Chemistry 247 + 347 + 348: Scientific Writing

For most of the history of scientific endeavour, science has been recorded on paper. In this digital era, however, there is increasing pressure to abandon paper in favour of digital tools. Despite the benefits, there are barriers to the adoption of such tools, not least their usability. As the relentless development of technology changes the way we work, we need to ensure that the design of technology not only overcomes these barriers, but facilitates us as scientists and supports better practice within science. This book examines the importance of record-keeping in science, current record-keeping practices, and the role of technology for enabling the effective capture, reuse, sharing, and preservation of scientific data. Covering the essential areas of electronic laboratory notebooks (ELNs) and digital tools for recording scientific data, including an overview of the current data management technology available and the benefits and pitfalls of using these technologies, this book is a useful tool for those interested in implementing digital data solutions within their research groups or departments. This book also provides insight into important factors to consider in the design of digital tools such as ELNs for those interested in producing their own tools. Finally, it looks at the role of current technology and then considers how that technology might develop in the future to better support scientists in their work, and in capturing and sharing the scientific record.

In the time since the second edition of The ACS Style Guide was published, the rapid growth of electronic communication has dramatically changed the scientific, technical, and medical (STM) publication world. This dynamic mode of dissemination is enabling scientists, engineers, and medical practitioners all over the world to obtain and transmit information quickly and easily. An essential constant in this changing environment is the requirement that information remain accurate, clear, unambiguous, and ethically sound. This extensive revision of The ACS Style Guide thoroughly examines electronic tools now available to assist STM writers in preparing manuscripts and communicating with publishers. Valuable updates include discussions of markup languages, citation of electronic sources, online submission of manuscripts, and preparation of figures, tables, and structures. In keeping current with the changing environment, this edition also contains references to many resources on the internet. With this wealth of new information, The ACS Style Guide's Third Edition continues its long tradition of providing invaluable insight on ethics in scientific communication, the editorial process, copyright, conventions in chemistry, grammar, punctuation, spelling, and writing style for any STM author, reviewer, or editor. The Third Edition is the definitive source for all information needed to write, review, submit, and edit scholarly and scientific manuscripts.

To be useful, scientific research needs to be explained clearly to others—to colleagues, to administrators, to foundations and governmental bodies, and to the public. This thoroughly revised edition of the classic How to Write and Publish a Scientific Paper gives beginning scientists and experienced researchers alike practical advice on writing about their work and publishing what they write.

To many science and engineering students, the task of writing may seem irrelevant to their future professional careers. At MIT, however, students discover that writing about their technical work is important not only in solving real-world problems but also in developing their professional identities.

The book helps scientists write papers for scientific journals. Using the key parts of typical scientific papers (Title, Abstract, Introduction, Visuals, Structure, and Conclusions), it shows through numerous examples, how to achieve the essential qualities required in scientific writing, namely being clear, concise, convincing, fluid, interesting, and organized. To enable the writer to assess whether these parts are well written from a reader's perspective, the book also offers practical metrics in the form of six checklists, and even an original Java application to assist in the evaluation.The focus of the book is on self- and reader-assisted assessment of the scientific journal article. It is also the first time that a book on scientific writing takes a human factor view of the reading task and the reader scientist. By revealing and addressing the physiological causes that create substantial reading difficulties, namely limited reader memory, attention span, and patience, the book guarantees that writing will gain the much coveted reader-centered quality.

The book helps scientists write papers for scientific journals.

Scientific Writing = Thinking in Words expounds principles that produce scientific articles in a wide range of disciplines that are focused, concise and, best of all, easy to write and read.

Meant as a companion to The ACS Style Guide, not a competitor, this book is an extraordinary resource for upper-level chemistry majors as well as graduate students faced with writing a journal article, a conference abstract, or a thesis. Full of prepared research projects and exercises, WriteLike a Chemist provides expert instruction ideal for students from diverse backgrounds, including both native and nonnative speakers of English.It is specifically designed to help students transition from the writing skills required in undergraduate lecture and laboratory classes to writing skills required by career chemists: a journal article, a scientific poster, and a research proposal. Each of these types of writing is directed towarda different audience, and writing for a journal requires a different writing style than writing a research proposal for the National Science Foundation. Thus to write like a chemist requires that one learns to write for different audiences. This book assists young scientists in developing thatessential writing skill.