Scientific Writing of

Research

Dr. Aman Ullah, Ph.D.

Scientific Writing

 Scientific writing is a technical form of writing that is

designed to communicate scientific information to other
scientists 
 Scientific writing follows a different format and deviates
in structure from how we were initially taught to write, or
even how we currently write for English, history, or social
science
Scientific Writing

 Scientific writing generally follows a specific format with key

sections: an introduction to a particular topic, hypotheses to
be tested, a description of methods, key results, and finally,
a discussion that ties these results to our broader
knowledge of the topic
 This general format is inherent in most scientific writing and
facilitates the transfer of information from author to reader
Introduction

 The Introduction sets the tone of the writing by providing relevant

background information and clearly identifying the problem you plan
to address
 Think of your Introduction as the beginning of a funnel: Start wide to
put your research into a broad context that someone outside of the
field would understand, and then narrow the scope until you reach the
specific question that you are trying to answer
 Clearly state the wider implications of your work for the field of study,
or, if relevant, any societal impacts it may have, and provide enough
background information that the reader can understand your topic
Introduction

 Perform a thorough sweep of the literature; however, do not parrot

everything you find
 Background information should only include material that is directly
relevant to your research and fits into your story; it does not need to
contain an entire history of the field of interest
 Upon narrowing the background information presented to arrive at
the specific focus of your research, clearly state the problem that
your writing addresses
 The problem is also known as the knowledge gap, or a specific
area of the literature that contains an unknown question or problem
Introduction

 The knowledge gap tends to be a small piece of a much

larger field of study
 Explicitly state how your work will contribute to filling that
knowledge gap
 This is a crucial section of your manuscript; In addition, the
knowledge gap will drive your hypotheses and questions
that you design your experiment to answer
 Your hypothesis will often logically follow the identification
of the knowledge gap
Introduction

 A hypothesis is a testable explanation of an observed

occurrence in nature, or, more specifically, why something
you observed is occurring
 Hypotheses relate directly to research questions, are
written in the present tense, and can be tested through
observation or experimentation
Materials and Methods

 This section is arguably the most straightforward section to

write; you can even begin writing it while performing your
experiments to avoid forgetting any details of your
experimental design
 In order to make your writing as clear as possible, organize
this section into subsections with headers for each
procedure you describe
 We recommend reusing these headers in your Results and
Discussion to help orient your readers
Materials and Methods

 The aim of this section is to demonstrate that you used scientifically

valid methods and provide the reader with enough information to
recreate your experiment
 In chronological order, clearly state the procedural steps you took,
remembering to include the model numbers and specific settings of
all equipment used
 In addition to your experimental procedure, describe any statistical
analyses that you performed
 If you followed a procedure developed from another paper, cite the
source that it came from and provide a general description of the
method
Materials and Methods

 There is no need to reiterate every detail, unless you

deviated from the source and changed a step in your
procedure
 However, it is important to provide enough information that
the reader can follow your methods without referring to the
original source
Common parameters included in M&M

Site characterization:  Equipment used, including model

numbers and year
 Study organism used, its origin, any
pre-experiment handling or care  Important equipment settings
(e.g., temperature of incubation,
 Description of field site or site
speed of centrifuge)
where experiment was performed
 Amount of reagents used
Experimental design:
 Specific measurements taken (e.g.,
 Step-by-step procedures in
wing length, weight of organism)
paragraph form
 Statistical analyses conducted
 Sample preparation
(e.g., ANOVA, linear regression)
 Experimental controls
Materials and Methods

 This section should be written in the past tense

 While it is generally advisable to use active voice
throughout the writing
 You may want to use a mixture of active and
passive voice in order to vary sentence structure
and avoid repetitive clauses
Results

 The Results section provides a space to present your key

findings in a purely objective manner and lay the foundation
for the Discussion section, where those data are
subjectively interpreted
 Before diving into this section, identify which graphs, tables,
and data are absolutely necessary for telling your story
Results

 Then, craft a descriptive sentence or two that summarizes

each result, referring to corresponding table and figure
numbers
 Rather than presenting the details all at once, write a
short summary about each data set
 If you carried out a complicated study, we recommend
dividing your results into multiple sections with clear
headers following the sequence laid out in the M&M section
Discussion

 The Discussion section usually requires the most consideration,

as this is where you interpret your results
 Your Discussion should form a self-contained story
 One potential strategy for writing the Discussion is to begin by
explicitly stating the main finding(s) of your research
 Remind the reader of the knowledge gap identified in the
Introduction to re-spark curiosity about the question you set out to
answer
 Then, explicitly state how your experiment moved the field
forward by filling that knowledge gap
Discussion

 After the opening paragraph of your Discussion, we

suggest addressing your question and hypotheses with
specific evidence from your results
 If there are multiple possible interpretations of a result,
clearly lay out each competing explanation
 Presenting and evaluating alternative explanations of your
findings will provide clear opportunities for future research
 However, be sure to keep your Discussion concrete by
referring to your results to support each given interpretation
Discussion

 Intermingled with these interpretations, reference preexisting

literature and report how your results relate to previous findings
 Ask yourself the following questions: How do my results compare to
those of similar studies? Are they consistent or inconsistent with
what other researchers have found? If they are inconsistent, discuss
why this might be the case
 For example, are you asking a similar question in a different system,
organism, or site? Was there a difference in the methods or
experimental design? Any caveats of the study (e.g., small sample
size, procedural mistakes, or known biases in the methods) should
be transparent and briefly discussed
Conclusion

 The conclusion, generally located in its own short section or the last
paragraph of the Discussion, represents your final opportunity to state the
significance of your research
 Rather than merely restating your main findings, the conclusion should
summarize the outcome of your study in a way that incorporates new insights
or frames interesting questions that arose as a result of your research
 Your conclusions should be directly supported by the data that you present.
Avoid making sweeping conclusions that rest on assumptions that have not
been substantiated by your or others’ research.
 While it is important to acknowledge the shortcomings or caveats of the
research project, generally include these near the beginning of the conclusion
or earlier in the Discussion
Scientific Writing Made Easy: A Step‐by‐Step Guide to Undergraduate Writing in the Biological Sciences

Bulletin Ecologic Soc America, Volume: 97, Issue: 4, Pages: 417-426, First published: 03 October 2016, DOI: (10.1002/bes2.1258)
Putting it all together

 No matter how many boards you stack on top of each other,

you still need nails to prevent the pile from falling apart
 The same logic applies to a scientific paper
 Little things—such as flow, structure, voice, and word
choice—will connect your story, polish your writing, and
make it enjoyable to read
Editing and peer review

 Although you have finally finished collecting data and

writing, you are not done yet!
 The editing stage is where you put the finishing touches on
your work
 Start by taking some time away from your work
 Ideally, you began your writing early enough that you can
refrain from looking at it for a day or two
Editing and peer review

 However, if the deadline looms large, take an hour break at

the very least
 Come back to your work and verify that it still expresses what
you intended to say
 Where are the gaps in your story structure? What has not
been explained clearly? Where is the writing awkward, making
it difficult to understand your point? 
 Consider reading the writing out loud first, and then print and
edit a hard copy to inspect the work from different angles
Tense Tendencies in Scientific writing

Use Past Tense… 

 To describe your methodology and report your results 

At the time you are writing your report, thesis, dissertation or

article, you have already completed your study, so you should
use past tense in your methodology section to record what you
did, and in your results section to report what you found
But in case of synopsis and/or proposal use future tense
because you will do the study
Tense Tendencies in Scientific writing

 When referring to the work of previous researchers

 When citing previous research in your article, use past
tense
 Whatever a previous researcher said, did or wrote
happened at some specific, definite time in the past and is
not still being done
 Results that were relevant only in the past or to a particular
study and have not yet been generally accepted as fact
also should be expressed in past tense:
Sample Sentence
"Smith (2008) reported that
adult respondents in his study
remembered 30 percent more
than children."
Explanation
Smith’s study was completed
in the past and his finding
was specific to that particular
study.

"Previous research showed The research was conducted

that children confuse the in the past, but the finding is
source of their memories now a widely accepted fact.
more often than adults
(Lindsey et al., 1991)."
To describe a fact, law or finding that is no
longer considered valid and relevant
 Sample Sentence  Explanation
 "Nineteenth-century  Note the shift here from
physicians held that past tense (discredited
women got migraines belief) to present (current
because they were 'the belief)
weaker sex,' but current
research shows that the
causes of migraine are
unrelated to gender."
Tense Tendencies in Scientific writing

 Use Present Tense. . .

 To express findings that continue to be true

 Use present tense to express general truths or facts or
conclusions supported by research results that are unlikely
to change—in other words, something that is believed to be
always true
Sample Sentence
"Genetic information is encoded in the
sequence of nucleotides on DNA."
"Galileo asserted that the earth revolves
around the sun."
Explanation
Note also that no source citation is needed
here since it is a widely known and well-
accepted fact.
The asserting took place in the past, but
the earth is still revolving around the sun.

1) “Singer (1982) stated that sexual
dimorphism in body size is common
among butterflies.”
2) "Sexual dimorphism in body size
is common among butterflies (Singer
1982)."
Here you use past tense to indicate what
Singer reported (sentence one), but
present tense to indicate a research result
that is unlikely to change (sentence two).

"We chose Vietnam for this study because Use past tense to indicate what you did
it has a long coastline." (chose Vietnam), but present tense
to indicate you assume that the length of
Vietnam's coastline is unlikely to change.

"We used cornmeal to feed the fingerlings Past tense reflects what you did (used
because it provides high nutritional content cornmeal), but present tense indicates that
at a relatively low cost." neither the nutritional content nor the cost
of cornmeal is likely to change.
To refer to the article, thesis or
dissertation itself
Sample Sentence Explanation

"Table 3 shows that Table 3 will always

the main cause of show this; it is now a
weight increase was fact that is unlikely
nutritional value of to change, and will
the feed." be true whenever
anyone reads this
sentence, so use
present tense.
To discuss your findings and present
your conclusions

Sample Sentence Explanation

"Weight increased as the Use past tense to indicate
nutritional value of feed what you found [weight
increased. These results increased], but use
suggest that feeds higher present tense to suggest
in nutritional value what the result implies.
contribute to greater
weight gain in livestock."
A glimpse of which tense to use where in
dissertation
• Title: This is the place where no other tense accept present
tense can be used
• Chapter one which is an introduction or a prelude is to be
written. Both the present and the past tense are used.
• Chapter two is the literature review and it is to be written only in
the past tense as they are the previously carried out works.
• Chapter three is research analysis (specific methods chosen by
the writer to carry out research work. It is to be written in past.
A glimpse of which tense to use where in
dissertation
• Chapter four caters to results derived from research
studies. It explains the results of objective, question and
point out the salient results. It is to be written in combination
of present and past
• Chapter five is conclusion, further discussions or future
scope. It has to be in present tense only
References and Citation

 The aim of a citation is to provide enough bibliographic information for

the reader to be able to identify and, if necessary, obtain the original
resource
 Complete, correct and consistent citations are therefore very
important
 You may reference a wide variety of resources in your assignment,
including books, e-journal articles, checklists and websites
 When you quote from, or refer to, another source of information in
your assignment, you must provide a citation to it, which then leads to
a reference giving the full details of the resource. You will end up with:
References and Citation

 A citation within the text

 A reference in the bibliography or reference list at or near
the end of the assignment
 The terms reference list and bibliography are usually used
interchangeably, although strictly speaking, a bibliography
refers to all the reading you have undertaken for your
assignment, not just the work you have referred to in your
writing
References and Citation

 The terms reference and citation are also often used to refer to the
same thing although a citation tends to mean the part of the text
within your assignment where you acknowledge the source; whilst a
reference usually refers to the full bibliographic information at the
end
 In the citation, the author cites or refer to the source in the text to
represent that the information is derived from an external source
and to mention that source, in brief
 Basically, it is an abbreviated reference, which you can find in the
main body of the article or assignment, addressing the source of a
quote, image, video, paraphrase, chart, table, etc
References and Citation

 Due to this very reason, it is also called as “in-text citation”,

which includes a set of parenthesis.
 Reference can be understood as the list of items which you
have read and considered in your piece of work
 While providing references, the author actually tells its
readers about what kind of source he/she has used in the
document
References and Citation

 A referencing system is a citation style set out in a

published style guide (e.g., APA style, MLA style, or
Chicago style), meaning there is a single authoritative
source on the correct style
 A referencing style is a generic approach to citing sources
(e.g., Harvard, Oxford, Vancouver). However, there may be
several versions or variations of any given style
 There are different referencing styles, which use different
formats to provide the same information
References and Citation

 Referencing is a method of giving credit to people whose

intellectual work you have used to support any research
you have carried out
 It can also be used to locate sources and avoid plagiarism
 Referencing styles dictate the information needed for the
citation and how it is ordered, including punctuation
 There are many citation styles but different
field/Organization prefer different styles