ARS | Publication request: HOW TO WRITE A SCIENTIFIC PAPER

Submitted to: Inform
Publication Type: Other
Publication Acceptance Date: October 15, 2004
Publication Date: December 1, 2004
Citation: Bloomer, S., Haas, M.J. 2004. How to write a scientific paper. Inform. 15(12):761-763.

Technical Abstract: Separate from the process of conducting research is the process of communicating its results to the scientific community. Written scientific publications are the primary method of such communication. The publication of an article in a scientific journal is not an automatic event. Rather, an author submits a paper to a journal, which distributes it to 'reviewers' who analyze the contents and render decisions as to the acceptability of the paper for publication. Scientific content alone guarantees neither acceptance for publication nor an understanding of the experiment(s) being described by the eventual reader of the published manuscript. Style, approach, data presentation and analysis, and even adherence to journal format conventions bear on whether a paper will be accepted for publication. In the present paper the authors, both of whom author scientific papers regularly and also serve as Associate Editors for scientific journals reviewing between 20 and 60 manuscripts annually, provide guidance to prospective authors on the process of writing a scientific paper. From the initial identification and organization of the material to be included, to the final summation of the results, tips are presented that should ease the writing process and also lead to a manuscript with an increased probability of both acceptance for publication and comprehension when read.