10/4/2011

WRITING THE SECTIONS OF A SCIENTIFIC PAPER

Rena Widita

Title, Authors, and Abstract

The stereotyped format of a scientific paper has seven parts:

The Title and the Abstract encapsulate the paper. The Introduction describes where the papers research question fits into current science. The Materials and Methods translates the research question into a detailed recipe of operations. The Results is an orderly compilation of the data observed after following the research recipe. The Discussion consolidates the data and connects it to the data of other researchers. The Conclusion gives the one or two scientific points to which the entire paper leads. The References lists the many links that tie the paper to the rest of science.

Typical paper structure

Title Abstract Introduction
Background & motivation Related work (alternatively put before conclusion) Example

Methods and Materials

Approach/framework Implementation Evaluation Experiments/case studies/experiences/examples

Results and Discussion Conclusion

your Materials and Methods can be thoroughly described before you have compiled your Results; your Results must be organized before you can analyze them in your Discussion; you must know your Conclusion before you can write an Introduction that sets the Conclusion in its natural place in science; Title and Abstract summarizing your paper must first have a completed paper to summarize.

Title
Importance of the article title:
The first thing to get the editors attention Used by scholars in literature search

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Principle desirable qualities

Title should be
Short Clear Relevant Attractive

Front matters
Dedication Acknowledgement Preface

These items are not always written in scientific and formal language

Principle desirable qualities

Max info in least words (5 - 15 words) Should almost never contain abbreviations Informative (state results) Be specific enough but not too specific

Abstract
Abstracts should be:
Clear Indicating your work Non-verbose!

COMPARE THESE TWO TITLES. A Study of the insulating properties of some materials AND A comparison of the thermal insulating properties of styrofoam and fibreglass

Authors & Affiliations

Authors are commonly ranked by:
Order of contribution Alphabetical order

Function
The abstract provides the reader with a brief preview of your study based on information from the other sections of the report. It is often the last part of the report to be written. Many readers depend on the abstract to give them enough information about the study to decide if they will read the entire report or not.

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Abstract
Summary of Manuscript (200-300 Words)
Problem investigated Purpose of Research Methods Results Conclusion

Tips
I usually write the abstract last Four sentences
1. 2. 3. 4. State the problem Say why its an interesting problem Say what your solution achieves Say what follows from your solution

Abstract Structure
B some Background information P the Principal activity (or purpose) of the study and its scope M some information about the Methodology used in the study R the most important Results of the study C a statement of Conclusion or recommendation

To Start: Introduction

Common mistakes
Too much background or methods information Figures or images References to other literature, figures or images Abbreviations or acronyms

Introduction
Make it brief (~1/5 of the papers total length)

Grab the reader's interest while introducing the topic Explain the "big picture" relevance (remember: hourglass) Provide the necessary background information

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Typical introduction structure

One paragraf background / history and motivation
Introduce broad area Describe background necessary to understand the rest of the document Point to other documents

Introduction should state

Long motivation Problem to be solved Why existing solutions are not sufficient Proposed solution Brief summary Dont over claim Dont over-criticize others work

Two paragrafs your contributions (objectives)

Cite and briefly discuss other related work Mention how it is different from your work Mention their limitations but be polite

One paragraf the objectives and organization (optional)

Referring to others work

Try to explain the logic behind what the study

FYI
Some reviewers dont like you to claim your own
approach to be novel At least dont put novel in your paper title they said novelty is to be judged by them, not to be claimed by you

found rather than simply stating what they found. Try to be specific when explaining findings

How Paragraphs Work

Effective paragraphs possess Unity: singleness of purpose Coherence: one point of view, one attitude, one tense Focus: a strong topic sentence and supporting evidence Flow: transitions from one sentence to the next, from familiar to new information

Background paragraph
Elaborate why the problem is hard Critically examining prior work

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Related work
Dont make unjustified unobvious criticism on
related work if you dont have experimental results to back you up

Use numbers in sentences

Whenever possible, give numerical values in statements and avoid ambiguous words:
"The voltage across a forward-biased silicon diode is small." What does "small" mean? It is much clearer to say "The voltage across a forward-biased silicon diode is about 0.7 V." If the word "small" is really essential, try "...is small (about 0.7 V)."

Avoid dangling comparatives and superlatives, such as:

The voltage across the diode is smaller. Varistors are the best transient protection component. Cobblewinkle's TV and Appliance Shop has the lowest prices. Sudso gets your clothes cleaner.

Dont over claim your work without justification

The range of options in the comparison must be specified, for example:

The voltage across the diode is smaller than the voltage across resistor R1. "Sudso gets your clothes cleaner than Crudso." (And the writer better be able to prove it to Crudso's attorneys!)

Common mistakes

Use numbers in sentences

If the values of X and Y are compared, then X and Y must have the same dimensions. When X and Y have different units, this error is commonly known as "comparing apples to oranges". It is rubbish to say, for example:
In this design R was chosen to be larger than C (Since R is a resistance and C is a capacitance, their dimensions are not the same, and the sentence is rubbish. The writer probably intended to compare R to the capacitive reactance).

Too much or not enough information Unclear purpose

Watch out for phrases like "400 volts of ac current". Current does not have units of volts. As a related matter, use the same measure consistently. For example, do not compare costs per year with costs per month.

Lists

Confusing structure First-Person anecdotes

zero and infinity

There is no such thing as zero or infinity in laboratory measurements. When tempted to claim that some value is "zero" or "unmeasurably small", give an estimate of the smallest nonzero magnitude that could be detected. A concise way to phrase this is to write, e.g., "Vout was less than 5 mV", instead of a long-winded discussion of least significant digits, resolution, accuracy, and precision. If special care was taken to measure a small voltage (e.g., use of preamplifier, modulate noise with a signal of a much different frequency, etc.), then these techniques should be mentioned. When using "unmeasurably small" in an analysis and discussion, compute an upper or lower bound. Do not avoid a calculation just because a signal could not be detected.

TIPS

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six or 6 ?
Single digit numbers (zero through nine) are spelled out, while numbers of two or more digits (10, 20th Century, ...) use figures. There are several exceptions to this simple rule: use figures for all numbers when there are numbers of two or more digits for related quantities in the same sentence , such as "6 of 23 physicians recommend". Always use figures when a unit of measurement follows (e.g., "5 A"). Always spell approximate values, "round numbers", (see The Chicago Manual of Style, p. 233 of the 1982 edition). If the approximate value is followed by a unit, then the unit is not abbreviated.
about five years two orders of magnitude about four times larger several kilovolts a few tens of megahertz a few volts

Choose a type size that is easy to read

48 point
36 point
24 point
18 point

poster presentation slides titles text footnotes

14 point
12 point 10 point 8 point

six or 6 ?
Use figures when mathematical operations are implied:
factor of 2 33 matrix

Being selective
1. Cover seminal work, leading theories, concepts in the area For theories, try to refer to the original research, rather than a textbook reference. 2. Multiple authors
Use when your assertion is particularly important, or may be questioned. A plethora of literature exists about men and women masquerading as the opposite gender online (Curtis, 1997; Dickel, 1995; Kendall, 1996; McRae, 1996, 1997; Reid,1995, 1996a, 1996b; Turkle, 1995; Van Gelder, 1991; Whitty, 2002).

When a number is at the beginning of a sentence it is always spelled-out. If this rule produces a result that looks awkward, it may be better to rewrite the sentence to avoid starting with a number.

3. Discernment in use of verbs

Just because an author suggests an idea, this does not make it so. Smith (1998) suggests that gender differences exist online. Suggest is not the same as demonstrate, conclude, argue

Avoid large blocks of capital letters

Avoiding repetition
Smyth (2004) highlights the importance of referring to authors in different ways: their name, pronouns, investigators, researchers Brown (1999) conducted a study on gender differences. She demonstrated how . Brown concluded that/It was concluded thatSimilarly, another researcher looked at Similarly, instead of relying on the word research, also use investigation, study, project, work

TYPE IS TO READ

Type is to read

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Abbreviations and Acronyms

Liked by authors, hated by readers Reading should not require a glossary Unwieldy word occurring > 10 times

Things learnt along the way...

Dont let the literature control you! it is impossible to cover the entirety of literature on your topic. you need to highlight the important steps that have led to the development of your work (picture yourself as a tour guide). Ideas come while writing Read good writers, especially non-medical Your story PLEASE!! Ensure that the information you provide backs up your research question (and approach). Suspend the need for finality.

First Draft

Write as quickly as possible As if thinking out loud Get everything down Ignore spelling, grammar, style Skip troublesome words Correct and rewrite only when the whole text is on paper Do not split the manuscript among the co-authors