Scientific Writing

Dr.Daxaben N. Mehta

Principal, Smt.Sadguna C.U.Shah Home Science and C. U. Shah Arts & Commerce

Mahila College, Wadhwancity,

District: Surendranagar

Dt.: 27 /02 /2012

General GuidelinesTypes of Scientific PublicationOutlineLanguageStructure & Preparation of a PaperTitle - AuthorAbstractKey words

General GuidelinesIntroductionMaterials & MethodsResults – Tables & FiguresDiscussionConclusionReferencesAcknowledgements

Different types ofScientific Publications

Oral presentationsWritten presentationsBooks and book chaptersReview papersJournal articlesScience magazinesNewspaper articles

Different types ofScientific Publications

Extension leaflets and postersConference postersAnnual reports, quarterly reports and

project reportsConference abstractsConference/Workshop proceedingsLetter to journals and book reviews

USING AN OUTLINE

description of an outlinevalue of the outlinedeveloping the outline

description of an outline

A logical, general description A schematic summary An organizational pattern A visual and conceptual design of

your writing

value of the outlineAids in the process of writingHelps you organize your ideas Provides a snapshot of each section of the

paper will flow Presents your material in a logical form Shows the relationships among ideas in your

writing Constructs an ordered overview of your

writing Defines boundaries and groups

developing the outline

Before you begin:Determine the purpose of your

paperDetermine the audience you are

writing forDevelop the thesis of your paper

LanguageLanguage SimpleaccuratePreciseBrevityGrammarActive voice

Structure and preparationof a scientific paper

The when, where, and what you might want to publish…

Most research journals state that papers submitted for consideration must “make a significant and original contribution to knowledge”

When

you may have professional imperatives that are pushing you to publish before your contribution to science is truly “significant” Ideally a research article should contain a coherent single body of work answering one or two major questions on a major theme and giving one or two further avenues of research

Where

Consideration of ‘where’ determines the required format for the article and also its distribution and the expected recognition that should come from acceptance of the paper by the editors. International journals are generally considered the most thorough and scrupulous of all publication channels

WhatTypically presents experimental work—usually a

minimum of two experiments, or field work conducted over two or more three seasons. Explains the motivation for conducting the work. Explains the design and conduct of the work. Presents the results of the work

Proposes an interpretation and meaning of the results Considers the significance of the results and of the interpretation proposed

The structure of a research paper

The major sections required in a paper are often abbreviated in the acronym “IMRaD” meaning;

Introduction, Methodology (Materials and Methods), Results, and Discussion. Other sections are clearly necessary (a title, abstract, references, etc.)

TitleA title should be the fewest possible

words that accurately describe the content of the paper. Omit all waste words such as "A study of ...", "Investigations of ...", "Observations on ...", etc. Indexing and abstracting services depend on the accuracy of the title, An improperly titled paper may never reach the audience for which it was intended, so be specific.

Title

Only the first word in the title (except for proper nouns) has a capital letter. Titles are used in cataloguing and abstracting, in electronic/internet databases, and will be in the reference list of other research publications

Types of titlesIndicative: Effectiveness of AV aids on teaching

leaning process Informative: AV aids helps in teaching learning

processQuestion: Do AV aids affect teaching learning

process?Main title/Subtitle (Hanging): AV aids: effects on

teaching learning process

Authors You will need to include the names and addresses

of those who conducted the research and contributed to the writing of the paper .

The major contributor to the research work and the writing of the research paper is named as first (“Senior”) author, with other authors following in decreasing order of their level of contribution to the work

AbstractThis is a short (generally 200-250words in one paragraph) summary of the

objectives of the work, the methodology used, the main results, and the major conclusions.

An abstract is definitive (NOT descriptive), i.e., it gives the hard facts in the form of statements concerning what is contained in the research paper

AbstractAbstracts are included in catalogues

and electronic/ Internet databases and are of major use in enabling others to quickly and easily decide if they wish to read the full paper. Your abstract should follow the IMRaD structure

KeywordsKeywords are a list of important words (or short

phrases) used in the main text and or abstract but NOT already present in the title. Keywords are included with the title and the abstract in the indexing of the published article in electronic databases. Choose your key words carefully to complement those in the title to attract the largest number and broadest range of potential readers.

Introduction – “Why”.The ‘Introduction’ section of a research paper

presents the nature and range of the problem investigated

a review of relevant and pertinent literatureresults and conclusions of previous workan explanation (rationale) of why the work

being described was needed

IntroductionA key section of the introduction is the

listing of your objective(s). These will often lead logically to a suggested hypothesis

If you have more than one objective, present these in a logical order. This order will then be repeated elsewhere in the paper, making it easier for the reader to follow and understand

IntroductionThe ‘Introduction’ sets out Questions ‘A’

‘B’ ‘C’The ‘Materials and methods’ describes

how to Answer ‘A’ ‘B’ ‘C’The ‘Results’ reports answers to ‘A’ ‘B’ ‘C’The ‘Discussion’ interprets the answers to

‘A’ ‘B’ ‘C’

Methodology “Where, When, and How” Describing the design

(plus duration, location, and climate) and conduct of the experiment in sufficient detail that another researcher could repeat the work if necessary—including the statistical design used and the analysis performed. Model sampling procedure, method of data collection, type of analysis etc

Materials & MethodsIf you are reporting standard, recognized

techniques they need not describe the procedures in detail. The name of the technique, plus a reference, if the technique or procedure has been described in a recognized journal is sufficient

You should include all details of experimental design and statistical analysis

Materials & Methods

includes all necessary detailsexcludes all unnecessary details

and therefore contains only what you need to present

Should include all details so that someone else can repeat

Results These results are directly related to the

objectives outlined in the IntroductionDescribes what was found, giving

summaries of data obtained, as text, tables, figures, or graphs

The ‘Results’ section is often the shortest section of a research publication, but also the most important

Do not present raw, unanalyzed data

ResultsStatistical significance is reported

in the ‘Results’ sectionThe results should clearly

describe what was found, including statistical tests, differences, and probabilities

TableA table or a figure enables readers to see

the (summarized data) for themselves, but the results remain the subject of the text (and not the tables or figures)

Do not put too many items in a table, because it will become crammed and hard to interpret. Useful for presenting analyzed summary data (e.g.means ± standard errors), level of significance

Tablecolumn headingsrow headings (or stub headings)A table has a field, the “boxes” of

information in the body of the tableA table often has footnotestables should be able to

“standalone”, be self-explanatory

FiguresPie charts show proportions of a

single variable.Histograms compare quantities, such

as yields, for different classes of variable.

Line graphs show trends and relationships or other dynamic comparisons of continuous variables

Scatter diagram

FiguresUnlike with tables, the numbers and

titles of figures are placed BELOW the figure

If axes are used they should have brief informative titles (legends) and include any units of measurement

Remember, results may be presented as either tables or figures, NEVER as both

DiscussionContains an interpretation of the results.

The discussion talks about the relationship of the results to the questions posed in the introduction, and explains how these results contribute to answering the “Why” of the research

Can also include limitationsIndicate future research if evident

DiscussionThis is also the section for pointing out

how your results compare with the findings of others, and explaining any differences from previously published research

You may also end this section by identifying further problems and the next steps and additional research needed—limitations and areas for further research

ConclusionIf you are reporting on a long and

complex piece of research, and if you have complicated results, you may well want to include a separate ‘Conclusion’ section.

Before preparing a separate ‘Conclusion’ section, check on the style and format instructions to authors of the journal to which you are planning to submit your paper

Citations and referencesThe reference list contains full details of

all articles specifically referred to in the text. These are called the text citations.

Text citations generally give the name(s) (generally the “surname” or main name) of the author(s) of the article and its year of publication. This system of text citation is often referred to as the “Harvard” or Name-Year system.

ReferencesReferences may be used either in

explaining and justifying the need for the work, the conduct of the work, or the implications of the work.

The purpose of the reference list is to enable other researchers to trace and obtain any previously published research used to describe and support the new work being presented.

Citing A Journal ArticleAuthor(s)Date (generally year)Title of work being cited (with only

the first word and proper nouns having a capital letter)

Name of the Journal, Volume & issue number

Citing A BookAuthor(s) or editor(s)Date of publication (year)Title of book (often in italics)Edition of book if not the first editionCity of publication + publisherTotal number of pages or start page number

– last page number of section being cited

Acknowledgments institutes or individuals who helped in the

work, provided funding, etcTechnicians – Significantly involved Supervisors - contributed to the workinstitutions or companies – equipment Colleagues Statisticians Remember to include donors

ThesisMain difference is the style and layoutMonographUse university guidelinesExtended literature reviewMain body split into sections/chaptersA chapter on methodologyDiscussion - Compare results with

previous publications Discuss implications

Review articlesReporting from several sources – a common

form in university training, journals and conferences

Review of literature – longer form Should be comprehensive and critical

Collect both +ve and –ve informationCompare and contrastGive a balanced perspective

Popular science articleAudience is publicTitle – short exciting and informativeLayout Determined by the style of the

magazine Do not make it too longLook at articles previously publishedLanguage Simple, layman languageIf using scientific/technical terms, please

explain Keep your audience in mind