151116 Edanz UBD Day1

Universiti Brunei Darussalam

16 November 2015

Trevor Lane, PhD Andrew Jackson, PhD

Ruth Tunn, PhD

Author Success Workshop: Effectively Communicating Your Research

S

Be an effective communicator

Your goal is not only to publish, but also to be widely read and cited

Prepare well for academic publishing

Write your ideas clearly for your audience

Logically present your research

Section 1

Plan well

Academic publishing

Publication success = Academic success

S

Publication Metrics and Success on the Academic Job Market van Dijk et al. Current Biology. 2014; 24: R516-R517.

• >25,000 researchers in PubMed • Determined which factors were linked to

academic success

• Number of publications • Impact factor of the journal • Number of citations • University ranking • Male vs. Female

Academic publishing

Increase impact

High quality research

Logical and engaging message

Original and novel research

Well-designed, well-reported,

transparent study News value, importance, timeliness

What editors want

High scientific & technical quality, sound research/publication ethics,

registered human trials

High readability & interest; clear, real-

world relevance

Impact factor (for past 2 years) = No. of cites / No. of articles

Academic publishing

Choose your journal early!

Author guidelines • Manuscript structure • Word limits, References • Procedures, Copyright

Aims and scope • Topics • Readership • Be sure to emphasize

• Check relevant references • Check originality, importance & usefulness!

Academic publishing Research with impact

Identify an important question, gap in knowledge/evidence, or incomplete answer…

• Do you have the expertise/resources?

• Is the question focused?

• What is new? How is the study useful?

• What is the best/most practical study design?

Academic publishing Impact and study design

Systematic

reviews of RCTs

Randomized controlled

trials (RCTs)

Other controlled trials

Observational studies (cohort, case-control,

cross-sectional surveys/audits, diagnostics)

Computer models (in silico), animal models (in vivo),

in vitro, case studies

Case studies, anecdote, opinion, technical,

simulation

Hypothesis

testing

{ Descriptive

Methodological {

{

Secondary

research

Primary

research

{ } Experimental (exposure assigned)*

}

} Non-

experimental

*

Academic publishing

Research Article

Short Communication Case Study Technical Note Review Article Editorial Letter to the Editor

Brief report about a specific finding

Most common; full-length paper

Brief report about a specific situation

Brief report about a new methodology

Summary of recent advances in a field

Brief discussion about an interesting topic

Brief discussion about a published article

Type of articles

Academic publishing

Logically organizing your ideas

Communicating in English

Two factors to consider when writing a manuscript

Importance of logic

Draft outline & abstract/title; Draft & revise

manuscript

Edit manuscript & finalize

abstract/title

Academic publishing

Start with your illustrations

Where to start?

Your findings form the basis of your manuscript

First step: logically organize your display items

Logic, then language

Figure 1

Figure 2

Table 1

Figure 3

Logical flow (Chronology, Least to most

important, General to

specific, Whole+parts)

Is anything missing?

? Additional analyses?

Academic publishing Use reporting guidelines

PRISMA Systematic reviews &

Meta-analyses

STROBE Observational studies

CARE Case reports

CONSORT Randomized controlled

clinical trials

ARRIVE Animal studies

http://www.equator-network.org/

Academic publishing

State conflicts of interest

No plagiarism or redundancy

Clear author contributions

No fabrication or falsification

Always follow ethics guidelines

(1) Study design/data analysis, (2) Writing, (3) Approval,

(4) Responsibility

Possible financial, personal bias

Committee on Publication Ethics, COPE Good Publication Practice 3, GPP3

International Committee of Medical Journal Editors, ICMJE

Good publication ethics

Academic publishing Ethics declarations

Declare in your cover letter…

Not submitted to other journals

Funders, donors of materials

All authors agree and contributed

Original and unpublished

State potential conflicts of interest

Research ethics

Select the best journal

Section 2

Journal selection Evaluating impact

How new/important are your findings? How strong is the evidence?

Incremental or large advance? Low or high impact journal

Novelty

Assess your findings honestly & objectively

Create new algorithm for detecting and filtering spam • Medium to high impact factor journal Improve the accuracy and efficiency of an existing spam filter • Low to medium impact factor journal

Journal selection Evaluating impact

How broadly relevant are your findings? International or regional journal

General or specialized journal

Relevance/Application

Aims & scope, Readership

Assess your findings honestly & objectively

Journal selection Factors to consider when choosing a journal

Aims & scope, Readership

Publication speed/frequency

Online/Print, Open access

Indexing, Rank, Impact factor

Acceptance rate/criteria

Article type / evidence level

“Luxury” / Traditional / Megajournal

Online first, Supplemental materials, Cost

Fast track

Journal selection Publication models

Subscription-based

• Mostly free for the author • Reader has to pay

Open access • Free for the reader • Author usually has to pay

Hybrid • Subscription-based journal • Has open access options

Journal selection Open access models

Green

• Can self-archive accepted version in personal, university, or repository website

• May allow final version to be archived

• May have embargo period before self-archiving is allowed

Gold • Free for public on publication • Author might keep © but may

pay (e.g., US$1000–3000)

Journal selection Open access myths

Open access (OA) is expensive and low quality

• Not all OA journals charge a fee

• Many research grants and universities pay for OA fees

• Journals may offer waiver for authors who cannot afford it

• OA journals are peer reviewed

• Impact factors may be lower partly because they are newer

Journal selection Predatory journals

Some Open Access journals are not good

Easy way to get money from authors

• Promise quick and easy publication • Often ask for a “submission/handling” fee • May copy name of real journal; false IF • May not exist, or may be of low quality • Beware of spam e-mails!

If you are ever unsure, please check Beall’s List of Predatory Publishers

http://scholarlyoa.com/2015/01/02/bealls-list-of-predatory-publishers-2015/

Journal selection

Reputable publisher Springer, Elsevier, Wiley, PLoS, etc.

Editorial board International and familiar

Indexed Indexed by common databases

Authors Do you recognize the authors?

Fees Paid only after acceptance

Trustworthy journals

Journal selection

THINK Trusted and appropriate?

SUBMIT Only if OK

thinkchecksubmit.org

CHECK Do you know the journal?

Trustworthy journals

Journal selection Journal Selector www.edanzediting.com/journal_selector

Insert your proposed abstract or keywords

Journal selection

Matching journals

Filter/Sort by: • Field of study • Impact factor, SCI • Open access • Publishing

frequency

Journal’s aims & scope, IF,

and publication frequency

Journal Selector www.edanzediting.com/journal_selector

Journal selection

• Author guidelines • Journal website

Are they currently publishing similar articles?

Similar published articles

Have you cited any of these articles?

Shows the editor that your study builds on research

already published in their journal

Journal Selector www.edanzediting.com/journal_selector

Please see Activity 1 in your Workbook

Activity 1: Journal Selection

Write effectively 1

Section 3

Customer Service Effective writing

Nature’s guide to authors:

Nature is an international journal covering all the sciences. Contributions should therefore be written clearly and simply so that they are accessible to readers in other disciplines and to readers for whom English is not their first language.

www.nature.com/nature/authors/gta/index.html#a4

“I should use complex words to make my writing more impressive.”


To ascertain the efficaciousness of the program, we interrogated the participants upon completion.

Complex words


To ascertain the efficaciousness of the program, we interrogated the participants upon completion.

To determine the success of the program, we questioned the participants upon completion.

Complex words

Customer Service Effective writing Avoid complex words

Preferred Enough Clear Determine Begin Try Very Size Keep Enough End Use

Avoid Adequate Apparent Ascertain Commence Endeavor Exceedingly Magnitude* Retain Sufficient Terminate* Utilization *OK in certain fields (magnitude of earthquakes, to terminate gene expression)

Customer Service Effective writing Delete unnecessary words

“A number of studies have shown that the charged group...”

“...as described in our previous study.”

“...at a flow rate of 1.0 mL/min.”

“As a matter of fact, such a low-temperature reaction…”

“That is another reason why, we believe…”

“It is well known that most of the intense diffraction peaks...” “It is well known that Most of the intense diffraction peaks...”

“As a matter of fact, such a This low-temperature reaction…”

“A number of studies have shown that The charged group...”

“That is thus another reason why Therefore, we believe…”

“...as described previously in our previous study.”

“...at a flow rate of 1.0 mL/min.”

Customer Service Effective writing Delete unnecessary words

Avoid At a concentration of 2 g/L At a temperature of 37C In order to In the first place Four in number Green color Subsequent to Prior to Future plans; past history

Prefer At 2 g/L At 37C To First Four Green After Before Plans; history

Customer Service Effective writing Active voice

Sentences written in the active voice are:

simple direct clear easy to read

The mechanisms regulating substrate rigidity were investigated.

Passive

We investigated the mechanisms regulating substrate rigidity.

Active

Customer Service Effective writing Active voice is preferred

“Use the active voice when it is less wordy and more direct than the passive”.

“Use the active voice rather than the passive voice…”.

“As a matter of style, passive voice is typically, but not always, inferior to active voice”.

“In general, authors should use the active voice…”

ACS Style Guide

APA Style

Chicago Style Guide

AMA Style

“Use active voice. The use of active rather than passive voice produces clearer, more concise writing”

SPE Style

“Wherever possible, use active verbs that demonstrate what is being done and who is doing it…”

ASCE Style

“Use active voice by default; research shows readers comprehend it more quickly than passive voice…”

IEEE

Customer Service Effective writing Avoid reader confusion

Is this sentence in the active or passive voice?

In this study, a titanium dioxide nanoparticle electrode was synthesized, using electrospray deposition for molecular sensing applications.

Customer Service Effective writing Avoid reader confusion

Is this sentence in the active or passive voice?

Passive voice




Lane et al. developed electrospray methods to enhance sensitivity.3

Avoid reader confusion

Part of the Introduction






Who did the work in this study?

The author ? Lane et al. ?





In this study, we synthesized a titanium dioxide nanoparticle electrode, using electrospray deposition for molecular sensing applications.

Customer Service Effective writing Use strong verbs

…estimation?

…decision?

…confirmation?

We made a…

Subject Verb

Still no idea what this sentence is about! …cake?


Avoid nominalizations

Use strong verbs instead of converting a verb into a noun

Estimate Estimation

Decide Decision

Assess Assessment

We made a/an… We conducted a/an…

Extra, weak verb

We decided… Clear, short, and direct

Use strong verbs


Activity 2: Effective Writing 1

Think of your audience

Section 4

Attract your readers Title and abstract

First impression of paper: clear/concise/convincing

Importance of your results

Validity of your conclusions

Relevance of your aims

Your title & abstract should attract readers

It sells your work: Readers judge your style & credibility

Often first or only part that is read by readers/reviewers


Match the language to your expected readers

Scientists produce clearest-ever images of enzyme that plays key roles in aging, cancer

Structure of Tetrahymena telomerase reveals previously unknown subunits, functions, and interactions [Abstract]…We report the cryoelectron microscopy structure of Tetrahymena telomerase at ~9 Å resolution.

“,” = journalism for “and”

Technical language

Topic = people

Topic = findings

Includes explanation

Public

General scientists

Lay language, short words

Molecular biologists

Specialist language; noun stacking, units

www.eurekalert.com, 19 October 2015; Jiang et al, Science. 15 October 2015, DOI 10.1126/science.aab4070


Title

Important points

Only main idea/s Accurate, simple Population/model Include keywords Fewer than 20 words Include method/

study type

Avoid

Unneeded words (“A study of”) Sensationalism, journalistic style Complex word order Abbreviations, jargon “New” or “novel”


Interrogative Want to scale in centralized systems? Think peer-to-peer

Indicative/ Descriptive

Network performance of multiple virtual machine live migration in cloud federations

… + Approach (subtitle)

Teaching cloud computing: A software engineering perspective

Assertive/ Declarative

Health literacy does not narrow the education-based e-health gap / Education-based e-health gap not narrowed by health literacy

Title

Modified from: J Internet Serv Appl; J Med Internet Res; J Syst Software

Attract your readers Structured abstracts

Aim Objective, hypothesis

Results Most important findings

Conclusion Relevance, implications

Methods Techniques, measurements

No references, jargon, unusual abbreviations, figures/tables (Health studies: Include funding source and clinical trial registration number)

Background Context, problem

Attract your readers Unstructured abstract

In the Tahe oilfield in China, heavy oil is commonly lifted using the light oil blending technology. However, due to the lack of light oil, the production of heavy oil has been seriously limited. Thus, a new compound technology of light oil blending and electric heating is discussed in this paper, which aims to reduce the usage of light oil and maintain heavy oil production. Based on the mass, momentum and energy conservation, a pressure and temperature coupling model is developed. The heat-transfer parameters are calculated by using Hasan–Kabir method and the pressure drop is calculated by using Hagedorn–Brown method. The model also considers the blend effect of light oil and heavy oil, and the heating effect of electric rod. Example calculation shows that only electric heating or light oil blending technology cannot meet the requirement. The amount of light oil used can be reduced by combining the electric heating technology.

Zhu et al. J Petrol Explor Prod Technol. 2014; DOI: 10.1007/s13202-014-0126-x.

Attract your readers Unstructured abstract

Conclusion The amount of light oil used can be reduced by combining the electric heating technology.

Methods/ results

Based on the mass, momentum and energy conservation, a pressure and temperature coupling model is developed. The heat-transfer parameters are calculated by using Hasan–Kabir method and the pressure drop is calculated by using Hagedorn–Brown method. The model also considers the blend effect of light oil and heavy oil, and the heating effect of electric rod. Example calculation shows that only electric heating or light oil blending technology cannot meet the requirement.

Aims Thus, a new compound technology of light oil blending and electric heating is discussed in this paper, which aims to reduce the usage of light oil and maintain heavy oil production.

Background In the Tahe oilfield in China, heavy oil is commonly lifted using the light oil blending technology. However, owing to the lack of light oil, the production of heavy oil has been seriously limited.

Modified from: Zhu et al. J Petrol Explor Prod Technol. 2014; DOI: 10.1007/s13202-014-0126-x.

Attract your readers

Physical science abstracts (short)

Aims

Background

Methods

Results

Conclusion

Why the study was done

Your objective/hypothesis

Techniques, models

Most important findings

Conclusion/implications


A model has been developed to predict growth kinetics of the intermetallic phases (IMCs) formed in a reactive diffusion couple between two metals for the case where multiple IMC phases are observed. The model explicitly accounts for the effect of grain boundary diffusion through the IMC layer, and can thus be used to explore the effect of IMC grain size on the thickening of the reaction layer. The model has been applied to the industrially important case of aluminum to magnesium alloy diffusion couples in which several different IMC phases are possible. It is demonstrated that there is a transition from grain boundary-dominated diffusion to lattice-dominated diffusion at a critical grain size, which is different for each IMC phase.

Modified from: Wang et al. Metall Mater Trans A. 2015; 46: 4106–4114.

Physical science abstracts (short)

What you did

What you found


Check author guidelines

Check recently published articles

Consider your audience

For interdisciplinary audiences, include background and conclusion

Identify journal editor preference

What the journal requires

Physical science abstracts

When should you include background and conclusions?

Attract your readers Graphical abstracts

Visually demonstrate key features of the study Help readers quickly identify suitable articles

Carbon-layer protected cuprous oxide nanowire arrays for efficient water reduction

Zhang et al. ACS Nano. 2013;7:1709–1717.

Attract your readers Graphical abstracts

Visually demonstrate key features of the study Help readers quickly identify suitable articles

Targeting the lymphatics using dendritic polymers

Kaminskas and Porter. Adv Drug Delivery Rev. 2011; 63: 890–900.

Attract your readers Highlight statements

Clear summaries for quick overview 4–5 key sentences or 3–5 bullet points

(maximum 85–100 characters per bullet, including spaces; no abbreviations)

British Medical Journal: (1) “What is already known on this topic” &

(2) “What this study adds” (included as a Box in online and print article)

Biochimica et Biophysica Acta, Bioenergetics:

3–5 bullets of core results (only in online version of table of contents and article)


Search Engine Optimization

Identify 7–8 keywords (try to use standard terms*)

Use 2 in your title; 5–6 in the keyword list

Use 3 keywords 3–4 times in your abstract

Use keywords in headings when appropriate

Be consistent throughout your paper, but include some synonyms

Cite your previous publications when relevant

*Standard terms from PsycINFO, BIOSIS, ChemWeb, ERIC Thesaurus, GeoRef, MeSH, etc


Activity 3: Titles and abstracts

Write effectively 2

Section 5


Write logical sentences!

A is 4 times larger than B A is 4-fold larger than B A is 4 times as large as B

B is 4 times smaller than A

B is 75% smaller than A; B is 25% the size of A

A B

Avoid ambiguity


Write logical sentences!

A is 4 times larger than B A is 4-fold larger than B A is 4 times as large as B

B is 4 times smaller than A

B is 75% smaller than A; B is 25% the size of A

A B

Comparing data, Method–Purpose, Condition–Effect, Reason–Result, Cause–Effect, Contrast, Similarity, Sequence, Addition, Concession, Exemplification

Avoid ambiguity


The reliability was generally not affected by data filtering.

The reliability increased by only 2.5% after data filtering.

?

After considering all of the forum responses from all the forum respondents, around less than 20% of forum members submits 80% of the forum replies.

Be accurate and concise!

After considering all of the forum responses, we estimated that only 18% of members submitted 80% of the replies.

Avoid ambiguity


A(n): refers to a non-specific noun (indefinite reference)

The: refers to a specific noun (definite reference)

“A theory that describes economic development…” Suggests there is more than one theory

“The Big Bang theory…” Suggests there is only one theory and everyone knows

“A participant was chosen based on education level.

The participant was then given a questionnaire to determine…”

Clarify reference


Readers expect…

verbs to closely follow their subjects heavy ends (not starts) of clauses

Subject

The viral infection that the patient caught on a trip to an outbreak-prone area in Africa spread among the hospital staff quickly.

The patient caught a viral infection on a trip to an outbreak-prone area in Africa. This infection spread quickly among the hospital staff.

Verb

Write clear sentences


Readers expect…

old/given/familiar information to appear first new information to appear last

An increasing number of people are relying on medical information sources that they find on the Internet. Hence, governments could conduct public campaigns to promote healthy lifestyles via online media.

The Internet is being used as a source of medical information by an increasing number of people. Hence, online media campaigns could be used by governments to promote healthy lifestyles among the public. (or… Hence, the public could benefit greatly if governments used online campaigns to promote healthy lifestyles.)

Write clear sentences


Readers focus at the end of the sentence to determine what is important.

1. You deserve the funding, but the study design is not perfect.

Which sentence suggests that you

will get funding?

2. The study design is not perfect, but you deserve the funding.

Sentence and paragraph structure

Stress position


The study design is not perfect, but you deserve the

funding. The grant will be awarded in two stages.

Stress position

Topic position

The topic position introduces the idea of the current sentence

The stress position also introduces the topic of the next sentence (useful for explanations and processes)



The government of Tanzania has been striving to introduce Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in education. In teacher education, technology was introduced through the ICT-Connect-TED project. The program aimed at improving the quality of teachers through the use of ICT. ICT-Connect-TED provided computers and a networking infrastructure to all 34 teacher training colleges in Tanzania.

idea idea idea idea

Topic link

sentence

Source: Kafyulilo et al. Educ Inf Technol. 5 May 2015; DOI 10.1007/s10639-015-9398-0



One method of producing carbon fibre precursors, with the potential of commercial applicability, is electrospinning. It has previously been demonstrated that electrospinning can successfully produce precursor fibres that can be converted into high quality carbon fibres with controlled fibre diameters and morphologies. The majority of electrospun carbon fibre precursors reported in the literature are PAN-based. The high cost of PAN, depleting petroleum resources and the toxicity of its solvent, dimethylformamide, has motivated research to look into alternative electrospinnable materials to produce cheaper and more environmentally friendly carbon fibres. Because petroleum-based carbon resources exhibit negative environmental impacts and are of limited availability further motivates research towards green carbon fibres.

Recently, a wide range of renewable resource-based materials have been investigated for the fabrication of carbon materials. Among them, lignin has been looked at as a very promising candidate…

Schreiber et al. J Mater Sci. 2014; 49: 7949–7958.

Topic sentence

Stress sentence Topic sentence

Supporting sentences



Activity 4: Effective writing 2

Structure your manuscript 1

Section 6

Coverage and Staffing Plan Manuscript

structure Introduction

Current state of the field

Background information

Specific aim/approach/contents Aim

Problem in the field

Previous studies

Current study

General

Specific Importance/hypothesis

Worldwide relevance? Broad/specialized?

Recent, International Not too many self-cites

Why is your study needed?


structure Writing the Introduction

The objective of this study was to employ information theory to quantify the amount of information contained in common laboratory tests, the extent of redundancy between consecutive days of sampling, and the redundancy associated with pre-specified pairs of ICU lab tests.

In the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), likely the most data-rich environment in the hospital, enhanced monitoring and frequent testing are common. Repeated bloodwork can lead to patient harm in a number of ways…


Lee and Maslove. BMC Med Inform Decis Mak. 2015; 15: 59.

Study aims

Your aims should directly address the problem


structure

Common mistakes in the Introduction

Ideas are not logically organized

Important topics in the Introduction are not mentioned again in the Results/Discussion

Important topics in the Results/Discussion are not mentioned in the Introduction

Cited studies are not up-to-date

Cited studies are geographically biased

Why study needs to be done?

Keep focused

Write last

<5 years

International


structure Methods/Experimental

How it was done

• General methods • Specific techniques – Discuss controls

• Quantification methods • Models/equations • Statistical tests

What/who was studied

• Samples or participants • Materials/databases

– Where purchased

How it was analyzed

Consult a statistician!

What did you do?


structure

Established techniques

• Cite previously published studies • Briefly state modifications • Use flow chart/table if needed

• Explain purposes; justify choices • Give enough detail for reproducibility • Use Supplementary Information

Organization • Arrange in (titled) subsections • Keep parallel to the display items • Use topic sentences

New techniques

Methods/Experimental


structure Results

1. Synthesis 2. Characterization 3. Application

Logical presentation

What did you find?

Example:

1. Fabricate new membrane for water treatment

2. Evaluate physical and chemical properties (e.g., under different temperatures/pressures)

3. Efficacy in removing particulate contamination


structure

1. Initial observation/synthesis 2. Characterization/development 3. Application

Each subsection corresponds to one figure/method

What you found, not what it means

Data accessibility


Subsections

Factual description

What did you find?

Results


structure Combined Results–Discussion

Results Interpretation

Figure 1


Figure 2


Figure 3


Figure 4

Initial observation


Characterization

Application


structure

Table 2 presents an analysis of vulnerabilities in Cloud Computing. This analysis offers a brief description of the vulnerabilities, and indicates what cloud service models (SPI) can be affected by them. Some of these vulnerabilities are the following:… … Cloud Computing leverages many existing technologies such as web services, web browsers, and virtualization, which contributes to the evolution of cloud environments. Therefore, any vulnerability associated with these technologies also affects the cloud, and it can even have a significant impact. We can conclude that data storage and virtualization are the most critical features, and an attack to them would do the most harm. Attacks to lower layers would have more impact to the other layers.

Introduce display item

Interpretation

Conclusion/ implications

Modified from: Hashizume et al. J Internet Serv Appl. 2013;4:5.

Factual description

Factually describe and interpret your findings 1

Combined Results–Discussion


structure

The three classification models show the same level of

performance based on their F1-scores, where the scores all take a

value of 0.85. With the help of the receiver operating characteristic

curves (Figure 5), it is clear to see that all three models performed

quite well for testing data that have high posterior probability. A

posterior probability of a testing data point, A, is estimated by the

classification model as the probability that A will be classified as

positive, denoted as P(+|A). As the probability gets lower, the Naïve

Bayesian classifier model outperforms the Support Vector Machine

classifier model , with a larger area under curve. Hence, in general,

the Random Forest model performs the best.

Describe finding

Interpretation

Conclusion/ implications

Modified from: Hashizume et al. J Internet Serv Appl. 2013;4:5.

Mention display item

Factually describe and interpret your findings 2

Combined Results–Discussion


structure

Present large amount of data quickly and efficiently

Keep it simple: use separate panels if necessary

Must be able to stand alone: clear labels and

figure legends

Usually the first thing readers will look at

Figures, graphs & tables

Display items


structure

SEM images of Bentheimer sample 1 before and after damage (10 g/L barite). (a) and (b) show the undamaged plug, only quartz crystals can be seen, (c) and (d) show the sample after damage, adhesion between quartz (gray) and barite (white) can be seen, (e) and (f) show the adhesion between barite particles in the damaged plug. The black arrows point towards barite-quartz and barite-barite interfaces.

Figures

Clear figure legend

Al-Yaseri et al. J Petrol Sci Eng. 2015; DOI 10.1016/j.petrol.2015.01.018.

Title of the experiment

Key findings

Clear indicators


structure Tables vs. graphs

Type A Type B Type C

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

Aluminum

Gold

Figure 1. Efficiency of various solar cell types using aluminum and gold electrodes

Effi

cien

cy (

%)

Which electrode gives a more efficient solar cell?



Figure 1. Efficiency of various solar cell types using aluminum and gold electrodes

Type A Type B Type C

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

Aluminum

Gold

What is the highest efficiency achieved?

?

Effi

cien

cy (

%)



What is the highest efficiency achieved?

Table 1. Efficiency of solar cells using aluminum and gold electrodes


structure

Independent variable

Table formatting

Muñoz et al. New Engl J Med. 2003; 348: 518−527.

Clear and concise table caption

Abbreviations defined

Dependent variable


structure

What’s wrong with this line graph?


structure Line graphs

Zhu et al. Sci Rep. 2013; 3: 3163.

Quantized water transport: Ideal desalination through graphyne-4 membrane

The uniaxial stress-strain curves of graphene sheet (GR), as well as graphyne-1 to graphyne-6, along (a) the reclined chair direction, and (b) zigzag direction.

Dependent variable


Use colors and shapes to differentiate lines

Define abbreviations


structure Bar graphs

Slight et al. J Clin Invest. 2013; doi: 10.1172/JCI65728.

CXCR5+ T helper cells mediate protective immunity against tuberculosis

Figure 7 Adoptive transfer of B6 but not Cxcr5-/- CD4+ T cells rescues T cell localization and protection in Cxcr5-/-Mtb-infected mice... (B) The average size of B cell lymphoid follicles in FFPE lung sections on day 50 using the morphometric tool of the Zeiss Axioplan microscope… *** P = 0.0005.

Dependent variable


Statistical significance

Activity 5: Manuscript structure 1


Structure your manuscript 2

Section 7


structure Discussion

Summary of findings

Relevance

Conclusion

Similarities/differences Unexpected/negative results Limitations (validity, reliability)

Implications

Previous studies

Current study

Future studies

Specific

General

How do you advance your field?


structure

Writing the beginning of your Discussion

State the major conclusion of the study

Nitrogen pollution in household wastewater tends to lead to eutrophication in natural waters, which can diminish water quality and ecosystem services. However, the comparative cost and effectiveness of conventional and alternative wastewater treatment strategies to reduce nitrogen have not been clearly evaluated. In this study, we found that the most cost-effective alternatives for mitigating nitrogen are decentralized systems, paired with conventional septic systems as necessary. Sensitivity analysis shows that...

Re-introduction

Conclusion

Modified from: Wood et al. J Environ Manage. 2015; 150: 344–354.

Problem


structure

Modified from: Ketola & Hiltunen. Ecol Evol. 2014; 4: 3901–3908.

Compare your findings with those published by others

Writing the middle of your Discussion

Comparison with previous studies

Current finding

Potential reasons

Our observations suggest that fluctuating growth conditions did not select for generalism at the tested salinity levels. This finding is in contrast to several studies where evidence for an evolved generalism was found to be the consequence of fluctuating environments (Buckling et al. 2006, Ketola et al. 2013, 2014; Condon et al. 2014). One explanation for the lack of expected adaptation in fluctuating environments in the current study could be that our salinity fluctuations were too coarse-grained…


structure

Describe limitations and negative results

Why?

Reporting transparency

• Allows complete evaluation of your study • Prevents others from repeating those experiments • Allows others to modify those experiments • Prevents funding agencies from wasting money

Data repositories

Writing the middle of your Discussion


structure

Readers use sentence structure to determine emphasis

• Stress position • Main clause vs. subordinate clause • Clause length

Useful in the Discussion Vary emphasis of your interpretations

Contrasting ideas


structure Contrasting ideas

Main vs. subordinate clause

Although the study design is not perfect, you deserve funding.

Subordinate Main

Linking word

• Although • Even though • While • Whereas

Subordinate clauses say 2 things:

• Idea may not be important • There is a contrasting idea coming


structure Discussing limitations

Although this study was limited by its small sample size, our results demonstrate that people using customizable news aggregation pages give high user experience scores.

Although our results demonstrate that page customization is useful, the study was limited by its small sample size.

Bad news = Subordinate clause at the start

Bad news = Main clause in stress position

Bad news = Subordinate clause at start Good news = LONG main clause in stress position


structure

What do you want people to remember?

Writing the end of your Discussion

May be a separate section

May be a “Future work” section

In conclusion, polymeric nanoparticles could be used as a generic carrier of hydrophobic drugs for efficient delivery. Compared with drug administration alone, these nanoparticles mediated a higher and more rapid uptake of the encapsulated drug by nanoparticle-cell contact-mediated transfer. A contact-mediated mechanism of delivery into the cytosol could enable effective delivery of anticancer drugs directly to the intracellular molecular targets. Further understanding of this contact-based transfer mechanism will be important to exploit this novel delivery system for the administration of hydrophobic chemotherapeutic drugs to improve cancer therapy.

Conclusion

Key finding

Implications

Future directions

Modified from: Snipstad et al. Cancer Nanotech. 2014; 5: 8.


structure

Common mistakes in the Discussion

Do not restate your results or introduce new data

We showed that tumor volumes in Groups A, B, and C were 34.6, 74.2, and 53.9 mm3, respectively, after a 4-month drug treatment, reflecting only a 8.6% decrease. However, after a 12-month drug treatment, the tumor volumes in Groups A, B, and C were 16.3, 18.7, and 16.9 mm3, respectively, which reflects a 45.2% decrease (p<0.05). The results demonstrate that 12 months of treatment is necessary for Drug X to effectively reduce tumor size among the three groups.

The results presented in this study demonstrate that Drug X more effectively reduces tumor size after 12 months of treatment (45.2% reduction) than it does after 4 months (8.6% reduction).


structure

Common mistakes in the Discussion

Do not overgeneralize your findings

In this study, we demonstrated that Drug A effectively reduced tumor growth. Therefore, this drug should have therapeutic applications in breast cancer treatment.

In this study, we demonstrated that Drug A effectively reduced the growth of various breast cancer cell lines. Our findings suggest that this drug may have therapeutic applications in breast cancer treatment.

Result: Drug A reduced breast cancer cell growth in vitro


structure Link your ideas

General background

Aims

Methodology

Results and figures

Summary of findings

Implications for the field

Relevance of findings


Current state of the field Introduction

Methods

Results

Discussion

Solution

Situation/Problem

Evaluation/Comment


structure Link your ideas

Contamination of the soil by heavy metals is a serious environmental problem...

However, little is known how heavy metals affect membrane lipid metabolism…

Here, we showed that Cd stress altered membrane structure and function by changing the profiles of individual polar lipids and unsaturation levels.

Background

Problem

Conclusion

Discussion

Modified from: Elloumi et al. Botanical Studies. 2014; 55: 61.

Our aim was to assess how Cd stress affects the composition and biosynthesis of lipids and fatty acids……

Objective


structure After the first draft….

Format manuscript

• Use journal template/style • Re-check word limits • Format references

Revise manuscript

• Get input from colleagues • Check Figures/Tables • Check consistency/logical

flow between sections • Edit for clarity, conciseness,

and accuracy • Have a rest! Then proofread

Activity 6: Manuscript structure 2


S

Be an effective communicator

Your goal is not only to publish, but also to be widely read and cited

Prepare well for academic publishing

Write your ideas clearly for your audience

Logically present your research

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Category:	Education
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