SCI 201 – CHAPTER 5: SCIENTIFIC WRITING AND RESEARCH PRESENTATIONS

Detailed Contents of Chapter 5

5.1 General Structure for a Written Report/Publication Presenting Original Findings: A Scientific
Report, Technical Report, Research Paper, Journal Paper, Thesis, or Chapter in a Book
5.1.1 Title and Title Page
5.1.2 Abstract and Keywords
5.1.3 Other Preliminary Pages
5.1.4 Introduction
5.1.5 Methods (or Materials and Methods)
5.1.6 Results
5.1.7 Discussion
5.1.8 Conclusions
5.1.9 Recommendations
5.1.10 Acknowledgements
5.1.11 References
5.1.12 Appendices
5.1.13 Practice Examples on the General Structure of a Written Report/Publication
5.2 Order of Working on the Sections/Components of a Scientific Report After Collecting Data
5.3 Oral Presentations/Conference Presentations
5.4 Posters
5.5 Scientific Style of Writing
5.5.1 Examples of Common Errors to Avoid and Appropriate Corrections
5.5.2 Orderly presentation of ideas
5.5.3 Smoothness of Expression and Proper Use of Verb Tenses
5.5.4 Economy of Expression
5.5.5 Building Effective Paragraphs
5.5.6 Format and Style in Various Types of Written Reports/Publications: Specific Requirements
[Link] Master’s or Ph.D. Thesis
[Link] Journal Papers/Articles that Present Original Findings
[Link] Short Communications/Synopses
[Link] Review Papers
[Link] Conference Proceedings
[Link] Chapters in Books
[Link] Technical Reports
[Link] Environmental impact assessments (EIAs)

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5.1 General Structure for a Written Report/Publication Presenting Original Findings: A Scientific
Report, Technical Report, Research Paper, Journal Paper, Thesis, or Chapter in a Book

Diagram Illustrating the Main Structure

Taken from Cargill and O’Connor (2013)

• The components of a written report/publication are elaborated upon in the pages that follow.
• However, not all of the components given below will apply to all the types of reports mentioned in the
heading above. Later in this section we will talk about specific requirements for each type of report.
• The components shown below are kind of like a comprehensive “wish list” that may or may not be
included.
• The first sections of a scientific report are usually quite similar as those of the proposal, though the
report may often build on the proposal and be more elaborate.
• If you are using your proposal as a draft for the final report, be sure to change the tense when necessary,
in particular, changing future tense to past tense in the Methods Section.

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5.1.1 Title and Title page
• Title:
o The title should be very concise, with no extra words, but anyone who reads the title should be able to
know what the study was about.
o Should mention the main explanatory and response variables investigated in the study and the target
population (population of interest).
o Should have keywords that give information about the content of the paper.
o Mentions study area or study sites (if any).
o One should be able to have a good impression of your main objective from reading the title.
o The title may also give an indication of the basic research design or methodology used, e.g.,
experimental, survey, etc.
o If it is a biological study of certain organisms, include the genus and species names in the title.
o Usually, should be 12 words or less, but occasionally may go up to 15 words or more.
• Title Page: Gives the title of the study, the names of the authors, the organization or publishing company
responsible for publishing or producing the report or that you are affiliated with (e.g., MacEwan
University), the year, and the author(s) contact information.
• If the report is for a certain course at the University, you should put the course title, course code number
and your registration number.
• Depending on the type of report, the title page may be counted as page 1 (though often the page number is
not shown) or, particularly in a thesis, it may be given roman numeral “i” and the Introduction starts with
page 1.
• Often, in the header (or footer), a running head is shown, which is a very short version of the title and/or
author(s). It is often in capital letters and should be shown on every page of the report/publication.
• In a journal paper or chapter of a book, the first page shows all the elements of a title page, but the actual
article also starts on the same page (to save space).

5.1.2 Abstract and Keywords

Abstract
• In a journal paper, the abstract is usually on the first page, with the keywords below it; however, in a
detailed report, it can be on a separate page.
• The abstract you prepared for your proposal will have to be completely re-written in the final report.
• It should give only the most important points from the introduction (particularly, the purpose of the study),
methods, results, discussion, and conclusions (McQueen and Knussen, 2013).
• Must be written very concisely, without wasting extra words.
• It should mention the variables studied and the target population or population of interest.
• Briefly states what you did: the research design, methodology and special equipment used.
• Statistical analyses are not usually provided, though it is a good idea to provide sample sizes.
• Provides the main results, with reference to the hypotheses being tested, and significant results are
mentioned, but usually P-values are not included.
• States the important conclusions and only significant recommendations.
• Although this is the first part presented in the report, it is usually the last part written, because it must
synthesize the entire report.
• The abstract is often 100 – 250 words (though for a Master’s or Ph.D. thesis it may be up to 300-500 words,
with a maximum of 700) and, in any case, should not exceed the required number of words, according to
the regulations given by the particular institution, journal or organization.
• Writing an abstract requires the ability to synthesis and to write concisely and requires practice. Even in
the case of experienced authors, there is usually a need to re-write several drafts in order to come up with
a high-quality abstract.

Keywords (up to about 5, but occasionally more) should be listed on a separate line below the abstract.

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5.1.3 Other Preliminary Pages
• Preliminary pages are all the first pages of a report, starting with the title page, abstract, etc., that is,
everything that comes before the Introduction.

Preface (only for some types of publications or a thesis)

Declaration of Copyright (only for some types of publications or a thesis)

Dedication (optional)

Acknowledgements (May also be placed towards the end, just before the References)
• May or may not be included in a scientific report or journal paper.
• Briefly expresses appreciation to other researchers, research assistants, participants, and funding
organizations that made the study possible.
• Usually provides their names, briefly mentions the role they played in the study, and the institutions
from which they come.
[Examples: Mavandadi et al., 2007; Wagner and Sallema-Mtui, 2016]

Table of Contents
• Gives all the sections, sections and subsections in the report and their page numbers.

List of Tables
• Lists all the tables in the report, consecutively, and gives their pages numbers.

List of Figures or Illustrations (including maps)

• Lists all the figures in the report, consecutively, and gives their pages numbers, regardless of whether
they are graphs, diagrams or maps.

List of Photographs (or Plates) (if any)

• Lists all the plates or photographs in the report consecutively and gives their pages numbers.
• In some reports, the plates and photographs are listed with the figures.

List of Symbols (optional)

Glossary of Terms (optional)

List of Appendices (if any)

• May include details of special techniques used.
• May present special formulas used for calculating the results.
• May show raw data.

[NOTE ON PAGINATION]
• Paginate the preliminary pages in lower case Roman numerals (beginning with the title page, though the
number may not be shown on the title page)
• The remaining pages (starting with the introduction) should be numbered in Arabic numerals.

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5.1.4 Introduction
Note: A well-constructed Introduction should cover the material mentioned below. It may have all or some of
the subheadings mentioned below, but the content should be covered. The order is somewhat flexible but what
is shown below is a common sequence. Overall, the flow is from general to specific.

Statement of the Research Problem and Objectives of the Study

• Should be logical, systematic, clear and simple.
• Concisely and clearly defines the research problem.
• Starts by mentioning the overall research area, which puts your research into context.
• Briefly states what is already known about the topic.
• States what is yet to be investigated.
• Then focuses in on what you are going to investigate in your study; thus, it flows from general to specific.
• States the overall purpose and main objectives of your study.
• Describes the main or overall explanatory and response variables that are involved in your study.
• Defines and describes the target population (population of interest).
• Should mention the study area (not study sites), if the geographical setting is important.
• May briefly describe the basic research design, e.g., experimental, survey, etc., without going into details.
(Details of the research design are given in the Methods section.)

Literature Review
• Usually reviews only literature that is directly related to either the background of the study or the actual
problem being investigated.
• However, in some types of reports and a thesis, the literature about the general topic may be broadly and
thoroughly reviewed and may not relate directly to the specific research problem being investigated. This
is sometimes done so that the literature review can later be published as a review paper.
• May be divided into subsections with headings to give it organization, especially for long reports.
• All literature must be properly cited according to a specified format (see some of the citation styles
described earlier in Chapter 2).
• Gives details on what is already known about the topic, that is, describes the findings of other studies that
are related to your research topic.
• May further elaborate on the variables that are involved in your study, according to what is found in the
literature.
• May define specialized terms (not common terms), according to the literature.
• Aspects of the field should be explained with enough detail that non-specialists in the field can understand
your study based on what you have written, unless you are going to publish your paper in a highly
specialized journal.
• May describe the target population (population of interest) in somewhat more detail than was given in the
statement of the research problem.
• Sometimes, you may describe the research designs and methodologies used in other studies similar to
yours.
• May contain figures (diagrams and maps) and rarely may contain tables summarizing points from the
literature.

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Study Area (not Study Sites)
o Only required for a field study or a study where the geographical location is important.
o Describe the general area around the sites where the study will be conducted, with respect to location
(may define the boundaries), climate, geography, environment, geo-physical conditions, biological
conditions.
o May include a map.
o This description of the study area does not necessarily have to given in a separate subsection; but rather,
it may be included in the literature review or, if it is not too lengthy, it may be combined with a
description of the study sites in the Methods Section.
o For an example, see the map of the study area in Wagner and Sallema-Mtui, 2016, Fig. 1.

Objectives and Hypotheses

• Sometimes, only the research hypotheses are given without stating specific objectives.
• States the specific objectives of your study (there may be 2-6 specific objectives).
• Precisely describes (and if necessary, defines) all of the explanatory and response variables.
• If the study is not hypotheses-testing research, then just the objectives and variables will be described
without stating any hypotheses.
• Hypotheses (if included) should be stated concisely based on your objectives.
• Use knowledge and insights obtained from the literature to logically construct your hypotheses.
• The introduction up to this point should have been written clearly enough and provided the rationale such
that the reader will understand why you came up with your particular hypotheses.
• A hypothesis is a predicted outcome; it is what you expect you will determine from your study based on
the literature review and your knowledge of the subject area, even though studies often end up with
unexpected results.
• A small study may have only one hypothesis, but a larger study may have several hypotheses.
• A hypothesis is based on the trend of logic from what your study is about, to what is known about the topic
according to the literature, to what you expect to find.
• Each hypothesis should mention and relate to the variables of the study, in other words, what effect you
predict the explanatory variables will have on the response variable.
• If there is more than one response variable being investigated in the study, then you will need more than
one hypothesis.
• If it is an experimental study, then the variables can be related as cause and effect.

Significance of the Study

• Explains why this particular study is important, relevant and significant to the field of study.
• Provides the rationale and reasons for conducting the study.
• What will be the benefits of the study to society or to the environment?
• What further research will this study lead to?
• If this is basic research, explain what contribution to knowledge this study makes.
• If it is applied research, elaborate upon the applications or usefulness this study.

5.1.5 Methods (may be called “Materials and Method” in some of the sciences)
• May have subsections such as:
o Research design/sampling strategy,
o Procedures
o Statistical Analyses
• Or, may be divided into subsections according to the various aspects/hypotheses tested in the study.
(See example of Rufiji Mangrove Study - Wagner and Sallema-Mtui, 2016)

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Research Design/Sampling Strategy

• Study sites (if relevant) – Precisely describes the location and conditions of the specific sites where data
was collected and including detailed maps(s)
• For example, the Rufiji study:

Fig. 2 Map of the northern part of North Rufiji showing rapid assessment and plot-method study sites

• Be sure to use past tense (if you based this on your proposal, be sure to change the tense).
• Gives detailed, but concise description of the type of research design/sampling strategy.
• Very precisely describes all the components of the research design: study units, variables (their data scales
and types), spatial and temporal aspects of design.
• How were the explanatory variables or levels of factors (treatments and controls) manipulated, if it was an
experiment?
• Extraneous variables: how were they kept constant if it was an experimental study or how were they
monitored if it was an observational study.
• Sample size: may be included here or under Procedures.
• May use the active tense or passive tense, depending on the instructions given for writing the article.
• You may present a creative diagram or flow chart that illustrates your methodology and relates the different
aspects of the study, though this may not be possible in journal papers where space is at a premium
• E.g., SEE the diagram of methods in the Rufiji study (shown in Chapter 2, p. 45).

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Procedures/Techniques
• Use past tense.
• The methods section should systematically and precisely describe the procedures you used to test the
hypotheses.
• Laboratory or field procedures are described in detail.
• For a social science study
o Description of the participants is given here.
o Questionnaires should be described (the full questionnaires may be shown in an appendix)
o Interview schedules should be described and may be shown in an appendix.
• Materials and equipment used should be described, but to save space write them in sentence form, not as a
list of bullets.
• How will the response variables be measured and recorded.
• For a standard technique, there is no need to explain it in detail, just cite a reference.
• For a new or specialized technique, describe it in detail and cite a reference.
• If a specialized type of equipment was used, then the manufacturer and model number should be
mentioned.
• For example, if remote sensing analysis was done, details of the satellite imagery used should be given,
e.g., Landsat, and the exact date and year.
• Cite references regarding where you obtained the methods used and, if you varied from those methods,
explain what you did differently.
• This section should be concise, but provide enough detail such that, if another researcher could read the
description (and perhaps read the references cited), he or she would be able to verify that the methods were
sound and would actually be able to replicate the study.

Statistical Analysis
• Gives details on the statistical analysis of the data, in relation to the hypotheses.
• States the type of hypothesis test used to test each specific hypothesis you stated in the Introduction.
• Here you may state the significance level (alpha) that you set in your study.
• You may also mention special descriptive statistics you used, if appropriate.

5.1.6 Results
• Written in past tense.
• You need to skilfully merging data presentation with scientific writing.
• May be divided into subsections which:
1. May be identical to, or similar to, the subsections of the Methods section,
2. Or, which are related to the hypotheses tested in various aspects of your study,
3. Or, which are arranged according to various study sites examined.
• In this section, you describe your own results without any mention of the findings of others.
• Do not show raw data, but rather present analyzed or summarized data in the form of table or figures.
• Number tables, figures, and plates consecutively, but use a separate sequence of numbers for tables, figures
and plates.
• Table captions (titles) appear above the table, while figure captions (titles) appear below the figure, unless
a different system is specified by your mentor or publishers.
• Figures include graphs, diagrams and plates (photographs).
• Tables and figures should indicate units, standard deviations or standard error and sample sizes.
• Every table or figure that is shown must be cited in the text in parentheses, using the appropriate
number, and explained.
• Each table or figure should appear as close as possible after its first citing in the text, though it may be
cited multiple times.

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• The text must comment on each table and graph describing the main trends shown in them.
• The main trends shown by all tables and figures should be briefly described.
• Try to be creative in devising analytical diagrams that summarize the findings and perhaps illustrate the
relationships between the variable that were studied.
• Both tables and figures be stand alone, that is, should give enough information (including what is written
in the caption) to enable a reader to understand what is presented without having to read the text.
• Using descriptive statistics, present tables and graphs showing means, standard deviations (or standard
errors or variance), trends
• Present descriptive statistics first, then inferential statistics.
• Present the results of hypotheses tests or confidence intervals, either in sentence form or in tables.
• Since inferences give P-values and confidence levels, they provide more objective conclusions than
descriptive statistics.
• For hypothesis tests, state whether there is evidence to support (or not support) each hypothesis and give
the probability of committing a Type I error for each statement (P-value)
• Regression equations can also be stated.
• Based on each hypothesis, make your findings clear to the reader.
• P-values can either be given as exact values (e.g. P = 0.0035) or in ranges (e.g. 0.005 > P > 0.001).
• State whether the result is significant at the given significance level defined in the Methods, e.g., 5%.
• Don’t present the same data in two different forms, e.g. a table and a graph.
• The text in the results section should describe as clearly as possible what each table or figure shows in
terms of trends or differences between treatments or populations; in other words, the text should interpret
what the tables and figures show.
• This section should not explain or discuss the findings (that is for the discussion section), unless the format
of combining results and discussion is used (see below).
• If only a few hypothesis tests were performed or if different types of hypothesis tests were performed, then
each should be given as a statement in the text for each finding, followed in brackets by:
1. The hypothesis test used (and if log transformations were necessary),
2. The test statistic,
3. The sample size(s) (n) or degrees of freedom (df), and
4. The P-value.
For example: “Stump density increased significantly over the two years (paired-sample t-test
performed on log transformed data: t = 2.394, DF = 20, P = 0.0266)”. [Or, the trend now is
often to place the degrees of freedom in parentheses: t(20) = 2.394 or t20 = 2.394]

• If many statistical tests were performed of the same type, it may be best to present the statistics in tables.

Example:
Table 1: Results of two-sample t tests for differences in water temperature between cleared and forested
areas in Sites A, B, C and D.

T DF P Significance
SITE A 7.99 22 <0.0001 ***
SITE B 4.827 22 <0.0001 ***
SITE C 2.533 22 0.0189 *
SITE D 5.575 22 <0.0001 ***
Note: * = Significant, ** = Very significant, *** = Extremely significant

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• Some tables may require elaborate footnotes to clarify all the details.
Example 1: Williams et al. (1999) Sea-Level Rise… Florida. Ecology

Example 2: (Wagner and Mtui-Sallema, 2016)

Table 1 Paired statistical comparisons of 2007 and 2009 mangrove basal area in quantitative ecological
plot assessment sites

Comparison Test statistic DF/n P-value Conclusion Significance

NR1-all subsites (T-) = 14.000* n = 21 P = 0.0008 2007 > 2009 e.s.
NR1-SS2 (T+) = 0.000* n=5 P = 0.2500 No change n.s.
SR4-all subsites (T-) = 1.000* n = 10 p = 0.0039 2007 > 2009 v.s.
NR6-all subsites (T-) = 12.000* n = 16 p = 0.0171 2009 > 2007 s.
NR3-all subsites (T+)=29.000* n = 19 p = 0.0120 2009 > 2007 s.
NR4-all subsites t = 2.571# DF = 13 p = 0.0232 2009 > 2007 s.
SR2-all subsites (T+) =5.000* n = 21 p = 0.0002 2009 > 2007 e.s.
SR2-SS2 t = 0.8700# DF = 6 p = 0.4177 No change n.s
SR1-all subsites T = 3.627# DF = 16 p = 0.0023 2009 > 2007 v.s.
SR1-SS1 T = 1.421# DF = 6 p = 0.2051 No change n.s.
SR6-all subsites t = 2.407# DF = 17 p = 0.0277 2009 > 2007 s.
NR5-all subsites (T+) =18.000* n = 16 p = 0.0151 2009 > 2007 s.
SR5-all subsites (T+) =11.000* n = 16 p = 0.0017 2009 > 2007 v.s.
NR7-all subsites (T+) =32.000* n = 16 p = 0.0654 2009 > 2007 m.s.
NR8-all subsites t = 3.630#L DF = 17 p = 0.0021 2007 > 2009 v.s.

# Paired-sample t test (performed on original data) e.s. = extremely significant

#L Paired-sample t test (performed on log transformed data) v.s. = very significant
* Wilcoxon paired-sample test s. = significant
m.s.= marginally significant
n.s. = not significant

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[SEE CHAN ET AL. 2011, p. 6, Table 2]

• Often tables show only horizontal lines, but tables that have many columns close together (such as the
example above) may also have vertical lines.

• Graphs must be thoroughly labelled such as in the example below.

1200

1000 2007
Basal area (cm 2/25-m 2 plot)

2009
800

600

400

200

0
NR1 NR3 NR4 NR5 NR6 NR7

Fig. 3.1: Comparison of 2007 and 2009 mangrove stand

basal area (mean + standard error) in North Rufiji sites.

Note the following in the figure above:

1. The figure is numbered. Usually figures have a single number, but since this is from a lengthy report, the
first number (3) gives the section of the report (Section 3: Results) and the second number (1) shows it is
the first figure in Section 3.
2. Since there are two explanatory variables or factors shown, year (2007 versus 2009) and study site (NR1,
NR3, etc.), a multiple bar graph was selected and the response variable (mangrove stand basal area), which
is a continuous quantitative variable is shown on the y-axis.
3. The figure caption is below the figure and gives all details of the year factor (2007 versus 2009), the response
variable being measured and location of the study sites.
4. The caption also explains the sample statistics shown (mean and standard error).
5. The x-axis is adequately labelled with one of the explanatory factors (study site).
6. The legend or key indicates the other explanatory factor (year: 2007, 2009).
7. The y-axis indicates the response variable and thus has a number scale and an axis label, basal area, which
also shows the units.

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Example of Graph Showing Trends Over Time Indicating Error Bars

• From Kuguru (2002)

Choice between Tables, Graphs, and Writing Text Statements When Presenting Results

• Generally, you should not show the same information in a table and a figure.
• An exception can be if the figure is required to give a good visual presentation of the findings and
a table is required to give precise values that would be of interest to the reader.
• For example, the figures and tables on remote sensing in the Rufiji Estuary chapter (see notes for
Chapter 4, p. 57.
• When tables and figures are included in a report, there must be a statement in the Results Section
that summarizes what the table/figure shows, and it should be cited in brackets at the end of the
statement.
• The table/figure must be placed in the report as closely as possible after the first citing in the text.

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Diagram From Matthews and Matthews (2014)

Example of Results Given in Text Form

• This is near the limit – more than this should be shown in a table.

Spencer, N. C., Gilchrist, H.G., and Mallory, M.L. 2014. Annual Movement Patterns of Endangered Ivory
Gulls: The Importance of Sea Ice. (Under the heading “Sea ice” on page 7)

“Across all years and individuals (n = 12 birds), ivory gulls had three habitat types over which they could
be recorded: sea ice, land, or open water. Time spent over ice, land and water differed among seasons (K-
W test,  2 = 24.4, p < 0.0001;  2 = 14.2, p = 0.003;  2 = 28.6, p < 0.0001, respectively; Fig. 3). Ivory
gulls spent less time over sea ice in the breeding season than during pre-breeding migration (Dunn’s
Multiple Comparisons test, p < 0.01), whereas post-breeding migration showed that fewer individuals
spent time over ice compared with pre-breeding migration (p < 0.001) and winter (p < 0.01). Time spent
over land in winter was significantly less than during breeding (p < 0.05) and post-breeding migration (p
< 0.01). Finally, time spent over water during the breeding season was greater than during pre-breeding
migration (p < 0.001) and more time was spent over water compared to winter (p < 0.05) and pre-
breeding migration (p < 0.001).”

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Example of Only Two Hypothesis Tests Performed: Better to Write in Text

Computer Output

Two-Sample T-Test and CI: Site A - Zebra, Site A - Wildebeest

N Mean StDev SE Mean
Site A - Zebra 7 45.71 7.16 2.7
Site A - Wildebeest 7 58.71 8.04 3.0

Difference = mu (Site A - Zebra) - mu (Site A - Wildebeest)

Estimate for difference: -13.00
95% CI for difference: (-21.86, -4.14)
T-Test of difference = 0 (vs not =): T-Value = -3.20 P-Value = 0.008 DF = 12
Both use Pooled StDev = 7.6095

Two-Sample T-Test and CI: Site B - Zebra, Site B - Wildebeest

N Mean StDev SE Mean
Site B - Zebra 9 48.67 5.74 1.9
Site B - Wildebeest 9 53.56 6.09 2.0

Difference = mu (Site B - Zebra) - mu (Site B - Wildebeest)

Estimate for difference: -4.89
95% CI for difference: (-10.80, 1.02)
T-Test of difference = 0 (vs not =): T-Value = -1.75 P-Value = 0.099 DF = 16
Both use Pooled StDev = 5.9173
>>>>>>>>>>
Statement that could be included in results section:

>>>>>>>>>>
Example of Several Hypothesis Tests Performed: Best to Compile a Table and Comment in the Test
• The table below shows the results of four hypothesis tests of the same type.
• A statement must be included in the text summarizing the main findings shown in the table.
• The statement in the text must appear before the table.
>>>>>>>>>>
Statement that could be included in results section: (Summarize the results shown in the table below)

>>>>>>>>>>

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Table 9: Results of tests for differences in sightings of zebras and wildebeests in Sites A, B, C, and D
(analysed with pooled two-sample t-tests).

Zebras (mean ± SE) Wildebeest (mean ± SE) t df P

SITE A 45.71 ± 2.7 58.71 ± 3.0 -3.20 12 0.008
SITE B 48.67 ± 1.9 53.56 ± 2.0 -1.75 16 0.099
SITE C 51.89 ± 1.9 53.11 ± 2.0 -0.45 16 0.662
SITE D 52.60 ± 1.9 86.20 ± 2.5 -10.65 18 0.000

5.1.7 Discussion

• Writing the discussion requires, analytical thinking, creativity, the ability to synthesize and simplify a large
amount of information into an explanation that makes sense.
• Focus on discussing your results.
o in relation to your hypotheses (predicted outcomes) and
o in comparison with the findings of others.
• Try to give scientific explanations as to why your findings are the same as, or are different from, the
findings of others and what you hypothesized.
• Try to discuss logical reasons for your results either supporting or not supporting your hypotheses.
• Do not be alarmed if your findings are completely different from what you expected. However, try to give
reasonable explanations for the deviations of your results from what was hypothesized.
• Refer back to points you wrote in the literature review (again citing some of the literature), but without
repeating the literature review.
• Point out any possible limitations of your study in an objective way, particularly if your findings are not
consistent with those of others or what you predicted.
• The discussion section can also briefly mention or discuss the possible sources of error in the experiment
of observational study, but this should not be a lengthy part of the discussion.
• If your study points to new topics that need to be investigated, these may be included here or later on, if
there is a special section for recommendations.
• In parts of the discussion where you are referring directly to the results, you should use the past tense; but
when giving your interpretations and discussing your hypotheses and broadening out the scope to wider
implications, you should use the present tense.
• If your study resulted in rejecting a null hypothesis, this gives support in favour of the alternative
hypotheses, but there is always some chance of error (the P-value), which you may discuss.
• If your study resulted in not rejecting a null hypothesis, it does not mean that the negative result (null
hypothesis) is correct, but that according to the data you collected in your study, there is not sufficient
evidence to support the alternative hypothesis – so you can discuss that.
• Thus, you may recommend that if you performed the same kind of study with a higher sample size, or
modify the methods, you might come up with sufficient evidence to support the alternative.
• Discuss your findings in relation to the findings of others who did similar studies without repeating what
you wrote in the literature review in the introduction.
• Do not repeat the literature review here; however, simply mention the findings of others (giving the author
and year of publication) in order to compare your results.
• Do not repeat the results section (and do not repeat test statistics of P-values), but simple refer to certain
results and discuss the reasons for those findings.
• Make broad statements/conclusions (at the bottom of the hourglass) by integrating your findings with
findings of others as indicated in the literature.

Scientific Process – Greg Wagner Page 15

• The broad statements should be in present tense (or may sometimes be in future tense), whereas your
findings should be in past tense and the findings of others may be in past tense or, if broadened out to a
general finding, may be given in present tense.

Hypothetical Example for the Discussion Section

Suppose that Shruta reported the following in her study in 2016:

Based on the observations of people of different age groups at both MacEwan University and City Center mall,
there was a very strong negative relationship between the use of cell phones and eye contact (regression
analysis: yˆ = 2.64 − 0.81x , t = -3.692, r = 0.656, n = 20, P = 0.00167).
And that Bushra reported the following in her 2016 study:
Of the 63 mothers who were using cell phones during the full period of observation, 51completely ignored their
children; whereas, of the 37 mothers who were not using cell phones, only 3 ignored their children.

Suppose further that Brittany does a PSYC 498 Independent Study in 2017 and writes this statement in
the results section:
Of the 482 couples interviewed face-to-face, a significantly greater percentage (71%) said that cell phone use
by their partners interfered with their verbal communications than those who reported no interference (29%).
>>>>>>>>>>
Statement that Brittany could include in Discussion Section:

>>>>>>>>>>
In the statements above, note the following:
1. The broadening out of the discussion, like the bottom of an hourglass.
2. The comparison word “similar” (underlined) as opposed to a contrasting word.
3. The use of tenses as underlined.
4. The findings of the other studies would likely have been explained in more detail in the introduction, but in
the discussion, those findings are just mentioned briefly, and the wording is different.

5.1.8 Conclusions
• Depending upon the type of report, thesis or paper, there may be a separate section for conclusions, or the
conclusions may be incorporated in the Discussion Section.
• If you have a separate section, summarize the main conclusions of your study in a concise way, without
repeating what you wrote in the discussion section.
• Provide general interpretation of your findings.
• Expand your conclusions to provide implications of your findings in terms of the broad field of research.
• In a logical way, put forward possible ways that your findings may be applied in practical terms.
• Here, you should show analytical thinking, insight and creativity.

Scientific Process – Greg Wagner Page 16

5.1.9 Recommendations

• Recommendations may be included in separate section or combined with the Discussion.

• There are three main types of recommendations that can be given:
1. Lessons learned from the methodology and suggestions of how the methods could be improved in
future studies.
2. How the findings of your study could be applied, e.g., if the study was on environmental issues,
recommendations regarding conservations strategies or resource use management.
3. Suggestions for further research and formulation of new hypotheses that need investigation.

Optional Structures for the Results, Discussion, Conclusions and Recommendation Sections
• Results and Discussion can be combined.
• Discussion and Conclusions can be combined.
• Discussion, Conclusions and Recommendations can be combined.
• Conclusions and Recommendations can be combined.

Summary Charts or Diagrams (Combining Results, Conclusions, and Recommendations)

• May be used to present of a combined summary of the analysis of the results, the main conclusions,
and the recommendations.

Example 1 (Wagner and Sallema-Mtui, 2016, Fig. 10, p. 200):

Scientific Process – Greg Wagner Page 17

Example 2 (Wagner and Sallema-Mtui, 2016, Fig. 11, p. 202: Analysis based on UNEP’s DPSIR
Cycle):

Drivers (root causes)

Global climate change/ Socio-economic factors (population
growth, poverty, increasing demands for natural resources,
inadequate environmental awareness, inadequate enforcement)

Pressures
Due to global
Impacts
climate change
• Increasing SST and CO2 Responses (Interventions) on Human
•
Wellbeing
Sea level rise Adaptive Management: mangrove planting in
• Increased wave activity strategic sites, selected species/ buffer zones
• Storm surges with controlled land use, e.g., rice farming, • Reduction in
• Flooding construction of roads, settlements/ awareness resources (e.g.
raising/ enforcement/ ecotourism/ community fish) that could
involvement in all activities sustain
Anthropogenic livelihoods
• Harvesting mangroves • Loss of
for building poles, houses
firewood, timber
production, etc.
• Clear-cutting for rice Drastic erosion and loss of mangroves on exposed seaward edges/
cultivation (including accretion and growth on some sheltered seaward edges receiving
use of pesticides that ample sediment input/ intrusion of mangroves into saline flats/
kill mangrove drastic loss of mangroves (particularly Heritiera) in the upper zones
macrofauna) and river edges due to the 1998 El-Nino floods, rice farming and
• Sedimentation due to timber production

State and trends in the environment

poor land use
upcountry

Fig. 11 Analysis of drivers, pressures, state changes, impacts and responses related to Rufiji Estuary

5.1.10 Acknowledgements

• May be inserted at this point if it was not included in the Preliminary Pages where this has already
been explained.

5.1.11 References (or Literature Cited)

• All literature cited in the text must be given in the reference section alphabetical order by author(s) and no
literature should be listed in the reference section that is not cited in the text.
• Each reference must include: the authors' names, the year of publication, title of the paper, title of the
journal, volume and page numbers should be given.
• In the case of a book, the publisher and city should be given as well as the total number of pages in the
book.
• You should record all the details of each reference while you are reading them and writing the paper, since
this will save the time of looking for the references again when you want to write the reference section.
Sometimes, in fact, you might have difficulty in finding the reference again when you are writing the
reference section.
• It is important to be consistent in the way you write in-text citations and list references within a given report
or paper.
• This requires re-checking/editing several times.
• The best strategy is often to check one thing at a time throughout the whole report.

Scientific Process – Greg Wagner Page 18

APA (American Psychological Association) Documentation Style
• Commonly used in many of the social sciences, as well as some of the natural sciences

5.1.12 Appendices
• May include details of specific techniques used in data collection, e.g., soil particle size analysis,
spectrophotometry, gas chromatography, methods of chemical analysis, etc.
• May give formulas or special statistical procedures used.
• May give raw data or semi-raw data.
• May include questionnaires.
• May include data recording sheets.

Scientific Process – Greg Wagner Page 19

5.1.13 Practice Examples on the General Structure of a Written Report/Publication

Practice Question: The first table below lists the possible components of a written scientific report
(Note: These components are in reference to content and may not necessarily appear as headings in a
report.) In the second table below, the column on the left gives hypothetical statements that could be
found in different scientific reports, not connected in any way. For each statement, identify the most
appropriate component and record this in the right-hand column. Each statement in the right-hand column
must be matched with only one component. However, more than two statements may belong to the same
component and not all components may be selected.

Component
(a) Statement of the research problem (g) Data collection procedures (methodology)
(b) Background information/literature review (h) Data analysis (methodology)
(c) Aim/objective of the study (i) Results
(d) Hypothesis (j) Discussion
(e) Significance of the study (k) Conclusions
(f) Research design (methodology) (l) Recommendations

Statement Component
(i) There was a significant correlation between altitude up >>>>>>>>>>
the mountain and the quantity of marble found
(Spearman rank correlation: rs = 0.624, n = 24, 0.001 <
p < 0.002).
(ii) The specific heat capacity of mercury is 138.6 J/kg/C,
while that of water is 3200 J/kg/C (Hamilton, 1996).

(iii) Although Watanabe (2010) found very low abundance

of sea urchins at South Beach, an average of 14
urchins/m2 were observed in this study (2016), showing
a great increase over the past 6 years.
(iv) Since there is little information on the relevance of the
new syllabus to the job market, this study investigates
the marketability of present graduates and those who
graduated in past years.
(v) Differences in the frequencies of observed types of
behaviour among age categories of various organisms
were tested using the Chi-square goodness-of-fit test.
(vi) The findings of this study will lead to improved
strategies for environmental management in the area.
(vii) The performance of students was generally better at
Bowden High School (Table 4) than at Blue Mountain
High School (Table 5).
(viii) The samples were dried at 105 C, weighed, burned at
400 C, and re-weighed.

>>>>>>>>>>

Scientific Process – Greg Wagner Page 20

Question 4 (4 marks): Based on the abstract (in part) shown below from a journal paper publishes in
Tropical Ecology by Alemu et al. (2016), construct an appropriate title and give 4 or 5 keywords/terms.

Abstract: A study on the population structure and abundance of the Grant’s gazelle was carried out in the
plains of Nechisar National Park, Ethiopia during November, 2008 - April, 2009. Distance sampling
based on the line-transect method was used to estimate the populations of the Grant’s gazelles. Habitat
association was assessed based on the abundance of herds or individuals observed in different habitats.
The estimated population of Grant’s gazelle in the study area was around 2100 heads. The population
density was 10.5 ± 3.2 km-2. The mean herd size was 3.65 individuals, including the territorial male,
females and fawns. The age ratio of adult to fawns was 1:0.22. The age structure of Grant’s gazelles was
82.5 % adult, 12.5 % juvenile and 4.8 % fawn. The sex ratio of adult male to adult female was 1:2, with a
sex structure of 28.25 % male, 54.25 % female and 17.3 % immature young. The grassland habitat ranked
higher in the abundance of gazelles (n = 100, 67.1 %) than shrubland (n = 49, 32.8 %), indicating higher
association of them with the grassland habitats of the Nechisar plains.

>>>>>>>>>>
Solution (From the actual journal article):

Title:

Keywords:

>>>>>>>>>>

Scientific Process – Greg Wagner Page 21

Practice Question on Writing a Discussion

Below are excerpts from the Introduction and Results sections of Wagner and Sallema-Mtui (2016) that
have been modified for this example. One of these excerpts refers to Fig. 1, which is a map of the study
area. Read these points and, in the spaces provided below, write a Discussion.

Points from separate parts of the Introduction

Climate change and related factors subject many coastal areas to increasing risks, including higher waves
as well as increasing frequency, intensity and duration of storms, which when combined with increased sea
level, will result in coastal erosion and mangrove destruction (IPCC 2007).

Due to natural, dynamic processes in the Rufiji River, since 1978, most of the river water has flowed
through the Bumba River Channel (Semesi 1991; Kajia 2000) (Fig. 1).

It was hypothesized that coastal erosion will be greater along seaward edges exposed to the open ocean
than along seaward edges sheltered by coral reefs and offshore islands where, in fact, there may be accretion
due to sediment input from the river.

Points from the Results

Ecological plot assessment along the seaward edge of Simba Uranga (Fig. 1) showed that there was an
extremely significant decrease in mangrove basal area between 2007 and 2009 (Wilcoxon paired-sample
test: (T-) = 14.000, n = 21, P = 0.0008), with many plots being completely eroded away.

Along the seaward edge near the mouth of the Bumba River Channel, ecological plot assessment
indicated that there was a small, but statistically significant increase in basal area over the two-year period
(Wilcoxon paired-sample test: (T-) = 12.000, n = 16, P = 0.0171).

Discussion
>>>>>>>>>>

>>>>>>>>>>

Scientific Process – Greg Wagner Page 22

5.2 Order of Working on the Sections/Components of a Scientific Report After Collecting Data

• A well-written research proposal can be the basis for writing the introduction and methods sections of the
final report.
• Start by making a full outline even while you are collecting your data and analyzing it so that, any time
you think of an important point, you can write it in under the appropriate heading.
• Having the outline first and then working on various parts of the report helps to make it very integrated,
e.g., when you analyze the data for a certain hypothesis, you can write up what you found in the results
section and then immediately write points in the discussions section that relate to that finding, and then
write a concise conclusion on that point in the conclusion section.
• With computer word processing programs (e.g., Microsoft Word) that we in modern times, a researcher
can add content and edit all parts of the scientific report at the same time.

• Although the order of writing the sections can be quite flexible and, in fact, you can add content to the
different sections at any given time, the following is a typical order that can be a good approach regarding
which section/component to focus on in a step-by-step fashion:

1. Table of Contents (basically, this is your outline of the research report)

• Logically analyse the research topic and prepare a complete outline that follows a systematic
sequence.
• Arrange headings of main sections, subsections and even sub-subsections.
• Add bullet points under each subsection mentioning the points that you would like to cover.
• As you proceed with writing the sections below, when you think of another point to cover in your
report, immediately add it in the appropriate place – don’t wait, otherwise you might forget a very
important point.
• Also, as you are writing the sections below, analytically think about possible adjustments in your
outline.
2. Results
• After analyzing the data, first prepare tables and figures summarizing the analysis for cases in
which there are too many numbers to include in text statements.
• Next write text statements describing the main trends shown in the tables and figures.
• Write text statements for other results for which there are only a few numbers or statistics to show,
in which case, the test statistics, P-values, etc. are provided in brackets within the text statements.
• Examine the entire results section and re-arrange the text statements, tables and figures to be sure
that they are in a logical systematic sequence, based on your hypotheses or based on the
subsections you designed in the Table of Contents.
• Make sure each table or figure appears as close as possible after its first citing in the text.
• Alternatively, if you have several figures for any given subsection, you may consider arranging
them all on one page.
3. Methods
• Although you will already have written you Methods section when writing the proposal, having
completed the data collection and analysis, you should go back over your Methods and see if there
is any part of the research design, procedures or statistical analysis that you found necessary to
change when you implemented the study.
• Also, check if the Methods clearly describe what you actually did.
• In the process of data collection, you may have taken photographs of the study sites (if any) or the
procedures you performed, which may be add clarity to your Methods if included.

Scientific Process – Greg Wagner Page 23

 4. Discussion
• Now focus on your discussion by comparing your results with your hypotheses and by referring to
points you wrote in the literature review in the introduction – link these three.
• Use words like similar, consistent with, or the same trend when your results were in keeping with
what was expected and use words like “however”, “by contrast”, “but” to highlight findings that
were different from what was hypothesized or expected according to the literature.
• Be sure to arrange the paragraphs of the discussion under the appropriate subheadings (if any) that
you showed in your Table of Contents
• As you are writing the discussion (and looking back at your results), you will probably get ideas of
how to improve the presentation of your results, so make the changes/edits immediately before you
forget what you wanted to change.
• Also, you are likely to find you need to read more literature, so you can add those points to your
discussion and then also be sure you add them to the Introduction.
5. Introduction
• At this point, go back and focus on the introduction you wrote for your proposal and build on that
in the light of your findings.
• You may want to expand or improve your literature review.
• Check to be sure there is a coherent flow from the research problem through the literature review,
your hypotheses, methods and your actual findings.
• Did you actually do what you set out to do? If not, you must adjust the Introduction to match.
6. Conclusions
• Concisely write your main findings.
• Check for a logical link (coherence) from your hypotheses to your results to the conclusions.
• The conclusions come directly from your hypotheses.
7. Recommendations
• For lessons learned from your methodology, look back at the Results and Discussion.
8. References
• You should have been clearly citing all literature and recording the references as you were writing
the other sections, but it is best to complete the reference section after writing all the other sections
so that you can crosscheck that everything cited in the text is included in the references and
everything in the references is cited somewhere in the text
9. Abstract
• This should be written last because, when you have completed the entire report, you will be better
able to synthesize the main points from the introduction, methods, results, discussion and
conclusions into a concise abstract.
10. Title
• Although you will already have written a title at the proposal stage, when everything else is
complete, it is a good idea to have a closer look at your title and see whether it truly reflects what
your study was all about and whether it is concise enough.

• Proof-reading and checking (have a checklist): The best way to be consistent and to check thoroughly
for errors is to check through the entire paper for one thing at a time, e.g.:
o Check the report for proper flow, coherence and logic by reading the entire report again.
o Check numbering and style of all headings and subheadings.
o Spell check the whole report; don’t entirely trust the software spell check.
o Check if all numbers, units, and punctuation are correct and consistent.
o Check for consistence in the formatting of all tables and figures.
o Check the presentation of statistics for all hypothesis tests.
o Check for consistency in all in-test citations.
o Check that your reference section followed the selected format and is consistent.

Scientific Process – Greg Wagner Page 24

5.3 Oral Presentations/Conference Presentations

• Also called a “viva voce” (Latin for “living voice”)

• May be a component of completing an independent research course (BIOL 498) or for qualifying
for a Master’s of Ph.D. degree.
• May be required to present your research findings at a scientific conference or technical meeting.

Structure of the PowerPoint Slides Shown

[See: SCI 201 – Final Oral Presentations for Mini-Research Projects: Guidelines to Students]
• To give the slides a good structure, it is best to have the following headings and/or subheadings at
the top of the slides:
o Title slide – no heading necessary (one separate slide),
o Introduction (2-3 slides),
o Methods (1-2 slides),
o Results (2-3 slides),
o Discussion (1-2 slides),
o Conclusions (1 slide),
o Recommendations (1 slide),
o References (1-2 slides).
[Note: There is a fair bit of flexibility regarding the number of slides for each component,
depending upon your particular study.]
• Your slides on any given component may have subheadings as well, e.g., for slides on Methods,
you may have subheadings like Research Design, Procedures, and Statistical Analysis.
• Points on the slides should be in bullet form, with not too many words for each one.
• Each bullet should have enough words that the audience can understand the main point of each,
but should not have too many words, such that the audience is struggling to read the screen and
listen at the same time.
• You should explain more in words than is shown in the bullet points on the slides.
• One of the important purposes of doing these oral presentations in SCI 201 is to help you build
your confidence and skills in presenting.
• Often students do not get a chance to build these skills because “they never have opportunities to
present material in front of an audience” (Batman, 2017).

Oral Presentation Skills (The Way the Presentation is Given)

• NOT like a conversation – more like a lecture.
• Loud (audible), emphatic (emphasize key words), punctuated speaking.
• Hold vowels, which attracts peoples’ attention and helps emphasize certain words
• Raise and lower your voice – do not speak with a monotone.
• Body language – wave hands, move back and forth to the screen – this helps you to emphasize certain
points and it attracts the attention of the audience. (Be lively; don’t just stand still like a statue.)
• Point on the screen, preferably by hand, but if the screen is too high use a pointer.
• Point particularly at main features of diagrams, data analysis, or key words on the screen.
• Make it clear that you are speaking to your audience and not just to talking to yourself.
• Show that you are making your presentation because you genuinely care about your audience, and you
want to help them gain new knowledge and to benefit from the findings of your study.
• When you realize you are doing this for the benefit of you audience, this helps you to forget your
possible nervousness and removes anxiety regarding your presentation.
• Speak with confidence.

Scientific Process – Greg Wagner Page 25

 • Eye contact is a very important way of showing that you care about your audience – try to look at
everyone in the audience, not just at one person or just at the people in the front.
• Speak with energy and enthusiasm – show that you are excited about what you are presenting.
• In general, do not speak too fast, but rather, talk at a moderate speed since many of the things you are
saying are probably new to your audience.
• Do not talk at the speed you would use in ordinary conversation.
• Don’t talk so slowly that people get bored but talk slow enough that you don’t lose anyone (since
everyone listens at different speeds) and so that people have time to think about, digest and retain what
you are saying.
• You cannot emphasize certain words or phrases if you are talking too fast.
• Don’t use useless “filler” words like “Ah”, “Um”.
• It is common (though not a requirement) that you explain in more words than is shown on the screen.
• However, sometimes when people present in scientific conferences, they have so much information to
present that they show more on the screen than they talk about; they just highlight some of the main
points and explain them (this is also acceptable).
• It is a good idea to read (and point to) key words or phrases that are on the screen for emphasis (because
you have probably carefully worded those phrases); however, do not read entire sentences or
paragraphs word for word from the screen.
• Practice many times until you internalize the information and can say the points largely from your
head, with minimal glancing at the screen; that way, you can look at the audience more.
• These skills also apply for the most part to teaching or lecturing.
• Have fun, smile and enjoy it; this will show vitality.

Greg (2016) original model (formula) for effectiveness in oral presentations:

Effect on the audience, the Response Variable ( ŷ )

ŷ = i + a + bl + mC + e + p − m − sp + sm + v
2 5

>>>>>>>>>>
Definition and elaboration of the above explanatory variables:

ŷ = internalize the information so that it just flows out of your head.

+ audible
+ body language
+ massive (care x confidence)
+ (emphatic x enthusiastic x excited x energy x eye contact)
+ punctuated
– monotone
– speed
+ smile
+ vitality

[Practice reading something in various ways to see the difference]

>>>>>>>>>>

Scientific Process – Greg Wagner Page 26

5.4 Posters

• Posters are important ways of presenting research findings at scientific conferences.

• Many more posters can be observed by those attending in comparison with the number of oral
presentations that can be made due to time constraints.
• A poster can be used just as a visual presentation.
• However, often the visual presentation of the poster is combined with an oral presentation as the
researcher explains his/her findings as people come by to see the poster and ask questions about the
research.
• In this course, we will primarily consider the poster as a visual presentation since you will have all
given oral presentations of your findings.
• You can easily produce your poster by copying and pasting parts of your oral presentation or final
written report into this template and then editing the points and adjusting the font size.
• Probably it is easiest to copy and paste points from your oral presentation because both the poster
and oral presentation should be brief and only give the main points from your study. Moreover,
both of these have similar font sizes.
• Tables and graphs can also be copied and pasted from slides in your oral presentation or your
written report.

[See SCI 201 – Posters-Guidelines to Students (posted on eClass)]

[See Templates for Posters (also posted on eClass)]

[Demonstration on how to create a poster]

5.5 Scientific Style of Writing

[Some of the material and examples below are from: Publication Manual of the American Psychological
Association (2010) and The Bedford Handbook (2010)]

5.5.1 Examples of Common Errors to Avoid and Appropriate Corrections

Semicolon – “used to connect major sentence elements of equal grammatical rank” (Bedford, p. 379)

>>>>>>>>>>
Incorrect:
The data is normally distributed.

Correct:

Incorrect:
Shakespeare commonly referred to as the greatest writer in the English language was born in 1564.

Correct:

Scientific Process – Greg Wagner Page 27

Incorrect:
Biologists have observed laughter in primates other than humans, chimpanzees however sound more like they
are panting than laughing.

Correct:

Incorrect:
Biologists have observed laughter in primates other than humans, however chimpanzees sound more like they
are panting than laughing.

Correct:

Incorrect:
Biologists have observed laughter in primates other than humans but chimpanzees sound more like they are
panting than laughing.

Correct:

Incorrect:
The scientists were fascinated by the species Argyroneta aquatica a spider that lives underwater.

Correct:

Incorrect: Patients who can walk up and down the halls several times a day.

Correct:

Alternative correct sentence though with a different meaning:

Incorrect: For scientists writing a research proposal before beginning a study is very important.

Correct:

Alternative correct sentence though with a slightly different meaning:

Incorrect:
The variables measured were farm size in hectares rainfall in millimeters per month and crop production in
tonnes per hectare.

Correct:

OR

Scientific Process – Greg Wagner Page 28

Incorrect (2 mistakes):
A chi-square test was used to test an hypotheses that selection of a particular movie is associated with gender.

Correct:

Incorrect (8 mistakes/omissions):
Similarly English et. al (1997) clarified that if mangrove vegetation is extremely dense plot size may be reduced
from 100 m2 plots to 25 m2 plots.

Correct:

Incorrect:
There was a significant affect of light intensity on durability of the plastic.

Correct:

Other correct statements:

Incorrect (Reference Section):

English, S., Wilkinson, C., and Baker, V. 1997. Survey manual for tropical Marine Resources.
ASEAN Australia Marine Project, Living Coastal Resources, Second Edition. Australian Institute of
Marine Sciences, Townsville. 368 pp.

Correct (use hanging indent):

Incorrect:
The archaeologists worked diligently. Examining and labelling every piece of pottery they uncovered.

Correct:

>>>>>>>>>>

Scientific Process – Greg Wagner Page 29

5.5.2 Orderly presentation of ideas
• There must be in a logical sequence or systematic order in the arrangements of words, phrases,
sentences, paragraphs and sections of the report.
• There must be continuity in the flow of the arguments, i.e., no gap in the sequence of logic.
• Correct placement of punctuation marks helps readers to understand the flow of the argument, e.g., use
of commas and semicolons.
• Use of transition words:
o Cause-and-effect links: therefore, consequently, subsequently, as a result.
o Time links: then, next, after, while, since.
o Strengthening your argument or discussion: in addition, moreover, furthermore, similarly.
o Contrast links: conversely, nevertheless, however, whereas, but, on the contrary, by contrast,
although, on the other hand.

5.5.3 Smoothness of Expression and Proper Use of Verb Tenses

• Distinction between scientific writing and literary writing:
o In literary writing, the author tries to be creative in portraying ambiguity or inserting unexpected
ideas in order to arouse attention or interest; on the other hand, in scientific writing, this would
only create confusion.
o Scientific writing must be very clear, logical, and to the point.
o However, a scientific report should also be creative in the sense of analytically relating the
variables in the study, summarizing several of the findings into overall conclusions, and
synthesizing the findings of the study with the findings of others.
• Because you are so familiar with the work you have done, there is a danger of omitting some aspects
from your explanations, thinking that your points will be understood.
o One solution is to put the manuscript aside for awhile and re-read it later so that you can notice
omissions and irrelevancies.
o Another solution is to give your manuscript to someone else to read.
• Be careful to use verb tenses correctly and not change tenses inappropriately.
o Literature review: use either past tense [e.g., Smith (1994) showed that...] or present perfect tense
[e.g., Researchers have shown...].
o Methodology: use past tense (future tense for proposal).
o Results: use past tense.
o Discussion:
• Here you often need to change tenses, even within the same sentence.
• Use past tense when referring to what you did in your study, but use present tense when
discussing the implications [e.g., The fact that treatment B gave a higher mean... than treatment
C indicates that...]
• Use present tense when discussing whether the findings verify or do not verify hypotheses.
• Use past tense when referring to the findings of others.
o Conclusions: use present tense.
o Recommendations: use present tense [e.g., It is recommended that…], or conditional tense [e.g.,
Steps should be taken to mitigate negative impacts on the environment such as…], or sometimes
future tense.

Scientific Process – Greg Wagner Page 30

5.5.4 Economy of Expression
• Write only what is necessary or important.
• Particularly for papers to be submitted to a journal for publication—they will not publish something
that is too wordy.
• Avoid overly detailed descriptions of apparatus and procedures.
o If it is a new technique, it may be necessary to give the details, but consider putting them in the
appendices.
o If it is a well-known, standard technique just give the name of the technique and a reference or
describe it in one sentence.
• Wordiness: avoid unnecessary words or phrases.
o If you revise your report several times, you can usually cut out a few more words each time.
• Redundancy should be eliminated. For example, the italicized words are unnecessary and should be
removed:

absolutely essential in close proximity to

completely unanimous one and the same
the reason is because just exactly

• Sentence length and paragraph length:

o Avoid a chain of very short sentences or a chain of very long sentences—varying sentence length
keeps the interest of the reader.
o The same applies to the lengths of paragraphs.

Scientific Process – Greg Wagner Page 31

5.5.5 Building Effective Paragraphs
(Largely based on The Bedford Handbook, 2010; Hofmann, 2010; Reinking et al., 2013)

Characteristics of a well-structured and effective paragraph

• The entire paragraph should focus on one main point.
• Unity, proper organization, and coherence from beginning to end.
• Continuity
o One sentence closely links to or leads logically to the next.
o Repeat keywords throughout the paragraph in order to maintain the connectivity.
• Also, the first sentence of a paragraph should follow logically from the preceding paragraph and the
last sentence should lead to the following paragraph.

Structure of a paragraph
• Every paragraph should include two powerful sentences (unless it is a short paragraph):
o a topic sentence (usually the first sentence) and
o a concluding sentence/statement (invariably the last sentence).

• Start with a topic sentence.

o Gives an overview of what the paragraph is about.
o Introduces what the main point of the paragraph is about.
o Should contain a keyword or keywords, which should be placed towards the beginning of the
sentence, e.g. (keyword underlined)
Incorrect: One of the factors often considered to reduce vertebral fractures by about 60% is
hormone replacement therapy (HRT).
Correct: Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) is often considered to reduce vertebral fractures
by about 60% [1].(From Torgerson and Bell-Syer, 2001).
o Lets the reader know what the entire paragraph is about, which will help the reader decide if it is
important to read the whole paragraph or skip to another one, since scientists often skim through
research reports, reading the first lines of each paragraph.

• Develop the main point – often following a particular pattern of organization.

o The pattern of organization of a paragraph depends largely on whether it is part of the Introduction,
Methods, Results or Discussion.
o Adequate development of the point is essential in order to convince the reader and may be
developed according to several types of patterns as follows:
▪ Compare and/or contrast pattern – the development sentences provide comparisons or
contrasts with other studies or other findings in your study.
E.g.: However, projected changes in these parameters are less certain than global change
in sea-level... (Gilman et al., 2007)
E.g.: Additional important variables include slope of the mangrove surface and the types
of coastal ecosystems that border the mangrove. (Gilman et al., 2007)
E.g.: In contrast, pre-breeding migration was comparatively short and weekly rates of
travel sometimes high. (Spencer et al., 2014)
▪ Problem-and-solution pattern – if the topic sentence points out a problem, the development
sentences lead step-by-step to a solution summarized in the last sentence.
▪ Cause-and-effect pattern – if the topic sentence points out an explanatory variable, the
development sentences lead to the description of the effect, which is often summarized in the
last sentence.

Scientific Process – Greg Wagner Page 32

 ▪ Examples pattern – provides an example or examples to illustrate or support the main point
E.g., For instance, mangroves bordering rocky hinterland will migrate landward more
slowly than when the adjacent habitat has unconsolidated coastal deposits.
▪ Process or sequence pattern – arrange sentences in a proper sequence when the order of
explanation is important in describing a process.
- This is particularly applied in writing the Methods Section.

• Concluding statement (invariably at the end of the paragraph

o Summarizes or concludes what the paragraph is all about.
o May also emphasizes something of importance.
o Often gives an indication regarding the topic for the subsequent paragraph.

Examples of Appropriately Structured Paragraphs

• The structure of paragraphs, particularly with respect to the development sentences, differs somewhat
depending upon whether it is part of the Introduction, Methods, Results, Discussion or Conclusion.

Introduction Section:
Example of a paragraph from of Mavandadi et al. (2007)

Number the sentences below in the most appropriate order:

Sentence # ______ :
Prior work has documented not only that the experience of pain is common, and often chronic, in older
adulthood,11 but also that there is a consistent, robust relationship between pain and depression.12,13

Sentence # ______ :
Therefore, it is not surprising that, in depressed primary care patients, pain is often mentioned as a
physical complaint during clinic visits.17

Sentence # ______ :
Although it is possible that depression may increase perceptions of pain, results from numerous cross-
sectional and longitudinal studies conducted with community-dwelling and institutionalized samples
support the inference that depression is a common consequence of experiencing pain.14–16

Sentence # ______ :
One factor in particular that may contribute to a blunted response to depression treatment is pain.

Sentence # ______ :
For example, a review of the literature on the link between chronic pain and depression found more
evidence in support of the ‘‘consequence hypothesis,’’ which posits that pain is a better predictor of
depression than vice versa.15

Note: 1. Keywords underlined

2. Transition words underlined
3. Perhaps the keywords could have been positioned a little better in the topic sentence.

Scientific Process – Greg Wagner Page 33

Methods Section:
Example of a paragraph from of Spencer et al. (2014)
Twelve ivory gulls were captured using a modified version of a bownet trap [28] from a single colony on
Seymour Island, Nunavut (Migratory Bird Sanctuary, Fig. 1; 78.80°N, 101.27°W) on 29 and 30 June,
2010. Five individuals were tagged with 20 g battery powered PTTs made by North Star Technologies
(King Georges, Virginia). The remaining seven individuals were tagged with 15 g solar powered PTTs (a
customized PTT-100 12 g model in a larger case to fit a larger solar chip) by Microwave Telemetry, Inc.
(Columbia, Maryland). Individuals were caught during incubation to ensure they were actively breeding
in Canada and a leg loop harness design was used to attach the transmitters, leaving flight muscles and
major fat deposits unencumbered [29]. The transmitter plus the harness represented approximately 3% of
ivory gull body mass; considered the maximum recommended load to minimize deleterious effects on
individuals [30]. All birds successfully flew off after receiving the transmitters.

Note: The order of the sentences indicating a specific sequence in the process.

Results Section:
Example of a paragraph from of Fishbain et al. (2014)
For hypothesis 3 (pretreatment pain levels will predict antidepressant treatment depression), six studies
were found. Seventeen percent of these were type 2, and 83% were type 3 studies. The overall quality
score for all these studies was 98.3%, and 100% of the studies supported this hypothesis. The
strength/consistency of this finding was A (consistent) (see Table 5). All studies indicated that pain had a
negative effect on achieving remission with antidepressant treatment.

Note: Topic sentence and summary sentence

Discussion Section:
Example of a paragraph from Torgerson and Bell-Syer (2001)
This review of the effects of Hormone replacement therapy HRT on vertebral fractures showed a similar
reduction in events as did our previous analysis on non-vertebral fractures. As in our previous review the
quality of the trials was generally good [3]. Our previous review noted a decreasing effect of HRT on non
vertebral fractures for women starting therapy when older than 60 years [3]. In this study, we did not
observe a similar relationship. Although the relative risk of fracture reduction for younger women was not
statistically significant it was virtually identical to that for older women (i.e RR = 0.61 and 0.63 for
younger and older women respectively). There were fewer events and fewer participants in trials among
women with a mean age of less than 60 years and this may explain the lack of statistical significance.

[Also See Example on Page 22, Chapter 5]

Conclusions Section:
Example of a paragraph from of Mavandadi et al. (2007)
In summary, our review has shown that HRT use is associated with reduction in vertebral fractures,
particularly among osteoporotic women.

Recommendations Section:
Example of a paragraph from of Wagner and Sallema-Mtui (2016)
Responses targeted at eliminating or controlling anthropogenic pressures, particularly excessive
mangrove harvesting, timber production and rice farming, are essential in order to mitigate further loss of
mangroves. Though this is largely the duty of the government, it requires the collaboration of all
supporting agencies. Community involvement in patrolling and enforcement is essential.

Scientific Process – Greg Wagner Page 34

5.5.6 Format and Style in Various Types of Written Reports/Publications: Specific Requirements

[Link] Master’s or Ph.D. Thesis

• Postgraduate dissertation or thesis, e.g., for a [Link]. or Ph.D.
• Should generally have all of the components of a research report as described on pp. 2-19 of this
Chapter, including all the preliminary pages mentioned on p. 4 (particularly, Preface,
Acknowledgements, Table of Contents, List of Tables, List of Figures, List of Plates, List of
Symbols, and appendices.
[Show – my [Link]. on Ecology and Nitrogen-Fixing…]

[Link] Journal Papers/Articles that Present Original Findings

• Original data
• Should be very concisely written.
• Must make a substantial contribution to science.
• Reviewed by referees (Reviewers) before being published.
• Published in a journal.

[Link] Short Communications/Synopses

• Original data
• Minor experiment or study
• Contribution to new knowledge on one minor aspect
• Usually reviewed by referees
• Published in a journal.
[E.g., Bromley and Hood (2013) – Beavers and Geese]

[Link] Review Papers

• Synthesizes and integrates the findings from numerous other studies on a certain topic, which may be
a broad topic or very specific topic.
• For a review paper, then the word “review” should be mentioned in the title.
• Usually published in a journal
• No original data or findings are presented.
• May give new insights/ concepts/ theories, based on the findings of many others.
• Based on secondary data
• Reviewed by referees (Reviewers) before being published.

[Link] Conference Proceedings

• Scientists who attend a conference and give an oral presentation of their research subsequently submit
a written research report for the conference proceedings.
• Often published as a book
• May or may not be reviewed by referees.

[Link] Chapters in a Book

• Systematic collection of information on a broad topic
• Reviews a very large number of other studies.
• May give new insights/ concepts/ theories, based on the findings of many others.

Scientific Process – Greg Wagner Page 35

[Link] Technical Reports
• Often requested by a government office, environmental organization or company who want a very
comprehensive report.
• Investigates and reports on one specific problem and recommends solutions.
• Usually based on original findings
• Very detailed; does not need to be very concise.
• Gives all details of the methods, results, all data may be included in the appendices.

[Link] Environmental impact assessments (EIAs)

• EIA is a process of identifying, communicating, predicting and interpreting information on the

potential impacts of a proposed action or development on the environment.
• The potential impacts investigated include the bio-physical environment and humans living in the
area, including socio-cultural impacts and economic impacts.
• As part of the EIA, baseline information should be collected so that, if the project is approved,
any possible changes in the environment or in society can be monitored over time.
• Issues should be identified through scoping and each issue is are analyzed and evaluated, while
determining expected impacts, their magnitudes, the probability of occurrence and the
significance of the impacts.
• An EIA propose measures to address and mitigate these impacts.
• Mitigation aims at avoiding or lessening impacts.
• The public should also be involved in EIAs.
• Monitoring should include follow up of impacts, verification of predictions and feedback on
mitigation and project operations.
• An environmental impact assessment document should be prepared giving all the details of the
assessment and it should be provided to all parties concerned.
• An EIA should ensure effective public participation and consultation at all stages of the
assessment.
[Show map of Songo Songo Island]

Scientific Process – Greg Wagner Page 36