Course info

Description:

This 3-day course provides the required skills and knowledge for the PhD students to start, do and publish their research effectively. During the course, the students will be introduced with different tools and software that could make their research related tasks easier to proceed. The students will learn how and where to find related references, how to read and categorize them, how to make notes, how to write using Latex, how to cite using different packages, how to write different parts of the paper, how to present it, how to find a proper journal and submit their work, and how promote their work after publications. The codes of ethics and professional ethics related to dissemination of research outputs will be discussed too. A problem based learning approach will be followed in the course and the students will prepare a mini-review paper on their topic and will present it. The contents that will be covered are as follows:

Contents covered:

• Introduction to scientific databases
• Introduction to different types of papers
• Publication indexing systems
• Plagiarism and detection methods
• How to write different parts of papers
• Editorial points for writing papers and thesis
• Common mistakes in writing papers and thesis
• Citation management tools
• Latex for paper and thesis writing
• Journal selection and paper submission process
• Tips for effective presentation (conference and thesis)
• Dissemination promotion
• The followings will be done by students
• Preparing mini-review paper
• Presentation by students

Prerequisites:
This course is open for engineering and sciences students.

Learning objectives:
- To familiarize the students with different scientific databases and scientific indexes
- To equip the students with the tools that they will need in doing PhD research
- To familiarize the students with academic ethics in research publication
- To prepare the students for effective oral and written presentation

Teaching methods:
The teaching will include lectures and in-hand workshops. Each student or a team of students will be given a specific topic to implement the contents discussed during the course.

Criteria for assessment:
The assessment will be done based on the participation in the course and preparing and presentation (oral and written) of the projects.

Key literature:
The lecturers will provide power point files for each topic based on their experience in the field.
Katz, M. J. (2009). From research to manuscript: A guide to scientific writing. Springer Science & Business Media.