Tools in scientific writing

Center for Medical LSP
SCIENTIFIC WRITING - 1.2.
Fudan University
Morten Pilegaard, Aarhus
mpi@asb.dk
Center for Medical LSP
Good tools = good starting point!
Tools in scientific writing
- Online tools: monolingual dictionaries
Dictionary.com (http://dictionary.reference.com/)
Eg search hypophysis
find: 5 entries
Definitions
Pronunciation
References
eg to Stedman
“Ask Jeeves”
= most quoted
net resources
Center for Medical LSP
Tools in scientific writing
- Online tools: monolingual dictionaries
Dictionary.com (http://dictionary.reference.com/)
Example: Simple searches (eg. for rDNA). Short/crisp explanations:
Î rDNA: in CancerWEB's On-line Medical Dictionary
Short
definition
Field
<molecular biology> DNA that codes for ribosomal RNA
Click any word
to get definition
of that word
DNA is a double-stranded molecule held together by
weak bonds between base pairs of nucleotides. The
four nucleotides in DNA contain the bases: adenine
(A), guanine (G), cytosine (C), and thymine (T).
Center for Medical LSP
Tools in scientific writing
- Online tools: monolingual dictionaries
Web of on-line dictionaries: http://www.yourdictionary.com/
Medicine general
- All online medical
dictionaries (web)
Multilingual dictionaries
Medical encyclopedia
Specialised dictionaries
- Eg AIDS
Center for Medical LSP
Use besides definition etc.?
Tools in scientific writing
Word combinations +
specialised language usage
- Online tools: monolingual dictionaries
Web of on-line dictionaries: http://www.yourdictionary.com/
Search for words
Eg. DNA:
Definition
Click to her word
Pronunciation
Pictures
Encyclopedic inf.
Eg: to carry genetic information
Center for Medical LSP
Tools in scientific writing
- Online tools
One of many health portals
Merriam-Webster: http://www.intelihealth.com
Via Aetna InteliHealth to
Meriam Webster further on to word definitions
Center for Medical LSP
Tools in scientific writing
- Online tools: encyclopedic dictionaries
MedicineNet: http://www.medicinenet.com/Script/Main/hp.asp
Diseases & conditions
Symptoms & signs
Procedures & tests
Medications
Encyclopedic info:
Definition (stroke)
Symptoms
Causes
Diagnosis
Look-alikes
Treatment
Rehabilitation
Center for Medical LSP
Tools in scientific writing
- Online tools: corpora
British National Corpus
http://thetis.bl.uk/lookup.html
All these resources are free
(you may have to register)
Word Net (US):
http://www.cogsci.princeton.edu/~wn/
Center for Medical LSP
Tools in scientific writing
- Online tools: corpora: British National Corpus
Why bother about corpora?
Trace word combinations
Vital to effective
and efficient text
production
Elicit grammatical features
See word usage in contexts
..especially for non-native
speakers of English!
Examples:
rDNA sequences
16S rDNA gene
the 16S rDNA sequences of PM (bold) and CIM
bacterial 16S rDNA was PCR-amplified using conserved 16S rDNA primers
hybridized with the nuclear probe rDNA 45S, or the mitochondrial probe, srRNA
Center for Medical LSP
Dictionaries & collocation
samplers are not enough!
Tools in scientific writing
- Online grammars and writing tools
WEBSTER ONLINE http://webster.commnet.edu/grammar/index.htm
Information from Webster on grammar with linguistic and text composition exercises.
Grammar levels: Word/sentence/paragraph
Discourse levels: Research papers, essays
Drop-down
menus
Ideal for daily/weekly self-study
Center for Medical LSP
Tools in scientific writing
- Online grammars and writing tools
Coherence =
transition between ideas
WEBSTER ONLINE: Example – Coherence
Addition
Comparison
Contrast
Emphasis
Example
Etc.
Center for Medical LSP
Tools in scientific writing
- Online grammars and writing tools
PURDUE UNIVERSITY ONLINE (http://owl.english.purdue.edu/)
Information and language exercises in text composition. A virtual university
specializing in production of technical and scientific texts. Excellent exercises and
language drills
Eg. punctuation
Uses? For instance:
Difference between
relative sentences:
1. parenthetical (which + ,)
2. defining (that ÷ ,)
Center for Medical LSP
Tools in scientific writing
- CD roms
CD-rom dictionaries
•Oxford Dict. Medicine
•Oxford Dict. Surgery
•Oxford Dict. Oncology
•Stedman’s medical dict.
•etc. etc.
Stedman:
Look up meaning
Eg red muscle soleus
Center for Medical LSP
Tools in scientific writing
Traditional dictionaries
Churchill’s illustrated medical dictionary
The best most up-to-date dictionary with the best explanations
filterable virus A contagium or infective agent small enough to pass through an
ultrafilter; a virus. Older term. Also ultravitus.
„ As the study of filterable viruses intensified, they were more and more often
referred to simply as viruses. The short term has generally replaced the full form,
which has furthermore become outmoded since filterability is not en essential
defining characteristic of viruses as they are now understood.
rest pain A symptom, diagnostic of severe, far advanced arterial insufficiency
that is characterized by excructiating pain of the distal foot. The pain may be
relieved at least in its early stages, by placing the foot below the rest of the body.
Rest pain has significant prognostic implications, since its presence means that
basal metabolic requirements are not being served and presages tissue death
Center for Medical LSP
Tools in scientific writing
Dictionaries
Dorland illustrated medical dictionary
The classical medical dictionary. Most comprehensive, most clinical
concepts. Slightly difficult to use because of nesting and specialist
definitions
filterable capable of passing through the pores of a filter; usually
referring to living infectious agents (ie viruses) able to pass
through a filter that retains the usual, pathogenic bacteria
rest pain a continuous burning pain of the distal portion of the lower limb,
usually the forefoot, which begins or is aggravated after reclining
and is relieved by sitting or standing; is due to ischemia.
Center for Medical LSP
Tools in scientific writing
Dictionaries
Indispensable in research settings!
Current Med Talk. A dictionary of medical slang and jargon.
Appleton and Lange, Stamford, CT
Dictionary designed to complement traditional dictionaries. Offers a
compilation of terms, many of recent vintage that are integral to the
language of modern medicine, a language replete with acronyms, jargon,
neologisms and the argot of new disciplines, diseases, their diagnoses and
therapies
adverse drug reaction Adverse drug event, see there. Note: the term
adverse drug reaction appears to be more popular in spoken
Center for Medical LSP
Tools in scientific writing
- Academic writing - textbooks
PhD musts!
Remember: This course
is only
a starter!
Swales, J., and C. Feak. Academic Writing for graduate
students:
a
course for non-native speakers of English. Ann Arbor, Mich:
You must work daily/weekly
University of Michigan Press, 1994
on improving your writing skills!
Book specifically designed to help non-native graduate students improve
their academic writing in English. Consists of eight linked units. Each unit
starts with writing at the paragraph level and concludes with the construction
of a research paper.
Swales, J and C. Feak: English in Today's Research World: A Writing
Guide. Ann Arbor, Mich: University of Michigan Press, 2001
Excellent textbook that offers students a sophisticated level of writing
instruction with a specific focus on the projects graduate students and PhD
students undertake such as dissertations and conference abstracts
Center for Medical LSP
Reference books that should be
Tools in scientific writing
available in library or in department
- Academic writing - textbooks
Huckin, T., & Olsen, L. (1991). Technical Writing and Professional
Communication for non-native speakers of English. New York: McGrawHill.
Excellent, highly instructive book for self-read and reference book. Includes
chapters on writing strategies, particular genres, readability, grammar, style
etc. Particularly good for technical and medical specialties
The Chicago Manual of Style: The Essential Guide for Writers,
Editors, and Publishers. 14th ed. Chicago: University of Chicago
Press, 1993.
This manual has set the editorial standard since 1906 and is considered
to be the definitive authority on writing for publication[1].
[1] http://www.nyu.edu/library/bobst/research/guides/rg17.htm#style
Center for Medical LSP
Tools in scientific writing
- Academic writing – Another online resource:
Turabian (= Chicago) Style Footnotes and Bibliographic Entries
http://www.lib.ohio-state.edu/guides/turabiangd.html
Excellent, clear and concise presentation of rules
on reference and citations in academic texts.
BOOK: SINGLE AUTHOR
Whitburn, Joel. The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits. New York: Billboard Publications, 1985.
CORPORATE AUTHOR
American Library Association, Young Adult Services Division, Services Statement Development
Committee. Directions for Library Service to Young Adults. Chicago: American Library Association,
1978.
BOOK WITH EDITOR, NO AUTHOR
von Hallberg, Robert, ed. Canons. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1984.
BOOK: MORE THAN ONE AUTHOR OR EDITOR
Quirk, Randolf, Sidney Greenbaum, Geoffrey Leech, and Jan Svartik. A Comprehensive Grammar
of the English Language. London, England: Longman Group Limited, 1985.
Center for Medical LSP
Reference books that should be
Tools in scientific writing
available in library or in department
- Academic writing – language usage
Swan, M. (1995). Practical English Usage. Oxford.
A dictionary of problem points in the language for foreign learners and their
teaches. It answers the learner’s question, ‘Is it right or wrong, and why´. It
gives information and advice that is practical, clear, reliable and easy to
find.
Eg. May and might (2): possibility
Might is not used as a past form of may. Both may and might are used to
talk about the present or future. Might is mostly used as a less definite or
more hesitant form of may, suggesting a smaller chance. It is used when
people think something is possible but not very likely. Compare:
I may go to Beijing tomorrow (perhaps a 50% chance)
I might go to Beijing tomorrow (perhaps a 30% chance)
Center for Medical LSP
Tools in scientific writing: Journal form requirements
Uniform requirements for manuscripts
Make ordered
presentation on
departmental
intranet
Virtual library:
Portals
Dictionaries
Instructions
http://www.icmje.org/index.html
Center for Medical LSP
Tools in scientific writing
- Academic writing – CONSORT statement
Consolidated
statement on the
reporting of clinical
randomised trials
http://www.consort-statement.org/revisedstatement.htm
Center for Medical LSP
Tools in scientific writing
- Academic writing – Instructions for authors (Mulford Lib.)
Complete list of
instructions to
authors of most
specialised
journals
Always check
before submission!
http://www.mco.edu/lib/instr/libinsta.html