From Research to Manuscript: A Guide to Scientific Writing

by Michael Jay Katz

Observations Plus Recipes It has been said that science is the orderly collection of facts about the natural world. Scientists, however, are wary of using the word ‘fact. ’ ‘Fact’ has the feeling of absoluteness and universality, whereas scientific observations are neither ab- lute nor universal. For example, ‘children have 20 deciduous [baby] teeth’ is an observation about the real world, but scientists would not call it a fact. Some children have fewer deciduous teeth, and some have more. Even those children who have exactly 20 deciduous teeth use the full set during only a part of their childhood. When they are babies and t- dlers, children have less than 20 visible teeth, and as they grow older, children begin to loose their deciduous teeth, which are then replaced by permanent teeth. ‘Children have 20 deciduous [baby] teeth’ is not even a complete scientific sta- ment. For one thing, the statement ‘children have 20 deciduous teeth’ does not tell us what we mean by ‘teeth. ’ When we say “teeth,” do we mean only those that can seen be with the unaided eye, or do we also include the hidden, unerupted teeth? An observation such as ‘children have 20 deciduous teeth’ is not a fact, and, by itself, it is not acceptable as a scientific statement until its terms are scientifically, ‘children have 20 deciduous teeth’ must be accompanied by definitions and qualifiers.

Genres: Research, Education

224 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2006

About the author

Michael Jay Katz is a theoretical biologist. He earned his BA from Harvard University and then gained his MD and a PhD at Case Western Reserve University. He has taught anatomy and physical diagnosis in the medical school of Case Western Reserve University for thirty years. Michael has written many books, professional papers, and essays. He is a contributing editor for Taber’s Medical Dictionary.

His currently an Associate Professor of Bio-Architectonics at Case Western Reserve University in the Department of Anatomy.

Reviews

[Essam Munir · Rating 3 out of 5]

It is a good introductory book for young researchers. What's really good about it is the skeletons described for each section of the paper.

[Roxanna López · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is more directed at paper-based research and the way is written make it seem that is oriented for a highschool or first year of college audience. Not too bad but not so deep either.

[Sam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pedantic outlining of scientific writing all the way to publishing.

[Hui · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great book for beginners of the academic career. Or when you get lost in academic writing.

[Carson Spencer · Rating 3 out of 5]

An ironic case study on the importance of writing concisely.

[Anna · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was suggested reading for me from a colleague. I found it useful, it is aimed at people beginning their science career. I found lot of useful hints, but I have to say I skipped a lot of the examples. I think they would've been useful had I not understood the point, but since they were mostly from the field of chemistry or medicine, I just found them hard to read. It would've been helpful, if the examples were from physics/astronomy. However, I got some good general article writing tips and I think reading this will improve my research reporting. So, I'm glad I read it (especially since I really need to start writing) but I don't think I need my own copy of the book.

[Anna · Rating 1 out of 5]

Can I give this a zero star? This books has advise the just about every other book in this topic advises against. The information is resented in a way that is too wordy and unclear. In back cover it says "Written in simple, straightforward language." I beg to differ!. This book needs a good thorough editing for the next edition.

[Wendy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is great. Changed how I write and made another enthusiastic rewrite possible.
This will also change how I experiment.

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a good reference book. I used it as a reference when writing my Master's thesis.

[Ali · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's pretty good book for anyone who is not familiar to writing scientific paper. I highly recommended.
It's for beginners and not for professonals.