How to Write and Publish a Scientific Paper

About this book

An essential guide for succeeding in today's competitive environment, How to Write and Publish a Scientific Paper provides beginning scientists and experienced researchers with practical advice on writing about their work and getting published. This brand new, updated edition also includes a new chapter on editing one's own work, a section on publicizing and archiving one's paper, and updates on authorship, including information on new authorship criteria and on the author identification number ORCID. The book guides readers through the processes involved in writing for and publishing in scientific journals, from choosing a suitable journal, to writing each part of the paper, to submitting the paper and responding to peer review, through checking the proofs. It covers ethical issues in scientific publishing, explains rights and permissions, and discusses writing grant proposals, giving presentations and writing for general audiences.

Contents

Preface
A word to international readers
Acknowledgments

Part I. Some Preliminaries:
1. What is scientific writing?
2. Historical perspectives
3. Approaching a writing project
4. What is a scientific paper?
5. Ethics in scientific publishing
6. Where to submit your manuscript

Part II. Preparing the Text:
7. How to prepare the title
8. How to list the authors and addresses
9. How to prepare the abstract
10. How to write the introduction
11. How to write the materials and methods section
12. How to write the results
13. How to write the discussion
14. How to state the acknowledgments
15. How to cite the references

Part III. Preparing the Tables and Figures:
16. How to design effective tables
17. How to prepare effective graphs
18. How to prepare effective photographs

Part IV. Publishing the Paper:
19. Rights and permissions
20. How to submit the manuscript
21. The review process (how to deal with editors)
22. The publishing process (how to deal with proofs) - and after publication

Part V. Doing Other Writing for Publication:
23. How to write a review paper
24. How to write opinion (letters to the editor, editorials, and book reviews)
25. How to write a book chapter or a book
26. How to write for the public

Part VI. Conference Communications:
27. How to present a paper orally
28. How to prepare a poster
29. How to write a conference report

Part VII. Scientific Style:
30. Use and misuse of English
31. Avoiding jargon
32. How and when to use abbreviations
33. Writing clearly across cultures and media
34. How to write science in English as a foreign language

Part VIII. Other Topics in Scientific Communication:
35. How to write a thesis
36. How to prepare a curriculum vitae, cover letter, and personal statement
37. How to prepare grant proposals and progress reports
38. How to write a recommendation letter - and how to ask for one
39. How to work with the media
40. How to provide peer review
41. How to edit your own work
42. How to seek a scientific-communication career

Appendix 1. Selected journal title word abbreviations
Appendix 2. Words and expressions to avoid
Appendix 3. SI (Système International) prefixes and their abbreviations
Appendix 4. Some helpful websites

Glossary
References
Index

Customer Reviews

Biography

Barbara Gastel is Professor of Veterinary Integrative Biosciences, Humanities in Medicine, and Biotechnology at Texas A & M University. She has received awards and recognitions from the American Medical Writers Association, the Board of Editors in the Life Sciences, the Council of Science Editors, and Sigma Xi: The Scientific Research Society.

Robert A. Day is Professor Emeritus of English at the University of Delaware, where he taught graduate and undergraduate courses in scientific writing. He has directed the publishing program of the American Society for Microbiology and served as managing editor of the Journal of Bacteriology. He also has been president of the Society for Scholarly Publishing and chairman of the Council of Biology Editors.