Cleveland State University EEC 414/503, ESC 720 Writing in Electrical and Computer Engineering

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Cleveland State UniversityEEC 414/503, ESC
720Writing in Electrical and Computer Engineering

• Lecture 4 How to Read
• Dan Simon

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How to Read

1. Reading Basics Video (Blackboard)
2. Video Review
3. Find Sources
4. Summarize Sources

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How to Read Video Review

• Your short-term memory can handle between 3 and 7
  chunks of information at a time
• The average attention span is about 90 minutes
  after 90 minutes, we need a 15-minute break

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How to Read Video Review

• Read with your hands preview the article by
  flipping through pages, turn section headings
  into chunks
• Dont read for more than 90 minutes at a time
• Take a refreshing break every 90 minutes
• Draw pictures to help you remember what youve
  read (Moonwalking with Einstein)
• Define your goal are you reading for a quiz, a
  test, or to write a paper?

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How to Read Video Review

• Do not carefully read through every paper
• This is one of the differences between reading
  for research, and reading for pleasure
• Carefully read only your core sources
• Make yourself comfortable

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How to Read

1. Reading Basics Video (Blackboard)
2. Video Review
3. Find Sources
4. Summarize Sources

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How to Read Find Sources

• Virtual Reference Desk Encyclopedias, books,
  theses, articleswww.ulib.csuohio.edu/research/vrd
  
• Academic Search Premier IEEE Xplore, Compendex,
  etc.www.ulib.csuohio.edu/research/databases
• Databases in your subject area www.ulib.csuohio.ed
  u/research/databases/subject.html
• Google Scholar http//scholar.google.com

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How to Read Find Sources

• LexisNexis Newspaper articles for general
  background information not source
  materialhttp//web.lexis-nexis.com/universe
• CSU library cataloghttp//scholar.csuohio.edu
• OhioLink Books and book chapters ( 1 week)
  http//olc1.ohiolink.edu/search
• Interlibrary Loan ( 2 weeks) www.ulib.csuohio.edu
  /services/ill

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How to Read Find Sources

• Find and read a few non-academic titles for your
  own general background information
• Web sites, Wikipedia, newspaper articles,
  magazine articles
• Find 40 titles in the databases academic books,
  journals, and conference papers
• No magazine articles
• No web sites

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How to Read Find Sources

• Out of 40 titles, only about 25 will be available
  (some will be missing, others dont arrive in
  time from interlibrary loan, others dont relate
  to your subject well)
• Skim your 25 sources and make a quick decision
  yes or no?
• Save only those that relate well to your research
  question
• Select the 10 best sources for careful reading

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How to Read Find Sources

• Evaluate your source list
• Do you have too many or too few sources?
• Do you need to expand or limit the publication
  dates?
• Is the relevance of the sources to your subject
  too broad or too narrow?
• Do you need to expand or narrow your topic?
• Do a few of your sources seem especially
  relevant? Check their reference lists.

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How to Read Find Sources

• The Engineering Librarian can help you find more
  sources, or narrow down your list. Make an
  appointment atwww.ulib.csuohio.edu/services/ask

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How to Read

1. Reading Basics Video (Blackboard)
2. Video Review
3. Find Sources
4. Summarize Sources

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How to Read Summarize Sources

• Summarize the article
• In a few seconds, glance through the article.
  What do you expect it to be about? Section
  headings, tables, and pictures can give you
  clues.
• Next, carefully read the abstract and conclusion.
  Now what do you expect the article to be about?
• Next, read the article somewhat carefully. Whats
  different from what you expected?
• What are your personal reactions to the article
  excited, challenged, confused, bored?
• Write the main point (focus, thesis) of the
  article in one sentence
• What are the broader implications (social,
  technological, moral, etc.) of the main point?

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How to Read Summarize Sources

• Summary structure
• Bibliographic details
• Your reactions
• Your questions
• Whats the point of writing a summary?
• It helps you systematically study your source
  material
• It helps you organize your source material

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How to Read Summarize Sources

• Summary structure (1) Bibliographic details
• Full reference (author, title, date, etc.)
• Qualifications of the author
• Number of references (a good source for other
  material for your report)
• Focus or thesis (one sentence)
• Significance of the thesis to the author (the so
  what)

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How to Read Summarize Sources

• Summary structure (2) Your reaction
• Intellectual reasoning, evidence, conclusion
  excites or bothers you  
• Moral, Ethical, or Emotional 
• Intuitive some aspect excites or bothers you,
  but you dont know why
• Cultural  
• Timing some aspect reminds you of something else
  another article, a person, an event, etc. 
• Concentration the article concentrates on only a
  few things, and forgets something important

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How to Read Summarize Sources

• Summary structure (3) Your questions
• What questions about your report topic does the
  article raise in your mind?
• How does the articles thesis relate to the topic
  of your report?
• The answers to your questions may require more
  research or consultation with a research librarian

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How to Read Summarize Sources

• Example (1) Bibliographic details
• Full reference A. Kapti and M. Yucenur, Design
  and control of an active artificial knee joint,
  Mechanism and Machine Theory, vol. 41, pp.
  1477-1485, 2006
• Qualifications University faculty
• Number of references 12
• Thesis A newly proposed active leg prosthesis
  with a rule-based controller gives better
  performance than passive prostheses.
• Significance The new prosthesis helps amputees
  with daily living activities.

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How to Read Summarize Sources

• Example (2) My reaction
• Intellectual Active prostheses should always
  outperform passive ones. What is the contribution
  here?   
• Intuitive There are not enough details (PID
  control parameters, rule parameters, and so on).
  Position control is used in stance phase.
• Timing Other active prostheses are proposed in
  the literature, but discussed only briefly in
  this article.  
• Concentration The article is very skimpy on
  details. It mentions various activities (sitting,
  standing, etc.) but does not give experimental
  results. It does not mention any drawbacks of the
  proposed design (for example, power consumption).

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How to Read Summarize Sources

• Example (3) My questions
• How many different modes are needed in prosthesis
  control?
• How accurately do we need to control knee angle?
• Are there other aspects of gait we need to
  control?
• What are the advantages and disadvantages of
  active control?

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How to Read Summarize Sources

• Example (3) My questions (continued)
• Authors thesis A newly proposed active leg
  prosthesis with a rule-based controller gives
  better performance than passive prostheses.
• My thesis An active prosthesis with impedance
  control can improve prosthesis performance.
• Relationship The two theses are similar, except
  the authors thesis involves rule-based
  trajectory control while mine involves rule-based
  impedance control and the authors thesis uses
  only one performance criterion while mine uses
  several.

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Conclusion

1. Lots of short study sessions
2. Skim lots of material
3. Carefully read a limited amount of material
4. Use the library to find source material
5. Use informal sources for background info
6. Distill 40 ? 25 ? 10 formal sources
7. Spend 2 minutes each on 25 sources to narrow them
   down to 10 sources
8. Three-part detailed summary of 10 sources

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Conclusion

• Next class Visit the CSU library to learn how to
  use their resources
• Homework 4 due in two weeks
• Next lecture topic Select a thesis for your
  report

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Acknowledgments

• CSU Writing Centerwww.csuohio.edu/academic/writin
  gcenter