# Research Flow

Source: https://www.yegor256.com/2024/02/06/research-flow.html

Say, you are a student, and I'm your [teacher]({% pst 2021/dec/2021-12-01-teaching %}).
Your task is to conduct
an experiment or a study and then write a research paper about it.
You can do it on your own and then present me with the results in the end.
Sometimes it may work, but most probably it won't. I will have many comments,
suggestions, and plain simple disagreements with your research questions, results,
or conclusions. Just like in software engineering, the [Waterfall](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waterfall_model) approach
is not an effective one. Instead, an _incremental and iterative_ workflow
may yield way better results: you take a small step forward,
we discuss it, you rewrite, we agree, and you take the next step.
The ultimate objective is to write a paper that will be published in
a good journal or presented at a [decent conference]({% pst 2021/apr/2021-04-14-how-we-organized-iccq %}).
Well, yes, a passing grade is also an objective.


{% jb_picture_body %}

Since the goal is a research paper, your first step is to create
a skeleton of it in LaTeX. If you don't know LaTeX yet,
read [_LaTeX: A Document Preparation System_](https://www.amazon.com/LaTeX-Document-Preparation-System-2nd/dp/0201529831)
by [Leslie Lamport](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leslie_Lamport) (just 242 pages).
If you think you already know LaTeX,
read [this short list of its best practices](https://yegor256.github.io/latex-best-practices/main.pdf)
and [_Writing for Computer Science_](https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-1-4471-6639-9)
by [Justin Zobel](https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=uEHvqE8AAAAJ) (just 284 pages).

Now, create a document in [Overleaf](https://overleaf.com),
and [share a link](https://www.overleaf.com/learn/how-to/Sharing_a_project#Link_sharing)
with me so that I can also edit the project. Use one of the following templates
(you should also [create](https://www.overleaf.com/learn/how-to/Using_bibliographies_on_Overleaf)
an empty `main.bib` file too):
[ACM](https://gist.github.com/yegor256/aa6215039cf687e4353c61385f23dd6c) (preferred),
[IEEE](https://gist.github.com/yegor256/58b289432d9ca13a6fd5946c77d8bd48),
and
[Springer](https://gist.github.com/yegor256/905c0a1eac18eb6839a192b37f0816e4).

Now, you are ready to begin your research incrementally,
and I will review each step in the following order:

  1. Research Questions
  1. Research Method --- [how to?]({% pst 2023/oct/2023-10-11-method-of-research %})
  1. Preliminary Experiments
  1. Related Work --- [how to?]({% pst 2023/sep/2023-09-29-how-to-write-related-work-section %})
  1. Results --- [how to?]({% pst 2023/dec/2023-12-11-results-and-discussion %})
  1. Limitations
  1. Discussion --- [how to?]({% pst 2023/dec/2023-12-11-results-and-discussion %})
  1. Conclusion
  1. Introduction --- [how to?]({% pst 2022/aug/2022-08-24-research-paper-template %})
  1. Abstract
  1. Title

Each step produces a few new paragraphs in the LaTeX document.
In [this blog post]({% pst 2022/aug/2022-08-24-research-paper-template %}),
you can find recommendations for each of the steps. I strongly advise against
moving on to the next step unless the previous one is discussed and approved.
Doing so may result in greater frustration on your part when you've
written almost the entire paper, and we both realize that the
whole piece must be rewritten, and experiments must be redone.

Before we start, please put a date on each of the steps mentioned above and send
me the entire work plan. It's better to meet every milestone as a disciplined student;
otherwise, the risk of failure will be larger.

I believe that you, the reader of this blog post, are an honest and motivated
student who not only cares about achieving a passing grade but also
values contributing to computer science. However, not every student fits this description.
Surprisingly, some may lack motivation or diligence. To prioritize the enthusiastic
and dedicated students who require most of my attention, I may halt a research
project when I discern a lack of genuine commitment. The use of
[ChatGPT]({% pst 2023/dec/2023-12-26-defend-me-against-chatgpt %}),
plagiarism, and negligence may lead to an unfavorable assessment of your work.
I strongly advise avoiding them.