If we look into the past we will see that the path we have passed is possible to pass much more efficiently. This statement is true in general and in our research work (and it is not important in which field we do our research in optics, science, medicine or in engineering).
What did you learn from your mistakes during the course of your research that can help to others not make the same mistakes?
Researchers, which advice can you give to your new students?
All advices are welcomed!
Dear Vladimir,
I am also a beginner. My little experience says that two fundamental stuffs are important for a productive research.
1. Extensive literature survey
2. In depth knowledge in your domain to accelerate the thinking process and problem solving.
First one is important as sometimes you find something new, but at the end of the day you may get to know that they are several research papers already published with the exact same work. Second one is important to reduce the brainstorming time, if you have a sound background knowledge in a particular area it's most likely that you can solve the new problem in that area promptly.
Dear Vladimir,
I am also a beginner. My little experience says that two fundamental stuffs are important for a productive research.
1. Extensive literature survey
2. In depth knowledge in your domain to accelerate the thinking process and problem solving.
First one is important as sometimes you find something new, but at the end of the day you may get to know that they are several research papers already published with the exact same work. Second one is important to reduce the brainstorming time, if you have a sound background knowledge in a particular area it's most likely that you can solve the new problem in that area promptly.
I agree with the answers given by Satyabrata,and add two more: be as communicative as you possibly can, and be imaginative. Without communication with colleagues, next door or on another continent, no research can give results.
Invite other (external) researchers to your projects. I'm sure you can find small tasks in your projects which you can hand out to hungry emerging talents. Aim for people you've met at conferences - people from other universities who you've talked to and you felt were promising.
In my experience - and I have some experience of this - you and your results will grow from it.
I agree with the suggestions of Satyabrata Sarangi, Vladan Celebonovic, and Vladan Celebonovic. I would like to add one more thing i.e. devotion. You are supposed to devote yourself. And if you devote yourself, I am sure you will get some thing exciting, new, interesting and useful.
The first and the most important is a deep literature review and understanding the current problem to take one step forward
All the above are valuable suggestions. With explosion in knowledge ,IMHO
we could define efficiency of research work in very simplistic terms
= output value/ input value . this could be greater than 1 .Following aspects
of research work would need consideration to make such a measure useful.
1. What we use for value can be a moot point . Some values are not easily quantified such as generation of new knowledge such as a new theorem or discovery in evolution..etc..
2.If the research is aimed at short term solutions for well defined problems it is easier to quantify in terms of monetary units.
3.. There probably is a fundamental upper limit to efficiency for research. Great ideas and inspirations are often a result of intensive focus which are later allowed to manifest during apparently unconnected moments. Research work is a 24hr*7job .It is said many companies lay claim o research solutions which manifest during sleep!! as long as the employee is in their fold..legally also there could be non- disclosure agreements preventing further work..
4. it is also a fact that many research results are not published.
5. Sometimes instead of searching for a "wheel" in a haystack it might be
faster to reinvent it.
6. Perhaps literature survey could be automated with the new progress in AI
and Big data work . So research in this area might lead to overall improvement in
efficiency.Presently many search engines perform this task in a limited way.
Cheers.
> What advice can you give to improve efficiency of the research work?
Oh, this is simple: stop posting all these messages about efficiency, and start working...
Great advice.!! but IMHO nothing wrong in thinking how to do better...
Cheers.
Dear Vladimir,
1. Stay focussed, determined and work on your research everyday.
2. Prepare a detailed time table of your research plan and stick to it.
3. Work according to the timetable. Review progress and work weekends if you have to.
4. In your literature survey, be selective right from the start.
5. Implement your novel research from early on, using industrially established simulation packages or software.
6. Present at quality selected few international conferences.
7. Gather intelligence from conferences.
8. Network, e.g. ResearchGate, LinkedIn, Academia.edu
9. Publish in quality journals, from as early in your research plan as possible.
10. You can publish review papers in journals. Hence establishing yourself as an expert to a wider readership.
11. Keep detailed bibliographic, references in a database. It will save you a lot of time trying to find the information when it comes to citing them in your papers and dissertations.
12. Acknowledge all those who help you.
13. Be positive and embrace the fact that some days or even months there will be little breakthrough or progress.
14. It is acceptable to publish negative results. This will help people from going down the same pathways and thus saving considerable time from being wasted.
Thank you and I hope my points help you.
Yours faithfully,
Maaruf.
Thank you all.
Can you give useful tips on the topic of how to plan the work week? How most effective fill the timetable?
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