Writing a scientific paper

Presenting your scientific results

Writing a Scientific Paper

Your research paper should be written as a formal scientific paper, including Abstract, Introduction, Methods, Results, Discussion, Conclusion, Figures and/or Tables, and References. See the links below for details about what should be included in each section . Specifics about how to find published research papers on your topic and references is included in this page, below.

For an example of a good scientific paper (both in content and structure), see Sweitzer & Berger, 1992. (click for link to .pdf file).

What to include in Abstract, Introduction, Methods, Results, Discussion, Figures/Tables, and Conclusion sections of your paper:

Please link to these sites that have good descriptions of the components of a scientific paper: Writing Scientific Reports and The Structure of a Scientific Paper

Specific Instructions for References:

Your research paper must reference at least 4 scientific articles from the primary literature that relate to your topic. You may also include web sites in your references, but be sure you are citing the original reference within the web site.

One good source for scientific references is on the online, full-text database called JSTOR. To get there, either click on this link (JSTOR) or go to the CC Tutt Library Home Page. Go to the link Full-text articles under the heading Article/Information Databases. Scroll down (or click the J link) until you find JSTOR. Click the JSTOR link and you will get to the JSTOR page. Click Search, and then fill in the keywords, author, title words, etc. that you want to search for in full text, title, etc categories. Then scroll down and mark your journal selection by clicking the box titled Ecology (21 journals). If you want to limit your search to recent articles, fill in the limit boxes at the bottom of the Basic Search page.

Other online databases that might be helpful are the FirstSearch databases, including Basic Biosis, Agricola, GeoBase, or GeoRef. To get to these FirstSearch databases, go to the CC Tutt Library Home Page. Go to the link Full-text articles under the heading Article/Information Databases. Scroll down (or click the F link) until you find FirstSearch. The best way to search is to go to the window titled Jump to Advanced Search. Select one of the databases, and then you will get to a window where you can fill in your keywords, etc.

Presenting your Scientific Results

How to give a good scientific presentation (Biowire.com)
Online Resource for Scientific Presentations (Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology)