This document provides guidelines for effectively writing a scientific paper. It discusses key sections including the title, abstract, introduction, methods, results, discussion, and conclusion. The introduction should establish the global and local relevance of the research problem and objectives. The methods section should detail the study site, design, techniques, and statistical analysis to allow reproducibility. The results section should present data to answer the research questions and discuss implications. The discussion should compare results to previous work and emphasize the significance and implications of the findings. The conclusion should state the principal findings and prove the work's worthiness to the scientific community.

1. Effective writing of scientific paper
(or Scientific Story )
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2. Starting your writing
- Note your primary research objective and also the key findings
by data analysis
- Prepare and print main output/research data, important tables
and figures
- Choose a (or, a group of) potential journal
- Print and Read some recent relevant (or closely relevant) paper
- Think about the “Skeleton” of your writing
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3. Title and Abstract
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4. Title and Abstract
-They are important for the editor for first
screening
- Sometimes running title is required for some
journals
- Write several alternative titles based on the
research question/objective and the key findings
- Check the author instruction of the target journal
for the style/format of the title
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5. Title…..
-title can be refined while advancing your writing
- if the selected journal is Crop Science related, the
title may be focused on ‘crop response’
-if the selected journal is Water Science related,
the title may be focused on ‘water productivity’ or
‘water savings’
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6. Abstract …
- May be structured while writing is advancing,
but should be finalized at the end of writing
- Should not be in the form of ‘Copy and Paste’
from the whole body
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7. Introduction
(Background & aim/objective of the study)
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8. Introduction……
Some guidelines:
-Make global relevancy of the problem
- Some example (with Ref.) of global problem
- Pattern/characteristic of the problem in your study area / BD
- Solution options (may be with ref.)
- Past efforts/works and research gap (scope of work)
- Objective of the study (with one of the solution options)
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9. Introduction……
In review of past works:
- critical review of the past relevant works should be done
- more scientific information (cause-effect relationship) should
be there
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10. Checklist for introduction:
- General background (all about the topic)
- What is known and what is unknown about this
specific topic
- Why was this study needed, and why is it
important?
- Primary research question (what did we want to
know?)
- Study aim and design (what did we do to answer the
research questions) 10

11. Introduction......
Avoid !!
- Avoid repeating the texts with same theme/idea
- ..
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12. Example of ‘Introduction’ of a paper
…..
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13. Methods
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14. Methods…
Some guidelines:
-Detail relevant features of the study site (e.g. map,
weather/soil/other relevant characteristics)
- Proper design/analytical technique
(short review of techniques may be there to
support your choice of technique)
- Try to use advance / latest tools & techniques
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15. Methods…
Some guidelines…
-Multi-year/multi-location (climatic zone) study
- Proper/accurate statistical analysis
- Composite Index / Parameter may be derived from
established relationship
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16. Checklist for Method:
- Ask yourself, “Would a researcher be able to
reproduce our study with the information I provide in
this paper?”
- Match the part on data analysis with the research
questions
- Be sure, included all information that the reader
needs to understand on how the key findings in this
paper were derived.
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17. Example of ‘Methods’ of a paper
..
17

18. Results and Discussion
or, separately
Results
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19. Difference between ‘Data’ and ‘Result’
Data are information (or numbers) obtained from
research experiments),
result is a statement explaining the meaning
of research data in the form of texts.
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20. Each sub-heading of “Results Section” may contain:
-Texts: to explain about the research data
-Figures: to display the research data and to show
trends / relationships
-Tables: to represent a large data and exact value
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21. Results…
General guidelines:
- Follow a logical and chronological order
- Try to follow the same order/sequence as the sub-heading of
the methods section
- Direct the reader to the research data, and explain the
meaning
- Discuss cause & effect relationship (with mechanism, if
possible)
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22. Results…
General guidelines…………
- If needed, use yield function (example- wheat paper)
- Discuss the implications of the results (how the results will be
useful in solving the real-world problem)
- Global implication, if any
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23. Avoid !!
- Avoid repeating the texts to explain other data
- Only present data that support the significance of
your study.
You can provide additional data in Tables and
Figures as supplementary materials
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24. Checklist for Results Section:
- Have you answered the research question(s) ?
- Check for over-interpretation / under-interpretation of
the results
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25. Discussion
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26. Discussion
General guidelines:
- Discussion of important findings
- Comparison of results with other published works
- Outline your thoughts to defend your research, and to emphasize
the significance of your research
- Use good writing, clear argumentations, and logical explanations
in the “Results & Discussion” section to support your conclusion
- Mention how the study will fill the gap of knowledge, where
applicable
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27. Discussion…
(If Discussion & Conclusion together)
- Conclusion and possible implications of the results
- Future research questions based on your findings
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28. A list of questions to guide you in writing Discussion section
1. What experiments did you conduct & what were the results ?
2. What do the results mean ?
3. What are the important results from your study ?
4. How did the results answer your research questions ?
5. Did your results support or reject your hypothesis ?
6. What are the variables or factors that might affect your results ?
7. What are the strengths & limitations of your study ?
8. What other published works support your findings ?
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29. Some of the common reasons the Results & Discussion
sections might cause reviewers to reject a Paper
- Confusing tables and figures
- Inconsistent or inaccurate data
- Potential variables that are not reported
- Potential / important factors that are not considered
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30. Conclusion
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31. Conclusion
General Guidelines:
- Follow the target journal’s guideline
- Begin with a statement of the principal findings. State
your conclusions clearly and concisely
- Conclusion should be supported by research data/
Results / Discussion
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32. Conclusion…
General Guidelines…
- Prove the reader and the scientific community that
your findings are worthy of note.
- Strive for accuracy and originality in your conclusion.
- Conclude with how your testing supports or disproves
your hypothesis
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33. Highlight of the Key Findings
(in 3 to 4 bullet points)
…..
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34. 34
Submitting Paper: Some Issues

35. Journal Paper publication issues
• Journal relevancy
• Novelty issue:
- New information/knowledge generated
- New technique/instrument/software application
- Knowledge-based (review of existing knowledge & future
direction of research; more scientific information in the paper –
both in review of literature & results-discussion section)
- Cause & effect relationship of the results
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36. Publication issues…
- Some journal requires justification of submission in that
journal
- Some journal requires response to reviewer’s comment
(Answer in a separate sheet)
36

37. Paper Review
- In ‘Word’ and ‘pdf’ file
(from sample files/papers)
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38. Response to Reviewer’s Comments:
…..
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39. Thanks
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40. Response to Reviewer’s Comments:
…..
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