Scientific Writing Lecture Notes PDF

**Introduction to Scientific writing** Scientific writing definition: Is a technical form of writing that is designed to communicate scientific information to other scientists. Or: Is a form of writing that captures and shares scientific knowledge. Scientific writing is... - about scientific r...

**Introduction to Scientific writing** Scientific writing definition: Is a technical form of writing that is designed to communicate scientific information to other scientists. Or: Is a form of writing that captures and shares scientific knowledge. Scientific writing is... - about scientific research - written by professional scientists - published in academic journals - peer-reviewed - written for other scientists Importance of scientific writing: Scientific writing is important because it is the primary channel for communicating scientific knowledge. Scientists run experiments and take sophisticated measurements, but the results of that work must be documented, validated, and shared for it to be valuable to others. Scientific writing captures that research in a usable format. The purposes of scientific writing: There are 5 purposes of scientific writing: 1- Discrete units of work 2- Quality control 3- A solid record 4- Distribution 5- Credit 1- Discrete units of work: Learning in the real world is scattered around. Ideas come from everywhere and blend with other ideas. Thoughts are squishy and flexible, bending to fit into any shape you want. Scientific progress requires more rigor than squishy ideas. While scientific ideas constantly evolve, they must be processed into distinct units. Research articles can be thought of as the atomic unit of science. Every research article tells variations of the same story in precise detail: I did (X). \(Y) happened. That means (Z). X, Y, and Z all need to be clearly defined. Organizing research into these XYZ units turns the raw clay of research into individual bricks, which are easier to understand and work with. This is part of the reason research papers have such a strict structure -- standardization. These standardized units make it easier for scientists to digest results and build on them in future work. 2- Quality control (Peer-Review): "Peer review" is a specialized form of editing used in scientific journals to stop flawed research from being published. Summary of the peer review: When a paper is submitted to a journal, the editors will first check that the article is a good fit; the content is on-topic, the research is novel, and it meets any formatting requirements. If the paper passes this first test, the editors will select experts who will review the article. These are not just random scientists but specialists with knowledge relevant to the specific topic. The authors don't know the identity of the reviewers. The experts then review the article. They aren't doing a simple edit -- they are focusing on the science. They identify problems, question experimental methods, and point out holes in reasoning. Authors have an opportunity to address comments from reviewers, either by changing the article or by offering explanations and justifications. The authors may even need to conduct new experiments. Reviewer comments must be addressed before the paper is accepted by the journal. Reviewers are typically passionate about and protective of their field. Poor research slows progress and lowers the overall prestige of the subject. Editors are also incentivized to raise the reputation of their journal, which means being selective of the articles they publish. Peer-review is the primary quality check that keeps flawed research from being circulated. 3- A solid record: Science can be thought of as a massive tower. It is built brick-by-brick, each brick sitting on top of the bricks below. Bricks are more secure when they are resting on many other strong bricks. Strength and stability come from the network of connections. If researchers had to repeat the work done by their predecessors, there would be no scientific progress. Instead, scientists build their work on the foundation of other researchers. This is done through citations to previous work. References establish a relationship between a single article and all the work before or after. Science needs a consistent record. Let's go back to our XYZ story from above. If X is changed slightly, that could impact Y. If Y is altered, Z could shift dramatically. When peer review is done, authors can't change them after the fact. That would be like moving a brick once it is already cemented in place. One of the unfortunate side-effects of this approach to organizing knowledge is jargon. Journal articles are aimed at other scientists who are already interested in the topic. The introduction will offer some background, but this is usually extremely limited in scope. Papers use language understood by subject matter experts, but it can become nearly impossible to read for outsiders. You often have to read multiple other articles to understand a single paper. 4- Distribution: Academic scientific writing is published in academic journals. Each journal is dedicated to a topic area, though many journals overlap in their subject matter. Anyone inside or outside academia can access these journals, so the research is public. 5- Credit (Funding): Private companies do publish some research, but most papers are written by academics in universities or research institutes. Scientists are paid through research grants. They apply for funding from institutions called "Funding agencies," which are funded by the government. Funding agencies are mostly tied to a specific country. Some of the well-known Funding agencies include: National Science Foundation (NSF) -- United States National Institute of Health (NIH) -- United States European Research Council (ERC) -- European Union United Kingdom Research and Innovation -- United Kingdom National Science and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) -- Canada Academy of scientific research and technology- Egypt Science and Technology Development Fund (STDF)- Egypt How do these agencies decide who gets the money? There are many factors, but research publication is a critical one. How many publications do you have? How impactful is your work? Research articles are proof that you can run a lab effectively. Awards are also tied to publications. Everyone knows the Nobel Prize, but there are plenty of other awards that offer varying levels of prestige and money. These awards are typically given to the lead researcher behind a specific discovery or innovation. Scientific publications are a definitive record of who did what first.