From proposal to examination, producing a dissertation or thesis is a challenge. Grounded in decades of experience with research training and supervision, this fully updated and revised edition takes an integrated, down-to-earth approach drawing on case studies and examples to guide you step-by-step towards productive success. Early chapters frame the tasks ahead and show you how to get started. From there, practical advice and illustrations take you through the elements of formulating research questions, working with software, and purposeful writing of each of the different kinds of chapters, and finishes with a focus on revision, dissemination and deadlines. How to Write a Better Thesis presents a cohesive approach to research that will help you succeed.
3. Mechanics. of. Writing. Given a structure, the next challenge is to actually begin writing. Strategies for writing are the subject of the next chapter. In this chapter, I
take a brief detour and consider some of the tools of writing and communication.
In cases where scientists are working more or less as equals, one strategy is to
brainstorm the contents of the paper, then for each author to write a designated
section. Another strategy — my preferred model for collaboration — is to take
turns.
All researchers need to write or speak about their work, and to have research that is worth presenting. Based on the author's decades of experience as a researcher and advisor, this third edition provides detailed guidance on writing and presentations and a comprehensive introduction to research methods, the how-to of being a successful scientist. Topics include: · Development of ideas into research questions; · How to find, read, evaluate and referee other research; · Design and evaluation of experiments and appropriate use of statistics; · Ethics, the principles of science and examples of science gone wrong. Much of the book is a step-by-step guide to effective communication, with advice on: · Writing style and editing; · Figures, graphs and tables; · Mathematics and algorithms; · Literature reviews and referees’ reports; · Structuring of arguments and results into papers and theses; · Writing of other professional documents; · Presentation of talks and posters. Written in an accessible style and including handy checklists and exercises, Writing for Computer Science is not only an introduction to the doing and describing of research, but is a valuable reference for working scientists in the computing and mathematical sciences.
There are a range of strategies for co-authoring, which vary from colleague to
colleague and paper to paper. It is not unusual, for example, for an advisor to use
a student's thesis as the basis of a paper, in which case both advisor and student
...
