Should I do a PhD?

A deviation from the standard

For those who are befuddled by stats:

Dr Helena Ward: Why scientists write!

Helena writes as an academic with a strong publication list. See her home page.

I found this quote a couple of years ago and I think it neatly summarises the importance of communication skills for scientists: “Science exists because scientists are writers and speakers” (Montgomery, 2003, The Chicago Guide to Communicating Science, University of Chicago Press, Chicago).

Science is not only about doing science, the practical aspects of research and experimentation, but also the communication of the process, the results and perhaps most importantly the failures. Scientists create and share knowledge and so need to develop the skills to reach the various audiences who will read their work. This can be a challenge as the use of specialised, technical language can act as a barrier to clear, concise communication.

One of the most important considerations is the audience: who is going to read your work?
There are a number of forms of scientific writing and the style and format you use will vary, depending on who is going to read the final product.

Practical Reports, which summarise scientific experiments, often have the general format of Introduction, Method, Results and Discussion. This provides a framework which follows the various stages of the scientific method and also reflects the format required by many scientific journals. Such reports are usually written in the “passive” voice, e.g. the bacteria were centrifuged, rather than the “active” voice, e.g. I centrifuged the bacteria.

Technical reports, which may require specific recommendations on future actions, may be intended for a scientific audience, such as a company. In some cases reports will be read by a variety of interested parties, including Government, research scientists and the public. This means you will need to carefully consider the type of language you use.

• Do you need to provide a list of scientific definitions and abbreviations?
• Can you use examples to clearly explain certain concepts?
• How will you use diagrams, tables, etc to illustrate your work?
  

Whatever type of scientific writing you do, first consider your audience and then the best way to get your message across. By developing your scientific writing skills, you will be able to communicate your scientific knowledge and take part in the wider scientific community.

I’ll finish with another quote about science, which I think summarises the challenge of scientific research. “Discovery consists of seeing what everybody has seen and thinking what nobody has thought.” (Albert Szent-Gyorgyi, 1962).

Helen Ward

Senior Lecturer: Academic Development

Writing to impress!

No-one has more interest than students in writing to impress their readers.

Writing for assessment is your main way of demonstrating what you have learned. No matter how well you can perform technically, whether it’s designing or building equipment, or conducting experimental work, the quality of your writing can make or break you in assessment.
The person who reads your work is important to you so you need to think about that reader's needs. Make sure your readers finds reading your work interesting and enjoyable. This means attending to the quality not merely the content of your writing.

A few pointers:
To ensure that your work is credible you need to read and cite the best sources you can find in your professional field

• Ensure your search skills enable you to find those sources
  

Keep comprehensive records of your reading so that you can readily track the best ideas back to their source/s

• Use a Reading Log to develop a more analytical approach to reading
  

Make sure you understand the demands of the genre e.g. if you’re writing a report how do you organize the present your information in report form?

Learn to paraphrase well – see how others do it in the readings that impress you

• Use the recommended referencing system exactly
  

Allow yourself enough time to revise your work comprehensively.

If you know you do not write well in English you will need to allow extra revision time. Final papers that include spelling and grammatical errors make it very difficult for your reader/marker to understand what, if anything, you have learned. Avoid sabotaging yourself.

Tip: plan your writing schedule to allow for revision time. For example you may need at least one full day between the drafting and revising stages when writing a major paper. Taking a break between these stages allows you to see your draft more objectively.

I hope you find that any extra care you put into writing about your learning is worth every minute.

Helen

Helen Johnston

Lecturer: Learning Adviser

Learning Connection: Mawson Lakes