Scientific Writing
Mission: Science has not only to be made, it has also to be transported. Even the most excellent work will not have any impact, if it is not properly written down and explained. But scientific writing is more than just propaganda and public relations. Together with experimental work it forms the core of science as a social searching process (heuristics) leading to a deeper understanding of reality. The workshop wants to shift the following points into attention:
- how to define a clear scientific question?
- how to describe the methods such that it is useful and reproducible?
- how to make clear, what had been done, and for what purpose it had been done?
- how to present scientific data in a way that they are clear and easy to understand?
- how to separate facts (observations) from fiction (interpretations)?
- how to write a discussion that is stimulating others to go on?
Procedure: There are five sessions offered. Each session lasts around one hour and will start with an impulse (around 20 min), where a specific aspect of scientific writing is explained. In the second half, we will use real-world case studies (for instance, from the work in the institute). Bachelor students are also encouraged to show and discuss their own questions.
Exercise: Bachelor students have to apply the discussed points to their own work and they will have to deliver simple tasks. This is nothing else than a structured preparation of their thesis.
Dates and topics
Time: We, 13:00-14:30
Location: Seminar Room 506-507
22.04.2020 - Getting started: how to structure the introduction, how to write the method part. more... supplement on bibliography and search matrices. pdf
06.05.2020 - Your raw material A: how to process data for a thesis and publication. more... here you find the example data set
20.05.2020 - Your raw material B: how to present data for a thesis and publication. more... here you find the example data set
27.05.2020 - Getting completed: how to write a discussion that is worth reading. more...
10.06.2020 - Science versus "Alternative Facts": what is scientific ethics, and why is it needed? more...