Forestry 545 Discussion & Conclusions References March 11, 2014 Sue Watts Office of the Dean Faculty...

Forestry 545Forestry 545

Discussion & Discussion & ConclusionsConclusions

ReferencesReferences

March 11, 2014 Sue Watts

Office of the DeanFaculty of Forestry

University of British Columbia Vancouver CANADA

General manuscript formatGeneral manuscript format

Title Author(s) affiliations Abstract Introduction Materials & methods Results Discussion & conclusions References

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DiscussionDiscussion

Your paper must form a coherent story and be consistent in all parts

Your Discussion is tied to your Introduction

Your Conclusion is tied to your Abstract Do not be tempted to cut and paste

between these sections!

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Hardest section to define, thus usually the hardest to write

Many papers are rejected due to a faulty Discussion – even when the data may be valid and interesting

A poor Discussion can lead to the meaning of data being obscured

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This is the section that can make your paper memorable

If you do not have a strong Discussion your results may go unnoticed among the millions of other scientific observations

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Introduction and Discussion should function as a pair (as Methods and Results correspond to one another)

Introduction poses one or more questions - Discussion indicates what the findings say about the answers

Make sure your Discussion provides these answers

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Purpose of the Discussion is to show relationships among OBSERVED FACTS

It is a collection of arguments on the relevance, usefulness, possibilities or limitations of your results

A reader should not be left asking “so what?”

Your Discussion should end with brief Conclusions

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What to avoid in the DiscussionWhat to avoid in the Discussion

Discussion should not contain results or recapitulate what readers have seen in the Results section

Discussion should focus on your work and not dwell unnecessarily on results of other studies

Avoid making the Discussion section too verbose

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freepicturesweb.com

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Jamie Myers

Keeping the Discussion shortKeeping the Discussion short

Try to minimize the length of the Discussion by:

– Not referring to unnecessary references

– Not repeating results in the Discussion (simply refer to the figure or table)

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Discussion has four partsDiscussion has four parts

1. Main message – answers hypothesis posed in the Introduction

2. Critical assessment – limitations3. Comparison with other studies –

describes inconsistencies compared to other studies

4. Conclusions – possible scientific and practical implications of the study

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1. . Main messageMain message

Main message consists of one or more paragraphs (arguments) that answer the question (hypothesis) posed in the introduction

It includes supporting evidence without repeating results

It presents the principles, relationships and generalizations shown by the results

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Main message exampleMain message example(Gustavii 2002)

‘Our data support the hypothesis that taking aspirin or other non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs protects against the development of colorectal cancer and suggests that it does so by reducing the prevalence of colorectal adenomas’

This Discussion opening answers the question posed in the author’s Introduction

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Constructing the main Constructing the main message message

Balance by discussing most important findings first:

Gold relevant to original hypothesis and allows you to make a positive statement

Silver relevant to original hypothesis, but is equivocal or requires further experimentation

Bronze not relevant to original hypothesis, but new and interesting

Tin not relevant to original hypothesis, and of marginal interest (exclude these from your paper)

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Achieving impactAchieving impact

Improve the impact of your important arguments by

– Devoting more text to your Gold arguments

– Starting your discussion with your Gold arguments and leading with keywords

– Restating what is important by statements such as in summary….

Do not devote a lot of text to minor arguments

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2. Critical AssessmentCritical Assessment

Point out any exceptions or any lack of correlation and define any unsettled points

Point out any shortcomings in the experimental design or limitations in the study

Do not gloss over or fudge data that does not fit

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Scientists behaving badlyScientists behaving badly

Nature 2005:435, 737-738

!!!!

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3. Comparison with other Comparison with other studiesstudies

This is where you discuss agreement or inconsistencies with others

Start with your most significant finding Compare your results with those of studies that largely agree with yours

Then discuss studies that are less compatible with your own and conclude with studies that contradict your findings (trying to explain differences)

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Evaluate results not authorsEvaluate results not authors

Each statement you make in the Discussion should be supported by your own results or those of others (referenced)

References should take the following form:– Authority on which to base arguments:All trees are sensitive to Glyphosate (Smith 2006)– Temporary authority with whom you agree:

Smith (2006) found or showed……..– Authority you intend to challenge:Smith (2006) claimed……

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Avoid claiming priorityAvoid claiming priority

Do not say that you are the first to do something – most studies are the first as most studies have a design of their own“Our study was the first to apply this measuring technique to conifers”

Tell reader why your approach was superior“Most studies have been made on exotic tree species; ours was made on native Douglas-fir”

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4. ConclusionsConclusionsthe “bottom line” – what to include

Provide suggestions on the implications of your findings and suggestions for further research

Combine facts from your results with established facts or theories to illustrate relevance & usefulness of your study

Summarize evidence for each conclusion Use concluding remarks to tell reader

“ so what ”

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4. ConclusionsConclusions

Readers often skip large segments of papers and jump from Abstracts to Conclusions

You need to differentiate your Conclusions from your Abstract for this reason (avoid cutting and pasting)

How do your Abstract and Conclusions differ?

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4. ConclusionsConclusionsversus the Abstract

Because your Conclusions has to close the loop that was opened in your Introduction, it has to be more detailed than your Abstract

Abstract briefly mentions the impact of the contribution

Conclusion dwells on this aspect to “energize” the reader

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4. ConclusionsConclusionsversus the Abstract

Abstract has a factual, neutral tone Conclusions need to keep the reader in a

positive state of mind (this means that you need to be energized when you write it and yet you may well be doing this last when you are far from perky!)

Everything in an Abstract is new to the reader

Nothing in the Conclusions is new

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What not to include in What not to include in ConclusionsConclusions

Rash generalizations Suggested shortcomings of others

Better to indicate next steps to resolve conflict Findings expressed too forcefully (if

results don’t justify the statement) use phrases like;The possibility exists; it may be possible or (if you have strong evidence) there is a clear indication that….

Too many alternate hypotheses

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WarningWarning

Seldom will you be able to illuminate the whole truth!

Most often you have to be happy with sharing a spot light in one area of the truth

Your one area of truth can be illuminated by your data

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ReminderReminder

Re-visit the rules of plagiarism…….Re-visit the rules of plagiarism…….

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General manuscript formatGeneral manuscript format

Title Author(s) affiliations Abstract Introduction Materials & Methods Results Discussion References

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ReferencesReferences

Roles Ensure intellectual integrity by giving credit to

others whose work contributed to the research Provide users of references with sufficient

information to locate the published work

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References in useReferences in use

1. At end of document as list of all references that contribute to the work (references, bibliography, literature cited, end-references)

2. Within text in abbreviated form (in-text references) that refer to end-references

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Systems of referencingSystems of referencing

Three main systems

Type chosen determines the order of references for the reference list and way in-text references are done

Citation-sequenceName-yearCitation-name

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Systems of referencingSystems of referencing

Citation-sequence (Nature, Science)

Name-year (Can J For Res, For Chron, Chin For, Environ Rev, Plant Soil, Ecol Indic, Chemosphere, NW Sci, Ecosystems, Plant Cell Environ, For Landscape Res, Bor Environ Res, For Snow Landscape Res, Environ Poll,Bio Sci)

Citation-name (J Ind Micro Biotechnol) 3333

Citation-sequenceCitation-sequence

Uses numbers in text to refer to end-references

Numbers are assigned in order that reference appears in text– ..tarantulas are native to the site1

End list of references is in order which they first appear in text– 1. Smith AB. Tarantulas of Guatemala. Can J For

Res. 1995 Jan;52(12):1048-1060

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If more than one in-text reference is needed list the references in series– ..Lonicera is native to the site1,14,20,24-26

Numbers are placed in superscript to avoid confusion with parenthetic numbers used in text

If journal does not allow superscript, make sure other numbers in text have units or symbols with them

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Example as used in “Science”…..the high value (12 g/L) previously reported (37) …..

Citation-sequence system is also known as the Vancouver System

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Gustavii 2002

Name-yearName-year

Uses surname and year of publication in text– …the high value reported (Smith 2007)…

End references are in alphabetical order of surname– Smith AB. 2007. Tarantulas of Guatemala.

N Eng J Med 34(17):12-23

Also known as the Harvard system3838

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Gustavii 2002

Many versions are needed in order to accommodate:

– Multiple works by same author– Authors with same names– Multiple authors– Organizations as authors– Works with no clear author– Works with multiple dates– Works with no clear date– Special cases for in-text references

Name-yearName-year

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Name-year

Multiple works by same author

In text place years after author in chronological order– Smith’s studies on tree volume (Smith

1970, 1976, 2004) In end-reference

– Smith AB. 1970Smith AB. 1976Smith AB. 2004

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Name-yearName-year

Multiple works same author & same year

Need to add an alphabetical designator to in-text & end references– Studies in tree volume (Smith 1999a, 1999b)–

Smith AB. 1999aSmith AB. 1999b

Order end-references by month of publication or title

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Name-yearName-year

Authors with same names & same year

If 2 authors publish in same year with same name, must use initials with in-text reference– Earlier commentary on rhubarb growth (Roberts A

2006; Roberts D 2006)

– Roberts A. 2006Roberts D. 2006

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Name-yearName-year

Multiple authors

If reference has 2 authors give both names with “and” in in-text reference– Earlier commentary on rhubarb growth

(Smith and Brown 2001)

– Smith AB, Brown CD. 2001

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Name-yearName-year

Multiple authors

If reference has 3 or more authors give only first author name in-text followed by et al and publication year– Earlier commentary on rhubarb growth

(Jones et al 2001)

– Jones AB, Brown CD, Smith EF. 20014545

Name-yearName-year

Organizations as authors

For in-text reference use initial letter of each part of the name– The landmark report on dandelions (IOW

1996)

For end-references use abbreviation first– [IOW] Institute of Weeds (UK). 1996

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Name-yearName-year

Organizations as authors If a document has very few in-text references then can use full organization name

– The landmark report on raspberries (Institute of Jam Research 1976) was…

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Name-yearName-year

Works with no clear author

Do not use “anonymous” Begin in-text reference with first word(s)

of title followed by ellipsis– Fertilizer rates recommended for carrots

(Handbook …c2000) differ from..

– Handbook of fertilizer application rates. c2000.

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Name-yearName-year

Citations with multiple dates

Some journal volumes span a calendar Some journal volumes span a calendar yearyear

Books may be published in several Books may be published in several volumes over time volumes over time

Electronic documents often have Electronic documents often have multiple dates for publication, multiple dates for publication, modification, copyright, citationmodification, copyright, citation

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Name-yearName-year


For journal publication of in-text For journal publication of in-text references with multiple dates, give references with multiple dates, give first and last year with hyphen or en first and last year with hyphen or en dashdash– (Smith and Brown 19992000)

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Name-year


For electronic publication use only one of For electronic publication use only one of the dates available by order of the dates available by order of preference below preference below

1.1. Publication datePublication date2.2. Copyright dateCopyright date3.3. Modification dateModification date4.4. Citation dateCitation date

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Name-year


Electronic publication examples– (Smith and Jones c2000)

– Smith AB, Jones CD c2000. Title [Internet]. Orlando (FL): Harcourt Inc.; [cited 2001 Apr 5]. Available from http://www.nowhere.com

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Name-yearName-year


Electronic publication examples– (Brown [mod 1990])

– Brown DE, editor [modified 1990 Mar 25]. Title [Internet]. France: Weeds International; [cited 2001 Apr 5]. Available from http://www.nowhere.com

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Name-yearName-year


Electronic publication examples– (Jones et al. [cited 1990])

– Jones A, Smith AB, Little HI. [cited 1990 Jun 5]. Title [Internet]. New York (NY): Mazel. Available from http://www.nowhere.com

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Name-year

Works with no clear date

If work has no publication date availableIf work has no publication date available– Rhubarb grew well in the sun (Jones and

Smith [date unknown])

– Jones AB, Smith CD. [date unknown].

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Name-yearName-year

Special cases for in-text references

Can use date only in-text if absolutely no Can use date only in-text if absolutely no confusion could occurconfusion could occur– When Smith’s studies (1996, 2002a, 2002b,

2007) are examined..

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Citation-nameCitation-name

Uses alphabetical end-reference list by Uses alphabetical end-reference list by author and then titleauthor and then title

References are then numbered in this References are then numbered in this sequence such that work by ‘A’ Adams sequence such that work by ‘A’ Adams is #1, Brown #2 etcis #1, Brown #2 etc

These numbers are then used in the These numbers are then used in the in-text referencing regardless of the in-text referencing regardless of the sequence in which they are mentionedsequence in which they are mentioned

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Citation-nameCitation-name

Example

May have the May have the firstfirst in-text reference as in-text reference as one by Zimmerman and yet this might one by Zimmerman and yet this might be referred to as number 56be referred to as number 56

These studies are based on earlier work56 that elucidated…

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Advantages & disadvantagesAdvantages & disadvantages

Citation-sequenceAdvantages1. Minimal interruption to text when reading,

saves space and costs2. Little decision making is needed, end-

references are formatted without need to move date from its usual position (an important advantage when loading references from a data base)

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Citation-sequenceDisadvantages1. Cannot identify author from in-text

reference2. Numbers in in-text references have to

change as manuscript changes3. Reference list has little use on its own in

that it is not easy to locate works by a specific author & works by same author are not listed together

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Name-yearAdvantages1. Easier to add/delete references2. Recognizes author in text without referral

to end-references3. Date with name in text may be useful to

reader4. Easy to locate references by specific author

in end-references

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Name-yearDisadvantages1. MAJOR rules to follow2. Use of ‘and’ between 2 in-text author names

conflicts with bibliographic standards3. Newer formats, such as Internet, make rules

even more complex for in-text references4. Long strings of name / year can interrupt flow

of reading and be irritating to the reader

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Citation-nameAdvantages1. Does not interrupt flow of reading2. End-references are in standard bibliographic format3. End-references are in standard alphabetical order

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Citation-name

Disadvantages1. Cannot identify author from in-text

reference2. Numbers in in-text references have to

change as manuscript changes

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Punctuation of referencesPunctuation of references

In In name-yearname-year system (White 2000) do system (White 2000) do not use commas as this makes more not use commas as this makes more typing and spacetyping and space

In In citation-namecitation-name and and citation-sequence citation-sequence systems, use superscript for the systems, use superscript for the number and a smaller fontnumber and a smaller font1212

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Placement of referencesPlacement of references

Place in-text references immediately Place in-text references immediately following the word, phrase or title to following the word, phrase or title to which is directly relevant rather than which is directly relevant rather than appearing at the end of long clauses or appearing at the end of long clauses or sentences sentences

The most recent report The most recent report (Brown 2007) (Brown 2007) on on the use of ..the use of ..

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What to include in a reference listWhat to include in a reference list

NEVER include a reference to an article NEVER include a reference to an article that you have not seenthat you have not seen

Do not cite something that you have Do not cite something that you have seen cited by someone else but have seen cited by someone else but have not seen yourselfnot seen yourself

If you cannot see an original document If you cannot see an original document cited by someone else then cite the cited by someone else then cite the source of your informationsource of your information

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Some articles are not accepted by Some articles are not accepted by journal editorsjournal editors

– Documents accepted but not yet Documents accepted but not yet publishedpublished

– Papers presented at meetings for Papers presented at meetings for which the full articles were never which the full articles were never publishedpublished

– Documented personal communicationsDocumented personal communications

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Some articles are not accepted by Some articles are not accepted by journal editorsjournal editors

– In-house documents such as In-house documents such as memorandamemoranda

– Trade documents such as Trade documents such as manufacturer’s cataloguesmanufacturer’s catalogues

– Websites and other items found on the Websites and other items found on the InternetInternet

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Internet referencingInternet referencing

Many publishers now produce different Many publishers now produce different versions of a document for print & versions of a document for print & InternetInternet

Such documents may not be identicalSuch documents may not be identical

It is important to state the specific It is important to state the specific version you have seen – if you saw version you have seen – if you saw the electronic version, do not cite the electronic version, do not cite the print versionthe print version

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SortingSorting referencereference listslists

de la vanTreat as part of surname

Carter ABDe la Salle KGForks CD

St LouisTreat alphabetically as St, not Saint

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Sorting reference listsSorting reference lists

M’VeighIgnore apostrophe and treat as Mveigh

Carter ABDe la Salle KGMerrit TEM’Veigh RD

The Institute for Rhubarb ResearchDrop “the” in organization names

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Sorting reference listsSorting reference lists

University of British Columbia, Faculty of ForestryPlace organization names in descending hierarchy

University of British ColumbiaIn the name-year system when an acronym (UBC) has been used as an in-text reference, place in end-ref by full name

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Multiple items by same author

Order by title in citation-name systemSmith A. New … 1995Smith A. Tests of … 1990

Order by ascending year in the name-year system

Smith A. 1990Smith A. 1995

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Multiple items by same author Multiple items by same author

Always put single authors before 2 authors and 2 authors before 3 authors

Give multiauthor publications in alphabetical order by second author surname, regardless of the number of authors

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Examples

Name-yearSmith A. 1999. New approaches …Smith A. 2001. Historical … Smith A, Jones B. 2004. Drop out …Smith A, Jones B, Carson C. 2000. After the …Smith A, Martin D. 2001. Cutting corners …

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Examples

Citation-nameSmith A. History repeats …Smith A. New approaches … Smith A, Jones B. Drop out …Smith A, Jones B, Carson C. After the …Smith A, Martin D. Cutting corners …

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Journal abbreviationsJournal abbreviations

Look in an authoritative source for your subject area, I use http://www.library.ubc.ca/scieng/coden.html

Do not abbreviate single word titles or very short words

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Book referencingBook referencing

Should include the following informationAuthorTitleEditionSecondary authorPlace of publicationPublisherDateExtent (pages)

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Journal referencingJournal referencing

Should include the following informationAuthorArticle titleJournal titleEditionVolumeIssueExtent (pages)

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Title and URL (universal resource locator) is not sufficient as sites can often disappear

Must have a date on any reference Internet reference date may have to

be date of update plus date cited

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Example of homepages

APSnet: plant pathology online [Internet]. c1994-2005. St Paul (MN): American Phytopathological Association; [cited 2005 May 31]. Available from http://apsnet.org/

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Example of journal articles

Smith A, Jones B, White R. 2005. Mumps outbreaks in Vancouver in 2004: Can J For Res [Internet]. [cited 2005 May 31];330(7500):1110-1120. Available from http://cjfr.com/cgs/reprint/330/7500/1119 doi:10.1136/cjfr.330.7500.1119

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Example of books

Smith A, Jones B, White R. c2005. Mumps outbreaks in Vancouver in 2004 [Internet]. 7th ed. Vancouver (BC): UBC Press; [cited 2005 May 31]. Available from http://ubcpress.com/books/330/7500/1119

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Forestry 545 Discussion & Conclusions References March 11, 2014 Sue Watts Office of the Dean Faculty...

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