Introduction to Scientific Writing and CSE Style

An Introduction to ScientificWriting
Including CSE Formattingand Documentation
OriginallycreatedbyBlytheCaldwellandAmandaKuhlman.
RevisedbyAnnWestrick.

Beconcise.
Beclear.
Beplain.
Beprecise.
The style:

Defaulttothirdpersonpassivevoice.
Focusonresultsrathertheexperimenter.
Avoidabbreviationsandacronyms.
Stylistic considerations
Instead of saying:
“I added Chemical A to
Chemical B.”
Say: “Chemical A was
added to Chemical B.”
Don’t refer to a GMO-- talk about Genetically Modified Organisms.

Sentence structure
Grammar
Transitions
Capitalization
Punctuation
Generally accepted standards of
academic writing apply

Define your terms.
CansomeoneoutsidemyfieldunderstandthewayIamusing
thisword?
Ismydefinitionspecifictothecontextofmypaper?
Using content specific vocabulary--
consider your audience

CommonElementsinScientificResearchPapers
1. Introduction
This sections contains
background information
ad/or literature review.
2. Methodology or
Materials and
Methods
What you did to conduct the
experiment/study?

Common Elements in ScientificResearch Papers
3. Results
What did you find after
you conducted the
experiment/study?
Just the facts; no
analysis.
4. Discussion
What conclusions or
inferences can be
drawn from these
results?

Nature
Journalof Science
Evolution
Cell
Key journals in the
field of biology:

CouncilofScienceEditors Style
Guide
regulates style, formatting,
citations

Selected CSE Resources
• Council of Science Editors (Online)
www.councilofscienceditors.org
• Ohio State University Libraries’ Online CSE guides
http://library.osu.edu/help/research-strategies/cite-references/cse/
• McKneese State University’s Online CSE Guides
http://library.mcneese.edu/citestyl/csestyle.htm
• Writing @ Colorado State
Universityhttp://writing.colostate.edu/guides/researchsources/docume
ntation/cbe_citation/intextrules.cfm
• Research and Documentation Online (5th Ed.)
http://bcs.bedfordstmartins.com/resdoc5e/RES5e_ch11_s1-0003.html

Threesystems:
Author-date(year)
NumberingSequence
Citation-Author
Citing Sources in Your Paper

SimilartoAPAstyle
Author’slastnameandyearofpublicationincludedincitation
(Nocommaseparatingthetwo)
Ex.(Smith2013)
Referencelistalphabetized byauthors’lastnames
CSE: Author-date in-text citations

Relies on superscripted numbers
(a raised numeral located at the end of a clause or sentence identifying the content as outside source
material)
The superscripted number flags the reader's attention to a
correspondingly numbered entry on a References list located at the
end of a book or document.
Beginning with 1, each number follows in sequential order from page to page.
There is no space between the word and the numeral.
Ex. The data1 found after several months study . . .
CSE In-text numbering

In-textsuperscriptednumbersappearafterthepunctuationandquotationmarksat
theendofacitedclauseorsentence.
Sourcemateriallocatedinthefirstpartofasentenceseparatedbyanemdash(two
hyphens)iscitedwiththenumberplacedbeforethedashbegins.
SuperscriptednumberscanbecreatedinMicrosoft®Word.
CSE: In-Text Numbering (cont.)

CSE: In-TextNumbering (cont.)
• When you cite a source that was previously mentioned, use
the number that was already assigned to the source.
• When you refer to numerous sources, separate the
numerals by using commas.
Ex. The studies12, 14 represented by the table shown...
• When referring to a source cited in another source, say
"cited in”
Ex. The data15(cited in 4) was collected over several…

Containsallthebibliographicinformationneededtofindoutmoreabouteachcited
sourcewithinthetext.
EventhoughReferencesisthemostcommonlyusedtitleCitedReferencesor
LiteratureCitedareacceptabletitlesaswell.
Selective:doesnotincludeafullaccountingofsourcesrelatedtoorconsulted
beforeyoubeganwritingyourdocument,butonlythoseactuallycited.
Sourcesthatdirectlyinformedyourthinkingbutarenotcitedmaybeincludedin
anAdditionalReadingspageorBibliography.
(ThesepageshavedifferentformattingrulesfromtheReferencesPage.)
Ifusingthenumberingsequencesystem,arrangeentriesnumerically,following
theirinitialin-textorderofappearance
CSE: Reference List

TechnicalReport
In-text
(Fordet.al.2004)
Format:
Author. Year. Article Title. Place of Publication: Publisher. General Technical Report
Number. Number.
Bibliography:
Ford PL, Fagerlund RA, Duszynski DW, Polechla PJ. 2004. Fleas and lice of mammals
in New Mexico. Fort Collins (CO): USDA Forest Service Rocky Mountain Research
Station. General Technical Report No. RMRS-GTR-123.

Journal Article
(paper or pdf)
In-text: (Liao et al. 2003)
Format: Author. Year of Publication. Article Title. Journal Title Volume Number (Issue
Number): page numbers
References:
Liao, J, Beal, D, Lauder, G, Triantafyllou, M. 2003. The Kármán gait: Novel body
kinematics of rainbow trout swimming in a vortex street. Journal of Experimental
Biology 206: 1059-1073. doi: 10.1242/jeb.00209
Note: In practice, most articles are cited in this format, whether viewed in paper or
electronic format. Include a DOI (digital object identifier) number when available for
electronically-retrieved resources

Journal Article from an
Electronic Journal Center
(OhioLINK)
In-Text:
(Parmentier et al. 2004)
Format:
Author. Year of Publication. Article Title. Online Journal [Internet] [cited Year
Month Date]; Volume Number(Issue): Page Numbers. Available from: Website
References:
Parmentier H, Golding S, Ashworth M, Rowlands G. 2004. Community pharmacy
treatment of minor ailments in refugees. J Clin Pharm Ther [Internet] [cited 2007
Jul 24]; 29(5):465-469. Available from:
http://journals.ohiolink.edu/ejc/pdf.cgi/Parmentier_H.pdf?issn=02694727&issue=v
29i0005&article=465_cptomair

Electronic Journal from a
Publisher’s Website
In-Text:
(Leng et al. 2004)
Format:
Author. Year. Article Title. Online Journal [Internet]. [cited Year Month Date];
Journal Volume(Issue):Page Numbers. Available from: Website
References:
Leng F, Amado L, McMacken R. 2004. Coupling DNA supercoiling to transcription
in defined protein systems. J Biol Chem [Internet]. [cited 2007 July 24];
279(46):47564-47571. Available from:
http://www.jbc.org/cgi/reprint/279/46/47564

Webpage
In-Text:
(Animal Welfare Information Center 2005, then AWIC 2005)
References Format:
Author. Title [medium]. Place of Publication: Publisher; Date of Publication
[Date of update/Date of citation]. Availability.
Example:
Animal Welfare Information Center [Internet]. Beltsville (MD): National
Agricultural Library (US); [updated 2005 April 14; cited 2005 April 15].
Available from: http://www.nal.usda.gov/awic/
Note: Websites are rarely cited in scientific papers, and Wikipedia is never an
acceptable source to be cited. However, the reference section of Wikipedia can be
a good place to find sources

Conference Proceedings
In-Text:
(Dubois 2004)
References Format:
(Author. Year of Publication. Title of Paper. In:) Editor of proceedings. Year
(if not listed earlier). Title of publication or conference. Name of
conference; dates of conference; place of conference. Place of publication:
publisher. Total number of pages. (pages cited if single paper)
Example:
Rossler OE. 2004. Nonlinear dynamics, artificial cognition and galactic
export. In: Dubois DM, editor. Computing anticipatory systems. CASYS
2003 – Sixth International Conference; 2003 August 11-16; Liege, Belgium.
Melville, NY: American Institute of Physics. p 47-67.

Introduction to Scientific Writing and CSE Style

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