Annotated Select

Bibliography References

of

Anholt, R. R. H. (1994). Dazzle "em with Style: The Art of Oral Scientific Presentation. W. H. Freeman and Company, New York.

This book is conversational and easy to read, and Anholt gives practical, real- istic advice on presentations. His suggestions on structuring the presentation and designing and using visual displays are based on the principles of simplic- ity and audience understanding. He provides excellent advice on preparing and delivering the presentation with voice control, body language, and enthusiasm. His comments on poster presentations and answering questions are also good.

Booth, V. (1993). Communicating in Science: Writing a Scientific Paper and Speaking at Scientific Meetings, 2nd ed. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK.

Booth's succinct 78-page book on writing scientific papers and speaking at professional meetings is dedicated to T. W. Fline (Those Whose First Language Is Not English). He includes important conventions in grammar, punctuation, and other mechanics and describes manners, style, visual aids, and delivery techniques in speaking. He offers some suggestions on use and misuse of num- bers, troublesome aspects of the language for those for whom English is a second language, and the preparation of figures and copy for print; in addition, he notes differences in British and American English.

Briscoe, M. H. (1996). Preparing Scientific Illustrations: A Guide to Better Posters, Presentation, and Publications, 2nd ed. Springer, New York.

Briscoe demonstrates good visual aids with discussion and many illustrations. Her book gives sound advice on all kinds of visual imagery used in scientific communications ~ drawings, photographs, graphs, tables. And she applies these

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forms to various media--journal manuscripts, presentations, posters. Her book is clear and helpful for all kinds of scientific communications.

Committee on the Conduct of Science. (1989). On Being a Scientist. National Academy of Sciences, National Academy Press, Washington, DC.

Directed toward students beginning their careers, this booklet recognizes the human element--human judgments, human values, human error, and human relationships--in scientific research. "Much of the first half of the booklet looks at several examples of the choices that scientists make in their work as individuals .... The second half deals largely with questions that arise during the interactions among scientists .... A final section touches upon the social context..." (p.1). The book views the largely unwritten code of profes- sional conduct and personal integrity in science and provides some detail on questions concerning scientific values, human decisions, treatment of data, sources of error, fraud, plagiarism, appropriate credit, obligations to society, and other ethical issues.

Council of Biology Editors (CBE) Scientific Illustration Committee. (1988). Illustrating Science: Standards for Publication. CBE, Bethesda, MD.

This well-illustrated book presents perspectives on preparing and publishing artwork for science. Subject matter includes information on drawings and photographs of biological specimens; the design and drawing graphs and maps; and use of type styles and sizes, tone and color, halftones, line art, and other details in illustration processes. It also provides information on materials to use in producing illustrations, getting an illustration ready to print, and addressing legal and ethical considerations. Note that the Council of Biology Editors is now known as the Council of Science Editors.

Council of Biology Editors (CBE) Style Manual Committee. (1983). CBE Style Manual, 5th ed. CBE, Bethesda, MD.

This manual presents conventions of technical style for the sciences based upon standards established by both "international and U.S. organizations con- cerned with science or with information services" (p. xvii). It provides information on planning and writing the manuscript for publication, prose style (grammatical conventions), and editorial style in documentation and tables and figures. It offers guidelines for dealing with proofs, indexing, copyrighting, and ethical conduct in authoring and publishing a paper. It includes stylistic conventions used in special fields of plant sciences, microbiology, animal sciences, chemistry

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and biochemistry, and geography and geology. Note that the Council of Biology Editors is now known as the Council of Science Editors.

Council of Biology Editors (CBE) Style Manual Committee. (1994). Scientific Style and Format: The CBE Manual for Authors, Editors, and Publishers, 6th ed. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK.

More comprehensive relative to stylistic details than the fifth edition, this manual contains conventions for all of the scientific disciplines and is a good attempt to simplify and encourage uniformity in publication style for all the sciences. In addition to conventions such as punctuation, abbreviations, capi- talization, symbolization, and references, this comprehensive manual provides information on stylistic conventions unique to specific areas of science. It also provides information on formats in journals and books, including forms for tables, figures, and indices. It does not, however, contain any instructions for planning, writing, and submitting papers for scientific publication, such as those included in the fifth edition. (Watch for a new edition.) Note that the Council of Biology Editors is now known as the Council of Science Editors.

Day, R. A. (1998). How to Write and Publish a Scientific Paper, 5th ed. Oryx Press, Phoenix, AZ.

A "cookbook" on preparing manuscripts for publication in scientific journals, this book deals with all parts of the paper from title to references. It contains information on other issues in the publication process such as submission and review of the paper and short chapters on other kinds of scientific communication such as review papers, posters, and oral presentations. Day presents pleasant, even entertaining, discussion on the use and misuse of English and avoiding jargon; some information on what constitutes scientific writing; ethical and legal issues; and helpful appendices on matters of abbreviations and common word prob- lems in scientific writing.

Dodd, J. s., ed. (1997). The ACS Style Guide: A Manual for Authors and Editors, 2nd ed. American Chemical Society, Washington, DC.

Similar to the fifth edition of the CBE Style Manual, this guide includes not only specifics for editorial style and conventions in chemistry publications but also suggestions by various authors on types of scientific communications, instructions on writing papers and making oral presentations, and side issues of what goes on in the publication process, as well as issues such as copyright and ethics. It is the authority for style in all areas of chemistry as the CBE manual is in the biological sciences.

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Macrina, F. L. (2000). Scientific Integrity: An Introductory Text with Cases, 2nd ed. ASM Press, Washington, DC.

Macrina's text provides a background for discussing issues of integrity in science. For the graduate advisor, the chapter on mentoring is excellent, and for students and other researchers, the information on record keeping can be helpful. Discussions on integrity regarding authorship and peer review, con- flicts of interest, the use of animals or humans in experimentation, genetic tech- nology, and the ownership of data with patents and copyrights--all are presented well by Macrina and other authors of individual chapters and are accompanied by case studies. This text would be good for a class on profes- sionalism and ethics in science.

Montgomery, S. L. (2003). The Chicago Guide to Communicating Science. University of Chicago Press, Chicago.

Montgomery's book is well-written and covers most of the kinds of scientific writing. It also provides brief but good information on oral presentations and helpful comments on using the Internet. I would particularly recommend it for someone who struggles with how to write well and has had little experience with conventions and expectations in scientific writing. For example, his chap- ters on proposals and on graphics are good introductions for someone who has never produced these. The book is easy to read and can help you develop the necessary attitude for success with scientific communications.

O'Connor, M. (1991). Writing Successfully in Science. HarperCollins Academic, London.

Most of this book is centered around writing for publication in scientific journals. O'Connor contends that "Journal articles constructed in this formal way have become the basic units of research publication and are the model for many other kinds of writing in science" (p. ix). She covers planning, writing, preparing data in tables and figures, revising, submitting, and checking proofs of such an article. She also includes information on preparing and making pre- sentations with slides and posters. The book provides information on writing grant proposals, theses, and review articles and is good for writers whose first language is not English.

Peters, R. L. (1997). Getting What You Came for: The Smart Student's Guide to Earning a Master's or Ph.D., revised ed. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, New York.

Peters speaks from his own experience and that of other graduate or former graduate students with whom he has associated on the problems and pitfalls

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that may accost the student pursuing a graduate degree. He is very candid in his discussion, not only about communication efforts but also everything in the graduate environment from choosing a school and an advisor to handling the stress to finally getting a job. A good book for an undergraduate to read before going to graduate school but also instructive for the graduate student.

Reif-Lehrer, L. (1995). Grant Application Writer's Handbook. Jones and Bartlett, Sudbury, MA.

Reif-Lehrer's is the best and most detailed advice I've found for writing grant proposals, especially those for the large funding agencies such as the National Institute of Health or the National Science Foundation. Her check- lists on points to consider in proposals and her appendices on other resources available are equally valuable for writing proposals to industry, private founda- tions, or even graduate committees. She furnishes helpful examples, and her experience with the granting agencies themselves and a network of people involved is evident. (Watch for an updated edition.)

Smith, R. V. (1998). Graduate Research: A Guide for Students in the Sciences, 3rd ed. University of Washington Press, Seattle.

Smith's book "is designed for self instruction" (p. ix). His text serves to orient students to ideas about graduate research programs by discussing the student's commitment to the program, the principles and ethics involved in scientific research, and planning and time management. He deals with practical matters of library research, writing, preparing theses, presenting and publishing papers, getting grant support, and even getting a job.

Stock, M. (1985). A Practical Guide to Graduate Research. McGraw-Hill, New York.

Stock's is a helpful handbook for the graduate student in science. It deals with the "realities of how research is actually conducted" and carries the stu- dent "'through the graduate program and through development, execution, and completion of the research project" (p. vii). This completion requires oral and written communication. Stock presents a practical, realistic view of the gradu- ate research program with advice from choosing a topic and an advisor to the job interview seminar. She includes ideas on writing grant proposals, theses, and journal articles and on presenting talks and visual aids.

Tiehy, H. J., and Fourdrinier, S. (1988). Effective Writing for Engineers, Managers, Scientists, 2nd ed. John Wiley & Sons, New York.

With numerous examples, this handy reference book for all kinds of writers provides a thorough discussion about organization and getting started writing.

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It has a section on grammar, punctuation, and diction. And it discusses the lit- erary prose style or character of writing that results from sentence structure, word choice, the arrangement of ideas, and other elements of construction. It is a valuable guide for organization and clarity in any kind of writing.

Zinsser, W. (1998). On Writing Well: The Classic Guide to Writing Non-Fiction, 6th ed. HarperCollins, New York.

Zinsser writes about the principles involved with any ldnd of writing, and the book itself serves as an outstanding example of writing well. These principles lead to "using the English language in a way that will achieve the greatest strength and the least clutter" (p. 6). His principles of readability include the audience, the diction, construction and grammatical usage. Then he gives forms to use in writing about people, places, and subjects such as science, busi- ness, or sports. He provides evidence that good writing has universal qualities not to be diluted by the discipline in which it communicates.