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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
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