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How to write a scientific
paper
Dr. Srinivasaragavan
DLIS,BDU

■A scientific experiment is not
complete until the results have
been published and understood.
■A scientific paper is a written
and published report describing
original research results.

What is Scientific Writing
■The purpose of scientific writing is
to communicate new scientific
findings
■Thus it has to be clear, simple and
well ordered communication to
transmit new scientific findings
■Scientific writing must use proper
English which gives the sense in the
fewest short words

Origins of Scientific Writing
■ Knowledge is lost without written records
■ Cave paintings and inscriptions were the first
attempts to leave records
■ About 2000 BC, Papyrus paper was used as a
medium of communication
■ In 190 BC, parchment made from animal skin came
into use
■ In 105 AD, the Chinese invented paper
■ Knowledge could not be widely circulated with no
effective duplication
■ In 1100 AD, the Chinese invented movable type
■ In 1455 AD, Gutenberg printed his 42-line Bible
from movable type on a printing press
■ By the year 1500 thousands of copies of hundreds
of books (called “incunabula”) were printed
■ In 1665, the first scientific journals were published

IMRAD Story
(Introduction, Methods, Results and Discussion)
■ Early journals published descriptive papers (still
used in case reports, geological surveys etc..)
■ By the second half of the 19th
century,
reproducibility of experiments became a
fundamental principle of the philosophy of
science.
■ The methods section became all important since
Louis Pasteur confirmed the germ theory of
disease
■ IMRAD organization of a scientific paper started to
develop
■ IMRAD format slowly progressed in the latter half
of the 19th
century

IMRAD Format
■I = Introduction, what question
(problem) was studied
■M = Methods, how was the problem
studied
■R = Results, what are the findings
■A = and
■D = Discussion, what do these findings
mean

Organization of a scientific
paper
■The most common is the IMRAD
■If a number of methods were used
to achieve directly related results:
M + R = Experimental section
■The results are so complex that they
need to be immediately discussed:
R + D = Results and Discussion
section

What is a scientific paper
■ A scientific paper is a written and published
report describing original research results.
1. It must be the first publication of original
research results,
2. In a form whereby peers of the author can
repeat the experiments and test the
conclusions, and
3. In a journal or other source document
readily available within the scientific
community

Definition of Scientific paper
■ An accepted original scientific publication
containing scientific information to enable
peers:
1. To assess observations
2. To repeat experiments
3. To evaluate intellectual processes
4. Must have an impact
5. Available to scientific community without
restriction
6. Available for regular screening by one or
more of the major recognized secondary
services (Biological abstracts, Index Medicus,

Some important Language points:
■Poor experimentation cannot be
masked by brilliant writing; however,
poor writing can mask brilliant
experimentation
■Avoid complex sentence structure
■Use simple and clear English
■Always keep in mind that the
paragraph is the essential unit of
thought

Before Starting to Write
the Paper
■Record your readings (results)
■Make tables
■Draw graphs
■Keep file to record summaries of results
and any observation however
insignificant
■Date the files
■Revise your readings, you may need to
repeat an experiment while you still have
the materials.
■Write ideas when ever they come to you

Essential Parts of a Scientific paper
■Title: Describe concisely the core contents of the
paper
■Abstract: Summarize the major elements of the
paper
■Introduction: provide context and rationale for the
study
■Materials: Describe the experimental design so it is
reproducible
■Methods: Describe the experimental procedures
■Results: Summarize the findings without
interpretation
■Discussion: Interpret the findings of the study
■Summary: Summarize the findings
■Acknowledgement: Give credit to those who helped
you
■References: List all scientific papers, books and

The Title
■A good title is defined as the fewest possible
words that adequately describe the
contents of the paper.
■The title is extremely important and must be
chosen with great care as it will be read by
thousands, whereas few will read the entire
paper
■Indexing and abstracting of the paper
depends on the accuracy of the title. An
improperly titled paper will get lost and will
never be read.

■Titles should neither be too short nor too
long as to be meaningless
■Waste words (studies on, investigations on,
a, an, the etc) should not be used.
■Syntax (word order) must be very carefully
considered
■It should contain the keywords that reflect
the contents of the paper.
■It should be meaningful and not general
■It should be concise, specific and
informative
■It should capture the fundamental nature of
the experiments and findings

Examples
1. Action of Antibiotics on Bacteria
■ Action: should be defined
■ Antibiotics: should be listed
■ Bacteria: should be listed
2. Mechanism of Suppression of
Nontransmissible Pneumonia in Mice
Induced by Newcastle Disease Virus
3. Evaluation of the methylation status of the
promoter of prostate apoptosis par-4 gene
and its protein expression in Egyptian
cancer patients
4. Effect of sunlight on leaf morphology

How to Prepare the Title
■Make a list of the most important keywords
■Think of a title that contains these words
■The title could state the conclusion of the
paper
■The title NEVER contains abbreviations,
chemical formulas, proprietary names or
jargon
■Think, rethink of the title before submitting
the paper
■Be very careful of the grammatical errors
due to faulty word order
■Avoid the use of the word “using”

The Abstract
■ An abstract can be defined as a summary of the
information in a document
■ It is of fundamental importance that the
abstract be written clearly and simply, as it is
the first and sometimes the only part of the
manuscript read.
■ It should provide a brief summary of each of the
main sections (IMRAD) of the paper:
1. State the principal objective and scope of the
investigation
2. Describe the methods used
3. Summarize the results, and
4. State the principal conclusions
■ It is easier to write the abstract after completion
of the paper

Criteria of the Abstract
■It should not exceed 250 words
■It should be written in one paragraph.
■It should be written in the past tense as it refers
to work done.
■Long words should be followed by its
abbreviation which would be used through out
the abstract and paper.
■It should not cite any references (except in rare
cases)
■It should never give any information or
conclusion that is not stated in the paper
■Must be accurate with respect to figures quoted
in the main text.

The Introduction
■ The introduction should answer
the following questions:
1. What was I studying?
2. Why was this an important
question?
3. What did I know about this topic
before I did this study?
4. What model was I testing? and
5. What approach did I take in this
study?

Suggested rules for a
good introduction:
■It should present the nature and
scope of the problem investigated
■Review the pertinent literature
■State the method of investigation
■State the principal results of the
investigation
■State the principal conclusion(s)
suggested by the results

General rules
■Use the present tense when referring to work
that has already been published, but past
tense when referring to own study.
■Use the active voice as much as possible
■Avoid lengthy or unfocused reviews of
previous research.
■Cite peer-reviewed scientific literature or
scholarly reviews. Avoid general reference
works such as textbooks.
■Define any specialized terms or abbreviations

How to write the Materials
and Methods section
■Provide full details so that the experiments are
reproducible
■If the peer reviewer has doubts that the
experiments could be repeated, the manuscript
will be rejected.
■Organize the methods under subheadings, with
related methods described together (e.g.
subjects, experimental design, Measurement
of…, Hormonal assays etc…).
■Describe the experimental design in detail
■Do not mix some of the Results in this section
■Write in the past tense

Materials
■Must identify accurately experimental animals,
plants, and microorganisms used by genus,
species and strain
■The source of subjects studied, number of
individuals in each group used, their sex, age, and
weight must be clearly stated
■If human subjects are used, the criteria for
selection should be described, and consent
■For chemicals used, include exact technical
specifications and source or method of
preparation.
■Avoid the use of trade names of chemicals,
generic or chemical names are preferred.

Methods
■This part of the manuscript must be clear, precise
and concise so that it can be reproducible
■If the method is new, all details must be provided
■If the method has been previously published in a
scientific journal, only the reference should be
given with some identification:
e.g. “cells were broken by ultrasonic treatment as
previously described by …”. Preferable than “cells
were broken as previously described by …. “
■Questions such as “how” or “how much” must be
answered and not left to be puzzled over
■Methods used for statistical analyses must be
mentioned; ordinary ones without comments,
but advanced or unusual ones require literature
citation

How to write the Results
■Results section is written in the past tense
■It is the core or heart of the paper
■It needs to be clearly and simply stated since it
constitutes the new knowledge contributed to
the world
■The purpose of this section is to summarize
and illustrate the findings in an orderly and
logical sequence, without interpretation
■The text should guide the reader through the
findings, stressing the major points
■Do not describe methods that have already
been described in the M&M section or that
have been inadvertently omitted

Methods of presenting
the data
1. Directly in the text
2. In a table
3. In a figure
■ All figures and tables must be
accompanied by a textual presentation
of the key findings
■ Never have a table or figure that is not
mentioned in the text

Tables and figures
■Tables are appropriate for large or
complicated data sets that would be difficult
to explain clearly in text.
■Figures are appropriate for data sets that
exhibit trends, patterns, or relationships that
are best conveyed visually.
■Any table or figure must be sufficiently
described by its title and caption or legend, to
be understandable without reading the main
text of the results section.
■Do not include both a table and a figure
showing the same information

How to write the
Discussion
■It is the hardest section to write.
■Its primary purpose is to show the
relationships among observed facts
■It should end with a short summary
or conclusion regarding the
significance of the work.

Components of the discussion
■Try to present the principles, relationships, and
generalizations shown by the Results
■Point out any exceptions or any lack of
correlation and define unsettled points
■Show how your results and interpretations
agree or contrast with previously published
work
■Discuss the theoretical implications of your
work, and any possible practical applications.
■State your conclusions as clearly as possible
■Summarize your evidence for each conclusion

How to State the
Acknowledgments
■ You should acknowledge:
1. Any significant technical help that you have
received from any individual in your lab or
elsewhere
2. The source of special equipment, cultures,
or any other material
3. Any outside financial assistance, such as
grants, contracts or fellowships
■ Do not use the word “wish”, simply write “I
thank …..” and not “I wish to thank…”
■ Show the proposed wording of the
Acknowledgement to the person whose help
you are acknowledging

References
What is referencing?
■ Referencing is a standardized way of acknowledging
the sources of information and ideas that you have
used in your document.
■ A list of ALL the references used in the text must be
written.
■ Reference format varies widely:
– Harvard format (the name and year system) is the
most widely used
– Alphabet-Number system is a modification of name
and year system
– Citation order system

In-text citations
In name and year system:
■ Citation in the text is followed by the author’s last
name and year of publication between parentheses.
– If they were two authors then both last names are written.
– If more than two then the only first author’s name is written
followed by the abbreviation et al
■ If a single statement requires more than one citation
then the references are arranged chronologically
from oldest to more recent, separated by semicolons.
– If more than one reference share the same year then they are
arranged alphabetically within the year.
In alphabet-number system:
■ Citation by number from an alphabetically arranged
numbered reference list.
In Citation order system:
■ The references are numbered in the order they are
mentioned in the text

Reference List
■ Any papers not cited in the text should not be included.
■ Reference lists allow readers to investigate the subject in
greater depth.
■ A reference list contains only the books, articles, and web
pages etc that are cited in the text of the document. A
bibliography includes all sources consulted for
background or further reading.

In name and year system:
■ The reference list is arranged alphabetically by author. If
an item has no author, it is cited by title, and included in
the alphabetical list using the first significant word of
the title.
■ If more than one item has the same author, list the
items chronologically, starting with the earliest
publication.
■ Each reference appears on a new line.
■ There is no indentation of the references
■ There is no numbering of the references
In alphabet-number system:
It the same as above in addition each reference is given a
number
In Citation order system:
The reference list is arranged by the number given to the
citation by the order that it were mentioned in the text

■ Book
– 1. Okuda M, Okuda D. Star Trek Chronology: The
History of the Future. New York: Pocket Books;
1993.
■ Journal or Magazine Article (with volume numbers)
– 2. Wilcox RV. Shifting roles and synthetic women
in Star trek: the next generation. Stud Pop Culture.
1991;13:53-65.
■ Newspaper, Magazine or Journal Article (without
volume numbers)
– 3. Di Rado A. Trekking through college: classes
explore modern society using the world of Star
trek. Los Angeles Times. March 15, 1995:A3.
■ Encyclopedia Article
– 4. Sturgeon T. Science fiction. In: Lorimer LT,
editorial director; Cummings C, ed-in-chief; Leish
KW, managing ed. The Encyclopedia Americana. Vol
24. International ed. Danbury, Conn: Grolier
Incorporated; 1995:390-392.

■ Book Article or Chapter
– 5. James NE. Two sides of paradise: the Eden myth
according to Kirk and Spock. In: Palumbo D, ed. Spectrum
of the Fantastic. Westport, Conn: Greenwood; 1988:219-
223.
■ ERIC Document
– 6. Fuss-Reineck M. Sibling Communication in Star Trek: The
Next Generation: Conflicts Between Brothers. Miami, Fla:
Annual Meeting of the Speech Communication
Association; 1993. ERIC Document Reproduction Service
ED364932.
■ Website
– 7. Lynch T. DSN trials and tribble-ations review. Psi Phi:
Bradley's Science Fiction Club Web site. 1996. Available
at:
http://www.bradley.edu/campusorg/psiphi/DS9/ep
/503r.htm. Accessed October 8, 1997.
■ Journal Article on the Internet
– 8. McCoy LH. Respiratory changes in Vulcans during pon
farr. J Extr Med [serial online]. 1999;47:237-247. Available
at:
http://infotrac.galegroup.com/itweb/nysl_li_liu.
Accessed April 7, 1999.

How to Write a Thesis
■ A PhD thesis in the science is supposed to
present the candidate’s original research i.e. it is
a scientific paper
■ Unlike the scientific paper, the thesis may
describe more than one topic, and it may
present more than one approach to some topics.
■ The thesis may present all or most of the data
obtained in the student’s thesis related research.
■ Thus it is more involved and longer than a
scientific paper.
■ Think of a thesis as a good thriller, and write in a
logical way so that a reader will find it interesting
and will not be bored.

Ethics, Rights and
Permissions
■Beware of originality and copyrights
of others.
■Do not copy anything without giving
the credit to the owner by
referencing it.
■In some cases permissions are
needed
■Repetitive publication of the same
data is considered plagiarism

References
■Robert Day (1995): How to write and
publish a scientific paper. 4th
Edition,
Cambridge University Press
■University of Queensland (2009)
References/Bibliography Harvard Style
http://www.library.uq.edu.au/
training/citation/harvard_6.pdf

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