Teaching the Know-How of Scientific Writing
“Science and Communication — it is one of the fundamentals we need to address.” — James Murdoch, renowned businessman
Scientific writing is an effective form of communication that scientists and experts use to disseminate their research. The readers might or might not be as knowledgeable and might also be from a different discipline. In such a case, simple, organized, clear, logical, and precise communication (writing) of the research question, hypotheses, methods, analysis, conclusions, facts, and figures assists in preventing misunderstandings and mistranslations and aids in conveying proper information.
Exceptional research programs of renowned educational institutes across the globe have integrated the training of students in scientific writing into their curriculum. IIT Gandhinagar recognizes that effective utilization of this skill is one of the means to foster interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary research collaborations and to strive towards solving the burning problems of society.
In its efforts to build and enhance scientific writing competencies amongst its students, IIT Gandhinagar is currently developing a Certification in Scientific Writing.
This program aims to gauge the knowledge of students in scientific writing by covering various aspects of technical writing and communication viz., the awareness about its principles and morals, and the ability to visualize and interpret data accurately and develop a scientific document appropriately. The target audience is students who are currently pursuing their Masters’ or Doctoral degrees and are in the process of drafting their first science communique or presenting their work in conferences and symposiums.
The Certification, coordinated by Dr. Maria Amante (Scholar-in-Residence, IITGN) and Dr. Karla P. Mercado-Shekhar (Assistant Professor, Biological Engineering, IITGN), is a two-step process that requires the applicants to (1) submit writing assignments and (2) take an examination. While the certification program checks on the students’ scientific writing competencies, the Institute Library and the Writing Studio provide the training resources to prepare participants for this process. These resources include workshops, seminars, and access to books, journal articles, and web pages related to scientific writing.
In February 2020, 34 participants from different disciplines of the Institute took a pilot written examination and were provided individual feedback on their performance. The exam tested the students’ understanding of the fundamentals of scientific writing, information management, logical ordering of sentences and paragraphs, and critical thinking and reasoning. It also examined their knowledge of different types of writing (expository, descriptive, narrative, and persuasive), academic integrity and ethics, and the ability to visualize and interpret data. All participants found the process to be beneficial. The written submissions were on topics relevant to an individual’s domain of study or research, and two such submissions (either a poster, a journal paper, or a research proposal) were required. They were assessed based on logical coherence, ability to explain complex ideas, grammar, language skills, and plagiarism. Due to the benefits that this initiative offers, attempts are underway to conduct the Certification twice every academic year (during the two semesters).
“If you cannot communicate your research correctly and efficiently, it doesn’t matter how breakthrough or cutting-edge it is, it becomes useless. Scientific writing is critical, and through this certification, we aim to evaluate the depth with which students perceive it and guide them about its do’s and don’ts. The purpose is to equip them with effective scientific writing skills and help enhance their experience of communicating their research with the world successfully,” explained Dr. Amante.
“Scientific/ technical writing skills are essential for succeeding in careers in a spectrum of fields in academia, industry, and government. This Certification will help students gain exposure to these skills early in their careers and strive towards improving their writing consistently,” said Dr. Mercado-Shekhar.
Writing is a crucial and indispensable part of science. It is used to record and report activities and findings to a wider audience. It exists in many forms, ranging from laboratory notebooks to project analyses, to papers in academic journals, to articles in scientific blogs and magazines, and is a major requirement in the life of any researcher. Therefore, students need to receive a solid foundation in scientific writing during their academic careers, and training and certification programs propagating this idea are active efforts towards this direction.
“The true alchemists do not change lead into gold; they change the world into words.” — William Gass, novelist, short-story writer, essayist, critic, and philosophy professor
