Module 2

Literature Review and Technical Reading, New and Existing Knowledge, Analysis and
Synthesis of Prior Art, Bibliographic Databases, Web of Science, Google and Google
Scholar, Effective Search: The Way Forward, Introduction to Technical Reading
Conceptualizing Research, Critical and Creative Reading, Taking Notes While Reading,
Reading Mathematics and Algorithms, Reading a Datasheet.
Attributions and Citations: Giving Credit Wherever Due, Citations: Functions and
Attributes, Impact of Title and Keywords on Citations, Knowledge Flow through Citation,
Citing Datasets, Styles for Citations, Acknowledgments and Attributions, What Should Be
Acknowledged, Acknowledgments in, Books Dissertations, Dedication or Acknowledgments.

1. Literature review:
A literature review is a structured summary and critical evaluation of existing research,
theories, and findings related to a specific topic or research problem. It provides an overview
of what is already known, identifies gaps, and sets the foundation for new research.
A literature review is:
 A survey of scholarly sources (books, journal articles, theses, conference papers,
reports, etc.) on a particular topic.
 It analyses, compares, and synthesizes the findings of previous studies.

Advantages of Literature Review in Research

1. Establishes Context
o Provides background knowledge about the research problem.
2. Identifies Research Gaps
o Shows what has already been studied and what still needs attention.
3. Refines Research Questions
o Sharpens the focus by highlighting what is relevant and feasible.
o Helps frame research objectives and hypotheses.
4. Supports Theoretical and Methodological Framework
o Builds the foundation for choosing theories, models, or methodologies.
o Strengthens the conceptual base of the study.
5. Avoids Repetition
o Avoids time waste on already well-established findings.
6. Enhances Credibility
o Shows that the researcher is well-informed about the field.
7. Facilitates Critical Thinking

1. Organizations can leverage this predictive information and thus prevent undesired
outcomes (Van der et al. 2010; Maggi et al. 2014). Marino et al. (2017) identified 62 tools,
with the majority applying machine learning or statistical models.
2. A publication on the topic deep learning-based process prediction approaches gained more
than 100 citations, according to Google Scholar [15].
Fig 2.1: Example for literature Review
 2. New and Existing Knowledge
In research, the terms “existing knowledge” and “new knowledge” are often used when
discussing the contribution of a study. Here‟s the difference:
1. Existing Knowledge
 Refers to the body of information, theories, models, and empirical findings that
already exist in your research area.
 It is gathered through literature reviews of books, journal articles, conference papers,
reports, etc.
 Helps you understand:
o What has already been discovered
o What methods are commonly used
o What gaps, contradictions, or limitations remain
 Example: Studies already conducted on machine learning models for agricultural
crop classification.
 Existing knowledge = foundation (what is known)

2. New Knowledge
 Refers to the original contribution your research makes beyond existing work.
 It builds upon existing knowledge but adds something novel, such as:
o New theories or models
o New methods or algorithms
o New applications of existing methods
o New data, insights, or perspectives
 Example: Proposing a deep learning-based classification system for automated
arecanut segregation and grading (your project), which may not have been fully
explored before.
 New knowledge = contribution (what your research adds).

• New knowledge in research can only be understood when compared with what is
already known.
• The Existing knowledge is needed to show that a problem exists and that it is important.
• By studying existing knowledge & finding the gaps, the new knowledge is considered
original, as it covers areas not yet explained in existing information
• Often, but not always, the contain the knowledge and the
research papers the newer work

Existing Knowledge New knowledge

Fig 2.2: Example for New and Existing Knowledge

 3. Analysis and Synthesis of Prior Art
Analysis is breaking down what each source says and Synthesis is building up an integrated
concept from research question and answers by sources. It is always good to be suspicious of
the claims made in the sources that have been thoroughly reviewed. A literature survey grid
of N topics and M sources is to help crystallize the information in different categories, Fig
2.3. It helps to:
1. Understanding the hypothesis, models and the experimental conditions used
2. Making connections, Comparing and contrasting the various information, and
3. Finding out the strong points and the loopholes

Fig 2.3: N x M grid for literature survey

Criteria that could help the researcher in the evaluation of the information under study:
1. Authority: What are the author‟s credentials and affiliation?
2. Accuracy: Does the author cite the sources in a reference list or bibliography?
3. Scope: Is the source at an appropriate comprehension or research level?
4. Bibliographic Databases
Bibliographic Database is organized collections of scholarly information (journal articles,
conference papers, books, patents, reports, etc.) that allow researchers to search by keywords,
author, title, abstract, or subject area.
 They provide metadata (title, authors, abstract, publication details) and often full-
text access through subscriptions.
 Examples: Scopus, Web of Science, PubMed, IEEE Xplore, Google Scholar.
Role of Bibliographic Databases in Research & Literature Review
1. Comprehensive Search – Help you locate existing knowledge across multiple
disciplines.
2. Credibility – Ensure that sources are peer-reviewed, authentic, and citable.
3. Gap Identification – By surveying databases, you can see what has already been
studied and what remains unexplored.
4. Citation Tracking – Many databases show citation counts and related works, which
helps track influential studies.
5. Efficiency – Advanced filters (date range, subject, journal impact, open access) make
literature review faster and more organized.
 Few important and popular bibliographic databases are:
1. Web of Science
◦ It is a good search tool for scholarly materials with multiple databases
◦ It allows the researcher to search topic of interest based on title, topic, author, etc.
◦ It allows sorting by number of citations (highest to lowest), publication date.
◦ Narrow down the search by quotes, keywords and „Refine Results‟
2. Google Scholar
◦ Google is a great place to start one‟s search on a particular topic
◦ It can be helpful in finding freely available information, such as reports from
governments, organizations, companies, and so on
Some limitations:
1. It‟s a “black box” of information – no quality control and unreliable source
2. There are limited search functionality and refinement options
3. It is not comprehensive. Some publishers do not make their content available to
Google Scholar
There are search operators that can be used to help narrow down the results
a) OR - Broadens search Ex: Fruit OR Color - Orange
b) Brackets/Parentheses ( ) – Gather synonyms
c) Quotation marks “ ” – Narrow the search by finding words together as a phrase
d) Filetype – Limit the search ex: pdf, ppt, excel
e) Site - Limit the search ex: specific domain or website
6. Effective Search: The Way Forward
 A is one wherein the published outcome is authored by
researchers in a specific field of skill
◦ Cites all source contents used -> One source leads to another
 Engineering researchers need to refer articles that appear in , books
or other peer-reviewed sources
 Searching is an iterative process
◦ Experiment with different keywords and operators
◦ Evaluate and assess results, use filters
◦ Modify the search as needed
◦ When relevant articles are found, look at their citations and references
 One must note that the literature survey is a that may
involve the researcher going back and forth till the end of the research project
7. Technical Reading
 It is also important to know where to read from
 The goal is to understand the technical contributions that the authors are making
 It is not the same as reading a newspaper
 It may require rereading the paper multiple times
  It is not worth reading all the details in the first instance
 Start out the skimming process by reading the title and keywords
 Then read the abstract to get an overview of the paper in minimum time
 Skip most of the paper and go straight to the conclusions to find if the paper is
relevant to the intended purpose
 Pay attention to graphs, charts, and illustrations. They often convey information more
succinctly than text alone
 Then go into the Introduction section to know the background information about the
work
 Results and Discussion sections
8. Conceptualizing Research
Conceptualizing research involves formulating and refining the ideas, questions, and
objectives that guide a research study. Ex: Ph.D. level vs master‟s or UG thesis
1. Identify a Research Problem or Topic
2. Conduct a Literature Review
3. Formulate Research Questions or Hypotheses
4. Define the Scope and Objectives
5. Consider the Theoretical Framework
6. Refine and Iterate
8. Critical and Creative Reading
 Reading a research paper is a critical process
 Critical reading involves analyzing and evaluating texts to understand their meaning and
significance
◦ It involves questioning, examining, and challenging the content, structure, and
implications of the material
◦ Assesses the quality and relevance of evidence, data, or examples provided by the author
to support their claims
 Creative reading involves exploring texts with an imaginative and innovative mindset
◦ Focuses on interpreting the text in unique ways and encourages personal expression and
interpretation

9. Taking Notes While Reading

A researcher writes well only if the reading skills are good.
Taking notes is the bridge between reading and writing a paper. There is a well-known saying
that the faintest writing is better than the best memory. Many researchers take notes on the
margins of their copies of papers or even digitally on an article aggregator tool.
In each research paper, there are a lot of things to highlight for later use such as definitions,
explanations, concepts and questions of criticisms. Such efforts pay significantly when one
has to go back and reread the same content after a long time.
A good technical reading should end with a summary of the paper in a few sentences
describing the contributions. A thorough reading should bring out whether there are new
ideas in the paper, or if existing ideas were implemented through experiments, new
application, novel framework. Obviously, the type of contribution a paper is actually making
can be determined better by having read other papers in the area.

10. Reading Mathematics and Algorithms

• Mathematics is foundation and fundamental of new advances, evolution and
development of engineering research and practice.
• Mathematical derivations or proofs are essential for engineering researcher and these
are the heart of any technical paper.
• By meticulous reading of the proofs or algorithms, one can develop sound
understanding about the problem that the authors have attempted to solve.
• Reading will help to identify the relevance of the paper,
• Skimming or glancing a technical section will help, if the explanation is already
known or if it is too advanced for the research at the present moment or needed in the
course of the research program.
• Implementation of an intricate algorithm in programming languages such as C, C++
or Java is prone to errors. And even if the researcher is confident about the paper in
hand, and thinks that the algorithm will work, there is a fair chance that it will not
work at all. So one may wish to code it quickly to check if it actually works.

11. Reading a Datasheet

 Reading a datasheet is a crucial skill, especially in fields such as electronics,
engineering, and computer science
 A datasheet provides comprehensive information about a particular component or
device, detailing its specifications, features, and usage guidelines
1. Understand the Datasheet Structure
◦ Introduction, Absolute Maximum Ratings, Electrical Characteristics,
Functional Description, Typical Application Circuit, Pin Configuration,
Recommended Operating Conditions, Timing Diagrams
2. Identify Key Specifications
◦ Pay attention to critical specifications such as voltage ratings, current ratings,
frequency response, and operating temperature range
3. Pinout and Pinin Functions
4. Recommended Operating Conditions
  By paying attention to key sections and specifications, you can extract the necessary
information to successfully integrate the component into your projects or applications

Attributions and Citations

• Citations (references) credit others for their work, helps the readers to
publication if needed.
• Any portion of work or ideas in papers, patents, or presentations must be used in any
new document only by clearly citing the source
• This applies to in the form of texts, images,
sounds, etc.
• One should learn, exactly what to cite and avoid plagiarism.
• Citations help the readers to verify the quality and importance of the new work and
justification of the findings.
• The in any field of study, especially in technological fields,
is primarily incremental and a researcher invariably and naturally builds upon prior
information
• When a bibliography of previously published patents or papers is placed in the new
works of a researcher, a the new and
previous work
• Materials that include journal papers, conference proceeding, books,
theses, newspaper articles, websites, or other online resources and personal
communication
• Citation must contain enough details so that readers can easily find the material
• A researcher needs to cite each source twice:
(i) in-text citation
(ii) at the end of the research article or a book
• Most citation styles have the same or similar elements, but of
elements and layout
• LaTeX, a often used by engineering researchers
to automatically format documents that comply with standard formatting needs
There are three main functions of citation:
1. Verification function
• A chance to ascertain if the original source is justified or not
2. Acknowledgment function
• Researchers primarily receive credit for their work through citations
• Many reputed organizations and institutes provide research funding based on
the reputations of the researchers
3. Documentation function
• Citations are also used to document scientific concepts and historical progress
of any particular technology over the years
Citation infringements:
1. Spurious citations: Inappropriate credit must be avoided
 2. Biased citations: Citing friends or colleagues despite there is no significant connection
between the two works
3. Self-citations: Citing one‟s prior work
4. Coercive citations: Manipulation of citation practices

Impact of Title and Keywords on Citations

• The citation rate of any research paper depends on various factors
Ex: Significance and availability of the journal, Publication types, Research area
• Length of the title, and selected keywords also impact the citation count
• Title is the most important attribute of any research paper
• A good title is informative, represents a paper effectively to readers, and gains their
attention
• There are three different aspects which provide a particular behavior to the title
1. Types of the title: Descriptive Titles, Provocative Titles, Statement Titles
2. Length of the title
3. Presence of specific markers: Subtitle or Colons, Question Marks
Title length positively affects the number of citations. Highly amusing titles have fewer
citations and pleasant titles have no significant relation with citations.
Keywords represent essential information as well as main content of the article, which are
relevant to the area of research. Search engines, journal, digital libraries, and indexing
services use keywords for categorization of the research topic and to direct the work to the
relevant audience. Keywords are important to ensure that readers are aware about research
articles and their content. Usage of new keywords should be minimal as such keywords may
not be well known to the research community and so may lead to low visibility of the article.
Knowledge Flow through Citation
The flow of knowledge through citation is a fundamental aspect of scholarly
communication and the academic publishing process
1. Acknowledging Previous Work
• Through citations, they acknowledge and reference the works of other scholars
that have contributed to the understanding of the subject
2. Building on Existing Knowledge
• By citing relevant studies, researchers demonstrate how their work builds
upon the theories, methodologies, and findings of earlier investigations
3. Establishing Credibility and Authority
• Citations provide a mechanism for researchers to establish the credibility and
authority of their own work
4. Providing Context and Support
• Citations are used to provide context and support for the arguments, methods,
and interpretations presented in a research paper
 Fig 2.5: Knowledge Flow through Citation
In Fig 2.5,
• Knowledge flows through institution1 to institution 2.
• Knowledge flows among Author R, K, U
• Knowledge flows through Author R, and Author T,I; Paper A to Paper B
• Similarly Knowledge flows through Journal X and Journal Y etc.
The complex interdisciplinary nature of research encourages scholars to cooperate with each
other to grab more advantages through collaboration. A co-authorship network is a
representation of collaborations among researchers or scholars based on their joint authorship
of academic publications. Each researcher involved in the co-authorship network is
represented as a Node (Author). Edges connect nodes in the network and represent co-
authorship relationships

Citing Datasets
 Citing datasets is an important aspect of scholarly and research work, especially in
fields that heavily rely on data analysis and empirical research
 Ascertaining the ownership of data can be a complicated issue especially with large
datasets
 A researcher should obtain necessary permission for using data from a particular
source
 Proper citation of datasets is crucial for transparency, reproducibility, and giving
credit to the creators of the data
Styles for Citations
 There are several citation styles, each with its own rules and conventions for
formatting citations in academic and scholarly writing
 The choice of citation style depends on the academic discipline, the publication, or the
preferences of the author or institution
◦ APA (American Psychological Association) Style
◦ Chicago/Turabian Style
◦ IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) Style
◦ Harvard Style
◦ AMA (American Medical Association) Style
 ◦ APA (American Psychological Association) Style for Websites
◦ American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) style
◦ American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME)

Styles for Citations - American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE)

1. Journal Article
◦ Smith, J., and A. Johnson. 2019. "Analysis of Bridge Performance." Journal of
Civil Engineering 25(3):123-136
2. Book
◦ R. 2017. Structural Analysis and Design. ASCE Press, Reston, VA.
3. Conference Paper
◦ Anderson, White. 2018. "Innovations in Bridge Construction." Proceedings of
the ASCE Annual Conference, New York, NY, June 10-12, pp. 45-56.
4. Online Document/Report
◦ ASCE. 2020. Guidelines for Sustainable Infrastructure. American Society of
Civil Engineers, [Link]

Styles for Citations - American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME)

1. Journal Article
◦ Smith, J., and A. Johnson. 2019. "Heat Transfer in Turbomachinery." Journal
of Heat Transfer 141(3):034501.
2. Book
◦ Brown, R. 2017. Mechanical Design Fundamentals. ASME Press, New York.
3. Conference Paper
◦ Anderson M. 2018. "Design Optimization of Gear Systems." Proceedings of
the ASME Int. Congress, Pittsburgh, PA, November 12-15, V001T03A043.
4. Online Document/Report
◦ ASME. 2020. ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code. American Society of
Mechanical Engineers, [Link]

Styles for Citations - The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)
1. Journal Article
◦ A. Author and B. Author, "Title of the Journal Article," IEEE Transactions on
Engineering, vol. 5, no. 3, pp. 123-135, Jun. 2019.
2. Book
◦ D. Author, Introduction to Electric Circuits, 8th ed., NY: Wiley, 2017.
3. Conference Paper
◦ C. Author et al., "Title of the Conference Paper," Proc. IEEE Intl Conference
on Robotics and Automation, Montreal, QC, May 2020, pp. 456-468.
4. Online Document/Report
◦ E. Author, "Title of the Report," [Online]. Available:
[Link] Accessed on: Dec. 15, 2022.
Acknowledgments and Attributions
 Acknowledgment section is a place to provide a brief appreciation of the contribution
of someone or an organization or funding body to the present work
 Acknowledgment is a common practice to recognize persons or agencies for being
responsible in some form or other for completion of a publishable research outcome
◦ Gratitude
◦ Funding Acknowledgments
◦ Institutional Support
◦ Professional Assistance
◦ Technical Support, Permission and Consent, Personal Gratitude
 Attributions involve giving credit to the original creators or sources when using
specific content, ideas, or data in a work

What Should Be Acknowledged?

 Acknowledgments in a scholarly work serve to express gratitude and recognize the
contributions, support, or resources received from individuals, organizations, or
institutions
◦ Financial Support and Funding
◦ Research Advisors and Mentors
◦ Colleagues and Collaborators
◦ Technical and Administrative Support
◦ Institutional Support
◦ Data Sources and Contributors
◦ Permission and Consent, Professional Consultants or Reviewers
◦ Family and Personal Support
Acknowledgments in Books/Dissertations
 A page of acknowledgments is usually included at the beginning of a
thesis/dissertation immediately following the table of contents
 These acknowledgments are not longer than the one or two sentence statements in
journal papers or articles in conference proceedings
 One should express appreciation in a concise manner and avoid emotive language
Dedication or Acknowledgments?
 Dedication is almost never used in a journal paper, an article in a conference
proceedings, or a patent, and it is used exclusively in larger documents like books,
thesis, or dissertations
 The tone of a dedication is usually more personal and emotional. It reflects the
author's feelings and sentiments toward the dedicatee
 While acknowledgments are reserved for those who helped out with the book in some
way or another
 The acknowledgments in technical books can be sometimes as brief as the ones in
journal articles
 The length of the acknowledgment may have some correlation with the length of the
document.