1、Writing for Science Journals,Contents,Chapter 1 Introduction:General RemarksChapter 2 Introduction:The Experimental Research ReportChapter 3 Introduction:Establishing a ContextChapter 4 Introduction:Reviewing Previous ResearchChapter 5 Introduction:Advancing to Present Research,Contents,Chapter 6 Me
2、thodChapter 7 MaterialsChapter 8 ResultsChapter 9 DiscussionChapter 10 Abstract,Outline,When to Write-Essence of an ArticleWhat to Write-Essentials of an ArticlePreparing to WriteWriting-FormatWriting-TipsThe Review ProcessAbstract Writing,When to Write?,An article is an article if:It makes a contri
3、butionHave I discovered something new?Have I advanced the state of the art?Will people want to cite my paper?Avoid the“thin-section”or“LPU”(Least Publishable Unit)approach.,The Least Publishable Unit Syndrome(“Quantity not Quality”),1idea,64technical reports,“Publication pyramid of success”,After D.
4、A.Patterson,When to Write?,An article is an article if:It makes a contributionHave I discovered something new?Have I advanced the state of the art?Will people want to cite my paper?Avoid the“thin-section”or“LPU”approach.Avoid the“Kitchen Sink”approach(too broad).The results are supported by solid ev
5、idenceExperimental,Statistical,etc.Others can replicate the results,What to Write?,An article must contain explanations of:Its importanceWhy you should read this?Needs clear understanding and statement of the research issues in the field.The scientific basis for the workE.g.,follows as consequence o
6、f existing theory,understanding of physical processes,etc.Research methodology and experimental designAnalysis and resultsConclusions(implications),Preparing to Write(Strategic Suggestions),Study the journalLook at back issuesHave articles appeared on related topics?Study references in related artic
7、lesLook for editorial statementsStudy length,format,and other requirements in“Instructions to Authors”E.g.,Color?Can I afford the page charges?,Writing Format,General Principle:Make the Editor Happy!If format is rigidly specified,use it!If not,format should follow from essence and essentials:Abstrac
8、tA clear statement of problem,methods,and results,Writing Format,General Principle:Make the Editor Happy!If format is rigidly specified,conform.If not,should follow from essence and essentials:AbstractA clear statement of problem,methods,and resultsIntroductionContext:Relation of your work to previo
9、us,why important(verification),what questions will be addressedTheoretical/Scientific BasisMethodologyResultsConclusions,Writing Tips,General Principle:Make the Editor Happy!Dont write a mystery novelAvoid the urge to complicateWatch length(too long or too short?)Use active voiceNo:“It is seen in Ta
10、ble 5”Yes:“Table 5 shows”Limit“while”and“since”to appropriate useNo:“While others have found”Yes:“Although others have found”Qualify“this”when referring to previous sentencesNo:“This accounts for”Yes:“This reduction in soil moisture accounts for”,Writing Tips,Pay attention to Paragraph StructureTopi
11、c sentence,In selecting a general approach for usability engineering,we first considered the work of Gabbard et al.(1999),which was recommended by Slocum et al.(2001)as potentially appropriate for a broad range of geovisualization applications.Gabbard et al.s approach involves four major steps:an an
12、alysis of potential user tasks prior to software development,an evaluation of the software by usability experts,having actual users work with a broad range of software functions,and a comparative evaluation,Writing Tips,Pay attention to Paragraph StructureTopic sentencePut references to figures and
13、tables early in paragraph,Referring to a Figure,As a result,we decided to implement the six-step process shown in Figure 2.We began by developing a software prototype largely based on the third authors domain expertise in water balance models and climatology.Because we felt the that resulting softwa
14、re might be biased toward the third authors interests,we asked domain experts to evaluate the software in step 2.Our thinking was that the domain experts might suggest a number of tasks that we had not thought of implementing,Writing Tips,Pay attention to Paragraph StructureTopic sentencePut referen
15、ces to figures and tables early in paragraphBe careful how others work is characterizedUse%-signs in table entries(not in captions)Effective Figures Graphic elementsAxes(titles and units)Long captions are better than long descriptions in text,Writing Tips(Tactical Suggestions,Continued),Writing Tips
16、(Tactical Suggestions,Continued),Steps in Manuscript Production:Prepare 1-page outlinePrepare Paragraph Map Pseudo-code:topic sentences,hand-drawn figures and captions,table placeholdersWrite DraftSpell and grammar checkRead out loudRepeat(3)-(5)Show to colleague(s)Repeat(3)-(5),Writing Tips(Tactica
17、l Suggestions,Continued),Why Guess?Consult the Experts:Robert Weissberg,and Suzanne Buker,Writing Up Research,Prentice Hall,Inc 1990.Strunk and White,The Elements of Style,4th ed.,Allyn and Bacon,1999Flower,Problem Solving Strategies for Writing,4th ed.,Heinle,1997Tufte,Visual Display of Quantitativ
18、e Explanation,2nd Ed.,Graphics Press,2003(and other Tufte books)Other articles as templates and examples,The Review Process,General Principle:Keep the Editor Happy!He/she has invested in youShow timeliness&good-faith effort to follow Understand the Editors roleUnderstand the Reviewers roleKnow that:
19、Nearly all articles require revision,and usually two review cyclesReviewers often want to helpSome reviewers seem unkindSome reviewers are unkindRegardless-you can benefit,The Review Process,Do not take criticism personallyTake criticism and suggestions as a sign of interest(worse can happen)Do your
20、 best to follow reviewer and editor suggestionsIf you must disagree,explain why(venting doesnt help)Assume the editor wants to be part of the negotiation(seek advice)Describe changes made in a cover letter to editor,Abstract,Overview,The abstract is actually the first section in a report,coming afte
21、r the title and before the introduction.The abstract provides the reader with a brief preview of your study base on information from the other sections of the report.The abstract is often the last part of the report to be written.,Order of typical elements included in an abstract,B=some background i
22、nformationP=the principal activity(or purpose)of the study and its scopeM=some information about the methodology used in the studyR=the most important results of the studyC=a statement of conclusion or recommendation,Exercise:Analysis(identify B,P,M,R,C),Type behaviors by children,social comparison,
23、and standards of self-evaluation 1Type A behavior,an established risk factor coronary heart disease,is characterized by extremes of competitive achievement striving,impatience,hostility,and aggression.2As part of an effort to understand the origins of this behavior pattern,the present study assessed
24、 the impact of performance standards on the social behavior of Type A and Type B children.3Children performed a five-trial task.4Half were given an explicit standard with which to compare their own performance;(continue),half were given no standard.5After 5 trials,all subjects were informed that the
25、ir total score represented the middle score of the whole group and were asked to select one score for further comparison.6Results showed no significant differences among groups on the frequency of comparison.7In contrast,the results did show that regardless of the presence or absence of an explicit
26、standard,Type A children chose to evaluate their performance against the top score,whereas Type B children chose to do so only in the absence of an explicit standard.8The implications of these results for understanding the childhood antecedents of Type A behavior are discussed.,Order of information
27、elements in reduced abstracts,P+M=purpose and method of the study R=results C=conclusions and recommendations*optional,Exercise:Analysis,The readability of individual income tax instruction booklets in south Carolina and other southeastern states 1To determine the understandability of individual inc
28、ome tax booklets,a Reading Ease score was calculated for the 1977 Federal income tax return form 1040 and tax forms of nine southeastern states.2The instruction booklets of all states except Virginia were found to be at a reading level higher than the median educational level of the average citizen-
29、taxpayer in those states.3The South Carolina booklet was three grade levels above the median education level for the state.(Continue),4The Federal instruction booklet was easiest to read,falling four grade levels below the median education level of U.S.citizens.5If an equitable state income tax syst
30、em is to be maintained,actions must be taken to reduce the disparity between median education levels and the readability of state income tax instruction booklets.Question:Which elements are included in sentence 1?Which element is represented by the most number of sentences?Which element is represent
31、ed by the final sentence?Which element has been eliminated?,Exercise:Arrangement,The decentralization of American economic life:an income evaluationThis investigation provides a national analysis of these growth patterns by examining the behavior of three variables:change in per capita income,popula
32、tion deconcentration,and growth in economic productivity.The results suggest that the presence or absence of unique sets of industry factors,can be used to explain growth variation in both the center and the periphery of the industrialized region.C.National economic and demographic growth patterns i
33、n the United States during the decade of the seventies show marked departures from what had occurred in previous times.D.Results of the analysis showed that a process of decentralization occurred,best described by center-periphery concepts.,Exercise:Arrangement,The decentralization of American economic life:an income evaluationThis investigation provides a national analysis of these growth pattern
