WRITING SCIENTIFIC PAPERS

Your formal papers for this class should follow the method and form of the scientific literature. You can read original literature and see how they do it, but listed below are suggestions that will lead to success in this class. When in doubt, you can consult the Biology 109 Resource Page, which has good discussions on how to prepare scientific papers, as well as how to present your data and how to proceed when reading scientific literature.

Organization of a Scientific Research Paper:

1. Title page: a brief, explicit title describing the study, plus your name, the full name of others in your group, and the date.
2. Abstract: ≤ a brief (< 125 words) informative summary of the general question, methods, major results and conclusion of the paper.
3. Introduction: a clear statement of the problem and an explanation of its relevance in ecology. Please do not simply restate the information contained in the lab handout although you may use this as a guide. Briefly review previous theoretical and empirical research on the problem from the primary literature. Lead into the Methods by describing the goals (but not the results) of the paper. Two to four paragraphs should suffice.
4. Methods: a concise statement of the techniques, tools, location and description of the species, date etc. This should be detailed enough to allow other ecologists to replicate your study. Be sure to include a general description of the study site and give its location ». Again, two to four paragraphs should suffice.
5. Results: a presentation, in prose, of the main results of your study. Present statistical analyses and succinct, relevant summaries, graphs, and tables, where appropriate. Each figure or table should be referred to in the text and headed by a self-explanatory legend. Avoid presenting the same data in both figures and tables. Your data presentation should follow the general order of the predictions or hypotheses in the Introduction. You may use subheadings to clarify the logical subdivisions. Refer to publications in the primary literature for appropriate format.
6. Discussion: a thoughtful summary and interpretation of the results in relation to the hypotheses presented in the Introduction. This section also presents an opportunity to advance your own hypotheses, speculate on what it all means, explain what went wrong, and recommend what could be done better next time.
7. Acknowledgements: an acknowledgement of substantial contributions by others (reviewers, field assistants, property owners, or those who offered unpublished data, ideas, statistical analyses, etc.).
8. Literature Cited: an alphabetical list (by the last name of the first author) of authors, dates, titles, and journal citations of references referred to in the text of your paper. Refer to publications in the primary literature for appropriate format; scientific format differs from that of other fields. Note that statements of fact included in your paper but not based on data presented in the paper (e.g., “Species richness decreases with latitude [Wilson 1988].”) require a citation. Papers read but not cited in the text should not be listed.
9. Tables and Figures: place at end of your paper.
   

Checklists for each major section of your paper:

Introduction

• Is the problem/hypothesis stated clearly?
• Is there sufficient (and relevant) theoretical background?
• Are references cited correctly?

Methods

• Could you repeat this study using the methods described?
• Are dates and locations given?
• Are numbers in metric?
• Is the international system of dates and times used?

Results

• Are results presented in prose?
• Are figures/tables referred to in the text?
• Were results of statistical tests given?

Discussion

• Are results interpreted rather than merely restated?
• Are results related to the hypothesis?

Literature cited

• Are there at least 2 references ?
• Are citations in the proper format?

 

Tables/figures

• Do figures have self-explanatory legends?
• Are tables/figures at end of paper?
• Are all axes labeled?

General

• Is the paper easy to follow?
• Could the writing be more succinct?
  

Some Common Problems and General Suggestions:

• Instead of telling your reader that “the results were interesting,” let your writing, data analyses and interpretations speak for themselves. If they are truly interesting, the reader will figure it out without being told.
• Be explicit. Say what you mean. Cut excess verbiage. Instead of writing “the reason being that,” try “because.” Avoid the passive voice.
• Use the past tense for observations that took place in the past; reserve the present tense for generalizations. Be consistent in your use of tenses.
• Avoid relying on direct quotations. Instead, summarize the main points, and give citations. Credit ideas and data derived from other sources by using the following format: “McCauley (1980) suggested that ..." or “Several studies on beetle behavior (McCauley 1980; Woodhead 1981)..." or “Warm temperatures persist in Gambier through October (R.A. Mauck, pers. comm.).” (“Pers. comm.” is short for “personal communication.”)
• Proofread for errors in grammar, spelling, and analysis. Make use of a spell-checker, a roommate, anything.
• Use metric measurements (hectares instead of acres, kilometers instead of miles, etc.). You may abbreviate (ha, km, etc.).
• Use the international system of dates (20 March 1994) and time of day (1430 h).
• Identify species by their scientific names. The first time you refer to the common name of any organism (plants or insects as well as birds), you should identify it by noting the scientific name in parentheses as in the following examples: Pennsylvania soldier beetle (Chauliognathus pennsylvanicus) and Goldenrod (Solidago spp). For the rest of the paper, you should only use scientific or common names.
• Use scientific names properly. Remember, the name of the genus is always capitalized, the species name never. Both must be italicized or, preferably, underlined. The names of taxonomic orders and family are capitalized but not italicized or underlined.
• Remember, a hypothesis is “tested,” “supported,” etc. (not “proven,” validated,” etc.)
• Refer to “figures” instead of “graphs” or “charts,” and avoid making statements such as “Figure 1 shows...” Instead, state “Elytra lengths of male beetles were positively correlated with female elytra lengths (Fig. 1).”
• A pair of picky points: “data” is a plural noun (“datum” is singular) and requires a plural verb; avoid splitting infinitives (e.g., “to quickly run”).
• If in doubt about format, consult a paper in Animal Behaviour, Ecology, etc., or the Biology 109 Resource Page.
• If you can, read (or reread) The Elements of Style by E.B.White.