Seminar II 242 702 Semester 1 2021 2022

Seminar II 242 -702, Semester 1, 2021 -2022 2. Thesis Statement and Overview • Objectives – tips on writing a thesis statement and an overview 242 -702 Seminar II: Thesis/2 1

Overview 1. 2. 3. Before you Write Your Proposal Organizing Your Notes What's a Thesis Statement? 4. Organizing an Overview 5. Outline Writing Tips 6. Two Possible Outline Formats 242 -702 Seminar II: Thesis/2 2

1. Before you write your Proposal • Writing a proposal can be easier if you do some simpler tasks first: – organize your research notes – write a thesis statement – write a research overview organized notes 242 -702 Seminar II: Thesis/2 thesis statement overview research proposal 3

. 2 Organizing Your Notes • I'm assuming that you learnt about making research notes in 242 -500 RDM and in 242 -701 Seminar I – very quickly the notes become very large – organizing them will help you develop research ideas 242 -702 Seminar II: Thesis/2 4

. 2. 1 Using Note Cards • If you've used note cards to record your reading/thoughts, they can be: – arranged on a table/floor – grouped into categories – sorted in different orders – pinned to a wall 242 -702 Seminar II: Thesis/2 5

Note Card Formats 242 -702 Seminar II: Thesis/2 6

242 -702 Seminar II: Thesis/2 7

Note Taking Freeware • Zotero (http: //www. zotero. org/) – a Firefox extension to help you collect, manage, and cite your research sources • Cinta. Notes (http: //cintanotes. com/) – standalone; free version is full-featured 242 -702 Seminar II: Thesis/2 8

2. 2. Note / Log Book add a date/time to every note • Use it to store notes when: – speaking to your supervisor • questions; things he/she has said – ideas; thoughts on coding / evaluation – notes related to the paper you are reading • e. g. ideas; reminders to find other papers – stick a year calendar on the inside front; – put your contact details on the front 242 -702 Seminar II: Thesis/2 9

. 2. 3 Keywords • Go through your notes, and write down common keywords and phrases: – e. g. network congestion, denial-of-service, virtual networks, micro payments, content throttling • These keywords may suggest a thesis idea. 242 -702 Seminar II: Thesis/2 10

. 2. 4 Visualization • Visuallly organize keywords into clusters or mind maps. 242 -702 Seminar II: Thesis/2 11

242 -702 Seminar II: Thesis/2 12

Elements of a Mind Map 242 -702 Seminar II: Thesis/2 13

• Free. Mind – free mind-mapping software written in Java • • see the screenshots and the Mind Map Gallery http: //freemind. sourceforge. net/ 242 -702 Seminar II: Thesis/2 14

. 2. 5 Asking Yourself Questions • Common question types: – comparison questions – definition questions – cause/effect questions – questions about the process – classification questions – evaluation questions 242 -702 Seminar II: Thesis/2 15

Example: Neural Nets in Games • Comparison: – How do neural networds compare and contrast with standard game techniques such as collision detection? • Definition – What kinds of neural network are used in games? 242 -702 Seminar II: Thesis/2 16

• Cause/Effect: – How is game design affected when neural networks are added? • Process: – What are the steps involved in integrating neural networks into games? 242 -702 Seminar II: Thesis/2 17

• Evaluation: – What speed or memory benefits are there when neural networds are added to games? 242 -702 Seminar II: Thesis/2 18

The 5 W+H Questions • Who? What? Where? When? Why? How? – Who? – What? – Where? – When? – Why? – How? researchers in neural nets / games what games types use them as part of game logic / UI time-lines for major developments speed, memory benefits scripting, special hardware See "Critical Thinking" JPG 242 -702 Seminar II: Thesis/2 19

. 3 What's a Thesis Statement? • A thesis statement is another name for the "problem statement" in your thesis – i. e. the sentences that appears in the abstract and introduction of your research proposal 242 -702 Seminar II: Thesis/2 20

Thesis Statement Structure – 4 (or more) sentences/paragraphs – – sentence 1: background sentence 2: the problem you are tackling sentence 3: planned goals/results sentence 5: how you will evaluate your results 242 -702 Seminar II: Thesis/2 21

• It gives a clear direction to your work. – Bad: "Several factors extend network speeds. " – Good: "Internet protocols that increase throughput are not always desirable for system administrators. " 242 -702 Seminar II: Thesis/2 22

• The thesis statement is specific. – Bad: "Illegal downloading is bad. " – Good: "Illegal downloading is ethically and legally equivalent to stealing, and will eventually stifle artistic creativity. " • The thesis statement combines all the main ideas in the research – e. g. it uses all your keywords 242 -702 Seminar II: Thesis/2 23

• The thesis statement is an aid to keeping your research on track, focussed on the important ideas. • Keep checking / revising your thesis statement so it matches what you are doing. 242 -702 Seminar II: Thesis/2 24

• Words added to a title, but not forming a complete sentence, cannot be a thesis statement: – Bad: "The potential of music for education. " – Good: "Since kids remember the words of music they listen to most often, pop songs should be used more in education. " 242 -702 Seminar II: Thesis/2 25

. 4 Organizing an Overview • Writing an overview can be thought of as expanding thesis statement – the tricky aspect is how to organize the ideas 242 -702 Seminar II: Thesis/2 26

• There are some standard organizations: – problems/issues → solutions – cause → effect → cause – general → specific → general – comparison and contrast – simple → complex – known → unknown – time-line (past → now → future) 242 -702 Seminar II: Thesis/2 27

4. 1. Arrangement by Problems/Issues • Thesis: Myths about Java have prevented it from being used widely in games programming. – Issue 1. Java is slow and a memory hog. – Issue 2. Sun Microsystems does not support Java as a games platform. – Issue 3. Java has not been ported to games machines. 242 -702 Seminar II: Thesis/2 28

. 4. 2 Arrangement by Cause/Effect • Thesis: Computer games have positive effects on a child's language development. – Cause 1. Games introduce new words. – Cause 2. Games reinforce word usage and proper syntax. – Cause 3. Game audio teaches the correct way to say words. 242 -702 Seminar II: Thesis/2 29

. 4. 3 General to Specific • Thesis: Functional Programming will solve the Crisis in Concurrent Programming. – General 1: increase in multi-core hardware – General 2: lack of concurrency features in conventional languages – Specific 1: complexity of libraries such as PVM – General 3: concurrency support in FP – Specific 2: map-reduce in Haskell 242 -702 Seminar II: Thesis/2 30

. 4. 4 Comparison and Contrast • Comparison focuses on similarities. • Contrast focuses on differences. • Outline ordering: – introduce topic A – introduce topic B – compare and contrast the two – state thesis using comparisons/contrasts as support 242 -702 Seminar II: Thesis/2 31

• Thesis: Computer Games are Weakening Kid's Reading Skills – topic A: computer games – topic B: reading – comparisons: need to understand words, sentences, situations, stories – contrasts: CGs have limited domains, less complexity, less ambiguity 242 -702 Seminar II: Thesis/2 32

. 5 Outline Writing Tips • 1. Every word in the outline should relate to thesis statement, and really mean something. • Thesis: Environmental damage from the inadequate disposal of PC hardware is a major problem in Thailand. 242 -702 Seminar II: Thesis/2 33

• Bad (empty words): – 1. Introduction – 2. Problems with PC hardware • • 2. 1. Where it is 2. 2. Who does it • Better (content-filled words) – 1. Sources of PC hardware waste – 2. Current disposal methods • • 2. 1. Landfills 2. 2. Incinerators 242 -702 Seminar II: Thesis/2 34

• 2. The information for each subheading must be related to the heading above it – related in the sense of the outline structure • e. g. cause → effect, general → specific • Thesis: James Gosling used elements borrowed from C++ and Simula as the main ingredients of Java. 242 -702 Seminar II: Thesis/2 35

• Bad (poor ordering): – 1. C++was developed by Bjarne Stroustrup starting in 1979 at Bell Labs • • 1. 1. Java's imperative features come from C 1. 2. James Gosling is a Canadian • Better: – 1. Java was developed by James Gosling starting in 1991 at Sun Microsystems – 2. Java features inspired by C++ – 3. Java features inspired by Simula 242 -702 Seminar II: Thesis/2 36

. 6 Two Possible Outline Formats • 1. Topic outline – each line is a word, phrase, or point • punctuation isn't necessary, but grammar helps organize your thoughts • 2. Sentence Outline – each line is a grammatically complete sentence with a full-stop (no questions allowed) • better for first-time writers 242 -702 Seminar II: Thesis/2 37

Topic Outline Example • 1. Issues of game censorship – 1. 1. intellectual freedom – 1. 2. values taught • 2. Censorship in the past Confusing since the lack of grammar adds ambiguity. 242 -702 Seminar II: Thesis/2 38

Sentence Outline Example • 1. The issues of computer game censorship arise from two main sources. – 1. 1. Some people feel that games must have the same intellectual freedoms as other media, such as books and movies. – 1. 2. Some people feel that games have an obligation to impart values since they are so important to young children. 242 -702 Seminar II: Thesis/2 39

• In both formats, nest headings using numbered sub-sections. • The numbering can be removed when you convert the outline to a proposal. 242 -702 Seminar II: Thesis/2 40