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Peer review is the process of subjecting an author's scholarly work or ideas to the scrutiny of others who are experts in the field. Reviewers who read papers submitted for publication are normally experts in the fields discussed in the article, a factor that is critical to establishing a reliable body of formally published research and knowledge. Additionally, reviewers are anonymous, allowing for an independence that is intended to foster unvarnished criticism and discourage cronyism in publication decisions. Scholars reading published articles are typically only experts in a limited area of study; they rely to some degree on the peer-review process to provide reliable and credible research that they can build upon for subsequent or related research. Essentially, the peer review process aims to make authors meet the standards of their discipline and of science in general.
Publications and awards that have not undergone peer review are likely to be regarded with suspicion by scholars and professionals in many fields.
For more information: Peer Review in Wikipedia
An academic journal is a regularly-published, peer-reviewed publication that publishes scholarship relating to an academic discipline. The purpose of such a journal is to provide a place for the introduction and scrutiny of new research, and often a forum for the critique of existing research. These purposes are most often manifested in the publication of original research articles, review (of previously published research) articles, and book reviews.
For more information: Academic Journals in Wikipedia
A popular journal or science magazine is a collection of articles and editorials covering a broad range of scientific
topics including the biological, life, physical, social, behavioral, medical, environmental, and engineering sciences.
The backgrounds of contributors vary widely from journalists with no scientific background to researchers at academic institutions.
Submissions are reviewed by an editor, who may or may not have a scientific background, prior to publication. These articles are not
subject to the peer review process and do not carry the authority of peer reviewed academic papers. Generally, these publications are used to
explain scientific theories to a broader audience, that is, to explain them in terms that are not limited solely to specialists in one field.
Popular with the general public, many academics also use these journals to stay abreast of the scientific progress taking place outside their
area of specialty. Examples of these publications include Discover, IEEE Spectrum, The New Scientist, Popular Science, Science (Science Now),
Science Daily, Science News, Scientific American, The Scientist, etc…
For more information: Communicating Science: A Review of the Literature
A conference proceeding is a collection of peer reviewed, academic papers distributed as printed books after a conference. The quality of the papers is typically ensured by having reviewers read the papers before they are accepted into the proceedings. Since the collection of papers comes from individual researchers, the character of a proceeding is distinctly different from a textbook. Each paper typically is quite isolated from the other papers included in the proceedings. However, in some cases, the set of contributions is so coherent and high-quality that the editors of the proceedings may decide to further develop the proceedings into a textbook. Proceedings are usually published in-house by the organizing institution of the conference or an independent academic publisher.
For more information: Proceedings in Wikipedia
When writing a paper in the sciences, there are several things to keep in mind with regard to sentence structure. Primarily, be straightforward and concise, avoid the use of jargon and technical terms. Simple terms will help keep your sentences short (20 words, max). Be specific and to the point, using concrete numbers, metaphors, and similes to get your point across.
Writers in the sciences conventionally use passive voice more often than writers in other fields so they can write without using personal pronouns or the names of particular researchers as the subjects of sentences.
This type of writing makes sense when the person or object performing the action is obvious or unimportant and is effective because it highlights the action and what is acted upon rather than the person performing the action.
The following is a statement written in active and passive voice
Active: Scientists successfully completed a new cold fusion experiment yesterday.
Passive: A new cold fusion experiment was successfully completed yesterday.
For more information: Active and Passive Voice by the Purdue Online Writing Lab
When writing in a passive voice, it is important to maintain parallel sentence structure. Parallel structure means using the same pattern of words to show that two or more ideas in a list have the same level of importance. This can happen at the word, phrase, or clause level.
The following are examples:
Incorrect: Mary likes hiking, swimming, and to ride a bicycle.
Correct: Mary likes hiking, swimming, and bicycling.
For more information: Parallel Sentence Structure by the Purdue Online Writing Lab
Finally, beware of homonyms! Homonyms are words that are pronounced the same way, but are spelled differently and have different meanings. Commonly misused homonyms include:
When writing a technical paper or report, it's OK to use a numeral instead of written text, even for numbers less than 10. In the technical and scientific context, we are vitally interested in numbers, statistical data, even if it's a 2 or 5 or--yes--even a 0. However, it is difficult for some to discern the appropriate use of numerals and text.
You should use numerals, not words, when the number is a key value, an exact measurement value, or both. For example, in the sentence "Our computer backup system uses 4 mm tape" the numeral is in order.
However, in the sentence, "There are four key elements that define a desktop publishing system," a word, not a numeral, is preferable because
the number of elements is exact, but it's not of primary importance to the content of the paper. Here are some additional tips:
Don't start sentences with numerals--write the number out or, better yet, rephrase the sentence so that it doesn't begin with a number.
For decimal values less than 1, add a 0 before the decimal point: for example, .08 should be 0.08.
When you must use fractions, avoid the symbols that may be available in the character set used by your software or typewriter. Construct the fraction like this: 5-1/4. Be sure and put the hyphen between the whole number and the fraction.
It would be nice if all fractions could be reset as decimals, but such is not the case when you have things like 1/8 floating around. Stay consistent with either decimals or fractions in these situations.
For large amounts, you can write things like 36 million or 45 billion, but, not 23 thousand.
Apply these rules in specifically technical, scientific contexts only. Be sensitive to what the standard practices are in the context in which you are writing.
All numeric values that have dimensions must have their units specified. In general, the units must follow the numerical value every time. However, in a table of numbers, the units may be specified at the top of the column, provided all of the values have the same units. If there are two numbers in a phrase with the same units (e.g., "frequency between 4 and 5 kHz"), then put the units only after the second number. Here are some additional tips:
All units, including those that are named for a person, have a lower-case first letter when written out (not abbreviated). Thus, write "ohm, farad, coulomb, volt, ampere, hertz" for units.
Abbreviations- Units that are named for a person have an upper-case first letter when abbreviated; all other units have a lower-case first letter. Please note the following additional points:
The proper abbreviation for "kilohertz" is "kHz": only the "H" is upper case.
The proper abbreviation for "second" is "s", not "sec".
The same abbreviation is used for the singular and plural form of a unit.- meaning don’t add an “s” to the end of the plural form
A period is not placed after an abbreviated unit, unless it is at the end of the sentence.
There should always be one blank space between a number and a unit: "5 kHz", not "5kHz"
Watch out for expressions such as: "The signal generator had a 15 kHz frequency." Units of measurement ("kHz") are nouns and can not be used to modify another noun ("frequency"). The proper phrasing is: The signal generator had a frequency of 15 kHz.
The proper abbreviations for "alternating current, direct current, and root-mean-square" are lower case "ac, dc, rms". However, if the term appears in a title or as the first letter in a sentence, then the entire abbreviation is upper case: "AC, DC, RMS".
Properly citing your sources is important because it establishes your credibility as a researcher,
gives proper credit to authors and researchers of the resources you are using, and protects you from accusations of plagiarism. Developed by the Modern Langauge Association, the MLA style and formatting guide will
help you cite your sources within your papers and create a works cited page at the end of your paper. The University of Illinois Library also provides RefWorks, a program that automatically puts citation information from the electronic journal articles
you find directly into MLA format for your works cited page.
A citation within the text of your paper includes the page number and author the information is taken from as follows:
Many professional projects require the writing efforts of two or more people. Examples include grants, project proposals, annual reports, etc... Following the steps outlined below will guarantee that your team will meet all of the project deadlines.
Pre-meeting Activity
After you have selected an area of interest, begin brainstorming potential topics and resources on your own.
Meet Your Team
Your first meeting will take place during a regularly scheduled class time. Introduce yourselves; discuss your backgrounds, interests, majors, talents, and aptitudes. It is also recommended that you discuss your weaknesses as well so that you are sure to assign tasks that individuals can successfully complete.
Take notes at this meeting and all future meetings. This is a nice way to keep track of the ideas shared at your meetings.
Share your brainstorming ideas and select a topic as a group.
Begin creating a schedule for the events that will lead up to turning in the final paper: collecting information, sharing research, writing the proposal, reviewing rough drafts, and creating a cohesive final paper.
Divide the workload- Discuss how you are going to approach gathering information from journals, interviews, etc... Be smart, don’t duplicate your efforts. Assign specific tasks to each team member. Check with each other regularly to monitor the progress each team member is making.
Research
Literature Search-Locate, read, and take notes from potential information sources. The Grainger Engineering Library staff knows you are working on this project and wants to help you with it.
Professor Interview- Groups that choose to do an interview may want to have an additional meeting to discuss potential interviewees after doing some background research on specific professionals. This will ensure that your group is staying focused on a particular field of study, ease writing the final paper later on, and allow time to arrange the actual interview.
Don't forget to use the various web sites that were designed to help you with this project!
Write the Proposal
Meet to discuss what you have learned from your literature reviews or finalize your intended interview prospect.
Allow time to plan in detail the scheduling of all steps your team will take: you will need to show a draft of the group working plan, step by step, in your proposal.
Write your proposal using the outline Be sure to meet the required specifications provided by your instructor in the corresponding handout.
Many people find it difficult to know where to start when writing a paper. The most important thing you can do is make sure that you meet the required specifications of your assignments, now and in the future as a professional engineer. Review the ECE 110 paper handouts given to you by your professor and double check to make sure you include all of the required information. If you find it helpful, rewrite the specified requirements in a list that you can cross off as you complete them. The following steps will help you develop the information your team has collected into a paper suitable to turn into your instructor.
Divide the Workload, Again
Meet to outline the introduction, main points of the body of the paper, and the conclusion.
After writing the outline, you will probably know which portions of the paper your group members are the most comfortable with. This, along with the information about strengths and weaknesses each individual provided, will help you divide the writing workload. Try to make each individual responsible for writing one major section of the paper.
You should also take a moment to review your schedule at this time; is your group on schedule, or did one portion of the process take longer than expected and now your group needs to pick up the pace to meet the final deadline? Remember to allow time for several rough draft revisions. Your group will be able to use class time for some meetings per the syllabus.
Revise, Revise, Revise
Try to schedule as many reviews of your team's written work as possible. You can meet to discuss each other's rough drafts of individual sections as well as rough drafts of the complete paper. When you do meet, be sure to review the work of your peers and your own against the required specifications provided by your instructor.
Be sure to allow ample time for merging your individual works into the final paper. As a group, you must find a way to revise and edit the complete rough draft that will make it read consistently; it shouldn’t be obvious that is was written by three or four different people.
The following points will help you develop the information you collected through research into a paper suitable for submission to your instructor.
The Introduction of the ECE 110 Paper
Describe the purpose of your paper. Did you interview someone or do research to learn more about a specific topic?
Describe the most important feature of your topic.
Describe the background of this topic.
The Body of the ECE 110 Paper
Describe how the literature or interviewee you selected has contributed new information to your topic of interest.
Describe how the literature or interviewee you selected informs your own understanding of this topic.
The Conclusion of the ECE 110 Paper
Summarize the following in your conclusion:
The main points of what you learned.
What remains to be learned through further research?
Possible applications of your topic (how it can be used).
Optional Additional Questions:
Describe what you expected to find before you began your research.
How did your project change over time?
How does what you discovered differ from your original expectations?
Overall Quality
Check the entire paper for grammar and clarity problems to ensure you are communicating effectively with your readers.
Use the sentence structure tips on this website if necessary.
Review your paper against the Peer Review grading criteria provided by your ECE 110 instructor.
Peer review in ECE 110 is the process of reviewing the Journal Activity and Department Activity final papers of your classmates. Reviewers will remain anonymous, as will the authors of the papers being reviewed. The ECE 110 peer review process will focus on assessing whether or not the authors met the predefined standards of the assignment including overall structure, proper citation of sources, grammatical correctness, and clarity of topics discussed. The grading criteria is outlined on the Peer Review handout provided by the ECE 110 instructor. Each final paper should meet these standards in a manner that provides valuable information to individuals who are not experts in the field of interest. Papers will be anonymously reviewed by approximately 16 reviewers to guarantee fairness.
The Owl at Purdue. Purdue University. February 27, 2007. http://owl.english.purdue.edu/
Wikipedia. The Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. February 27, 2007. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page
Alan Cooper's Homonyms. February 15, 1997. Cooper. February 27, 2007. http://www.cooper.com/alan/homonym_list.html
McMurrey, David A. Online Technical Writing—Online Textbook. February 27, 2007. http://www.io.com/~hcexres/tcm1603/acchtml/acctoc.html
Recommended Unit Symbols, SI Prefixes, and Abbreviations. Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. February 27, 2007. http://www.ewh.ieee.org/soc/ias/pub-dept/abbreviation.pdf
Standler, Ronald B. Technical Writing. February 27, 2007. http://www.rbs0.com/tw.htm