Writing and Publishing Scientific Papers: A Primer for the Non-English Speaker

216 Pages·2021·5.658 MB·English

by  Gábor Lövei

Writing and Publishing Scientifi c Papers

A Primer for the Non-English Speaker Writing and

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two decades; it is the coursebook many have been wai� ng for.

The book’s three main sec� ons correspond with the three main stages of a A Primer for the

paper’s journey from idea to print: planning, wri� ng, and publishing. Within the

book’s chapters, complex ques� ons such as ‘How to write the introduc� on?’ or Non-English Speaker
‘How to submit a manuscript?’ are broken down into smaller, more manageable

problems that are then discussed in a straigh� orward, conversa� onal manner,
providing an easy and enjoyable reading experience. S
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publishing their work in English. h
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This is the author-approved edi� on of this Open Access � tle. As with all Open
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Book publica� ons, this en� re book is available to read for free on the publisher’s
website. Printed and digital edi� ons, together with supplementary digital
material, can also be found at www.openbookpublishers.com
Cover image: photo by Sai Abhinivesh Burla on Unsplash, htt ps://unsplash.com/photos/
WEv76KgEysk. Cover design: Anna Gatti .
e
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ebook and OA edi� ons Gábor L. Lövei
also available
OPEN
ACCESS
OBP
www.openbookpublishers.com
WRITING AND PUBLISHING
SCIENTIFIC PAPERS

Writing and Publishing
Scientific Papers
A Primer for the Non-English Speaker
Gábor L. Lövei
https://www.openbookpublishers.com
© 2021 Gábor L. Lövei
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license
(CC BY 4.0). This license allows you to share, copy, distribute and transmit the text; to
adapt the text and to make commercial use of the text providing attribution is made to the
authors (but not in any way that suggests that they endorse you or your use of the work).
Attribution should include the following information:
Gábor L. Lövei, Writing and Publishing Scientific Papers: A Primer for the Non-English Speaker.
Cambridge, UK: Open Book Publishers, 2021, https://doi.org/10.11647/OBP.0235
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In order to access detailed and updated information on the license, please visit https://
doi.org/10.11647/OBP.0235#copyright
Further details about CC BY licenses are available at https://creativecommons.org/
licenses/by/4.0/
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been archived via the Internet Archive Wayback Machine at https://archive.org/web
Updated digital material and resources associated with this volume are available at
https://doi.org/10.11647/OBP.0235#resources
Every effort has been made to identify and contact copyright holders and any omission or
error will be corrected if notification is made to the publisher.
ISBN Paperback: 9781800640894
ISBN Hardback: 9781800640900
ISBN Digital (PDF): 9781800640917
ISBN Digital ebook (epub): 9781800640924
ISBN Digital ebook (mobi): 9781800640931
ISBN XML: 9781800640948
DOI: 10.11647/OBP.0235
Cover image: Photo by Sai Abhinivesh Burla on Unsplash, https://unsplash.com/photos/
WEv76KgEysk
Cover design: Anna Gatti.
Contents
PART I: BEFORE YOU START vii
Lectori Salutem ix
1. Some Basics 1
2. The Scientific Literature and Elements of Scientometrics 5
3. Citation Statistics, Scientometrics 19
4. Decisions to Take Before You Begin Writing 25
PART II: WRITING THE PAPER 33
5. How to Compose the Title 37
6. The Delicate Art of Deciding about Authorship 43
7. How (and Why) to List the Addresses 49
8. Abstract and Keywords 51
9. How to Write the Introduction 57
10. How to Write the Material and Methods Section 61
11. How to Write the Results 67
12. How to Write the Discussion 73
13. Acknowledgements and Appendices 77
14. How to Cite References 81
15. Constructing Figures: A Tricky Art? 87
16. Analysis of Sample Graphs 111
17. How to Design Tables 125
18. The Writing Process: How to Write the First Version 129
PART III: PUBLISHING THE PAPER 135
19. Putting It All Together: Preparing the Final Version 137
20. How to Submit a Manuscript 141
21. The Manuscript Handling Process (Scientific Editing) 149
22. On Receipt of the Editor’s Report 153
23. How to Write Revisions 155
vi Writing and Publishing Scientific Papers
24. Submitting the Final Version 159
25. What Happens to the Manuscript After Acceptance? 163
26. What to Do with a Published Paper? 167
27. How to Write a Conference Proceedings Paper 169
28. How to Write a Review Article 173
29. How to Write a Book Chapter 177
30. The Scientific Style 181
A Final Note 185
Literature Cited 187
List of Figures 191
Index 197
PART I
BEFORE YOU START

Lectori Salutem
My reader, allow me to greet you with the words of the Latin writers:
lectori salutem. You are holding a book that, while it cannot claim to be
unique, distils many years of experience, spanning virtually my entire
career as a scientist, publishing author, and editor. As a young scientist,
eager to publish internationally, the book that first caught my attention
in the field of scientific writing was Robert Day’s How to Write and Publish
a Scientific Paper. I have used this book widely in its various editions, and
I am glad to record my gratitude to this author for his fine book (now, in
the latest editions, with co-author Barbara Gastel).
As Gastel and Day (2016) correctly observe, scientific writing is a
rather rigidly regulated area of writing. Consequently, any book aiming
to provide advice in this area will resemble others. Why, then, is there a
need to write about this again and again?
My reply to that question is that I found Day’s book too closely
tailored to the traditions and views of the North American scientific
community and, despite the occasional nod to acknowledge alternative
traditions in publishing, they did not really aim to enlighten non-native
English speakers. This shortcoming still characterises the latest edition
(Gastel and Day, 2016). True, there are a lot of similarities, perhaps more
than there are differences. However, “non-native” scientists working and
writing in a different environment have a different view and, perhaps,
would benefit from the approach of a non-native writer, whose own
publication record is in mostly non-U.S.-based forums.
One area where my advice deviates considerably from Gastel and
Day’s (2016) is on scientific figures. This is more than a slight difference
of opinion—it seems a different philosophy. I confess to adhere to the
principles advocated by William Cleveland and Edward Tufte and find
much to lament about the current standard of figures, even in the most
prominent scientific journals. This field is in dire need of more attention
© Gábor L. Lövei, CC BY 4.0 https://doi.org/10.11647/OBP.0235.32