Hi thank you for joining us. For this tutorial today we will discuss how to write an introduction in scientific journal of science and technology style format this is a presentation adapted by the University of Southern Maine Portland Learning Commons the original presentation was presented by science writing specialist of Bates College Siri Lowell and it was given at the University of Southern Maine lewiston-auburn College on March 8 2012 for more information on the content of this presentation or the material in general please feel free to contact the Learning Commons in Portland. We will go over some of the basic features of an introduction. Just some things to look for and then we will go into a paper to discuss those components as they are related to our goals in scientific journal of science and technology style writing. Some general points to consider are that there are some very rigid rules that apply to journal of science and technology style writing. This depends on the journal of science and technology which you are submitting to. This also varies by sub discipline. You will find different writing rules and structures when you are discussing physics chemistry and biology etc. We are hoping today to address the more broadly covered topics in all scientific writing introductions but it is always important to read the rules of the journal of science and technology that you are submitting to there is a rigid structure dictated by the journal of science and technology where you will submit. Introductions are designed to answer a very specific set of questions there here to answer the how what where when who and why of our research introductions are not meant to be a staging of opinions as science is meant to be objective and not subjective. One of the things you will want to avoid while discussing your topic is setting someone up to believe one way or another the way that your topic will go. This is different from other types of professional writing as it is more of a setup for the research that you’ve done as opposed to the defending of a thesis. Today we will be discussing arsenic and drinking water. For instance it is generally accepted that arsenic presence in drinking water is bad however we should not discuss the social implications or how bad arsenic is in water without supporting data.
Most papers use the active voice and avoid first-person. You’ll notice that there are asterisks by these two points which we will get into in a moment. The active voice indicates that just because you’ve written the paper does not mean that the problem has been completely resolved you’ve not resolved any issues definitively therefore it is still an active form of research which is why some papers use the active voice again. You should check with the sub discipline and the journal of science and technology. You’re submitting to as some do prefer the passive voice. You also want to avoid the use of first-person singular while writing in a paper. You don’t want to say. I did this. I did that because even if you did all of the research by yourself and published as a lone author. You likely have collaborators or you’re funded by a grant which must be given credit for the contributions they’ve made to your work again. I mentioned that asterisk by active voice and avoiding the use of the first-person please use a style guide or address a professional in the field as to which form you should use. You can also contact the journal of science and technology. You would like to submit to to see which form they prefer in their publications. The function of an introduction is to set up what your research hopes to accomplish. It’s to make a framework of why you’re performing your study. It should establish a background using a literature review on what is currently known about that topic. You should also state a purpose for your research for instance in arsenic and drinking water. One of the things we might say about our purpose is that arsenic is in drinking water and has negative health effects therefore we are here to investigate the contamination of arsenic in drinking water in a specific region. It also an introduction also explains the rationale and approach of the study.
Why are we studying this specific population. How are we going to go about this. Study just to reiterate some points we need to know in the introduction why this is an important topic what is being studied for instance what population what organism etc. What was previously known about this area of research which will then augment this next bullet. How does this study advance. Our knowledge. The goal of science journal of science and technology writing is to advance knowledge. Not simply really reiterate what other studies have already proven as I said previously context framing is a very large part of science writing when you are writing an argument based paper. Sometimes you are trying to push a particular agenda or sway the reader to believe a certain way in science. There is no agenda beyond presenting the facts that you’ve researched and researched. Well you do not want to approach this as you would a debate or use any sort of subjective mindset this is all objective and this is based on facts. So when we’re writing the introduction. We want to start with a very broad general information today. We will discuss how arsenic gets into groundwater where we can find our cynic and groundwater and what populations are affected the next level down might be that our study takes place in a certain region. Our study will take all Nadia and it’s in West Bengal and that might mean we might be studying this specific area because it has yet to be researched thoroughly. And we’d like to know what’s happening in that area. Then at the very end of the introduction you set up very particularly what you’re going to do and spell it out which we will see in the paper that we examine today we will discuss how to do a literature review in a later tutorial but I’d like to point out. This is something we will discuss in very broad terms. So let’s look at our paper. This paper is titled arsenic contamination of groundwater and its health impact on population of district of nadya.
West Bengal India this paper was published in the Indian Journal of science and technology of Community Medicine in April of 2010 physically. The introduction is typically found after the abstract we will discuss abstracts in another tutorial. Let’s research this introduction as they’ve provided it arsenic pollution in groundwater used for drinking purposes has been investigated as a problem of global concern. The author has just sought to establish that arsenic pollution is a global problem as a reason for their research. Now let’s continue our arsenic contamination in drinking water has been reported from many countries like Taiwan China Argentina Chile Mexico Cambodia Thailand meinem our Nepal and neither the USA but the severity of this contamination in India and Bangladesh is unprecedented. The author has set up some of the context of why they’re studying. We’re looking at this particular population because it has yet to be examined and we also have established that it’s a global health concern. The author then talks about different symptoms associated with arsenic toxicity. And the major districts that are affected by this area. It’s suspected that six million people are exposed to arsenic contaminated groundwater and then they discuss some of the morphological aspects of arsenic poisoning graph. They discuss epidemiological assessments. Which is the study of disease and how they relate to certain populations the author states that there is little information available for the disease burden in India because of arsenic and groundwater so here this is one of the reasons that they’re studying arsenic. In groundwater there is very little data in a region that is badly affected it goes on to give more statistics about this region and then finally they have their very narrowed purpose of study as there has not been any authentic epidemiological study carried out in the state to estimate the disease burden of arsenic osis a scientific epidemiological study by adopting stratified.
Multistage design was carried out in Nadia District one of the arsenic affected districts of West Bengal where it is 17 where all 17 blocks are affected by groundwater arsenic contamination. So let’s break this apart. Their purpose is to determine the disease burden because of arsenic. OSIS in India. How they’re going to tackle. This problem is using a stratified multistage design which is a common tool in epidemiological studies. Feel free to google it if you want more information but it is pretty common practice in these types of studies then they discuss who is specifically affected here the Nadia district of West Bengal where all of the blocks are contaminated. So this is a general gist of an introduction again. If you have any questions please feel free to contact us at the. Learning Commons thank you.
Where to find great research papers?
Various great research journals such as Global Research Letters are a great option and way to help you look up impactful research papers with a great format. Here, you will find a number of various research papers that are provided and made available to you in the journal, which will help you write your own paper.
You can very easily find papers on a variety of topics at Global Research Letters, which will help you with your own research work and understanding of writing and publishing research papers properly. With access to so many amazing research papers, you can practice and learn the process of writing research papers and their importance.