Writing a Research Paper: From the Parts to the Whole

Figueiredo, A. D. (2007). Research Methods, DEI/FCT, University of Coimbra.

Good research paper writing can be made much simpler than most people think provided a few important principles are kept in mind. We cover these principles here, in just two pages, as we go through a description of the successive parts of a typical research paper. We hope this will help young researchers achieve in a short time the high standards expected at top international journals and conferences.

Keywords: conference, journal, paper writing, research, scientific writing, writing

Biopharmaceutical clusters in Europe

When Clusters Become Networks

come close and co-create. proximities in pharmaceutical innovation networks (PhD thesis)

Linguistic Articles

Liquidity and Insurance for the Unemployed

Learning Contexts: A Blueprint for Research

Figueiredo, A. D. (2005). Learning Contexts: A Blueprint for Research. Interactive Educational Multimedia, no. 11. University of Barcelona, Barcelona, October 2005, pp. 127-139.

Most research efforts in online learning tend to concentrate on the delivery of content relegating to a lesser role the contexts, the activity-rich, interaction-rich and culturally-rich learning environments that the use of technology is making possible and where new principles and practices apply. We illustrate some of the threads of this emerging research field: What are learning contexts? How do they interact with contents? How can they be managed? What philosophical perspectives and social theories frame and support their use? Can they be designed? How do they shape the platforms of the future?

I chose this paper for display at Academia.edu because it is illustrative of one of my research interests.

The Serendipty Equations

Figueiredo, A. D., & Campos, J. (2001). The Serendipty Equations. In Weber, R. and Gresse, C. (Eds.), Proceedings of the Workshop Program at the Fourth International Conference on Case-Based Reasoning, ICCBR 2001, Technical Note AIC-01-003. Washington, DC: Naval Research Laboratory, Navy Center for Applied Research in Artificial Intelligence, pp. 121-124. 

In spite of the role it recognizably plays in sparking innovation, serendipity, the faculty of making fortunate and unexpected discoveries by accident, remains largely unexplored as a subject of research. This may result to some extent from the difficulty in discriminating serendipity from other manifestations of creativity. To overcome this barrier, we propose a notation that visually expresses serendipity in the form of logical equations, offering a different way of looking at the concept.

I chose this paper for display at Academia.edu because it is illustrative of one of my research interests.

Toward an Epistemology of Engineering

Figueiredo, A. D. (2008). Toward an Epistemology of Engineering. In Goldberg, D. & McCarthy, N. (Eds.),  Proceedings Workshop on Philosophy & Engineering (WPE 2008), Royal Engineering Academy, London, November 2008, pp. 94-95.

What's Engineering Knowledge? How different is it from traditional Scientific Knowledge? How can we obtain reliable Engineering Knowledge? How can we assess the value of Engineering Knowledge? To help answer these questions and contribute to a reflection on the epistemology of engineering, we propose a model where engineering is seen as developing in four dimensions linked in a transdisciplinary relationship. We then articulate this model with the four key questions of the philosophy of knowledge to clarify the nature of this relationship and illuminate some distinctive attributes of engineering knowledge.

I chose this paper for display at Academia.edu because it is illustrative of one of my research interests. The slides of the talk corresponding to this paper are also available here.