Hanna Niemelä, LUT Energy

SCIENTIFIC WRITINGSome Basic Guidelines

Hanna NiemeläLUT Energy, Electrical Engineering

Hanna Niemelä, LUT Energy

Is the general layout of the text important?

Isn’t the information content that really matters?

Hanna Niemelä, LUT Energy

CREDIBILITY

What makes a text unconvincing?Serious mistakes:

• Fatal grammar errors, misspelling• False or mixed layout• Unfinished general impression• OK in principle, yet against conventions

Hanna Niemelä, LUT Energy

What may happen if I neglect the layout?

The reader cannot follow my thinking → my work fails: it does not qualify as a seminar/conferencepaper or thesis, or I get a poor grade

Hanna Niemelä, LUT Energy

What’s the use of polishing the text?

Personal benefits:

• My ideas are understood • My work will pass; I may get a good grade• Well-made material may prove useful also in the future• → ”survival” as a student, post-graduate student,

researcher, member of the academic community

Hanna Niemelä, LUT Energy

FIRST THINGS FIRST

THE FUNCTION OF THE TEXT IS DECISIVE:• MAKE CLEAR FOR YOURSELF WHAT YOU ARE DOING, WHY, AND FOR WHOM

(medium)

→ THESE DECIDE THE FORM AND LAYOUT OF YOUR WORK

Hanna Niemelä, LUT Energy

EXISTING GUIDES AND MANUALS

To save your effort,

BEFORE STARTING THE WRITING PROCESS,

check what guides and manuals there are available

Hanna Niemelä, LUT Energy

…continued

Benefits of ready-made guides:

• The correct form adopted at once; ”official” rules and instructions

• May include concrete examples that are useful as a model

Hanna Niemelä, LUT Energy

EXISTING WORKS AS MODELS

Sometimes the only possibility

+ may provide a template (cf. articles, papers)+ in compliance with the conventions in the field+ facilitates and speeds up your own work (model phrases, tables,

figures, etc.)

Hanna Niemelä, LUT Energy

• Discuss with your tutors, teachers, professors, peer students• Be active: compare various works and related publications

WHAT’S THE POINT OF THIS?

Hanna Niemelä, LUT Energy

BENEFITS

• With careful and thorough background work, you have gathered plenty of useful material and models that facilitate and speed up your work

• You save time and effort in the actual writing process

Hanna Niemelä, LUT Energy

TOOLS

• Various instructions and guides at the department and university homepages and in print (e.g. seminar courses)

• Material from peer students• take advantage e.g. of presentations of other students and

their comments as opponents• General and personal tutoring (teaching staff, tutors)• Plenty of material (printed, electronic) on scientific writing

Hanna Niemelä, LUT Energy

MATERIAL AT LUT HOMEPAGES

Instructions available at

University › Studies › Student Tools › Instructions ›Instructions for Engineering

Hanna Niemelä, LUT Energy

Material at the Dept. of Electrical Engineering

Guidelines for Scientific Writing Written to support the instructions for master’s thesis

Practical instructions on layout, style and practices of scientific writingUniversity › Faculty of Technology › LUT Energy › Studies ›

Master's Degree Programme in Energy Technology › Degree Structure & Courses › Instructions

WORTH READING BEFORE YOU START THEWRITING PROCESS!

Hanna Niemelä, LUT Energy

COMPOSITION OF THE TEXT

SOME CRITERIA OF GOOD SCIENTIFIC WRITING:• Be informative• Be logical• Scientific back-up: justify your ideas with correct references to the

existing academic knowledge on the subject• Follow the conventions and norms in the field

Hanna Niemelä, LUT Energy

IMRAD format(Introduction, Materials and Methods, Results, And Discussion)

INTRODUCTION− Research topic and questions − Objectives and framework of the research (field) − Short introduction to theories applied in the work, core concepts − Brief description of the structure of the work

MATERIALS AND METHODS− Theory and methods applied: accurate, unambiguous description and justifications− Appropriate referencing to the source material

Hanna Niemelä, LUT Energy

IMRAD format (cont.)

RESULTS− Logical and compact presentation of the key results− Logical and systematic analysis of the results in a structured manner

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS− Interpretation and discussion of the results and the research topic − Critical evaluation of the results and their reliability− Reaching the set objectives: assessment − Self-evaluation and criticism: success of the work − Further research on the topic, future work

Hanna Niemelä, LUT Energy

TITLE OF YOUR WORK

• compact, unambiguous and informative• The title has to correspond to the contents of the work!• Bear in mind the search by key words

• Consider the possible key words and their position in the title

Hanna Niemelä, LUT Energy

ABSTRACT

− General information about abstracts atUniversity › Studies › Student Tools › Instructions › Instructions for Engineering

− WHAT and WHY: research topic and key problems & research questions− HOW: methodology and research data− KEY RESULTS− CONCLUSIONS

Hanna Niemelä, LUT Energy

…continued

− Complete, concise, logical sentences− Coherent, informative paragraphs linked as a consistent whole − Abbreviations: define, write as whole words− Stick to the terminology used in the thesis− Key words

Hanna Niemelä, LUT Energy

TABLE OF CONTENTS ANDCHAPTER HEADINGS

General instructions for the table of contents and the chapter headingsin the LUT instructions as well as in various other English writing manuals

NOTE:• Make sure that the heading corresponds to the contents of the chapter/section• stick to the selected spelling and the use of articles• be consistent • aim at symmetry in style• the length of the heading may vary; however, try to avoid too long constructions (one

line as a limit)

Hanna Niemelä, LUT Energy

…continued

• Compile a preliminary draft outline (table of contents) at the very beginning; use it as a check list and a guiding line as your work proceeds

• The working outline is naturally revised as the work progresses

Hanna Niemelä, LUT Energy

Assessing the credibility of sources

− Does the source provide information about the subject to be studied?− Who is the writer?− Is he an authority in his/her field? Competence? − Is there some background organization (or sponsor)? Motive?

Viskari (2003)

Hanna Niemelä, LUT Energy

…continued

− Has the academic quality of the publication been assessed (e.g. referee system)?

− Does the publication refer to scientifically acceptable sources according to correct documentation standards;

− Is it possible to assess the information against several other sources giving the same information?

− When the material has been written?

Viskari (2003)

Hanna Niemelä, LUT Energy

REFERENCES

Start to compile a references list at the very beginning –you significantly ease your own job at the final stages of the work

Hanna Niemelä, LUT Energy

…continued

• Before starting, check the standard applied (e.g. from course/dept/university homepages, tutors,teachers, publisher’s instructions)

• The most common ones: Harvard (author & year), Vancouver (number)

Hanna Niemelä, LUT Energy

…continued

• Make notes of all the literature you have read for your work; this information may prove valuable later in the process

• Write down the sources you actually mention in the text; only the sources quoted in the text are listed in references

Hanna Niemelä, LUT Energy

…continued

• Sources in languages other than English: to describe the contents of the source, translations for the titles of sources written in other language than English should be given in square brackets after the title. Note: different practices

• Also the note in Finnish (Russian, German, etc.) should be given in brackets after other reference information.

Hanna Niemelä, LUT Energy

…continued

• Useful information on Harvard documentation standard:(Leeds Metropolitan University)http://www.leeds.ac.uk/library/training/referencing/harvard.htm#Book

− Detailed examples also at:http://www.le.ac.uk/library/sources/subject3/harvard.html

(University of Leicester)

These pages include useful information e.g. on the documentation of electronic sources.

Hanna Niemelä, LUT Energy

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

• If your work has an acknowledgments section, remember to check the proper names of institutions (also their translations if required) and the titles of persons mentioned in the text

• Do not translate names yourself; always check first whether there is an official translation available (e.g. on the institution’s websites)

• The grants, stipends, scholarships etc. all have to be mentioned in this section

Hanna Niemelä, LUT Energy

INTRODUCTION

− The introductory chapter should include at least• The objectives of the work (central research questions, hypotheses)• An overview on the present state of research in the field; the role/position of the

current study in this field• The legitimacy of this work: Why is this work necessary? What is its novelty value?

Who needs it?• The outline of the work; the structure (brief introduction of the chapters)• Introduction of the methodology and core theories applied in the work

Hanna Niemelä, LUT Energy

…continued

• To ease getting grasp of the work, you can also present the above issues in a compact form (e.g. by tables, graphs, figures, etc.)

• Note: introduction and conclusions are often the only sections of the work first browsed through; write them well!

Hanna Niemelä, LUT Energy

…continued

Remember that the introduction has to be updated and revised throughout the writing process.

The final polishing takes place at the very end of the process.

This way you make sure that the introduction and the contents correspond to each other.

Hanna Niemelä, LUT Energy

CHAPTERS OF THE WORK

• First, describe in brief the core contents and structure of the chapter• Cohesion inside each paragraph, linking paragraphs together as a coherent

whole• use transitional words and orienting phrases (furthermore, similarly, moreover,

and, also, thus, therefore, however, though, nevertheless) to link the sentences as well as consecutive paragraphs together. → show that you understand yourself what you are writing and that you have processed the information NO COPY-PASTE!

− Awareness of the structure of the text is important because the− consistent structure is easily lost in the writing process especially− when you cut, copy and paste your text.

Hanna Niemelä, LUT Energy

DOCUMENTATION STANDARDS

• Information from an external source can never be used only as such; therefore

• process (i.e., assess, analyse, and condense) the information and express it in your own words

Hanna Niemelä, LUT Energy

HONEST DOCUMENTATION PRACTICES

• Indicate the source precisely (also a page number may be required, if you refer to a limited section of the work cited) and place the reference correctly

• Exact quotes have to be indicated with quotation marks (it is yet preferable to try to express the ideas in your own words to show that you have processed the information)

Hanna Niemelä, LUT Energy

PLAGIARISM

• copying another person’s ideas (textual or numerical information, images, figures, or any other data) without acknowledging the source of information

• copy-paste plagiarism: direct copying of material without indicating the source

• word switch plagiarism: making only slight adjustments to the original

PLAGIARISM IS ALWAYS A SERIOUS OFFENCE!

Hanna Niemelä, LUT Energy

DOCUMENTATION STANDARDS: VISUAL MATERIAL

• The general documentation rules hold also for illustrations (images, figures, diagrams, etc.): the source and copyright have always to be mentioned.

• In uncertain cases, it is always advisable to contact the copyright holder to ensure the permission to publish the illustration.

Hanna Niemelä, LUT Energy

VERBS

Commenting, agreeing, disagreeing, makingstatements:

• acknowledge, admit, demonstrate, indicate, point out, prove, report, show

• allege, argue, assert, believe, claim, imply, propose, say, suggest

Hanna Niemelä, LUT Energy

CRITICISM

• Expressing criticism in a foreign language may be difficult• Use ”hedging phrases” for protection:

It has been suggested, it seems that, slightly, to some degree, we may argue

Hanna Niemelä, LUT Energy

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS

• Together with intro, the conclusions section is often the part of the work first browsed through → it should provide a representative summary of the whole work.

• AIM AT a compact, comprehensible package presenting …

Hanna Niemelä, LUT Energy

…continued

• the core results of the work• its novelty value

= the main contributions to the field

HERE, BY SUMMING UP THE PREVIOUS CHAPTERS AND PRESENTING WELL-FORMULATED CONCLUSIONS, YOU FULFIL THE PROMISES YOU

MADE IN THE INTRODUCTION!

Hanna Niemelä, LUT Energy

…continued

To promote compactness and readability in the conclusionssection, use• subheadings to outline the text• tables, lists, illustrations• compact structuring and layout of the text

Hanna Niemelä, LUT Energy

…continued

Discuss the results and contribution of the work in present tense:• you bring your results to a more general academic level• the summary serves as an independent text describing the research and its

results• interactive function: allows the reader to join in discussing the work• Reproducibility of the results• Note: completed events, tests, etc. may be described in past tense

Hanna Niemelä, LUT Energy

…continued

• Show that you are able to present criticism and to point some deficiencies concerning your work

• Present and discuss the criticism also in earlier chapters • Mention issues that received limited attention or problems that were left

unsolved. Naturally, it is not advisable to deliberately seek difficulties with the examiners or the opponent – justify your solutions and make suggestions for future work.

Hanna Niemelä, LUT Energy

…continued

• the conclusions section should also include an independent section on subjects of further/future study introducing the future prospects or ongoing projects on the issue

Hanna Niemelä, LUT Energy

Checklist

− Layout of the title pages, symbols and abbreviations− Abstract: correspondence with the text, coherence, information content, key

words− Chapter headings: spelling, consistency, correspondence with the table of

contents (remember to update!)− Text paragraphs, placement of figures and tables − Everywhere in the text: spelling, punctuation, grammar, tense, concord

between subject and verb− Referencing in the text, reference list

Hanna Niemelä, LUT Energy

MISCELLANEOUS WORTH REMEMBERING

• Titles and trademarks of software: if you apply some software (e.g. for computation, simulation, modeling, or drawing), check the correct spelling

• Check the spelling and language variant (Br. / Am. English)• More on polishing the text in Guidelines for scientific writing