How to write a scientific paper

PattyKaneApril12,2017

Somehelpfulresources!1) http://www.nature.com/scitable/ebooks/english-communication-for-scientists-

14053993/118519636#bookContentViewAreaDivID--gooddescriptionofwhatdifferentsectionsofapaperneedtoaccomplish

2) https://www.elsevier.com/connect/11-steps-to-structuring-a-science-paper-editors-will-take-seriously

3) --partofaseriesfromanauthor/reviewer/editoronhowtogetstartedonyourpaper

3) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3009394/pdf/pro0019-2261.pdf--”TheArtofWritingScience”byKevinPlaxco--excellentpaperonhowtodevelopyourscientificwriting

4)http://www.americanscientist.org/issues/pub/the-science-of-scientific-writing/1--excellentarticlediscussingspecificsofstructureinscientificwriting

• When am I ready to write my paper?• What do I write?• Where do I start?• How do I know when I’m done?• Where do I send my paper?• What happens after I’ve submitted my

manuscript?

WhenamIreadytowrite?YOUNEEDTOBEABLETOMAKEASTORY

--Youcan(should)thinkaboutyourstorybeforeyou’rereadytowritethepaper

--The“story”usuallystartswithaquestion

--Ultimately,youneedtoletyourdatadrivethestory—thinkaboutwhatfiguresyouhaveandwouldneed

--Yourstoryisunlikelytofollowthechronologyofhowyoudidyourexperiments

WhenamIreadytowrite?

• YOUNEEDTOBEABLETOMAKEASTORY

• Buttherearedifferenttypesofstories:--shortcommunication/letter--regularresearchpaper--comprehensivepaper

Shouldyouplanforaspecificjournal????

WhatdoIwrite?

Mostscientificarticleshavethesamecentralsections:

IntroductionMaterialsandMethods/ExperimentalProceduresResultsDiscussion

Butit’snotusuallyagoodideatostartatthebeginningwhenyouwrite.

WheredoIstart?

• Outlineyourstory(oneapproach)– Startwithabroadoutline,thinkingaboutthequestionyouarestartingwithandwhereyouwanttoend

– Graduallymakeyouroutlinemoredetailed—whatpointswillyouneedtomake(whatdatawillyouneedtopresent)tobuildyourargument

– Outlinewilleventuallycontainsectionsofyourpaper

WheredoIstart?• Figures—letthedatadriveyourstory

• Resultssection—writearoundyourfigures

• Discussion—putsyourpaperincontext

• Materialsandmethods—writeafteryouknowwhatisgoingtobeinyourfinalfigures

• Introduction—presentsthequestionyouareaddressingandplacingyourpaperinyourfield

• Abstract—writeafterothersectionsarecomplete

Resultssection

• Relatesexperimentstoyourlargerquestion• Shouldpresentexperimentaldesignforeachfigure,butwithouttremendousexperimentaldetail

• Objectivelydescriberesults• Canincludesomeinterpretation/conclusions,butmuchofthisgoesinDiscussion

Discussionsection• Discussesyourresultsasawholeinthecontextofyourquestion—moredetailedanalysisofresults

• Pointsoutwhatyourresultsarecontributingtothefield

• Canthinkofa“pyramid”—startingfromyourdetailedresultsandmovingoutinbreadthtoendwithhowyourworkfitsintoyourfield

• Sometimesgoodtoendwithremainingquestionsornextsteps

Materialsandmethods

• Shouldallowreadersofyourpapertoreproduceyourexperiments

• ShouldNOTberequiredforreaderstounderstandyourresultsanddiscussion(Manypeoplewon’treadthissection)

• Asageneralrule:referenceestablishedmethods,butdescribeneworsubstantiallyrevisedmethodsinmoredetail

Introduction

• Makesthequestionyouareaaddressingclear• Canconvincereadertocontinuereadingyourpaper

• Couldbethoughtofasinvertedpyramid:mostgeneralinformationtomorespecificinformationtoyourproject

• PurposeisNOTtoshoweverythingyouknowaboutyourfield(youcandothatinyourthesis!).Shouldbeunbiasedbutbedirectedtowardframingyourquestion/results.

References• Formatisdependentonjournal

• Useareferencemanager(Endnoteorothers)

• Knowwhatisactuallyinthepapersyoureference!Trytofindsourcereferences.Don’tciteapaperforareferencethatisinthatpaper.

• Whenindoubt,reference—IntroductionandDiscussionwillgenerallyhavelotsofreferences;MaterialsandMethodsmayhavequiteafew,too.

Abstract

Abstract

• Veryimportantpartofpaper—willbeonPubMed.NEEDSTOCAPTUREINTEREST.

• Avoidalotofbackground,butmakeyourquestionclear.

• Generalexperimentalapproachandmostimportantresults.

• Requiresclear,concisewriting—haveothersoutsideyourlabreaditforclarity.

Title

• Currenttrendistowardtitlesthatdescriberesults:“TheRAVEcomplexisanisoform-specificV-ATPase assemblyfactor”

• Olderpapershadmoregeneraltitles:“BiochemicalcharacterizationofyeastV-ATPase”,“Astudyof…”

• Shortaspossible,butinformative

HowdoIknowwhenI’mdone?

Expectmanyrevisionsasyouwriteyourpaper

Getfeedbackfromothersoutsideyourlab,evenafterallauthorsareinagreement.

Recheck“InstructionstoAuthors”forthejournalwhereyouwillsubmityourpaper.

Aclear,well-writtenpaperisworththeeffort!!!

• Themostimportantruleissimple:ignoreanyandallotherrulesifdoingsomakesthepapereasiertoread.Writingtheclearest,easiesttoreadpaperspossibleistheone-and-onlygoal

From“TheArtofWritingScience”

Scientificwritingisanart!• Makeyourreader’sjobaseasyaspossible• Trytoavoidpassivevoice• Becarefulaboutsentencestructure—ifyouuselongsentences,thenneedtobeveryclear

• Watchoutforlabjargon,unnecessaryabbreviations

• Trytonoticepapersthatyoufindexceptionallyclearwhenyouarereading—lookatwhatmakesthemclear

• Improvingyourwritingisalife-longeffort.

WheredoIsendmypaper?

• Complicatedissue—manyfactorstoconsider:--Impactfactor???--Wherewillpeopleinyourfieldbemostlikelytoreadyourpaper?--Isthepaper’stopicnarroworbroad(bothcanbeverysignificant)--Journalsgivesomeguidelinesaboutthetypeofpaperstheyarelookingfor--Thinkaboutjournalsyoureadandcitefrequently

WhathappensafterI’vesubmittedmymanuscript?

WhathappensafterI’vesubmittedmymanuscript?

• Editorialreviewfirstatmanyjournals

• Editorsendspaperouttoreviewers(cansuggestreviewersincoverletteratsubmission)

• Reviewersaregenerallyanonymous;communicatewitheditorwhocommunicateswithyou.

Outcomes• Acceptwithoutrevision—rarebutjoyous

• Acceptpendingrevisions—lookatreviewercommentstoseeifyoucananswerthem.Don’thavetodoeverything,butdohavetoaddressthemseriously.Cantalktoeditoraboutcomments.

• Reject—mournforalittlewhile,butthenlookatreviewercommentsandresubmitsomewhereelse.

• Questions????