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HOW TO WRITE A SCIENTIFIC PUBLICATION

HOW TO WRITE A SCIENTIFIC PUBLICATION. Karl-Heinz Schwalbe. You just sit down and start writing ?. WHY DO SCIENTISTS WRITE?. Scientific research is not complete until the results have been published.

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HOW TO WRITE A SCIENTIFIC PUBLICATION

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  1. HOW TO WRITE A SCIENTIFIC PUBLICATION Karl-Heinz Schwalbe You just sit down and startwriting?

  2. WHY DO SCIENTISTS WRITE? Scientific research is not complete until the results have been published. Writing an accurate, understandable paper is therefore as important as the research itself. • To make a permanent, publicly accessible record of your findings • To convince your funding body to sink even more money into your research • Ego: Your work is your epitaph • Your supervisor forces you • No PhD without publication (the thesis is one…)

  3. STRUCTURE OF A PAPER Scientific writinghastobe simple, clear, andtothepoint. Nojargonorfloweryliteraryembellishments, noexaggeration. Itmayfollowthestructure: • Title: Whyshouldsomebodyreadthepaper? • Introduction:Whatdidyou do? Whydidyou do it? • Materials/Methods:Howdidyou do it? • Results:Whatdidyou find? • Discussion:Whatdoesit all mean? • Conclusions: Whatdidwelearn?

  4. TITLE The title shouldbedescriptiveofthepaper. • Avoidcompletephrases • Avoidacronyms, in particularthoseinventedbytheauthor • Avoidmathematicalsymbols • Avoidtheterm „novel“. Yourworkissupposedtobenovelanyway.

  5. ABSTRACT • Typically, theabstractshouldbenomorethan 250 words. • The abstractshouldbe a singleparagraph. • The abstractshouldbewritten in thepasttense (youhavealreadydonetheexperiments!) • The abstractshould not citereferences. • The abstractshould not useacronymsnorsymbols. Whattheabstractshouldsay……. • State theprincipalobjectivesandscopeoftheinvestigation. • Brieflydescribethemethodsemployed. • Summarisethemainresults. • State theprincipalconclusions.

  6. KEYWORDS • The keywords should cover the content of the paper. • They provide the profile of your paper for data banks. • Many journals provide a selection of keywords from which you are supposed to choose.

  7. INTRODUCTION • This section provides the justification of the work done. • Give brief overview on state of the art of your area. • Cite the relevant literature. • The final section should describe the gap in knowledge you have filled and how you have done it.

  8. MATERIALS / METHODS • Write in the past tense. • Include enough detail so that a competent worker can repeat the experiments or simulations. Details include materials, test pieces, methods employed, parameters varied….. This contributes to good scientific practice! (And also: The reviewers have to be able to understand what you have done!) • Do not include results in this section.

  9. MATERIALS / METHODS, cont. • Nowadays, it is much appreciated when experimental and theoretical (analytical or numerical) work is combined: • Theoretical work without validation by experiments is often of not much value. • And also it is valuable to have experimental work backed up by theoretical models.

  10. RESULTS • The bestwaytopresentresultsisshowingthemascleardiagrams, withexplanations in thetext. • Beselective – you do not havetoincludeeverydetailyouhaveobtained. • Itis not advisabletopresentresults in figuresandtables. • Reserve extensiveinterpretationoftheresultsfortheDiscussionsection. However, a brief (oneortwosentences) discussionof an experimental resultoftenservesas a nicetransitiontothenextsimulation, orexperiment, and so givesthepaper a “flow”.

  11. RESULTS, cont. RESULTS, cont. • In papers on analyticalwork, please do not writeendlessformulas. Ifyouhaveverylongderivationsitmaymake sense toshiftsomeofthederivationsinto an appendix. Otherwisethereadermayget lost. • Ifyouusenumerousformulasandhence a large numberofmathematicalsymbols, PLEASE PROVIDE A LIST OF SYMBOLS!!! Otherwise a reader – andthereviewer(!) - maygiveup. I usetoreturn such paperswithout a listofsymbols.

  12. DISCUSSION RESULTS, • Requiresmuchskill, provides order andinterpretationoftheresults. • A merereportingof experimental resultswithoutattemptingtosearchforunderlyingmechanismsisoflittlevalueand will usually not acceptedforpublication. • Putyourresultsintoperspectivebycomparingthemwiththestateoftheartdescribed in theIntroduction. • Yourresults will thuscontributetotheoverallknowledgeofyourarea. • Wheneverpossible, schematicrepresentationsofthe model(s) developedare a very versatile toolforconveyingyourmessagetothereader.

  13. DISCUSSION, cont. DISCUSSION A compilation of numerous diagrams and colour pictures does not make a scientific paper. Ordering the data and systematic presentation and interpretation of the results is an intellectual effort that has to be performed by the author and not by the reader.

  14. CONCLUSIONS DISCUSSION • Start with a few phrases to summarise the work done. • List the main conclusions („lessons learned“). • Perspectives for further work may be given. • This section is frequently misunderstood to be a repetition of the Abstract.

  15. FINAL REMARKS CONCLUSIONS • Put yourself into the position of the reader so that you can explain what you have done. • Do not forget Acknowledgements. • Internal quality control is very important. • We have given you some guidance on how to organise your manuscript, but THE SCIENCE IS YOUR JOB!

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