Telling Your Story

The Craft of Scientific Writing

Overview

A. Scientific writing as storytelling

B. Some general tips for writers

C. Constructing the skeleton

D. Fleshing it out: Major sections of a scientific report

E. Responding to Reviews

F. Just for the fun of it

A. Scientific Writing as Storytelling

When writing almost anything for publication, you are telling a story

Outline

• There is a clear, predictable structure to scientific articles

– Introduction and literature review– Methods– Results– Discussion

• but it doesn’t have to be boring!

Write a scientific report like a detective story

There is a predictable structure:

• Cover (Title and Abstract)

• Pose the mystery (Introduction)

• Lay out the plot (Methods)

• Denouement (Results)

• Closure (Discussion)

Pieces of the Story: The Reader’s Questions

• Title and abstract: Should I read this?

• Introduction: Why should I care?

• Methods: What did you do?

• Results: What did you find?

• Discussion: What does it mean?

Structuring for the Reader

• Write from an outline

• Headers and sideheads

• Orienting language– We will first . . . and then . . .

• Transitional language– Next . . Now . . In contrast, . . Nevertheless

• Summaries

B. Some General Tips for Writers

Be Clear About your Audience

A literature review on alcohol blackouts would be written quite differently if the audience were:– Substance abuse counselors– Neuroscientists studying memory– Psychiatrists– A lay audience (popular press)– School counselors

Choose Your Target Journal

• Look at your own bibliography• Audience and circulation• Editorial mission and scope• Normal length/format of articles• ISI impact factor• Peer-review process• Review and publication lag• Embargo policy

Tips for Writers

• Set aside dedicated cooking time

• Protect that time

• Always have three pots on the stove

• Follow a recipe (outline)

Group Support for Writing

• Regularly scheduled

• Consultation group (senior mentor present)

• Mutual support group with accountability

• Study hall– Extraverts: Resist the temptation to chat

Behavioral Self-Management

• Target: Set clear and achievable goals– Chunk into doable pieces

• Track: Keep records of progress• Commit: Social accountability• Comfort: Environment you need and like• Stay on task

– analogy of test anxiety – mental time off task

– avoid temptations to read the mail or email, answer the phone, chat

• Persist: Beware the rule violation effect

The Blank Page / Screen

• Outline

• Pick a piece

• Just do it – write!

• Edit later

• P.S. Writing gets easier, faster, and more fun with practice and feedback

In Initial Drafts . .

• Go for good enough• Perfect is the enemy of good

– (and of productivity and tenure, too)– You’ll have to revise it anyhow

• Start from an outline• Get words on the page• Then edit• Have colleagues read and critique• Revise and send it off

C. Constructing the Skeleton

Construct an Outline

• Overall structure – major sections

• Structure within sections– What are the pieces? Write them on cards– Move them around to create a logical flow– Put them in groups– Construct headers and subheaders

Alcohol Blackouts: A ReviewThe Pieces

Dose-response relationship – is it automatic?

Convergence with clinical SUD symptoms

Relation to neuropsych impairment

Changing threshold – age and tolerance

Clinical description; subtypes

Storage or retrieval problem?

Prevalence of blackouts

Individual differences, predictors

Alcohol’s acute effects on memory

Alcohol Blackouts: A ReviewA Logical Flow

1. Clinical description; subtypes

2. Prevalence of blackouts

3. Convergence with clinical SUD symptoms

4. Dose-response – is it automatic?

5. Changing threshold – age and tolerance

5. Alcohol’s acute effects on memory

7. Storage or retrieval problem?

8. Individual differences, predictors

9. Relation to neuropsych impairment

Alcohol Blackouts: A Review

• 1. The Phenomenon– Clinical description, subtypes– Prevalence– Diagnostic significance (relation to other Sx)

• 2. Blackouts and Blood Alcohol Level– Dose-response relationship– Changing threshold for blackout (relation to

age, tolerance, etc.)

Alcohol Blackouts: A Review

• 3. Etiology– Acute effects of alcohol on memory– Storage or retrieval problem?– Individual differences, predictors– Link to alcohol-related neuropsychological

impairment

• 4. Clinical Significance– The meaning of blackouts

D. Fleshing it Out

Major Sections of a Scientific Report

Title and Abstract

• The most important part of an article or proposal – not an afterthought

• What are the essential pieces?

• Draw the reader in

• Say enough, but don’t give too much away

Introduction: The Mystery

• Pose a puzzle, a question

• Trace the background – the theory, research, practical problems etc. leading up to the doorstep of your study

• Establish the significance of the question

• The introduction funnel

Opening Lines

Charles Dickens

• Marley was dead, to begin with. - A Christmas Carol• It was the best of times, it was the worst of

times. - A Tale of Two Cities

Opening Lines from Scientific Reports Don’t Have to Be Boring

• How effective is alcoholism treatment?– Journal of Studies on Alcohol 62:211-220, 2001

• Motivational interviewing began in a barber shop in Norway.

– Addictive Behaviors 21:835-842, 1996

• At midnight the old man, unable to sleep, stares uneasily into the darkness beyond his bedroom window.

– Can Personality Change? APA, 1994

Methods: The Plot

• Provide a clear, logical flow– Move through procedures in the order that a

participant encounters them

• Use a checklist (e.g., CONSORT criteria)

• Have someone unfamiliar with your research read it for clarity

Methods: The Pieces of a Plot

Interventionists Baseline assessment

Consent procedure

Hypotheses Treatments / conditions

Eligibility criteria

Source population & recruitment

Training and fidelity control

Randomization procedure

Data analysis plan

Screening Follow-up assessment

Methods: The Flow of a Plot (Clinical Trial)

1. Source population & recruitment

2. Screening 3. Eligibility criteria

4. Consent procedure

5.Randomization procedure

6. Baseline assessment

7. Treatments / conditions

8.Interventionists 9. Training and fidelity control

10. Follow-up assessment

11. Hypotheses 12. Data analysis plan

Results: The Mystery Solved

• Logical sequence of presentation

• Analyses should match specific aims and/or hypotheses

• Give some interpretation of meaning (e.g., direction of relationship) in results narrative

• “I didn’t find anything!”

Laying Out the Clues: Sample Results Section (Clinical Trial)

1. Sample characteristics

2. Distributional characteristics of DVs

3. Baseline DVs & equivalence of groups

4. Treatment adherence and fidelity

5. Time effects (whole sample)

6. Treatment effects

7. Clinical significance classifications

8. Therapist effects

9. Predictors of outcome

Closure: The Discussion Sandwich

• Summarize and contextualize important findings (don’t repeat results)

• Caveats (e.g., study limitations)

• Implications– What the findings may mean– Implications for practice– Implications for research

References

• Use bibliographic software (e.g. EndNote)• Find and enter the reference only once – never

look for it again• The software automatically formats your

references to the journal• When you resubmit to another journal with a

different referencing format, a push of a button does it for you

• Start now! It’s a small learning curve, and you’ll waste that amount of time in referencing just two articles

E. Responding to Reviews

Receiving Your Reviews

• Take a deep breath, then read the letter right away.

• Don’t take it personally! You are not defending your human worth.

• Don’t get too attached to your own words

• Get right to it – Prompt revising and resubmitting is a secret of success

Editors’ ResponsesFour Good Outcomes

• Accepted without revision (p<.001)• Accepted contingent upon revisions• Revise and resubmit: Will be reconsidered

and reviewed again after revisions• Rejected with recommendations

• Persistence is key to success

Reading the Reviews

• Read them carefully and thoughtfully

• 95% will be good recommendations and will make your publication better

• Make a flat list of changes recommended by each reviewer

• Pay particular attention to the editor’s own comments; they may contain hints about which changes are most important

Responding to Reviews

• Never deprecate the reviewer – The same people will read your next draft

• Be respectful, neither sycophantic nor peevish• Prepare a cover letter with your flat list of

recommended changes, and exactly what you have done in response to each

• Comply with 90% of recommendations• Choose your noncompliance points carefully• Make it easy for the editor and reviewers to find

the changes you have made

F. Just for the fun of it

• Keyboarding (typing) class

• Creative writing class

• Poetry writing seminar

• Philosophy course in logic

• Storytelling workshop