Scientists unearth new discoveries, examine the work of other scientists, and experimenting with new ideas. Science grows best when scientists share their findings through scientific writing because it allows their discoveries to become the basis for further study. Scientists detail their results in scientific journals, framing problems in the context of their field work, explaining their research, and formatting it for peer-reviewed journals, grant proposals, and theses or dissertations. That is the crux of scientific writing.
What Does Scientific Writing Include?
Scientific writing reveals the meaning and implications of the research to readers who may be unfamiliar with the scientist's field of study, who may be un-swayed by the scientist's assertions and who may be disinclined to read the scientist's article unless they are persuaded to continue reading near the beginning of the article. In other words, the scientific writer has to make it interesting enough to draw the readers in and keep them reading. Scientific writers write and edit scientific abstracts (theoretical material), manuscripts and training materials---among other things. They can write for peer-review journals or their writings can develop into scientific observations, textbooks and literature written for the general public.
Documentation for Scientific Writing
The scientific writer must make sure his or her documents are well written, properly cited, has included a reference section, and is prepared in a timely manner (meaning that the information isn't outdated before it is published). Scientific writing, especially for peer-reviewed publications, is usually written using the APA format (American Psychological Association). Other publications may request articles be arranged in the MLA (Modern Language Association) or the Chicago Manual of Style formats.
Requirements for Scientific Writing
In academic publications, and in a few mainstream publications, scientific writers are usually required to hold a Bachelors in Science (B.S.) a Masters of Science (M.S.) or a Doctorate of Science (PhD) degree because their degree is part of what lends credibility to their writing. They are also required to have experience in some field of science such as medicine, environmental sciences or physics, especially experience related to the article they are trying to publish. This type of writing is based not only on their current research, but on their background experience. That is not to say, however, that all scientific writing has to be done by scientists with degrees who work in the field. Some journalists and other writers with a serious interest in science have also made careers on writing scientific articles for mainstream publications (newspapers, print magazines - like Astronomy and Scientific American - and online sites) without having a science degree or field experience in the area. They build expertise by researching and writing heavily in one or two scientific niches. Over time they then develop a history of providing accurate and timely scientific material that is accessible to and readable for the general public.
Features Seen in Scientific Writing
Scientific papers usually include the following features:
· The title states the question being answered.
· An abstract summarizes the research.
· An introduction gives the background for the research.
· The materials and methods lists the information needed to replicate the testing.
· The results presents the data.
· The discussion section presents the interpretations.
· The conclusion answers the question "do the results support the hypothesis?"
· The references list the books, periodicals and other research material used to set up the experiment and draw conclusions.
Purpose of Scientific Writing
The goal of scientific writing is to thoroughly explain new discoveries, the importance of the research, how the study was carried out and evaluated, and what the results were. The scientific writer must connect the results to prior research and future studies alike. If the scientific writer can compare and contrast the results from this current research, it can lead to even greater progress in scientific study.
Expert Insight
Scientists as scientific writers have a tendency to write for other scientists, which makes their papers extremely difficult to read and understand for the general public. Some would argue that the complexity of the material demands complex writing. Others feel that scientific writers should convey ideas using active verbs and nouns in order to make it more accessible to the general public without over-simplifying it, without compromising the research and without insulting the intelligence of the reader by dumbing-down the language. Either way, the expertise of the scientist always lends its credibility to any scientific writing.
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