Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
too that much of the topic is relevant to writing in computer science in general, in
lessons are broader, and apply to many of the kinds of writing that professionals have
to undertake.
This topic has been written with the intention that it be browsed, not memorized
or learnt by rote. Read through it once or twice, absorb whatever advice seems of
value to you, then consult it for specific problems. There are checklists to be used as
to some extent, all of the chapters are composed of lists of issues to check.
Some readers of this topic will want to pursue topics further. There are areas
where the material is reasonably comprehensive, but there are others where it is
only introductory, and still others where I've done no more than note that a topic is
important. For most of these, it is easy to find good resources on the Web, which
is where I recommend that readers look for further information on, for example,
statistical methods, human studies and human ethics, and the challenges that are
specific to authors whose first language is not English.
Earlier editions of this topic included bibliographies. These rapidly dated, and,
with many good reading lists online—and new materials appearing all the time—
I suggest that readers search for texts and papers on topics of interest, using the online
review forums as guides. There are many home pages for research methods subjects,
on research in general and in the specific context of computing, where up-to-date
readings can be found.
Spelling and Terminology
British spelling is used throughout this topic, with just a couple of quirks, such as
use of “program” rather than “programme”. American readers: There is an “e” in
“judgement” and a “u” in “rigour”—within these pages. Australian readers: There
is a “z” in “customize”. These are choices, not mistakes.
Choice of terminology is less straightforward. An undergraduate is an undergrad-
uate, but the American graduate student is the British or Australian postgraduate.
The generic “research student” is used throughout, and, making arbitrary choices,
“thesis” rather than “dissertation” and “Ph.D.” rather than “doctorate”. The academic
staff member (faculty in North America) who works with—“supervises”—a research
student is, in this topic, an “advisor” rather than a “supervisor”. Collectively, these
people are “researchers” rather than “scientists”; while “computer scientists” are, in
a broad sense, not just researchers in the discipline in computer science but people
who are computational experts or practitioners. Researchers write articles, papers,
reports, theses, extended abstracts, and reviews; in this topic, the generic term for
these forms of researchwriting is a “write-up”, while “paper” is used for both refereed
publications and for work submitted for reviewing, and, sometimes, for theses too.
