Scientific writing

Scientific Writing
S. LAKSHMANAN, M.Phil(Psy), M.A.(Psy), PGDBA., DCL.,
Psychologist (Govt. Regd)

Scientific writing
▰ Scientific writing is not just writing about
science; it is the technical writing that
scientists do to communicate their
research to others. Scientific writing is
predicated on the rigors of scientific
inquiry, so it must reflect the same
precision as that demanded in the
research process.

Science writer
▰ As a science writer you'll research, write and
edit scientific news, articles and features, for
business, trade and professional publications,
specialist scientific and technical journals, and
the general media.
▰ Science writers need to understand complex
scientific information, theories and practices.
You should be able to write in clear, concise
and accurate language that can be understood
by the general public.

Purpose of Scientific &
Medical Writing
▰ The main objective of medical and scientific
writing is to record data. Without a written record
of the findings and observations of researchers,
no proof exists that any research was conducted
by them, and valuable information obtained after
a lot of effort may be lost. This may result in
many experiments getting repeated, simply
because there is no record of the data. Needless
to say, this negligence has adverse impacts on
the efficiency of sharing scientific knowledge.

Types of Scientific writing
▰ What is scientific writing?
▰ Peer-reviewed journal articles
(presenting primary research)
▰ Grant proposals (you can't do science
without funding)
▰ Literature review articles (summarizing
and synthesizing research that has
already been carried out)

Writing a scientific text
▰ Clear scientific writing generally follows a
specific format with key sections: an
introduction to a particular topic, hypotheses
to be tested, a description of methods, key
results, and finally, a discussion that ties
these results to our broader knowledge of the
topic (Day and Gastel 2012).

Writing a scientific
text
▰ Scientific writing, while an indispensable step of the
scientific process, is often overlooked in undergraduate
courses in favor of maximizing class time devoted to
scientific concepts. However, the ability to effectively
communicate research findings is crucial for success in
the biological sciences. Graduate students are
encouraged to publish early and often, and
professional scientists are generally evaluated by the
quantity of articles published and the number of
citations those articles receive.

text cont...
▰ It is therefore important that undergraduate students
receive a solid foundation in scientific writing early in
their academic careers. In order to increase the
emphasis on effective writing in the classroom, we
assembled a concise step‐by‐Step guide to scientific
writing that can be directly disseminated to
undergraduates enrolled in biological science courses.

text cont...
▰ The guide breaks down the scientific writing process
into easily digestible pieces, providing concrete
examples that students can refer to when preparing a
scientific manuscript or laboratory report. By
increasing undergraduate exposure to the scientific
writing process, we hope to better prepare
undergraduates for graduate school and productive
careers in the biological sciences.

Writing style guides
▰ Publication of research results is the global measure
used by all disciplines to gauge a scientist's level of
success. Different fields have different conventions
for writing style, and individual journals within a field
usually have their own style guides. Some issues of
scientific writing style include:
▰ Some style guides for scientific writing recommend
against use of the passive voice, while some
encourage it. In the mathematical sciences, it is
customary to report in the present tense.

Writing style guides cont..
▰ Some journals prefer using "we" rather than "I" as personal
pronoun or a first-person pronoun. The word "we" can
sometimes include the reader, for example in mathematical
deductions. The acceptability of passive voice in scientific
writing is inconsistent. It is not always wanted, but is
sometimes encouraged. One reason that passive voice is
used in scientific writing is that it is beneficial in avoiding
first-person pronouns, which are not formally accepted in
science. It can be hard to make claims in active voice, that
is, without the words, I" and "we". The reason that passive
voice is sometimes discouraged is that it can be confusing,
unless used carefully.

Writing style guides cont..
▰ These two simplistic "rules" are not sufficient for
effective scientific writing. In practice, scientific writing
is much more complex and shifts of tense and person
reflect subtle changes in the section of the scientific
journal article. Additionally, the use of passive voice
allows the writer to focus on the subject being studied
(the focus of the communication in science) rather
than the author. Similarly, some use of first-person
pronouns is acceptable (such as "we" or "I," which
depends on the number of authors). The best thing to
do is to look at recent examples of published articles
in the field

Scientific report
▰ The stages of the scientific method are often incorporated
into sections of scientific reports. The first section is
typically the abstract, followed by the introduction, methods,
results, conclusions, and acknowledgments. The
introduction discusses the issue studied and discloses the
hypothesis tested in the experiment. The step-by-step
procedure, notable observations, and relevant data
collected are all included in methods and results.

Scientific report cont..
▰ The discussion section consists of the author's analysis
and interpretations of the data. Additionally, the author
may choose to discuss any discrepancies with the
experiment that could have altered the results. The
conclusion summarizes the experiment and will make
inferences about the outcomes. The paper will typically
end with an acknowledgments section, giving proper
attribution to any other contributors besides the main
author(s). In order to get published, papers must go
through peer review by experts with significant knowledge
in the field. During this process, papers may get rejected
or edited with adequate justification.

Thesis or dissertation
format
Generally a style manual is designated by an institution
to which its thesis or dissertations must conform. One
such manual is that of American Psychological
Association (APA) publication manual.
According to this manual, the format is as follows
▰ Title Page
 Title
 Author’s name and affiliation
 Running head
 Acknowledgements (if any)

format cont...
Abstract
▰ Introduction(no heading used)
 Statement of the problem
 Background / review of literature
 Purpose and rationale / hypothesis
Method
 Subjects
 Apparatus or instrumentation (if necessary)
 Procedure
Results
 Tables and figures(as appropriate)
 Statistical presentations

format cont...
▰ Discussion
 Support or non support of
hypothesis
 Practical and theoretical
implications
 Conclusions
▰ References
▰ Appendix (if appropriate)

The Modern Language Association (MLA)
The Modern Language Association (MLA) specifies a standard
format for essays and research papers written in an
academic setting:
▰ One-inch page margins.
▰ Double-spaced paragraphs
▰ A header with author's last name and page number one-half
inch from the top of each page.
▰ Name of author, name of professor, title of course, date of
paper on the first page of the paper.
▰ A works cited page beginning on a separate page at the end
of the paper.
▰ Follow the steps below to format your essay or research
paper according to MLA whenever you use Microsoft Word.
Before you begin, however, make sure that you can see
the Standard and Formatting toolbars displayed on two
rows on your screen.

Style & Page running
▰ The style requires double spacing throughout the paper.
Single spacing should never be used. Margins of 1.5
inches at the top, bottom, right and left of every page
should be given. All pages beginning with the title page
except the figures should be given numbers. Title page
and abstract are in separate pages. A new page is begun
for the introduction, for the references for each table and
figure and for each appendix.
▰
▰ The first page is the tile page. This page includes the title,
author’s name and author’s affiliation near the top of the
page, separated by double spaced. Toward the bottom of
the page are the running head and acknowledgements,
separated by a double space.

▰ The title should be concise and should indicate clearly the
purposes of the study. It should not claim more for the study
than it actually delivers. The title should be typed in upper case
and lower case letters, centered and when two or more lined are
needed, doubled spaced. The running head, a shortened
version of the titled should be maximum of 50 characters
including letters, punctuation and spaces between words. The
running head is typed near the bottom of the page in upper case
letters.
▰ Acknowledgements appear as unnumbered footnotes near the
bottom of the title page. Acknowledgements are used to
indicate the basis of a study (eg. Doctoral dissertation), grant
support, review of prior draft of the manuscript and assistance in
counting the research.

▰ The main body is decided into four major sections:
introduction, method, results and discussion. The
introduction begins on a new page and due to its position,
does not need or have a label. A well-written introduction
should contain a clear and definitive statement of the
problem, the need for the research and its importance.
▰ In the review of previous literature, the researcher must
demonstrate an understanding of the existing literature and
only research that is pertinent to the issue under
investigation should be included. It is also necessary to
logically connect the previous body of literature with the
current work.
▰ Another component of the introduction is a clear rationale
for the hypothesis proposed, definition of the variables
investigated and controlled and a formal statement of each
hypothesis.

The method section describes in detail what the investigator did. A
well written method section is sufficiently detailed to enable a
reader to replicate the components of the study. The method
section is separated from the introduction by the centered
heading, ‘Method’. This should always include subjects and
procedures. The sub section in subjects explains the
participants of the study, the number of subjects, how they were
selected, their demographic details etc. The procedure
subsection describes the actual steps carried out in the study.
This includes:
▰ Measurements devices
▰ The experiments treatments
▰ The assignment of subjects to conditions
▰ The order of assessments (if more than one)
▰ The time period (if pertinent) and
▰ Any design features to control potentially unfounding variables.

The results section presents the data and the statistical
analyses. This does not include the implications of the
findings. All the relevant findings including the ones that
do not support the hypotheses are presented. When the
data is complex, it can be presented in tables and figures;
care should be taken to see that they are complementary
and not out of work.
The results section ultimately enables discussion. The
implications of the study including whether the hypotheses
were supported or rejected are explained. Both the
theoretical as well as practical implications of the study
should be described. A brief description of the limitation of
the study and suggestions for further resource is relevant.

References
▰ This begins on a new page, “centered”. This consists
of all documents like journal articles, books,
unpublished work etc. A bibliography contains
everything that would be in the reference section plus
other publications that are useful but were not cited in
the body. They are arranged in alphabetical order by
last named of the first named authors. When no author
is listed, the first word of the title or sponsoring
organization is used to began the entry. Each
reference starts at the left margin of the page, with
subsequent lines doubles spaced and indented

Appendices
▰ The appendix may contain a new
computer programme, unpublished
tests etc. Each appendix begins in a
few page with the label “Appendix”
and its identifying letter “centered” .

Styles of writing
▰ The research report should be presented in a style that
is creative, clear and concise. It should be explained in
simple language and short and coherent sentences.
Slang hackneyed or flippant phrases and folksy style
should be avoided. Since objectivity is important,
elements of exhortation or persuasion should be
avoided. Only the last named of the cited author are
used. Titled like professor, Dr, Mr and Dean are
omitted. Since the research procedure is already over,
it should be presented in past tense.

Typing The Report
▰ Typographical standards for the thesis or dissertation
are more exacting. Strikeovers, crossovers, insertions
and erasures are not permitted. The writer has to
present the manuscript material to the professional
typist in proper form. It is the responsibility of the writer
to correct the major errors. The following are the rules
of typography.
▰ A good quality of bond paper, 8.5” by 11” in size and of
13 to 16 pound weight, should be used. Only one side
of the sheet is used in typewritten manuscript.
▰ All margins should be 1.5 inches- top, bottom, left and
right.
▰ All material should be double spaced.

Typing The Report cont...
▰ Words should not be divided at the end of the line unless
completing them would definitely interfere with the
margin. A few spaces of run over is preferable.
▰ Direct quotation not over three typewritten lines in length
are included in the text and enclosed in quotation marks.
Quotations of more than three lines are set off from the
text in a double spaced paragraph and indented five
spaced from the left margin without quotation marks.
Original paragraph indentations are retained.
▰ Page numbers are given in parentheses at the end of a
direct quotation.
▰ Underlining words or letters informs the printer to set
those words or letters in italics.

Reference Form
The following guidelines should be followed.
▰ The last name(s) of the author(s) and the year of publication
(Reddy, S (1998))
▰ In the case of unpublished citations, the year the reference
was written.
▰ If the author’s does not appear in the text, the name and year
appear in parentheses, separated by a comma.
▰ If the author’s name is used in the text, the year follows the
name in parentheses.
▰ When more than one work is cited in parentheses, the
references are separated by semicolons.
▰ Page numbers are only given in parentheses for direct
quotation.
▰ All materials referred to in the text, and only those, are listed
alphabetically on the reference section of the manuscript.

Illustrations
The following are the illustrations:
▰ Book: Vaizey, j. (1967). Education in the modern world.
New York: McGraw Hill.
▰ Book with multiple authors: Barzun, J. & Graff,
H.F>(1977). The modern researcher. New York:
Harcourt, Brace, Jovanovich.

Pagination
▰ Each page of one paper is assigned page number.
Though the title page does not have a page number on it,
it is allowed in the series. Page numbers are placed in
the upper right-hand corner, one inch below the top of the
page and aligned with the right margin. Pages are
numbered consecutively from the title page, through the
abstract, main body and references. After the references
come the footnotes (if any), the numbering of pages
continuing in this order.

Tables
▰ A table is a systematic method of presenting statistical
data in vertical columns and horizontal rows, according to
some classification of subject matter. Tables enable the
reader to comprehend and interpret masses of data
rapidly and to grasp significant details and relationships
at a glance. Tabled and figures should be used sparingly.
Good tabled are relatively simple, concentrating on a
limited number of ideas.
▰ The word table is centered between the page
margins and typed in capital letters followed by the table
number in Arabic numerals.
▰ Eg. Table 2

Tables
▰ Tables are numbered consecutively throughout the entire
thesis, including those tabled that may be placed in the
appendix. The title is placed one double space below the
word table and centered. The main time should be brief,
clearly indicating the nature of the data presented.
▰ Column headings or box heads, should be clearly
labelled, describing the nature and units by measure of
the data listed. If percentaged are presented, the
percentage symbol (%) should be placed at the top of
their column, not with the number in the table. Asterisks
are used to indicate probability levels and are placed
below the table.

Figures
▰ A figure is a device that presents statistical data in graphic
form. The term figures include graphs, charts, maps,
sketches, diagrams and drawings. A good figure enables
clear and easy understanding of data. They are not
substitutes for textual description but are used to
emphasize certain significant relationships. Most of the
qualities of good tables apply to figures too.

Types of charts
There are several different types of charts and graphs.
The four most common are probably
▰ 1. line graphs,
▰ 2. bar graphs and histograms,
▰ 3. pie charts, and
▰ 4. Cartesian graphs.
They are generally used for, and best for, quite different
things

Order information tools
▰ Order
▰ the arrangement or disposition of people or things in relation to
▰ each other according to a particular sequence, pattern, or
method.
▰ Here we will discuss about
▰ Chronology for a narrative
▰ Stages of a process
▰ From general to specific and vice versa
▰ From most important to least important
▰ Advantages and disadvantage
▰ Comparison and contrast
▰ Problem solution pattern

Chronology for narrative
▰ Chronology meaning (of a record of events) following the
order in which they occurred.
▰ Using chronology as narration involves relating events
in the order in which they occur. A speaker will almost
certainly employ narrative chronology if he or she uses an
anecdote or extended example, but as demonstrated by
the sample outline below, whole speeches can be
organized this way.

Chronology for narrative Cont..
▰ When information in a passage is organized by the time in which
each event occurred, it is organized chronologically.
▰ Nonfiction passages that are organized chronologically often
contains dates. Fiction passages or narratives are more subtle
and are organized chronologically but usually have no dates.
▰ A narratives or story is a journey through time, and all of the
events are arranged in order of time; therefore, every story has a
beginning, middle, and end.
▰ Even if an author uses flashbacks, flash-forwards, or otherwise
manipulates the time in his or her text, the events still occur
along a timeline.
▰ Stories require the passage of time; therefore, all stories are
organized chronologically. Sometimes time will stop in a
narrative.

Thesis or dissertation abstracts
▰ An abstract is a condensed report of about 100 to 200
words, focusing on the methods, results and conclusions
of the study. The abstract is intended to give just enough
information for the reader to decide whether the study will
be of personal interest.
▰ The abstract should include the research question, a
description of the subjects, a brief accounting of
methodology, the results and derives conclusions. As
the most important part of the study the conclusions
receive major emphasis in an abstract.

Thesis or dissertation abstracts Cont..
▰ In order to convey the real meaning to the reader, words
should be used carefully in this condensed version.
▰ Oral and poster presentation of paper in a conference
▰ Presentation of a paper in a conference needs special
skills. The whole information has to be communicated
within the time allotted. Hence oral presentation should be
crisp, simple and clear. Poster presentation can
supplement this. Hence the poster should be clear and
vivid. It should enable easy understanding of rich
information. It should be presented in a place which is well
illuminated and which is visible to every participant.

Arrangement of chapters
▰ Introduction
○ need for the study
○ objectives of the study
○ hypothesis
○ limitations of the study
○ chapterization
▰ Review of related literature
▰ Methodology
▰ Results and discussion
▰ Finding, conclusions and suggestions for further
research.

Use of computers for
research
Analysing compiles data has been made practical by
computers. The computer can perform many
statistical calculations easily and quickly. The steps
in raising a computer to calculate statistical analysis
are
1. Data organization and coding
2. Storing the data in the computer
3. Selection of appropriate descriptive and
inferential statistics
4. Selection of appropriate programs for the desired
statistics
5. Writing of control cards
6. Execution of the computer programme. Thus
computers have made research activity easy and
efficient.

Scientific writing

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