writing an abstract

WRITING AN ABSTRACT

When answering a call for papers a number of factors need to be kept in mind to ensure that
your abstract has a good chance of being accepted.
•
Ensure that your ideas are well thought out and follow a logical, coherent flow:
state the issue to be discussed
give a brief background to the issue
brief description of what you are doing about it
implications/outcomes: why is what you’ve done important?
•
Ensure that the abstract relates to the conference theme:
in a ‘real’ and not contrived way: if it doesn’t fit then don’t submit
an interesting and catchy title helps:
• but make sure it’s not too ‘clever’ or obscure
Ensure that practical aspects of the abstract comply with requirements:
it meets or is under the specified word length
is typed in the specified font type, size
spacing and setting out are correct
if no guidelines are given then a standard format is usually:
• 200-250 words
• Times 12pt font
• 1.5 line spacing and centred on the page
•
Limit amount of references cited in abstract:
use only if essential to support your argument
detailed references can be covered in the resulting presentation/paper
•
Look at past abstracts/conference papers to pick up the tone and style of that particular
organisation’s conferences
•
Run your abstract past someone familiar with both the topic you wish to present and the
conference style: such as a university lecturer, work colleague, member of professional
society, someone who has presented before at the conference
•
Submit on or before the due date and in the required way:
electronically, via e-mail, is usually preferred
ensure computer compatibility of documents (especially in converting Macintosh
to IBM formats)
saving in ‘Rich Text Format’ in Word is better (*.rtf)
not all are able to access documents in html formats easily – stick to established
word processing programs such as Word
•
Ensure you include your name, title, organisation and contact details, including phone,
fax, street address and e-mail
•
Finally, remember that your abstract serves two purposes:
to interest and intrigue the committee so they will select it
to introduce/outline your topic for the conference handbook – so it needs to stand
alone as a record of your presentation
Websites of recent conferences with examples of well-written abstracts can be found at:
http://comedu.canberra.edu.au/conference/arece/Conference/2002/TopicList.html
The Association for Australian Research in Early Childhood Education, 2002 Conference
http://www.aare.edu.au/index.htm
Australian Association for Research in Education, 2001 Conference
http://www.archimuse.com/conferences/SPEAKERS_LIST.HTML
Museums and the Web International Conference: Abstracts and papers online from
conferences held since 1997
Lynda Kelly, Head, Australian Museum Audience Research Centre, 1 February, 2002


source: http://docs.google.com/gview?a=v&q=cache%3AE9B-wGuVWUkJ%3Aceca.icom.museum%2F_dbase_upl%2Fwritinganabstract.pdf+writing+abstract+for+conference&hl=en&gl=my&pli=1

Good tips for good looking CHARTS

http://www.articulate.com/rapid-elearning/try-these-tips-for-great-looking-charts/

another poster competition - nak! nak!

http://www.graduatejunction.com/posters

this link is good too.. for reporting experiments

http://www.languages.ait.ac.th/el21meth.htm

Writing an Experiment Report

-taken from: http://www.cs.indiana.edu/~port/teach/541/expt.report.html-

L541, Introduction to Phonetics
R. Port, February 23, 2003

Writing an experiment report is a very stylized genre of writing. It should be as efficiently written as possible and should provide each item of information just where readers will expect it to be. Nothing redundant. The paper should contain 6 sections: a short Abstract, an Introduction, Methods, Results, Discussion and Conclusions. The Bibliography, Tables, Figures and typically come at the end (though the Tables and Figures can also be inserted within the text).

ABSTRACT:

Always include an abstract for ANY paper (in my opinion). Write it as one paragraph, about 200 words or less. This is a concise summary of the entire experiment. Include the rationale, method, results, and significance in highly abbreviated form (but using full sentences). Look at some published journal abstracts or Acoustical Society Meeting abstracts to get the idea of how to write one.

INTRODUCTION:

Give background rationale for the experiment. Why were you motivated to do this experiment? Or more accurately, given what you actually found, why MIGHT you have wanted to do this experiment? Your report, in other words, should not be biographical or historical. Experiments in phonetics are often exploratory; we often are not testing a specific hypothesis. And, in any case, readers really don't care what you THOUGHT you might find but did not. The paper should tell a story about what the data actually show. Summarize results of earlier research that are necessary to account for the conduct of the experiment (as relevant to the interesting aspects of your results) and help the reader to able to have some expectations about what the experiment will show (whether right or wrong).

Pay attention to your use of verb tenses in the text. It is easy (but confusing to readers) to slip back and forth between `The subject read the words at two speaking rates' and later `We measure the duration of the vowels by ...'. Avoid this.

The last paragraph before the Methods should sketch in readable style the basic logic of the experimental design to come. Eg, ``Thus, in the following experiment, Ss were asked to read words with both voicing values in position X at two speaking rates in order to see whether rate has an effect on the ratio of the vowel duration to consonant duration. We expected to find no difference in ratio due to speaking rate.'' (Or whatever.)

METHODS:

There are 3 logical parts to the methods: the Independent Variables (input variables, the things you controlled: place of artic, word length, speaking rate, etc or whatever), the Task performed by the subjects, and the Dependent Variables. You have a task (eg, reading these phrases in a some way) for which certain values of the IVs are set (eg, +/-voice, +/- front, final stops at two speaking rates, etc.). Then you measure the DVs (eg, vowel durations, F0 contours, whatever). Finally you look for ways in which the DVs are structured by (influenced by) the IVs. This section should be tight and business-like in style.

Of course, you need to tell your readers about at least the following:

• your word lists; number of repetitions; total number of tokens,
• characteristics of your subjects (sex, native language, age range, etc.; and the instructions you gave them),
• how the recordings were made, including major equipment items,
• analysis of the recordings; the measurement procedures; the software employed. Describe any special problems in measurement that arose and your solution to them,
• describe the statistics you performed, if any.

RESULTS:

Systematically go through the relevant aspects of your data. Present tables and graphs of the DVs. The organization of these paragraphs will probably be in terms of the IVs. For example, "The change in value of voicing affects both vowel duration and consonant closure duration," rather than "The vowel duration is affected by speaking rate, vowel identity and voicing".)

Describe the important features of the data in the text. Lead the reader through the tables and figures (eg, "As can be seen in the left side of Figure 1,..."). Devise data presentation techniques that make the real meaning of the data as clear as possible. Be sure to label graphs and figures clearly. Organization of paragraphs would normally be in terms of the independent variables.

DISCUSSION:

1) Organization of paragraphs (subsections) may often be in terms of independent variables (i.e. the factors varied in the experimental design).

2) Compare your results to previous similar experiments. To what extent do your results resemble those found before?

3) What new discoveries have you found? What is their significance to specific and more general issues in the area?

CONCLUSIONS:

Review and summarize very briefly what was done in this experiment and what you found in the results. State in general terms the most important discovery in the experiment. You may also want to suggest follow-up experiments.

Notes on Experimental Writing Style

1) Avoid first person pronouns no matter how awkward it may seem. "I asked the Ss to..." => "The Ss were asked to...".

2) Paper is cheap! It is easier to spread out your text and figures and use many separate pages.

3) Be as pithy as possible. Learn to use standard verbal formulas to abbreviate descriptions of methods, statistics, etc. Never be concerned that your paper is too short. It can only be too long. Say everything you have to say and no more. If you want to stretch out your paper, do it in the Discussion-- keep the Methods and Results tight, systematic and predictable.

4) Make a careful outline that you update as you write. It's generally easiest to write the Methods first, then Results (starting a new page), then sketch out the Discussion (starting a new page), and finally create an easily read and descriptive title. Then write the Introduction last.

5) When completed, the order of parts should be: Abstract, Text, References, Tables (on a separate pages unless very small), Figures (each on a separate page unless very small and labeled at the bottom). All tables and figures need a legend (on the page or listed on a separate page). Staple on diagonal in upper left hand corner. No fancy covers or plastic folders! Typed, of course, and EVERYTHING DOUBLE SPACED.

6) Use plenty of Figures! Be creative with figures to facilitate the reader's understanding.

But most of all HAVE FUN.

i need to start writing everything down

everything was like a big mess...

it was a big embarassment, when i met my SV yesterday... data was all over the place..

i was soooo disorganized.. and that was how i felt like.. i'm in a mess.. i'm sorry SV.. but that was truely how i feel...

i'm lost.. in numbers.. hahahahahah....

and his biggest advise.. is for me to start writing up.. write everything.. this pilot study especially.. from there this is what i can see:

1. things i haven't done/cover...
2. what i have done actually
3. the steps by steps of what I have covered so far... so that its more organized...

its not that this is bad.. but.. when your data is all over the place.. you just can't see things..

so.. com'on.. i just have to start doing it.. had started 1/3 of it already.. but stuck in between because of the same reason.. so.. i'm gonna follow what SV said... write up!!!

so what now?

last weekend, we visited our dearest friend in another region, like every other weekends... the main thing was to bring mama around... it was such a lovely and motivational day for myself.

another friend also came, whom is about to finish her phd.. so, sharing of experience was something very meaningful to me.. i asked a lot of questions.. we shared a lot of things.. exchanging some view points, and also... sharing of experience, being a mother student.. it was really nice to be able to talk to someone, whom understands what you're going through...

to summarise our discussion, she said that, its really good to be able to start writing.. putting all the important points down.. and at the same time practise writing.. as practise makes perfect..

so.. i'm googling some things.. and i think this is really2 helpful...

check this out: http://www.cs.ucl.ac.uk/staff/C.Clack/phd.html

this friend told me, you have to make sure you know what your contents of the thesis will be like roughly.. atleast.. you have some ideas on how its gonna be like...

oh well.. meeting with Mr Supervisor went well.. love it! i have lots and lots of raw datas.. now.. i've to come up with some mathematical equations to be able to calculate a person's language competency.. it can be a component only or groups of components.. got to do this very quickly.. and at least.. i have something to discuss next meeting - next week...

My Son is turning 3 soon... alhamdullillah...

Queen Rania on Children:

“Educating our children is not just about imposing a body of knowledge on them. Rather, it involves preparing children from the early years for the world in which they will come of age. It means instilling a love for lifelong learning, creativity,self-expression and an appreciation for diversity.”

I'm looking out for some other conferences to go...

I'm in the look for conferences places to submit my work...

CogSci 2009 is a definite - I'm going this July.

Others? I'm looking at (just so that I won't forget about it):

• http://www.cambridgeesol.org/LTRC2010/ (this one is a must!)
• http://evolang2010.nl/ (interesting)
  
• http://lsadc.org/info/meet-annual.cfm (havent really browsed through it yet)

will have a look at them again soon...

Poster Competition at London Hopper Colloquium 2009 - 5th May 09

It was a surprise really even though deep inside me, it was my goal.

I won 2nd place, and yeay!!! It was a cash prize sponsored by IBM.

I am still waiting for them to upload the pix in their web. Still waiting...

Its a bit blurry but yea.. thats the only copy I have with me... I'm sooo happy and ofcourse.. it does means a lot to me!

Posters Submission and 2 a SUCCESS!!!

yeay...

its a 1 step ahead...

my poster abstrast has been accepted to the:

• CogSci2009
• London Hopper Colloquium 2009

not bad huh?

good job as a start lady!

yeepie!!!

HomeSchooling

I'm thinking of having a simple homeschooling system for my children.

Here, its a bit hard to get some agama education.. so, i was thinking of having a session with all sorts of activities with them...

Since I'm doing my phd studies.. and very fond of early childhood edu, this could be some baseline for my understanding on children too...

I'm currently searching for some good web guidance on having homeschool... hope to be able to apply them to my children...

Some links for my reference:
http://www.earlychildhoodeducation.co.uk/pros-cons-homeschooling.html
http://www.homeschool.co.uk/resource/hs-toddler-activities.html
http://www.harunyahya.com/

2nd - 4th April 2009

2nd April

- Had a trip to M'ter and met some old friends..
- Was really great.. very happy!

3rd April - 4th April

- Birmingham - for a meeting with VC.
- met K Zarina
- Meeting was good!

Annual Review - 16th March

just got an email from sv.. my annual review is coming up very soon..

gonna be very busy.. hoping for the best..

gotta keep going.. ciao!!!

FEEDBACK:

PASSED!!! yeay!!! both reviewers were happy for me to proceed!!!

Alhamdullillah...

baby nursery & nursery

II's is settling better each and every time we send him.. at the moment, we are trying to get him used to the place, so, instead of sending him full day, we are sending him half day only (and this is for the time being..)

yesterday: he managed to sleep for an hour - once... and ate only a bit.. like 1 spoon...
my comments: its a bit weird.. because he ate plenty at home.. and usually, he finishes his meal, the 1/2 cup porridge.. but, his carers in the baby nursery said that he doesn't want it..
Could it be:
- new environment? new people?
- not used to the carer yet?
- still trying to settle down?

looking at the brighter side.. II gets to communicate with other children, learn socialising, and lots of other positive things.. hm.. and the most important thing is to be able to be independent in one way.. and not to be very clingy to only me.. (not that I don't like it.. i love it actually.. but, its gonna be a big trouble in the future.. )

today: he slept twice, 30 mins in the morning, and nearly 1 hour during lunch time.. which is quite an improvement.. alhamdullillah.. lega sgt hati...

FD on the other hand is enjoying himself quite well in his nursery.. the manager said that he is trying very hard to speak.. he seems pretty encouragingly wanting to speak and trying hard to make good sentences.. which absolutely amazes me..

the most unforgettable sentences he once said to me, that i've never heard of before: "mommy, I can't do it.. I can't do it.." (he was trying to pull off his socks...) and I said to him.. "ofcourse you can do it.. come on.. try more.."

and now that we've been sending him since June'08, there was a lot.. i mean.. A LOT!!! of improvements that I can see in him.. which ofcourse fascinates me being a mommy.. i love it..

Bonding of both FD & II:

This really touches my heart.. alhamdullillah.. eventhough it takes time for FD to accept II, he manages it quickly.. syukur sgt2.. now that he understands that his a big brother, everytime he comes home, he really does look forward to see II.. and always asks for II.. kiss him.. and then a big hug... he seems to really care for his little brother...

I put them to sleep around 8-8.30pm.. and they sleeps together.. the bonding of both of them, really shows in terms of, you can see the co-operation while both of them are asleep.. i don't know how to explain this.. but, as you watch them both sleeping.. you can see.. that the bonding is there.. i love this..

II always loves when FD's around him.. at the moment.. only FD can make him chuckle and laugh.. even both of us parents are still struggling to do this.. weird eh? but yea.. thats the truth... pelik kan.. special bonding reflected!

Semangat lepas jumpa SV

alhamdullillah... meeting with sv was great!

sv asked about funding nak gi amsterdam untuk cogsci2009.. bestnya.. he suggest a body yg boleh bantu travel grants.. bestnyaaa...

pastu.. dia tanya.. ada dpt funding tak? i said, ada.. tapi.. dia offer skali je... and kalau boleh.. pergi la tmpt paling mahal skali..

pastu.. sv kata.. haa.. yg tu... pakai untuk conference next year - 2010 - kat Portland, Oregon, US... bestnya!!!! and baru je tgk map.. portland tak jauh ngan Washington and San Francisco... waaaa... i have to go!!! Tadi dah citer kat husb.. heheheh.. i'm aiming for this one.. nak bawak satu family.. boleh jalan2..

bestnya!!!

am loving it..

How to write Hypothesis? How to design my experiment?

I'm in the process of finding out what is the best way to be able to get the best data from my experiment. From what I currently have, I need to look further into it, so that the data could be seen much clearer, hence, would be able to show that there are differences between these languages. My graphs at the moment, shows the same pattern. I need to make it in such a way that the graphs will vary and that this would mean something eventually. I NEED TO GET THIS DONE SOON!!!

hmm... at the moment, I've been reading some materials on TEXT STRUCTURE. And I'm finding this very interesting, as it gives me some ideas on how to manipulate my experiment design or name it tasks. This is interesting, as what I'm looking at is about languages, and having to understand the different competencies level, TEXT STRUCTURE would definitely mean something.

This led me to making my own hypothesis, and trying to learn on how to do that, I found this link: Writing Hypothesis

E.g. of some hypothesis is as simple as this (from the link):

1. Chocolate may cause pimples.
2. Salt in soil may affect plant growth.
3. Plant growth may be affected by the color of the light.
4. Bacterial growth may be affected by temperature.
5. Ultra violet light may cause skin cancer.
6. Temperature may cause leaves to change color.

It looks simple eh? But, it really does crack the head out of me, trying to build one up. I think, for me, it has to be good. Something that nobody could questioned! Something very strong and stands on its own. Hm.. lemme see.. can I do it?

Will try..

so.. back to my previous discussions.. lemme see...

If a participant/writer, is English, and second language is German, another language with familiar character to that person is Spanish and unfamiliar character language is Korean;
Say, for each language, given 3 paragraphs with 3 different TEXT STRUCTURE, based on the levels of reading (young children, older children and young adults) would definitely means something, don't you think?

I really need to make myself clear here..

hmm...

Say, the language is Spanish, this person is familiar with the character writing, but does not mean, the language is his second language, he might know the language and he might not, he might know only a few words, he might not know at all, but the letter character is very familiar...

Would the method above, applying the paragraphs, with 3 levels of TEXT STRUCTURE be able to show the competency level of that participant?

Generally, a hypothesis that I can make is that:
- If the participant finds, writing the first level: young children is easy, and that the next level, older children and young adults a bit tough, this would mean, the competency level of that person in that language is low.

- If the participant finds, writing the first and second level: young children and older children is manageable, and that the third level, young adults, tough, this would mean, the competency level of that person in that language is intermediate.

- Else, if all is easy, participants are good in that language.

BUT!

How reliable would this method be to my study? Would it be able to show something in the graphs? In analysis stage?

THIS, I NEED TO FIND OUT!!!

My hypothesis (for the time being):
1. Different text structures may cause participant's language competency level be seen clearly.
2. Longer pauses within a word, in a language that is very minimally known may show that the participant has a low competency level in that language.

hmm... this sounds like i'm moving on forward.. yippie!!!

next meeting

will be this monday at 10am..

Monday = 1st day baby to nursery.. worried.. but I'm confident he's in good hand.. insyaAllah...

Meeting with SV will be every Monday, 10am for this semester.

I'm hoping that I will be able to join the group discussion every Tuesday...

My first day, for serious, in my new lab, with new supervisor, and new labmate... VERY HAPPY!!!

and I need to complete my abstract asap... only 14 days left..

Jumpa SV

met my sv.. but i was a bit kelam kabut.. was not 100% ready.. but.. I did emailed him my progress like 2 times before meeting him.. and i hope that was ok already..

THANK GOD!!! he said that I can proceed with submitting my abstract to the conference!!! YIPPIE!!! I should reward myself for this one..

its only a member abstract for a poster though.. but still.. its my first experience.. and i really really look forward to it.. i don't care what ppl say.. i think this is a success to me.. more to grab!!!

yeay!!! bravo to myself...

Friday Updates

- Emailed my SV to inform me updates.
- Got a reply back - Good!
- Asked for a meet up on Monday - to discuss point 2-4... harapnya ok..
- Replies on data results - Positive! alhamdullillah..

okie dokie..

syukur alhamdullillah

syukur pada Allah.. kerana memberi petunjuk..

syukur pada Allah.. kerana membalas pertanyaan ku..

syukur pada Allah.. namun aku malu... kerana diri ini mudah sgt alpa...

aku malu.. dlm pada aku yg sentiasa mudah lupa.. Allah tidak pernah sombong untuk membantu..

buruk sungguh perilaku ku.. moga aku belajar... moga aku sedar.. moga Allah ampunkan aku..

harus istiqomah.. harus belajar istiqomah.. dlm setiap perbuatan.. keinginan..

aku.. harus belajar untuk istiqomah.. istiqomah.. istiqomah..

positive positive positive..

my target today

- make notes on reading material
- prepare for supervisory meeting
- poster abstract done - need to get somebody to check!
- books ordered - dah dpt! great!

i think.. i really need to make notes.. for my own understanding and keeping.. i feel lost.. kalau tak buat notes.. need it to see the overview of what i've read..

anak2 = my angels

anak2 ni.. ibarat my angels.. love them to bits.. macam2 kerenah yg comel.. kadang2 mmg geram.. geram yg amat.. tapi.. mereka tetap anak kita..

nak didik jadi anak yg soleh.. kita pun kenalah solehah juga kan.. tapi.. i'm not perfect..

nothing comes easy.. need to work hard.. same goes to didik anak2.. melihatkan dunia skarang.. rasa risau sgt2.. macam mana ya dunia anak2 kita nanti.. bila mereka sudah remaja kelak.. doa sbgai seorang ibu.. pasti nya mahukan anak2 berjaya.. akhirat dan dunia.. wallahualam.. kita cumalah saluran dari Allah SWT.. untuk mendidik anak2.. anak2.. bukan hak kita.. tapi.. hak Allah SWT.. saya cuba yg terbaik.. insyaAllah.. tapi.. untuk mendapatkan yang terbaik..kita harus lah memulakan nya dahulu.. kita kena jadi yg terbaik.. model yg terbaik untuk anak2...

mampu tak? insyaAllah.. kalau kita positif dan yakin.. pasti boleh kan? dengan izin Allah.. insyaAllah...

selalu positif

kadang2.. bila terpikir banyaknya benda nak buat.. mmg kita tak blh nak lari dari mengatakan yg kita ni penat.. tapi.. nak buat camne kan.. mmg penat.. but actually, tak bagus.. sbb it attracts all the negative aura to myself..

i should say.. hey.. this is normal.. semua org melaluinya kan.. semua org ada ups and downs.. atas pada kita macammana nak handle.. kalau kita pilih untuk upset.. kita akan jadi upset.. tapi.. kalau kita pilih untuk senyum.. insyaAllah.. ok je.. tak kan ada masalah pun.. relax je..

mungkin untuk menguatkan lagi minda.. kita ckp pada diri kita.. ayat2 positif.. mungkin seperti pujian2 yg baik.. seperti.. i am a super woman.. i am a super mom.. i am a multitasking mommy.. i am great.. i can do all that i want to do..

lebih baik kan? tarik nafas dlm2.. pastu.. lepaskan.. insyaAllah.. pasti akan rasa lega sgt2..

tahun baru.. nafas baru.. azam baru.. saya sentiasa pandang ke hadapan.. insyaAllah.. always look forward.. and always will be looking forward..

LOA bnyk mengajar always berkata2 positif... and i am trying my best to learn this... and apply it... insyaAllah..

this universe of mine, is of my own creation.. how best i want it to be.. is up to me to create them.. so.. here i am.. to create and deco it to my best creativity!

News!

- my cousin's TSA's birthday..
- my aunt bersalin baby boy...
- my cousin got 8A's pmr..

GREAT News ain't it?