From Research to Manuscript: A Guide to Scientific Writing [Paperback]

Michael Jay Katz (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 29, 2009 | ISBN-10: 1402094663 | ISBN-13: 978-1402094668 | Edition: 2nd ed.

Written in simple, straightforward language, From Research to Manuscript, explains how to understand and summarize a research project. It is a writing guide that goes beyond grammar and style by demonstrating how to pull together the information needed for each section of a polished scientific paper. This book is a systematic guide, leading you from the data on your desk through the drafts and rewrites that are needed to build a complete and tightly-written science article.  From Research to Manuscript: includes tools and techniques for structuring the sentences, paragraphs, and sections of a research paper. gives wide-ranging examples from well-written research articles. offers advice to speakers of other languages. explains the effective use of tables, graphs, statistics, and figures. shows you how to organize your data to clearly present your results. guides you through the process of manuscript submission and editorial review. The updated second edition includes more examples, advice on publishing in online journals, software suggestions, and updated references. Overall, From Research to Manuscript argues that scientists should be working on their paper during their active research. Writing will keep the research project organized, thorough, and thoughtful. From Research to Manuscript provides a format for integrating writing and research, so that you can strengthen your science, compose a better paper, and get the paper published.

Editorial Reviews

Review

From the reviews:

"Compulsory reading for post-docs wanting to achieve success in the scientific field."
(Ronan Bree, National University of Ireland, Galway)
"The book would be a great addition to the personal libraries of graduate students and postdoctoral fellows bent on careers in science. Many seasoned scientists could also be advised to read the book to improve their skills in writing."
(Donald K. Ingram, Editor-in-Chief of AGE)

"From specific details of style to manuscript publication and practices of peer-review, From research to manuscript covers a wide range of topics. … Overall, Katz provides a pleasant overview of the research-science report process for both first-time science research authors and seasoned professionals. … it could serve as a teaching guide for students learning the process of taking science from the laboratory notebook to the scientific paper-in Katz’s words, ‘from research to manuscript.’" (Julie Kinyoun, Technical Communication, Vol. 54 (2), 2007)

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Review

"Compulsory reading for post-docs wanting to achieve success in the scientific field." (Ronan Bree, National University of Ireland, Galway) "A great addition to the personal libraries of graduate students and postdoctoral fellows bent on careers in science. Many seasoned scientists could also be advised to read the book to improve their skills in writing." (Donald K. Ingram, Editor-in-Chief of AGE) "Overall, Katz provides a pleasant overview of the research-science report process for both first-time science research authors and seasoned professionals." (Julie Kinyoun, Technical Communication, Vol. 54 (2), 2007) "... another excellent book to treasure." (Dr. Achuthsankar S. Nair, University of Kerala)

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Springer; 2nd ed. edition (January 29, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1402094663
• ISBN-13: 978-1402094668
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #46,309 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #22 in Books > Medical Books > Basic Sciences > Biotechnology

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Very useful content, needs better graphics, February 21, 2010

By 

R. L. Wright "biology prof" (St. Paul, MN USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

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This review is from: From Research to Manuscript: A Guide to Scientific Writing (Paperback)

If you are looking for a very solid, well-written, practical guide to writing research papers, this is a great choice. It begins with a strategy of turning an outline into a paper, then moves into basic statistic and approaches to developing good figures, graphs, and tables that lay out the significant results of the work. (This is a real strength, and not something you usually find in these kids of books.) Then, it follows each section in a reseach paper, providing very practical explanations, approaches, and examples. I would definitly consider this book appropriate to require for a college senior-level scientific writing course, such as a senior capstone thesis course. The only drawback is that this is not a "pretty" book. The diagrams are in black and white (helping to maintain the reasonable cost) but honestly not very well done. It really needs a professional layout/graphic artist's touch.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars my tool against the dreaded writer's block, October 7, 2011

By 

Jose M. Borreguero - See all my reviews
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This review is from: From Research to Manuscript: A Guide to Scientific Writing (Paperback)

I consider Chapter 3 of Part I to be the gem of this book. The author teaches you how to construct a sound paragraph from scratch. It's hard and lengthy work, but it guarantees that you'll overcome the writer's block. A valuable lesson gained is that I can approach my article and work on a single paragraph while forgetting about the rest. This simple realization dispelled my false belief that I had to contend with the whole article every time I lay my hands on it. It also means it's not neccessary to set aside large chunks of time to write.

In Part II, the author chops the paper into a hierarchy of subsections, beginning with the standard first level (Abstract,Intro,Methods,Results,Discussion ,Conclusion) down to paragraphs, so that you can use the aforementioned methodology. Very useful for those with an unclear idea on how to tackle with the Intro and Discussion sections.

I used to consider writing a paper as some kind of arcane art, but this book provided me with a clear protocol I can apply every time. Make no mistake, writing your paper will still require hard work from your part, but it'll be an efficient chore.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An outstanding guide for science authors, June 30, 2009

By 

Busu (Virginia Beach) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: From Research to Manuscript: A Guide to Scientific Writing (Paperback)

I find it very helpful and useful guide. It will be a great for all scientists especially to all postgraduate students and postdoctoral researchers who will be in the business of writing manuscripts for publications in peer-reviewed journals.