week 7- writing skills: scientific reports Flashcards
what is a scientific report
- A concise, objective and precise account of an empirical research project
- Aims to describe an experiment you’ve carried out and communicate the results
what are the 4 parts of a scientific report?
introduction, method, results, discussion
what are the 4 qualities of scientific writing
- Objective
- Accurate
- Knows its audience
- Uses jargon appropriately
what should the introduction do?
- Presents the scientific background, the rationale and the hypothesis
- have a concise literature review to summarise current knowledge
- Then introduce the present study- provide a brief overview of your own study, state the rationale (use previous research and theory to make a critical argument for your hypothesis), provides a smooth transition to the method section
what is the method
- A comprehensive description of how you conducted your study
what qualities should the method section have
- Written in the past tense
- Sufficiently detailed to permit replication
- Be specific about participants, measures, materials, and the steps of the process in chronological order
what does the results section do
- Describes the findings of the data analysis
what are the 5 steps of a results section
- Restate the hypothesis in conceptual terms
- Reword the hypothesis in operational terms
- State the finding plainly
- State the finding plainly
- Summarise what was found
what is the main thing we need to do in the discussion
interpret the results
what 5 things should be included in the discussion
opening paragraph, account for the findings, limitations of the study, future research directions, conclusion
what is the abstract including
- Key aspects of the introduction
- The research question
- Hypothesis
- Methods used, including descriptions of the study design, sample and sample size
- Study results
- Implications- importance and applications
how long should the title be
15 words
what should the title capture
the topic area, aim and research question
what should be included in the method of a qualitative report that isn’t in a quantitative report
epistemological/ ontological position
what tense is intro in
present and present perfect
what is included in the method of both quantitative and qualitative reports
participants, data collection, data analysis, ethical considerations
what tense is method in
past
what tense is results in
past
what tense is conclusion in
a combination of present and past tenses
what voice is used in reports
active
how should we use bias free language
Use accurate and
appropriate language to
describe individuals and
groups
what do we use instead of using adjectives as nouns
use adjectival forms instead (e.g.,
people who smoke rather than smokers)
guideline for age
recognise aging as a normal part of the human experience, separate from disorder or disease
preferred examples for age
older adults, adults aged 65 and over
problematic examples for age
the elderly, senior citizens
guideline for disability
use person/identity-first language, avoid fatalistic language
preferred examples for disability
deaf person, blind person, person with Down syndrome
problematic examples for disability
special needs, wheelchair bound, stroke victim, hearing impaired
guidance for gender
use gender inclusive language and self-identified pronouns
preferred examples for gender
singular they for a generic person, gender neutral occupational terms
problematic examples for gender
he or she for a generic person
guidance for race
ask people to self identify because the concept of race is not universal
preferred examples for race
asian, people of colour, white, Latinx, Native American
problematic examples for race
caucasian- racist origin
guidance for sexual orientation
use the umbrella terms sexual orientation and gender diversity
preferred examples for sexual orientation
LGBTQ and other identities
problematic examples for sexual orientation
homosexual- use gay
guidance for socioeconomic status
emphasise what people have rather than what they lack
preferred examples for socioeconomic status
people experiencing homelessness, people whose income is -
problematic examples for socioeconomic status
homeless people, the poor
what parallel form should be used
Avoid using synonyms for recurring words or varying sentence structure in places where it can affect the clarity of your writing
when should you use numerals
numbers over 10
