The Scientific Paper
A treatise by Gary Dillard
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The scientific paper is a written and published report describing original research results.
The scientific paper, even though meeting all the tests of good writing, is not validly published if it is
published in the wrong place. Scientific papers should be reviewed by scientific peers and published
in a primary journal. Most governmental reports and conference literature do not qualify as primary
literature.
The Council of Biology Editors (CBE) supports the following definition:
"An acceptable primary scientific publication must be the first disclosure containing sufficient
information to enable peers to 1) assess observations, 2) repeat experiments, and 3) to evaluate
intellectual processes; moreover, it must be susceptible to sensory perception, essentially permanent,
available to the scientific community without restriction, and available for regular screening by one
or more of the major recognized secondary services (e.g., currently Biological Abstracts, Chemical
Abstracts, Index Medicus, Excerpta Medica, Bibliography of Agriculture, etc., in the United States
and similar facilities in other countries".
Each scientific paper should have, in order, its Abstract, Introduction, Materials and Methods,
Results, Discussion, and Literature Cited Sections. Any other order presents potential problems for
the reader and probably the writer. GOOD ORGANIZATION IS THE KEY TO GOOD WRITING. An
effective way to proceed in writing a scientific paper is to answer the following four questions:
1.
2.
3.
4.
What is the problem? Your answer is the Introduction.
How did you study the problem? Your answer is the Materials and Methods.
What did you find? Your answer is the Results.
What do these findings mean? Your answer is the Discussion.
Occasionally, certain scientific papers require organization modifications. In some special laboratory
reports, it is desireable to incorporate the Materials and Methods and Results into an "Experimental"
section. Likewise, in some instances, it becomes necessary to provide immediate discussion of result
observations requiring a combined Results and Discussion section. In descriptive areas of science,
there may be a wide variety of variations of the standard format. To determine specific latitudes or
lack thereof in required formats for any journal, the Instructions to Authors of the target journal
explain the options available to prospective authors.
TITLE The title of the paper is the most often encountered part of any paper and therefore has great
importance in the success of the paper. Thousands of readers will scan the title but never read the
abstract or paper itself. Abstracting and Indexing services will also utilize the title, therefore, all
words in the title should be chosen with great care and their association with other words in the title
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carefully managed. What is a good title? The fewest possible words that adequately describe the
contents of the paper. How long should the title be? Most titles are unnecessarily too long. Many
journals now limit title submissions to 10 to 12 words. Consequently it becomes necessary to employ
effective syntax (word order) and avoid waste words such as "Investigations on" and "Observations
on" in titles. "Isolation of antigens from monkeys using complement-fixation techniques", is an
example of syntax error which implies monkey capabilities which the content of the paper doeis not
address. The title should be a label and not a sentence. Consequently it does not suffer from the
need to be complete and balanced, i.e., subject, verb, object arrangement, etc. Titles should never
contain abbreviations and jargon. Indexing these word substitutions makes indexing difficult to
impossible and impairs the titles credibility. Hanging or subtitles should also be avoided, i.e., "The
biology of amphibia: IV. Skin respiratory interface".
AUTHORSHIP Authorships should include only those who actively contributed to the overall design and execution of
the experiments. Authors should be listed in order of importance to the experiments with the most
important being the first or senior author, followed in order by the next most significant
contributors to the project. The sequencing of authors on a published paper should be decided,
unanimously, before the research is started. How many collaborators should be considered authors?
Only those who contributed "substantially" to the work.
ABSTRACT A well-prepared abstract enables readers to identify the basic content of a paper and quickly and
accurately determine its relevance. The abstract should not exceed 250 words and should be
designed to define clearly what is dealt with in the paper. It should include:
1.
2.
3.
4.
the principal objectives and scope of the study.
the methodology(s) employed.
summarize the results.
state the principal conclusions.
The conclusions of the paper are so important that they should be stated three times, in the
abstract, in the introduction, and in the discussion.
INTRODUCTION The purpose of the introduction should be to supply sufficient background information to allow the
reader to understand and evaluate the concept of the present study, provide the rationale of the
study, and introduce the most outstanding conclusions as objectives or purposes of the study. The
introduction should a) present the nature and scope of the problem studies, b) review the pertinent
literature pertaining to the problem, c) state the general method of the investigation, and d) state
the major observations of the study. As a general rule, most authors develop and write the
introduction and abstract as the last sections of the paper.
MATERIALS AND METHODS 2
The general statement having been made in the introduction, this section requires the full details of
methodology be given. Sufficient detail must be provided to allow any competent investigator to
repeat the experiments with equal likelihood of obtaining similar results. Sound scientific reports
must be reproducable, consequently methods and materials sections are extremely important to the
credibility of the work. Specific sources, qualities, and capabilities of reagents must be presented.
Precise descriptions of quantities used, measurements required, and temperatures observed likewise
must be given. Pertinent references where applicable should be provided.
RESULTS The result section is referred to as the "core" of the paper. The purpose of the result section is to
provide the data resulting from application of the methods described earlier. Should data be
generated from different methodologies, then they should be presented according to the
experimentation design that yielded them. The greatest problem in putting information into the
result section for publication is the decision as to which data are representative and should be
included and which data are repetitive and have no value. The compulsion to include everything,
leaving nothing out, does not prove that one has unlimited information; it proves that one lacks
discrimination. The fool collects facts; the wise person selects them. Statistics used to analyze and
treat data should be meaningful and presented responsibly. An example; 33.3% of the fish used in
this experoment were cured by the drug; 33.3% were unaffected, and the third fish died. Results
should be short and sweet. Results of original studies represent new knowledge and therefore __ the
skeleton of the paper. The entire success of the paper is dependent upon the results, consequently
they must be presented with crystal clarity. When graphic techniques may be used with great
advantage to illustrate trends and data relationships, then tables and figures should be utilized.
Great care should be taken in graphics construction since they must be photographed and rephotographed and reduced in the printing process. Do not abuse data graphics by referring to them
as; "It is clearly seen in Table 1 that". It is not the readers responsibility to analyze data, rather it is
the authors job to identify and direct the authors attention to major features or trends of the data.
DISCUSSION The purpose of the discussion is more difficult to define than the other sections. As a result~ it is
usually the hardest section to write. Likewise, many papers are not accepted for publication because
of inadequate discussion preparation. Most discussions tend to be too long for their intended purpose
or for the available results. Unfortunately the "squid" technique prevails and the author, not knowing
what to say about the results, hides behind a protective cloud of ink. The discussion should attempt
to:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
present the principles, relationships and generalizations shown by the results. It should
discuss, not reformulate the results.
point out any exceptions or lack of correlation and define any unsettled points.
show how your results and interpretations agree or disagree with previously published works.
discuss any theoretical implications or practical applications of the results.
reaffirm the major conclusions or findings as clearly as possible.
summarize the evidence of the study for each conclusion.
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To summarize, the discussion should show the relationship among observed facts.
LITERATURE CITED The paper should use only significant, published references. Unpublished or gray literature should be
avoided. If considered absolutely necessary, such references should be used parenthetically or as a
footnote in the text. Secondly, check all parts of every reference against the original publication.
Never cite citations from other works. Obtain and study carefully every citation used in a publication.
Far more mistakes occur in the Literature Citation section of a paper than anywhere else. The
specific citation style to be used is specific to the journal being published in and is given in the
Instructions to the Authors.
References
Day, R. A. 1983. How to write and publish a scientific paper. ISI Press, Philadelphia.
Houp, K. W., and T. E. Pearsall. 1977. Reporting technical information. Glencoe Press, Beverly Hills, CA.
Lannon, J. M. 1979. Technical writing. Little, Brown and Company, Boston.
Mali, P., and R. W. Sykes. 1985. Writing and word processing for engineers and scientists. McGrawHill, New York.
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