Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
Introduction:
• Writing a journal article can be an overwhelming process, but breaking it down into
manageable tasks can make the overwhelming the routine. These manageable tasks can
be identified by determining what the essential elements of a successful article are and
how they function together to produce the desired result: a published journal article.
Often, deferent languages and cultures write in deferent styles and with deferent
organization than English language authors. This can compound the problem for non-
native English writers. In this article, I outline the essential elements of an English-
language journal article in engineering or the sciences, providing a functional template
and guidelines for authors.
Before starting to write:
• Before you start to write, you should spend some time thinking about the article content.
At this stage, you should write down ideas in a free form, creating a general outline for
the paper. Jerk suggests you consider such questions as:
• • What is the message of the paper?
• • What is the new result or contribution that you want to describe?
• • What do you want to convince people of?
Goals
The goals to be achieved by studying this module are the following:
Know the different kinds of scientific texts.
Understand the structure of a scientific paper.
Elaborate paper titles.
Elaborate paper abstracts.
Understand the importance, meaning and writing of each paper section.
Know some hints on scientific writing.
Structure and function of the article: What to write:
• In formulating the outline it is important to know that most engineering or science journal
articles have a well-accepted general format. Each of the following sections are included,
usually also in this order, though specific articles may disguise them under deferent
section titles that relate closer to the actual contents of each section. These sections are
• 1. Abstract
• 2. Introduction
• 3. Methods
• 4. Results
• 5. Discussion
• 6. Summary and Conclusions
• 7. Acknowledgments
• 8. References
The Abstract:
• The abstract is a single paragraph that precedes the article and summarizes the content.
The abstract reduces the whole paper to a single paragraph
• The abstract should inform the reader in a succinct manner as to what the article is about
and what the major contributions are that are discussed
The Introduction:
• The introduction is perhaps the most important sections in a research article. Nearly every
reader will at least skim through the introduction. The introduction is also written with
the strictest requirements in terms of organization.
The Methods:
• The methods sections often come disguised with other article-specific section titles, but
serve a unified purpose: to detail the methods used in an objective manner without
introduction of interpretation or opinion (van Wagenen 1990). The methods sections
should tell the reader clearly how the results were obtained. They should be specific.
They should also make adequate reference to accepted methods and identify differences.
The governing principle is as follows:
• Describe all of the techniques used to obtain the results in a separate, objective Methods
section
The Results:
• The results section and the following discussion section allow the most flexibility in
terms of organization and content. In general, the pure, unbiased results should be
presented first without interpretation (van Wagenen 1990). These results should present
the raw data or the results after applying the techniques outlined in the methods section.
• Results should be clear, convincing, and general and should be free from interpretations
or opinions
The Discussion:
• The discussion section is where the article interprets the results to reach its major
conclusions. This is also where the author’s opinion enters the picture (van Wagenen
1990)—the discussion is where the argument is made.
• Discussion sections interpret the results to reach the main conclusions of the article
The Summary and Conclusions:
• The final section of the paper does not introduce any new information or insights: it
merely summarizes and concludes. This section is longer than the abstract and generally
includes more specific conclusions.
• 1. Organize based on logical flow for points that are interconnected
• 2. Organize based on merit, where the most important items appear first
• The summary and conclusions section tells the reader what has already been read and
draws the important conclusions—keep it short and make it as specific as possible
The Acknowledgments:
• The acknowledgments are given at the end of the research paper and should at a
minimum name the sources of funding that contributed to the article. You may also
recognize other people who contributed to the article or data contained in the article, but
at a level of effort that does not justify their inclusion as authors.
The References:
• All reference works cited in the paper must appear in a list of references that follow the
formatting requirements of the journal in which the article is to be published. You may
not include references that were not cited. Refereed journal articles, research
monographs, and books are preferred over less stable or reliable sources, such as personal
communications, unrefereed conference proceedings, or web-site addresses.
Literary style: How to write:
• Scientific writing does not leave a lot of room for creativity, but good writing style is
inherently more understandable and enjoyable to read. Readers respond well when
sentences have a varied length and when paragraphs have a consistent length (Gray
2003). There should be a good mix of short and long sentences. There should also be a
mix of sentence structure (Gray 2003). Punctuation, the use of subordinate clauses and
compound sentences, and varied tempo are examples of ways to alternate sentence
length.
The review process: What to expect:
• After spending hours writing your journal submission, you are ready to begin the review
process. This process likely contains three stages: editorial review by your advisor (or
yourself if you are the only author), external review by peer reviewers, and publication,
modification, or rejection.
• Revise and edit your article as if you are not the one who has to do all the work
Publication:
• Once the article is accepted and your final version is submitted, you have achieved your
goal of being published. Hopefully, you have also achieved the goal of the article: to
communicate the results of your research to a broad audience. The Science Citation Index
keeps track of article citations and will provide you with a means to track who is citing
your work.
Summary and Conclusions:
• In this article I have briefly described the necessary elements of a good scientific or
engineering journal publication, some of the steps along the publication process, and have
provided specific guidelines for developing the journal article. Some sections, like the
introduction, have very specific requirements, whereas, other sections, like the results and
discussion, have a freer form.
While the research article is the workhorse of the scientific literature, it is by no means the only
game in town. Presented below, in no particular order, is a brief list of some of the various types
of written information that scientists may consult during the course of their work. For a brief
introduction to the peer review process and primary research articles, see my Very Brief
Introduction to the Scientific Literature.
Primary research articles (aka “original research articles” or just “research articles”) –
These are your standard scientific articles. Most often published in peer reviewed
journals, primary research articles report on the findings of a scientists work. They will
almost always include a description of how the research was done and what the results
mean. Joe Dunckley over at the blog Journalology, has a nice series of posts about what
the scientific paper is and what may be wrong with the current model.
Review articles – These can be easily confused with primary research articles. They are
also published in peer reviewed journals, but seek to synthesize and summarize the work
of a particular sub-field, rather than report on new results. Review articles will often lack
a “Materials and Methods” section. Students who are asked to use only primary research
articles for their projects can still find review articles useful – they can provide
background information and their Works Cited sections can contain a wealth of useful
references. I have briefly summarized the difference between primary research articles
and review articles in my Very Brief Introduction to the Scientific Literature.
Editorials/Opinion/Commentary/Perspectives – An article expressing the authors view
about a particular issue. This may be an issue of science policy (“The NSF needs to…”)
or urging a particular research agenda (“More scientists need to study X…”) or even
taking a side in a particular scientific dispute (“These folks are right, the other folks are
wrong”). These articles can be well researched and include a lot of citations to the peer
reviewed literature, or simple items without citations. They can appear in peer reviewed
journals, in trade publications, or in popular publications (although the items that appear
in trade or popular publications are often easier for students to recognize as not-primary
research articles.)
Trade publication articles – Between the standard scholarly journals (Nature, Journal of
the American Chemical Society) and the popular publications (Time, Newsweek,
Scientific American) lie the Trade publications. These publications are often aimed at
medical professionals (Vaccine Weekly) or particular disciplines (Chemical and
Engineering News). Articles in these publications may be several pages long and include
a few references, but they are usually summarizing research published in other
publications or reporting on industry news. These can be helpful for keeping up with
your discipline or finding a research topic.
News – Science news articles can be found in a wide variety of publications. Popular
newspapers and magazines, trade publications and scholarly publications can all have
science news articles. These articles often will refer to a recent study published as a
primary research article.
Blog posts – The world of scholarly publication is changing, although no one is quite sure
what it is evolving into. We do know that scientists are blogging about all kinds of
things: their daily research, science policy or life in academia. Blogs can be a great way
to get involved in the scientific community, and many scientific blog posts can point you
back to the peer reviewed literature. How blogs will be valued as a means for
communicating research findings is still in question. While some scholars continue to
dismiss blogs as a scholarly medium, other have embraced their potential for
communicating science quickly and effectively.
Article comments (online, with or without moderation) – Since one of the problems with
formal article comments is slow turn around time, many online journal systems have the
ability to allow users to comment directly on the articles. Sometimes these comments are
moderated, sometimes they aren’t. Interestingly, many online journal articles have not
seen a large amount of comments, but blog posts about those articles can have comments.
Technical Reports – Government agencies and NGO’s often do scientific work. The
reports they produce are not often peer reviewed, but can be an important part of the
scientific literature. Reports from the World Health Organization or the USGS can
provide vital information to scientists. These reports can be found in scholarly databases
and on the web, and are classified by some folks as gray Literature (see below).
Books (including reference materials like handbooks and dictionaries) – You’ve seen
these before. They still exist, in your library or your library’s off site storage facility.
Most scientific books cannot be considered ‘primary research’. In general, they describe
and interpret the primary research published in the journal articles. Of course, more and
more you can find full text versions of books available via publishers websites, Google
Books or the Hathi Trust, sometimes free, sometimes for a fee.
Book series (sometimes called “Special Papers”) – These can be confusing. In some
fields, these book series publish individual chapters that could be considered primary
research articles. These individual chapters are cited and indexed individually, which can
occasionally be confusing for students trying to find them. In addition, these items can
sometimes look a lot like journals – they may have volume numbers and a series title that
looks like a journal title.
Dissertations/Thesis – These are the final products that result from research conducted for
a PhD or a Masters degree. These items can often be very long, going into great detail
about methods and with lots of appendices of data. The literature review sections can
also be exhaustive. Thesis and dissertations have become easier to find in recent years as
many libraries post complete copies of completed dissertations online. This can be
useful, because libraries have been reluctant to lend copies through ILL. Dissertations or
thesis are often cited later on by their authors in future journal articles. While they
undergo exhaustive review by academic advisers and committee members, they wouldn’t
be considered “peer-reviewed”.
Technical guidelines for communication:
2. Collect information
Audience type affects many aspects of communication, from word selection and graphics use to
style and organization. Most often, to address a particular audience, a technical communicator
must consider what qualities make a text useful (capable of supporting a meaningful task) and
usable (capable of being used in service of that task). A non-technical audience might
misunderstand or not even read a document that is heavy with jargon—while a technical
audience might crave detail critical to their work. Busy audiences often don't have time to read
entire documents, so content must be organized for ease of searching—for example by frequent
headings, white space, and other cues that guide attention. Other requirements vary according to
particular audience's needs.
Collecting information:
Technical communicators must collect all information that each document requires. They may
collect information through primary (first-hand) research—or secondary research, using
information from existing work by other authors. Technical communicators must acknowledge
all sources they use to produce their work. To this end, technical communicators typically
distinguish quotations, paraphrases, and summaries when taking notes.
Before writing the initial draft, the technical communicator organizes ideas in a way that makes
the document flow well. Once each idea is organized, the writer organizes the document as a
whole—accomplishing this task in various ways:
Chronological: used for documents that involve a linear process, such as a step-by-step
guide that describes how to accomplish something
Parts of an object: Used for documents that describe the parts of an object, such as a
graphic showing the parts of a computer (keyboard, monitor, mouse, etc.)
Simple to complex (or vice versa): starts with easy ideas and gradually goes into complex
ideas
Specific to general: starts with many ideas, then organizes the ideas into sub-categories
General to specific: starts with a few categories of ideas, then goes deeper
After organizing the whole document, the writer typically creates a final outline that shows the
document structure. Outlines make the writing process easier and save the author time.
After the outline is complete, the writer begins the first draft, following the outline's structure.
Setting aside blocks of an hour or more, in a place free of distractions, helps the writer maintain a
flow. Most writers prefer to wait until the draft is complete before any revising so they don't
break their flow. Typically, the writer should start with the easiest section, and write the summary
only after the body is drafted.
The ABC (abstract, body, and conclusion) format can be used when writing a first draft of some
document types. The abstract describes the subject, so that the reader knows what the document
covers. The body is the majority of the document and covers topics in depth. Lastly, the
conclusion section restates the document's main topics. The ABC format can also apply to
individual paragraphs—beginning with a topic sentence that states the paragraph's topic,
followed by the topic, and finally, a concluding sentence.
Once the initial draft is laid out, editing and revising can be done to fine-tune the draft into a
final copy. Four tasks transform the early draft into its final form, suggested by Pfeiffer and
Boogard.
In this step, the writer revises the draft to elaborate on topics that need more attention, shorten
other sections—and relocate certain paragraphs, sentences, or entire topics.
Good style makes writing more interesting, appealing, and readable. In general, the personal
writing style of the writer is not evident in technical writing. Modern technical writing style
relies on attributes that contribute to clarity:
Short sentences
Present tense
Simple nouns
Active voice (though some scientific applications still use the passive voice)
Technical writing as a discipline usually requires that a technical writer use a style guide. These
guides may relate to a specific project, product, company, or brand. They ensure that technical
writing reflects formatting, punctuation, and general stylistic standards that the audience expects.
In the United States, many consider the Chicago Manual of Style the bible for general technical
communication. Other style guides have their adherents, particularly for specific industries—
such as the Microsoft Style Guide in some information technology settings.
At this point, the writer performs a mechanical edit, checking the document for grammar,
punctuation, common word confusions, passive voice, overly long sentences, etc.
Introduction:
– Put up a graph or chart and tables then suddenly everything you're saying makes
sense! Graphs or charts help people understand data quickly. Whether you want to make a
comparison, show a relationship, or highlight a trend, they help your audience "see" what
you are talking about
– A table is generally less effective than a graph because it only shows the data, whereas
the graph shows an interpretation of the data, which is easier for the audience to
understand
Graphs (charts):
– a graph usually has four quadrants representing the positive and negative values of the
variables, usually only the north-east quadrant is shown when the negative values do not
exist or are of no interest.
Parts of chart:
– Axis: The reference line in a coordinate system.the x axis is a horizontal reference and a y
axis is a verticle refrence
– Legend: an explanatory list of symbol on a chart (needed when you graph multiple data
sets)
– Labels: are needed for linking the charts to the information being displayed.
Key Graph Elements:
– Colors – Make sure that you set the background color and the color of each data series so
that there is enough contrast to be seen clearly by the audience
– Depth – The depth of the graph refers to whether the graph is 2-D or 3-D. There is almost
no value ot the third dimension, and I suggest graphs be 2-D.
– Axes – except the pie graph all graphs have two axes.
– Most presentation software packages have a built-in graph creation tool. For earlier
versions of Microsoft PowerPoint, it is the Microsoft Graph application, and later
versions use Microsoft Excel. Most of these tools are quite robust and will meet the needs
of most presenters.
Types of charts:
1)Vertical bar charts:
Vertical bar charts are best for comparing means or percentages between 2 to 7 different groups.
The horizontal bar chart is used when comparing the mean or percentages of 8 or more different
groups
As with the vertical bar chart, the horizontal bar chart should only be used when comparing
categories that are mutually exclusive
3) Pie Charts:
– it is best to use pie charts when you want to show differences within groups based on one
variable.
– It is important to remember that pie charts should only be used with a group of categories
that combine to make up a whole.
4) Line Charts:
– This is done most often to measure the long term progression of sales, or any other
empirical statistic important to businesses or organizations. It can also be used to
compare two different variables over time
5) Scatter Plot:
– Scatter plots are used to depict how different objects settle around a mean based on 2 to 3
different dimensions.
– This allows for quick and easy comparisons between competing variables.
6) Histogram:
– The histogram, also called a frequency distributions graph, is a specialized type of bar
graph(either horizontal or vertical) that resembles a column graph, but without any gaps
between the columns. It is used to represent data from the measurement of a continuous
variable
– A table is a means of arranging data in rows and columns. The use of tables is pervasive
throughout all communication, research and data analysis. Tables appear in print media,
handwritten notes, computer software, architectural ornamentation, traffic signs and
many other places.
– The basic structure of a table is a set of columns and rows that contain the data and
usually contain either a row or column (or both) of headings that organize the data.
– When deciding on the size of the table, it is a good idea to keep the six by six guideline in
mind.
– In selecting the size of the table, make sure that the font size of the text in each cell of the
table is big enough to be read clearly when displayed.
– A table is generally less effective than a graph because it only shows the data, whereas
the graph shows an interpretation of the data, which is easier for the audience to
understand
– When presenting ideas that include references to data, it can be helpful to make the point
using a graph or table
– These visual methods can make the point much stronger than simply describing the data
– While they can be powerful methods, they also have the potential to ruin a presentation if
they convey the wrong message or they confuse the audience
– Appropriate use of graphs and tables is one way to enhance the message you are
delivering.
Adding Emphasis:
– When using a graph or a table, you should emphasize the key parts so that your points are
stronger.
– One way to add emphasis is to animate the graph or table elements so that they appear
one-by-one instead of all at one time.
– . This allows you to discuss each element or data series individually and keep the
audience focus on the message you are delivering.
– You can also use drawing tools such as arrows and boxes to highlight a portion of the
table or graph.
– You can use a strong contrasting color for the drawing element to visually draw the
audience’s eyes to that part of the graph or table
– Several studies, journal guidelines, and discourses on scientific writing1-10 affirm the
critical role that tables, figures, and graphs (or display items) play in enhancing the
quality of manuscripts
– These visual elements help authors present detailed results and complex relationships,
patterns, and trends clearly and concisely reduce the length of the manuscript and
enhance readers’ understanding of the study results
Planning your paper: When to use tables and figures in scientific papers:
– Producing effective tables and figures requires careful planning that begins at the
manuscript writing stage
– • First, check out what your target journal has to say on the issue. Some journals
limit the number of tables and figures and also have specific guidelines on the design
aspects of these display items.
– • Next, decide whether to use tables and figures or text to put across key
information.
– • After you’ve decided to use a display item, choose the display item that best fits
your purpose based on what you wish readers to focus on and what you want to present
– Make sure that all the parts of the figure are clear. Use standard font; check that labels
are legible against the figure background; and ensure that images are sharp.
– Figure legends are pivotal to the effectiveness of a figure. Use them to draw attention to
the central message as well as to explain abbreviations and symbols.
– Label the key sections and parts of schematic diagrams and photographs, and all axes,
curves, and data sets in graphs and data plots.
– 4. Give specifics:
– Include scale bars in images and maps; specify units wherever quantities are listed;
include legends in maps and schematics; and specify latitudes and longitudes on maps
– 2. The column heads are descriptive and clearly indicate the nature of the data presented.
– 4. It is self-contained and can be understood quite well even without reference to the
entire paper.
– 5. Superscript letters and notes are used to offer additional, clarifying information.
– 6. Sufficient spacing is present between columns and rows; the layout is clean; and the
font is legible.
Conclusion:
– Figures and tables, or display items, are powerful communication tools—they give your
manuscript a professional feel, attract and sustain the interest of readers, and efficiently
present large amounts of complex information. Moreover, as most journals editors and
reviewers will glance at these display items before they begin a full reading of your paper
– Graphs are a common method to visually illustrate relationships in the data. The purpose
of a graph is to present data that are too numerous or complicated to be described
adequately in the text and in less space.
– A basic requirement for a graph is that it is clear and readable
Types Of Email:
Types
Web-based email:
Many email providers have a web-based email client (e.g. AOL Mail, Gmail, Outlook.com and
Yahoo! Mail). This allows users to log into the email account by using any compatible web
browser to send and receive their email. Mail is typically not downloaded to the client, so can't
be read without a current Internet connection.
The Post Office Protocol 3 (POP3) is a mail access protocol used by a client application to read
messages from the mail server. Received messages are often deleted from the server. POP
supports simple download-and-delete requirements for access to remote mailboxes (termed
maildrop in the POP RFC's).[84]
IMAP email servers:
The Internet Message Access Protocol (IMAP) provides features to manage a mailbox from
multiple devices. Small portable devices like smartphones are increasingly used to check email
while travelling, and to make brief replies, larger devices with better keyboard access being used
to reply at greater length. IMAP shows the headers of messages, the sender and the subject and
the device needs to request to download specific messages. Usually mail is left in folders in the
mail server.
Consider creating email folders for #2-5. #2 could be multiple folders depending on projects. #3
and #4 can just be one folder each.
#5 could be multiple folders too—a different folder for each weekday, and another set of folders
for each month, or you can use the automated tools suggested above.
Speech Communication its function and types:
The process by which meanings are exchanged b/w people through the use of common set of
symbols is called COMMUNICATION.
What is Speech Communication?
(from Latin "communis", meaning to share)
is defined as a process by which we assign and convey meaning in an attempt to
create shared understanding.
skills in intrapersonal and interpersonal processing, listening, observing, speaking, questioning,
analyzing, and evaluating.
Use of these processes is developmental and transfers to all areas of life: home,
school, community, work, and beyond. It is through communication that collaboration and
cooperation occur.
Functions of Communication
• Gives information
• Knowledge management
• Decision making
• Coordinating work activities
• Creates control
• Express feeling / emotion
Forms of Communication:
NON – VERBAL COMMUNICATION
VERBAL COMMUNICATION
* WRITTEN COMMUNICATION
ORAL COMMUNICATION:
is the ability to talk with others to give and exchange information & ideas, such
as: ask questions, give directions, coordinate work tasks, explain & persuade by using the words
of mouth.
How we use this skill?
greeting people and taking messages
reassuring, comforting or persuading
seeking information & resolving conflicts
facilitating or leading a group
Types of Speech Communication:
• Informative – This speech serves to provide interesting and useful information to your
audience. Some examples of informative speeches:
– A teacher telling students about earthquakes
– A student talking about her research
– A computer programmer speaking about new software
• Demonstrative – This has many similarities with an informative speech. A demonstrative
speech also teaches you something. The main difference lies in including a
demonstration of how to do the thing you’re teaching. Some examples of demonstrative
speeches:
* How to start your own blog
* How to bake a cake
* How to write a speech
* How to… just about anything
• Persuasive – A persuasive speech works to convince people to change in some way: they
think, the way they do something, or to start doing something that they are not currently
doing. Some examples of persuasive speeches:
• Become an organ donor
• Improve your health through better eating
• Television violence is negatively influencing our
children
• Become a volunteer and change the world
• Entertaining — The after-dinner speech is a typical example of an entertaining speech.
The speaker provides pleasure and enjoyment that make the audience laugh or identify
with anecdotal information. Some examples of entertaining speeches:
• Explaining cricket to an American
• Things you wouldn’t know without the movies
• Effective Communication:
• Preparation
• Practice
- practice makes perfect
- revision
- get time right
• Presence/Posture
-overcome nervousness
-Body language
-voice tone
-gestures
-eye contact
-positive attitude