how to get a ph.d.: methods and practical hints

HOW TO GET A PH.D.: Methods and Practical Hints

Aarne Mämmelä 16.9.2003

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16/09/02 © Aarne Mämmelä, VTT ELE 2

HOW TO GET A PH.D.Methods and Practical Hints

Dr. AARNE MÄMMELÄResearch Professor (VTT), Docent (HUT)

VTT ELECTRONICSKaitoväylä 1, P.O. Box 1100, FIN-90571 Oulu, FinlandEmail: [email protected], http://www.vtt.fi/eleTel. 08-5512111, 08-5512482 (direct), 040-5762963 (GSM)Fax 08-5512320

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CONTENTS OF THE COURSE

• Lectures 16.9., 23.9., 30.9. and 7.10. • Exam 7.11.

• lectures and M. Davis, Scientific Papers and Presentations, Academic Press, 1997, 296 pp.

• Course work • proposal for requirements 8.12.2003, feedback

31.12.2003• final report 30.9.2004

• Tutor system• details during the last lecture

• Grades: failed, passed, passed with honors

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COURSE WORK

Three alternatives according to the student’s background as agreed individually with the student:1) Review of the literature 2) A proposal for a Ph.D. thesis including a review of literature3) Scientific publication plus a proposal for a Ph.D. thesis and a review of literature.

Final report about 10-20 pages. More detailed instructions on the course page (http://www.infotech.oulu.fi/GraduateSchool/ICourses/to_phd_2003.html).

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PROGRAM

I Session 16.9.2003 at 2-5 pm1. Aarne Mämmelä, Research Methods: From Problem and

Hypothesis to Experiments2. Tapio Seppänen, Characteristics of a ResearcherII Session 23.9.2003 at 2-5 pm3. Aarne Mämmelä, Literature Reviews: Existing Knowledge from

Data Bases 4. Pekka Heinonen, Industrial Experiences on Ph.D. Students

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PROGRAM

III Session 30.9.2003 at 2-5 pm5. Erkki Oja, Experiences of a Senior Researcher6. Olli Silven, Peer Review Process: the Task of a Referee 7. Jani Mäntyjärvi, Experiences about Preparing a Doctoral ThesisIV Session 7.10.2003 at 2-5 pm8. Aarne Mämmelä, Final Result: a Scientific Publication 9. Kari Leppälä, Theory of Science for Engineers

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RESEARCH METHODS: From Problem and Hypothesis to Experiments

Literature review

Problem andhypotheses

Experiments/analysis

Theory/ paper(new knowledge)

System(prototype)

Idea

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OUTLINE

• Introduction• Learning process• History• Basic problems• Research methods• Conclusions

• Appendices• References• Bibliography

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JOURNEY OF EXPLORATION: COLUMBUS

• Problem: a new way to India, competing hypotheses: Spain and Portugal, map, funding

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KNOWLEDGE AND LITERATURE

Literature (knowledge)

Researchers

Peer review

Editor

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EXAMPLE LANDMARK PAPER

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SOME DEFINITIONS

• Research: Careful study or investigation to discover new knowledge

basic research (no specific application in mind) applied research (ideas into operational form)

• Development: Systematic use of the existing knowledge

• Note. Research and development are closely related. In research a prototype is often developed.

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LEARNING PROCESS

How do students learn?

• Professors try to teach principles first and applications later (if ever).

• It is easiest to start from simple examples (= induction, “words and example sentences”).

• General principles are emphasized later to really master the subject (= deduction, “grammar”).

• It is helpful to know at least some simple principles in the beginning.

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HOW DOES A RESEARCHER WORK?

1. Make always notes in a notebook (day book)

2. Make plans for the future all the time (outlines, roadmaps)

3. Discuss, ask questions and argue (criticism)

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THE NEW WORLD OF MR TOMPKINS

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ANALOGIES IMPROVE CREATIVITY

LENGTH

HEIGHT

TIME

BANDWIDTH

BIT (ENERGY)

FURNITURE (WEIGHT)

REMOVAL VAN

TIME SLOT

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COMMUNICATIONS IMPROVE CREATIVITY

YOURSELF

Encouragement, criticism

Advisor

LandmarkPaper

Other researchers

Oral communicationsWritten communications

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CLASSIFICATION (REDUCTIONISM) IMPROVE CREATIVITY

Subsystem 1 Subsystem 2 Subsystem 3

STATIC OR TIMELESS ORDER (TAXONOMY)

System

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DYNAMIC AND GENERATIVE ORDER

Subsystem 1 Subsystem 3

Subsystem 2

GENERATIVE ORDER (HOLISM)

Subsystem 1 Subsystem 2 Subsystem 3

DYNAMIC ORDER (REDUCTIONISM)

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BIG ISSUES GUIDING OUR WORK

History &roadmaps

Fundamentallimits

Systemsengineering

System models,relationships,

complexity analysis

Physical limits,optimal systems,

performance analysis

Reviews of literature

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RESEARCH IDEAS

To find research ideas, use your own intuition/expertise and..

• know the literature, especially original landmark papers (write brief well-organized summaries)

• do experiments early in your studies, use your colleagues’ experience

• discuss with colleagues and students and teach them (seminars)

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RESEARCH PROPOSAL• Abstract• Introduction

• problem and hypothesis• Review of the literature

• good organization, concept analysis• Materials and methods

• system requirements, system specifications• plan for operation, experimental procedures• analytical and other tools

• Results• results (for example experimental data) to be expected• publication and other dissemination of research results

• Discussion and conclusions• originality, open questions, limitations• validation, significance, applications

• Time frame, budget• intermediate objectives

• Bibliography • list of references

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TIMING OF DOCTORAL THESIS (4 years)

1. Proposal2. Courses3. Literature4. Experiments5. Reports6. Papers7. Thesis8. Defence

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EXAMPLE: HISTORY OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS

1940 1960 1980 2000

1860 1880 1900 1920 1940

Telegraph Telephone Wireless telegraph

Wireless voice

Broadcast

Computer networks

Mobile cellular

Internet

Fixed links

Radar

Satellite comms Satellite navigation

WLAN

Mobile radio

Police radio

Computers

Optical comms

Voiceband modems

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FUTURE CELLULAR SYSTEM

Megacells (HAP, satellite)(1000 km)

Macrocells(1-35 km)

Picocells (WLAN)(10-100 m)

Microcells(0.1-1 km)

Supermacrocells(10-100 km)

HAP = high-altitude platform

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ROADMAP AND VISION OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS (1)

2000 2010 2020 2030 2040

Digital broadcast Mobile DVB

Wireless Internet Mobile Internet

Mobile universal

WPAN

FWA

Ad hoc networks

Satellite positioning

Supermacrocells

3D telepresence

Mobile wide-screen

Megacells

Mobile 3D voice Multi-sense interaction

Multicast/unicast

True virtual reality

Haptic interaction

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ROADMAP AND VISION OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS (2)

Worm holes? ANSIBLE?

Teleportation? Time machines?

Telepathy? Telesocializing?

Intergalactic network?

Real-time Internet? Direct MMI? Nanobots? Holodeck?

3000 4000 5000 6000 7000

Quantum comms?

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SOME FUNDAMENTAL ENGINEERING PROBLEMS

FactoryProducts/Services

Waste

NatureMaterials

Waste

People

InformationEnergy

Energy

Information

People

Sun

Energy

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FUNDAMENTAL PROBLEMS IN INFORMATION ENGINEERING

Save/Display

Distribution

Storage

Information

Processing

Energy

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TECHNOLOGY: NATURAL SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING

SocietyOrganic nature

Waste

Inorganic natureProducts/services

Science

HumanitiesSocial science

Engineering

Ecosystem Technosystem

Materials/ laws

Human beings

Energy

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BASIC TYPES OF RESEARCH METHODS

• Observation (Aristotle)• environment is observed and conclusions are made• modern use in literature reviews and for example in astronomy

• Analysis or hypothetico-deductive method (Platon, Eucleides)• a hypothesis (i.e., a conjecture) is made, deduction (i.e., analysis) is

used to find special cases which can be better understood or directly tested in the experimental method

• in an axiomatic system axioms or postulates are used to deduce theorems

• Experimental method (Francis Bacon, Galilei, Descartes, Newton):• the problem is reduced into smaller problems, experiments are made

and induction is used for generalization to find a theory • most common method in science and engineering when combined with

analysis

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EXPERIMENTS (1)

AnalysisAnalysis

Simulation

Prototype

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EXPERIMENTS (2)

• Mathematical analysis (presentation of formal theory)• creates best scientific papers• simple, mathematically tractable problem, must be often linear

(numerical results needed)• Simulations (empirical research)

• complicated systems can be developed rapidly, but slow to simulate• basic idea: lower level blocks are simplified and idealized

(hierarchy)• key problem: realistic models for the environment (e.g. channel)

• Prototyping (empirical research)• more convincing than “pure” simulations, not so flexible, slow and

expensive to develop complicated systems• environment (channel) simulators still needed (approximations!),

field tests expensive, repeatability?

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LEGENDS (SEE NEXT PAGES)

Analysis

SynthesisPyramid

General

Special

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ANALYSIS AND SYNTHESIS

Synthesis

System- prototype

Parts- materials

Analysis

Simplependulum

Wire

Mass point

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REASONING: INDUCTION AND DEDUCTION

Examples- statistics

Theory/ law- knowledge

InductionDeduction

glT /2

xx x x x

l

TT

l

Assumptions:- small amplitude- no friction

Theoretical

Experimental

Definitions: g is gravitationalacceleration (9.81 m/ s2)

Theory:

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RESEARCH METHODS: GENERAL

Synthesis

System

Parts

Examples

Theory

Experiments

Analysis

Relationships

InductionDeduction

Analysis

SynthesisGeneral

Special

Pendulum

Wire

Mass point

xx x x x

l

T

glT /2

T

l

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HOW A SCIENTIST WORKS

Synthesis

System

Parts

Examples

Theory

Experiments

Relationships

InductionDeductionAnalysis

Experimental resultsProblem:

Explain an object innature

Hypothesis:Law

Elements

Experience,analogies

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HOW AN ENGINEERING SCIENTIST WORKS

Synthesis

System

Parts

Examples

Theory

Experiments

Analysis

Relationships

InductionDeduction

Problem:System requirementsSystem specifications

Hypothesis:Prototype

Hypothesis:System model

Components



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GENERAL HINTS

• always start from simple models (= induction, “example sentences”)• use idealizations, black boxes• example: first scalars instead of matrices• reduce idealizations step by step

• integrate the ideas into a system model (= deduction, “grammar”)• consider optimal systems and their approximations• compare to fundamental limits

• good organization • block diagrams, graphical examples, hierarchy, modularity, etc.• try to find independent (orthogonal) blocks!• careful testing & documentation (reports, comment lines, etc.)

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HOMEWORK PROBLEMS

• Draw a diagram about the history of engineering (start from wheel, more detailed diagram since steam engine)

• Draw a diagram about the history of electronics (start from the electronic tubes)

• Draw a diagram about the history of storage (hint: start from the invention of writing)

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CONCLUSIONS: RESEARCH PROPOSAL

AbstractIntroduction

• problem and hypothesisReview of the literatureMaterials and methodsResultsDiscussion and conclusionsTime frame, budgetBibliography

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CONCLUSIONS: IMPORTANT TRADE-OFFS

Encouragement

Criticism

Creativity

Systematicwork

History &roadmaps

Details

Systems

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APPENDICES

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COMMENTS TO ROADMAP AND VISION

• direct MMI refers to a direct wired interface to human brains• haptic interaction refers to the sense of touch, multi-sense interaction refers

to all the five senses• holodeck refers to telepresence and virtual reality combined: all involved are

in a virtual environment• nanobot is a small robot moving in human brains and controlled wirelessly, it

makes wireless direct MMI possible• telepresence refers to presence in an existing environment for example as a

hologram; it does not need glasses, but it needs a material (for example water vapor) to which the hologram is projected

• teleportation: the theoretical portation of matter through space by converting it into energy and then reconverting it at the terminal point

• virtual reality: computer-generated simulation of three-dimensional images of environment or sequence of events that someone using special equipment (glasses, dress) may view and interact with a seemingly physical way

• worm hole: a hypothetical space-time tunnel or channel connecting a black hole with another universe

• quantum communications refers to teleportation of quantum states

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ABBREVIATIONS

• ANSIBLE = instant delivery of information• BLAST = Bell Labs adaptive space time• DVB = digital video broadcasting• FWA = fixed wireless access• MRC = maximal ratio combining• OFDM = orthogonal frequency division multiplexing• MIMO = multiple input multiple output• MMI = man-machine interface • STC = space-time coding• TCM = trellis-coded modulation• UWB = ultra wideband• WPAN = wireless personal area network• WLAN = wireless local area network

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RESEARCHER AND ORGANIZATION

8. Integration of results

ROLE OF ORGANIZATION ROLE OF RESEARCHER

1. History and state of the art

2. Vision and roadmap

3. Fundamental principles andproblems

4. Research problems and projects

5. Marketing, recruiting, investing

6. Project plans

7. Research culture and education

Literature review

Problem andhypotheses

Experiments/analysis

Theory/ paper(new knowledge)

System(prototype)

Idea

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SCIENCE

• Science: knowledge ascertained by observation and experiment, critically tested, systematized, and brought under general principles; a branch of such knowledge; natural science, systematized knowledge of nature and the physical world

• Scientific method: a method of research in which a hypothesis is tested by means of a carefully documented control experiment that can be repeated by any other researcher

• Information: facts told, heard or discovered about something or somebody, for example news

• Knowledge: an organized body of information accumulated by mankind or shared by people in a particular field

• Data: information prepared for or stored by a computer (plural form of datum, a single piece of information; the word data now usually used with a singular verb)

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CLASSIFICATION OF SCIENCES

Note. Natural science is usually referred to as “science.”

Applied science (practical) engineering medicine agriculture

Humanities (human culture) linguistics (languages) history philosophy art (literature, etc.)Social science (people within society) anthropology psychology sociology pedagogics economics jurisprudence (science of law) political science

Science (natural world) physics chemistry biology

Formal science mathematics logic

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CLASSIFICATION OF ENGINEERING

• Technology: the scientific study and use of applied sciences, for example engineering; application of this to practical tasks in industry

• Engineering: practical application of science and mathematics, as in the design and construction of machines, vehicles, structures, roads, and systems

• Industrial engineering

• Civil engineering

• Mechanical engineering

• Chemical engineering

• Electrical engineering: practical application of the theory of electricity to the construction of machinery, power supplies, etc.

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CLASSIFICATION OF ENGINEERING

• Information engineering: the study or use of electronic equipment, especially computers, for storing, analyzing, and distributing information of all kinds, including words, numbers and pictures

• Telecommunications: transmitting information, as words, sounds, or images, over great distances, in the form of electromagnetic signals

• Electronics: development and application of of devices and systems involving the flow of electrons in a vacuum, in gaseous media, and in semiconductors

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HUMANITIES (EXAMPLES)

• Philosophy: general principles of a field of knowledge, divided into

• metaphysics: study of first principles, inc. (i) ontology: nature of existence and (ii) cosmology: origin and general structure of the universe

• epistemology or theory of knowledge: origin, nature, methods and limits of human knowledge, inc. (i) logic: correct or reliable reasoning and (ii) philosophy of science or theory of science

• axiology or value theory: inc. i) ethics: moral principles, ii) aesthetics: taste and study of the beauty in nature and art, iii) religion: the cause, nature and purpose of the universe

• History: study of past events; acts, ideas, or events that will or can shape the course of the future

• Language: human speech or the written symbols for speech; any set or system of formalized symbols, signs, sounds, or gestures used or conceived as a means of communication

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MATHEMATICS

• Mathematics: science dealing with quantities and forms and their relationships by the use of numbers and symbols

• arithmetic and number theory: theory of numbers

• algebra: generalization and extension of arithmetic, deals with general statements of relations (most often referred to as functions), utilizing letters and other symbols to represent quantities in the description of such relations

• (mathematical) statistics: collecting, classifying and analyzing information shown in numbers

• trigonometry: relations between the sides and angles of triangles

• analysis: generalization and extension of algebra, study of the changes of a continuously varying function, differential and integral calculus and its higher developments, discussion of a problem by algebra, as opposed to geometry

• geometry: deduction of properties, measurements and relationships of points, lines, angles, surfaces and figures in space by certain assumed properties of space

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CLASSIFICATION OF SCIENCES

• Physics: study of matter and energy and the relationships between them

• Chemistry: study of properties of substances both elementary and compound, and the laws of their combination and action one upon another

• Biology: study of the life and structure of plants and animals

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WHOLE AND ELEMENTS: ANALYSIS AND SYNTHESIS

• analysis: resolving or separating a whole into its elements or component parts • synthesis: opposite to analysis, the process of making a whole by putting

together its separate component parts• reductionism (Descartes): theory that every complex phenomenon can be

explained by analyzing the simplest, most basic physical mechanisms that are in operation during the phenomenon (in science and engineering problems are reduced into smaller problems that are studied separately, see systems analysis)

• holism: opposite to reductionism, theory that whole entities, as fundamental components of reality, have an existence other than as a mere sum of their parts (see emergence)

• emergence: property of a whole that cannot even in principle be explained from the knowledge of the parts and their relationships (it is a philosophical question whether emergence exists or not for example in biological systems if all parts and relationships are known)

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SYSTEMS ANALYSIS AND ENGINEERING

• system: a set or arrangement of things so related or connected as to form a unity or organic whole.

• systems analysis: an engineering technique that breaks down complex technical, social, etc. problems into basic elements whose interrelations are evaluated and programmed, with the aid of mathematics, into a complete and integrated system.

• systems engineering: a branch of engineering using esp. information theory, computer science, and facts from systems-analysis studies to design integrated operational systems for specific complexes.

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REASONING: INDUCTION AND DEDUCTION

• induction (scientific induction, Aristotle, Francis Bacon): reasoning from particular cases to general conclusions

• Bacon’s induction is incomplete and does not necessarily keep the truth since new information is introduced and some unexpected phenomena may emerge (Fermat’s complete induction (based on positive integers) is used in “watertight” mathematical proofs)

• different forms of induction: intuitive, enumerative, eliminative, direct inference, inverse deduction and analogy (Niiniluoto, 1983)

• in (intertheoretical) reduction the laws of the reduced theory are derived from that of the reducing theory, for example, Newton’s mechanics can be reduced to Einstein’s theory of relativity

• deduction (Platon, Eucleides): drawing of a particular truth from a general truth (opposite to induction and reduction)

• deduction keeps the truth: no new information is introduced, but the information is revealed with examples

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CREATIVITY: ORDER AND CHAOS

• Creativity is easily lost

• fragmentation and specialization due to reductionism: language difficulties due to special terminology (new terms formed from abbreviations)

• paradigms

• Creativity can be improved by

• systems analysis

• interrelations between parts (subsystems) considered in detail

• communications:

• use different reasoning methods: induction, deduction, intuition

• analogies or metaphors form a bridge between different concepts, for example Newton: apple = moon, Einstein: time = space, energy = mass

• contrasts, extremes, symmetries, relationships

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HOW TO IMPROVE CREATIVITY

• Generation of ideas• brainstorming (unrestrained offering of ideas)• morphological analysis (systematic search for solutions)• ready-made question lists• synectics (association, connection between ideas)• subconscious (“incubation”)

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SYSTEMS ANALYSIS AND ENGINEERING

Systems

HistoryVision,

roadmapElements

Fundamental limits,optimal systems

Literature:reviews,

landmarks,state-of-the art

Analysis, experiments, discussions

Induction, deduction, intuition (analogies)

Physics, chemistry and biologySignals & systems, digital signal processing

Estimation, information theory, digital electronics, computers

Telecommunication theory, telecommunication electronics

Complexity analysis,energy, size/weight, cost

Concept analysis,requirements (QoS),specifications, blockdiagrams, hierarchy,modularity, interfaces,interrelationships, trade-offs

Languages, philosophy (theory of science), mathematics

QoS = Quality of Service

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ALTERNATE TERMINOLOGY

Synthesis

System

Parts

Examples

Theory

Experiments

Analysis

Relationships

InductionDeduction

Abstraction, assumption, axiom,concept, conjecture, criterion,definition, explanation, hypothesis,knowledge, law, logic, paradigm,philosophy, postulate, premise,principle, rule, system model, term(primitive term), thesis, understanding.

Complexity, case, constraint,experimental result, measurementresult, particular case, performance,phenomenon, quality of service,sample, specification, statistics,theorem.

Classification, instance, practice,procedure, process, product,prototype, service, structure,organization, taxonomy, whole.

Atom, component, consituent, element,factor, fraction, fragment, ingredient,material, member, module, particle,piece, section, segment, unit.

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TYPES OF ORDER (CLASSIFICATION)

• static order (timeless order, separate related groups based on some factor common to each, hierarchical structure, special cases, for example taxonomy in biology) - Aristotle, Linné

• dynamic order (sequential order, time included, causality, integration and disintegration, for example ”waterfall” model in engineering, how a building is built, repaired and finally destroyed, evolution theory in biology) - Descartes, Newton, Darwin

• generative order (holistic order, more general than static and dynamic order, time does not have priority, internal interrelations or dynamics included, for example iterations) - Bohm

• Example. An object floating on a river as a function of time (= dynamic order), the whole river seen simultaneously, inc. two way flow in loops (= generative order).

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FUNDAMENTAL LIMITS

Some of the most important fundamental limits (about 1850-1950)• second law of thermodynamics (Carnot, Clausius)• absolute zero (Kelvin)• upper velocity limit (Einstein)• uncertainty principle (Heisenberg)• incompleteness theorem (Goedel)• speed of transmission of intelligence (Nyquist)• channel coding theorem (Shannon)

Refs.• Lars Lundheim, “On Shannon and ‘Shannon's Formula’,”

Telektronikk, vol. 98, no. 1-2002, pp. 20-29.

• http://scienceworld.wolfram.com/

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CULTURAL HISTORY

-3200

Babylon

USA

Egypt

Greece

India

Europe

Sumerians

Alexandria

-538

529

1636

1877

1280

Mayas

Phoenicians

Semites

Etruscans

Numbers (500-876)

Letters

Cuneiform writing

Hieroclyphics

Latin letters (-500)

Rome

Greek alphabet

Macedonia

Rome Europe

415

China

Japan

162016321637

500

-1500

-500

-3000 300

-600

-1500

-800

-2000

1200

900300

1 1000 2000-2000 -1000-3000

Arabia

1088

1100

1123

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LEGENDS (SEE PREVIOUS PAGE)

Greece Europe

529 1088

Rome Europe

162016321637

-600-800

End of ancient science(Academy closed)

First university(Bologna)

Start of modern science(Bacon, Galilei, Descartes)

Start of Greek writing

Start of ancient science (Thales)

Influence(other)

Influence(writing)

Arabia

1100

1123

Indian-Arabian numbersto Europe

Omar Khayyam dies622

Arabian calendar

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WHY ARE SOME DESIGN PROBLEMS DIFFICULT TO SOLVE?

• no single evaluation function or optimization criterion that describes the quality of any proposed solution is available, but a set of evaluation functions (= requirements specifications) that should be weighted

• the number of solutions in the search space is so large as to forbid an exhaustive search for the best answer and the iterative methods (by trial and error) are too slow or unreliable to find the optimum solution

• the possible solutions are so heavily constrained that constructing even one feasible answer is difficult (reduction is used to simplify the problem and this adds an additional constraint)

• the evaluation function is noisy or varies with time (need an entire series of solutions)

• our models may be too simplified so that any result is essentially useless

• some psychological barrier prevents us from discovering a solution

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PROPERTIES OF A GOOD SYSTEM

• good performance

• low complexity (= low energy consumption, size/weight, cost)

• efficient use of existing parts

• modularity and hierarchy with different criteria

• adaptivity and selfremediable

• reconfigurability and flexibility for evolutionary changes

• robustness (parameters may be changed)

• testability

• reasonable redundancy (no breakdown)

• good documentation

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HOW TO START

1. Find a suitable advisor and a good group.

2. Look for a good idea, study literature & discuss, do not reinvent the wheel.

3. Define the problem, limit the scope, find the right approach and hypotheses (= possible solutions), write a research proposal.

4. Analyze the system, make experiments (simulations, prototypes) and discuss the results, use right tools.

5. Write a paper or thesis and listen carefully to comments and be prepared to argue and defend your claims (opponents try to find weak points in your reasoning!).

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Advisor is your best friend

Look for a good advisor• Be there for the length of your project• Experience on research in the same area (a doctor)• Pedagogical skills, know the big picture, know literature• Respected by colleagues, critical, tough methodologist• Interested in your topic, gives comments, you respect

him/her

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How to keep your advisor?

• Orient your advisor (system model, block diagrams, table of contents)

• Follow instructions (make notes), but also discuss and argue

• Make concise progress reports (organize the material, limit the scope)

• Do not expect ready-made solutions, but ways of thinking

• Advisor needs also credit for his/her work in the form of publications

• Get into the driver’s seat!

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Why is research important?

• New knowledge is discovered

• Prestige for yourself and for your employer

• Know the state of the art and teach it to your colleagues and customers

• Know the history and see the trends

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Why is research exciting?

• Intellectual pleasure: you learn to know something very deeply.

• Thrill: you work like a detective when looking for existing knowledge.

• New knowledge: you discover something that did not exist previously.

• Prestige: you will become a doctor and an internationally known expert.

• Spirit of the scientific community: special research culture, freedom to think, suspect and criticize authorities, impersonal judgments of discoveries, integrity (= honesty).

• Unique communication network: you meet the most intelligent people in the world in your field.

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What a doctoral student should learn?

• Excellent oral and written knowledge of native language and English.

• Know the literature of a specific topic (big picture, history, state of the art, future trends or roadmaps).

• Know how to discover new knowledge (research methods, theory of science).

• Publish some original papers and write a thesis (contribution to the literature).

• Learn to discuss and argue in seminars (public defence).

• Guide master’s students (social and pedagogical skills).

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CURRICULUM VITAE

• Full names• Date and place of birth• Nationality• Marital status• Address, telephone• Education and training• Present position• Fields of research• Previous professional appointments• Research awards, honours and major grants• Editorial board memberships• Memberships in scientific societies• Other academic and professional merits and activities

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IEEE CODE OF ETHICS (www.ieee.org)

We, the members of the IEEE, in recognition of the importance of our technologies in

affecting the quality of life throughout the world, and in accepting a personal

obligation to our profession, its members and the communities we serve, do hereby

commit ourselves to the highest ethical and professional conduct and agree:

1. to accept responsibility in making engineering decisions consistent with the

safety, health and welfare of the public, and to disclose promptly factors that

might endanger the public or the environment;

2. to avoid real or perceived conflicts of interest whenever possible, and to

disclose them to affected parties when they do exist;

3. to be honest and realistic in stating claims or estimates based on available

data;

4. to reject bribery in all its forms;

5. to improve the understanding of technology, its appropriate application, and

potential consequences;

6. to maintain and improve our technical competence and to undertake

technological tasks for others only if qualified by training or experience, or

after full disclosure of pertinent limitations;

7. to seek, accept, and offer honest criticism of technical work, to acknowledge

and correct errors, and to credit properly the contributions of others;

8. to treat fairly all persons regardless of such factors as race, religion, gender,

disability, age, or national origin;

9. to avoid injuring others, their property, reputation, or employment by false or

malicious action;

10. to assist colleagues and co-workers in their professional development and to

support them in following this code of ethics.

Approved by the IEEE Board of Directors, August 1990

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REFERENCES (1)

• M. Davis, Scientific Papers and Presentations. Academic Press, 1997.• D. Bohm and F. D. Beat, Science, Order and Creativity. Bantam Books,

1987.• W. Benis and P. Bierderman, Organizing Genius: The Secrets of Creative

Collaboration. Addison Wesley, 1998.• E. O. Wilson, Consilience: The Unity of Knowledge. Random House, 1999.• I. Niiniluoto, Johdatus tieteenfilosofiaan: Käsitteen- ja teorianmuodostus,

3rd ed. Otava, 2002.• I. Niiniluoto, Tieteellinen päättely ja selittäminen. Otava, 1983. • R. N. Kostoff, “Science and Technology Roadmaps,” IEEE Transactions on

Engineering Management, vol. 48, pp. 132-143, May 2001.• R. M. Felder, L.K. Silverman, “Learning and Teaching Styles in Engineering

Education,” Engineering Education, pp. 674-681, April 1988.

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REFERENCES (2)

• S. Haykin, Communication Systems. 4th ed. Wiley, 2001.• J. G. Proakis, Digital Communications. 4th ed. McGraw-Hill, 2001.• George Gamow and Russell Stannard, The New World of Mr Tompkins. Cambridge

Univ Press, 1999.• Carl B. Boyer, A History of Mathematics. Wiley, 2nd revision edition, 1991.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY (1)

(Note. You can look at the table of contents, some additional excerpts, and editorial and customer reviews at www.bn.com (inc. 8 million books) or www.amazon.com (inc. 3 million books). For price comparisons, see www.addall.com. There is also a more extensive list of Internet book stores.)

History of electronics• G. W. A. Dummer and E. Davies, Electronic Inventions and Discoveries:

Electronics from Its Earliest Beginnings to the Present Day, 4th ed. Institute of Physics Pub, 1997, 284 pp.

• W. A. Atherton, From Compass to Computer: A History of Electrical and Electronics Engineering. San Francisco Press, 1984.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY (2)

History of telecommunications• Anton Huurdeman, The Worldwide History of Telecommunications. Wiley,

July 2003, 625 pp.• John Bray, Innovation and the Communications Revolution. IEE, 2002, 336

pp. (A history of telecommunications.)• Janet Abbate, Inventing the Internet. MIT Press, 2000, 272 pp.• Christos J. P. Moschovitis, Hilary Poole, Tami Schuyler, and Theresa M.

Senft, History of the Internet: A Chronology, 1843 to the Present. ABC-CLIO, 1999, 312 pp.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY (3)

History of computers• Georges Ifrah, The Universal History of Computing: From Abacus to the

Quantum Computer. Wiley, 2000, 356 pp.• Martin Davis, The Universal Computer: The Road from Leibniz to Turing.

W.W. Norton & Company, 2000, 256 pp.• Paul E. Ceruzzi, A History of Modern Computing. MIT Press, 1998, 408 pp.• Michael R. Williams, A History of Computing Technology, 2nd ed. Wiley-

IEEE Press, 1997, 440 pp. • John A. N. Lee, Computer Pioneers. Wiley-IEEE Press, 1995, 816 pp.• Stan Augarten, Bit by Bit: An Illustrated History of Computers. Houghton

Mifflin Co, 1984, 324 pp.• Herman H. Goldstine, The Computer: From Pascal to Von Neumann.

Princeton Univ Press, 1972 (reprint 1993), 378 pp.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY (4)

History of science• Mary Jo Nye (Editor), The Cambridge History of Science: Volume 5, The

Modern Physical and Mathematical Sciences. Cambridge University Press, 2002, 708 pp.

• William H. Cropper, Great Physicists: The Life and Times of Leading Physicists from Galileo to Hawking. Oxford University Press, 2001, 514 pp.

• Herbert Butterfield, Origins of Modern Science, revised ed. Free Press, 1997, 255 pp.

History of mathematics• Jeff Suzuki, A History of Mathematics. Prentice Hall, 2002, 832 pp. • David M. Burton, The History of Mathematics. McGraw Hill College Div,

2002, 752 pp. • Carl B. Boyer, A History of Mathematics. John Wiley & Sons, 2nd revision

edition, 1991, 736 pp.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY (5)

Fundamental problems (fundamental limits)• Special Issue on “Limits of Semiconductor Technology.” Proceedings of

the IEEE, vol. 89, March 2001.• Special Issue on “Fundamental limits in Electrical Engineering.”

Proceedings of the IEEE, vol. 69, February 1981.• A. K. Dewdney, Beyond Reason: Eight Great Problems that Reveal the

Limits of Science. John Wiley & Sons, January 2004, 240 pp. • Arthur W. Wiggins and Charles M. Wynn, The Five Biggest Unsolved

Problems in Science. John Wiley & Sons, August 2003, 208 pp. • John Royden Maddox, What Remains to Be Discovered: Mapping the

Secrets of the Universe, the Origins of Life, and the Future of the Human Race. Touchstone Books, 1999, 448 pp.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY (6)

Research methods, general• John Losee, A Historical Introduction to the Philosophy of Science, 4th ed.

Oxford Univ Press, 2001, 314 pp.• Alexander Rosenberg, The Philosophy of Science: A Contemporary

Introduction. Routledge, 2000, 208 pp. • Jeffrey C. Leon, Science and Philosophy in the West. Prentice Hall, 1998,

330 pp. • Barry Gower, Scientific Method: A Historical and Philosophical

Introduction. Routledge, 1997, 288 pp.• Hugh G. Gauch Jr., Scientific Method in Practice. Cambridge Univ Pr, 2002,

448 pp.• Ernest O. Doebelin, Engineering Experimentation: Planning, Execution,

Reporting. McGraw-Hill Companies, 1995, 464 pp.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY (7)

Literature reviews• Robert I. Bergman, Find It Fast: How to Uncover Expert Information on Any

Subject, 5th ed. HarperResource, 2000, 400 pp. • Chris Hart, Doing a Literature Review: Releasing the Social Science

Research Imagination. Corwin Press, 1999, 230 pp.

Writing instructions, general• Judith S. Van Alstyne and Merrill D. Tritt, Professional and Technical Writing

Strategies: Communicating in Technology and Science, 5th ed. Prentice Hall, 2001, 706 pp.

• Elaine P. Maimon and Janice H. Peritz, A Writer's Resource: A Handbook for Writers and Researchers. McGraw-Hill, 2002, 576 pp.

• James G. Paradis and Muriel L. Zimmerman, The MIT Guide to Science and Engineering Communication, 2nd ed. MIT Press, 2002, 334 pp.

• Alan G. Gross, Joseph E. Harmon, and Michael S. Reidy, Communicating Science: The Scientific Article from the 17th Century to the Present. Oxford University Press, 2002, 280 pp.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY (8)

Dictionaries • Michael Agnes and David B. Guralnik (Editors-in-Chief), Webster’s New

World College Dictionary, 4th ed. John Wiley & Sons, 2000, 1744 pp. (ISBN 0028631196). (A dictionary of American English, includes 163000 entries, recommended by Prentice-Hall.)

• Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, 11th ed. Merriam-Webster, 2003, 1664 pp. (ISBN 0877798095). (A dictionary of American English, includes 225000 definitions, recommended by Wiley, available also at www.m-w.com, note that you can also listen to the pronunciation.)

• Webster’s Third New International Dictionary, Unabridged, 3rd ed. Merriam-Webster, 2003, 2783 pp. (ISBN 0877793026). (A dictionary of American English, available with a CD-ROM, recommended by Wiley, includes 472000 entries.)

• A. S. Hornby and Sally Wehmeier (Editors), Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary of Current English, 6th ed. Oxford Univ Press, 2000, 1539 pp. (A dictionary of British English, available also at www.oup.com/elt/oald.)

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BIBLIOGRAPHY (9)

Other style guides • Marjorie E. Skillin and Robert Malcolm Gay, Words into Type, 3rd ed.

Prentice Hall, 1974, 547 pp. (ISBN 0139642625). (Includes for example the English grammar, recommended by Prentice-Hall and Wiley.)

• William Strunk, Jr. and E. B. White, Elements of Style, 4th ed. Macmillan, 1999, 105 pp. (Recommended by Wiley, included on page www.bartleby.com/141.)

• Ellen Swanson, Mathematics into Type, updated edition. American Mathematical Society, 1999, 98 pp. (Recommended by Prentice-Hall and Wiley, explains how mathematical equations should be typed.)

• Chicago Manual of Style, 14th ed. Univ Chicago Press, 1993, 921 pp. (Instructions for preparation of books, recommended by Prentice-Hall.)

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