<h2>How Scientists Report their Work</h2>
<p>Whether scientific research is <a href="https://app.ulearngo.com/tutorials/introducing-study-of-life/basic-applied-science">basic science</a> or applied science, scientists must share their findings in order for other researchers to expand and build upon their discoveries. Collaboration with other scientists—when planning, conducting, and analyzing results—are all important for scientific research. For this reason, important aspects of a scientist’s work are communicating with peers and disseminating results to peers.</p>
<p>Scientists can share results by presenting them at a scientific meeting or conference, but this approach can reach only the select few who are present. Instead, most scientists present their results in peer-reviewed manuscripts that are published in scientific journals (<a href="#attachment_95191">see image below</a>).</p>
<div class="wp-caption alignnone" id="attachment_95191" style="width: 400px"><a href="https://data.ulearngo.com/assets/b45627d6-7043-43a8-9d14-ebf394c2b08a"><img alt="Scientific_Papers_of_Josiah_Willard_Gibbs" class="size-full wp-image-95191" height="599" src="https://data.ulearngo.com/assets/b45627d6-7043-43a8-9d14-ebf394c2b08a" width="400"/></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Josiah Willard Gibbs was an American scientist who made important theoretical contributions to physics, chemistry, and mathematics. Image Attribution: "<a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Scientific_Papers_of_Josiah_Willard_Gibbs_p10.jpg">Scientific Papers of Josiah Willard Gibbs p10</a>," by Josiah Willard Gibbs via Wikimedia Commons (public domain)</p></div>
<h3><strong>Peer-reviewed Manuscripts</strong></h3>
<p><strong>Peer-reviewed manuscripts</strong> are scientific papers that are reviewed by a scientist’s colleagues, or peers. These colleagues are qualified individuals, often experts in the same research area, who judge whether or not the scientist’s work is suitable for publication. The process of peer review helps to ensure that the research described in a scientific paper or grant proposal is original, significant, logical, and thorough.</p>
<p>Grant proposals, which are requests for research funding, are also subject to peer review. Scientists publish their work so other scientists can reproduce their experiments under similar or different conditions to expand on the findings. The experimental results must be consistent with the findings of other scientists.</p>
<h2>Writing a Scientific Paper</h2>
<p id="fs-id2979084">A <strong>scientific paper</strong> is very different from creative writing. Although creativity is required to design experiments, there are fixed guidelines when it comes to presenting scientific results. First, scientific writing must be brief, concise, and accurate. A scientific paper needs to be succinct but detailed enough to allow peers to reproduce the experiments.</p>
<h3>IMRaD Format</h3>
<p id="fs-id2954730">The scientific paper consists of several specific sections—introduction, materials and methods, results, and discussion. This structure is sometimes called the “IMRaD” format. There are usually acknowledgment and reference sections as well as an <strong>abstract</strong> (a concise summary) at the beginning of the paper.</p>
<p>There might be additional sections depending on the type of paper and the journal where it will be published; for example, some review papers require an outline.</p>
<h3>Introduction</h3>
<p>The <strong>introduction</strong> starts with brief, but broad, background information about what is known in the field. A good introduction also gives the rationale of the work. It justifies the work carried out. It also briefly mentions the end of the paper, where the <a data-lesson="scientific-method-2" data-subject="biology" data-tutorial="biology-foundations" href="https://app.ulearngo.com/biology/biology-foundations/scientific-method-2">hypothesis</a> or research question driving the research will be presented.</p>
<p>The introduction refers to the published scientific work of others and therefore requires citations following the style of the journal. Using the work or ideas of others without proper citation is considered <strong>plagiarism</strong>.</p>
<h3>Materials and Methods</h3>
<p>The <strong>materials and methods</strong> section includes a complete and accurate description of the substances used. It also includes the method and techniques used by the researchers to gather data. The description should be thorough enough to allow another researcher to repeat the <a href="https://app.ulearngo.com/tutorials/introducing-study-of-life/experimenting-and-forming-theories">experiment</a> and obtain similar results. However, it does not have to be verbose.</p>
<p>This section will also include information on how measurements were made and what types of calculations and statistical analyses were used to examine raw data. Although the materials and methods section gives an accurate description of the experiments, it does not discuss them.</p>
<h3>Results and Discussion</h3>
<p>Some journals require a results section followed by a discussion section, but it is more common to combine both. If the journal does not allow the combination of both sections, the <strong>results</strong> section simply narrates the findings without any further interpretation. The results are presented by means of tables or graphs, but no duplicate information should be presented.</p>
<p>In the <strong>discussion</strong> section, the researcher will interpret the results, describe how variables may be related, and attempt to explain the observations. It is indispensable to conduct an extensive literature search to put the results in the context of previously published scientific research. Therefore, proper citations are included in this section as well.</p>
<h3>Conclusion</h3>
<p id="fs-id2967146">Finally, the <strong>conclusion</strong> section summarizes the importance of the experimental findings. While the scientific paper almost certainly answered one or more scientific questions that were stated, any good research should lead to more questions. Therefore, a well-done scientific paper <a data-lesson="leaf-arrangement-and-leaf-form" data-subject="biology" data-tutorial="plant-form-and-physiology" href="https://app.ulearngo.com/biology/plant-form-and-physiology/leaf-arrangement-and-leaf-form">leaves</a> doors open for the researcher and others to continue and expand on the findings.</p>
<h3>Review Articles</h3>
<p id="fs-id1318474"><strong>Review articles</strong> do not follow the IMRaD format because they do not present original scientific findings, or primary literature; instead, they summarize and comment on findings that were published as primary literature and typically include extensive reference sections.</p>

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Reporting Scientific Work

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Explore the foundations of biology as a science, including scientific reasoning, the scientific method, controlled experiments, and reporting scientific work to gain an understanding of the properties of life, levels of organization, and diversity of living things.


Reporting Scientific Work

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