Successful scientific writing : a step-by-step guide for the biological and medical sciences

cover image

Where to find it

Kenan Science Library — Remote Storage

Call Number
R119 .M28 2000
Status
Available

Summary

Successful Scientific Writing is a user-friendly book of detailed practical guidance which will enable students and researchers in the biological and medical sciences to communicate their work effectively through the published literature. This new edition of the acclaimed step-by-step guide encompasses all aspects of typescript preparation from first to final draft, including efficient use of word processing, electronic database literature services, the Internet and email. The authors provide sensible guidance on inclusive word choices and communication when writers and readers have different first languages. Abundant examples, practical advice and self-help exercises draw on extensive experience with actual typescripts. A detailed index and numerous references make information easy to find. Applicable to a variety of scientific writing contexts in the sciences, Successful Scientific Writing is a powerful tool for improving individual skills, as well as an eminently suitable text for classroom courses or seminars on scientific writing.

Contents

  • Preface p. xiii
  • 1 From Start to Finish: The Big Picture p. 1
  • Scientific writing begins where research does--with a question p. 1
  • Keep the big picture in mind
  • Periodically assess research progress and direction
  • Organization is a journey, not a destination
  • Use many different search strategies
  • Make it easy to relocate relevant material
  • The message determines the medium p. 5
  • What message do I want to convey?
  • Which format is most appropriate for my message?
  • Who will be most interested in my message?
  • Where should this paper be published?
  • Evaluate journal suitability and impact
  • Avoid salami-slicing science
  • Write and revise systematically p. 10
  • Take charge with the Process Approach
  • Exercise 1-1. Message, format, and audience
  • Know when to stop
  • Keep tasks in perspective
  • Attention to detail: the "final" copy p. 13
  • Recheck journal format
  • Number all pages
  • Double-check the accuracy of references and attributions
  • Give the paper its final in-house double review
  • Submit the typescript for publication p. 16
  • Typescript, computer file, or both?
  • Include a cover letter with the typescript
  • Make at least three copies, and label everything
  • Package it carefully and mail it correctly
  • Back and forth: editorial review p. 18
  • What happens at the editor's office: round one
  • Deal respectfully with reviewers' comments
  • What happens at the editor's office: round two
  • Correct galley proof conscientiously p. 20
  • Read the proof carefully
  • Mark corrections attentively
  • Return proof promptly
  • Enjoy the fruits of your labor
  • 2 Scientific Writing in the Computer Age p. 23
  • Conduct an efficient and thorough literature search p. 23
  • Understand the strengths of different communication channels
  • Informal channels directly link researchers and literature sources
  • Formal channels involve third parties
  • Compilations are there to help--use them!
  • Consult research bibliographies and research registers
  • Locate and use reference databases and abstracting services
  • Consult citation indexes and Dissertation Abstracts
  • Learn to use keyword search terms and apply Boolean logic
  • Plan an effective search strategy
  • Handle search results wisely
  • Exercise 2-1. Search strategy and Boolean logic
  • Use the Internet wisely and well p. 33
  • Know how the Internet is structured
  • Understand Web addresses
  • Know what Gopher is
  • Appreciate FTP
  • Be aware of telnet
  • Learn the differences between subject directories and search engines
  • Use broad and inclusive terms to search subject directories
  • Prefer narrowly defined and unusual terms with search engines
  • Take advantage of advanced search features
  • Keep your eyes and mind open to new services
  • Keep the Internet in perspective
  • Use email as a time-saving resource p. 40
  • Pay attention to details in email addresses
  • Be civil, circumspect, and courteous
  • Make your messages easy to read
  • Substitute for italics, if necessary
  • Use word processing to write more efficiently p. 43
  • Use automatic formatting to save time and ensure consistency
  • Create tables without the hassle of setting tabs
  • Use special features to handle mathematics
  • Use hidden text for notes
  • Plan ahead to make revisions easier
  • Save your work often, and always make backups
  • Revising with a word processor p. 46
  • Use special features to revise material easily on the screen
  • Resist premature cosmetic work
  • Use computerized grammar-checking programs wisely, if at all
  • Use a spellchecker but never entrust it with everything
  • Exercise 2-2. Grammar and style analysis programs
  • Exercise 2-3. Spellcheckers
  • Proofread the final version on paper
  • Guard your investment
  • 3 Writing the First Draft p. 53
  • Organize and plan the content p. 53
  • To compile possibilities, consider brainstorming (random topic lists)
  • To suggest organization, try clustering (concept maps)
  • To assess balance, develop an issue tree
  • To develop the paper's framework, consider an outline
  • Deal with matters of authorship p. 59
  • Exercise 3-1. Organizing ideas
  • Discuss authorship before starting the first draft
  • Agree on the order of authors' names
  • Let authorship guide collaboration, and vice versa
  • Understand matters of copyright p. 62
  • Determine whether published material is copyrighted
  • Understand "fair use"
  • Understand how copyright affects your own publication
  • Follow standard structure p. 63
  • Introduction--What is the problem and why should anyone care?
  • Materials and Methods--How was the evidence obtained?
  • Results--What was found or seen?
  • Discussion and Conclusion--What do these findings mean?
  • The title--What is the paper about?
  • References--Who did what?
  • Abstracts and Summaries are different entities
  • Attend to the title page, keywords, acknowledgments, and the rest
  • Exercise 3-2. Title choices
  • Approach writing in a way that builds momentum--and keeps it p. 69
  • Start in the place that makes sense for you
  • Minimize distractions any way you can
  • Keep the text simple, but somewhat organized
  • When really pressed for time, spend more time on the first draft, not less
  • Write around missing information
  • Recognize the signs of bogging down
  • Deal constructively with writer's block
  • 4 Supporting the Text With Tables and Figures p. 74
  • Choose visual aids wisely and use them well p. 74
  • Is this illustration really necessary?
  • Choose the illustration that best fits the purpose
  • Suit the illustration to the audience
  • Check journal requirements
  • Make each illustration independent but integral
  • Label illustrations carefully and completely
  • Use tables to present complex data or parallel descriptions p. 78
  • Word tables and numerical tables have their place
  • Understand how tables are constructed
  • Understand basic printers' terms
  • Use space efficiently
  • Draft concise table titles
  • Help readers make comparisons by organizing tables logically
  • Avoid grossly oversized tables
  • Watch the details!
  • Know when and how to include figures p. 85
  • Decide when a figure is appropriate
  • Make figures both independent and indispensable
  • Prepare attractive figures, but beware of "glitziness"
  • Pay attention to size and scale
  • Write and position legends carefully
  • Use graphs to promote understanding of numerical results p. 87
  • Keep line graphs simple
  • Limit logarithmic and scatter graphs to professional audiences
  • Reveal general relationships with bar graphs
  • Illustrate the relationship of parts to a whole with divided-circle graphs
  • Let pictographs show numerical relationships in a visually symbolic manner
  • Keep graphs visually honest
  • Use documentary illustrations effectively p. 92
  • Obtain the best documentation possible
  • Compose the illustration to help the reader
  • Use explanatory artwork effectively p. 94
  • What is a gazinta?
  • Guide readers through sequential processes with algorithms
  • Use traditional drawings to focus on essentials
  • Exercise 4-1. Table and figure format choices
  • 5 Revising Structure and Style p. 99
  • Structural changes come first p. 100
  • Is the title accurate, succinct, and effective?
  • Does the abstract represent all the content within the allowed length?
  • Does the introductory material set the stage adequately but concisely?
  • Is the rest of the text in the right sequence?
  • Is all of the text really needed?
  • Is any needed content missing?
  • Do data in the text agree with data in the tables?
  • Are the correct references included?
  • Exercise 5-1. Revising the first draft
  • Should any of the tables or illustrations be omitted? Restructured? Combined?
  • Revise for clarity p. 104
  • Consider person and point of view
  • Exercise 5-2. Person and point of view
  • Pay attention to factors that influence readability
  • Strive for sentences of about 20 words
  • Limit average paragraph length
  • Present ideas in expected word order
  • Exercise 5-3. Readability
  • Uncouple long strings of nouns and adjectives
  • Exercise 5-4. Strings of pearls
  • Remove unnecessary hedging
  • Exercise 5-5. Hedging
  • Revise for brevity p. 114
  • Beware of verbiage
  • Remove empty fillers
  • Omit "hiccups" and other needless repetition
  • Shorten modifying phrases and clauses
  • Condense figure legends
  • Exercise 5-6. Revising for brevity
  • 6 Checking Grammar and Number Use p. 119
  • Check for grammatical correctness p. 120
  • Decide whether active or passive voice is appropriate
  • Use the active voice unless you have good reason to use the passive
  • Check subject--verb agreement
  • Exercise 6-1. Active and passive voice
  • Rewrite sentences with collective nouns and noun phrases
  • Strings of subjects or verbs require special care
  • Move misplaced modifiers
  • Exercise 6-2. Subject--verb agreement
  • Deal with dangling participles
  • Exercise 6-3. Dangling participles and other misplaced modifiers
  • Watch the grammar in comparisons
  • Grammatical correctness and consistency are important for lists too
  • Exercise 6-4. Comparisons and lists
  • Use tense to show the status of the work being discussed p. 129
  • Use present tense when a fact has been published
  • Use present perfect tense for repeated events
  • Use past tense to discuss results that cannot be generalized
  • Use past tense for unpublished results
  • Use present tense to refer readers to your figures and tables
  • Treat numbers clearly and sensibly p. 131
  • Conservative rules determine when numbers should be spelled out
  • Exercise 6-5. Tense use
  • Know when to combine words and numbers
  • Do not start sentences with numerals
  • Prefer Arabic numerals to Roman numerals
  • Use the SI metric system for measurements and weights
  • Know how to express very large and very small numbers
  • Express percentages correctly
  • Report statistics sensibly and accurately
  • Use specialized symbols and notations sparingly and with care
  • Exercise 6-6. Number usage and interpretation
  • 7 Revising for Word Choice p. 141
  • Recognize and minimize jargon p. 141
  • Watch out for spoken biomedical jargon
  • Watch -ology word endings
  • Avoid coining new words, phrases, or usage
  • Exercise 7-1. Jargon
  • If you must use computer jargon, use it appropriately
  • Use the right word p. 146
  • Watch out for commonly misused and confused word pairs
  • Beware of "which" and "that"
  • Exercise 7-2. Devil pairs
  • Use bias-free, inclusive language p. 151
  • Use language inclusively, specifying only those differences that are relevant
  • Be sensitive to group labels
  • Guard against the perception of bias or prejudice
  • Find alternatives to sexist language
  • Exercise 7-4. Handling language sensitively
  • Avoid awkward coinage
  • Revise for better verb choice p. 154
  • Watch out for lazy verbs
  • Unmask disguised verb forms
  • Search for warning words
  • Exercise 7-5. Lazy verbs and verbal nouns
  • Special tips when writers and readers have different first languages p. 157
  • Address second-language English readers effectively
  • Choose an effective approach when writing English as a second language
  • Distinguish between count nouns and noncount nouns
  • Watch use of definite and indefinite articles
  • Watch gerunds, infinitives, and participles
  • Understand participle use
  • Watch verb forms in conditional sentences
  • Peruse prepositions and prepositional phrases
  • Watch SVO word order
  • 8 Revising Punctuation and Other Mechanics p. 165
  • Punctuate for clarity p. 165
  • Prefer the period
  • Prevent false joining
  • Insert commas for clarity and emphasis
  • Punctuate the elements of series clearly
  • Identify quoted passages from other texts
  • Know when not to use quotation marks
  • Hyphenation rules are complex and changing
  • Exercise 8-1. Punctuation
  • Capitalize consistently p. 172
  • Recall proper and common names
  • Capitalize significant words in titles
  • Check journal requirements
  • Exercise 8-2. Capitalization
  • Know how to treat scientific names p. 175
  • Capitalize everything but species and variety
  • Underline or italicize names of the genus, species, and below
  • Make the first mention a comprehensive one
  • Exercise 8-3. Scientific names
  • Know when and how to include trade names p. 178
  • Distinguish carefully between trade names and common names
  • Substitute generic or chemical names whenever possible
  • Cite trade names correctly
  • Watch foreign words and phrases p. 180
  • Consider degree of assimilation
  • Exercise 8-4. Trade names
  • Prefer English equivalents over Latin and Greek abbreviations
  • Exercise 8-5. Foreign words and phrases
  • Minimize abbreviations, acronyms, and other shortened forms p. 183
  • Avoid alphabet soup
  • Distinguish between abbreviations, acronyms, and initialisms
  • Use approved forms
  • Define shortened forms at first mention
  • Pluralize correctly
  • Watch the names of geopolitical entities
  • When in doubt, spell it out
  • Exercise 8-6. Shortened forms
  • Practicing mixed corrections: a self-test p. 188
  • Selected references p. 190
  • Appendix 1. Suggested responses to exercises and self-test p. 195
  • Appendix 2. Uniform requirements for manuscripts submitted to biomedical journals p. 207
  • Index p. 231

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