Scientific Writing Feel free to ask questions during the presentation.

Types of scientific literature Primary Secondary Tertiary These three types of scientific literature are explained in the subsequent slides. Activity: Ask students to brainstorm the different types of scientific literature. You could provide them with several examples, including primary, tertiary, and secondary literature and have them work in groups to determine which category each article fits into. You could ask them to make a list for each example of who the apparent audience is, what kind of information the paper provides, literature citations, etc.

Characteristics of Primary Literature Content: Original research, first publication, replicable Audience: Other scientists Review: Peer-reviewed Publication format: Journal or book Literature Citations: Provided Characteristics of primary literature include: 1) First publication of results from original research; 2) Replicable methods for peers to test the results; and 3) Publication in a journal easily available to the scientific community. Publication venues are “peer-reviewed” journals, where the articles undergo extensive review by other scientists prior to publication. Examples relevant to biodiversity conservation: Conservation Biology Biological Conservation Ecological Applications Journal of Wildlife Management Trends in Ecology and Evolution Nature Science (in sections such as “Research Articles” and “Reports”) Prior to showing this slide, you could first ask students to list characteristics of a scientific paper, steering them towards the main characteristics above.

Characteristics of Secondary Literature Content: Overview, analysis, and/or interpretation of existing information Audience: Varied Review: Sometimes peer-reviewed Publication format: Books, journals, reports Literature Citations: Provided Characteristics of secondary literature include: Content: Summary and synthesis of existing information Audience: varied (though generally catered to a specific audience or purpose) Review: Sometimes peer-reviewed Publication format: books, journals, reports Literature citations: Provided Relevant examples: Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics Conservation Biology Trends in Ecology and Evolution Science (in sections such as “Reviews,” “Articles,” and “Perspectives”)

Characteristics of Tertiary Literature Content: Simplified and condensed information Audience: Varied Review: Generally not peer-reviewed Publication format: Magazines, books, encyclopedias, directories, bibliographies Literature Citations: Often limited to “Suggested” or “Further readings” Characteristics of tertiary literature include: Content: Simplified and condensed information, such as is found in directories or literature guides Audience: varied (scientists in different fields, non-scientists) Review: Generally not peer-reviewed Publication format: magazines, books, encyclopedias, directories, certain kinds of bibliographies Literature citations: May have bibliography or suggested/ further reading Relevant examples: Discover Magazine Conservation Magazine Natural History Magazine Weekly news periodicals such as Time, Newsweek, etc. Newspapers

Structure of a scientific paper Title Authorship/By-Line Abstract Introduction Materials and Methods Results Discussion Literature cited Acknowledgements

Title Should be a short declaration of the main point of the paper Should make the reader want to read more Should be brief (<15 words) Examples Cutting vines to restore degraded forest fragments increases tree growth but not seedling regeneration Monarch-parasite interactions in managed and roadside prairies Wanted! Dead or alive: the tale of the Brown’s Grayling (Pseudochazara amymone) More general title is better but need to balance, rule that for every 100 people who read the title, 10 read the abstract and 1 the paper,

Throughout the paper Be succinct – minimize repetition between sections Clear topic sentences Direct wording and active voice Avoid long paragraphs and sentences Put the right material in the right section Discuss that I know some people have been taught to write in passive but journals ask for active

Introduction Write this last and outline before writing Summarize the existing literature and specific questions that you research will help resolve 4ish paragraphs 1 paragraph each for primary 3-4 conclusions – clear topic sentences 1 paragraph describing goal of study and specific hypotheses or questions Don’t need a paragraph about the extent of the biodiversity crisis 1st paragraph 2nd paragraph 3rd para. 4th

Methods Succinctly describe the system, methods, and analyses so that the reader can understand what was done In a way can be replicated A supplementary experimental design figure can be helpful Maps Pictures

Results Use well-designed tables and figure to show your results. Do not repeat data in the text, figures, and tables. Highlight the most important results – do not have to report everything– help your reader to see what you want them to see A few descriptive sentences about common species or number of species observed can be helpful Do not discuss your results in the “results” section Statistic-ese is when you focus more on the test used than the results

Figures and Tables Should be well-designed to illustrate results in as few figures/tables as possible Stand alone Figure captions Minimize clutter Make lines thick and all fonts a standard & sufficient size Make sure cited in text (Figure 1) Don’t use extra colors remove extra axes and ticks - I recommend putting figures in the photocopier and reduce them by 50% to see if they are still legible.

ALL FIGURES SLIDES WERE AP SLIDES – HAD THEM CRITIQUE THE FIGURES Main comparison is across treatments so should set it up that way (so different colors for different treatments), lines are too thin, some fonts are too small, x-axis goes to below zero. Importance of including error bars. Figure 7: The effect of planting style and mulch on the percent cover of native grasses. Error bars represent one SE.

Discussion Most paragraphs should start with a principal message of paper Discuss the answers to your stated questions/hypothesis using your results and the literature Note major limitations to data or unanswered questions Do not speculate extensively or wax knowingly about topics that you don’t present data on – stick to your results Avoid repetitive conclusions End with Recommendations! One good way to conclude is with management recommendations

Literature Cited Use literature to: Introduce the problem (in intro) Support your points (in discussion) Support methods, if needed Format Make sure has authors, title, journal (or book), volume or issue, and page numbers Just make sure consistent! Need at least five primary sources **Make sure cited in text (Cornelisse 2014)

Writing Backwards Write the conclusions to your paper – no more than 5 (usually less), 1 sentence each Write only the results needed to support your conclusions. Write only the methods needed to understand the results. Write the discussion that expands on the literature and results that support your conclusions and notes caveats. Write the introduction last and present the minimum information necessary to introduce your questions. 0.5 page – changed the way I write THE PAPER THAT CHANGED HOW I WRITE: Magnusson, W. E. 1996. Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America 77 (2): 88.