Research & Investigation

Thomas G. Scott
Senior Scientist
U.S.Fish and Wildlife Service
Fort Collins, Colorado

James S. Ayars
Head, Section of Publications and Public Relations
Illinois Natural History Survey, Emeritus
Urbana, Illinois

An essential part of the research process is publication of the findings. Unpublished research is incomplete research. Each scientist bears a responsibility for making the results of his research available to other scientist. This responsibility is accomplished most effectively by those who are willing to work hard enough to become proficient writers. Accurate, clear and concise writing provides a highly rewarding personal experience.

The Scientist as an effective writer may be largely self-trained. Courses in rhetoric are helpful; so are usful references on writing. Beyond these, the scientist is largely on his own. The degree of effectiveness he attains will depend largely upon his intelligence and diligence.

The Authors Procedure
Let us assume that an investigation has been terminated and that the results must be prepared for publication. What is the most effective procedure ? Many scientists have adopted the following plan, or one fairly close to it

The First Step (Preparing Outline)
The first step in the preparation of a manuscript is the formulation of a working outline. The outline helps to insure fidelity to the assignment and to give unity to the paper. Trelease’s (1957:36) advice is appropriate: “A scientific paper should be a unit, treating a single definite subject…Include only what is necessary to an understanding of the main ideas, but omit nothing that is essential.”

The task of preparing an outline has been simplified for scientists because most investigational reports fit a standard format. Some paper may be too short to justify format headings, but the preparatory outline will still follow the format sequence.

The standard format leads the reader from an understandable description of the subject, or a clear statement of purpose, through the investigational techniques used, to the results of the study and an objective discussion of the findings. The parts of the standard format provide a framework for the author’s working outline.

In the order of their physical arrangement, the principal divisions of the standard format are:

1. Title
2. By-line
3. Abstract
4. Introductory Statement
5. Acknowledgements (usually included with the introductory remarks)
6. Study Area ( used only when a detailed description of the study area is an essential part of the report)
7. Materials and Methods
8. Results (sometimes called “Findings”)
9. Discussion ( sometimes combined with Results)
10. Literature Cited.

Title:
The title, which serves as an index to the content of the paper, should include key workds that facilitate machine processing and retrieval. It should be short, specific and accurate. A 10-word limit is a guide to length.

By-line:
The by-line identifies the author(s) and the intuition(s) where the investigation was made. The relationship of the author and institution is best understood where the author’s name is followed by that of the institution. The author should be consistent in the form of his name.

Abstract:
The abstract should be written to stand alone as condensed report of the papers contents. It should not be longer then 3 % of the papers length.

Introductory Statement:
The introductory statement should be used to state the objective or purpose of the investigation or paper. It may include a review of the literature pertinent to the investigation.

Materials and Methods
The section should be detailed enough to allow other scientist to check on the authenticity of the work or to duplicate the procedures used. When materials are not pertinent enough to be listed, the heading becomes Methods.

Results:
The observations and data resulting from the investigation are described here. Great latitude is possible in this section. In some papers Results and Discussion can be combined.

Discussion
This section is a possibility, not a necessity. It related the results to the pertinent findings of other scientists and attempts to evaluate the meaning of the findings. It should not be a convenient depository for afterthoughts nor a mere rehash of results. The section may conveniently be used for broadly interpreting the facts presented in the paper and relating them to the findings of other scientists, taking a fresh look at width and depth of the problems involved, and projecting whatever thinking may be induced by the paper at least a little way into the future.

Literature Cited:
This section lists only the literature that has been cited in the test. It documents the authors interpretations of the literature and provides the reader with a means of evaluating these interpretations.

(This is only an excerpt.The abstract is taken from Wildlife Management Techniques Manual, Edited by: Stanford D. Schiminitz, The Wildlife Society. 1980)