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Universiti Brunei Darussalam 19 November 2015 Trevor Lane, PhD Andrew Jackson, PhD Ruth Tunn, PhD Author Success Workshop: Effectively Communicating Your Research

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Universiti Brunei Darussalam

19 November 2015

Trevor Lane, PhD Andrew Jackson, PhD

Ruth Tunn, PhD

Author Success Workshop: Effectively Communicating Your Research

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S

Be an effective communicator

Your goal is not only to publish, but also to be widely read and cited

Prepare well for academic publishing

Write your ideas clearly for your audience

Logically present your research

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Section 1

Plan well

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Academic publishing

Publication success = Academic success

S

Publication Metrics and Success on the Academic Job Market van Dijk et al. Current Biology. 2014; 24: R516-R517.

• >25,000 researchers in PubMed • Determined which factors positively correlated

with academic success

• Number of publications • Impact factor of the journal • Number of citations • University ranking • Male vs. Female

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Academic publishing

Increase impact

High quality research

Logical and engaging message

Original and novel research

Well-designed, well-reported,

transparent study News value, importance, timeliness

What editors want

High scientific & technical quality, sound research/publication ethics,

registered human trials

High readability & interest; clear, real-

world relevance

Impact factor (for past 2 years) = No. of cites / No. of articles

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Academic publishing Choose your journal first!

Author guidelines • Manuscript structure • Word limits, References • Procedures, Copyright

Aims and scope • Topics • Readership • Be sure to emphasize

• Check relevant references • Check originality, importance & usefulness!

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Academic publishing Research with impact

Identify an important question, gap in knowledge/evidence, or incomplete answer…

• Do you have the expertise/resources?

• Is the question focused?

• What is new? How is the study useful?

• What is the best/most practical study design?

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Academic publishing Impact and study design

Systematic

reviews of RCTs

Randomized controlled

trials (RCTs)

Other controlled trials

Observational studies (cohort, case-control,

cross-sectional surveys/audits, diagnostics)

Computer models (in silico), animal models (in vivo),

in vitro, case studies

Case studies, anecdote, opinion, technical,

simulation

Hypothesis

testing

{ Descriptive

Methodological {

{

Secondary

research

Primary

research

{ } Experimental (exposure assigned)*

}

} Non-

experimental

*

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Academic publishing

Research Article

Short Communication Case Study Technical Note Review Article Editorial Letter to the Editor

Brief report about a specific finding

Most common; full-length paper

Brief report about a specific situation

Brief report about a new methodology

Summary of recent advances in a field

Brief discussion about an interesting topic

Brief discussion about a published article

Type of articles

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Academic publishing

Logically organizing your ideas

Communicating in English

Two factors to consider when writing a manuscript

Importance of logic

Draft outline & abstract/title; Draft & revise

manuscript

Edit manuscript & finalize

abstract/title

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Academic publishing

Start with your illustrations

Where to start?

Your findings form the basis of your manuscript

First step: logically organize your display items

Logic, then language

Figure 1

Figure 2

Table 1

Figure 3

Logical flow (Chronology, Least to most

important, General to

specific, Whole+parts)

Is anything missing?

? Additional analyses?

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Academic publishing Use reporting guidelines

PRISMA Systematic reviews &

Meta-analyses

STROBE Observational studies

CARE Case reports

CONSORT Randomized controlled

clinical trials

ARRIVE Animal studies

http://www.equator-network.org/

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Academic publishing

State conflicts of interest

No plagiarism or redundancy

Clear author contributions

No fabrication or falsification

Always follow ethics guidelines

(1) Study design/data analysis, (2) Writing, (3) Approval,

(4) Responsibility

Possible financial, personal bias

Committee on Publication Ethics, COPE Good Publication Practice 3, GPP3

International Committee of Medical Journal Editors, ICMJE

Good publication ethics

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Academic publishing Ethics declarations

Declare in your cover letter…

Not submitted to other journals

Funding, donations

All authors agree and contributed

Original and unpublished

State potential conflicts of interest

Research ethics

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Select the best journal

Section 2

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Journal selection Evaluating impact

How new/important are your findings? How strong is the evidence?

Incremental or large advance? Low or high impact journal

Novelty

Assess your findings honestly & objectively

Create new method to measure financial market risk Medium to high impact factor journal Improve the accuracy of an existing method • Low to medium impact factor journal

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Journal selection Evaluating impact

How broadly relevant are your findings? International or regional journal

General or specialized journal

Relevance/Application

Aims & scope, Readership

Assess your findings honestly & objectively

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Journal selection Factors to consider when choosing a journal

Aims & scope, Readership

Publication speed/frequency

Online/Print, Open access

Indexing, Rank, Impact factor

Acceptance rate/criteria

Article type / evidence level

“Luxury” / Traditional / Megajournal

Online first, Supplemental materials, Cost

Fast track

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Journal selection Publication models

Subscription-based

• Mostly free for the author • Reader has to pay

Open access • Free for the reader • Author usually has to pay

Hybrid • Subscription-based journal • Has open access options

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Journal selection Open access models

Green

• Can self-archive accepted version in personal, university, or repository website

• May allow final version to be archived

• May have embargo period before self-archiving is allowed

Gold • Free for public on publication • Author might keep © but may

pay (e.g., US$1000–3000)

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Journal selection Open access myths

Open access (OA) is expensive and low quality

• Not all OA journals charge a fee

• Many research grants and universities pay for OA fees

• Journals may offer waiver for authors who cannot afford it

• OA journals are peer reviewed

• Impact factors may be lower partly because they are newer

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Journal selection Predatory journals

Some Open Access journals are not good

Easy way to get money from authors

• Promise quick and easy publication • Often ask for a “submission/handling” fee • May copy name of real journal; false IF • May not exist, or may be of low quality • Beware of spam e-mails!

If you are ever unsure, please check Beall’s List of Predatory Publishers

http://scholarlyoa.com/2015/01/02/bealls-list-of-predatory-publishers-2015/

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Journal selection

Reputable publisher Springer, Elsevier, Wiley, PLoS, etc.

Editorial board International and familiar

Indexed Indexed by common databases

Authors Do you recognize the authors?

Fees Paid only after acceptance

Trustworthy journals

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Journal selection

THINK Trusted and appropriate?

SUBMIT Only if OK

thinkchecksubmit.org

CHECK Do you know the journal?

Trustworthy journals

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Journal selection Journal Selector www.edanzediting.com/journal_selector

Insert your proposed abstract or keywords

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Journal selection

Matching journals

Filter/Sort by: • Field of study • Impact factor, SCI • Open access • Publishing

frequency

Journal’s aims & scope, IF,

and publication frequency

Journal Selector www.edanzediting.com/journal_selector

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Journal selection

• Author guidelines • Journal website

Are they currently publishing similar articles?

Similar published articles

Have you cited any of these articles?

Shows the editor that your study builds on research

already published in their journal

Journal Selector www.edanzediting.com/journal_selector

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Please see Activity 1 in your Workbook

Activity 1: Journal Selection

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Write effectively 1

Section 3

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Customer Service Effective writing

Nature’s guide to authors:

Nature is an international journal covering all the sciences. Contributions should therefore be written clearly and simply so that they are accessible to readers in other disciplines and to readers for whom English is not their first language.

www.nature.com/nature/authors/gta/index.html#a4

“I should use complex words to make my writing more impressive.”

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Customer Service Effective writing

To ascertain the efficaciousness of the program, we interrogated the participants upon completion.

Complex words

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Customer Service Effective writing

To ascertain the efficaciousness of the program, we interrogated the participants upon completion.

To determine the success of the program, we questioned the participants upon completion.

Complex words

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Customer Service Effective writing Avoid complex words

Preferred Enough Clear Determine Begin Try Very Size Keep Enough End Use

Avoid Adequate Apparent Ascertain Commence Endeavor Exceedingly Magnitude* Retain Sufficient Terminate* Utilization *OK in certain fields (magnitude of earthquakes, to terminate gene expression)

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Customer Service Effective writing Delete unnecessary words

“A number of studies have shown that the charged group...”

“...as described in our previous study.”

“...at a flow rate of 1.0 mL/min.”

“As a matter of fact, such a low-temperature reaction…”

“That is another reason why, we believe…”

“It is well known that most of the intense diffraction peaks...” “It is well known that Most of the intense diffraction peaks...”

“As a matter of fact, such a This low-temperature reaction…”

“A number of studies have shown that The charged group...”

“That is thus another reason why Therefore, we believe…”

“...as described previously in our previous study.”

“...at a flow rate of 1.0 mL/min.”

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Customer Service Effective writing Delete unnecessary words

Avoid At a concentration of 2 g/L At a temperature of 37C In order to In the first place Four in number Green color Subsequent to Prior to Future plans; past history

Prefer At 2 g/L At 37C To First Four Green After Before Plans; history

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Customer Service Effective writing Active voice

Sentences written in the active voice are:

simple direct clear easy to read

The impact of regulatory management systems was assessed.

Passive

We assessed the impact of regulatory management systems.

Active

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Customer Service Effective writing Active voice is preferred

“Use the active voice when it is less wordy and more direct than the passive”.

“Use the active voice rather than the passive voice…”.

“As a matter of style, passive voice is typically, but not always, inferior to active voice”.

“In general, authors should use the active voice…”

ACS Style Guide

APA Style

Chicago Style Guide

AMA Style

“Use active voice. The use of active rather than passive voice produces clearer, more concise writing”

SPE Style

“Wherever possible, use active verbs that demonstrate what is being done and who is doing it…”

ASCE Style

“Use active voice by default; research shows readers comprehend it more quickly than passive voice…”

IEEE

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Customer Service Effective writing Avoid reader confusion

Is this sentence in the active or passive voice?

In this study, stock market performance for the next decade was predicted, using an approach based on genetic algorithms.

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Customer Service Effective writing Avoid reader confusion

Is this sentence in the active or passive voice?

Passive voice

In this study, stock market performance for the next decade was predicted, using an approach based on genetic algorithms.

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Customer Service Effective writing

In this study, stock market performance for the next decade was predicted, using an approach based on genetic algorithms.

Lane et al. developed a new model based on artificial neural networks for market prediction.3

Avoid reader confusion

Part of the Introduction

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Customer Service Effective writing

In this study, stock market performance for the next decade was predicted, using an approach based on genetic algorithms.

Lane et al. developed a new model based on artificial neural networks for market prediction.3

Avoid reader confusion

Part of the Introduction

Who did the work in this study?

The author ? Lane et al. ?

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Customer Service Effective writing

Lane et al. developed a new model based on artificial neural networks for market prediction.3

Avoid reader confusion

Part of the Introduction

In this study, we predicted stock market performance for the next decade, using an approach based on genetic algorithms.

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Customer Service Effective writing Use strong verbs

…estimation?

…decision?

…confirmation?

We made a…

Subject Verb

Still no idea what this sentence is about! …cake?

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Customer Service Effective writing Improve readability

Avoid nominalizations

Use strong verbs instead of converting a verb into a noun

Estimate Estimation

Decide Decision

Assess Assessment

We made a/an… We conducted a/an…

Extra, weak verb

We decided… Clear, short, and direct

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Please see Activity 2 in your Workbook

Activity 2: Effective Writing 1

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Think of your audience

Section 4

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Attract your readers Title and abstract

First impression of paper: clear/concise/convincing

Importance of your results

Validity of your conclusions

Relevance of your aims

Your title & abstract should attract readers

It sells your work: Readers judge your style & credibility

Often first or only part that is read by readers/reviewers

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Attract your readers Title and abstract

Match the language to your expected readers

Dartmouth-led study shows ISIS is not the only culprit in war-related looting in Syria

Satellite imagery-based analysis of archaeological looting in Syria [Abstract]…this study documents patterns of looting and other forms of damage at more than 1,200 archaeological sites using recent, high-resolution satellite imagery

Academic language

Topic = researchers/study

Topic = method

Public

General researchers

Lay language, short words

Cultural heritage researchers

Academic language, details of method and sample

www.eurekalert.com, 21 October 2015; Cassana, Near Eastern Archaeology 78(3), September 2015, http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.5615/neareastarch.78.3.0142

Focus = sensationalist conclusion

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Attract your readers Title and abstract

Title

Important points

Only main idea/s Accurate, simple Population/model Include keywords Fewer than 20 words Include method/

study type

Avoid

Unneeded words (“A study of”) Sensationalism, journalistic style Complex word order Abbreviations, jargon “New” or “novel”

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Attract your readers Title and abstract

Interrogative Why is no one talking about Libya's cultural destruction?

Indicative/ Descriptive

Union formation and dissolution among immigrants and their descendants in the United Kingdom

… + Approach (subtitle)

Passions of the intellect: A study of polemics

Assertive/ Declarative

Health literacy does not narrow the education-based e-health gap / Education-based e-health gap not narrowed by health literacy

Title

Modified from: Near Eastern Archaeology; Journal of Medical Internet Research; Demographic Research; Philosophy

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Attract your readers Structured abstracts

Aim Objective, hypothesis

Results Most important findings

Conclusion Relevance, implications

Methods Techniques, measurements

No references, jargon, unusual abbreviations, figures/tables (Health studies: Include funding source and clinical trial registration number)

Background Context, problem

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Attract your readers Unstructured abstract

The adjectives of quantity (Q-adjectives) many, few, much and little stand out from other quantity expressions on account of their syntactic flexibility, occurring in positions that could be called quantificational (many students attended), predicative (John's friends were many), attributive (the many students), differential (much more than a liter) and adverbial (slept too much). This broad distribution poses a challenge for the two leading theories of this class, which treat them as either quantifying determiners or predicates over individuals. This article develops an analysis of Q-adjectives as gradable predicates of sets of degrees or (equivalently) gradable quantifiers over degrees. It is shown that this proposal allows a unified analysis of these items across the positions in which they occur, while also overcoming several issues facing competing accounts, among others the divergences between Q-adjectives and ‘ordinary’ adjectives, the operator-like behavior of few and little, and the use of much as a dummy element. Overall the findings point to the central role of degrees in the semantics of quantity.

Solt, S. J Semantics (2015) 32 (2): 221-273. doi: 10.1093/jos/fft018

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Attract your readers

The adjectives of quantity (Q-adjectives) many, few, much and little stand out from other quantity expressions on account of their syntactic flexibility, occurring in positions that could be called quantificational (many students attended), predicative (John's friends were many), attributive (the many students), differential (much more than a liter) and adverbial (slept too much). This broad distribution poses a challenge for the two leading theories of this class, which treat them as either quantifying determiners or predicates over individuals.

Overall the findings point to the central role of degrees in the semantics of quantity.

Unstructured abstract

Conclusion

Methods/ results

It is shown that this proposal allows a unified analysis of these items across the positions in which they occur, while also overcoming several issues facing competing accounts, among others the divergences between Q-adjectives and ‘ordinary’ adjectives, the operator-like behavior of few and little, and the use of much as a dummy element.

Aims This article develops an analysis of Q-adjectives as gradable predicates of sets of degrees or (equivalently) gradable quantifiers over degrees.

Background

Solt, S. J Semantics (2015) 32 (2): 221-273. doi: 10.1093/jos/fft018

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Attract your readers

Some abstracts (short)

Aims

Background

Methods

Results

Conclusion

Aims

Background

Methods

Results

Conclusion

Aims

Background

Methods

Results

Conclusion

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Attract your readers

We investigate risk and ambiguity attitudes among Ethiopian farmers in one of the poorest regions of the world. Strong risk aversion and ambiguity aversion were found with the Ethiopian farmers. We compared their attitudes to those of a Western university student sample elicited by the same decision task. Ambiguity aversion was similar for farmers and students, but farmers were more risk averse. Our results show that ambiguity aversion is not restricted to Western student populations, and that studies of agricultural decisions may benefit from explicitly considering ambiguity attitudes.

Akay et al. Theory and Decision. 2012;73:453–464.

Business science abstract (short)

What you did

What you found

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Attract your readers

Bioethics traffics in matters moral. As such, bioethics frequently bumps up against religion, offering an ideal arena to examine how the sacred and the secular encounter each other in modern medicine. In this essay I consider two places where bioethics and religion intersect: 1) the response of bioethics to the universal problem of suffering, and 2) the professional proselytizing or “missionizing work” that bioethics does in order to make a place for itself among the professions of the life sciences.

De Vries. Society. 2015;52:438–447.

Social sciences abstract (short)

Why you did the study

What you did

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Attract your readers

Check author guidelines

Check recently published articles

Consider your audience

For interdisciplinary audiences, include background/aim, method,

results, and conclusion

Identify journal editor preference

What the journal requires

Business/humanities/ social science abstracts

What sections should you include?

“…Implications and limitations of this study are discussed.”

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Attract your readers Graphical abstracts

Visually demonstrate key features of the study Help readers quickly identify suitable articles

The impact of different touchpoints on brand consideration

Baxendale. Adv Journal of Retatiling. 2015;91:235–253.

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Attract your readers Graphical abstracts

Visually demonstrate key features of the study Help readers quickly identify suitable articles

Conceptualising multi-regime interactions: The role of the agriculture sector in renewable energy transitions

Sutherland et al. Research Policy. 2015;44:1543–1554.

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Attract your readers Highlight statements

Clear summaries for quick overview 3–5 bullet points

(maximum 85–100 characters per bullet, including spaces; no abbreviations)

Research Policy Political Geography Policy and Society

Social Science Research Social Networks

International Journal of Research in Marketing: 3–5 bullets of core results

(in online version of table of contents and maybe paper)

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Attract your readers

Search Engine Optimization

Identify 7–8 keywords (try to use standard terms*)

Use 2 in your title; 5–6 in the keyword list

Use 3 keywords 3–4 times in your abstract

Use keywords in headings when appropriate

Be consistent throughout your paper, but include some synonyms

Cite your previous publications when relevant

*Standard terms from PsycINFO, BIOSIS, ChemWeb, ERIC Thesaurus, GeoRef, MeSH, etc

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Please see Activity 3 in your Workbook

Activity 3: Titles and abstracts

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Write effectively 2

Section 5

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Customer Service Effective writing

Write logical sentences!

A is 4 times larger than B A is 4-fold larger than B A is 4 times as large as B

B is 4 times smaller than A

B is 75% smaller than A; B is 25% the size of A

A B

Avoid ambiguity

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Customer Service Effective writing

Write logical sentences!

A is 4 times larger than B A is 4-fold larger than B A is 4 times as large as B

B is 4 times smaller than A

B is 75% smaller than A; B is 25% the size of A

A B

Comparing data, Method–Purpose, Condition–Effect, Reason–Result, Cause–Effect, Contrast, Similarity, Sequence, Addition, Concession, Exemplification

Avoid ambiguity

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Customer Service Effective writing

The reliability was generally not affected by data filtering.

The reliability increased by only 2.5% after data filtering.

?

After considering all of the forum responses from all the forum respondents, around less than 20% of forum members submits 80% of the forum replies.

Be accurate and concise!

After considering all of the forum responses, we estimated that only 18% of members submitted 80% of the replies.

Avoid ambiguity

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Customer Service Effective writing

A(n): refers to a non-specific noun (indefinite reference)

The: refers to a specific noun (definite reference)

“A theory that describes economic development…” Suggests there is more than one theory

“The Big Bang theory…” Suggests there is only one theory and everyone knows

“A participant was chosen based on education level.

The participant was then given a questionnaire to determine…”

Clarify reference

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Customer Service Effective writing

Readers expect…

verbs to closely follow their subjects heavy ends (not starts) of clauses

Subject

The viral infection that the patient caught on a trip to an outbreak-prone area in Africa spread among the hospital staff quickly.

The patient caught a viral infection on a trip to an outbreak-prone area in Africa. This infection spread quickly among the hospital staff.

Verb

Write clear sentences

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Customer Service Effective writing

Readers expect…

old/given/familiar information to appear first new information to appear last

An increasing number of people are relying on medical information sources that they find on the Internet. Hence, governments could conduct public campaigns to promote healthy lifestyles via online media.

The Internet is being used as a source of medical information by an increasing number of people. Hence, online media campaigns could be used by governments to promote healthy lifestyles among the public. (or… Hence, the public could benefit greatly if governments used online campaigns to promote healthy lifestyles.)

Write clear sentences

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Customer Service Effective writing

Readers focus at the end of the sentence to determine what is important.

1. You deserve the funding, but the study design is not perfect.

Which sentence suggests that you

will get funding?

2. The study design is not perfect, but you deserve the funding.

Sentence and paragraph structure

Stress position

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Customer Service Effective writing

The study design is not perfect, but you deserve the

funding. The grant will be awarded in two stages.

Stress position

Topic position

The topic position introduces the idea of the current sentence

The stress position also introduces the topic of the next sentence (useful for explanations and processes)

Sentence and paragraph structure

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Customer Service Effective writing

The government of Tanzania has been striving to introduce

Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in

education. In teacher education, technology was introduced

through the ICT-Connect-TED project. The program aimed at

improving the quality of teachers through the use of ICT. ICT-

Connect-TED provided computers and a networking

infrastructure to all 34 teacher training colleges in Tanzania.

idea idea idea idea

Topic link

sentence

Source: Kafyulilo et al. Educ Inf Technol. 5 May 2015; DOI 10.1007/s10639-015-9398-0

Sentence and paragraph structure

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Customer Service Effective writing

Green public procurement (GPP) means that authorities stipulate and consider environmental criteria when public contracts are allocated to private suppliers and is becoming an established approach to pursue environmental policy in many parts of the world (Testa et al. 2012). The incentive to use GPP is based on the fact that in many countries public sector spending amounts to a significant part of the economy, and that this purchasing power can be used to influence production and consumption to achieve desired reductions on environmental impact…. The EU and its member states are very clear in their ambitions to use GPP as an environmental policy instrument (Tukker et al. 2008), and similar initiatives can be found in the US (Fischer 2010). Despite the intended results, little is known about whether and how the supply side of the market––potential private suppliers––reacts to these ambitions….

Lundberg et al. Environ Econ Policy Stud. 2015;17:487–520.

Topic sentence

Stress sentence Topic sentence

Supporting sentences

Sentence and paragraph structure

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Please see Activity 4 in your Workbook

Activity 4: Effective writing 2

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Structure your manuscript 1

Section 6

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Coverage and Staffing Plan Manuscript

structure Introduction

Current state of the field

Background information

Specific aim/approach/contents Aim

Problem in the field

Previous studies

Current study

General

Specific Importance/hypothesis

Worldwide relevance? Broad/specialized?

Recent, International Not too many self-cites

Why is your study needed?

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Coverage and Staffing Plan Manuscript

structure Writing the Introduction

The objective of this study was to employ information theory to quantify the amount of information contained in common laboratory tests, the extent of redundancy between consecutive days of sampling, and the redundancy associated with pre-specified pairs of ICU lab tests.

In the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), likely the most data-rich environment in the hospital, enhanced monitoring and frequent testing are common. Repeated bloodwork can lead to patient harm in a number of ways…

Problem in the field

Lee and Maslove. BMC Med Inform Decis Mak. 2015; 15: 59.

Study aims

Your aims should directly address the problem

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Coverage and Staffing Plan Manuscript

structure

Common mistakes in the Introduction

Ideas are not logically organized

Important topics in the Introduction are not mentioned again in the Results/Discussion

Important topics in the Results/Discussion are not mentioned in the Introduction

Cited studies are not up-to-date

Cited studies are geographically biased

Why study needs to be done?

Keep focused

Write last

<5 years

International

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Coverage and Staffing Plan Manuscript

structure Methods/Experimental

How it was done

• General methods • Specific techniques – Discuss controls

• Quantification methods • Models/equations • Statistical tests

What/who was studied

• Samples or participants • Materials/databases

– Where purchased

How it was analyzed

Consult a statistician!

What did you do?

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Coverage and Staffing Plan Manuscript

structure

Established techniques

• Cite previously published studies • Briefly state modifications • Use flow chart/table if needed

• Explain purposes; justify choices • Give enough detail for reproducibility • Use Supplementary Information

Organization • Arrange in (titled) subsections • Keep parallel to the display items • Use topic sentences

New techniques

Methods/Experimental

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Coverage and Staffing Plan Manuscript

structure Results

1. Initial observation 2. Development 3. Application

Logical presentation

What did you find?

Example:

1. Identify factors involved in a population’s perception of happiness

2. Create a Happiness Rating equation

3. Test equation’s ability to explain variance of regression model

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Coverage and Staffing Plan Manuscript

structure

1. Initial observation/synthesis 2. Characterization/development 3. Application

Each subsection corresponds to one figure/method

What you found, not what it means

Data accessibility

Logical presentation

Subsections

Factual description

What did you find?

Results

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structure Combined Results–Discussion

Results Interpretation

Figure 1

Results Interpretation

Figure 2

Results Interpretation

Figure 3

Results Interpretation

Figure 4

Initial observation

Logical presentation

Development

Application

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Table 3 shows scores for constant returns to scale technical efficiency, variable returns to scale technical efficiency, scale efficiency, and returns to scale and the efficiency reference set….Eight (42%) hospitals were constant return to scale technically efficient, and the remaining 11 (58%) were relatively inefficient….Of the eight relatively constant return to scale technically efficient hospitals, three had no medical doctor on the staff, which obviously raises issues regarding quality of care….Four of the hospitals with no doctors were relatively variable returns to scale technically efficient. Once again, further investigation would have been necessary to establish the relative quality of services provided by those hospitals.

Introduce display item

Factual description

Factually describe and interpret your findings 1

Combined Results–Discussion

Conclusion/ implications

Modified from: Kirigia and Asbu. Health Economics Review. 2013;3:6.

Findings & Interpretation

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Additional scenarios are considered to investigate the impact of lignin valorization on overall process economics by assuming 65% of lignin recovery and a selling price range of $200-1,000/MT (Figure 9) of unprocessed lignin (the “transfer price” to a lignin processing facility). From this analysis, it can be seen that the MESP can be reduced significantly as the lignin selling price increases. For example, at $600/MT, the MESP was around $3.5/gal ($3.7 in the WW route and $3.3 in the OP route), which could be reduced to around $3/gal ($3.2 in the WW route and $2.8 in the OP route) if lignin could be sold at $1,000/MT. This analysis emphasizes the importance of continued research and development on the lignin valorization front.

Specific method

Findings & Interpretation

Conclusion/ implications

Mention display item

Factually describe and interpret your findings 2

Combined Results–Discussion

Modified from: Konda et al. Biotechnology for Fuels. 2014;7:86.

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structure

Present large amount of data quickly and efficiently

Keep it simple: use separate panels if necessary

Must be able to stand alone: clear labels and

figure legends

Usually the first thing readers will look at

Figures, graphs & tables

Display items

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Fig 4. Backbone of the links of null-model-enhanced local reciprocity, between the equity layer and the five environmental layers, for the year 2010: NOx, PM10, SO2, CO2 equivalent and water footprint. Increasing dark red indicates an increasing out-degree of the node. The hubs are placed in the core of the cloud. The reciprocity analysis confirms that equity is mostly reciprocated with NOx and SO2, suggesting a link with the industrial sector.

Figures

Clear figure legend

Ruzzenenti et al. PLoS ONE. 2015;10:doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0136767.

Title of the figure explains the method

Notes include key and summary of finding

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Type A Type B Type C

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

Aluminum

Gold

Figure 1. Additional 50-year projected life expectancy

Ad

dit

ion

al y

ears

Who will have a longer life in 50 years’ time?

Women

Men

Country 1 Country 2 Country 3

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structure Tables vs. graphs

Type A Type B Type C

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

Aluminum

Gold

What is the highest number of projected additional years?

?

Ad

dit

ion

al y

ears

Women

Men

Figure 1. Additional 50-year projected life expectancy

Country 1 Country 2 Country 3

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Country Population No. of years

Country 1 Women 4.3

Country 2 Women 3.4

Country 3 Women 6.7

Country 1 Men 1.4

Country 2 Men 2.4

Country 3 Men 3.8

Tables vs. graphs

Table 1. Additional projected life expectancy in the next 50 years

What is the highest number of projected additional years?

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Independent variables

Table formatting

Raj et al. PLoS ONE. 2014; 9: doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0106210.

Symbols defined

Dependent variable;

N numbers given

Table 1. Demographic profiled of ever-married women aged 20–24 years for most recent Demographic Health Survey data from Bangladesh, India, Nepal, and Pakistan.

Clear and concise table title

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structure

What’s wrong with this line graph?

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structure Line graphs

Kennedy et al. Reprod Health. 2011;8:11.

Figure 2. Proportion of births to women aged 15-49 spaced less than 18 months for A. 'ever-married women' and B. 'all women' (married and unmarried) (%). Cambodia, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tuvalu and Vietnam do not include data for adolescents for this indicator because of too few non-first births in the 15-19 age group.

Use colors and shapes to differentiate lines

Figure title and notes usually go below

Independent variable

Dependent variable

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structure Bar graphs

Waters et al. SAGE Open. 2014; doi: 10.1177/2158244014529779.

Figure 3. Impediments to choosing elective music versus sport. Note. Impediment items were phrased in negative where appropriate, meaning that a high mean score indicates strong agreement with the opposite valence compared with strong agreement with the corresponding item. *p < .05.

Dependent variable

Independent variable

Statistical significance

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Activity 5: Manuscript structure 1

Please see Activity 5 in your Workbook

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Structure your manuscript 2

Section 7

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structure Discussion

Summary of findings

Relevance

Conclusion

Similarities/differences Unexpected/negative results Limitations (validity, reliability)

Implications

Previous studies

Current study

Future studies

Specific

General

How do you advance your field?

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Writing the beginning of your Discussion

State the major conclusion of the study

Most health professionals, including dental students, require rudimentary introduction to health economics. The pedagogical challenges of teaching health economics in dentistry arise from the fact that health economics is a nondental subject that requires deep understanding. In this study, we found that debate when used to teach health economics to dental students enhanced their interest and reinforced their knowledge of the topic and improved organizational thinking.

Re-introduction

Conclusion

Modified from: Khan et al. J Dent Educ. 2012;76: 1675–1683.

Problem

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Modified from: Rimfeld et al. Transl Psychiatry. 2015;5:e638.

Compare your findings with those published previously

Writing the middle of your Discussion

Comparison with previous studies

Current finding

Potential reasons

We found that most individual differences in second language achievement are accounted for by genetic differences, rather than school, family, and other environmental influences. Our heritability estimates are higher than those in our earlier study [3], which might be because different measures were used. In the present study we used standardized examination scores at the end of compulsory education, as compared with teacher ratings of academic achievement in our earlier report.…

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Describe limitations and negative results

Why?

Reporting transparency

• Allows complete evaluation of your study • Prevents others from repeating those experiments • Allows others to modify those experiments • Prevents funding agencies from wasting money

Data repositories

Writing the middle of your Discussion

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Readers use sentence structure to determine emphasis

• Stress position • Main clause vs. subordinate clause • Clause length

Useful in the Discussion Vary emphasis of your interpretations

Contrasting ideas

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Main vs. subordinate clause

Although the study design is not perfect, you deserve funding.

Subordinate Main

Linking word

• Although • Even though • While • Whereas

Subordinate clauses say 2 things:

• Idea may not be important • There is a contrasting idea coming

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structure Discussing limitations

Although this study was limited by its small sample size, our results demonstrate that people using customizable news aggregation pages give high user experience scores.

Although our results demonstrate that page customization is useful, the study was limited by its small sample size.

Bad news = Subordinate clause at the start

Bad news = Main clause in stress position

Bad news = Subordinate clause at start Good news = LONG main clause in stress position

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What do you want people to remember?

Writing the end of your Discussion

May be a separate section

May be a “Future work” section

We have demonstrated here that genes explain a larger proportion of differences between children in second language achievement than do shared environmental influences of school and home. Our bivariate results for twins demonstrate a general genetic factor of language achievement in the sense that achievement in English and second language is influenced to a large extent by the same genes. It is important to note that genes not only influence aptitude and achievement, but also appetite for knowledge. Such genotype–environment correlation may be increasingly important during adolescence. Our future research thus involves longitudinal study of second language achievement.

Conclusion

Key finding

Implications

Future directions

Modified from: Rimfeld et al. Transl Psychiatry. 2015;5:e638.

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Common mistakes in the Discussion

We observed a statistically significant relationship between pre-move body mass index and post-move county sprawl index (p < 0.0001), indicating that individuals with higher body mass index tended to move to counties that had lower density and accessibility; however, the absolute difference in sprawl index values between quartiles of BMI was small. Hence, the results demonstrate evidence of a low magnitude of residential self-selection through pre-move body mass index.

In this analysis of the relationship between pre-move health factors and neighborhood built and socioeconomic environments, we observed evidence of a low magnitude of residential self-selection (i.e., slight effect for body mass index).

Modified from: James et al. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health. 2015;12:12489–12504.

Do not restate your results or introduce new data

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Common mistakes in the Discussion

Do not overgeneralize your findings

In this study, we proved that choice of poor neighborhoods is dependent on pre-move health status and should be taken into consideration when patients complain of health problems after relocating.

The small associations between health and neighborhood environment choice observed in this relatively affluent cohort with professional health training suggest that groups with more limited residential mobility and lower health awareness would have lower potential for self-selection.

Result: Small effects of pre-move health status on nurses’ relocation

Modified from: James et al. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health. 2015;12:12489–12504.

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structure Link your ideas

General background

Aims

Methodology

Results and figures

Summary of findings

Implications for the field

Relevance of findings

Problem in the field

Current state of the field Introduction

Methods

Results

Discussion

Solution

Situation/Problem

Evaluation/Comment

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structure Link your ideas

Problem-based learning is an instructional method in which problems are the focal part of learning.

However, it is unclear which particular aspect of the problem is essential for student learning.

In conclusion, this study is among the first to shed more light on the causal interactions of specific problem characteristics at the micro level.

Background

Problem

Conclusion

Discussion

Modified from: Sockalingam et al. Advances in Health Sciences Education. 2011;16:481–490.

We tested a model in which we hypothesized that problem input variables would be related to problem process and outcome variables.

Objective

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structure After the first draft….

Format manuscript

• Use journal template/style • Re-check word limits • Format references

Revise manuscript

• Get input from colleagues • Check Figures/Tables • Check consistency/logical

flow between sections • Edit for clarity, conciseness,

and accuracy • Have a rest! Then proofread

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Activity 6: Manuscript structure 2

Please see Activity 6 in your Workbook

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S

Be an effective communicator

Your goal is not only to publish, but also to be widely read and cited

Prepare well for academic publishing

Write your ideas clearly for your audience

Logically present your research

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