Writing a scientific research paper

Writing a scientific research paper UTPL Dr. Jan Feyen 24 February 2012

Content

1. Paper format Title Authors, affiliation ABSTRACT • INTRODUCTION • MATERIALS AND METHODS • RESULTS AND DISCUSSION • CONCLUSIONS Acknowledgements References Title Authors, affiliation ABSTRACT • INTRODUCTION • MATERIALS AND METHODS • RESULTS • DISCUSSION • CONCLUSIONS Acknowledgements References

1. Paper format Title Authors, affiliation ABSTRACT • INTRODUCTION • METHODS • 2.1. Study population • 2.2. Intervention program • 2.3. Definitions and measurements • 2.4. Statistical analysis • RESULTS • DISCUSSION • CONCLUSIONS Acknowledgements References Title Authors, affiliation ABSTRACT • INTRODUCTION • MATERIALS AND METHODS • RESULTS AND DISCUSSION • CONCLUSIONS Acknowledgements References

1. Paper format Title Authors, affiliation ABSTRACT • INTRODUCTION • MATERIALS AND METHODS • RESULTS AND DISCUSSION • CONCLUSIONS Acknowledgements References Title Authors, affiliation ABSTRACT • INTRODUCTION • 1.1. Research question • 1.2. Justification and use of results • 1.3. Literature review • 1.4. Hypotheses • 1.5. General objectives • 1.6. Specific objectives PROPOSAL FORMAT

1. Paper format Title Affiliation ABSTRACT • INTRODUCTION • MATERIALS AND METHODS • RESULTS AND DISCUSSION • CONCLUSIONS Acknowledgements References • MATERIALS AND METHODS • 2.1. Type of study • 2.2. Population and sample • 2.3. Intervention/experiment • 2.4. Statistical analysis • RESULTS • DISCUSSION • DISSEMINATION • PROJECT TEAM • COST ESTIMATE PROPOSAL FORMAT

1. Paper format Formulación del problema Difusión de los resultados Articulo científico Análisis de la literatura Resultados Discusión Conclusiones Nuevo conocimiento Introducción Pregunta(s) / una o más hipótesis Interpretación y conclusiones Materiales y métodos Análisis de resultados Diseño de investigación

2. Title • Make your title specific enough to describe the contents of the paper, but not so technical that only specialists will understand. • The title should be appropriate for the intended audience. • The title should be short, avoiding the inclusion of details. • Use generic titles • The title usually describes the subject matter of the article: Effect of Smoking on Academic Performance • Sometimes a title that summarizes the results is more effective: Students Who Smoke Get Lower Grades

3. Authors • The person who did the work and wrote the paper is generally listed as the first author of a research paper. • Other people who made substantial contributions to the work are also listed as authors. • Ask your supervisor's permission before including his/her name as co-author.

4. Affiliation • Claudia Muster1 , Bob Smith2, Richard F. Barrett3* 1 Ion Beam Physics, Paul Scherrer Institute, ETH Zurich, 8093 Zurich, Switzerland 2 University College, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada 3 Computer Science and Mathematics Division Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee, USA * Corresponding author: reports@adonis.osti.gov

5. Abstract • The abstract should be a little less technical than the article itself; you don't want to dissuade your potential audience from reading your paper. • The abstract should be one paragraph, of 100-250 words, which summarizes the purpose, methods, results and conclusions of the paper. • It is not easy to include all this information in just a few words. Start by writing a summary that includes whatever you think is important, and then gradually prune it down to size by removing unnecessary words, while still retaining the necessary concepts. • Don't use abbreviations or citations in the abstract. It should be able to stand alone without any footnotes.

5. Abstract In elementary schools, the prevalence of bullying ranges from 11.3% in Finland to 49.8% in Ireland. The only United States study of elementary students found that 19% were bullied. Bullying behavior declines as students progress through the grades. School bullying is associated with numerous physical, mental, and social detriments. A relationship also exists between student bullying behavior and school issues such as academic achievement, school bonding, and absenteeism. Prevention of school bullying should become a priority issue for schools. The most effective methods of bullying reduction involve a whole school approach. This method includes assessing the problem, planning school conference days, providing belter supervision at recess, forming a bullying prevention coordinating group, encouraging parent-teacher meetings, establishing classroom rules against bullying, holding classroom meetings about bullying, requiring talks with the bullies and victims, and scheduling talks with the parents of involved students. Finally, this review suggests further studies needed to help ameliorate the bullying problem in US schools. Total number of words: 157

6. Keywords • Title paper: Economic growth and human development • Keywords: Human development, economic growth, income distribution, poverty, health, education • Title paper: Heavy metal contaminations in a soil–rice system: Identification of spatial dependence in relation to soil properties of paddy fields • Keywords: Contamination, geostatistics, heavy metals, soil–rice system, spatial relationship • Title paper: Sources of China’s economic growth 1952–1999: incorporating human capital accumulation • Keywords: China, economic growth, human capital, reform

7. Introduction • What question did you ask in your experiment? • Why is it interesting? • The introduction summarizes the relevant literature (please include a sufficient number of references of recent date; e.g. the last decade) so that the reader will understand why you were interested in the question you asked. • End with the formulation of the hypotheses which you want to approve/disapprove.

7. Introduction • End of the introduction: …………………….. The objective of our study was two-fold: (1) to characterize the implementation of the OBPP in the seven schools, and (2) to compare schools with (N 7) and without (N 3) the OBPP to determine if the program was effective with regard to: (a) reducing student reported victimization (primary outcome), (b) improving student attitudes toward bullying and perceptions of others’ readiness to intervene (key program targets), and (c) improving the general school experience beyond bullying.

8. Literature search • Conocimiento de la idioma inglés • Identificación de la literatura relevante, leer y analizar artículos

8. Literature search • Lo que se necesita? • Conocer las bases de datos. • Palabras clave. • Una arquitectura y conexión a Internet y sistema de servidor por la transferencia de datos de alto capacidad. • Suscripción a bases digitales de revistas. • Contactar el autor correspondiente. • Tener amigos con acceso a bases de datos en el país / extranjero cuando la institución se carece de suscripciones o licencias.

Literature search

8. Literature search • Encuentra artículos • con todas las palabras • con la frase exacta • con al menos una de las palabras • sin las palabras • donde las palabras aparezcan • Author Return articles written by e.g., "PJ Hayes" or McCarthy • Publication Return articles published in e.g., J Biol Chem or Nature • Date Return articles published between e.g., 1996 - 2001

8. Literature search

8. Literature search Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations (NDLTD)

8. Literature search • ISI-Web of Knowledge (http://thomsonreuters.com/products_services/science/) • Acceso a revistas específico (necesite login & contraseña) • Water Resources Research (WRR) (http://www.agu.org/journals/wr/) • Vadose Zone Journal (VZJ) (http://vzj.scijournals.org/) • Soil Science Society of America Journal (SSSAJ) (http://soil.scijournals.org/)

8. Literature search • Open access journals • Science Journal Publication (http://www.sjpub.org/) • Science Journal of Medicine and Clinical Trials, Agricultural Research, Microbiology, Biotechnology, Biochemistry, Physics, Mathematics & Statistics, Pure & Applied Chemistry, Environmental Engineering Research, Electrical & Electronic Engineering, Civil Engineering & Architecture, Chemical Engineering Research, Economics, Business Management, Psychology, Sociology & Anthropology (17 journals). • Scientific Research Publishing (http://www.scirp.org) • SCIRP is an academic publisher of open access journals. It also publishes academic books and conference proceedings. SCIRP currently has more than 150 open access journals in the areas of science, technology, and medicine  JWARP.

8. Literature search • Open access journals • SCIRP - Journal of Water Research & Protection (JWARP). Open access journal, international, peer-reviewed journal publishing articles related to water research and protection (http://www.scirp.org/Journal/jwarp/) • Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ). Open access to 7449 journals, 3582 journals searchable at article level, and 745680 articles (http://www.doaj.org/) • Journal of Aquaculture Research & Development (JARD). Open access journal, international, peer-reviewed journal publishing an overview of aquaculture research & development (http://omicsonline.org/jardhome.php)

8. Literature search • Open Access Journals Search Engine (OAJSE). • An Open Access E-Journal Portal of Krishna Kanta Handiqui State Open University (India) (http://oajse.com/index.html) • Bentham Open Access (BENTHAM OPEN) • Publish over 230 peer-reviewed open access journals. These free-to-view online journals cover all major disciplines of science, technology, medicine and social sciences (http://benthamscience.com/open/) • Wiley Open Access • Publishes authoritative peer reviewed open access journals across many research disciplines. (Brain and Behavior, Cancer Medicine, ChemistryOpen,Ecology and Evolution, Food and Energy Security, MicrobiologyOpen, Journal of the American Heart Association) (http://www.wileyopenaccess.com/view/index.html)

8. Literature search • MDPI is a publisher of peer-reviewed, open access journals (http://www.mdpi.com/)  73 journals, among them a journal on: Agriculture, Agronomy, Applied Sciences, Atmosphere, Biology, Forest, ISPRS International Journal of Geo-Information, Geosciences, Journal of Sensor and Actuator Networks, Membranes, Remote Sensing, Water • MDPI delivers 1.5 million webpage views and over 130'000 full-text downloads per month.

8. Literature search • MDPI (http://www.mdpi.com/)

8. Literature search • Article Processing Charge (APC) for accepted articles. • Journal of WATER: 300 CHF (± $330) for processing, and 250 CHF (± $275) for English edition. • E-mail alerts: http://www.mdpi.com/user/subscriptions/

9. Materials and methods • How did you answer this question? There should be enough information here to allow another scientist to repeat your experiment. Look at other papers that have been published in your field to get some idea of what is included in this section. • If you had a complicated protocol, it may helpful to include a diagram, table or flowchart to explain the methods you used.

9. Materials and methods • Do not put results in this section. You may, however, include preliminary results that were used to design the main experiment that you are reporting on. ("In a preliminary study, I observed the owls for one week, and found that 73 % of their locomotor activity occurred during the night, and so I conducted all subsequent experiments between 11 pm and 6 am.") • Mention relevant ethical considerations. If you used human subjects, did they consent to participate. If you used animals, what measures did you take to minimize pain?

10. Results • This is where you present the results you've gotten. Use graphs and tables if appropriate, but also summarize your main findings in the text. Do NOT discuss the results or speculate as to why something happened; t hat goes in the Discussion. • You don't necessarily have to include all the data you've gotten. Make a selection of the most relevant results. • Use appropriate methods of showing data. Don't try to manipulate the data to make it look like you did more than you actually did.

11. Tables, graphs, photos, maps

12. Discussion • Highlight the most significant results, but don't just repeat what you've written in the Results section. How do these results relate to the original question? Do the data support your hypothesis? Are your results consistent with what other investigators have reported? If your results were unexpected, try to explain why. Is there another way to interpret your results? What further research would be necessary to answer the questions raised by your results? How do y our results fit into the big picture? • End with a one-sentence summary of your conclusion, emphasizing why it is relevant.

13. Conclusions • Strategies to apply: • Return to the theme or themes in the introduction. This strategy brings the reader full circle. For example, if you begin by describing a scenario, you can end with the same scenario as proof that your essay is helpful in creating a new understanding. You may also refer to the introductory paragraph by using key words or parallel concepts and images that you also used in the introduction. • Synthesize, don't summarize: Include a brief summary of the paper's main points, but don't simply repeat things that were in your paper. Instead, show your reader how the points you made and the support and examples you used fit together. Pull it all together.

13. Conclusions • Include a provocative insight or quotation from the research or reading you did for your paper. • Point to broader implications. For example, if your paper examines the Greensboro sit-ins or another event in the Civil Rights Movement, you could point out its impact on the Civil Rights Movement as a whole. A paper about the style of writer Virginia Woolf could point to her influence on other writers or on later feminists.

13. Conclusions • Strategies to avoid: • Beginning with an unnecessary, overused phrase such as "in conclusion," "in summary," or "in closing." Although these phrases can work in speeches, they come across as wooden and trite in writing. • Stating the thesis for the very first time in the conclusion. • Introducing a new idea or subtopic in your conclusion. • Ending with a rephrased thesis statement without any substantive changes. • Making sentimental, emotional appeals that are out of character with the rest of an analytical paper. • Including evidence (quotations, statistics, etc.) that should be in the body of the paper.

13. Conclusions • Strategies to avoid: • Sometimes writers will state the thesis for the very first time in the conclusion. You might be tempted to use this strategy if you don't want to give everything away too early in your paper. You may think it would be more dramatic to keep the reader in the dark until the end and then "wow" him with your main idea, as in a Sherlock Holmes mystery.

14. Acknowledgements • This section is optional. You can thank those who either helped with the experiments, or made other important contributions, such as discussing the protocol, commenting on the manuscript, or buying you pizza. • Example: We thank Vinod Thomas for the encouragement, Aart Kraay, two anonymous referees, and the editor of the journal for comments, and Ashok M. Dhareshwar for significant input and advice. The views expressed here are entirely those of the authors and should not be attributed to the World Bank.

15. Citing references in text • Examples • (Ivanov , 2004) or Ivanov (2004) • (Killeen and Abrajano, 2008; ……) or Killeen and Abrajano (2008); …… • (Wagener et al., 2008; ……) or Wagener et al. (2008); …… • Gibbons (1998) states that genetic studies of human and chimpanzee genomes have shown that at least 98.5% of the DNA sequences are the same. • Genetic studies of human and chimpanzee genomes have shown that at least 98.5% of the DNA sequences are the same (Gibbons 1998).

15. Citing references in text • Varki et al. (1998) found that human cells are missing a particular form of sialic acid that is found in all other mammals studied thus far, including the great apes. • Human cells lack a particular form of sialic acid that is found in all other mammals studied thus far, including the great apes (Varki et al., 1998). • Human cells lack a particular form of sialic acid that is found in all other mammals studied thus far, including the great apes. (Varki et al., 1998; online accessed on 29 September 2011).

15. Citing references in text • Citing References in Scientific Research Papers • http://tim.thorpeallen.net/Courses/Reference/Citations.html • Guide to Scientific Referencing • http://www.physics.ohio-state.edu/~wilkins/writing/Handouts/references.html • How to Cite Sources in Scientific Writing • http://www.instruction.greenriver.edu/mcvay/B100/how_to_cite_sources_in_scientifi.htm • Etc.

16. References • The basic elements to include in a citation for a published print source are: author(s) of the document, year, title of the document, title of the book if different from the document, name of editor or author of the book, place of publication, publisher, and page numbers. • Please check author guidelines of the journal! • Sleep, N.H., 2009. Stagnant lid convection and carbonate metasomatism of the deep continental lithosphere. Geochem. Geophys. Geosyst., 10, Q11010, doi:10.1029/2009GC002702.

16. References Allport, G.W., 1962 o 1977. La naturaleza del prejuicio. Editorial Eudeba, Buenos Aires, Argentina, xxx págs. Arteta, G., D. Oleas, 2006. Migración internacional: Caso del Ecuador. Investigación realizada para la Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL), xxx págs . Benedictis, G., G. Calfat, 2010. Migration and school attendance: Can remittances compensate for distance to school? San Fernando, Azuay, Ecuador, xxx págs. Brigham, 1971. Casal, S., 2006. Los estereotipos y los prejuicios: cambios de actitud en el aula de L2. Estudios de Llingüística Inglesa Aplicada (ELIA), 6, 135-149. Cea D’Ancona, M., 2002. La medición de las actitudes ante la inmigración: Evaluación de los indicadores de «Racismo».RIES,99, 87-111. Cronbach, L.J., 1951. Coefficient alpha and the internal structure of tests. Psychometrika, 16(3), 297-334.

Writing a scientific research paper