THE FOLLOWING MATERIAL HAS BEEN MODIFIED FOR OUR CLASS FROM MATERIAL PROVIDED BY GARY RITCHISON OF EASTERN KENTUCKY UNIVERSITY

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Scientific Literature & Writing

GUIDELINES FOR BETTER SCIENTIFIC WRITING

Avoid wordiness

2) Use active voice (but not excessively)

Passive: Most seedlings were eaten by rabbits.
Active: Rabbits ate most seedlings.

Passive: Territory size was found to vary with population density.
Active: Territory size varied with population density.

Passive: From field observations, it was found that all radio-tagged individuals remained on the study area.
Active: Field observations revealed that all radio-tagged individuals remained on the study area.

Passive: Several marking techniques were used on the birds.
Active: I used several marking techniques on the birds.

Pronoun Reference (identification of a pronoun with its intended antecedent). Make sure all pronouns can be easily identified.

Unclear: Northern Cardinals have been studied by ornithologists for several years. They typically initiate breeding behavior in March.
Better: Studies by ornithologists have revealed that Northern Cardinals typically initiate breeding behavior in March.
Even better: Northern Cardinals typically initiate breeding behavior in March.

Faulty: Farrar and Calie (1993) examined the foraging behavior of House Sparrows. They reported that their diet consisted primarily of seeds.
Better: Farrar and Calie (1993) examined the foraging behavior of House Sparrows, and found that sparrows fed primarily on seeds.
Even better: House Sparrows fed primarily on seeds (Farrar and Calie 1993).
 

The size of all territories was [not were] reduced at high population densities.

The dominant male, along with his subordinates, defends [not defend] the den site.

The color and shape of the beak are [not is an] important taxonomic features [not feature].

Avoid repetition - Some sentences or paragraphs are wordy because the writer includes the same information twice. For example:

Wordy: In Cupp's study, he found that temperature had no effect on display rates (Cupp 1993).
Concise: Temperature had no effect on display rates (Cupp 1993).

Wordy: The opossum is of moderate economic importance according to Hamilton (1988), who reviewed the importance of the opossum in detail.
Concise: Opossums are of moderate economic importance (Hamilton 1988).

Make sure paragraphs are coherent units of thought.

Paragraphs should be logically constructed passages organized around a central idea often expressed as a topic sentence. A writer constructs, orders, and connects paragraphs as a means of guiding the reader from one topic to the next, along a logical train of thought. Topic sentences often occur at the beginning of a paragraph, followed by material that develops, illustrates, or supports the main point.

Vary your sentences.

Pay attention to the structure, length, and rhythm of your sentences. If your writing is unvarying and one-dimensional, you will not get your message across as effectively. For example, the following paragraph is dominated by short, choppy sentences:

Many doves exhibited 'nest-calling' behavior. They assumed a position with the tail and body axis pointing slightly upwards. In this posture, they flicked their wings. This behavior was observed in both sexes. It was especially common in males. I saw it performed both on and off the nest.

Many doves, especially males, exhibited 'nest-calling' behavior both on and off the nest. During this display, doves assumed a position with the tail and body axis pointed slightly upwards and flicked their wings.

Be careful about using nouns as adjectives:

Beginning writers frequently use nouns (sometimes proper nouns) as adjectives. For example:

Gray (1997) found that Red-winged Blackbird females were less vocal during the pair-formation period.


This would be better as:
 

Gray (1998) found that female Red-winged Blackbirds were less vocal during pair formation.

Writing a Scientific Paper

Published papers:

• most common medium used by scientists to communicate findings to the research community
• tell others what an investigator has done &, sometimes, persuade them that the work is valid & useful
• common format is referred to as IMRAD (Introduction, Methods, Results, And Discussion)
• Introduction - describes state of knowledge that gave rise to hypothesis being tested (or question being asked) and states hypothesis (or question).
• Methods - describes research design, the methods & materials used, & how findings were analyzed.
• Results - provide data & results of analyses. Tables & figures are often used.
• Discussion
• brief summary of decisive findings & tentative conclusions
• examination of other evidence supporting or contradicting the tentative conclusions
• consideration of how general your conclusions are
• implications for further research.
• Literature Cited - references cited

Introduction - describes current state at start of report; state that created the need for the study

Discussion - describes the 'new' state of the field's knowledge; now that the new results are known

The Title

• may be the most important phrase of a paper; identifies what's important about your paper
• vague or inaccurate titles can waste a reader's time by wrongly suggesting that a paper contains certain information
• many writers compose the title last; you may have a better understanding of the purpose & scope of paper after it's written (it's OK to have a working title; it can be revised later)
• Composing a title:

• Make title informative & specific (i.e., NOT VAGUE)
• Title should indicate major focus of study; organize title around important, or key, words.

NOT Territorial Behavior of Lizards

BUT Adaptive Significance of Territoriality in Iguanid Lizards

    Be concise & make every word count.

    Omit unnecessary words, e.g., "Studies on . . .", "Observations of . . .", "Investigations of . . .", or "Preliminary Studies on . . .". Words like 'a', 'the', & 'an' are often unnecessary.

    Include appropriate taxonomic information.

    If your work focuses on a particular species or larger taxonomic group, specify this clearly in the title.

NOT Effect of Vitamin B on Gametophyte Development in a Moss

BUT Effect of Vitamin B on Gametophyte Development in the Moss, Pylaisiella selwyni
 

    The abstract is a concise summary of a paper's most important points, and must be able to stand alone (e.g., abstracting services may only provide the title and the abstract). Abstracts must be brief (typically no more than about 5% of the length of the entire paper or, in other words, usually no more than about 250 words). A good abstract should:

• State main objectives. (What did you investigate? Why?)
• Describe methods. (What did you do?)
• Summarize the most important results. (What did you find out?)
• State major conclusions and significance. (What do your results mean? So what?)
• NOT  include references or refer to figures or tables.

Introduction

• Places your work in context & gives readers enough information to appreciate your objectives. A good introduction 'hooks' readers; they become interested in the study & its potential significance.
• May be easier to write after drafting Methods, Results, & Discussion (because you may have clearer understanding of what you are introducing)

1 - Summarize previous knowledge & research

2- Prepare for present research by indicating a gap in previous research or by raising a question about previous research

3- Introduce the present research by stating the objective(s)

These components are sometimes in a different order, one or more may be only implied, some may be made more than once, & some may overlap (e.g., authors may cite previous research while announcing the topic).

Despite variation in length & organization, EFFECTIVE INTRODUCTIONS SHARE THE SAME GOAL:

Authors want to convince readers that the topic is important & that their work on the topic will advance the field's knowledge.

1) orients reader to the research topic

2) reviews pertinent literature (which helps establish the author's credibility)

3) sets up argument for significance that is a goal of the discussion section (i.e., creates a 'desire' for a solution!)
 

Information is usually presented in past tense, active voice (I observed focal animals daily . . .). Passive writing has traditionally been used in scientific writing, but active writing is now preferred.

When writing with an active voice, avoid using 'I' or 'we' too often. Well-written Methods sections may use both active and passive writing.

INCLUDE ENOUGH INFORMATION SO THE STUDY COULD BE REPEATED:

• Methodology provides context for evaluating your data
• Credibility of your 'argument' depends, in part, on how clearly & precisely you describe your methods.
• Detailed Methods may be useful to others in your field attempting to repeat your study or conduct similar studies.
• What information should be included?


1 - MATERIALS:

• Complete taxonomic information (e.g., subspecies or strains), on organism(s) used, if relevant, PLUS how, where, & when organisms were obtained. If relevant, also note the following about your organism(s): sex, age, size, physiological state, or rearing conditions.
• Equipment used. Generally refrain from using brand names. If equipment is unusual or not commonly used, it's appropriate to provide name & address of supplier/manufacturer.
• Composition, source, & quantities of chemicals, media, & solutions. Again, if not commonly used, provide name & address of supplier.

2 - METHODS - describe procedures in detail.
• For field studies: dates of study, duration & timing (e.g., morning or evening) of observation periods, how animals were captured &, if relevant, marked, how focal animals were selected, etc.
• For lab studies: temperature conditions, photoperiod, pH, criteria used to make measurements, etc.
• When using a method already described in a journal article, you can just cite the reference. If you alter the published methods in any way, changes need to be described in detail.
• Specify where the study was conducted (especially for field studies).
• For field studies, describe features of the study site relevant to your research. This may or may not include information about vegetation, proximity to bodies of water, altitude, climate (or weather), and so on.
• Indicate the statistical procedures used &, if less common procedures are used, provide some explanation & provide references. It is also appropriate to indicate which statistical software (e.g., SAS) was used.

• Order in which information is presented varies. Review lots of Methods sections in journals in your area of study to get a feel for typical format.
• If the Methods section is long & covers different topics, it would probably be wise to use subheadings that clearly break the text into several labeled sections.

Results

Use past tense!

Evidence is presented to address the gap or question noted in the Introduction.

Summarize data & generalize from data! Generalize with explanatory details, statistics, tables, & figures. Point out trends in the data so the readers will see why you drew the conclusions that you did. Relationships between data & generalizations are apparent by observing how tables & figures are referred to:

Tables & figures are important tools for reporting results, but tables & figures only present data; generalizations needed to interpret those data need to be provided in the text. For example, refer readers to a table or figure, then tell readers what patterns to notice.

Integrating quantitative data with the text:

1 - Mean values presented in text should be accompanied by standard deviation or standard error; range may also be presented, if relevant.

2 - When reporting results of statistical analyses, provide the test statistic (e.g., F value, z value, t value, or chi square value), degrees of freedom, and probability level.

3 - Use accepted abbreviations & symbols. These may vary somewhat among disciplines.

4 - Do not begin sentences with numbers. Either write out the number or, better, revise the sentence.

5 - Use the word significant only when reporting statistical significance. Use the word correlated only when two variables are statistically correlated. When results are statistically significant, it is not necessary to use the word significant. And, when not significant, it is not necessary to say results were not significant or did not differ significantly. For example:

Tables & figures - Which should be used to present data?

Tables - used when exact values are important or when no clear patterns would be apparent in a figure

Figures (graphs) - highlight trends & patterns. Of course, not all figures are graphs. Other types of figures include diagrams, cross-sections, maps, photographs, & flow charts.

General guidelines include:

• Each table or figure must be independent (self-explanatory). Readers should be able to understand the information presented without having to refer to the text.
• Table titles & figure captions should be as concise & informative as possible (which helps make them independent).
• Tables & figures must, of course, be referred to in the text and must also be integrated with the text. DO NOT REPEAT IN TEXT WHAT IS ALREADY APPARENT IN A TABLE OR FIGURE. But, also, do not simply refer to a table or figure without some explanatory text (e.g., Results are shown in Figure 2).
• Check Tables & Figures for agreement with the rest of the paper.

Designing Tables:

• As a rule, don't use Tables unless absolutely necessary. Editors frequently note the high cost of publishing Tables in journals.
• See Chapter 13 of your text for examples of unneeded Tables.

Constructing a table:

1 - Like elements read down, not across.

2 - Words in a column are lined up on the left; numbers on the right (or on the decimal point).

3 - Horizontal lines may (should) be used but rarely are vertical lines used.

4 - Column headings must be brief and precise.

5 - Footnotes may be used for clarification, but should not unnecessarily repeat details provided in Methods section. Tables must be self-explanatory, but need not present details needed to repeat experiment(s).

Constructing a figure:

• If the data show pronounced trends & promote understanding of the results, and if exact numbers need not be presented & the information cannot easily be presented in the text, use a figure.
• A graph generally is not needed when trends or relationships are not statistically significant.
• Most commonly used figures are bar graphs & plotted points (& lines or curves). When plotting points, be careful about extrapolating!
• Legends should be specific and informative. Do not simply repeat the labels of the two axes as the legend (e.g., Variation in singing rates versus time). Be more descriptive (e.g., Variation in singing rates of male American Robins during the breeding season).
• Make sure lettering & numbers are large enough for photographic reduction (figures submitted for publication are always reduced; sometimes substantially)
• Do not extend axes beyond what the figure requires. To save space, remember that axes need not start at 0 & it's alright to put breaks in axes.
• Be sure axes are labeled.
• Be sure patterns (for bar graphs) or symbols (for points) or connecting lines (between points) exhibit sufficient contrast.
• Do not put too much information in one figure. There are no specific rules, but, in general, you should probably try to avoid more than about four different symbols, lines, or bars.
• When plotting means, indicate variability in data by providing standard errors or standard means.
• Authors submitting manscripts to journals type the figure legends on separate pages, not on the figures themselves.

Discussion

The purposes of the Introduction & Discussion are inversely related. An Introduction introduces the research question & reviews state of knowledge in the field that motivated the question, while the Discussion explains how the question has been answered (at least in part) by the new research & shows how the field's knowledge is changed with the addition of this new knowledge. Interpret your results, & support conclusions with evidence. Tell the readers what your findings mean. Do the data support the original hypothesis? Why or why not? Refer to your data, citing tables or figures where necessary (BUT do not repeat the data!). Discuss the work of other investigators. Are your findings consistent with theirs? How do your results fit into the bigger picture?

Do not present every conceivable explanation. Too much speculation weakens a discussion. Based on your data, pick & support the most plausible interpretations.

Recognize the importance of negative results. Negative results require an explanation, & may provide new insight!

Proceed from the specific to the general (but not too general).

Start by pointing out your major finding(s) (without excessively repeating results). Focus the reader's attention on the most important findings, patterns, or trends.

If there are conflicting or unexpected results, suggest explanations.

Compare your findings with the work of other investigators. Are your results similar? Supplement your own evidence with relevant material from other studies. If other investigators obtained results different from yours, suggest possible explanations for the differences.

End with more general interpretations & conclusions. Can you generalize from your findings to other situations? How does your work contribute to an understanding of the broader topic? Try to end the Discussion with a strong concluding statement.

How do scientists phrase their claims & conclusions in a Discussion? To illustrate, fill in an appropriate word or phrase:

1. Eleven of the trials have shown the treatments to be ineffective, yielding an overall response rate of 4/278 (1.4%). These data ________ that the minimal response rate of interest should be 0.15.

2. These observations ________ that (1) fertilized soils tend to attain apparent equilibrium with orthophosphate solid phases and (2) soils with moderate to high P-fixing capacity tend to have limited movement of P when fertilized with inorganic P sources.

3. Statistical analysis ________ that corn yields were not influenced by the rate of application of nitrogen fertilizer in 1990, but were in 1991 (Table 1). The lack of influence of fertilizer in 1990 was attributed to high levels of native nitrogen in the soil and climatic conditions unconducive to high corn yields (Fig. 2).

4. More recent studies of modern thickly sedimented convergent margins _________ that the Washington margin is anomalous. For example, the Makran (Platt et al. 1985) and Barbados (Westbrook 1982) convergent margins are thickly sedimented and have convergent rates similar to the Washington margin (about 5 cm/yr). However, only the Washington margin is dominated by landward-verging structures.

5. Results of this study __________ that significant genetic divergence has occurred among geographically separated groups of raccoons. The average differentiation among the 14 localities examined (37.4%) is similar to the value obtained among populations of pocket gophers (41.0%; Patton and Yang 1977).

As the above examples probably illustrate, the verbs suggest, indicate, show, & demonstrate are commonly used in scientific writing to make claims and draw conclusions. Such terms carry particular, agreed-upon meanings among scientists, i.e., that an investigator is drawing a conclusion or interpretation of the facts but that the conclusion is not a fact.

Scientists also use other 'qualifiers' to convey the interpretative nature of their claims. For example, adverbs & adverbial phrases are often used to note limitations or special conditions, e.g., possibly, probably, necessarily, presumably, maybe, & as far as we can determine. Such qualifiers indicate the strength or extent of the claim being made. Verbs like may, might, would, could, should, must, & can are also used to indicate qualifying conditions.

Qualifying verbs & adverbs can be used anywhere in the text of a paper where an author needs to qualify or limit their claims. Scientists use them to acknowledge the limitations of their work & to anticipate and head off questions & counterarguments that readers might pose.
 

Acknowledgments

A short acknowledgments section usually comes between the Discussion & the Literature Cited sections. In this section, the author(s) thank(s) anyone or any agency that assisted with the research or writing.
 

Literature Cited

List all references cited in the paper.

Citing sources in the text:

• Acknowledge the source of all material that is not your own.
• The most widely used format is the 'Name-Year System.' A major advantage of this system is that it is more informative; knowing the author and date of publication may be of interest to readers.
• How to cite:

Farrar (1997) suggested that George W. may be lacking some important brain neurotransmitters.

House sparrows were first observed in Madison County in 1905 (Farrar 1906).

Some journals require a comma between the author and date (Farrar, 1906), but most do not.

Two authors, e.g.:

Cupp and Farrar (1994) proposed that Mitch McConnell evolved from salamanders.

Snow geese consumed all corn east of the Mississippi River during the winter of 1995 (Frederick and Hill 1996).

Three or more authors, e.g.:

Calie et al. (1994) suggested that the University of Florida rarely plays football as well as the University of Michigan.

Crayfish were largely consumed by rednecks (Homo kentuckiensis) during the period from March - June (Farrar et al. 1993).

Two or more papers by same author, e.g.:

Cupp (1990, 1992) indicated that green salamanders lead pretty boring lives.

The intellectual capacity of salamanders and Jesse Helms is similar (Kennedy 1992, 1995).

Two or more papers by same author in the same year, e.g.:

Gingrich (1995a, b) suggested that liberals have little or no cerebral cortex.

Global warming will be beneficial because heating bills will be lower every winter (Limbaugh 1998a, b).

Little is known about the effects of ozone on roadside vegetation (Jones 1995, Creek 1996).

A direct quote, e.g.;

Farrar (1995:126) confessed that ". . . structural biology is of limited importance compared to ornithology."

Papers that you have not read directly. In general, avoid referring to sources you have not read. If, however, an important source is simply not available, specify where you acquired your information about the source, e.g.:

Most Republicans from Texas care little about protecting the environment (Bush 1998, cited in Cheney 2000).

When citing in the text, put references where they make the most sense. Put each citation close to the information you wish to acknowledge. Do not always include citations at the end of sentences, e.g.:

The vocal behavior of Northern Cardinals has been studied both in the lab (Pressman 1986) and the field (McElroy 1996).

Don't overuse citations. Citing a large number of papers may be more confusing than enlightening. Decide which references are most important & use them.

Use correct format in Literature Cited section. Check the Instructions for Authors because different journals use different formats in their Literature Cited sections.

ALWAYS CHECK & DOUBLE-CHECK THE LITERATURE CITED SECTION FOR ACCURACY, COMPLETENESS, AND CONSISTENCY!!

• Check that every reference you cite in the text is listed in the Literature Cited.
• Check that no reference appears in the Literature Cited section that is not cited in the text.
• Make sure dates in text match dates in Literature Cited.
• Check all punctuation marks, abbreviations, spacing, & spelling.