Guidelines for Writing a Good Research Manuscript

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Guidelines for Writing a Good Research Manuscript

• Chuleeporn Changchit
• Professor of MIS
• chuleeporn.changchit_at_tamucc.edu
• Texas AM University Corpus Christi
• Editor-in-Chief
• Journal of Information Privacy and Security
  (JIPS)

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Why Research?

• Provides an opportunity to explore a topic in
  depth
• Encourages a rigorous, logical, systematic and
  scholarly approach to problem-solving
• Real-world contribution
• Fulfills your personal needs
• Career development

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What is research?

• Research is simply gathering the information you
  need to answer a question and thereby help you
  solve a problem.
• Without reliable published research, we would be
  prisoners of what we alone see and hear (Booth
  et al. 1995)

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Formulate a Research Question

• From topic to question
• Questions are crucial because the starting point
  of good research is always what you dont know or
  understand but feel you must.
• Ask a standard question, who, what, when, where,
  how, and why

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From question to its significance

• So what? or Whats new?
• You must be able to tell why your study is
  significant, not only to yourself but also to
  others

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Answer these questions

• What are you writing about?I am studying
  ______________
• What you dont know about?because I want to find
  out who/how/why
• Why you want to know about itin order to
  understand how/what/why __________________

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Example

• I am studying an impact of e-commerce on small
  businesses
• because I want to find out who uses e-commerce,
  how small businesses use e-commerce, and why they
  use it?
• in order to understand how to use e-commerce
  successfully in small businesses, in what
  situation is appropriate for a small business to
  use e-commerce, and why some small businesses
  fail to use it

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To Avoid feeling overwhelmed

• Be aware of uncertainties that you may experience
• Write as you go.
• Control complexity of your task
• Count on your supervisor
• Take initiation!

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Planning is Everything!

• Plan your research completion and complete your
  plan
• Use a planning tool, e.g. gantt-chart
• Talk to your supervisor
• Expect an unexpected circumstance
• Self motivation

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Research Procedure

• Select a domain narrow down to a topic
• Write a topic proposal
• Talk to your supervisor early
• Decide on the style and form
• Develop a plan and a timeline
• Just do it!!!!, dont be afraid to ask for help

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How to select a Topic?

• Interesting
• Current
• Challenging
• Applicable
• Available

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Decide on the Style and Form

• Start by reviewing information or literature on
  your topic
• Formulate a problem statement and list some
  questions or hypotheses
• Sketch a list of methodologies
• Make sure that the topics scope is manageable
• Make sure that you can reach a defensible
  solution at the end

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Prepare a Topic Proposal

• A blueprint of the entire research
• Review articles in the area of your interest
• Fill out a topic proposal form

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A Topic Proposal Form

• 1. Tentative title?
• 2. Statement of the problem(s)/issue(s) addressed
• 3. Describe relevant literature (list of cited
  articles)
• 4. Methodology to use
• 5. Expected result
• 6. Contribution
• 7. Time frame

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Criteria for Evaluating a Proposal

• Title
• Objectives
• Scope
• Proposed methodology
• Literature review
• Documentation
• CONTRIBUTION
• Quality of writing
• Organization

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Do the Research

• Pace yourself (stick to the plan)
• Be systematic with your study
• What methodology serves you best?
• Writing expectations
• Structuring your project/thesis

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Typical Outline of a Research

• Title page
• Abstract
• Introduction
• Literature Review/Background
• Methodology
• Data Analysis
• Conclusion
• References
• Appendices

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1. Abstract
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1. Abstract

• Short and concise
• Summarize your project/thesis
• Not more than 2 paragraph (refers to examples),
  less than 200 words
• Include all the keywords in your study

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Characteristics of Abstract

• Re-establish the topic of the study
• Provide the research problem and/or main
  objective of the study
• Indicate the methodology used
• Present the main findings
• Present the main conclusions

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Common Problems with Abstract

• Too long
• Too much detail
• Too short
• Failure to include important information

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Abstract Examples

• http//www.misq.org/archivist/vol/no25/issue4/picc
  oli.html
• http//www.comp.lancs.ac.uk/computing/users/dixa/p
  apers/norm2001/

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2. Introduction
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2. Introduction

• Introduce the study by giving background
• Present the research problem
• Present how and why this problem will be
  solved.
• Why the study is being done (significance)

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Introduction includes

• Background What is the context of this problem?
  In what situation can this problem be observed?
• Problem Statement What is it we dont know? What
  knowledge do we gain from this study? What needs
  to be improved?
• Rationale Why is this study important? Who will
  benefit? Why do we need to know this?

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Introduction includes (cont.)

• Objectives What steps will you take to try to
  improve the situation?
• Scope Is there any aspect of the problem you
  will not discuss? Is the study limited to a
  specific area or situation?

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Introduction includes (cont.)

• Limitations Is there any factors, conditions or
  circumstances that prevent you from achieving
  your desired objectives
• Assumptions Regarding the technique used, do you
  take certain conditions or requirements for
  granted? Are there certain fundamental conditions
  or states you assume to be true?

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Common Problems with Introduction

• Too much detail, and thus too long
• Repetition of words, phases or ideas
• Unclear problem definition
• Poor organization

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Template for An Introduction

• Step 1 Establish the study area by
• Explain why this area is importantand/or
• Moving from general to specificand/or
• Reviewing relevant items of previous research

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Template for An Introduction (cont.)

• Step 2 Define a research problem (question) by
• Indicate a gap in the previous studiesor
• Raise a questionor
• Continue a previously developed line of
  inquiryor
• Counter-claiming (disagree with an
  existing/accepted approach)

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Template for An Introduction (cont.)

• Step 3 Propose a solution by
• Outline purpose/set objectivesand/or
• Announce present studiesand
• Announce principal findings (results)and
• Indicate the structure of the study

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3. Literature Review
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3. Literature Review

• Review of the literature in the area that you
  study
• Analyze what you read and put it in your own word
• Logical flow
• Be consistent of how you define terms

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3. Literature Review

• What is the literature anyway?
• The literature is the works you consulted in
  order to understand and investigate your research
  question.

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Skills Needed for a Literature Review

• Information Seeking Ability to scan the
  literature efficiently using a library or the
  Internet search to identify a set of potentially
  useful articles or books.
• Critical Appraisal Ability to apply principles
  of analysis to identify those studies which are
  unbiased and valid.
• Source http//www.utoronto.ca/hswriting/lit-revie
  w.htm

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Bad Sign!

• Every paragraph of your review begins with the
  names of researchers.
• Every paragraph contains a summary of one
  article.
• Literature review contains a stack of paragraph
  without a section header.
• There is no logical link between each paragraph.

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Good sign

• Organize your view into useful, information
  sections (or issues) relevant to your studys
  domain
• Present an evolution of a concept
• Compare/contrast different views from previous
  research

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What literature Review looks like?

• NOT a summary of articles
• Conceptually organized synthesis of the results
  of your search
• MUST
• Organize information and relate it to the
  research question
• Synthesize results into what is and isnt known
• Identify controversy when it appears in the
  literature
• Develop questions for further research
• Source http//www.utoronto.ca/hswriting/lit-revie
  w.htm

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Value of Literature Review

• NOT depends on how many sources you use
• BUT depends on your presentation and awareness
  of how different perspectives are in your study
  domain
• ALSO depends on quality of the sources you use

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How useful are the following sources?Source
http//www.languages.ait.ac.th/EL21LIT.HTM

• Journal articles (peer review) Relatively valid
  and reliable (based on a scientific study),
  relatively up-to-date issues
• Books Contains principles and theories, good for
  a starting point, give a big picture
• Conferencing proceedings latest research or
  work-in-progress
• Trade magazines Not useful for research except
  as a starting point (e.g., looking for a topic)
  or new innovations

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How useful are the following sources? (cont)

• Government/corporate reports useful for data
  collection
• Newspaper Mainly opinion, most recent trends
  discoveries
• White papers on the Internet Individual opinion,
  unscientific study, fad, good for searching a
  topic, could be a marketing scam

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Why write a literature? Source
http//www.languages.ait.ac.th/EL21LIT.HTM

• Provide a critical look at the existing research
  that is related or valuable to your study
• Not only SUMMARIZE relevant research
• Also EVALUATE those studies
• SHOW RELATIONSHIP between different studies
• SHOW HOW IT RELATES to you work

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Questions that your literature review should
answerSource http//www.languages.ait.ac.th/EL21
LIT.HTM

• What do we already know in your selected topic?
• What are the characteristics of the key concepts
  or the main factors or variables?
• What are the relationships between these key
  concepts, factors or variables?
• What are the existing theories or principles?

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Questions that your literature review should
answerSource http//www.languages.ait.ac.th/EL21
LIT.HTM

• What are the inconsistencies or other
  shortcomings or gaps in this area?
• What views need to be further tested?
• What evidence is lacking, inconclusive,
  contradictory or too limited?
• Why study the research problem?
• What contribution can your study be expected to
  make?
• What research designs or methods seem
  unsatisfactory?

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How can I write good literature review?

• Remember the purpose try to answer those
  questions (in the previous two slides)
• Read with a purpose Think while reading
• Write with a purpose Think while writing
• Source http//www.languages.ait.ac.th/EL21LIT.HTM

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Keep in mind

• If you dont define your research problem or not
  clear about it, it might take you forever to
  search the literature
• A research problem can be changed as you read
  more. So reading can shape a problem, and
  defining a problem can identify what to read and
  what to ignore.

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Traps Source http//www.languages.ait.ac.th/EL21
LIT.HTM

• Trying to read everything
• Reading but not writing
• Not keeping bibliographic information

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4. Methodology
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4. Methodology

• Description of proposed projecte.g., feasibility
  study, business plan, information technology
  plan, business environment
• Description of proposed methodology

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Methodology

• Focus on
• How was the data collected or generated?
• How was it analyzed?

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Why we need to know how the data was collected?

• Because the method affects the results
• Provides an indicator of validity and reliability
  of the results

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Remember

• Your methodology should be clear the reasons why
  you chose a particular method or procedure.
• The methodology should be consistent with
  accepted practice in the field of study.
• Techniques must be suitable to the objectives.

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What should we include in methodology?

• Discuss the problems that were anticipated
• Explain the steps taken to prevent those problems
  from occurring
• If the problems did occur, what step did you take
  to minimize their impact.

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Common Problems

• Irrelevant detail
• Unnecessary explanation of basic procedures
• Ignoring problems
• Need to explain how you overcame the obstacles
  and provide a rationale for certain decisions

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How methodology fits into your project?

• Introduction- Introduce a research question and
  objectives- Identify how those objectives can be
  achieved (through using methodology)
• Literature review- Review of previous work
  relating to the research problem and methodology
  (and results)

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How methodology fits into your project? (cont.)

• Method- Explain how the result is achieved, how
  data were collected and analyzed, and how
  problems encountered during data collection were
  solved
• Results and discussion- Present an
  interpretation of the outcomes and discuss how
  these findings solve the research problem

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Different types of projects use different
techniques

• Design and development of a system? system
  design development techniques
• Analysis? Collect data, analyze, and try to
  identify patterns
• Case study? Review background, development,
  current situation conduct content analysis using
  a framework (e.g., SWOT)

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When writing methodology

• Make sure you understand the purpose of the
  technique(s) you use
• Document what you did, why you did it, and what
  happened
• Carefully select what you documented to include
  in your project draft
• Include necessary details eliminate unnecessary
  details

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When writing methodology (cont.)

• Avoid using I to write about what you did. Do
  not use we unless you work with other(s). To
  avoid this problem, simply use passive voice
• Verb tenses be consistent

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5. Data Analysis
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5. Data Analysis

• Report the outcomes
• Discussion

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6. Conclusion
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6. Conclusion

• Summary and conclusions
• Contributions to practices and/or theory
• Suggestion for future research

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7. References
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7. References

• List of all cited articles

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8. Appendices
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8. Appendices

• Do include
• Time table
• User manual
• Relevant data analysis results
• Interview summary
• Questionnaire
• Follow-up postcard
• Old forms or reports

• Dont include
• An article
• A consultants document
• Power point slides

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Examples
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Examples

• Positive Impacts of an Intelligent System on
  Internal Control Problem Recognition
  http//www.cob.tamucc.edu/nikki/Manuscript/hpaper.
  pdf
• Integrating A Web-based Intelligent Systems into
  an Accounting Information System Course......
  http//www.cob.tamucc.edu/nikki/Manuscript/ISECONP
  aper.pdf

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Presentation (Conferences)
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Review Process

• Similar, but not the same
• Peer Review Process
• At least three reviewers ( one month)
• Accept (routine editing only)
• Minor revision
• Major revision
• Reject (encourage to resubmit)
• Reject

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Review Process

• Associate Editor
• Editor-in-Chief
• Back to author(s) for revision
• Back to author(s) for camera-ready copy
• Professional Editor
• Publishing Company

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Tips for Submitting Your Manuscript

• KNOW the Journal
• Scope
• Acceptance Rate
• Editor-in-Chief
• Associate Editor
• Review Board
• Writing Style

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Major Pitfalls

• Too short/ too long
• Spelling
• Broken sentences
• Flow of the contents
• References and citations (too old, wrong
  information, not reliable)