Advice

(Maintained by Tao Xie and Yuan Xie) Ph.D. dissertation/research advice Presentation advice Technical writing/research advice Technical reviewing/referee advice Advice for faculty Job hunting advice Misc. advice English learning advice Ph.D. dissertation/research advice Advice for Prospective Research Students on Contacting Potential Advisors by David Evans A course on Preparation for Statistical Research offered at NCSU Stat Dept The Ph.D Experience by Mihir Bellare Advice for Computer Science College Students by Joel Spolsky Discussion on Ph.D. thesis proposals in computing science by H. C. Lauer How to write a PhD Thesis given at the doctoral symposium at ASE'03 (Oct 2003) by Steve Easterbrook How to Organize your Thesis, by John W. Chinneck. Chris Riesbeck on What is a Thesis Defense? How to write a thesis in an Experimental area of Computer Science by Doug Comer. How to escape during a Ph.D. Final Exam by Doug Comer. An explanation of language used in CS Departments by Doug Comer. For anyone considering a Ph.D. in Computer Science by Doug Comer. How to measure research by Doug Comer. How to write a Ph.D. thesis by Joe Wolfe. Graduate School Advice Ph.D. Qualifiers by Phil Koopman qual page for some good hints from the student point of view. Graduate Study in the Computer and Mathematical Sciences : A Survival Manual, Dianne O’Leary A Dictionary of Useful Research Phrases Computer Science Graduate School Survival Guide by Ronald Azuma. Notes On The PhD Degree Acronyms Frequently Heard Around the School of Computer Science by Paul Heckbert Presentation advice Giving a talk by Mike Ernst Conference talk advice from Mark Hill. Robert Drysdale on Giving Technical Talks How to give a good research talk, Simon Peyton Jones, John Launchbury, John Hughes, SIGPLAN Notices 28(11), Nov 1993. The Short Talk Ian Parberry, How to Present a Paper in Theoretical Computer Science: A Speaker’s Guide for Students How to Present a Paper by Ashwin Ram How to Give a Good Research Talk Technical writing/research advice Courses: Mary Shaw’s How to Write a Good Research Paper? (course) WordWright – the Rite of Writing Right Mary Shaw’s course on “What Makes Good Research in Software Engineering?” What Makes Good Research in Software Engineering? Writing Good Software Engineering Research Papers Conference paper writing advice articles: Writing tips by Steve Zdancewic Tools and Tips for Writing Papers How to Get a Paper Accepted at OOPSLA (93) How to Get Your Paper Accepted at OOPSLA (91) William Pugh - Advice to Authors of Extended Abstracts (POPL) How to Increase the Chances Your Paper is Accepted at ACM SIGCOMM An evaluation of the ninth SOSP submissions -or- How (and how not) to write a good systems paper What kinds of papers does USENIX publish? Phil Koopman’s how to Write an Abstract (tailored for Computer Engineers) ACM SIGPLAN author information Richard Stallings on writing a technical report Common Bugs in Writing Advice slides: Daniel Jackson’s Hints on Research Strategy slides slides Class Others: Knuth’s Mathematical Writing book Technical Writing Guide by Fenton (article) Writing Technical Articles (article and collections) On Being a Scientist booklets Common Errors in Technical Writing (particularly in LaTex) Collections: CMU Advice on Research and Writing Information on doing research in CS How to do research: some hints (collections) Doing Research: Some practical advice Technical writing resources General writing books: Book: (Online) Strunk, W., Elements of Style (Easy to read, very useful as the first writing book to read) American Heritage® Book of English Usage. Bartleby Reference Book: BUGS in Writing: A Guide to Debugging Your Prose (Also easy to read, like a manual for checking different issues) Book: Style: Ten Lessons in Clarity and Grace (This is not a book for easy reading, but it can be very helpful in improving writing style) Book: The Handbook of Technical Writing, Seventh Edition (This can be a good reference book to put on your bookshelf) Book: Writing for Computer Science: The Art of Effective Communication Book: The Chicago Manual of Style: TThe Essential Guide for Writers, Editors, and Publishers Book: Mathematical Writing book by Donald E. Knuth Technical reviewing/referee advice Conference paper review: Identify the Champion by Oscar Nierstrasz Advice for faculty Writing funding proposals: Writing an NSF Career Award proposal from Michael Ernst’s advice for faculty Advice on Writing Proposals to the National Science Foundation by Susan Finger, Carnegie Mellon University NSF SE/PL granted funding NSF programs info from Caltech Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER FAQ) Program (NSF 02 -113) So you want to win a Career Award: advice from NCSU UC Berkeley’s Chess project review National Science Foundation (NSF) Sponsored Workshop on Critical Infrastructure Protection (CIP) for SCADA and IT Systems Contacts Contacts at Funding Agencies 2005 NSF Career Award Proposal Writing Workshop (in ME) NSF: fastlane / NASA / NIST / Other sample NSF proposals collected from Internet: NSF ITR: A Framework for Environment-Aware, Massively Distributed Computing by David Evans NSF CCLI: Teaching Software Engineering Using Lightweight Analysis by David Evans University of Virginia Teaching Fellowship: Teaching Introductory Computer Science as a Liberal Art by David Evans NSF CAREER: Programming the Swarm by David Evans NSF ITR MIT project NSF Project Proposal by E. James Whitehead (This Proposal gives background of SCM systems, initiatives for SCM domain analysis and modeling, contribution to software engineering research community, project plan and schedule.) NSF Project Proposal by E. James Whitehead NSF ITR proposal by Walt Scacchi Faculty mentoring: 2004 PAESMEM/Stanford School of Engineering Workshop on Mentoring in Engineering Talk slides U. Washington ADVANCE workshops CRA Conference on “Grand Research Challenges in Information Security & Assurance” with slides and videos Professional service: Running a conference or workshop from Michael Ernst’s advice for faculty Networking: Advice to students who attend conferences by David Notkin Research component: You and Your Research (or PDF) On Being A Scientist: Responsible Conduct In Research Advising component: Writing a letter of recommendation from Michael Ernst’s advice for faculty How to stump students on an oral qualifier by Douglas Comer Advisor, Teacher, Role Model, Friend On Being a Mentor to Students in Science and Engineering. National Academy Press, 1997. Advice for Prospective Research Students on Contacting Potential Advisors by David Evans Teaching component: Ways to obtain tenure in a university by Douglas Comer Time management Time Management (from M.J.Irwin) Time Management (or PPT) Misc: Becoming a Better Professor by Nigel Ward Patterson’s Rules for New Computer Science and Engineering Professors, by Dave Patterson How to Have a Bad Career in Research/Academia by Dave Patterson (also look here for Prof. Patterson’s other non-technical talks) Non Technical Talks (Career Advice, Berkeley Culture, My Research Past, …) by Dave Patterson NCSU’s new faculty 101: An orientation to the professions NCSU’s helping new faculty get off to a good start How to insult a Computer Scientist by Douglas Comer Book: Advice for New Faculty Members by Robert Boice Interview with Steve Reiss from Brown U. The Ph.D. Job Hunt – Helping Students Find the Right Positions - Edward D. Lazowska U Washington Tips for a Massive Academic Job Search Job hunting advice Tips for a Massive Academic Job Search by Ellen Spertus U. Utah John Regehr’s advice for academic job candidates based on doing a two-body search in Spring 2003 MIT Career Office For Graduate Students: Creating an Effective CV CV guide UC Davis’ Academic Career Help Links A Guide for UIUC Mathematics PhD’s Seeking Jobs The Ph.D. Job Hunt – Helping Students Find the Right Positions - Edward D. Lazowsk a U Washington Getting an academic job (popular) by Mike Ernst Tips on Interviewing Rachel Pottinger’s Job Hunting Resources Interviewing during a tight job market, by Qiong Luo and Zack Ives, SIGMOD Record Sep 2002.. Interviewing for Academic Positions Book: How Would You Move Mount Fuji Testing: blogs2 chappell Tips for a Massive Academic Job Search JobHunt , etc. (maintained by ACM) Jobs in Computing Research (maintained by CRA) ASEE - Profiiles of Engineering Colleges Misc. advice Michael Ernst’s Advice David Notkin’s advice Mark Leone’s Advice Collection Douglas Comer’s advice Jason Hong’s Advice Collection Information resources for the Graduate Student English learning advice Dictionary: Good dictionary: OALD Good dictionary- Cambridge Good dictionary- dictionary.com How to buy a good English dictionary Collins Cobuild English Dictionary for Advanced Learners (available in store) General writing books: Book: (Online) Strunk, W., Elements of Style (Easy to read, very useful as the first writing book to read) American Heritage® Book of English Usage. Bartleby Reference Book: BUGS in Writing: A Guide to Debugging Your Prose (Also easy to read, like a manual for checking different issues) Book: Style: Ten Lessons in Clarity and Grace (This is not a book for easy reading, but it can be very helpful in improving writing style) Book: The Handbook of Technical Writing, Seventh Edition (This can be a good reference book to put on your bookshelf) Book: Writing for Computer Science: The Art of Effective Communication Book: The Chicago Manual of Style: TThe Essential Guide for Writers, Editors, and Publishers Book: Mathematical Writing book by Donald E. Knuth

Aug 10, 2025