Research Proposal Part 5: Writing the Title


The title of a research proposal in Computer Systems should be clear, concise, and informative, conveying the key focus, contribution, and scope of the work. It should attract the attention of the target audience (e.g., systems researchers, industry practitioners) while adhering to academic standards. Below are the key guidelines for crafting an effective title for our running example:

1. Be Clear and Specific

  • Objective: Clearly describe the main focus of the research (e.g., Kubernetes scheduling, heterogeneous clusters, ML workloads).
  • Avoid Ambiguity: Use precise terms to indicate the system, problem, or technology (e.g., "Kubernetes scheduler" instead of "orchestration system").
  • Highlight the Contribution: Include the novel aspect (e.g., "extension," "optimization") to differentiate from existing work.

2. Incorporate Key Keywords

  • Purpose: Include domain-specific terms to ensure the title is discoverable in academic databases (e.g., IEEE Xplore, ACM Digital Library) and aligns with Computer Systems terminology.
  • Examples: Use terms like "scheduling," "heterogeneous computing," "machine learning workloads," "Kubernetes," "resource optimization."
  • Balance: Avoid overloading with jargon; aim for terms that are broadly understood in systems research.

3. Emphasize Novelty and Impact

  • Highlight the Gap: Suggest how the research addresses an unsolved problem (e.g., "optimized for heterogeneous clusters").
  • Focus on Outcome: Include the intended benefit, such as "improved performance," "enhanced scalability," or "efficient resource utilization."
  • Systems Focus: Emphasize systems-level contributions (e.g., scheduler design, system integration) typical in OSDI, SOSP, or EuroSys papers.

4. Keep It Concise

  • Length: Aim for 8-15 words to balance detail and brevity, as longer titles may lose impact.
  • Avoid Redundancy: Eliminate unnecessary words (e.g., "A Study on" or "Towards") unless required by journal/conference guidelines.
  • Clarity Over Creativity: Prioritize clarity over catchy phrases, as is standard in systems research.

5. Align with the Problem Statement

  • Consistency: Ensure the title reflects the problem statement (e.g., addressing suboptimal scheduling in Kubernetes for ML workloads on heterogeneous clusters).
  • Scope: Match the scope of the aim and objectives (e.g., focus on scheduler extension, not general orchestration).

6. Follow Conference/Journal Conventions

  • Check Guidelines: Review target venues (e.g., NSDI, ASPLOS, EuroSys) for title formatting preferences (e.g., capitalization, colons).
  • Style: Use a descriptive or declarative style common in systems papers (e.g., "Optimizing X for Y" or "A System for Z").
  • Examples from Field: Model after titles in top systems conferences, such as "Tiresias: A GPU Cluster Manager for Distributed Deep Learning" [NSDI 2020].

7. Test for Readability and Appeal

  • Audience: Ensure the title is understandable to systems researchers and practitioners familiar with Kubernetes and ML.
  • Feedback: Share drafts with peers or mentors to confirm clarity and relevance.
  • Searchability: Test if the title includes keywords likely to be searched (e.g., "Kubernetes," "heterogeneous," "machine learning").

8. Avoid Overpromising

  • Be Realistic: Don't claim overly broad impacts (e.g., "Revolutionizing Cloud Computing") unless justified.
  • Focus on Contribution: Emphasize the specific system or technique (e.g., scheduler extension) rather than vague goals.

Title Example

"Optimizing Kubernetes Scheduling for Machine Learning Workloads on Heterogeneous CPU/GPU/TPU Clusters"

Discussion of the Example Title

  • Clarity and Specificity: The title clearly specifies the system (Kubernetes), the component (scheduling), the target application (machine learning workloads), and the context (heterogeneous CPU/GPU/TPU clusters).
  • Keywords: Includes key terms like "Kubernetes," "scheduling," "machine learning," "heterogeneous," and "CPU/GPU/TPU" for discoverability in systems research.
  • Novelty and Impact: "Optimizing" suggests a performance-focused contribution, addressing the gap in inefficient pod placement for ML workloads.
  • Conciseness: At 10 words, it's brief yet descriptive, fitting within typical systems paper title lengths.
  • Alignment with Problem Statement: Reflects the problem statement's focus on suboptimal scheduling in Kubernetes for heterogeneous ML clusters, emphasizing performance and resource utilization.
  • Systems Convention: Follows a descriptive style common in OSDI or NSDI papers (e.g., "Optimizing X for Y") and avoids vague or overly broad terms.

Alternative Title Examples

To illustrate flexibility, here are variations depending on emphasis:

  • More Technical: "A Kubernetes Scheduler Extension for Heterogeneous ML Workload Optimization"
  • Broader Scope: "Efficient Scheduling for ML Workloads in Heterogeneous Kubernetes Clusters"
  • Specific Metric: "Low-Latency Kubernetes Scheduling for Heterogeneous ML Clusters"

Additional Tips for Computer Systems Context

  • Reflect Systems Priorities: Use terms like "optimizing," "efficient," or "scalable" to align with systems research goals (e.g., performance, scalability, resource efficiency).
  • Reference the Platform: Explicitly mentioning "Kubernetes" ensures relevance to cloud orchestration research.
  • Highlight Application: Including "machine learning workloads" ties to the growing importance of ML in systems research.
  • Check Venue Fit: For example, NSDI prefers titles emphasizing systems and networking, while ASPLOS may favor hardware-software integration (e.g., mentioning CPU/GPU/TPU).

Part 6 will focus on the Evaluation.

Acknowledgement

This article was made with the help of Grok (accessed 2025-07-24)