Scientific Writing should be fun. It is not for only science students but also for all the person who are associated with education or literature or any type of writing. For students also it is useful for paper writing. Dr. Daxaben N. Mehta

1. Scientific Writing
Dr.Daxaben N. Mehta
Principal, Smt.Sadguna C.U.Shah Home
Science and C. U. Shah Arts & Commerce
Mahila College, Wadhwancity,
District: Surendranagar
Dt.: 27 /02 /2012

2. General Guidelines
 Types of Scientific Publication
 Outline
 Language
 Structure & Preparation of a Paper
 Title - Author
 Abstract
 Key words

3. General Guidelines
 Introduction
 Materials & Methods
 Results – Tables & Figures
 Discussion
 Conclusion
 References
 Acknowledgements

4. Different types of
Scientific Publications
 Oral presentations
 Written presentations
 Books and book chapters
 Review papers
 Journal articles
 Science magazines
 Newspaper articles

5. Different types of
Scientific Publications
 Extension leaflets and posters
 Conference posters
 Annual reports, quarterly reports
and project reports
 Conference abstracts
 Conference/Workshop proceedings
 Letter to journals and book reviews

6. USING AN OUTLINE
 description of an outline
 value of the outline
 developing the outline

7. description of an
outline
 A logical, general description
 A schematic summary
 An organizational pattern
 A visual and conceptual design of
your writing

8. value of the outline
 Aids in the process of writing
 Helps you organize your ideas
 Provides a snapshot of each section of the
paper will flow
 Presents your material in a logical form
 Shows the relationships among ideas in your
writing
 Constructs an ordered overview of your
writing Defines boundaries and groups

9. developing the
outline
 Before you begin:
 Determine the purpose of your
paper
 Determine the audience you are
writing for
 Develop the thesis of your paper

10. Language
 Language Simple
 accurate
 Precise
 Brevity
 Grammar
 Active voice

11. Structure and preparation
of a scientific paper
 The when, where, and what you
might want to publish…
 Most research journals state that
papers submitted for consideration
must “make a significant and
original contribution to knowledge”

12. When
 you may have professional imperatives
that are pushing you to publish before
your contribution to science is truly
“significant” Ideally a research article
should contain a coherent single body of
work answering one or two major
questions on a major theme and giving
one or two further avenues of research

13. Where
 Consideration of ‘where’
determines the required format for
the article and also its distribution
and the expected recognition that
should come from acceptance of
the paper by the editors.
International journals are generally
considered the most thorough and
scrupulous of all publication

14. What
 Typically presents experimental work—
usually a minimum of two experiments, or
field work conducted over two or more three
seasons. Explains the motivation for
conducting the work. Explains the design
and conduct of the work. Presents the result
of the work
Proposes an interpretation and meaning of the
results Considers the significance of the
results and of the interpretation proposed

15. The structure of a
research paper
 The major sections required in a paper
are often abbreviated in the acronym
“IMRaD” meaning;
 Introduction, Methodology (Materials
and Methods), Results, and Discussion.
Other sections are clearly necessary (a
title, abstract, references, etc.)

16. Title
 A title should be the fewest possible
words that accurately describe the
content of the paper. Omit all waste
words such as "A study of ...",
"Investigations of ...", "Observations
on ...", etc. Indexing and abstracting
services depend on the accuracy of the
title, An improperly titled paper may
never reach the audience for which it
was intended, so be specific.

17. Title
 Only the first word in the title
(except for proper nouns) has a
capital letter. Titles are used in
cataloguing and abstracting, in
electronic/internet databases, and
will be in the reference list of other
research publications

18. Types of titles
 Indicative: Effectiveness of AV aids on
teaching leaning process
 Informative: AV aids helps in teaching
learning process
 Question: Do AV aids affect teaching
learning process?
 Main title/Subtitle (Hanging): AV aids:
effects on teaching learning process

19. Authors
 You will need to include the names and
addresses of those who conducted the
research and contributed to the writing of
the paper .
 The major contributor to the research work
and the writing of the research paper is
named as first (“Senior”) author, with other
authors following in decreasing order of
their level of contribution to the work

20. Abstract
 This is a short (generally 200-250
 words in one paragraph) summary of the
objectives of the work, the methodology
used, the main results, and the major
conclusions.
 An abstract is definitive (NOT
descriptive), i.e., it gives the hard facts in
the form of statements concerning what
is contained in the research paper

21. Abstract
 Abstracts are included in catalogues
and electronic/ Internet databases and
are of major use in enabling others to
quickly and easily decide if they wish to
read the full paper. Your abstract
should follow the IMRaD structure

22. Keywords
 Keywords are a list of important words
(or short phrases) used in the main text
and or abstract but NOT already present
in the title. Keywords are included with
the title and the abstract in the indexing
of the published article in electronic
databases. Choose your key words
carefully to complement those in the title
to attract the largest number and
broadest range of potential readers.

23. Introduction – “Why”.
 The ‘Introduction’ section of a research
paper presents the nature and range of
the problem investigated
 a review of relevant and pertinent
literature
 results and conclusions of previous work
 an explanation (rationale) of why the
work being described was needed

24. Introduction
 A key section of the introduction is the
listing of your objective(s). These will often
lead logically to a suggested hypothesis
 If you have more than one objective,
present these in a logical order. This order
will then be repeated elsewhere in the
paper, making it easier for the reader to
follow and understand

25. Introduction
 The ‘Introduction’ sets out
Questions ‘A’ ‘B’ ‘C’
 The ‘Materials and methods’
describes how to Answer ‘A’ ‘B’ ‘C’
 The ‘Results’ reports answers to ‘A’
‘B’ ‘C’
 The ‘Discussion’ interprets the
answers to ‘A’ ‘B’ ‘C’

26. Methodology
 “Where, When, and How” Describing the
design (plus duration, location, and
climate) and conduct of the experiment in
sufficient detail that another researcher
could repeat the work if necessary—
including the statistical design used and
the analysis performed. Model sampling
procedure, method of data collection, type
of analysis etc

27. Materials & Methods
 If you are reporting standard, recognized
techniques they need not describe the
procedures in detail. The name of the
technique, plus a reference, if the
technique or procedure has been
described in a recognized journal is
sufficient
 You should include all details of
experimental design and statistical
analysis

28. Materials & Methods
 includes all necessary details
 excludes all unnecessary details
and therefore contains only what you
need to present
 Should include all details so that
someone else can repeat

29. Results
 These results are directly related to the
objectives outlined in the Introduction
 Describes what was found, giving
summaries of data obtained, as text,
tables, figures, or graphs
 The ‘Results’ section is often the shortest
section of a research publication, but also
the most important
 Do not present raw, unanalyzed data

30. Results
 Statistical significance is reported
in the ‘Results’ section
 The results should clearly
describe what was found,
including statistical tests,
differences, and probabilities

31. Table
 A table or a figure enables readers to
see the (summarized data) for
themselves, but the results remain the
subject of the text (and not the tables or
figures)
 Do not put too many items in a table,
because it will become crammed and
hard to interpret. Useful for presenting
analyzed summary data (e.g.means ±
standard errors), level of significance

32. Table
 column headings
 row headings (or stub headings)
 A table has a field, the “boxes” of
information in the body of the table
 A table often has footnotes
 tables should be able to
“standalone”, be self-explanatory

33. Figures
 Pie charts show proportions of a
single variable.
 Histograms compare quantities, such
as yields, for different classes of
variable.
 Line graphs show trends and
relationships or other dynamic
comparisons of continuous variables
 Scatter diagram

34. Figures
 Unlike with tables, the numbers and
titles of figures are placed BELOW
the figure
 If axes are used they should have
brief informative titles (legends) and
include any units of measurement
 Remember, results may be
presented as either tables or figures,
NEVER as both

35. Discussion
 Contains an interpretation of the results.
The discussion talks about the
relationship of the results to the
questions posed in the introduction, and
explains how these results contribute to
answering the “Why” of the research
 Can also include limitations
 Indicate future research if evident

36. Discussion
 This is also the section for pointing out
how your results compare with the
findings of others, and explaining any
differences from previously published
research
 You may also end this section by
identifying further problems and the next
steps and additional research needed—
limitations and areas for further research

37. Conclusion
 If you are reporting on a long and
complex piece of research, and if you
have complicated results, you may well
want to include a separate ‘Conclusion’
section.
 Before preparing a separate ‘Conclusion’
section, check on the style and format
instructions to authors of the journal to
which you are planning to submit your
paper

38. Citations and references
 The reference list contains full details of
all articles specifically referred to in the
text. These are called the text citations.
 Text citations generally give the
name(s) (generally the “surname” or
main name) of the author(s) of the
article and its year of publication. This
system of text citation is often referred
to as the “Harvard” or Name-Year
system.

39. References
 References may be used either in
explaining and justifying the need for the
work, the conduct of the work, or the
implications of the work.
 The purpose of the reference list is to
enable other researchers to trace and
obtain any previously published research
used to describe and support the new
work being presented.

40. Citing A Journal Article
 Author(s)
 Date (generally year)
 Title of work being cited (with only
the first word and proper nouns
having a capital letter)
 Name of the Journal, Volume &
issue number

41. Citing A Book
 Author(s) or editor(s)
 Date of publication (year)
 Title of book (often in italics)
 Edition of book if not the first edition
 City of publication + publisher
 Total number of pages or start page
number – last page number of
section being cited

42. Acknowledgments
 institutes or individuals who helped in the
work, provided funding, etc
 Technicians – Significantly involved
 Supervisors - contributed to the work
 institutions or companies – equipment
 Colleagues
 Statisticians
 Remember to include donors

43. Thesis
 Main difference is the style and layout
 Monograph
 Use university guidelines
 Extended literature review
 Main body split into sections/chapters
 A chapter on methodology
 Discussion - Compare results with
previous publications Discuss

44. Review articles
 Reporting from several sources – a
common form in university training,
journals and conferences
 Review of literature – longer form
Should be comprehensive and critical
 Collect both +ve and –ve information
 Compare and contrast
 Give a balanced perspective

45. Popular science article
 Audience is public
 Title – short exciting and informative
 Layout Determined by the style of the
magazine
 Do not make it too long
 Look at articles previously published
 Language Simple, layman language
 If using scientific/technical terms, please