Writing Scientific Research Articles
C.B.S. Teh
Dept. Land Management, Uni. Putra Malaysia
Tel: 03-89466976; Email: cbsteh@yahoo.com
www.christopherteh.com
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
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?
– journal website
– Journal Citation Reports (UPM online library)
• Does it publish quickly?
• Are there paper charges?
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?
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?
Article structure
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Abstract
Introduction
Materials and methods
Results
sometimes combined
Discussion
Conclusions
Acknowledgements
Appendices
References
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?
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
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 belowground nitrogen
– The measurement site/context was
undisturbed systems involving both plants and
soil
– The plants used were pasture legumes
Order of preparation
1. Materials and methods
2. Results
3. Discussion
4. Conclusion
5. Introduction
6. Abstract
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
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
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”
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
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
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”
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
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
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.
Choosing between table and figure
Most useful
Table
Figure
When working with
numbers
shapes
When concentrating on
individual
data values
overall
pattern
When accurate or precise
actual values are
more
important
less
important
Sample table
- contains correct and complete units
- minimize horizontal lines, and no vertical lines
- proper formatting (numbers are aligned)
- adequate number of decimal points
Figures
• Pie charts
– comparing proportions of a total or whole
• 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).
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
Common mistakes in preparing figures
• Poorly chosen axis scale divisions
– too many or too little
• Axes not labeled or do not have units
Sample figure 1
Sample figure 2
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
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
Figures: dots-per-inch (DPI)
• Or download SciChart
(www.christopherteh.com/scichart.zip)
– works only in Excel 2003
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)
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
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
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
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.”
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
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
Documents
Manuscript
Cover letter
Main text
Tables
Figures
Figure 1
Figure 2
TIFF format (300 DPI)
Figure 3
Reviewers’ comments?
Reviewers’ comments?
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
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
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
More information
• “How to write and publish a scientific
paper”, 6th Edn., Robert A. Day and
Barbara Gastel, Greenwood Press, 2006.
• EnglishClub.com website
– www.englishclub.com/grammar/index.htm
• Use Google
– keywords: writing scientific articles
Good luck!