How to become researcher-published paper-

! """# $ % # & !!!"# $ % " % ' $ & # # $ ( $ # % % ! #" ) # (" ! " !#$ % ! % $ $ * +,'- ! * +,'# ./ ' # # ./ ' # $ , # % & # " # & # # ! " # $ # # ( # ! PREFACE “Imagination is more important than knowledge” – Albert Einstein “How to become a Researcher?” is an effort to motivate young talent especially students towards R&D and harness their intellectual capabilities according to the industrial requirements. Academic institutions produce a large pool of talented manpower, but few innovations and patented products. This is because of lack of necessary technical and practical skills, lack of cultural fit and attitudes towards teamwork. Due to insufficient guidance, even faculties are unaware of latest happenings and in-turn fail to deliver research aptitude to students. The aim of this book is to provide necessary information about basics of research and the actual methodologies applied while doing research. Highlighting the details of technical writing followed by both academic and commercial research. Describing the importance of technical events and publications along with explaining the various preventive steps taken against plagiarism, infringement, counterfeits, etc. Presentation skills are also included to guide researchers to market their research ideas. The book is intended to be accessible to under-graduate and post-graduate students as well as research scholars and someone who would like to take up research either full-time / part-time or consider research as a hobby. Professor D. Venkat Reddy Department of Civil Engineering, NIT-Karnataka President, CAFET-INNOVA Technical Society Editor-in-Chief, International Journal of Earth Sciences & Engineering Executive Editor, International Journal of Biological Sciences & Engineering 26th JUNE, 2011 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I take this opportunity with much pleasure to thank all the authors who have contributed their chapters to suture the content of this book. I sincerely thank Professor D. Venkat Reddy of NIT-Karnataka for his guidance, help and motivation. I would like to express my gratitude to Dr. S. D. Sivasubramaniam of Nottingham Trent University, UK for his review and many helpful suggestions. My sincere gratitude also goes to Professor K. Laxminarayana (Project Director Retd. DLRL-Hyderabad) and Dr. V. Balaram (Director Grade Scientist, NGRI) for their encouragement. Special thanks go to Suchismita Mallick for her great support in maintaining high standards of the book with her proof-read, and Pradeep Kumar Das for sharing his creative ideas that turned into the cover page of this book. I gratefully acknowledge the support from Professor Suresh Kumar, Dr. Neelima Satyam, Dinesh Pandian, Mohd Abubakr, Prakash Raju, and Nafeesa Parveen. Finally, this book “How to become a Researcher?” would not have been possible without the confidence, endurance and support of P. Nikhil Prakash and Raju. A Hafeez Basha. R Editor – “How to become a Researcher” Contents 1. What it takes to become a researcher? By Mohd Abubakr 1-12 2. Awareness on Paper-presentation By Hafeez Basha. R and S. D. Sivasubramaniam 13-24 3. Importance of Technical Programs & Publications By Raju. A 25-34 4. Journal Publishing – An inside story By Hafeez Basha. R and D. Venkat Reddy 35-44 5. Research Methodology By Neelima Satyam 45-52 6. Nuts and Bolts of Intellectual Property By Dinesh Pandian and P. Nikhil Prakash 53-72 7. Presentation and Interpersonal Skills By R. Suresh Kumar 73-84 This chapter isn’t about theorems, s, le lemmas or prepositions. This chapter is a about human hum phycology. To be precise, this chapter is about out phycology of researchers and their life. We will wi discuss about researchers, their life, the decisions ons tthey make and how a researchers can make bestt use us of their talent. This chapter is meant for Students who want to be res researchers but don’t know where to start Researchers who are finding ding extremely difficult to determine whether they have hav made a right decision in life by taking up rresearch While the primary audience is to-be be researchers, however, the content presented in this chapter can be read and enjoyed by one and all. 1 Research and Researche archers For some, research is a profession. ion. For some, research is a recreation. For some, research rese is business. For some, research is a crime. For or so some, research is fear. And so on. But for a true researcher, rese research is a way of life. The influence of rese research can be seen in all works of the life of researc earcher. Researchers live their life through research. Even ven though this might sound like an exaggerated movie ovie dialogue, this is indeed true. For example, true sport portsmen live their life through the sport they play.. Take Tak away the sport from them, their lives would be em empty. Remove cricket from Sachin Tendulkar’s life ife or o remove driving from Michael Schumacher’s life,, wh what would you find in their lives? Similarly, if you ou remove research from the life of a true researcher, r, yo you won’t find anything. Research is the life for a researcher. rese But how do researchers live life thro through research? Research isn’t merely about writing iting research papers or inventing machines. There is much uch more to it. The process of writing a research paper pape doesn’t merely start from the time researcher hol holds the pen. A lot goes on behind the scenes. s. In order to make 1|Page discoveries or inventions, a researcher must have the unquenchable thirst for knowledge, unceasing passion for discovering the truth and unending zeal to fight against failures. The greatest of ideas occur only to those who experience highest amount of failure and yet don’t give up. Some say that the greatest pleasure that a human can experience is immortality. And research gives that pleasure. Successful research makes the researcher immortal. The names of researchers are echoed with respect for centuries and millennia by all civilizations. Their names become synonymous with human excellence and intellectuality. Even after 350 years since his times, the name of Newton is known to more than 3,000 million people on this planet. It speaks volumes of the fame research gives to a human being. And this is not the kind of fame that dies down with the decline of power. This is the immortal kind of fame that would remain forever. However, research is heart-breaking too. Sometimes the problems don’t crack even after lifetime of effort and many researchers had lived such lives. In the rapidly changing technological fields, there is deep-throat competition on new ideas. One idea replacing another within no time is very common. Naturally, not all researchers gain the fame of the likes of Newton or Einstein. There have been numerous researchers who have produced outstanding ideas, yet they are little known outside their research circles. Though the fame depends on the kind of discovery the researcher has done, fame isn’t the primary reasons why researchers do research. They do research because they want to do research. If fame follows, it’s not their fault! However, on many occasions, depending on the popularity of the problem, researchers know the fame it would fetch when they solve such a problem. (Ask a researcher who is trying to solve one of the Millennium problems!) The desire for such fame can be tricky. Sometimes it motivates and sometimes it distracts. Also, on many occasions, discoveries happen all of a sudden and even to the surprise of the researcher. Researcher might be solving a much lesser known problem but somehow an idea leads to discovery of much higher magnitude. Bottom line is that, researcher don’t do research for fame. And those researchers who do research for fame seldom succeed. The common misconception among people is that research only relates to fields of science and technology. This is not true. Research is fundamental to all fields of knowledge, whether be it arts, sports or sciences. So what is research? Depending on your sensibility, the answer to this question can be simple or complicated. Curiosity for knowledge is natural to human beings. It is that curiosity that pushes the human being to acquire knowledge in their field of his/her interest. However, the level of curiosity and curiosity in which field of knowledge varies from person to person. Music, arts, dance, sports, science, politics, etc. are all fields of knowledge. Depending on your curiosity in that field, you choose to acquire more knowledge in that field. In any field that you choose, to be the best among that field, you need to be a ‘researcher’. The best musician invents new sounds and produces new music, the best sportsman presents new skills, the best scientist invents new machines or discovers new theories, and best politician finds new ways to fool people and so on. To be the best in any field, you need to research on the new ideas, implement them and put it on display. In this chapter, we shall be taking exclusive of scientific research. However, you can take these ideas and apply it elsewhere. Most of them are valid for non-scientific fields too. 2|Page 2 Qualities of a Researcher In previous section, we briefly discussed about the life of researchers and how research applies to all fields. In this section, we will further probe the lives of researchers and talk about the qualities they own. Almost all researchers possess some distinct qualities compared to ordinary people. It is these qualities that help them do research even in the most hostile conditions. The qualities of researchers include guts to think and question, guts to challenge existing ideas, guts to propose new ideas, guts to accept new ideas and courage to overcome defeat. Though there isn’t any rule that one must possess these qualities to be a researcher but given the fact that almost all researchers have these qualities, these qualities can be used to judge whether a person (ex: student) can be a researcher or not. Also, if you aspire to be a researcher, make sure that you have these qualities. Researchers not just exhibit these qualities while doing research but also in their day-to-day life. We shall now discuss briefly about each of these qualities and why such qualities are essential to doing pathbreaking research. 2.1 Guts to Think and Question Human beings have the ability to think and decide what is best for them. However, most of us decide to blindly follow what has been told to us instead of thinking and understanding various aspects of life. While, we all agree that thinking liberates human being from the shackles of slavery, but at the same time, we promote blind follower-ship, which is nothing but being slave to another mind. This weakness of human beings is exploited by politicians, media, religious preachers, etc. for their benefits. Especially, in Indian context, ‘the ability to think and question’ is suppressed from the childhood itself. Children are repeatedly told not to question the elders and follow as they say. In schools they are told to follow teachers and accept whatever that is written in their books. At religious places, they are forced not to question what has been written in the scriptures and asked to perform rituals without understanding them. By the time such child grows up, he/she has lost the ability to think and question. This social problem is deeply affecting the scientific output of India. If an event or phenomenon is happening and the cause is unknown, there are two options before us. The first option is to continue living under the impression that, you can’t do anything about that event or phenomenon. The second option is to think why that event or phenomenon is happening and what it means to us. People who choose the second option in their day-to-day activities have high chances of producing outstanding ideas. 2.2 Guts to challenge existing ideas Often in life, there is a situation where you know that something is going wrong but you don’t speak out against it. If we all had the courage to speak-out against wrong stuff, then this planet would have been a peaceful place to live. But not all of us have the courage to speak out and challenge the wrongdoers. Similarly, in the context of research, in order to improve science, you need to have courage to challenge existing ideas. 3|Page Science needs to be improved and refined every day. The science of today is more advanced and better than science of yesterday. Similarly, if the science of future has to be better than that of todays, it needs to be improved. Improvement cannot happen if one doesn’t challenge existing ideas. Sometimes the existing ideas might be wrong and such ideas needs to be replaced. An idea cannot be proved wrong until it’s challenged. Merely opposing an existing idea isn’t challenging the idea. Keep the following guidelines in mind when you challenge existing ideas: The challenge has to happen in the mind of the researcher not necessarily in public. That is, when you understand something and say you disagree, don’t instantly express your disagreement in public. Think of a solution to the problem and then challenge. Getting into unnecessary debates with your friends or teachers on existing ideas will only waste your time. Unless you are very lucky, you won’t find supporters. If you have an idea, publish it. If it is scientifically correct, your friends and teachers have no other option but to accept it. Remember that, until you have something more worthy than the existing idea, people will not pay attention to your challenge. Anyone Tom, Dick and Harry can challenge. What really happens is, do you have a solution to the problem. Challenge only if you have a better solution. 2.3 Guts to propose new ideas When Galileo discovered telescope, he was able to prove that, earth isn’t center of the universe. But to propose such idea before everyone involved risk. During the times of Galileo, it was a religious belief that earth is at the center of the universe. Going against the religious belief was death penalty. Galileo had to make a decision, whether to propose the new idea or not. He chose to propose the new idea and subsequently he was killed by poisoning. The story of Galileo doesn’t end there. In fact, the story of Galileo will not end until the end of human race. Thinking involves understanding thoroughly about an event or phenomenon. Challenging the existing ideas regarding an event or phenomenon involves identifying proofs on why the existing ideas are wrong. And then proposing new ideas involves finding the new explanation about the event or phenomenon. Researchers must have the guts to propose new ideas. Keep the following in mind when you propose new ideas: When you propose new ideas, make sure that you highlight the limitations and assumptions of your idea. Don’t exaggerate. Don’t use unnecessary verbs to describe your work. Talk in terms of science, more specifically in terms of mathematics. Make sure you do necessary homework before going public with your ideas. Prepare yourself for criticism. Don’t object to criticism. Criticizers are more important than your friends who agree with your ideas. 4|Page Be scientific but not over confident. Don’t disrespect other researchers and scientists. Let your research speak for you. Be honest about your ideas. You can fool the people but it isn’t people the one who decide whether your idea is valid or not. If people had the power, politicians would have been scientists too! 2.4 Guts to accept new ideas A researcher is not merely someone who questions or proposes new ideas. Researcher is also the one who accepts the new ideas. One must realize here that, there are millions of researchers across the world are continuously producing new ideas. Each new idea needs to be critically analyzed by other researchers and if the idea is found to be better than the previous one, they must accept such new ideas. Keep the following in mind when accepting new ideas: Be constructive while reviewing the ideas proposed by other researchers. Don’t over criticize. Don’t reject any idea without understanding it. Why should people make an attempt to understand your ideas when you reject the ideas of others without understanding them? Keep yourself updated with the current research. Appreciate new discoveries. Drop a letter of appreciation to the author whenever you come across a good research paper. Promote new ideas wherever you can, even if those ideas were discovered by the person whom you hate the most. Don’t be biased towards ideas. Being biased towards a particular idea without any scientific justification reveals the weakness in your character. Don’t accept new ideas just because everyone is accepting them. Analyze, understand and then decide. 2.5 Courage to overcome failure Failures happen and often people give-up. A good researcher fights all odds to overcome failures. To overcome any failure, one must first recognize that failure has occurred. The recognition of failure itself is the first step towards overcoming failure. Keep the following in mind when you face failures in research: If your idea gets proved wrong or is replaced by a better idea, accept the new idea without being egoistic or sad. Being egoistic or feeling sad about it is not going to help. Trying improving the new idea. If you fail to produce results even after repeated experiments, don’t get disheartened. Edison did over 2000 experiments over the span of several decades before he was able 5|Page to successfully invent light bulb. Let each failure serve as fuel for producing profound results. Analyze your failure and don’t repeat mistakes. If you want to improve science then you need to improve every day. The greatness of the hero lies not in his skills but the villains he defeated. As a researcher, you would face many villains. Those villains will not accept your ideas; instead, they would try to suppress you and your ideas. Keep faith in your ideas. If your ideas are indeed true, they will emerge as a winner. Failure forces us to make compromises. Avoid making compromises in life as much as possible. When you face failure, people will start showing their true colors. Don’t feel concerned that you are losing people. All lesser mortals die and their identity will disappear from this world. Remind yourself that you aren’t one among them and move on in life. ‘Lack of funding’ is an excuse given by untalented or misguided people who claim to be researchers. True researchers always figure out a way to overcome lack of funding instead of using as an excuse for not producing outstanding research. Majority of great experiments were performed by researchers who had no funding. Instead they invented new devices to conduct their experiments. Also, once a researcher produces outstanding theoretical results, he/she is bound to get invited to participate in the renowned experiments. 3 The five acts of researcher In previous sections of this chapter, we discussed about the lives of researchers and the qualities they possess. Once a student has all the qualities of being a researcher, then by now, he/she must already be producing new ideas and breaking the conventions. In this section, we will discuss about how a student must go about doing formal research. Our attempt here is to present a systematic methodology for carrying out research. Of course, this methodology is just for reference. Your actual journey as a researcher might be different and revolutionary. 3.1 Read First and foremost thing as a researcher you must do is ‘read’ as much as possible. Reading helps you gain knowledge and get a command over subject. Identify the textbooks in the area of your interest and start reading them. For any particular topic, if you find explanation is missing, try finding info about that topic on World Wide Web. Common misconception among students is that WWW has everything and text books are redundant. Even though a lot of information is available on WWW, in most cases it is not available at one single website. This is where the standard textbooks scores over WWW. Once, you have gone through at least two standard books in your area of interest, start reading the journals in that subject. Initially, understanding research papers can be very difficult as they are written very formally. 6|Page Keep the following guidelines in mind when reading textbooks or journals: Start from the basics. Unless you are strong in the foundations of the subject, you won’t be able to challenge existing ideas or produce new ideas. Don’t hesitate to refer even to your school textbooks to get an understanding of the subject. Getting a strong hold on school mathematics is critical to do research in any branch of science. Refer to Khan Academy Online for excellent lectures on elementary topics. If you get distracted by another subject, do not hesitate to read further about it. Scientific distractions are good. You are getting distracted by something, because unknowingly you are finding it interesting. Make advantage of that. Do not set time goals on reading. Setting goals such as “will finish reading a particular book in ‘n’ days” will not help your research. Assume that, you have all the time in the world to read the book. Maintain running notes while reading. Note down important points and questions that comes across your mind. If you come across any formula, spend time deriving that formula. The real pleasure of understanding the formula comes when you know how to derive it. 3.2 Understand Reading a subject without understanding is of no use. A rule of thumb: if you are reading a subject and you aren’t being tempted to understand it then you aren’t interested in that subject. If that’s happening with you, then choose another subject. There is no point in reading a subject when you aren’t interested in it. Also, to do research, you need to have a high level of understanding in that subject. There is a difference between ‘just understanding’ and ‘high level of understanding’. Keep these points in mind for better understanding Every time you read an existing idea, try understanding in what conditions that idea is valid and what assumptions the author is making. Make an attempt to understand why that idea is important to the subject. Carefully note down the advantages and limitations of the idea. While doing so, you might find something that would actually improve the idea. Never disrespect or ignore an existing idea. When you disrespect or ignore an idea, you are losing valuable information. If an idea is wrong, then try replacing it with a better idea. Sometimes, for lack of better ideas, we adopt ideas which are only approximate. This doesn’t mean there aren’t better ideas, it just that, as of now it is the best we have. Spend time understanding equations and you would start loving them. 7|Page 3.3 Question Once you have read and understood a particular subject, you will land on any of the two paths, both taking you to different destinations. If you land on the first path, you would be completely satisfied with what you have read and understood and you would have no questions. You would be convinced whatever you have read is completely true. Or at least, you find no discrepancy in what you have read. Generally, people who take up teaching profession have landed on the first path. The second path is rather crazy. Even after reading and understanding, you won’t be satisfied. You would have hundreds of questions in mind and you find that subject is incomplete. Generally, researchers land on the second path. If such researcher takes up ‘teaching profession’, instead of teaching the students about what’s in the subject, such researcher would tend to focus on what’s incomplete in the subject. That’s why often great researchers don’t make good teachers. Richard Feynman is an exception! After reading and understanding a particular subject, if you still have lot of unanswered questions, then it’s the time for you to start doing research. Generally, a good idea here would be meeting an expert in the field who can answer some of your questions. However, finding an expert who can help is very difficult, at least in Indian context. In such cases, participate in discussions on online forums. Post your questions and have a constructive debate. Also, keep in mind that, on online forums, even the non-knowledgeable people pose as knowledgeable. Don’t accept any answer blindly. Following are some good practices on asking questions: Before posing a question to a professor or in an online forum, give them the context on why such question is important to the subject. If you believe your question is advanced then drop an email to professors of various universities. Explain in detail on why you think such question is important. Some professors do reply. (My personal experience with Indian professors has been very bad. I wonder if majority of Indian Professors even check their emails!) Always pose the question politely. The answers that you get often depend on how you pose the question. Note that, science is not owned by anyone. If someone is defending an idea which you think is wrong, then you don’t have to argue with that person. Science is not democracy. The opinion of majority doesn’t matter in Science. In science, only the truth matters. So, even if majority of the people disagree with you, don’t get disheartened. When nobody has answers, it’s an indication that, you have to find the answer through your research. 3.4 Solve You read the subject, understood it and still you have lot of questions. What does it mean? It means that, a lot of ideas in that subject can be either improved or replaced. It’s the time for you start thinking and producing answers to your questions. This is the most exciting phase of time for 8|Page the researcher. This is the phase when the researcher is giving birth to new ideas. This is the phase when the researcher is adding his name to field of science. If there exists a question and its answer hasn’t been found yet, such question is referred as ‘problem’ in academic circles. To successfully complete a PhD, one must solve a ‘problem’ of important nature. A famous quote is that, ‘a researcher doesn’t choose a problem to solve, the problem choses the researcher’. The meaning of the quotation is not that, a researcher will be assigned to solve a problem but rather it means, unknowing the researcher will be led to solving such problem. To produce outstanding research, you have to choose a problem that you find interesting. Unless you find pleasure in working on that problem, you won’t be able to dedicate your uninterrupted attention towards it. Following are some good practices on solving the problems: As a researcher, you should find abundant open problems in this universe. Pick the problem that gives you immense pleasure in solving. Note for PhD students: Don’t choose the problem because your guide wants it to solve. Choose the problem that you would find pleasure in solving. Believe in yourself that you are going to solve the problem no matter what. People would try to bring down your confidence, don’t give up. For every solution you arrive, note down carefully all conditions and assumptions you are making. Frequently discuss about the problem with someone who has no knowledge about the problem. Explain the problem to such person and tell them why it’s important. Often such discussion leads to a solution. Take criticism constructively. Whenever someone critics your approach or solution, take some time out to think, why you are being criticized. All great researchers face criticism, so don’t be disappointed or frustrated at criticizer’s remarks. Don’t reduce the scope of the problem by making unnecessary assumptions. Don’t pressurize yourself by setting time-limits for solving the problem. Sometimes, solving the problem can be frustrating. You might find it far more complex than you actually expected it to be. Naturally, you would get angry because of it, which might affect your personal life. If you are in a relationship, it might affect it too. If your partner doesn’t understand your situation, then you might have to choose between your partner and the problem. (Remember that, you can get a partner after you solve the problem, but once you lose the problem, you can’t get it!) Remember that, solution requires just one idea and such idea can arrive at any time. Make sure that, you note down every idea you get. Many times, new ideas arrive at odd times and we tend to forget them. It’s really difficult to recollect them again. When you are trying to solve a problem, it is always a good idea to start writing a ‘book’ in that subject. If you end-up solving the problem, the book will serve as a reference in that field. 9|Page 3.5 Publish The most difficult phase in the life of the researcher is ‘publish’ phase. After a researcher solves a problem, he/she has to publish the solution in a standard journal or a conference. Keep the following guidelines in mind while publishing papers: After you complete your paper, think about which journal suits your paper. Top journals accept only those papers which present solutions to important problems. Don’t be over ambitious. Know the type of problem you have solved. Depending on the value of the problem you have solved, select an appropriate journal. Make sure that you are submitting the paper to a journal of considerable repute. Read the papers published by that journal before submitting your paper to it. Now-a-days, a lot of journals are advertising themselves using a term called impactfactor. Don’t let such advertisements make you fooled. Impact-factor can be inflated and is not a testimonial for the quality of the journal. Most of the journals have Editorial committees for namesake. Don’t make a decision of submitting your paper to that journal just because it has so and so member in its editorial committee. Rate the journal based on its readership than based on impact-factor. Publishing your paper in a journal of high impact factor doesn’t guarantee citations for your paper. Your paper gets citations only when it makes significant contribution to that subject. A good paper published in a journal that has sufficient readership is bound to attract large audience. If your paper gets rejected, it doesn’t necessarily mean your solution is wrong. It could be because you haven’t been able to express yourself properly. Polish your words and try to be as clear as possible. Take feedback about your writing style from a nontechnical person. Simplicity of writing is a hallmark of all great researchers. 4 Finding a research guide Finding good professors who can guide for research can be very difficult. And it becomes even more difficult if the student is looking out for a professor who can guide for PhD in Indian Universities. Approaching a wrong professor for guidance can be very damaging psychologically and physically. Often students give up their enthusiasm for research just because some professor ill-treated or has discouraged them. In India, the general perception among all is that every professor is capable of guiding students for research. And often students fall victim to such perception. Guiding students for doing research is an art and that’s not obtained by gaining a PhD degree. For that matter, there is no degree that certifies whether a professor has the capability to guide students or not. In such a case, how do you identify good professors? Honestly, guidance depends on the inter-personal relationship between the student and the professor. And it varies from person to person. Nonetheless, following are some tips on how to identify a good professor for research guidance: 10 | P a g e Approach only those professors who are actively pursuing research in the field of your interest. Someone who has done PhD several years ago and hasn’t kept himself/herself updated with current research won’t be able to guide you on research. Approaching such professors will be waste of your time. Generally, the ‘research-oriented’ professors are the ones who regularly visit journals section of your university library. Good teachers might not be good researchers. Therefore, don’t approach a professor just because he/she is teaching a particular subject very well. That professor might just be doing a ‘teaching job’ but not research. Generally, good teachers tend to defend the stuff written in books rather than critically pointing the problematic areas where further research is needed. Search the name of the concerned professor on internet. If he/she has published quality research papers, then you should be able to find several links pointing to the papers. Read about the research done by your professor. You would be able to get some idea on the knowledge of the professor. Read at least two papers written by the professor before approaching. If you aren’t able download/obtain the papers written by him/her, then approach the professor for those papers. Note that, if the papers are readily available for download and yet you have approached the professor for a copy of those papers, he/she would consider you dumb and incapable to do research. In this modern era, a student who can’t search and find content on internet, can’t do research. If a student can’t find the content that’s already available, how can you expect such student to discover new content? While reading the papers written by the professor, make sure you take down some notes. When you approach the professor, those notes would be highly useful during the conversation with the professor. Before you approach the professor for a conversation, take an appointment. Before you start the conversation, ask the professor whether he is busy with some other work. When you approach the professor for guidance, don’t directly start the conversation by stating what you need. Good professors will guide you only when they find the intellectual spark in the conversation. Discuss the latest paper you have read and the related research ideas you have. Agreeing to every idea proposed by the professor is not the trait of a researcher. Ask questions and don’t be afraid to debate on an idea. Good professors love intellectual debates. During the first conversation itself, if the professor tilts the discussion towards research funding or bureaucratic work, then he/she isn’t capable of guiding you for research. A good professor always discusses ideas during first conversation. 11 | P a g e About the Author: Mohammed Abubakr is a physicist and an author of book titled ‘Cosmos Redefined’. He has published 12 research papers in journals and conferences in subjects such as optical solitons, VLSI and cosmology. He is currently working at Microsoft India as performance engineer. Though settled in Hyderabad, Abubakr is an avid traveller and has travelled to four different continents. When at Hyderabad, he lives with his telescope, an SLR camera and a motorbike. 12 | P a g e Every year above 5, 00,000 engineers are passing out from the 1500 technical colleges as per the details from the formal technical education board of India. Populace has started misinterpreting that engineering and technical courses have just turned into a simple graduation degree leading to fall in quality education. Getting into an engineering college has become so simple that it is now difficult by a fresher to crack corporate entry with good job profile and salary. Top policy makers are worried that post graduate studies in engineering are abysmally low and only about 5% of the engineering graduates continue to complete M-Tech and, of these only 3% go on to do a doctorate. This not only causes a severe shortage of qualified faculty, it also blunts the edge in research and innovation. Here comes the need of academic research and investigation in various areas of science and engineering that can add value to the technical education. Creating research interests among the young talents can ignite great innovations. This chapter inculcates such interests among students which will guide them with basic information and awareness on paper presentation. The four major queries that students generally ask about paper presentation are: What is a Paper? How to write Research Papers? Where to submit Papers? Benefits of Paper Presentation / Publication 13 | P a g e 2.1 What is a Paper? We can describe papers as working drafts of research that often appears in final form as publications. However the published version of the paper may differ from the working version. Depending on the usability, papers can be categorized into Regulatory or business papers and technical / research papers. 2.1.1 Regulatory / Business 2.1.1a Green Papers Green Paper is a government report which is published to stimulate discussion and launch the process of consultation. They invite individuals or organizations to participate who can contribute their views and information on the basis of the proposals they put forward. It is a tentative document of a proposal without any commitment to action and is limited to the knowledge economy. They are produced early in the policymaking process, while ministerial proposals are still being formulated. However Green Paper may give rise to legislative developments that are then outlined in White Paper, an official set of proposals that is used as a vehicle for their development into law. 2.1.1b White Papers White Papers generally refer to documents used by businesses as marketing or sales tools and as marketing communications to promote a specific company's solutions or products. It combines highlevel business benefits with technical details in a single document. They make a business case for a certain technology or methodology and describe how a certain technology works and highlight information favorable to the company authorizing or sponsoring the paper. Such white papers are often used to generate sales leads, establish thought leadership, make a business case, or to educate customers 2.1.2 Technical / Research In academic publishing, a research paper is an academic work that is usually published in an academic journal. It contains original research results or reviews existing results. Such a paper, also called an article, will only be considered valid if it undergoes a process of peer review by one or more referees in order to check that the content of the paper is suitable for publication in the journal. 2.1.2a Contributed Papers The research work documented by Research Scholars, Academicians, Scientists, Professors and Industry Professionals at an academic level can be termed as Contributed Papers. This requires original research work will well simulated results, tabulated readings, graphs, etc. 2.1.2b Student Papers It is an opportunity given to under-graduate and post-graduate students to express their ideas and imaginations in terms of emerging trends. This need not be an original innovation but the involvement of the student in the paper is highly essential. 14 | P a g e 2.2a How to write research papers? 2.2a.1 Selection of Topic The first step in preparing a research paper is the selection of topic. It is advisable to the authors to always prefer selecting the topic from his/her area of interest. This would enable the author to contribute his/her best while carrying out their research. 2.2a.2 Choice of Co-Author Co-author is a collaborating or joint author who shares the writing of the research article with the author of the paper. The co-author plays an important role in planning, executing and preparing stages of a manuscript. While choosing a co-author it is extremely important to have the ‘area of interest’ of the co-author to match with that of the author so that they can mutually contribute in preparing the paper. 2.2a.3 Gathering Information Research papers generally require directed information gathering, which includes looking for sources online and in the library that will support your manuscript. Books are generally a great resource that often contains a lot of information gathered into one place, and they can give you a more thorough investigation of your topic. However sometimes a book can have a great title, but no information and on the other hand, a book that doesn't seem to go along with what you are doing can turn out to have a lot of usable information. Another great place to look for information in a library is periodical literature in the form of journals, magazines and newsletters which are published monthly, bi-monthly, quarterly, etc. However internet is the major source that provides information. Memberships with professional bodies and societies like IEEE, IETE, ISTE, CITS, etc benefit the authors with newsletters and proceedings. 2.2a.4 Segregating Information There are a lot of resources on the internet that are not going to be valuable to you. Part of your internet research will include evaluating the resources that you find. Personal web pages are not a good source to go by as they often have incorrect information on them and can be very misleading. Be sure that your internet information is from a recognized source such as the government, an agency that you are sure is a credible source, or a credible news source. Taking notes is an important part of doing research. You should take notes on ideas and concepts that you think are important to include in your paper. You also can include supporting examples that would be helpful to refer to. You should NOT write the words down exactly as they appear on the page, unless you are putting them in quotations. Otherwise, you might accidentally write them into your paper that way, and that would be plagiarism. Summarizing and paraphrasing are similar to quoting in that you are recording the author's ideas. However, when you summarize or paraphrase, you record ideas as opposed to exact language; the language is yours. Any time you summarize or paraphrase, you MUST acknowledge the source of your information. Not only is it a professional requirement, it is a way to avoid plagiarism. 15 | P a g e 2.2a.5 Formatting the Paper Most of the periodicals have a standardized system for formatting research papers and citing resources. You can write a paper that conforms to standard guidelines by following its rules. Your paper will appear professional and scholarly and readers will easily understand how to find your resources. Also chances of paper selection is more for a well formatted paper 2.2b General Steps for preparing an academic research paper: 2.2b.1 Title This is an opening and important part of a paper because this would bring the readers to be interested in your article. The authors should always try choosing a catchy title and use good punctuation and grammar. Therefore this should be as attractive as possible. However it should truly reflect your scientific work; in other words what you have achieved by doing this work. Avoid giving general titles. For example, “The effects of serotonin in placental vascular reactivity” is a better heading than “placental vascular reactivity” because the former one is specific to the work carried out and the data obtained. 16 | P a g e Sometimes scientists start working with the belief that they would obtain positive results (or a positive co-relation); however the data and the statistical analysis may have given a negative interpretation. In this case there is no harm in giving a negative heading (e.g. “Substance P does not produce vascular relaxation in placental vessels”). This is perfectly acceptable as it truly reflects the data obtained. 2.2b.2 Authors and Affiliation It is usual to list the authors in the order of their involvement with the investigation. That is the scientist who carried out most of the work becomes first author. However the senior author (i.e. the main supervisor who had the grant to do the investigation) is listed at the end. This is important because it gives the readers the information about the investigators and the institutions involved in this study. Therefore they can contact one of the authors (mostly the senior author) for clarification, and collaborations. It also gives fame to the authors and their affiliated institutes. Name and Details of authors mentioning the department, name of organization, postal and digital address 2.2b.3 Abstract An abstract is a brief summary of a research article that summarises the major aspects of the entire paper. It usually has the limit of 250 to 500 words. Therefore it should be brief with the following prescribed sequence; The research question(s) and the purpose (from Introduction) - State the purpose very clearly in the first or second sentence. Information about the experimental design and methods used, (from Methods) - Clearly express the basic design of the study (without giving excessive details). The major findings including key quantitative results, or trends (from Results) - Report the data that give answers to the research questions A brief summary of the interpretations and conclusions. (from Discussion) - Clearly state the implications of the data should be clearly stated. 17 | P a g e Abstracts are widely and readily available to the scientific community via internet, and therefore it should be concise and make an impact on to the readers. Avoid lengthy background information or references to other literature, abbreviations or terms that may be confusing to readers, and any sort of illustration, figure, or table. 2.2b.4 Introduction The function of the introduction is to establish the context of the work being reported. It should discuss the relevant primary research literature (with citations) and a summary of current understanding of the problem which is being investigated. It should describe what has been carried out in this field and highlight the importance of current investigation. State the purpose of the work in the form of the hypothesis, question, or problem you have investigated. Briefly explain the rationale, the approach and the possible outcome that this study can reveal. Relevant information from original research articles should be used to “build-up” the introduction. Most importantly give credit to the original authors by citing them (and giving details of the whole article in the reference section). 2.2b.5 Methodology This is the easiest section to write in a paper. Methods have been carried out by the authors in their investigation and therefore they should remember it. However make it a pint to describe the protocol in sufficient detail that other scientists could repeat this work to verify the findings. This section should also include details of hypotheses tested, controls, treatments, variables measured, how many replicates, what was measured, what form the data, and how the data was analysed (statistical analysis). Always identify treatments by the variable or treatment name, NOT by an ambiguous, generic name or number. If the paper includes more than one experiment, use subheadings to help the presentation. 18 | P a g e 2.2b.6 Results This section should contain the key (but not all) results without any form of interpretation. It should be presented in a logical sequence using illustrative materials (Tables and Figures) to support the text. Summaries of the statistical analyses may appear either in the text (usually parenthetically) or in the relevant tables or figures (in the legend or as footnotes to the table or figures). The text of the results section follows the sequence of tables, graphs and figures to highlight the answers to the questions investigated. Important negative results should be reported, too. Write the text of the Results section concisely and objectively in passive voice. Always use the past tense, as the results have already been obtained. Avoid repetitive paragraph structures. Do not interpret the data here. 2.2b.7 Discussion This is the major and the most difficult section to write. This is the place where the results should be interpreted and critically analyzed in relation to published data. Try to explain how the results have improved the understandings of the subject or problem. The discussion should always connect to the introduction by way of the question(s) or hypotheses in the literature cited. Note this is not a simple repeat or rearrangement of the Introduction. Instead, it tells how this study has moved the scientific community forward. Following questions may help to structure the discussion Do these results provide answers to the testable hypotheses? If so, how it can be interpreted? Do these findings agree with what others have shown? If not, is there any alternative explanation for this finding; or are there any un-foreseen design flaws in the current experiment? What would be the next step in this study (e.g., what experiments can be carried out next? This is important as it tells the reader that the authors intend to continue this investigation in future. 2.2b.7 Conclusion Finally try to explain what conclusions can be drawn from this study. Always remember most of the investigations do not give any clear conclusions (if so, then there is no future for this investigation!). Therefore avoid sentences like “from these results it can be concluded” instead use “the data from this study suggest”. Now days it is extremely difficult to conclusively and flawlessly prove anything in science. 2.2b.8 Acknowledgements If, in your experiment, you received any significant help in designing, or carrying out the work, or received materials from someone who did you a favour by supplying them, you must acknowledge their assistance and the service or material provided. 19 | P a g e 2.2b.9 References/Literature cited Most of the scientific journals expect the authors to give a reference list either according to (a) chronological order of their citation in the body of the text (also known as Vancouver style of referencing) or (b) alphabetical order of first author's last name (Harvard style of referencing). Each journal expects different style of referencing and therefore it is important to read “the instructions to authors” section carefully before you start writing your article. Please note that reference list is different from “Bibliography”, as the later contains references that are used to get the background knowledge (but not specific to the paper). Bibliography sections are found in books and other literary writing, but not scientific journal-style papers. 2.3 Where to submit Papers? In most of the cases authors write research papers and then consider where to submit them. But the decision is best made early, before the writing begins. In this way the paper can be geared appropriately to the scientific readers. The following are some of the most excellent places where you can exhibit your research work based on the level of the paper: 2.3.1 Technical Symposiums If the paper is prepared by a beginner preferable by engineering or science student to express his/her ideas or imaginations over what he/she has well-read from their regular subjects, then a technical symposium conducted by academic institutions would be a right platform to exhibit the work. Technical symposiums are generally referred to as paper presentation contests where students compete with their co-participants for a best paper. The presentation skills of the author along with the technical content are considered as weightage and are awarded accordingly. Further details of Technical Symposium can be found in 3.1.1 page-25 20 | P a g e 2.3.2 Conferences In most cases a conference is considered as a meeting for exchange of information with a formal agenda. An academic conference is such a program for researchers to present and discuss their work. Conferences provide an important channel for exchange of information between researchers with the participation of professionals from research centres, government organizations, corporate agencies, and people from industrial sector apart from academicians and students. Further details of Conferences can be found in 3.2 page-26 2.3.3 Publications If an author desires to make his/her content available to the public, the research work may have to be submitted to organizations involved in publications. However the author of a work remains the initial owner who in turn can transfer its ownership to others. In academic publishing the research work is generally submitted in the form a manuscript for possible publication in a scientific journal or a technical magazine. Further details of Journals can be found in 3.6 page-31 2.3.4 Patents Apart from academic research the authors should also be aware of how to commercialize his/her research. Since every innovation involves years of research, huge resources, energy, and time of a researcher it is important to focus on the outcome of the work. A patent is an exclusive right given by law to inventors to make use of, and exploit, their inventions for a limited period of time. By granting the inventor a temporary monopoly in exchange for a full description of how to perform the invention, patents play a key role in developing industry around the world. Further details of Patents can be found in 6.2 page-55 2.4 Benefits of Paper Presentation / Publication Most of the students are unaware of the benefits that they can get in the long run by contributing in paper presentation and producing research outputs. It is very true that any research requires encouragement from funding bodies and approvals from universities / institutes. It is very essential that innovative ideas do get dissipated due to some limitations. A researcher should always continue to produce when ever he/she gets a chance to work on. However if there are no possibilities to make research a profession, it can still be continued as a hobby. 21 | P a g e The following are some of the benefits that a researcher can avail: Distinguished Student / Engineer Increases employment potential Enhances your career Appreciation from College / University Well respected by Academicians Considered for technical committees Will stand unique among fellow students Remembered by Mentors / Guides Awards & Recognition Other benefits of paper presentation and publishing include: Promoting creativity and critical thinking skills Encouraging collaborative learning Refining communication skills Developing enthusiasm for scholarly pursuits Feelings of competence and familiarity with the entire research process Obtaining feedback from independent reviewers 2.5 Plagiarism Plagiarism has long been a problem in education which is further aggravated by the advent of the internet and the worldwide. Therefore, Higher Education institutions in the developed countries are following certain rules in academic writing. A working knowledge of these rules is critically important for undergraduates (and postgraduates) to avoid plagiarism. The concept of ‘undergraduate plagiarism’ is well focused and researched. However, the information on plagiarism at school level is limited. One recent study on avoiding plagiarism at secondary school level has concluded that ‘attempts should be made to engage the students to evade plagiarism’ (McGregor and Williamson, 2005). Therefore, when an undergraduate enters the university he/she may be unaware of good academic practice and methods needed to avoid plagiarism. The universities in developing countries may not be so insistent on documenting sources or the concept of ‘plagiarism’. These institutions, as Yamada (2003) puts, may also take into consideration of (a) students’ inability to understand the new concepts which are mainly written in English - a language other than their mother tongue and (b) their cultural beliefs. Most of the universities are incorporating lectures, seminars and student workshops to enhance the ability of all students (both home and especially international) to understand plagiarism and most importantly how to avoid it. This is carried out via implementation of institutions’ policies without evidence that these formative lectures/seminars are actually improving the students’ academic writing skills. 22 | P a g e Since learning and writing in a second language is a continuous process, it is not clear whether these ‘one day’ seminars can help the students to improve their academic writing skills. This study aims to investigate whether formative lectures alone would (a) enhance the students’ understanding of plagiarism and (b) improve their academic writing and avoidance of plagiarism. References: [1] Notes on "Gathering information for essays which require research" from State University of New York Empire State College http://www.esc.edu [2] Robert A. Day and Barbara Gastel - How to write and publish a scientific paper? Sixth Edition, Cambridge University Press www.cambridge.org/9780521671675 [3] Stephen Bailey - Academic Writing: A Handbook for International Students (Routledge Study Guides) [Paperback]. [4] John Swales , Christine B. Feak - Academic Writing for Graduate Students: Essential Tasks and Skills (Michigan Series in English for Academic & Professional Purposes) [Paperback]. [5] James Hartley - Academic Writing and Publishing: A Practical Handbook [Paperback] [6] Beasley, JD (2004) The impact of technology on plagiarism prevention and detection: research process automation – a new approach for prevention Proceedings on Plagiarism: prevention, Practice & Policy (eds) Smith AP and Duggan F (Plagiarism Advisory Service) 23-30. [7] Brogan KM and Brogan JD (1983) Yet another ethical problem in technical writing. [8] ERIC, Reviewed in Pecorari (2003) [9] Currie, P (1998) Staying out of trouble: Apparent plagiarism and academic survival. Journal of Second Language Writing, 7(1) 1-18. [10]Deckert, GD (1993) Perspectives on plagiarism from ESL students in Hong Kong Journal of Second Language Writing, 2(2), 131-148 [11]Howard, RM (1995) Plagiarism, authorships, and the academic death penalty College English 57, 788-806 [12]Sivasubramaniam, SD (2004) Plagiarism amongst biomedical science undergraduates concerned academics versus ignorant students. Proceedings on Plagiarism: prevention, Practice & Policy (eds) Smith AP and Duggan F (Plagiarism Advisory Service) 205-224. 23 | P a g e About the Authors: Hafeez Basha. R did his B-Tech in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University, JNTU Hyderabad and MTech in Computer Science Engineering from Acharya Nagarjuna University, Guntur. He is recipient of Young Scientist Award and was earlier Research Engineer Trainee at Pentagram Research Centre. He is currently working as Research Analyst with the scientific division of Thomson Reuters, worlds’ leading Information company that accelerates research, scientific discovery and innovation globally. Hafeez Basha. R He served as Advisory / Technical member in various expert committees and even organized International Conferences and Technical Symposiums. He is also Managing Editor for International Journals published by CafetInnova Technical Society an international non-profit organization helping the scientific community. Dr. Shiva Das Sivasubramaniam is module leader and research supervisor for M.Sc and Ph. D projects, course developer for pharmacology and physiology and International student recruitment officer at School of Science & Technology, Nottingham Trent University, UK. His research interests include Pre-eclampsia and pre-natal medicine. He is serving as Vice-President of Cafet-Innova Technical Society and Editor-inChief for International Journal of Biological Sciences and Engineering. S. D. Sivasubramaniam He is also an Advisor for plagiarism prevention, assisting students to avoid plagiarism at Nottingham Trent University, UK. 24 | P a g e Participation in technical programs and presenting research papers is very essential for students, researchers, scientists, academicians and professors. This chapter gives an insight on the importance of such technical programs with clarity on each type of program and its significance. Technical symposiums, conferences, workshops, seminars and guest lectures are some of the most common technical programs. The main reason to have a separate chapter on importance of technical programs and publications is to give lucidity in identifying a particular program and distinguishing it with other programs. There are situations where the event is organized as a workshop but it turns out to be a symposium or a seminar. This chapter shall help the organizers in correctly taking up the technical program and conduct the event accordingly. 3.1 Symposiums 3.1.1. What is a Symposium? Symposium is an educational event where participants get together to discuss thoughts and exchange ideas, rather than to be lectured at. It is generally regarded as a meeting of the minds to discuss a specific topic. 3.1.2. How to conduct a Symposium? The first needed in order to conduct a symposium, is a huge topic. A topic that many people have expressed a need to address. The topic can refer to acquiring safety equipment in the gymnasiums at a particular school district; many people have voiced an opinion about already. Set a date, hire an event planner, invite your distinguished experts on your topic, and invite the crowd. There you have your symposium. 25 | P a g e The invitation for the participants may be in the form of brochures, pamphlets, posters, emails etc. Ex: International Engineering Symposium 2011(IES 2011) organized by Kumamoto University, JAPAN on 3rd - 5th March, 2011 It intends to provide a common platform for bringing together researchers from universities and research organizations in India and Japan for expanding academic collaboration. This event focuses on the current research and development activities in both countries on topics of current interest, with special emphasis on “Engineering & Technology”. It is expected that the emerging technologies and scientific advancements in these themes will be disseminated during the Symposium. Presentations will also feature new and innovative technologies in the relevant fields.34th International Symposium on Remote Sensing of Environment on April 10-15, 2011 at Sydney, Australia. 3.2 Conferences An academic conference is a large gathering of students, researchers, scientists, academicians and professors along with participation from industry and corporate companies to share their ideas and research work. The conferences are generally organized by academic institutions, colleges, universities, Government bodies or non-profit scientific societies and professional bodies. Conferences provide an important channel for exchange of information between researchers together with academic or scientific journals. Conferences are mainly of three categories: 3.2.1a Themed Conference: These conferences are organized by specific departments or scientific groups on their relevant theme or related area. They invite participants for discussing about the emerging and current trends in that particular stream only. These events are held annually or sometimes on regular basis. Ex: a) International Conference on Advances in Civil Engineering organizing by Department of Civil Engineering, KL University, Guntur, Andhra Pradesh, INDIA. b) International Conference on Earth Sciences and Engineering (ICEE) organized by CAFET-INNOVA Technical Society (CITS) with the collaboration of Malla Reddy Group of Institutions, Hyderabad on 21st August, 2010. 3.2.1b General Conference: These conferences are organized with a wider focus, with sessions on a wide variety of topics and invite participants from different streams to discuss on common platform. This is not theme specific but instead a general program with broader theme. Ex: International Conference on Emerging Trends in Engineering (ICETE) organized by Dr. J J Magdum College of Engineering, Jaysinghpur, Maharastra with technical support of CAFET- INNOVA Technical Society (CITS) on 20th February, 2010. 26 | P a g e 3.2.1c Professional Conference: It differs from an academic conference and has broader objectives with greater number of participants. These are usually organized on a national or international basis by federations or groups of the national societies in a subject. These are often held annually, or some other recurring basis. Ex: Conference held by the International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA). Apart from the above three categories, conferences can also be classified as National conference if it is organized by one nation; Conferences between two countries like Indo-Japanese Conference, etc.; Continental conferences like Asian Conference, European Conference, etc.; and International conferences with participation from different countries. 3.2.2 Call for papers: Conferences are generally inviting papers from the authors by the way of Call For Papers in one or more announcements. In these announcements they clearly mention the main themes of conference and who has to send the papers for the conference. The International Conferences generally ask the abstracts in their first announcement. After completion of the review on abstracts they prepare the selected abstracts list and based on the same in their second announcement they call the Full length papers from the authors. Those papers again forwarded to the review committee by the organizing committee. The announcement in the form of Brochures, pamphlets, posters, emails etc. 3.2.3 Paper Selection Process for Conference: Once the organizing committee receives the abstracts from authors, they are forwarded to the conference evaluation or review committee. After evaluation the committee sends its comments on each individual paper to the organizing committee. As per the comments the organizing committee prepares the list of selected abstracts along with the comments. The selected authors are then asked to send their full length paper before the dead line. After review of full length papers few are accepted with minor or major corrections and intimated to the corresponding author. The authors then need to present this paper before the session chair during the conference after registration. 3.2.4Registration for Conference: The authors may have to register their paper for the conference by paying registration fee to avail the conference kits, proceedings, food and other facilities. The registration amount will be varying from conference to conference depending on the organizing institution or social body. Based on the selected list of papers the committee arranges parallel sessions for oral presentation during the conference. 27 | P a g e 3.2.5 Presentations during conference: Presentations tend to be short and concise, with a time span of about 10 to 20 minutes; they are usually followed by a discussion. In the themed conferences all the selected papers will be presented by the authors in a single session since all the papers come under single theme, and even the participants belongs to same specialization. In General and Professional conferences the selected papers will be separated as per the theme and arrange number of parallel sessions during the conference for presentations. Every session should have one session chair (area expert) and one session co –chair (another expert) who shall lead the whole session and give ranking to the presentations. 3.2.6 Conference proceedings: Proceedings are generally collection of all accepted full length conference papers that are published in the context of an academic conference. They are generally printed in the form of books and distributed to all the participants of the conference. The collection of papers are generally organized by editorial team (one or more persons belongs to same organization). After receiving the papers for the conference the editorial team reviews the papers and accepts the same for proceedings. Proceedings are published in-house, by the organizing institution of the conference, or via an academic or commercial publisher. Increasingly, proceedings are published in electronic format on CD only, or distributed on Internet. Note: The papers published in conference proceeding will not be considered as publications unless it is published in an academic journal. For this reason most of the conferences work in tie-up with journal publishers and bring out journal special issues based on conference. 3.2.7 Sponsors The identity of the sponsors is an indicator of the quality of the conference. The conferences organized by commercial companies go for profit-making and the papers presented at such conferences are generally of lower quality. In most cases, conferences sponsored by professional bodies, non-profit societies, universities or groups of academics are worth participating. 3.2.8 Location Location of the conference is an important factor for the success of the event. Major conferences held in capital cities are often easier to attend in terms of transport and accommodation. Huge participation can be expected for such conferences, unlike the one organized in remote places. 3.2.9 Theme If the conference covers a broad area, it is likely that the audience will be bigger, with added benefits in terms of exposure and networking. At the same time, it may be hard to find participants with a serious interest in particular area of research. A smaller conference tends to be more tightly focused and is possible that you will find yourself in closer contact with the experts in your field. You will need to strike a balance in such cases. 28 | P a g e 3.2.10 Benefits: Attending conferences is a critical part of scientific networking in these days. However, you will gain the most benefit if you present a paper as the conference papers are a means by which you can attract the attention of potential experts and influence academic debate in your field. Some other benefits of presenting a conference paper include: A higher personal profile Early dissemination of the results of your research Opportunities to receive useful criticism Experience in the process of peer-review Interact with well experienced people Lean more advanced trends in your research 3.3 Academic Workshops 3.3.1. What is an Academic Workshop? Academic Workshops are generally training programs, established for the students, academicians, researchers and professors. This is the best way of sharing information regarding the educational research innovations as well as the progress in all fields of studies. One of the most important features about the workshops is that they allow you to acquire a required experience of studying and improve useful skills when practicing. They also give an opportunity to find out more information that can be of use for future learning and beyond the college. Many organizations arrange a course of workshops lasting from few days to several weeks. Workshops which last more than several hours presuppose other activities. Now a day’s workshops are an excellent option for academicians to share knowledge and learn emerging trends in their study area. 3.3.2. Why are academic workshops so valuable? During the educational workshop the participants gain useful priceless experience and form the abilities of research work. Besides they may get to know more info concerning the topic of the studies, the methodology and research way of the study they chose as their field, get familiar with the instances and practical issues which are coupled to the subject of their research this or that way. These are generally held by professionals from all over the world. During these workshops we can interact with well experienced people and lean so many things from them for our bright future. We can also visit new places or sometimes these workshops are conducted by premier universities, we can know about their system, facilities, courses offered for students etc. Ex: National workshop on “Paper Presentation Awareness & Research Methodology” organized by CAFET-INNOVA Technical Society at Hyderabad definitely creates an excellent research interests among engineering and science students. For all the academicians this is right platform for get an excellent knowledge about paper presentations, preparation and publication of research papers and research methodologies. 29 | P a g e The educational institutions generally organize national workshops for their students and faculty developments. Sometimes well institutions collaborate with foreign universities and organize international workshops on advanced research areas. These brings good exposure for those organizations and participants also get enormous knowledge from those training programs and participants should have an excellent opportunity to learn highly advanced technologies in their research areas. 3.4 Seminars Seminar is generally a large lecture by an expert in the particular area or subject. It is generally organized by academic institution or professional or commercial organization. These seminars start vfrom class room and ends at international. Seminars are generally technical and general seminars. Technical seminars are mainly covers advanced trends and applications of technical topics such as Technical Seminar on “Computer Aided Design” or “Geographical Information System” or “Embedded Systems” etc. A “Seminar,” according to Webster's dictionary, is a group of advanced students studying under a professor with each 0doing original research and all exchanging results through reports and discussions. A presentation is more like a lecture, a speech, or a sales presentation, made by one person, usually with the opportunity for the audience to ask a few questions afterwards. A seminar is more like a workshop, where the presenter offers some information in a participatory learning setting, and the participants discuss among each other and/or ask questions of the presenter. Then they move on to the next topic. Seminar and Presentation are two different things. Seminar is based on a theme whereas presentation is based on a subject. There can be many presentations in a seminar. A seminar can be whole day affair whereas a presentation is short. In short, a presentation can be a subset of a seminar whereas the reverse is not true. I would expect a seminar to be more educational than a presentation. In t seminar everyone has an equal right to be heard and an equal responsibility for keeping the seminar working properly. The most difficult and important skill in effective seminar participation is good listening. You need to attend carefully to what others are saying. And then you need to learn to respond intelligently and helpfully. A seminar is not just a collection of individual points of view declared one after the other. It has a rhythm, often an unpredictable rhythm, which is established, above all, by the ways in which the participants respond to each other. If someone’s contribution is puzzling, then ask him to continue, taking care of a particular trouble you have with a point he raised. If the contribution is very good, tell the speaker so. If you disagree or have an alternative point, then put that on the table. As in a conversation, in a seminar the participant has to be prepared to be flexible, adjusting her participation to what is happening moment by moment throughout the seminar. This is the major challenge of the process. 30 | P a g e 3.5 Guest Lectures 3.5.1. What is Guest Lecture? Guest lecture is usually a lecture given by an expert in particular discipline or well experienced in research and came from outside of the organization. These are generally organized by academic institutions for create awareness and motivating the students and faculty on advanced disciplines or technologies or research methods and applications. Sometimes corporate companies also conduct guest lecturers to train their staff members in advances technologies. The person who gives guest lecture is generally called as guest speaker. 3.5.2. Who is Guest Speaker? Guest speaker, the person who is well experience in a particular subject or discipline or research and belongs to well known organization. By the special invitation of academic or professional or commercial organizations guest speakers will go there place and deliver the lecture on their requirements and motivate the people towards topic. 3.5.3. How to conduct a Guest Lecture? Now a day’s the guest lectures are occupy a major place in academic, professional and commercial organizations. In academic institutions it became necessary for academicians for their bright carrier. Every academic institute conducting two or more guest lecturers per academic semester. Based on their requirement first the academic institute find out well experienced person and send the official invitation for him. If he accepts your invitation prepare the arrangements and make the program success. 3.6. Journals 3.6.1. What is a Journal? Journal is a part of publication unit, but journal al publish only pure scientific and research articles written by the students, researchers, scientists, academicians and professors. The articles which are published in the journals are called as research paper. Paper published in the journal is not an easy task for everyone. After preparation of the research paper the author has to search for right journal in the society then as per their requirements (it means size and font style of the title, text, main headings, sub headings, figures, tables, etc) paper has to be modified and then submit the paper through electronic submission or post the hard copy of the paper. Each journal has its own Editor-in-Chief, Executive Editors, Sub Editor and an editorial board. Generally Editor-in-Chief is also called as Managing Editor, who is full time employed and manages all communications between the author and r reviewers. The Executive and sub editors are support the managing editor in all aspects. 31 | P a g e An editorial board includes a number of referees (also known as reviewers) who are responsible for reviewing and evaluating the submitted papers. Having reviewed a paper, each referee independently advises the editor whether to accept or to reject the paper. This is usually done using a peer review form provided by the editor. However, final decisions are made by the editor. It is common practice that editors assign external referees to review submissions, for example when the referees of the editorial board do not have appropriate expertise to make constructive comments on a particular paper. The most important function of an editor (can also be a group of persons) is to make the final decision whether to accept or to reject a submitted paper. Indeed, the comments of the referees just serve as suggestions. Nevertheless, as the editor alone would not be able to review and comment on all submissions in detail, he usually relies on the advice of his editorial board, where he can choose from a pool of experts in diverse fields of the journal’s main topics. If there is consensus on acceptance or rejection, the editor’s life is fairly easy. It becomes difficult only when there is significant disagreement in the reviewer’s suggestions. In such a case the editor may make a final decision based on the own opinion or after consulting additional referees. Completion of Research Preparation of Manuscript Submission of Manuscript Review of Manuscript Decision Rejection Revision Resubmission Publication Acceptance Re-review Rejection Fig. The process of publishing a paper in a journal Journals are generally divided in to two types; one is national journals and another is International journals. National Journal are belongs to one nation or country, these publish articles or research papers with in the country. International Journals are worldwide journal they can publish research papers from all over the world. 32 | P a g e 3.7. Magazines 3.7.1. What is a Magazine? Magazines are a mechanism for providing people with current information on a broad range of topics on a regular basis - usually monthly, but in some cases even weekly. Simply A magazine is a periodical that usually contains a miscellaneous collection of articles, stories, poems, and pictures and is directed at the general reading public. Its generally contains articles in popularized science, social, political & cultural affairs, etc and published for a general or mass market to promote those groups' services or products. Ex: India Today, Newsweek, Sports Illustrated etc. Magazines are usually divided based on their themes, example sports, business, fashion, aviation, comics, education, computers, automobiles, Entertainment etc. For examples Science magazine, it covers news, opinions and reports about science for a non-expert audience. Science magazines are read by non-scientists and scientists who want accessible information on fields outside their specialization. 3.7.2. What are the types of magazines? There are two basic types of magazines - trade or specialized magazines and consumer magazines. Trade magazines are usually mailed to readers, whereas consumer magazines are available on the stands. Consumer magazines cater to different groups. There are magazines exclusively targeted for children and there are other theme magazines such as fashion, cinema, hobby, health and fitness, sports, women's magazines, men's magazines, political magazines, news magazines and so on. Generally magazines do not contain bibliographies and are not refereed. Magazines and newsletters are both serials and periodicals - publications that are published on a regular, recurring schedule for an indefinite period of time. That schedule could be weekly, monthly, quarterly, or every other day of every other month that has more than 4 letters. In general, the differences between newsletters and magazines come down to how they are written, who they are written for, and how they are distributed. Additionally, most newsletters and magazines provide visual clues as to their identity. Magazines come in a variety of sizes from digest to tabloid size. Newsletters do as well, although letter size is a typical newsletter format. Most magazines are significantly longer than a newsletter, from a few dozen pages to a few hundred. Newsletters are not generally more than 12-24 pages in length and some may be only 1-2 pages. The most common, significant visual difference between a magazine and a newsletter is the cover. Magazines usually have a cover that includes the name of the publication, graphics, and perhaps headlines or teasers about what is inside that issue. Newsletters typically have the nameplate and one or more articles right on the front, no separate cover. 33 | P a g e 3.8. Newsletters 3.8.1. What is a Newsletter? A Newsletter is generally used as a publication that gets circulated out to its subscribers after a regular time interval. Newsletter generally belongs to a particular organization and its covers all the internal news which is going on in an organization. In academic institutions newsletters plays major role in the form of covering current events, admissions, achievements etc. Generally newsletters are published by societies, Associations, Clubs, educational institutions and companies, to provide information of interest to their students and faculty members, customers or employees. 3.8.2. What are the types of Newsletters? Newsletters can be divided into two distinct types; one is printed on paper and another on is in digital formats, which are usually distributed via email, it’s also called as e-Newsletter. The digital formats vary from the simplest format, text to highly designable formats like Portable Document Format (PDF) and HTML. 3.8.3. How to start a Newsletter? Creating and successfully running an electronic newsletter is much easier and less costly endeavor than trying to put together a paper version of the same newsletter. You will save the costs of copying and postage, not to mention the supplies you would need to purchase, and the time that the project would take to put together. References [1]. Yuksel, A.: Writing publishable papers. Tourism Management (In Press) [2]. National Institute for Regional and Spatial Analysis: Questions editors are often asked. http://www.may.ie/nirsa/geo-pub/geo-editors.html (2003) [3]. Davis, M.: Scientific Papers and Presentations. Academic Press, San Diego (1997) [4]. Day, R.A.: How to Write and Publish a Scientific Paper. Second edn. ISI Press, Philadelphia (1983) [5]. Dees, R.: Writing the Modern Research Paper. Second edn. Allyn & Bacon, Boston (1997) [6]. American Psychological Association: Apa style. http://www.apastyle.org/ pubmanual.html (2003) About the Author: Raju. A did his B-Tech in Electrical & Electronics Engineering and M-Tech in Environmental Management from Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University (JNTU), Hyderabad. Raju. A He is recipient of Green Environment Award and currently working as Assistant Professor at Department of Civil Engineering, KL University, Vijayawada. He is serving as Secretary General of Cafet-Innova Technical Society an international non-profit organization helping the scientific community. 34 | P a g e Publishing research work is ver very essential for researchers in their academi emic pursuit. It is therefore important to know the editorial policies of a particular journal before fore he submits his research work. After the submis bmission of manuscript the researcher should also als be aware of review process so that there will ill b be transparency in the evaluation. The author should receive the fee feedback positively from the referee and develop lop the manuscript based on the suggestions to mee meet the journal standards. This chapter givess the th methodology followed in general, by most of th the publishers to evaluate the manuscripts. The he researchers will get a better idea to submit qualit uality papers which would easily clear the review ew process p and get accepted for publication. Abstracting and Indexing process cess which is done post-publication is also equally ually important for both researchers and publishers. ers. This chapter shall discuss how a researcher er can ca make use of this process during his data searc earch while preparing manuscripts and also how ow important i is his research work if it gets indexed. Publishing research papers in jou journals with greater impact factor adds value e to researchers for their research work. But the actu actual story behind the impact factor calculation n is known to very less people involved in teaching ing and research. This chapter shall cover all details det of citations and impact factor calculation whi which will be useful to researchers in choosing the publication for their research work. 35 | P a g e 4.1 Editorial policies and procedures: The legislation, programs and practices that govern the publication of research work are called as editorial policies. In simple it is a principle or rule to guide the researchers to submit their manuscripts based on the requirements of the publishers. The principal criteria used to evaluate contributions are: • The contribution must present scientific findings that are original, i.e., they must not have appeared elsewhere and must not be under consideration by any other publication. • The contribution must be scientifically constrained, i.e., any interpretations made or conclusions drawn must be based on the objective evaluation of scientific data. • There must be effective separation of scientific facts and observations from interpretations and inferences. • The article should make a contribution toward our deeper understanding of processes, broadly defined. 4.1.1 Guidelines to Authors: Authors submitting papers for publication warrant that their papers are not currently under consideration by any other publication and that the material contained within the work is not subject to any other copyright, unless required consents have been obtained. All authors of articles accepted for publication must sign a copyright form. The refereeing process is most efficient when papers are submitted electronically in Microsoft Word. New manuscript submissions should be sent via electronic mail directly to the Editor-in-Chief. Review papers are welcome as long as they represent original, new syntheses. Special issues are also encouraged but terms for these must be negotiated with the Scientific Editors. 4.1.2 Submission of Manuscripts: The preferred method for submission of manuscripts for review is for them to be completely in an electronic format such as Microsoft Word zipped or PDF and submitted to the Editors by e-mail. Hard copy manuscripts also may be submitted. In the latter case, three copies of the complete manuscript must be addressed to the Scientific Editors. All pages should carry the authors name and be properly numbered. Authors are encouraged to include with their submissions the names and e-mail addresses of persons they deem suitable to be referees of their manuscript. At their discretion, the Editors may use them. 4.1.3 Preparation of Manuscripts for Review: Manuscripts for review should be submitted double-spaced and authors are requested to consult previous issues to see what that is. The title page should include the title of the manuscript, initials, surname, affiliation and e-mail address of each author and corresponding address. The Abstract should be a short summary of the paper. Avoid using deferring phrases such as “…is discussed.” and include no references. Remember that your abstract may be the only part of your paper that is read so it should help readers to become quickly informed about your results and to decide if your paper is relevant to their interests. Abstracts are circulated by international retrieval systems. The text or main body of the manuscript should be logically organized into sections but please avoid overuse of subsection constructs. There must be a clear separation of facts and observations from interpretations and inferences. An alphabetical and then chronological list of all references sited should follow the main 36 | P a g e text. The format of references can be obtained in any issue and the names of journals should be spelled out in full. Papers “in preparation” and “submitted” cannot be used as references. Please make a careful crosscheck of the reference list against citations in the text. Tables should be compiled on separate sheets and designed to fit across a single or double column width of the journal page. Use of decimal points, rather than commas, is required for all reported numbers. Illustrations should be legible and contain only relevant information. Place names and other locations mentioned in the text must appear clearly on maps. Clear instructions must be provided on how mathematical symbols and equations should be printed. For Greek and non-Roman letters, authors must identify the symbol in words the first time it is used. Receipt of manuscripts will be acknowledged by e-mail or by post if an e-mail address is not provided. 4.1.4 Submission of Revised Manuscripts: Revised manuscripts should be returned to the Editors in electronic format either on a disk or CD or as email attachments. The text should be in Word, tables in Excel and figures should be in CorelDraw or Freehand, uncompressed TIFF or PDF format. Figures submitted in TIFF or PDF should have resolutions of 300 dpi for colour, 600 dpi of grayscale, and 1200 dpi for black and white. Colour should be CMYK not RGB. Figures must not be embedded in the main body of the manuscript. The cost of colour illustrations will be charged to the authors. Authors will receive copies of their articles as high quality PDF files. No reprints will be provided. If figures cannot be submitted in electronic format, they should be submitted as high quality, camera-ready prints. In the covering letter, the authors must explain in detail how they dealt with each of the referees’ comments and suggestions. 4.2 Review Process: 4.2.1 Internal Review by Editorial Committee: The Editor-in-Chief / Executive Editor will perform an initial appraisal of submitted manuscripts which are judged on the interest and importance of the topic, use of scientific method, clarity of presentation, and relevance to the journal’s readers. Articles meeting the required criteria and accompanied by the appropriate documentation are then passed to external peer review. The corresponding authors are informed whether their paper is progressing to external review, within fifteen days of acknowledgement of receipt. 4.2.2 External Peer Review: The aim of the peer review process is to ensure publication of unbiased, scientifically accurate relevant articles. All manuscripts are peer reviewed by members of the journal’s international editorial committee and / or other specialists of equal repute before a decision on publication is made. Peer reviewer identities are kept confidential, but author identities are known to the reviewers. Peer reviewers are asked to disclose potential conflicts of interests that may affect their ability to provide an unbiased review of an article. 37 | P a g e 4.2.3 Clearance for Publication: After receiving feedback from external peer review the Editor-in-Chief conducts the final checks before giving clearance for publication. The manuscript will be published in same form in case it meets the journal standards and positive feedback from reviewers. After making necessary changes to the manuscript the paper shall be published, if referee recommends this in the evaluation. The letter of Acceptance is issued to the corresponding author before the actual publication. The copy-right form and reviewers’ evaluation form are shown below: To, The Editor-In-Chief, International Journal of Earth Science and Engineering, CAFET-INNOVA Technical Society, Hyderabad, India Sir, Sub: Copyright Form I/We ________________________________________________________________ Author (s) name) The copyright owner(s) of the Article ____________________________________________________________________ (Title of the article) Do hereby authorize you to publish the above said article in the “International Journal of Earth Sciences and Engineering published by CAFET-INNOVA Technical Society, Hyderabad, India” I/We further state that: 1) The Article is my/our original contribution. It does not infringe on the rights of others and does not contain any libelous or unlawful statements. 2) Wherever required I/We have taken permission and acknowledged the source. 3) The work has been submitted only to “International Journal of Earth Science and Engineering. CAFET-INNOVA Technical Society, Hyderabad, India” 4) That it has not been previously published or submitted elsewhere for publication. 5) I/We hereby authorize you to edit, alter, modify and make changes in the Article to make it suitable for publication. 6) I/We hereby assign all the copyrights relating to the said Article to the CAFET-INNOVA Technical Society, Hyderabad, India. 7) I/We have not assigned any kind of rights of the above said Article to any other person/Publications. (Signature) Name of the Authors: 38 | P a g e ISSN-0974-5904 Indexed in CAS-USA-Ref No: 172238 International Journal of Earth Sciences and Engineering (IJEE) EVALUATION OF PAPER –REFEREE / REVIEWER Research/technical papers, review articles ,short communications ,notes submitted to International Journal of Earth Sciences and Engineering (IJEE) must be, original, clear, related to the subject, complete, concise, with precise logic, and honestly appraised Title: Authors Name: PAPER PROFILE Place a check in the boxes which, in your opinion, best describe the following features of the manuscript. Item Originality of the work Scientific relevance Engineering /technological relevance Completeness of the work(-Field-lab) Organization of the manuscript Clarity in abstract, manuscript writing, tables, graphs and illustrations Poor Average Good Honours YES NO Acknowledgement of the work of others by references Item Does the manuscript fall within the scope of the (IJEE) journal? Are you aware of prior publication or presentation of this work? In your opinion, is the technical treatment free of errors? Is the paper too lengthy Is the English grammar and punctuation good? Any other ( ) Recommendation Honours quality Acceptable in the same form Acceptable with minor modifications Acceptable with major revisions* (review required after revision) NOT ACCEPTABLE* *Justify for not accepting the paper 39 | P a g e check only one Comments by Reviewer: Modifications in manuscript before publication/further work I have gone through the above paper which presents the physicochemical characteristics of ore fluids associated with the Kallur copper deposit. My general remark is that approach of this type to understand role of fluids involved in the copper mineralization is appreciable. This paper presents the results of specific interest. Except for the minor modification which is required for the ultimate publication of the paper, the paper deserves publication in the journal. My other specific comments are marked in the text, tables, and diagrams and figure itself. The paper may be accepted for publication once the changes are incorporated. Date: Name of the reviewer / Referee: Email: NOTE: (name will be deleted-before sending –authors) 4.3 Abstracting and Indexing Process: This is a post-publication process done by various Abstracting and Indexing service organizations in order to avoid researchers, to manually search the journal articles of their interest by looking through various physical journals or consulting literature overviews. Since most of the journals are published electronically, the data can be searched through internet hence minimizing the time of the researcher in acquiring related data to his research. At the same time being represented in an Abstracting and Indexing services is an essential factor for the success of journal publishers. The abstracting and indexing are practical arts and have two general purposes i.e. minimizing the time & effort and maximizing the searching success. The function of an index is to give users systematic and effective shortcuts to the information they need. Some of the most important and few abstracting and indexing organizations that cover all disciplines are Google Scholar and Thomson Reuters ISI Web of knowledge. While the well known discipline specific indexing service include PubMed/Medline (in the field of medicine), ChemAbstracts (chemistry), ADS (astronomy & physics), Zentralblatt für Mathematik (mathematics), among many others. 4.4 Citation: A citation is an enumeration that quotes a reference to a precedent by acknowledging the relevance of other’s works. It represents the conceptual association of scientific ideas where the authors of a research paper make explicit linkages between their current research and prior work. However there is a difference in terminology between “citation” and “reference”. The reference is generally included in the current paper acknowledging the previous work. Also that particular previous work now will have a citation in the current paper, which will be recorded. Similarly there is a variation in the words “cited” and “citing”. The cited work is a paper that has been mentioned in the references of other works, while the citing work is the one that contains the references. 40 | P a g e The basic citation data gives the number of articles published during that year and the number of times the articles in the journal were cited during the year by later articles in itself and other journals. It also gives detailed tables showing: The number of times the articles in the journal were cited during the year by later articles in itself and other journals. The number of citations made from articles published in the journal that year to it and other specific individual journals during each of the most recent ten years. The number of times articles published in the journal during each of the most recent ten years were cited by individual specific journals during the year 4.4.1 Advantages of Citation: The citation-based method of algorithmic subject indexing includes title words, author-supplied keywords, and abstract words which are algorithmically processed to identify the most-commonly recurring words and phrases. The following are some of the advantages of citations: Calculation of Impact factor Duplication of research work can be avoided Time, effort and funds can be well managed Scientists need not stress on literature searching 4.5 Impact Factor: The Impact Factor (IF) is a measure of the frequency with which the “average article” in a journal has been cited in a particular year or period. In a given year, the impact factor of a journal is the average number of citations received per paper published in that journal during the two preceding years. However this is not a measure for the quality of research work done in a particular paper. 4.5.1a Calculation for Journal Impact Factor: The Journal Impact Factor is calculated by dividing the number of current year citations to the source items published in that journal during the previous two years. If A represents total number of cites in a current year, B represents the number of cites to articles published in previous two years, and C represents the number of articles published in previous two years, then the Impact Factor is given by the ratio of B to C. 41 | P a g e Example: A = total cites in 2007 B = 2007 cites to articles published in 2005-2006 (this is a subset of A) C = number of articles published in 2005-2006 D = B/C = 2007 Impact Factor However the impact factor for the year 2007 will be published in 2008 Important Note: New journals, which are indexed from their first published issue, will receive an impact factor after two years of indexing; in this case, the citations to the year prior to Volume 1, and the number of articles published in the year prior to Volume 1 are known zero values. Journals that are indexed starting with a volume other than the first volume will not get an impact factor until they have been indexed for three years. 4.5.1b Calculation for five-year impact factor: An alternative five-year impact can be calculated based on adding citations in 2003-2007 articles published in the same five-year period. And yet another is possible by selecting one or two earlier years as factor “B”. A = citations in 2007 to articles published in 2002-2006 B = articles published in 2002-2006 C = A/B = five-year impact factor 4.5.1c Calculation for impact factor revised to exclude self-citations A = citations in 2007 to articles published in 2005-2006 B = 2007 self-citations to articles published in 2005-2006 C = A - B = total citations minus self-citations to recent articles D = number of articles published 2005-2006 E = revised impact factor (C/D) 4.5.1d Unified 2007 impact factor calculation for title change A = 1992 citations to articles published in 2005-2006 (a1 + a2) A1 = those for new title A2 = those for superseded title B = number of articles published in 2005-2006 (B1 + B2) B1 = those for new title B2 = those for superseded title C = unified impact factor (A/B) C1 = A1/B1 = Impact factor for the new title C2 = A2/B2 = Impact factor for the superseded title 42 | P a g e 4.5.2 Uses of Impact Factor: The most important use of Impact Factor is in the process of academic evaluation. The following are some of the other uses: Used to provide a gross approximation of the prestige of journals in which individuals have been published Useful in clarifying the significance of total citation frequencies. Eliminates some of the bias of such counts which favor large journals over small ones, or frequently issued journals over less frequently issued ones, and of older journals over newer ones. 4.5.3 Applications of Impact Factor: There are many applications of Impact Factor including market research for publishers which provides quantitative evidence for editors to position their journals in relation to the competition. References: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] Price D. J. D. Little science, big science...and beyond. New York: Columbia University Press, 1986. 301 p. Small H. G. Cited documents as concept symbols. Soc. Stud. Sci. 8:327-40, 1978. Merton R. K. Foreword. (Garfield E) Citation indexing—its theory and application in science, technology, and the humanities. Philadelphia: ISI Press®, 1983. p. vi. Kochen M. How do we acknowledge intellectual debts? J. Doc. 43:54-64, 1987. Urey H. C. Lifelike forms in meteorites. Science 137:623-8, 1962. Selye H. General adaptation syndrome. J. Clin. Endocrinol. 6:117-230, 1946. Gray W. A. & Harley A. J. Computer assisted indexing. Inform. Storage Retrieval 7:167-74, 1971. Garfield E. & Sher I. H. KeyWords Plus—algorithmic derivative indexing. J. Amer. Soc. Inform. Sci. 44:298-9, 1993. Martyn J. Unwitting duplication of research. New Sci. 21:338, 1964.Gross P L K, Gross E M. College libraries and chemical education. Science 66:385-9, 1927. Brodman E. Methods of choosing physiology journals. Bull. Med. Libr. Assn. 32:479-83, 1944. Garfield E. Citation analysis as a tool in journal evaluation. Science 178:471-9, 1972. Citation indexing for studying science. Nature 227:669-71, 1970. Which medical journals have the greatest impact? Ann. Intern. Med. 105:313-20, 1986 http://ccp.wkpharma.com/pdfs/CCPolicy.PDF 2010 Wolters Kluwer 43 | P a g e About the Authors: Hafeez Basha. R did his B-Tech in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University, JNTU Hyderabad and M-Tech in Computer Science Engineering from Acharya Nagarjuna University, Guntur. He is recipient of Young Scientist Award and was earlier Research Engineer Trainee at Pentagram Research Centre. He is currently working as Research Analyst with the scientific division of Thomson Reuters, worlds’ leading Information company that accelerates research, scientific discovery and innovation globally. Hafeez Basha. R He served as Advisory / Technical member in various expert committees and even organized International Conferences and Technical Symposiums. He is also Managing Editor for International Journals published by Cafet-Innova Technical Society an international non-profit organization helping the scientific community. Professor D. Venkat Reddy did his M.Sc (Geology) and M.Sc (Tech) Hydrogeology from Osmania University, Hyderabad. He obtained his Ph. D in Geology from the same University and currently working as Professor in Department of Civil Engineering, National Institute of Technology (NIT), Karnataka. D. Venkat Reddy He is serving as President of Cafet-Innova Technical Society and Editor-inChief for International Journal of Earth Sciences and Engineering. He is also Associate Editor for Dream Earth publication, Journal Pradushan Nirmulan and Drilling world along with expert in the field of geology in allexperts.com He is member of International Gondwana Research Association (Japan), Geological Society of India, Indian Geological Congress, Mineralogical Society of India, and Indian Society of Technical Education. 44 | P a g e If we knew what it wass w we were doing, it would not be called research, would wou it?? - Albert Einstein Eins (1879-1955) Introduction The way in which research is cond conducted may be conceived of in terms of the research rese philosophy subscribed to, the research strategy tegy employed and so the research instruments utiliz tilized (and perhaps developed) in the pursuit of a goal - the research objective(s) - and the quest for the t solution of a problem i.e., the research question. tion. Research is an academic activity and as such the term should be used in a technical sense. Accordin ording to Clifford Woody research comprises defining ining and redefining problems, formulating hypothesis sis or suggested solutions; collecting, organizing and evaluating data; making deductions and reaching con conclusions; and at last carefully testing the conclusio lusions to determine whether they fit the formulatingg hy hypothesis. D. Slesinger and M. Stephenson in the Encyclopedia of Social Sciences define research as “t “the manipulation of things, concepts or symbols ls for fo the purpose of generalizing to extend, correct or vverify knowledge, whether that knowledge aidss in construction of theory or in the practice of an art.” art.”Research is, thus, an original contribution to the existing stock of knowledge making for its advancem cement. It is the pursuit of truth with the help off study, stu observation, comparison and experiment. In sh short, the search for knowledge through objective ctive and systematic method of finding solution to a prob problem is research. The systematic approach concerni erning generalization and the formulation of a theory is aalso research. As such the term ‘research’ refers rs to t the systematic method consisting of enunciatingg the problem, formulating a hypothesis, collecting ng the t facts or data, analyzing the facts and reachingg ce certain conclusions either in the form of solution tions(s) towards the concerned problem or in certain gen generalizations for some theoretical formulation. 45 | P a g e 5.1 Research Philosophy A research philosophy is a belief about the way in which data about a phenomenon should be gathered, analysed and used. The term epistemology (what is known to be true) as opposed to doxology (what is believed to be true) encompasses the various philosophies of research approach. The purpose of science, then, is the process of transforming things believed into things known: doxa to episteme. Two major research philosophies have been identified in the Western tradition of science, namely positivist (sometimes called scientific) and interpretivist (also known as antipositivist) (Galliers, 1991). 5.1.1 Positivism Positivists believe that reality is stable and can be observed and described from an objective viewpoint (Levin, 1988), i.e. without interfering with the phenomena being studied. They contend that phenomena should be isolated and that observations should be repeatable. This often involves manipulation of reality with variations in only a single independent variable so as to identify regularities in, and to form relationships between, some of the constituent elements of the social world. Predictions can be made on the basis of the previously observed and explained realities and their inter-relationships. "Positivism has a long and rich historical tradition. It is so embedded in our society that knowledge claims not grounded in positivist thought are simply dismissed as ascientific and therefore invalid" (Hirschheim, 1985, p.33). This view is indirectly supported by Alavi and Carlson (1992) who, in a review of 902 IS research articles, found that all the empirical studies were positivist in approach. Positivism has also had a particularly successful association with the physical and natural sciences. There has, however, been much debate on the issue of whether or not this positivist paradigm is entirely suitable for the social sciences (Hirschheim, 1985), many authors calling for a more pluralistic attitude towards research methodologies (Kuhn, 1970; Bjørn-Andersen, 1985; Remenyi and Williams, 1996). Indeed, some of the difficulties experienced in research, such as the apparent inconsistency of results, may be attributed to the inappropriateness of the positivist paradigm for the domain. Likewise, some variables or constituent parts of reality might have been previously thought un-measurable under the positivist paradigm and hence went unresearched (after Galliers, 1991). 5.1.2 Interpretivism Interpretivists contend that only through the subjective interpretation of and intervention in reality can that reality be fully understood. The study of phenomena in their natural environment is key to the interpretivist philosophy, together with the acknowledgement that scientists cannot avoid affecting those phenomena they study. They admit that there may be many interpretations of reality, but maintain that these interpretations are in themselves a part of the scientific knowledge they are pursuing. Interpretivism has a tradition that is no less glorious than that of positivism, nor is it shorter. 5.1.3 Research Strategy A large number of research methodologies have been identified, Galliers (1991) for example listing fourteen, while Alavi and Carlson (1992), use a hierarchical taxonomy with three levels and eighteen categories. In Table 1 below, listed the methodologies identified by Galliers (1991, p.149), indicating whether they typically conform to the positivist or interpretivist paradigms. Before introducing the methodologies we use in this research, we summarise the key features of the key methodologies in the table, identifying their respective strengths and weaknesses. In the following sections, we justify our choice of methodologies and explain how they both operate and interoperate in our research. 46 | P a g e Laboratory experiments permit the researcher to identify precise relationships between a small number of variables that are studied intensively via a designed laboratory situation using quantitative analytical techniques with a view to making generalisable statements applicable to real-life situations. The key weakness of laboratory experiments is the "limited extent to which identified relationships exist in the real world due to oversimplification of the experimental situation and the isolation of such situations from most of the variables that are found in the real world"(Galliers, 1991, p.150). Field experiments extend laboratory experiments into real organisations and their real life situations, thereby achieving greater realism and diminishing the extent to which situations can be criticised as contrived. In practice it is difficult to identify organisations that are prepared to be experimented on and still more difficult to achieve sufficient control to make replication viable. Table 1 - Taxonomy of Research Methodologies Scientific/Positivist Interpretivist/Anti-positivist Laboratory Experiments Subjective/Argumentative Field Experiments Reviews Surveys Action Research Case Studies Case Studies Theorem Proof Descriptive/Interpretive Forecasting Futures Research Simulation Role/Game Playing Surveys enable the researcher to obtain data about practices, situations or views at one point in time through questionnaires or interviews. Quantitative analytical techniques are then used to draw inferences from this data regarding existing relationships. The use of surveys permit a researcher to study more variables at one time than is typically possible in laboratory or field experiments, whilst data can be collected about real world environments. A key weakness is that it is very difficult to realise insights relating to the causes of or processes involved in the phenomena measured. There are, in addition, several sources of bias such as the possibly self-selecting nature of respondents, the point in time when the survey is conducted and in the researcher him/herself through the design of the survey itself. Case studies involve an attempt to describe relationships that exist in reality, very often in a single organisation. Case studies may be positivist or interpretivist in nature, depending on the approach of the researcher, the data collected and the analytical techniques employed. Reality can be captured in greater detail by an observer-researcher, with the analysis of more variables than is typically possible in experimental and survey research. Case studies can be considered weak as they are typically restricted to a single organisation and it is difficult to generalise findings since it is hard to find similar cases with similar data that can be analysed in a statistically meaningful way. Furthermore, different researchers may have different interpretations of the same data, thus adding research bias into the equation. Simulation involves copying the behaviour of a system. Simulation is used in situations where it would be difficult normally to solve problems analytically and typically involves the introduction of random variables. As with experimental forms of research, it is difficult to make a simulation sufficiently realistic so that it resembles real world events. Forecasting/futures research involves the use of techniques such as regression analysis and time series analysis to make predictions about likely future events. It is a useful form of research in that it attempts to cope with the rapid changes that are taking place in IT and predict the impacts of these changes on individuals, organisations or society. However, it is a method that is fraught with difficulties relating to the complexity of real world events, the arbitrary nature of future changes and the lack of knowledge about the future. Researchers cannot build true visions of the future, but only scenarios of possible futures and so impacts under these possible conditions. 47 | P a g e Subjective/argumentative research, for example hermeneutics and phenomenology) requires the researcher to adopt a creative or speculative stance rather than act as an observer. It is a useful technique since new theories can be built, new ideas generated and subsequently tested. However, as an unstructured and subjective form of research, there is a strong chance of researcher bias. Action research is a form of applied research where the researcher attempts to develop results or a solution that is of practical value to the people with whom the research is working, and at the same time developing theoretical knowledge. Through direct intervention in problems, the researcher aims to create practical, often emancipatory, outcomes while also aiming to reinform existing theory in the domain studied. As with case studies, action research is usually restricted to a single organization making it difficult to generalize findings, while different researchers may interpret events differently. The personal ethics of the researcher are critical, since the opportunity for direct researcher intervention is always present. 5.2 Objectives of Research The purpose of research is to discover answers to questions through the application of scientific procedures. The main aim of research is to find out the truth which is hidden and which has not been discovered as yet. Though each research study has its own specific purpose, we may think of research objectives as falling into a number of following broad groupings: 1. To gain familiarity with a phenomenon or to achieve new insights into it (studies with this object in view are termed as exploratory or formulative research studies); 2. To portray accurately the characteristics of a particular individual, situation or a group (studies with this object in view are known as descriptive research studies); 3. To determine the frequency with which something occurs or with which it is associated with something else (studies with this object in view are known as diagnostic research studies); 4. To test a hypothesis of a causal relationship between variables (such studies are known as hypothesis-testing research studies). 5.3 Motivation in Research What makes people to undertake research? This is a question of fundamental importance. The possible motives for doing research may be either one or more of the following: 1. Desire to get a research degree along with its consequential benefits; 2. Desire to face the challenge in solving the unsolved problems, i.e., concern over practical problems initiates research; 3. Desire to get intellectual joy of doing some creative work; 4. Desire to be of service to society; 5. Desire to get respectability. However, this is not an exhaustive list of factors motivating people to undertake research studies. Many more factors such as directives of government, employment conditions, curiosity about new things, desire to understand causal relationships, social thinking and awakening, and the like may as well motivate (or at times compel) people to perform research operations. 48 | P a g e 5.4 Types of Research The basic types of research are as follows: (i) Descriptive vs. Analytical: Descriptive research includes surveys and fact-finding enquiries of different kinds. The major purpose of descriptive research is description of the state of affairs as it exists at present. In social science and business research we quite often use the term Ex post facto research for descriptive research studies. The main characteristic of this method is that the researcher has no control over the variables; he can only report what has happened or what is happening. Most ex post facto research projects are used for descriptive studies in which the researcher seeks to measure such items as, for example, frequency of shopping, preferences of people, or similar data. Ex post facto studies also include attempts by researchers to discover causes even when they cannot control the variables. The methods of research utilized in descriptive research are survey methods of all kinds, including comparative and correlational methods. In analytical research, on the other hand, the researcher has to use facts or information already available, and analyze these to make a critical evaluation of the material. (ii) Applied vs. Fundamental: Research can either be applied (or action) research or fundamental (to basic or pure) research. Applied research aims at finding a solution for an immediate problem facing a society or an industrial/business organization, whereas fundamental research is mainly concerned with generalizations and with the formulation of a theory. “Gathering knowledge for knowledge’s sake is termed ‘pure’ or ‘basic’ research.” Research concerning some natural phenomenon or relating to pure mathematics are examples of fundamental research. Similarly, research studies, concerning human behavior carried on with a view to make generalizations about human behavior, are also examples of fundamental research, but research aimed at certain conclusions (say, a solution) facing a concrete social or business problem is an example of applied research. Research to identify social, economic or political trends that may affect a particular institution or the copy research (research to find out whether certain communications will be read and understood) or the marketing research or evaluation research are examples of applied research. Thus, the central aim of applied research is to discover a solution for some pressing practical problem, whereas basic research is directed towards finding information that has a broad base of applications and thus, adds to the already existing organized body of scientific knowledge. (iii) Quantitative vs. Qualitative: Quantitative research is based on the measurement of quantity or amount. It is applicable to phenomena that can be expressed in terms of quantity. Qualitative research, on the other hand, is concerned with qualitative phenomenon, i.e., phenomena relating to or involving quality or kind. For instance, when we are interested in investigating the reasons for human behavior (i.e., why people think or do certain things), we quite often talk of ‘Motivation Research’, an important type of qualitative research. This type of research aims at discovering the underlying motives and desires, using in depth interviews for the purpose. Other techniques of such research are word association tests, sentence completion tests, story completion tests and similar other projective techniques. Attitude or opinion research i.e., research designed to find out how people feel or what they think about a particular subject or institution is also qualitative research. Qualitative research is especially important in the behavioral sciences where the aim is to discover the underlying motives of human behavior. Through such research we can analyze the various factors which motivate people to behave in a particular manner or which make people like or dislike a particular thing. It may be stated, however, that to apply qualitative research in practice is relatively a difficult job and therefore, while doing such research, one should seek guidance from experimental psychologists. 49 | P a g e (iv) Conceptual vs. Empirical: Conceptual research is that related to some abstract idea(s) or theory. It is generally used by philosophers and thinkers to develop new concepts or to reinterpret existing ones. On the other hand, empirical research relies on experience or observation alone, often without due regard for system and theory. It is data-based research, coming up with conclusions which are capable of being verified by observation or experiment. We can also call it as experimental type of research. In such a research it is necessary to get at facts firsthand, at their source, and actively to go about doing certain things to stimulate the production of desired information. In such a research, the researcher must first provide himself with a working hypothesis or guess as to the probable results. He then works to get enough facts (data) to prove or disprove his hypothesis. He then sets up experimental designs which he thinks will manipulate the persons or the materials concerned so as to bring forth the desired information. Such research is thus characterized by the experimenter’s control over the variables under study and his deliberate manipulation of one of them to study its effects. Empirical research is appropriate when proof is sought that certain variables affect other variables in some way. Evidence gathered through experiments or empirical studies is today considered to be the most powerful support possible for a given hypothesis. (v) Some Other Types of Research: All other types of research are variations of one or more of the above stated approaches, based on either the purpose of research, or the time required to accomplish research, on the environment in which research is done, or on the basis of some other similar factor. Form the point of view of time, we can think of research either as one-time research or longitudinal research. In the former case the research is confined to a single time-period, whereas in the latter case the research is carried on over several time-periods. Research can be field-setting research or laboratory research or simulation research, depending upon the environment in which it is to be carried out. Research can as well be understood as clinical or diagnostic research. Such research follow case-study methods or in depth approaches to reach the basic causal relations. Such studies usually go deep into the causes of things or events that interest us, using very small samples and very deep probing data gathering devices. The research may be exploratory or it may be formalized. The objective of exploratory research is the development of hypotheses rather than their testing, whereas formalized research studies are those with substantial structure and with specific hypotheses to be tested. Historical research is that which utilizes historical sources like documents, remains, etc. to study events or ideas of the past, including the philosophy of persons and groups at any remote point of time. Research can also be classified as conclusion-oriented and decisionoriented. While doing conclusion oriented research, a researcher is free to pick up a problem, redesign the enquiry as he proceeds and is prepared to conceptualize as he wishes. Decision-oriented research is always for the need of a decision maker and the researcher in this case is not free to embark upon research according to his own inclination. Operations research is an example of decision oriented research since it is a scientific method of providing executive departments with a quantitative basis for decisions regarding operations under their control. The above description of the types of research brings to light the fact that there are two basic approaches to research, viz., quantitative approach and the qualitative approach. The former involves the generation of data in quantitative form which can be subjected to rigorous quantitative analysis in a formal and rigid fashion. This approach can be further sub-classified into inferential, experimental and simulation approaches to research. The purpose of inferential approach to research is to form a data base from which to infer characteristics or relationships of population. This usually means survey research where a sample of population is studied (questioned or observed) to determine its characteristics, and it is then inferred that the population has the same characteristics. Experimental approach is characterized by much greater control over the research environment and in this case some variables 50 | P a g e are manipulated to observe their effect on other variables. Simulation approach involves the construction of an artificial environment within which relevant information and data can be generated. This permits an observation of the dynamic behavior of a system (or its sub-system) under controlled conditions. The term ‘simulation’ in the context of business and social sciences applications refers to “the operation of a numerical model that represents the structure of a dynamic process. Given the values of initial conditions, parameters and exogenous variables, a simulation is run to represent the behavior of the process over time.” Simulation approach can also be useful in building models for understanding future conditions. Qualitative approach to research is concerned with subjective assessment of attitudes, opinions and behavior. Research in such a situation is a function of researcher’s insights and impressions. Such an approach to research generates results either in non-quantitative form or in the form which are not subjected to rigorous quantitative analysis. Generally, the techniques of focus group interviews, projective techniques and depth interviews are used. All these are explained at length in chapters that follow. 5.5 Importance of Knowing How Research is done The study of research methodology gives the student the necessary training in gathering material and arranging or card-indexing them, participation in the field work when required, and also training in techniques for the collection of data appropriate to particular problems, in the use of statistics, questionnaires and controlled experimentation and in recording evidence, sorting it out and interpreting it. In fact, importance of knowing the methodology of research or how research is done stems from the following considerations: (i) For one who is preparing himself for a career of carrying out research, the importance of knowing research methodology and research techniques is obvious since the same constitute the tools of his trade. The knowledge of methodology provides good training especially to the new research worker and enables him to do better research. It helps him to develop disciplined thinking or a ‘bent of mind’ to observe the field objectively. Hence, those aspiring for careerism in research must develop the skill of using research techniques and must thoroughly understand the logic behind them. (ii) Knowledge of how to do research will inculcate the ability to evaluate and use research results with reasonable confidence. In other words, we can state that the knowledge of research methodology is helpful in various fields such as government or business administration, community development and social work where persons are increasingly called upon to evaluate and use research results for action. (iii) When one knows how research is done, then one may have the satisfaction of acquiring a new intellectual tool which can become a way of looking at the world and of judging every day experience. Accordingly, it enables use to make intelligent decisions concerning problems facing us in practical life at different points of time. Thus, the knowledge of research methodology provides tools to took at things in life objectively. (iv) In this scientific age, all of us are in many ways consumers of research results and we can use them intelligently provided we are able to judge the adequacy of the methods by which they have been obtained. The knowledge of methodology helps the consumer of research results to evaluate them and enables him to take rational decisions. 51 | P a g e 5.6 Criteria of Good Research Whatever may be the types of research works and studies, one thing that is important is that they all meet on the common ground of scientific method employed by them. One expects scientific research to satisfy the following criteria: 1. The purpose of the research should be clearly defined and common concepts be used. 2. The research procedure used should be described in sufficient detail to permit another researcher to repeat the research for further advancement, keeping the continuity of what has already been attained. 3. The procedural design of the research should be carefully planned to yield results that are as objective as possible. 4. The researcher should report with complete frankness, flaws in procedural design and estimate their effects upon the findings. 5. The analysis of data should be sufficiently adequate to reveal its significance and the methods of analysis used should be appropriate. The validity and reliability of the data should be checked carefully. 6. Conclusions should be confined to those justified by the data of the research and limited to those for which the data provide an adequate basis. 7. Greater confidence in research is warranted if the researcher is experienced, has a good reputation in research and is a person of integrity. In other words, we can state the qualities of a good research as under: 1. Good research is systematic: It means that research is structured with specified steps to be taken in a specified sequence in accordance with the well defined set of rules. Systematic characteristic of the research does not rule out creative thinking but it certainly does reject the use of guessing and intuition in arriving at conclusions. 2. Good research is logical: This implies that research is guided by the rules of logical reasoning and the logical process of induction and deduction are of great value in carrying out research. Induction is the process of reasoning from a part to the whole whereas deduction is the process of reasoning from some premise to a conclusion which follows from that very premise. In fact, logical reasoning makes research more meaningful in the context of decision making. 3. Good research is empirical: It implies that research is related basically to one or more aspects of a real situation and deals with concrete data that provides a basis for external validity to research results. 4. Good research is replicable: This characteristic allows research results to be verified by replicating the study and thereby building a sound basis for decisions. About the Author: Dr. D. Neelima Satyam Dr. D. Neelima Satyamr did her B-Tech in Civil Engineering from Sri Venkateshwara University, Tirupathi and M-Tech from IIT-Delhi, in Geo-technical Engineering. She obtained her Ph. D from IIT-Delhi. She was earlier Associate Professor at VNR Vignana Jyothi College of Engineering and currently Assistant Professor at International Institute of Information Technology (IIIT-Hyderabad). She is also Visiting faculty at National Academy of construction and associated with professional bodies like Indian Concrete Institute, Indian Geotechnical society, Indian Society of Earthquake Technology, Institution of Engineers (India), American Society of Civil Engineering, Earthquake Engineering Research Institute, International Society for Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering 52 | P a g e Intellectual Property (IP) is a buzz word that you as a young researcher should expect to know more. Most of us have heard words like patent, copyrights, trademarks, trade names, service marks, industrial designs, undisclosed indications, geographical indications, etc... But do we really know what they are? Well, if your interest is towards knowing them, then you have the right book in your hand. This section of this book will address your needs. Happy reading! We have organized the contents into two big chunks: Intellectual Property Overview; Patents. All though patents are a part of intellectual property, keeping in mind the extensive information that you guys would be interested in, we choose to take Patents as a division. This division is again sliced into five modules: Patents; How to Get a Patent; Patenting Abroad; Commercializing Patented Technology; Enforcing Patents. 6.1 Intellectual Property Overview Day in and day out, we encounter intellectual property in one form or the other. In IP, ownership is the word which defines the property. Ownership is the power to possess, use to our advantage, sell or transfer an object and the power of excluding others. In other words, property is a set of rights conferred on a person by law. IP is an intangible property created by our mind, and our thoughts give the value to the property. In simple words, the ideas or thoughts that one owns is a form of property. Hence, it’s imperative to protect ones property and cash it. You might have a question, what if someone uses my idea or technology (infringement) or how do I protect my ideas or work or what can I protect and what cannot. To understand more, let’s drill in and see the types of IP. 53 | P a g e 6.1.1 Major types of IP Although there are several ways to protect ones IP and the following are a few basic ones: Patent Copyright and related rights Trademarks, Trade names and Service Marks Industrial Designs Undisclosed Indications Geographical Indications Layout Designs of IC Copyright is granted to original artistic, musical, audio, usual, literary works, which are created by artists. The rights include rights of reproduction, communication to the public, adaptation and translation of work. Copyright protection applies to a wide range of works, including computer programs. These are usually indicated by symbol: © Trademarks and Service marks are distinctive symbols, signs, logos that help the consumer to distinguish between competitor goods or services and are a major part of the good will the company enjoys in the trade. A Trade name is the name of an enterprise which catches the attention of the public. They are Indicators of good quality. There are no quality standards for trade mark. Trademarks are usually indentified by the symbol: ™ e.g. ABC™ A Geographical indication is a sign used on goods that have a specific geographical origin and posses the specialties of the particular region. These goods have an advantage over other goods in the race. This IP is having great commercial significance. An Industrial design is the aesthetic design for an article. It can have shape and surface, color, and they improve the aesthetic appearance of the product. A patent is a statutory right granted for a limited period (usually 20 years) to an inventor in respect of an invention to exclude any other person from manufacturing, using or selling the patented product or from using the patented process, without the consent of the owner. Layout design of IC is a relatively new area in IP which has appeared with electronics field making advances. The design of circuitry of a chip requires great investment of knowledge. You may be able to obtain protection for an original layout design (or topography) of an integrated circuit used in microchips and semiconductor chips. Such protection may extend also to the final product incorporating the layout design. Protection of a layout design is not a monopoly right. 54 | P a g e New plant varieties. In many countries, a breeder of a new plant variety, which fulfils the requirements of novelty, distinctness, uniformity and stability, and is designated with a suitable denomination may obtain protection in the form of “plant breeder's rights.” For more information on the protection of new plant varieties, see: www.upov.int 6.2 Patents 6.2.1 What is a patent? A patent is an exclusive right granted by the State for an invention that is new, involves an inventive step and is capable of industrial application. It gives its owner the exclusive right to prevent or stop others from making, using, offering for sale, selling or importing a product or a process, based on the patented invention, without the owner’s prior permission. A patent is a powerful business tool for companies to gain exclusivity over a new product or process, develop a strong market position and earn additional revenues through licensing. A complex product (such as a camera, mobile phone, or a car) may incorporate a number of inventions that are covered by several patents, which may be owned by different patent holders. A patent is granted by the national patent office of a country or a regional patent office for a group of countries. It is valid for a limited period of time, generally for 20 years from the date of filing of the patent application, provided the required maintenance fees are paid on time. A patent is a territorial right, limited to the geographical boundary of the relevant country or region. In return for the exclusive right provided by a patent, the applicant is required to disclose the invention to the public by providing a detailed, accurate and complete written description of the invention in the patent application. The granted patent and, in many countries, the patent application is made public via publication in an official journal or gazette. What is an invention? In patent jargon, an invention is generally defined as a new and inventive solution to a technical problem. It may relate to the creation of an entirely new device, product, method or process, or may simply be an incremental improvement to a known product or process. Merely finding something that already exists in nature generally does not qualify as an invention; an adequate amount of human ingenuity, creativity and inventiveness must be involved. While most inventions nowadays are the result of considerable efforts and long-term investments in Research and Development (R&D), many simple and inexpensive technical improvements, of great market value, have yielded significant income and profits to their inventors or companies. 55 | P a g e Invention refers to a technical solution to a technical problem. It may be an innovative idea or may be in the form of a working model or prototype. Innovation refers to the translation of the invention into a marketable product or process. Why should you consider patenting your inventions? Short product cycles and increasing competition put enormous pressure on enterprises to become innovative and/or obtain access to other companies’ innovations, so as to become and remain competitive in domestic and export markets. The exclusive rights provided by a patent may be crucial for innovative companies to prosper in a challenging, risky and dynamic business climate. Key reasons for patenting inventions include: Strong market position and competitive advantage: A patent gives its owner the exclusive right to prevent or stop others from commercially using the patented invention, thereby reducing uncertainty, risk and competition from free riders and imitators. If your company owns or obtains the permission to exploit a valuable patented invention it may be able to create a market entry barrier for competitors in respect of the same inventions. This will help it to become a pre-eminent player in the relevant market(s). Higher profit or returns on investment. If your company has invested a significant amount of time and money in R&D, patent protection of the resulting inventions would help in recovering costs and obtaining higher returns on investments. Additional income from licensing or assigning the patent: As a patent owner you may license your rights over the invention to others in exchange for lump sum payments and/or royalties, in order to generate additional income for the company. Selling (or assigning) a patent implies transfer of ownership, whereas licensing implies only permission to use the licensed invention under specified conditions. Access to technology through cross-licensing: If your company is interested in technology owned by others you may use your company’s own patents to negotiate cross-licensing agreements, by which your company and the other party agree to authorize each other to use one or more of your respective patents under conditions specified in the agreement. Access to new markets: Licensing of patents (or even pending patent applications) to others may provide access to new markets, which are otherwise inaccessible. In order to do so, the invention must also be protected in the relevant foreign market(s). Diminished risks of infringement: By obtaining patent protection you will be able to prevent others from patenting the same invention and also reduce the chances of infringing the rights of others when commercializing your products. While a patent by itself does not provide the “freedom to use”, it does 56 | P a g e prevent others from patenting the same or similar inventions and provides a reasonable indication that the invention that you have patented is new and significantly different from the “prior art.” Enhanced ability to obtain grants and/or raise funds at a reasonable rate of interest. Ownership of patents (or license to use patents owned by others) may enhance your ability to raise capital to take a product to market. In some sectors (e.g., biotechnology), it is often necessary to have a strong patent portfolio to attract venture capitalists. A powerful tool to take action against imitators and free riders: In order to effectively enforce the exclusivity provided by a patent, it may occasionally be necessary to litigate, or bring your patents to the attention of those who are violating your patent rights. Owning a patent considerably improves your ability to take successful legal action against copiers and imitators of the protected invention. Positive image for your enterprise: Business partners, investors, shareholders and customers may perceive patent portfolios as a demonstration of the high level of expertise, specialization and technological capacity of your company. This may prove useful for raising funds, finding business partners and raising your company’s profile and market value. Some companies mention or list their patents in advertisements to project an innovative image to the public. If an invention is patentable, is it always wise to apply for patent protection? Not always. If an invention is patentable, it does not necessarily follow that it will result in a commercially viable technology or product. Therefore, a careful weighing of pros and cons and an analysis of possible alternatives is essential before filing a patent application. A patent may be expensive and difficult to obtain, maintain and enforce. To file or not to file a patent application is strictly a business decision. It should be based primarily on the probability of obtaining commercially useful protection for the invention that is likely to provide significant benefits from its eventual business use. Factors to be taken into account in deciding whether or not to file a patent application include: Is there a market for the invention? What are the alternatives to your invention, and how do they compare with your invention? Is the invention useful for improving an existing product or developing a new product? If so, does it fit in with your company’s business strategy? Are there potential licensees or investors who will be willing to help to take the invention to market? How valuable will the invention be to your business and to competitors? Is it easy to “reverse engineer” your invention from your product or “design around” it? How likely are others, especially competitors, to invent and patent what you have invented? Do the expected profits from an exclusive position in the market justify the costs of patenting? What aspects of the invention can be protected by one or more patents, how broad can this coverage be and will this provide commercially useful protection? Will it be easy to identify violation of the patent rights and are you ready to invest time and financial resources for enforcing your patent(s)? 57 | P a g e What can be patented? An invention must meet several requirements to be eligible for patent protection. These include, in particular, that the claimed invention: Consists of patentable subject matter Is new (novelty requirement) Involves an inventive step (nonobviousness requirement) Is capable of industrial application (utility requirement) Is disclosed in a clear and complete manner in the patent application (disclosure requirement) The best way of understanding these requirements is to study what has been patented by others in the technical field of your interest. For this, you may consult patent databases. What is patentable subject matter? In most national or regional patent laws, patentable subject matter is defined negatively, i.e., by providing a list of what cannot be patented. While there are considerable differences between countries, the following are examples of some of the areas that may be excluded from patentability: Discoveries and scientific theories; Aesthetic creations; Schemes, rules and methods for performing mental acts; Mere discoveries of substances as they naturally occur in the world; Inventions that may affect public order, good morals or public health; Diagnostic, therapeutic and surgical methods of treatment for humans or animals; Plants and animals other than microorganisms, and essentially biological processes for the production of plants or animals other than non-biological and microbiological processes; and Computer programs. How is an invention judged to be new or novel? An invention is new or novel if it does not form part of the prior art. In general, prior art refers to all the relevant technical knowledge available to the public anywhere in the world prior to the first filing date of the relevant patent application. It includes, inter alia, patents, patent applications and non-patent literature of all kinds. The definition of prior art differs considerably from country to country. In many countries, any information disclosed to the public anywhere in the world in written form, by oral communication, by display or through public use constitutes prior art. Thus, in principle, the publication of the invention in a scientific journal, its presentation in a conference, its use in commerce or its display in a company’s catalogue would all constitute acts that could destroy the novelty of the invention and render it not patentable. It is important to prevent accidental disclosure of inventions prior to filing the patent application. 58 | P a g e Assistance of a competent patent agent is often crucial for a clear determination of what is included in the prior art. Prior art often includes “secret prior art” such as pending unpublished patent applications, provided they are published at a later stage. When is an invention considered to “involve an inventive step”? An invention is considered to involve an inventive step (or to be non-obvious) when, taking into account the prior art, the invention would not have been obvious to a person skilled in the particular field of technology. The non-obviousness requirement is meant to ensure that patents are only granted in respect of truly creative and inventive achievements, and not to developments that a person with ordinary skill in the field could easily deduce from what already exists. Some examples of what may not qualify as inventive, as established by past court decisions in some countries, are: mere change of size; making a product portable; the reversal of parts; the change of materials; or the mere substitution by an equivalent part or function. What is meant by “capable of industrial application”? To be patentable, an invention must be capable of being used for an industrial or business purpose. An invention cannot be a mere theoretical phenomenon; it must be useful and provide some practical benefit. The term “industrial” is meant here in the broadest sense as anything distinct from purely intellectual or aesthetic activity, and includes, for example, agriculture. In some countries, instead of industrial applicability, the criterion is utility. The utility requirement has become particularly important for patents on genetic sequences for which a utility may not yet be known at the time of filing the application. What is the disclosure requirement? According to the national legislation of most countries, a patent application must disclose the invention in a manner sufficiently clear and complete for the invention to be carried out by a person skilled in the specific technical field. In some countries, patent law requires that the inventor discloses the “best mode” for practicing the invention. For patents involving microorganisms, many countries require the microorganism to be deposited at a recognized depositary institution. What rights are granted by patents? A patent grants its owner the right to exclude others from commercially using the invention. This includes the right to prevent or stop others from making, using, offering for sale, selling or importing a product or process, based on the patented invention, without the owner’s permission. It is important to note that a patent does not grant the owner the “freedom to use” or the right to exploit the technology covered by the patent but only the right to exclude others. 59 | P a g e While this may seem a subtle distinction, it is essential in understanding the patent system and how multiple patents interact. In fact, patents owned by others may overlap, encompass or complement your own patent. You may, therefore, need to obtain a license to use other people’s inventions in order to commercialize your own patented invention and vice versa. Also, before certain inventions (such as pharmaceutical drugs) can be commercialized other clearances may be required (e.g., marketing approval from the relevant regulatory body). Who is an inventor and who owns the rights over a patent? The person who conceived the invention is the inventor, whereas the person (or company) that files the patent application is the applicant, holder or owner of the patent. While in some cases the inventor may also be the applicant, the two are often different entities; the applicant is often the company or research institution that employs the inventor. The following specific circumstances merit further analysis: Employee inventions: In many countries, inventions developed in the course of employment are automatically assigned to the employer. In some countries, this is only so if it is so stated in the employment contract. In some cases (e.g., if there is no employment agreement) the inventor may retain the right to exploit the invention, but the employer is given a non-exclusive right to use the invention for its internal purposes (called “shop rights”). It is important to find out about the specific legislation in your own country and to ensure that employment contracts deal with issues of ownership over employee inventions to avoid future disputes. Independent contractors: In most countries, an independent contractor hired by a company to develop a new product or process owns all rights to the invention, unless specifically stated otherwise. This means that, unless the contractor has a written agreement with the company assigning the invention to that company, in general, the company will have no ownership rights in what is developed, even if it paid for the development. Joint inventors: When more than one person contributes in significant ways to the conception and realization of an invention, they must be treated as joint inventors and mentioned as such in the patent application. If the joint inventors are also the applicants, the patent will be granted to them jointly. Joint owners: Different countries and institutions have different rules concerning the exploitation or enforcement of patents that are owned by more than one entity or person. In some cases, no single coowner may license a patent or sue third parties for infringement without the consent of all other coowners. 60 | P a g e 6.2.2 How to get a patent? Where should you start? Generally the first step is to perform a prior art search. With over 40 million patents granted worldwide, and millions of printed publications, which are potential prior art against your patent application, there is a serious risk that some reference, or combination of references, may render your invention nonnovel or obvious, and, therefore, un-patentable. A prior art patentability search can prevent you from wasting money on a patent application if the search uncovers prior art references that are likely to preclude the patenting of your invention. A prior art search should extend to all relevant non patent literature, including technical and scientific journals, textbooks, conference proceedings, theses, websites, company brochures, trade publications and newspaper articles. Patent information is a unique source of classified technical information, which companies may find of great value for their strategic business planning. Most significant inventions are disclosed to the public for the first time only when the patent or patent application is published. Thus, patents and published patent applications provide means of learning about current research and innovations often long before the relevant innovative product appears on the market. Patent searches should be part of the essential inputs to any company’s R&D effort. How and where can you conduct a prior art search? Patents and patent applications published by many patent offices are accessible on-line, thus making it easier to conduct prior art searches. A list of IP offices that have made their patent databases available online, free-of-charge, may be found at: www.wipo.int/ipdl/en/resources/links.jsp. In addition, most national patent offices offer patent search services for a fee. While access to patent information is considerably simpler thanks to the Internet, it is not easy to perform a high-quality patent search. Patent jargon is often complex and obscure and professional searching requires considerable knowledge and expertise. While preliminary searches may be performed through free on-line patent databases, most companies requiring patent information for making key business decisions (e.g., whether to apply for a patent or not) will generally rely on the services of patent professionals and/or use more sophisticated commercial databases. A prior art search can be done based on keywords, patent classification or other search criteria. The prior art uncovered depends on the search strategy employed, the classification system used, the technical expertise of the person who conducts the search, and the patent database being used. 61 | P a g e How to apply for patent protection? After a prior art search has been performed and the decision to seek patent protection has been made, a patent application has to be prepared and submitted to the relevant national or regional patent office. The application will include a full description of the invention, the patent claims that determine the scope of the patent applied for, drawings and an abstract. Some patent offices make it possible for applicants to submit their application through the Internet. In some countries, there may be an option for filing a provisional patent application. The task of preparing a patent application is generally performed by a patent attorney or agent who will represent your interests during the application process. The box on the following page provides a basic overview of the application process. Note that there may be important variations between countries and it is always best to check with the patent office of the relevant country or a patent law firm in the relevant country to obtain up-to-date information on procedures and applicable fees. How much does it cost to patent an invention? The costs vary considerably from country to country and within a country depending on factors such as the nature of the invention, its complexity, attorney’s fees, the length of the application and objections raised during the examination by the patent office. It is important to keep in mind and properly budget the costs related to patent application and maintenance: • There are generally costs associated with performing a prior art search, particularly if you rely on the services of an expert; • There are official filing fees that vary widely from country to country. The relevant national or regional patent office will be able to give you details on the fee structure. Some countries have discounts for SMEs and/or for applicants filing the application on-line. In addition, some countries allow expedited examination on payment of additional fees. • If you rely on the services of a patent agent/attorney to assist you in the application process (e.g., provide the patentability opinion, draft the patent application, prepare the formal drawings and correspond with the patent office), you will incur additional costs; • Once a patent has been granted by the patent office, you must pay maintenance or renewal fees, generally on an annual basis, to maintain the validity of the patent; • In case you decide to patent your invention abroad, you should consider also the relevant official filing fees for the countries in question, the translation costs and the costs of using local patent agents (which is a requirement, in many countries, for foreign applicants). • In case of inventions involving microorganisms, where the deposit of the micro-organism or biological material with a recognized depositary institution is necessary, fees for filing, storage and viability testing of the deposited material will have to be paid. 62 | P a g e When should you file a patent application? In general, it is preferable to apply for patent protection as soon as you have all the information required for drafting the patent application. However, there are a number of factors that help an applicant to decide the best time to file a patent application. Reasons for ensuring that your application is filed early include the following: • In most countries worldwide (with the notable exception of the United States of America) patents are granted on a first-to-file basis. Thus, filing an application early is important to ensure that you are the first to file an application on that particular invention so that you do not lose your invention to others. • Applying for patent protection early will generally be useful if you are seeking financial support or wish to license your invention to commercialize it. • You can generally only enforce a patent once it has been granted by the relevant patent office, which is a procedure that may take a few years. Nevertheless, rushing to file a patent application as soon as you have an invention may also be a problem for the following reasons: • If you apply too early and subsequently make changes to your invention it will generally not be possible to make significant changes to the original description of the invention. • Once you have filed your application in one country or region, you normally have 12 months to file an application for the same invention in all the countries of interest to your business in order to enjoy the benefit of the filing date of your first application. This may be a problem if the costs of applying in various countries and paying the maintenance fees are too high for your company. One way of mitigating this problem, is by postponing the payments of translation and national fees for a period of 30 months by using the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT). When deciding on the timing for filing a patent application, it is important to bear in mind that the application should be filed before disclosing the invention. Any disclosure before filing the application (e.g., for test-marketing, to investors or other business partners) should be done only after signing a confidentiality or nondisclosure agreement. How important is it to keep an invention confidential prior to filing a patent application? If you wish to obtain a patent on your invention, keeping it confidential prior to filing the application is absolutely necessary. In many circumstances, public disclosure of your invention prior to filing the application would destroy the novelty of your invention, rendering it un-patentable, unless the applicable law provides for a “grace period”. It is, therefore, extremely important for inventors, researchers and companies to avoid any disclosure of an invention that might affect its patentability until the patent application has been filed. 63 | P a g e What is a “grace period”? The legislation of some countries provides a “grace period” of 6 or 12 months, from the moment an invention was disclosed by the inventor or the applicant until the application is filed, in which the invention does not lose its patentability because of such disclosure. In such countries, a company may disclose its invention, for example by displaying it in a trade show or publishing it in a company catalogue or technical journal, and file the patent application within the grace period without the invention losing patentability and being barred from obtaining a patent. However, as this is not the case in all countries, relying on the grace period in your own country would preclude you from patenting the invention in other markets of interest where a grace period is not available. What is the structure of a patent application? A patent application has a range of functions: • It determines the legal scope of the patent; • It describes the nature of the invention, including instructions on how to carry out the invention; and • It gives details of the inventor, the patent owner and other legal information. Patent applications are similarly structured worldwide and consist of a request, a description, claims, drawings (if necessary) and an abstract. A patent document may be anywhere between a few pages to hundreds of pages long, depending on the nature of the specific invention and the technical field Request: It contains information on the title of the invention, the date of filing, the priority date and bibliographic data such as the name and address of the applicant and inventor. Description: The written description of an invention must describe the invention in sufficient detail so that anyone skilled in the same technical field can reconstruct and practice the invention from the description and the drawings without putting in further inventive effort. If this is not the case, the patent may not be granted or may be revoked after it is challenged in a court action. Claims: The claims determine the scope of protection of a patent. The claims are absolutely crucial to a patented invention since, if they are badly drafted, even a truly valuable invention could result in a worthless patent that is easy to circumvent or design around. In patent litigation, interpreting the claims is generally the first step in determining whether the patent is valid and in determining whether the patent has been infringed. It is strongly advisable to seek the advice of an expert to draft patent applications, particularly the claims. Drawings: The drawings show the technical details of the invention in an abstract and visual way. They help to explain some information, tool or result set out in the disclosure. Drawings are not always a necessary part of the application. If the invention is for a process or method of doing something, drawings usually are not required. If drawings are required, formal rules govern their acceptability. Abstract: The abstract is a brief summary of the invention. When the patent is published by the patent office, the abstract is included on the front page. The abstract is sometimes improved or drafted by the patent examiner in the relevant patent office. 64 | P a g e How long does it take to obtain patent protection? The time taken for a patent office to grant a patent varies significantly from office to office and between fields of technology and may range from a few months to a few years, generally between 2 to 5 years. Some patent offices have established a procedure for accelerated grant that can be requested by applicants in specific circumstances. From what date is your invention protected? Your rights effectively begin on the date of grant of your patent, as you can only take legal action against unauthorized use of the invention by third parties once it has been granted. In some countries, you may sue infringers after the grant, for infringement that occurred between the date of publication of the patent application (generally 18 months after the first application has been filed) and the date of grant. Typically, you may claim reasonable compensation for use between publication and grant. But this is not the case in all countries. In some countries, it is possible to file a patent application and a utility model application for the same invention. This is sometimes done in order to benefit from utility model protection (which is generally granted faster) until the patent is eventually granted. How long does patent protection last? The current international standard provides for a term of protection of 20 years from the filing date of the application, provided the renewal or maintenance fees are paid on time and that no request for invalidation or revocation has been successful during this period. While the above relates to the legal life of a patent, the business or economic life of a patent is over if the technology covered by it is outdated, if it cannot be commercialized or if the product based on it has not been successful in the market. In all such circumstances, the patent holder may decide to no longer pay the maintenance or renewal fees, leaving it to expire earlier than the term of protection of 20 years, and thus, let it fall into the public domain. In some countries, protection may be extended beyond 20 years or a Supplementary Protection Certificate (SPCs) may be granted in very specific circumstances. This is the case, for example, for patents on pharmaceuticals, due to delayed commercialization resulting from time required to obtain marketing approval from the appropriate governmental authorities. SPCs have a limited duration and generally cannot exceed five years. Do you need a patent agent to file a patent application? Preparing a patent application and following it through to the grant stage is a complex task. Applying for patent protection means: • Making a prior art search in order to identify any prior art that renders your invention unpatentable; • Writing the claims and full description of the invention combining legal and technical jargon; • Corresponding with the national or regional patent office especially during the substantive examination of the patent application; • Making the necessary amendments to the application requested by the patent office. 65 | P a g e All these aspects require in-depth knowledge of patent law and patent office practice. Therefore, even if legal or technical assistance is generally not mandatory it is strongly recommended. It is advisable to rely on a patent agent who has the relevant legal knowledge and experience as well as the technical background in the technical field of the invention. Most laws require foreign applicants to be represented by a registered patent agent who is resident in the country. Can you apply for protection of many inventions through a single application? Most patent laws provide for certain limitations in respect of the number of different inventions that may be included in one patent application. These limitations include the so-called requirement of unity of invention. Whereas some patent laws provide for other types of requirements of unity of invention (for example, the patent law of the United States of America), others (e.g., the European Patent Convention and the Patent Cooperation Treaty) permit groups of inventions so linked as to form a single “inventive concept” to be included in a single application. In case of lack of unity of invention, the applicant may be required to either restrict the claims or divide the application (divisional applications). As a result of differences in the applicable law, one patent application may suffice in some countries, while in others; two or more applications may have to be filed to cover the same ground. 6.2.3. Patenting abroad Why apply for patents abroad? Patents are territorial rights, which means that an invention is only protected in the countries or regions where patent protection has been obtained. In other words, if you have not been granted a patent with effect in a given country, your invention will not be protected in that country, enabling anybody else to make, use, import or sell your invention in that country. Patent protection in foreign countries will enable your company to enjoy exclusive rights over the patented invention in those countries. In addition, patenting abroad may enable your company to license the invention to foreign firms, develop outsourcing relationship, and access those markets in partnership with others. When should you apply for patent protection abroad? The date of your first application for a given invention is called the priority date and any subsequent applications in other countries filed by you within 12 months (i.e., within the priority period) will benefit from the earlier application and will have priority over other applications for the same invention filed by others after the priority date. It is highly advisable to file your foreign patent applications within the priority period. 66 | P a g e After the expiration of the priority period and until the patent is first published by the patent office (generally 18 months after the priority date) you will still have the possibility to apply for protection for the same invention in other countries, but you can no longer claim priority of your earlier application. Once the invention has been disclosed or published, you may be unable to obtain patent protection in foreign countries, due to loss of novelty. Where should you protect your invention? As protecting an invention in many countries is an expensive undertaking, companies should carefully select the countries in which they require protection. Some of the key considerations when selecting where to patent are: • Where is the patented product likely to be commercialized? • Which are the main markets for similar products? • What are the costs involved in patenting in each target market and what is my budget? • Where are the main competitors based? • Where will the product be manufactured? • How difficult will it be to enforce a patent in a given country? How do you apply for patent protection abroad? There are three main ways of protecting an invention abroad: The national route: You may apply to the national patent office of each country of interest, by filing a patent application in the required language and paying the required fees. This path may be very cumbersome and expensive if the number of countries is large. The regional route: When a number of countries are members of a regional patent system, you may apply for protection, with effect in the territories of all or some of these, by filing an application at the relevant regional office. The regional patent offices are: • The African Intellectual Property Organization (OAPI) (www.oapi.wipo.net); • The African Regional Intellectual Property Organization (ARIPO) (www.aripo.wipo.net); • The Eurasian Patent Organization (EAPO) (www.eapo.org); • The European Patent Office (EPO) (www.epo.org); and • The Patent Office of the Gulf Cooperation Council (www.gulf-patent-office.org.sa). The international route: If your company wants to have the option of protecting an invention in any number of member countries of the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT), then you should consider filing an international PCT application. To be eligible to do so, you must be a national or resident of a PCT Contracting State or, your business must have a real and effective industrial or commercial presence in one of these countries. By filing one international application under the PCT, you may simultaneously seek patent protection for an invention in the more than 125 member countries of the PCT. This application may be filed either at your national or regional patent office and/or at the PCT receiving office at the World Intellectual Property Office (WIPO) in Geneva, Switzerland. 67 | P a g e 6.2.4 Commercializing patented technology How do you commercialize patented technology? A patent on its own is no guarantee of commercial success. It is a tool that enhances a company’s capacity to benefit from its inventions. In order to provide a tangible benefit to a company, a patent needs to be exploited effectively and will generally make money only if the product based on the patent is successful in the market or boosts the firm’s reputation and bargaining power. To take a patented invention to market, a company has a range of options: • Commercializing the patented invention directly; • Selling the patent to someone else; • Licensing the patent to others; • Establishing a joint venture or other strategic alliance with others having complementary assets. How do you take a patented product to market? The commercial success of a new product in the market does not only hinge on its technical features. As great as an invention may be from a technical point of view, if there is no effective demand for it or if the product is not properly marketed it is unlikely to attract consumers. Commercial success, therefore, also depends on a range of other factors, including the design of the product, the availability of financial resources, the development of an effective marketing strategy and the price of the product in comparison with that of competing or substitute products. To take an innovative product to market, it is generally helpful to develop a business plan. Business plans are effective tools for examining the feasibility of a business idea. A business plan is essential for approaching an investor to obtain financial resources to take a new patented product to market. Including information on your company’s patents and patent strategy in the business plan is important, as it is a strong indicator of the novelty of your company’s products, provides evidence of due diligence and reduces the risk of infringement of other companies’ patents. Can you sell your patent? Yes, this is called assigning your patent, and it will permanently transfer ownership of the patent to another person. Such a decision must be very carefully considered. By licensing your patent instead of assigning it, you obtain the benefit of royalties for the remainder of the life of the patent. Licensing can be a very financially rewarding strategy for that reason. Assignment, on the other hand, means you receive an agreed-upon payment once, with no future royalties, regardless of how profitable the patent ends up being. There may be occasions when an assignment is advantageous. If a patent is sold for a lump sum, you get the value immediately, without having to wait up to 20 years to realize that value progressively. You also avoid the risk that the patent may be superseded by another technology. In addition, assignment of the patent to a start-up company may be a precondition for funding, if the patent does not belong to the company. 68 | P a g e In each case, it is an individual decision, based on your needs and priorities. However, assigning a patent is generally not recommended and patent owners generally prefer to maintain ownership over their inventions and grant licenses. How do you license your patent to be exploited by others? A patent is licensed when the owner of the patent (the licensor) grants permission to another (the licensee) to use the patented invention for mutually agreed purposes. In such cases, a licensing contract is generally signed between the two parties, specifying the terms and scope of the agreement. Authorizing others to commercialize your patented invention through a licensing agreement will enable your business to obtain an additional source of revenue and is a common means of exploiting a company’s exclusive rights over an invention. Licensing is particularly useful if the company that owns the invention is not in a position to make the product at all or in sufficient quantity o meet a given market need, or to cover a given geographical area. As a license agreement requires skillful negotiations and drafting, it is advisable to seek the assistance of a licensing practitioner for negotiating the terms and conditions and for drafting the licensing agreement. In some countries, licensing agreements need to be registered with a government regulatory authority. What royalty rate should you expect to receive for your patent? In licensing deals, the owner of the right is generally remunerated through lump-sum payments and/or through recurring royalties, which may be based on sales volume of the licensed product (per unit royalty) or on net sales (net sales-based royalty). In many cases, the remuneration for a patent license is a combination of a lump-sum payment and royalties. Sometimes, an equity stake in the company of the licensee may replace a royalty. While industry standards for royalty rates exist for particular industries and may usefully be consulted, it must be remembered that each licensing agreement is unique and the royalty rate depends on the particular and very distinct factors being negotiated. Therefore, industry standards may provide some useful initial guidance but too great a reliance on such standards is often misplaced. What is the difference between an exclusive and non-exclusive license? There are three types of licensing agreements depending on the number of licensees that will be allowed to work the patent: • Exclusive license: a single licensee has the right to use the patented technology, which cannot even be used by the patent owner; • Sole license: a single licensee and the patent owner have the right to use the patented technology; and • Non-exclusive license: several licensees and the patent owner have the right to use the patented technology. 69 | P a g e In a single licensing agreement, there may be provisions that grant some rights on an exclusive basis and others on a sole or non exclusive basis. Should you grant an exclusive or non-exclusive license for your patent? It depends on the product and on your company’s business strategy. For example, if your technology can become a standard that is needed by all players in a specific market to perform their business, a nonexclusive, widely held license would be the most advantageous. If your product needs one company to invest heavily to commercialize the product (e.g., a pharmaceutical product that requires investments in performing clinical trials),a potential licensee would not want to face competition from other licensees, and may rightly insist on obtaining an exclusive license. When is the best time to license your invention? There is no best time to license your invention, as the timing will depend on the specificities of the case. However, for an independent entrepreneur or inventor, it is often advisable to start the search for licensees as early as possible in order to guarantee a revenue stream that will be useful to cover the costs of patenting. There is no need to wait for the patent to be granted. More than the right time, it is critical to find the right partner(s) to generate profits from the commercialization of the patented invention. If you are interested in a competitor’s patent, can you obtain permission to use it? It may not always be easy or affordable to obtain authorization to incorporate technology owned by a competitor into your products/processes. However, if your competitor is also interested in your company’s patents, then you should think of cross-licensing. Cross-licensing is very common in industries where a number of patents covering a wide range of complementary inventions are held by two or more competitors. Such competing companies seek to ensure their freedom to operate by obtaining the right to use patents owned by their competitors while providing the right to use their own patents to the competitors. 7.2.5 Enforcing patents Why should you enforce patent rights? If you launch a new or improved product and it is successful in the market, it is likely that competitors will sooner or later attempt to make products with technical features that are identical, or very similar, to those of your product. In some cases, competitors may have the benefit of economies of scale, greater market access, or access to cheaper raw materials, and be able to make a similar or identical product at a cheaper price. This could put heavy pressure on your business, especially if it has invested significantly in R&D for creating the new or improved product. 70 | P a g e The exclusive rights granted by a patent give the patent owner the opportunity to prevent or stop competitors from making products and using processes that infringe on its rights and to seek compensation for damages suffered. To prove that infringement has occurred, it must be shown that each and every element of a given claim, or its equivalent, is contained in the infringing product or process. Enforcing your rights when you believe that your patented invention is being copied may be crucial to maintaining your competitive edge, market share and profitability. Who is responsible for enforcing patent rights? The main responsibility for identifying and taking action against infringers of a patent lies with its owner. As a patent owner, you are responsible for monitoring the use of your invention in the marketplace, identifying any infringers and deciding whether, how and when to take action against them. Independent inventors and SMEs may decide to shift this responsibility (or part of it) to an exclusive licensee. It is advisable to contact a patent lawyer to assist you in taking any steps for enforcing your patent, both domestically and/or in any export markets. A lawyer will also advise you on the costs and the risks involved and the best strategy. What should you do if your patent is being used by others without your authorization? If you believe that others are infringing your patent, i.e., using it without your authorization, then, as a first step, you need to collect information about infringing parties and their use of the infringing product or process. You should accumulate all available facts to determine the nature and timing of your action. Always engage a patent lawyer to assist you in making a decision on the infringement of your patented invention. In some cases, when infringement is detected, companies choose to send a letter (commonly known as a “cease and desist letter”) informing the alleged infringer of a possible conflict between your rights and the other company’s business activity. This procedure is often effective in the case of nonintentional infringement since the infringer will in many such cases either discontinue such activities or agree to negotiate a licensing agreement. Sometimes, however, surprise is the best tactic in order to avoid giving the infringer time to hide or destroy evidence. In these circumstances, it might be appropriate to go to court without giving notice to the infringer and to ask for an “interim injunction” in order to surprise the infringer by a raid, often with the help of the police, at his business premises. The court may order that the alleged infringers stop their infringing action pending the outcome of a trial (which may take many months or years). However, the question of whether a patent has been infringed may be very complex and a decision may, therefore, only be taken in proceedings on the merits of the case. Where the company decides to initiate civil proceedings, the courts generally provide a wide range of civil remedies to compensate aggrieved owners of patent rights. A patent lawyer will be able to provide you the relevant information. In order to prevent the importation of goods infringing patents, measures at the international border may be available to patent holders in some countries through the national customs authorities. Many countries, however, provide for border measures in accordance with their international obligations only in cases of importation of counterfeit trademark goods and pirated copyright goods. As a general rule, if you identify infringement, it is highly advisable to seek professional legal advice. 71 | P a g e What are your options for settling the patent infringement out of court? If the dispute is with a company with which there is a signed contract (e.g., a licensing agreement), then first check whether there is an arbitration or mediation clause in the contract. It is advisable to include a special provision in contracts for the dispute to be referred to arbitration or mediation in order to avoid long and expensive litigation. It may be possible to use alternative dispute resolution systems, such as arbitration or mediation, even if there is no clause in the contract or no contract at all, as long as both parties agree to it. Arbitration generally has the advantage of being a less formal and shorter procedure than court proceedings, and an arbitral award is more easily enforceable internationally. An advantage of mediation is that the parties retain control of the dispute resolution process. As such, it can help to preserve good business relations with another enterprise with which your company may wish to collaborate in the future. The WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center provides services for alternative dispute resolution. More information on arbitration and mediation can be found at: arbiter.wipo.int/center/index.html. References: 1. 2. 3. 4. www.wipo.int/sme www.patentoffice.nic.in www.uspto.gov www.patentoffice.nic.in About the Authors: P. Nikhil Prakash did his B-Tech in Electrical & Electronics Engineering from Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University, Hyderabad and Higher diploma in Software Engineering from National Institute of Information Technology. P. Nikhil Prakash He is currently working as Business Analyst at Thomson Reuters, worlds’ leading Information company that accelerates research, scientific discovery and innovation globally. He is planning co-ordination member was earlier Secretary General of Cafet-Innova Technical Society an international non-profit organization helping the scientific community. Dinesh Pandian did his M Sc. in Polymer Science from University of Madras and M-Tech in Plastic Technology from Central Institute of Plastics Engineering and Technology (CIPET) Chennai. He also did his PG-Diploma in Intellectual Property Rights Management from Indra Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) and is currently working as Senior Process Lead at Intellectual Property & Science, Thomson Reuters. Dinesh Pandian 72 | P a g e Generally most of the research work fails to attract the market even though the quality of research is very high due to inefficient presentation of the work by the researchers. This chapter on impact of presentation skills for professional development is added in this book so that the researcher can learn the tactics of marketing his research work and bring out his innovation for the industry. A Presentation is heavy and delivered to a small knowledgeable audience at conference, a seminar or business meeting. The purpose of a presentation is to inform, persuade, or present a point of view, which is then followed by questions from the audience. Being a good orator is an asset in any profession. Speaking skill can be cultivated and developed with some knowledge of the formal aspects of public speaking and with practice. To really succeed at presenting and build up effective presentation skills, there are several key areas that one should know. These key skill areas are: Planning and Preparation of the presentation Presentation Material and Using visual aids effectively Overcoming presentation nerves Delivering the presentation confidently Answering questions competently Planning the presentation involves much of the work that is done before the actually delivery of the presentation. This is a very important where people should consider improving their skills in. A key part of this planning is to research your presentation audience. The more one knows about the audience, the easier it is to understand them as to what preconceptions they might have. The most important thing while preparing the text is to decide exactly what to say, where to find the required information, and how to give it a proper shape. It must be logical and should have a smooth flow from one point to the next. For beginners, it is advisable to write down the whole speech, include the address, the opening sentences and the ending sentences. The tone of the speech is less formal than the tone of writing. All the same there is a formality in official speaking as distinguished from social or personal style of speaking. Bad habits, often picked up in conversation, should not be allowed to creep into a speech, repeating phrases should be avoided Once the planning is done it is important to consider as to what visual aids would be used during the presentation. Think about what you want to do here – why you actually need the visual aids in your presentation and what are they going to be used for. Often they are fairly redundant – people put them in for the sake of it. Some key presentation skills we’ll be looking at involve reducing the number of slides in a presentation to the minimum required to support the message. We will further look into as how we can make visual aids effective and what type of visual aids would help in a presentation. For example handing out supplemental materials like articles, reports, etc. along with the presentation, or handing out copies of the presentation, like handing out copies of the slides that could be used as a reference during the presentation or might use transparency slides or showing slides from a personal computer. If you plan to project your slides from a computer onto a projection screen, then be sure to check out the computer system before people come into the meeting room, if at all possible. Use a consistent layout, or organization of colors and images, on your materials. If you use transparencies on an overhead projector, then allocate one slide for every 3-5 minutes of your presentation. Include 5-8 lines of bulleted phrases on each slide. If you provide the supplemental information during your presentation, then your audience will very likely read that information during your presentation, rather than listening to you. Therefore, hand out this information after you have completed your presentation. Or, hand it out at the beginning of your presentation and ask them not to read it until you have completed your presentation. If you hand out copies of your slides, be sure that the text on the slides is large enough that your audience can read the text on the table in front of them without having to hold the handouts up to their faces. Be sure to leave space on the handouts for the audience to make notes on them. ! We’re then going to look at You Yourself! To start considering your personal presentation skills. When most people when they hear the word presentation – previously built “presentation skills” are often forgotten about and nerves kick in. So we’re going to help you overcome your nerves and become more confident in your personal presentation skills. There are lots of techniques and things you can do to help you to control your nerves and build your confidence even before you actually start your presentation as well as while you’re speaking and delivering it. " ! # It is important to think about how an individual is actually going to deliver his / her presentation. This section would give an insight at some of the key techniques and skills that would help one to speak confidently, how to keep the audience’s interest, and engage with them. Usage of personal resources is very important while delivering a presentation. If you plan to project your slides from a computer onto a projection screen, then be sure to check out the computer system before people come into the meeting room, if at all possible. Use a consistent layout, or organization of colors and images, on your materials. If you use transparencies on an overhead projector, then allocate one slide for every 3- 5 minutes of your presentation. Include 5-8 lines of bulleted phrases on each slide. If you provide the supplemental information during your presentation, then your audience will very likely read that information during your presentation, rather than listening to you. Therefore, hand out this information after you have completed your presentation. Or, hand it out at the beginning of your presentation and ask them not to read it until you have completed your presentation. If you hand out copies of your slides, be sure that the text on the slides is large enough that your audience can read the text on the table in front of them without having to hold the handouts up to their faces. Be sure to leave space on the handouts for the audience to make notes on them. $ % & ! # Finally it is important that one should have the confidence to interact with the audience and deal with any questions that the audience might throw at you. This section will give an insight to the techniques to deal with the difficult questions – the different scenarios that one might face while interacting with the audience Summary So these are the 5 key elements (or presentation skills areas) for building and delivering a successful presentation. Get to grips with each of them, build your skills and then apply them to you next presentation – and you’ll be surprised just how much you’ve progressed. ( ! The ability to communicate is the primary factor that distinguishes human beings from animals. And it is the ability to communicate well that distinguishes one individual from another. Every individual needs to be well equipped with the tools to communicate effectively, whether it is on the personal front, or at work. In fact, according to the management gurus, being a good communicator is half the battle won. After all, if one speaks and listens well, then there is little or no scope for misunderstanding. Thus, keeping this fact in mind, the primary reasons for misunderstanding is due to inability to speak well, or listen effectively. Communication skills are the set of skills that enables a person to convey information so that it is received and understood. Communication skills refer to the repertoire of behaviors that serve to convey information for the individual. Communication skills are the ability an individual displays in consistently demonstrates the ability to effectively communicate with clients, colleagues, subordinates, and supervisors in professional manner and in the personal department. Communication skills are generally understood to be the art or technique of persuasion through the use of oral language and written language. To understand the basic of communication skills, one need to understand that communication is one of those words that is most hyped in contemporary culture. It includes a large number of experiences, actions and events; also a variety of happening and meanings, as well as technologies. Identification is one of the key ingredients of effective communication. In fact, unless your listeners can identify with what you are saying and with the way you are saying it, they are not likely to receive and understand your message.” The quote above is the underlying factor that explains the importance of communication skills. In fact, there are other such quotes, which are as follows that explains the importance of effective communications skills. Good communication is as stimulating as black coffee, and just as hard to sleep after. The newest computer can merely compound, at speed, the oldest problem in the relations between human beings, and in the end the communicator will be confronted with the old problem, of what to say and how to say it. The way one communicates does not only have an impact on their own profession and personal relations, but also an effect on others. Those who do not have appropriate communication skills are usually ignored or simply kept at bay. Where those with good communication skills are are ' looked upon and well respected. After all a good listener and a good orator are popular in their groups - professional and personal. Communication is an important aspect of behavior; human communication is complicated by all factors that influence human behavior. Communication is the process of exchanging information, ideas, and feelings. ) ( ! ! It is essential that the basic elements of communication be identified. These elements are: Sender/encoder/speaker Receiver/decoder/listener Message Medium Feedback/reply * ! * The person who initiates the communication process is normally referred to as the sender. From his personal data bank he selects ideas, encodes and finally transmits them to the receiver. + ! * ! * The listener receives an encoded message which he attempts to decode. This process is carried on in relation to the work environment and the value perceived in terms of the work situation. ! , Message is the encoded idea transmitted by the sender. The formulation of the message is very important for an incorrect patterning can turn the receiver hostile or make him lose interest. , - Another important element of communication is the medium or channel. It could be oral, written, or non-verbal, prior to the composition of the message, the medium/ channel should be decided. . ! - This is the most important component of communication. Effective communication takes place only when there is feedback. The errors and faults that abound in business situations are a result of lack of feedback. Basic Model of Communication: ! • • • ! ! - Saves time of communication Helps in coordinating, controlling and issuing instructions Brings improvement in speaking abilities, listening, interacting, writing, convincing and persuading. (0 0 1 ! ! ! - In any business environment, adherence to the 7C’s & 4S’s helps the sender in transmitting his message with ease and accuracy. (0 + 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. ! Credibility Builds trust Courtesy Improves relationship Clarity Makes comprehension easier Correctness Builds confidence Consistency Introduces stability Concreteness Reinforces confidence Conciseness Saves time 0 1. 2. 3. 4. S’s Relevance Shortness------ Economizes Simplicity----- Impresses Strength------- convinces Sincerity------ appears 2 ( ! Sender-oriented Receiver-oriented It can be either voluntary or involuntary. At any cost, efforts should be made on the part of the sender to identify and remove them. Some of the barriers that are sender oriented are: • • Badly expressed message: concrete ideas and well structures message Loss in transmission: correct choice of medium or channel / • • • • Semantic problem: simple words and accurate understanding of intension Over/under communication: quantum of information should be right ‘I’ Attitude: avoid I attitude Prejudices: mind free of bias + ! • • • • • Plan and clarify ideas Create a climate of trust and confidence Time your mind carefully Reinforce words with action Communicate efficiently + ! • • • • • • • • - 4 Poor retention: jot down points Inattentive listening: improve concentration Tendency to evaluate: delay evaluation Interest and attitudes: develop interest Conflicting information: confirm with feedback, clarify Differing status and position: encourage juniors to come up with ideas and listen Resistance to change: be flexible Refutations and arguments: enter into healthy discussions It matters not so much what you say as it does how you say it. Your communication style is a SET of various behaviors and methods of relaying information that impact all facets of life “How to speak.” 5 Speed Clarity Punctuation Pronunciation Familiarity Fluency Expression…. Teaching communication skills can be a rather daunting task, considering that almost every individual feels that they are very good communicators. In fact, most trainers prefer to be regarded as facilitators, who are able to bring to light the nuances that occur while communicating ineffectively, rather than pointing a direct finger and saying - You all cannot communicate well' 3 and when this occurs the participants are ready to delve deeper within and bring out the negative aspects of their communications and replace it with the corrective measures. ! ! - Maintain eye contact with the audience: This is vital as it keeps all those present involved in the conversation. It keeps them interested and on the alert, during the course of the conversation. Body awareness: One needs to be aware of all that their body is conveying to them, as well as others. For instance, if there is anxiety rising during the course of a conversation then one feels thirsty and there may be a slight body tremor. At that point one needs to pause and let someone else speak. A few deep breaths and some water works as the magic portion at this point. Gestures and expressions: One needs to be aware of how to effectively use hand gestures and the way they need to posture their body to convey their messages effectively. Sometimes it may happen that they verbally convey something, but their gestures and facial expressions have another story to tell. Convey one's thoughts: It is important for one to courageously convey what they think. This is because when things are left unsaid, then what is being spoken is not as convincing as it should be. Then a lack of confidence develops. Practice effective communication skills: One should practice speaking and listening skills as often as possible. In order to practice effective speaking skills one can be read passages from a book aloud, in front of a mirror, or simply perform a free speech in front of the mirror. And where listening is concerned, one can try transcribing from the radio or television, etc. this helps in honing sharper listening skills. 5 " ! Group discussion (GD) is a discussion by a group of people which involves an exchange of thoughts and ideas. Group Discussions are largely used by institutes where there is a high level of competition. Group discussions occur in many different formats – from very informal ones between friends to highly structured and challenging discussions included as part of a selection process. In both cases, there are a number of specific skills that we can help our students develop to become better able to contribute effectively to group discussions. A Group of 6-15 candidates are made to sit in a circular or a semi-circular (U Shaped) fashion so that they can see each other and take part in the discussion easily. Roll Numbers may be allotted to participants for easy recognition. Before the GD, the examiner (observer) announces the topic for discussion and informs candidates about the time-limit. He may also draw attention towards the etiquette, rules and regulation, procedure to be followed. He also clears any doubts/queries. The individuals of the group might be given some initial time to put down their thoughts on the topic. The examiner observes the proceedings of the discussion from a distance without directly /6 interfering into it. He examines the performance of each candidate without any prejudice or favour. Every candidate is supposed to express his opinion and views on the topic given. The time for discussion is approximately 20 minutes. A group discussion can be categorically divided into three different phases: Initiation/ Introduction Body of the group discussion Summarization/ Conclusion 7 *7 ! When you initiate a Group Discussion, you not only If you can make a favorable first impression with your content and communication skills after you initiate a Group Discussion, it will help you sail through the discussion. But if you initiate a Group Discussion and stammer/ stutter/ quote wrong facts and figures, the damage might be irreparable. If you initiate a Group Discussion impeccably but don’t speak much after that, it gives the impression that you started the Group Discussion for the sake of starting it or getting those initial kitty of points earmarked for an initiator! When you start a Group Discussion, you are responsible for putting it into the right perspective or framework. So initiate one only if you have in depth knowledge about the topic at hand. " " ! ! & 5 - Quotes Definition Questions Shock statement Facts, figures and statistics Short story General statement 8 - Quotes are an effective way of initiating a Group Discussion. If the topic of a Group Discussion is: Should the Censor Board be abolished?, you could start with a quote like, ‘Hidden apples are always sweet’. For a Group Discussion topic like, Customer is King, you could quote Sam (Walmart) Walton’s famous saying, ‘there is only one boss: the customer. And he can fire everybody in the company — from the chairman on down, simply by spending his money somewhere else. / " - Start a Group Discussion by defining the topic or an important term in the topic. For example, if the topic of the Group Discussion is Advertising is a Diplomatic Way of Telling a Lie, why not start the Group Discussion by defining advertising as, ‘Any paid form of non-personal presentation and promotion of ideas, goods or services through mass media like newspapers, magazines, television or radio by an identified sponsor’? For a topic like The Malthusian Economic Prophecy is no longer relevant, you could start by explaining the definition of the Malthusian Economic Prophecy. ! 8 Asking a question is an impactive way of starting a Group Discussion. It does not signify asking a question to any of the candidates in a Group Discussion so as to hamper the flow. It implies asking a question, and answering it yourself. Any question that might hamper the flow of a Group Discussion or insult a participant or play devil’s advocate must be discouraged. Questions that promote a flow of ideas are always appreciated. For a topic like, Should India go to war with Pakistan, you could start by asking, ‘What does war bring to the people of a nation? We have had four clashes with Pakistan. The pertinent question is: what have we achieved?’ ! Initiating a Group Discussion with a shocking statement is the best way to grab immediate attention and put forth your point. If a Group Discussion topic is, The Impact of Population on the Indian Economy, you could start with, ‘At the centre of the Indian capital stands a population clock that ticks away relentlessly. It tracks 33 births a minute, 2,000 an hour, 48,000 a day which calculates to about 12 million every year. That is roughly the size of Australia. As a current political slogan puts it, ‘Nothing’s impossible when 1 billion Indians work together’. . ! 9 ! If you decide to initiate your Group Discussion with facts, figure and statistics make sure to quote them accurately. Approximation is allowed in macro level figures, but micro level figures need to be correct and accurate. For example, you can say, approximately 70 per cent of the Indian population stays in rural areas (macro figures, approximation allowed). But you cannot say 30 states of India instead of 28 (micro figures, no approximations). # Use a short story in a Group Discussion topic like, Attitude is everything. This can be initiated with, ‘A child once asked a balloon vendor, who was selling helium gas-filled balloons, whether a blue-coloured balloon will go as high in the sky as a green-coloured balloon. The balloon vendor told the child, it is not the colour of the balloon but what is inside it that makes it go high. / 5 Use a general statement to put the Group Discussion in proper perspective. For example, if the topic is, Should Sonia Gandhi be the prime minister of India?, you could start by saying, ‘Before jumping to conclusions like, ‘Yes, Sonia Gandhi should be’, or ‘No, Sonia Gandhi should not be’, let’s first find out the qualities one needs to be a good prime minister of India. Then we can compare these qualities with those that Mrs. Gandhi possesses. This will help us reach the conclusion in a more objective and effective manner.’ " 0 " :0) 5 " ! " 0 Listen to others. It is not necessary to initiate a Group Discussion Initiate the discussion if you are familiar with the topic Intervene if the discussion is turning out to be hostile. (It reflects your leadership) Speak to the point without Repeating Back your points with Facts and Figures Be gentle with your presentation Be Natural, Calm and Maintain your Composure Be Participative and Reciprocate Say ‘Thank You’ before ending your presentation Think before you speak Say what you feel, without going in “Favour”/“Against” " :0) Do not be loud or aggressive Do not go overboard with enthusiasm if you are familiar with the topic Do not interrupt other speakers Do not deprecate other speakers Do not speak first if you are unfamiliar with the topic. Grab the opportunity to speak, you also grab the attention of the examiner and your fellow candidates Do not change your opinions Do not ask irrelevant questions Do not stop abruptly Do not get nervous if the previous speakers have presented their points in a better way Do not exhibit your emotions / ) - If you are a participant always try to be the most key participant. Put points firmly and always try to get others support too If you find that the discussion is going off the track then never lose an opportunity to bring it back to stream this is the best point to score max Try to keep latest information on the topic Be very polite, people may try to provoke you to get more points but try to keep cool Most important, don’t wait for your turn to speak when discussion is on. Interrupt politely if you want to put forward your points Last but not the least keeps a tab on the time given for discussion. Score points by wrapping up the discussion if you feel that the discussion is heating but the time is going to be over During conclusion, do end with the conclusion note. That shows your leadership quality. References: Business Communication, Urmila Rai and S.M. Rai, Himalaya Publications Business Communication, RK Madhur, Vikas Publications Pvt Ltd About the Author: Dr. R. Suresh Kumar did his MBA and M-Phil from Shivaji University, Maharashtra and obtained his Ph. D from the same university. He has more than 15 years of teaching experience and is a pre-placement trainer for MBA, MCA, B-Tech and B-Pharm students. He is visiting faculty for AP Productivity Council and also corporate trainer for various MNCs, Research Centres and Government organizations. Contact details: [email protected] 9948962356, 8008820556 Dr. R. Suresh Kumar /