Scientific writing & communication

Science communication course, page 1

“Scientific communication and publishing” Part 2

Course notes Course held at the Center for Ecological Research, Vácrátót, Hungary March 2013

Course teacher: Prof. Gabor Lövei Aarhus University, Flakkebjerg Res. Ctr., Slagelse, Denmark [email protected]

Gabor Lövei, 2013




ON COMMUNICATION Introductory thoughts and exercise

ON LEARNING AND TOOLS TO HELP LEARNING "Csak az olvassa versemet, ki ismer engem es szeret" "Only reads my poem/Who knows me and who loves me" Attila Jozsef, Hungarian poet (1905- 1937) The importance of positive attitude Some famous experiments on learning 1. Bower & al. 1969. J. Verbal Learning & Verbal Behav. 8, 323-343. => Structure aids recall 2. Anderson & Parlmutter's experiment in: Anderson, JR 1985. Cognitive psychology & its implications. Freeman & Co., San Francisco.

=> "Memory works by an activation process which spreads from word to associated word via these links"

3. Haber RN 1970. How we remember what we see. Scientific American 105, issue 5 => “Our recognition of pictures is essentially perfect" How do we learn/acquire skills? By doing things repeatedly & personally The importance of (early) repetition Howe MJA 1970. Using students notes‟ to examine role of individual learner in acquiring meaningful subject matter. J. Educational Res. 64: 61. Brevity, efficiency & active personal involvement are keys to learning The importance of taking notes personally


- active vs. passive listening - giving structure to information - repetition - own effort/own expressions When taking notes: DO: -

take personal notes (active vs. passive) use abbreviations (coding – mental process engaged) use colour, hierarchy, letter size - to give structure to notes use arrows, graphic symbols

DO NOT - rely on ready-made notes even if they seem perfect - try to copy everything – cannot follow thoughts - try to produce 'neat' notes, complete sentences, ordered appearance - switch off at familiar information ("nothing new, no need to focus") - engage in mental duel with the speaker – derails thinking

Buzan, Tony. 1995. The mind map book. BBC Books. ISBN 0-563-37101-3

1. THE SCIENTIFIC LITERATURE & SCIENTOMETRICS Definition: the primary scientific publication is: first disclosure of new scientific knowledge in accessible form (language, circulation, ref. journals) that allows readers to repeat the experiments

Scientometrics “Publish or Perish” software found at: www.harzing.com Use of PoP to analyse journals, scientific output, etc.

2. HOW TO WRITE SCIENTIFIC PAPERS: BEFORE YOU BEGIN Basic decision: WHAT do you want to write? short paper, article, review, book chapter, thesis? FOR WHOM? Readership: specialist/generalist, in-country, world-wide?



14.

Constructing FIGURES: a tricky art? "Clear graphics aid, and show, clear thinking about what data mean"

Overall, statistical graphics can: - show the data - induce the viewer to think about the substance NOT methodology, design, or technology - avoid distorting what the data have to say - present many numbers in small space - make large data sets coherent - encourage the eye to compare diff. pieces of data - reveal data at several levels of detail - serve a clear purpose: description, exploration, tabulation - closely integrated with statistical and verbal description of a data set

Principles of designing graphs: economy, clarity, integrity Designed to present the data, in clear, uncluttered and honest way. Principle. a figure should be understandable without reference to the text. Visual clarity:

avoid overlapping symbols. How? a) use logarithms 3.27 vs. 3.28 b) moving 3.29 – only works if not too many overlapping points: c) jittering 3.31 vs. 3.32 d) symbol use – empty circules are best – see 3.33


superimposition - symbol use 3.34, 3.35 3.36, 3.38 the role of reference grid 4.8, 3.41 banking to 45o – useful for trend assessment 1.1., 2.42,

Integrity Figures are always selective presentation of data – certain aspects remain underemphasised or hidden => careful assessment of purpose needed: Example: time series presentation methods symbol plot 3.53 - good for time series for long-term trend connected plot 3.54 vertical line plot 3.55 => Graph should be truthful to data No pseudo-dimensions – data dimensions should match data dimensions (if possible) .- page 2 (bad example)

Comparison between panels: uniform or comparable scale 2.55 Provide context – pages 4-6 Do not use graphical elements to create misleading impression Page 7, fig. 9.26 Do not exaggerate (the “lie factor”: discrepancy between data difference and representation size difference) pages 8-14 Graphs to not have to be “alive” and “decorative” – page 15

Common problems with & misconceptions about graphs graphs have to be 'alive', 'communicatively dynamic' => overdecorated (chartjunk – word coined by Cleveland) exaggerated design, disguising shallow thinking disregarding the truth about data


arrogant Chartjunk: - unintentional “optical art” (Moire vibration) - the dreaded grid – when it is too strong and interferes with data - unnecessary decoration (e.g. p.14)

Colour Use colour to help understanding, not for decoration Modest use of colour is very helpful Try to use harmonic combinations Consider colour-blindness (some combinations are indistinguishable) Check www. http://colorschemedesigner.com/

Legend (caption) An important part of the figure - should give information to help understand the figure Legend is printed underneath the figure Common error: not enough detail to understand the figure Numbering – in the sequence of mentioning in the text, independently of tables

Proportion, scale and appearance: graphs should tend towards horizontal: length > height - eye is naturally practised in detecting deviations from horizon - ease of labelling causal influence: mostly cause (independent variable) – effect (dependent variable) => horizontal depth – space to elaborate


ratio: golden section – a/b = b/ (a+b) – ratio 1:1.618 „smoothly-changing curves

can be taller than wide,

wiggly curve

needs to be wider than tall

lettering: type & size - serif fonts preferred - more readable

Integrating figures & text To have clear understanding, in the text: - describe everything that is graphed - draw attention to the important features of the data - describe the conclusions drawn from the data on the graph - interplay between graph, caption and text is delicate - no iron rules but hard thinking. self-contained figures necessary. - error bars should be clearly explained : s.d., s.e., confidence interval?

Revising your graph Check the following: - no pseudo-dimensions - maximise data-ink ratio - erase non-data ink & redundant data ink, within reason - is the legend appropriate?

TCC course notes, page 11

Reviewing/evaluating figures (Exercise) 1. Is the figure necessary? Do the data justify a figure? Table? Can be written in the text? 2. Is the type of figure acceptable? Is a better type of figure necessary? (dot plot, multiple dot plots, co-plot, scatterplot vs. histogram or pie chart) 3. Data/ink ratio? Can this be improved? - can ink be eliminated and information retained? 4. Appearance: axis scale, labels (clear, not too many?), symbols (contrast, recognition). Do data fill the data rectangle? 5. Format: size, font type, ratio (vertical:horizontal, banked to 45 degree?) of figure. Is size appropriate? Do data points stand out? Does it withstand reduction? 6. Is the legend appropriate?

Useful resources: Tufte, Edward. R. 2003. The visual display of quantitative information. 2nd ed. Graphics Press, Cheshire, Connecticut, U.S.A. Tufte, Edward. R. 1990. Envisioning information. Graphics Press. Tufte, Edward. R. 1997. Visual explanations. Graphics Press. Tufte, Edward R. 2006. Beautiful evidence. Graphics Press. Cleveland, William S. 1993. Visualizing data. Hobart Press, U.S.A. Cleveland, William S. 1994. The elements of graphing data. Hobart Press, U.S.A. Edward Tufte‟s website: www.edwardtufte.com Bill Cleveland‟s website: http://cm.bell-labs.com/cm/ms/departments/sia/wsc/

Photographs & drawings How to control photo quality? best quality: no reduction/enlargement


- consider dimensions - reduction decreases quality – crop/frame the important part How? Experiment with cropping possibilities: Pen & ink illustrations: could be very useful, but only in good quality – by professional artist

15. TABLES First principle: a published table is NOT suitable for posters Do you need a table? – consider figure vs. table - only if repetitive data must be presented - not good science to publish data just because you measured them Tables should be self-explanatory (as figures) Title: economic use of words use footnotes (sparingly) avoid exponents (prone to printing problems) give details but not excessively

(mention method but not recipe)

use colour to highlight important parts Organisation: elements/comparisons read down, not across Think hard about the vertical sequence of rows and general arrangement of tables – often neglected. Use colour to emphasise individual numbers


Table 1, version 1: The effect of heating on water temperature. t (time)= 0', 3', 6', 9', 12', 15‟, T (temperature)= 25, 27, 29, 31, 32, 32 oC;

Table 1, version 2: The effect of heating on water temperature. Temperature (oC) Time (min) 25 0 27 3 29 6 31 9 32 12 32 15

Table 1, version 3. The effect of heating on water temperature. Time (min) Temperature (oC) 0 25 3 27 6 29 9 31 12 32 15 32


Table 1. Characteristics of seasonality (main activity periods and peak activity dates) and the number of individuals of Carabus nemoralis, C. hortensis, and C. coriaceus caught in 2004 and 2005, in Sorø West Zealand, Denmark. Year, habitat

Activity periods Early

Main

Late

Activity peak

No. individuals/ye ar

Carabus nemoralis 2005 Forest

02 May-17 May

17 May-24 Jun

24 Jun-03 Oct

27 May

46

Suburban

02 May-28 May

28 May-08 Sept

08 Sept-03 Oct

13 Aug

170

Urban

02 -15 May

15 May-17 Aug

17 Aug-03 Oct

23 Jun

85

Carabus hortensis 2004 Forest

06 May-03 Aug

03 Aug-12 Sept

12 Sept-11 Oct

16 Aug

328

Suburban

06 May-07 Aug

07 Aug-17 Sept

17 Sept-11 Oct

20 Aug

19

Forest

02 May-16 Jul

16 Jul-14 Aug

14 Aug- 03 Oct

07 Aug

237

Suburban

02 May-10 Aug

10-Aug-4 Sept

04 Sept-03 Oct

29 Aug

89

2005

Carabus coriaceus 2004 Forest

06 May-22 Aug

22 Aug-18 Sept

18 Sept-11 Oct

06 Sept

376

Suburban

06 May-23 Aug

23 Aug-15 Sept

15 Sept-11 Oct

3 Sept

444

Forest

02 May-09 Aug

09 Aug-07 Sept

07 Sept-03 Oct

17 Aug

121

Suburban

02 May-07 Aug

07 Aug-03 Sept

03 Sept-03 Oct

14 Aug

86

2005


16. THE WRITING PROCESS: how to write the first version What language to write in? English! Do not translate. Start with: material & methods Finish with: title & abstract Work in parallel on: results & figures-tables Introduction before discussion Reference list: gradually – do NOT leave until the end!

26. ORAL PRESENTATIONS 1: preparation and planning differences in relation to other forms of scientific communication: talk is ephemeral, no permanent record WHEN to give a talk? – when you have something to say No recirculation – possible exceptions exist published material – consider carefully General conference talk: 10 min + 5 min discussion not frequent: 10 times/lifetime! at stake: years of research time for talk = 1/time for preparation Clues for clarity – from magicians‟ practice (Tufte, E.R. 1997. Visual explanations, pp. 64 – 71) Magician creates illusion – uses DISINFORMATION design: - concealing important facts - obscuring issues - never telling the audience in advance what are they going to do - never performing the same trick twice in one evening Scientific talks seek to INFORM - do the opposite as magicians do What does the audience want? details? (NO) information? (YES) assess speaker? (YES) what do YOU want? To present interesting findings AND to impress audience about your qualities as a scientist Generality of audience >> generality of readership - fewer specialities - give definitions - explain difficult concepts (briefly) Structure:


as scientific paper, except: little methods detail few references clear conclusion Make them understand: - problem - why is this problem important - attempt to answer it - results - conclusions Helps a bit of redundancy helps “Tell them what you are going to tell them, tell them, and tell them what you have told them” Do not assume anything but do not consider the audience stupid Keep the audience informed about your intentions, where you are in your talk, what is ahead Give structure on slides: A-b-c-d, a-B-c-d, a-b-C-d, a-b-c-D To explain complex ideas, use PGP = particular – general – particular (table: point to a particular number, explain what it is – explain general structure – point to another example, explaining what it means GIVE HANDOUTS (on paper) packed with material related to your presentation - NOT a printout of your slides! figures, tables, paper on which talk is based, research methods, references creates credibility serves as permanent record STEPS IN DEVELOPING A TALK 1. Decide on the general topic/title 2. Evaluate the probable audience: theme, setting, session 3. Formulate the main message of your talk 4. Write an abstract with only the bare minimum around your central message 5. Develop a logical structure leading to that conclusion, including a) the problem setting b) your decided approach ('set the scene' w/illustrations of landscapes, habitats, organisms, methods) c) your results, point-by-point, supporting with evidence, figures, etc. d) the considerations supporting your main conclusion 6. Consider & prepare supporting evidence, inc. illustrations 7. Prepare handouts 8. Write/polish talk


Medium: TOOL to present thoughts – should be a secondary consideration Think of the substance – seek out the best medium to present it Technology is NOT a friend - the audience IS - quality: picture resolution - SLIDE >> overhead >or = computer - flexibility, last-minute preparation: computer-based > overhead > slide VIRTUAL advantage! (last minute thoughts are immature) - suboptimal /unknown presentation conditions: overhead > (carefully prepared) slides > computer - foolproofness: overhead > slide > > computer Be wary of possible glithces related to computer - immature take-up of new programs, - incompatibility between diff. versions of programs - uncontrollable projection quality, - coudl be slow if crashes & needs to be restarted PowerPoint style: Convenience for speaker – costly for audience PPP sets up a dominance relationship between speaker and audience: audience is forced to passively follow a hierarchical set of fast-moving bullet points, often stereotyped, aggressive, overmanaged Metaphor of PP – computer corporation in: programming: deep hierarchical structures, relentless sequentiality, nested, one-shortline-at-a-time And marketing: advocacy not analysis, more style than substance, misdirection, slogan thinking, fast pace, branding, exaggerated claims, marketplace ethics Extremely low resolution: too little information per slide Statistical graphs in PP extremely data-thin: 28 textbooks on PP data presentation contain 12 points/slide Problems with bullet points: Typically too generic Leave critical relationships unspecified: can only specify sequence, priority, or membership in a set Information transmission compromised: Talk 100-160 words/min – not high Figures: 5-40MB info yet easy to interpret Data density & perception not inverse linear, due to context 1460 PP text slides posted on Internet have 40 words/slide (median) 654 slides in PP textbooks: 15 words/slide (median) 3-4 s of reading


Causes: PP design style – uses 30-40% of available space + fills rest with bullets, frames, branding, phluff + Slide projection of text – large type required for reading + presenters who have little to say Audience boredom is content failure, not decoration failure Tufte's analysis of Columbia disaster PP slide Solution: PP is competent slide manager and projector of low-resolution material Use PP slides as frame for talk, expand on slides (never read slide!) Prepare and give out handouts (NOT slides!) Avoid sequential build-up of slides OR: avoid PP! Perception feature: Visual understanding  visual novelty All should aid understanding, not dazzle the audience. New information, unclear presentation method - blocks understanding. Style: the most simple! design purpose-made slides (not taken from paper or MS) horizontal, not vertical (zoom problem) only perfect slides - no excuse for bad ones consider possible presentation conditions: usually suboptimal! DK - top conditions to prepare slides BUT - presentation conditions? Photographs: good aid: habitats, equipment preferably horizontal show organisms, landscapes, methods, not only 'abstract', „scientific‟ figures landscapes that are INFORMATIVE (the case of the N.Z. carabidologist) “People like to see people” => but NOT posing in front of a quadrat slides to make a story 'human' - but not by irrelevant ones (see humour) keep perspective (the case of the N.Z. carabidologist, time)

Figures/graphs: one graph makes/supports one point Modest but determined use of colour: use colour to effect, not decoration - harmonic combinations, - clear shades,


- no transition, - no subtle or complex backgrounds, - no gimmicks - clean uncluttered font style, suitable size Text & text slides: readable letter type: serif NOT sans serif (difficult to read) simple, effective background maximum contrast between background & text light background, dark letters > dark background, light letters long message – break up or shorten no need for linguistically complete sentences – slides are aids to follow talk minimum of logo

27. ORAL PRESENTATIONS: giving the talk Presentation & style: be direct, simple, down-to-earth short sentences without jargon consider audience expert level make clear why do you present a particular figure, picture, etc. "this shows that...", "the main reason to show you this slide is that..." jokes - out humour - careful!! self-mocking - relatively safe "serious scientist" is ridiculous new formats: video, animation – be prudent give a definite ending – do not just fade out DO NOT - do the impossible: 2 years work crammed into 10 min - no one asked you to do this! - apologise (if no good material, do not present it) - give excuses (you had ample time to prepare) - pretend you have solved everything (not very probable) - cover parts of overhead, or build up slide bit-by-bit (this is not a surprise party) - read text (from text or slides) It is NOT a 'lecture' => inform, do not declare - be over time – be few minutes short - do not improvise! Several dry runs necessary

Decrease your level of excitement by knowing conditions: go to hall in advance of audience


familiarise yourself with set-up & controls view slides beforehand know how to use of microphone Being called: - wait for your turn. - pretend to be calm - be attentive – to prove that you are open to communicate not lecture - take deep breaths before starting - do not rush – stop briefly - do not change in the last minute! (IOC 1990) - smile at the audience, relax - the audience is not an enemy - thank the chairman - greet audience (briefly) - START Talk with gestures - do not restrain yourself, a little excess is OK you cannot give enough detail! - usually too little do not read - speak freely have a sketch of main points - do not have to USE it be confident - you know your data best slide - complement not repeat what you show = do not read slide! face the audience make eye contact do NOT speak when not facing the audience - stop do NOT apologise for anything (bad slide, hasty preparation, short time for talk, delay by other authors) beware of mannerisms verbal - 'you know', ...eer' behavioural: walking, gestures, juggling with chalk Sense of time: your clock ticks faster than audience's! (due to excitement) When something goes wrong: - try to prevent it – plan ahead - plan for disaster - backup option (overheads) - don't pretend nothing happened - continue if you can, but ask for chairperson's advice - do NOT blame others - does not help crisis solving (someone is furiously trying to help!) - NO joke on organisers Fatal disaster: current out, etc. - you have a right to remedy - be firm if short-changed (Florence, Intecol, 1998)


Questions: chairman directs questions not a cause for a second lecture repeat question help others – some may not have heard help yourself – make sure you understood point queried OK to disagree - not to be disagreeable do not have to know everything! giving credit does not decrease your status NO tricks – no open questions, no conspiracy to ask question After talk: be courteous, thank organisers, inc. technicians

28. POSTER PREPARATION AND PRESENTATION Purpose, organisation, presentation Increasing importance of posters – not inferior to talk More difficult - possibility of grilling by interested people for unlimited time purpose: NOT for those not present –discussion generator circumstances of presentation – the poster session Aim: brief, attention-generating => detail can be given personally Flier/info sheet nearby is useful for - further reference & - to contact authors - shows responsibility (not afraid to leave traces) Structure: special - tailored for "information overload" - needs to be very focused, concentrated, clear 1. 2. 3. 4.

question/problem experiment result conclusions (not discussion)

Organise in blocks – all parts of expt. 1 together Discussion – none – to be done personally References: minimal Illustrations: figures > tables Acknowledgements, etc. - minimum necessary Text: in two (or more) columns Title - short, attention-grabbing


Letter sizes: title min. 30 mm authors 20 mm text min. 5 mm author details, address - important (for later contact) indicate presenting author include E-mail address presenting author photo: not a place of fun; maximise information content - use passport photo Style - telegraphic Numbered statements OK Grammar - some liberty (incomplete sentences acceptable) Appearance – Size/dimensions: always well defined (80 x 120 cm, 120 x 100 cm) must be observed! But: do not have to fill space! => => small, well-organised > > large, empty General mistake: - too much information & clutter (lack of pre-planning) - overdecorated Mounting: be self-reliant (pins, tape, glue?) Planning important - experiment with layout in REAL dimensions - at early stage: make mock poster but real dimensions - write out title, authors, addresses in true size - write out main headings, reference, acknowledgements, all in true size -  available space becomes obvious - do NOT compromise on format or size – tailor content to fit space Design: for maximum ease of readability & comprehension Simple structure Short lines & sentences Do not use different fonts, colours Font: serif not sans serif – helps reading & comprehension Restraint with colour & typeface = illustrate, do not decorate Consistent structure (columns throughout, similar-sized figures, etc.) Use colour: to effect, not to decorate Use advertising techniques with great restraint The simpler, the better


Do not laminate – gloss Do not use background photo – obscures content Can be composed of different panels/parts Set of A4 size pages are OK Presenting: enthusiastically do NOT be apprehensive, high-handed, servile be open to discuss be prepared to give short ( meet them Some recommendations about style: 1. Let the facts speak: non-personal style preferred – you are not agreeing with or disagreeing with people, but your facts agree/not agree with other facts. 2. It is not a matter of different opinions – it is not enough to state your different opinion 3. Do not be judgmental: someone who agrees with you is not necessarily "brilliant" and those disagreeing are not "clueless".


4. Support yourself with published facts Some grammar: subject – should be followed by verb a.s.a.p. end of sentence: stress position – information to emphasise beginning: topic position one sentence = one point (!!) begin with old info, finish with new info (also from sentence to sentence) provide context before asking reader to consider new information Similes and metaphors - rarely and carefully "A virgin forest is a place where the hands of man has never set foot." Tense – present (existing, known, published facts) & past (your own, newly published results) Misuse of words Self-cancelling words / fillers Active vs. passive voice – active encouraged (British) – demanded (US) First person: "I" - not wrong! Singular – plural - carefully with numbers: 10 g was added - single dose/quantity 10 g were added - in several doses (a total of 10 g) numbers: different convention in different journals (write out until ten, twelve and use numbers >13), Three experiments - 13 experiments if measurable, ALWAYS with number (and unit): 1 m, 5 min exception: start of sentence - always in letters: Twenty thousand birds… Jargon - advantages & disadvantages Abbreviations - provide definition at first mention Mumblespeak: now vs. “at this point in time” See Day, p. 168 onwards for examples of word misuse & recommendations for


alternatives Final recommendation: READ, not only write - read poetry, fiction, popular science Ten commandments of good writing: 1. Each pronoun should agree with their antecedent. 2. Just between you and I, case is important. 3. Don‟t use no double negatives. 4. A preposition is a poor word to end a sentence with. BUT “This is a rule up with which I will not put.” – W. Churchill 5. Verbs has to agree with their subject. 6. Remember to never split an infinitive. – (this is a much debated rule) 7. When dangling, don't use participles. present participles: breaking, going, drinking past participles: broken, gone, drunk 8. Join clauses good, like a conjunction should. A conjunction cannot be used with just one clause. Conjunction joins TWO clauses, usually written as one sentence. Mistake: That I didn't know what to do. Correct: I explained that I didn't know what to do. 9. Don't write a run-on sentence it is difficult when you got to punctuate it so it makes sense when the readers read what you wrote. 10. About sentence fragments.


THE GRAND FINALE Karinthy – Igy irtok ti – the story of the corporal and the novices, the target shooting story This course was about form, not about the substance of science. Nothing helps you if you do not have substance. Be a scientist because of the joy and satisfaction of doing it - no other worthwhile reward Success, money, fame (you will discover) either avoids you or proves ephemeral and hollow.