Communication and Citation in the Sciences

This research guide lists print and web resources that provide 1) guidance in the preparation of scholarly papers, oral presentations, and posters; 2) tips for organizing and citing references; and 3) utilities for online language translation and file conversion.

Scientific Papers Oral Presentations Poster Presentations Information Management Citation Style Guides Translation Services File Conversion

Scientific Papers

The HSU Library has many books on scientific writing in general and in specific disciplines. Search the subject Technical Writing in the HSU Library Catalog or a discipline followed by the subheading "authorship", e.g., biology authorship. Listed below are recommended resources:

• Geowriting: a Guide to Writing, Editing and Printing in Earth Science (Bates, Adkins-Heljeson and Buchanan) 1995 (QE 48.85 G44 1995)
• How to Write & Publish a Scientific Paper (Day) 1998 (T 11 D33 1998)
• How to Write Reports and Proposals for People Who Work in Environmental Fields (Lutovich & Chan) 1998 (T 11 L87 1998)
• MIT Guide to Science and Engineering Communication (Paradis) 2002 (Q 223 P33 2002)
• Planning, Proposing, and Presenting Science Effectively: A Guide for Graduate Students and Researchers in the Behavioral Sciences and Biology (Hailman & Strier) 1997 (QH 315 H25 1997)
• Review Paper for the Biological Sciences (Colorado State University--Writing Center) Although much of the information is geared directly to the biological sciences, it is generally applicable to review papers in all fields.
• Scientific Papers and Presentations (Davis) 1997 (T 11 D324 1997)
• Scientific Style and Format: The CBE Manual for Authors, Editors, and Publishers (Council of Biology Editors) 1994 (ref T 11 S386 1994) The standard reference for preparing scientific manuscripts for publication, including the two methods for citing and documenting sources: the citation-sequence system and the name-year system.
• Scientific Writing for Graduate Students: A Manual on the Teaching of Scientific Writing (Woodford and Council of Biology Editors) 1986 (Q 179 C6)
• A Short Guide to Writing About Biology (Pechenik) 1987 (QH 304 P43 1987)
• Writng for Change: An Interactive Guide to Effective Writing, Writing for Science and Writing for Advocacy (Barker and Manji) 2000
• Writing for Fishery Journals (Hunter) 1990 (SH 223 W74 1990) Contains practical advice on improving written communication and publishing success.
  
• Writing in the Arts and Sciences (Maimon) 1981 (ref PE 1478 W75 1981) Basic introduction to academic writing. The natural sciences section includes chapters on the laboratory notebook, laboratory report, and the review paper.
• Writing Papers in the Biological Sciences (McMillan) 1996 (QH 304 M36 1996) Aimed primarily for the undergraduate who needs an introduction to the various forms of biological writing.
• Writing the Scientific-Format Paper (Colorado State University Writing Center)

Oral Presentations

• Data Presentation -- A Guide to Good Graphics and Tables (Zawitz--Washington Statistical Society) Two slide-based presentations covering the proper design and presentation of data using either tables or graphs.
• Pointers for Successful PowerPoint Presentations (Crosby-Muilenburg--Humboldt State University) Includes tips for creating and tips for showing.
• Scientifically Speaking: Tips for Preparing and Delivering Scientific Talks and Using Visual Aids (Oceanographic Society) Includes sections on preparation of poster and oral presentations, use of visual aids and delivery.
• Virtual Presentation Assistant (University of Kansas, Department of Communication Studies) An online tutorial for improving your public speaking skills that covers the following key processes--Determining your purpose; Selecting your topic; Researching your topic; Analyzing your audience; Supporting your points; Outlining your points; Using visual aids; and Presenting your speech.

Poster Presentations

• Designing Effective Poster Presentations (Stoss--University of Buffalor Science & Engineering Library) Guide to print and Internet resources on creating poster presentations, along with links to sample posters.
• Displaying Your Findings: a Practical Guide for Creating Figures, Posters, and Presentations (Nicol and Pexman) 2003 (BF 76.8 N53 2003) Published by the American Psychological Association.
• Do's and Don'ts of Poster Presentations (Block) Provides a helpful list of do's and don'ts covering poster layout, format, content, and presentation. (From Biophysical Journal, Vol 71, December 1996)
• Expanded Guidelines for Giving a Poster Presentation (Miller--American Society of Primatologists) Discusses when to do a poster vs. an oral presentation; developing the content of your presentation; and putting it on paper. Describes proper use of text and graphic images. Covers putting it all together and what to do when at the meeting.
• How to Make a Great Poster (Mandoli--American Society of Plant Biologists) Describes the characteristics of a great poster, ways to create a poster, how to begin, layout, font, and colors, and traditional paste-up poster assembly.
• Poster Sessions (Colorado State University Writing Center) Detailed tutorial on how to create good professional posters. Topics include: Definition of a Poster Session; Purposes for Poster Sessions; Audiences for Poster Sessions; Writing Strategies for Poster Sessions; The Transport Problem; What to Include; Putting It All Together; Example Poster Sessions; and Additional Resources.
• Preparing Scientific Illustrations: a Guide to better Posters, Presentations, and Publications (Briscoe) 1996 (Q 222 .B75 1996)
• The Poster Site: Improving Your Scientific Poster Presentations (Carter and Nilsson--University Hospital, Uppsala, Sweden) Topics covered include Text, Illustrations, Layout, and Preparation. Provides examples and a set of FAQs.
• Preparing Professional Scientific Posters (Kirkeby--University of Minnesota) Covers poster pre-planning and preparation. Provides guidelines on the use of photos, visuals, and text and describes layout considerations and the assembly process for a traditional paste-up type poster.
• Scientist's Guide to Poster Presentations (Gosling) 1999 (Q 179.94 G67 1999)

Information Management

• Bibliographic Database Managers (Sathrum) Explanation and listing of software programs designed for creating and manipulating databases of bibliographic references.
• EndNote Web Thomson Corporation) Free to HSU students, faculty and staff. See Using EndNote Web at HSU for additional information.
• CiteULike (Cameron) Free service to help researchers share, store, and organise academic papers found on the web. Paper citations can be added to your personal library in one of two ways: 1) citation details are automatically extracted from supported journal repositories; or 2) for other sources you will need to enter the citation yourself. Because your library is stored on the server, you can access it from any computer. You can share you library with others, and find out who is reading the same papers as you. In turn, this can help you discover literature which is relevant to your field but you may not have known about. When it comes to writing up your results in a paper, you can export your library to either BibTeX or Endnote to build it in to your bibliography.
• Connotea (Nature Publishing) Free web based reference management service designed for scientists that will store links to online articles and websites. It automatically collects the bibliographic information for an online article, book or web page that is being linked and allows you to assign tags to the saved links to organize them and aid in future searching. Connotea is also a cooperative system in which you can discover related articles and websites saved by others. Different users' libraries are linked together through the use of common tags or common bookmarks.
• Del.icio.us (Yahoo) Free web social networking service popular with the general public for storing, tagging, and sharing information located on the web.
• 2collab (Elsevier) Free social bookmarking site designed for researchers for storing, tagging ,organizing and sharing information found on the web -- blogs, websites, research articles, and more. References found in ScienceDirect can be easily exported to 2collab. It also serves as an information discovery tool to locate information and researchers with similiar interests.

Citation Style Guides

Listed below are guides to correct citation format in various scientitic disciplines. In addition most scientiffic journals publish style guidelines periodically within the journal or post them on their website.

• General
  • QuickBib (Cambridge Scientific Abstracts (CSA) Generate a bibliography in popular bibliographic styles from database records saved from searches in CSA databases--Aquatic Sciences and Fisheries Abstracts, Environmental Sciences and Pollution Managment, GeoRef, and others. Choose from HTML, Text, RTF, or MS Word document output formats.
  • Quick Reference Sources--Style Manuals (HSU Library) Contains links to online style guides in common style formats

• Biology--Council of Scientific Editors (CSE) Style (formerly Council of Biology Editors (CBE))
  • Scientific Style and Format: The CSE Manual for Authors, Editors, and Publishers (Council of Scientific Editors) 2006 (ref T 11 S386 2006) The standard reference for preparing scientific manuscripts for publication, including the two methods for citing and documenting sources: the citation-sequence system and the name-year system.
  • Council of Biology Editors (CBE) Scientific Style (Colorado State University Writing Center)
  • Council of Biology Editors (CBE) Style of Documentation in Science and Mathematics (New Guide to Writing Research Papers - Monroe Community College) Includes examples of print and electronic citation formats in CBE style.
  • Documentation: CBE Documentation (Writer's Handbook - University of Wisconsin-Madison Writing Center)
  • Using CBE Style to Cite and Document Sources (Online: A Reference Guide to Using Internet Sources) Includes examples of citing electronic sources.
• Chemistry
  • The ACS Style Guide: a Manual for Authors and Editors (Dodd) 1997 (ref QD 8.5 A25 1997)
  • Reference Style Guidelines (American Chemical Society)
• Fisheries
  • AFS Publications Style Guide (American Fisheries Society)
• Forestry
  • Chicago Manual of Style 1993 (ref Z 253 V69 1993) Used by Society of American Foresters journals.
  • Guide for Citing Bibliographic References (Thomas) 2001 Prepared for the USFS Rocky Mountain Research Station. Has good examples of USFS publication citations.
• Geology
  • Geological Society of America Style
• Nursing
  • AMA Style Guide (University of Washington)
  • American Medical Assocation Manual of Style: a Guide for Authors and Editors (Iverson) 1998 (Ref R 119 A533 1998)
  • Citing Medicine: The NLM Style Guide for Authors, Editors, and Publishers (Patrias and Wendling) 2007
• Oceanography
  • AGU Reference Style (American Geophysical Union)
• Physics
  • AIP Style Manual (American Institute of Physics)
• Wildlife
  • Manuscript Guidelines for the Journal of Wildlife Management (Ratti & Smith) 1997. Used by Wildlife Society journals