Forestry 545Titles, Authors and Abstracts

http://suewatts.forestry.ubc.ca/frst-545/

February 4, 2014

Dr Sue WattsFaculty of Forestry

University of British ColumbiaVancouver, BC CANADA

sue.watts@ubc.ca 1

General manuscript format Title Author(s) affiliations Abstract Introduction Materials & methods Results Discussion References

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Title

Remember the working title?

This was step #5 of laying your ground plan

You may come up with several working titles before you are ready to publish

After drafting the main section of your paper “refine” your title

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What is in a title?

Title needs to be:1. Interesting2. Concise3. Informative4. Accurate for electronic indexing

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What is in a title?

The title is the ultimate précis of your paper

May be used alone for indexing Many readers judge by title alone Title plus abstract form small

scientific report

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What is in a title?

A strong title identifies your field of study and separates your paper from all others in the field

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Title “rules”

1. Title’s words must characterize your paper

2. Title must provide clear and useful information

3. Be in past tense4. Be a maximum of 2 lines

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Title “rules”

1. Title words must characterize your paper

Words must indicate the most distinctive part of your work (max 3-4 details) Secondary details go to introduction

Have immediate comprehension to reader of a TOC

Include keywords picked up by indexing

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Title “rules”

2. Title must provide clear and useful information Avoid abbreviations (consider how you

would look for this type of information in an index)

Do not pose title as a mystery Choose words carefully

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Abbreviations

Should the title use HCl or hydrochloric acid?In an index most people would look under hy not hc

Now most large indexing services bring together DNA and deoxyribonucleic acid

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Abbreviations

Best rule is to avoid abbreviations in titles or use full name as well

Diameter at breast height (DBH) measurements of ..

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Avoid mystery titles

Does classical music increase Douglas-fir height growth?

What can whole-log export restrictions add to rural communities?

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Avoid empty titles

A new way to survey mountain pine beetle damage

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Word choice

Use no more than 3 modifiers for 1 noun

Large red 7-striped Guatemalan tarantulas ….

BetterLarge red Guatemalan tarantulas with 7 stripes

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Word choice

Watch out for dangling participles (dangling modifier of a noun)

Participle denotes the quantity, quality, extent of the thing being named – most end in ing, en or edMost often dangled is “using”

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Word choice

Dangling participle example

Using a hypodermic needle, dogs were immunized with sheep red blood cells

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Word choice

Dangling participle example

No ticks were found using the standard bait traps

No ticks were caught with the standard bait traps

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Word choice

Poor syntax

Preliminary canine and clinical evaluation of a new anti-tumour agent , Streptovitacin

Dog was evaluating new drug?

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Title “rules”

3.Titles should be past tense

When describing your own work you should use past tense

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Past tense titles

Example (wrong)Heavy rain decreases pollen production in Lonicera

Heavy rain decreased pollen production in Lonicera

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AST example

Avoid ASTs (assertive sentence titles)

Bacillus thuringiensis is an effective control agent for mountain pine beetle in northern BC

Bacillus thuringiensis controlled mountain pine beetle in northern BC

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Title “rules”

4. Max of 2 lines

Most journals prefer short titles Often 100 characters (10-12 words) Shorten by removing excess words

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Excess words

A title is not a sentence and does not need SVO

Cut “waste” words such as: Studies on Investigations of An opening A, An or The

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Excess words

Titles need to be short but not too short

Studies on mountain pine beetle

Not helpful

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Excess words

Titles need to be short but not too short

Most titles that are too short are so because they are too “general”

Need to be much more specificNeed to use genus, species and strains!

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Declarative titles

Declarative titles tell what the paper says

Not all journals allow them!

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Declarative titles

The effects of nitrogen on leaf length of Lonicera

As declarativeNitrogen increased the leaf length of Lonicera

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Declarative titles

WarningSome journals ban titles that make claims about the results

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Thesis titles

Thesis titles are a bit different to journal titles as they cover a much broader scope

Thesis titles often have a main heading with a more specific sub-heading (something not many journals allow)

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Paper series

If you are writing a series of papers on the same subject, title each one separately (do not number)Why

• Publishing can get out of sync easily• Journals do not like to feel “obliged”

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Hanging titles

Same as series titles but with colon rather than Roman numeralvery common in journals (Science)

results presented independently in each paper

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Hanging titles

DrawbackMay place emphasis on general term rather than significant one

ExampleMountain pine beetle outbreaks in BC: Impacts on the local communities

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General manuscript format Title Author(s) affiliations Abstract Introduction Materials & methods Results Discussion References

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Authors & addresses

Official criteria for authorship of medical journals set in Vancouver, 2002

1. Conceived & planned work or interpreted evidence

2. Written paper or taken part in revisions3. Approved the final version

All 3 must be met

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Authors

In the real world of research, much work is done by teams – each contributing different skills (intellectual and practical)

Medical criteria too restrictive? What about lab technician?

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Authors & collaboration

How many of you have committee members from another discipline?

With joint authorship, need to discuss the writing EARLY on so that it can be divided accordingly

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Authors & collaboration

Does not usually work to give each author a separate section as this weakens logical flow

Better to assign best writer as the group coordinator

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Author order

Usually most prominent author is first or last position with co-authors listed between in descending order reflecting level of contribution

Team leader usually decides on this ranking

Ideally, every contributor receives credit

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Author credits

Check with journal Adding a “credits line” with who did

what may be appropriate This could also be done in the

covering letter to the journal

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Author credits

Agreement on author order can lead to disputes

In one example, asking each author what share they believed that they had in writing the paper revealed some interesting stats

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Author credits

Ethically, any author listed on a paper should agree to take public responsibility for paper’s content

To agree to this really requires taking part in research and writing

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Author credits

Some authors listed should NOT be

Collected data only Grant proposal writing only General lab supervisor only

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Author credits

First author is usually referred to as senior authorHead of lab may “automatically” come first or second

Visibility is important – beyond 1st, 2nd or 3rd author you are invisibleinvisible

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Author credits

If all authors agree to be equal, then can list alphabetically (not common in N America)

Record for most number of co-authors is 488 from 30 different institutions (Physical Particle Physics)

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Author credits

Tendency to list multiple co-authors is sometimes linked to “publish or perish” syndrome

Many established scientists do not want dilution of their work by adding multiple co-authors

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Form of names as authors

Vinicius A LubeCindy E Prescott

NotVA LubeCE Prescott

why?

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Form of names

Consider Robert A Day

Search for RA Day brings up Rachel Day, Ralph Day…notRobert A Day

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Form of names

John D SmithNot John David Smith

Why?

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Form of names

Take the former dean as an example

John N Saddler JN Saddler John (Jack) Saddler John (Jack) N Saddler Jack Saddler John Saddler Jack N Saddler

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Author addresses

Addresses very useful identifying author (John Smith, Yale..)

For more than one author, addresses are listed in order of authors

Use a and b superscripts when more than one at same address

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Author addresses

Author addresses also useful for readers to obtain reprints

Journal usually asks for 1 author to be marked as “person to whom enquiries can be made”

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Copyright

You own the copyright to anything you write and publish (in N America for life + 50 years)

When you publish in a journal you transfer the copyright to them

Copyright laws still apply to copyright materials available through the internet

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Copyright

Copyright does not cover the ideas or the data itself (just the way in which they have been presented)

If you hold the copyright you can control the way that the work is reproduced and disseminated

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Copyright

“Fair Use” is allowed under copyright laws by teachers for the purposes of criticism, comment or news reporting

You must source any such use of copyrighted material

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General manuscript format Title Author(s) affiliations Abstract Introduction Materials & methods Results Discussion References

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Abstract v summary

Two are differentAbstract is written as an abbreviated version of the paper for someone who may never read the paperSummary restates the main findings and conclusions of a paper and is written for someone who has read the paper

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Abstract purpose

Help readers decide if they want to read full article

Make the title clear Help reader assess the level of difficulty of

the article Help reader rapidly gather competitive

intelligence Index articles for quick recovery and cross-

referencing

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Abstracts ISO requires abstract with every journal

article Length specified by journal or indexing

service (usually 200-250 words) Because abstracts appear in online

databases & abstract journals separated from the articles they describe, they should be complete and understandable on their own

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Abstract defined

By definition, an abstract provides an abbreviated but accurate presentation of the contents of a document without added interpretation or criticism and without distinction as to who wrote it

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Abstracts and titles

Title and abstract are always read together

Do not waste words by repeating title in abstract

Be as brief as possible but write in complete sentences that flow together logically

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Abstracts and keywords Most journals ask for 3-10 keywords Keywords are used for cross-indexing your

article under standard headings in large data bases

Choose keywords specific to your paper and some terms that categorize your paper more generally if work has an interdisciplinary content

Do not use words from title

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Abstracts and keywords

Consider my paper on the number of dorsal stripes on Guatemalan tarantulasPossible keywords

Central American spidersTarantulasGuatemalan arthropodsColouration of spidersDorsal stripes

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Abstracts and indexing

For an abstract to be useful in an online retrieval system it must incorporate the key terms that a potential researcher would use to search – this way extraneous items retrieved by a “full-text” search can be avoided

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Abstract types

Informative abstracts One paragraph containing purpose,

methodology, results & conclusion Used with reports of research

Indicative abstracts Sketch of topics without summarizing

evidence and conclusions Used with review articles

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Structured abstracts Sometimes used in medical journals

as miniatures of the actual paper This type uses sub-headings parallel

to the research article Usually longer, up to 400 words

BackgroundMethodsResults Conclusions

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Informative abstracts Address the same questions as the paper,

but without supporting tables or graphs Use complete sentences in same level of

technical language as article Choose active verbs instead of passive (the

study tested rather than it was tested by the study)

Must be complete enough to stand on its own

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Informative abstracts Do not use references Do not use abbreviations (some exceptions,

DNA, pH, USA) Do not use definitions Do not use phrasing such as “this report

presents conclusions and recommendations from a survey on carrot growth”

Avoid using I or we Do not refer to information that is not in the

article

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Informative abstracts

As an aid to database searches, abstracts may be used to provide synonyms for terms provided in the title

For example, if title uses “entomology”, abstract might use “insects”

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Informative abstracts

Informative abstracts must include Purpose – we did Methodology – we saw Results & conclusions – we concluded

All in 1 paragraph

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Abstract contents

PurposeState the background or reasons for your study placing the work in context (1-2 sentences)

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Abstract contents

MethodologyState the methods and describe at length only if unusual (1-2 sentences)

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Abstract contents

Results and conclusionsIndicate the main findings – this is essential (1-2 sentences)Include 1 sentence giving the most important consequence of the work (telling what the results mean)

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How to write an abstract

Read the article with the goal of abstracting in mind

Highlight the objectives and conclusion(s) in the article (introduction and discussion usually cover this)

Write a rough draft without looking back at the paper

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How to write an abstract

Do not rely on the way material was phrased in the article – summarize information in a new way

Rephrase sentences until they are direct and concise

Eliminate wordiness Revise your abstract, checking for

how well your ideas flow

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Checklist for a good abstract Should be readable, well organized, brief

and self contained Should not repeat the title Should not refer to “this paper..”, but

should be about the research Should not refer to information not in the

paper The abstract should be about the

research, not about the act of writing

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Checklist for a good abstract

It is generally true that a good abstract is followed by a good paper

A poor abstract is a harbinger of woes to come

A brief and clear abstract using significant words will impress the editor, reviewers and readers

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Assignment #2 worth 20%

Write an informative abstract, provide a title and include 3-6 keywords for one of the 2 “almost” published journal articles handed out in class

Use between 200 and 250 words for your abstract

Follow the rules provided in this class

Due date March 4, 2014sue.watts@ubc.ca

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