1. How to use
Research Outputs (ROs)
A hands-on guide to help you define, identify, filter,
read, and cite journal articles, conference proceedings,
and Non-Traditional ROs
Ricardo Sosa, PhD
@designcomputing
2. WhatareResearchOutputs(ROs)? ROs include traditional academic
publications: journal articles, books and
book chapters, conference proceedings,
etc.
It also includes non-traditional outputs
(NTROs) such as visual essays, exegesis,
‘expositions’, insight papers, reflective
papers, perspectives, essays, etc.
4. http://www.sankeymatic.com/build/
Database A [1000] Hits
Database B [300] Hits
Database C [1400] Hits
Database D [200] Hits
Hits [200] Select
Hits [2700] Ignore
Select [100] Skim
Select [50] Read
Select [50] Keep
Skim [30] Redefine
Skim [60] Delete
Skim [10] References
Read [10] Redefine
Read [30] Delete
Read [9] References
Read [1] Cite
' After your Flows are entered, use the
' controls below to customize your
' diagram's appearance.
' For even finer control over presentation,
' see the Manual (linked above).
17. Clue 01:
The title can indicate the onto-epistemology
and methodology of the work
Learn to identify terms and words that give away key information.
You can use such terms to define/redefine/refine your search
20. Step2:Author(s)
Four authors, all from same department
(Engineering) and two from industry One author, from Design department
Two authors, from Education and from
Psychology departments
One author from Computer Science
25. Clue 02:
The authors suggest the onto-epistemology
and methodology of the work
Learn to identify how authors’ affiliations give away key information
31. Clue 03:
A good abstract introduces the topic, justifies
the study, hints at the methods, and shows the
results and contribution
Good abstracts are hard to find. Some ROs don’t have abstracts, the
first paragraph should meet this function
34. Clue 04:
Identify good keywords to (re)define search
terms. Always keep an eye on keywords
Learn to identify good keywords and new keywords that you may have
missed before. Keep a list at hand
36. Step5:Keysection(s)
Pacanowsky, M. (1995). Team tools for wicked problems. Organizational Dynamics,
23(3), 36-51. https://doi.org/10.1016/0090-2616(95)90024-1
Similar papers? What would you look at to decide if you should read it?
39. Step5:Keysection(s)
Read #1 if you need an
overall idea of the field
and this work
Read #2 when you need
to scope the background
or check your familiarity
Read #3 to understand
what and how this
person did in detail
Read #4 to see the
results and #5 for
claims and implications
Read #6 for open
questions and References
to scope the background
40. Clue 05:
What should you read first?
Learn to decide how you should skim/read an RO depending on what
you are looking for. Only very few papers you need to read entirely
from beginning to end
46. Clue 06:
References help readers ‘locate’ the work
Learn that ROs across disciplines follow *very* different conventions.
Scan the references, notes, or bibliography to get a better idea of the
background and related works
55. Clue 07:
The methods or study design section (usually
the third) should explicitly say how the work
was carried out
Learn to identify the *very* different ways in which authors describe
what and how they did
60. Clue 08:
The results and claims section (usually second-last)
is where the contribution of this work is made:
findings, analysis, implications, demonstrations
Learn to quickly locate the ‘substance’ of an RO and to assess it based
on all the other sections. Watch out for unsubstantiated claims and
flaws
65. Clue 09:
The last section usually summarises the work
(so it’s good to read it first), takes a broad view
of the results, and frames new questions
Learn when to start reading an RO from the end as a way to assess
whether you should bother reading the rest
68. Clue 10:
Use the RO to keep navigating the field. Locate
the key references and ROs that cite this work
Learn to identify a few (key) references to check next, look at ‘Cited by’
works, set up alerts, look for the author/journal/conference for further
related ROs
