Scientificpaperstructure.doc

Scientificpaperstructure WhyaScientificFormat?Thescientificformatmayseemconfusingforthebeginningsciencewriterduetoitsrigidstructurewhichissodifferentfromwritinginthehumanities.Onereasonforusingthisformatisthatitisameansofefficientlymunicatingscientificfindingstothebroadmunityofscientistsinauniformmanner.Anotherreason,perhapsmoreimportantthanthefirst,isthatthisformatallowsthepapertobereadatseveraldifferentlevels.Forexample,manypeopleskimTitlestofindoutwhatinformationisavailableonasubject.OthersmayreadonlytitlesandAbstracts.ThosewantingtogodeepermaylookattheTablesandFiguresintheResults,andsoon.Thetakehomepointhereisthatthescientificformathelpstoinsurethatatwhateverlevelapersonreadsyourpaper(beyondtitleskimming),theywilllikelygetthekeyresultsandconclusions.TopofpageTheSectionsofthePaperMostjournalstylescientificpapersaresubdividedintothefollowingsections:Title,AuthorsandAffiliation,Abstract,Introduction,Methods,Results,Discussion,Acknowledgments,andLiteratureCited,whichparalleltheexperimentalprocess.Thisisthesystemwewilluse.Thiswebsitedescribesthestyle,content,andformatassociatedwitheachsection.Thesectionsappearinajournalstylepaperinthefollowingprescribedorder:ExperimentalprocessSectionofPaperWhatdidIdoinanutshell?AbstractWhatistheproblem?IntroductionHowdidIsolvetheproblem?MaterialsandMethodsWhatdidIfindout?ResultsWhatdoesitmean?DiscussionWhohelpedmeout?Acknowledgments(optional)WhoseworkdidIreferto?LiteratureCitedExtraInformationAppendices(optional)SectionHeadings:MainSectionHeadings:Eachmainsectionofthepaperbeginswithaheadingwhichshouldbecapitalized,centeredatthebeginningofthesection,anddoublespacedfromthelinesaboveandbelow.DonotunderlinethesectionheadingORputacolonattheend.Exampleofamainsectionheading:INTRODUCTIONSubheadings:Whenyourpaperreportsonmorethanoneexperiment,usesubheadingstohelporganizethepresentation.Subheadingsshouldbecapitalized(firstletterineachword),leftjustified,andeitherbolditalicsORunderlined.Exampleofasubheading:EffectsofLightIntensityontheRateofElectronTransportTopofpageTitle,AuthorsNames,andInstitutionalAffiliations1.Function:YourpapershouldbeginwithaTitlethatsuccinctlydescribesthecontentsofthepaper.Usedescriptivewordsthatyouwouldassociatestronglywiththecontentofyourpaper:themoleculestudied,theorganismusedorstudied,thetreatment,thelocationofafieldsite,theresponsemeasured,etc.Amajorityofreaderswillfindyourpaperviaelectronicdatabasesearchesandthosesearchengineskeyonwordsfoundinthetitle.2.TitleFAQs3.Format:Thetitleshouldbecenteredatthetopofpage1(DONOTuseatitlepageitisawasteofpaperforourpurposes);thetitleisNOTunderlinedoritalicized.theauthorsnames(PIorprimaryauthorfirst)andinstitutionalaffiliationaredoublespacedfromandcenteredbelowthetitle.Whenmorethentwoauthors,thenamesareseparatedbymasexceptforthelastwhichisseparatedfromthepreviousnamebythewordand.Forexample:DucksOverWinterinColoradoBarleyFieldsinResponsetoIncreasedDailyMeanTemperatureImaMallard,UraDrake,andWoodruffDucqueDepartmentofWildlifeBiology,UniversityofColoradoBoulderTopofpageThetitleisnotasection,butitisnecessaryandimportant.Thetitleshouldbeshortandunambiguous,yetbeanadequatedescriptionofthework.Ageneralruleofthumbisthatthetitleshouldcontainthekeywordsdescribingtheworkpresented.Rememberthatthetitlebeesthebasisformostonlineputersearchesifyourtitleisinsufficient,fewpeoplewillfindorreadyourpaper.Forexample,inapaperreportingonanexperimentinvolvingdosingmicewiththesexhormoneestrogenandwatchingforacertainkindofcourtshipbehavior,apoortitlewouldbe:MouseBehaviorWhy?Itisverygeneral,andcouldbereferringtoanyofanumberofmousebehaviors.Abettertitlewouldbe:TheEffectsofEstrogenontheNoseTwitchCourtshipBehaviorinMiceWhy?Becausethekeywordsidentifyaspecificbehavior,amodifyingagent,andtheexperimentalorganism.Ifpossible,givethekeyresultofthestudyinthetitle,asseeninthefirstexample.Similarly,theabovetitlecouldberestatedas:EstrogenStimulatesIntensityofNoseTwitchCourtshipBehaviorinMice4.StrategyforWritingTitle.TopofpageABSTRACT1.Function:Anabstractsummarizes,inoneparagraph(usually),themajoraspectsoftheentirepaperinthefollowingprescribedsequence:thequestionyouinvestigated(orpurpose),(fromIntroduction)statethepurposeveryclearlyinthefirstorsecondsentence.theexperimentaldesignandmethodsused,(fromMethods)clearlyexpressthebasicdesignofthestudy.Nameorbrieflydescribethebasicmethodologyusedwithoutgoingintoexcessivedetailbesuretoindicatethekeytechniquesused.themajorfindingsincludingkeyquantitativeresults,ortrends(fromResults)reportthoseresultswhichanswerthequestionsyouwereaskingidentifytrends,relativechangeordifferences,etc.abriefsummaryofyourinterpetationsandconclusions.(fromDiscussion)clearlystatetheimplicationsoftheanswersyourresultsgaveyou.WhereastheTitlecanonlymakethesimpleststatementaboutthecontentofyourarticle,theAbstractallowsyoutoelaboratemoreoneachmajoraspectofthepaper.ThelengthofyourAbstractshouldbekepttoabout200300wordsmaximum(atypicalstandardlengthforjournals.)Limityourstatementsconcerningeachsegmentofthepaper(i.e.purpose,methods,results,etc.)totwoorthreesentences,ifpossible.TheAbstracthelpsreadersdecidewhethertheywanttoreadtherestofthepaper,oritmaybetheonlyparttheycanobtainviaelectronicliteraturesearchesorinpublishedabstracts.Therefore,enoughkeyinformation(e.g.,summaryresults,observations,trends,etc.)mustbeincludedtomaketheAbstractusefultosomeonewhomaytoreferenceyourwork.TopofpageHowdoyouknowwhenyouhaveenoughinformationinyourAbstract?Asimpleruleofthumbistoimaginethatyouareanotherresearcherdoinganstudysimilartotheoneyouarereporting.IfyourAbstractwastheonlypartofthepaperyoucouldaccess,wouldyoubehappywiththeinformationpresentedthere?2.Style:TheAbstractisONLYtext.Usetheactivevoicewhenpossible,butmuchofitmayrequirepassiveconstructions.WriteyourAbstractusingconcise,butplete,sentences,andgettothepointquickly.Usepasttense.Maximumlengthshouldbe200300words,usuallyinasingleparagraph.TheAbstractSHOULDNOTcontain:lengthybackgroundinformation,referencestootherliterature,elliptical(i.e.,endingwith.)orinpletesentences,abbreviationsortermsthatmaybeconfusingtoreaders,anysortofillustration,figure,ortable,orreferencestothem.Topofpage3.Strategy:Althoughitisthefirstsectionofyourpaper,theAbstract,bydefinition,mustbewrittenlastsinceitwillsummarizethepaper.TobeginposingyourAbstract,takewholesentencesorkeyphrasesfromeachsectionandputtheminasequencewhichsummarizesthepaper.Thensetaboutrevisingoraddingwordstomakeitallcohesiveandclear.AsyoubeemoreproficientyouwillmostlikelyposetheAbstractfromscratch.4.Checkyourwork:Onceyouhavethepletedabstract,checktomakesurethattheinformationintheabstractpletelyagreeswithwhatiswritteninthepaper.Confirmthatalltheinformationappearingtheabstractactuallyappearsinthebodyofthepaper.TopofpageINTRODUCTIONstrategy|FAQs|style|structure|relevantliteraturereview|statementofpurpose|rationale1.Function:ThefunctionoftheIntroductionisto:Establishthecontextoftheworkbeingreported.Thisisacplishedbydiscussingtherelevantprimaryresearchliterature(withcitations)andsummarizingourcurrentunderstandingoftheproblemyouareinvestigating;Statethepurposeoftheworkintheformofthehypothesis,question,orproblemyouinvestigated;and,Brieflyexplainyourrationaleandapproachand,wheneverpossible,thepossibleoutesyourstudycanreveal.Quiteliterally,theIntroductionmustanswerthequestions,WhatwasIstudying?Whywasitanimportantquestion?WhatdidweknowaboutitbeforeIdidthisstudy?Howwillthisstudyadvanceourknowledge?2.Style:Usetheactivevoiceasmuchaspossible.Someuseoffirstpersonisokay,butdonotoverdoit.Topofpage3.Structure:ThestructureoftheIntroductioncanbethoughtofasaninvertedtrianglethebroadestpartatthetoprepresentingthemostgeneralinformationandfocusingdowntothespecificproblemyoustudied.OrganizetheinformationtopresentthemoregeneralaspectsofthetopicearlyintheIntroduction,thennarrowtowardthemorespecifictopicalinformationthatprovidescontext,finallyarrivingatyourstatementofpurposeandrationale.AgoodwaytogetontrackistosketchouttheIntroductionbackwards;startwiththespecificpurposeandthendecidewhatisthescientificcontextinwhichyouareaskingthequestionyourstudyaddresses.Oncethescientificcontextisdecided,thenyoullhaveagoodsenseofwhatlevelandtypeofgeneralinformationwithwhichtheIntroductionshouldbegin.HereistheinformationshouldflowinyourIntroduction:BeginyourIntroductionbyclearlyidentifyingthesubjectareaofinterest.DothisbyusingkeywordsfromyourTitleinthefirstfewsentencesoftheIntroductiontogetitfocuseddirectlyontopicattheappropriatelevel.Thisinsuresthatyougettotheprimarysubjectmatterquicklywithoutlosingfocus,ordiscussinginformationthatistoogeneral.Forexample,inthemousebehaviorpaper,thewordshormonesandbehaviorwouldlikelyappearwithinthefirstoneortwosentencesoftheIntroduction.TopofpageEstablishthecontextbyprovidingabriefandbalancedreviewofthepertinentpublishedliteraturethatisavailableonthesubject.Thekeyistosummarize(forthereader)whatweknewaboutthespecificproblembeforeyoudidyourexperimentsorstudies.Thisisacplishedwithageneralreviewoftheprimaryresearchliterature(withcitations)butshouldnotincludeveryspecific,lengthyexplanationsthatyouwillprobablydiscussingreaterdetaillaterintheDiscussion.Thejudgmentofwhatisgeneralorspecificisdifficultatfirst,butwithpracticeandreadingofthescientificliteratureyouwilldevelopefirmersenseofyouraudience.Inthemousebehaviorpaper,forexample,youwouldbegintheIntroductionatthelevelofmatingbehavioringeneral,thenquicklyfocustomousematingbehaviorsandthenhormonalregulationofbehavior.Leadthereadertoyourstatementofpurpose/hypothesisbyfocusingyourliteraturereviewfromthemoregeneralcontext(thebigpicturee.g.,hormonalmodulationofbehaviors)tothemorespecifictopicofinteresttoyou(e.g.,role/effectsofreproductivehormones,especiallyestrogen,inmodulatingspecificsexualbehaviorsofmice.)TopofpageWhatliteratureshouldyoulookforinyourreviewofwhatweknowabouttheproblem?Focusyoureffortsontheprimaryresearchjournalsthejournalsthatpublishoriginalresearcharticles.Althoughyoumayreadsomegeneralbackgroundreferences(encyclopedias,textbooks,labmanuals,stylemanuals,etc.)togetyourselfacquiantedwiththesubjectarea,donotcitethese,becasuetheycontaininformationthatisconsideredfundamentalormonknowledgewqithinthediscipline.Cite,instead,articlesthatreportedspecificresultsrelevanttoyourstudy.Learn,assoonaspossible,howtofindtheprimaryliterature(researchjournals)andreviewarticlesratherthandependingonreferencebooks.ThearticleslistedintheLiteratureCitedofrelevantpapersyoufindareagoodstartingpointtomovebackwardsinalineofinquiry.MostacademiclibrariessupporttheCitationIndexanindexwhichisusefulfortrackingalineofinquiryforwardintime.Someofthenewersearchengineswillactuallysendyoualertsofnewpapersthatciteparticulararticlesofinteresttoyou.Reviewarticlesareparticularlyusefulbecausetheysummarizealltheresearchdoneonanarrowsubjectareaoverabriefperiodoftime(ayeartoafewyearsinmostcases).TopofpageBesuretoclearlystatethepurposeand/orhypothesisthatyouinvestigated.Whenyouarefirstlearningtowriteinthisformatitisokay,andactuallypreferable,touseapatstatementlike,Thepurposeofthisstudywasto.orWeinvestigatedthreepossiblemechanismstoexplainthe.(1)blah,blah.(2)etc.ItismostusualtoplacethestatementofpurposeneartheendoftheIntroduction,oftenasthetopicsentenceofthefinalparagraph.Itisnotnecessary(orevendesirable)tousethewordshypothesisornullhypothesis,sincetheseareusuallyimplicitifyouclearlystateyourpurposeandexpectations.TopofpageProvideaclearstatementoftherationaleforyourapproachtotheproblemstudied.Forexample:Statebrieflyhowyouapproachedtheproblem(e.g.,youstudiedoxidativerespirationpathwaysinisolatedmitochondriaofcauliflower).ThiswillusuallyfollowyourstatementofpurposeinthelastparagraphoftheIntroduction.Whydidyouchoosethiskindofexperimentorexperimentaldesign?Whatarethescientificmeritsofthisparticularmodelsystem?Whatadvantagesdoesitconferinansweringtheparticularquestionyouareposing?Donotdiscussheretheactualtechniquesorprotocolsusedinyourstudy(thiswillbedoneintheMaterialsandMethods);yourreaderswillbequitefamiliarwiththeusualtechniquesandapproachesusedinyourfield.Ifyouareusinganovel(new,revolutionary,neverusedbefore)techniqueormethodology,themeritsofthenewtechnique/methodversusthepreviouslyusedmethodsshouldbepresentedintheIntroduction.TopofPageMATERIALSANDMETHODSThissectionisvariouslycalledMethodsorMethodsandMaterials.1.Function:Inthissectionyouexplainclearlyhowyoucarriedoutyourstudyinthefollowinggeneralstructureandorganization(detailsfollowbelow):thesubjectsused(plant,animal,human,etc.)andtheirpreexperimenthandlingandcare,andwhenandwherethestudywascarriedout(iflocationandtimeareimportantfactors);ifafieldstudy,adescriptionofthestudysite,includingthephysicalandbiologicalfeatures,andpreciselocation;theexperimentalORsamplingdesign(i.e.,howtheexperimentorstudywasstructured.Forexample,controls,treatments,thevariablemeasured,howmanysampleswerecollected,replication,etc.);theprotocolforcollectingdata,i.e.,howtheexperimentalprocedureswerecarriedout,and,howthedatawereanalyzed(statisticalproceduresused).Organizeyourpresentationsoyourreaderwillunderstandthelogicalflowoftheexperiment;subheadingsworkwellforthispurpose.Eachexperimentorprocedureshouldbepresentedasaunit,evenifitwasbrokenupovertime.Ingeneral,provideenoughquantitativedetail(howmuch,howlong,when,etc.)aboutyourexperimentalprotocolsuchthatotherscientistscouldreproduceyourexperiments.Youshouldalsoindicatethestatisticalproceduresusedtoanalyzeyourresults,includingtheprobabilitylevelatwhichyoudeterminedsignificance(usuallyat0.05probability).2.Style:Thestyleinthissectionshouldreadasifyouwereverballydescribingtheconductoftheexperiment.Youmayusetheactivevoicetoacertainextent,althoughthissectionrequiresmoreuseofthirdperson,passiveconstructionsthanothers.Avoiduseofthefirstpersoninthissection.Remembertousethepasttensethroughout.TheMethodssectionisnotastepbystep,directive,protocolasyoumightseeinyourlabmanual.3.StrategyforwritingtheMethodssection.4.MethodsFAQs.TopofPageDescribetheorganismusedinthestudy.Thisincludesgivingthesource(supplierorwhereandhowcollected),size,howtheywerehandledbeforetheexperiment,whattheywerefed,etc.Ingeneticsstudiesincludethestrainsorgeneticstocksused.Describethesitewhereyourfieldstudywasconducted.Thedescriptionmustincludebothphysicalandbiologicalcharacteristicsofthesitepertinanttothestudyaims.Includethedateofthestudy(e.g.,1015April1994)andtheexactlocationofthestudyarea.Locationdatamustbeaspreciseaspossible:GroverNaturePreserve,?miSWGrover,MaineratherthanGroverNaturePreserveorGrover.Whenpossible,givetheactuallatitudeandlongitudepositionofthesite(thehassiteswhichprovidethisservice).Itismostoftenagoodideatoincludeamap(labeledasaFigure)showingthelocationinrelationtosomelargermorerecognizablegeographicarea.Someoneelseshouldbeabletogototheexactlocationofyourstudyiftheywanttorepeatorcheckyourwork,orjustvisityourstudyarea.NOTE:ForlaboratorystudiesyoushouldnotreportthedateandlocationofthestudyUNLESSitisrelevant.Mostoftenitisnot.TopofPageDescribeyourexperimentaldesignclearly.Besuretoincludethehypothesesyoutested,controls,treatments,variablesmeasured,howmanyreplicatesyouhad,whatyouactuallymeasured,whatformthedatatake,etc.Alwaysidentifytreatmentsbythevariableortreatmentname,NOTbyanambiguous,genericnameornumber(e.g.,use2.5%salineratherthantest1.)Whenyourpaperincludesmorethanoneexperiment,usesubheadingstohelporganizeyourpresentationbyexperiment.Ageneralexperimentaldesignworksheetisavailabletohelpplanyourexperimentsinthecorecourses.Describetheprotocolforyourstudyinsufficientdetailthatotherscientistscouldrepeatyourworktoverifyyourfindings.Foremostinyourdescriptionshouldbethequantitativeaspectsofyourstudythemasses,volumes,incubationtimes,concentrations,etc.,thatanotherscientistneedsinordertoduplicateyourexperiment.Whenusingstandardlaborfieldmethodsandinstrumentation,itisnotalwaysnecessarytoexplaintheprocedures(e.g.,serialdilution)orequipmentused(e.g.,autopipetter)sinceotherscientistswilllikelybefamiliarwiththemalready.Youmaywanttoidentifycertaintypesofequipmentbybrandorcategory(e.g.,ultracentrifugevs.prepcentrifuge).Itisappropriatetogivethesourceforreagentsusedparenthetically,e.g.,.polylLysine(Sigma1309).Whenusingamethoddescribedinanotherpublishedsource,youcansavetimeandwordsbyreferringtoitandprovidingtherelevantcitationtothesource.Alwaysmakesuretodescribeanymodificationsyouhavemadeofastandardorpublishedmethod.Describehowthedataweresummarizedandanalyzed.Hereyouwillindicatewhattypesofdatasummariesandanalyseswereemployedtoanswereachofthequestionsorhypothesestested.Theinformationshouldinclude:howthedataweresummarized(Means,percent,etc)andhowyouarereportingmeasuresofvariability(SD,SEM,etc)thisletsyouavoidhavingtorepeatedlyindicateyouareusingmeanSD.datatransformation(e.g.,tonormalizeorequalizevariances)statisticaltestsusedwithreferencetotheparticularquestionstheyaddress,e.g.,APairedttestwasusedtoparemeanflightdurationbeforeandafterapplyingstablizerstothegliderswings.OnewayANOVAwasusedtoparemeanweightgaininweightmatchedcalvesfedthethreedifferentrations.anyothernumericalorgraphicaltechniquesusedtoanalyzethedataTopofPageHereissomeadditionaladviceonparticularproblemsmontonewscientificwriters.Problem:TheMethodssectionispronetobeingwordyoroverlydetailed.Avoidrepeatedlyusingasinglesentencetorelateasingleaction;thisresultsinverylengthy,wordypassages.Arelatedsequenceofactionscanbebinedintoonesentencetoimproveclarityandreadability:ProblematicExample:Thisisaverylongandwordydescriptionofamon,simpleprocedure.Itischaracterizedbysingleactionspersentenceandlotsofunnecessarydetails.Thepetridishwasplacedontheturntable.Thelidwasthenraisedslightly.Aninoculatingloopwasusedtotransferculturetotheagarsurface.Theturntablewasrotated90degreesbyhand.Theloopwasmovedlightlybackandforthovertheagartospreadtheculture.Thebacteriawerethenincubatedat37Cfor24hr.ImprovedExample:Sameactions,butalltheimportantinformationisgiveninasingle,concisesentence.Notethatsuperfluousdetailandotherwiseobviousinformationhasbeendeletedwhileimportantmissinginformationwasadded.EachplatewasplacedonaturntableandstreakedatopposingangleswithfreshovernightE.colicultureusinganinoculatingloop.Thebacteriawerethenincubatedat37Cfor24hr.Best:Hereth