Difference between "Introduction" and "Related Work"
Question on Academia Stack Exchange
Description
In the writing of scientific papers, there are basically two chapters: Introduction and Related Work. This is a common issue, that many people get confused how to organize introduction and related work chapters. Because both are related to the literature review.
This post is my personal view on the issue. If you have any suggestions on this post, please leave comments below.
What is Introduction and Related Work?
This document, How to Write a Scientific Paper, is based on resources from the Université de Rennes 1 and Western Kentucky University.
Introduction Definition
As its name implies, this section presents the background knowledge necessary for the reader to understand why the findings of the paper are an advance on the knowledge in the field. Typically, the Introduction describes first the accepted state of knowledge in a specialized field; then it focuses more specifically on a particular aspect, usually describing a finding or set of findings that led directly to the work described in the paper. In many papers, one or several major conclusions of the paper are presented at the end of this section, so that the reader knows the major answers to the questions just posed.
- state objectives clearly
- why is this work necessary/interesting/useful, motivation
- what are the preliminaries/put your work in context
- cite important literature (if you have no related work section)
Related Work Definition
This is either included within the introduction or it is a sction on its own. Establish the context by providing a brief and balanced review of the pertinent published literature that is available on the subject. The key is to summarize (for the reader) what we knew about the specific problem before you did your studies (developed your algorithm). This is accomplished with a general review of the primary research literature (with citations) but should not include very specific, lengthy explanations. Objectively state the drawbacks of existing methods and why you have to look for other solutions.
How to Organize?
According to the definition of introduction and related work, I have sorted out my understanding of these two chapters.
- Introduction is a more general overview of your work, only cite the most recent or most relevant works in this chapter. Provide a brief introduction to developments and issues in the field, with an emphasis on highlighting the value of your work.
- Related Work will organize the work in the field in a more comprehensive and organized way. Also talk about the basics of your approach, especially if you’re introducing new methods that haven’t been used in the field before.
In general, there are no standards. Many high-quality papers are not structured according to the rules.
References
[1] Bob, “Difference between introduction and related work?,” Academia Stack Exchange, Oct. 31, 2016. https://academia.stackexchange.com/q/79164 (accessed May 12, 2023).
[2] “How to write a scientific paper | TU Wien – Research Unit of Computer Graphics.” https://www.cg.tuwien.ac.at/resources/HowToWriteAScientificPaper (accessed May 14, 2023).