Scientific Communication:

Course Overview and

Introduction

Nobel Laureate Niels Bohr:

What is it that we humans depend on? We depend on our words...

Our task is to communicate experience and ideas to others. We must strive continually to extend the scope of our description, but in such a way that our messages do not thereby lose their objective or unambiguous character. (1934)

Never express yourself more clearly than you are able to think.

Course Goal 1:

There is a difference between one’s thoughts as an author and what the words and symbols usedto communicate those thoughts actually convey.

Learn to see your scientific communications(papers, grants, slide presentations, other …) asothers might see them, so as to express your ideas more clearly.

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Course Goal 2:

There exist formalisms and heuristics regarding how to write, prepare presentations, and deliver talks.

Learn to use professional methods of communication clearly, concisely, andEffectively.

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Course Goal 3:

There exist formalisms and heuristics regarding how to critique and evaluate others’ scientific communications, such as peer review of manuscripts and grant proposals.

Learn how to approach tasks of peer review using standard methods of the profession.

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Course Goal 4:

There exist ethical and legal principles regarding scientific communication and discourse.

Learn relevant ethical and legal principles andhow to apply them in your professional work.

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First Semester Scientific Communication Course:

Topics Covered• Introduction to Course; Why Publish• Structure of scientific papers/abstract/grants: IMRAD• Presentations: Organization, Slides, Do’s and Don’ts• Manuscript Submission Process• Oral presentations• Posters / abstracts• Ethical considerations• Tables/Figures• References

Second Semester: Topics CoveredPaper review: major categories; strategies for peer review of submitted manuscripts•IMRAD: Reviewing a manuscript by component•Abstracts for conferences•Reporting statistics in Results Sections•Data organization -- Figures and Tables•Grammar & punctuation•Critiquing your own writing•Grant writing/ thesis writing•Creating posters•Term Project: preparing a manuscript for submission to AMIA Conference•Presentation/slides for projects

Why publish?An author and reader

perspective

Adapted from

Ted Shortliffe, MD, PhD - 2007

Researchers as authors

Registration: ownership

Certification: quality stamp,

reputation, reward

Dissemination: communication,

attract recognition and collaboration

Archive: permanent record

Adapted from: Ted Shortliffe, MD, PhD - 2007

Speed

Audience

Quality

Permanence

Researchers as readersCertification: quality, prestige,

authority as expert

Specialization & relevance: learn about area of interest

Technology: requires search,navigation, cataloging skill

Availability: permanent record

Adapted from: Ted Shortliffe, MD, PhD - 2007

Quality

Collection

Technology

Permanence

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In-class Exercise 1: Edit ParagraphSource: N Engl J Med 2015; 373:785-787August 27, 2015.Shifting Vaccination Politics — The End of Personal-Belief Exemptions in CaliforniaMichelle M. Mello, J.D., Ph.D., David M. Studdert, L.L.B., Sc.D., and Wendy E. Parmet, J.D.

Interview with Dr. Michelle Mello on a new California law that eliminates religious and philosophical exemptions for vaccination mandates.

It's not often that California, West Virginia, and Mississippi are politically aligned, but that unlikely trio formed on June 25, 2015, when California Governor Jerry Brown signed into law Senate Bill (SB) 277, substantially narrowing exceptions to school-entry vaccination mandates. With that law, California becomes the third state to disallow exemptions based on both religious and philosophical beliefs; only medical exemptions remain. The move represents a stunning victory for public health that affects not only California schoolchildren but also the prospects for strengthening vaccination requirements nationwide.

In 2014, California tightened its personal-belief exemption by requiring parents seeking such exemptions to obtain a physician's attestation that they had received information about vaccine-preventable illnesses and the benefits and risks of immunization. Just 18 months later, the legislature decided that that wasn't sufficient. The new law applies to elementary and secondary schools and day-care centers both public and private, exempting only home-schooled students. It prohibits these institutions from unconditionally admitting children who are not up to date on vaccinations against a prescribed list of diseases (see

In-class Exercise 1: Edit Paragraph…cont

Vaccines Required for Unconditional Entry into Schools, Child-Care Centers, Day Nurseries, Nursery Schools, Family Day-Care Homes, and Development Centers in California) unless they have a medical exemption. The law also allows the state Department of Public Health (DPH) to add diseases to the list but, anomalously, permits personal-belief exemptions for any such additions.

The passage of SB 277 was anything but a foregone conclusion. Although California's predominantly liberal populace generally tolerates assertive public health policies, a vocal libertarian minority ardently opposes vaccination mandates. The bill's opponents mobilized fiercely against it, attending hearingswith toddlers in tow and organizing strident protests. The pediatrician-senator who sponsored the bill received death threats.

Nevertheless, four factors converged to enable its passage. First, legislative supporters showed extraordinary backbone in resisting pressure to abandon the measure. Second, the DPH publicized data showing that rates of personal-belief exemptions in California have doubled since 2007,1 and analysts noted that vaccination coverage is low enough to jeopardize herd immunity in a quarter of schools.2 Third, the widely publicized Disneyland measles outbreak brought home the risks posed by lost herd immunity. Researchers swiftly concluded that “substandard vaccination compliance is likely to blame for the 2015 measles outbreak.”3 The outbreak created a political opening and energized legislators, parents, and interest groups that aren't ordinarily activated around vaccination issues.

SPEND SEVERAL MINUTES EXAMININGPRECEDING DOCUMENT, LOOK FORWAYS TO CORRECT OR IMPROVE WORDING …

Course Mechanics1) Homework assignments due at midnight (11;59 pm)

preceding next class. Please submit assignments as MS Word or ASCII text documents via email, to BOTH course instructors.

2) Schedule one-on-one review of your own writing assignments with one of the course faculty members upon request – typically one week in advance of review date.

3) Work to be done individually without interaction or collaboration among fellow students, unless stated otherwise (there will be some group assignments during course).

4) Homework assignments, both reading and writing, posted online in courseware system.

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Course Mechanics

1) Textbooks (2) listed on course Web Site.

2) External reading references on course Web Site by topic.