Transcript General Advice - ScienceNet.cn

General advice
Laura A. Meyerson
Zhejiang University, Hangzhou – 15/16 December 2008
How to get published
Outline of this talk
Writing styles - dos and don’ts
Brief overview of different
manuscript sections
III. The order in which to write the
manuscript sections
I.
II.
Zhejiang University, Hangzhou – 15/16 December 2008
How to get published
Do’s and don’ts
1. Do Carefully follow the style of the journal that
you are submitting to:
–
–
Read the instructions for authors.
Read a few of papers to become familiar with the journal style.
2. Do write an outline.
3. Don’t use jargon or technical terms that you
cannot easily define or explain:
–
–
Very important for papers that will reach a wide audiences.
Say things in your own words.
Zhejiang University, Hangzhou – 15/16 December 2008
How to get published
Do’s and don’ts
4. Do use terms consistently: e.g.
invasive species, aliens, exotics.
5. Do spell out acronyms when first
used, then use only the acronym.
6. Do provide definitions for key terms
the first time that you use them.
Zhejiang University, Hangzhou – 15/16 December 2008
How to get published
Do’s and don’ts
7. Don’t include unnecessary information:
– Include only the essentials.
– Longer papers are not better papers!
8. Do write in the active voice, not passive:
–
–
Okay to use “I” and “We”
Don’t worry about being humble
Examples:
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“Experiments have been conducted to test the following
hypothesis.”
“We conducted experiments to test the following hypothesis.”
Zhejiang University, Hangzhou – 15/16 December 2008
How to get published
Do’s and don’ts
9. Don’t repeat yourself:
– Carefully edit your paper for this.
– But do restate key points of paper in
discussion or conclusion.
10.Don’t use empty sentences or fillers
such as:
– “It is well known that”, “Clearly”.
Zhejiang University, Hangzhou – 15/16 December 2008
How to get published
Do’s and don’ts
11.Don’t cut and paste from other
papers:
– Too easy to mistakenly plagiarize!
12.Do give proper citations for ideas
from the work and methods of
others:
– Don’t repeat information when the
citation will do.
Zhejiang University, Hangzhou – 15/16 December 2008
How to get published
Do’s and don’ts
13. Don’t cite papers without reading the whole paper
–
Reading only the abstract is not enough!
14. Do make it clear how your work relates to past
and present research in your field:
–
–
Do cite the most relevant research
The most cited publications may not represent the
current research
15. Do have colleagues and associates read your
paper to see if they understand it
–
Do try and have a native English speaker read your
paper and provide you with comments
Zhejiang University, Hangzhou – 15/16 December 2008
How to get published
Overview of Paper Sections
Purpose
Clearly describes contents
Ensures recognition for the writer(s)
Describes what was done
Ensures the article is correctly identified
Key Words (some journals)
in abstracting and indexing services
Explains the problem
Introduction
Explains how the data were collected
Methods
Describes what was discovered
Results
Discusses the implications of the findings
Discussion
Ensures those who helped in the research
Acknowledgements
are recognised
Ensures previously published work is
References
recognised
Provides supplemental data for the expert
Appendices (some journals)
reader
Section
Title
Authors
Abstract
The order to write paper sections
1. Data description and results
2. (Methods)
3. (Introduction)
4. (key words)
5. (Title)
6. (References)
7. Discussion
8. Conclusions
9. Abstract
10. Acknowledgements
Zhejiang University, Hangzhou – 15/16 December 2008
How to get published
Electronic publishing and
what it can do for you
Sue Silver
Zhejiang University, Hangzhou – 15/16 December 2008
How to get published
Electronic publishing
New tools in electronic publishing
 Digital Object Identifiers: help you to find
papers
 Electronic prepress publication: gets papers
published faster
 Open access: some benefits and drawbacks
 Internet tools: keep us up to date
Zhejiang University, Hangzhou – 15/16 December 2008
How to get published
Electronic publishing
As a reader, electronic publications make papers
easier to:
 find
 access….sometimes
 afford….sometimes
 store
Zhejiang University, Hangzhou – 15/16 December 2008
How to get published
Electronic publishing
As an editor or publisher, electronic publications are
easier to:
 produce
 proof read
 change
 distribute
 reuse (and resell)
 store
Zhejiang University, Hangzhou – 15/16 December 2008
How to get published
Basics of electronic publishing: DOI
Zhejiang University, Hangzhou – 15/16 December 2008
How to get published
Electronic publishing
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
 A unique collection of letters and numbers
 Provides a ‘name’ for a piece of electronic
information (eg a scientific article)
 Even if the original website disappears or
moves, readers will always be able to find the
paper using its DOI
Zhejiang University, Hangzhou – 15/16 December 2008
How to get published
Electronic publishing
Crossref (http://www.crossref.org)
 Publisher assigns a DOI to each paper
 Publisher registers the DOI with Crossref
and prints it with the paper
 To find a paper, either
• click on DOI hyperlink, or
• go to Crossref website and type in DOI,
which is linked directly to the paper
Zhejiang University, Hangzhou – 15/16 December 2008
How to get published
Electronic publishing
Beijing – 10/11 December 2008
How to get published
Electronic publishing
Electronic publishing
Online prepress publication
 Two options:
• edited, checked, paged version + DOI
(looks like the final journal article)
• original, unedited manuscript
Zhejiang University, Hangzhou – 15/16 December 2008
How to get published
Electronic publishing
Electronic publishing
Electronic publishing
Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry
Electronic publishing
Open access
 Traditional publishing system
• Costs of publishing supported mainly by
subscriptions
• Society publication: some contribution from
membership fees
• Authors may have to pay page charges
and/or color charges
Zhejiang University, Hangzhou – 15/16 December 2008
How to get published
Electronic publishing
Open access
 ‘Author pays’ model
• Costs of publishing paid for by author fees
• Non-profit publishers may reduce fees for
members
• Publishers may agree to reduce or waive
fees if author cannot pay
• Usually online-only journals
Zhejiang University, Hangzhou – 15/16 December 2008
How to get published
Electronic publishing
Advantages
 Many more readers see the paper
 Online-only so faster publication time
 Online-only so easy to find through search engines
(and when you find it, it is FREE!)
 Encourages interdisciplinary and international
collaborations
 Author retains copyright
 Publicly funded research can be seen by the public
Zhejiang University, Hangzhou – 15/16 December 2008
How to get published
Electronic publishing
Disadvantages
 Many authors cannot afford the author fees
 Danger of acceptance based on ability to pay
 Quality control – publishers may be tempted
to accept more papers → more money!
 Who pays for long-term storage?
 A threat to not-for-profit journals
Zhejiang University, Hangzhou – 15/16 December 2008
How to get published
Using internet tools
Laura A. Meyerson
Zhejiang University, Hangzhou – 15/16 December 2008
How to get published
Google Scholar
• www.google.com
• Enter search term
(author, topic, etc.)
• Click on Google Scholar
• .pdf may be available
• Find recent literature
“cited by”
• Related articles
Web of Science
Lab Meeting/Reference Manager/
Endnote Web
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These are all reference database tools
Free versions on the internet
Import references/abstracts/keywords
Creates a searchable reference database
Zhejiang University, Hangzhou – 15/16 December 2008
How to get published
E-mail alerts
• E-mail alerts:
– free service that you can
sign up for
– particular journal
– publisher for a group of
journals
• E-mail alerts notify you of:
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–
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Table of contents
News alerts
Blogs
Particular topic
http://highwire.stanford.edu/cgi/alerts
RSS feeds
• RSS = “Really Simple
Syndication” or “Rich
Site Summary”
• Similar to e-mail
alerts:
– Source of updates
from websites
– Allows you to stay
informed
Zhejiang University, Hangzhou – 15/16 December 2008
How to get published
Cross-Reference
Zhejiang University, Hangzhou – 15/16 December 2008
How to get published
Cross-Reference
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American Physical Society
Annual Reviews
Ashley Publications
Association for Computing Machinery
BioMed Central
Blackwell Publishing
BMJ Publishing Group
Cambridge University Press
Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press
FASEB
IEEE
INFORMS
Institute of Physics Publishing
International Union of Crystallography
Investigative Ophthamology and Visual Science
Journal of Clinical Oncology
Lawrence Erlbaum Associates
Medicine Publishing Group
Nature Publishing Group
Oldenbourg Wissenschaftsverlag
Oxford University Press
PNAS
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International Union of Crystallography
Investigative Ophthamology and Visual Science
Journal of Clinical Oncology
Lawrence Erlbaum Associates
Medicine Publishing Group
Nature Publishing Group
Oldenbourg Wissenschaftsverlag
Oxford University Press
PNAS
Royal College of Psychiatrists
Springer-Verlag
Taylor & Francis
University of California Press
University of Chicago Press
Vathek Publishing
John Wiley & Sons
University of California Press
University of Chicago Press
Vathek Publishing
John Wiley & Sons
Royal College of Psychiatrists
Springer-Verlag
Taylor & Francis
Writing the paper I
Results
Materials and Methods
Laura A. Meyerson
Zhejiang University, Hangzhou – 15/16 December 2008
How to get published
Results
Zhejiang University, Hangzhou – 15/16 December 2008
How to get published
Why write the results first?
• Results = What did I find out?
• Presenting your results is the main reason
for writing the paper
• Other sections of the paper should relate
to your results:
– By placing them in context of other research
in the introduction and discussion
– Supporting or Contrasting your results with
other research
Zhejiang University, Hangzhou – 15/16 December 2008
How to get published
Results – Do’s
• Do objectively present your key results without
interpretation.
• Do present results in an orderly and logical sequence using
text, tables and/or figures where appropriate.
• Do highlight the answers to the questions/hypotheses of your
study in this section.
• Do report important negative results.
• Do use the past tense to report results, “Our data showed
that…”
Zhejiang University, Hangzhou – 15/16 December 2008
How to get published
Some tips from my own writing:
• I make more tables of my data results than
I need – this helps me to organize my
thoughts and writing.
• Encourages new thoughts / uses of data.
• Helps to create a big picture.
• Helps to identify repetition.
• However, usually I don’t use most of them!
Zhejiang University, Hangzhou – 15/16 December 2008
How to get published
Do not interpret your data in the
results section
Example:
The Acacia species flowered at different times with
respect to the rains, the smaller species flowering
before the rains and the larger species flowering after
the rains. Fruiting, in contrast, tended to occur towards
the end of the rains irrespective of when flowering
occurred. One interpretation of these patterns is that
although rain may act to trigger reproductive events,
there are other factors that promotes a greater degree
of synchronized flowering and fruiting, than that
predicted by rainfall.
Zhejiang University, Hangzhou – 15/16 December 2008
How to get published
Do not interpret your data in the
results section
Example:
The Acacia species flowered at different times with
respect to the rains, the smaller species flowering
before the rains and the larger species flowering after
the rains. Fruiting, in contrast, tended to occur towards
the end of the rains irrespective of when flowering
occurred. One interpretation of these patterns is that
although rain may act to trigger reproductive events,
there are other factors that promotes a greater degree
of synchronized flowering and fruiting, than that
predicted by rainfall.
Zhejiang University, Hangzhou – 15/16 December 2008
How to get published
Results Don’ts:
•Don’t restate each value in the text from a
Figure or Table
•Don’t present the same data in both a Table
and Figure - this is repetitive Instead, decide
which format best shows the result and go
with it.
•Don’t report raw data values when they can
be summarized as means, percents, etc.
Zhejiang University, Hangzhou – 15/16 December 2008
How to get published
When making a table:
• DO include a caption and column headings
that allow readers to understand the table
without reference to the text.
• DO present the data in a table or in the text,
but never present the same data in both
forms.
• DO choose units of measurement so as to
avoid the use of an excessive number of
digits.
Zhejiang University, Hangzhou – 15/16 December 2008
How to get published
When making a table:
• DON'T include tables that are not referred to
in the text.
• DON'T present tables or figures that could
easily be replaced by a sentence or two of
text.
• DON'T include columns of data that contain
the same value throughout. If the value is
important to the table, include it in the caption
or as a footnote to the table.
Zhejiang University, Hangzhou – 15/16 December 2008
How to get published
When making figures
• DO include a legend
describing the figure.
Make it brief but provide
enough information for
the reader to interpret the
figure without reference
to the text.
• DO provide each axis
with a brief but
informative title (including
units of measurement).
Zhejiang University, Hangzhou – 15/16 December 2008
How to get published
When making figures
• DON'T include figures that are not referred
to in the text.
• DON'T present figures that could easily be
replaced by a sentence or two of text.
• DON'T extend the axes very far beyond
the range of the data.
Zhejiang University, Hangzhou – 15/16 December 2008
How to get published
Materials and Methods
Materials and methods include
• Experimental and / or sampling design
• Protocol for collecting data
• How the data were analyzed
• Use the past tense throughout
• The Methods section is not a step-by-step
instruction as you might see in your lab
manual
Zhejiang University, Hangzhou – 15/16 December 2008
How to get published
Materials and Methods
• Explain clearly how you carried out your study.
• Describe how you addressed your hypotheses or
questions.
• Describe the organism(s), or subjects, used in the study
• Describe the site where your field study was conducted
– Physical and biological characteristics of the site
– The date(s) of the study (e.g. 10-15 April 2007)
– The exact location of the study area
Zhejiang University, Hangzhou – 15/16 December 2008
How to get published
Experimental Design and Protocol
• Describe your experimental design clearly.
• Describe the protocol for your study in sufficient detail that other
scientists could repeat your work to verify your findings.
• Equipment should also be descried clearly by brand or category:
“Camphor concentration was measured
using a Hewlett-Packard 5880A Gas
Chromatograph (Hewlett-Packard Analytical
Division, Wilmington, DE, USA) with a
cyanide capillary column (30 m X 0.25 mm)
and flame ionization detector.”
Methods sections describe how the
data were summarized and analyzed
For example:
The experimental design was four replicates of four factorial
treatments (± fertilizer x ± fencing) in each of two blocks (i.e.
sites). Data were analyzed over years by Repeated Measures
ANOVA (von Ende 1993).
“One way ANOVA was used to compare mean weight gain in
weight-matched calves fed the three different rations.”
•Describe other numerical or graphical
techniques used to analyze the data
Example site description:
“This experiment was replicated at two sites in areas of moderately
open spruce forest (45-60% canopy cover, typically 160-220
stems/ha) with a well developed (>90% cover) herbaceous
understorey. The first site is approximately 2 km to the south of
Boutellier summit on the Alaska highway and the second 50 m to
the north of Boutellier summit at km 1695 on the Alaska highway
(61o 02'N 138 o 22'W).”
rather than:
“In the game reserve beside the Alaska Highway.”
• It is often a good idea to include a map
If you adapted your methods from
another study or paper
• You must be clear on how you did your
work.
• If you used methods from another paper,
cite that paper.
• If you changed methods from another
paper, cite that paper and describe the
changes that you made.
Zhejiang University, Hangzhou – 15/16 December 2008
How to get published
Break!