how to conduct decent research work

1两脚踏东西文化一心评宇宙文章

How to Conduct Decent Research Work

Feng Zheng, Ph.D.

Materials Chemistry

Central South University


Aims

• Provide a simple but formal introduction to young researchers the basic strategy employed by peer-reviewed scientists around the world

• Personal experience home and abroad

• Suggestions for future work

• Editorial work

• Itches of translation/interpretation


Identify a Project

• Literature search (up to now)

• Introduction (why, what, how, what)– Why is/are this/these important– What has/have been done– How did they do – What was/were left (for you) and– What do you want to do

• Theoretical work?

• Experimental work?


Title

• Proper words for your title

• 好的开头是成功的一半• A good beginning is half done.

• Be caution when using on, investigation, research and study for title


Theory & Experiment Set-up

• What do you want to do– Improve or against existing theory?– Provide more data?– Propose novel ideas?

• How to achieve your goals– Better or reliable theoretical analysis– Better or new experimental results

• Raw materials• Equipments• Experiment procedure


Results

• New theoretical analysis (not ease)

• For most engineering work we need: – Chemical composition– Structure– Mechanical properties– Physical properties– Etc. – In proper order


Analysis or Discussion

• How to describe your results

• How to make comparison with literature

• Why are your work important

• What are your contribution to science or engineering

• What are your conclusions


Conclusions

• What are your conclusions– Theoretical analysis– Experimental results– Work ongoing or suggestions


Abstract

• What has/have been done

• Most important results

• Tune of past – was/were, has/have been


Acknowledgements

• Financial support

• Help for discussion and theoretical analysis

• Help of technicians


Literature Citation

• History of this work– Make yours part of the history– Later work has to cite your paper (important)

• Style according to instruction for authors of chosen journal


Check list

• Title (eye-catching)• Authors (team work*)• Abstract (concise)• Introduction (story-telling)• Experimental procedure (book-keeping)• Results (book-keeping)• Discussion (elegance, cross-reference)• Conclusion (solid)• Acknowledgements (polite)• Literature citation (honest)


Text Layout

• Keep it consistent throughout the manuscript. Double line spacing and 12 font is preferred: make it convenient for reviewers to make annotations.

• Number the pages.

• Number the lines if the journal requires to do so.


Length of Full Article“…25- 30 pages is the ideal length for a submitted

manuscript, including essential data only.” – Julian Eastoe, Co-editor, Journal of Colloid and Interface Science

Title pageAbstract 1 paragraphIntroduction 1.5-2 manuscript pages (double-spaced, 12pt)Methods 2-4 manuscript pagesResults and Discussion 10-12 manuscript pagesConclusions 1-2 manuscript pagesFigures 6-8Tables 1-3References 20-50 items

Letters or short communications have a stricter limitation of the length. For example, 3000 words with no more than 5 illustrations.


Submission

• Where to publish your work– Impact factor– Scientific Community (bulletin, transactions and

journals of well-established international or national society)

• Electrical submission

• Cover letter

• Corresponding author


Communication to Editors

• Acknowledge editorial work

• Address exactly the questions raised by reviewers

• Rebuttal with sound evidences


What Gets You Accepted?• Attention to details• Check and double check your work• Consider the reviews• English must be as good as possible• Presentation is important• Take your time with revision• Acknowledge those who have helped you• New, original and previously unpublished• Critically evaluate your own manuscript• Ethical rules must be obeyed

– Nigel John Cook, Editor-in-Chief, Ore Geology Reviews


Suggestions for Students

• Lab records (experiment results)

• Literature reviewing (introduction & discussion)

• Talk to supervisor (bring copied articles & data)

• Discussion with other faculty/fellow students

• Write down anything of interest– Try to do one paper in one month!– This can be done and we have done and can do that in

a regular base (once for each student).– "Everything should be made as simple as possible,

but not simpler". – Albert Einstein


Samuel Johnson (1709-1784) • Your manuscript is both good and original, but t

he part that is good is not original and the part that is original is not good.

• What is written without effort is in general read without pleasure.

• Knowledge is of two kinds. We know a subject ourselves, or we know where we can find information on it.

• Curiosity is one of the permanent and certain characteristics of a vigorous mind.

• Great English author, critic, & lexicographer; wrote "Dictionary of the English Language" 1747-1755, novel "Rasselas" 1759, 10-volume "Lives of the Poets" 1779-1781. Next only to William Shakespeare.


Good References

• Chicago Guides to Writing, Editing, and Publishing

• The Chicago Manual of Style, 15th Edition: CD-ROM for Windows (CD-ROM), June 15, 2007 (Note 1st Edition in 1906)

• A Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations, 7th Edition: Chicago Style for Students and Researchers, April 15, 2007

• The Craft of Research, 2nd edition, March 2003 All by University of Chicago Press


Itches of Translation/Interpretation

• Idiom, phrase, proverb, saying, slag etc.

• 信 -Meaningful, 达 -Loyalty, 雅 -Elegance• 不懂外语的林纾 ( 琴南 ) ，《巴黎茶花女遗事》和《撒

克逊劫后英雄略》译笔流畅，对中国文学界影响很大。• 向西方介绍中国文化的林语堂 , 《吾国与吾民》于 1935

年在纽约出版和立即成为畅销书 , 被赛珍珠认为是“历来有关中国的著作中最忠实、最巨丽、最完备、最重要的成绩” 。两脚踏东西文化 , 一心评宇宙文章。

• 译《毛选、诗、词》的人中之龙钱钟书 , 《管锥编》凭记忆默写征引西方千余学者多种语言著作 1780 多种。


翻译 - 编辑之痒与痛• 春风得意马蹄疾• Happy horse runs fast in Spring (???)• 师范大学• Normal university (???)• 名利双收• To have wild dreams of glory ( 围城英译 )

• To have wild dreams of gaining both fame and wealth?

• 一年之计在于春 , 一日之计在于晨• One hour in the morning is worth two in the evening (?)• Early bird catches the worm


Plagiarism and Data Fabrication

• “Plagiarism is the appropriation of another person’s ideas, processes, results, or words without giving appropriate credit, including those obtained through confidential review of others’ research proposals and manuscripts.” – the Federal Office of Science and Technology Policy,

1999.

• 剽窃他人和剽窃自己以及数据造假都不行 !

• Automatic text check system underway


熟能生巧• Every dog has his/her own days ( 人不可貌相 ,

人生终有得意时 ) • Loss face ( 丢脸 )• Dare to loss (one’s) face ( 不怕丢脸 )• Practice makes perfect ( 熟能生巧 )• Kills two birds with one stone

一箭双雕 , 围魏救赵 , 名利双收

• Funny little words: at, in, of, on, up, the etc.


班门弄斧 - 不自量力

• 关公面前耍大刀• 孔夫子面前卖文章• 当自己是个人物• Wave axe in front of Master LuBan (???)

• Pretend to be James Bond (?)

• To be someone

• To teach a fish how to swim

谢谢大家 !


Personal Experience• Cu out diffusion in Si wafer (UW)

– F. Zheng and T.G. Stoebe, Low Temperature Out-Diffusion of Cu from Silicon, Journal of Electrochemical Society 146 (1999) 1238-1240.

• Nanosized ZnO (CSU)– Y. Chen, R.Z. Yu, Q. Shi, J.L. Qin, F. Zheng ， Hydrothermal Synthesis

of hexagonal ZnO clusters ， Materials Letter 61 (2007) 4438-4441.

• High temperature electrode reactions (CSU)– F. Zheng, Y. Chen, High temperature electrode reactions of Sr and Mg

doped LaGaO3 perovskite, J Mater Sci., 43(2008)2058-2065. DOI 10.1007/s10853-007-2423-y

• B-C-Si-Zr ultra high temperature ceramics (CSU)– H.M. Chen, F. Zheng, Z.P. Jin, Thermodynamic Assessment of B-Zr and

Si-Zr Binary Systems, Journal of Alloys and Compounds, accepted

• Accepted with no change


Jokes

• Around 2000, MIT students set-up a computer program to automatically generate several artificial research papers and submitted them to both conference and journal editors and those papers went through strict peer-review process and got published with no doubt at all!

• Some Science and Nature papers are forged

• “Half” Science and Nature papers could not be confirmed later (<1 year)


Metallurgy & Ceramic Fuel Cells

• 中南矿冶学院材料系压加 792 班 (1979~1983)• Metallurgy (1983-94, China & UK)

– Metallurgist by trade (BS, 1983)– Taught & worked on Metallurgy (1983~1992)– Metallurgist at Sheffield, UK (1992~1994)

• Fuel Cells (1994-2003, USA)– AWU Fellow @PNNL (1994~1999, SOFC)

• LSM cathode, WSU, Master, 1996• LSGM electrolyte, UW, Ph.D., 2000

– Director of R&D @ NEI (00~01, PEM/ SOFC)– Chief scientist @ Hydrovolt (01~02, SOFC)– Visiting scientist @ LBNL (02~03, SOFC)

• 中南大学材料学院教授 (2003~)


Materials Science LectureP

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Ch

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Engineering

Mathematics

MSEMSE MSEMSE

Com

posi

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Structure

Pro

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ing

Properties-Performance

谢谢大家 !

how to conduct decent research work

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