[EMSTU] Scientific writing
Topic outline
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Objectives
This course provides practical training in writing scientific papers (in English), and submitting them to international peer-reviewed journals. The objective is to provide practical tools for creating a coherent, well-structured, illustrated and documented text. The course will be accompanied by practical exercises and computer sessions. The course will be given in English.
Prerequisites
This course is specifically designed for PhD students in the natural sciences (EMSTU, MIPTIS and SSBCV graduate schools) who are writing or about to write their first article. We do NOT recommend this course for PhD students in the humanities (S&L and SSTED graduate schools) as some of their criteria for writing a good article are not the same.
Contents
This course will address different aspects of scientific writing:
- The basics of writing a good scientific document: preparing and structuring a document, the criteria for good scientific writing, etc.
- The different types of documents and what to pay attention to: article, thesis manuscript, funding proposal, etc.
- A brief reminder about typography, styles, layout, etc. Differences between French and English (emphasis will be placed on English).
- Literature search and how to organise references. Examples will be given with Zotero and LaTeX.
- Ethical aspects (fraud, conflicts of interest, funding, etc.)
- The choice of the journal and what to pay attention to.
- The submission process, including revision and refereeing.
Instructors
Jean-Louis ROUET (UFR Sciences & Techniques), Pascale SOLON (University Library) and Thierry DUDOK de WIT (OSUC).Evaluation
The validation of this course is based on attendance + validation of a practical exercise in which a mini-article will be written and then submitted and evaluated anonymously.
Schedule in 2024
- Monday 11 March : 10:15-12:15 in room S 205
- Monday 11 March : 13:30-15:30 in room NG 03
- Monday 18 March : 10:15-12:15 in room E 04
- Monday 18 March : 13:30-15:30 in room E 04
- Monday 25 March : 10:15-12:15 in room E 04
- Monday 25 March : 13:30-15:30 in room E 04
- Monday 8 April : 10:15-12:15 in room S 205
- Monday 8 April : 13:30-15:30 in room S 205
- Monday 3 June : 10:15-12:15 in room S 205
- Monday 3 June : 13:30-15:30 in room S 205
Room E04 is in the building of the LIFO computer sciences lab and room S 205 in the "bâtiment d'enseignement général des sciences" , and room NG03 in the basement of the "Norbert Garnier" building.All are located close to the tram stop "Université - Parc Floral"
How to join
The course will be taught in person only. During some of the sessions we shall use computers, so we invite you to bring your own laptop. -
Useful links - writing
- Passport for Open Science ouverte: A pratical guide for PhD Students
- English language guide for authors [https://www.aanda.org/images/stories/author/EnglishGuide.pdf] while written for authors for Astronomy and Astrophysics, this excellent guide applies to other disciplines
- Madison Wisconsin Writing Lab for Scientific Reports, including suggestions for each of the six parts of a paper (or scientific report). [https://writing.wisc.edu/handbook/assignments/sciencereport/]
- A list of common errors and advice by a professor of English at Washington State University, Paul Brians. [https://brians.wsu.edu/]
- Guide to Grammar and Writing is a resource by Capital Community College in Hartford Connecticut [http://www.guidetogrammar.org/grammar/index.htm]
- The alarming rise of predatory conferences [https://eos.org/opinions/the-alarming-rise-of-predatory-conferences]
Useful links - submitting
- Two articles on the growing problem with predatory journals [https://eos.org/opinions/avoiding-predators-in-publishing] and with predatory conferences [https://eos.org/opinions/the-alarming-rise-of-predatory-conferences]
- Online tool for determining whether a journal is a predatory one [https://app.lib.uliege.be/compass-to-publish/]
- Why open science matters [https://www.ouvrirlascience.fr/home/]
- I publish - what are my rights ? [https://www.ouvrirlascience.fr/je-publie-quels-sont-mes-droits/] (in French)
- ORCID [https://orcid.org/]
- Forum on ethical issues in publication [https://publicationethics.org/]
- Article submission check list [https://celene.univ-orleans.fr/pluginfile.php/116447/course/section/30578/checklist_en.pdf?time=1679407968845]
Useful links - reviewing
- 10 tips for reviewing an article : [https://www.elsevier.com/connect/10-tips-for-reviewing-scientific-manuscripts-and-5-red-flags]
- How to review an article [https://dynamicecology.wordpress.com/2013/01/03/advice-how-to-review-a-manuscript-for-a-journal/]
Useful links - accessing articles
- Plugin to find the free version of an article if it exists (Firefox/Chrome) : [http://unpaywall.org]
- One of the best (and non-commercial) search engines is the Bielefeld Academic Search Engine. This link [https://www-base-search-net.ezproxy.univ-orleans.fr/] uses a proxy to ease download from the library at the Universit of Orléans. The main portal is [https://www.base-search.net/]
- Two (commercial) alternatives to Google Scholar : Scinapse [https://www.scinapse.io/] and Carrot2 [https://search.carrot2.org/#/search/web]
- Zotero to collect and organise citations [https://www.zotero.org/]
- Tutorial to refer to if you have questions after our Zotero sessions [https://research.library.gsu.edu/zotero]
- Tips from the Monash University Library on citing and referencing [https://guides.lib.monash.edu/citing-referencing]
Useful books
- Andrew Johnson and John Sumpter, How to be a better scientist, Routledge, 2020. (addresses all aspects of the professional life of a PhD student, with a short chapter too on scientific writing. Highly recommended) [available at the BU Sciences]
- Stephen Heard, The scientist's guide to writing : how to write more easily and effectively throughout your scientific career, Princeton University Press, 2016 [available at the BU Sciences]
- Charles-François Boudouresque, Manuel de rédaction et de communication scientifiques et techniques, Presses de l'Université de Provence, 2017
- Michel Bruneau et Catherine Potel, Présenter un rapport scientifique à l'écrit, à l'oral : conseils pratiques: l'art de la formule expliqué aux scientifiques, Cépaduès éditions, 2018 [available at the BU Sciences]
- Eric Lichtfouse, Rédiger pour être publié ! Conseils pratiques pour les scientifiques, Springer Verlag, 2012 [available at the BU Sciences]
- David Lindsay, Guide de rédaction scientifique : l'hypothèse, clé de voûte de l'article scientifique , Eyrolles, Paris, 2011 [available at the BU Sciences]
- Robert Day, How to Write and Publish a Scientific Paper, Cambridge University Press, 2012
LaTeX
- Nicola L. C. Talbot, Using LaTeX to Write a PhD Thesis, [https://www.dickimaw-books.com/latex/thesis/]
- Submit your thesis at the university of Orléans (useful links, LaTeX templates) [https://www.univ-orleans.fr/fr/scd/la-recherche/deposer-sa-these]
- Repository of LaTeX templates [http://www.latextemplates.com/]
- LaTeX templates for theses in English [http://uk.tug.org/training/thesis/]. There are many on GitHub and in online repositories of collaborative editors, such as [https://www.sharelatex.com/templates/thesis/] and [https://www.overleaf.com/gallery/tagged/thesis]
- The Not so short introduction to LaTeX [https://tobi.oetiker.ch/lshort/lshort.pdf]
- The main webpage of LaTeX [https://www.latex-project.org/]
- LaTeX distribution for Macintosh (TeXshop) [https://pages.uoregon.edu/koch/texshop/]
- LaTeX distribution for Windows. There are several, see [https://www.latex-project.org/get/]
- LaTeX distribution for Linux (TeXlive) [https://www.tug.org/texlive/]
- TeXMaker editor [https://www.xm1math.net/texmaker/]
- Passport for Open Science ouverte: A pratical guide for PhD Students
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To validate this course you need to submit an article, and to review one.13 May 2024 : submit your article, preferably written in LaTeX (see details below). Submit your article as one single pdf file, using the link provided below. Each of you will receive someone else's manuscript, to be evaluated anonymously, with an online questionnaire. The procedure will be a lighter version of that used by most scientific journals.
29 May 2024 : submit your evaluation report at https://forms.gle/ru9vhTE5fCxgZwCr9
Your reports will be redistributed to all (anonymously) before our last class, and discussed. Given the tight deadlines, I ask you to submit on time.
Your article:- Should be written by you and should focus on a scientific topic;
normally the one you are working on. You may reuse parts of existing
articles, but avoid copy-pasting complete texts, especially if already
published. Avoid reviews : your article should focus on a recent finding.
- LaTeX is recommended but not mandatory
- The format of your file must be pdf (not Word or Openoffice)
- English is recommended but French is allowed
- Should not exceed 3-6 pages
- Should contain 1 or 2 figures
- Should follow the "canonical" structure of an article with subject / authors / abstract / introduction /.../conclusion / bibliography.
- Should follow the rules we discussed during our classes : structuring of the abstract, timing, take home message, etc.
The overall objective is to let you participate in a mini-exercise that mimics a real writing/submission/evaluation situation.
3 June 2024 : from 10:15-12:15 & 13:30-15:30 we shall discuss your articles and your reviews
- Should be written by you and should focus on a scientific topic;
normally the one you are working on. You may reuse parts of existing
articles, but avoid copy-pasting complete texts, especially if already
published. Avoid reviews : your article should focus on a recent finding.