How to start to write a scientific paper

Remedios MeleroValencia, Spain

Managing editorFood Science and Technology

International

The aims of this presentation are to put forth the main concepts and ideas about the way to prepare a paper, to make the students to think, to awaken their curiosity and to create their own criteria to judge and criticize their own work, and finally to express it.

This work is addressed to graduate or postgraduate

students not to editors or any other specialist joined to the

publishing world, and emphasizes the importance of the

scientific research communication and its transfer to the

scientific community.  

the autho

r

The construction of the science is based on the communication of the research results

Research

Production

Literature

your research career. Within the circle it is relevant to communicate your results as brief and clear as possible.

Previous works are thebasis for yours, when you enter in the loop (intake, production, output and feedback) you become a consumer and a producer and so on till the end of

Why is important your scientific contribution?

Question

How does the process begin?

Preliminary research

answeryes noNew research

Project design

Lab workresults

conclusions

manuscript Dissemination & retrieval

Be aware of the contribution of your research to the Scientific Community and try to share it with your colleagues

How?

Communicating your results (written, oral, others)

When you consider you have finished an homogeneous part, be sure before closing the assays.

Arrange and organize your notes, references or any other material, display and classify it.

How to start

to write a manuscript?

Organize your information

Structure your information in separate blocks

Notes, comentaries, references, objetives

Samples, individuals, sampling, analytical and statistical methods, ...

Answers to the objetives supported by numerical, graphical or any other forms

Analysis of the results, comparison with other authors

Try to integrate your puzzle of information

And structure it

Structure of a scientific paper

Title

Authors’ names and

affiliation

Abstract, keywords

Introduction

Material and methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusions

Acknowledgements

References

Annexes

TITLEThe title should inform accurately about the content of the manuscript without ambiguities. It must be informative, brief, specific, accurate, concise and unambiguous.

Why is important the title?

Most of information retrieval services, browsers or data bases use titles to elaborate their indexes, so the more accurate and concise the better to its specific dissemination and retrieval.

Authors’ names and affiliations

Use always the same name (signature) to avoid any confussion within the scientific community. A “reliable name” is advisable. Identify the author for correspondence (with *).

Give the complete name and address of the institutions or centers the authors belong to.

Currently e-mails are also given.

Abstract

The abstract, summary or synopsis is, like the title, one

element within the manuscript of relevant importance. The

retrieval of the paper and its reading depend greatly on it.

Therefore it should provide the concise information to

indicate whether the paper fulfils our expectations.The main

feature of an abstract is its size. In very few words (200-300)

the abstract should inform about the main aspects of the

manuscripts and respond to why, what, how and the results

and their interpretation.

Characteristics of an abstract

Brief Inform ative

Concise Condensed

Content

Structured Single paragraph

Form at

Abstract

Short sentences, but not telegraphedNo references, tables or figuresNo acronyms, abbreviations..

No excessive details

Keywords

Keywords have not to be “empty words” or express generalities. Their source could come from:

Descriptors from a thesaurus

Free text

IntroductionBrief

Focused

With the most relevant references

Without repetitions of known stablished assumptions

Aims and objetives

Material and methods

Samples, sampling

Individuals

Material (origin if neccesary)

Methods (references and brief description)

Statistical methods (packages, software..)

Equations. Internationally nomenclature accepted

Results

Answers to the objectives

Expose the experiences logically sequenced

Omit superfluous results

Do not remove those that invalidate the initial hypothesis

Do not repeat any information in tables or figures, and in the text

Discussion

What do the results mean?

Are my results compared with other previous works?

Do not repeat results

Conclusions

Acknowledgements

Names, institutions, projects, grants, etc...

Citation

S. Harvard S. Vancouver(Name and year) (numerical sequence)

......These results agreed with previous works (Smith, 1996; Brown et al., 1998)....

......These results agreed with previous works 1,2......

Bibliographic elements:Journal article: Authors. Year. Title. Vol. (issue).pp-pp.

Book: Author(s). Year. Title. Edition. City of publication. Publisher. pp.-pp.

Chapter of book: Author’s chapter. Year. Chapter title. Editor. Book title. Edition. City of publication. Publisher. Pp.pp.

Patent: Author. Year. Patent title. Number of the patent.

Congress comunication: Author. Year. Title of the communication. Title of the congress. City. Date

Verb tenses

Pasive voice

Past

Present

Do not flaw the text with redundant passive voice, avoid it when neccesary and apply when the subject is unknown and the object relevant

Directives, conclussions, generalities, stable conditions

Procedures, results, finished statements

Active voice

Tables

Simple, avoid grids and backgrounds, use only the concise lines to separate the content from the headings.

Do no repeat any information in tables and figures or within the text.

Use only the essential footnotes.

(Express in a tabular way concise results)

Do not forget the units of the headings.

The table should contain at least 2 x2, rows x columns.

Figures

Figure = figure caption+ axes+units+ content

Avoid grids, lines, frames, and legends inside the drawing.

Figures are preferably to show tendencies more than particular (discrete) data.

Avoid figures with only a line. Use common symbols, clear and neat within the traces.

Have you chosen the journal?

Have you the instructions to authors?

Let’s write the first draft

AVOID

Long

Redundant Ambiguous

Jargonized

Obscure

MANUSCRIPTS

The simpler

The clearer

The shorter

The moreconcise

TheBetter The

more arresting

Manuscripts

Why?

How?

What did you find?

What does it mean?

Does your paper answer these questions?

introductionmaterial + methods

resultsdiscussion

Check the accuracy of the data in tables and figures

Are all tables and figures neccesary?

Could you join figures or tables?

Do you repeat any information?

Re-read first draft

Revise the style

Review the content, data, references

2nd draft

Final manuscript