Writing a Publishable USENIX/SAGE Technical Paper Joshua S. Simon Collective TechnologiesApril 8,...

Writing a Publishable Writing a Publishable USENIX/SAGE Technical USENIX/SAGE Technical

PaperPaper

Joshua S. Simon<[email protected]>

Collective Technologies April 8, 1998

April 8, 1999 Writing a Publishable USENIX/SAGE Technical Paper

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Quickest way to get Quickest way to get publishedpublished

Bribe the Committee We may be easy But we’re not cheap!


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OverviewOverview

Why? What the Committee looks for Increasing your chances


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Why me?Why me?

Attendee & busybody LISA 1994-1998 USENIX 1995-1998 (1999?)

Program Committee, LISA 97 Practicum Track advisor, LISA 98 Program Committee, LISA 99


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Why you?Why you?

Why not? Companies want their name

associated with published papers Managers need justification to send

people to conferences Good for your recognition in the

field Good for your career


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What the Committee What the Committee looks forlooks for

Extended abstract Relevance Presentation Quality Overall Comments


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Extended abstractExtended abstract

Maximum 5 pages Can be in outline format

but include paragraphs!

Can you write clearly about your topic?

Can you organize your thoughts well? Can you convey sufficient

information to readers?


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Extended abstract Extended abstract (continued)(continued)

Include graphs, figures, & tables if central to the paper don’t count against the page limit

Include notes to the Committee


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RelevanceRelevance

Is the paper appropriate for a USENIX conference? Marketing papers The Australian emu’s mating habits

Is the work of interest to some or all of the attendees?

Will some or all of the attendees want to attend a talk on this paper?


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PresentationPresentation

Is the paper readable? Is the language understandable? Is the problem well-stated? Are the goals of the solution well-

stated? Are the tests of the solution well-

stated? Are the results well-stated?


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QualityQuality

Does the abstract briefly & clearly state the goals and conclusions

Is the work technically correct? Is the work any good?

A new sort algorithm running in O(n5) isn’t A new sort algorithm running in O(1) is

Are the references sufficient?


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OverallOverall

Should we accept this paper? Not an average of the previous 3

values Presentation, Relevance, and Quality can be

improved between abstract and final paper Fudge factors for intangibles allowed Is it “fun”?


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CommentsComments

Qualifications of the reviewer Written feedback for the author Comments for the Committee only


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Questions we askQuestions we ask

What are the weakest and/or least understandable parts of this work with respect to its presentation? with the technical aspects?

Are the goals correct? if not, how should they be changed?


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More questions we askMore questions we ask

If you think this paper should not be accepted, what needs to be done to it to change your mind?


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StatisticsStatistics

LISA 96 accepted 29 of 76 papers (38%) 1,058 of >1,650 attendees new to LISA

(64%)

LISA 97 accepted 23 of 56 papers (41%)

LISA 98 accepted 30 of 63 papers (48%) 1,985 attendees


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1998 LISA attendee 1998 LISA attendee affiliationsaffiliations

r&d5%

gov9%

com60%

edu26%

comedugovr&d


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Increasing your chancesIncreasing your chances

Be clear & concise Have an outline of the paper Include the introduction Include graphs, figures, & tables Include references Answer the questions the Committee

asks Bribe the Committee


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LISA ’99 conference infoLISA ’99 conference info

Extended abstracts due: May 25 Notification to authors: June 30 Final papers due: September 19 Technical sessions: November 10-

12 Location: Seattle, Washington


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IncentivesIncentives

Intangible Recognition in the field More “fudge factor” in future submissions

Tangible Cash awards: Best Paper & Best Student

Paper One author of each paper gets

complementary registration to the technical sessions


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Online resourcesOnline resources

USENIX web site, http://www.usenix.org/ LISA ’99 CFP,

http://www.usenix.org/events/lisa99/cfp/cfp.html

LISA ’99 Topics, .../cfp/cfp5.html LISA ’99 Submission

Guidelines, .../cfp/guidelines.html Submitting an abstract,

.../cfp/submit.html


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QuestionsQuestions

Who are you? What do you want? Why are you here? Do you have anything worth living

for?


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QuestionsQuestions

Writing a Publishable USENIX/SAGE Technical Paper Joshua S. Simon Collective TechnologiesApril 8,...

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