Write good papers: my slides
Daniel Lemire,
Weblog,
Mar 26, 2010
What annoys me most about research papers is that they're almost unreadable. Also, I dislike references to obvious facts. Like this: "The internet is growing. (Bates, 2010)." Also, I have little need for a literature review (just link to a few key articles, ok?) or 'placing of the work in a theoretical context' (as though you can just go from theory to theory (or 'lens' to 'lens') as though they were plug-and-play). Sample sizes that can be measured in two digits also annoy me, as do surveys of populations consisting of grad students or the investigator's friends. In fact, I prefer hard data to surveys any day. And what also annoys is a conclusion that states very little ("In the final analysis, students like the web") or that says further research is needed (what would be amazing would be a conclusion that says "This pretty much wraps it up; no more research is needed"). Don't like my version? Click the title (click it twice if you're reading by email or RSS) to read Daniel Lemire's slides (which are very good) about what makes a good research paper.
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