加目录Writing and publishing a scientific paper-校对版

HowtoWriteandPublishaScientificPaperSixthEditionRobertA.DayBarbaraGastelContentsTOC\o"1-3"\h\uPreface 5AWordtoInternationalReaders 7Acknowledgments 8PARTI 9SomePreliminaries 9CHAPTER1 10WhatIsScientificWriting? 10CHAPTER2 12HistoricalPerspectives 12CHAPTER3 15ApproachingaWritingProject 15CHAPTER4 20WhatIsaScientificPaper? 20CHAPTER5 25EthicsinScientificPublishing 25CHAPTER6 28WheretoSubmitYourManuscript 28PARTII 33PreparingtheText 33CHAPTER7 34HowtoPreparetheTitle 34CHAPTER8 39HowtoListtheAuthorsandAddresses 39CHAPTER9 44HowtoPreparetheAbstract 44CHAPTER10 47HowtoWritetheIntroduction 47CHAPTER11 50HowtoWritetheMaterials 50andMethodsSection 50CHAPTER12 54HowtoWritetheResults 54CHAPTER13 56HowtoWritetheDiscussion 56CHAPTER14 59HowtoStatetheAcknowledgments 59CHAPTER15 61HowtoCitetheReferences 61PARTⅢ 67PreparingtheTablesandFigures 67CHAPTER16 68HowtoDesignEffectiveTables 68CHAPTER17 74HowtoPrepareEffectiveGraphs 74CHAPTER18 79HowtoPrepareEffectivePhotographs 79PARTⅣ 85PubilshingthePaper 85CHAPTER19 86RightsandPermissions 86CHAPTER20 89HowtoSubmittheManuscript 89CHAPTER21 93TheReviewProcess(HowtoDeal 93withEditors) 93CHAPTER22 102ThePublishingProcess 102(HowtoDealwithProofs) 102PARTV 108DoingOtherWritingforPubilcation 108CHAPTER23 109HowtoWriteaReviewPaper 109CHAPTER24 112HowtoWriteOpinion 112(BookReviews,Editorials, 112andLetterstotheEditor) 112CHAPTER25 115HowtoWriteaBookChapteroraBook 115CHAPTER26 120HowtoWriteforthePublic 120PARTⅥ 124ConferenceCommunicationsCHAPTER27 124CHAPTER27 125HowtoPresentaPaperOrally 125CHAPTER28 129HowtoPrepareaPoster 129CHAPTER29 132HowtoWriteaConferenceReport 132PARTⅦ 135ScientificStyleCHAPTER30 135CHAPTER30 136UseandMisuseofEnglish 136CHAPTER31 146AvoidingJargon 146CHAPTER32 151HowandWhentoUseAbbreviations 151CHAPTER33 154WritingClearlyAcrossCulturesandMedia 154CHAPTER34 158HowtoWriteScienceinEnglish 158asaForeignLanguage 158PARTⅧ 162OtherTopicsinScientificCommunication 162CHAPTER35 163HowtoWriteaThesis 163CHAPTER36 166HowtoPrepareaCurriculumVitae 166CHAPTER37 171HowtoPrepareGrantProposals 171andProgressReports 171CHAPTER38 177HowtoWriteaRecommendationLetter 177—andHowtoAskforOne 177CHAPTER39 181HowtoWorkwiththeMedia 181CHAPTER40 184HowtoProvidePeerReview 184CHAPTER41 188HowtoSeekaScientific- 188CommunicationCareer 188APPENDIX1 191SelectedJournalTitleWordAbbreviations 191APPENDIX2 194WordsandExpressionstoAvoid 194APPENDIX3 200SI(SystèmeInternational]PrefixesandTheirAbbreviations 200GlossaryofTechnicalTerms 201References 205Index 209PrefaceCriticismandtestingareoftheessenceofourwork.Thismeansthatscienceisafundamentallysocialactivity,whichimpliesthatitdependsongoodcommunication.Inthepracticeofscienceweareawareofthis,andthatiswhyitisrightforourjournalstoinsistonclarityandintelligibility——HermannBondiGoodscientificwritingisnotamatteroflifeanddeath;itismuchmoreseriousthanthat.Thegoalofscientificresearchispublication.Scientists,startingasgraduatestudents,aremeasuredprimarilynotbytheirdexterityinlaboratorymanipulations,notbytheirinnateknowledgeofeitherbroadornarrowscientificsubjects,andcertainlynotbytheirwitorcharm;theyaremeasuredandbecomeknown(orremainunknown)bytheirpublications.Ascientificexperiment,nomatterhowspectaculartheresults,isnotcompleteduntiltheresultsarepublished.Infact,thecornerstoneofthephilosophyofscienceisbasedonthefundamentalassumptionthatoriginalresearchmustbepublished;onlythuscannewscientificknowledgebeauthenticatedandthenaddedtotheexistingdatabasethatwecallscientificknowledge.Itisnotnecessaryfortheplumbertowriteaboutpipes,norisitnecessaryforthelawyertowriteaboutcases(exceptbriefwriting),buttheresearchscientist,perhapsuniquelyamongthetradesandprofessions,mustprovideadocumentshowingwhatheorshedid,whyitwasdone,howitwasdone,andwhatwaslearnedfromit.Thekeywordisreproducibility.Thatiswhatmakesscienceandscientificwritingunique.Thus,thescientistmustnotonly"do"sciencebutmust"write"science.Badwritingcanandoftendoespreventordelaythepublicationofgoodscience.Unfortunately,theeducationofscientistsisoftensooverwhelminglycommittedtothetechnicalaspectsofsciencethatthecommunicationartsareneglectedorignored.Inshort,manygoodscientistsarepoorwriters.Certainly,manyscientistsdonotliketowrite.AsCharlesDarwinsaid,"anaturalist'slifewouldbeahappyoneifhehadonlytoobserveandnevertowrite"(quotedbyTrelease,1958).Mostoftoday'sscientistsdidnothaveachancetotakeaformalcourseinscientificwriting.Asgraduatestudents,theylearnedtoimitatethestyleandapproachoftheirprofessorsandpreviousauthors.Somescientistsbecamegoodwritersanyway.Many,however,learnedonlytoimitatethewritingoftheauthorsbeforethem—withallitsdefects—thusestablishingasystemoferrorinperpetuity.Themainpurposeofthisbookistohelpscientistsandstudentsofthesciencesinalldisciplinestopreparemanuscriptsthatwillhaveahighprobabilityofbeingacceptedforpublicationandofbeingcompletelyunderstoodwhentheyarepublished.Becausetherequirementsofjournalsvarywidelyfromdisciplinetodiscipline,andevenwithinthesamediscipline,itisnotpossibletoofferrecommendationsthatareuniversallyacceptable.Inthisbook,wepresentcertainbasicprinciplesthatareacceptedinmostdisciplines.Letustellyouabitaboutthehistoryofthisbook.ThedevelopmentofHowtoWriteandPublishaScientificPaperbeganmanyyearsago,whenRobertA.DaytaughtagraduateseminarinscientificwritingattheInstituteofMicrobiologyatRutgersUniversity.Itquicklybecameclearthatgraduatestudentsinthesciencesbothwantedandneededpracticalinformationaboutwriting.Ifalecturewasabouttheprosandconsofsplitinfinitives,thestudentsbecamesomnolent;ifitaddressedhowtoorganizedataintoatable,theywerewideawake.Therefore,astraight-forward"howto"approachwasusedforanarticle(Day,1975)basedonthelecturenotes.Thearticleturnedouttobesurprisinglypopular,andthatledtotheFirstEditionofthisbook.AndtheFirstEditionlednaturallytotheSecondEditionandthentosucceedingeditions.Becausethisbookisnowbeingusedinteachingprogramsinseveralhundredcollegesanduniversities,itseemsespeciallydesirabletokeepituptodate.Wethankthosereaderswhokindlycommentedonpreviouseditions,andweinvitesuggestionsthatmayimprovefutureeditions.PleasesendsuggestionsandcommentstoBarbaraGastelatb-gastel@.Yes,thisbooknowhasanadditionalauthor.RobertA.Day,authorofthepreviousfiveeditions,retiredbeforepreparationofthecurrentedition.Thereforeheinvitedscientific-communicationcolleagueBarbaraGasteltocollaborate.Gastel,whoknewthepreviouseditionswellthroughherteaching,wasdelightedtoacceptthehonor.Thecoreofthebook—thechaptersonwritingscientificpapersandpublishingtheminjournals—remainslargelythesameasinpreviouseditions,forthebasicsofdoingsoremainthesame.However,thiscorehasbeenupdated,especiallytoreflecttheelectronicrevolutioninscientificpublishing.Conversely,materialthatisnolongerofgreatimportance,orthatisnowwidelyknown,hasbeencondensedoromitted.Thus,thereisnolongeraseparatechapteronreprints,andtheglossarynolongerdefinese-mailandtheWorldWideWeb.BeginningwiththeFirstEdition,thisbookhasalsocontainedchapterstohelpreaderswritereviewpapers,conferencereports,andtheses.Overtime,chapterswereaddedonothertopicsinscientificcommunication,suchashowtopresentapaperorallyandhowtoprepareaposterpresentation.Thecurrenteditioncontainsanumberofentirelynewchapters.Amongthemarechaptersonapproachingawritingproject,preparingagrantproposal,writingaboutscienceinEnglishasaforeignlanguage,communicatingsciencetothepublic,andprovidingpeerreview.Inaddition,existingmaterialthroughoutthebookhasbeenupdatedandotherwiserevised.Fortheconvenienceofreaders,thebookhasbeenreorganizedslightlyanddividedintosections.Thisbookremainsa"how-tobook"or"cookbook,"focusingmainlyonpointsofpracticalimportance.Asinpasteditions,thebookalsocontainssomeotheritems,suchascartoonsandexamplesofhumorouserrors,intendedtolightenthereading.Readerswishingtoexploretopicsfurtherareencouragedtoconsultworksnotedinthetextorcitedasreferences.Goodscientificwritingisindeedcrucial.Wehopethisbookwilldemystifywritingandpublishingascientificpaperandhelpyoucommunicateaboutyourworkeffectively,efficiently,andevenenjoyably.Yoursuccesswillbeourgreatestreward.

AWordtoInternationalReadersForresearchersthroughouttheworld,communicatinginEnglishinstandardWesternformatshasincreasinglybecomethenormforsharinginformationwidely.Thus,overtheyearsHowtoWriteandPublishaScientificPaperhashadmanyreadersforwhomEnglishisnotanativelanguage.Wehopethecurrenteditionwillserveanevenwiderreadership.Awareofthediversityofourreaders,wehavetriedespeciallyhardinthecurrenteditiontopresentthemaincontentinlanguageeasilyunderstoodbynon-nativespeakersofEnglish.Oneissuewefaced,however,waswhethertoretainthejokesthatenlivenedthebookformanyreadersbutsometimesconfusedreadersfromlinguisticorculturalbackgroundsotherthanourown.Becausethesejokeshavebeenadistinctivefeatureofthebookandoneofitsappeals,weareretainingtheminthosechaptersupdatedfromearliereditions.However,becausehumoroftendoesnottranslatewellcross-culturally,wehavelimiteditsusemoreinthenewlyaddedchapters.If,asaninternationalreader,youoccasionallyencounterasilly-seemingstoryorcommentinthisbook(forexample,thestoryattheendofthechapteronhowtopreparetheAbstract),donotworrythatsomethingiswrongorthatyouhavemissedanimportantpoint.Rather,realizethatyouareseeingsomeexamplesofAmericanhumor.Wewelcomereadersfromthroughouttheworld,andhopetheywillfindourbookhelpfulincommunicatingscienceinternationally.Suggestionsformakingthebookmoreusefulareappreciatedatanytime.

AcknowledgmentsOvertheyearsandovertheeditions,manycolleaguesandothershavecontributeddirectlyorindirectlytothisbook.Thosewehaveworkedwithinscientificpublishingandacademiahavesharedinformationandideas.SohavefellowmembersoftheCouncilofScienceEditorsandtheSocietyforScholarlyPublishing.Studentsandotherusersofthebookhavemadesuggestions.Manycolleagueshavereadandcommentedonmanuscriptsforpreviouseditions.Editorsandproductionstaffhavebroughttheworktopublication.Forthecurrentedition,KevinJ.Downing,senioracquisitionseditorattheGreenwoodPublishingGroup,providedvaluableguidance.Wethankallthesepeople.Wealsothankourfamiliesfortheirsupport,encouragement,andcounsel.Whilethecurrenteditionwasbeingprepared,weweresaddenedbythelossoftwomembersofourrespectivefamilies:wifeBettyJ.DayandfatherJosephP.Gastel.Itistotheirmemorythatwededicatethisedition.PARTISomePreliminaries

CHAPTER1WhatIsScientificWriting?Stateyourfactsassimplyaspossible,evenboldly.Noonewantsflowersofeloquenceorliteraryornamentsinaresearcharticle.——R.B.McKerrowTHESCOPEOFSCIENTIFICWRITINGThetermscientificwritingcommonlydenotesthereportingoforiginalresearchinjournals,throughscientificpapersinstandardformat.Initsbroadersense,scientificwritingalsoincludescommunicationaboutsciencethroughothertypesofjournalarticles,suchasreviewpaperssum-marizingandintegratingpreviouslypublishedresearch.Andinastillbroadersense,itincludesothertypesofprofessionalcommunicationbyscientists—forexample,grantproposals,oralpresentations,andposterpresentations.Relatedendeavorsincludewritingaboutscienceforthepublic,sometimescalledsciencewriting.THENEEDFORCLARITYThekeycharacteristicofscientificwritingisclarity.Successfulscientificexperimentationistheresultofaclearmindattackingaclearlystatedproblemandproducingclearlystatedconclusions.Ideally,clarityshouldbeacharacteristicofanytypeofcommunication;however,whensome-thingisbeingsaidforthefirsttime,clarityisessential.Mostscientificpapers,thosepublishedinourprimaryresearchjournals,areacceptedforpublicationpreciselybecausetheydocontributenewknowledge.Hence,weshoulddemandabsoluteclarityinscientificwriting.RECEIVINGTHESIGNALSMostpeoplehavenodoubtheardthisquestion:Ifatreefallsintheforestandthereisnoonetheretohearitfall,doesitmakeasound?Thecorrectanswerisno.Soundismorethan"pressurewaves,"andindeedtherecanbenosoundwithoutahearer.Similarly,scientificcommunicationisatwo-wayprocess.Justasasignalofanykindisuselessunlessitisperceived,apublishedscientificpaper(signal)isuselessunlessitisbothreceivedandunderstoodbyitsintendedaudience.Thuswecanrestatetheaxiomofscienceasbeing:Ascientificexperimentisnotcompleteuntiltheresultshavebeenpublishedandunderstood.Publicationisnomorethan"pressurewaves"unlessthepublishedpaperisunderstood.Toomanyscientificpapersfallsilentlyinthewoods.UNDERSTANDINGTHESIGNALSScientificwritingisthetransmissionofaclearsignaltoarecipient.Thewordsofthesignalshouldbeasclearandsimpleandwellorderedaspossible.Inscientificwriting,thereislittleneedforornamentation.Thefloweryliteraryembellishments—themetaphors,thesimiles,theidiomaticexpressions—areverylikelytocauseconfusionandshouldseldombeusedinwritingresearchpapers.Scienceissimplytooimportanttobecommunicatedinanythingotherthanwordsofcertainmeaning.Andthemeaningshouldbeclearandcertainnotjusttopeersoftheauthor,butalsotostudentsjustembarkingontheircareers,toscientistsreadingoutsidetheirownnarrowdiscipline,andespeciallytothosereaders(mostreaderstoday)whosenativelanguageisotherthanEnglish.Manykindsofwritingaredesignedforentertainment.Scientificwritinghasadifferentpurpose:tocommunicatenewscientificfindings.Scientificwritingshouldbeasclearandsimpleaspossible.ORGANIZATIONANDLANGUAGEINSCIENTIFICWRITINGEffectiveorganizationisakeytocommunicatingclearlyandefficientlyinscience.Suchorganizationincludesfollowingthestandardformatforascientificpaper.Italsoincludesorganizingideaslogicallywithinthatformat.Inadditiontoorganization,thesecondprincipalingredientofascientificpapershouldbeappropriatelanguage.ThisbookkeepsemphasizingproperuseofEnglishbecausemostscientistshavetroubleinthisarea.AllscientistmustlearntousetheEnglishlanguagewithprecision.Abook(Day,1995)whollyconcernedwithEnglishforscientistsisavailable.Ifscientificallydeterminedknowledgeisatleastasimportantasanyotherknowledge,itmustbecommunicatedeffectively,clearly,inwordsofcertainmeaning.Thescientist,tosucceedinthisendeavor,mustthereforebeliterate.DavidB.Truman,whenhewasDeanofColumbiaCollege,saiditwell:"Inthecomplexitiesofcontemporaryexistencethespecialistwhoistrainedbutuneducated,technicallyskilledbutculturallyincompetent,isamenace."Althoughtheultimateresultofscientificresearchispublication,surprisinglymanyscientistsneglecttheresponsibilitiesinvolved.Ascientistwillspendmonthsoryearsofhardworktosecuredata,andthenunconcernedlyletmuchoftheirvaluebelostbecauseoflackofinterestinthecommunicationprocess.Thesamescientistwhowillovercometremendousobstaclestocarryoutameasurementtothefourthdecimalplacewillbeindeepslumberwhileatypographicalerrorchangesmicrogramspermillilitertomilligramspermilliliter.Englishneednotbedifficult.Inscientificwriting,wesay:"ThebestEnglishisthatwhichgivesthesenseinthefewestshortwords"(adictumprintedforsomeyearsintheInstructionstoAuthorsoftheJournalofBacteriology).Literarydevices,metaphorsandthelike,divertattentionfromthesubstancetothestyle.Theyshouldbeusedrarelyinscientificwriting.

CHAPTER2HistoricalPerspectivesForwhatgoodsciencetriestoeliminate,goodartseekstoprovoke--mystery,whichislethaltotheone,andvitaltotheother.——JohnFowlesTHEEARLYHISTORYHumanbeingshavebeenabletocommunicateforthousandsofyears.Yetscientificcommunicationasweknowittodayisrelativelynew.Thefirstjournalswerepublishedlessthan350yearsago,andtheIMRAD(Introduction,Methods,Results,andDiscussion)organizationofscientificpapershasdevelopedwithinaboutthepastcentury.Knowledge,scientificorotherwise,couldnotbeeffectivelycommunicateduntilappropriatemechanismsofcommunicationbecameavailable.Prehistoricpeoplecouldcommunicateorally,ofcourse,buteachnewgenerationstartedfromessentiallythesamebaselinebecause,withoutwrittenrecordstoreferto,knowledgewaslostalmostasrapidlyasitwasfound.Cavepaintingsandinscriptionscarvedontorockswereamongthefirsthumanattemptstoleaverecordsforsucceedinggenerations.Inasense,todayweareluckythatourearlyancestorschosesuchmediabecausesomeoftheseearly"messages"havesurvived,whereasmessagesonless-durablematerialswouldhavebeenlost.(Perhapsmanyhavebeen.)Ontheotherhand,communicationviasuchmediawasincrediblydifficult.Think,forexample,ofthedistributionalproblemstheU.S.PostalServicewouldhavetodayifthemediumofcorrespondencewere100-lbrocks.Ithasenoughtroubleswith1/2-ozletters.TheearliestbookweknowofisaChaldeanaccountoftheFlood.Thisstorywasinscribedonaclaytabletinabout4000B.C.,antedatingGenesisbysome2,000years(Tuchman,1980).Amediumofcommunicationthatwaslightweightandportablewasneeded.Thefirstsuccessfulmediumwaspapyrus(sheetsmadefromthepapyrusplantandgluedtogethertoformarollsometimes20to40ft[6to12m]long,fastenedtoawoodenroller),whichcameintouseabout2000B.C.In190B.C.,parchment(madefromanimalskins)cameintouse.TheGreeksassembledlargelibrariesinEphesusandPergamum(inwhatisnowTurkey)andinAlexandria.AccordingtoPlutarch,thelibraryinPergamumcontained200,000volumesin40B.C.(Tuchman,1980).InA.D.105,theChineseinventedpaper,thedominantmediumofwrittencommunicationinmodemtimes.However,becausetherewasnotaneffectivewayofduplicatingcommunications,scholarlyknowledgecouldnotbewidelydisseminated.Perhapsthegreatestsingleinventionintheintellectualhistoryofthehumanracewastheprintingpress.AlthoughmovabletypewasinventedinChinainaboutA.D.1100(Tuchman,1980),theWesternWorldgivescredittoJohannesGutenberg,whoprintedhis42-lineBiblefrommovabletypeonaprintingpressinA.D.1455Gutenberg'sinventionwasimmediatelyandeffectivelyputtousethroughoutEurope.Bytheyear1500,thousandsofcopiesofhundredsofbookswereprinted.Thefirstscientificjournalsappearedin1665,whentwojournals,th