Writing scientific research articles : strategies and steps / by Margaret Cargill and Patrick O'Connor.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Section 1. A framework for success:- 1. How the book is organized, and why :- Getting started with writing for international publication--Publishing in the international literature--Aims of the book--How the book is structured--2. Research article structures:- Conventional article structure: AIMRaD (Abstract, Introduction, Materials and methods, Results, and Discussion) and its variations--3. Referees\' criteria for evaluating manuscripts:- Titles as content sign posts--Section 2: When and how to write each articles section:- 4. Results as a story: the key driver of an article--5. Results: turning data into knowledge:- Figure, table or text?--Designing figures--Designing tables--Figure legends and table titles--6. Writing about results:- Functions of results sentences--Verb tense in results sections--7. The Methods Section:- Purpose of the methods section--Organizing method section--Use of passive and active verbs--8. The Introduction :- Five stages to a compelling introduction--Stage 1: Locating your project within an existing field of scientific research--Using references in stages 2 and 3--Avoiding plagiarism when using others\' work--Indicating the gap or research niche--Stage 4: The statement of purpose or main activity -- Suggested process for drafting an introduction--Editing for logical flow--9. The Discussion section:- Important structural issues--Information elements to highlight the key messages--Negotiating the strength of claims--10. The Title:- Strategy 1: Provide as much relevant information as possible, but be concise--Strategy 2: Use keywords prominently--Strategy 3: Choose strategically: noun phrase, statement, or question?-- Strategy 4: Avoid ambiguity in noun phrases--11. The Abstract:- Why abstracts are so important--Selecting additional keywords--Abstracts: typical information elements--Section 3: Getting your manuscript published:- 12. Considerations when selecting a target journal:- The scope and aims of the journal--The audience for the journal--Journal impact--Using indices of journal quality--Time to publication--Page charges or Open Access costs--13. Submitting a manuscript:- Five practices of successful authors--Understanding the peer-review process--Understanding the editor\'s role--The contributor\'s covering letter--Understanding the reviewer\'s role--Understanding the editor\'s role (continued)--14. How to respond to editors and referees:- Rules of thumb-- How to deal with manuscript rejection--How to deal with conditional acceptance or revise and submit--15. A process for preparing a manuscript:- Initial preparation steps--Editing procedures--A pre-review checklist--Section 4: Developing your publication skills further:- 16. Skill-development strategies for groups and individuals:- Journal clubs--Writing groups--Selecting feedback strategies for different purposes--Training for responding to reviewers--17. Developing discipline-specific English skills:- Introduction--What kinds of english errors matter most?--Strategic (and acceptable!) language re-use: sentence templates--More about noun phrases--Concordancing: a tool for developing your discipline-specific english--Using the english articles (a/an,the) appropriately in science writing--Using which and that--Section 5: Provided example articles:- 18. Provided example article 1: Kaiser et al.(2003)--19. Provided example article 2: Britton-Simmons and Abbott (2008).

This text guides authors in how to write, as well as what to write, to improve their chances of having their articles accepted for publication in international, peer reviewed journals.