jparker@hnitbjorg.East.Sun.COM (Jeff Parker - Sun BOS Software) (05/14/91)
I'm preparing to teach a course in which I will ask students to read journal articles. I've drawn up a short list of questions. What is the problem? What is the author trying to do? Why is this worth doing? What is the author's environment? What is the prior art? How did people do this before? Why isn't that sufficient? What is the contribution? What did the author do? What is new? What has been borrowed? Is this a good solution? What remains to be done? I'd be interested in any additions from the net. - jeff parker Jeff Parker jparker@east.sun.com Sun Microsystems (508) 671-0588
duncan@ctt.bellcore.com (Scott Duncan) (05/14/91)
In article <6113@eastapps.East.Sun.COM> jparker@east.sun.com (Jeff Parker - Sun BOS Software) writes: > > I'm preparing to teach a course in which I will ask students >to read journal articles. I've drawn up a short list of questions. > > What is the problem? > What is the author trying to do? > Why is this worth doing? > What is the author's environment? > What is the prior art? > How did people do this before? > Why isn't that sufficient? > What is the contribution? > What did the author do? > What is new? > What has been borrowed? > Is this a good solution? > What remains to be done? I assume they will have some background which will allow them to make some of the judgements required of them, e.g., knowledge of "prior art," relative "newness" of the contribution. >I'd be interested in any additions from the net. You might also wish to ask: If the solution were successfully applied in environments with which you are familiar, what difference would it make? [Perhaps a long-winded version of "Why is this worth doing?" from the perspective of some. However, the research might be worth doing from one perspective, but the application of the findings/prototype/whatever might have a different impact.] What risks seem to be inherent in doing/not doing what the author suggests? [Perhaps related to the "prior art" questions as well as the "good solution" one. But again, distinguishing between the research versus the application of the research is likely to produce different answers.] >Jeff Parker jparker@east.sun.com >Sun Microsystems (508) 671-0588 Regardless of the questions, per se, this sounds like a mighty worthwhile way to have students introduced to the literature, i.e., asking them to evaluate what they read according to some "standard" set of considerations. Speaking only for myself, of course, I am... Scott P. Duncan (duncan@ctt.bellcore.com OR ...!bellcore!ctt!duncan) (Bellcore, 444 Hoes Lane RRC 1H-210, Piscataway, NJ 08854) (908-699-3910 (w) 609-737-2945 (h))
almstrum@cs.utexas.edu (Vicki L. Almstrum) (05/25/91)
In article <6113@eastapps.East.Sun.COM> jparker@east.sun.com (Jeff Parker - Sun BOS Software) writes: > > I'm preparing to teach a course in which I will ask students >to read journal articles. I've drawn up a short list of questions. > I think this is a great idea, Jeff! I have a couple of related but different ideas for writing exercises in the context of journals. These may be most appropriate for upper division undergraduates or for graduate students. The first idea is to ask students to referee one or more articles. This can be done with already-published articles, but is perhaps a more meaningful exercise if unpublished articles (related to the subject area) can be found. Articles which students can read to obtain assistance in this endeavor are: "The Task of the Referee", Alan J. Smith, IEEE Computer, April 1990, 65-71. "Guidelines for Referees (October 1989)", IEEE Computer, April 1990, 14-15. "A Guide for New Referees in Theoretical Computer Science", I. Parberry, SIGACT News, Vol. 20, No. 4, April 1989, 92-109. "Rules for Referees", B. Forscher, Science, October 15, 1965, 310-321. A second activity is to ask students to write an article suitable for submission to a scholarly journal or magazine. The instructor can make a go-no go decision on whether the final product should be submitted. The process requires that students become familiar with the author guidelines for the appropriate publication, and also that they produce a paper which conforms with the format requirements. Some examples of the author guidelines can be found in the following: "Guidelines for Authors", IEEE Software, Vol. 1, No. 1, January 1984, 7-8. "Information for Authors", CACM, Vol. 32, No. 3, March 1989, 411-414. "How to write a Scientific Paper", R. Day, IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication, Vol. PC-20, June 1977, 32-37. -- Vicki * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Vicki L. Almstrum INTERNET: almstrum@cs.utexas.edu * * Department of Computer Sciences & Mathematics Education Department * * University of Texas at Austin, TAY 2.124, Austin, TX 78756 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
gillies@m.cs.uiuc.edu (Don Gillies) (05/29/91)
One of the last things we need is more noise in the scientific journals from class projects. I was always told that you write a scientific paper, and then, once it is completed, only THEN do you consider an appropriate conference or journal for publication. This idea about "let's write something to go to conference x or journal y" has become all too pervasive. --
almstrum@cs.utexas.edu (Vicki L. Almstrum) (05/29/91)
In article <1991May28.193033.5630@m.cs.uiuc.edu> gillies@m.cs.uiuc.edu (Don Gillies) writes: ... a response which I am assuming was motivated, at least in part, by my posting. (I cannot be sure since he does not provide specific reference.) He says: >One of the last things we need is more noise in the scientific >journals from class projects. I agree. However, good quality papers can be filtered by the instructor in an assignment such as the one I've suggested. The majority of papers will not be of sufficient quality for submission. However, the students will at least have gotten a sense of what writing such a submission entails. >I was always told that you write a >scientific paper, and then, once it is completed, only THEN do you >consider an appropriate conference or journal for publication. This >idea about "let's write something to go to conference x or journal y" >has become all too pervasive. Yes and no. It is certainly the case that the material to be published should exist and be well thought out before the article is produced. The design of the research should be complete, the results at least partial, and any meaningful conclusions apparent before the article is launched. On the other hand, the idea here was to provide students with meaningful exercises to allow them to develop as professionals. In my experience, attempting to write a scholarly article or review can provide a student with a better idea of the process. Also, since different conferences and journals have different audiences and goals, there *is* a need for tailoring an article. Having students target specific journals can allow them a concrete basis for their assignment. -- Vicki * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Vicki L. Almstrum INTERNET: almstrum@cs.utexas.edu * * Department of Computer Sciences & Mathematics Education Department * * University of Texas at Austin, TAY 2.124, Austin, TX 78756 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *