SCIENTIFIC ARTICLE WRITING Professor Charles O. Uwadia At the Conference on Transition in Observation –Knowledge – Intelligence (TOKI2014) held at the University of Lagos, August 20 – 22, 2014.

Outline of Presentation  Introduction  Components of a Scientific Article/Contents  Conclusion 2

Introduction - Essence of Article writing  Why write a Scientific article?  A way of expressing/documenting or ventilating the outcome of research findings and conclusions  Foundation or precursor of Scientific article writing is conducting research in a topical field 3

Introduction - Conducting Research  [Shuttleworth, 2008] describes research as “..any gathering of data, information and facts for the advancement of knowledge”.  [Creswell, 2008] states that “Research is a process of steps used to collect and analyse information to increase our understanding of a topic or issue”. 4

Introduction - Major steps in conducting scientific research [Hoogenbroom and Manske, 2012]  Identification of research problem  Survey and critique of literature/literature review  State purpose of research  State research questions  Specify a Conceptual framework – could be a set of hypotheses  Methodology (for data collection)  Data Collection  Analysis and interpretation of data  Reporting and evaluating research  Communicating research findings and recommendations. 5

Introduction..  Products of scientific articles fit for submission to a peer-reviewed journal requires substantial effort when composing / creating, writing, and submitting the article and manuscripts (time consuming and often daunting).  Barriers to effective writing include – lack of experience, poor writing habits, writing anxiety, unfamiliarity with the requirements of scholarly writing, resistance to feedback. 6

Introduction - Criteria considered by Reviewers  Criteria that guide Reviewers in accepting articles for publication include:  Importance, timeliness, relevance, and prevalence of the problem addressed.  the quality of writing (well-written, clear, straightforward, easy to follow, and logical)  appropriate design, rigorous, comprehensive  literature review-focused, up-to-date  use of sufficiently large sample 7

Introduction – Some reasons why articles are rejected  Wrong or over-interpretation of results  Use of inappropriate, sub-optimal or insufficiently described population or instruments.  inadequate or biased samples.  Poorly written or deficient to follow text 8

Introduction - Format  Introduction, Literature review, Methodology, Results, Discussion, Conclusion, References, Appendices.  Usually, Results are written first, then, Introduction and Discussion; Conclusion and References. Abstract should come last.  Communication Skills –Ideas, procedures, and outcomes/results should be described as accurately as possible.  Use of Figures and graphics – Do everything possible to avoid plagiarism; ample citations are required to acknowledge consulted works. 9

Components of a Scientific Article  Title – Should be specific and describe the contents of the paper  Should summarise the outcomes/results of the article; should not be unnecessarily long  Authors – Person who did the work and wrote the article is generally listed as the first/lead author of the article  Other researchers who made substantial contributions to the work are also listed  Mentor’s name could be listed if permission is sought and granted 10

Components of a Scientific Article..  Abstract – Summary of article/study written in third person/reported speech  Should be brief, accurate, and concise  Structure and size are usually provide in instructions to authors  Usually written last due to possible changes or revisions in article 11

Components of a Scientific Article..  Introduction and Literature review: o Significance of topic. o Information gap in the available literature associated with the topic. o Literature review in support of key questions. o Purposes/objectives and hypotheses. o Focused literature review. o Citation of literature should be consistent and conform to publisher’s standard 12

Components of a Scientific Article..  Methodology clearly describes specific design of study, and provides clear and concise description of procedures performed. Include:  Population, equipment, and tools used.  How population, equipment, and tools were prepared and used during study  Protocol used  Outcomes and how they were measured  Methods used for data analysis.  Statistical methods used to analyze data. 13

Components of a Scientific Article..  Results, Discussions and Conclusions -Report results neutrally as obtained; -Discuss where result is similar or different from other published results and why; -Final summative statement that reflect the flow and outcomes of the entire paper. 14

Components of a Scientific Article..  References – Should be relevant to article  All listed References should be cited in the body of article  All cited references should be listed under References  Reference listing should conform to guidelines of the publisher  Web references should indicate date of download/reference 15

Conclusion  Writing scientific articles suitable for publication in a peer-review journals is both an art and science  It involves identifying a genuine story to tell, and telling the story well  The bedrock of any genuine story telling is Research 16

References 1.Creswell, J. W, (2008); Educational Research: Planning, Conducting, and Evaluating quantitative and Qualitative Research. Upper saddle River, NJ. Pearson education Inc. 2.Hoogenboom, B. J, (2012); Manske, R. C; How to Write a Scientific Article; International Journal of Sports Therapy, Vol. 7(5). 3.Shuttleworth, M (2008); Definition of Research, Accessed on August 3,