1 IMRAD The student's guide to scientific writing by A. 2 Outline ̶ Empirical research articles oTitle page, Abstract oIntroduction oMethods oResults oDiscussion oSupplements & other additions ̶ Presenting research ̶ Teamwork ̶ Critical thinking & reading ̶ Final assignment ( Q & A ) 3 Research articles ̶ Research papers are just advertisements – presentation ! ̶ Good story sells, high rejection rates of journals oNovel, interesting, important, crucial ̶ Citations & impact factor (IF) ̶ Editing & rewriting ̶ Empirical research ̶ Quanti vs. quali vs. both How to write really good articles for premier academic journals 4 HOW TO WRITE A RESEARCH PAPER 5 Title page ̶ Title oConcise and descriptive (e.g., main finding / what was done / what is discussed) ̶ Authors affiliations oInstitutions where the authors work oIdentify the corresponding author oProvide contact to the corresponding author 6 Title page ̶ Title oConcise and descriptive (e.g., main finding / what was done / what is discussed) ̶ Authors affiliations oInstitutions where the authors work oIdentify the corresponding author oProvide contact to the corresponding author 7 Abstract ̶ The most important section ̶ Concise, but rich in information ̶ No references ̶ Key information oRelevant prior knowledge oResearch goals and ways to achieve them ▪ Methods, participants, analysis... oThe main findings / results / outcomes oCrucial limits (if necessary) oSuggestions for future research (optional) oKey words (depends on the journal) Graphical abstracts 8 INTRODUCTION 9 Introduction (structure) ̶ Introductory paragraph oGeneral statements, definitions, facts... oEngage the reader ̶ Theory (headings depend on the journal) ̶ Final paragraph oResearch gap oThe importance of the current study oAims, predictions, research questions, hypothesis (quanti / quali) ▪ Do not state compound hypotheses ! oWhat you did (methods) /+ what were the results *just one of the possible structures!!! 10 Introduction ̶ Different approaches oHypotheses specified along with theorizing oResearch questions /+ hypotheses /+ aim oState hypotheses / questions in the text / separately 11 Introduction (content) ̶ Be clear and concise! oUse abbreviations to a limited extent (no more than 7 – 10) oEach abbreviations must be defined at first mention oContinuity ̶ Findings are followed by a citation oMake clear to which statements the citation relates oGeneralize, combine findings from multiple studies oSupport your claims with more studies and/or systematic reviews oUse "i.e.", "e.g.", "see XY for a review" when appropriate (e.g., Study 1; Study 2) oThe more recent the citation the better ̶ Explain less known theories, terms ̶ Pay attention to the wording oEvidence / finding / result / suggestion / speculation 12 Introduction ̶ Be clear and concise! 13 Introduction ̶ Be clear and concise! 14 Introduction ̶ Conceptual models and visualizations 15 METHODS 16 Methods ̶ Ethics oDeclaration of Helsinky (1964) ▪ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Declaration_of_Helsinki oInformed consent oRewards oVoluntariness oPre-registration link (eg. AsPredicted, OSF) 17 Methods ̶ Participants • Total sample + final sample • Who (students/general population/clinical sample/migraineurs/dog owners...) • Age (mean + SD (+mode, median) / range ) • Sex / gender + exceptions • Descriptives in numbers (N = XY) / % • How they were recruited • Power analysis, stopping criteria, theoretical saturation (Quali) • Exclusion criteria • How many excluded and why (...resulting in the final sample) *Do not collect more than you need! 18 Methods ̶ Participants 19 Methods ̶ Participants 20 Methods Materials and stimuli ̶ Describe questionnaires, modifications ̶ Stimuli ̶ Experimental task ̶ Technologies used ̶ Interview questions (Q) *give them separate headlines *think about ethics, if tasks are appropriate (ego depletion, war survivors) 21 Methods Materials and stimuli ̶ Describe questionnaires, modifications ̶ Stimuli ̶ Experimental task ̶ Technologies used ̶ Interview questions (Q) *give them separate headlines *think about ethics, if tasks are appropriate (ego depletion, war survivors) 22 Methods Materials and stimuli ̶ Describe questionnaires, modifications ̶ Stimuli ̶ Experimental task ̶ Technologies used ̶ Interview questions (Q) *give them separate headlines *provide pictures, schemes *think about ethics, if tasks are appropriate (ego depletion, war survivors) 23 Methods ̶ Procedure othe story of what happened during the experimental session and how 24 Methods ̶ Statistical analysis oused software (SPSS, R, JASP, jamovi...) oanalyzed variables ostatistical tests oassumptions check ocriterion of significance oless known methods described in more detail omissing values odescription of qualitative analyses (Quali) *methods have limits and assumptions 25 Methods ̶ Pilot data 26 RESULTS 27 Results ̶ Numbers & their interpretations ̶ description of statistical decisions ̶ brief speculation if necessary ̶ graphs, tables (Quali) ̶ thematic structures, examples ̶ frequencies, tables with frequencies of occurrence (of themes) 28 Results 29 Results (Quanti) 30 Results (Quali) 31 Results ̶ when we fail to reject a hypothesis, the result is "inconclusive" owe can reject the null hypothesis but we cannot accept it "We found no significant treatment effects for men or women, with the exception that time pressure increased utilitarian judgments among women, see S1 File Table G. The significant effect of time pressure on utilitarian judgments among women may just be a false positive and should not carry any weight unless confirmed in other studies. The large number of tests carried out increases the risk of false positives and the result would not survive adjustments for multiple testing." (https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0164012#pone.0164012.re f020) 32 DISCUSSION 33 Discussion (structure) ̶ Introductory paragraph owhat the research was about omain results ̶ Theory (often no headlines) orelate the results to the theory oexplain the results using theory odiscussion links back to introduction ̶ Limits & future research ̶ Final paragraph / separate headline oconclusion / summary ofocused on results, interpretations, contributions and recommendations for future research *do NOT go beyond what the results can support !!! *just one of the possible structures !!! 34 Discussion (structure) ̶ Introductory paragraph owhat the research was about omain results ̶ Theory (often no headlines) orelate the results to the theory oexplain the results using theory odiscussion links back to introduction ̶ Limits & future research ̶ Final paragraph / separate headline oconclusion / summary ofocused on results, interpretations, contributions and recommendations for future research *just one of the possible structures!!! 35 Discussion (structure) ̶ Final paragraph / separate headline oConclusion / summary ofocused on results, interpretations, contributions and recommendations for future research 36 Discussion ̶ Vocabulary oPeople are happy oThis study provides evidence that people are happy oThis study shows that people are happy oThe study demonstrates that people are happy oThe study illustrates that people are happy oThis result implies that people are happy oUsing the current design, the study shows that people are happy oThis study suggests that people are happy oThis study suggests that people may be happy oWe speculate that people are happy ... oThis and the results of other studies (XY) show that people are happy oThe result that people are happy is in line with previous research oThe result contradicts / does not support previous findings ... 37 Supplements & other additions ̶ Final statements oData availability (eg. OSF, GitHub, Zenodo) oCode availability oAuthor contributions oFunding oAcknowledgements ▪ Labs that helped ▪ People who helped oConflict of interest 38 Supplements & other additions ̶ Final statements oData availability (eg. OSF, GitHub, Zenodo) oCode availability oAuthor contributions oFunding oAcknowledgements ▪ Labs that helped ▪ People who helped oConflict of interest 39 Supplements & other additions ̶ Final statements oAuthor contributions ▪ CRediT author statement 40 Supplements & other additions ̶ Appendices ̶ Separate supplements oImages oVideos oPDFs... 41 Presenting research ̶ Don't start with "takže" odr. Juřík doesn't like it ̶ Clothes ̶ Language 42 Teamwork ̶ Leader (usually 1st author) ̶ Different expertise and interests ̶ Discussion oKnowledge of theory oPotential design flaws oAlternative explanations oExperience with the examined sample / platform / place / research 43 Critical thinking & reading ̶ Food / music / social skills oTraining ! ̶ Researcher's toolbox: oKnowledge of theory (papers, books, scientific discussion) oMethodology oStatistics oProgramming, working with software oFamiliarity with technologies oResearch experience 44 Final assignment ( Q & A ) ̶ Pretend it's a proposal oFuture tense o1st half: introduction & methods o2nd half: what the results might be (results), contribution of results, other ways of approaching the topic, limits of the study, suggestions for future research (discussion) oCheck the assignment in IS ̶ Author plural / singular ̶ Quanti / Quali ̶ Slovak / Czech / English / combination ̶ ??? 45 Fingers crossed with your academic writing! alexandra.ruzickova@mail.muni.cz