HOW TO GET A PH.D.: Methods and Practical Hints (2006-2007) http://www.infotech.oulu.fi/GraduateSchool/ICourses/2006 /to_phd_2006.html Aarne Mämmelä v. 1.01 30.10.2006 VTT TECHNICAL RESEARCH CENTRE OF FINLAND III RESEARCH METHODS: FROM PROBLEM AND HYPOTHESIS TO EXPERIMENTS •Introduction •Research & development •Choosing a problem •Formation of concepts and theories •Order and creativity •Empirical-inductive method •Conclusions Aarne Mämmelä 13.9.2005 2 1 VTT TECHNICAL RESEARCH CENTRE OF FINLAND Table of Contents • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • Introduction Research and development Values of science IEEE code of ethics Researcher and advisor Choosing a problem Concepts and theories Formation of concepts Formation of theories Analysis, simulations, and experiments Theories of truth Creativity Sequential and iterative order Empirical-inductive method of discovery Reductionism and holism Hypothetico-deductive method of verification Hierarchies What is guiding our work Fundamental problems Technology: natural science and engineering History of electronics Brief history of scientific method Conclusions References Recommended reading Aarne Mämmelä 13.9.2005 4 6 17 19 20 29 30 31 39 48 53 55 60 63 65 67 69 75 77 81 83 97 99 108 115 3 VTT TECHNICAL RESEARCH CENTRE OF FINLAND Introduction Aarne Mämmelä 13.9.2005 4 2 VTT TECHNICAL RESEARCH CENTRE OF FINLAND Journey of Exploration: Columbus •Problem: a new way to India •Competing hypotheses: over the Atlantic (Spain), around Africa (Portugal) Aarne Mämmelä 13.9.2005 5 VTT TECHNICAL RESEARCH CENTRE OF FINLAND What is Research All About: Problem and Hypothesis Answer (hypothesis) Experience (analogies) Criticism (testing) Question (problem) •No general systematic methods exist to discover hypotheses (creativity needed as in the arts [Nagel79]) Aarne Mämmelä 13.9.2005 6 3 VTT TECHNICAL RESEARCH CENTRE OF FINLAND Research and Development [Jain97] •research: discover new knowledge (new regularities) • basic research (no specific application in mind) • applied research (ideas into operational form) •development: systematic use of the existing knowledge •research and development are closely related •in research a prototype is often developed Aarne Mämmelä 13.9.2005 7 VTT TECHNICAL RESEARCH CENTRE OF FINLAND Product Life Cycle •consumer and customer needs •product requirements (translation of customer needs into technical terms) •product concept (description of the technology, primary features, and form of a product) •product specifications (description of a product to be designed which operates in the environment specified in the product requirements) •purchase, implementation, manufacturing, distribution, marketing, installation, operation, maintenance Aarne Mämmelä 13.9.2005 8 4 VTT TECHNICAL RESEARCH CENTRE OF FINLAND Performance [Bock01] •Performance metric a function whose output is performance value •Performance value numerical value of the performance metric, to be compared with the performance requirement •Performance requirement desired performance value Aarne Mämmelä 13.9.2005 9 VTT TECHNICAL RESEARCH CENTRE OF FINLAND Accuracy and uncertainty [amc03], [ISO Guide 99] Accuracy the closeness of agreement between a measurement result and the accepted reference value (the accepted true value of the measurand), includes the terms trueness and precision, expressed with uncertainty Trueness the closeness of agreement between the average value obtained from a large series of measurement results and the accepted reference value, includes systematic errors only Precision the closeness of agreement between independent measurement results obtained under stipulated conditions, includes random errors only Uncertainty parameter that characterizes the dispersion of the quantity values that are being attributed to a measurement, includes systematic and random errors, expressed for example with standard deviation (if known systematic errors are first removed), or coverage interval (confidence interval) and coverage probability (confidence level) Aarne Mämmelä 13.9.2005 10 5 VTT TECHNICAL RESEARCH CENTRE OF FINLAND Science, technology and engineering [Jain97] •science: organized or systematic body of knowledge [Nagel79] •technology: the ways we provide ourselves with the material objects of our civilization, application of scientific knowledge for practical ends in engineering, medicine, agriculture, etc. •natural sciences and engineering sciences differ in the object of study •natural sciences (also called “science”, inc. physics, chemistry, and biology): objects in the nature •engineering sciences: objects (products, services, methods) not found in the nature, using results of mathematics and natural sciences Aarne Mämmelä 13.9.2005 11 VTT TECHNICAL RESEARCH CENTRE OF FINLAND Scientific Method •“a method of research, in which a problem is identified, relevant data are gathered, a hypothesis is formulated [discovery], and the hypothesis is empirically tested [verification]”[Random House99] •data is collected through observation or experiment •testing is done for verification or falsification of the hypotheses •inference based on many competing hypotheses is called strong inference [Wilson99] •two tools of control: observations and experiments (guarantees correspondence with reality) and mathematical analysis (guarantees coherence) Note. Verification, confirmation, and justification are synonymous terms in philosophy of science. The opposite is falsification or refutation. Aarne Mämmelä 13.9.2005 12 6 VTT TECHNICAL RESEARCH CENTRE OF FINLAND Features of science [Wilson99] •Generality (theories describe general regularities, causal relations, nature is not capricious) •Reproducibility (repeatability, inductive predictions, correspondence between the theory and reality, consensus among researchers by independent tests) •Coherence (unity or consistency, causal and deductive relationships, no contradictions) •Parsimony (economy, Ockham’ s razor: simplest theories are most elegant) •Heuristics (good science results in additional inventions) Aarne Mämmelä 13.9.2005 13 VTT TECHNICAL RESEARCH CENTRE OF FINLAND Why is research important? [Hicks99] •New knowledge is discovered •Prestige for yourself and for your employer •Know the state of the art and teach it to your colleagues and customers •Know the history and see the trends Aarne Mämmelä 13.9.2005 14 7 VTT TECHNICAL RESEARCH CENTRE OF FINLAND Why is research exciting? •Intellectual pleasure: you learn to know something very deeply [Feynman99]. •Thrill: you work like a detective when looking for existing knowledge. •New knowledge: you discover something that did not exist previously. •Prestige: you will become a doctor and an internationally known expert [Hicks99]. •Spirit of the scientific community: special research culture, freedom to think, suspect and criticize authorities, impersonal judgments of discoveries, integrity (= honesty) [Jain97]. •Unique communication network: you meet the most intelligent people in the world in your field [Jain97]. Aarne Mämmelä 13.9.2005 15 VTT TECHNICAL RESEARCH CENTRE OF FINLAND “Republic of Science” [Polanyi62] 1. Free cooperation • independent scientists cooperate freely (no superior above them), all results are public, each step decided by the most competent person, steps are unpredictable (free discussions crucial to work like a “super-brain”) • isolation of scientists would prohibit progress 2. No authorities • each scientist understands only a tiny fraction of the total domain of science (closely knit organization, overlapping neighborhoods) • scientific opinion it is not held by any single human mind (no authorities), but is established between scientists 3. Invisible hand • scientific merit measured by plausibility, scientific value and originality • preference given to the most promising scientists and subjects to yield the maximum advantage (cf. “invisible hand”in Adam Smith’ s [1776] economy theory) Aarne Mämmelä 13.9.2005 16 8 VTT TECHNICAL RESEARCH CENTRE OF FINLAND Three Basic Values of Science 1. Criticism • aim of objective criticism is to improve the quality of research and to avoid groupthink 2. Integrity (honesty) • giving credit to the contributions of others and taking into account the limitations of available data • reporting only about what has been observed and everything what has been observed 3. Publicity • everyone has the possibility to know about others’contributions (Polanyi’ s jigsaw puzzle) Aarne Mämmelä 13.9.2005 17 VTT TECHNICAL RESEARCH CENTRE OF FINLAND Researcher and Organization ROLE OF ORGANIZATION ROLE OF RESEARCHER 1. History and state of the art I d ea 2. Vision and roadmap 3. Fundamental principles and problems 4. Research problems and projects L ite ratu re review P ro b lem an d h y p oth ese s 5. Marketing, recruiting, investing 6. Project plans 7. Research culture and education E x p e rim e n ts/ a n aly sis Sy stem (p roto ty p e) T h eo ry/ p a p er (n e w k n ow led g e) 8. Integration of results Aarne Mämmelä 13.9.2005 18 9 VTT TECHNICAL RESEARCH CENTRE OF FINLAND IEEE Code of Ethics (extract) [www.ieee.org/portal/pages/about/whatis/code.html] Members of IEEE commit themselves to the highest ethical and professional conduct and agree: •to avoid real or perceived conflicts of interest; •to be honest and realistic in stating claims or estimates based on available data; •to seek, accept, and offer honest criticism of work, to acknowledge and correct errors, and to credit properly the contributions of others; •to avoid injuring others, their property, reputation, or employment by false or malicious action; •to assist colleagues and co-workers in their professional development and to support them in following this code of ethics. Aarne Mämmelä 13.9.2005 19 VTT TECHNICAL RESEARCH CENTRE OF FINLAND Requirements for the Success as a Researcher Requirements for success •analytical, curious, need for autonomy and change, flexible, collaborative, tolerant of ambiguity, criticalness (avoid groupthink) [Jain97] •knowledge of literature, technical skills, communication skills (knowledge of languages, social and pedagogical skills), and creativity (original thinking) [Loehle90] How does a researcher work? •make always notes in a notebook •make summaries on what has been learned •make plans for the future all the time (outlines, roadmaps, visions) •discuss, ask questions and argue (criticism) Aarne Mämmelä 13.9.2005 20 10 VTT TECHNICAL RESEARCH CENTRE OF FINLAND Official Requirements for a Doctor •major subject: deep familiarity with own research area and its societal significance, ability to independently discover new scientific knowledge, and preparation of a doctoral thesis and its successful public defence •minor subject: good familiarity with other related research areas •scientific general studies: good familiarity with historical development and basic problems, as well as research and design methods of engineering sciences Source: University of Oulu, www.ttk.oulu.fi/opinnot Aarne Mämmelä 13.9.2005 21 VTT TECHNICAL RESEARCH CENTRE OF FINLAND Special Studies •Equivalent to 70 credits (opintopiste, op) or 40-45 credits (opintoviikko, ov), excluding the doctoral thesis •Major subject must be related to some major subject of a degree program in the faculty (40-55 credits (op) or 25-35 credits (ov)), may include courses in advanced studies (marked with S) of the basic degree program •Minor subject must be related to a professorship of the university or some other native or foreign university (10-25 credits (op) or 9-17 credits (ov)), may include courses in advanced and subject studies (marked with S or A) of the basic degree program •Scientific general studies (5-10 credits (op) or 3-5 credits (ov)), may include courses in subject and general studies (marked with A or P) of the basic degree program, no language studies accepted •60 credits (op) correspond to 1600 hours (one academic year) Source: University of Oulu, www.ttk.oulu.fi/opinnot Aarne Mämmelä 13.9.2005 22 11 VTT TECHNICAL RESEARCH CENTRE OF FINLAND Progress of Doctoral Studies (1) Aarne Mämmelä 13.9.2005 23 VTT TECHNICAL RESEARCH CENTRE OF FINLAND Progress of Doctoral Studies (2) •The student must have a master’ s degree and good familiarity with the planned major subject (usually shown by good marks in the major subject in the master’ s degree). •Standard time for doctoral studies is four years (for a full-time student). •The advisor (supervisor) of the degree is a professor or doctor (often a docent) representing the major subject. •The manuscript of the thesis is pre-examined (in maximum of three months) by at least two pre-examiners or referees from outside the faculty, and the manuscript is then published if the statements are positive (pre-examination is organized by the department council). •In the public defence there are one or two opponents and custos (chairman), who is usually the advisor of the degree. •The opponents write a statement about the thesis and its defence (in maximum of four weeks, usually on the same day). •The faculty council accepts the thesis based on the statement (grading is pass or excellent) and the dean gives a certification. Source: University of Oulu, www.ttk.oulu.fi/opinnot Aarne Mämmelä 13.9.2005 24 12 VTT TECHNICAL RESEARCH CENTRE OF FINLAND Advisor is your best friend •The local advisor is any doctor familiar with the topic and usually working for the same employer •Look for a good advisor [Sternberg81] •Be there for the length of your project •Experience on research in the same area (must be a doctor) •Pedagogical skills, know the large picture, know literature •Respected by colleagues, critical, tough methodologist •Interested in your topic, gives comments, you respect him or her Aarne Mämmelä 13.9.2005 25 VTT TECHNICAL RESEARCH CENTRE OF FINLAND How to keep your advisor? •Orient your advisor (system model, block diagrams, table of contents). •Follow instructions (make notes and read them), but also discuss and argue. •Write concise progress reports (organize the material, limit the scope). •Show initiative, get into the driver’ s seat from the back seat [Sternberg81], do not just wait that everything is made ready for you, the advisor gives you ways of thinking. •If you show that you do not appreciate the work of the advisor, this is one certain way to loose the advisor. •Collaboration in research implies writing papers together, the advisor needs also credit for his or her work, otherwise he or she is frustrated. Aarne Mämmelä 13.9.2005 26 13 VTT TECHNICAL RESEARCH CENTRE OF FINLAND Research Methods: Discovery and verification [Honderich05] Methods of discovery •empirical-inductive method [Kragh02] •iterative method [Bohm87] •reductive method [Wilson99] •systems engineering [Bohm87], [Checkland99] Methods of verification •hypothetico-deductive method [Rosenberg00] Aarne Mämmelä 13.9.2005 27 VTT TECHNICAL RESEARCH CENTRE OF FINLAND Sources of knowledge [Honderich05] •deductive and inductive reasoning •experience, observation and experiment, improved instruments [Derry99] •analogy [Bohm87], [Feynman98] •abduction (Russel’ s chicken [Deutsch98]), intuition, imagination, dream (Descartes: reductionism [Wilson99], Kekulé: benzene [Hudson92], Mendeleyev: periodic system of elements [Strathern00]) •patterns and discrepancies in data, serendipity [Derry02] •wild guess [Losee01], brainstorming [Davis97], telepathy, clairvoyance, precognition, etc. Aarne Mämmelä 13.9.2005 28 14 VTT TECHNICAL RESEARCH CENTRE OF FINLAND Choosing a Problem [Loehle90] •right problem, right timing, right approach [Hamming93], difficulty of problem and its likely payoff •opportunities for you •other person is wrong (show what is right) •contradictory experiments •terminological confusion •more experience needed to solve problems •discussions (most new ideas are generated by talking with others[Jain97]) •experiments (start them early, use experimental-inductive approach) •literature (find out existing knowledge) Aarne Mämmelä 13.9.2005 29 VTT TECHNICAL RESEARCH CENTRE OF FINLAND Formation of Concepts and Theories • We learn by induction (bottom up, generalization from examples to models) [Felder88] • We present theories by deduction (top down, from models to results) Aarne Mämmelä 13.9.2005 30 15 VTT TECHNICAL RESEARCH CENTRE OF FINLAND Formation of Concepts [Niiniluoto02] •A definition names a wider class to which something belongs and distinguishing properties [Honderich05] •Elementary terms and concepts: no definitions given to avoid an endless loop of definitions [Rosenberg00] Aarne Mämmelä 13.9.2005 31 VTT TECHNICAL RESEARCH CENTRE OF FINLAND Division of a System into Parts and Properties – Different Views [Honderich05] • system is a combination of parts forming a unitary whole • complexity refers to number of parts and their relations Aarne Mämmelä 13.9.2005 32 16 VTT TECHNICAL RESEARCH CENTRE OF FINLAND Set-member and part-whole relations [Honderich05] • A whole consists of parts, properties, relations, and events. • A process is a series of changes with some unity or unifying principle (time is the dimension of change). Aarne Mämmelä 13.9.2005 33 VTT TECHNICAL RESEARCH CENTRE OF FINLAND Resources are Converted into Properties [Checkland99], [Honderich05] •performance is the manner in which something reacts or fulfils its intended purpose •complexity measures the efficiency in using the basic resources, for example materials (size and weight), energy, time (delay) and capital (cost) Aarne Mämmelä 13.9.2005 34 17 VTT TECHNICAL RESEARCH CENTRE OF FINLAND Temperature Pressure Humidity Vibration Resources are converted into properties (2) Aarne Mämmelä 13.9.2005 35 VTT TECHNICAL RESEARCH CENTRE OF FINLAND Observation and Theory [Wohlin00] •In engineering a hypothesis (defined in system specifications) is usually an idea of the relationship between the cause and effect (defined in system requirements) •Theoretical model is always only an approximation of observation in real world (prototypes include tacit knowledge [Leppälä03], e.g., Stradivarius violin) Aarne Mämmelä 13.9.2005 36 18 VTT TECHNICAL RESEARCH CENTRE OF FINLAND Prototype Aarne Mämmelä 13.9.2005 37 VTT TECHNICAL RESEARCH CENTRE OF FINLAND Theoretical Model Aarne Mämmelä 13.9.2005 38 19 VTT TECHNICAL RESEARCH CENTRE OF FINLAND Taxonomy of theories [Rosenberg00] 1. Axiomatic systems –ideal form of theory • theorems are derived deductively (= analysis) from definitions and axioms • two forms: Hilbertian axiomatic systems in formal sciences (mathematics, logic, set theory, computer science) and hypothetico-deductive systems in empirical sciences 2. Theories based on sets of theoretical models • results are derived by analysis (deduction) from the definitions and assumptions of the model • usually used in science and engineering, for example ideal gas, Bohr model of atom Aarne Mämmelä 13.9.2005 39 VTT TECHNICAL RESEARCH CENTRE OF FINLAND Taxonomy of models [Honderich05] 1. Physical models • small- or large-scale material constructions (miniature or micro-models and macro-models), for example metal model of the double-helix of DNA by Watson and Crick 2. Theoretical models • internal structure of the system mapped to the model, simplifying assumptions made • models are used for prediction purposes (scientific work in engineering uses theoretical models), prediction is done by using analysis (deduction) • mathematically intractable models can be simulated with a computer Aarne Mämmelä 13.9.2005 40 20 VTT TECHNICAL RESEARCH CENTRE OF FINLAND Theoretical models [Niiniluoto02] • there is some analogy between the reality and the model • mathematical models are (1) deterministic, (2) probabilistic, or (3) their combinations (regressive models, for example Gauss-Markov model) • models usually include parameters or states that may be estimated, for example with a Kalman filter Regressive model (f(x) is a regression function and ε(i) is an error term) Aarne Mämmelä 13.9.2005 41 VTT TECHNICAL RESEARCH CENTRE OF FINLAND Taxonomy of scientific explanations [Nagel79] 1. Deductive explanations • deductive systems 2. Probabilistic explanations • probabilistic models 3. Teleological explanations • in suspect in natural sciences 3. Genetic explanations • evolution theory Aarne Mämmelä 13.9.2005 42 21 VTT TECHNICAL RESEARCH CENTRE OF FINLAND Taxonomy of scientific laws [Nagel79] 1. Sequential laws a. Causal laws (Newtonian mechanics, relativity theory) b. Developmental laws (incomplete description, historical and genetic descriptions) 2. Functional laws a. Statical laws (Boyle-Charles’law for ideal gases) b. Dynamical laws (Galileo’ s law for freely falling bodies) 3. Probabilistic laws • neither causal nor deductive (tossing of a cube, quantum theory) Aarne Mämmelä 13.9.2005 43 VTT TECHNICAL RESEARCH CENTRE OF FINLAND Model and Results • The theoretical model implies all the results since they are derived deductively or “revealed”from the model, i.e., the model includes all the results in a “nutshell” (some regularity described). Aarne Mämmelä 13.9.2005 44 22 VTT TECHNICAL RESEARCH CENTRE OF FINLAND Taxonomy of Axiomatic Systems [Niiniluoto02] Hilbertian axiomatic systems • used on formal sciences • no interpretation made • the axioms are assumptions and initially the theorems are hypotheses or conjectures, which are proved by deriving them deductively from axioms • examples: logic, arithmetics, geometry, set theory, probability theory Hypothetico-deductive systems • used in empirical sciences • interpretations made • initially axioms are hypotheses that are verified indirectly by comparing the results with reality • examples: Newtonian mechanics, quantum mechanics, hypotheticodeductive systems are used also in biology and social sciences Aarne Mämmelä 13.9.2005 45 VTT TECHNICAL RESEARCH CENTRE OF FINLAND Comparison of Theories [Honderich05], [Rosenberg00] Axiomatic system Model-based theory Primitive symbols Primitive terms Definitions Definitions Rules of inference Model and assumptions Rules of analysis Theorems Results Rules of formation Rules of verification Axioms Aarne Mämmelä 13.9.2005 46 23 VTT TECHNICAL RESEARCH CENTRE OF FINLAND Theoretical Model and IMRAD Structure [Day98], [Rosenberg00] Primitive terms Introduction Definitions Materials and methods Model and assumptions Rules of analysis Results Discussion Results Rules of verification Aarne Mämmelä 13.9.2005 47 VTT TECHNICAL RESEARCH CENTRE OF FINLAND Analysis, simulations, and experiments (1) Analysis Simulation Prototype Aarne Mämmelä 13.9.2005 48 24 VTT TECHNICAL RESEARCH CENTRE OF FINLAND Analysis, simulations, and experiments (2) 1. Mathematical analysis (theoretical model) • creates best scientific papers • simple, mathematically tractable problem, must be often linear (numerical results needed) 2. Simulations (numerical analysis of the theoretical model) • complicated systems can be developed rapidly, but slow to simulate • basic idea: lower level blocks are simplified and idealized (hierarchy) • key problem: realistic models for the environment (e.g. channel) 3. Prototyping (empirical research) • more convincing than “pure”simulations, not so flexible, slow and expensive to develop complicated systems • environment (channel) simulators still needed (approximations!), field tests expensive, repeatability? Aarne Mämmelä 13.9.2005 49 VTT TECHNICAL RESEARCH CENTRE OF FINLAND Building a prototype • Build the prototype from complete components • as high integration as possible • Build a focused prototype instead of comprehensive prototype [Ulrich95] • demonstrate the novel properties • Build a scaled prototype [Honderich05] • macroscopic or microscopic (miniature) model • example: use 100 Hz instead of 1000 Hz (time scaled down by ten, spatial dimensions scaled up by ten) • Build a virtual prototype • simulation models are time-scaled models Aarne Mämmelä 13.9.2005 50 25 VTT TECHNICAL RESEARCH CENTRE OF FINLAND Experiment (Set of Tests) [Wohlin00] • Tests are either deterministic or statistical • One independent variable is changed and other independent variables are set at a fixed level Aarne Mämmelä 13.9.2005 51 VTT TECHNICAL RESEARCH CENTRE OF FINLAND Verification, validation, and certification [Calvez93] •verification is establishing the truth of a hypothesis, usually by experiment or observation (in science), confirmation that a system satisfies the system requirements, or a design step satisfies the requirements of the higher hierarchy level in a laboratory environment •validation is verification that the system satisfies the expectations in the field, i.e., verification of system requirements that may be incomplete, or confirmation that a design step satisfies the requirements at the same hierarchy level •certification is an external validation given by an accredited authority Aarne Mämmelä 13.9.2005 52 26 VTT TECHNICAL RESEARCH CENTRE OF FINLAND Theories of Truth [Honderich05] •Coherence: a statement is true if it is “coheres”(is consistent) with other statements (for example axiomatic system due to deduction) •Correspondence: correspondence between a theoretical model and reality (verification using hypothetico-deductive method) •Pragmatism: works out most effectively in practice (important in engineering) •Consensus: common opinion among researchers (paradigms may be wrong, however) Aarne Mämmelä 13.9.2005 53 VTT TECHNICAL RESEARCH CENTRE OF FINLAND Novelty and Paradigm Paradigm is an unquestioned theory or set of beliefs, existing world-view (concept introduced by T. Kuhn in 1962) [Honderich05]. Aarne Mämmelä 13.9.2005 54 27 VTT TECHNICAL RESEARCH CENTRE OF FINLAND Creativity: Edge of Order and Chaos Order Chaos Creativity •You must have something on which to build (order, systematic work) and something to move (chaos, flexibility) •Ways to improve creativity: analogies, symmetries, relations, extremes, opposites •Working habits: well defined problem, quiet time (“lazyness”), new environment, mental barriers avoided [Loehle90] Aarne Mämmelä 13.9.2005 55 VTT TECHNICAL RESEARCH CENTRE OF FINLAND Analogies Improve Creativity LENGTH FURNITURE (WEIGHT) HEIGHT REMOVAL VAN TIME BIT (ENERGY) BANDWIDTH Aarne Mämmelä 13.9.2005 TIME SLOT 56 28 VTT TECHNICAL RESEARCH CENTRE OF FINLAND Communications Improve Creativity Other researchers Encouragement, criticism YOURSELF Landmark Advisor Paper Oral communications Written communications Aarne Mämmelä 13.9.2005 57 VTT TECHNICAL RESEARCH CENTRE OF FINLAND Creativity: Order and Chaos •Creativity is easily lost [Bohm87] •fragmentation and specialization due to reductionism: language difficulties due to special terminology (new terms formed from abbreviations) •paradigms (existing world-view is unquestioned) •Creativity can be improved by [Bohm87] •systems analysis • understand what your colleague is doing as a part of a larger system •communications • use analogies in communications, explain your system model and terms (Feynman: explain it to your grandmother) •analogies or metaphors • a bridge between different concepts, for example Newton: apple = moon, Einstein: time = space, energy = mass Aarne Mämmelä 13.9.2005 58 29 VTT TECHNICAL RESEARCH CENTRE OF FINLAND How to Improve Creativity •Generation of ideas •brainstorming (unrestrained offering of ideas) •systematic search for solutions •ready-made question lists •association, connection between ideas •subconscious (“incubation”) Aarne Mämmelä 13.9.2005 59 VTT TECHNICAL RESEARCH CENTRE OF FINLAND Order: Sequential Process [Bohm92] •Sequential process is characterized by a regular sequence of events [Bohm87, Honderich05] •In project design this kind of process is called waterfall model where the project is divided into rather independent phases [Calvez93, Leppälä03] Aarne Mämmelä 13.9.2005 60 30 VTT TECHNICAL RESEARCH CENTRE OF FINLAND Order: Iterative Process [Bohm92] • Iterative or generative process is an overall process from which the manifest form of things emerges creatively, internal interrelations are included, especially iterations • In project design this kind of process is called spiral model: the whole process is repeated and each time the result improves [Calvez93], [Leppälä03] Aarne Mämmelä 13.9.2005 61 VTT TECHNICAL RESEARCH CENTRE OF FINLAND V Model (V Cycle) [Calvez93] •in research use first (1) reduction (analysis): divide problem into simple subproblems, divide systems into simple subsystems, use hierarchy and modularity and then (2) bottom-up approach (synthesis) •in documents use top-down approach (analysis) •in teaching use both bottom-up and top-down approaches Aarne Mämmelä 13.9.2005 62 31 VTT TECHNICAL RESEARCH CENTRE OF FINLAND EmpiricalEmpirical-Inductive Method of Discovery • Problem is divided into subproblems (this is called reduction) • Model is derived by using experience (often analogies used). Aarne Mämmelä 13.9.2005 63 VTT TECHNICAL RESEARCH CENTRE OF FINLAND Iterative research method • You must work iteratively since the problem and hypotheses are initially not very clear (a chicken and egg problem) • In the beginning it is difficult to understand the literature • Experience is gained by own experiments and discussions • Reporting and publishing will improve the quality of research Aarne Mämmelä 13.9.2005 64 32 VTT TECHNICAL RESEARCH CENTRE OF FINLAND Reductionism and Holism [Checkland99], [Honderich05] •reductionism: theory that every complex phenomenon can be explained by analyzing the simplest, most basic physical mechanisms that are in operation during the phenomenon (scientific approach) •holism: theory that whole entities have an existence other than as the mere sum of their parts (systems approach) •emergence: occurrence of properties at higher levels of organization which are not predictable from properties found at lower levels [Nagel79], for example transparency of water, temperature of a gas Aarne Mämmelä 13.9.2005 65 VTT TECHNICAL RESEARCH CENTRE OF FINLAND Reductive approach • Break the problem down and then generalize the results (“break down and reassemble”) • “Practical people often balk at this approach [reduction, idealizations] since the idealized situations may be so far removed from those of use as to appear highly academic.” [Wilson90] • We present the results explicitly by deduction (top down), but we learn through induction (bottom up) Aarne Mämmelä 13.9.2005 66 33 VTT TECHNICAL RESEARCH CENTRE OF FINLAND Hypothetico-Deductive Method of Verification • The scientific verification method is called hypotheticodeductive method [Honderich05]: the theoretical model acts as a hypothesis, which is verified indirectly by comparing the results given by the theoretical model with the corresponding experimental results given by the reality. Aarne Mämmelä 13.9.2005 67 VTT TECHNICAL RESEARCH CENTRE OF FINLAND Elements of Discovery - Summary [Derry99] •Patterns in data: periodic table of elements, drifting of continents, biogeography of ecosystems •Improved instruments: cryogenics and superconductivity, microscope and microbes, radio telescope and quasars •Discrepancies: discovery of Argon, barometer, and Neptune •Hypothetico-deductive method: smallpox vaccine •Consequencies of assumptions: energy band structure in solids •Serendipity (luck): X-rays, penicillin •Imagination and dream: structure of benzene •Intuition Aarne Mämmelä 13.9.2005 68 34 VTT TECHNICAL RESEARCH CENTRE OF FINLAND Different Hierarchies Description Levels Nested Hierarchy Layered Pattern (Successive Layers) Aarne Mämmelä 13.9.2005 69 VTT TECHNICAL RESEARCH CENTRE OF FINLAND Description Levels [Calvez93] •functional model a structural (topological) model where a structure is built using functions and relations between them •behavioral model a model which describes the behavior of internal functions of a system, specification of algorithms for the functions •executive model implementation model that specifies the physical parts of the system, consisting of processors, memories, and communication nodes •An alternative description in three domains: structural domain, behavioral domain and physical domain [Gajski88] Aarne Mämmelä 13.9.2005 70 35 VTT TECHNICAL RESEARCH CENTRE OF FINLAND Nested Hierarchy [Checkland99] •Levels mentioned in [Gajski88] from bottom to top: circuit, logic, microarchitectural, algorithmic, and system level Aarne Mämmelä 13.9.2005 71 VTT TECHNICAL RESEARCH CENTRE OF FINLAND Layered Pattern [Tanenbaum96] •Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) model inc. (from bottom to top) physical layer, data link layer, network layer, transport layer, session layer, presentation layer, and application layer •Each layer produces a coherent set of services to the upper layers through a public interface (lower layers seldom use upper layers and these exceptions must be carefully documented) •Advantages: support for standardization, dependencies are kept local, exchangeability, maintainability, and portability Aarne Mämmelä 13.9.2005 72 36 VTT TECHNICAL RESEARCH CENTRE OF FINLAND Summary of Design Hierarchies Aarne Mämmelä 13.9.2005 73 VTT TECHNICAL RESEARCH CENTRE OF FINLAND Causality •Backwards and downwards causality are in suspect in natural science. •Scientific theories are deterministic and deductive (relativity theory) or probabilistic (quantum theory) [Nagel79]. •Scientific theories describe (question how?) but do not strictly speaking explain (question why?). Aarne Mämmelä 13.9.2005 74 37 VTT TECHNICAL RESEARCH CENTRE OF FINLAND What is Guiding Our Work Systems engineering History & roadmaps Fundamental limits Aarne Mämmelä 13.9.2005 System models, relationships, complexity analysis Reviews of literature Physical limits, optimal systems, performance analysis 75 VTT TECHNICAL RESEARCH CENTRE OF FINLAND Fundamental Limits (about 1850-1950) •second law of thermodynamics (Carnot, Clausius) •absolute zero (Kelvin) •upper velocity limit (Einstein) •uncertainty principle (Heisenberg) •incompleteness theorem (Goedel) •speed of transmission of intelligence (Nyquist) •channel coding theorem (Shannon) Refs. [Lundheim02], scienceworld.wolfram.com Aarne Mämmelä 13.9.2005 76 38 VTT TECHNICAL RESEARCH CENTRE OF FINLAND Some Fundamental Engineering Problems Sun Information Energy Energy Nature Materials Energy Factory Information Products/ Services Waste Waste People People •Problems: Distribution of information, energy, materials, products, and services, transportation of people, waste management, etc. Aarne Mämmelä 13.9.2005 77 VTT TECHNICAL RESEARCH CENTRE OF FINLAND Some Open Problems in Engineering •General theory of systems (philosophy of technology, hierarchy theory) [Checkland99] •Semantic information theory (Shannon’ s statistical information theory does not cover the meaning of the information, only the amount of information) [Checkland99] •Network information theory (statistical information theory covers only isolated links) [Cover91] •Frame problem (how a machine could decide the frame of reference or context) [Honderich05] Aarne Mämmelä 13.9.2005 78 39 VTT TECHNICAL RESEARCH CENTRE OF FINLAND Fundamental Problems in Information Engineering Energy Save/ Display Information Distribution Storage Processing •Problems: Transfering, storing, processing and displaying of information, storing of energy, etc. Aarne Mämmelä 13.9.2005 79 VTT TECHNICAL RESEARCH CENTRE OF FINLAND Why are Some Design Problems Difficult to Solve? [Michalewicz04] •no single performance metric that describes the quality of any proposed solution is available, but a set of performance metrics that should be weighted •the number of solutions in the search space is so large as to forbid an exhaustive search for the best answer and the iterative methods (by trial and error) are too slow or unreliable to find the optimum solution •the possible solutions are so heavily constrained that constructing even one feasible answer is difficult (reduction is used to simplify the problem and this adds an additional constraint) •the performance metric is noisy or varies with time (need an entire series of solutions) •our models may be too simplified so that any result is essentially useless •some psychological barrier prevents us from discovering a solution Aarne Mämmelä 13.9.2005 80 40 VTT TECHNICAL RESEARCH CENTRE OF FINLAND Technology: Natural Science and Engineering Technosystem Ecosystem Human beings Society Organic nature Humanities Social science Energy Science Materials/laws Products/ services Inorganic nature Engineering Waste Aarne Mämmelä 13.9.2005 81 VTT TECHNICAL RESEARCH CENTRE OF FINLAND Sciences, Practices, and Technology [Wilson99], [Schwanitz99] Aarne Mämmelä 13.9.2005 82 41 VTT TECHNICAL RESEARCH CENTRE OF FINLAND Example: History of Telecommunications [Haykin01], [Proakis01] Aarne Mämmelä 13.9.2005 83 VTT TECHNICAL RESEARCH CENTRE OF FINLAND Cultural History [Boyer91] 1636 USA Mayas Letters Hieroclyphics Egypt -1500 -3000 Greek alphabet Latin letters (-500) Etruscans 300 900 -800 -600 Phoenicians Semites Greece Rome Macedonia 529 Rome 300 Babylon Europe Europe 1088 1100 Alexandria 415 Arabia Sumerians -3200 -2000 Cuneiform writing -538 -500 1123 India Numbers (500-876) China 1200 1280 -1500 Japan 500 -3000 -2000 Aarne Mämmelä 13.9.2005 1620 1632 1637 -1000 1 1877 1000 2000 84 42 VTT TECHNICAL RESEARCH CENTRE OF FINLAND Legends (see previous page) Start of ancient science (Thales) Start of Greek writing End of ancient science (Academy closed) -800 -600 Greece Rome Influence (writing) 529 Influence (other) Europe Europe 1088 1620 First university (Bologna) 1632 1637 1100 Start of modern science (Bacon, Galilei, Descartes) Indian-Arabian numbers to Europe Arabia 622 1123 Arabian calendar Omar Khayyam dies Aarne Mämmelä 13.9.2005 85 VTT TECHNICAL RESEARCH CENTRE OF FINLAND Roadmap and Vision of Telecommunications (1) Ad hoc networks WPAN Digital broadcast Mobile DVB Multicast/unicast Wireless Internet Mobile universal Mobile Internet Satellite positioning FWA Supermacrocells Mobile 3D voice Megacells Multi-sense interaction True virtual reality Haptic interaction 3D telepresence Mobile wide-screen 2000 2010 Aarne Mämmelä 13.9.2005 2020 2030 2040 86 43 VTT TECHNICAL RESEARCH CENTRE OF FINLAND Roadmap and Vision of Telecommunications (2) Telesocializing? Worm holes? Telepathy? ANSIBLE? Quantum comms? Direct MMI? 3000 Intergalactic network? Teleportation? Nanobots? 4000 Aarne Mämmelä 13.9.2005 Time machines? Holodeck? 5000 Real-time Internet? 6000 7000 87 VTT TECHNICAL RESEARCH CENTRE OF FINLAND Comments to Roadmap and Vision [Clute95] •direct man machine interface (MMI) refers to a direct wired interface to human brains •haptic interaction refers to the sense of touch, multi-sense interaction refers to all the five senses •holodeck refers to telepresence and virtual reality combined: all involved are in a virtual environment •nanobot is a small robot moving in human brains and controlled wirelessly, it makes wireless direct MMI possible •telepresence refers to presence in an existing environment for example as a hologram; it does not need glasses, but it needs a material (for example water vapor) to which the hologram is projected •teleportation: the theoretical portation of matter through space by converting it into energy and then reconverting it at the terminal point •virtual reality: computer-generated simulation of three-dimensional images of environment or sequence of events that someone using special equipment (glasses, dress) may view and interact with a seemingly physical way •worm hole: a hypothetical space-time tunnel or channel connecting a black hole with another universe •quantum communications refers to teleportation of quantum88 states Aarne Mämmelä 13.9.2005 44 VTT TECHNICAL RESEARCH CENTRE OF FINLAND • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • Brief History of Electronics [Dummer97] 1729 Wire conductor and insulator, Gray 1745 Capacitor, von Kleist and von Muschenbrock 1785 Coulomb’ s law (inverse square law), Coulomb 1793 Optical telegraph, Chappe [Huurdeman03] 1800 Battery, Volta 1808 Atomic theory, Dalton 1820 Electromagnetism, Oersted 1820 Ampère’ s laws, Ampère 1826 Ohm’ s law, Ohm 1828 Fourier analysis, Fourier 1831 Electromagnetic induction, Faraday (Henry 1830) 1833 Computer (mechanical), Babbage 1837 Telegraphy, Morse 1837 Electric motor, Davenport 1843 Fax machine, Bain (commercial 1946) 1845 Kirchhoff’ s laws, Kirchhoff 1848 Boolean algebra, Boole 1865 Maxwell’ s equations, Maxwell Aarne Mämmelä 13.9.2005 89 VTT TECHNICAL RESEARCH CENTRE OF FINLAND Brief History of Electronics [Dummer97] • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 1876 Telephone, Bell 1883 Light bulb, Edison 1887 Aerial, Hertz 1889 Automatic telephone exchange, Strowger 1893 Waveguide, Thomson (experimental 1936) 1895 X-rays, Röntgen 1896 Wireless telegraphy, Marconi 1897 Electron, Thomson 1897 Oscilloscope, Braun 1898 Magnetic recording, Poulsen 1900 Quantum theory, Planck 1904 Vacuum tube, Fleming (diode), de Forest (triode, 1906) 1905 Theory of relativity, Einstein 1906 Radio broadcasting, Fessenden (commercial 1919) 1911 Atomic theory, Rutherford 1911 Superconductivity, Onnes 1912 Superheterodyne radio receiver, Fessenden and Armstrong Aarne Mämmelä 13.9.2005 90 45 VTT TECHNICAL RESEARCH CENTRE OF FINLAND Brief History of Electronics [Dummer97] • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 1919 Television (electronic), Zworygin (commercial broadcasting 1939) 1921 Radio dispatch service for police cars, USA [Sklar01, p. 776] 1924 Radar, Appleton et al. 1925 Thermal noise, Thomson 1927 Negative feedback amplifier, Black 1927 Cable television, Bell Telephone Co (real growth in the 1960’ s) 1928 Sampling theory, Nyquist 1928 Diversity reception, Beverage et al. 1929 Color television, Bell Laboratories 1929 Microwave communications, Clavier 1929 Coaxial cable, Affel and Espensched 1931 Stereophonic sound reproduction, Blumlein and Bell Labs 1933 Frequency modulation (FM), Armstrong 1934 Liquid crystal display (LCD), Dreyer 1937 Pulse-code modulation (PCM), Reeves 1937 Xerox photocopy method, Carlson (success in the 1960s) 1940 Cybernetics, Wiener Aarne Mämmelä 13.9.2005 91 VTT TECHNICAL RESEARCH CENTRE OF FINLAND Brief History of Electronics [Dummer97] • 1940s Mobile cellular system (concept), Bell Labs • 1943 Computer (ENIAC, Electronic Numerator, Integrator and Computer), University of Pennsylvania • 1943 Traveling wave tube (TWT), Kompfner et al. • 1943 Printed wiring, Eisler • 1945 Computer theory, von Neumann • 1946 Stored program, Turing • 1946 Public mobile telephone service, USA • 1947 Chirp radar, Bell Labs • 1948 Transistor (bipolar), Bardeen, Brattain, and Shockley • 1948 Information theory, Shannon • 1948 Holography, Gabor • 1950 Phase-locked loop • 1950 Floppy disc, Nakamats • 1950s Voice-band modem (modulator and demodulator), MIT and Bell Labs • 1950s Global Positioning System (GPS), Getting (operational 1993) Aarne Mämmelä 13.9.2005 92 46 VTT TECHNICAL RESEARCH CENTRE OF FINLAND Brief History of Electronics [Dummer97] • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 1957 Fortran (Formula Translator) computer language 1958 Video tape recorder (also color), Ampex 1958 Laser, Schalow and Townes 1958 Stored program switch, Bell Labs (commercial 1960) 1959 Integrated circuit, Kilby (concept 1952) 1960 Light emitting diode (LED), Allen and Gibbons 1960 Computer-aided design (CAD), military, USA 1960 Linear integrated circuit (operational amplifier), USA 1960 Telephone electronic switching system, Bell Labs 1961 Mini tape cassette, Philips 1961 Minicomputer, Digital Equipment Inc. 1961 Packet switching, Kleinrock [Huurdeman03] 1962 Satellite communication, Telstar I, USA 1963 Electronic calculator, Bell Punch Co 1963 Transistor-transistor logic (TTL), Sylvania 1963 Teletext 1963 Hypertext (concept), Nelson [Huurdeman03] Aarne Mämmelä 13.9.2005 93 VTT TECHNICAL RESEARCH CENTRE OF FINLAND Brief History of Electronics [Dummer97] • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 1964 Wordprocessor, IBM 1965 Electronic typewriter, IBM 1965 Mouse, Englebart 1965 Virtual reality, military, USA 1966 Optical fibres, Kao and Hockham 1968 Complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) logic, USA 1968 High definition television (HDTV), Nippon Broadcasting Corporation 1969 Internet, Arpanet (Advanced Research Project Agency Network, renamed Internet in 1985) 1969 Semiconductor memory system, Agusta, Moore, and Tu 1970 Unix operating system, Bell Labs and University of California at Berkeley 1970 Large scale integration (LSI) 1971 Autoradiopuhelin (ARP), Finland 1971 Microprocessor, Hoff 1972 Microcomputer, Intel 1972 Video games, Magnavox Aarne Mämmelä 13.9.2005 94 47 VTT TECHNICAL RESEARCH CENTRE OF FINLAND Brief History of Electronics [Dummer97] • 1972 Electronic mail (e-mail), Arpanet, USA • 1973 Hard disc • 1973 Transmission control protocol (TCP), Cerf and Kahn [Huurdeman03) • 1974 Barcode, USA • 1975 Video Home System (VHS) recorder, Japan Victor Company (JVC) • 1975 Laser printer, IBM • 1977 Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) reference model, International Standards Organization (ISO) • 1979 Compact disc (CD), Philips • 1979 Digital signal processor (DSP) • 1979 Mobile cellular system (Mobile Control Station, MCS), Japan • 1980 Very large scale integration (VLSI) • 1981 Mobile cellular system (Nordic Mobile Telephone, NMT), Europe • 1981 Microsoft Disc Operating System (MS-DOS), Gates • 1981 Personal computer (PC), IBM • 1985 Hard disc card, Plus Development Corp. • 1985 Digital video recorder, Sony • 1985 Compact disc read only memory (CD-ROM), Philips Aarne Mämmelä 13.9.2005 95 VTT TECHNICAL RESEARCH CENTRE OF FINLAND Brief History of Electronics [Dummer97] • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 1984 Graphical user interface (GUI), Apple 1985 Windows, Microsoft 1987 Digital audio broadcasting (DAB), Europe (operational 1995) 1988 Internet available outside the USA, inc. Finland 1989 Application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) 1989 C language standard (C++ 1996), ANSI 1989 Hypertext markup language (HTML), Berners-Lee [Huurdeman03] 1990 World Wide Web (WWW), Berners-Lee (commercial 1994) 1991 Hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP) and uniform resource locator (URL), Berners-Lee and Caillau [Huurdeman03] 1991 Global System for Mobile Communication (GSM), international [Huurdeman03) 1992 Internet browser, Mosaic (Netscape in 1994, Explorer in 1995) 1995 Digital versatile disc (DVD), international 1995 Short message service (SMS), GSM [Huurdeman03] 1996 Java language 1997 Digital video broadcasting - terrestrial (DVB-T), international (operational 1998) Aarne Mämmelä 13.9.2005 96 48 VTT TECHNICAL RESEARCH CENTRE OF FINLAND Brief History of Electronics [Dummer97] • 1997 Wireless local area networks (WLAN) (IEEE 802.11 standard), IEEE • 1999 Wireless access protocol (WAP), international [Huurdeman03] • 2000 Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) (standard), ITU and IETF [Huurdeman03] • 2001 Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), international [Huurdeman03] Aarne Mämmelä 13.9.2005 97 VTT TECHNICAL RESEARCH CENTRE OF FINLAND Brief History of Scientific Method [Losee01] • Aristotle (300s BC), first philosopher of science and systematic classifier, developer of inductive-deductive method, Aristotelian world view, four aspects of causation including material cause (what?), formal (structural) cause, efficient cause (how?) and final (teleological) cause (why?) • F. Bacon (1620), founder of modern philosophy of science, inductiveexperimental method, accepted only material and efficient causes, divorce between science and theology • R. Descartes (1637), founder of modern philosophy, rationalism, ontological reductionism (atomism), deductive hierarchy of propositions, hypotheses based on analogies • G. Galilei (1638), start of empirism, idealizations in analysis, demonstration of inadequacy of Aristotle’ s physics, breakthrough of Copernician world view • I. Newton (1687), method of analysis and synthesis (hypotheticodeductive method), reduction of laws of terrestrial (by Galileo) and planetary (by Kepler) motion to Newtonian mechanics, distinction between axiomatic system (abstract) and its empirical application (concrete) Aarne Mämmelä 13.9.2005 98 49 VTT TECHNICAL RESEARCH CENTRE OF FINLAND Recent Progress • discussion on theories of scientific progress continued [Losee01] • from prescriptive to descriptive philosophy of science • evolutionary analogy in the progress of science (naturalism) • realist-antirealist controversy • breakthrough of numerical methods • failure of analytical method for example in system theory • interest in computability theory Aarne Mämmelä 13.9.2005 99 VTT TECHNICAL RESEARCH CENTRE OF FINLAND Conclusions (1) Idea Literature review Problem and hypotheses Experiments/ analysis System (prototype) Theory/paper (new knowledge) Aarne Mämmelä 13.9.2005 100 50 VTT TECHNICAL RESEARCH CENTRE OF FINLAND Conclusions (2) Answer (hypothesis) Experience (analogies) Criticism (testing) Question (problem) Aarne Mämmelä 13.9.2005 101 VTT TECHNICAL RESEARCH CENTRE OF FINLAND Conclusions (3) •use bottom-up (inductive) approach in research, which is essentially a learning process •use top-down (deductive) approach in technical documents (reviews, monographs), this will make the presentation compact and easy to follow for experts (use IMRAD structure) •use bottom-up approach in teaching (tutorials, textbooks), and integrate results by using the topdown approach •remember that a doctoral thesis is not a textbook (writing a textbook is a large challenge), write the thesis for experts in the field Aarne Mämmelä 13.9.2005 102 51 VTT TECHNICAL RESEARCH CENTRE OF FINLAND Conclusions (4): Iterative research method Aarne Mämmelä 13.9.2005 103 VTT TECHNICAL RESEARCH CENTRE OF FINLAND Conclusions (5): Theory and practice • A good research project emphasizes theoretical results (usually system models) and uses prototypes for verification and validation of the new results Aarne Mämmelä 13.9.2005 104 52 VTT TECHNICAL RESEARCH CENTRE OF FINLAND Final conclusions Idea Literature review Problem and hypotheses Experiments/ analysis System (prototype) Theory/paper (new knowledge) General hints • use bibliographies to improve your efficiency in literature reviews (start from books and reviews, see the introduction of original papers) • learn the terminology, write a classification (taxonomy) for the state of the art, and see historical trends • define a problem and hypotheses (use bottomup empirical-inductive approach, make experiments early in your project) • start to outline the paper right from the beginning (there will never be “ more time” ), emphasize good organization, use top-down deductive approach in documents • reserve time for all phases in your project plan Aarne Mämmelä 13.9.2005 105 VTT TECHNICAL RESEARCH CENTRE OF FINLAND Researcher’s Checklist (1) •Funding, project plan, time schedule, needed competence, related areas, analogies, measurable milestones after some months, rough results for each year •Motivation, also long-term motivation, applications •Problem and rough competing hypotheses, which are refined iteratively, fundamental problems preferred •Performance metrics for both performance and complexity •Reference results (trivial cases, complete data with optimal processing, earlier solutions, benchmarks), confidence intervals for statistical results •Literature review, landmark books and papers, hierarchical classification of ideas, keywords, databases, good authors •System model, a priori knowledge, block diagram to show division into parts and relationships, idealizations, linear or nonlinear model, parameters, hierarchy and modularity Aarne Mämmelä 13.9.2005 106 53 VTT TECHNICAL RESEARCH CENTRE OF FINLAND Researcher’s Checklist (2) •Bottom up approach, from simple towards more complicated, reduce the problem into simple idealized and separate subproblems, make experiments (empirical-inductive approach preferred), remove nonidealities (distortions, interference) step by step, present results top down (hypothetico-deductive approach) •Discussion via brief technical reports, which are revised, good organization, good grammar, concise and accurate text, clearly defined terms •Publications, novelty, significance, correctness, readability, 1-2 good conference papers per year, 1-2 journal papers after three years Aarne Mämmelä 13.9.2005 107 VTT TECHNICAL RESEARCH CENTRE OF FINLAND Final Word: Focus “General Groves -- asks Oppenheimer [the leader of the Manhattan project that developed the atomic bomb] -- what it will take to get the Gadget [atomic bomb] built. “Focus,” Oppie answers, naming a critical element at every Great Group.”[Bennis98] Source of the figure: Associated Press (http://www.infoplease.com/spot/m m-beamon.html) Aarne Mämmelä 13.9.2005 108 54 VTT TECHNICAL RESEARCH CENTRE OF FINLAND References (1) • [amc03] “Terminology –the key to understanding analytical science. Part 1: Accuracy, precision and uncertainty,”AMC Technical Brief, September 2003 (www.rsc.org/pdf/amc/brief13.pdf). • W. Bennis and P. W. Biederman, Organizing Genius: The Secrets of Creative Collaboration. Addison Wesley, 1998. • P. Bock, Getting It Right: R&D Methods for Science and Engineering. Academic Press, 2001. • D. Bohm and F. D. Beat, Science, Order and Creativity. Bantam Books, 1987. • C. B. Boyer, A History of Mathematics. Wiley, 2nd revision edition, 1991. • J. Clute and P. Nicholls (Eds.), The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction, reprint ed. St. Martin’ s Press, 1995. Aarne Mämmelä 13.9.2005 109 VTT TECHNICAL RESEARCH CENTRE OF FINLAND References (2) • M. Davis, Scientific Papers and Presentations. Academic Press, 1997. • R. A. Day, How to Write and Publish a Scientific Paper, 5th ed. Oxyx Press, 1998. • J. P. Calvez, Embedded Real-Time Systems: A Specification and Design Methodology. John Wiley & Sons, 1993. • P. Checkland, Systems Thinking, Systems Practice: A 30-Year Retrospective. Wiley, 1999. • T. M. Cover and J. A. Thomas, Elements of Information Theory. Wiley, 1991. • D. Deutsch, Fabric of Reality. Penguin, 1998. • R. M. Felder and L. K. Silverman, “Learning and teaching styles in engineering education,”Engineering Education, pp. 674-681, April 1988. • R. P. Feynman, The Meaning of It All. Perseus Publishing, 1998. • R. P. Feynman, The Pleasure of Finding Thíngs Out. Perseus Publishing, 1999. Aarne Mämmelä 13.9.2005 110 55 VTT TECHNICAL RESEARCH CENTRE OF FINLAND References (3) •D. D. Gajski, Silicon Compilation. Addison-Wesley, 1988. •R. W. Hamming, “You and your research,”IEEE Potentials, pp. 3740, October 1993. •S. Haykin, Communication Systems. 4th ed. Wiley, 2001. •D. Hicks, “Six reasons to do long-term research,”Research and Technology Management, pp. 8-11, July-August 1999. •Honderich (Ed.), The Oxford Companion to Philosophy, 2nd ed. Oxford Univ Press, 2005. •J. Hudson, The History of Chemistry. Chapman and Hall, 1992. •A. Huurdeman, The Worldwide History of Telecommunications. Wiley, 2003. •ISO Guide 99:2004 International vocabulary of basic and general terms in metrology (VIM) (draft in revision) (www.ntmdt.ru/download/vim.pdf). •R. K. Jain and H. C. Triandis, Management of Research and Development Organizations: Managing the Unmanageable. John Wiley & Sons, 1997. Aarne Mämmelä 13.9.2005 111 VTT TECHNICAL RESEARCH CENTRE OF FINLAND References (4) •R. N. Kostoff, “Science and Technology Roadmaps,”IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management, vol. 48, pp. 132-143, May 2001. •H. Kragh, Quantum Generations: A History of Physics in the Twentieth Century, reprint ed. Princeton University Press, 2002. •E. Kreyszig, Advanced Engineering Mathematics, 5th ed. John Wiley & Sons, 1983. •K. Leppälä et al., Professional Virtual Design of Smart Products. IT Press, 2003. •C. Loehle, “A guide to increased creativity in research - inspiration or perspiration?”BioScience, vol. 40, pp. 123-129, February 1990, limnology.wisc.edu/courses/zoo955/publications/Wk04_Research/L oehle_1990_Guide_to_Creativity.pdf. •J. Losee, A Historical Introduction to the Philosophy of Science, 4th ed. Oxford Univ Press, 2001. Aarne Mämmelä 13.9.2005 112 56 VTT TECHNICAL RESEARCH CENTRE OF FINLAND References (5) •Lars Lundheim, “On Shannon and ‘ Shannon’ s Formula’ ,” Telektronikk, vol. 98, no. 1-2002, pp. 20-29, www.tuilmenau.de/site/mt/uploads/media/ shannonLarsTelektronikk02.pdf. •Z. Michalewicz and D. B. Fogel, How to Solve It: Modern Heuristics, 2nd ed. Springer, 2004. •E. Nagel, Structure of Science: Problems in the Logic of Scientific Explanation. Hackett Pub Co, 1979. •I. Niiniluoto, Johdatus tieteenteoriaan: Käsitteen- ja teorianmuodostus, 3rd ed. Otava, 2002. •I. Niiniluoto, Tieteellinen päättely ja selittäminen. Otava, 1983. •M. Polanyi, “The republic of science: Its political and economic theory,”Minerva, vol. 1, pp. 54-74, 1962, www.compilerpress.atfreeweb.com/Anno%20Polanyi%20Republic20 %of%20Science%201962.htm. Aarne Mämmelä 13.9.2005 113 VTT TECHNICAL RESEARCH CENTRE OF FINLAND References (6) •J. G. Proakis, Digital Communications. 4th ed. McGraw-Hill, 2001. •A. Rosenberg, Philosophy of Science: A Contemporary Introduction. Routlegde, 2000. •Random House Webster’s Concise College Dictionary. New York: Random House, 1999. •D. Schwanitz, Bildung: Alles was man wissen muss. Frankfurt, Germany: Eichborn, 1999. •B. Sklar, Digital Communications: Fundamentals and Applications, 2nd ed. Prentice Hall, 2001. •P. Strathern, Mendeleyev‘s Dream: The Quest for the Elements. Thomas Dunne Books, 2001. •A. S. Tanenbaum, Computer Networks, 3rd ed. Prentice Hall, 1996. •K. Ulrich and S. Eppinger, Product Design and Development. McGraw-Hill, 1995. •Webster’s Third New International Dictionary of the English Language, Unabridged (a Merriam-Webster). Cologne, Germany: Könemann, 1993. Aarne Mämmelä 13.9.2005 114 57 VTT TECHNICAL RESEARCH CENTRE OF FINLAND References (7) •E. B. Wilson, An Introduction to Scientific Research, rev. ed. Dover Publications, 1990. •E. O. Wilson, Consilience: The Unity of Knowledge. Random House, 1999. •C. Wohlin et al., Experimentation in Software Engineering: An Introduction, Springer, 1999. Aarne Mämmelä 13.9.2005 115 VTT TECHNICAL RESEARCH CENTRE OF FINLAND Recommended Reading (1) Writing instructions • R. A. Day and B. Gastel, How to Write and Publish a Scientific Paper, 6th ed. Oryx Press, 2006, 320 pp. (Explains the IMRAD structure of a paper.) • T. N. Huckin and L. A. Olsen, Technical Writing and Professional Communication for Nonnative Speakers, 2nd ed. McGraw-Hill, 1991 (1983), xxii + 746 pp. (In addition to writing instructions, this book covers the grammar of the English language.) • N. J. Higham, Handbook of Writing for the Mathematical Sciences, 2nd ed. Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics, 1998 (1993), xvi + 302 pp. (This book is recommended for mathematical writing.) Dictionaries • Merriam-Webster’ s Collegiate Dictionary, 11th ed. Merriam-Webster, 2003 (1898), 1664 pp. (ISBN 0877798095). (Recommended by most publishers. Available also at www.m-w.com where you can also listen to the pronunciation. The dictionary first presents etymology and uses historical order of definitions.) • Random House Webster’ s College Dictionary. 2nd ed. Random House, 2001 (1947, 1991), 1600 pp. (The definitions start from the most common or current meanings first.) Aarne Mämmelä 13.9.2005 116 58 VTT TECHNICAL RESEARCH CENTRE OF FINLAND Recommended Reading (2) Research methods and philosophy of science • P. Bock, Getting It Right: R&D Methods for Science and Engineering. Academic Press, 2001, xvii + 406 pp. (The author is a professor in engineering and he has given a similar course on research methodology for several years.) • A. Rosenberg, The Philosophy of Science: A Contemporary Introduction, 2nd ed. Routledge, 2005 (2000), 204 pp. (This is a general textbook about philosophy of science in English, although quite brief and written for undergraduate students.) Systems engineering • L. Skyttner, General Systems Theory: Perspectives, Problems, Practice, 2nd ed. World Scientific Publishing Company, 2006 (2001), 536 pp. (This book covers many general system theories as information theory, which makes the book very suitable for students working for example in signal processing.) • P. Checkland, Systems Thinking, Systems Practice: Includes a 30-year Retrospective, new ed. Wiley, 1998 (1981), 66 + xiv + 330 pp. (This book includes an extensive history of systems-based methodology starting from the ancient Greek science.) Aarne Mämmelä 13.9.2005 117 VTT TECHNICAL RESEARCH CENTRE OF FINLAND Recommended Reading (3) History of science and technology • J. E. McClellan III and H. Dorn, Science and Technology in World History: An Introduction, 2nd ed. John Hopkins Univ Press, 2006 (1999), 496 pp. (The book covers the history of the last 12,000 years since the beginning of agriculture.) • W. A. Atherton, From Compass to Computer: A History of Electrical and Electronics Engineering. San Francisco Press, 1984, 337 pp. • J. Gribbin, The Scientists: A History of Science Told through the Lives of Its Greatest Inventors. Random House, 2003, 672 pp. (This is a book about general history of science, but covers only the times since Copernicus from 1543 when he published his work.) • D. C. Lindberg, The Beginnings of Western Science: The European Scientific Tradition in Philosophical, Religious, and Institutional Context, 600 B.C. to A.D. 1450. University of Chicago Press, 1992, 474 pp. (The early history of science is covered.) Aarne Mämmelä 13.9.2005 118 59
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