ScientificWriting Howto

8/12/2019 ScientificWriting Howto

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Scientific Writing

Robert Izzard

[email protected] 1: Why and how to write

Scientific WritingScientific Writing

http://www.astro.uni-bonn.de/~izzard/writing.html

Robert Izzard

Argelander Institute for Astronomy

University of onn

!. "ow #and why$ to write


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Scientific Writing

Robert Izzard


What's Coing !odayWhat's Coing !oday

1 How and why to write

2 Presentation of data

3 Plagiarism

This is just a small

selection from the

full course!

There is no substitute for being curious and

learning on your own!

Read, read and read more.


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Scientific Writing

Robert Izzard


Resources: "oo#s 1Resources: "oo#s 1

The Elements of Style

trun and "hite

#on$eniently free %http://www.cs.vu.nl/~jms/doc/elos.pdf


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Scientific Writing

Robert Izzard


Resources: "oo#s $Resources: "oo#s $

Oxford English Dictionary

and &owler's

Modern English Usage

Eloquent Science

chult(


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Scientific Writing

Robert Izzard


Resources: WebResources: Web

http://www.astro.uni-bonn.de/~izzard/writing.html

)*T you are +uite caable of searching for

resources yourself!

This is the 21stcentury and the internet is your

friend . . .


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Scientific Writing

Robert Izzard


Resources:Resources: %

Please as +uestions!


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Scientific Writing

Robert Izzard


Why learn to write well&Why learn to write well&

-f you want to be a scientist

/ou ha$e to write a reort0thesis and ublish aers!

%&AR&' ()' *I+I%"' ,UI%"

"hy

To communicate with others scientists or not.

Richard M. Davis, Technical Writing: Its Importance in the Engineering Profession and

Its Place in the Engineering Curriculum, AFIT TR 75-5

(Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, !"75#.

ur$ey of engineers

245 of time sent writing

315 of time sent woring with written material


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Scientific Writing

Robert Izzard



ace shuttle Challenger

Thus the engineers, who were $ery concerned

since they new the conse+uences of 6the

failure mechanism>, did not resent the data in

a way that showed the trends or that could be

e7lained to a scetical senior 899 manager.They thought they were communicating but

missed one of the fundamental rules of good

communication which is to e7ress your

osition in a way that your customer can

understand.

ee also &eynman, Richard P.9n :utsider;s -nside ??@ 2AB3C.

Prof. Daniel astings! M"T Engineering Systems Di#ision

-mage 899


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Scientific Writing

Robert Izzard


(oid bloodshed)(oid bloodshed)

9$oid

8asty

Dditing!

=and editors@


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Scientific Writing

Robert Izzard



Dnjoyable astime!

o$ you communicate affects others.

%e considerate&

&or you

'riting is an essential (art of research.

)our su(er#isor $ill not al$ays *e there for you...

- send about 2E5 of my time roofBreading %

- would refer to send that time doing research!


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Scientific Writing

Robert Izzard


*ow luc#y you are...*ow luc#y you are...

haeseare Foethe


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Scientific Writing

Robert Izzard



Ganell indgren

trindberg


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Scientific Writing

Robert Izzard



iterature is difficult!

/ou do +)&ha$e to learn to write literature!


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Scientific Writing

Robert Izzard


Scientific WritingScientific Writing

cientific writing

-s not literature no more difficult than research!

:ften has a secialist readershi

-ncludes

Iescrition of research

-nterretation and significance

Gust be 0AR, ,R0I%0and )+I%0

)ad style and0or language sills J- your aer!


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Scientific Writing

Robert Izzard


"e clear"e clear

Io not force your reader to guess what you mean Present logical argumentscon$incingly

/ou job is to informand edu1atethe reader

Food style hels Food Dnglish hels too


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Scientific Writing

Robert Izzard


"e +recise"e +recise

There is no room for ambiguity!

)e careful with technical words e.g.

The un $eighs1KL33 g.

#ommunicateexactly

what you mean&

&or our binary models we must also assume a

distribution of stars o$er the binary arameter sace.

&or binary stars we assume a flatBq distribution for mass ratios and a flatBlna

distribution for searations.

)etter


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Scientific Writing

Robert Izzard


"e concise"e concise

Use as few words as possible but as many as you need

The largest assumtion with the theoretical redictions of the ratios is that we

must assume a constant star formation rate and a certain initial mass function

=-G&@, we use the -G& of Jroua, Tout and Filmore =1>>3@.

"e assume the Jroua, Tout and Filmore =1>>3@ initial mass function and a

constant star formation rate.

Gy $ersion

:riginal

/ou are 8:T aid by the number of words you write!

/ou must learn to edit your own wor


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Scientific Writing

Robert Izzard


!hin#ing and Writing!hin#ing and Writing

"riting and thining well use the same sills

/ou can already thin M otherwise you would

not be here. o... writing is the ne7t ste.


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Scientific Writing

Robert [email protected]

Class 1: Why and how to write

SuarySuary

cientific writing is

%traightforward

on1ise

02a1tRigorous

learheaded

on1rete,re1ise

These are the +ualities associated with scientists!

i.e. YOU!


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Scientific Writing



,ercise 1,ercise 1

ist the inds of writing a scientist is re+uired to roduce

and for $hom.

)ou ha#e fi#e minutes&


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Scientific Writing



,ercise 1,ercise 1

9nswers include

Iissertations, rogress reorts, laboratory journal,journal aers, conference roceedings, case histories=in medicine@, re$iew articles, roduct0boo re$iews,roject roosals, grant alications, oular sciencearticles, minutes =rotocol@, =lecture@ notes, handouts,ress releases, tweets, =code@ documentation,instructions, letters, +uestionnaires, #


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Scientific Writing



rticles are linearly +resentedrticles are linearly +resented

Probably alsolinearly edited and

assessed!

d lR di i li


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Scientific Writing



Reading is non-linearReading is non-linear

& i &


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Scientific Writing



uestions&uestions&

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