Introduction to Scientific Communication · Structure your sentences Sentence logic Cause–Effect, Means–Result, Reason–Result A A X Y Conjunctions, prepositions Verbs of cause/doing

Tokyo Metropolitan University

10 November 2016

Andrew Jackson Ayli Chong

Author Success Workshop:

Introduction to Scientific Communication

Skills needed on the path to publication success

Preparation

Journal Selection

Writing

Submission

Peer Review

Publication Success

• Training in reading papers, ethics, writing, presenting

• Expert Scientific Review

• Expert Scientific Review

• Journal Selection & submission strategy

• Training in ethics, writing, presenting

• Revising • Editing • Reformatting

• Training in ethics, writing

• Editing • Abstract

Development • Cover Letter

Development • Reviewer

Recommendation

• Training in navigating peer review

• Review Editing • Point-by-point

checking • Response

Letter Development

• Reformatting

• Press release, news writing

• Media & presentation training

• Training for early career researchers

• Training in writing grant proposals

• Grant proposal editing

S

Be an effective communicator

Your goal is not only to be published, but also to be widely read and highly cited

Write your sentences and paragraphs logically

Organize your manuscript by paragraph functions

Section 1

Writing logically

Structure your sentences Drawing relationships

Coherence within and between sentences • Cause and effect • Comparison and contrast • Elaboration, e.g., Classification/Definition, Exemplification • Description (giving characteristics) • Narrative sequence of events (reporting a linear sequence) • Procedures • Problem and solution • Past, present, future • Arguing for and against (evaluation) • Whole to parts, or parts to whole • General to specific, or specific to general

Based on: Grabe and Stoller, 2002; Teaching and researching reading. Harlow, UK: Pearson Education.


Informational structures

• Linear relationships, sequence of events, procedures

A B C



• Cycle of events

A

B

C D

E



• Categories, hierarchies, definition/classification

A

C D E

B



• Characteristics, attributes, alternative pathways

A B

D

E

C F



• Interaction effects, cause–effect

A

B

• D

• E

C

• F



• Sets & subsets; whole & parts; definition/classification

D

C

B

A



• Central theme & ideas; examples

A

B

C

D

E



• Situation/Problem – Solution – Evaluation/Comment; logical sequence; flow chart

A

B

C



• Pros/Cons, For/Against, Advantages/Disadvantages, Benefits/Harms

A

B



• Comparison and contrast

A B

Structure your sentences Sentence logic

Cause–Effect, Means–Result, Reason–Result

A

X Y

Conjunctions, prepositions

Verbs of cause/doing

Adverbs X and Y happened. Consequently/For this

reason/Accordingly, A happened. We did B, thereby achieving C.

X and Y led to/resulted in/caused A. A was caused by/resulted from X and Y.

We achieved C by performing B.

A happened because/after X and Y happened. A happened because of/owing to/after/by means of/following X and Y. We did C with/by/through B.

Be X and Y were the cause of A. A was the result of X

and Y. A was due to X and Y.

B C


Means–Purpose

A B

Infinitive to

So that

Prepositional clause + verb-ing

We used/did B with a view to/for the purpose of/with the goal of achieving A.

We used/did B so that we could achieve A.

To do A, we did/used B. We did/used B to do A. We aimed to do/did X to avoid Y/doing Y.

For B was done for the measurement of A.


Condition–Result

A B

True in present or probably true in

future

True in past

Theoretical in past

If A (had) happened, B would have happened. / B would have happened if A (had) happened.

B happened if A happened / were to happen. If A happened/were to happen, B happened.

B happens if A happens. / If A happens, B happens. B will happen if A happens / If A happens, B will

happen.

Theoretical in present/future

If A happened, B would be happening / would happen.


Comparison/contrast

Similarities

Differences

Adverbs In/By contrast,…; In/By comparison,…; Whereas…;

However,…

A is unlike B. A is different from B. Unlike B, A… A differs from B. A and B show differences.

…higher/lower/greater/less than…

A is similar to B. A is like B. A does X, as does B. Like B, A… Similar to B, A… As with B, A…

Concession Although both A and B…, …; A resembles B, but…;

A and B share some characteristics; however,…

A B


Elaboration: Definition, naming

Verb + class noun + characteristic

Verb + process + use

Parenthetical C, which is an A/is a type of A, is/does/has…

A, also known as/also called Y,…

A is defined as/is the process by which X is converted to Y.

A is the ability to do X.

C is defined as/is a (type of) A that measures X / that is used for…

X is the fastest growing Y.

Verb + parent group + characteristic

A is the name/term given to all C that do/are/have X.

A

C D E

B

A

B

B

D


Elaboration: Exemplification

Initial phrase

Be

Verb C exemplifies A.

A is illustrated by (the case of) C.

C is an example of A. One example/case is…

For example/instance,… To illustrate,…

Parenthetical Types of A, such as B, C, and D,…

C, for example, can be…

A

B

C

D

E

Structure your sentences

Coherence in science communication

Logical connectors at starts of sentences/clauses

Sequence, process

Cause–Effect

Contrast/ concession

Although, Even though, Whereas, However, In contrast, Despite (+noun or verb -ing),…

Because (of), To (+verb), Owing to, So that, Therefore, Thus, Hence, Consequently,…

Until, After, Before, While, Since, When, Then, Next, First/Second/Third, Finally,…

Conditional If, Even if, Unless, Whether (or not), Except, Provided that, Until, Without, Otherwise,…

S

1. Complete the following (name the relationship and use appropriate linking words).

A. Silk fibers degrade _______________________ various environmental factors ____________ heat, humidity, and ultraviolet light.

B. Both nylon and Gore-Tex (_____________________) are waterproof _______________________ does not trap sweat.

C. The incorporation of silver nanoparticles into the clothing __________________ special properties ________________ microbial killing and odor-resistance.

Sentence Logic

Section 2

Overview of Manuscript Structure

Manuscript Structure

Logically organize your ideas;

adhere to journal guidelines

Communicate well in English

Factors to consider when writing a manuscript

Importance of planning

Draft outline & title/abstract according to logic of results;

Draft & revise manuscript [Presubmission peer review]

Edit manuscript & finalize abstract/title

[Professional editing]

Select your journal early!

Manuscript Structure The ‘write’ order

Manuscript sections

• Title • Abstract • Introduction • Methods • Results • Discussion

Writing order Draft title/abstract


Aim

Introduction

Current state of the field

Background information

Specific aim/approach & limits

Problem in the field

Previous studies

Current study

General

Specific Importance

Worldwide relevance? Broad/specialized?

Check: Preview results? Preview contents of paper? Critical literature review afterwards?

Why is your study needed?

What is unknown/ incomplete/wrong?

Why readers should care? Potential benefits?

What is known so far? Any definitions needed?

Justifying, explaining, defining, informing

Sequences, Means–Purpose, Means–Result,

Condition–Result, Comparison


Justifying, explaining, defining

Introduction (key topic sentences)

The emergence of industrialisation and urbanisation aggravates the situation of increasing demand for water…. [Reason–Result] Many different strategies are employed for wastewater treatment such as use of high-energy gamma radiation to degrade the combined textile wastewater for its reuse in wet processing (REF)…. [Means–Purpose, Elaboration, Means–Purpose x2, Reason–Conclusion] Although attempts have been made to recycle and reuse the wastewater, they involved partial or complete treatment beforehand…. [Concession] The focus of this research is on recycling and reusing water and chemicals in the textile pre-treatment process without prior treatment….To confirm the quality of the processed fabric, dyeing was done using reactive dyes. [Elaboration, Means–Purpose, Means–Result]

Context = overall problem

Work done = solution so far

Specific problem

Modified from: Harane and Adivarekar. Textiles and Clothing Sustainability. 2016;2:2.

Objective = your solution


What was done

• Variables, processes, measurements • General to specific or chronological • Enough detail to allow replication

• Data handling • Appropriate statistical tests (& P level) • Consult a statistician

Who/what was studied

• Tests, controls • Number of samples/sets of tests • Materials/equipment (+ maker);

Data analysis

What did you do?

Methods/Experimental/Protocol/Procedure

Describing processes and properties

Sequences, Means–Purpose, Means–Result, Condition–Result, Comparison



Methods (key topic sentences)

Untreated fabric, also known as grey fabric, was desized, scoured and bleached in separate baths as per the procedure given in the literature (REFS)…. [Elaboration, Sequence, Means–Result] Scouring followed by bleaching of desized fabric was carried out using the conventional recipes…. [Sequence, Means–Result] The iodine drop test (Tegewa test) was employed to check the desizing efficiency…. [Elaboration, Means–Purpose] AATCC Test Method 102-2002 was used to determine hydrogen peroxide in the bleach bath…. [Means–Purpose]

Procedures (how)


Procedures (why)

Manuscript Structure Results

• Synthesis, characteristics • Group, subgroups • Algorithm, trial, improvement

• Each subsection relates to one figure and method

• What you found, not what it means

• Use Supplementary Information • Make raw data available

Logical presentation

Subsections

Factual description

What did you find? Describing processes and

properties Sequences, Means–Purpose, Means–Result, Condition–Result, Comparison

Except for combined Results and Discussion



Results

With the aim of reutilising alkali, scouring process water was recycled three times and the properties of the fabric are shown in Table 1…. [Means–Purpose] When the process water of scouring was recycled, the Tegewa rating and absorbency of the fabrics were in line with the one scoured with fresh water. …It can be seen from Table 3 that the Tegewa rating and absorbency of recycled fabrics were similar to those of the conventional bleached fabrics…. [Condition–Result, Comparison, Reason–Conclusion, Comparison] When the amount of scouring process water is greater, good absorbency is obtained, whereas if the quantity of bleaching process water is greater, the fabric has a good whiteness index…. [Condition–Result, Comparison, Condition–Result] Recap of method; pointing to illustrations;

data highlight and analysis


Manuscript Structure Discussion

Summary of findings

Relevance

Conclusion

Similarities/differences Unexpected/negative results Limitations (validity, reliability)

Implications

Previous studies

Current study

Future studies

Specific

General

How do you advance your field? Reason–Result, Comparison,

Reason–Conclusion Evaluating, comparing and contrasting,

recommending


Evaluating, comparing and contrasting

Discussion/Conclusion In the proposed process scheme, there was a saving of 83% water and 82% energy consumption. The reason for such extreme reduction is because in the proposed method, energy water and chemicals are recycled three times. [Elaboration, Reason–Result] The proposed sustainable pre-treatment process was highly efficient in conserving water, energy and process chemicals…. [Key findings] … [Elaboration, Reason–Conclusion] When the scouring and bleaching process baths were recycled, 36% excess utilisation of alkali in the scouring process was observed when compared with the conventional process. [Condition–Result, Comparison] By properly understanding the potential of waste stream, we can generate new resources of water and chemicals. This will reduce the intake of fresh water and minimise the load on the effluent treatment plant. [Means–Result, Means–Result]

Main conclusion

Importance (advantage)

Implication (future use)


Findings + interpretation


The materials selected for the knitted T-shirt for both foreign and

local products were entered into the Higg Index tool. The values

obtained by various products are shown in Table 2. The men’s T-

shirt A and foreign brands B, C, and D obtained higher scores. This

was due to the eco-friendly raw materials used, i.e., brand A and B

T-shirt included 100% organic cotton fiber….But in the case of local

branded E and F T-shirts, the Higg Index score was lower owing to

environmentally hazardous conventional raw materials, processing,

poor quality dyes used, no third party verification and such types,

and many other issues. For better environmental sustainability,

these issues must be addressed for local branded apparel.

products.

Overview of method

Interpretation

Conclusion/ implications

Modified from: Kahn and Islam. Textiles and Clothing Sustainability. 2015;1:8.

Display item and finding

Factually describe and interpret your findings

Combined Results–Discussion

Elaboration x2, Comparison, Reason–Result, Elaboration x2, Comparison x2, Reason–Result, Means–Purpose

Name one method/result

Compare your data

Give reasons

Say how your study is useful

http://www.journalofbigdata.com/content/2/1/5/figure/F5

Manuscript Structure Discussion – End

Why is your study important?

May be a “Future work” section

In conclusion, this paper has reported an easy and timesaving means of fabrication of heterogeneous nanotubular arrays of CdS-TiO2 on transparent conductive substrate (FTO)….An enhanced photocurrent density was obtained in an Na2S/Na2SO3 electrolyte by front-side illumination from the FTO substrate….The reduced charge recombination on the interface between TiO2 nanotubes and CdS nanoparticles under front-side illumination contributed to the improved photocurrent density. We believe that TiO2 nanotubular arrays on transparent conductive substrate might find other applications in the fields of dye-sensitized solar cells, photochromism and photocatalysis.

Conclusion = Approach/

Solution + News

Key finding

Benefit/mechanism

Importance & Implications

Modified from: Liu et al. Nanomaterials and Nanotechnology. 2015; DOI: 10.5772/61970.

Reason–Conclusion, Means–Purpose, Means–Result x2, Reason–Conclusion & Means–Purpose

What does your new method allow

people to do?

What did you achieve?

How did your method work?

How can your method be applied in the real world?


Story line and consistency

General background

Aims

Methodology

Results and illustrations

Summary of findings

Implications for the field

Relevance of findings


Current state of the field Introduction

Methods

Results

Discussion

Solution

Situation/Problem

Evaluation/Comment

Title & Abstract

End matter References, Acknowledgments, Funding, Conflicts of interest, Previous publication/presentation, Ethics/Data sharing


IMRaD paragraph functions

Introduction

Methods

Results

Discussion

Describing processes and

properties

Justifying, explaining, defining, informing

Evaluating, comparing and

contrasting, recommending

Title & Abstract

End matter

General background

Aims

Methodology


Summary of findings





References, Acknowledgments, Funding, Conflicts of interest, Previous publication/presentation, Ethics/Data sharing


Introduction

Methods

Results

Discussion

Sequences, Means–Purpose, Means–Result,

Condition–Result, Comparison

Means–Purpose, Reason–Result,

Elaboration

Reason–Result, Comparison,

Reason–Conclusion

Title & Abstract

End matter

General background

Aims

Methodology


Summary of findings





References, Acknowledgments, Funding, Conflicts of interest, Previous publication/presentation, Ethics/Data sharing

Example IMRaD sentence logic


Story line and consistency

Graphene and carbon nanotubes have been proposed as transparent electrodes for wearable electronics.

However, the use of chemical vapor deposition at high temperatures is unsuitable for textile substrates.

In summary, we have demonstrated that transparent monolayer graphene can coat textile fibers by wet transfer, forming a highly conductive and flexible thread with negligible aspect change.

Background

Conclusion

Discussion

Introduction

Modified from: Neves et al. Scientific Reports. 2015; doi:10.1038/srep09866

We demonstrate that conductive textile fibers can be obtained by wet transfer of monolayer graphene to a polypropylene and a polylactic acid biobased fiber.

Aim/Approach

Transparent conductive graphene textile fibers

Problem

Manuscript Structure Recognizing IMRaD

Signal phrases

Results: showed, found, observed,

identified, demonstrated, revealed, indicated, (not) significantly different

Discussion: our/these findings,

when compared with, confirm, agree with, disagree with, differ from, are similar to, consistent, mechanism, explanation, possible, plausible

Conclusions: In conclusion, In

summary, Taken together, Overall, Therefore, Hence, Thus, suggest, have implications, further/future work

Context: has been studied, such as, is important, recently, X found that

Problem: unfortunately, however, but, nevertheless, although, despite, still unclear, lacking, unknown

Objectives: (in) this study, (in) the present study, purpose of this study, aims/aimed, examine, investigate, study, evaluate, assess, determine

Methods: measured, evaluated, by means of, used, calculated, performed

Manuscript Structure Activity

Place these sentences (from an Introduction and a Discussion) in the correct order and suggest improvements.

Modified from: Domènech et al. Nanoscale Research Letters. 2013;8:238.

D. Nanoparticles are increasingly used in catalysis because their reactivity reduces the quantity of catalyst needed.

C. However, the prevention of uncontrollable escape of catalysts is becoming a crucial issue.

A. The synthesis of silver nanoparticles in textile fibers was successfully achieved: small nonaggregate nanoparticles were obtained in all matrices and located on the surface.

B. Our aim was to develop advanced nanocomposite materials by the incorporation of gold nanoparticles in fibers.

S

Be an effective communicator

Your goal is not only to be published, but also to be widely read and highly cited

Write your sentences and paragraphs logically

Organize your manuscript by paragraph functions

http://www.picserver.org/s/success.html CC BY-SA 3.0

Thank you!

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Andrew Jackson: [email protected] Ayli Chong: [email protected]

Documents

Introduction to Scientific Communication · Structure your sentences Sentence logic Cause–Effect, Means–Result, Reason–Result A A X Y Conjunctions, prepositions Verbs of cause/doing