Writing Scientific Research Articles

1. Writing Scientific Research Articles C.B.S. Teh Dept. Land Management, Uni. Putra Malaysia Tel: 03-89466976; Email: cbsteh@yahoo.com www.christopherteh.com

2. Why publish? • To leave a record of research • To receive feedback on work • independent verification on results • To attract interests from others to expand on your work • To receive recognition for work

3. Getting published is a skill • Communicating your work • facing criticism and debate • adversarial approach • Writing skill is essential • command of English language • ability to explain and describe your work • clearly, concisely, and accurately

4. Selecting the journal • Does it publish the kind of work you are doing? • Is it a refereed journal? • Is it cited? • What is its impact factor? • Does it publish quickly? • Are there paper charges?

5. Criteria for acceptance • Is the contribution new? • Is the contribution significant? • Is it suitable for publication in this journal? • Is the organization suitable? • Do the methods and treatment of results conform to acceptable scientific standards?

6. Criteria for acceptance • Are all conclusions firmly based in the data presented? • Minor issues • Is the length of paper satisfactory? • Are the illustrations, figures, and tables adequate? • Are the references recent and adequate?

7. Article structure sometimes combined • Abstract • Introduction • Materials and methods • Results • Discussion • Conclusions • Acknowledgements • Appendices • References

8. Title of paper • Good titles identify the field of research and indicate the kind of results to be obtained • Avoid • long titles • too general/vague titles • can be misleading • e.g., “Effects of fertilizers on crops” • a Review paper?

9. Example of title • “Bird use on rice field strips of varying width in the Kanto Plain of central Japan” • The focus is on birds in relation to rice fields • The width of rice field strips was varied in the study • Width of strips was correlated with the number and species of birds using them • The research took place in central Japan

10. Example of title • “Use of in situ 15N-labelling to estimate the total below-ground nitrogen of pasture legumes in intact soil-plant systems” • The paper focuses on a particular method (in situ 15N-labelling) • The parameter measured was total below-ground nitrogen • The measurement site/context was undisturbed systems involving both plants and soil • The plants used were pasture legumes

11. Order of preparation

12. Introduction section • Introduction • Problem statement • What is the problem? • Justification of work • Why is the problem important? • (Impartial) Literature review • Past work results • Objectives (and hypothesis) of study

13. Citation • Referencing other work is crucial • helps to develop your arguments • prove that you clearly know what has been done before and what needs to be done • Citing when you cannot obtain the original reference • <some fact> (Smith, 1962, cited in Jones, 2002). • in this case, only Jones (2002) appears in the reference list

14. Plagiarism • “Plagiarism is using data, ideas, or words that originated elsewhere without appropriately acknowledging the source.” • serious offense • reviewers may be knowledgeable in the sources you “stole”

15. Materials and methods section • Briefly, include • site location (latitude and longitude, elevation) • characteristics of study area (weather, soil, vegetation) • Describe all methods used in study • prefer to cite reference for methods • do not elaborate on commonly used methods

16. Materials and methods • Describe statistical analysis • experimental design and layout • additional statistics used (e.g., correlation and regression) • Describe equipment and software used • brand, version, and name and location of company • Use past tense

17. Results section • Present only relevant data • data that serve as evidence to accept or reject hypothesis • Use the best presentation method to display data • Table or Figure? • highlights the most important information prominently • is essential to support your “story”

18. Results • Presentation of results must be • clear, accurate, and concise • do not duplicate data already shown earlier • e.g., using a table and figure to display the same data

19. Tables • Tables are most useful for • recording data (raw or processed data) • explaining calculations or showing components of calculated data • showing the actual data values and their precision • allowing multiple comparisons between elements in many directions

20. Figures • Figures are most useful for • showing an overall trend or ‘‘picture’’; • comprehension of the story through ‘‘shape’’ rather than the actual numbers; and • allowing simple comparisons between only a few elements.

21. Choosing between table and figure

22. Sample table • - contains correct and complete units • - minimize horizontal lines, and no vertical lines • proper formatting (numbers are aligned) • adequate number of decimal points

23. Figures • Pie charts • comparing proportions of a total or whole • Line, column, and bar charts • comparing the values of different categories when they are independent of each other (e.g., boys and girls or different countries) • Scatter charts • display a sequence of variables in time or space • display dependent relationships (e.g., change over time or fertilizer rates).

24. Common mistakes in preparing figures • Wrong figure type has been chosen • Relationships between elements are not obvious • or are apparent when they do not exist • The shape, shading, pattern or weight of symbols, markers, or lines does not emphasize the main results • Cluttered with lines, legend symbols, or numbers

25. Common mistakes in preparing figures • Poorly chosen axis scale divisions • too many or too little • Axes not labeled or do not have units

26. Sample figure 1

27. Sample figure 2

28. Figures: dots-per-inch (DPI) • Most journals require at least 300 DPI figures • Copy-and-paste only provides 72 or 96 DPI • far too low for print publications

29. Figures: dots-per-inch (DPI) • In Excel ver 2003, • select chart, hold down SHIFT button, and choose EDIT then COPY PICTURE from Excel’s main menu bar

30. Figures: dots-per-inch (DPI) • Or download SciChart (www.christopherteh.com/scichart.zip) • works only in Excel 2003

31. Figures: dots-per-inch (DPI) • Unfortunately in Excel 2007, Copy Picture does not give good resolution • Instead • select chart, then Print to PDF file • Open PDF file and Save As TIFF file (change Settings for 300 DPI first)

35. Use of tense in results section • Past tense • when the sentence focuses on the completed study: what was done and found • Present tense • to describe an ‘‘always true’’ situation • when the sentence focuses on the document

36. Discussion section • In Results, you described the observed trend • what was the trend? • In Discussion, you explain the observed trend • why is the trend like that? • support from results from your own study and from previous studies

37. Conclusion section • Not a summary of results! • Do not re-defend your results here! • Do not introduce new facts here! • Conclusion is where you answer directly your study’s objectives • Write the conclusion as though you would be telling it (verbally) to a very busy person whom you want to impress about your study’s findings

38. Conclusion example • Objective: • “To determine the effectiveness of mulch A, B, and C on conserving soil water” • Conclusion: • “Mulch C was determined as the best mulch to conserve soil water, followed by mulch B, then A. On average, mulch C conserved soil water nearly 1.5 times more water than mulch B and 2.3 times more than mulch C. Using mulch C would save up to 1000 mm of water per year.”

39. Abstract • Always written last • Summary of research (not summary of results) • Problem and justification of study • The principal activity (or purpose) of the study and its scope • Information about some of the methods used • The most important results • A statement of conclusion or recommendation

40. Submitting the manuscript • Submissions now mostly through online • Read the journal’s Guide to Authors • follow thoroughly, e.g., format and style for paper margins, font size, line spacing, references, citations, number of words in abstract, figures, tables, equations, etc. • Prepare cover letter • Prepare list of potential reviewers • search past papers related to yours • sometimes up to four needed

41. Documents TIFF format (300 DPI)

43. Reviewers’ comments?

44. Reviewers’ comments?

45. Revision or rejection? • Very rarely a manuscript is accepted first time as it is • Don’t get angry! • don’t take it personally • understand the reviewers objections, criticism, or reservations • reviewers’ fault or your fault? • perhaps your explanation was unclear

46. Revision • Revision • Read carefully each reviewer’s comments • Respond / answer each of their suggestions and questions • point-by-point response/answer • your paper will often be much improved after following the reviewers’ suggestions

47. Rejection • Rejection • Read carefully each reviewer’s comments • Respond / answer each of their suggestions and questions • point-by-point response/answer • your paper will often be much improved after following the reviewers’ suggestions • Submit to another journal

49. Good luck!