Scientific writing (Part III)
Ng Siew Kit 23rd September 2015 Itinerary today Relax and have a good time!
1. Common mistakes in sentence structure 2. Literature search 3. Plagiarism & proper citation 4. Reference tool EndNote Relax and have a good time! 1. Common mistakes in sentence structure
1. Sentence fragments 2. Sentence sprawl 3. Misplaced and dangling modifiers 4. Faulty parallelism 5. Comma mistakes (omitted/superfluous) 1. Fragmented sentences 2. Avoid complex/compound sentences 3. Syntax errors 4. Faulty parallelism 5. Comma mistakes (not enough/too many) Avoid using jargons!!! Real examples from previous Masters thesis
Disclaimer: No harm is intended towards anyone or their thesis, but only good will for the students benefit. Please do not try to trace the source of the quotes because any attempt will be successful. My words are too precious My words are too precious
Usually, the study is performed in a cage. My comment: Seriously???? I applaud you for yourcommitment in doing science. My guess: Usually, the study is performed with the mice ina cage. After 5 minute incubation, combined diluted DNA withdiluted LipofectamineTM Mix gently and incubateat 37C for 4 days and continue with viability assays. My guess: After 5 minutes, diluted DNA and dilutedLipofectamineTM 3000 were combined. The transfectionmixture (amount) was then added to the cell culture. Thecells were incubated at 37C for 4 days and then testedwith viability assays. To further expand on my point
Apart from the pellet, all the supernatant werediscarded. The supernatant was discarded. An adulterant is different from, for instance, allowedsustenance added substances. An adulterant is different from allowed sustenanceadded substances. Examples: (that/which)
The formation of biofilms facilitates unicellular organismsto assume a momentary multicellular lifestyle which isimportant for survival in adverse environments. The formation of biofilms facilitates unicellular organismsto assume a momentary multicellular lifestyle, which isimportant for survival in adverse environments. The formation of biofilms facilitates unicellular organismsto assume a momentary multicellular lifestyle that isimportant for survival in adverse environments. Avoid the use of unnecessary complex/compound sentences
I refuse to give any examples because at this stage ofyour studies, you should have realised that complex orcompound sentences that only serve to further confusethe readers have no place in scientific writing despitethe common misconception that the use of complex orcompound sentences is a hallmark of competentEnglish, but apparently I am wrong for many studentslove using complex or compound sentencesunnecessarily in their thesis, which often lead tobemused readers and angry supervisors. Potato Crisps CRISPR Faulty parallelism Hence, ethanol extract was diluted 5 times by adding 5ml ethanol, water 6.6 times and chloroform 2.5 timeswhile petroleum ether did not need to be diluted. Hence, ethanol extract was diluted 5 times by adding 5ml ethanol, water extract was diluted 6.6 times, andchloroform extract was diluted 2.5 times, whilepetroleum ether extract did not need to bewas notdiluted. Hence, 1 ml of ethanol extract was diluted by adding 5ml ethanol (6x dilution), water extract was diluted byadding .. Comma mistakes After a short period of time, the symptomatic stage of thedisease begins, followed by AIDS caused by depletion ofCD4+ T cells which allows the opportunistic infection toattach the body without any defence leading to death atthe end. After a short period of time, the symptomatic stage of thedisease begins, followed by AIDS caused by depletion ofCD4+ T cells, which allows the opportunistic infection toattach the body without any defence, leading to death atthe end. After a short period of time, the symptomatic stage of HIVinfection begins. Further depletion of CD4+ T cells lead toAIDS, whereby opportunistic infections eventually causedeath to the defenceless body. Comma mistakes In view of the above explanation, whereby no localizedeffect, no body weight changes, no abnormal clinical signs,no mortality moribund and pain/distress, therefore, thisproduct, GD MRRO which contains 15% w/w of DEET can beused at home as it is unlikely to cause any adverse effect atnormal use. In view of the above explanation, whereby no localizedeffect, no body weight changes, no abnormal clinical signs,no mortality moribund and pain/distress were observed,therefore, this product, GD MRRO, which contains 15% w/w ofDEET, can be used at home as it is unlikely to cause anyadverse effect at normal use. From the above explanation, no localized effect, no bodyweight changes, no abnormal clinical signs, no mortalitymoribund and pain/distress were observed. Therefore, GDMRRO, which contains 15% w/w of DEET, can be used at homeas it is unlikely to cause any adverse effect at normal use. Use of colloquial (lab) English
The cost on the other hand is expensive so that is whyNespresso has not been a phenomenal thing as a capsule isvery costly. On the other hand, the cost of a capsule is expensive. Assuch, Nespresso has not been popular. Actually it is not a correct reflection of the antigensencountered since many antigens such as However, it is not a correct reflection Nonetheless, it is not a correct reflection Nevertheless, it is not a correct reflection The mixture was then spun down at full speed for 15seconds. The mixture was then centrifuged at 16000x g for 15seconds. Giving life to inanimate object
Food benefited from being freeze dried as their sensoryqualities such as color, size, smell and taste are onlyminimally affected in comparison to other dryingprocesses. Then the radical could harm the cell and initiate lipidperoxidation. Capillary electrophoresis demonstrated its powerfulseparation ability with several advantages such as highseparation efficiency and resolution. More examples: Candidate sites for phosphorylation will undergo twotypes of mutation; non-phosphorylable andphosphomimetic mutations. As HIV continues to replicate itself and crippling ofimmune system is virtually complete, a person is said tohave AIDS. Briefly, once the virus enters the body, it startsreplication and killing T helper cells which plays animportant role in adaptive immune response. Cleavage is able in converting the compounds intosmaller fragments or go to the triglyceride molecule tocross-link each other. Do not allow your work to appear here!! 2. Literature Search 1. References search engine
2. Unique identifier numbers (ISBN, ISSN, DOI) 3. Doing your literature review References search engine
Google Scholar - scholar.google.com RefSeek - JURN - PubMed Biomedical specific - Search through databases like Scopus, Web of Science,JSTOR, etc. Just use Google Scholar or PubMed. But can try othersearch engines if some of the work cannot be found. Wikipedia list Unique identifier numbers (ISBN, ISSN, DOI)
International Standard Book Number (ISBN) - thirteen-digit number for serial publication WebsiteWikipedia International Standard Serial Number (ISSN) - eight-digit number for serial publication Digital Object Identifier (DOI) - serial code for objects: electronic documents Doing your literature review
1. From scratch Search using keywords - Title, Research questions, Abstract 2. Consolidate search Reference list of a paper Author keywords Cited by 3. Comprehensive search Search using for synonyms, alternative terms Search using different engines/databases Doing your literature review
Primary source literature - journal articles, patents, dissertations/thesis,conference abstracts Secondary source literature - review papers, books, databases Reference material & tertiary sources - encyclopedias, Wikipedia, websites, popular press Tip 1: Start your search from review papers. Ask your supervisor for a recommended review article on the topic. Tip 2: Keep your search record. Register on databases. Exercise 1: Keyword search
To search for a paper based on its abstract: Get yourself connected to the internet. Load the following websites. Website: TodaysMeet https://todaysmeet.com/SciWri15part3 I need: Title, Authors surname (first and corresponding),Year published Ready Get set.. Exercise 1: Keyword search
This study aimed to investigate whether interferon regulatory factor 9 (IRF9) isinvolved in the pathogenesis of myocardial ischemiareperfusion (I/R) injury and toexplore the underlying molecular mechanisms of this process. Cell death plays amajor role in myocardial I/R injury. We recently determined the importance of IRF9in coordinating molecular events in response to hypertrophic stress incardiomyocytes. However, the roles of IRF9 in lethal myocardial injury remain to beelucidated. The involvement of IRF9 was assessed via functional assays in a mousemyocardial I/R injury model by genetic knockout and cardiomyocyte-specifictransgenic overexpression ofIRF9, and its effects on cardiomyocyte apoptosis andinflammation were further studied in vivo and in vitro. IRF9 was upregulated inhuman ischemic heart tissue and mouse hearts after I/R injury. Ablation of IRF9protected the heart against I/R-induced cardiomyocyte death, development ofinflammation, and loss of heart function. In contrast, cardiomyocyte-specifictransgenic overexpression of IRF9 aggravated myocardial reperfusion injury andinflammation. IRF9 negatively regulated the Sirt1-p53 axis under I/R conditions invivo and in vitro. Downregulation of Sirt1 expression and its downstream apoptosis- related signaling cascade, which results from I/R, was ameliorated by loss of IRF9and exacerbated by overexpression of IRF9. Cardiomyocyte-specific deletion of Sirt1abolished the protective effect of IRF9 knockout against I/R injury, which furtherindicated that IRF9 mediated myocardial reperfusion injury by modulating the Sirt1- p53 axis. Thus, IRF9 may be a novel therapeutic target for the prevention of I/Rinjury resulting from revascularization therapy after acute myocardial infarction(MI). I need: Title, Authors surname (first and corresponding author), Year published 3. Plagiarism & proper citation
2. Citation in text (Harvard style) 3. Reference list Plagiarism Definition: the practice of taking someone elses workor idea and pass off as ones ownGoogle Turn it in before thesis submission IPS recommendation: < 25% similarity Do not run the gauntlet!! Chances are: Your examiners are subject specialist andwill be well versed in your research area. Imagine a BBQ party: You Figure is from Turnitin survey White paper: The plagiarism spectrum
Figure is from Turnitin survey Plagiarism Intent Matters!! Intent Matters!! Citation in text Different styles (Harvard, Chicago, AMA, etc)
USM Harvard style The innate immune system is the major contributor toacute inflammation induced by microbial infection or tissuedamage (Akira etal., 2006andBeutler etal., 2006). The activation of TBK1 and IKK-iis modulated by variousproteins. TBK1 and IKK-i interact with TRAF familymember-associated NF-B activator (TANK) (also known asI-TRAF), NAK-associated protein 1 (NAP1), and the TBK1adaptor (SINTBAD), which is similar to NAP1 (Guo andCheng, 2007,Ryzhakov and Randow, 2007andSasai etal.,2006). -excerpts are from Takeuchi and Akira, 2010 When do I need to cite? When in doubt, always cite!
Siti Hawa thinks that Dr Ngs scientific writing class isawesome and funny! Everyone in the class is enjoyingthemselves.-- Anonymous Lifted directly from the source? Siti Hawa thinks that Dr Ngs scientific writing class is awesome andfunny! Everyone in the class is enjoying themselves. Change the sentence structure? Siti Hawa thinks that everyone in Dr Ngs scientific writing class isenjoying themselves because it is awesome and funny. Paraphrase keywords? Siti Hawa thinks that Dr Ngs scientific writing presentation isfascinating and humorous! Everyone in the class is having a good time. Use own words? Siti Hawa thinks that Dr Ngs sharing session for scientific writing iswell received by the participants. When in doubt, always cite! How do I cite properly? Not encouraged, unless citing famous/important sentences Lifted directly from the source? Siti Hawa thinks that Dr Ngs scientific writing class is awesome and funny!Everyone in the class is enjoying themselves. (Anonymous, 2015) Anonymous (2015) stated that Siti Hawa thinks that Dr Ngs scientificwriting class is awesome and funny! Everyone in the class is enjoyingthemselves. Change the sentence structure? Siti Hawa thinks that everyone in Dr Ngs scientific writing class is enjoyingthemselves because his class is awesome and funny (Anonymous, 2015). Paraphrase keywords? According to Anonymous (2015), Siti Hawa thinks that Dr Ngs scientific writingpresentation is fascinating and humorous! Everyone in the class is having agood time. Use own words? Siti Hawa thinks that Dr Ngs scientific writing class is well received by theparticipants, as stated by Anonymous (2015). Not encouraged, unless you are lazy and a risk-taker The standard expectation from a postgraduate student Exercise 2: Reference list
To find out the citation style: Get yourself connected to the internet. Load the following websites. Website 1: TodaysMeet https://todaysmeet.com/SciWri15part3a Website 2: Cite this for me https://www.citethisforme.com/ Ready Get set.. Exercise 2: Reference list
doi: /j.cell 1. Takeuchi O, Akira S. Pattern Recognition Receptorsand Inflammation. Cell. 2010;140(6): doi: /j.cell 1. Takeuchi O, Akira S. Pattern Recognition Receptorsand Inflammation. Cell. 2010;140(6): Takeuchi, O. and Akira, S. (2010). Pattern RecognitionReceptors and Inflammation. Cell, 140(6), pp Takeuchi Osamu, and Shizuo Akira 'PatternRecognition Receptors And Inflammation'. Cell 140 (6): doi: /j.cell Takeuchi Osamu, and Shizuo Akira. 'Pattern RecognitionReceptors And Inflammation'. Cell (2010): Web. 8 Sept AMA Vancouver Harvard Chicago MLA Reference list (Harvard Style)
Author, Initials., Year. Title of article.Full Title of Journal, Volume number (Issue/Part number), Page number(s). Alphabetical order Italics for Journal title Ng, S.K., Weissbach, R., Ronson, G. and Scadden, A.D.J. (2013). Proteins that contain a functional Z-DNA-binding domain localize to cytoplasmic stress granules. Nucleic Acids Research, 41(21), pp Schweidenback, C.T.H., Emerman, A.B., Jambhekar, A. and Blower, M.D. (2014). Evidence for multiple, distinct ADAR- containing complexes in Xenopus laevis. RNA, 21(2), pp Takeuchi, O. and Akira, S. (2010). Pattern Recognition Receptors and Inflammation. Cell, 140(6), pp Correct punctuations No numbering Reference tool EndNote
Reference tools generate your reference list accordingto the style required automatically. Get EndNote X7 installer from the IPPT library. There are other free software available: Zoterofirefox plug-in BibTex for LaTeX users Mendeley Or commercial ones: Papers, Reference Manager,RefWorks Further reading Scientific writing = Thinking in words
- David Lindsay (2011) Scientific writing Easy when you know how - Jennifer Peat (2002) Common mistakes in grammar, punctuation, and sentencestructure - Marianne Mallia, ELS (2009) Harvard system - Anglia Ruskin University Further reading Responsible and efficient literature searching
- Ruth Lewis and Cathy Sarli (2015) https://becker.wustl.edu/sites/default/files/RespLitSearch.pdf Announcement Thank you! RM 120 for 3-day English Language Workshop
Lecturers from the Language School will come over Interested students pleaseDr Kumitaa: Thank you!