1964@gmail.com

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What is a Technical Paper?

• It is a research article published in the interest of scientific community to – Showcase NEW results in the area of

interest– Gain the credit of carrying out this research

for the first time – be a leader– To attract the attention of other researchers

towards the results obtained and to develop a dialogue in scientific community

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When do you Write Technical Paper?

As soon as you complete a valuable segment of research and

you have results that can be published

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Where Do You Publish the Technical Paper?

• National Conference• International Conference • Indian Journal • International Journal

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Contents of a Technical Paper• Paper Title

• Author’s whereabouts • The Abstract• The Introduction• The Body• Results and Discussions• The Conclusions• Future Work• The Acknowledgements• References• Appendices• Nomenclature

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Title

Title must be specific to the work proposed

and self-explanatory.

It should not be too long but must represent

the complete work in abstract.

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• Title should not be too general. (Avoid phrases such as: Studies on.. Etc)

• Title of a research paper cannot be same as that of a book

Title

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Examples of Titles of Technical Papers

• A Wideband Digital Receiver With Hard-Switching Mixers for Cognitive Radio

• Experimental Investigations of Heat Transfer Characteristics of a Miniature Heat Pipe

• Design of a WSN Platform for Long-Term Environmental Monitoring for IoT Applications

• VLSI Design of a Monolithic Compressive-Sensing Wideband Analog-to-Information Converter

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Examples of Titles of Technical Papers

• A Study on Synthetic Fuzzy Measurement Model of Marketing Competitiveness

• Research on Mechanism and Operation Model of Logistics Finance

• An Encryption Method Based on Dual-chaos System (Check for this title’s viability)

• Study of new proton conducting glasses for fuel cells (Check for this title’s viability)

• 3D printed concentrator arrays for external light trapping on thin film solar cells (Check for this title’s viability)

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Author’s whereabouts

• Author’s whereabouts imply author’s name

and professional address and/or contact

details.

• In the author’s name, usually the title such

as Mr., Mrs., or Dr. Etc will not be used.

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Examples:

Author’s whereabouts

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• Abstract is like a summary of complete paper

• It includes – Importance of the paper– Gap in literature– Problem statement and /or Work carried

out–Major Results and Conclusions

Abstract

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• Usually the abstract will be framed only after the complete body of the paper is ready.

• Since abstract has to be very short and comprehensive and represents the entire paper, it must be carefully framed.

“Abstract”

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Example of an “abstract” -1• The Cosmic-ray Soil Moisture Observing System is a promising soil

moisture measurement network. It can measure soil moisture at an intermediate spatial scale with a single sensor.

• In this letter, the measured cosmic-ray neutron counts during the Heihe Watershed Allied Telemetry Experimental Research were used to evaluate the capabilities of the cosmic-ray probe in soil moisture retrieval at a heterogeneous farmland. The Cosmic-ray Soil Moisture Interaction Code model was utilized to model the interaction between the measured neutron counts and the soil water content. Soilmoisture at the footprint scale of the cosmic-ray probe obtained using a wireless sensor network (SoilNET) was used as the calibration and validation data.

• The results show that the cosmic-ray probe is capable of monitoring the hourly heterogeneous soil moisture dynamics at the intermediate spatial scale in a noninvasive way. Moreover, the informative measurement depth of the cosmic-ray probe can also be derived and is consistent with the soil moisture results.

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• The Cosmic-ray Soil Moisture Observing

System is a promising soil moisture

measurement network. It can measure soil

moisture at an intermediate spatial scale with a

single sensor.

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• In this letter, the measured cosmic-ray neutron counts during the Heihe

Watershed Allied Telemetry Experimental Research were used to evaluate

the capabilities of the cosmic-ray probe in soil moisture retrieval at a

heterogeneous farmland. The Cosmic-ray Soil Moisture Interaction Code

model was utilized to model the interaction between the measured neutron

counts and the soil water content. Soilmoisture at the footprint scale of the

cosmic-ray probe obtained using a wireless sensor network (SoilNET) was

used as the calibration and validation data.

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• The results show that the cosmic-ray probe is capable

of monitoring the hourly heterogeneous soil moisture

dynamics at the intermediate spatial scale in a

noninvasive way. Moreover, the informative

measurement depth of the cosmic-ray probe can also

be derived and is consistent with the soil moisture

results.

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• An IoT / M2M system may support large number of battery operated devices in addition to some mains operated devices. It is important to conserve energy of these battery operated constrained devices. An IoT / M2M Gateway used in this system is an intermediate node between IoT / M2M devices and an IoT / M2M Service Platform. It enables distributed analytics and helps to reduce traffic load in the network. This gateway could be stationary or mobile. In an IoT / M2M system, it becomes important to conserve energy of this Gateway as well.

• This paper proposes a framework to reduce power consumption of M2M / IoT devices as well as Gateway nodes. We buffer data at IoT Application, IoT Gateways and Devices to keep devices and Gateway nodes in sleep mode as long as possible. We allow computation of the duration to buffer this data using factors such as QoS requirements, predicted pattern of future IoT / M2M messages and congestion indicators from different network nodes.

• This potentially also allows intelligent aggregation of IoT messages at the Gateway node. We also enhance signaling mechanisms and present software building blocks for this framework. Mesh as well as Cellular access technologies are considered here.

Example of an “abstract” - 2

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• Marketing competitiveness is the core of enterprise competitiveness. How to measure and evaluate marketing competitiveness is the important issue that facing enterprises marketing.

• This study explores the measurement of marketing competitiveness. The authors put forward with a framework for measuring marketing competitiveness including five facets as product, distribution, service, personnel and industry, and propose a fuzzy measurement model basing on the theory of fuzzy mathematics and analytic hierarchy process (AHP). Then, the authors give a numerical illustrative example to test and verify this model.

• The proposed model can evaluate both individual factor and integrated marketing competitiveness, which can illustrate enterprise’s market status. The model provides insight into the creation of marketing competitiveness through managing marketing resource of the product, the distribution, the service, the personnel and the industry, and can be used as a decision guide in marketing management process. Finally, the further research is encouraged to refine and enhance the proposed model.

Example of an “abstract” - 3

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The “Introduction”

• This part includes:– The general introduction to the topic being

addressed– The work carried out by other researchers in this

area– The “Gap” in literature– The problem statement

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The “Body” of the Programme

• This section is the major part of the paper in terms of length / volume.

• It depicts the work carried out with all details and descriptions.

• This section must be written with high clarity such that another researcher must be able to follow the procedure shown and must be able to repeat the work.

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The “Body” of the Programme

• The Methodology followed must be explained in detail. No part must be skipped.

• All specifications of equipment/tools used, the experimental/numerical procedure must be clearly indicated

• The error analysis of experimental / numerical data is always desired and for a few journals, it is mandatory.

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Tables

• Tables are drawn to showcase important statistical data derived from the work

• Tables are used to display a collection of data in any section of the paper. The tables must be prepared so that they are self explanatory with proper titles.

• Tables must be numbered sequentially and also cited in the text.

• Include the units of measurements in the table text wherever the variable list is used

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Figures

• Figures must be self-explanatory and proper caption must be given at the bottom of the figure.

• A graph, picture, copy of photograph are all considered as figures.

• The graphs and contour plots are required in “black and white” mode and not in colour mode.

• The centred symbols, curves, values on the axes shown in the graph must be distinct, legible and readable in the size it is printed.

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Figures

• Figures must be clear and the texts in the figures must be readable with minimum font

• All the symbols used in the graph must be labeled either within the frame of the picture or in the caption of the figure.

• The axes of the graph must be labeled and quantified. The units of the quantities used must be mentioned.

• All figures and tables must be cited in the text. • Avoid snapshots of windows, poor images and big-in-

size pictures. The text and numerals if any in the picture must be of readable size.

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Equations

• All equations must be typed using Equation Editor/Math type and must be numbered sequentially

• Put the equation numbers right justified and within the brackets, for ex… (1)

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Results and Discussions

• The major results must be discussed in the light of observed trends and thoroughly compared with published data.

• Showcase new results and thus highlight the importance of present paper.

• Result section without discussion on physics involved is considered as null and void.

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• This section describes the output of your hardship.

• Record all important results derived and support them with proper scientific and technical notes.

• Use the graphs, tables and mathematical models to describe the results.

• Comparisons of the results obtained and bringing connectivity to the published literature would increase the gravity of the

result.

Results and Discussions

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Conclusion is not a summary of the work, but a listing of major outcomes derived from the study.

Therefore do not state as what has been done in your work, instead bring out the outcome of the results and discussions in terms of statements.

Many a time, the abstract and conclusions are referred for a quick assessment of the usefulness of the paper by the readers. Hence these sections must be written with upmost importance.

Conclusions

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Conclusions

• Conclusions depict the outcome of your paper

• Conclusions should not be obvious. (for ex: heat flows from higher temperature to lower temperature, etc.,)

• Conclusions must be crisp and meaningful

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What is Referencing:

It is the method of indicating the resources for information relevant

to present research work

References

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Why Referencing is required:

• It ensures that you have made a thorough study of present status of research and you have identified the gap (or requirement of present research)

• It directs the readers to correct sources for further information related to present research

• It is a method of acknowledging the researchers whose works were published earlier to your research

• It is mandatory as a part of fight against Plagiarism

References

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• APA (American Phsycological Association)

• MLA (Modern Language Association)

• Chikago

• IEEE

• Turabian and so on…

• Harward Style

Source:https://www.staffs.ac.uk/assets/harvard_quick_guide_tcm44-47797.pdf

Different Styles of Referencing and Citation

Source: https://www.staffs.ac.uk/assets/harvard_quick_guide_tcm44-47797.pdfStaffordshire University

Harvard Style of Referencing

Source: https://www.staffs.ac.uk/assets/harvard_quick_guide_tcm44-47797.pdfStaffordshire University

Harvard Style of Referencing

Source: https://www.staffs.ac.uk/assets/harvard_quick_guide_tcm44-47797.pdfStaffordshire University

Harvard Style of Referencing

Source: https://www.staffs.ac.uk/assets/harvard_quick_guide_tcm44-47797.pdfStaffordshire University

Harvard Style of Referencing

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• References must appear in the reference list in the order of appearance in the paper.

• Each reference must be cited at least once in the text of the paper. An example for citing a paper in the text is shown in the following example.

“….The independent research works carried out by many investigators [1, 4-8] have shown the impact of dynamic forces and couples on the stability of the vehicle…”

References and Citation

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• In case the references are listed in numbers, the citations & References must be in the order of appearance and must be synchronised.

“….The independent research works carried out by many investigators [1, 4-8] have shown the impact of dynamic forces and couples on the stability of the vehicle…”

References and Citation

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• In case the references are listed with authors’ name, the citation will be with the names of authors

“….The independent research works carried out by many investigators [Rama et. al,(1987), Shama and Bhama (2015)] have shown the impact of dynamic forces and couples on the stability of the vehicle…”

References and Citation

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[1] N. Dombrowski and W. R. Johns (1963), The Aerodynamic Instability and Disintegration of Viscous Liquid Sheets, Chem. Eng. Sci., vol. 18, pp. 203-220.

[2] N.A.Chigier (1991), The Physics of Atomization, Proceedings of Fifth International Conference on Liquid Atomization and Spray Systems, July 15-18, 1991.

[3] Whitfield A and Baines N C(1990), Design of Radial Turbomachines, Longman Scientific Technical, New York.

References (example)

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A Few Good Sources for Technical Paper Writing

• http://infolab.stanford.edu/~widom/paper-writing.html

• http://www.cs.utexas.edu/~dahlin/professional/paper-writing.pdf

• http://www.macalester.edu/~bressoud/capstone/TechPaperHowTo.pdf

• http://www.uni-kassel.de/eecs/fileadmin/datas/fb16/Fachgebiete/VS/Documents/HowToWritePaper.pdf

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• Annexures are additional document attached to the technical paper or thesis to give additional information to the readers.

• These may include lengthy derivations, detailed drawings, procedures, photographs etc.

• It is added at the end of document to not to disturb the flow of paper but may be required to educate the reviewer.

Appendices Annexures

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• Abbreviations refers to description of short-form names used in the paper

• Nomenclature refers to the description of symbols used

• The Abbreviations and Nomenclature will be listed in Alphabetical order

• The abbreviations / Nomenclature will be included in the beginning of the paper (after Abstract) or at the end of the paper depending on the format file specified by the editors of journal

Nomenclature.docx

Abbreviations / Nomenclature

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A few Research Topics in Management Studies

• Social and human capital influences on opportunity recognition and resource mobilization in India's handloom industry

• Effect of Quality Management Systems and Total Quality Management on Productivity before and after: Empirical Evidence from the Indian Auto Component Industry

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Thank You