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Organizing a Scientific Research Paper

Introduction

Public presentation and discussion of one’s work is standard in the academic community. Peer review of your work not only shares what you have learned but also allows others to critique your work. Scientific work gains validity by holding up to critique.

It is important to understand that writing and communication takes many different formats. You may be asked to write a lab report that illustrates to your instructor virtually everything that you have done, accomplished, and learned. This is very different from writing in the format of a scientific paper; writing for publication to the scientific community assumes that you are writing for a knowledgeable audience and that you, yourself, have a more than basic understanding of the topic. 

Voice

It has long been the tradition in scientific writing that the voice of the paper is passive voice. This means that active statements such as “I took ..” or “We assembled ..” were not used. Rather the writing might be something like “The components were assembled to …” or "Measurements were taken to determine…" However, for many years this convention has been changing. It is now the accepted practice that scientific writing may be either active or passive voice. Many scientific journals now prefer the active voice because writing in the active voice uses words more efficiently and is easier to read. What is important, however, is that whatever voice you choose to use in your scientific writing, you stay consistent with that voice throughout the entire paper.

Writing a Scientific Paper

Communication in the scientific community usually takes the form of a written paper. Scientific papers should be written in a clear and concise manner. One should avoid the use of unnecessary words that are written with the intent to impress the reader. Also, all scientific papers should be written in past tense. Either active or passive voice may be used.

There is a conventional format to follow when communicating your findings to the scientific community in written form. A scientific paper usually consists of eight sections. Below you will find information on each of these sections. Depending upon the competition, the order of these sections will vary.
 

THE PHYSICAL ARRANGEMENT OF THE WRITTEN REPORT
Modified from Illinois Junior Academy of Science Policy & Procedure Manual (www.ijas.org).

The following section establishes the basic written report requirements. Familiarity with the basic techniques and requirements will help you to read and understand scientific publications, give you an inside view of how scientists think, and help you to write your own scientific paper describing the results of your research experimentation. The main point to keep in mind is to think before you write, then re¬think, revise, rewrite, and reread again and again. Make it clear and concise.

The paper must include (in this order):

1. ABSTRACT (found under IJAS templates in the top section directly above Module One) - In preparing your abstract, you must keep in mind that: 

➢ The abstract is a concise summary of your work. 
➢ As the first sheet of your research paper, it will help the reader form an opinion of your work. 

 

(Refer to the "How to Write an Abstract" PowerPoint)

2. SAFETY SHEET AND ENDORSEMENTS (found under IJAS templates in the top section directly above Module One) - The safety sheet identifies all of the major safety hazards, precautions taken, and any endorsement sheets (if necessary), which describe the use of human, non-human vertebrates or microorganisms, and ensures the safe use of such organisms.

3. TITLE PAGE - your title should be concise and clear.

4. TABLE OF CONTENTS - include page numbers.

5. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS - should give credit to those who have helped you in your investigations for guidance, materials, and/or use of facilities.

6. PURPOSE AND HYPOTHESIS - should state precisely the question you are attempting to investigate. Include your hypothesis or the expected outcome of your experiment. You should include your rationale for your hypothesis.

7. INTRODUCTION/REVIEW OF LITERATURE - is to report to the reader background information and/or work done in the past that pertains to your project. The function of the introduction/review of the literature is to give the rationale for your research, as well as to provide pertinent background or historical information that puts your research into a context that has meaning for the reader and the rest of the scientific community. The specific question or problem you are addressing in your study should be clearly stated in the introduction. These references should be properly documented and listed in the section "Reference List". Traditional footnotes are not to be used for citing references. The correct citation style to use is discussed in detail in the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association.

8. MATERIALS AND METHODS OF PROCEDURE - should be a simple chronological account of what was done. The explanation of what was done must be clear and detailed enough so that the reader can duplicate the work. The apparatus and materials used should be listed - explain the workings of any apparatus you constructed or used. Drawings, diagrams that are clearly labeled, and photographs are appropriate if they enhance and clarify your explanation - do not use them as filler.

NOTE: In some instances, the materials will be written in list format followed by the procedures, which are written in step format. In other cases, it is written as a narrative (i.e., in paragraph form) and you should not separate the materials used from the methods employed. 

In all cases, it should be written in past tense. This section should be written with enough detail so that any well-versed reader could easily repeat your experiment. Do not forget to include information such as concentrations, names of species, types of equipment, etc. SI units should be used.

9. VARIABLES - the variables should be listed. For example:

• Independent (manipulated) variable

• Dependent (responding) variable, and how it was measured

• Controlled variables (constants) - go through the procedure and list all things that are the same for all test groups

• Control/Comparison group

10. RESULTS - Your data and observations are presented in this section, as well as the results of any analyses performed on the data and observations. Do not discuss the relevance or importance of your results, or attempt to explain or interpret your results in this section.

• Data: Include ALL date organized in tables/charts. Be sure to include averages, which are graphed. All graphs must include a descriptive title, and labeled axes. Include only graphs which are pertinent and visually display treads, etc. Both tables and graphs should be constructed with a descriptive caption or legend

• Data analysis: All data tables/charts and graphs should be addressed in this section. This section should be written as a narrative in the past tense. 

• Statistical Analysis: See Module 11. When reporting out on the statistical analysis, give the test statistic, degrees of freedom and/or sample size, and probability value.

• Experimental Error - identify the random, systematic and/or measurement errors that may have occurred and/or the ways in which errors were avoided.

11. CONCLUSION - In this section you present the conclusions drawn from your data and analyses, and you interpret, explain, and discuss their significance (i.e., their relevance, meaning, and/or importance). Make sure that your conclusions and interpretations clearly address the question or problem posed in the introduction. You may put your findings into their proper context by relating them to research work done by others. Try to describe how your findings support, refute, or extend the work of others in the field. You can also suggest further studies that can be performed to clear up any discrepancies or ambiguities, or answer any unanswered questions.

12. REFERENCE LIST - is a list of published articles, books, and other communications actually cited in the paper. Sources should be current. The Reference List section is arranged alphabetically according to the author/editor's last name when it is known or the first significant word in the title if the author/editor is not known. The correct style to use for citing references in the Reference List section is discussed in detail in the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, Fifth Edition 2001, or later.