Writing Scientific Research Articles: Strategy and Steps

184 Pages·2009·1.85 MB·English

by  Margaret Cargill

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Writing Scientific Research Articles
Cargill/WritingScientificResearchArticles 9781405186193_1_pretoc FinalProof page 2 13.1.2009 12:23pm CompositorName:KKavitha
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Writing Scientific
Research Articles
Strategy and Steps
Margaret Cargill and Patrick O’Connor
Margaret Cargill BA, DipEd, MEd (TESOL)
Adjunct Senior Lecturer
School of Earth and Environmental Sciences
The University of Adelaide
South Australia 5005
Australia
Patrick O’Connor BSc, PhD
Visiting Research Fellow
School of Earth and Environmental Sciences
The University of Adelaide
South Australia 5005
Australia
A John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., Publication
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Thiseditionfirstpublished2009,#2009byMargaretCargillandPatrickO’Connor
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LibraryofCongressCataloguing-in-PublicationData
Cargill,Margaret.
Writingscientificresearcharticles:strategyandsteps/
MargaretCargillandPatrickO’Connor.
p. cm.
Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex.
ISBN978-1-4051-8619-3(pbk.:alk.paper)–ISBN978-1-4051-9335-1
(hardcover:alk.paper)1. Technicalwriting.2. Research.3. Sciencenews.I. O’Connor,Patrick,
1967–II. Title.
T11.C3272009
808’.0666–dc22
2008042543
AcataloguerecordforthisbookisavailablefromtheBritishLibrary.
Setin10.5/13ptJanson
bySPiPublisherServices,Pondicherry,India
PrintedandboundinSingapore
01 2009
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Contents
Preface ix
Section 1 A framework for success 1
1 How the book is organized, and why 3
1.1 Getting started with writing for international publication 3
1.2 Publishing in the international literature 4
1.3 Aims of this book 6
1.4 How the book is structured 7
2 Research article structures 9
2.1 Conventional article structure: AIMRaD (Abstract, Introduction,
Materials and methods, Results, and Discussion) and its variations 9
3 Referees’ criteria for evaluating manuscripts 15
3.1 Titles as content sign posts 16
Section 2 When and how to write each article section 19
4 Results as a ‘‘story’’: the key driver of an article 21
5 Results: turning data into knowledge 23
5.1 Figure, table, or text? 24
5.2 Designing figures 24
5.3 Designing tables 27
5.4 Figure legends and table titles 29
6 Writing about results 31
6.1 Functions of results sentences 31
6.2 Verb tense in Results sections 32
7 The Methods section 35
7.1 Purpose of the Methods section 35
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vi 7.2 Organizing Methods sections 35
7.3 Use of passive and active verbs 36
8 The Introduction 41
C
o 8.1 Five stages to a compelling Introduction 41
n
te 8.2 Stage 1: Locating your project within an existing field
n
t of scientific research 43
s
8.3 Using references in Stages 2 and 3 44
8.4 Avoiding plagiarism when using others’ work 48
8.5 Indicating the gap or research niche 49
8.6 Stage 4: The statement of purpose or main activity 49
8.7 Suggested process for drafting an Introduction 50
8.8 Editing for logical flow 51
9 The Discussion section 55
9.1 Important structural issues 55
9.2 Information elements to highlight the key messages 56
9.3 Negotiating the strength of claims 57
10 The title 61
10.1 Strategy 1: Provide as much relevant information
as possible, but be concise 61
10.2 Strategy 2: Use keywords prominently 61
10.3 Strategy 3: Choose strategically: noun phrase, statement,
or question? 62
10.4 Strategy 4: Avoid ambiguity in noun phrases 63
11 The Abstract 65
11.1 Why Abstracts are so important 65
11.2 Selecting additional keywords 65
11.3 Abstracts: typical information elements 65
Section 3 Getting your manuscript published 67
12 Considerations when selecting a target journal 69
12.1 The scope and aims of the journal 69
12.2 The audience for the journal 69
12.3 Journal impact 70
12.4 Using indices of journal quality 70
12.5 Time to publication 71
12.6 Page charges or Open Access costs 71
13 Submitting a manuscript 73
13.1 Five practices of successful authors 73
13.2 Understanding the peer-review process 73
13.3 Understanding the editor’s role 74
13.4 The contributor’s covering letter 75
13.5 Understanding the reviewer’s role 76
13.6 Understanding the editor’s role (continued) 78
14 How to respond to editors and referees 79
14.1 Rules of thumb 79
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14.2 How to deal with manuscript rejection 79 vii
14.3 Howtodealwith‘‘conditionalacceptance’’or‘‘reviseandresubmit’’ 81
15 A process for preparing a manuscript 89
C
15.1 Initial preparation steps 89 o
n
15.2 Editing procedures 90 te
n
15.3 A pre-review checklist 92 t
s
Section 4 Developing your publication skills further 95
16 Skill-development strategies for groups and individuals 97
16.1 Journal clubs 97
16.2 Writing groups 98
16.3 Selecting feedback strategies for different purposes 98
16.4 Training for responding to reviewers 100
17 Developing discipline-specific English skills 103
17.1 Introduction 103
17.2 What kinds of English errors matter most? 103
17.3 Strategic (and acceptable!) language re-use: sentence templates 105
17.4 More about noun phrases 108
17.5 Concordancing: a tool for developing your
discipline-specific English 109
17.6 Using the English articles (a/an, the) appropriately
in science writing 112
17.7 Using which and that 116
Section 5 Provided example articles 119
18 Provided example article 1: Kaiser et al. (2003) 121
19 Provided example article 2: Britton-Simmons and Abbott (2008) 133
Answer pages 145
References 167
Index 169
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Preface
Writing Scientific Research Articles is designed for early-career researchers in the
sciences:thosewhoarerelativelynewtothetaskofwritingtheirresearchresults
asamanuscriptforsubmissiontoaninternationalrefereedjournal,andthosewho
want to develop their skills for doing this more efficiently and successfully.
Allscientistsarefacedwithpressuretopublishtheirresultsinprestigiousjournals
and all face challenges when trying to write and publish. This book takes a
practical approach to developing scientists’ skills in three key areas necessary for
success:
. developing strategy: understanding what editors and referees want to publish,
and why;
. developing story: understanding what makes a compelling research article in a
particular discipline area; and
. using language: developing techniques to enhance clear and effective commu-
nication with readers in English.
The skills required for successful science writing are both science- and language-
based, and skill integration is required for efficient outcomes. We are an author
teamofascientist andaresearch communication teacher whohave combinedour
perspectivesandexperiencetoproduceanintegrated,multidisciplinaryapproachto
thetask ofarticlewriting.
WehavewrittenthebookbothforthosewhowritescienceinEnglishastheir
first language and those for whom English is an additional language (EAL).
Although a very high proportion of the research articles published worldwide
currently appears in English, scientific research is an intensely international and
intercultural activity in the twenty-first century, and authors come from a wide
range of language and cultural backgrounds. This situation adds another layer
to the challenges facing authors themselves, journal editors and referees, and
those who teach and support EAL scientists. We hope the book will be relevant
to all professionals involved with the practice of research article writing.
The book is designed for use either by individuals as a self-study guide, or by
groups working with a teacher or facilitator. Readers can prepare their own