The Scientific Paper
A treatise by Gary Dillard
The scientific paper is a written and published report
describing original research results.
The scientific paper, even though meeting all the tests of
good writing, is not validly published if it is published in
the wrong place. Scientific papers should be reviewed by
scientific peers and published in a primary journal. Most
governmental reports and conference literature do not
qualify as primary literature.
The Council of Biology Editors (CBE) supports the
following definition:
"An acceptable primary scientific publication must be the
first disclosure containing sufficient information to enable
peers to 1) assess observations, 2) repeat experiments,
and 3) to evaluate intellectual processes; moreover, it must
be susceptible to sensory perception, essentially
permanent, available to the scientific community without
restriction, and available for regular screening by one or
more of the major recognized secondary services (e.g.,
currently Biological Abstracts, Chemical Abstracts, Index
Medicus, Excerpta Medica, Bibliography of Agriculture,
etc., in the United States and similar facilities in other
countries".
Each scientific paper should have, in order, its Abstract,
Introduction, Materials and Methods, Results, Discussion,
and Literature Cited Sections. Any other order presents
potential problems for the reader and probably the writer.
GOOD ORGANIZATION IS THE KEY TO GOOD
WRITING. An effective way to proceed in writing a
scientific paper is to answer the following four questions:
- What is the problem? Your answer is the Introduction.
- How did you study the problem? Your answer is the Materials and Methods.
- What did you find? Your answer is the Results.
- What do these findings mean? Your answer is the Discussion.
Occasionally, certain scientific papers require organization
modifications. In some special laboratory reports, it is
desireable to incorporate the Materials and Methods and
Results into an "Experimental" section. Likewise, in some
instances, it becomes necessary to provide immediate
discussion of result observations requiring a combined
Results and Discussion section. In descriptive areas of
science, there may be a wide variety of variations of the
standard format. To determine specific latitudes or lack
thereof in required formats for any journal, the Instructions
to Authors of the target journal explain the options
available to prospective authors.
TITLE -
The title of the paper is the most often encountered part of
any paper and therefore has great importance in the success
of the paper. Thousands of readers will scan the title but
never read the abstract or paper itself. Abstracting and
Indexing services will also utilize the title, therefore, all
words in the title should be chosen with great care and their
association with other words in the title carefully managed.
What is a good title? The fewest possible words that
adequately describe the contents of the paper. How long
should the title be? Most titles are unnecessarily too long.
Many journals now limit title submissions to 10 to 12
words. Consequently it becomes necessary to employ
effective syntax (word order) and avoid waste words such
as "Investigations on" and "Observations on" in titles.
"Isolation of antigens from monkeys using
complement-fixation techniques", is an example of syntax
error which implies monkey capabilities which the content
of the paper doeis not address. The title should be a label
and not a sentence. Consequently it does not suffer from
the need to be complete and balanced, i.e., subject, verb,
object arrangement, etc. Titles should never contain
abbreviations and jargon. Indexing these word
substitutions makes indexing difficult to impossible and
impairs the titles credibility. Hanging or subtitles should
also be avoided, i.e., "The biology of amphibia: IV. Skin
respiratory interface".
AUTHORSHIP -
Authorships should include only those who actively
contributed to the overall design and execution of the
experiments. Authors should be listed in order of
importance to the experiments with the most important
being the first or senior author, followed in order by the
next most significant contributors to the project. The
sequencing of authors on a published paper should be
decided, unanimously, before the research is started. How
many collaborators should be considered authors? Only
those who contributed "substantially" to the work.
ABSTRACT -
A well-prepared abstract enables readers to identify the
basic content of a paper and quickly and accurately
determine its relevance. The abstract should not exceed 250
words and should be designed to define clearly what is
dealt with in the paper. It should include:
- the principal objectives and scope of the study.
- the methodology(s) employed.
- summarize the results.
- state the principal conclusions.
The conclusions of the paper are so important that they
should be stated three times, in the abstract, in the
introduction, and in the discussion.
INTRODUCTION -
The purpose of the introduction should be to supply
sufficient background information to allow the reader to
understand and evaluate the concept of the present study,
provide the rationale of the study, and introduce the most
outstanding conclusions as objectives or purposes of the
study. The introduction should a) present the nature and
scope of the problem studies, b) review the pertinent
literature pertaining to the problem, c) state the general
method of the investigation, and d) state the major
observations of the study. As a general rule, most authors
develop and write the introduction and abstract as the last
sections of the paper.
MATERIALS AND METHODS -
The general statement having been made in the
introduction, this section requires the full details of
methodology be given. Sufficient detail must be provided
to allow any competent investigator to repeat the
experiments with equal likelihood of obtaining similar
results. Sound scientific reports must be reproducable,
consequently methods and materials sections are extremely
important to the credibility of the work. Specific sources,
qualities, and capabilities of reagents must be presented.
Precise descriptions of quantities used, measurements
required, and temperatures observed likewise must be
given. Pertinent references where applicable should be
provided.
RESULTS -
The result section is referred to as the "core" of the paper.
The purpose of the result section is to provide the data
resulting from application of the methods described earlier.
Should data be generated from different methodologies,
then they should be presented according to the
experimentation design that yielded them. The greatest
problem in putting information into the result section for
publication is the decision as to which data are
representative and should be included and which data are
repetitive and have no value. The compulsion to include
everything, leaving nothing out, does not prove that one
has unlimited information; it proves that one lacks
discrimination. The fool collects facts; the wise person
selects them. Statistics used to analyze and treat data
should be meaningful and presented responsibly. An
example; 33.3% of the fish used in this experoment were
cured by the drug; 33.3% were unaffected, and the third
fish died. Results should be short and sweet. Results of
original studies represent new knowledge and therefore __
the skeleton of the paper. The entire success of the paper is
dependent upon the results, consequently they must be
presented with crystal clarity. When graphic techniques
may be used with great advantage to illustrate trends and
data relationships, then tables and figures should be
utilized. Great care should be taken in graphics
construction since they must be photographed and
re-photographed and reduced in the printing process. Do
not abuse data graphics by referring to them as; "It is
clearly seen in Table 1 that". It is not the readers
responsibility to analyze data, rather it is the authors job to
identify and direct the authors attention to major features or
trends of the data.
DISCUSSION -
The purpose of the discussion is more difficult to define
than the other sections. As a result~ it is usually the hardest
section to write. Likewise, many papers are not accepted
for publication because of inadequate discussion
preparation. Most discussions tend to be too long for their
intended purpose or for the available results. Unfortunately
the "squid" technique prevails and the author, not knowing
what to say about the results, hides behind a protective
cloud of ink. The discussion should attempt to:
- present the principles, relationships and generalizations shown by the results. It should discuss, not reformulate the results.
- point out any exceptions or lack of correlation and define any unsettled points.
- show how your results and interpretations agree or disagree with previously published works.
- discuss any theoretical implications or practical applications of the results.
- reaffirm the major conclusions or findings as clearly as possible.
- summarize the evidence of the study for each conclusion.
To summarize, the discussion should show the relationship
among observed facts.
LITERATURE CITED -
The paper should use only significant, published
references. Unpublished or gray literature should be
avoided. If considered absolutely necessary, such
references should be used parenthetically or as a footnote
in the text. Secondly, check all parts of every reference
against the original publication. Never cite citations from
other works. Obtain and study carefully every citation used
in a publication. Far more mistakes occur in the Literature
Citation section of a paper than anywhere else. The specific
citation style to be used is specific to the journal being
published in and is given in the Instructions to the Authors.
References
Day, R. A. 1983. How to write and publish a scientific paper. ISI Press, Philadelphia.
Houp, K. W., and T. E. Pearsall. 1977. Reporting technical information. Glencoe Press, Beverly Hills, CA.
Lannon, J. M. 1979. Technical writing. Little, Brown and Company, Boston.
Mali, P., and R. W. Sykes. 1985. Writing and word processing for engineers and scientists. McGraw-Hill, New York.