CH450 CHEMICAL WRITING AND PRESENTATION

1. CH450 CHEMICAL WRITING AND PRESENTATION Alan Buglass

2. WRITING CHEMICAL RESEARCH PAPERS GENERAL SUMMARY

3. Why Publish? • Expected activity of researchers • To gain experience in writing papers • To get yourself known in the broader academic community • Increase chances of funding for further projects

4. Why Publish? Increase publication record Responsibility to scientific community/grant giving body/society to disseminate information Professional development and advancement Personal satisfaction

5. Types of Scientific Publications • Research journals (full papers, letters, technical notes, etc) • Review journals • Conference proceedings • Books and chapters in books • Internet journals

6. Whose Responsibility is it to Publish? • Student’s or supervisor’s? • No definite rules. • Depends upon circumstances. • In general both the student(s) and supervisor will work together on a publication.

7. Authorship • Co-authors – people who have made significant contributions • writing • practical work • interpretation of results • planning project

8. Authorship Most scientific papers are multi-authored Student and supervisor(s) normally co-authors - varies between disciplines Acknowledge other contributions

9. Order of Authors • Order of contribution • Alphabetical • First author usually considered to be ‘lead author’ • Kudos of “name et al” • If leading author not first, can be indicated by e.g. * • See “Writing Papers – 3: Titles and Authors”

10. Selecting a Journal • Very important – one of first things to do • Match subject of paper to interests of journal • Status of journal (impact factors) • Read “Instructions for Authors” • Familiarize yourself with journal style

11. Impact Factors These vary from year to year! A = no. of times articles published in 2009-2010 were cited in 2011 B = no. of articles published in 2009 Impact factor for 2011 = A/B

12. Process of Writing • Who writes it? • Can be student, supervisor or both • Iterative process of redrafting and revising • Seeking advice from others

13. Title Authors and affiliations Abstract Introduction Methods/Experimental Results Discussion Conclusion Acknowledgements References Structure of Papers All research journals have their own house style (particularly for references), but the following is normal.

14. Title • Read more than any other section • Needs to be informative but as short as possible • Abstract • Short summary of aims, methods, main findings – no references • Very important: used by on-line searches and abstracting journals • Key words

15. Introduction • Background to project • Places project in context • Rationale and aims • Fully referenced • Methods/Experimental • Precise account of how results were obtained so can be repeated by others • Style depends upon discipline and journal • May come after Results and Discussion

16. Results and Discussion • May be in one or two sections • Clear presentation of results (tabular, graphic) • Discussion of relevance in light of published work • Fully referenced • Limitations of method, accuracy of data etc

17. Conclusions • Summarizes main findings • Further work • Should not be a copy of the Abstract

18. References • Gives bibliographic details of text citations • Usually at end • Must follow house styles • Must be error free

19. Acknowledgements Thank people (other than co-authors) who have helped you in the project: for technical support, for provision of materials, for help with spectra or statistics, etc. Thank financial supporters Thank reviewer for useful comments

20. Some things to watch for in the reference section: · Methods of citing references in text e.g. using numbers or Harvard System · Order of surnames and initials · Use of stops · Use of brackets for year of publication · Style to indicate volume number · Style for referencing papers in edited volumes and books · Citing web sites ☺EndNote™Reference Manager™ RefWorks ™

21. Matters of Style • Clarity (lack of ambiguity) • Importance of correct punctuation • The student says his supervisor is useless. The student, says his supervisor, is useless. • Succinctness • Interesting to read • Active or passive?

22. Some Golden Rules • Be as brief as possible but include all essential information • Use clarity of expression and avoid ambiguities • Ensure conclusions follow logically from the evidence

23. Some More Golden Rules Make it as interesting to read as possible Ensure that you cite the relevant literature and that your list of references are all in the required style, free of errors, and agree with citations in text. Set out according to the Instructions for Authors.

24. Dear Editor, Thank you for your kind comments, suggesting many revisions to my paper…..