Key factors for publishing research in top-tier journals like CSP, ACM, i3E, etc.

Making a research study is complex. It needs time, proper management, focus, effort and proper funding to succeed. Having a research to be published in top-tier journals such as CSP, ASM and i3E says that, that research has been made with more effort, passion, and dedication and is of high importance to the sector it belongs to and to the community.


From what I read at acm.org, in ACM's Right and Responsibilities in ACM Publishing, a research that wants to recognized/published it has to pass several processes namely; Reviewing, Processing of Accepted Works and Dissemination. In i3e rules, “research must not be submitted twice to another conference”. Considering the originality of your research is not the end of the consideration; novelty, impact to the readers and content of your research must also be considered, because your research will also be categorized. Thus, we can see how tightly these top-tier journals evaluate research works before considering of publishing it.

As to what factors they apply in their decision making, most of it are also the same factors employed in judging a simple research paper.

First and foremost, “Is it original? Is it unique? Is it timely?”. Topic originality and uniqueness are the most important factor. Though it is true that some research works are a bit similar to one another and that is why review of related research is a component of making a research paper but then the present must showcase a new side and solution to that old problem. No two research works can ever be the same. But then if your research paper tackles problems the society is dealing today, which refers to your study being timely then it is much better than a problem tackled more than a decade.

The second concern would be, “Is your study relevant?”. Mostly all research works done are relevant and because of this another question is raised and that is “How relevant is it?”. If the study is believed to be more relevant or beneficial to its appointed audience or to the society as a whole, then it will have higher chances of being chosen to be published in a top-tier journal.

Next, would be the type of research you are doing. If the research your doing is a bit more on the technical side, it has a better chance of being in a top-tier journal than a social one. Another would be research approach. This deals with the citations used in your study. The rate of publication of your work depends upon how you cited other’s work. If your citations are merely on the flaws of the other’s work it has a low rate of publication or may not be published at all. Otherwise, if you improve his work, and given with proper credit the publication’s rate is high.

If the topic you are raising is already deemed valid and valuable, and the methodologies you have used to prove your hypothesis are already tested for and is proved to be accurate then what’s left to be critiqued now is how you wrote it. As a colleague of min said, "You may have to follow a style that would not be pleasing to the English department".”

The journal you made must follow a particular “standard” way of writing a research paper, whether it is by the APA or other commonly used formal writing style. But since its for a top-tier journal, then they must have a particular writing style you are advised to make use of.

Another factor would the packing of your whole paper. This strategy deals with the overall "look" of your paper. It was stated in the paper that you have to make the main point in your study earlier in the body. Compare and explain the result of your work to others with similar studies and state its contribution to other’s work. In short, "try to see them as others might see them, initially with a skeptical eye".

Footnotes are also essential in their consideration. According to the paper I have read footnotes serve us two purposes. Footnotes allow us to not make our paper very long because we may just cite some references so we may not write them in detail.

Though this is not a proper factor, we can say that an author’s track record is also a significant consideration because we can’t deny the fact if the author is already well-known to have produced relevant research works in the past, a level of respect from the board or panel of judges and a level of anticipation to his new research work. That is why it is undeniable that some writers include the names of established scientists even though they just contribute a little in their work.
Experience is one of the factors too. The authors know the pitfalls and obstacles in publishing, more especially in top-tier journals; that is why it could be easier for them for the next paper to be published.

As I mentioned above, all of these criteria are also used in judging a “simple” research paper, so I believe that the only difference is that top-tier journals have only higher standards. Therefore, selecting a work to be published should also be of high quality because it reflects the totality of a company's reputation. Overall, these are some factors in publishing research: originality, uniqueness, timeliness, reliability, coherence, competence, ethics, and credibility.

Evaluating a Good Research Work

Experts have varying opinions on what are the criteria to define a good research works but over all it points out on the same idea and that is “a research is good if it presents new problems and develops a solution which would be beneficial to all”. The main purpose of research is to distinguish a way or ways to solve a particular problem. And if this condition will be met then we can say that it is a good research work provided also that it is up to date, the complexity of the problem and its solution doesn’t compromise the proper structure of a research paper.


Whatever may be the types of research works and studies, one thing that is important is that they all meet on the common ground of scientific method employed by them. One expects that the purpose of the research should be clearly defined and common concepts be used. The research procedure used should be described in sufficient detail to permit another researcher to repeat the research for further advancement, keeping the continuity of what has already been attained. Also, the procedural design of the research should be carefully planned to yield results that are as objectives as possible.

Also, the researcher should report with complete frankness, flaws in procedural design and estimate their effects upon the findings. The analysis of data should be sufficiently adequate to reveal its significance and the methods of analysis used should be appropriate. The validity and reliability of the data should be checked carefully.
Conclusions should be confined to those justified by the data of the research and limited to those for which the data provide an adequate basis.
And lastly, greater confidence in research is warranted if the researcher is experienced, has a good reputation in research and is a person of integrity.


In other words, we can state the qualities of a good research is that its systematic, logical , empirical and replicable.

By systematic, it means that research is structured with specified steps to be taken in a specified sequence in accordance with the well defined set of rules. Systematic characteristic of the research does not rule out creative thinking but it certainly does reject the use of guessing and intuition arriving at conclusions.

By logical, this implies that research is guided by the rules of logical reasoning and the logical process of induction and deduction are of great value in carrying out research. Induction is the process of reasoning from a part to the whole whereas deduction is the process of reasoning from the premise. In fact, logical reasoning makes research more meaningful in the context of decision making.

As for empirical, it implies that research is related basically to one or more aspects of a real situation and deals with concrete data that provides a basis for external validity to research results.

And lastly, good research work is replicable which refers to the characteristic allows research to be verified by replicating the study and thereby building a sound basis for decisions.

As for evaluation, once the research paper passed the criteria given above what is left is to evaluate how the paper is written.

Most of the time when evaluating, panel is brought in to judge a research work. They test your evidences or results of your study, question on your hypothesis and methodology. All of these are already discussed on the criteria given above. What is left now is judging on how your paper was written. The questions below are likely to be used as criteria in this matter.

• Sources: Does the paper use the right kinds of scholarly or popular-scholarly sources to support its claims?
While no number of sources can be called automatically "enough," the assignment requires that you find sources of sufficient quality to support what you say you know about your topic.

• Is the paper based on at least some recent article-length sources?
Articles are the sources of the most recent and most tightly focused analysis on your topic. Students who rely on books because OLLI is easier to use, or because books appear to have "more on the topic," are still thinking at a pre-college level. They do not understand how quickly book-length manuscripts become outdated, and how books' much larger theses can make it difficult for students to extract useful support from them without misunderstanding what they are borrowing. But then nowadays, student rely so much on the Internet and thus results to what we call “copy and paste technology”. This is now done like a common practice but then it should not be done since this is illegal. Even if you credit the authors whose works you are using, it will still be weighed against you seeing that you have not consider revising terms and phrases. If you want your work to be published in top-tier journals, quoting works of others are almost prohibited.

• Does it use at least one scholarly source, or does it contain a well-written endnote or footnote which explains exactly why there are no scholarly sources available on this topic?
You can use popular-scholarly journals and scholarly reference works to give you a "ladder of expertise" so that you can read professional scholars' work.

• If the topic requires it, are the sources recent enough to be persuasive?
Due to the fast changing things nowadays, books/articles/sources becomes outdated quickly. Conclusions based on out of date evidence fail to persuade. Students who want to succeed in these majors must become persistent enough researchers to seek out the most recent and authoritative sources on their topics.

• Thesis:
Is the paper organized by an independent thesis which at least uses reasoning and/or evidence from one article to contribute substantively to the reasoning and/or evidence in any other article, thus avoiding mere summary of the research? Is the thesis carefully composed to avoid claiming absolute knowledge if its evidence supports only possible or probable conclusions? Is the thesis supported by logically sound reasoning?

These questions are asking whether the author has moved beyond the stage of merely reporting what others say, and into the stage of being able to think creatively about the topic. Early attempts to do this may be tentative and uncertain. To protect your reputation for careful thinking, make sure you distinguish clearly among certain, probable, and possible conclusions. Be content to claim your conclusions are "possibly" correct unless you can eliminate many of the contending conclusions to claim they are "probably' correct. Do not claim your conclusions "certainly" explain the evidence unless you have eliminated all alternative explanations. Logical fallacies often arise because writers unconsciously struggle to force their research to support to their earliest intuitions, guesses, hunches, or hypotheses about what is true. (Think of how often you heard high-school writers say "I'm going to do some research to get sources that support my thesis.") Beware your own prejudices about what you think the evidence will reveal before you've impartially examined it. Let the evidence speak and you can hardly go far wrong.

• Audience:
Does the paper address a scholarly audience and correctly estimate the level of knowledge that audience can be expected to possess? Does it avoid telling experts obvious things, like defining terms of art or basic concepts, providing needless "background," and identifying experts to each other with unnecessary specificity (e.g., "the biologist Lewis Thomas" in a paper addressed to biologists)? Does it always specify the source of generalizations about evidence by correct citations of scholarship?

• Mechanics and Documentation:
Does the paper use standard academic English usage and sentence construction, coherent and well-ordered paragraphs, logical paragraph transition, and a fully functional title, introduction, and conclusion? Does the paper accurately and consistently use a documentation style appropriate to the discipline (MLA, APA, CBE, or U. Chicago), or does it at least use MLA style accurately and consistently? Does it have the proper style, conventions, and organization of words, facts, and subjects? Is too much jargon used that the study can not be understood by its selected audience?

Failure to write grammatically when making a scholarly claim automatically exposes the writer to suspicion that the basic thinking underlying the paper is faulty, too. This is especially difficult for student writers because when the mind must concentrate on difficult, newly learned concepts and methods, grammar and syntax almost always deteriorate. Be especially careful when using terms of art and jargon from the discipline you're just entering. As an "apprentice," you may make mistakes that a more experienced scholar would not make, and they're the kind of mistakes that damage your authority, so you should pay special attention to those peculiar kinds of words and phrases. Double your efforts to proofread your final draft in order to catch these old errors that will come back when you least want them to appear. You can prevent one typical source of dangerous errors if you start your paper's first draft with a list of sources as you accumulate them in your research, properly formatted in the documentation style appropriate for your topic's discipline. This is far to important to leave for the last five minutes of the writing process, and if you develop the habit of doing it early you will save yourself countless disappointments in later papers. Just build the paper on top of that source list, and add to it every time you develop a new source, and you can spend your last hours polishing your prose rather than worrying about documentation format.

One you passed all these criteria then your research work is deemed of praise and recognition.

credits to:
http://faculty.goucher.edu/eng105sanders/research_paper_evaluation_criter.htm
http://www.reportbd.com/articles/57/1/Criteria-Qualities-of-Good-Scientific-Research/Page1.html

The Role of Research in My Future Career

Every object around us is a result of research. From pillows to non stick fry pans, crayons to drawing tablets, from mouse pads to computers and even barbeque flavored biscuits to chocolate wafer ones, all of these and more are the results of research. Not only tangible things like products spring from research but also in vague things such as marketing strategies, advertising ideas, commercials and many how-to functions.

Research in this age and time means searching for a theory, for testing a theory, or for solving a problem. It means that a problem exists and has been identified and that the solution of the problem is necessary or beneficial. When the police is trying to solve a crime, they need to gather evidences, witnesses and make inductive or deductive reasoning to solve the questions, why was the crime done, who did it and how was it done. All of these strategies speak of research.

Kerlinger defines research as “a systematic controlled, empirical, and critical investigation of hypothetical propositions about the presumed relations among the natural phenomena”. And looking for a research problem with such characteristics and entailed with such limitations is really complex. By limitations, I mean that the scope of the research problem that we need to do have been limited to revolve only to “Green Computing”. Though this topic is something I and my classmates are interested with, yet up to this date, all of us are besieged to think of one worthy research idea.

I have actually delayed replying to this topic since I still have no idea on what my ideal research topic is but the time has finally came that I can’t it delay anymore (te-hee). Providentially, I have an idea or two now to help me in answering the question above. But allow me to tell you about how I arrived to those ideas.

When we were told to think of an idea for a research study, I would admit that there were times that I slacked off. In times that I was trying to focus, I would face the computer and search for topics such as economic and environmental problems that is caused by computers or technology, or “green” products. Virtually, I search and read anything that is related to green IT or green computing since that is the main building block of my research study. But in searching the Internet, even with a thousand hits or topics of varying titles, authors and origins the ideas are a bit similar. E-waste management is the most popular result followed by ‘green’ datacenters or recyclable computer parts and then by computer hazards in the environment through C02 and radiation emissions. Basically, the things I read online revolves around those affairs. I even tired asking opinion from friend of mine but most of them just replied e-waste management and CO2 emissions. A friend of mine already proposed E-waste management and to say it simply, it wasn’t really received warmly by our professor, in fact he even advised that particular friend of mine to forget about E-waste and think of another idea. I can’t really blame my professor, though E-waste is existing in the “present” and interesting, it isn’t worthy to be a research topic if you just want to discuss on what it is and how to do it since it has been discussed many times and its “solution” has been demonstrated loads of times. For me, a proper research topic entails creating solution to something undiscovered and vital. If I foresee that not bring solution to my proposed problem then I would not proceed with it.

Days, turned to weeks and weeks turned to months, when I finally realized that only employing one technique (searching through the Internet) to get an idea isn’t enough. It is funny because when I thought about it, I have to “research” not only about a proper proposal for my research but also I have to “research” a technique on how to arrive to an idea. And in lou of that, I understood that research isn’t easy as it sounds, heck, finding a problem itself needs research. So as another strategy, if you may call it, I went on a Research Field Exposure. I got this idea from a show I was watching wherein the contestants went to different places to get inspiration or more specifically to design and concept for a new phone. Though there were things that they can use inside the office such as sketches of prints, color schemes and palettes of which they can base their new designs from they went outside to research and gather a fresh new perspective. One team went to an art museum and the other team went to the carnival and at the end of the day all of them delivered well, even exceeding the expectations of those who were in that business for years. I wasn’t really thinking of exceeding anyone’s expectations (though that would be nice) but I did the same strategy so as to gain a fresh new perspective and not to mention relieve my back pains and dizziness due to spending hours in front of a computer.

Doing research in that way was actually fun, like a breath fresh air. I went in every stall/store in the mall, ate ice cream and taking pictures of things I thought would bring an idea. By every stall, I meant every and any stall from bookstores wherein I spent two hours in reading computer related books (unfortunately not even one talks about green computing so later on I read astrology books nyahaha), appliance shops (wherein I tried to find features which are eco-friendly), cellphone shops (since I was also considering making a “green” application for mobile/cellphones) and even supermarkets (ideas can spurt anywhere right?!). Going to Internet shops was a must too. Observing what problems might occur in those places is relevant to my study.

At the end of the day, I gather a lot of insights and new ideas (mostly from appliance shops). From Sony’s new line of Bravia LCD HDTV comes there WE5 series and the first ever “green” TV. It has three features that made this a green TV and those are: micro-tubular HCFL backlight, a presence sensor and an energy saving switch. I really want to incorporate those features on a computer but the problem is those are patented technology, very costly and needs years to study and training of which I can’t account for in my 5 month research time limit. But then, if really given the proper funding and knowledge I would really like to research on this topic since it would certainly help the environment because (my hypothesis is) it can cut down PC power consumption to 50% just from the microtubular HCFL backlight feature alone.

From then on, I have been reading about computer backlights and this is the first time I knew that computer and TV’s use CCFL backlights but now are being replaced of LED backlights since its more energy efficient. A normal HCFL backlight is energy efficient too but it has not been tested if its suitable for computers, hopefully with this new micro tubular HCFL backlight, its integration to computers will be studied on.

Hmmm… So obviously I am getting wrapped up on my backlights affair so let us now discuss on what is the role of research topic in deciding my future career.

There’s a saying that in life how you begin or end doesn’t matter but the journey on how you get there, and this saying applies to me. The results of research studies varies, if its hardware based it, something really new, you can apply for patent and sell this technology. If its software, you can also sell it to interested parties but it its pure social research then its implementation would benefit a lot people aside from yourself. But then if in the end my end product would not be that satisfying, I wouldn’t feel down about it since what is important and more useful for myself and for my future career is what I learned and how I applied it. For me, whether or not, I formulate a research study worthy of applause or recognition what matters most is the journey on how I came to that idea and how I did it though I still target to have a significant research study that would benefit me and my environment. Right now, I still have no concrete proposal, I already learned a lot of things. Things that I wouldn’t have the wind of if not for this research study. I got interested in a lot of topics and I am hoping I would get to formally study or work on after I graduate of which may help me on what job I would like to apply for when I graduate (which hopefully would be this year). All the things I learned is essential for my growth as a student who would later on be part of a team of It specialist. Through this, I become conscious of the fact that, true, the school teaches us a lot of things but not all the things that would make us ready when we are on the actual field and thus if we want to “be” ready for it, we must research it on our own. The Internet and the environment gives us a lot of data to work on, a lot of ideas to use, new discoveries and areas in which we can vent out all of these.

Creating a research study builds up interest in a particular field of study, and for me as an IT student it might be on programming, or on analysis or technical implementation and I believe when I graduate the impression that research left on me might direct me to an industry or career that interests me or maybe if I am lucky and my research gets known by such industries they might be the one who gets interested in me to join their team.

My Research Field Exposure

Last Wednesday, I went to a “field exposure” on my own. I did this for the purpose of both having my mind refreshed by being away from the teasing EMF emitting computers for awhile and have the possibility of generating an idea for my research proposal.
I have been (or would like to think that I have) trying to think of a research proposal for one of my subjects this semester and unfortunately, I have found nothing good enough. I believe that if ever I was going to look for inspiration for an idea there’s nowhere better to get that from than from the Internet. After spending many hours, days and weeks with this strategy I pretty much believe that it’s a failure now. I mean, how can I get an idea when I don’t even know what to search for. Its not that I haven’t got any ideas from the Internet but then the terms “Green computing” and “technical implementation” got the results of which my expectations can’t reach since its too technical for me. Terms like data centers, hardware manipulation or improvisation for a greener environment are all that came across my readings and let’s face it its too costly and time eating, something that I can not compromise since it would really fit my 5 month plan.
My biggest problem is getting a problem that can satisfy my standards which actually isn’t set really high. Even though our professor already told us to think out of the box and encourage us to set our bars higher, I am honestly not targeting anything beyond my thinking capacity. I research about something I am interested with and within my limits so as to do it efficiently. My limits referring that it focuses more on the social than the technical side of study. The truth of the matter is that I do have some nice ideas for a research study but then I can’t get myself to post it since I always think that the implementation or the technical parts of it would be too hard or even impossible for me, and this “negativity” if you might call it, is my waterloo. As I result, I tend to find new ideas, of which like the first one, proved to be too technical for me. So I decided to go onto field exposure to refresh my mind and so as to block these thoughts or limitations by seeing sceneries and experiencing it first hand than just sitting in front of a desktop computer and have these thoughts eat me. I actually got this idea from a show I was watching, where the participants went to selected places like a carnival or a gallery to come up for a new cell phone design rather than just sitting inside the office and look up patches and color schemes. And so I told myself to forget my other ideas and forget the technical-smickle for a while and just see the world as it is, dissect it into finer blocks so that I can see its drawbacks while eating ice cream (you must admit my idea is cool).

Community is Going Green
I went to SM first, and entered the all shops..whether it be a clothing shop, gamehouse, cellshop, computer shop, music store, or a bookstore. An idea might come up at unexpected places right? I even entered the supermarket and passed by all the aisle look at their products and even bought chopsticks (one of my quirks hahaha). When I was about to pay for the chopsticks I noticed the that SM is now promoting a greener environment by using brown paper bags than plastic bags to put in what their consumers bought. If the customer likes to put it in a sturdier bag, they can purchase the SM green bag made of cloth which costs two for 35 pesos. I was really amazed by this idea since its extra income while promoting a greener environment. Those green bags are cheap but they come as extra income and they came be used over and over again. Plastic bags can be used over and over again too but they would not look that presentable like the green bags would in spite of being used a couple of times of which as a result they wouldn’t be thrown away after use like plastic bags which instantly become part of the garbage after one use. SM even has this sign board in which those who brought green bags can sign on as a proof that they support the advocacy of Bring My Own Bags (but only for Wednesdays). But then even if this practice is done once a week, it’s still a help to make people aware about participating for a greener environment. The green bags have prints on both sides, “SAVE A BAG, SAVE THE WORLD.” on the upper portion, and EXCLUSIVELY FOR SM ADVANTAGE MEMBERS on the lower portion. On the middle portion of the one side, the logo of SM Supermarket Cares, and on the other side, the logo of Unilever Philippines.

That day, I went to a lot of places. Mostly malls like, Gaisano Mall and SM, and internet shops and I also read computer related books in the National bookstore, wherein I spent two hours reading about IT related books, cookbooks, language books and astrology books (love bookstores c: ). I also went in cellphone shops since I was also trying my way in creating a green mobile application and reading the different features from different phones would certainly help. But I gained new ideas in the appliance shops. To what those ideas are, well, I will just present it later when I finished my backup study on it.

All in all, it was a good day. Even if my study would not be approved in the end (hopefully not), it’s still a nice experience for me. Stretching limbs, taking pictures of things that might help you get new ideas and eating ice cream while strolling around (even if I have to soak my feet into hot water when I got home) seems to make new definition of the word “research” for me, than my old closed on the four walled room, sitting infront of a computer and thinking-of-tags-that-would-help days. Being “in” the environment poses a more carefree, relax atmosphere than the radiation filled stiff computer room.

My First Photo Editing Works

Being a fan if someone is really good. As a positive effect, I tried and learned a lot of things like creating fan videos and editing photos of which I was not interested to do before. But as a downside though, my focus on what my responsibilities are a bit off. nyahaha XoXo

Anyways, I wanted to use Image Ready or Adobe Photoshop 7 but the I am using Gimp instead since I can install it anywhere and its more handy/portable.

The subject of course is my favorite group and my idol. I am still doing basic stuff such as quick masks, logos, and pop arts.

Here are my works.

QuickMasks

Pop Arts

Mixed Effects

Philippines Mourns at the Death of its First Woman President

Philippine flags in all government offices around the country, including Malacañang and in police and military camps were raised at half-mast Saturday morning as the country mourn the death of former President Corazon Cojuangco Aquino.

At 8 a.m., Philippine flags in Malacañang, military and police camps around the country were simultaneously raised at half-mast.

The Armed Forces of the Philippines also fired volleys at the same time, declaring the day of mourning for the death of the former president.

"We will provide full military honors befitting a former president of the republic and commander in chief," the armed forces said in a statement.

It said the military will go on a vigil and Masses will be held in all military churches during the entire wake of Mrs. Aquino's death.

"Let us continue to pray for her soul and for the entire Filipino nation," it said.

Flags will remain raised at half-mast all over the country during the 10-day mourning declared by President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. With a report from Noel Alamar, radio dzMM.

The Aquino family has opted for a private funeral for the late Corazon Aquino instead of a state funeral given to former presidents, according to Senator Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III.

Aquino said this was because his mother had chosen to be a private citizen when she finished her term in 1992, years after she was installed as the first woman president during the People Power revolution.

The democracy icon succumbed to colon cancer 3:18 am, August 1.

“We want to spend as much time as possible as a family,” said Aquino, as he thanked the public for following their advisories that visitors were not allowed at the Heritage Memorial Park.

He added that a necrology service in Malacanang might not be possible.

“I’m not anticipating an offer, I’m not asking for an offer. There’s a point in time that we would want privacy,” he said.

A public viewing, however, has been scheduled at the La Salle Greenhills gym starting 5 pm Saturday until Monday morning. The former president will then be brought to Manila Cathedral for an overnight vigil, requiem masses and necrological services. Interment will be at the Manila Memorial Park on Wednesday, the Aquino family said.

Aquino said his mother will wear her signature yellow dress and will be buried beside her husband, former Senator Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino, whose assassination sparked the first EDSA revolution.

Fighting back tears during the press conference, Aquino said his sisters have been very emotional, but the death of their mother brought them closer.

“We draw strength from the five of us,” the senator said in a press conference Saturday.

He said he last talked to his mother days ago, before doctors gave the former president morphine to ease her pain.

“We were told to say everything we want to say because after the morphine she will be sleeping all the time,” he said.

He related that instead of complaining about her illness, the former president would first think about her children’s welfare or check what was on the news.

“Nung first time ko magbantay, she would ask me kung kumain na ako. Other times nagbabasa ako ng diyaryo itatanong niya ano laman niyan. She never demonstrated pain,” he said.

credits to:

Thea Alberto
Yahoo! Philippines

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