1. Effective Scientific Communication How to write research report

2. Main focus  Clarity is essential  Material should be geared to the major theme of the report Use subheadings Use subheadings Effective use of paragraph structure Effective use of paragraph structure

3. Key to Effective Scientific Communication  Define your question  Provide a rationale  Tell a story  Sell your ideas  Know your audience  Be professional  Keep it simple

4. Normal length of the writings  An undergraduate lab report 2000 words 2000 words  A journal article 5000 words 5000 words  A masters dissertation 20,000-40,000 words 20,000-40,000 words  A doctoral dissertation 80,000 words 80,000 words

5. Writing style  Avoid using pronouns such as “I” and “we”.  Past tense, but …  Use figures effectively  Numbers  Avoid direct quotes  Keep sentence short

6.  Title Attract the attention of the readers Attract the attention of the readers Inform the reader of the major features of the research paper Inform the reader of the major features of the research paper Avoid phrases such as “a study of …”Avoid phrases such as “a study of …” Avoid clever or tricky titles which merely attract attentionAvoid clever or tricky titles which merely attract attention Conservative title: concentrate on the major hypothesisConservative title: concentrate on the major hypothesis Effect of Effect of Relationships between … Relationships between …

7. Abstract  Get your point across quickly (<250 words)  Organize the ideas as a mini manuscript (intro, methods, results, discussion)  Stimulate interest and enthusiasm

8. Introduction  Work from general (bigger issue) to specific  Introduce and define key concepts  Summarize current relevant literature and background information  Describe the motivation and rationale leading to the current experiment  Does it address shortcomings of previous research e.g. design problems?  Purpose of the current experiment  Variables measured  General predictions or hypotheses  Implications

9. Methods  Include essential information on how you conducted your study (not too much or too little)  Subjects Who participated? Age, sex, number of groups, how groups were assigned, did the study meet ethical requirements for this population (animals or humans) Who participated? Age, sex, number of groups, how groups were assigned, did the study meet ethical requirements for this population (animals or humans)  Apparatus/Stimulus Materials Describe the equipment or stimuli used in the experiment Describe the equipment or stimuli used in the experiment Use diagrams if necessary for visualization Use diagrams if necessary for visualization  Procedure A step-by-step procedure of how the experiment was conducted A step-by-step procedure of how the experiment was conducted Would another researcher have enough information to be able to replicate your study? Would another researcher have enough information to be able to replicate your study? How will you (or did you) analyze your data? How will you (or did you) analyze your data?

10.  Procedure the keyword here is sequence and this implies a chronological order the keyword here is sequence and this implies a chronological order

11. Results  Briefly re-state hypothesis  Clearly define measurements of interest – what do the values refer to  Provide a clear, unbiased description of your data (Make appropriate use of figures to illustrate your point)  Make appropriate use of statistics and report properly (and provide rationale for particular tests used if necessary)  Do not try to interpret your findings (wait until the Discussion) and do not be repetitive or redundant

12. Figures  Select the most appropriate figures to illustrate your point (i.e. pie for proportions, line for continuous data)  Label clearly (x-axis, y-axis, title, fig.#)  Provide informative figure captions

13. Discussion  Work from specific to general  Clearly re-state findings  Re-state hypothesis and how the finding relate If they were not confirmed what could be some possible reasons why If they were not confirmed what could be some possible reasons why  Describe and interpret main findings  Clearly link your findings to the literature previously mentioned  Mention strengths and potential weaknesses of your current paradigm  Generate ideas for further research  Reflect on the broader implications

14. References  Only include the references you cite in your paper  Use appropriate formatting (APA here)