Writing & Peer Review

A Resource we should all consider before beginning to write… or even research!

Dr. John Ioannidis has been named “one of the most influential scientists alive” by The Atlantic, which also awarded him the Brave Thinker scientist honor in 2010. His thought-provoking article, “Why Most Published Research Findings Are False,” has been the most-accessed article in the history of the Public Library of Science with over 1 million hits. Ioannidis remains one of the top-cited scientists worldwide and continues to create discussions about the process of research.

And…

Scientific misconduct (if relatively minor) can lead to a ban from granting agencies, which we would associate with a professional death sentence. This was initially the case for Dong-Pyou Han, a HIV vaccine research at the University of Iowa in Ames, whose offense for falsifying HIV vaccine data was a 3-yr ban from grants from the NIH. However, the case attracted attention from a US senator, and Han was eventually sentenced to 57 months and fined $7.2 M! While many cases of misconduct result in funding bans, here is an example of a much more serious penalty.

From Nature: US vaccine researcher sentenced to prison for fraud

This is the checklist for Nature submissions.

Writing

Scientific Articles

Ten Simple Rules for Getting Published by Phillip E. Bourne

“When you are long gone, your scientific legacy is, in large part, the literature you left behind and the impact it represents. I hope these ten simple rules can help you leave behind something future generations of scientists will admire.”

How To Write A Scientific Article by Barbara J. Hoogenboom, PT, EdD, SCS, ATC¹ and Robert C. Manske, PT, DPT, SCS, ATC²

“The task of writing a scientific paper and submitting it to a journal for publication is a time‐consuming and often daunting task… Having an understanding of the process and structure used to produce a peer‐reviewed publication will surely improve the likelihood that a submitted manuscript will result in a successful publication.”

How to Write Guide: Introduction to Journal-Style Scientific … by Bates College Resource

“The format and structure presented here is a general one; the various scientific journals, and oftentimes specific disciplines, utilize slightly different formats and/or writing styles. Mastery of the format presented here will enable you to adapt easily to most journal- or discipline-specific formats.”

Writing A Scientific Research Article by Columbia University Resource

“A major part of any writing assignment consists of re-writing.”

“In my writing, I average about ten pages a day. Unfortunately, they’re all the same page.” – Michael Alley, The Craft of Scientific Writing

Dissertation

Write Your PhD Thesis In One Month Or Less by Michelle Capes

“Thesis/dissertation writing need not be a multi-month ordeal that makes you pull your hair out and roll up into a fetal position. The trick is to get a head start, set goals and deadlines, and work steadily—not feverishly…”

Writing Your Dissertation in Fifteen Minutes a Day (book) by Joan Bolker, Ed.D.

“Joan Bolker, midwife to more than one hundred dissertations and co-founder of the Harvard Writing Center, offers invaluable suggestions for the graduate-student writer.”

Funding

Ten Simple Rules for Getting Grants by Phillip E. Bourne and Leo M. Chalupa

“At the present time, US funding is frequently below 10% for a given grant program. Today, more than ever, we need all the help we can get in writing successful grant proposals. We hope you find these rules useful in reaching your research career goals.”