SCIENTIFIC WRITINGPrakash V MPT, (PhD) Assistant Professor, CHARUSAT University, Anand, Gujarat, india

Consider language as an instrument for expressing and not for concealing or preventing thought – George Orwell

2 Generally people don’t write well !

1/4/2014

3

They are not exceptions

Citizens of developed countries/ Native English speakers1

Academicians2,3

Scientists2,3

1. Lokan J, Greenwood L, Cresswell J. The PISA 2000 Survey of Students’ Reading, Mathematical and Scientific Literacy Skills: How Literate Are Australia’s Students? Australian Council for Educational Research, Melbourne. 2002

2. Hayes DP. The growing inaccessibility of science. Nature 1992; 356:739–40.

3. Knight J. Scientific literacy: Clear as mud. Nature 2003; 423: 376–8.

1/4/2014

WRITING IS A SKILL

People think I can teach them style. What stuff it is. Have something to say and say it as clearly as you can. That is the only secret to style. Matthew Arnold

THE FIRST RULE OF WRITING IS TO KNOW WHAT YOU WANT TO SAY.

One should not aim at being possible to understand but at being impossible to misunderstand. Quintilian

6

George Orwell (in politics and English language)

What am I trying to say?

What words will express it?

Could I put it more shortly? Never use a long

word where a short one will do.

If it is possible to cut a word out, always cut it out.

1/4/2014

7

Active and passive voice

Never use the passive where you can use the active ( George Orwell) Active voice: A does B. Passive voice: B is done (usually by A).

(source BBC Style guide) Sometimes, though, the passive is better

1/4/2014

WRITING RESEARCH ARTICLES FOR PUBLICATION

…the scientific and medical literature is still abundant with lengthy, unclear prose that is likely to confuse readers…

The bulk of scientific literature is still almost unreadable

9

One paragraph , One idea

This first sentence is a “topic sentence” for the paragraph: its function here is to form a link to the previous paragraph, and to alert the reader to the topic of the current paragraph.

Topic sentences are an effective way of creating logical flow in science writing

1/4/2014

10

Robert J Palisano PT, PhD, FAPTADistinguished Professor, Drexel University

A general tip is to write topic sentence that summarizes the key thought for each paragraph.

We think in a sequence so last sentence of a paragraph is often a good topic sentence – the reader knowing the key point can better follow the elaboration

Content of a paragraph for introduction and discussion Topic sentence - Tell the reader

main point Then sentences to explain and

elaborate Conclusion or transition sentence

1/4/2014

11

Editing is the KEY

Good writing is largely a matter of

good revising.

First revise your writing

yourself. Then get feedback

from others and revise

more.

Edit, Re-edit and re-edit

and ...

Sometimes editing can

be frustrating and even painful

process.

1/4/2014

12

Get familiarized with guidelines for reporting research

CONSORT STROBE PRISMA

1/4/2014

13

The I M R A D format

Introduction- • What was your question?

Methods- • How did you try to find a answer?

Results And- • What did you find?

Discussion- • What does it mean?

1/4/2014

14

Introduction / Background:What goes in here?

Why this study is important?

Burden of illness

Significance of the problem

Gaps in the existing literature

Theoretical rationale1/4/2014

15

Five stages of an introduction to a research article(Weissberg & Buker 1990)1. Statements about the field of

research to provide the reader with a setting or context for the problem to be investigated and to claim its centrality or importance.

2. More specific statements about the aspects of the problem already studied by other researchers, laying a foundation of information already known.

1/4/2014

16

3. Statements that indicate the need for more investigation, creating a gap or research niche for the present study to fill

4. Statements giving the purpose/ objectives of the writer’s study or outlining its main activity or findings

5. Optional statement(s) that give a positive value or justification for carrying out the study.

1/4/2014

17

Purposes of the Methods Section

To allow others to replicate what you didIn order to test it

In order to do further research

To allow others to evaluate what you didTo determine whether the conclusions seem valid

To determine whether the findings seem applicable to other situations

1/4/2014

18

Methods

Study design, setting, ethical approval Participant recruitment and eligibility

criteria Sample size calculation/justification Measures taken to minimize bias

1/4/2014

19

Clear and detailed explanation of intervention/procedure Setting Providers and receivers Dosage

Variables Measurement tools: Clinimetrics

Follow up plan (if appropriate) Data analysis plan and rationale

1/4/2014

20

Results

Should report results of the investigations described in the methods section (in same order) using text, tables, figures, and statistics

Should be as brief and clear as possible (but without leaving out ‘disappointing’ results)

1/4/2014

21

A typical structure and chronology includes: Description of study participants

(separate for important subgroups) Presentation of answers to the main

questions (starting with primary outcomes, then secondary outcomes, and any other analyses)

Need to report on harms (adverse effects) as well as benefits

Special attention should be paid to the design of tables and graphs

1/4/2014

22

Using Microsoft Excel to obscure your data and annoy your readers

How to display data badly?

H Wainer (1984) How to display data badly. American Statistician 38(2):137-147

1/4/2014

23

Display data accurately and clearly.

The aim of good data graphics

1/4/2014

24

Be accurate and clear. Let the data speak.

Show as much information as possible, taking care not to obscure the message.

Science not sales. Avoid unnecessary frills — esp. gratuitous

3d. In tables, every digit should be

meaningful. Don’t drop ending 0’s.

1/4/2014

25

Some rules for displaying data badly

Display as little information as possible. Obscure what you do show (with chart

junk). Use pseudo-3d and color gratuitously. Make a pie chart (preferably in color and

3d). Use a poorly chosen scale. Ignore sig figs.

1/4/2014

26

Discussion

Discusses what the findings mean and where they stand in the context of other studies

A typical Discussion section structure and chronology includes: Brief presentation of the main findings Assessment of study strengths and weaknesses Comparison of findings with previous studies Consideration of clinical and scientific implications If relevant, suggestions for future research

1/4/2014

27

Conclusions

Any conclusions should be fully supported by the study findings

1/4/2014

28

Abstract

The most frequently read and most easily

accessed portion of an article reporting original

biomedical research

Abstract needs to be dense with information but also •readable, •well organized, •brief and •self-contained

Word limit is about 250 words

1/4/2014

29

Title

Should be concise, precise, and informative

Indicates the focus of the paper and includes important relevant ‘keywords’ allowing the study to be identified by electronic searches

1/4/2014

PLAGIARISM

Its illegal, but everyone practices it!

Plagiarism refers to the act of “appropriation of another person’s ideas, processes, results, or words without giving appropriate credit”

Plagiarism of ideas

Plagiarism of text (verbatim).

31

How to avoid plagiarism?

If the idea or the sentences you use comes from someone else’s work, cite them!

Remember that direct quotations using quotation marks or inverted commas (“...”) are extremely rare in science writing.

1/4/2014

32

You can expand your repertoire of sentence structures by removing the content (most often the noun phrases) from sentences that appeal to you and reusing the shell (or sentence template) for your own content.

1/4/2014

33

Example

[Authors], using [NP1], have shown that [NP2] enabled [NP3] to be estimated under [adjective] conditions, but they indicated that the technique was not adaptable to all [NP 4], particularly [NP 5].

1/4/2014

34

Tailpiece: TIPS

Read research articles regularly

• 3-5 articles/week for 3 years!

Familiarize yourself Author guidelines

• Every journal has a slightly different guideline from others

Use professional services, online support groups

1/4/2014

35

“There are two kinds of scientific writing: that which is intended to be

read, and that which is intended merely to be cited. The latter tends to be

infected by an overblown and pompous style. The disease is ubiquitous, but

often undiagnosed, with the result that infection spreads to writing of the first

type” (Gregory, 1992, ).

1/4/2014

36 1/4/2014