Scientific paper structure_论文指导
why a scientific format?
the scientific format may seem confusing for the beginning science writer due
to its rigid structure which is so different from writing in the humanities.
one reason for using this format is that it is a means of efficiently
communicating scientific findings to the broad community of scientists in a
uniform manner. another reason, perhaps more important than the first, is
that this format allows the paper to be read at several different levels. for
example, many people skim titles to find out what information is available on
a subject. others may read only titles and abstracts. those wanting to go
deeper may look at the tables and figures in the results, and so on. the take
home point here is that the scientific format helps to insure that at
whatever level a person reads your paper (beyond title skimming), they will
likely get the key results and conclusions.
top of page
the sections of the paper
most journal-style scientific papers are subdivided into the following
sections: title, authors and affiliation, abstract, introduction, methods,
results, discussion, acknowledgments, and literature cited, which parallel
the experimental process. this is the system we will use. this website
describes the style, content, and format associated with each section.
the sections appear in a journal style paper in the following prescribed
order:
experimental process
section of paper
what did i do in a nutshell?
abstract
what is the problem?
introduction
how did i solve the problem?
materials and methods
what did i find out?
results
what does it mean?
discussion
who helped me out?
acknowledgments (optional)
whose work did i refer to?
literature cited
extra information
appendices (optional)
section headings:
main section headings: each main section of the paper begins with a heading
which should be capitalized, centered at the beginning of the section, and
double spaced from the lines above and below. do not underline the section
heading or put a colon at the end.
example of a main section heading:
introduction
subheadings: when your paper reports on more than one experiment, use
subheadings to help organize the presentation. subheadings should be
capitalized (first letter in each word), left justified, and either bold
italics or underlined.
example of a subheading:
effects of light intensity on the rate of electron transport
top of page
title, authors' names, and institutional affiliations
1. function: your paper should begin with a title that succinctly describes
the contents of the paper. use descriptive words that you would associate
strongly with the content of your paper: the molecule studied, the organism
used or studied, the treatment, the location of a field site, the response
measured, etc. a majority of readers will find your paper via electronic
database searches and those search engines key on words found in the title.
2. title faqs
3. format:
the title should be centered at the top of page 1 (do not use a title page -
it is a waste of paper for our purposes); the title is not underlined or
italicized.
the authors' names (pi or primary author first) and institutional affiliation
are double-spaced from and centered below the title. when more then two
authors, the names are separated by commas except for the last which is
separated from the previous name by the word "and".
for example:
ducks over-winter in colorado barley fields in response to
increased daily mean temperature
ima mallard, ura drake, and woodruff ducque
department of wildlife biology, university of colorado - boulder
top of page
the title is not a section, but it is necessary and important. the title
should be short and unambiguous, yet be an adequate description of the work.
a general rule-of-thumb is that the title should contain the key words
describing the work presented. remember that the title becomes the basis for
most on-line computer searches - if your title is insufficient, few people
will find or read your paper. for example, in a paper reporting on an
experiment involving dosing mice with the sex hormone estrogen and watching
for a certain kind of courtship behavior, a poor title would be:
mouse behavior
why? it is very general, and could be referring to any of a number of mouse
behaviors. a better title would be:
the effects of estrogen on the nose-twitch courtship behavior in mice
why? because the key words identify a specific behavior, a modifying agent,
and the experimental organism. if possible, give the key result of the study
the scientific format may seem confusing for the beginning science writer due
to its rigid structure which is so different from writing in the humanities.
one reason for using this format is that it is a means of efficiently
communicating scientific findings to the broad community of scientists in a
uniform manner. another reason, perhaps more important than the first, is
that this format allows the paper to be read at several different levels. for
example, many people skim titles to find out what information is available on
a subject. others may read only titles and abstracts. those wanting to go
deeper may look at the tables and figures in the results, and so on. the take
home point here is that the scientific format helps to insure that at
whatever level a person reads your paper (beyond title skimming), they will
likely get the key results and conclusions.
top of page
the sections of the paper
most journal-style scientific papers are subdivided into the following
sections: title, authors and affiliation, abstract, introduction, methods,
results, discussion, acknowledgments, and literature cited, which parallel
the experimental process. this is the system we will use. this website
describes the style, content, and format associated with each section.
the sections appear in a journal style paper in the following prescribed
order:
experimental process
section of paper
what did i do in a nutshell?
abstract
what is the problem?
introduction
how did i solve the problem?
materials and methods
what did i find out?
results
what does it mean?
discussion
who helped me out?
acknowledgments (optional)
whose work did i refer to?
literature cited
extra information
appendices (optional)
section headings:
main section headings: each main section of the paper begins with a heading
which should be capitalized, centered at the beginning of the section, and
double spaced from the lines above and below. do not underline the section
heading or put a colon at the end.
example of a main section heading:
introduction
subheadings: when your paper reports on more than one experiment, use
subheadings to help organize the presentation. subheadings should be
capitalized (first letter in each word), left justified, and either bold
italics or underlined.
example of a subheading:
effects of light intensity on the rate of electron transport
top of page
title, authors' names, and institutional affiliations
1. function: your paper should begin with a title that succinctly describes
the contents of the paper. use descriptive words that you would associate
strongly with the content of your paper: the molecule studied, the organism
used or studied, the treatment, the location of a field site, the response
measured, etc. a majority of readers will find your paper via electronic
database searches and those search engines key on words found in the title.
2. title faqs
3. format:
the title should be centered at the top of page 1 (do not use a title page -
it is a waste of paper for our purposes); the title is not underlined or
italicized.
the authors' names (pi or primary author first) and institutional affiliation
are double-spaced from and centered below the title. when more then two
authors, the names are separated by commas except for the last which is
separated from the previous name by the word "and".
for example:
ducks over-winter in colorado barley fields in response to
increased daily mean temperature
ima mallard, ura drake, and woodruff ducque
department of wildlife biology, university of colorado - boulder
top of page
the title is not a section, but it is necessary and important. the title
should be short and unambiguous, yet be an adequate description of the work.
a general rule-of-thumb is that the title should contain the key words
describing the work presented. remember that the title becomes the basis for
most on-line computer searches - if your title is insufficient, few people
will find or read your paper. for example, in a paper reporting on an
experiment involving dosing mice with the sex hormone estrogen and watching
for a certain kind of courtship behavior, a poor title would be:
mouse behavior
why? it is very general, and could be referring to any of a number of mouse
behaviors. a better title would be:
the effects of estrogen on the nose-twitch courtship behavior in mice
why? because the key words identify a specific behavior, a modifying agent,
and the experimental organism. if possible, give the key result of the study
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