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How to start to write a scientific paper
Remedios MeleroValencia, Spain
Managing editorFood Science and Technology
International
The aims of this presentation are to put forth the main concepts and ideas about the way to prepare a paper, to make the students to think, to awaken their curiosity and to create their own criteria to judge and criticize their own work, and finally to express it.
This work is addressed to graduate or postgraduate
students not to editors or any other specialist joined to the
publishing world, and emphasizes the importance of the
scientific research communication and its transfer to the
scientific community.
the autho
r
The construction of the science is based on the communication of the research results
Research
Production
Literature
your research career. Within the circle it is relevant to communicate your results as brief and clear as possible.
Previous works are thebasis for yours, when you enter in the loop (intake, production, output and feedback) you become a consumer and a producer and so on till the end of
Why is important your scientific contribution?
Question
How does the process begin?
Preliminary research
answeryes noNew research
Project design
Lab workresults
conclusions
manuscript Dissemination & retrieval
Be aware of the contribution of your research to the Scientific Community and try to share it with your colleagues
How?
Communicating your results (written, oral, others)
When you consider you have finished an homogeneous part, be sure before closing the assays.
Arrange and organize your notes, references or any other material, display and classify it.
How to start
to write a manuscript?
Organize your information
Structure your information in separate blocks
Notes, comentaries, references, objetives
Samples, individuals, sampling, analytical and statistical methods, ...
Answers to the objetives supported by numerical, graphical or any other forms
Analysis of the results, comparison with other authors
Try to integrate your puzzle of information
And structure it
Structure of a scientific paper
Title
Authors’ names and
affiliation
Abstract, keywords
Introduction
Material and methods
Results
Discussion
Conclusions
Acknowledgements
References
Annexes
TITLEThe title should inform accurately about the content of the manuscript without ambiguities. It must be informative, brief, specific, accurate, concise and unambiguous.
Why is important the title?
Most of information retrieval services, browsers or data bases use titles to elaborate their indexes, so the more accurate and concise the better to its specific dissemination and retrieval.
Authors’ names and affiliations
Use always the same name (signature) to avoid any confussion within the scientific community. A “reliable name” is advisable. Identify the author for correspondence (with *).
Give the complete name and address of the institutions or centers the authors belong to.
Currently e-mails are also given.
Abstract
The abstract, summary or synopsis is, like the title, one
element within the manuscript of relevant importance. The
retrieval of the paper and its reading depend greatly on it.
Therefore it should provide the concise information to
indicate whether the paper fulfils our expectations.The main
feature of an abstract is its size. In very few words (200-300)
the abstract should inform about the main aspects of the
manuscripts and respond to why, what, how and the results
and their interpretation.
Characteristics of an abstract
Brief Inform ative
Concise Condensed
Content
Structured Single paragraph
Form at
Abstract
Short sentences, but not telegraphedNo references, tables or figuresNo acronyms, abbreviations..
No excessive details
Keywords
Keywords have not to be “empty words” or express generalities. Their source could come from:
Descriptors from a thesaurus
Free text
IntroductionBrief
Focused
With the most relevant references
Without repetitions of known stablished assumptions
Aims and objetives
Material and methods
Samples, sampling
Individuals
Material (origin if neccesary)
Methods (references and brief description)
Statistical methods (packages, software..)
Equations. Internationally nomenclature accepted
Results
Answers to the objectives
Expose the experiences logically sequenced
Omit superfluous results
Do not remove those that invalidate the initial hypothesis
Do not repeat any information in tables or figures, and in the text
Discussion
What do the results mean?
Are my results compared with other previous works?
Do not repeat results
Conclusions
Acknowledgements
Names, institutions, projects, grants, etc...
Citation
S. Harvard S. Vancouver(Name and year) (numerical sequence)
......These results agreed with previous works (Smith, 1996; Brown et al., 1998)....
......These results agreed with previous works 1,2......
Bibliographic elements:Journal article: Authors. Year. Title. Vol. (issue).pp-pp.
Book: Author(s). Year. Title. Edition. City of publication. Publisher. pp.-pp.
Chapter of book: Author’s chapter. Year. Chapter title. Editor. Book title. Edition. City of publication. Publisher. Pp.pp.
Patent: Author. Year. Patent title. Number of the patent.
Congress comunication: Author. Year. Title of the communication. Title of the congress. City. Date
Verb tenses
Pasive voice
Past
Present
Do not flaw the text with redundant passive voice, avoid it when neccesary and apply when the subject is unknown and the object relevant
Directives, conclussions, generalities, stable conditions
Procedures, results, finished statements
Active voice
Tables
Simple, avoid grids and backgrounds, use only the concise lines to separate the content from the headings.
Do no repeat any information in tables and figures or within the text.
Use only the essential footnotes.
(Express in a tabular way concise results)
Do not forget the units of the headings.
The table should contain at least 2 x2, rows x columns.
Figures
Figure = figure caption+ axes+units+ content
Avoid grids, lines, frames, and legends inside the drawing.
Figures are preferably to show tendencies more than particular (discrete) data.
Avoid figures with only a line. Use common symbols, clear and neat within the traces.
Have you chosen the journal?
Have you the instructions to authors?
Let’s write the first draft
AVOID
Long
Redundant Ambiguous
Jargonized
Obscure
MANUSCRIPTS
The simpler
The clearer
The shorter
The moreconcise
TheBetter The
more arresting
Manuscripts
Why?
How?
What did you find?
What does it mean?
Does your paper answer these questions?
introductionmaterial + methods
resultsdiscussion
Check the accuracy of the data in tables and figures
Are all tables and figures neccesary?
Could you join figures or tables?
Do you repeat any information?
Re-read first draft
Revise the style
Review the content, data, references
2nd draft
Final manuscript