Scientific Writing and Communication in Agriculture and Natural Resources

The purpose of this book is to help early career professionals in agriculture and natural resources write their research papers for high-quality journals and present their results properly at professional meetings. Different fields have different conventions for writing style such that the authors of the book have found it difficult to recommend to young scientists in these fields a specific book or source material out of the several that are available as the “go to” guide. Writing a scientific paper is a tedious task even to experienced writers; but it is particularly so for the early career professionals such as students, trainees, scientists and scholars in agriculture and natural resources; the challenge is even more when their first language of communication is not English. This book is targeted mainly to that group. Preface 4 Contents 8 Part IEssentials for Good Writing 12 Part IIEnglish---The International Language of Science 13 Part IIIManuscript: Preparation, Submission, and Follow-up 14 Part IVOral and Poster Presentations 15 References 16 Subject Index 18 1 Introduction 22 Abstract 22 1.1?Scientific Writing: A Brief Overview of Developments 22 1.1.1 The Importance of Writing and Writing Well 23 1.1.2 Scientific Methods, Scientific Papers, and Popular Science Writing 24 1.2?Scientific Publications 25 1.2.1 Research Journal Paper 26 1.2.2 Review Paper 26 1.2.3 Book Chapter 27 1.2.4 Conference Paper and Abstracts 27 1.2.5 Theses and Dissertations 27 1.2.6 Short Communication/Research Note 27 1.2.7 Monograph 28 1.3?Journal Articles and Location-Specific Research 28 1.3.1 Basic and Applied Research 28 1.3.2 ‘‘What,’’ ‘‘Why,’’ and ‘‘How’’ Types of Research 29 1.3.3 Location-Specific Research 30 2 Organization of a Research Paper: The IMRAD Format 32 Abstract 32 2.1?Title 33 2.2?Authors 35 2.3?Keywords 35 2.4?Abstract 36 2.5?Introduction 37 2.6?Materials and Methods 37 2.7?Results 39 2.8?Discussion 40 2.9?Conclusions 41 2.10?Acknowledgments 41 2.11?References 42 2.11.1 Common Styles of Literature Citation 42 2.11.2 Some Other Issues of Reference Citation 43 2.12?Appendix 44 3 Tables and Figures 45 Abstract 45 3.1?Importance of Tables and Figures 45 3.2?Table Versus Figure 46 3.3?Table Headings and Figure Captions 46 3.4?How to Construct Tables and Figures 47 3.5?Data Presentation Guidelines 49 Tables and Figures in a Scientific Paper 50 4 The ‘‘Nuts and Bolts’’: Numbers, Units, Dates, Abbreviations, Nomenclature hellip 51 Abstract 51 4.1?Numbers 51 4.2?Units 53 4.3?Date and Time 54 4.4?Abbreviations and Acronyms 55 4.5?Nomenclature and Scientific Names 56 4.6?Mathematical and Statistical Expressions 58 A.1. Appendix 4.1: SI Units and Conversion Factors 59 A.2. Rules for Writing and Using SI Unit Symbols 60 5 Words 64 Abstract 64 5.1?Gender and Pronouns 64 5.1.1 Gender Bias 65 5.1.2 Personal Pronouns 65 5.2?Modifiers 66 5.3?Idioms 68 5.4?Jargon 69 5.5?Nouns from Verbs 70 5.6?Collectives 70 5.7?Spelling 71 5.8?Specialized Words 71 5.9?Similar Words, Different Meanings 73 6 Sentences 81 Abstract 81 6.1?Active and Passive Voice 81 6.2?Tense 82 6.3?Parallel Structure 82 6.4?Double Negatives 83 6.5?Disguised Writing 83 6.6?Complex Sentences and Indirect Language 84 6.7?Wordiness/Conciseness 86 6.7.1 Achieving Conciseness 87 6.7.2 Verbosity: Unnecessary and Difficult Words 88 6.8?Transition 88 6.9?Awkwardness 90 6.10?Punctuation Marks 91 6.10.1 Comma , 92 6.10.2 Period . 92 6.10.3 Quotation Marks ‘‘ ’’ 93 6.10.4 Hyphen - 94 6.10.5 Dash --- 95 6.10.6 Colon and Semicolon 95 6.10.7 Brackets [] and Parentheses 96 6.10.8 Slash / 97 6.10.9 Apostrophe, Ellipsis, Exclamation Point, Question Mark 97 7 Preparing the Manuscript 100 Abstract 100 7.1?When to Write 101 7.2?How to Proceed 101 7.2.1 Overcome the ‘‘Fear’’ Complex 102 7.2.2 What Are the Results You Want to Communicate? 102 7.2.3 A Plan for the Paper 102 7.2.4 The First Draft 103 7.2.5 The Second Draft 104 7.2.6 The Third Draft 105 7.2.7 The Final Manuscript 105 7.3?Publication Ethics 106 7.3.1 Double Publishing 106 7.3.2 Authorship 107 7.3.3 Plagiarism 107 7.3.4 Copyright 108 Summary Points on ‘‘Preparing the Manuscript’’ 109 8 Dealing with the Journal 110 Abstract 110 8.1?Selecting a Journal 110 8.1.1 Journal Quality: Impact Factor 111 8.1.2 International Versus Local Journals 112 8.2?Submitting the Manuscript 113 8.2.1 Manuscript Preparation 113 8.2.2 Manuscript Submission 113 8.3?Peer Review of the Manuscript 114 8.4?Communications from the Journal 115 8.4.1 Initial Screening Before Peer Review 115 8.4.2 Response to Peer-review Decision 116 8.5?When a Paper is Not Accepted 117 8.5.1 Reasons for Rejecting a Manuscript 117 8.5.2 What to do with a Rejected Paper? 118 8.6?Proof Correction 119 8.6.1 Proofs 119 8.6.2 Proofreading 119 Dealing with the Journal 123 9 Oral Presentations 124 Abstract 124 9.1?‘‘To Do’’ Prior to Preparing an Oral Presentation 124 9.1.1 Identify the Audience 124 9.1.2 Determine the Nature and Time Allowed for the Presentation 125 9.2?Preparing Your Oral Presentation 125 9.2.1 Title and Introduction 126 9.2.2 The Main Body of Your Presentation 126 9.2.3 Conclusions/Implications 129 9.3?The Oral Presentation 130 9.3.1 Before the Actual Presentation 130 9.3.2 During Your Presentation 131 9.3.3 Some Additional Guidelines 132 9.4?Oral Presentations in Relation to Scientific Writing 132 Oral Presentation 133 A.1. Appendix 9.1: An Evaluation of Oral Presentations 134 10 Poster Presentations 135 Abstract 135 10.1?‘‘To Do’’ Prior to Creating the Poster 136 10.1.1 Prepare the Abstract 136 10.1.2 Determine the Poster Size 136 10.1.3 Identify Components of the Poster 136 10.2?Creating the Poster 137 10.2.1 Layout and Format 137 10.2.2 Contents 137 10.3?Other Considerations for Poster Preparation 140 10.4?Presenting Your Poster 141 10.4.1 Before Your Presentation 141 10.4.2 During Your Presentation 141 10.5?Poster Evaluation 142 A.1. Appendix 10.1 143 A.1.0 Evaluation of Poster Presentations 143 Perhaps there is no dearth of books, reference manuals, and internet sources on scientific writing. Given, however, that different fields have different conventions for writing style, we have found it difficult to recommend a specific book or source material as the "go to" guide to young scientists in agriculture and natural resources. Having been involved as authors, reviewers, and editors of various journals and publications during the past few decades, we have come to the conclusion that writing a scientific paper is a tedious task for not only us, but most writers. While that is true even for experienced writers, it is a sort of nightmare for the early career professionals such as students, trainees, scientists, and scholars in agriculture and natural resources, especially when their first language of communication is not English. Their trials, tribulations, and frustrations are compounded by the severe pressure they experience from the increasing importance attached to authoring scientific publications (in English). This book is targeted mainly to that group. The ten short chapters of the book are organized in four parts. The first, "Essentials for good writing," contains four chapters that emphasize the importance of publishing research results, review briefly the various types of scientific publications and other important features of scientific writing. The second part that includes two chapters deals with the use and misuse of English as the international language of science. Manuscript preparation and submission is the scope of the third part that also has two chapters. Part 4 is about communication of research results through oral and poster presentations to the peer groups at conferences and meetings. Finally, a list of references and recommended reading is included Front Matter....Pages i-xii Front Matter....Pages 1-1 Introduction....Pages 3-12 Organization of a Research Paper: The IMRAD Format....Pages 13-25 Tables and Figures....Pages 27-32 The “Nuts and Bolts”: Numbers, Units, Dates, Abbreviations, Nomenclature .......Pages 33-45 Front Matter....Pages 45-45 Words....Pages 49-65 Sentences....Pages 67-85 Front Matter....Pages 81-81 Preparing the Manuscript....Pages 89-98 Dealing with the Journal....Pages 99-112 Front Matter....Pages 107-107 Oral Presentations....Pages 115-125 Poster Presentations....Pages 127-135 Back Matter....Pages 137-142