Tips to write a good scientific research article
You are sitting in front of your computer, with a blank Word page open…and probably lots of Internet tabs to surf on social media. Not quite the best set-up to write your research results, is it? This article will hopefully help you with some tips to tell your story.
What do you want to talk about?
Even if you are not quite sure yet of the article’s structure and some details might be missing in your work, the first thing you need to do is to sort out your results and decide which ones will belong to the article you are about to write. Bullet points should do fine.
Start with the figures:
The human brain works the best when using the sense of sight — go for it! 🦚Draw all figures, diagrams, illustrations, graphs that are related to the results you chose above and that you want to include in the article. It helps you to visualize your research and it is easier to describe something that you have put on the paper already. You can classify them by importance and check for redundancy. Then tell us about them: first plainly describe the picture and its features as simply as possible, explain it and only then interpret it as a result for your research.
Find the research gap:
Now it is time to frame your results into the bigger picture. You need to understand your contribution to your own research field. In order to do so, you first need to analyze the state of the art and find missing parts or current unsolved issues: these are the research gaps you are looking for. Maybe your study is focusing on a geographical area that was not investigated yet, or a specific ethnic group? Maybe you are solving a current debate by providing another point of view, or new evidence? Maybe you develop or improved a technique? All of these are great research gap possibilities. Some researchers are even mentioning the current issues they would like to see addressed at the end of their publications. So, do your homework by taking a deep dive into the literature and properly identify your own research gap.
ABT: ⚙⚙⚙
ABT stands for And, But, Therefore. You have identified the research gap you want to close or revisit. You will need to write three sentences. The first one sets the background of this research gap and provide the current state of the art. The second sentence focuses on the knowledge we already have but also on what is still missing. Therefore, in the third sentence, you will introduce your personal contribution to the issue.
Once you have your three sentences, you can elaborate a little bit more on them but try to stay concise first.
Experimental section: 🥽
This is one of the easiest section to write. The simplest way to do so is to look at any parent or relevant publication and design the experimental section the same way the authors did. Stay objective, while adding tips in case one experiment was tricky, in order to help future academics to reproduce it easily.
Get your template:
You may now choose a journal you’d like to submit your manuscript to. If needed, ask colleagues or PIs for advice to determine which journal is the most suitable for your research story. Then, journals should provide guidelines for their authors and often provide entire templates as well. I recommend using the template provided by the journal as soon as possible, as it may help you with formatting and with special journal-based requirements. It also gives you a nice overview of your work progress in a snapshot.
Go with the flow: ✍
Now comes a difficult or simple part, depending on your writing skills. However, no matter your category, try to write as much as possible, regardless of grammar, spelling mistakes and so on. This section is about quantity rather than quality, in terms of describing your results. Quality will come later, don’t worry! The best way to do so is to ensure a maximal concentration over a short period of time and be as productive as possible. There are several techniques to help you focus, for example the Pomodoro 25 min technique,🍅 which I use myself quite often to deep focus. When you’re done with mass writing, don’t be afraid about the length and mistakes of the manuscript, it does not matter yet. Make sure that all the results you want to talk about are mentioned and that they overall make sense together.
Review process: 🛠
Now, this is time for quality. Your manuscript is like a gemstone that you just mined and that now needs cutting and polishing. Refine your bulk piece of writing: rephrase and short your sentences, remove useless words, use active voice if possible, … Some paragraphs will need a more profound rewrite, especially the introduction and conclusion. This part can take very long. I would also recommend to start iterating with colleagues or maybe your PI for internal feedback. At some point, the manuscript will look like a shiny crystal…you made it!
Add a beautiful graphical abstract:✨✨
Your shiny manuscript is ready and before submission, it still needs some additional features: more and more journals require a graphical abstract, which is a great tool to enhance your research results. Depending on your graphic skills, this can be more or less laborious. If you know how to use Adobe Illustrator or other image editor softwares, you should definitely stick with these. Otherwise, a nice arrangement on Powerpoint or a stylized drawing on a tablet can give amazing results! The graphical abstract should emphasize the most important result of the paper and be consistent on its own. Do not put too much in it and focus on pedagogy instead of accuracy.
Brainstorm your title:
Your shiny crystal is ready and polished, the last thing it needs is a nice case to draw attention on it: the title of your article!🎁💎 The best way to come up with a title is probably brainstorming. Sit down with everybody involved and let your imagination and creativity take over!
TADAAAA! Your article is done! Good luck for submission! 🎉🚀
Warning: 💥 This is an article written based on my sole experience and that may not be the answer for everybody. Still hope that it will help as many as possible!
