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Scientific writing.pptx
- 1. Scientific writing Writing for different purpose (report, proposal, thesis/dissertation, journal)
- 2. Scientific writing ⢠âIf I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.â â Isaac Newton, 1675 CE
- 3. Well written papers are: ⢠Read ⢠Remembered ⢠Cited Poorly written papers are notâŚ
- 4. General Considerations for Scientific Writing ⢠If it can be interpreted in more than one way, itâs wrong ⢠Thoroughly understand your sources. ⢠Support everything with evidence, and distinguish fact from possibility. ⢠Know your audience. ⢠If you canât think of a reason to put a comma in, leave it out ⢠Never make your readers work harder than they have to. from -A Short Guide to Writing about Biology by Jan A. Pechenik - Nora Ransom (Kansas State University) in M. Davis et al., Scientific Papers & Presentations, Academic Press, 2012
- 5. Using Your Sources ⢠Scientific writing rarely uses direct quotation. ⢠Extensive paraphrasing often indicates a lack of understanding. ⢠Information from other sources, if used, will usually be summarized. ⢠Donât be afraid to ask questions! -from A Short Guide to Writing about Biology by Jan A. Pechenik
- 6. Questioning Your Sources ⢠What specific questions were asked? ⢠How was the study designed, and how did the design of the study address the question posed? ⢠What are the specific results of the study? How convincing are they? ⢠What assumptions were made? Did they seem reasonable? ⢠What contribution does the study make toward answering the original question? ⢠What aspects of the original question remain unanswered? -from A Short Guide to Writing about Biology by Jan A. Pechenik
- 7. ⢠We compared the effects of trivalent polyamines, spermidine (SPD) and norspermidine (NSPD), a chemical homologue of SPD, on the structure of DNA and gene expression. The chemical structures of SPD and NSPD are different only with the number of methylene groups between amine groups, [N-3-N-4-N] and [N-3-N-3-N], respectively. SPD plays vital roles in cell function and survival, including in mammals. On the other hand, NSPD has antitumor activity and is found in some species of plants, bacteria and algae, but not in humans. We found that both polyamines exhibit biphasic effect; enhancement and inhibition on in vitro gene expression, where SPD shows definitely higher potency in enhancement but NSPD causes stronger inhibition. Based on the results of AFM (atomic force microscopy) observations together with single DNA measurements with fluorescence microscopy, it becomes clear that SPD tends to align DNA orientation, whereas NSPD induces shrinkage with a greater potency. The measurement of binding equilibrium by NMR indicates that NSPD shows 4â5 times higher affinity to DNA than SPD. Our theoretical study with Monte Carlo simulation provides the insights into the underlying mechanism of the specific effect of NSPD on DNA. ⢠-from Nishio, TakashiAU - Yoshikawa, YukoAU - Shew, Chwen-YangAU - Umezawa, NaokiAU - Higuchi, TsunehikoAU - Yoshikawa, KenichiPY. Specific effects of antitumor active norspermidine on the structure and function of DNA - Scientific Reports
- 8. Support Everything with Evidence⌠⢠All statements, whether fact or opinion, require support. You may, for example, use⌠ďPeer-reviewed Journals ďQuantitative Results (including your own data!) ďGovernment/Academic Reports ⢠Be critical of the sources you use to support your assertions.
- 9. ⌠and Distinguish Fact from Possibility. ⢠Statements in a scientific paper need a significant consensus to meet the requirements of a âfact.â ⢠You may form an opinion, but can you support it to scientific standards? ⢠Use verbs like suggest, seem, appear, exhibit, indicate, point to, express, and assert. ⢠âIf [x] is true, then [y].â
- 10. Fact or possibility? 1. Anecdotal evidence suggests that cockroaches respond to electrical appliances or outlets. 2. Cockroach infestation was found in 45 (65.2%) institutions and 558 cockroaches were collected.
- 11. Never make your readers work harder than they have to.. ⢠Donât make your readers guess the significance of your assertions. Tell them! ⢠Move logically from one point to the next, and make sure your writing shows the progression of your ideas. ⢠Be clear, be correct, and be concise! âWrite to illuminate, not to impress. Use the simplest words and the simplest phrasing consistent with that goal.â â Jan A. Pechenik
- 12. Concise writing.. In order to be able to examine and analyse our data, we utilized a number of computer software packages dedicated to conducting statistical evaluations. - sentence from a postgraduate project paper
- 13. We used statistical software to analyze our data. - suggested revision Concise writing..
- 14. It was found that the extraction of the dried leaves using nonpolar solvents yielded compounds that were found to be active using the pharmacological assays (Fig. 1). Concise writing..
- 15. Compounds obtained from the extractions using nonpolar solvents were pharmacologically active (Fig. 1). Concise writing..
- 16. Transitions between sentences ⌠The energy needs of a resting otter are 3 times those of terrestrial animals of comparable size. The sea otter eats about 25% of its body weight daily. Sea otters feed at night as well as during the day.
- 17. Transitions between sentences ⌠The energy needs of a resting otter are 3 times those of terrestrial animals of comparable size. To support such a high metabolic rate, the sea otter must eat about 25% of its body weight daily. Moreover, sea otters feed continually, at night as well as during the day.
- 18. Know Your Audience ⢠Who are you writing to? The answer to this question should help determine the choices you make while writing.
- 19. ⢠Make your paper self-sufficient: define terms, explain abbreviations, clarify details. Donât assume pre-existing knowledge that your readers might not have. ⢠Your audience for a scientific paper will have certain expectations for format, tone, and style. Know Your Audience
- 20. Audience Expectations ⢠Your audience will usually expect a specific organization for your paper: IMRaD Introduction, Methods/Materials, Results and Discussion ⢠âThe text of an article ⌠will usually be some variation of the IMRaD form.â -from Scientific Style and Format: The CSE Manual for Authors, Editors, and Publishers by The Council of Science Editors
- 25. What is a research proposal? ⢠A research proposal is a ⌠⢠A document that contains details about a scientific investigation to be carried out (i.e., not started yet) ⢠It contains details about: ⢠The problem to be studied ⢠How the investigation will be conducted ⢠Expected results and contribution ⢠Work schedule / Time frame ⢠Budget (for those seeking funds)
- 26. Why do we need a research proposal? ⢠A blueprint (plan) of the research program ⢠It forces us to contemplate in detail about ⢠What we want to research ⢠Why we want to do the research ⢠How to do the research ⢠What do we need to do the research ⢠Are we able to do the research
- 27. Main purpose of a research proposal ⢠It is to show that ⢠the problem you propose to investigate is significant enough to warrant the investigation, ⢠the method you plan to use is suitable and feasible, and ⢠the results are likely to prove fruitful and will make an original [or significant] contribution. ⢠In short, what you are answering is 'will it work?â
- 28. Key ingredients of a research proposal Title Background to the research Statement of problem Objectives of research Literature review Methodology Work schedule
- 29. Title ⢠Good titles identify the field(s) of research and indicate the kind of results to be obtained ⢠Avoid ⢠Too long titles ⢠Too general or vague titles, e.g., âEffects of antibiotics on bacteriaâ
- 30. Background to the research and problem statement ⢠The key effort is to make the reviewers/readers understand ⢠What is the problem ⢠Why is the problem important ⢠Problem statement answers one primary question: ââWhy do this project?ââ ⢠The emphasis is on the ââwhyââ ⢠To answer this question, proposal writers must ⢠(1) define the problem and ⢠(2) document its existence
- 31. ⢠Your statement of the problem should quickly: ⢠summarize the problem from the vantage point of the readers, ⢠document its frequency and severity, ⢠show your familiarity with prior research or work on the problem, and ⢠justify why this problem should be investigated ⢠Do not assume that everyone sees the problem as clearly as you do ⢠even if the problem is obvious, your readers want to know how clearly you can state it Describes the broader context and issues Links the broader context and issues to the problem to be investigated Problem statement
- 32. ⢠Research is extending the knowledge frontier ⢠That is, building upon other researchersâ work ⢠Cite other peopleâs work (not only yours) ⢠Explain ⢠The current limits and gaps in knowledge ⢠Your studyâs contribution to fill in current gaps in knowledge or to extend the knowledge frontier ⢠The broader impact or benefit to the society, country, or the world ⢠A good statement to have in your proposal: âIf successful, the benefits of this research would be âŚâ
- 33. Key questions to be answered in a proposal ⢠Does your proposal: 1. Specify the conditions you wish to change? 2. Define the gaps in existing programs, services, or knowledge? 3. Include appropriate statistical data about the frequency and severity of the problem? 4. Clarify what will happen if nothing is done about this problem? 5. State the problem in terms of human needs, not your opportunities? 6. Cite pertinent theoretical literature, research findings, or ongoing studies? 7. Convey the focus of your project early in the narrative? 8. Point out the relationship of your project to a larger set of problems or issues?
- 34. Research objectives ⢠Objectives describe the purpose of the study ⢠Must be ⢠specific ⢠clear ⢠logical ⢠immediate (have a time frame) ⢠concise, and ⢠achievable (measurable)
- 35. ⢠Use action verbs in objectives such as Anticipate Construct Discriminate Measure Arrange Contrast Display Motivate Assemble Coordinate Distinguish Organize Assess Decrease Establish Quantify Build Demonstrate Estimate Solve Categorize Describe Evaluate Stimulate Classify Design Explain Summarize Compare Detect Illustrate Translate Conduct Discover Increase
- 36. ⢠May have two sections: general and specific objectives ⢠Or split study into parts/sections, and for each section a statement of its study objectives ⢠But ensure the sections are related to one another to solve or investigate the overall problem ⢠Hypothesis to be tested ⢠Expected results ⢠What you expect/believe the results would be
- 37. Literature review ⢠Important to ⢠Identify, ⢠Evaluate, ⢠Interpret, ⢠Assimilate, ⢠and Summarize all studies relevant to your study ⢠Impartial review of all studies ⢠Do not put all past studies into your proposal! ⢠Select those really important (and current) studies
- 38. Methodology ⢠Lab analysis methodology ⢠Cite reference; do not elaborate on commonly used methods ⢠Site location and its general characteristics ⢠Experimental design and layout ⢠Ensure robustness of statistical analyses ⢠Statistical methods for data analysis ⢠Equipment and software needed
- 39. ⢠Data collection ⢠When will it begin and end ⢠Frequency of data collection ⢠What and how will be the data be collected ⢠Type of data to be collected ⢠How much data are needed
- 40. Work schedule ⢠Describes the time table for your work ⢠When you will begin and end each part of your study ⢠Create a table or Gantt chart to depict your schedule YEAR 1 YEAR 2 ACTIVITIES JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC Activity 1 x x x x Activity 2 x x x x x x x Activity 3 x x x Activity 4 x x x x x x x x x Activity 5 x x x x x x x x
- 41. References ⢠Choose and follow a specific reference format (Vancouver in FPS) ⢠Use current/latest references ⢠Avoid old references unless they are key references or key studies
- 42. Cleaning up your research proposal ⢠Check your proposalâs spelling and grammar ⢠Brevity is important ⢠Your proposal is not a thesis or a journal research paper ⢠Highlight important issues, no need to put all information into the proposal ⢠Number of pages? ⢠Check with what is required (including format of proposal) ⢠Usually only 5 to 6 pages
- 43. ⢠Make sure your supervisory committee gets a copy of your proposal ⢠Get their feedback, especially from your main supervisor
- 45. The nature of a Research Report / Thesis? A Research Report or Thesis gives a detailed account of a defined area of research with â ďą sufficient background information on what was known earlier, to orientate the general, interested reader ďą a clear statement of the âresearch questionâ or problem and the related aims and objectives ďą a clear, logical exposition of the stages you have gone through in order to address the research question â creating new techniques, solutions and results on the way
- 46. The nature of a Research Report / Thesis? A Research Report or Thesis will also â ďą present your own critical analysis of the originality and significance of the data presented, in relation to what was known or assumed beforehand ďą focus on your proposals for further developments in the field ďą (for a Thesis) be presented in a traditional format as a permanent record for access by all researchers, anywhere ďą (for a Thesis) be published in full or in part as an independent publication under your name after peer review
- 47. Literature Review ⢠A good Literature Review should: ⢠Be selective ⢠Not be simply a list or summary of publications ⢠Have a balance of primary and secondary sources ⢠Put published work into perspective, relevant to the Research Question ⢠Evaluate and give a critical interpretation of published work, with appropriate reference to the Research Question
- 48. Ransomâs Rules for Scientific Writing* ⢠If it can be interpreted in more than one way, itâs wrong ⢠Know your audience; know your subject; know your purpose ⢠If you canât think of a reason to put a comma in, leave it out ⢠Keep your writing clear, concise and correct ⢠If it works, do it. * Nora Ransom (Kansas State University) in M. Davis et al., Scientific Papers & Presentations, Academic Press, 2012
- 49. Approaches to Completion ⢠The optimum situation is: ⢠Write sections more or less continuously as your research programme moves forward ⢠Integrate sections to compile the first draft of your Thesis ⢠Track progress systematically ⢠Use a Conference, Seminar or Poster paper as the basis for part of the Report / Thesis ď This important milestone gives independent peer support & validates your Thesis
- 50. Key issues in writing a Report / Thesis: ď Who is going to read it? ď Should it be perfect? ď How should you write it â writing styles? ďś Issues of style and syntax ďś Academic (âOxfordâ) English versus the Personal style of writing ď How should you plan and structure it? ď How can you finish in time? ď Key things to know about good referencing ď Strategies for survival â the pitfalls to avoid?
- 51. Readership â Who are you writing for? ď Researchers in your general area â but not necessarily specialists â intelligent, same general background, not knowing all the literature in your particular topic â âthe intelligent, informed readerâ ď Someone who may use your thesis/dissertation as a reference work for their own research interests ď The Examiners, who do have specialist knowledge in the area and will enjoy reviewing your work ď The next generation of Research Students in your area
- 52. Who else are you writing for? ď Yourself â for your own satisfaction in expressing a deep interest in a topic, in a way that is informative and interesting Suggestion ď It can be helpful for an independent person to read sections of your Thesis (eg a friend) to comment on the style, informativeness etc â this can be really useful for the Introduction, Conclusions, and also the Abstract
- 53. Should your Report / Thesis be perfect? ⢠If only ... but remember that readers, including the Examiners, r e a l l y donât expect perfection either in style or content. ⢠Itâs worth remembering that: ďMost Masters and PhD Theses are approved in some form after the examination (70 to 80%) ⢠The typos, mislabelled graphs, missing references will leap off the page at you â just as soon as youâve submitted your precious tome for examination
- 54. How should you write a Report / Thesis? ď With care ⌠and with sufficient detail to describe the important stages of your research â usually more detail than is required (or permissible) for a published paper ď Imagine someone tried to repeat exactly what you did â to adopt special methodology / equipment you used or developed for critical experiments
- 55. Writing Styles General guidelines about writing styles ⢠Choose the appropriate style and use it consistently: ⢠Write in a uniform, grammatical, fairly formal style â clarity is of the essence, so if the syntax (structure) is becoming complex, consider cutting back to shorter, simpler sentences
- 56. Writing Styles General guidelines about writing styles ⢠The personal style versus the impersonal style ⢠This is often a question of personal taste or convention: ⢠The personal style: I ⌠, my ⌠, we ⌠, our ⌠, etc. ⢠or the impersonal âOxford styleâ: The Author noted that ⌠These observations were recorded in earlier research reports on ⌠Note: in some areas of Social Science, Management etc, when referring to a third person, the use of alternating gender is common: he ⌠/ she ⌠& him⌠/ her âŚ
- 57. Writing Styles General guidelines about writing styles ⢠Use paragraphs to signpost a coherent group of related statements â they should not be too long. . ⢠Keep sentences at a reasonable length â this helps avoid over-complicated statements and ensures your writing is clear and readable ⢠Use the direct form rather than the impersonal form: ⢠Based on these data, it would seem that ⌠ďď These data would indicate that âŚ
- 58. Writing Styles General guidelines about writing styles ⢠Consistent use of tense ⢠Decide on what tense to use for writing (present, past, etc) and be consistent â if in doubt, read it out or read it to a friend ⢠If you use the past tense, you will need the âpast in the pastâ : e.g. The device had malfunctioned before this work was started.
- 59. Writing Styles General guidelines about writing styles ⢠Things to avoid: ⢠Undefined abbreviations â make a list defining all abbreviations and repeat the definition (at least once) in the text ⢠Any form of slang ⢠Jargon â if unavoidable, define it ⢠Incomplete comparisons: e.g. These data were better. ⢠âOver the topâ superlatives: e.g. We consider these highly impressive results to have very significant global implications.
- 60. Writing Etiquette ⢠Punctuation issues: ⢠The colon is often used for: ďIntroducing a list of items ďSeparating a general statement from a more specific one ⢠The comma is often used: ďFor separating items in a list ďFor qualifying or defining a preceding word or phrase: The SPSS method, which is now well established, is widely used for the analysis of data in the Social Sciences. ďWhere a natural break occurs in mid-sentence: These data seem rather dubious, although they come from a highly reliable source.
- 61. Writing Etiquette ⢠More about punctuation: ⢠The semi-colon is often used for ďSeparating items within a list ďSeparating two closely related statements ⢠The hyphen is often used: ďTo separate parts of a sentence or to introduce a qualifying statement â as for example here ď To link adjective and noun in a single phrase e.g. long-term therapy ď To link two adjectives: e.g. red-hot, dark-blue ď To link adjective and participle: e.g. easy-going
- 62. Writing Etiquette ⢠Even more about punctuation: ⢠The apostrophe is used: ďTo indicate possession e.g. the systemâs features (=1) and the systemsâ features (>1) ď For elision or shortening: e.g. Itâs clear that (It is âŚ) / Thatâs ⌠/ NB Exceptionally: âitsâ is possessive (without an apostrophe) They noted its significance ⌠(They noted the significance of it âŚ)
- 63. Writing Etiquette ⢠Note: one datum point is ⌠⢠and several data points (or data) are ⌠⢠Good referencing is an essential feature of a successful Report / Thesis ⢠Itâs the hallmark of true professionalism ⢠Unfortunately plagiarism is currently one of the big issues in Postgraduate research ⢠Increasing reliance by Examiners on âTurnitinâ and similar monitors of plagiarism
- 64. Writing Planning Planning a Report / PhD Thesis ďDevelop an outline time-plan for your writing-up programme ďRemember that all plans are there to be changed â flexibility is key ďComplete one section at a time â in many areas itâs not essential to write sections sequentially ďAsk for feedback on drafts from your Supervisor, a colleague or a friend ďYou might consider using a simplified Gantt Chart, for example â well known to be flexible
- 65. Gantt Chart approach to Planning a Report / Thesis
- 66. Report / Thesis Outlines ⢠A Report / Thesis Outline starts with the following sections, typically: ⢠Title page ⢠Abstract (written later in the process) ⢠Acknowledgements ⢠Lists of Contents â Tables â Figures â ⢠List of Appendices ⢠List of Abbreviations ⢠List of presentations made/publications submitted
- 67. Report / Thesis Outlines ⢠Typical outline plan for Report / Thesis ⢠Title, Abstract, List of Contents etc ⢠Introduction: Includes statements on the hypo-thesis/problem, background information (with brief reference to other works) and objectives. ⢠Literature Review ⢠Materials & Research Methods ⢠Results & Discussion ⢠Conclusions & Suggestions for further work ⢠References (Vancouver system) ⢠Appendices
- 68. Research Report Structure Structure of typical Research Report or Thesis ďThe Outline Plan forms the basic structural template for your Report / Thesis ďNB Sections / Subsections / Appendices ďśMax number of subsections for readability is 3 ⢠eg 1.0 â 1.1 â 1.1.1 â 1.1.1(a) ďśNote: If you find that there are too many subsections, a powerful solution is to simply raise the first subsection to Chapter level. ďThe structure evolves progressively as the writing approaches completion
- 69. References: General issues ⢠Computer-based records / traditional systems ⢠Vancouver system versus Harvard system versus Numerical system ⢠Section references vs Cumulative Reference List ⢠Reference layout â style â page-to-page? ⢠With or without titles?
- 70. References ⢠Tracking the references ⢠Ethical issues & IPR ⢠Citing the competition! ⢠Duplication â non-citation â total accuracy ⢠Reference to own publications ⢠Citing the Internet â give URL and date accessed ⢠Citing Personal Communications: ⢠A.B. Contact, Personal communication, February 2012 â or: ⢠J.G. Friend (Email, 13 February, 2012)
- 71. References ⢠Tracking the References (contâd) ⢠Citing Unpublished Work: ďM.Y. Self (Unpublished data September, 2012) or M.Y. Self (Unpublished observations, May, 2012) ďAvoid: M.Y. Self (in preparation) ⢠Citing submitted but so far not accepted work: ďP.G. Slave and D.R. Supervisor, submitted for publication to X.Y.Z., 12 June, 2012 ⢠Citing accepted but so far not published work: ďP.G. Slave and D.R. Supervisor, accepted for publication by X.Y.Z., 1 December, 2012
- 72. References ⢠Avoiding the pitfalls ⢠Proper acknowledgement of sources ďEthics of authorship ďMutual recognition â academic generosity ďConsequences . . .
- 73. References ⢠Avoiding the pitfalls (contâd) ďProper acknowledgement of graphics ďFigures â written permission from publishers for each figure/diagram essential ďMust add to the figure legend: âReproduced from X.Y. Zymbal, Arch. Data 100, 1 â20 (2008) by kind permission of the Publishersâ ďA useful work-around is to change some details in the figure itself and add to the legend: ď âAdapted from X.Y. Zymbal, Arch. Data 100, 1-20 (2008)â
- 74. Good Practice ⢠Appendix out wherever appropriate : ďSections of supplementary data ďParenthetical results ďReference materials ďProtocols ďComputer programmes ďAny text / data that distracts from the flow of the main theme / development ďCite the Appendices in strict sequential order and list them with the Contents
- 75. Good Practice ⢠Good Practice ⢠Add a List of Abbreviations ďreally useful ďalways appreciated ⢠Include a list of your own presentations & publications (if any), however modest ⢠Writerâs block ⢠Universal â including the famous ⢠Change to doing another section â or some other activity
- 76. Submission ⢠Find a friend to read your Abstract / Summary ⢠Find another friend to read your Conclusions for clarity ⢠Check final version of Report / Thesis with your Supervisor(s) or colleagues ⢠NB Make plenty of time in your planning schedule to allow them to give their best shot
- 77. Submission ⢠Check: ⢠all pages run sequentially ⢠all Figures and Tables are listed in the Contents ⢠all Appendices are listed in order of citation ⢠Thereâs no duplication of references ⢠Any printed materials (eg short publications, reference materials) are put securely into the end pocket ⢠Submit âŚ
- 79. Title ⢠Describes the contents of the paper ⢠As brief as possible ⢠Descriptive âKey wordsâ ⢠Molecular studies ⢠Organism used ⢠Treatment ⢠Outcome measured ⢠Most readers find your paper via electronic database searches
- 80. Authors The Vancouver Criteria Each and every author on a publication needs to have been involved in the: ⢠Conception and design, or analysis and interpretation of data; AND ⢠Drafting the article or revising it critically for important intellectual content; AND ⢠Final approval of the version to be published
- 81. Why Has the Number of Authors Increase With Years? *The data presented were extracted from the 2019 Statistical Reports on MEDLINEÂŽ/PubMedÂŽ Baseline Data
- 82. Abstract Summarizes the major aspects ⢠Question(s) you investigated ⢠From introduction ⢠Experimental design ⢠From Material and Methods ⢠Major findings and key quantitative results ⢠From results ⢠Interpretation and conclusions ⢠From discussion
- 83. Abstract Summarizes the major aspects ⢠All information in the abstract should appear in the body of the paper ⢠No lengthy background information ⢠No references ⢠No abbreviations ⢠No figures, tables or references to them
- 84. Introduction ⢠Generally written in present tense ⢠Establishes the framework for the entire paper. ⢠Background information that leads to a clear statement of the specific issue(s) your paper will address (the topic) ⢠An argument that justifies the study â why did you write this paper/conduct this research? How does it relate to other research?(the justification) ⢠A (brief) explanation of your results and conclusions. ⢠Stick to the point! Only include information that is directly relevant to the paper.
- 85. Methods/Materials ⢠Generally written in past tense ⢠A balanced level of detailâenough to replicate your results without overwhelming your reader ⢠Be precise! ⢠How did you collect your information, and what did you do with it? ⢠Include formulas, measurements, software, locations, test subjects, alien invasions ⌠everything! ⢠Consider any factor that may have influenced your results.
- 86. Results ⢠Usually written in past tense ⢠What did you find out? ⢠Present your results without interpretation. ⢠Donât exclude information, even if it conflicts with your expectations or with your hypothesis.
- 87. Discussion ⢠Typically written in present tense ⢠What do the results mean? ⢠What did you expect, and why? ⢠Did the results match your expectations? ⢠How do your results compare to the work of earlier researchers? ⢠Based on your results, what questions would you ask next? ⢠Remember to clearly distinguish facts from possibilities.
- 88. Acknowledgments ⢠Assistance in thinking, designing, carrying out work, providing medication ⢠Outside reviewers of the draft ⢠Obtain permission from those to be acknowledged ⢠Sources of funding ⢠Conflicts of interest may be required
- 89. References ⢠List of cited articles ⢠Order/style: depends on the journal ⢠Software available (endnote, reference manager,âŚ)
- 90. FinallyâŚ. ⢠Self-revise your paper multiple times ⢠Enhance the logical flow of your arguments ⢠Shorten long sentences to clarify them ⢠Perform spelling check ⢠Revision by native English speaker ⢠Check the word count ⢠(abstract, whole articleâŚ) ⢠Read your article many times before you submit âŚ. like it is not yours ⢠Try to find flaws â be the most critical reviewer of yourself
- 91. THANK YOU
Editor's Notes
- The metaphor of dwarfs standing on the shoulders of giants (Latin: nanos gigantum humeris insidentes) expresses the meaning of "discovering truth by building on previous discoveries". This concept has been traced to the 12th century, attributed to Bernard of Chartres. Its most familiar expression in English is by Isaac Newton in 1675: "If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of Giants."
- There are general considerations, and they agree with some general observations about scientific writing. If you donât understand the work of earlier scientists with your topic, how well do you really understand your topic? Science is largely a collective endeavor, and all new work is based, to some extent, on previous work. Scientific writing, then, must take into account previous work. Evidence is the fuel for science. So, itâs not just important to have evidence, itâs also important to write about your evidence in a way that clarifies your assertions. For something to qualify as scientific evidence, it must be stated precisely â and this means making important distinctions about the quality of your evidence â does it establish or reinforce a âfactâ or does it indicate a possibility? How much of a possibility? Who are you writing for? Scientific writing will change when, for example, itâs addressed to a casual reader instead of people with advanced degrees in nuclear engineering. Note the significant difference between something like the science page at CNN.com and an article in The International Journal of Cloning Science. Undergraduate papers are, often, written for an audience of your peers, but even this isnât set in stone. When you write a scientific paper, your audience has expectations concerning organization, style, and content. Weâll talk today about those expectations and how you can fulfill them. Everything you write should be clear and concise. You want to keep your phrasing direct, precise, and unambiguous. Stick to the point. You donât want readers to have to dig to unearth your observations. In addition, you should follow the conventions of your field for things like abbreviation, punctuation, acronyms, and format. These may vary from one discipline to the next, but following established conventions (usually spelled out in style guides or in the guidelines for particular journals) will, at the very least, prevent your reader from spending time thinking about how youâre not following the proper format. Now, weâll discuss each of these four general considerations in more detailâŚ
- The best way to show that you understand your subject is to actually understand your subject (shocking, I know). When you understand something thoroughly, you should be able to clearly explain it in your own words. Itâs unusual for scientific writing to quote directly, or even to paraphrase. Instead, when discussing work from another source that is relevant to your own work, youâll usually summarize it. A summary will be brief, and will only focus on those aspects of that work that are directly relevant to your own work. Donât get too wordy here â if your readers are interested in the source youâre using, theyâll follow your citation and go read it themselves. The only important information from the source should relate directly and obviously to your current work. If something is unclear to you, ask! Professors would much rather have you write from a knowledgeable perspective than from an ignorant one. When you read, you want to ask questions yourself â if you donât feel like you grasp something, try to formulate a question that, when answered, would clear up your misunderstanding. Failing to have a solid understanding of your sources could potentially make every one of your observations incorrect. (include a quotation here and ask: âWhat would you need to know to understand this quotation?â)
- From Pechenik Much like interrogating a uncooperative suspect, youâll want to extract relevant and important information from the sources related to your subject. If you ask, and answer, each of these questions (or even some of them) about a source you want to use, youâll likely have a pretty strong understanding of it. Once you have that understanding, you should be able to easily summarize the important information. If you canât concisely summarize a scientific paper, that may be an indication that you donât have a thorough understanding of it. If thatâs the case, read it again and ask more questions, or ask your professor. Incidentally, you should always be able to answer these questions concerning your own work.
- Letâs interrogate this block of text! Take a minute or so to read this abstract. What specific questions were asked? How was the study designed, and how did the design of the study address the question posed? What are the specific results of the study? How convincing are they? What assumptions were made? Did they seem reasonable? What contribution does the study make toward answering the original question? What aspects of the original question remain unanswered? So, letâs ask these questions here. [go through the questions, or some of the questions, above. They may not all apply. Youâre modeling how one would use these questions to understand more about a source]
- You should expect that your audience will be made up of attentive and careful readers. It may not be, but you should always work from this assumption. So, with that condition, you want to make sure that you provide evidence for your assertions, particularly when those assertions are important to the goals of your work. Even if you state an opinion, you want to present an informed opinion, and not just a statement like âmy favorite dogs are poodles and chihuahuas.â Much of the support youâll use for you assertions will come from the work of other scientists. Peer-reviewed scientific journals are often the most credible sources for scientific literature. âPeer reviewâ means that the work submitted to the journal has undergone a rigorous analysis by other recognized (and credentialed) experts in the field â they decide whether the work lives up to the standards of evidence for the journal. In the process, they often reject work. Depending on the assignment, you may also use your textbook or lecture notes to support your statements. You may use data collected from other sources, or even your own data, as support. Census, USDA, CDC. Easy to find online, generally recognized as credible sources of support. Typically used in social sciences, but not always. Be wary of using sources from the internet. Remember how, earlier, I mentioned that peer-reviewed journals often reject submissions that donât measure up to the standards of the journal? As an example, those rejected submissions can still end up online. (not a good example really). Wikipedia, about.com, and so on.
- Before something can become a scientific âfact,â it needs to have some sort of established consensus. If youâre asserting something that, from your perspective (or your professorâs), has not reached this consensus, then your writing should make it clear that youâre discussing a possibility. Now, some of your possibilities may have a very high probability, but that alone isnât enough to establish them as facts. Depending on your field, scientific writers may be hesitant to use the word âfactâ at all because it implies a single, true, unchanging assertion. Opinions are like ⌠(no, donât say this). Itâs one thing to say âBagels are delicious!â and quite another to say âAccording to our data, 1 out of every 3 Texas A&M undergraduates eats one or more bagels per week.â Suggest, seem, appear, show (?), exhibits (as in âcharacteristics ofâ), indicate, point to, express, assert â using verbs like this is particularly important when you making judgments from a set of data because itâs just one type of support for an assertion and rarely directly supports something. While the data may be accurate, you still have to interpret what the data means. When using your own data, youâll want to be careful to indicate that it seems to suggest (something). You can still make assertions based on possibilities, but these assertions may often have the form of âIf [x] is true, then [y].â You donât have to say exactly this, but itâs useful to acknowledge from time to time in your writing that youâre working with possibilities instead of facts.
- Judging simply from the way these three statements are phrased, is the writer indicating facts or possibilities? (the third one is a little murky because someone may assert that itâs an opinion, and this could introduce a bit of discussion. Take advantage of that to expand on the idea, if you can.)
- Donât imply important information, because readers may infer different things â and once they infer something other than what you implied, youâve lost them. If you leave it to your readers to figure out how youâre moving from one point to the next, youâre asking too much of them. Clarity, and correctness, are important here â no matter how groundbreaking your results may be, if your paper is littered with grammar errors and indecipherable sentences, it wonât matter because no one will read it. Flowery, fluffy writing may help fill the bare minimum of pages for your assignment, but itâs much better suited for liberal arts papers (probably donât want to say this either). Scientific writing needs to be efficient, direct, and precise. You may have to alter your writing habits considerably if youâre used to just filling up space until you reach page ten. Scientific writing has a rather single-minded goal â to directly give the reader precise information. Anything that interferes with that goal is a hindrance. Letâs look at an example of this sort of hindranceâŚ
- No important information was lost, and the important information became much more clear and direct. Letâs have a look at another oneâŚ
- Note that this refers to information that is illustrated in a figure in the text.
- You can remove things like âit was found,â particularly when referring to a table, chart, or some data. If youâre talking about something, itâs rather obvious that it was found. The phrase âtend to be largerâ can easily be replaced by âtypically.â Iâm sure you can tell how much more smoothly something like this reads â it contains the same information, but is much more concise. Now, this sentence is (in this format) just an isolated fact. Youâll want to avoid long blocks of isolated facts, so youâll need transitions between themâŚ
- a lot of students are concerned with the âflowâ of their paper â their movement between one point and the next. âFlowâ is important in most writing, but itâs particularly important in scientific writing because it shows the relationship between sentences, the progression of thought, and so on. The example above contains no transitions â the writer may have expected the audience to just know how the sentences are related, but itâs not automatically clear, and you donât want to rely on implication ⌠As this stands now, itâs just three disconnected facts about sea otters with no obvious relation between the three facts. Letâs see how transitions and additional words can make these three sentences âflowâ âŚ
- Note how these bolded expressions connect the previous collection of sentences into a chain of thought â this is the âflowâ that you hear people talking about.
- [Your audience is often your peers. Write your paper to them. â (originally included as the first point, abandoned in favor of a more malleable statement.) You can write your paper to yourself as well. Write to explain things to yourself a few years ago â remember what you knew then, and explain the things that youâd need explained.)] Writing about science and scientific writing are not the same thing. There are many popular magazines and websites and books and tv shows that talk about science, but they do so with the attention of appealing to a popular audience. Itâs pretty unlikely that your intended audience is a popular audience (though who knows!), so youâll want to target your writing to a specific group of people and not all people. As youâll do with all things science, if you donât know your audience, ask! Your professor will often have a particular group of people in mind. Are you writing to your peers? To your professor? To an advisory board? (this may be obvious, but remember that some assignments require writing as if youâre communicating with a particular audience, but really the only person reading is your professor or TA). You can get into trouble by assuming that your readers know somethingâ itâs difficult to follow, we miss the important points, and sometimes we just give up. Donât do this to your readers! Weâve already discussed a bit about the tone and style youâll use in scientific writing, so letâs discuss the format â the organization â that readers expect from scientific papers âŚ
- Remember how I said that scientific writing tends to be formulaic? One of the most important formulas for writing a scientific paper concerns organization. IMRaD is, more or less, the established pattern that readers will expect to find in a scientific paper. In addition to this overall formula, there is, to a greater or lesser extent, a recipe for each of these sections â theyâre made up of certain ingredients.
- Jargon: special words or expressions used by a profession or group that are difficult for others to understand.
- Writer's block is a condition, primarily associated with writing, in which an author loses the ability to produce new work, or experiences a creative slowdown. The condition ranges from difficulty in coming up with original ideas to being unable to produce a work for years.
- Two major explanations can be cited for this increase in authorship. First, it is possible that modern scientific inquiries have become so complex that answering them requires large teams of scientists from different fields, thereby driving up the number of authors per paper. Alternatively, it is conceivable that in a climate of scarce funding, granting authorship to minor contributors-also known as honorary authorship-is on the rise. To combat the latter, many journals are now requiring papers to specify each author's contribution to the study. If, however, the increase in authorship can be traced to scientific inquiry becoming more complex, there is nothing inherently objectionable about this trend.
- Depending, as always, on the requirements for your assignment, introductions in scientific papers are usually brief, often just a couple of paragraphs. But, they impart very important information and will influence how, and sometimes even if, readers will read your paper. Youâll write in present tense because youâll be referring to a topic, a problem, and a justification that currently exist. A âpreviewâ for the upcoming paper â your introduction should foreshadow everything you will discuss in your paper. There are three main things you want to do in your introduction â to introduce your topic and address the problem your paper will deal with, offer a justification for the paper, and a few lines about your conclusions. The justification can be many things, but youâll usually explain how your research on this problem will add to the sum total of scientific knowledge in a useful way. Youâll often (briefly) mention how your work relates to other work in the field. You must use a scraper, a shovel, a pick, a vacuum, and possibly a blowtorch, to remove every single bit of fluff from your introduction. Every single thing needs to be obviously and directly relevant to the topic of your paper. Many scientific writers will write their introductions last if theyâre not entirely sure where the paper will take them, or if they want to wait until theyâve had time to fully examine their results. But, whatever order you write things in, remember that you can always alter your introduction to make it more precisely summarize your paper.
- Writers often write this section first! This section is the recipe for how you obtained your results. If you kept lab notes, you may just paraphrase. Since youâre retracing the steps you took, youâll write this section in past tense. âWe correlated our resultsâŚâ or âMeasurements were takenâŚâ and so on⌠This can be a bit tricky, but you need to find a balanced level of detail. Readers, if they choose to, should have enough information to replicate your results. But, there may be a certain amount of information that your audience already possesses, so you donât want to add a bunch of material related to that common knowledge. Know your audience! Precision is important in scientific writing, and itâs particularly important in the methods section. You need to present enough information that readers can replicate your results, so write about your methods with that goal in mind. In addition, you may take steps that may not have been typical, or you may have encountered problems that required you to alter your methods â explain things like this! When you made a decision that may not have an obvious justification, youâll need to explain your reasons. Itâs important to consider everything that may have influenced your results, but you probably wonât need to write all of them. Itâs unlikely that your mismatched socks had any significant influence on your results. Use your judgment here â remember that you need to include enough detail for readers to replicate your work, but not so much that they have to unearth the important information from a giant mound of text.
- Many scientific writers consider this the most important part of their paper. Since youâve already presented your methods, your results may have a bit of permanence to them â meaning, if a reader ten years from now uses the precise methods and materials that you did, theyâll still get the same results. -Since you have already obtained the results, this section is usually written in past tense. You also want to do this because youâre just discussing your results, and not some general observations about all things related to your research. So, this is the main question youâre answering here â youâve informed your readers of your methods and your materials, so now youâll let them know what you found out. In keeping with the usual conciseness of scientific writing, you only want to discuss your results in this section. This isnât the place to discuss why you asked this question (thatâs for the introduction), how you arrived at your results (thatâs for the material and methods section), or how youâre interpreting your results (thatâs for the upcoming discussion section). If you find it necessary to summarize some of your earlier points, focus on brevity. Remember that the overall point of your paper is to add to the sum total of scientific knowledge. Because of that maxim, youâll want to include all of your results. Remember that all the information you collect, if you performed your methods correctly, is real and relevant, even though the interpretation of that information can change. If some result surprised you or didnât match up with your expectations, youâll mention that in the next sectionâŚ
- The discussion section is where youâll interpret your data, evaluate how well (or even if) it answers your question, and connect it to earlier work by other researchers of your topic. Since youâre just presenting these ideas now, and suggesting how your results may play out, youâll want to use present tense here. ..and, since this is the section in which youâll interpret your data, your main goal here is explaining what the data means. Asking, and answering, the questions on this slide should help. If you had expectations, youâll want to state precisely what they were. So, did your results match your expectations? Did you find anything surprising or unusual? Were your expectations based on the work of earlier researchers? Did they confirm any results that have already been established elsewhere? Did they contradict any of those results? Can you suggest any avenues for future research? Are there any implications from your results that may impact previously established knowledge? Itâs particularly important in this section to avoid presenting possibilities as facts, so make sure you know what youâre talking about at every point.