Writing Scientific Research Articles

"Margaret Cargill’s background as a linguist and research communications educator and Patrick O’Connor’s experience as both research scientist and educator synergize to improve both the science and art of scientific writing. If the authors’ goal is to give scientists the tools to write and publish compelling, well documented, clear narratives that convey their work honestly an...

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"Margaret Cargill’s background as a linguist and research communications educator and Patrick O’Connor’s experience as both research scientist and educator synergize to improve both the science and art of scientific writing. If the authors’ goal is to give scientists the tools to write and publish compelling, well documented, clear narratives that convey their work honestly and in proper context, they have succeeded admirably." –Veterinary Pathology, July 2009

"[The book is] clearly written, has a logical step-by-step structure, is easy to read and contains a lot of sensible advice about how to get scientific work published in international journals. The book is a most useful addition to the literature covering scientific writing." –Aquaculture International, April 2009

Writing Scientific Research Articles: Strategy and Steps guides authors in how to write, as well as what to write, to improve their chances of having their articles accepted for publication in international, peer reviewed journals. The book is designed for scientists who use English as a first or an additional language; for research students and those who teach them paper writing skills; and for early-career researchers wanting to hone their skills as authors and mentors. It provides clear processes for selecting target journals and writing each section of a manuscript, starting with the results. The stepwise learning process uses practical exercises to develop writing and data presentation skills through analysis of well-written example papers. Strategies are presented for responding to referee comments, as well as ideas for developing discipline-specific English language skills for manuscript writing. The book is designed for use by individuals or in a class setting.

Visit the companion site at www.writeresearch.com.au for more information.

Margaret Cargill is an applied linguist with over 15 years experience as a research communication educator. Her current research centres on innovative collaborative methods for helping scientists develop high-level skills for communicating their research findings effectively in the international arena. She has worked extensively in Australia, Europe and Asia with scientists of ...

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Margaret Cargill is an applied linguist with over 15 years experience as a research communication educator. Her current research centres on innovative collaborative methods for helping scientists develop high-level skills for communicating their research findings effectively in the international arena. She has worked extensively in Australia, Europe and Asia with scientists of many language and cultural backgrounds.

Patrick O'Connor is a research ecologist, environmental consultant and science educator. His work over the last 10 years has focussed on the use of scientific principles in designing and evaluating environmental programs for governments and statutory authorities in Australia. His research interests and scientific publications span fields of terrestrial ecology and detection of change in plant and animal communities.

Preface ix
Section 1 A framework for success 1
1 How the book is organized, and why 3
1.1 Getting started with writing for international publication 3
1.2 Publishing in the international literature 4
1.3 Aims of this book 6
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Preface ix
Section 1 A framework for success 1
1 How the book is organized, and why 3
1.1 Getting started with writing for international publication 3
1.2 Publishing in the international literature 4
1.3 Aims of this book 6
1.4 How the book is structured 7
2 Research article structures 9
2.1 Conventional article structure: AIMRaD (Abstract, Introduction,
Materials and methods, Results, and Discussion) and its variations 9
3 Referees’ criteria for evaluating manuscripts 15
3.1 Titles as content sign posts 16
Section 2 When and how to write each article section 19
4 Results as a ‘‘story’’: the key driver of an article 21
5 Results: turning data into knowledge 23
5.1 Figure, table, or text? 24
5.2 Designing figures 24
5.3 Designing tables 27
5.4 Figure legends and table titles 29
6 Writing about results 31
6.1 Functions of results sentences 31
6.2 Verb tense in Results sections 32
7 The Methods section 35
7.1 Purpose of the Methods section 35
Cargill / Writing Scientific Research Articles 9781405186193_2_toc Final Proof page 5 13.1.2009 1:18pm Compositor Name: KKavitha
7.2 Organizing Methods sections 35
7.3 Use of passive and active verbs 36
8 The Introduction 41
8.1 Five stages to a compelling Introduction 41
8.2 Stage 1: Locating your project within an existing field
of scientific research 43
8.3 Using references in Stages 2 and 3 44
8.4 Avoiding plagiarism when using others’ work 48
8.5 Indicating the gap or research niche 49
8.6 Stage 4: The statement of purpose or main activity 49
8.7 Suggested process for drafting an Introduction 50
8.8 Editing for logical flow 51
9 The Discussion section 55
9.1 Important structural issues 55
9.2 Information elements to highlight the key messages 56
9.3 Negotiating the strength of claims 57
10 The title 61
10.1 Strategy 1: Provide as much relevant information
as possible, but be concise 61
10.2 Strategy 2: Use keywords prominently 61
10.3 Strategy 3: Choose strategically: noun phrase, statement,
or question? 62
10.4 Strategy 4: Avoid ambiguity in noun phrases 63
11 The Abstract 65
11.1 Why Abstracts are so important 65
11.2 Selecting additional keywords 65
11.3 Abstracts: typical information elements 65
Section 3 Getting your manuscript published 67
12 Considerations when selecting a target journal 69
12.1 The scope and aims of the journal 69
12.2 The audience for the journal 69
12.3 Journal impact 70
12.4 Using indices of journal quality 70
12.5 Time to publication 71
12.6 Page charges or Open Access costs 71
13 Submitting a manuscript 73
13.1 Five practices of successful authors 73
13.2 Understanding the peer-review process 73
13.3 Understanding the editor’s role 74
13.4 The contributor’s covering letter 75
13.5 Understanding the reviewer’s role 76
13.6 Understanding the editor’s role (continued) 78
14 How to respond to editors and referees 79
14.1 Rules of thumb 79
Cargill / Writing Scientific Research Articles 9781405186193_2_toc Final Proof page 6 13.1.2009 1:18pm Compositor Name: KKavitha
viContents
14.2 How to deal with manuscript rejection 79
14.3 How to deal with ‘‘conditional acceptance’’ or ‘‘revise and resubmit’’ 81
15 A process for preparing a manuscript 89
15.1 Initial preparation steps 89
15.2 Editing procedures 90
15.3 A pre-review checklist 92
Section 4 Developing your publication skills further 95
16 Skill-development strategies for groups and individuals 97
16.1 Journal clubs 97
16.2 Writing groups 98
16.3 Selecting feedback strategies for different purposes 98
16.4 Training for responding to reviewers 100
17 Developing discipline-specific English skills 103
17.1 Introduction 103
17.2 What kinds of English errors matter most? 103
17.3 Strategic (and acceptable!) language re-use: sentence templates 105
17.4 More about noun phrases 108
17.5 Concordancing: a tool for developing your
discipline-specific English 109
17.6 Using the English articles (a/an, the) appropriately
in science writing 112
17.7 Using which and that 116
Section 5 Provided example articles 119
18 Provided example article 1: Kaiser et al. (2003) 121
19 Provided example article 2: Britton-Simmons and Abbott (2008) 133
Answer pages 145
References 167
Index 169
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