Complementary skills. Granada, 1 February 2011 Specialised scientific communication Carmen López-Illescas. SCImago group Spanish National Research Council

Complementary skills. Granada, 1 February 2011

Specialised scientific communication

Carmen López-Illescas. SCImago group Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), Spain


Overview

1. The purpose

2. The research article

3. The audience

4. Parts of a manuscript

5. How to write a paper

6. Publishing

“Specialised scientific communication”


1.The purpose

Communication of good ideas medium through which science progresses

Why do we write ?

To communicate an idea to people



An idea can be:

a new way of looking at objects (a “model”)

a new way of manipulating objects (a “technique”)

or new facts concerning objects ( “results”)



2. The research article

The key to good papers:

Full awareness of the role of papers in the

scientific process

Full awareness of the audience

Precision, clarity, and economy



Steps to good papers:

Identify the key ideas can you describe the study in 1 or 2 minutes?

Identify the relevant community experts working in the area current and future researchers, graduate students

Present these ideas to the relevant community Writing, style and level appropriate: to the audience (conventions of a field) to the journal (instructions for authors)



Understand the community needs

Achieving better understanding: New relevant information New rearrangement of information

Provide access to relevant information Lots of information-little time

Help the readers extract the relevant information



3. The audience

Readers’ needs vs. writer’s desires:

The “Checklist” Phenomenon

Obscure Generality

Meaningful special case first

Avoid Idiosyncrasies

Lack of Hierarchy/Structure

Discussion of possible criticism comes last



How to serve the reader’s needs

To present clearly the new ideas in each level of the writing process:

Overall structure of the paper Single paragraphs Sentences Choice of phrases Terms Notation



To be aware of the knowledge level of the reader

Whenever presenting a complex concept/definition

Whenever presenting proofs elaborate on the conceptual steps

Present a special case and later derive more general statements

Don’t hide a fundamental difficulty

Knowing the audience helps deciding what information to

include (different article for a technical, disciplinary journal vs. general)



Some concrete suggestions:

Apply good principles to the concrete dilemmas

Special attention to order and organization

Flexibility on the application of judgment

Not to follow a canonical example or structure



4. Parts of a manuscript

a) - title b) - list of authorsc) - abstractd) - introductione) - main part (methods, results, discussion)f ) - acknowledgements g) - referencesh) - appendices (optional)



Section of Paper Experimental process

Abstract What did I do in a nutshell?Introduction What is the problem?Methods How did I solve the problem?Results What did I find out?Discussion What does it mean?Acknowledgements Who helped me out?References Whose work did I refer to?Appendices Extra Information




Present:

TitleAbstractIntroductionMethodsResultsDiscussionAcknowledgementsReferences

Write in what order?

Write:

TitleMethodsResultsIntroductionDiscussionAbstractAcknowledgementsReferences


a) Title

Will determine whether paper gets read

Use descriptive words for content (electronic searches)

As informative as possible

If possible, give the key result of the study

Not too cumbersome or too long (see journal rules)

Avoid abbreviations

Will probably be written earlier, but is often modified



b) List of authors and affiliations

Alphabetical order

Contributions to the work

Researchers rank



c) Abstract (I)

Last section written

Critical part of paper

As informative as possible

Not too cumbersome or too long - not exceed 200 words

Concise summary of the entire paper



c) Abstract (II)

State main objective

Brief description of the methods

Summarize most important results

State major conclusions and significance

Should be self-contained



c) Abstract (III)

Need not motivate the model

Need not list and/or recall the contents of prior work

Need not provide an accurate description of the results

Shoud not contain references

Shoud not contain any sort of illustration

Avoid acronyms



Bear in mind:

helps readers decide whether they want to read the paper

useful to someone who may want to reference your work

the abstract is all that may be available to some readers

This format allows the paper to be read at several different levels



Strategie:

To begin composing your Abstract, take whole sentences or key phrases from each section and put them in a sequence which summarizes the paper

Write and rewrite until flawless



d) Introduction (I)

Purpose – hypothesis, question or problem

Clear description of the work

Rationale – a good motivation to it

Comparison to prior works – review of the published literature

Clear description of the contents

Clear statement of the main results

High-level description of the techniques



d) Introduction (II)

Highlight important new ideas or refer the reader to the place in the paper were they can be found

Important conclusions may also be stated in the introduction

The introduction must answer the question:

What was I studying?

Why was it an important question?

What did we know about it before I did this study?

How will this study advance our knowledge?



e) Main part

Materials and methods To provide insightful discussions of the definitional choices

Best to begin writing when experiments still in progress

Should be detailed enough so results can be repeated by others

Reference published methods where appropriate

Use descriptive subheadings

Methods section is not a step-by-step, directive protocol

Statistical software used



Results (I)

Has both text and illustrative materials (tables and figures) Each Table and Figure must be referenced in the text

Numbering technical elements

Tables and figures must be straight forward and concise

Present main findings referring to tables/figures



Results (II)

Do not speculate or over discuss results

Highlights the answers to the questions/hypotheses Important negative results should be reported too

Do not interpret data here

A statistical analysis is not the scientific result but a methodological tool



Discussion

First answer question posed in introduction

Do not introduce new results in the Discussion

High-level material that better fits after the main part

Explain what is new without exaggerating

Discuss weaknesses and discrepancies



Conclusion

Do not repeat results

Relate your conclusion to existing knowledge

Conclusion/summary, perspectives, implications

Suggestions for further work



f) Acknowledgments

Each person with whom the author had a relevant discussion

Authors usually acknowledge outside reviewers

Are always brief and never flowery

Placed between the Discussion and the References



g) References

• Do not label this section "Bibliography"

• Alphabetical listing by first author's last name of the references cited in the body of the paper

• Relevant and recent

• Be highly selective

• Use correct style for journal



h) Appendices

Optional

Contains information that is non-essential

Each Appendix should be identified by a Roman numeral in

sequence

Material: specialized computer programs, full names of

abbreviations



5. How to write a paper

Use stylebooks

manuals of accepted rules

how to create a draft

focused on rewriting

Avoid writing mistakes



Common writing mistakes (I)

Sentences with complex logical structure

Cumbersome notations and terms

A labyrinth of implicit pointers: “it” and “this”

Mixture of mathematical symbols and text



Common writing mistakes (II)

Abuse of word forms

Nominalizations"The low rate of encounters was a reflection of population density reductions“ "The low rate of encounters reflects a reduced population density“

Adjectival nouns "the Chilko Lake park proposal" "the proposal for a park at Chilko Lake"



Common writing mistakes (III)

Abuse of words where fewer will do"in order to" “to” "utilization' "use"

Abuse of 'the’"The samples were taken using a Ponar dredge“ “Samples were taken using a Ponar Dredge”



Common writing mistakes (IV)

Do not do the following:

Do not use colloquial speech, slang, or "childish"

words

Do not use contractions - "don't" must be "do not

Do not use footnotes

Do not use direct quotes

Watch out for wordy phrases



Writing suggestions (I):

Writing and thinking are closely linked

"fuzzy writing reflects fuzzy thinking"

Use an outline to organize your ideas and writing

figuring out what you want to say planning the order and logic of your arguments crafting the exact language in which you will express your ideas



Think about the structure of paragraphs (I)

A paragraph should begin with a topic sentence

Make topic sentences short and direct

Build the paragraph from the ideas introduced in your topic

sentence

Make the flow of individual sentences follow a logical sequence



Think about the structure of paragraphs (II)

Avoid statements of conclusion or introduction that contain no new information or ideas at the end of each paragraph

Two-sentence paragraphs usually represent either misplaced pieces of other paragraphs or fragments of ideas

Avoid choppiness both within and among paragraphs

Transitions between paragraphs

Print all but final drafts on one side to read hard copy for continuity



Strive for parallelism in structure at all times

Make sure that you address the ideas in the same sequence andformat in which you have presented them initially

Three hypotheses may account for these results: hypothesis 1, hypothesis 2, hypothesis 3

The reader should not have to read the text more than once to understand it



Pay attention to tenses

Things done in the past should be stated in the past tense(e.g. “Data were collected....“)

Events or objects that continue to happen or exist can be described in the present tense (e.g., “In this paper, we examine…”)

Events that will take place in the future can be in the future tense

Consistency in the choice of tenses Caution when using "might," "may," and "would“ (e.g. “this might indicate that...").



Tables and figures

clear and concise self-explanatory

Captions should not merely name a table or figure, they should explain how to read it

Summarize main result in the table or figure No reference to the text Do not leave caption writing to the end of the project Do not simply restate the axis labels with a "vs.“ in between



When citing a reference, focus on the ideas, not the authors

Literature citations should be parenthetical

“ Marx (1982) found growth rates of >80 cm to be common in populations in Alberta”

“growth rates of > 80 Cm are common in populations in Alberta (Marx 1982)"

When the identity of the writer is important emphasis is appropriate



Show us don't tell us Do not describe results Rather than telling that a result is interesting show it

Rather than:

'The large difference in mean size between population C and population D is particularly interesting,“

'Mean size generally varied among populations by only a few centimeters, but mean size in populations C and D differed by 25 cm. Two hypotheses could account for this....”



Write about your results, not your tables, figures, and statistics

Avoid results section consisting of a long sequence of tables and figures

The paper need not document all the twists and turns of that process

Expect more figures and more statistical tests than will be included

Choose the subset of text, figures, and tables most effective



Organize tables and figures in a logical sequence

Now, write the story around them

Discuss the content of tables and figures, not merely present a list

(e.g., 'Table I shows this result, Table 2 shows that result, Figure 1 shows…”)

Use the tables and figures to illustrate points in the text, rather than making them the subject of your text

"Figure 4 shows the relationship between the numbers of species A and species B,“ "The abundances of species A and B were inversely related (Figure 4)."



Develop a strategy for your Discussion

Never begin the Discussion section with a statement about problems with the methods

Begin a Discussion with a short restatement of the most important points from your results

Use this statement to set up the ideas you want to focus on interpreting your results and relating them to the literature



Introductions and conclusions are the hardest parts

Plan on spending a lot of time on them

Often writers prefer to write their introductions last

The same concerns apply to conclusions and abstracts



Break up large projects into small pieces and work on the pieces

Don't feel intimidated by the huge project looming ahead

The overall organization of ideas should be done during the planning stage

Don't wait until you think you have completed all your analyses to start writing



Make your writing flow and resonate

Read the paper aloud to find those quirky sentences

Papers written so well that they 'flow and resonate' are much more likely to influence the readers

When you find a paper that succeeds in this, study carefully how the authors constructed their augments and used language

Try to identify what makes the paper work so well



Develop a good writing style

Read well written articles

Try to get good writers to review

Learn from editing changes



Investment in technical skills

Use word processors effectively

Learn the options available and how to find out the details

Document formatting

Basic operating system requirements

Statistical packages, graphics programs and spreadsheets

Always back up your work!



Benefit from revision

from readers’ comments- mutual editing team

take editorial comments seriously- any reviewer’s comment indicates a problem

not necessarily follow the reviewer’s suggestions- respect editors investment of their time



Never turn in a first draft

All authors should participate Review order of data presentation Polish the writing style Double check references Look for typos Double check spelling

“Good writing is rewriting”



6. Publishing

Why write and publish research papers?Ideally

to share research findings and discoveries with the hope of improving scientific progress and quality of life

Practically to get funding to get promoted to get a job to keep your job!



“Scientists are rated by what they finish, not by what they attempt”

‘Publish or perish’ (what to publish)

Impact factor (where to publish)

The ‘Matthew Effect’ (with whom to publish)



Getting a paper published

Competition for space in journals is intense

Cost of publication

Rejection rates vary

Science, Nature = 90%



Major reasons for rejection:

Confirmatory (not novel)

Poor experimental design

Poor controls

Hypothesis not adequately tested

Inappropriate for journal

Poorly written



Tips:

Know the journal, its editors, and why you submitted the paper there

Make sure references are comprehensive and accurate

Read and conform to “Instructions for Authors”



Publish and perish

1.Data manipulation, falsification

2. Duplicate manuscripts

3. Redundant publication

4. Plagiarism

5. Author conflicts of interest

6. Animal use concerns

7. Humans use concerns

Publish and perish

Data manipulation, falsification

Duplicate manuscripts

Redundant publication

Plagiarism

Author conflicts of interest



What constitutes redundant publication?

Data in conference abstract? No

Same data, different journal? Yes

Data on website? Maybe

Data included in review article? Ok, if later



What makes a good research paper?

Good science

Good writing

Publication in good journals



What constitutes good science?

Novel – new and not resembling something formerly known or used

Mechanistic – testing a hypothesis - determining the fundamental processes involved in or responsible for an action, reaction, or other natural phenomenon

Descriptive – describes how things are but does not test how things work – hypotheses are not tested



What constitutes a good journal?

Impact factor – (JCR ) average number of times published papers are cited up to two years after publication

Scimago journal Rank – (SJR ) based on the transfer of prestige from a journal to another, as expressed in citations a journal gives to other journals and to itself



Help in choosing the journal

read references

get insight into possible reviewers

study “instructions to authors”

check the SJR and Impact Factor



Submission

Read instructions carefully

Fill out all necessary forms Copyright transfer Conflict of interest



Responding to reviewers

Carefully prepare your responses Be enthusiastic Each comment should be addressed Each change should be stated

Reviewer may be wrong Be tactful – thank the reviewers Do not respond to reviewers while upset Never call the editor Get help from other authors



e-research

Digitalisation of analogue information

The ‘Data Deluge’ – explosion of ‘born digital’ information

Availability of bandwidth, computation power

Increasing use of visualisation and modelling for data analysis

Text-and data-mining

The realisation of the collaborative potential of the Web (network effects, collective intelligence)

The extension of ‘collaboration’ from humans to machines –“from a web of documents to a web of data”(Semantic Web)



Style Considerations

Be clear and concise Brevity Precise word use Past tense Active voice Limit your use of first person

Highly technical journal - use the technical jargonGeneral science audience - limit the jargon



• Words and expressions to avoid

Jargon Preferred use

a considerable amount of muchon account of becausea number of several Referred to as calledHas the capacity to canIt is clear that clearlyIt is apparent that apparentlyEmploy useFabricate make

Day, RA. “How to write and publish a scientific paper,” 5th edition, Oryx Press, 1998.



Title: Centered at the top of page 1 DO NOT use a title page NOT underlined or italicized

Main Section Headings: Capitalized Centered Double spaced from the lines above and below Do not underline the section heading OR put a colon at the end



Tables and Figures (I)

Figures are visual presentations of results, including graphs, diagrams, photos, drawings, schematics, maps, etc.

Include a brief description of the results in a legend

Table legends go above the Table - tables are read from top to bottom

Figure legends go below the figure - figures are usually viewed from bottom to top



Tables and Figures (II)

Some problems to avoid:

Do not reiterate each value from a Figure or Table

Do not present the same data in both a Table and Figure

Do not report raw data values when they can be summarized

as means, percents, etc.



-.

Tables and Figures (III)

Are assigned numbers separately

Spelled out completely in descriptive legends

When referring to a Figure in the text, the word "Figure" is

abbreviated as "Fig.“

“Table" is not abbreviated



Tables and Figures (IV)

Check the numbering sequence of your tables and figures Check the page breaks to make sure you do not split tables or figures Black and white is preferred Color for a poster presentation or images projectionsNever use a title for Figures (except in posters)



Remember:

Strive for simplicity whenever possible

“Those who have the most to say usually say it with the fewest words”



Bibliography

1 - Goldreich, O. (2004). How to write a paper. Department of Computer Science and Applied Mathematics. Weizmann Institute of Science,Rehovot, Israel http://www.wisdom.weizmann.ac.il/~oded/PS/re-writing.pdf

2 - http://course1.winona.edu/mdelong/EcoLab/21%20Suggestions.html

3 -Thomas H. Adair. Professor of Physiology & Biophysics Center of Excellence inCardiovascular-Renal Research,University of Mississippi Medical Center http://abacus.bates.edu/~ganderso/biology/resources/writing/HTWtoc.html

4- Steve Hillier. Why do we write scientific papers? The University of Edinburgh. Editor-in-Chief MHR. Journal course for authors, Barcelona 2008

5-Introduction to Journal-Style Scientific Writing. http://abacus.bates.edu/~ganderso/biology/resources/writing/HTWtoc.html


http://www.wisdom.weizmann.ac.il/~oded/PS/re-writing.pdf

http://course1.winona.edu/mdelong/EcoLab/21%20Suggestions.html

http://abacus.bates.edu/~ganderso/biology/resources/writing/HTWtoc.html

http://abacus.bates.edu/~ganderso/biology/resources/writing/HTWtoc.html


Carmen López-Illescas. SCImago group

Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), Spain

[email protected]@gmail.com

mailto:[email protected]

mailto:[email protected]


“There is no way to get experience except through experience”


Documents

Complementary skills. Granada, 1 February 2011 Specialised scientific communication Carmen López-Illescas. SCImago group Spanish National Research Council