5 July 2012Ganesha Associates1 Basic Skills for Scientific Research and Publishing. Segment 1. Introduction to the course

The challenge! Science and technology drive modern economies – Brasil Ltda, politics: “pure research with a purpose”, “translational science” Assessment of outputs – papers, patents, books, databases: citation metrics = value Exponential growth, complexity of scientific information – big data New models for dissemination – open access How to learn, stay current? 5 July 2012Ganesha Associates2

Why this course? Publishing is an integral part of the scientific research process, but: A large proportion of the science that does get published isn’t cited very much, because: The conclusions turn out to be incorrect/irrelevant, or: The work is judged to be of little importance by the scientific community: This course will help you to avoid these problems and help you to have a successful career in science. 5 July 2012Ganesha Associates3

5 July 2012Ganesha Associates4 The scientific research process Problem definition Grant proposal Experiments Seminar Conference proceedings More experiments Writing-up Publication Key: Experiments Reading and writing Verbal communication

5 July 2012Ganesha Associates5 The scientific research process

5 July 2012Ganesha Associates6 The scientific research process JL Lefebvre et al. Nature 000, 1-5 (2012) doi: /nature11305

Global growth of R&D 5 July 2012Ganesha Associates7

5 July 2012Ganesha Associates8 Global growth of R&D

5 July 2012Ganesha Associates9 Global growth of R&D

5 July 2012Ganesha Associates10 Global growth of R&D

Usage metrics, quality 5 July 2012Ganesha Associates11

Linking grants to public health outcomes 5 July 2012Ganesha Associates12

5 July 2012Ganesha Associates13 Usage metrics, quality Nature

5 July 2012Ganesha Associates14 Usage metrics, quality PLoS Biology

Clinical trials – Pre-eclampsia 5 July 2012Ganesha Associates15 Usage metrics, quality

5 July 2012Ganesha Associates16 Clinical trials – Pre-eclampsia Usage metrics, quality

5 July 2012Ganesha Associates17 How to make your project succeed –By wise when choosing your research topic –Read many papers, and learn to be critical –Be objective about your work –Design your experiments carefully –Remember, research is an iterative process, experiments won’t always turn out as you expect –Improve your communication skills –Aim to publish in international journals –Collaborate locally and internationally

5 July 2012Ganesha Associates18 Engineers ~ 72 articles per year Physicists ~ 204 articles per year Chemists ~ 276 articles per year University medical faculty ~ 322 articles per year Source: Carol Tenopir, University of Tennessee, USA The importance of regular reading

5 July 2012Ganesha Associates19 The importance of regular reading

5 July 2012Ganesha Associates20 The importance of reading and writing Good science begins and ends in the library Good experimental design requires an awareness of the latest research trends and findings in your area together with a clear definition of the problem you are trying to solve Acceptance of your work for publication requires clear logical presentation of your results together with a clear explanation of how they advance our understanding Analysis of the literature is a constant component of a good researcher’s daily routine

5 July 2012Ganesha Associates21 And informatics ? Wikipedia definition: Informatics is about the structure, behavior, and interactions of natural and artificial systems that store, process and communicate information. An increasing volume of biomedical information is stored in databases accessible via the internet. The importance of these tools is not always matched by their ease of use So you need to know that they exist and how to use them…

And informatics? 5 July 2012Ganesha Associates22

5 July 2012Ganesha Associates23 The goals of the course Show you where to find and use different sources of biomedical information Teach you how to use this information to build robust hypotheses and design strong experiments Describe the essential features of a scientific research paper Explain how the scientific publishing process works

5 July 2012Ganesha Associates24 Summary A significant amount of research fails to get published or is not of good quality The reasons for this are often avoidable This course is designed to develop the basic skills required for scientific research In particular, the practical exercises will teach you how to avoid some of the most common reasons for publication failure

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Schedule 5 July 2012Ganesha Associates27

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