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Howtowritearesearchpaper

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Laboratory
Studies

Recordkeeping,
Writing,
&DataAnalysis

Laboratory
Methods

Overview
Microscopestudies
Flagellaexperiment
Laboratorymath
Bloodfractionation
Gelelectrophoresis
Proteingelanalysis
Mitochondria
Concepts/theory

Overview
Keepingalab
notebook
Writingresearch
papers
Dimensions&units
Usingfigures(graphs)
Examplesofgraphs
Experimentalerror
Representingerror
Applyingstatistics

Overview
Principlesofmicroscopy
Solutions&dilutions
Proteinassays
Spectrophotometry
Fractionation&
centrifugation
Radioisotopesanddetection

Writingresearch
papers
Quicktabsto
partsofa
researchpaper
(thispage)
Titlepage
Abstract
Introduction
Materials&
Methods
Results
Discussion
Literature
Cited
Otherresources
Common
errorsin
student
research
papers
Selected

WritingResearchPapers
Writingiseasy.Allyoudoisstareatablanksheetofpaperuntildropsofblood
formonyourforehead.GeneFowler
Amajorgoalofthiscourseisthedevelopmentofeffectivetechnicalwriting
skills.Tohelpyoubecomeanaccomplishedwriter,youwillprepareseveral
researchpapersbaseduponthestudiescompletedinlab.Ourresearchpapersare
nottypical"labreports."Inateachinglabalabreportmightbenothingmore
thananswerstoasetofquestions.Suchanassignmenthardlyrepresentsthekind
ofwritingyoumightbedoinginyoureventualcareer.
Writtenandoralcommunicationsskillsareprobablythemostuniversalqualities
soughtbygraduateandprofessionalschoolsaswellasbyemployers.Youalone
areresponsiblefordevelopingsuchskillstoahighlevel.

Resourcesforlearningtechnicalwriting
Beforeyoubeginyourfirstwritingassignment,pleaseconsultallofthe
followingresources,inordertogainthemostbenefitfromtheexperience.
Generalformofatypicalresearcharticle
Specificguidelines(ifany)fortheassignmentseethewriteupson

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writingrules

individuallabstudies
McMillan,VE."WritingPapersintheBiologicalSciences,ThirdEd."
NewYork:Bedford/St.Martin's,2001.ISBN0312258577
(REQUIREDforBioc211,311,recommendedforothersciencecourses
thatincludewriting)
Writingportfolioexamples(pdf)
Asyoupolishupyourwritingskillspleasemakeuseofthefollowingresources
Instructorfeedbackonpreviousassignments
Commonerrorsinstudentresearchpapers
Selectedwritingrules(somewhatlessseriousthantheotherresources)
ForBiosciencesmajorsthegeneralguidelinesapplytofuturecoursework,as
canbeseenbyexaminingtheguidelinesfortheadvancedexperimentalsciences
researchpaper(Bioc311).

Generalformofaresearchpaper
Anobjectiveoforganizingaresearchpaperistoallowpeopletoreadyourwork
selectively.WhenIresearchatopic,Imaybeinterestedinjustthemethods,a
specificresult,theinterpretation,orperhapsIjustwanttoseeasummaryofthe
papertodetermineifitisrelevanttomystudy.Tothisend,manyjournals
requirethefollowingsections,submittedintheorderlisted,eachsectiontostart
onanewpage.Therearevariationsofcourse.Somejournalscallforacombined
resultsanddiscussion,forexample,orincludematerialsandmethodsafterthe
bodyofthepaper.ThewellknownjournalSciencedoesawaywithseparate
sectionsaltogether,exceptfortheabstract.
YourpapersaretoadheretotheformandstylerequiredfortheJournalof
BiologicalChemistry,requirementsthataresharedbymanyjournalsinthelife
sciences.

Generalstyle
Specificeditorialrequirementsforsubmissionofamanuscriptwillalways
supercedeinstructionsinthesegeneralguidelines.
Tomakeapaperreadable
Printortypeusinga12pointstandardfont,suchasTimes,Geneva,
Bookman,Helvetica,etc.
Textshouldbedoublespacedon81/2"x11"paperwith1inchmargins,
singlesided
Numberpagesconsecutively
Starteachnewsectiononanewpage
Adheretorecommendedpagelimits
Mistakestoavoid
Placingaheadingatthebottomofapagewiththefollowingtextonthe
nextpage(insertapagebreak!)
Dividingatableorfigureconfineeachfigure/tabletoasinglepage
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Submittingapaperwithpagesoutoforder
Inallsectionsofyourpaper
Usenormalproseincludingarticles("a","the,"etc.)
Stayfocusedontheresearchtopicofthepaper
Useparagraphstoseparateeachimportantpoint(exceptfortheabstract)
Indentthefirstlineofeachparagraph
Presentyourpointsinlogicalorder
Usepresenttensetoreportwellacceptedfactsforexample,'thegrassis
green'
Usepasttensetodescribespecificresultsforexample,'Whenweedkiller
wasapplied,thegrasswasbrown'
Avoidinformalwording,don'taddressthereaderdirectly,anddon'tuse
jargon,slangterms,orsuperlatives
Avoiduseofsuperfluouspicturesincludeonlythosefiguresnecessaryto
presentingresults

TitlePage
Selectaninformativetitleasillustratedintheexamplesinyourwritingportfolio
examplepackage.Includethename(s)andaddress(es)ofallauthors,anddate
submitted."Biologylab#1"wouldnotbeaninformativetitle,forexample.

Abstract
Thesummaryshouldbetwohundredwordsorless.Seetheexamplesinthe
writingportfoliopackage.

Generalintent
Anabstractisaconcisesingleparagraphsummaryofcompletedworkorwork
inprogress.Inaminuteorlessareadercanlearntherationalebehindthestudy,
generalapproachtotheproblem,pertinentresults,andimportantconclusionsor
newquestions.

Writinganabstract
Writeyoursummaryaftertherestofthepaperiscompleted.Afterall,howcan
yousummarizesomethingthatisnotyetwritten?Economyofwordsis
importantthroughoutanypaper,butespeciallyinanabstract.However,use
completesentencesanddonotsacrificereadabilityforbrevity.Youcankeepit
concisebywordingsentencessothattheyservemorethanonepurpose.For
example,"Inordertolearntheroleofproteinsynthesisinearlydevelopmentof
theseaurchin,newlyfertilizedembryoswerepulselabeledwithtritiated
leucine,toprovideatimecourseofchangesinsyntheticrate,asmeasuredby
totalcountsperminute(cpm)."Thissentenceprovidestheoverallquestion,
methods,andtypeofanalysis,allinonesentence.Thewritercannowgo
directlytosummarizingtheresults.
Summarizethestudy,includingthefollowingelementsinanyabstract.Tryto
keepthefirsttwoitemstonomorethanonesentenceeach.
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Purposeofthestudyhypothesis,overallquestion,objective
Modelorganismorsystemandbriefdescriptionoftheexperiment
Results,includingspecificdataiftheresultsarequantitativeinnature,
reportquantitativedataresultsofanystatisticalanalysisshoudbe
reported
Importantconclusionsorquestionsthatfollowfromtheexperiment(s)
Style:
Singleparagraph,andconcise
Asasummaryofworkdone,itisalwayswritteninpasttense
Anabstractshouldstandonitsown,andnotrefertoanyotherpartofthe
papersuchasafigureortable
Focusonsummarizingresultslimitbackgroundinformationtoa
sentenceortwo,ifabsolutelynecessary
Whatyoureportinanabstractmustbeconsistentwithwhatyoureported
inthepaper
Corrrectspelling,clarityofsentencesandphrases,andproperreportingof
quantities(properunits,significantfigures)arejustasimportantinan
abstractastheyareanywhereelse

Introduction
Yourintroductionsshouldnotexceedtwopages(doublespaced,typed).Seethe
examplesinthewritingportfoliopackage.

Generalintent
Thepurposeofanintroductionistoaquaintthereaderwiththerationalebehind
thework,withtheintentionofdefendingit.Itplacesyourworkinatheoretical
context,andenablesthereadertounderstandandappreciateyourobjectives.

Writinganintroduction
Theabstractistheonlytextinaresearchpapertobewrittenwithoutusing
paragraphsinordertoseparatemajorpoints.Approachesvarywidely,however
forourstudiesthefollowingapproachcanproduceaneffectiveintroduction.
Describetheimportance(significance)ofthestudywhywasthisworth
doinginthefirstplace?Provideabroadcontext.
Defendthemodelwhydidyouusethisparticularorganismorsystem?
Whatareitsadvantages?Youmightcommentonitssuitabilityfroma
theoreticalpointofviewaswellasindicatepracticalreasonsforusingit.
Providearationale.Stateyourspecifichypothesis(es)orobjective(s),and
describethereasoningthatledyoutoselectthem.
Verybriefydescribetheexperimentaldesignandhowitaccomplishedthe
statedobjectives.
Style:
Usepasttenseexceptwhenreferringtoestablishedfacts.Afterall,the
paperwillbesubmittedafteralloftheworkiscompleted.
Organizeyourideas,makingonemajorpointwitheachparagraph.Ifyou
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makethefourpointslistedabove,youwillneedaminimumoffour
paragraphs.
Presentbackgroundinformationonlyasneededinordersupporta
position.Thereaderdoesnotwanttoreadeverythingyouknowabouta
subject.
Statethehypothesis/objectivepreciselydonotoversimplify.
Asalways,payattentiontospelling,clarityandappropriatenessof
sentencesandphrases.

MaterialsandMethods
Thereisnospecificpagelimit,butakeyconceptistokeepthissectionas
conciseasyoupossiblycan.Peoplewillwanttoreadthismaterialselectively.
Thereadermayonlybeinterestedinoneformulaorpartofaprocedure.
Materialsandmethodsmaybereportedunderseparatesubheadingswithinthis
sectionorcanbeincorporatedtogether.

Generalintent
Thisshouldbetheeasiestsectiontowrite,butmanystudentsmisunderstandthe
purpose.Theobjectiveistodocumentallspecializedmaterialsandgeneral
procedures,sothatanotherindividualmayusesomeorallofthemethodsin
anotherstudyorjudgethescientificmeritofyourwork.Itisnottobeastepby
stepdescriptionofeverythingyoudid,norisamethodssectionasetof
instructions.Inparticular,itisnotsupposedtotellastory.Bytheway,your
notebookshouldcontainalloftheinformationthatyouneedforthissection.

Writingamaterialsandmethodssection
Materials:
Describematerialsseparatelyonlyifthestudyissocomplicatedthatit
savesspacethisway.
Includespecializedchemicals,biologicalmaterials,andanyequipmentor
suppliesthatarenotcommonlyfoundinlaboratories.
Donotincludecommonlyfoundsuppliessuchastesttubes,pipettips,
beakers,etc.,orstandardlabequipmentsuchascentrifuges,
spectrophotometers,pipettors,etc.
Ifuseofaspecifictypeofequipment,aspecificenzyme,oraculturefrom
aparticularsupplieriscriticaltothesuccessoftheexperiment,thenitand
thesourceshouldbesingledout,otherwiseno.
Materialsmaybereportedinaseparateparagraphorelsetheymaybe
identifiedalongwithyourprocedures.
Inbioscienceswefrequentlyworkwithsolutionsrefertothembyname
anddescribecompletely,includingconcentrationsofallreagents,andpH
ofaqueoussolutions,solventifnonaqueous.
Methods:
Seetheexamplesinthewritingportfoliopackage
Reportthemethodology(notdetailsofeachprocedurethatemployedthe
samemethodology)
Describethemehodologycompletely,includingsuchspecificsas
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temperatures,incubationtimes,etc.
Tobeconcise,presentmethodsunderheadingsdevotedtospecific
proceduresorgroupsofprocedures
Generalizereporthowproceduresweredone,nothowtheywere
specificallyperformedonaparticularday.Forexample,report"samples
weredilutedtoafinalconcentrationof2mg/mlprotein"don'treportthat
"135microlitersofsampleonewasdilutedwith330microlitersofbuffer
tomaketheproteinconcentration2mg/ml."Alwaysthinkaboutwhat
wouldberelevanttoaninvestigatoratanotherinstitution,workingon
his/herownproject.
Ifwelldocumentedprocedureswereused,reporttheprocedurebyname,
perhapswithreference,andthat'sall.Forexample,theBradfordassayis
wellknown.Youneednotreporttheprocedureinfulljustthatyouused
aBradfordassaytoestimateproteinconcentration,andidentifywhatyou
usedasastandard.ThesameistruefortheSDSPAGEmethod,andmany
otherwellknownproceduresinbiologyandbiochemistry.
Style:
Itisawkwardorimpossibletouseactivevoicewhendocumenting
methodswithoutusingfirstperson,whichwouldfocusthereader's
attentionontheinvestigatorratherthanthework.Thereforewhenwriting
upthemethodsmostauthorsusethirdpersonpassivevoice.
Usenormalproseinthisandineveryothersectionofthepaperavoid
informallists,andusecompletesentences.
Whattoavoid
Materialsandmethodsarenotasetofinstructions.
Omitallexplanatoryinformationandbackgroundsaveitforthe
discussion.
Omitinformationthatisirrelevanttoathirdparty,suchaswhatcolorice
bucketyouused,orwhichindividualloggedinthedata.

Results
Thepagelengthofthissectionissetbytheamountandtypesofdatatobe
reported.Continuetobeconcise,usingfiguresandtables,ifappropriate,to
presentresultsmosteffectively.Seerecommendationsforcontent,below.

Generalintent
Thepurposeofaresultssectionistopresentandillustrateyourfindings.Make
thissectionacompletelyobjectivereportoftheresults,andsaveall
interpretationforthediscussion.

Writingaresultssection
IMPORTANT:Youmustclearlydistinguishmaterialthatwouldnormallybe
includedinaresearcharticlefromanyrawdataorotherappendixmaterialthat
wouldnotbepublished.Infact,suchmaterialshouldnotbesubmittedatall
unlessrequestedbytheinstructor.
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Content
Summarizeyourfindingsintextandillustratethem,ifappropriate,with
figuresandtables.
Intext,describeeachofyourresults,pointingthereadertoobservations
thataremostrelevant.
Provideacontext,suchasbydescribingthequestionthatwasaddressed
bymakingaparticularobservation.
Describeresultsofcontrolexperimentsandincludeobservationsthatare
notpresentedinaformalfigureortable,ifappropriate.
Analyzeyourdata,thenpreparetheanalyzed(converted)dataintheform
ofafigure(graph),table,orintextform.
Whattoavoid
Donotdiscussorinterpretyourresults,reportbackgroundinformation,or
attempttoexplainanything.
Neverincluderawdataorintermediatecalculationsinaresearchpaper.
Donotpresentthesamedatamorethanonce.
Textshouldcomplementanyfiguresortables,notrepeatthesame
information.
Pleasedonotconfusefigureswithtablesthereisadifference.
Style
Asalways,usepasttensewhenyourefertoyourresults,andput
everythinginalogicalorder.
Intext,refertoeachfigureas"figure1,""figure2,"etc.numberyour
tablesaswell(seethereferencetextfordetails)
Placefiguresandtables,properlynumbered,inorderattheendofthe
report(clearlydistinguishthemfromanyothermaterialsuchasrawdata,
standardcurves,etc.)
Ifyouprefer,youmayplaceyourfiguresandtablesappropriatelywithin
thetextofyourresultssection.
Figuresandtables
Eitherplacefiguresandtableswithinthetextoftheresult,orincludethem
inthebackofthereport(followingLiteratureCited)dooneortheother
Ifyouplacefiguresandtablesattheendofthereport,makesuretheyare
clearlydistinguishedfromanyattachedappendixmaterials,suchasraw
data
Regardlessofplacement,eachfiguremustbenumberedconsecutivelyand
completewithcaption(captiongoesunderthefigure)
Regardlessofplacement,eachtablemustbetitled,numbered
consecutivelyandcompletewithheading(titlewithdescriptiongoes
abovethetable)
Eachfigureandtablemustbesufficientlycompletethatitcouldstandon
itsown,separatefromtext

Discussion
Journalguidelinesvary.SpaceissovaluableintheJournalofBiological
Chemistry,thatauthorsareaskedtorestrictdiscussionstofourpagesorless,
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doublespaced,typed.Thatworksouttooneprintedpage.Whileyouare
learningtowriteeffectively,thelimitwillbeextendedtofivetypedpages.If
youpracticeeconomyofwords,thatshouldbeplentyofspacewithinwhichto
sayallthatyouneedtosay.

Generalintent
Theobjectivehereistoprovideaninterpretationofyourresultsandsupportfor
allofyourconclusions,usingevidencefromyourexperimentandgenerally
acceptedknowledge,ifappropriate.Thesignificanceoffindingsshouldbe
clearlydescribed.

Writingadiscussion
Interpretyourdatainthediscussioninappropriatedepth.Thismeansthatwhen
youexplainaphenomenonyoumustdescribemechanismsthatmayaccountfor
theobservation.Ifyourresultsdifferfromyourexpectations,explainwhythat
mayhavehappened.Ifyourresultsagree,thendescribethetheorythatthe
evidencesupported.Itisneverappropriatetosimplystatethatthedataagreed
withexpectations,andletitdropatthat.
Decideifeachhypothesisissupported,rejected,orifyoucannotmakea
decisionwithconfidence.Donotsimplydismissastudyorpartofastudy
as"inconclusive."
Researchpapersarenotacceptediftheworkisincomplete.Drawwhat
conclusionsyoucanbasedupontheresultsthatyouhave,andtreatthe
studyasafinishedwork
Youmaysuggestfuturedirections,suchashowtheexperimentmightbe
modifiedtoaccomplishanotherobjective.
Explainallofyourobservationsasmuchaspossible,focusingon
mechanisms.
Decideiftheexperimentaldesignadequatelyaddressedthehypothesis,
andwhetherornotitwasproperlycontrolled.
Trytoofferalternativeexplanationsifreasonablealternativesexist.
Oneexperimentwillnotansweranoverallquestion,sokeepingthebig
pictureinmind,wheredoyougonext?Thebeststudiesopenupnew
avenuesofresearch.Whatquestionsremain?
Recommendationsforspecificpaperswillprovideadditionalsuggestions.
Style:
Whenyourefertoinformation,distinguishdatageneratedbyyourown
studiesfrompublishedinformationorfrominformationobtainedfrom
otherstudents(verbtenseisanimportanttoolforaccomplishingthat
purpose).
Refertoworkdonebyspecificindividuals(includingyourself)inpast
tense.
Refertogenerallyacceptedfactsandprinciplesinpresenttense.For
example,"Doofus,ina1989survey,foundthatanemiainbassethounds
wascorrelatedwithadvancedage.Anemiaisaconditioninwhichthereis
insufficienthemoglobinintheblood."
Thebiggestmistakethatstudentsmakeindiscussionsistopresentasuperficial
interpretationthatmoreorlessrestatestheresults.Itisnecessarytosuggestwhy
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resultscameoutastheydid,focusingonthemechanismsbehindthe
observations.

LiteratureCited
Pleasenotethatintheintroductorylaboratorycourse,youwillnotberequiredto
properlydocumentsourcesofallofyourinformation.Onereasonisthatyour
majorsourceofinformationisthiswebsite,andwebsitesareinappropriateas
primarysources.Second,itisproblematictoprovideahundredstudentswith
equalaccesstopotentialreferencematerials.Youmayneverthelessfindoutside
sources,andyoushouldciteanyarticlesthattheinstructorprovidesorthatyou
findforyourself.
Listallliteraturecitedinyourpaper,inalphabeticalorder,byfirstauthor.Ina
properresearchpaper,onlyprimaryliteratureisused(originalresearcharticles
authoredbytheoriginalinvestigators).Becautiousaboutusingwebsitesas
referencesanyonecanputjustaboutanythingonawebsite,andyouhaveno
surewayofknowingifitistruthorfiction.Ifyouarecitinganonlinejournal,
usethejournalcitation(name,volume,year,pagenumbers).Someofyour
papersmaynotrequirereferences,andifthatisthecasesimplystatethat"no
referenceswereconsulted."

CopyrightandIntendedUse
Visitors:toensurethatyourmessageisnotmistakenforSPAM,pleaseincludetheacronym"Bios211"inthesubject
lineofemailcommunications
CreatedbyDavidR.Caprette(caprette@rice.edu),RiceUniversityDates

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