SCIENTIFIC WRITINGPrakash V MPT, (PhD) Assistant Professor, CHARUSAT University, Anand, Gujarat, india
Consider language as an instrument for expressing and not for concealing or preventing thought – George Orwell
2 Generally people don’t write well !
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They are not exceptions
Citizens of developed countries/ Native English speakers1
Academicians2,3
Scientists2,3
1. Lokan J, Greenwood L, Cresswell J. The PISA 2000 Survey of Students’ Reading, Mathematical and Scientific Literacy Skills: How Literate Are Australia’s Students? Australian Council for Educational Research, Melbourne. 2002
2. Hayes DP. The growing inaccessibility of science. Nature 1992; 356:739–40.
3. Knight J. Scientific literacy: Clear as mud. Nature 2003; 423: 376–8.
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WRITING IS A SKILL
People think I can teach them style. What stuff it is. Have something to say and say it as clearly as you can. That is the only secret to style. Matthew Arnold
THE FIRST RULE OF WRITING IS TO KNOW WHAT YOU WANT TO SAY.
One should not aim at being possible to understand but at being impossible to misunderstand. Quintilian
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George Orwell (in politics and English language)
What am I trying to say?
What words will express it?
Could I put it more shortly? Never use a long
word where a short one will do.
If it is possible to cut a word out, always cut it out.
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Active and passive voice
Never use the passive where you can use the active ( George Orwell) Active voice: A does B. Passive voice: B is done (usually by A).
(source BBC Style guide) Sometimes, though, the passive is better
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WRITING RESEARCH ARTICLES FOR PUBLICATION
…the scientific and medical literature is still abundant with lengthy, unclear prose that is likely to confuse readers…
The bulk of scientific literature is still almost unreadable
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One paragraph , One idea
This first sentence is a “topic sentence” for the paragraph: its function here is to form a link to the previous paragraph, and to alert the reader to the topic of the current paragraph.
Topic sentences are an effective way of creating logical flow in science writing
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Robert J Palisano PT, PhD, FAPTADistinguished Professor, Drexel University
A general tip is to write topic sentence that summarizes the key thought for each paragraph.
We think in a sequence so last sentence of a paragraph is often a good topic sentence – the reader knowing the key point can better follow the elaboration
Content of a paragraph for introduction and discussion Topic sentence - Tell the reader
main point Then sentences to explain and
elaborate Conclusion or transition sentence
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Editing is the KEY
Good writing is largely a matter of
good revising.
First revise your writing
yourself. Then get feedback
from others and revise
more.
Edit, Re-edit and re-edit
and ...
Sometimes editing can
be frustrating and even painful
process.
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Get familiarized with guidelines for reporting research
CONSORT STROBE PRISMA
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The I M R A D format
Introduction- • What was your question?
Methods- • How did you try to find a answer?
Results And- • What did you find?
Discussion- • What does it mean?
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Introduction / Background:What goes in here?
Why this study is important?
Burden of illness
Significance of the problem
Gaps in the existing literature
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Five stages of an introduction to a research article(Weissberg & Buker 1990)1. Statements about the field of
research to provide the reader with a setting or context for the problem to be investigated and to claim its centrality or importance.
2. More specific statements about the aspects of the problem already studied by other researchers, laying a foundation of information already known.
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3. Statements that indicate the need for more investigation, creating a gap or research niche for the present study to fill
4. Statements giving the purpose/ objectives of the writer’s study or outlining its main activity or findings
5. Optional statement(s) that give a positive value or justification for carrying out the study.
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Purposes of the Methods Section
To allow others to replicate what you didIn order to test it
In order to do further research
To allow others to evaluate what you didTo determine whether the conclusions seem valid
To determine whether the findings seem applicable to other situations
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Methods
Study design, setting, ethical approval Participant recruitment and eligibility
criteria Sample size calculation/justification Measures taken to minimize bias
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Clear and detailed explanation of intervention/procedure Setting Providers and receivers Dosage
Variables Measurement tools: Clinimetrics
Follow up plan (if appropriate) Data analysis plan and rationale
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Results
Should report results of the investigations described in the methods section (in same order) using text, tables, figures, and statistics
Should be as brief and clear as possible (but without leaving out ‘disappointing’ results)
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A typical structure and chronology includes: Description of study participants
(separate for important subgroups) Presentation of answers to the main
questions (starting with primary outcomes, then secondary outcomes, and any other analyses)
Need to report on harms (adverse effects) as well as benefits
Special attention should be paid to the design of tables and graphs
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Using Microsoft Excel to obscure your data and annoy your readers
How to display data badly?
H Wainer (1984) How to display data badly. American Statistician 38(2):137-147
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Display data accurately and clearly.
The aim of good data graphics
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Be accurate and clear. Let the data speak.
Show as much information as possible, taking care not to obscure the message.
Science not sales. Avoid unnecessary frills — esp. gratuitous
3d. In tables, every digit should be
meaningful. Don’t drop ending 0’s.
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Some rules for displaying data badly
Display as little information as possible. Obscure what you do show (with chart
junk). Use pseudo-3d and color gratuitously. Make a pie chart (preferably in color and
3d). Use a poorly chosen scale. Ignore sig figs.
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Discussion
Discusses what the findings mean and where they stand in the context of other studies
A typical Discussion section structure and chronology includes: Brief presentation of the main findings Assessment of study strengths and weaknesses Comparison of findings with previous studies Consideration of clinical and scientific implications If relevant, suggestions for future research
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Conclusions
Any conclusions should be fully supported by the study findings
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Abstract
The most frequently read and most easily
accessed portion of an article reporting original
biomedical research
Abstract needs to be dense with information but also •readable, •well organized, •brief and •self-contained
Word limit is about 250 words
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Title
Should be concise, precise, and informative
Indicates the focus of the paper and includes important relevant ‘keywords’ allowing the study to be identified by electronic searches
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PLAGIARISM
Its illegal, but everyone practices it!
Plagiarism refers to the act of “appropriation of another person’s ideas, processes, results, or words without giving appropriate credit”
Plagiarism of ideas
Plagiarism of text (verbatim).
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How to avoid plagiarism?
If the idea or the sentences you use comes from someone else’s work, cite them!
Remember that direct quotations using quotation marks or inverted commas (“...”) are extremely rare in science writing.
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You can expand your repertoire of sentence structures by removing the content (most often the noun phrases) from sentences that appeal to you and reusing the shell (or sentence template) for your own content.
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Example
[Authors], using [NP1], have shown that [NP2] enabled [NP3] to be estimated under [adjective] conditions, but they indicated that the technique was not adaptable to all [NP 4], particularly [NP 5].
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Tailpiece: TIPS
Read research articles regularly
• 3-5 articles/week for 3 years!
Familiarize yourself Author guidelines
• Every journal has a slightly different guideline from others
Use professional services, online support groups
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“There are two kinds of scientific writing: that which is intended to be
read, and that which is intended merely to be cited. The latter tends to be
infected by an overblown and pompous style. The disease is ubiquitous, but
often undiagnosed, with the result that infection spreads to writing of the first
type” (Gregory, 1992, ).
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