Workshop on writing scientific papers (ca. 3 hours) Dr. Brian Metscher

https://ucloud.univie.ac.at/index.php/s/xaEhC7woEPYFzEQ

Workshop on writing scientific papers (ca. 3 hours) Dr. Brian Metscher

The scientific literature

what it is, where it is, what it is for
What are we communicating, and to whom? primary vs. secondary literature

Structure of a scientific paper

Generally what goes in each section
Why this format?
How it reflects the logic of scientific results Flow and unity in a paper

story structure in scientific reports

Some basics for writing papers

Get started! Methods section is easy to start writing. Following the structure of a good paper in your field can help. Composing the first draft:

Sources, summarizing, citing Keep to the main message Write for your audience
Plan to revise

Make paragraphs the unit of composition: one (main) idea per paragraph ...and of communication: each paragraph says something

Sentences:
Tight, clear, and active - exactly who is doing what? Keep related words together
Omit needless words (!)
Make definite, concrete statements
Learn from examples: read aloud

Titles

Abstracts

A basic scheme for abstracts, with examples
Exercise: analyse the content and structure of an abstract from the literature

Figures

Integrating illustrations and figure legends with the main text Tufte books; Rougier, 10 simple rules

Journals and peer review

Print, online, open access submission, peer review, etc.

Purposes of a title Inform, engage, index How to compose a title

keywords => contents and importance

write a title first, and last
Exercise: write a technical title, and a catchy title

Stephen B. Heard, The Scientist’s Guide To Writing: How To Write More Easily and Effectively Throughout Your Scientific Career

Joshua Schimel, Writing Science: How to Write Papers That Get Cited and Proposals That Get Funded

Jan Pechenik, A Short Guide to Writing About Biology, 9th ed. https://1lib.at/book/5005409/e984b0

Strunk and White, The Elements of Style

"What's a journal for?"

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-019-01643-3

Wouters et al. Rethinking impact factors: better ways to judge a journal. Nature 569: 621. 30 May 2019

The Non-Scientist’s Guide to Reading and Understanding a Scientific Paper

https://medium.com/elysium-health/how-to-read-a-scientific-paper-695188037080

Short Guide to Writing Abstracts (Metscher)

https://scilitcomm.blogspot.com/2020/03/short-guide-to-writing-abstracts.html

Tufte, Edward, The Visual Display of Quantitative Information https://www.edwardtufte.com/tufte/books_vdqi

Jambor H, et al. (2021). Creating clear and informative image-based figures for scientific publications. Plos Biology 19(3): e3001161. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3001161

Rougier NP, Droettboom M, Bourne PE. (2014). Ten simple rules for better figures. PLoS Comput Biol 10(9): e1003833. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25210732