1. Scientific writing Sigrid Agenäs Aug 16th 2013

2. Scientific writing - How to communicate science to the academic community Sigrid Agenäs Aug 16th 2013

3. Scientists need to communicate in many different situations Sigrid Agenäs Aug 16th 2013

4. Scientists need to communicate in many different situations Written Reports Applications Statements Newspaper articles Scientific literature Oral Meetings Lectures Conferences Interviews Debates Sigrid Agenäs Aug 16th 2013

5. Scientists need to communicate in many different situations Written Reports Applications Statements Newspaper articles Scientific literature Oral Meetings Lectures Conferences Interviews Debates Sigrid Agenäs Aug 16th 2013

6. Scientists need to communicate in many different situations Written Reports Applications Statements Newspaper articles Scientific literature Oral Meetings Lectures Conferences Interviews Debates Who is the audience? -Peers, teachers, your family, the public, experts in the field or those with no prior knowledge? What is the purpose? - Inform, Explain, Persuade Sigrid Agenäs Aug 16th 2013

7. Scientists need to communicate in many different situations Written Reports Applications Statements Newspaper articles Scientific literature Oral Meetings Lectures Conferences Interviews Debates Who is the audience? -Peers, teachers, your family, the public, experts in the field or those with no prior knowledge? What is the purpose? - Inform, Explain, Persuade Sigrid Agenäs Aug 16th 2013

8. Different kinds of scientific literature Sigrid Agenäs Aug 16th 2013

9. Different kinds of scientific literature Textbooks Scientific papers Review papers Conference proceedings – Abstracts – Invited papers Anyone can publish a textbook!!! Peer review process Summarises published literature, can be biased, not always peer reviewed Submitted abstracts often undergo a ”peer revier light” while invited papers often are not reviewed Sigrid Agenäs Aug 16th 2013

10. Different kinds of scientific literature Textbooks Scientific papers Review papers Conference proceedings – Abstracts – Invited papers Who decides the content of a textbook? Peer review process Summarises published literature, can be biased, not always peer reviewed Submitted abstracts often undergo a ”peer revier light” while invited papers often are not reviewed Sigrid Agenäs Aug 16th 2013

11. Different kinds of scientific literature Textbooks Scientific papers Review papers Conference proceedings – Abstracts – Invited papers Anyone can publish a textbook!!! Peer review process Summarises published literature, can be biased, not always peer reviewed Submitted abstracts often undergo a ”peer revier light” while invited papers often are not reviewed Sigrid Agenäs Aug 16th 2013

12. Different kinds of scientific literature Textbooks Scientific papers Review papers Conference proceedings – Abstracts – Invited papers Anyone can publish a textbook!!! Peer review process Summarises published literature, can be biased, not always peer reviewed Submitted abstracts often undergo a ”peer revier light” while invited papers often are not reviewed Sigrid Agenäs Aug 16th 2013

13. Putting together a scientific paper 1.Propose the research and find funding 2.Carry out the research and analyse the data 3.Consider possible target journals 4.Obtain the journal’s instructions to authors 5. Draft the paper 6. Revise, get feedback and revise again 7. Submit to the journal 8. Initial screening of scope and relevance – rejected? 10. Peer reveiw process – rejected? 11. Revision 12. Editing by the journal 13. Preparing proofs 14. Publication 15. CELEBRATION!!! Sigrid Agenäs Aug 16th 2013

14. Putting together a scientific paper 1.Propose the research and find funding 2.Carry out the research and analyse the data 3.Consider possible target journals 4.Obtain the journal’s instructions to authors 5. Draft the paper 6. Revise, get feedback and revise again 7. Submit to the journal 8. Initial screening of scope and relevance – rejected? 10. Peer reveiw process – rejected? 11. Revision 12. Editing by the journal 13. Preparing proofs 14. Publication 15. CELEBRATION!!! Sigrid Agenäs Aug 16th 2013

15. Putting together a scientific paper 1.Propose the research and find funding 2.Carry out the research and analyse the data 3.Consider possible target journals 4.Obtain the journal’s instructions to authors 5. Draft the paper 6. Revise, get feedback and revise again 7. Submit to the journal 8. Initial screening of scope and relevance – rejected? 10. Peer reveiw process – rejected? 11. Revision 12. Editing by the journal 13. Preparing proofs 14. Publication 15. CELEBRATION!!! Sigrid Agenäs Aug 16th 2013

16. Putting together a scientific paper 1.Propose the research and find funding 2.Carry out the research and analyse the data 3.Consider possible target journals 4.Obtain the journal’s instructions to authors 5. Draft the paper 6. Revise, get feedback and revise again 7. Submit to the journal 8. Initial screening of scope and relevance – rejected? 10. Peer reveiw process – rejected? 11. Revision 12. Editing by the journal 13. Preparing proofs 14. Publication 15. CELEBRATION!!! Sigrid Agenäs Aug 16th 2013

17. Putting together a scientific paper 1.Propose the research and find funding 2.Carry out the research and analyse the data 3.Consider possible target journals 4.Obtain the journal’s instructions to authors 5. Draft the paper 6. Revise, get feedback and revise again 7. Submit to the journal 8. Initial screening of scope and relevance – rejected? 10. Peer reveiw process – rejected? 11. Revision 12. Editing by the journal 13. Preparing proofs 14. Publication 15. CELEBRATION!!! Sigrid Agenäs Aug 16th 2013

18. IMRAD Title Authors Abstract=the short version IntroductionWhy is the field important and what was your research question? MethodsHow did you investigate it? ResultsWhat did you find? And DiscussionWhat does it mean? Acknowledgements List of references Sigrid Agenäs Aug 16th 2013

19. IMRAD Title Authors Abstract=the short version IntroductionWhy is the field important and what was your research question? MethodsHow did you investigate it? ResultsWhat did you find? And DiscussionWhat does it mean? Acknowledgements List of references Sigrid Agenäs Aug 16th 2013

20. Instructions to authors Specific for each scientific journal Sigrid Agenäs Aug 16th 2013

21. Putting together a scientific paper 1.Propose the research and find funding 2.Carry out the research and analyse the data 3.Consider possible target journals 4.Obtain the journal’s instructions to authors 5. Draft the paper 6. Revise, get feedback and revise again 7. Submit to the journal 8. Initial screening of scope and relevance – rejected? 10. Peer reveiw process – rejected? 11. Revision – rejected? 12. Editing by the journal 13. Preparing proofs 14. Publication 15. CELEBRATION!!! Sigrid Agenäs Aug 16th 2013

22. Different kinds of literature Textbooks Scientific papers Review papers Conference proceedings – Abstracts – Invited papers Anyone can publish a textbook!!! Peer review process Summarises published literature, can be biased, not always peer reviewed Submitted abstracts often undergo a ”peer revier light” while invited papers often are not reviewed Sigrid Agenäs Aug 16th 2013

23. Different kinds of literature Textbooks Scientific papers Review papers Conference proceedings – Abstracts – Invited papers Anyone can publish a textbook!!! Peer review process Summarises published literature, can be biased, not always peer reviewed Submitted abstracts often undergo a ”peer revier light” while invited papers often are not reviewed Sigrid Agenäs Aug 16th 2013 Meta-analysis!

24. Different kinds of literature Textbooks Scientific papers Review papers Conference proceedings – Abstracts – Invited papers Anyone can publish a textbook!!! Peer review process Summarises published literature, can be biased, not always peer reviewed Submitted abstracts often undergo a ”peer revier light” while invited papers often are not reviewed Sigrid Agenäs Aug 16th 2013

25. Using the work of others in your text Find the most appropriate literature Always refer to the right author. Do Not Plagiarize! Sigrid Agenäs Aug 16th 2013 Search literature in scientific databases - PubMed - Web of Science Evaulate what you find - is it useful to you? - is it good science? - is it the original work? Summarize in your own words

26. Using the work of others in your text Find the most appropriate literature Always refer to the right author. Do Not Plagiarize! Sigrid Agenäs Aug 16th 2013 General statements can be referred to reviews (and maybe textbooks) Details like a specific value should be referred to the original work References in the text and in the list of references

27. Using the work of others in your text References in the text Author’s last name and the year of publicatíon. If > 2 authors, only name the first author et al. Chronological order After the information Example from Collier et al., 2012: “The MECs in ruminants do not regress to the same extent as occurs in rodent mammary glands, and apparently some synthetic and secretory activity of these cells are maintained throughout the dry period (Holst et al., 1987; Sordillo, 1987; Sordillo and Nickerson, 1988).” iarize! List of references Alphabetical order Follow instructions! Sigrid Agenäs Aug 16th 2013

28. Using the work of others in your text References in the text Author’s last name and the year of publicatíon. If > 2 authors, only name the first author et al. Chronological order After the information Example from Collier et al., 2012: “The MECs in ruminants do not regress to the same extent as occurs in rodent mammary glands, and apparently some synthetic and secretory activity of these cells are maintained throughout the dry period (Holst et al., 1987; Sordillo, 1987; Sordillo and Nickerson, 1988).” iarize! List of references Alphabetical order Follow instructions! Sigrid Agenäs Aug 16th 2013

29. Using the work of others in your text References in the text Author’s last name and the year of publicatíon. If > 2 authors, only name the first author et al. Chronological order After the information Example from Collier et al., 2012: “The MECs in ruminants do not regress to the same extent as occurs in rodent mammary glands, and apparently some synthetic and secretory activity of these cells are maintained throughout the dry period (Holst et al., 1987; Sordillo, 1987; Sordillo and Nickerson, 1988).” iarize! List of references Alphabetical order Follow instructions! Sigrid Agenäs Aug 16th 2013

30. Using the work of others in your text Find the most appropriate literature Always refer to the right author. Do Not Plagiarize! Sigrid Agenäs Aug 16th 2013 General statements can be referred to reviews (and maybe textbooks) Details like a specific value should be referred to the original work References in the text and in the list of references

31. Using the work of others in your text Find the most appropriate literature Always refer to the right author. Do Not Plagiarise! Sigrid Agenäs Aug 16th 2013

32. Using the work of others in your text Find the most appropriate literature Always refer to the right author. Do Not Plagiarise! Sigrid Agenäs Aug 16th 2013 Plagiarism does not forward your academic career and can lead to diciplinary consequences such as suspension from studies

33. Using the work of others in your text Find the most appropriate literature Always refer to the right author. Do Not Plagiarise! Sigrid Agenäs Aug 16th 2013 Plagiarism does not forward your academic career and can lead to diciplinary consequences such as suspension from studies

34. Examples of plagiarism Copying of text – quotations should be clearly marked Using someone else’s ideas or theories without referring to the original author Using someone else’s layout/organisation of text Using facts or conclusions from someone without referring to them The worst and most obvious form of plagiarism is to copy text without referring to the original author, but copying one or two sentences can also be plagiarism, even if you do give the reference, if you copy the exact text.

35. How to avoid accidental plagiarism: Write your text with your own words and support all facts with references. Do not copy text, not even as a note to yourself while gathering information because if you do that it is a high risk that the copied text remains in your work. Always re-write with your own words! If you want to use the exact words of someone else (for example a definition of a term) you show that by use of quotation marks with this kind of construction: There is no clear definition of what a species is. Darwin (1859) said: “No one definition has satisfied all naturalists; yet every naturalist knows vaguely what he means when he speaks of a species.” It is never correct to cite a long text section but one or two sentences, like in the example above can be OK. Do not copy the layout of a text.

36. Using the work of others in your text Find the most appropriate literature Always refer to the right author. Do Not Plagiarize! Sigrid Agenäs Aug 16th 2013 Plagiarism can lead to diciplinary consequences such as suspension from studies Universities use software to check for plagiarism and will find plagiarised text.

37. Using the work of others in your text Find the most appropriate literature Always refer to the right author. Do Not Plagiarize! Sigrid Agenäs Aug 16th 2013 Plagiarism can lead to diciplinary consequences such as suspension from studies Universities use software to check for plagiarism and will find plagiarised text.

39. The scientific writing process Getting in the mood Writing the first draft Getting feedback and revise, revise, revise Finish! Sigrid Agenäs Aug 16th 2013

40. The scientific writing process Getting in the mood Writing the first draft Getting feedback and revise, revise, revise Finish! Sigrid Agenäs Aug 16th 2013

41. The scientific writing process Getting in the mood Writing the first draft Getting feedback and revise, revise, revise Finish! Sigrid Agenäs Aug 16th 2013

42. The scientific writing process Getting in the mood Writing the first draft Getting feedback and revise, revise, revise Finish! Sigrid Agenäs Aug 16th 2013

43. The scientific writing process Getting in the mood Writing the first draft Getting feedback and revise, revise, revise Finish! Sigrid Agenäs Aug 16th 2013

44. The scientific writing process Getting in the mood Writing the first draft Getting feedback and revise, revise, revise Finish! Sigrid Agenäs Aug 16th 2013

45. The scientific writing process Getting in the mood Writing the first draft Getting feedback and revise, revise, revise Finish! Sigrid Agenäs Aug 16th 2013

46. The scientific writing process Getting in the mood Writing the first draft Getting feedback and revise, revise, revise Finish! Sigrid Agenäs Aug 16th 2013

47. The scientific writing process Getting in the mood Writing the first draft Getting feedback and revise, revise, revise Finish! Sigrid Agenäs Aug 16th 2013

48. The scientific writing process Getting in the mood Writing the first draft Getting feedback and revise, revise, revise Finish! Sigrid Agenäs Aug 16th 2013

49. The scientific writing process Getting in the mood Writing the first draft Getting feedback and revise, revise, revise Finish! Sigrid Agenäs Aug 16th 2013

50. The scientific writing process Getting in the mood Writing the first draft Getting feedback and revise, revise, revise Finish! Sigrid Agenäs Aug 16th 2013

51. The scientific writing process Getting in the mood Writing the first draft Getting feedback and revise, revise, revise Finish! Sigrid Agenäs Aug 16th 2013

52. Scientific writing differs from other kinds of writing A scientific paper first and foremost has to be: -Correct -Clear -Consice -Novel and up to date Sigrid Agenäs Aug 16th 2013

53. Scientific writing differs from other kinds of writing A scientific paper first and foremost has to be: -Correct -Clear -Consice -Novel and up to date Sigrid Agenäs Aug 16th 2013

54. Scientific writing differs from other kinds of writing A scientific paper first and foremost has to be: -Correct -Clear -Consice -Novel and up to date Sigrid Agenäs Aug 16th 2013

55. Scientific writing differs from other kinds of writing A scientific paper first and foremost has to be: -Correct -Clear -Consice -Novel and up to date This is much more important than varied, exciting, unexpected, imaginative, poetic and other things we value in imaginative literature. Sigrid Agenäs Aug 16th 2013

56. Scientific writing differs from other kinds of writing A scientific paper first and foremost has to be: -Correct -Clear -Consice -Novel and up to date This is much more important than varied, exciting, unexpected, imaginative, poetic and other things we value in imaginative literature. Therefore, use short words, short sentences, avoid long convoluted expressions and metaphors. Also, use ”increased” or ”decreased” instead of ”changed”, ”larger” or ”smaller” instead of ”different” and so on. Sigrid Agenäs Aug 16th 2013

57. Ways to improve your writing Read a lot of scientific literature. Choose good models! Do not work alone! Outline before you write the text. Improve your language skills. Sigrid Agenäs Aug 16th 2013

58. Ways to improve your writing Read a lot of scientific literature. Choose good models! Do not work alone! Outline before you write the text. Improve your language skills. Sigrid Agenäs Aug 16th 2013

59. Ways to improve your writing Read a lot of scientific literature. Choose good models! Do not work alone! Outline before you write the text. Improve your language skills. Sigrid Agenäs Aug 16th 2013

60. Ways to improve your writing Read a lot of scientific literature. Choose good models! Do not work alone! Outline before you write the text. Improve your language skills. Sigrid Agenäs Aug 16th 2013

61. Ways to improve your writing Read a lot of scientific literature. Choose good models! Do not work alone! Outline before you write the text. Improve your language skills. Sigrid Agenäs Aug 16th 2013

62. Ways to improve your writing Read a lot of scientific literature. Choose good models! Do not work alone! Outline before you write the text. Improve your language skills. Sigrid Agenäs Aug 16th 2013