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Ways to Excel as a Stage-4 Student

Professor Clark Thomborson

Computer Science Department

Auckland University

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Stage-4 Student Preparation

Have a generalist background in CS:» Software systems, theory, graphics, AI, ...

Ready to specialise Willing to interact with superviser and

instructors Eager to do research

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The Research Process

Project definition Literature review Discover something new & interesting Write it up

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Project Definition

Goal: focus on some topic Problem solving: given an important

problem, find a solution. Solution justification: given a “solution,”

find an important problem that it “solves.”

Something else, or both of the above!

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Literature Review: Initial Search

Goal: find at least one relevant publication AltaVista keyword search Computer science bibliographies Journals & books in the library Reference lists in textbooks & articles Web pages of researchers and research

groups UseNet FAQs and archives

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Literature Review: Later Searches

Goal: find all the relevant publications Read, take notes, think about what

you’re reading. Pay careful attention to reference lists in

relevant articles. Keep looking!

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Discovery

Goal: find something new and interesting Be creative Work hard, work efficiently, take breaks Communicate with other researchers,

students, instructors, and (especially) your supervisor

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Writing It Up: First Steps

Goal: find out what you know, and what you don’t know.

Write carefully and precisely Read your work critically, looking for

gaps in your reasoning or explanation

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Writing It Up: Second Steps

Goal: find your audience, by answering three questions.

What will you assume that your reader knows, before they read your work?

What are you trying to communicate? Why should your reader care?

» (Define a new audience, or look for something more interesting to write about!)

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Writing It Up: Third Steps

Goal: an effective piece of writing. Give your writing to someone else and

ask for their feedback Pay attention to their feedback!

» What have you learned about your audience?

» How can you communicate your ideas?» How can you motivate your audience?

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Writing It Up: Final Submission

Goal: ready for academic publication Correct in technical detail, spelling,

grammar, typography Attractive to your chosen audience Effective at communicating your ideas Academically sound: you must clearly

and fully explain how your work “fits in” to the published literature in your topic.