Hints on doing research

Strive to do GREAT research.

• G: Grounded
• R: Risky
• E: Ethical
• A: Absorbing
• T: Thorough

Grounded

• Ground your research with theory, and well-chosen assumptions.

• Seek theoretical bases for your work. A prototype is one-off, but a theory is for ever.

• Look for a mismatch between hype and reality. Good research comes from re-examining conventional assumptions and separating wishful thinking from what is actually true. As a corollary, be very careful in making assumptions. Validate them continuously.

• Be the harshest critic of your own work. If you find your assumptions about your work are wrong, discard your work immediately and move on. If you are not convinced about the validity of your work, no one else will be either.

Risky

• Don't be afraid of risky research. The greater the risk, the greater the reward.

• Work to develop a research vision. Ask yourself "If my research succeeds, how will this make the world a better place?" Of course, you should also keep in mind that, as an individual, you have your limits. Try not to bite off more than you can chew!

• Do not be afraid to challenge conventional wisdom -- but be sure of your facts.

Ethical

• Your work should be in alignment with your morality.

• Don't work on research projects that don't seem 'right'

• Be aware of your funding source: this is a case where you do have to look a gift horse in the mouth.

• Always give credit where credit is due.

Absorbing

• Your work should absorb you, absorb others, and it should absorb new ideas.

• Be passionate about your work. If your research topic does not interest you, it is very likely not going to interest anyone else either. You are going to spend a lot of time on it, so you may as well enjoy it!

• There is no greater thrill than discovering something new. Enjoy your work!

• Read widely.

• Always be on the lookout for unexpected results. If you can't explain something, there is something to learn and discover.

• Be open with your research. Share ideas freely. Some of your ideas may be stolen, but your overall impact will be greater.

• Choose your collaborators carefully.

• Maintain a research website and update it frequently.

Thorough

• Peel the onion: explore the depths of your work.

• Always start with a literature survey. There is nothing worse than knowing you've wasted your time unknowingly duplicating someone else's work.

• Research in an area goes through three stages- naive simplicity, complexity, and a second simplicity. Do not confuse the first with the third. "We shall not cease from exploration/And the end of all our exploring/Will be to arrive where we started/And know the place for the first time." T.S. Eliot

• Simplify a complex problem to its smallest non-trivial instance to make it tractable, then add complexity one step at a time. Don't be tempted to 'boil the ocean'. Your mantra should be:
  • Start Simple
  • Learn as You Go
  • Be Prepared to Change.

• Once you have crystallized a problem, focus on it to the exclusion of everything else. A solution will present itself naturally.

• Always carry a notebook. Write your work down. The act of writing will stimulate new ideas.

• Use simulations when necessary, but remember that "The goal of simulations is intuition, not numbers" R.W. Hamming.

• When presenting results, show their statistical significance. A graph without error bars is a graph in error.

Writing Papers

• Publish, but not at any cost. Don't let publications drive your work.

• Rejection of a paper is your chance to strengthen it. The best papers are rejected at least once. On the other hand, you should probably give up after three rejections.

• Quality trumps quantity. A few publications with great impact are much better than many publications with no impact.

• If you do not understand something in a paper, correspond with the author.

• Fuzzy writing indicates fuzzy thinking. Avoid both.

• Avoid gratuitous math. If something can be explained in words, then do so.

• Seek to explain your work to everyone you meet. Constantly explaining your work will refine your vision. Respect and incorporate any feedback.

• All the research for a paper (and preferably, a first draft) should be finished one week before the paper deadline. If you don't have a draft in hand, you are better off sending the paper elsewhere.