Guide to impactful scientific research papers

In Scientific Papers Made Easy, Stuart West and Lindsay Turnbull have delivered an excellent guide to the production of research papers, and one relevant to all empirical disciplines. Despite my quarter century as an academic, their advice on clarity, concision, and how to address the reader caused me to rethink my own practices and highlighted several errors (I will confess to none…).

The authors first make the case for writing as an essential academic skill. Writing a paper is not something to be done upon completion of a project but rather is integral to it. Research is a public good and demands clear exposition for the relevant public. West and Turnbull are focused on making that public as broad as possible. The ambition is not to write for a small number of specialists in a private language, but instead to draw to the discussion as many scientists as possible.

Early on four general principles are outlined: keep it simple; assume nothing; keep it to essentials; and tell your story. This is followed by 10 tips to help achieve these principles which include writing as one speaks, using short sentences, and avoiding jargon. While many of the book's recommendations may appear commonplace to the more seasoned scholar, the interspersed quizzes and examples will cause re-evaluation. But for a noviciate they will make concrete what is often perceived as abstract advice.

Notably, many of the examples of poor practice the authors use are derived from published papers, but without attribution to save blushes. In each example, an original passage is coupled with a reworked version that attends to the central principles of the book. This is a clever mechanism as it helps to erode the myth of convoluted writing as a signal of intellectual virtue. It also levels the playing field letting the beginner know that writing is a hard-won skill that is worth attending to, no matter your own status.

The book provides advice for writing each major section of a paper: methods, results, figures, introductions, discussions, abstracts, and titles. The authors are also clear about the importance of re-drafting and editing which might lead to re-engineering earlier sections following later work. Indeed, the final chapter of the book revisits this process and recommends seeking and embracing critical engagement with one's work.

I was very pleased to see an entire chapter considering figures. My experience has been that this is often delivered quickly, following inherited recipes and without much thought. (This is as close as I shall come to confession.) The ability to visually present an idea is evidence of understanding. 

While giving sound advice on how to organise more traditional figures, West and Turnbull also advise writers to use their imaginations and see this as an opportunity to engage the reader in a different way. They provide some examples that owe much to the isotypes (pictographic language) developed by scientific philosopher Otto Neurath in the early 20th century. Figures are seen as central to successful communication, but there is also the implication that their production is an aspect of the research effort.

West and Turnbull also discuss covering letters. Again, this is often overlooked, or a hasty missive containing the abstract is attached to the submission. The authors make clear this is a lost opportunity to convince an editor of the worth of the work. Taking time to find the best words, and perhaps figures, to make salient the relevance of the research is time well spent. It helps to convince the editor to send it for review and also helps the editor to choose appropriate reviewers who will be sympathetic to the project and treat it seriously.

This book is well-written – that should not surprise. I read it all the way through, but then dipped in and out to check various matters. It will make for a wonderful constant companion in my own future writing. It should become an essential starting point for new scholars and the much-needed voice on the shoulder of all as they continue in their endeavours. This book should be adopted in research methods teaching for undergraduate students helping them to produce well-crafted theses. And I use 'should' in the strongest imperative sense possible.

Reviewed by Tom Dickins, professor of behavioural science at Middlesex University, London.

Scientific Papers Made Easy: How to Write with Clarity and Impact in the Life Sciences by Stuart West and Lindsay Turnbull is published by Oxford University Press.