research planning and scientific writing bch-516

Research Planning and Scientific Writing

Bch-516

Types of Scientific Writing/Reports

Selection of Topic• Synopsis • Thesis• Research Paper• Research Poster Presentation• Research Project Proposal• Performance Report• Scientific Writing of General interest

Research Planning & Scientific Writing

• Designing/Planning Research Common Mistake• Leap in and begin working without designing i.e. What &

How• What it is you want to do & How to carry it out.• Spend time on working this out and discussing it with your

supervisor.• Need to prepare and submit a brief proposal giving details of

intended study.• Provide information i.e. topic, aims of the research or problem

to be investigated and its relevance to your discipline and central concept of the study.

Designing/Planning (Conti...)

Factors in designing and planning:

1. Choose a design that gives most definitive answer to the research topic.

2. Weigh this against feasibility of doing the study. Consider your own capability , availability of material and availability of resources.


Sampling• Size of sample is an important factor. If sample size is too

small the result will be unreliable. If the sample size is too big it may prolong the study and make it more expensive with no added scientific value.

Methods• To get reliable methods which are valid to meet requirement of

the present studies.• Planning is the time to think carefully about ethical

implications before study is conducted.


Two main categories of research design

1. Observational design

2. Experimental or interventional design


1. Observational Design

a. Descriptive

b. Analytical• Descriptive Design is an observational study that describe the

distribution of characteristics.• Analytical Design/study is an observational study that describe

associations and analysis for possible cause and effect.

2. Experimental or Interventional Design• The investigator tests the effect of intervention on the event

taking place on that study. This study may be controlled or non-controlled.


• Treatment to a patient or a group of patients and finding that treatment works, gives only preliminary and non-definitive information. For a definitive answer we need a control group of patients who do not get treatment under study.

• Hawthorne Effect• Researcher at Western Electric Hawthorne Chicago were

investigating the effect of lighting, heating, and other physical conditions on the productivity of workers. To their surprise, the productivity kept increasing/improving even when the actual physical conditions were not improved

Hawthorne Effect

• Hawthorne Effect is specially manifested in clinical research settings. ‘inert’ treatment may result significant improvement in patient condition( Polar & Thomas 2000).

Designing/Planning … conti….

Important factors in designing/planning

1. Specific aim and objective

2. Background and its significance

3. Preliminary studies

4. Research design and methods

1. Aim and objective

• Milestone of a project. • Clearly and concisely describes what the proposed research is

intended to accomplish.• Should include specific research objectives.• Should be hypothesis based.• Objective should be obtainable within the proposed time

frame.• Study aims should fit in overall framework of the research.• Study shall be well focused rather than broad and diffused.

2. Background and significance

• Gives proposed rationale, current state of knowledge and potential contribution of the research to the field.

• Critically evaluates existing knowledge including background literature and relevant data.

• References reflect an updated knowledge. • Specify gaps which exist in the research and how you intend

to fill those gaps.• Highlight why research finding are important beyond the

confines of specific research e.g. its significance; how research result can be applied.

3. Preliminary Studies

• Describes prior work by other investigator relevant to the project-important for hypothesis study.

• Discuss how previous work leads to current research• See how previous work demonstrates feasibility of proposed

methodology.

4. Research design and methods

• Describe how research will be carried out.• Provide an overview of the conceptual framework. • Research goal shall relate to proposed hypothesis.• Detailed methodology explaining why proposed methods are

the best to accomplished the goals.

Background and significance

• Describe novel concepts, approaches tools and techniques.• Consider required statistical techniques if applicable.• Keep Time line in mind (period of the project i.e synopsis,

thesis, reports etc).• Consider potential limitations and alternative approaches to

achieve study aims.

Choosing a Research Topic

Stage 1:- Broad Themes of interest• Write down a list of themes by asking yourself.• Your personal interest ?• Current hot topics/fields-discussions in scientific circles,

research papers etc?• If you are in a profession i.e. medicine, teaching/ research,

business, what are hot professional issues?

Broad Themes of interest

• Any issue in the field particularly important to national settings?

• Any themes or topics that have interested you since you were young?

• For each of these questions write down a list of topics that come into your mind. This could be a shorter or longer list.


Stage 2:- Interesting Topics within the themes • Narrow down the list to smaller list of topics

• Basis • See if there are themes that come up in an answer to more

than one of the question in stage 1.• Put the themes from stage 1 in ranking order of interest for

you.• That would narrow down your choice list to 2 – 3 topics of

interest.


Stage 3:- Question to ask about the topic• Think about key questions appropriate in relation to each of

the topic.• The Questions should be investigative.• Think of all questions of interest / importance in relation to

each of 2-3 topics you have chosen.


Stage 4:- Choose question and check viability• Choose a question and check its viability from the list of

questions (2-3 questions particularly interesting or exciting for you).

• Then choose one question that grabs your interest.• Consider it is a viable topic • By viability means question that needs answering and can be

answered with in the size of the project.


Stage 5:- Make your financial choice.• Go through stage 4 several times.• There may be several possible projects you need to investigate

for viability before you end up with a suitable topic.• Then ask yourself one last but very important question

Last but very important question

• Does this topic really interest me?• The answer needs to be ‘yes’ as you will be living with this

topic for a long time . If it is your doctoral thesis then you may be living with it night and day for three to four years.


• In the process of choosing topic there are number of important issues to think about.

• Do not choose a topic that is too long.• Some researchers/students’ first idea about a research project

is too ambitious involving large number of data collections and question that are too general. Avoid it.

• Keep yourself focused on a very specific topic.


• Do not believe your research has to change the world.• Your thesis has to make the contribution to knowledge base

but this is likely to be just a small step forward in understanding. However you may not be contributing a new global theory to the sum of knowledge.

• A single overall question you are investigating provides a very clear focus of your work.

• Keep asking yourself during the course of research.• Is my work going to help answer my research question?• Having a research question does not mean you have to use any

particular methodology BUT it just keeps you on track.

Scientific writing

Basic Rules• The writing shall interest ,inform and persuade the reader.• Remember you are writing for the reader, write clearly in an

understandable manner to the reader.• Avoid digression• Do not over explain, Avoid over statement.• Consistent tenses and precise wordings.• Avoid complicated examples.• Make sure the subject and verb agree.

Basic Rules (Scientific writing)

• Cite sources as well as findings.• Proof read, Spell check.• Best writing is simple and direct. It's easily understood and is

forceful and memorable.• It’s a wrong concept that complicated writing sounds serious ,

is scholarly and authoritative.• Shall describe original research result• Should have a proper Title, Abstract, Introduction, Materials

and methods, Results and Discussion.

Title

• Should be in fewest possible words that accurately describe the contents.

• Omit all waste words i.e. “ A study of…..” , “Investigations of ….” , “Observations on ….” etc

• Indexing and abstracting services depend on the accuracy of the title, extracting from it the key words useful in cross referencing and computer searching.

Title (Conti...)

• An improperly titled scientific writing may never reach the audiences attention for which it was intended.

• Be specific.• If the study is of a particular species, name it in the title.• If inferences made are limited to a particular region, name the

region in the title.

Abstract

• A well thought / prepared abstract enables the reader to identify the basic contents and the concept.

• Creates reader’s interest and helps in decision making whether to read the document (thesis, paper etc).

• Shall state the principal objectives and scope of investigation.• Shall concisely summarize the results and principal

conclusions.• Should not include details of methods unless the study is

methodological i.e primarily concerned with methods.

Abstract (Conti...)

• Must be brief ( not exceeding 250 words-thesis 500 words)• Shall convey the essential details in min. number of words.• No repetition of information already contained in the title.• Abstract together with the title must be self contained (as often

published separately from the paper in abstracting services).• Shall contain no reference to the literature, table or figure.• Omit obscure abbreviations and acronyms.

Word usage in scientific writing

• In reporting and recording research try to be accurate and precise. Avoid ambiguous and tardy statements.

• Aim for economy of words i.e. because (instead of based on the fact that..), both(instead of both alike), same(instead of one and the same), summarize(instead of summarize briefly) etc.

Writing the Introduction

• Begin with introducing the reader to the pertinent subject of research.

Common Mistake• Introducing the authors and their areas of study in general

terms with out mentioning their major findings.

Writing the Introduction (Conti...)

• Questions to address in writing an introduction:

• What is the problem?• Describe the problem under investigation.• Summarize relevant research to provide context and concept

so that your reader can understand the experiment.

• Why is it important?• Review relevant research to provide rationale (what are

conflicts or un-answered questions, un-tested hypotheses, un-tried methods in existing research). Does your experimentation address all these ?


• Which/what findings of others are you challenging?• What is the solution or steps towards the solution do you

propose?• Briefly describe your experiment: hypotheses, research

question(s), general experimental design or method you are going to adopt.


• Move from general to specific i.e problem in general to your experiment.

• Engage the reader by answering:• What did you do? Why did you do?

• Make clear links between problem and solution, question asked, research design, prior research and your experiment.

• Be selective not exhaustive in choosing studies to cite and amount of detail to include.

• More relevant an article is to your studies, more space it deserves in the introduction.

Writing Materials and methods

• Purpose of materials and methods section is to provide enough details for a competent worker/researcher to repeat your study and reproduce results.

• Scientific methods require that your results be reproducible and you provide a basis for repetition of the study by others.

• Equipment and materials available• Shall be described exactly i.e. Hitachi Spectrophotometer

model 2319 Serial # 11239

Materials and methods (Conti...)

• Source of material shall be given as there could be variation in quality among suppliers.

• If an equipment is modified for the study, it should be precisely and carefully described.

• Methods used to prepare the reagents, buffers etc shall be described in detail.

• Order of presentation of methods shall be chronological. However related methods may need to be described together and strict chronological order may not be followed.

Materials and methods (Conti...)

• Provide all details required to repeat the method, if required. If the method has been previously published in a reputable journal , name of the method and literature reference is enough to give.

• Be precise in describing measurements. Include errors of measurements by ordinary statistical methods. Advanced or unusual method measurements may require literature citation.

• Show your material and method write up to a friend/colleague and ask if he/she would have difficulty in repeating the experiment.

Materials and method (Conti...)

• Question to ask:• How did you study the problem? Briefly explain the scientific

procedure you used?• What did you use?• Describe materials, subjects and equipment (chemical,

experimental animals apparatus, reagents etc) used.• How did you proceed?• Explain the steps you took in your experimentation including

the assay.

Materials and method (Conti…)

• Provide enough details for replications i.e. include species, strain of organism, their source, living conditions, source of chemicals and apparatus etc.

• Use past tense to describe what you did.• Quantify where applicable i.e. concentration, amount (in

metric- time, 24hr clock, temperature in centigrade).

What to Avoid• Do not include details of common statistical procedures.• Do not mix results with procedures.

Results and Discussion

Results• Give your findings• Present the data-solid and condensed with important trends

extracted and describe in simple words.• The results provide new knowledge you are contributing to the

world.• It is important that your findings be clearly and simply stated.

Results (Conti...)

• Do not say in expressing results:• “ It is clearly evident from Fig 1 or Table 1 that bird species

richness increased with habitat complexity” BUT say “Bird species richness increased with habitat complexity-Ref Fig 1 or Table 1.

• Do not be too concise. The reader can not be expected to extract information from the data.

• Combine the use of text, tables, figures to condense data and highlight main features.

Results (Conti...)

• Use symbol ~ to mean approximately equal to.• Number(figure) at the beginning of the sentence must be

spelled.• Put a space between number and unit i.e. 75 kg.• In case of percentage no space is given i.e.75%.• Note 0.32 is correct Versus .32. Write numbers as 156 - 2,456

– 21,270 – 1,425,346.

Results (Conti…)

QUESTION TO ADDRESS:• What did you do?• How to address?• For each experiment or procedure

a) Briefly describe experiment with out details of method.

b) Report main results supported by selected data.

• Order multiple results logically with most to least important & from simple to complex.

• Use past tense to describe the what happened.

Results (Conti…)

Avoid• Do not repeat table data.• Do not interpret results• Do not use extra words but only those which describe the

results precisely.• Example: It is shown in table 1 that X induced Y.

The correct way is X induced Y (Ref.Table1).

Results and Discussion (Conti…)

Discussion• Discuss what biological principles have been established or

reinforced.• What generalization can be drawn.• How your findings compare with the findings of others or

compare with the expectations based on previous work?

Discussion (Conti…)

Discuss• Are there any theoretical/ practical implications of your work.• When you address these questions, it is critical that your

discussion rests firmly on the evidence presented in the Result section.

• Continuously refer to your results (but do not repeat).

Discussion (Conti...)

• Important: • Do not extend your conclusions beyond those which are

directly supported by your results.• Be sure to address the objectives of the study and discuss the

significance of the results.• Do not leave the reader thinking “So What” and end

discussion with a short summary or conclusion regarding significance of your work.


• Effective Discussion: Questions to address1) What do your observations mean?• How to address: Summarize the most important findings at

the beginning.

2) What conclusions can you draw?• How to address: For each result

a) Describe the pattern, principles and relationship your results show.

b) Explain how your results relate to expectations.


c) Explain how your results relate to the literature cited in your introduction.

d) Do they agree, contradict or are there exceptions to the rules?

e) Explain plausibly any agreement, contradictions or exceptions.

f) Describe what additional research might resolve contradictions or explain exceptions.


How do your results fit into a broader context: • How to address?• Suggest the theoretical implications of your results.• Suggest the practical application of your results.• Extend your findings to other situations or other species.• Give a broader picture. Your findings shall help to understand

a broader topic.


• Move from specific to general i.e.

Your findings ------to----- Literature, theory etc.• Ask yourself:

Did I ignore or bury the issue? Did the study achieve the goals i.e. resolved the problem, answered the questions, supported the hypothesis presented in the Introduction?

Discussion (Conti...)

• Your explanations shall be complete i.e. give evidence for each conclusion, discuss possible reasons for expected and unexpected findings.

Avoid• Do not over generalize discussion• Do not ignore deviations in your data.• Avoid speculations that can not be tested in foreseeable

future.

References

• Variety of styles are used by different journals.• Citation in text may be referred to by number or by author

name.• Citations are arranged numerically or alphabetically.• ...... Fructose may be comparable to glucose in terms of

mediating pathology through non enzymatic reactions because it has been reported that fructose is much more reactive 1,7.

References (Conti…)

• The existence of crystallization inhibitors was first observed in 1960 (Hamilton 1965).

• ….. molecules exhibited a potent capacity as crystallization inhibitors of calcium salts in urine (Grace et al 1996; Graham et al 1998a; Graham et al 1998b).

References (Conti…)

• Whatever system you use , the references must include:

1) All authors listed on the publication or on the chapter if citing a book.

2) The title of the paper or chapter if citing a book.

3) Name of the journal or book

4) Editor if a book is cited.

5) Volume number.

6) Complete paging i.e first and last paging of the work cited.

7) Year of publication.

References (Conti...)

Format from selected JournalsAmerican Journal of Physiology:• Vallalobos AR; Parmella AR; Renfro JL. Chlorine uptake

across the venticular membrane of neonate rat choroid plexus. Am.J.Phsiol 276: 1288-1296, 2010.

Book Reference:• Ausubel F.M, Brent R.T, Moore D.D and Seidman J.G.

Current Protocol in Molecular Biology. New York: Wiley, 2011, p 23-5-27

References (Conti...)

Journal of Cell Biology• Yallow,R.S, I.D.Hamilton and S.A. Berson 1999.

Immunoassay of endogenous plasma insulin in man J.Clin. Invest.39: 1157-1167.

Book Reference:• Myant,N.B 2011. The biology of cholestrol and related

steroids. Heimann Medical Books; London 882pp.

research planning and scientific writing bch-516

Documents

observational study

research topic

proposed research

details of intended

clinical research settings

specific research objectives

scientific writingbch

effect of intervention