Successful Scientific Writing: A step-by-step guide for the biological

253 Pages·2008·3.47 MB·English

SuccessfulScientificWriting
The detailed, practical, step-by-step advice in this user-friendly guide will help stu-
dentsandresearcherstocommunicatetheirworkmoreeffectivelythroughthewritten
word.Coveringallaspectsofthewritingprocess,thisconcise,accessibleresourceiscrit-
icallyacclaimed,well-structured,comprehensive,andentertaining.Self-helpexercises
andabundantexamplesfromactualtypescriptsdrawontheauthors’extensiveexperience
workingbothasresearchersandwiththem.
Whilstretainingtheaccessibleandpragmaticstyleofearliereditions,thisthirdedition
has been updated and broadened to incorporate such timely topics as guidelines for
successful international publication, ethical and legal issues including plagiarism and
falsifieddata,electronicpublication,andtext-basedtalksandposterpresentations.
Withadviceapplicabletomanywritingcontextsinthemajorityofscientificdisciplines,
thisbookisapowerfultoolforimprovingindividualskillsandaneminentlysuitabletext
forclassroomcoursesorseminars.
JaniceR.Matthewsisawriterandeducatorwithabroadbackgroundinthebiological
sciences. She has edited books, technical manuals and hundreds of scientific research
papersintheveterinaryandbiologicalsciences,bothinuniversitysettingsandforprivate
industry.
Robert W. Matthews is a Josiah Meigs Distinguished Teaching Professor at the
UniversityofGeorgiaandamemberoftheUGATeachingAcademy.Aninsectbehaviour
specialist,hisscientificpublicationsnumberover165researcharticles.

Successful Scientific Writing
A step-by-step guide
for the biological
and medical sciences
Third edition
JaniceR.Matthewsand
RobertW.Matthews
CAMBRIDGEUNIVERSITYPRESS
Cambridge, New York, Melbourne, Madrid, Cape Town, Singapore, São Paulo
Cambridge University Press
The Edinburgh Building, Cambridge CB28RU, UK
Published in the United States of America by Cambridge University Press, New York
www.cambridge.org
Information on this title: www.cambridge.org/9780521699273
© Cambridge University Press 1996, 2000, 2008
This publication is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception and to the provision of
relevant collective licensing agreements, no reproduction of any part may take place
without the written permission of Cambridge University Press.
First published in print format 2007
ISBN-13 978-0-511-35560-8 eBook (NetLibrary)
ISBN-10 0-511-35560-2 eBook (NetLibrary)
ISBN-13 978-0-521-69927-3 paperback
ISBN-10 0-521-69927-4 paperback
Cambridge University Press has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy of urls
for external or third-party internet websites referred to in this publication, and does not
guarantee that any content on such websites is, or will remain, accurate or appropriate.
Contents
Preface pageix
Prefacetothethirdedition x
1 preparingtowrite 1–30
Searchandresearch 1
Conductingacomprehensiveliteraturereview
UsingtheInternetwiselyandwell
Tappingotherinformalandformalcommunication
channels
Yourresearch:thebigpicture
Chooseacommunicationvenue 13
Formalpublication:themessagedeterminesthemedium
Otherwaystopublish
Plantosucceed 21
Organizeandplanyourmessage
Avoidplagiarism
UsetheProcessApproachtotakecharge
Exercise1.1.SearchstrategyandBooleanlogic
Exercise1.2.Message,format,andaudience
Exercise1.3.Organizingideas
2 composing afirstdraft 31–55
Dealwithmattersofauthorship 31
Productivitytoolsandpitfalls 33
Usewordprocessingtowritemoreefficiently
Masterthetoolsthatwillmakeyourwritinglifesimpler
Spellcheckers,grammarandstyleanalysisprograms
Followstandardstructure 42
Introduction
Materialsandmethods
Results
Discussionandconclusions
v
vi Contents
Acknowledgments
References
Abstractsandsummaries
Thetitle
Othertitlepageitems
Usetensetoshowthestatusofwork 48
Buildmomentum–andkeepit! 50
Exercise2.1.Spellingandgrammarprograms
Exercise2.2.Titlechoices
Exercise2.3.Tenseuse
3 visualsupportforthewrittenword 56–78
Choosingandusingvisualaids 56
Tables
Figures
Graphs
Photographsandotherdocumentaryillustrations
Explanatoryartwork
Examiningyourchoices 75
Exercise3.1.Tableandfigurechoices
4 visualsupportforthespokenword 79–102
Oralpresentations 80
Mediachoicesfororalpresentations
Developingatraditionaltext-basedoralpresentation
Visualelementsoftext,tables,andfigures
ThePowerPointcontroversy
Speakinginpublic:thehumanfactor 91
Controlnervousness
Deliveringthespeechorpresentation
Handlingquestions
Posterpresentations:ahappyhybrid 97
Preparingaposter
Presentingaposter
Exercise4.1.Slidepresentationformat
Exercise4.2.Answeringquestions
5 revisingtoincreasecoherence 103–124
Workefficiently 103
Startwithorganizationandlogic
Usethepoweratyourcommand
Improvethebigpicture 105
Reworkforclarity
Rewriteforreadability
Condenseforbrevity
Contents vii
Whenshortmightbetooshort 118
Abbreviations,acronyms,andothershortened
forms
Nounclustersandstringsofpearls
Exercise5.1.Personandpointofview
Exercise5.2.Readability
Exercise5.3.Shortenedforms
Exercise5.4.Clarityandbrevity
6 improvingwordchoice,andsyntaxstyle 125–152
Chooseabetterword 126
Recognizeandminimizejargon
Usebias-free,inclusivelanguage
Choosetherightword
Focusfuzzynounsandqualifiers
Checktheverbs 139
Chooselivelierverbs
Unmaskdisguisedverbs
Activeandpassivevoice
Subject–verbagreement
Bewareofstrangelinks 145
Ambiguousantecedentsandmisplacedmodifiers
Danglingparticiples
Themischiefofmultiples 148
Collectivenounsandnounphrases
Thegrammarofcomparisonsandlists
Exercise6.1.Jargon
Exercise6.2.Handlinglanguagesensitively
Exercise6.3.Devilpairs
Exercise6.4.Whichandthat
Exercise6.5.Fuzzywordsanddisguisedverbs
Exercise6.6.Activeandpassivevoice
Exercise6.7.Subject–verbagreement
Exercise6.8.Danglingparticiplesandothermisplaced
modifiers
Exercise6.9.Collectivenouns,comparisons,andlists
7 attending to grammar, numbers, and other
mechanics 153–181
Tweakthetext 153
Punctuateforclarity
Capitalizeconsistently
Treatscientificnamesproperly
Useforeignwordsandphrasestoinform,notimpress
viii Contents
Fine-tunenumberuse 170
Numeralsversuswrittennumbers
TheSImetricsystemformeasurementsandweights
Verylargeandverysmallnumbers
Percentages
Practicingmixedcorrections 179
Exercise7.1.Punctuation
Exercise7.2.Capitalization
Exercise7.3.Scientificnamesandotherforeignwordsand
phrases
Exercise7.4.Numberuseandinterpretation
Exercise7.5.Practicingmixedcorrections
8 therestofthestory 182–208
Preparingtopublish 182
Double-checkreferencesandattributions
Verifysubmissionformat
Submitthedocument
RememberMurphy’sLaws
Backandforth:editorialreview 188
Correctgalleyproofconscientiously
Celebrate–Youhavepublished!
Tipsforinternationalpublication 192
Addresssecond-languageEnglishreaderseffectively
ChooseaneffectiveapproachwhenwritingEnglishasa
secondlanguage
Usageandgrammarpitfallsfornonnativewriters
Ethicalissues 198
Respectyourdata–andyourreaders
Checkagainforplagiarism
Protectyourselffrompotentiallibelandslandercharges
Legalmatters 202
Tradenames
Copyright
Permissions
Patents
Appendix1:Suggestedresponsestoexercises 209
Appendix2:Excerptsfrom“Uniformrequirementsformanuscriptssubmitted
tobiomedicaljournals:Writingandeditingforbiomedicalpublication” 221
Selectedresources 232
Index 236
Preface
Timeschange.Todaytheneedtocommunicatescienceinformationeffectively
is perhaps more important than it has ever been, but the past decade has wit-
nessedasignificantrevolutioninthemannerinwhichwegather,process,and
communicateinformation.ThetwintechnologiesoftheInternetandpersonal
computershavechangedthewaynearlyeveryoneworks(andplays).
Inkeepingwiththespiritofchange,wehaveextensivelyrevised,updated,and
reorganizedthisthirdedition.Whetheryouareafirsttimeauthor/speakerora
seasonedprofessionalinthebiologicalormedicalsciences,wehopeyoufindthis
step-by-stepmanualuseful.
Becauseourprefacemessagetoyouinthesecondeditionstillringstruefor
us,weareincludingithereaswell.Enjoy.
JRM
RWM
2007
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