A.
Introduction
Scientific paper
is one of the important thing. As a lecturer or another profession must be
familiar with scientific paper. They must know what is the definition of
scientific paper and what must be include in scientific paper. In this paper,
we will learn ore about the scientific paper, the component in scientific
paper, and so on.
B.
Content
1. Definition of Scientific Paper
The
scientific paper is a written and published report describing original research
results.
The
scientific paper, even though meeting all the tests of good writing, is not
validly published if it is published in the wrong place. Scientific papers
should be reviewed by scientific peers and published in a primary journal. Most
governmental reports and conference literature do not qualify as primary
literature.
The
Council of Biology Editors (CBE) supports the following definition :
"An acceptable primary scientific
publication must be the first disclosure containing sufficient information to
enable peers to 1) assess observations, 2) repeat experiments, and 3) to
evaluate intellectual processes; moreover, it must be susceptible to sensory
perception, essentially permanent, available to the scientific community
without restriction, and available for regular screening by one or more of the
major recognized secondary services (e.g., currently Biological Abstracts,
Chemical Abstracts, Index Medicus, Excerpta Medica, Bibliography of
Agriculture, etc., in the United States and similar facilities in other
countries". (http://bioweb.wku.edu/courses/biol398/paper/papertext.html).
We can
write the definition of the scientific paper as a point :
§ The
first publication of original research results
§ In
a form whereby peers of the author can repeat the experiments and test the
conclusions
§ In
a journal or other source document readily available in the scientific
community
Some types of journal content other than
scientific papers are :
§ Review
articles (summarize the literature on a topic)
§ Case
reports
§ Editorials
§ Book
reviews
§ Essays
§ Letters
to the editor
2. Component of Scientific Paper
In writing scientific paper, there are two polar
that have strong influence. There are theories or references and the fact or
data. Both of them is very important thing that needed in writing scientific
paper. The references/ theories can be found on some books, journals, and
another resources. Then, the fact/ data can be found by doing observation to
collect more data that support the problem in the scientific paper. In
collecting data we must consider about the meaning or the purpose of the
observation, then the activity that include in observation, the procedures,
context, relationship between the object in the observation and the last is
about the pattern. We also must consider
about the normative term that must be there.
There are :
a.
Ideology
b.
Philosophy
c.
Paradigm
d.
Theories
e.
Notions
f.
Rules
Writing
an effective scientific paper is not easy. A good rule of thumb is to write as
if your paper will be read by a person who knows about the field in general but
does not already know what you did. Before you write a scientific paper read
some scientific papers that have been written in the format of the paper you
plan to use. In addition to the science, pay attention to the writing style and
format.
Each
scientific paper should have, in order, its Abstract, Introduction, Materials
and Methods, Results, Discussion, and Literature Cited Sections. Any other
order presents potential problems for the reader and probably the writer. GOOD
ORGANIZATION IS THE KEY TO GOOD WRITING. An effective way to proceed in writing
a scientific paper is to answer the following four questions :
1. What is the problem?
Your answer is the Introduction.
2. How did you study the
problem? Your answer is the Materials and Methods.
3. What did you find? Your
answer is the Results.
4. What do these findings
mean? Your answer is the Discussion.
We can remember it by using IMRAD format
for scientific paper :
Introduction
Methods
Results
Discussion
The format of the paper are :
a. Title
The title of the paper is
the most often encountered part of any paper and therefore has great importance
in the success of the paper. Thousands of readers will scan the title but never
read the abstract or paper itself. Abstracting and Indexing services will also
utilize the title, therefore, all words in the title should be chosen with
great care and their association with other words in the title carefully
managed. What is a good title? The fewest possible words that adequately
describe the contents of the paper. How long should the title be? Most titles
are unnecessarily too long. Many journals now limit title submissions to 10 to
12 words. Consequently it becomes necessary to employ effective syntax (word
order) and avoid waste words such as "Investigations on" and
"Observations on" in titles. "Isolation of antigens from monkeys
using complement-fixation techniques", is an example of syntax error which
implies monkey capabilities which the content of the paper does not address.
The title should be a label and not a sentence.
b. Authorships
Authorships should
include only those who actively contributed to the overall design and execution
of the experiments. Authors should be listed in order of importance to the
experiments with the most important being the first or senior author, followed
in order by the next most significant contributors to the project. The
sequencing of authors on a published paper should be decided, unanimously,
before the research is started. How many collaborators should be considered
authors? Only those who contributed "substantially" to the work.
c. Abstract
An abstract is a succinct (one
paragraph) summary of the entire paper. The abstract should briefly describe
the question posed in the paper, the methods used to answer this question the
results obtained, and the conclusions. It should be possible to determine the
major points of a paper by reading the abstract. Although it is located at the
beginning of the paper, it is easiest to write the abstract after the paper is
completed.
d. Introduction
The purpose of the
introduction should be to supply sufficient background information to allow the
reader to understand and evaluate the concept of the present study, provide the
rationale of the study, and introduce the most outstanding conclusions as
objectives or purposes of the study. The introduction should a) present the
nature and scope of the problem studies, b) review the pertinent literature
pertaining to the problem, c) state the general method of the investigation,
and d) state the major observations of the study. As a general rule, most
authors develop and write the introduction and abstract as the last sections of
the paper.
e. Methods and Materials
The general statement
having been made in the introduction, this section requires the full details of
methodology be given. Sufficient detail must be provided to allow any competent
investigator to repeat the experiments with equal likelihood of obtaining similar
results. Sound scientific reports must be reproducable, consequently methods
and materials sections are extremely important to the credibility of the work.
Specific sources, qualities, and capabilities of reagents must be presented.
Precise descriptions of quantities used, measurements required, and
temperatures observed likewise must be given. Pertinent references where
applicable should be provided.
f. Results
The result section is
referred to as the "core" of the paper. The purpose of the result section
is to provide the data resulting from application of the methods described
earlier. Should data be generated from different methodologies, then they
should be presented according to the experimentation design that yielded them.
The greatest problem in putting information into the result section for
publication is the decision as to which data are representative and should be
included and which data are repetitive and have no value. The compulsion to
include everything, leaving nothing out, does not prove that one has unlimited
information; it proves that one lacks discrimination. The fool collects facts;
the wise person selects them. Statistics used to analyze and treat data should
be meaningful and presented responsibly.
g. Discussion
The purpose of the discussion
is more difficult to define than the other sections. As a result~ it is usually
the hardest section to write. Likewise, many papers are not accepted for
publication because of inadequate discussion preparation. Most discussions tend
to be too long for their intended purpose or for the available results.
Unfortunately the "squid" technique prevails and the author, not
knowing what to say about the results, hides behind a protective cloud of ink.
The discussion should attempt to :
1.) present the principles,
relationships and generalizations shown by the results. It should discuss, not
reformulate the results.
2.) point out any exceptions
or lack of correlation and define any unsettled points.
3.) show how your results
and interpretations agree or disagree with previously published works.
4.) discuss any theoretical
implications or practical applications of the results.
5.) reaffirm the major
conclusions or findings as clearly as possible.
6.) summarize the evidence
of the study for each conclusion.
C.
Conclusion
Writing
scientific paper is not easy. We must consider about the key to good writing.
They are called IMRAD : Introduction, Method and Material, Results, and
Discussion. All of the component must be there. So, we must try to write
scientific paper because scientific paper has benefit to us.
Sources
:
3.
http://www.google.co.id/#hl=id&q=definition+of+scientific+paper&oq=definition+of+scientific+paper
