如何脱出(英文)论文地狱

鉴于在可以预见的未来我至少还要写一到两篇大论文……

总体流程

  1. 列出粗略目录,包括每章节题目
  2. 跳过介绍和文献梳理,直接从正文开始写
  3. 然后文献梳理
  4. 然后介绍
  5. 然后总结
  6. (如果需要的话)最后摘要

文本层面的注意点

  • 保持块状的、互相独立的文本结构:
    • 别讲 last section, next section 之类的,用编号或章节题目;
  • 一旦大致有了点内容就开始用 Grammarly 逐段检查,能有效整理思路;

LaTeX 相关的注意点

外围层面的注意点

  • 写文本和做数据/做图的时候需要的姿势和心情是不一样的,多多尝试;
  • 准备足够的咖啡和茶叶,特别是最后两周,不要逼自己熬夜之后还要出门补充物资;
  • 准备几袋小包装的巧克力,实在写不动的时候吃一颗;
  • 每天在开始工作之前洗澡,不要等到「正常时间」或者一天结束的时候再洗。

工作歌单

前辈给我提的细节意见

感谢 Dr. Felix Mauersberger 给予我的大力支持和一大堆建议。

Huge shout-out to Dr. Felix Mauersberger for all the advice and support.

介绍部分:

The best structure of introduction is:

  1. What is the status quo that most researchers agree with? Also define everything.
  2. What is the problem with current methods?
  3. How are you contributing towards a solution?

总结部分:

Tips for writing the conclusion:

  1. what do we learn from your thesis in brief?
  2. what is the punchline? any policy implications?
  3. What are the limitations and implications for future research?
    • if you had 2-5 years instead of just a few months for the thesis, what would you do?

表格:

Tables and figures are the heart of a thesis/paper and need to be self-explanatory – at the very least when reading the captions.

  • All variables needs to be clearly labelled.
  • Avoid the use of acronyms.
  • And often summary statistics tables are more extensive.

看了以上修改意见以及例子之后我修改的表格:

Summary statistics table

数据来源:

  • Scherpenzeel, A.C. and M. Das, ““True” Longitudinal and Probability-Based Internet Panels: Evidence From the Netherlands,” in M. Das, P. Ester, and L. Kaczmirek, eds., Social and Behavioral Research and the Internet: Advances in Applied Methods and Research Strategies, Boca Raton: Taylor & Francis, 2010, pp. 77–104.
  • Gaudecker, Hans-Martin Von, Christian Zimpelmann, Moritz Mendel, Bettina Siflinger, Lena Janys, Jürgen Maurer, Egbert Jongen, Radost Holler, Renata Abikeyeva, Felipe Augusto Azuero Mutis, Annica Gehlen, and Eva Lucia Kleifgen, “CoViD-19 Impact Lab Questionnaire Documentation,” March 2021.