Scientific Communication

Chem 602

By

Abi Taddesse (Ph.D)

(Associate Professor of Chemistry)

October 2013
 Introduction

What do you understand by the term communication?

Why do we want to learn about Scientific

communication?

The goal of scientific research is publication.

Scientists are measured primarily not by their

Lab manipulation
In-depth knowledge
Charm or wit

Scientists become known (or remain unknown) by their

publication. Publish or Perish
 Introduction

Kinds of Scientific communications

Reports

Proposals

Journal Articles

Thesis/Dissertation

Poster/Flash presentations

Speeches
 Introduction (Cont)

the greatest truths, poorly communicated, remain

unconvincing.

A scientific experiment, no matter how spectacular the

results, is not completed until the results are published.

Cornerstone of philosophy of science is based on the

fundamental assumption that the original research must
be published

Only thus can new scientific knowledge be authenticated

and then added to the existing data base that we call
scientific knowledge
 Introduction (Cont)

it is not necessary for the

Plumber to write about pipes

Lawyer to write about cases (except brief writing)

Research scientist, perhaps uniquely among the

trades and professions, must provide a written
document showing the following:
What s/he did
Why it was done
How it was done
What was learned form it
 Introduction (Cont)

The key word is reproducibility. That is what makes

science and scientific writing unique

Thus the scientist must not only do science but must

write science.

Unfortunately, the education of scientists

overwhelmingly committed to the technical aspects

communication arts are neglected or ignored.
 Introduction (Cont)

Many good scientists are poor writers.

Many scientists do not like to write.

A naturalists life would be a happy one if he had only to

observe and never to write

Charles Darwin
 What Is Scientific Writing?

State your facts as simply as possible, even boldly. No

one wants flowers of eloquence or literary ornaments in
a research article.
- R.B. McKerrow
THE NEED FOR CLARITY
Successful scientific experimentation is the result of a
clear mind attacking a clearly stated problem and
producing a clearly stated conclusion
CLARITY is a key characteristics of scientific writing
What does clarity constitute?
Sender vs audience: do they share the same meaning
 What Is Scientific Writing? (cont.)

RECEIVING THE SIGNALS

If a tree falls in the forest and there is no one there to

hear it fall, does it make sound?

Sound is more than a pressure wave and there will be

no sound without a hearer

In an analogous way, scientific communication is a two-

way process.
Just as a signal of any kind is useless unless it is
perceived, a published scientific paper (signal) is
useless unless it is both received and understood by
its intended audience.
 What Is Scientific Writing? (cont.)

A scientific experiment is not complete until the results

have been published and understood.

Publication is no more than pressure waves unless the

published paper is understood.

Too many scientific papers fall silently in the woods

 What Is Scientific Writing? (cont.)

UNDERSTANDING THE SIGNALS

Scientific writing is the transmission of a clear signal to a

recipient.
The words of the signal should be as clear and well
ordered as possible
In scientific writing there is little need for ornamentation
the metaphors,
the similes,
the idiomatic expressions - should seldom be used in scientific
writing
 What Is Scientific Writing? (cont.)

Science is simply too important to be communicated in

anything other than words of certain meaning.

Clarity should pertain not just to peers of author, but

also:
To students embarking on their careers
To scientists reading outside of their own narrow
disciplines
To those whose vernacular/mother tongue is not
English
 What Is Scientific Writing? (cont.)

INGREDIENTS OF A SCIENTIFIC PAPER

Organization : The first principal ingredient

Language: the second principal ingredient

The best English is that which gives the sense in
the fewest short words

Ornamentation divert attention from the substance to the

style. They should be used rarely in scientific writing.
 What Is Scientific Writing? (cont.)

Ransoms Rules for Technical & Scientific Writing

If it can be interpreted in more than one way, it is wrong.

Know your audience, know your subject, know your
purpose.
If you cant think of a reason to put a comma in, leave it
out.
Keep your writing clear, concise, and correct.
 Origin of Scientific writing?

For what good science tries to eliminate, good art seeks to

provoke - mystery, which is lethal to the one, and vital to
the other
-John Fowles
THE EARLY HISTORY
The first journals were published only 300 years ago.
The IMRAD structure has developed within the past 100
years.
Knowledge, scientific or otherwise, could not be
effectively communicated until appropriate mechanisms
of communication became available.
 Origin of Scientific writing? (cont.)

Prehistoric people could communicate orally

The consequence was that
Knowledge was lost almost as rapidly as it was found
The new generation started from the same base line
The first human attempt to leave records for succeeding
generations were
Cave paintings,
Inscriptions carved onto rocks
In a sense we are lucky our ancestors chose such
media:
Some messages survived: More durable material
 Origin of Scientific writing? (cont.)

Problems: Communication via such media was incredibly

difficult due to weight.
The earliest book: a story on Chalden account of the
fllood, inscribed on clay tablets (4000 B.C): Heavy
weight
Light weight medium of communication started with
papyrus sheet, 2000 B.C
Pachment (made from animal skin) : 190 B.C
Paper, the modern medium of communication, invented
in 105 A.D.
 Origin of Scientific writing? (cont.)

The first scientific journals appeared in 1665,

coincidentally two at a time
Journal des Scavans : France
Philosophical transaction of the Royal Society of
London: England
THE IMRAD STORY
Early journals follow a descriptive format
First, I saw this and then I saw that type
First, I did this, and then I did that type
The observations often were simple chronological orders
These approaches are not working well for all the
spheres of science though still used in letters journals,
in case of reports in medicine, in geological surveys, etc.
 Origin of Scientific writing? (cont.)

Since the second half of the nineteenth century, science

was beginning to move fast and in increasingly
sophisticated ways.
Reasonably competent peers demand for exquisite
details of the experiment to reproduce the same
This led the way toward highly structured IMRAD format.
The other reason for choice of IMRAD came from the
editors or referees side
Journal space is too precious to waste on verbosity or
redundancy, IMRAD saves space, saves expense.
It makes the indexing process less cumbersome
 Origin of Scientific writing? (cont.)

The logic of IMRAD can be defined in the question form:

What question (problem ) was studied?: Introduction

How was the problem studied? : Methods
What were the findings: Results
What do these findings mean: Discussion

IMRAD provides an easy road map for editors, referees,

and ultimately the readers to follow in reading the paper.
Amazing rainbow cloud on mount Everest
 What is a Scientific Paper?

Without publication, science is dead

- Gerard Piel
Definition of a Scientific Paper

A Scientific Paper is a written and published report

describing original research results
Mechanism that creates a scientific paper: Valid
(primary) publication
Abstracts, Theses, Conference reports and many other
types of literature are published but such publications do
not normally meet all the other tests: Not Primary
A paper published in the wrong place is not validly
published
 What is a Scientific Paper? (cont.)

An acceptable primary scientific publication must be the

first disclosure containing sufficient information to enable
the peers
To assess observations
To repeat experiments and
To evaluate intellectual processes
An acceptable primary scientific publication must be
the first disclosure
Disclosure is more than disgorgement by the author
( Oral presentation in scientific meeting)
 What is a Scientific Paper? (cont.)

Effective disclosure is accomplished only when the

disclosure takes a form that allows the peers of the
author (either now or in the future) to fully comprehend
and use that which is disclosed

Moreover, It must be

susceptible to sensory perceptions

essentially permanent
available to the scientific community with out
restriction
Available for regular screening
(Biological/Chemical/Physical Abstracts, Index
Medicus etc.)
 What is a Scientific Paper? (cont.)

To restate the CBE definition in simpler but more

accurate terms, Primary publication is

1. The first publication of original research results

2. Peer reviewed

3. In a journal or other sources document readily

available within the scientific community
 Difference Between a Research Report
and a Research Proposal
Research Report Research Proposal
A Title A Title
An Abstract An Abstract
An Introduction (Review) An Introduction
------------------------- A literature review
Materials and Methods Materials and methods
Results and Discussion Work plan
Conclusion Budget required
Acknowledgement ----------------------
Reference/Bibliography Reference/Bibliography
 How to Prepare the Title

Title
First impressions are strong impressions; a title ought
therefore to be well studied, and to give, so far as its limit
permit, a definite and concise indication of what is to
come.
T. Clifford Allbutt
The perfect title tells the reader what the paper is about
It must be concise, accurate and informative
To give the reader as much information as you can in as
few words as possible.
It should contain all the key words of the paper
 How to Prepare the Title

Importance of the Title

As an Author, one needs to remember one salient fact

Many people could read the title;

Some may be interested to read the abstract ;
Only few might read the whole document

Therefore careful design of the title is important.

Total research vs Research read
Title vs Others components
 How to Prepare the Title

Beware of syntax: Most of the grammatical errors in title

are due to faulty word order
A good title is defined as the one with fewest possible
words that adequately describe the contents of the paper
An improperly titled paper may be virtually lost and never
reach its intended audience

Length of the Title

Titles should neither be too short nor too long.

Too short titles may focus on general than specific terms
Too long titles are often less meaningful than short ones.
 How to Prepare the Title

Example
Studies on Brucella

Was the study taxonomic, genetic, biochemical, or

medical. We would certainly want that much to know

With out question most excessively long titles contain

waste words

Waste words are words such as Studies on

Investigations on, Observations on

An opening such as A, An, or The is also a waste word.

 How to Prepare the Title

Need for specific titles

Example

Action of Antibiotics on Bacteria

Action of Streptomycin on Mycobacterium tuberculosis
Action of Streptomycin, Neomycin and Tetracycline on
Gram positive Bacteria
Action of Polygene Antibiotics on Plant-Pathogenic
Bacteria
Action of Antifungal Antibiotics on Candida albicans and
Aspergillus fumigatus
 How to Prepare the Title

Although the above titles are more acceptable than the sample, they
are still too general because of the phrase Action of

Inhibition of Growth of Mycobacterium tuberculosis by streptomycin

Series Titles/ Hanging Titles
Studies on bacteria. IV. Cell Wall of staphylococcus aureus.
The structure of the potassium channel: Molecular Basis of K+
Conduction and Selectivity
-They appear pedantic
- Place emphasis on general terms than more significant
- Necessitates punctuation
- scramble indexes
 How to prepare an abstract?

I have the strong impression that scientific

communication is being seriously hindered by poor
quality abstracts written in jargon-ridden mumbo-
jumbo.
Sheila M.McNab
Definition

An abstract can be defined as a summary of the

information in the document.

An abstract should be viewed as a mini-version of the

paper.

The abstract should provide a brief summary of the main

sections of the paper.
 How to prepare an abstract?

A well-prepared abstract enables readers

to identify the basic content of a document quickly and
accurately,
to determine its relevance to their interests, and thus
to decide whether they need to read the document in its
entirety(ANSI,1979b)

The abstract should not exceed 250 words and should be designed
to define clearly what is dealt with in the paper. Thesis might have
up to 500 words

The abstract should be typed as a single paragraph. Some journals

however have a very brief paragraphs
Graphical abstracts
 How to prepare an abstract?

The abstract should

State the principal objectives and scope of the investigation

Describe the methods employed
Summarize the results and
State the principal conclusions

Abstract of a paper should be written in the past tense, because it

refers the work done.

The abstract should never give any information or conclusion that is

not stated in the paper.

References to the literature must not be cited. Except in rare cases ,

such as modification of a published method.
 How to prepare an abstract?

Types of Abstracts

Informative abstract

Common in primary journals and with out change in

the secondary services (Chemical abstracts, etc)
It is designed to condense the paper like stated
above.
This is the type of abstract that is used as a heading
in most journals.
 How to prepare an abstract?

Indicative (descriptive) abstract

o It is designed to indicate the subjects dealt with in a

paper
o More descriptive than substantive
o Seldom used as a substitute of the paper in contrast
to the informative
o Common in review papers, conference reports,
government report literature etc.
o Greater value to reference librarians
 How to prepare an abstract?

Economy of words

When writing the abstract, examine every word carefully.

If you can tell your story in 100 words, do not use 200.

Economically and scientifically, it doesnt make sense to

waste words.

The use of clear ,significant words will impress the

editors and reviewers, where as the use of abstruse,
verbose constructions is likely to be rejected.
 How to Prepare Introduction

A bad beginning makes a bad ending

- Euripides
The introduction is the part of the paper that provides the
reader with the background information for the research
reported in the paper (Wilkinson, 1991, p. 96)

Purpose of introduction

To supply sufficient background information

To establish the framework of the research
To provide the rationale
To state clearly your purpose of writing
 Components of introduction

In Research proposal In Research report

Background information Background information

Statement of the problem Statement of the problem
Review of literature Review literature
Research Objective of the study
questions/hypotheses Method of investigations
Objective of the study Principal results
Significance of the study Principal conclusions
Limitations
Delimitations
 How to Prepare Introduction
Purpose of introduction

To introduce the area of research

To explain the importance of the research area
To highlight relevant, precedent works
To justify the need for the current work
To introduce the current work
How to Prepare Introduction
How to Prepare Introduction
How to Prepare Introduction
 How to Prepare Introduction

References must be pertinent

If a researcher is working within a particular theoretical
framework/line of inquiry, the best place to introduce is in the
introduction or literature review.
N.B. Theory/line of inquiry selected will inform the
Statement of the problem
Rationale for the study
Questions and hypotheses
Selection of instruments
Choice of methods
Findings will be discussed in terms of how they relate to the
theory/line of inquiry that under grids the study.
 How to Prepare Introduction

Reading a scientific article isnt the same as reading a

detective story, we want to know from the start that the
butler did it.( Ratnoff, 1981)
Scientific paper is like other types of journalism.

In the introduction you should have a hook to gain the

readers attention

Why did you choose that subject and why is it important?

 The first suggestion to make your writing more concise is
to eliminate the names of scientists and the titles of their
works from your sentences.
Very wordy: In their article titled Preparation of 5-Substituted
1H-Tetrazoles from Nitriles in Water, Demko and Sharpless (5)
propose a way to synthesize 1H-tetrazoles using nitriles and
sodium azide in water.
Wordy: Demko and Sharpless (5) recently proposed a way to
synthesize 1H-tetrazoles using nitriles and sodium azide in
water.
Concise: 1H-tetrazoles have been prepared using nitriles and
sodium azide in water(5).
 A second strategy for achieving conciseness
requires that you group related ideas and use
punctuation appropriately.

The following could help to achieve

conciseness:
such as
respectively
Colons, semicolons,commas
 Review Literature

The review of literature provides the background and

context for the research problem.

It should establish the need for the research

It should indicate that the writer is knowledgeable about

the area( Fraenkel and Wallen, 1990)
 Review Literature
It relates the study to the larger, ongoing dialogue in the
literature about a topic, filling in gaps and extending prior
studies (Marshall and Rassman, 1989)

It provides the framework for establishing the importance

of the study,

It provides benchmark for comparing results of a study

with the findings

It frames the problem earlier identified

 Review Literature
Demonstrates to the reader that you have a
comprehensive grasp of the field and are aware of
important recent substantive and methodological
developments

In a proposal, the literature review is generally brief and

to the point. The literature selected should be pertinent
 Review Literature

Ideally, a properly execute critical review of the literature

lays a sound foundation for the study from which

o the rationale

o The statement of the problem

o Hypotheses/ research questions

o The design of the research emerge or concretize

 Summary of the why and what

Why is review literature important when preparing

proposal?

To further your understanding of the problem

To find out what others have learned and reported on

your topic

To familiarize with various types of methodology that

might be used in your study

To prevent from reinventing the wheel

What resources can be consulted for the
review of literature
Card catalogues of books in libraries
Indexes such as Science Citation Index
Computer based literature searches
Books, articles, proceedings etc
Bibliographies such as found at the end of books,
articles, Theses etc
Theoretical works related to the topic
Opinions, beliefs, point-of-view
 How to find information?

E-Journals

E-Books

Data bases
ISIs web of science
Science direct
Cab abstracts
Beilistein, Gmelin, Science Citation Index, NIST Web
book in chemistry, CRC Handbook on-line, Biological
Substance Searching, Patents
 Methods of Citation in Preparing
Literature Review
Information on an index card should be organized in
such a way that you can easily find all the data you will
need for your report

For Thesis/Dissertation/ Seminars/ Senior projects :

Follow the style as written in SGS Guide lines

For submission to a specific journal, follow the style of

the journal.
 Examples

Journal Article

Abrol. I.P., 1978. On the methods of determining gypsum

requirement. J.Indian Soc.Soil Sci. 27: 54-59.

Cohn. M.S., 2007. New approaches for medicinal

applications of bioinorganic chemistry. Curr. Opinion
Chem Biol. 11: 115-120.

Ronconi, L. and P.J. Sadler, 2007.Using coordination

chemistry to design new medicines. Coord. Chem. Rev.
251: 1633-1648.
 Examples

Books

Buol, S.W., F.D. Hole and R.J. McCracken, 1973. Soil

genesis and Classification. The Iowa State University
Press, Ames. 360p.

Sposito, G.,1989. The Chemistry of Soils. Oxford

Univesrity Press, New York. 277p.