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BCB 703:Scientific Methodology
Scientific Writing & Referencing CSE Style
Scientific Writing & Referencing: CSE Style
Vanessa Couldridge
Please note: there is NO AUDIO for this chapter
Scientific CommunicationScientific Communication
Primary Scientific Paper
Technical Paper
Thesis or Dissertation
Review Article
Book
Popular Article
Conference Talk
Conference Poster
Web Document
Press Interview and Other Media
Primary Scientific Paper
Title
Abstract
Introduction
Materials and Methods
Results
Discussion
Acknowledgements
References
Sections of the PaperSections of the Paper Figure legends
Tables
Figures
Must be carefully worded
Needs to be informative
Should not be overly long
Should contain important key words so that others will find the paper when doing literature searches on the topic
Try to catch the reader’s attention
TitleTitle
TitleTitle
Brief summary of a paper
Indicates what the aim of the study was and what the main results and conclusions were
There may be a limit placed on the number of words allowed, so write concisely
Contains no citations
Often people will only read the Abstract of a paper, so make sure it is worded carefully
Usually easier to write the Abstract last
AbstractAbstract
Introduces the topic of research and supplies the rationale for the study
Summarise previous research in the field and explain how your study will build on this
Include relevant background information on the species or area you are studying
Start with broader issues, then move to more specific topics
At the end of the Introduction, briefly state the objectives of the study
IntroductionIntroduction
Detailed explanation of experimental protocol:
How?
Where?
What equipment?
What statistical analyses?
Someone reading this section should be able to exactly replicate your experiment
Can be divided into sub-headings
Materials and MethodsMaterials and Methods
Remember: The absence of differences between treatments can still be a significant result
ResultsResults
“The great tragedy of Science – the slaying of a beautiful hypothesis by an ugly fact”
T.H. Huxley
Present the outcome of the experiment, without providing any interpretation
Use tables and figures to summarise results
Legends should provide enough detail so that tables and figures can be understood without reference to the main text
Be careful to include all necessary information when reporting the results of statistical analyses
Can be divided into sub-headings
Results (continued)Results (continued)
Results (continued)Results (continued)
Purpose is to interpret your findings
Begin by briefly recapping the main results
Explain what these results mean, in light of the previously stated objectives of the study
State whether your results support or contradict previous studies. If they are contradictory, suggest why this might be?
Mention possible shortcomings, but do not belabour them
DiscussionDiscussion
DiscussionDiscussion
Explain the relevance of your results in terms of the “big picture”
Suggest possible directions for future research
Discussion (continued)Discussion (continued)
Discussion (continued)Discussion (continued)
Unless you did everything yourself, using your own equipment and supplies, paid for all costs out of your own pocket, and your study was carried out in your own building and/or on your own land, you will need an Acknowledgements section in your paper
Thank people or institutions that provided:
Funding
Access to field sites or samples
Technical, intellectual, or other help
AcknowledgementsAcknowledgements
AcknowledgementsAcknowledgements
Every idea or finding that is not your own must be acknowledged by a citation
Include the surname of the author(s) and the year of publication
e.g. Algae are extremely diverse in their morphology (Smith et al. 2006; Jones & Green 2002).
If the author’s name forms part of the sentence, give only the year of publication.
e.g. Smith (2002) found some species of algae to occur in arctic sea ice.
Citations in the TextCitations in the Text
Citations in the TextCitations in the Text
Check carefully that all citations in the text appear in the reference list and vice versa
Pay attention to the formatting details specified by the journal you are submitting to
In general:
The list is alphabetical by the first author’s name
When first authors have the same name, sequence by the second author’s name
If you have papers with identical authors, sequence these chronologically
ReferencesReferences
Example: Journal Article:
Author, A.B. 2006. Title of article. Title of Journal. 100:1-5.
Example: Book
Author, A.B. 2006. Title of Book. Publisher: City.
Example: Chapter in a Book
Author, A.B. 2006. Title of chapter. In: Editor, C.D. (eds) Title of Book. Publisher: City. Pages 1-20.
Example: Website
http://www.scientificmethodology.com (Accesed on 03-04-2006 at 09h00)
References (continued)References (continued)
References (continued)References (continued)
Use words that are: simple, essential, specific, familiar
Always try to be as clear and concise as possible
Writing Tips: StyleWriting Tips: Style
“beauty of style and harmony and grace and good rhythm depend on simplicity”
Plato
Writing Tips: StyleWriting Tips: Style
Topic sentence
First sentence
States what the paragraph is about
Supporting sentences
Make up the body of the paragraph
Discuss the issue presented in the topic sentence in more detail
Concluding or connecting sentence
Allows the paragraph to flow logically into the next one
Writing Tips: ParagraphsWriting Tips: Paragraphs
Writing Tips: Paragraphs (cont.)Writing Tips: Paragraphs (cont.)Algae are a diverse group of simple plants. They show a
diversity of forms, ranging from simple unicells, through colonies and filaments, to complex parenchymatous forms. Being polyphyletic, they also show diversity in their evolutionary lineages. Algae occur in a wide variety of environments, ranging from fresh water to marine and hypersaline habitats, as well as habitats as diverse as swimming pools, polar bear fur, arctic sea ice, and the human body. A diverse assortment of characters is used in their classification.
Some of the features used in algal classification have considerable controversy surrounding their acceptability. …
Writing Tips: Paragraphs (cont.)Writing Tips: Paragraphs (cont.)
Sentences should:
Contain no more than one idea
Never stray from the main topic
Not be too long
Be connected and flow logically from one to the other
Not contain “filler” words and unnecessary jargon
Not contain any redundancy
Be properly punctuated
Be grammatically correct
Writing Tips: SentencesWriting Tips: Sentences
Writing Tips: SentencesWriting Tips: Sentences
Examples of “filler” words:
In order to
In the direction of
At the present point in time
A considerable amount of
Accounted for by the fact that
Writing Tips: Sentences (cont.)Writing Tips: Sentences (cont.)
To
Towards
Now
Much
Because
The biota exhibited a 100% mortality response to the addition of high levels of the lethal pesticide.
High levels of the pesticide killed all organisms.
Writing Tips: Sentences (cont.)Writing Tips: Sentences (cont.)
Words should:
Be essential
Be simple
Have unambiguous meaning
Be spelled correctly
Writing Tips: WordsWriting Tips: Words
Overall process of MS prep.
CSE = Council of Science Editors
Reference manual
Provides guidelines on style and formatting for scientific writing
Widely used by authors, publishers and editors working in the biological field
CSE (CBE) StyleCSE (CBE) Style
In CSE, there are two methods of citing references:
1. Name-Year (Author-Date) Method
2. Citation-Sequence (Numbering) Method
CSE ReferencingCSE Referencing
CSE ReferencingCSE Referencing
More common of the two methods
Citations in the text are indicated by placing the author’s surname and the date of publication in parentheses
At the end of the paper, a list is provided in which the full citations appear in alphabetical order by author surname
Name-Year MethodName-Year Method
Surname and year of publication are placed in parentheses, e.g. (Smith 2006)
If the author’s name forms part of the sentence, give only the year, e.g. (2006)
For two authors, separate the names with “and” or “&”, e.g. (Smith and Jones 2004)
For three or more authors, use et al., e.g. (Smith et al. 2005)
When quoting, use quotation marks and give the page number, e.g. (Smith 2006 p 57)
Name-Year: In-text CitationsName-Year: In-text Citations
Name-Year: In-text CitationsName-Year: In-text Citations
Multiple references are separated with a semi-colon and ordered chronologically (Smith 1998; Jones 2002)
For multiple works by the same author, give the name once and then separate the years with commas, e.g. (Smith 2000, 2003)
For multiple works by the same author in the same year, use small letters to distinguish them, e.g. (Smith 2006a, 2006b)
Name-Year: In-text Citations (cont.)Name-Year: In-text Citations (cont.)
Name-Year: In-text Citations (cont.)Name-Year: In-text Citations (cont.)
Example of corresponding reference list:
Dal Sasso C & Signore M. 1998. Exceptional soft-tissue preservation in a theropod dinosaur from Italy. Nature 292:383-387.
Hecht J. 1998. The deadly dinos that took a dive. New Scientist 158:13.
Paul GS. 2000. Dinosaurs of the air: The evolution and loss of flight in dinosaurs and birds. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press. 472 p.
Rogers RR, Krause DW & Rogers KC. 2003. Cannibalism in the Madagascan dinosaur Majungatholus atopus. Nature 422:515-518.
Schweitzer MH, Wittmeyer, JL & Horner JR. 2005. Soft-Tissue Vessels and Cellular Preservation in Tyrannosaurus rex. Science 307:1952-1955.
Sereno PC, Forster CA, Rogers RR & Monetta AM. 1993. Primitive dinosaur skeleton from Argentina and the early evolution of Dinosauria. Nature 361:64-66.
Name-Year Method (cont.)Name-Year Method (cont.)
Name-Year Method (cont.)Name-Year Method (cont.)
Examples of in-text citations:
Dinosaurs became extinct 65 million years ago (Paul 2000).
A variety of fossil and non-fossil sources provide scientific knowledge about dinosaurs (Dal Sasso & Signore 1998; Schweitzer et al. 2005).
The first dinosaurs were “small, bipedal predators” (Sereno et al. 1993, p 64).
Hecht (1998) suggests that dinosaurs had to slow down when chasing prey to avoid falling and injuring themselves.
It was not until 2003 that cannibalistic behaviour among dinosaurs was confirmed (Rogers et al. 2003).
Name-Year MethodName-Year Method
Name-Year MethodName-Year Method
Use superscript numerals to mark in-text citations
Numerals follow the sequence in which you refer to them in the text
A full reference list appears at the end of the paper, numbering references in the same order as they appear in the text, i.e. the reference list is numerical rather than alphabetical
Use the same number if you refer to the same source more than once
Citation-Sequence MethodCitation-Sequence Method
Citation-Sequence MethodCitation-Sequence Method
Examples of in-text citations:
Dinosaurs became extinct 65 million years ago1.
A variety of fossil and non-fossil sources provide scientific knowledge about dinosaurs2,3.
The first dinosaurs were “small, bipedal predators”4(p
64).
Hecht5 suggests that dinosaurs had to slow down when chasing prey to avoid falling and injuring themselves.
It was not until 2003 that cannibalistic behaviour among dinosaurs was confirmed6.
Citation-Sequence Method (cont.)Citation-Sequence Method (cont.)
Example of corresponding reference list:
1. Paul GS. 2000. Dinosaurs of the air: The evolution and loss of flight in dinosaurs and birds. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press. 472 p.
2. Dal Sasso C & Signore M. 1998. Exceptional soft-tissue preservation in a theropod dinosaur from Italy. Nature 292:383-387.
3. Schweitzer MH, Wittmeyer, JL & Horner JR. 2005. Soft-Tissue Vessels and Cellular Preservation in Tyrannosaurus rex. Science 307:1952-1955.
4. Sereno PC, Forster CA, Rogers RR & Monetta AM. 1993. Primitive dinosaur skeleton from Argentina and the early evolution of Dinosauria. Nature 361:64-66.
5. Hecht J. 1998. The deadly dinos that took a dive. New Scientist 158:13.
6. Rogers RR, Krause DW & Rogers KC. 2003. Cannibalism in the Madagascan dinosaur Majungatholus atopus. Nature 422:515-518.
Citation-Sequence Method (cont)Citation-Sequence Method (cont)
Book: Author/editor. Year. Title. Edition. Place of publication: Publisher.
Number of pages.
Book Chapter: Author. Year. Title of chapter. In: Editor of book, editor. Title of
book. Edition. Place of publication: publisher. Pages of selection.
Journal Article: Author. Year. Article title. Journal title volume(issue):pages.
Newspaper Article: Author. Date. Article title. Newspaper title;
section:pages(column).
Reference ListReference List
Reference ListReference List
Dissertation / Thesis: Author. Date. Dissertation title [dissertation]. Place of university:
Name of University. Number of pages.
Conference Paper: Author. Year. Paper title. In: Editor, editors. Title of volume.
Conference Name; Full date; Place of publication: Publisher. Pages of selection.
Conference Abstract: Author. Year. Abstract title [abstract]. In: Conference name; Full
date; Place of conference: Title of organization. Pages of selection.
Reference List (cont.)Reference List (cont.)
Reference List (cont.)Reference List (cont.)
Magazine Article: Author. Date. Article title. Magazine title:pages.
Electronic Journal: Author. Article title. Journal title [internet]. Year [cited date];
volume(issue):pages. Available from: URL
Web Page: Author. Document title [internet]. Title of complete
work; update date [cited date]. Available from: URL
Example from Wikipedia: Wikipedia contributors. Citation [Internet]. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia; 2006 Mar 19, 01:12 UTC [cited 2006 Apr 24]. Available from: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Citation&oldid=44435410
Reference List (cont.)Reference List (cont.)
Format for author names: Give the surname, followed by the first and middle initials.
There is no comma following the surname, and no periods or spaces separating the initials, i.e. “Surname AB”
For two to 10 authors, list the authors as above, separating names by a comma and a space
If there are more than 10 authors, list the first 10, followed by “et al.”
If the article is anonymous, write “[Anonymous]” in place of the author
Reference List Reference List (cont.)(cont.)
Format for author names (cont.): If the author is an organization, give the organization’s name
here. If the organization has an abbreviation, put the abbreviation in brackets before its name, e.g. [CBE] Council of Biology Editors
If there is no author, but an editor or editors instead, list the editor(s) here, followed by “, editor” or “, editors”
Reference List (cont.)Reference List (cont.)
Format for publication date: For books, book chapters and journal articles, give only the four
digit year, e.g. 2006
If there is more than one work by the same author in the same year, attach “a”, “b”, etc. to the end of the year to distinguish them, e.g. 2006a
For an internet source, give the date the document was published or last updated. Give the year, followed by the month (abbreviated by the first three letters and with no period) and day, e.g. 2006 Apr 25. If the month or day aren't available, omit them
If you're citing an e-mail, give the date the e-mail was sent
For a newspaper article, give the year, followed by the month (abbreviated by the first three letters and with no period) and day, e.g. 2006 Apr 25
Reference List (cont.)Reference List (cont.)
Format for publication date (cont.): For a magazine article:
If the magazine has a date, format the date as you would for a newspaper article, e.g. 2006 Apr 25
If the magazine is a monthly publication, omit the day, e.g. 2006 Apr
If the date is a season, give the full (unabbreviated) season, e.g. 2006 Autumn
If the date includes a span of months or seasons, separate them by an en-dash (–). No spaces precede or follow the dash, e.g. 2006 Mar–May
If the magazine has volume and issue numbers (like a journal), you may cite it like a journal
Reference List (cont.)Reference List (cont.)
Format for title of article or book: Only the first letter of the first word and proper nouns and
adjectives are capitalised
If there is a secondary title or subtitle, it can be included after the main title. Separate the two with a colon
If the work is written in a foreign language, give the title in its original language and follow this with an English translation in square brackets
If the article is an editorial, write “[editorial]” after the title, but before the ending period
If the article is a letter to the editor, write "[letter]" after the title, but before the ending period
Reference List (cont.)Reference List (cont.)
Format for title of journal : All words in the title are capitalised
Title is often written in italics
Unless the title is a single word, most journal titles may be abbreviated according to standard practices
If you are citing a web page that is part of a larger work, give the title of the larger work here
If you are citing an article from an electronic database, give the name of the database here
Reference List (cont.)Reference List (cont.)
Format for volume and edition (books): If you are citing a volume with a separate title, write “Volume”
followed by the number. Follow the number with a comma and a space and then give the title of the volume as you would the title of the book
If the book is an edition other than the first, give the edition, e.g. “2nd ed.”, “3rd ed.”, etc.
If the book is in the first edition, but later editions are known to exist, specify that it is the “1st ed”
If the edition is given using words, abbreviate it. For example, abbreviate “New revised edition” as “New rev ed”
Reference List (cont.)Reference List (cont.)
Format for volume and edition (articles): Give the volume number of the journal
If you choose, the volume number may be followed by the issue number in parentheses. There are no spaces before, after, or within the parentheses
If the article is in a supplement, write “Suppl” after the volume number
If the article is from a newspaper, write “Sect” followed by the section letter or number
Reference List (cont.)Reference List (cont.)
Format for books (named parts): If you are citing a specific chapter or other named part, give the
name of the part. If it is numbered or lettered, write “Part” or “Chapter” followed by the number and a comma before the name
If the book is a translation, write “Translation of:” followed by the original title
If the book is part of a series, enclose in parentheses the name of the series, followed by a colon and a space, followed by the volume number of this book, e.g. (Series: 2). Also switch the preceding period to a semicolon (;)
Reference List (cont.)Reference List (cont.)
Format for books (editors and translators): If the book has an editor(s) (not listed in the author position),
list the editor(s) using the name format you would use for an author. Follow the name(s) with “, editor” or “, editors”
If the book is a translation, list the translator here, using the same format as for an author. Follow the name with “, translator”
If the book has both an editor and translator, list them in the order they appear on the title page, separating them with a semicolon (;)
Reference List (cont.)Reference List (cont.)
Format for books (publishing details): Give the city of publication followed by the name of the publisher,
separated by a colon
If more than one city appears on the title page, give the first city listed
If the city is not well known, the state or country can be given in parentheses after the city name
If the city is foreign, use the English equivalent of its name
If the city cannot be found (after a serious attempt!), write “[place unknown]”
The name of the publisher may be abbreviated
If the publisher cannot be found, write “[publisher unknown]”
Reference List (cont.)Reference List (cont.)
Format for page numbers (books): If you are citing the entire book, give the number of pages in the
book (counting the index, etc.) followed by “p”, e.g. 256 p
If you only referred to selected pages of the book, or for a chapter within a book, write “p” followed by the page numbers, e.g. p 53–74
Separate the first and last page numbers with an en-dash
You need only give the least number of necessary digits e.g. 205–7, 205–12, or 295–303
If the pages are nonconsecutive, list all the page ranges, separating them with a comma and a space, e.g. 12–15, 17-19
Reference List (cont.)Reference List (cont.)
Format for page numbers (articles): Include the page numbers of the article
If the article appears on consecutive pages, separate the first and last page numbers with an en-dash
As with books, you need only give the least number of necessary digits
If there are letters as part of the page numbers of journal articles, retain them
If the article is from a newspaper, give the column number directly following the page number in parentheses, e.g. 1(col 5)
Reference List (cont.)Reference List (cont.)
Format for internet articles: Write “internet” in square brackets after the title of the article
Give both the web address (URL) and the date it was accessed
If you have to split the URL onto multiple lines, split it only after a slash
Give the publication or update date only after the title of the journal or main website
After the publication or update date, in square brackets write “cited” followed by the date you accessed the page
Format the date as follows: give the year, followed by the month (abbreviated by the first three letters only and with no period) and day, e.g. 2005 Apr 25
Reference List (cont.)Reference List (cont.)
Chapter 1 Review of Human Evolution
Chapter 2 History and CivilizationChapter 3 Philosophy of Science
I hope that you found chapter 4 informative, and that you enjoy chapter 5.
Next
Chapter 4 Weblogs
Chapter 7 Spreadsheets
Chapter 5 Scientific Writing & CSE Style
Chapter 8 Presentations (posters and talks)
Chapter 9 Information Society
Chapter 6 Library Methods
Other Chapters
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