SPH Writing Support Services

In scientific writing, there is little need for ornamentation. Flowery literary embellishments—metaphors, similes, idiomatic expressions—are very likely to cause confusion and should seldom be used in research papers. Science is simply too important to be communicated in anything other than words of certain meaning. And the meaning should be clear and certain not just to peers of the author, but also to students just embarking on their careers, to scientists reading outside their own narrow disciplines, and especially to those readers (most readers today) whose native language is other than English. Many kinds of writing are designed for entertainment. Scientific writing has a different purpose: to communicate new scientific findings. Scientific writing should be as clear and simple as possible.

-- Gastel and Day, How to Write and Publish a Scientific Paper, 8^th Edition, 2016, p. 4

1. The Office of Academic Affairs & Student Services at UTHealth School of Public Health provides templates to help facilitate student research. 

MS Word documents for each template are included below:

2. Need help working with the MS Word templates? These freely available resources can assist you in learning how to use MS Office software, as well as other IT concepts and applications.

3. The Penn State Graduate Writing Center has also developed several resources related to writing conference, dissertation, and thesis proposals.

PDF and PPT versions of relevant workshops are included below:

1. The UTHealth School of Public Health Library has bound copies of all dissertations and theses (through 2014), as well as digital copies of dissertations (since 1973) and theses (since 2008). These resources are excellent references when thinking about, and working on, your own thesis or dissertation.  

To search for dissertations and theses, visit the UTSPH Theses & Dissertations (sign-in required using your UTHealth credentials) database on ProQuest.

2. For general guidance on writing dissertations and theses, review the following handouts:

These resources are designed to help you improve your scientific writing skills.

1. General resources on graduate writing:

• Graduate Writing Lab (from Yale Center for Teaching and Learning)
• The Writer's Handbook (from The Writing Center at UW-Madison)

2. Lectures on scientific writing:

• Science Writing: Practice Makes It (Almost) Perfect (from TAMU Writing Center)
• Scientific Writing: Beyond Tips and Tricks (from PCR Seminar with Judy Swan)  
• Writing Accessibly about Science (from TAMU Writing Center)
• Writing for Publication (from TAMU Writing Center)

3. Resources on scientific writing:

• Clear Communication (from NIH Office of Communications and Public Liaison)
• EASE Toolkit for Authors (from The European Association of Science Editors)
• Effective Scientific Writing (from the Dept. of Biology at Lewis & Clark College)
• Effective Technical Writing in the Information Age (from PennState)
• Fundamentals of Effective Scientific Writing (from ACS Webinars)
• Guide to Scientific Writing (from Clinical Chemistry) 
• How  to Write a Paper in Scientific Journal Style and Format (from the Dept. of Biology at Bates College)
• How to Write a Scientific Masterpiece (from The Journal of Clinical Investigation)
• How to Write a Scientific Paper (from Nature)
• Me Write Pretty One Day: How to Write a Good Scientific Paper (from The Journal of Cell Biology)
• "The Science of Scientific Writing" (by Gopen and Swan in the American Scientist; special issue The Science of Narrative)
• A Scientific Approach to Scientific Writing (from Springer New York)
• Scientific Writing Booklet (from University of Arizona)
• What is Scientific Writing (from The Writing Center at UNC-Chapel Hill)
• Writing a Scientific Research Article (from Columbia University)
• Writing for Science (from the University of Leicester)
• Writing and Speaking Guidelines for Engineering and Science (from Penn State University)
• Written Communication (from Collaborative Learning and Integrated Mentoring in the Biosciences)

4. "Resources for Proposal Writers" and "Resources for Technical Writers and Students" are provided by Celia M. Elliot, a science writer/technical editor in the Department of Physics at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

For more handouts on writing than the eye can see and the brain contain, visit the following Web sites:

• Duke University Thompson Writing Program: Resources
• Harvard College Writing Center: Writing Resources
• Penn State Graduate Writing Center: Handouts
• Texas A&M University Writing Center: Handouts & Guides
• UC Berkeley Student Learning Center: Writing Worksheets
• UNC-Chapel Hill Writing Center: Handouts
• UT-Austin Writing Center: Handouts 
• Yale Center for Teaching and Learning: Writing Handouts

• How to Read a Scientific Paper: Interactive tutorial describing a scholarly paper from Purdue University Libraries.
• How to Read a Scientific Article: Handout on scientific articles from the Cain Project in Engineering and Professional Communication at Rice.
• How to Read a Scholarly Article: Brief guide on identifying and reading a research article from the Kapi'olani Community College Library.
• How to Read a Scientific Paper and How to (Seriously) Read a Scientific Paper: Two articles from Science that give advice on how to digest the scientific literature.

An important step in writing a research paper is showing the strength and quality of the evidence you have chosen, which is best done in an evidence table. Knowing how to build an evidence table is thus a critical step of the research process, whether or not one is required. Evidence tables differ in size and content based on subject, but these resources provide a great starting point for building your own.

Essential resources for writing and publishing health research are provided by the Enhancing the QUAlity and Transparency Of health Research (EQUATOR) Network.

The following reporting guidelines may be particularly relevant to public health students:

1. For economic evaluations: Consolidated Health Economic Evaluation Reporting Standards (CHEERS) Statement

2. For observational studies: The Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (STROBE) Statement: Guidelines for Reporting Observational Studies

3. For qualitative studies: SRQR: Standards for Reporting Qualitative Research: A Synthesis of Recommendations and COREQ: Consolidated Criteria for Reporting Qualitative Research (COREQ): A 32-item Checklist for Interviews and Focus Groups 

4. For randomised trials: CONSORT 2010 Statement: Updated Guidelines for Reporting Parallel Group Randomised Trials

5. For systematic reviews: Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses: The PRISMA Statement

This NIH resource consists of five sections and a checklist. Each section provides several cards with information about using plain language in your work.

Not to be confused with scientific writing -- which is technical writing about science for scientists or other specialists -- science writing is popular writing about science for general readers. Science writers play a critical role by "translating" scientific expertise for non-scientists and non-specialists, that is, by contextualizing, interpreting, and explaining science to inform the lay public.

The following Web sites focus on science writing, and those related to awards occasionally provide article samples:

• Alda-Kavli Learning Center for Communicating Science
• AAAS Kavli Science Journalism Awards
• CASW Showcase
• National Association of Science Writers
• PEN/E.O. Wilson Literary Science Writing Award
• Science Writing Resources (MiSciWriters)
• Secrets of Good Science Writing (series from The Guardian)