Writing Research Papers

Writing is easy. All you do is stare at a blank sheet of paper until drops of
blood form on your forehead. --- Gene Fowler
A major goal oI this course is the development oI eIIective technical writing
skills. To help you become an accomplished writer, you will prepare several
research papers based upon the studies completed in lab. Our research papers
are not typical "lab reports." In a teaching lab a lab report might be nothing
more than answers to a set oI questions. Such an assignment hardly represents
the kind oI writing you might be doing in your eventual career.
Written and oral communications skills are probably the most universal
qualities sought by graduate and proIessional schools as well as by employers.
You alone are responsible Ior developing such skills to a high level.
Resources for learning technical writing
BeIore you begin your Iirst writing assignment, please consult all oI the
Iollowing resources, in order to gain the most beneIit Irom the experience.
O eneral Iorm oI a typical research article
O SpeciIic guidelines (iI any) Ior the assignment see the writeups on
individual lab studies
O cillan, VE. "Writing Papers in the Biological Sciences, Third Ed."
New York: BedIord/St. artin's, 2001. ISBN 0-312-25857-7
(REQUIRED Ior Bios 211, 311, recommended Ior other science courses
that include writing)
O Writing portIolio examples (pdI)
As you polish up your writing skills please make use oI the Iollowing resources
O Instructor Ieedback on previous assignments
O ommon errors in student research papers
O Selected writing rules (somewhat less serious than the other resources)
For Biosciences majors the general guidelines apply to Iuture course work, as
can be seen by examining the guidelines Ior the advanced experimental
sciences research paper (Bios 311). Instructions Ior authors Irom the Journal oI
Biological hemistry editorial board may be helpIul as well. Their statement
oI editorial policies and practices may give you an idea oI how material makes
its way into the scientiIic literature.
eneral form of a research paper
An objective oI organizing a research paper is to allow people to read your
work selectively. When I research a topic, I may be interested in just the
methods, a speciIic result, the interpretation, or perhaps I just want to see a
summary oI the paper to determine iI it is relevant to my study. To this end,
many journals require the Iollowing sections, submitted in the order listed, each
section to start on a new page. There are variations oI course. Some journals
call Ior a combined results and discussion, Ior example, or include materials
and methods aIter the body oI the paper. The well known journal $.ien.e does
away with separate sections altogether, except Ior the abstract.
Your papers are to adhere to the Iorm and style required Ior the Journal oI
Biological hemistry, requirements that are shared by many journals in the liIe
sciences.
eneral style
SpeciIic editorial requirements Ior submission oI a manuscript will always
supercede instructions in these general guidelines.
To make a paper readable
O Print or type using a 12 point standard Iont, such as Times, eneva,
Bookman, Helvetica, etc.
O Text should be double spaced on 8 1/2" x 11" paper with 1 inch margins,
single sided
O Number pages consecutively
O Start each new section on a new page
O Adhere to recommended page limits
istakes to avoid
O Placing a heading at the bottom oI a page with the Iollowing text on the
next page (insert a page break!)
O Dividing a table or Iigure - conIine each Iigure/table to a single page
O Submitting a paper with pages out oI order
In all sections oI your paper
O Use normal prose including articles ("a", "the," etc.)
O Stay Iocused on the research topic oI the paper
O Use paragraphs to separate each important point (except Ior the abstract)
O Indent the Iirst line oI each paragraph
O Present your points in logical order
O Use present tense to report well accepted Iacts - Ior example, 'the grass is
green'
O Use past tense to describe speciIic results - Ior example, 'When weed
killer was applied, the grass was brown'
O Avoid inIormal wording, don't address the reader directly, and don't use
jargon, slang terms, or superlatives
O Avoid use oI superIluous pictures - include only those Iigures necessary
to presenting results
%itle Page
Select an inIormative title as illustrated in the examples in your writing
portIolio example package. Include the name(s) and address(es) oI all authors,
and date submitted. "Biology lab #1" would not be an inIormative title, Ior
example.
Abstract
The summary should be two hundred words or less. See the examples in the
writing portIolio package.
eneral intent
An abstract is a concise single paragraph summary oI completed work or work
in progress. In a minute or less a reader can learn the rationale behind the study,
general approach to the problem, pertinent results, and important conclusions or
new questions.
Writing an abstract
Write your summary aIter the rest oI the paper is completed. AIter all, how can
you summarize something that is not yet written? Economy oI words is
important throughout any paper, but especially in an abstract. However, use
complete sentences and do not sacriIice readability Ior brevity. You can keep it
concise by wording sentences so that they serve more than one purpose. For
example, "In order to learn the role oI protein synthesis in early development oI
the sea urchin, newly Iertilized embryos were pulse-labeled with tritiated
leucine, to provide a time course oI changes in synthetic rate, as measured by
total counts per minute (cpm)." This sentence provides the overall question,
methods, and type oI analysis, all in one sentence. The writer can now go
directly to summarizing the results.
Summarize the study, including the Iollowing elements in any abstract. Try to
keep the Iirst two items to no more than one sentence each.
O Purpose oI the study - hypothesis, overall question, objective
O odel organism or system and brieI description oI the experiment
O Results, including speciIic data - iI the results are quantitative in nature,
report quantitative data; results oI any statistical analysis shoud be
reported
O Important conclusions or questions that Iollow Irom the experiment(s)
Style:
O Single paragraph, and concise
O As a summary oI work done, it is always written in past tense
O An abstract should stand on its own, and not reIer to any other part oI the
paper such as a Iigure or table
O Focus on summarizing results - limit background inIormation to a
sentence or two, iI absolutely necessary
O What you report in an abstract must be consistent with what you reported
in the paper
O orrrect spelling, clarity oI sentences and phrases, and proper reporting
oI quantities (proper units, signiIicant Iigures) are just as important in an
abstract as they are anywhere else
ntroduction
Your introductions should not exceed two pages (double spaced, typed). See
the examples in the writing portIolio package.
eneral intent
The purpose oI an introduction is to aquaint the reader with the rationale behind
the work, with the intention oI deIending it. It places your work in a theoretical
context, and enables the reader to understand and appreciate your objectives.
Writing an introduction
The abstract is the only text in a research paper to be written without using
paragraphs in order to separate major points. Approaches vary widely, however
Ior our studies the Iollowing approach can produce an eIIective introduction.
O Describe the importance (signiIicance) oI the study - why was this worth
doing in the Iirst place? Provide a broad context.
O DeIend the model - why did you use this particular organism or system?
What are its advantages? You might comment on its suitability Irom a
theoretical point oI view as well as indicate practical reasons Ior using it.
O Provide a rationale. State your speciIic hypothesis(es) or objective(s),
and describe the reasoning that led you to select them.
O Very brieIy describe the experimental design and how it accomplished
the stated objectives.
Style:
O Use past tense except when reIerring to established Iacts. AIter all, the
paper will be submitted aIter all oI the work is completed.
O Organize your ideas, making one major point with each paragraph. II
you make the Iour points listed above, you will need a minimum oI Iour
paragraphs.
O Present background inIormation only as needed in order support a
position. The reader does not want to read everything you know about a
subject.
O State the hypothesis/objective precisely - do not oversimpliIy.
O As always, pay attention to spelling, clarity and appropriateness oI
sentences and phrases.
aterials and ethods
There is no speciIic page limit, but a key concept is to keep this section as
concise as you possibly can. People will want to read this material selectively.
The reader may only be interested in one Iormula or part oI a procedure.
aterials and methods may be reported under separate subheadingswithin this
section or can be incorporated together.
eneral intent
This should be the easiest section to write, but many students misunderstand
the purpose. The objective is to document all specialized materials and general
procedures, so that another individual may use some or all oI the methods in
another study or judge the scientiIic merit oI your work. It is not to be a step by
step description oI everything you did, nor is a methods section a set oI
instructions. In particular, it is not supposed to tell a story. By the way, your
notebook should contain all oI the inIormation that you need Ior this section.
Writing a materials and methods section
aterials:
O Describe materials separately only iI the study is so complicated that it
saves space this way.
O Include specialized chemicals, biological materials, and any equipment
or supplies that are not commonly Iound in laboratories.
O Do not include commonly Iound supplies such as test tubes, pipet tips,
beakers, etc., or standard lab equipment such as centriIuges,
spectrophotometers, pipettors, etc.
O II use oI a speciIic type oI equipment, a speciIic enzyme, or a culture
Irom a particular supplier is critical to the success oI the experiment,
then it and the source should be singled out, otherwise no.
O aterials may be reported in a separate paragraph or else they may be
identiIied along with your procedures.
O In biosciences we Irequently work with solutions - reIer to them by name
and describe completely, including concentrations oI all reagents, and
pH oI aqueous solutions, solvent iI non-aqueous.
ethods:
O See the examples in the writing portIolio package
O Report the methodology (not details oI each procedure that employed the
same methodology)
O Describe the mehodology completely, including such speciIics as
temperatures, incubation times, etc.
O To be concise, present methods under headings devoted to speciIic
procedures or groups oI procedures
O eneralize - report how procedures were done, not how they were
speciIically perIormed on a particular day. For example, report "samples
were diluted to a Iinal concentration oI 2 mg/ml protein;" don't report
that "135 microliters oI sample one was diluted with 330 microliters oI
buIIer to make the protein concentration 2 mg/ml." Always think about
what would be relevant to an investigator at another institution, working
on his/her own project.
O II well documented procedures were used, report the procedure by name,
perhaps with reIerence, and that's all. For example, the BradIord assay is
well known. You need not report the procedure in Iull - just that you
used a BradIord assay to estimate protein concentration, and identiIy
what you used as a standard. The same is true Ior the SDS-PAE
method, and many other well known procedures in biology and
biochemistry.
Style:
O It is awkward or impossible to use active voice when documenting
methods without using Iirst person, which would Iocus the reader's
attention on the investigator rather than the work. ThereIore when
writing up the methods most authors use third person passive voice.
O Use normal prose in this and in every other section oI the paper avoid
inIormal lists, and use complete sentences.
What to avoid
O aterials and methods are not a set oI instructions.
O Omit all explanatory inIormation and background - save it Ior the
discussion.
O Omit inIormation that is irrelevant to a third party, such as what color ice
bucket you used, or which individual logged in the data.
Results
The page length oI this section is set by the amount and types oI data to be
reported. ontinue to be concise, using Iigures and tables, iI appropriate, to
present results most eIIectively. See recommendations Ior content, below.
eneral intent
The purpose oI a results section is to present and illustrate your Iindings. ake
this section a completely objective report oI the results, and save all
interpretation Ior the discussion.
Writing a results section
IPORTANT: You must clearly distinguish material that would normally be
included in a research article Irom any raw data or other appendix material that
would not be published. In Iact, such material should not be submitted at all
unless requested by the instructor.
ontent
O Summarize your Iindings in text and illustrate them, iI appropriate, with
Iigures and tables.
O In text, describe each oI your results, pointing the reader to observations
that are most relevant.
O Provide a context, such as by describing the question that was addressed
by making a particular observation.
O Describe results oI control experiments and include observations that are
not presented in a Iormal Iigure or table, iI appropriate.
O Analyze your data, then prepare the analyzed (converted) data in the
Iorm oI a Iigure (graph), table, or in text Iorm.
What to avoid
O Do not discuss or interpret your results, report background inIormation,
or attempt to explain anything.
O Never include raw data or intermediate calculations in a research paper.
O Do not present the same data more than once.
O Text should complement any Iigures or tables, not repeat the same
inIormation.
O Please do not conIuse Iigures with tables - there is a diIIerence.
Style
O As always, use past tense when you reIer to your results, and put
everything in a logical order.
O In text, reIer to each Iigure as "Iigure 1," "Iigure 2," etc. ; number your
tables as well (see the reIerence text Ior details)
O Place Iigures and tables, properly numbered, in order at the end oI the
report (clearly distinguish them Irom any other material such as raw
data, standard curves, etc.)
O II you preIer, you may place your Iigures and tables appropriately within
the text oI your results section.
Figures and tables
O Either place Iigures and tables within the text oI the result, or include
them in the back oI the report (Iollowing Literature ited) - do one or the
other
O II you place Iigures and tables at the end oI the report, make sure they
are clearly distinguished Irom any attached appendix materials, such as
raw data
O Regardless oI placement, each Iigure must be numbered consecutively
and complete with caption (caption goes under the Iigure)
O Regardless oI placement, each table must be titled, numbered
consecutively and complete with heading (title with description goes
above the table)
O Each Iigure and table must be suIIiciently complete that it could stand on
its own, separate Irom text
iscussion
Journal guidelines vary. Space is so valuable in the Journal oI Biological
hemistry, that authors are asked to restrict discussions to Iour pages or less,
double spaced, typed. That works out to one printed page. While you are
learning to write eIIectively, the limit will be extended to Iive typed pages. II
you practice economy oI words, that should be plenty oI space within which to
say all that you need to say.
eneral intent
The objective here is to provide an interpretation oI your results and support Ior
all oI your conclusions, using evidence Irom your experiment and generally
accepted knowledge, iI appropriate. The signiIicance oI Iindings should be
clearly described.
Writing a discussion
Interpret your data in the discussion in appropriate depth. This means that
when you explain a phenomenon you must describe mechanisms that may
account Ior the observation. II your results diIIer Irom your expectations,
explain why that may have happened. II your results agree, then describe the
theory that the evidence supported. It is never appropriate to simply state that
the data agreed with expectations, and let it drop at that.
O Decide iI each hypothesis is supported, rejected, or iI you cannot make a
decision with conIidence. Do not simply dismiss a study or part oI a
study as "inconclusive."
O Research papers are not accepted iI the work is incomplete. Draw what
conclusions you can based upon the results that you have, and treat the
study as a Iinished work
O You may suggest Iuture directions, such as how the experiment might be
modiIied to accomplish another objective.
O Explain all oI your observations as much as possible, fo.using on
me.hanisms.
O Decide iI the experimental design adequately addressed the hypothesis,
and whether or not it was properly controlled.
O Try to oIIer alternative explanations iI reasonable alternatives exist.
O One experiment will not answer an overall question, so keeping the big
picture in mind, where do you go next? The best studies open up new
avenues oI research. What questions remain?
O Recommendations Ior speciIic papers will provide additional
suggestions.
Style:
O When you reIer to inIormation, distinguish data generated by your own
studies Irom published inIormation or Irom inIormation obtained Irom
other students (verb tense is an important tool Ior accomplishing that
purpose).
O ReIer to work done by speciIic individuals (including yourselI) in past
tense.
O ReIer to generally accepted Iacts and principles in present tense. For
example, "DooIus, in a 1989 survey, found that anemia in basset
hounds was .orrelated with advanced age. Anemiais a condition in
which there is insuIIicient hemoglobin in the blood."
The biggest mistake that students make in discussions is to present a superIicial
interpretation that more or less re-states the results. It is necessary to
suggest why results came out as they did, Iocusing on the mechanisms behind
the observations.
iterature Cited
Please note that in the introductory laboratory course, you will not be required
to properly document sources oI all oI your inIormation. One reason is that
your major source oI inIormation is this website, and websites are inappropriate
as primary sources. Second, it is problematic to provide a hundred students
with equal access to potential reIerence materials. You may nevertheless Iind
outside sources, and you should cite any articles that the instructor provides or
that you Iind Ior yourselI.
List all literature cited in your paper, in alphabetical order, by Iirst author. In a
proper research paper, only primary literature is used (original research articles
authored by the original investigators). Be cautious about using web sites as
reIerences - anyone can put just about anything on a web site, and you have no
sure way oI knowing iI it is truth or Iiction. II you are citing an on line journal,
use the journal citation (name, volume, year, page numbers). Some oI your
papers may not require reIerences, and iI that is the case simply state that "no
reIerences were consulted."

Common Errors in Student Research
Papers
This is not an exhaustive list. With every new lab protocol, you Iolks come up
with the darnedest ways oI messing up a perIectly good paper. However, iI you
heed the comments here your reports stand a much better chance oI being
mistaken Ior proIessionally written research papers.
Quotes
When you write a paper related to literature, history, current events, and many
other Iields, direct quotes may be essential to a Iull discussion oI the subject. In
science, there is very rarely any call Ior a direct quote. On student papers, there
is no reason at all to include direct quotes, except in the case when the student
doesn't understand the concept and uses the quote to avoid having to explain it
his/herselI. Obviously, this doesn't go over too well with the grader. As a rule,
do not use direct quotes in a scholarly technical paper. Your own thoughts must
be expressed, not those oI someone else.
Verb tense
Use oI the wrong verb tense, at best, is irritating to read and reIlects poorly on
the student's writing skills. At worst, the reader can be conIused as to what
Iacts are already known and what was newly discovered in the actual study that
is the subject oI the paper. As a rule, use past tense to describe events that have
happened. Such events include procedures that you have conducted and results
that you observed. Use present tense to describe generally accepted Iacts.
We sought to determine iI mating behavior in Xiphophorus helleri is related to
male tail length by placing combinations oI two male Iish with diIIerent length
tails in the same tank with a Iemale Iish.
We found that protein synthesis in sea urchin embryos treated with
actinomycin D wasconsiderably less than in untreated embryos. This Iinding
agrees with the model stating that protein synthesis in 24 hour sea urchin
embryos is dependent on synthesis oI new messenger RNA.
ReIerence to results oI a speciIic study should also be in past tense.
Abercrombie and Fitch reported that 30 oI the public is allergic to wool.
ixing tenses is even worse - this sort oI thing hurts my ears. UnIortunately,
the people who read the news in television and radio broadcasts are Irequently
unaware oI verb tense at all.
Two guys rob a liquor store downtown. The robbery occured at midnight last
night.
|Irom a newspaper article| Two inmates hide in trailer to escape S.. prison.
The last one had me puzzled. I was thinking, iI they know the inmates are in the
trailer, why don't they just go in and get them? What the article actually
reported was that the two had hidden in a trailer which was driven out oI
prison, allowing them to escape. I grew up speaking and reading English (the
American version, that is). Imagine the diIIiculty Iaced by a non-native speaker
who learns proper English and then reads the local rag or tries to make sense
out oI reports by "talking heads" on new shows.
Proofread!
Incomplete sentences, redundant phrases, obvious misspellings, and other
symptoms oI a hurriedly-written paper can cost you. Please start your work
early enough so that you can prooIread it. heck spelling oI scientiIic names,
names oI people, names oI compounds, etc. Spelling and grammatical errors
can be embarrassing. Since many very diIIerent terms have similar names, a
spelling error can result in a completely incorrect statement.
When you print oII your paper, please make sure that tables are not split over
more than one page, that headings are not "orphaned," pages submitted out oI
sequence, etc. Remember, someone has to read this thing! II the reader is an
editor or reviewer, you might get a rejection notice because you were too
sloppy.
rrelevant information
Anecdotal information
Sometimes you may Ieel the need to justiIy a statement or procedure by stating
"'the instructor told us to do this instead oI that." You might think it appropriate
to write "we used icrosoIt Excel to produce a graph oI x versus y." Such
inIormation is anecdotal and is considered to be superIluous. In some cases
omission oI anecdotal inIormation is unIortunate. Papers in the older literature
tend to be a lot more exciting and oIten more inIormative Ior those not 'in the
know,' because the researcher could report how a conclusion was reached,
including the reasoning and various sidetracks that led him/her to conclusions.
The writer could actually tell the story oI the investigation process. odern
papers omit such inIormation because the volume oI literature is so great, most
oI us doing a search don't have time to wade through more material than we
need. Publication costs are too high to permit printing oI superIluous
inIormation.
A research paper summarizes a study. It does not identiIy who did what.
ReIerence to instructors, Iellow students, teams, partners, etc. are not
appropriate, nor is it appropriate to reIer to "the lab."
Unnecessary background
II you state Iacts or describe mechanisms, do so in order to make a point or to
help interpret results, and do reIer to the present study. II you Iind yourselI
writing everything you know about the subject, you are wasting your time (and
that oI your reader). Stick to the appropriate point, and include a reIerence to
your source oI background inIormation iI you Ieel that it is important.
ncluding material that is inappropriate for the readership
It isn't necessary to tell Iellow scientists that your study is pertinent to the Iield
oI biochemistry. Your readers can Iigure out to what Iield(s) your work applies.
You need not deIine terms that are well known to the intended readership. For
example, do you really think it is necessary to deIine systolic blood pressure iI
your readership consists oI physicians or cardiovascular physiologists?
Subjectivity and use of superlatives
Technical writing diIIers Irom the writing oI Iiction, opinion pieces, scholarly
English papers, etc. in many ways. One way is in the use oI superlatives and
subjective statements in order to emphasize a point. We simply do not use such
writing styles in science. Objectivity is absolutely essential.
Subjectivity reIers to Ieelings, opinions, etc. For example, in your discussion
you might write, "We Ielt that the Iixative was bad, because we had diIIiculty
Iinding Ilagella on our hlamydomonas." Another researcher is unlikely to risk
time and resources on the basis oI your "Ieeling." On the other hand, you might
write, "The percentage oI cells with Ilagella was inversely proportional to the
time they spent in Iixative, suggesting that the Iixative was causing cells to
shed Ilagella." This is inIormation that another scientist can use.
Superlatives include adjectives such as "huge," "incredible," "wonderIul,"
"exciting," etc. For example, "the mitochondria showed an incredibly large
increase in oxygen consumption when we added uncoupling agent." Your
deIinition oI incredible might be diIIerent Irom that oI someone else - perhaps a
Iive Iold increase is incredible to you, but not Ior the next person. It is much
better to use an objective expression, such as "Oxygen consumption was Iive
Iold greater in the presence oI uncoupler, which is a greater change than we
saw with the addition oI any other reagent."
Similarly, we don't write that we believe something. We present the evidence,
and perhaps suggest strong support Ior a position, but belieIs don't come into
play. In particular, we do not "expect" a particular set oI results, or "wire" a
hypothesis so that it appears that we correctly predicted the results. That sort oI
practice is another example oI lack oI objectivity.
Proof
See my essay on Iact, hypothesis, and theory. The requirements Ior scientiIic
prooI are extremely rigorous. It is highly doubtIul that any single experiment
can be so well controlled that its conclusions can be regarded as prooI. In Iact,
Ior any result to be accepted it must be conIirmed independently. In Iact, we
can never know iI a model as we describe it presents an accurate picture oI any
natural process. We can never look at the original blueprint to check our
conclusions. So... your data may strongly support a position, or they may allow
you to reject a hypothesis, but they aren't likely to provide anything close to
prooI.
rammar and spelling
Please avoid obvious grammatical errors. ranted, you aren't writing an
English paper (heck, an English teacher would tear my own writing style to
shreds). However, clear written communication requires proper sentence
structure and use oI words. ake sure that your sentences are complete, that
they make sense when you prooIread, and that you have verb/subject
agreement.
Spelling errors in a paper make you look amateurish. For
example, absorban.e is read Irom aspe.trophotometer. You don't
read absorben.yIrom a spe.trometer. Worse, they can change the entire
meaning oI your writing. One letter changes the chemical compound you
describe. I know the action oI .y.loheximide in eukaryotic cells, but I do not
know the action oI .y.lohexamide.
naccurate word or phrase
hanging temperature had the Iollowing affe.t on the subject.
'AIIect' is a verb. 'EIIect' is a noun. What happened to the subject was an eIIect.
The temperature change aIIected the subject. Please learn the diIIerence.
The data lead to the assumption that x has no relationship to y.
II you base a conclusion on data, then your conclusion is a deduction, not an
assumption. In Iact, in experimental science assumptions are usually avoided.
A purpose oI controls is to eliminate the need to assume anything.
Our inability to ensure that all cells in the population were in the same stage oI
development skewed our data.
This statement doesn't reveal very much. The writer intended to say that the
data points were more scattered, that is, the non-uniIormity oI the population
resulted in unacceptably high experimental error. The word 'skew' means
'having an oblique position; turned or twisted to one side; slanting; sloping.' It
can be used as an adverb or noun as well. In statistics, the word reIers to an
asymmetric distribution oI data. Nowhere in the deIinition is there any
reIerence to the state oI being incorrect or more scattered. Thus, not only is the
word overused, it is also misused.
We rationali:ed the Iinding that blocking the sodium pump had no aIIect on
uptake oI glucose by suggesting that the symport mechanism depends solely on
the sodium gradient, which persists long aIter the pump is shut down.
A deIinition oI 'rationalize' is 'to explain or justiIy.' Another is 'to attribute
logical or creditable motives to actions that result Irom other, perhaps
unrecognized, motives.' In short, to make excuses. As I learned in English class
a long time ago, the term's principal usage is to attempt to justiIy something on
dubious grounds. For example, 'he rationalized his poor behavior by saying that
he had just broken up with his girlIriend and was distraught.' The deIinition
does not include anything about the explanation being valid, thereIore another
word would be preIerable. Try
A likely explanation for the Iinding...is that...
The word 'data' is plural. However since investigators usually reIer to sets oI
data, there is a tendency to use the word as though it was singular. Hence a
writer will state, 'the data was aIIected by the phase oI the moon,' or 'the data
suggests that phase oI the moon has no eIIect on mood.' As awkward as it may
seem to you, the proper phrases are, 'the data were aIIected...,' and 'the
datasuggest...' By the way, the singular Iorm is 'datum.'
versimplification
We used a spectrophotometer to determine protein concentrations Ior each oI
our samples. We used an oscilloscope to measure resting potentials in crayIish
muscle.
The spectrophotometer or oscilloscope may be a novel, mysterious, and
versatile device to you, but I suspect that even an expert biochemist would have
a hard time Iinding a protein concentration using only a spectrophotometer. The
Iirst statement leaves out the dye reagent, standards, pipettors, etc. that are
required to perIorm the assay. The second statement omits any reIerence to the
micropipets or the specialized electronic instrumentation that is required in
order to measure transmembrane potentials.
What inIormation did you intend to convey? II you intend to describe the
methodology, then write a complete description. II you intend only to
summarize the procedures then you might seek a phrase that sums up what was
done without oversimpliIying. For example, "We used a colorimetric assay to
determine protein concentrations in each oI our samples." Or, "We measured
resting membrane potentials using Kl-Iilled micropipets with a microprobe
system Irom |supplier and/or reIerence|.
Superficiality
The purpose oI a discussion is to interpret the results, not to simply state them
in a diIIerent way. In most cases a superIicial discussion ignores mechanisms
or Iails to explain them completely. It should be clear to the reader why a
speciIic result came to pass. The statement, "The result agreed with the known
theoretical value," tells us nothing about the mechanism(s) behind the result.
What is the basis Ior expecting a particular result? Explanations may not be
easy and your explanation may not be correct, but you will get most or all oI
the available credit Ior posing a reasonable explanation, even iI it is not quite
right. SuperIicial statements, on the other hand, will cost you.
Anthropomorphism
Sometimes you cannot easily Iind the right wording in order to explain a cause
and eIIect relationship, or you may not understand the concept well enough in
order to write an explanation. Anthropomorphism is a type oI
oversimpliIication that helps the writer avoid a real explanation oI a
mechanism. A couple oI examples should make the point Ior you.
Sodium wants to move down the chemical gradient toward the compartment
with the lower concentration.
The thought behind the statement is correct, but the statement does not
represent the correct mechanism. Sodium has no Iree will. It tends to move
toward the compartment with lower concentration because the probability oI a
sodium ion moving through a channel on the more concentrated side oI the
membrane exceeds the probability that an ion will move through a channel on
the less concentrated side. II you don't want to explain the principle behind
osmosis, you can simply state that osmotic pressure tends to drive sodium Irom
the more highly to less highly concentrated side oI a membrane.
The ETS works Iuriously in a vain attempt to restore the chemiosmotic gradient
Wow. Well, the adverb "Iuriously" is not only subjective, but it normally
applies to a deliberate action. We know that the ETS (electron transport
system) is a set oI carrier complexes embedded in a membrane, and that it
cannot be capable oI a deliberate action. Something that cannot act deliberately
cannot think, either. There is a physical cause and eIIect relationship between
the ETS and the chemiosmotic gradient that does not require attributing a Iree
will to any part oI the system.
Common mistakes in reporting results
onverted data are data that have been analyzed, usually summarized, and
presented in such a way that only the inIormation pertinent to the objectives oI
the study is presented. Raw data reIers to results oI individual replicate trials,
individual observations, chart records, and other inIormation that comes
directly Irom the laboratory.
Once you have presented converted data, do not present the same data in a
diIIerent way. For example, iI the data are plotted, then don't include a table oI
data as well. Present a Iigure (such as a graph) iI appropriate. II the data are
better represented by a table, then use a table. The caption with any Iigure or
table should include all pertinent inIormation. One should not have to go into
the body oI the paper to Iind out the results oI statistical tests on the data, or the
rationale behind a curve Iit.
Raw data are not usually included in your results. Raw data include lists oI
observations, meaurements taken in order to obtain a Iinal result (e.g.,
absorbance, relative mobility, tick marks on a microscope reticule).
Use an appropriate number oI decimal places (iI you need decimal places at all)
to report means and other measured or calculated values. The number oI
decimal places and/or signiIicant Iigures must reIlect the degree oI precision oI
the original measurement. See our analytical resources Ior inIormation on
uncertain quantities and signiIicant Iigures. Since the number oI signiIicant
Iigures used reIlects the level oI precision oI the measurement or calculation,
there is never any need to qualiIy a measurement or calculation as 'about' or
'approximate.'
raphs and other pictures that represent data are called Iigures, and are
numbered consecutively. Tables are distinguished Irom Iigures, and are
numbered consecutively as well. For example, a paper with two graphs, a
reproduction oI a segment oI chart record and two tables will have Iigures 1, 2,
and 3, and tables 1 and 2. Do note that I distinguished graphs Irom chart
records. Not everything with gridlines is a graph. raphs are analytical tools.
hart records are raw data (which may be presented in results as an example, iI
appropriate).
Do not draw conclusions in the results section. Reserve data interpretation Ior
the discussion.
%he significance of 'significance'
We have a statistically signiIicant diIIerence when analysis yields a very low
probability that the diIIerence was due to sampling error (random error) alone.
II suIIicient data are collected, and statistical signiIicance is not achieved, the
investigator can conclude that the null hypothesis is supported there is no
signiIicant diIIerence.
Lack oI a signiIicant diIIerence does not mean that the result itselI is
insigniIicant. A Iinding, Ior example, that there are no intrinsic diIIerences in
Iundamental mathematical ability among racial groups would be a very
signiIicant Iinding. SigniIicance in this study reIers to the importance oI the
result. "It is signiIicant that we Iound no signiIicant diIIerences among the
groups studied" is a valid, though perhaps conIusing, statement.
There is a tendency among students to reject a study as inconclusive just
because no statistically signiIicant diIIerences were Iound. Such rejection
suggests a misunderstanding oI the scientiIic method itselI. You can conclude
something Irom even the most poorly designed experiments. In Iact, most well-
designed experiments result in support Ior the null hypothesis. Be prepared to
interpret whatever you Iind, regardless oI what you think you should Iind. The
purpose oI experimental science is to discover the truth - not to make the data
conIorm to one's expectations.
Selekted Riting Wrules
Okay so we don't always have to be serious. It's about time I Iound a good
use Ior some oI the internet jokes that appear on the e-mail in box.
1. Verbs HAS to agree with their subjects.
2. Prepositions are not words to end sentences with.
3. And don't start a sentence with a conjunction.
4. It is wrong to ever split an inIinitive.
5. Avoid cliches like the plague. (They're old hat)
6. Also, always avoid annoying alliteration.
7. Be more or less speciIic.
8. Parenthetical remarks (however relevant) are (usually) unnecessary.
9. Also too, never, ever use repetitive redundancies.
10. No sentence Iragments.
11. ontractions aren't necessary and shouldn't be used.
12. Foreign words and phrases are not apropos.
13. Do not be redundant; do not use more words than necessary; it's highly
superIluous.
14. One should NEVER generalize.
15. omparisons are as bad as cliches.
16. Eschew ampersands & abbreviations, etc.
17. One-word sentences? Eliminate.
18. Analogies in writing are like Ieathers on a snake.
19. The passive voice is to be ignored.
20. Eliminate commas, that are, not necessary. Parenthetical words however
should be enclosed in commas.
21. Never use a big word when a diminutive one would suIIice.
22. Use words correctly, irregardless oI how others use them.
23. Understatement is always the absolute best way to put Iorth earth-shaking
ideas.
24. Eliminate quotations. As Ralph Waldo Emerson said, "I hate quotations.
Tell me what you know."
25. II you've heard it once, you've heard it a thousand times:
Resist hyperbole; not one writer in a million can use it correctly.
26. Puns are Ior children, not groan readers.
27. o around the barn at high noon to avoid colloquialisms.
28. Even IF a mixed metaphor sings, it should be derailed.
29. Who needs rhetorical questions?
30. Exaggeration is a billion times worse than understatement.
And the last one...
31. ProoIread careIully to see iI you any words out.