Scientific and Technical Reports: : How to Write and Illustrate [1 ed.] 9781783320844, 9781842658871

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Scientific and Technical Reports How to Write and Illustrate

Scientific and Technical Reports How to Write and Illustrate

B.C. Sharma

a Alpha Science International Ltd. Oxford, U.K.

Scientific and Technical Reports: How to Write and Illustrate 174 pgs. | 39 figs. | 18 tbls.

B.C. Sharma, M.Sc., Ph.D. Former Scientist G National Institute of Science Communication and Information Resources Council of Scientific and Industrial Research New Delhi Copyright © 2014 ALPHA SCIENCE INTERNATIONAL LTD. 7200 The Quorum, Oxford Business Park North Garsington Road, Oxford OX4 2JZ, U.K.

www.alphasci.com All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission of the publisher. ISBN 978-1-84265-887-1 E-ISBN 978-1-78332-084-4 Printed in India

Dedication To the memory of my dear son, Vinayak (Mohit), who left this world in the prime of his youth. B.C. Sharma

Preface

Scientists and technologists have to prepare reports on a variety of topics during their career. The task starts early during their postgraduate training when they have to prepare a dissertation describing results of a research project as a part of training in scientific approach and research methodology. Unfortunately, most scientists (and doctors, engineers and technologists) receive little formal training in writing. Apart from the lack of training, sometimes there is a lurking fear of the task of writing. Therefore, writing of reports is often disliked and the task is postponed as long as possible. The present book provides a practical approach to report writing from the stage of gathering information to preparation of the final draft. It is hoped that a step-by-step advice on tackling various tasks associated with report writing will remove or, at least, lessen the disliking of report writing. In the first chapter, the book introduces the readers to the nature of scientific and technical writing, focusing on its purpose and characteristics that set it apart from other forms of writing. Examples are given to explain the basic aim and approach of technical writing, of which report writing is an important part. The second chapter explains why some of us hesitate when faced with the task of writing. To overcome this hesitation, a stepwise approach to the task of writing is suggested. The various steps are illustrated with examples. The third chapter provides advice on preparation of specific parts of a report and lists their common shortcomings. The fourth chapter shows how to present data and illustrate the report. The major topics of the chapter include data types, data summarization and options in presentation of data as tables and figures. It is shown how to use commonly available computer software to prepare different types of tables and illustrations quite easily. We do not need the help of an artist anymore to draw figures like line drawings, bar charts, histograms, scatter diagrams, pie charts, flowcharts, etc. Also presented are suggestions about how to use commonly available computer programs to give visual shape to ideas, concepts, processes and cause and effect relations described in the text.

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Preface

The fifth and last chapter explains how to make a report more readable. Examples show how design and organization of text as well as choice of words and sentence structure affect readability of a report. Use of readability tests is explained as a screening system for checking comprehensibility of language used. Readers are alerted to some of the common pitfalls in writing like redundancy, overuse of nouns, noun chains, excessive use of passive voice, use of overlong sentences and ambiguity. In each case, examples are used to clarify the suggestions made. Checklists at the end of various chapters sum up the most important points of the respective chapters. Though the primary aim of the book is to provide help in report writing, it can be used as a help in tackling other forms of scientific and technical writing also. The book aims to help beginners as well as experienced professionals in preparing effective and readable reports. The contents of the book have been fine-tuned based upon the feedback received from participants in numerous training programmes organized for scientists and technologists (including medical researchers) over the last 15 years. I would heartily wlecome suggestions for further improvement. B.C. Sharma

Contents

Preface

vii

1. Nature of Scientific and Technical Communication Purpose of Scientific and Technical Communication The Communication Process Forms of Scientific and Technical Writing Characteristics of Scientific and Technical Writing Checklist

2. An Approach to Report Writing What is a Report? How to Begin Report Writing Steps in Report Writing Checklist

3. How to Prepare Different Parts of a Report Parts of a Report Checklist

4. How to Present Data and Illustrate a Report Data Types Presenting Data: Choosing between Tables and Figures How to Construct Easy-to-Follow Tables Constructing Appropriate Illustrations How to Give Visual Shape to Ideas, Concepts and Relationships Checklist

5. How to Make a Report More Readable Focusing on the Reader

1 1 2 5 8 15

17 17 18 20 30

31 31 62

65 65 70 72 80 101 114

117 117

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Contents

Readability How to Guard Against Verbosity How to Guard Against Ambiguity Some other Common Problems Checklist

119 125 138 145 151

Appendix A: Some Online Databases Appendix B: Units of Physical Quantities

153 155

Bibliography

159

Index

161

Chapter

1

Nature of Scientific and Technical Communication

Reports are one of the several forms of scientific and technical (S & T) communication. Before we commence preparation of a report, it would be worthwhile to understand the nature of the communication process, in general, and of scientific and technical (S & T) communication, in particular. In this chapter, we shall look at the nature of the communication process and certain barriers that might hinder it with reference to scientific and technical writing. We should also be aware of the purpose of the S & T communication because it directly influences the style and language used in S & T reports. Based on certain common characteristics, a unique style has emerged for S & T communications that separates it from other types of communication.

PURPOSE OF SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNICAL COMMUNICATION The word communication is derived from the Latin word “communis” meaning common (i.e., making common or sharing something). In general, we may communicate with others for the sake of casual social exchange, for expressing our feelings or emotions, or for providing some information. The purpose of scientific and technical (S & T) communication comes under the last named category, i.e., sharing of information. But the purpose of sharing is functional and not casual – the information shared is significant and usable information. In fact, this sharing of usable information is an integral part of “doing science”. A research and development (R & D) work is not finished when its experimental or analytical phase has been completed. Its logical conclusion is reached only when results are shared with potential users of information through a research paper, or a report so that they can utilize and further build upon the gathered information.

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Scientific and Technical Reports: How to Write and Illustrate

The results of research and development (R & D) work are usually published in the form of a research paper or presented as a report to the organization that authorized and funded the work. The importance of communication of R part of R & D as research papers is well recognized; however, the importance of report is not so well recognized. Indeed, it is equally important to communicate the D part (developmental project work) through a good report. Such a report often documents a new product or technology and thus shares new information, which should bring as much credit to its authors as research papers do. A well written report can enhance the image of the scientists/technologists who prepared the report as also of the organization to which they belong. Unfortunately, most scientists (and doctors, engineers and technologists) receive little formal training in writing and at times there is reluctance to write reports. It is regarded as a kind of task forced upon them in comparison to the joyous task of performing experiments, collecting data, etc. Strangely, coupled to this reluctance is often a casual approach to writing of reports by some authors. When writing work can no longer be postponed, it is taken up, but with almost a complete disregard for the needs of the prospective readers. Such authors feel what is obvious to them should be obvious to the readers as well. But, they forget that a report is meant for the readers and not for themselves; they must make all efforts to reach out to readers by preparing a clear and comprehensible report of their work. Let us take a closer look at the process of communication to understand the possible pitfalls that we may encounter while trying to share information with others.

THE COMMUNICATION PROCESS The communication process (Fig. 1.1) involves three basic elements: the source of information, the information to be communicated, and the receiver of the information. In analogy with the radio and telephone terminology, these may be termed as source, message and receiver, respectively. Source in S & T communication is, of course, the scientist (including medical researcher) or engineer/technologist who wants to convey some information. The information gathered might be the result of experimentation or empirical observations. The information or message can take the form of oral presentation or written communication. The receivers could range from other professionals, like him, to managers/administrators and the general public. Since the main purpose of communication is to share information, the process will succeed only if the receiver receives the message with minimum of effort and without any distortion. To facilitate this, the originator of communication has to package the information appropriately, keeping in view the purpose of communication and experience and abilities of the intended

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receivers of information. Packaging in the context of written reports stands for the choice of language (including choice of words, sentence structure, etc.) to convey information. The author as the originator of information has to ensure that the information is authentic and complete. Secondly, he/she has to ensure that it is presented in a clear and unambiguous language. Thirdly, the presentation has to be at an appropriate level keeping in view the requirements, experience and knowledge of the intended receivers of information; otherwise, they would not be able to “tune in”. Choice of words, tone, ordering of ideas and depth of information in the message are some of the variables at the command of an author as the source of information. For the communication process to succeed, the author must accurately guess: 1. The potential or probable readers. 2. The level of their existing knowledge. 3. Their purpose in going through the communication. The author can then tailor the above mentioned variables (choice of words, tone, ordering of ideas and depth of information in the message) according to the needs and capabilities of the readers.

Barriers to Communication While communicating, we try to represent our ideas or thoughts by a string of certain symbols – the words. This process may be called coding of information in terms of the model of communication we are using. Similarly, when a reader reads the combination of these words to understand the ideas being communicated, the process can be termed as decoding. The choice of the symbols (words) and the way these symbols are strung together in the form of sentences has an important effect on the understanding of ideas being communicated. The communication process is hindered if encoding of the message is faulty. Similarly, certain problems at the decoding level also can hinder the communication process. The problems at the coding and decoding levels can be termed as barriers to smooth flow of information between the source and receiver of information. Among the barriers listed below, the first two are due to problems of coding, which can be rectified by the author. The third category listed below represents the problems of decoding; these are beyond the control of authors. 1. Noise. Noise is a disturbance, which is not part of the message. It could be equated to the use of needless words and verbosity of language, in general. Noise is created not only by use of unnecessary signals (unnecessary words), but also by unrelated sub-messages (digressions from the subject). The authors of reports should thus aim to avoid or at

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Scientific and Technical Reports: How to Write and Illustrate

least minimize noise in their communications by cutting off unnecessary words and avoiding digressions. 2. Distortion of the signals. Distortion of message could occur because of ambiguous or vague language. Perceptual differences about the meaning of certain words (signals in the message) often lead to miscarriage of meaning. For example, some words like “swear” (perception may vary from “swearing loyalty” to “swearing at somebody”) or “appeal” (the word can refer to a “petition” or a “liking”) have different connotations and may be interpreted differently by the author and readers, or differently by different readers based on their world view or state of mind. Ambiguity can arise not only due to different perceptions of the meanings of words, but also due to faulty sentence constructions, like misplacement of modifying words, separation of related words and faulty punctuation. Distortion of the message may occur due to ambiguity as well as vagueness. The distortion due to ambiguity occurs when a word or phrase has more than one specific meaning, while problem due to vagueness arises when the meaning of a phrase or sentence is not clear in the given context. Therefore, the authors of scientific communications must be aware of the pitfall of ambiguity and be careful in the choice of words and sentence structure to avoid distortion of message or miscommunication. Some examples of ambiguous writing and the factors responsible for it are discussed in Chapter 5 of the book. 3. Problems at the receivers end (problems of decoding). The readers may have difficulties in “decoding” the message due to insufficient knowledge base. For example, to understand a passage describing recent research on human genome, the readers need to have some knowledge of the genetics. If their understanding of the subject is scanty, the communication of message will not be smooth. Secondly, if the readers are not paying full attention to this passage, then also they may have difficulty in comprehension and the communication process will not be smooth. Thus, for the communication process to succeed, we have to overcome these barriers by avoiding unnecessary digression, and avoiding words that are vague or ambiguous. Some other factors obstructing a smooth flow of information in the context of scientific and technical reports include non-specification of or inconsistent use of units, symbols and terminology, excessive use of jargon and acronyms, and wrong or incomplete citation of scientific literature. These too are obstacles to sharing of information with the readers. Some of these issues are discussed in Chapter 3.

Nature of Scientific and Technical Communication

FIGURE 1.1

5

The Communication Process

FORMS OF SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNICAL WRITING Scientific and technical (S & T) writing has different forms that cater to different categories of readers – from highly trained professionals to general public. The purpose and readers of these different forms of S & T writing differ substantially. Consequently, the coding of these different forms of writing (use of words, sentence structures) has to be different. A writer should use language that prospective readers would understand and be comfortable with, taking into account potential readers’ current level of knowledge. Therefore, before we start writing, we need to know about the potential readers and level of their existing knowledge base. Knowing it will help us in building bridges with the readers by using appropriate language and organizing the information for better comprehension. Though the major focus of this book is on report writing, it would be worthwhile to know about the other forms of S & T writing and how these differ in scope and approach from report writing. Following are the major forms of S & T writing.

Research Papers The purpose of research papers is to communicate results of new research. The potential readers are other researchers, who have good knowledge of the general area of the topic of communication and are familiar with the technical terminology. In this form of scientific and technical communication, the subject can be covered at great depth. The language of research paper includes technical terms and specialized nomenclature of the particular subject area for precision in communication. The information has to be presented

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Scientific and Technical Reports: How to Write and Illustrate

precisely (unambiguously) as it may be used by the readers for furthering their own research. The data described in the papers may have archival value apart from providing support to conclusions of the study; hence, it should be well organized for subsequent reference. Tabular arrangement is the usual form of data presentation in research papers so that data can be easily located and compared. In addition, illustrations may be used to categorize and explain the significance of new information.

Research Proposals The purpose of research proposals is to solicit financial grant from government or private funding agencies to carry out R & D work. Proposals identify existing problems or needs and present a plan of action to solve the problems or fulfill the needs. The written presentation of the plan of action includes description of the proposed methods for studying the problem and arriving at a solution, time schedule for carrying out the plan, a list of resources needed as well as the information about personnel who would carry out the plan. It also includes the cost for undertaking the plan of action. It has been said that a proposal is a seed of an R & D project, which yields fruit in the form of a report. The prospective readers of proposals are members of technical committees, or top managers, who may have a broad knowledge of the general subject area, but may not be specialist in the particular area covered by the communication. Therefore, all technical terms should be defined and a less technical language used in this type of communications. We may generalize the information with emphasis on likely outcome and benefits of the proposed R & D work.

Reports Reports are written for a variety of purposes. These may present results of investigation of a problem, feasibility of a research and development (R & D) study, status of advancements made in an area of science and technology, or even a progress report of an organization or a project. Typically, an R & D report sums up the results of effort made to solve a problem or fulfill a need. It lists facts and hypothesis used to study the problem and make recommendations for its solution. The readers of reports may be Heads of organizations (Government/Industrial concerns), or other S & T workers, who are likely to have a background knowledge of the subject, but may not be specialist in the particular area. The approach to writing should be similar to that mentioned under the “research proposals”. In some cases the potential readers may be general public also, for example annual reports, reports of inquiry, etc. Many reports of organizations like United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)

Nature of Scientific and Technical Communication

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and World Health Organization (WHO) are addressed to general readers, rather than to specialists. In such cases, the language should be non-technical and the use of jargon, acronyms, etc., should be avoided. The essential technical terms should be explained in simple language. A mix of tables and illustrations may be used to present data.

Instructional Writing The purpose of this type of writing is to educate or train. The readers may be students, technicians or users of instruments. They need to be introduced to the subject and, hence, all technical terms need to be explained and a stepby-step approach to explaining the topic should be adopted. Use of specialized nomenclature should be minimized. Apart from the textbooks to be used in classrooms, instruction manuals for operating various kinds of machinery and equipment come under this category of S & T writing. Indeed, writing technical instructions is a very important and specialized type of task. In this type of writing, readers are assumed to have little or no prior knowledge of the subject and a step-wise approach is followed using imperative sentences, e.g., sentences commanding readers to perform some action or carry out a sequence of steps. Graphics, used to supplement the text, are an important component of this type of writing.

Popular Science Writing The purpose of this type of writing is to acquaint general public with important advances made in various areas of science and technology (S & T), or public policy issues concerning S & T. The general approach to writing often parallels the methods and accuracy of professional science writing, but the language is more informal. The prospective readers of this type of writing are lay persons, who do not have any technical background. Therefore, the subject is explained in a simple, non-technical language, tailoring the depth of coverage according to their existing knowledge about the topic, which may not be much. Graphics are used extensively to explain the technical concepts and supplement the text. While the major part of popular science writing is done by professional journalists, who focus on recent scientific developments, scientists also sometimes contribute to popular science genre in the form of books and magazine articles. These traditional media are now being supplemented by Internet (web). Blogging (blog = web + log) on scientific and technical subjects is a recent phenomenon that can be included under this type of writing. Some tech savvy scientists initially started blogging by maintaining active web links for fast interactions with colleagues and others interested in certain niche areas. During the late 1990’s, these web links evolved into the present form of blogs. Blogs are like daily publications through Internet. But, unlike newspapers that

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Scientific and Technical Reports: How to Write and Illustrate

focus on news, blogs are used for sharing thoughts and/or collectively exploring certain areas in sciences. Launched in January 2006, ScienceBlogs is a portal featuring leading bloggers from a wide array of scientific disciplines.

CHARACTERISTICS OF SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNICAL WRITING Historically, science and technology have progressed as collective enterprises, driven by benefits of information sharing among countless individuals working in diverse areas. Information sharing allowed individual scientists and technologists to use the results obtained by other workers in furthering their own work as well as getting recognition from peers for their contributions. With need for information sharing as the driving force, a unique style of writing emerged in science and technology to facilitate wide-spread sharing of newly discovered information. To succeed in their purpose, the scientists and technologists were forced to present accurate and worthwhile information in an easily comprehensible form; otherwise, they faced the risk of cold-shouldering and even rejection of their work by their peers. Such an approach would rely on conveying significant factual information in an objective and organized manner using an unambiguous language. Thus, the writing style that emerged out of this collective approach has certain well-defined characteristics, namely, factual information, objectivity, logical organization, unambiguity and specialized vocabulary. Since these characteristics are the outcome of the general purpose of scientific and technical communication, i.e., sharing of usable information, these are common to all disciplines of science and technology embracing physical & life sciences, medicine and engineering. It is important to be familiar with these characteristics since these circumscribe the style of scientific and technical (S & T) writing, which includes report writing. As would be authors of reports, we should be familiar with the rationale behind these common stylistic characteristics.

Factual Information The first characteristic of scientific and technical writing is factual and significant content. S & T writing conveys information that is not only authentic, but also significant in the sense that it is usable information. The information may be useful for other scientists in carrying out their research or development work, or it may be useful in solving an existing problem, or proposing a new or more efficient way of carrying out certain operations. In short, it has a functional purpose. Contrast this with literary writing forms like poetry or novels, which may not be based on factual information, and certainly are not meant to be of any functional help. They do provide entertainment and

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Box 1.1 Heart Poetic Description There is a burning fire, within each one’s heart There is a loving desire, within each one’s heart There is a person even higher, within each one’s heart —Tony Berndtsson S & T Description The heart is a muscular organ found in all animals with a circulatory system, which pumps blood throughout the blood vessels by repeated, rhythmic contractions. The average human heart beats at the rate of 72 beats per minute. It weighs approximately 250 to 300 grams in females and 300 to 350 grams in males. enjoyment to the readers, but may well be based on imagination or flights of fancy of the author. The contrast between the purposes of two types of writing is apparent from the two different approaches to writing about “Heart” shown in Box 1.1. While a poet may visualize a “heart” full of fire and desire, imaginary attributes, a technical writer would describe facts about its constitution and function, and measurable details like its average weight in males and females, and average heart beats per minute, etc. Thus, the S & T writing deals with facts and figures in contrast to literary writing that may be based on imagination.

Objectivity The focus of scientific and technical writing is on the subject of writing, and not on the writer. It also avoids use of emotion and flowery words. Francis Bacon, an English philosopher and scientist who greatly influenced the writing style in science, argued that scientific and scholarly writings should draw attention to the content and not their words. An objective style is deliberately adopted in S & T writing; it is not important who generated or collected information; the information itself and the method of its generation are important. This is because anybody who follows the methods used by the author should be able to arrive at the same results. It has been said that the language of poetry is the polar opposite of the language of science and technology because the ideal of subjectivity in poetry is in stark contrast to that of scientific objectivity. For example, in the poem about heart mentioned above, the poet evokes a subjective feeling about heart based on a particular mood that may or may not be shared by others. But the

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Scientific and Technical Reports: How to Write and Illustrate

technical writing about heart exemplifies a mood of scientific objectivity. The facts listed by the technical writer about heart are not based on his subjective opinion (personal liking or mood); these can be verified by anybody desirous of doing so. While the poet’s description of a burning “fire” in the heart gives expression to his subjective feeling, the technical writer is objective, focusing on aspects that do not depend on his personal perception, but would be perceived in the same way by anybody else also on measuring or checking. Secondly, objective approach in S & T writing is also useful in avoiding unnecessary acrimony. Even in the presentation of factual results personal references or a subjective approach to interpretation of results is avoided as it may lead to ego clashes in case of differing interpretations.

Logical Organization Since scientific and technical writing is intended to be functional and useful, it should be easily comprehensible. This would be best achieved if the information is presented in an easy-to-navigate fashion. Most forms of S & T communication have a structured pattern of presenting information that explains the rationale or importance of information being conveyed, methods of collecting information, its interpretation and finally its linkage with the existing and accepted knowledge in the area, in that sequence. This sequence follows a logical pattern of setting the boundaries of the investigation in the beginning (introduction section), describing the tools used and methods followed for gathering new information (materials and methods section), listing the data obtained in a simple form like a table (results section) and finally interpreting the results in the context of known or established knowledge (discussion section). Another characteristic of scientific and technical writing is organization of factual information (data) in the form of tables, charts and graphs. These forms allow a logical summarization of recorded readings and understanding their significance.

Unambiguity Scientific and technical writing aims to convey only one meaning and allow only one interpretation. Since the main purpose of S & T writing is to share information, the process will succeed only if there is no distortion of meaning, i.e., the reader derives exactly the same meaning that writer intended to convey. Further, the process of sharing should involve minimum of effort by the reader. Unfortunately, the language we use to convey information can sometimes be interpreted in ways not intended by us. Miscommunication can take place if a sentence can be interpreted in more than one ways. This ambiguity can have disastrous effects in S & T writing. For example, if the language describing an experimental procedure is ambiguous, other researchers may not be able to

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replicate the experiment, or the efforts to do so may turn out to be hazardous due to misunderstanding of information. In clinical practice, for example, inadvertent use of ambiguous or vague language may play havoc with the health of patients. An instruction like: “A cardiac and hypertensive woman should not be allowed to bear down and assisted with forceps delivery” may be interpreted to mean denial of assistance with forceps delivery to the poor lady suffering from cardiac problem and hypertension. The writer of the instruction wanted to warn only against “bearing down by a cardiac and hypertensive woman”, but the ambiguous wording of the instruction misled the reader into believing that the phrase “should not be” applies to assistance with forceps also. Actually, the writer wanted to recommend assistance with forceps in such cases. A miscarriage of meaning might lead to miscarriage in such cases! It may be argued that every author aims to write in a way that his/her writing is easily understood. But the aim in an S & T communication is stiffer because of the above mentioned reasons – the writer should not only be easily understood, but also avoid being misunderstood. Again, the aim of unambiguity in scientific and technical writing is in stark contrast to the aim in some forms of literary writing, especially poetry. The basic difference between the two types of communications has been explained very aptly by Jean-Paul Sartre, a French philosopher and literary critic, as follows: “What distinguishes literature from scientific communication, for example, is that it is not unambiguous; the artist of language arranges words in such a way that, depending on how he emphasizes or gives weight to them, they will have one meaning, and another, and yet another, each time at different levels.” Surprising as it may seem, vague and ambiguous language is used deliberately in poetry. Anthony S. Maulucci, an American poet, goes even further: “Poems without a definite meaning tend to engage a reader’s attention more than those that can be clearly understood and analyzed by the intellect. Ambiguous poetry has a mystery that fascinates. ……Poems without a clearcut idea offer us multiple layers of meaning.” But this approach to writing would be disastrous for scientific and technical writing since its purpose is to convey information that might be used further for practical applications. The author of a scientific or technical report must always aim at not being misunderstood.

Specialized Vocabulary Scientific and technical (S & T) writing usually represents communication among experts working in similar fields. Use of specialized vocabulary comprising mutually agreed nomenclatures, symbols and conventions minimizes

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Scientific and Technical Reports: How to Write and Illustrate

time and effort spent in the process of communication and also eliminates ambiguity of meaning to some extent. Specialized vocabulary is inevitable, since scientists/technologists deal with complex concepts and relationships, which may not be easy to describe in day-to-day spoken or common language. The specialized language is sometimes termed as jargon as it is the exclusive language of a particular field and is understood only by the specialists in the field. The specialized vocabulary in scientific and technical writing has three main categories. 1. The first category comprises the frequently used technical terms that are specific to a particular topic, field or discipline. These terms are used to refer to phenomena or concepts that are commonly encountered in certain fields and become the specialized vocabulary of such fields. For instance, terms like muon, hadron, meson, photon, boson, etc., in particle physics; mutarotation, interlukins, immunoglobulin, antibody, antigen, genotype, phenotype, etc., in biology; and isomerism, hydrolysis, catalysis, etc., in chemistry are frequently used and constitute the specialized vocabulary of these fields. Such terms do not present any great difficulty to specialists in the field, but may be difficult to understand for a general reader. A complicating factor is discipline-specific meanings of some terms. In a specialized vocabulary, even ordinary words may be used with special meaning. Often, only the practitioners of the discipline will be able to decipher the correct meanings of such words. For example, the following words have meanings specific to given disciplines: • The word “vector” in mathematics or physics means a quantity possessing both magnitude and direction, but in biology it means an insect or any other organism that transmits a pathogenic fungus, virus, bacterium, etc. In computer science, it stands for an array of data. • The meaning of the word “expression” in general English is appearance of face as determined by physical or emotional state. But, in the clinical context it stands for the act of squeezing out. In biology, genetic “expression” refers to flow of genetic information from gene to protein. • The word “solution” in chemistry refers to the process by which a gas, liquid, or solid is dispersed homogeneously in a gas, liquid, or solid without chemical change. But in general English the word stands for the act of solving a problem or a question. • The word “function” in mathematics means a relation between two sets of elements, which is different from its meaning in general English (a kind of action or activity of a person or a thing).

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• The word “translation” in physics and mathematics refers to a linear movement, while in general English the word means rendering of something from one language to another language. • The word “morphology” has different meanings in biology, geology and linguistics. In biology, the word means study of the form and structure of organisms; in linguistics the word means the study of patterns of word formation; and in geology the word refers to the study of the characteristics, origin, and development of landforms. • The word “bug” in computer science means a flaw in a computer program, while in biology it means any insect or any microorganism, especially a virus. The author of a scientific or technical report should, therefore, be careful in use of technical terms that have discipline-specific meanings; such terms should be explained clearly for the benefit of readers not belonging to the concerned disciplines. 2. The second category of specialized vocabulary comprises terms arising from the use of symbols and rules of nomenclature or the specialized way of naming things in all major fields of science. Thus, chemical compounds, microorganisms, plants and animals, to name a few categories, have systematic names that uniquely identify them and are used for a precise exchange of information among scientists. For example, the scientific and technical writing would refer to common salt as sodium chloride, to aspirin as 2-acetoxybenzoic acid, to alum as hydrated potassium aluminium sulfate with the formula KAl(SO4)2·12H2O, and to mango fruit of Indian origin as Mangifera indica. Though an unavoidable component of research communications, such specialized vocabulary should be avoided or its use minimized in reports meant for general readers. 3. The third category of contributors to specialized vocabulary includes abbreviations and acronyms. The use of acronyms like NMR, formed by joining together first letters of a number of related words (nuclear magnetic resonance), is very widespread. The use of acronyms stems from a desire to avoid repetition of lengthy terms and save the time and effort of the authors as well as the readers. However, their overuse can result in a phony vocabulary and give an impression of snobbishness, e.g., “LFP of PDAM in acetonitrile gives an intense transient spectrum”, or “the KIE for bromination of TIBE is at the low end of the values expected for a primary effect.” The use of specialized vocabulary is maximal in research communications where the potential readers are specialists in the particular field of research and face no particular difficulty in comprehending the meaning. Its extent gradually

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Scientific and Technical Reports: How to Write and Illustrate

Box 1.2 Technical versus Popular Writing Acute Myocardial Infarction (AMI) The myocardium receives its blood flow from three coronary arteries. Restriction of the flow of blood through coronary arteries to the heart muscle leads to ischemia of the heart muscle that creates angina pectoris. The ischemia and ensuing oxygen shortage, if left untreated for a sufficient period of time, can cause acute myocardial infarction. Heart Attack The heart muscle receives its blood flow from three heart arteries. Restriction of the flow of blood through these arteries leads to deficiency of blood in the heart muscle causing chest pain. The restriction in blood supply and ensuing oxygen shortage, if left untreated for a sufficient period of time, can cause damage or death of heart muscle tissue. decreases in instructional writing, proposals and reports; and in popular science writing its use is the minimum. A deliberate effort has to be made to reduce the extent of specialized vocabulary in writing meant for general public by replacing technical terms with more commonly understood words. An example of doing this is shown in Box 1.2. A technical description “Acute Myocardial Infarction (AMI)” can be made more comprehensible by replacing technical terms with more commonly understood words. When the technical terms do not have commonly understood equivalents, we must define or explain the terms wherever these must be used. Historically, the origin of scientific writing lies in the need felt by scientists for sharing their researches with peers. The purpose of sharing information was not only to gain feedback and get recognition, but also to get similar information from the peers, which might further their own work. This goal of sharing information for mutual benefit gave rise to a functional writing style that prompted scientists to focus on factual information and present it in a direct, logically arranged form. This style is characterized by communication of factual & significant content, in an objective and organized manner with stress on use of an unambiguous language. Originally adopted for research communications, this writing style now serves equally well for presenting reports of technical developments or investigations of specific problems, for presenting research proposals to funding agencies, for instructional writings, and even for writing about issues of science and technology for the general public. This is because the goal in all these different forms of communication remains the same – to make information easy to share and thereby fulfill a specific purpose. So, it is important that we keep in mind

Nature of Scientific and Technical Communication

15

the nature of scientific and technical communication, its basic characteristics and the potential pitfalls while preparing reports; then only our purpose would be fulfilled. In this chapter, we have seen how these characteristics affect the nature and style of S & T writing.

CHECKLIST 1. The purpose of scientific and technical communication is to share usable information. 2. For communication to succeed, tailor the message according to capabilities and needs of potential receivers of communication. Make an accurate guess of the potential or probable readers, the level of their existing knowledge and their purpose in going through the communication. 3. Minimize noise in the communication by removing unnecessary words and digression. 4. Minimize distortion of message by avoiding words that are vague or ambiguous. 5. Aim at making your communication factual, objective, organized and unambiguous.

Chapter

2

An Approach to Report Writing

Scientists and technologists have to face a variety of writing situations during their career. The task starts early when, as a part of their postgraduate training in scientific approach and research methodology, they have to prepare a dissertation describing results of a research project. At later stages in their career, they may have to report results of completed R & D projects, write about progress of ongoing projects, feasibility of proposed projects, or prepare annual reports of organizations they work for. At times they may be asked to prepare status reports on developments in areas relevant to the organizations they work for. They have to present written reports in all these cases. It is expected that the reports they prepare present technically accurate information and are easy to read. This requires skills in collection and collation of information as well as skills in writing. Therefore, the process of preparing a report can be timeconsuming as it involves, first, gathering of information and, then, its systematic presentation in a logical sequence. In this chapter, we would consider how to approach these two tasks.

WHAT IS A REPORT? Before we look into the process of writing a report, let us consider what exactly is meant by a report. A report, according to the Macmillan dictionary, is an official document on a particular subject, often made by a group of people after studying a problem or situation carefully. A more rigorous definition is: “Report is organized, factual information brought together by a person who has gathered it for a person who needs it, wants it or is entitled to it”. This implies that report contains new information gathered by the person presenting the report to an individual or an organization, which might have asked for, authorized or funded the gathering of information (Fig. 2.1). This is often the situation in the case of scientific and technical projects, which are funded to investigate specific problems. If the funding agency is a commercial or

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Scientific and Technical Reports: How to Write and Illustrate

industrial organization, it would naturally have sole right to all the information gathered, which may be kept confidential. In many other cases, the funding agencies are government organizations, which fund research projects proposed by the researchers themselves. In such cases, though a report of the investigation is presented to the funding agency, the information gathered may be made public. A dissertation describing results of a research project undertaken as a part of an academic programme can also be categorized as a report. At times, the reports are for circulation within an organization where the problem has been investigated or an R & D project completed. These internal reports are called “informal reports” in contrast to those prepared for outside agencies, which are termed “formal reports”. However, there is no difference in the rigor of investigations or analysis of results in the two types of reports. The difference pertains only to the recipients of gathered information.

FIGURE 2.1

Report

HOW TO BEGIN REPORT WRITING A problem faced by most beginners is: how to approach the task of writing? Where to begin and what to include under different sections of the report? Often, one makes a start and then loses his/her way as well as interest in writing. At times, there is a dread of writing as reflected in repeated postponements of the task. It is said that even as great a scientist as Charles Darwin feared writing. He once observed: “A naturalist’s life would be happy one if he had only to observe and never to write”.

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19

The problem basically arises because writing is not an innate attribute of human beings, unlike speaking, for example. Any normal child will pick up speaking without having to make any special efforts, but not the skills associated with writing. A parallel can be found in the activities of walking and swimming. Any normal child will pick up walking automatically, but not swimming, which has to be learnt as a skill. Similarly, writing is a skill that has to be learnt through training and experience.

Divide and Rule: Easing the Task of Writing The process of writing has two components: (A) generation of “ideas” (or information) about the topic of writing, and (B) logical linking of relevant ideas. We may not progress much if we start writing on an impulse on any topic without any prior thinking or planning. At times, we may seem to suffer from lack of ideas or information about the topic of writing; at other times, we may seem to have many diverse ideas but are at a loss how to organize these into a logical and readable account. This may be due to the way our brain is structured. The human brain is divided into two hemispheres, called the left and right hemispheres. The right hemisphere of brain controls creative abilities like generation of new ideas; it tries to solve problems by going from the whole to parts, examining patterns or similarities and depends more on intuition. In contrast to this “top-down” approach of the right hemisphere, the left hemisphere relies more on a “bottom-up” approach. The left hemisphere of brain controls logical thinking. It works up from parts to the whole, examining and arranging pieces of information in an orderly form before drawing conclusions logically and sequentially. The two sub-processes of writing, i.e., (A) generation of ideas and (B) logical linking of relevant ideas are controlled by the right and left hemispheres of human brain, respectively. But, the two processes are antagonists and difficult to carry out simultaneously. Either the right or the left hemisphere of human brain dominates at a given time; both cannot be equally effective at the same time. Thus, we cannot simultaneously generate ideas for writing and go on continuously linking these logically. That is why at times we suffer from lack of ideas or information about the topic of writing (when the left hemisphere of brain is dominating the right hemisphere) and at other times, we have too many ideas but are at a loss how to organize these into a readable account (when the right hemisphere of brain is dominating). The solution to problem lies in separating the two activities (A) and (B). Therefore, dividing the writing process into two specific activities, which can be carried out separately, may be of help to beginners (Fig. 2.2). This approach is illustrated in Example 1 under the section “Gathering Information”.

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Scientific and Technical Reports: How to Write and Illustrate

FIGURE 2.2

Sub-Processes A and B in a Logical Approach to Writing

STEPS IN REPORT WRITING Research Methodology versus Report Writing Writing of a report is a sequential process that involves a number of steps. As mentioned earlier, a report is a document prepared after studying a problem or situation carefully. The “study” part may require doing experiments, literature survey or modeling. In a way, stages in preparation of a report parallel those in carrying out R & D work itself (Fig. 2.3; see also Box 2.1).

FIGURE 2.3

Stages in Research Methodology and Report Writing

Just as identification of a research question affects the choice of the R & D study design (based on assessment of information or data needed to solve the

An Approach to Report Writing

21

Box 2.1 Research Methodology Identifying the research problem A research problem is identified based on assessment of academic issues, practical requirements, literature review, etc., in order to solve a problem, explain natural phenomenon or fulfill human needs. A specific research question needs to be framed, answer to which would hopefully solve the problem. Choosing variables/parameters for study and study design Once the research question is defined, the next step is to formulate a hypothesis (or a possible solution to the research question) and decide on the variables/parameters to be studied to test this hypothesis. How these variables will be measured or studied and how the data obtained will be analyzed to answer the research question constitute the framework of study design. In physical sciences and engineering, the aim usually is to explain observed natural phenomena, investigate composition/properties of materials, or prepare new materials/implements with desirable properties, etc. The research methodology is generally experimental. In medical/ clinical studies, the approach is predominantly observational. In this type of studies, apart from the choice of study variables, mode of selection of subjects and choice of sample size are also important issues in the study design. Gathering information Once the study design is finalized and the variables on which information is to be gathered are known, the next step is to gather information by experimental measurements, literature survey, sampling or modeling, etc. Whatever approach is adopted, the data gathered must have reliability and validity. Data analysis to arrive at inference The information gathered is analyzed to arrive at logical inferences. This step involves organizing data, describing it (displaying it as tables or figures) and statistically testing it for any hypothesis proposed with regard to the research question being studied. problem at hand), the purpose of writing a report and potential readership influence its presentation and design. In doing R & D work, after identifying the research question and deciding on the research design, we choose experimental measurement/sampling/survey methods to generate information on variables of our choice. The information or data gathered is analyzed to arrive at inferences.

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Scientific and Technical Reports: How to Write and Illustrate

These processes concurrently contribute to the writing of the report also. Indeed, writing of report is an extension of these activities. After drawing certain inferences on the basis of data analysis, we proceed further and prepare an outline for the report. This is followed by preparation of a rough draft, which is revised to prepare the final report on the project. Therefore, planning of R & D work and report writing should go on simultaneously. Even when the report is not a follow-up of R & D work, a similar approach to writing would be helpful. We narrow down the focus of topic or the problem on which a report is to be prepared, decide on variables or features to be investigated, gather information on these, analyze information, arrive at an inference or inferences, prepare an outline for the structuring of collected information, prepare a rough draft and then revise it.

Focusing on the Purpose of a Report As mentioned earlier, planning for report writing should be initiated simultaneously with the planning of the R & D study itself. As soon as a question/topic is chosen for study, based on assessment of academic issues, practical requirements, literature review, etc., the purpose of report and its potential readership should also become apparent. The information to be gathered, the level of technical details and the way information is to be presented will depend upon the purpose and potential readership of the report.

Deciding on key features Reports are written to fulfill a variety of functions. At one end of the spectrum is a report on a specific R & D project commissioned by an organization and at the other end of the spectrum is a report meant for general readership, e.g., reports on S & T issues of public interest like health, education, etc. In the case of the report based on an R & D project, a lot of new technical information generated through experimentation would be available. Indeed, the new information would be the reason for preparing the report. Thus, there would be ready-made data in place for preparing the report. This would also be the situation in the case of a dissertation describing results of a research project undertaken as a part of an academic programme. However, there will be no such ready-made data available in case of the reports that are not the outcome of completed R & D projects. Appropriate information would have to be gathered from various sources. The topics of such reports may include: • Feasibility of a project to solve a scientific or technical problem (e.g., diverting a potentially hazardous incoming space object). • Technical summary of a process/procedure (e.g., how a cold chain distribution process can be validated in drug or food industry).

An Approach to Report Writing

23

• Work carried out by an organization during a particular period (e.g., annual report of an organization). • State of the art (information) in an area of R & D. • Quality/standards in an area of R & D. • Recommendations of an expert/enquiry committee (e.g., enquiry report of a satellite mishap). For reports of the type mentioned above, bulk of the information may have to be gathered from different sources. But we would have to first decide on the key features or factors on which information would be needed to prepare the report. The choice of factors/features to be investigated may be facilitated using methods like Ishikawa fish diagram (see, Example 1).

Gathering Information This is a crucial step in writing of a report. As mentioned earlier, necessary information would be already available in the form of results of experiments if the report is on an already completed R & D project. In some other forms of reports mentioned above, we have to collect and collate information from different sources. In an annual report of an organization, for example, we have to decide which achievements/results need to be highlighted. What is a new achievement and what activity is a continuing type of activity? In some cases (e.g., feasibility report, quality standards), we may have to carry out modeling or literature survey. A feasibility report, for example, is prepared to evaluate the practicality and desirability of a project. Before an organization invests time and money into a project, it needs to know how successful the project will be before investing. The feasibility report also determines whether or not a given task can be carried out with the amount of resources available, or how many resources will be necessary in order to complete the task. In case of a report on the recommendations of an expert committee regarding an S & T issue, policy or programme, we would have access to the information or data on the basis of which recommendations were formulated. In case of writing a state of the art report in a field of S & T, we would mostly gather information from literature. Thus, apart from using our memory and consulting our friends and colleagues, we can search literature of the relevant field using indexes, government documents, or computerized full-text sources (Appendix A lists some online sources of information in different areas of science and technology). Internet, of course, is a great resource for locating information sources. In some cases, we may conduct interviews or surveys to gather information. A general approach to gathering information before start of writing may be something like that depicted in Fig. 2.4.

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Scientific and Technical Reports: How to Write and Illustrate

FIGURE 2.4

A General Approach to Gathering Information

A convenient method for systematic thinking for ideas about any topic is the Ishikawa Fish Diagram method.

Using Ishikawa fish diagram as a tool for generating ideas Kaoru Ishikawa, a Japanese management expert, pioneered the use of diagrams named after him to search for causes of specific events as a part of the management strategy. Called also fishbone diagrams, these diagrams were originally meant to be management tools, but we can also use them as tools to promote “thinking around” any topic or a writing situation. The “diagrammatic view or visualization” stimulates our thinking process and helps to generate ideas that may be otherwise difficult to come by. This visualization seems to stimulate the working of the right hemisphere of brain.

Example 1 Suppose we have to prepare a report on the topic of “Improving the Water Supply in City X”. We have to first think about the aspects on which we need to collect information. The Ishikawa diagram method may be used for this task as follows: • We place the problem (or the topic of report) in a box that depicts the head of a fish. • We draw a line from head as a backbone of fish, and stems at 45° to the backbone. We think about the possible causes of the problem in a brain-storming fashion and put each cause that comes to our mind next to a stem. Each stem identifies one cause of problem (in the writing situation, one idea having a bearing on the topic of writing).

An Approach to Report Writing

25

• While thinking about a particular cause, we may chance upon some aspect or idea related to the idea we have just noted down. We put such supporting or related ideas as branches on the corresponding primary stems. These further identify sub-cause of each main cause (or break down the major idea into sub-ideas in a writing situation). • Let the fish be cooked over many sessions, i.e., we allow ideas to be generated over a period of time and do not insist on gathering all the ideas in one sitting or one session alone. The exercise can be taken up singly or in a group with all members of group free to suggest contributing causes of the problem (or issues having a bearing on the topic of writing in our case). Some of the ideas related to the problem of water supply that might appear during this exercise are shown diagrammatically in Fig. 2.5. These ideas may not appear sequentially in a logical order and may not be directly linked to each other, but we have to go on recording these as and when these appear. The main stems in the diagram 2.5 list issues like “existing water supply system”, “population density”, “geographical layout of city”, “water sources”, “wastewater treatment”, “industrial needs”, “expenditure and finances” and “quantity of water needed per head”. Some of these ideas on the main stems may have linked sub-ideas. For example, while thinking about population density in the city, the idea about growth rate in population may come to mind. There are a number of sub-ideas listed in Fig. 2.5 that might appear while thinking about the main ideas. The major ideas are put in oval boxes with solid boundaries and related or ideas sub-ordinate to these major ideas are put in oval boxes with dotted boundaries in Fig. 2.5.

FIGURE 2.5 Ishikawa Fish Diagram for the Topic “Improving the Water Supply in City X”

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Scientific and Technical Reports: How to Write and Illustrate

In this exercise, so far we have gone through only the sub-process (A) in the overall process of writing (see Fig. 2.2). The sub-process (B) of the writing activity has yet to be carried out. For this, we have to logically organize these ideas to prepare an outline for writing. Some of the ideas, as listed in Fig. 2.5, need to be rearranged and regrouped. The topics of “population growth”, “layout of the city”, “areas presently without service” and “quantity of water needed per head” are related to demographic and geographical issues. Similarly, the issues “sources of water”, “treatment of water”, “need for new water works”, “surveillance of water quality” and “maintenance of water supply lines” relate to technological factors. We could arrange the various issues listed in Fig. 2.5 under three broad categories, namely, demographic and geographic factors, technological aspects and finances. These will form the major heads of our report and the issues listed under each category would be sub-heads. Thus, we can transform the Ishikawa diagram in Fig. 2.5 to the outline shown in Fig. 2.6.

FIGURE 2.6

An Outline Generated from Fig. 2.5

We now have a logical arrangement of issues that need to be explored for preparing a report on “Improving the Water Supply in City X”. Each of the issues needs to be examined in depth, which can be done by gathering existing information to start with and then extrapolating, preparing estimates based on modeling and/or pilot-scale studies.

An Approach to Report Writing

27

Thus, we can gather a lot of information as also a logical sequence for its presentation in the report following the Ishikawa fish diagram method.

Analyzing Information and Preparing an Outline Perhaps, the most important step in preparing the report is data analysis and sorting of information gathered, because it determines the focus of the report. Any common trends or exceptions in the collected data have to be carefully analyzed and data interpreted in the light of past results and established scientific and technical knowledge. Broadly, we have to take the following actions at this stage. • Group together all significant results pertaining to a common factor. • Draw conclusions based on the observed results. • Choose data for inclusion in the report. There may be a variety of data available as a result of various experiments. But, we should choose only the data directly related to the reported conclusions for inclusion in the report. Excessive data or data only loosely related to the conclusions confuse the readers. Once analysis and sorting are over, the next stage is preparation of an outline for the report. An outline is a guide map for preparing the report. This stage is in fact, a natural progression from the analysis and sorting stage, as we have seen in the example given above on “Improving the Water Supply in City X” (Example 1). In the sorting stage, focus is on choice of results to be included in the report out of the various data available and arranging similar results together. In the outlining stage, the focus is on logical order of presentation of these results. We arrange major ideas in the form of major topics in the outline with supporting ideas as sub-topics.

Patterns of arrangement Following are the possible patterns of arrangements of collected information in the body of report: • Chronological order: It means arranging information as it was obtained, according to passage of time; whatever experiment/process was carried out first is described first along with the results obtained, and later experiments described later, and so on. Chronological organization is best for describing processes involving many steps. • Cause and effect order: The causes of a problem are analyzed and their effects described in that order. The order may be reversed in reports of enquiry by first describing the observed effects and then presenting an analysis of their causes. For example, the structure of a NASA report on Glory mishap investigation follows this pattern (see Box 3.2 in Chapter 3).

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Scientific and Technical Reports: How to Write and Illustrate

• Order of importance: This means describing the most important information first followed by information of lesser importance and so on. • Comparison and contrast: In this arrangement, different results are compared and contrasted with already available results on similar problems. • General information followed by exceptions: According to this arrangement, general information is described first, followed by specialized information or exceptions to the general information.

Preparing a Rough Draft Once an outline is prepared, we should take up writing of different topics one by one. The outline, indicating a logical order of presentation of the topics/headings, will help not only in the writing process, but also in easier comprehension of the report by the readers. We can proceed topic-wise in accordance with the outline, or take up writing of easier topics/sections (like the Experimental Section in an R & D report) first to generate momentum in the process of writing before going on to more difficult sections. At this stage, we have to also decide whether to present data as tables or figures. The factors that have a bearing on this decision are the nature of the data (qualitative or quantitative), purpose of the report and the potential readers of the report. A report on an R & D project meant for other scientists/technologists would probably focus on exact values of parameters being reported, while a report for general public on a health or sanitation-related issue would focus on listing of general trends. Data would probably be presented in the form of tables in the former case, but in the form of bar charts or line diagrams in the latter case. More details about data presentation are given in Chapter 4. Perhaps, the maximum time in writing needs to be spent on the “Discussion” section. Sufficient time needs to be spent on interpretation of observed results and arriving at conclusions. Suggestions on how to prepare different sections of report are given in the next chapter (Chapter 3).

Revising Revision should be taken up after a few days of preparing the rough draft. This gap is necessary for a fresh, second look at the writing. This second look often reveals many inconsistencies and gaps in explanation that were not apparent during the preparation of the first draft.

Checking contents To start with, we should recheck the accuracy of the data and validity of conclusions drawn on the basis of data presented in the report. Another purpose

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of revision is to check the coherence of presentation and take corrective action by deleting superfluous material, enlarging/condensing sections and changing the order of presentation, if needed. In case of any gaps in the evidence or data, we may have to gather more information even at this stage. On the other hand, there might be some irrelevant details or information that might have been gathered to start with but have no direct bearing on the final conclusions. Such details should be deleted at the revision stage. Next we should check whether technical details are explained at an appropriate level and whether the depth of coverage is adequate. Simply listing the results without explaining their background and significance will be inadequate and the report may fail in its objectives. We should also check whether technical terms have been defined appropriately, and whether examples or comparisons have been used to clarify complex concepts. Similarly, background information should be included to explain the importance of new concepts. In a report dealing with copper oxide superconductors, if we simply list the data on these compounds and forget to define and explain the phenomenon of superconductivity, the readers will find it difficult to appreciate the significance of results being presented.

Checking table titles/figure legends Rechecking titles of tables, legends to figures, units of the variables, etc., is also an important task at this stage. There could be typographical mistakes that might have escaped attention at the time of preparing the first draft. A careful checking at the revision stage would avoid unnecessary embarrassment for the author.

Polishing of style and language Of course, revision also provides a chance to polish the style of presentation, make changes in language, and to eliminate mistakes of spelling and grammar. These aspects are discussed in the last chapter of this book (Chapter 5). Report writing is not a task that comes naturally to us or may be taken up without prior planning. It is a painstaking activity, but the pain can be considerably lessened by adopting a stepwise approach. The task involves a number of activities: deciding upon questions that need to be answered for solving/studying a particular problem/issue, gathering relevant information, analyzing information, and finally presenting significant information in a logical manner using language that is readable. In this chapter, we have outlined a general approach to report writing using examples to illustrate the processes involved at various steps.

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Scientific and Technical Reports: How to Write and Illustrate

CHECKLIST 1. Divide the writing process into two parts. Divide the writing process into two separate activities: generation of “ideas” (or information) about the topic of writing, and logical linking of relevant ideas. Stimulate generation of ideas by “diagrammatic visualization”, as in the Ishikawa method. Logically evaluate and arrange the relevant ideas. 2. Gather information. Write down what you already know about the topic of the report. Search literature for information. Consult your colleagues also about the sources of information. Carry out experiments, modeling or survey, whichever is needed for gathering information. 3. Analyze information and prepare an outline. Analyze the gathered information in terms of common trends and exceptions, and interpret these in terms of known knowledge. Group together all significant results pertaining to a common factor. Next, arrange major ideas (in the form of major topics of the report) along with supporting ideas (subtopics) in a logical pattern to form an outline before start of writing. 4. Prepare a rough draft. Prepare the rough draft topic-wise in accordance with the outline already finalized. Writing may be started with the easier sections like “Materials and Methods”. Choose data for inclusion in the report that is directly related to the conclusions drawn. 5. Revise the rough draft. Recheck the data and conclusion drawn. Gather more information in case there are gaps in information, but remove irrelevant or superfluous information. Eliminate mistakes of spelling and grammar.

Chapter

3

How to Prepare Different Parts of a Report

In the previous chapter, we have looked at a general approach to report writing that breaks down the task of writing into a number of sequential steps. In this chapter, we would be more specific and consider how to prepare different parts of a report.

PARTS OF A REPORT The formal technical report has a well-defined structure designed to convey information in an organized and logical sequence – starting with the purpose and underlying causes of gathering the information, the methods used for collecting information, followed by its interpretation and evaluation of its significance and any recommendations based on the gathered information. The report is divided into well-defined sections or parts to fulfill these functions. The essential parts of a typical R & D report are: • Title • List of Contents • Executive Summary • Introduction • Materials and Methods • Results • Discussion • Conclusions • Recommendations • Acknowledgements • References • Appendices

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Scientific and Technical Reports: How to Write and Illustrate

There may be additional sections like Acknowledgements, Foreword, Glossary and List of Abbreviations in some cases. The Methods, Results and Discussion sections are sometimes collectively called the “body of the report”. In addition to these components, a “Letter of Transmittal” also accompanies a formal report and is regarded as a part of the report. Through this formal letter, the author finally submits the report to the designated authority of the organization for which the report was prepared. However, as mentioned in Chapter 2 also, there will be variations in the structure and organization of reports that are not the outcome of R & D projects, e.g., reports dealing with: • Progress of an organization (e.g., Annual Report). • State of the art (information) in an area of R & D. • Feasibility of a project. • Quality/standards in an area of R & D. • Recommendations of an expert/enquiry committee. Instead of the Experimental and Results sections describing materials and methods used and data obtained in a report on an R & D project, the body of an Annual Report of an organization may sum up only the results of important work carried out, and list papers published, patents taken, and manpower and financial details. For example, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research in India is a large organization engaged in R & D work in diverse areas of science and technology through its 40 large and medium-sized laboratories spread all our India. Its Annual Report summarizes the achievements of its constituent laboratories as well as the activities of the central headquarters of the Council. The structure of its Annual Report is consequently different from the typical R & D report structure described above. The structure of CSIR Annual Report is summarized in Box 3.1.

Box 3.1 Structure of CSIR Annual Report* EXECUTIVE SUMMARY RESOURCE BASE AND PERFORMANCE INDICATORS Number of Labs/Institutes Human Resources Financial Resources Papers Published Patents Taken ………. ……… Contd...

How to Prepare Different Parts of a Report

33

Contd...

S&T CONTRIBUTIONS Biological Sciences Chemical Sciences Engineering Sciences Information Sciences Physical Sciences ……… CENTRAL MANAGEMENT ACTIVITIES Governing Body …… …… HEADQUARTERS ACTIVITIES Planning and Performance Division Human Resource Development Group Intellectual Property Management Division International S&T Affairs Directorate ….. ….. ….. Traditional Knowledge Digital Library ANNEXURES I Awards and Recognition II Intellectual Property from CSIR IIA Foreign Patents granted to CSIR III Top Papers Published by CSIR ….. ….. ….. XII List of Network Projects *Based on information in CSIR Annual Report 2010-11

The structure of a typical enquiry committee report would also be different from the standard structure of the report. For example, Box 3.2 shows the structure of a NASA (the American space research agency, National Aeronautics and Space Administration) report describing results of a scientific investigation into the mishap one of its satellites met.

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Scientific and Technical Reports: How to Write and Illustrate

Box 3.2 Structure of NASA Report on Glory Mishap Investigation Results* SUMMARY BACKGROUND Mission Overview Selection of Launch Vehicle Taurus Launch Vehicle System Description Taurus 63-Inch Fairing System Description MISHAP CAUSES AND RECOMMENDATIONS Proximate Cause: Fairing Separation Failed Intermediate Causes Side rail charge holder slumped or compressed Side rail system failed to operate correctly outside its evaluated environments Root Cause Analysis *Based on information in http://www.nasa.gov.pdf.728836main_T9_MIB_ Public_Release_Summary.pdf

Box 3.3 shows the structure of a feasibility study report. NASA, the American space research agency, presented a report to the US Congress on near-earth object survey and deflection analysis. The report, as expected of a feasibility study, focuses on analysis of alternatives to carry out the survey of near-earth objects, recommends an option, but also includes analysis of possible alternatives.

Box 3.3 Structure of NASA Report on Near-Earth Object Survey and Deflection Analysis of Alternatives* SUMMARY Key Findings for the Survey Program Key Findings for Diverting a Potentially Hazardous Object (PHO) Alternatives Considered to Detect, Track, Characterize, and Deflect/Mitigate NEOs Recommended Survey Program BACKGROUND STUDY APPROACH FOR NEO SURVEY PROGRAM Detect and Track Contd...

How to Prepare Different Parts of a Report

35

Contd...

Ground-Based Optical Systems Space-Based Optical Systems Characterization ANALYSIS OF ALTERNATIVES FOR NEO SURVEY PROGRAM Detection and Tracking Survey Alternatives Considered Survey Performance Simulation Results for Detection and Tracking Characterization Alternatives Considered EXEMPLAR SURVEY PROGRAM STUDY APPROACH AND ANALYSIS OF ALTERNATIVES FOR NEO DEFLECTION PROGRAM Deflection Performance Analysis POTENTIAL BENEFITS TO SCIENCE POTENTIAL BENEFITS TO EXPLORATION Near-Earth Object Resources Human Visits to Asteroids Appendix: Acronyms and Definition of Terms *Based on information in [http://www.nasa.gov/pdf/171331main_NEO_report_ march07.pdf]

Similarly, in reports prepared by national agencies like the Planning Commission or international agencies like UNESCO or WHO, the primary focus is on survey and interpretation of data and forecasting of future trends. Such reports would have policy planning, financing, human resources and international coordination as the major sections of reports.

Getting Started: Using Questions as Tools for Writing A convenient approach to tackle the fear of writing, especially by beginners, is to undertake writing of report part by part. But how do we start? How do we search for the material for inclusion in different parts of the report? We may start by asking ourselves a set of questions – the answers to these questions would provide us material for different sections of the report. The questions and the respective answers are linked to major sections of the report as shown in Fig. 3.1.

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Scientific and Technical Reports: How to Write and Illustrate

FIGURE 3.1

Questions as Tools for Gathering Material for A Report

The first question (“What was the problem and why was it important”?) would prompt us to define or summarize the issue or problem at hand, think about its importance, the approaches already adopted to tackle it, and the why and how of the approach chosen by us to tackle it, etc. This would give enough ideas or material to write the Introduction section. The next question (“How was it studied”?) would prompt us to summarize the details of various methods or procedures used to study the problem/issue. This would provide material for writing of the Experimental section. Similarly, the next question (“What was found”?) would provide material for the Results section. The question, “What do the findings mean” would prompt us to think about the implications of the observations made or data presented in the Results section. This would provide material for the Discussion section. Finally, the material generated by the answers to above mentioned questions needs to be linked logically and an outline prepared. Suppose, an R & D project on “New Semiconducting Nanocarbon Materials” has been completed and we have to prepare a report on it. The writing strategy based on the above stepwise approach can help us in not only thinking about the material to be included in the report, but also the sequence of its presentation. 1. What was the problem and why was it important? The answer to this question could include the background and purpose of taking up the project as also the perceived applications of the new materials. The objective of the project could have been search for materials that may prove useful for futuristic electronic devices. In such a case, a brief description of existing materials in use, their shortcomings, key

How to Prepare Different Parts of a Report

37

requirements in materials of future and the rationale for choosing the approach followed in the project for preparation of such materials would probably form a part of the answer to the general question posed in the beginning. All this matter will give shape to the Introduction section. 2. How was it studied? The answer to this question could include description of the method or methods of preparation and purification of the compounds, methods of their characterization as well as methods of studying their properties, especially electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity and magnetic properties. The answer may include not only the principles of the procedures followed, but also the details of chemicals used, instruments used, temperature and pressure controls, etc. This will provide matter for the Materials and Methods or the Experimental section of the report. 3. What was found? The answer to this question could list all the data gathered during various experiments carried out for preparation and characterization of the materials as well as the study of their properties. The data would be listed in tables or displayed as figures of various types. The figures may show sketch diagrams of the preparative procedure used (chemical vapour deposition system, for example) and procedures of purification; spectral curves; electron transport curves; transmission electron microscopic images; thermal conductivity curves, etc. All these data would form bulk of the Results section. 4. What do the findings mean? The answer to this question would include analysis of the results in terms of desired properties and potential practical applications. The question prompts us to think about the implications of the observations made or data presented in the Results section. We would compare our results with already known information in literature and evaluate these in terms of generally accepted theoretical background. We would try to discuss whether there is a general pattern of behavior among different compounds prepared by us, or whether there are some exceptions. If there are exceptions, we would try to find the reasons for these. We may find that properties of new materials indicate their possible use in low voltage applications in future electronic devices or photocatalytic applications. We would consolidate and arrange all this material logically to get material for the Discussion section. Of course, we must also list any limitations or drawbacks in their applications. This procedure of asking a set of questions for zeroing on the material for different sections of the report can be combined with the Ishikawa fish diagram approach described in Chapter 2 for preparing a report on this R & D project (see Fig. 3.1A). The contents page of the report based on the above mentioned material would be something like that shown in Box 3.7.

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Scientific and Technical Reports: How to Write and Illustrate

FIGURE 3.1A

Use of Ishikawa Fish Diagram for Preparing a Report on the Topic “New Semiconducting Nanocarbon Materials”

How to Prepare Letter of Transmittal A formal letter from the person who has prepared the report accompanies the report when it is submitted to the person or organization that had requested or authorized preparation of the report. It has the following components: • The name, official designation and address of the recipient of the report. • Subject and purpose of the report, including reference to authorization for preparation of the report. • Exact title of the report; a hint of major findings or recommendations (optional). • Name, official designation and address of the person who has prepared the report along with date of submission of the report. Obviously, it is not an organic part of the report and is not available to readers other than the person to whom it is addressed. But it gives a context to the work being reported in the report. It is a part of the record showing completion of the investigation and submission of the results of investigation to the designated authority, which had sanctioned the preparation of report. It marks the completion of a contract between the two parties – the sponsors of investigation and the investigators. An example of a “Letter of Transmittal” is shown in Box 3.4.

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Box 3.4 Example of a Letter of Transmittal RP Consultants Faridabad December 4, 2011 Dr. XYZ Managing Director, Novelty Chemicals Pvt. Ltd. A-36, Sector 52, NOIDA, U.P. Dear Dr XYZ, Please refer to your letter NC/543-16 dated October 20, 2010 asking us to carry out studies on the scope for commercial utilization of the intermediate product XXXXX. We have completed the studies and the report of our studies is submitted herewith for your perusal. The report is entitled “Potential for Commercial Utilization of the Intermediate Product XXXXX”. The report contains recommendations based on our survey and modeling studies. We have recommended two major uses of the Intermediate Product XXXXX. If you have any queries concerning our results or recommendations, please feel free to contact the undersigned. Sincerely, Dr KYK Lead Investigator RP Consultants 65, KG Estate, Sector 54, Faridabad, Haryana Tel. XXXXXXXX Mobile. YYYYYYYYYY

How to Prepare Title Page The title page includes some of the information given in the letter of transmittal. Apart from the title of the report, the title page contains the name of the person/company/organization for which the report has been prepared and the date of completion of report. It also shows the name of the person/organization submitting the report.

Title of report Like the name of a person, the title is a label for the work being reported. • It should indicate, in briefest but clearest possible manner, the contents of the report.

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Scientific and Technical Reports: How to Write and Illustrate

• Like a label, it should not be a full sentence; also, it loses effectiveness if it is too long. • The report title should contain concrete keywords, but no acronyms. • Numbers and abbreviations should also be avoided in titles. Problematic: Study of Organometallic Compounds It is not clear compounds of which metal or metals have been studied and what kind of studies are reported. Improved: Toxicological Assessment of Photocytotoxic Organometallic Compounds of Molybdenum Problematic: HEMT Devices and MMICs for Cryogenic Low Noise Amplifiers from X-Band to W-Band The acronyms in the title make it difficult to understand the intent of the report. Improved: High Electron Mobility Transistor and Monolithic Microwave Integrated Circuit for Cryogenic Low Noise Amplifiers from X-Band to W-Band A title should be precise reflecting the content or purpose of the report in a single phrase. Following is an example of a clear and effective title that immediately gives a peep into the contents of a report: “A Survey of Ballistic Transfers to the Lunar Surface”. Contrast this with titles like “Ballistic Transfers” or “Ballistic Transfers to Lunar Surface Are Tricky”. The first alternative is very general giving no clue to the most important aspect of the report – the results reported pertain to lunar surface. The second title is a declarative full sentence, which emphasis a conclusion as if it is a universal truth. Similar is the case with the title “Ceria-based Nano-Oxides are Ideal for CO Oxidation and Other Catalytic Applications”. Such titles should be avoided because they tend to overemphasize a conclusion as a universal truth. Instead, the title may be rephrased as “Potential of Ceria-based Nano-Oxides for CO Oxidation and Other Catalytic Applications”. Similarly, questions as titles should also be avoided. Instead of using the title “Can Nanocarbons Act as Adsorbents and Chemical Storage Materials for H2 Gas”, we should use the title “Potential of Nanocarbons as Adsorbents and Chemical Storage Materials for H2 Gas”. Typography. The first letter of each word in the title should be capitalized, except the articles (a, an, the) and connecting words (and, or, for, nor, but, to, etc.). An example of a title page is shown in Box 3.5.

How to Prepare Different Parts of a Report

Box 3.5

41

Example of a Title Page

(Logo of RP Consultants) Report on Potential for Commercial Utilization of the Intermediate Product XXXXX Report Presented to Dr. XYZ Managing Director, Novelty Chemicals Pvt. Ltd. A-36, Sector 52, NOIDA, U.P. By Dr KYK Lead Investigator RP Consultants 65, KG Estate, Sector 54, Faridabad, Haryana December 4, 2011

How to Prepare Contents Page A “Table of Contents”, present in the beginning of the report, gives the readers a bird’s eye view of the contents of the report. It also reflects the structure of the report and facilitates navigation through it. The Table of Contents includes all the headings and subheadings present in the report in the order of their appearance in the body of the report along with the page numbers where each of these headings/subheadings begins. Since content page broadly represents the structure of the report, the hierarchy of topics/subtopics is reflected in it by appropriate use of capitalization, spacing and indentation in the listed headings. The heading “Table of Contents” or “Contents” should be centered at the top of the page. Below it, the headings and subheadings of all sections and subsections of the report should be listed (excluding the title page and table of contents) along with the corresponding page numbers. The following scheme can be followed for preparing the “Table of Contents”.

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Scientific and Technical Reports: How to Write and Illustrate

• The heading “Table of Contents” or “Contents” should be in bold type and centred. • Sectional headings and subheadings in the Table of Contents should not be in bold type. The major topics (level 1) should appear flush left; the sub-topics (levels 2 and 3) should be indented a few spaces to reflect their subordinate hierarchy. • Page numbers pertaining to preliminary matter, including Acknowledgement, Executive Summary, Lists of Figures and Tables, etc., should be given in lowercase Roman numerals. Pagination in Arabic numerals starts with Introduction. • Wording of the headings and numbering should be exactly as in the body of the report. The major sections of the report are usually numbered, either in Roman or Arabic numerals. It is customary to number each section of the report sequentially, staring with the introduction as number ‘1’. Because they are in a sense independent of the body of the report, the Executive Summary and References are usually not numbered. It is preferable to use Arabic numerals 1, 2, 3, etc., in which case subsections can be numbered as 1.1, 1.1.1; 2.1, 2.2.2, 2.3.3, etc. One way of showing hierarchy of topics/subtopics in the contents page would be to use the following typography: ƒ Level 1: Heading should start flush left; with numbering 1.0; 2.0, etc.; first letter of each word should be capitalized, except the articles and connecting words. ƒ Level 2: An indent of 8 spaces should be given from left before starting the heading; with numbering 1.1, 2.1, etc. First letter of the first word should be capitalized, rest of the words should be in lower case letters. ƒ Level 3: An indent of 16 spaces should be given; with numbering 1.1.1; 2.1.1, etc. First letter of the first word should be capitalized, rest of the words should be in lower case letters. • Full titles of the appendices should be given. As an example, the table of contents for the report on “Potential for Commercial Utilization of the Intermediate Product XXXXX” is shown in Box 3.6. As another example, the table of contents for the report on the hypothetical R & D project on “New Semiconducting Nanomaterials”, discussed earlier under the section on “Questions as Tools for Writing”, is shown in Box 3.7.

How to Prepare Executive Summary The executive summary is meant for senior level management personnel who take the major decisions, but who may be too busy to go through the details.

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Box 3.6

43

An Example of the Table of Contents (Report on Potential for Commercial Utilization of the Intermediate Product XXXXX) Table of Contents

Acknowledgments.....................................................................................i Executive Summary...............................................................................ii List of Figures.......................................................................................iv List of Tables..........................................................................................v 1.0 Introduction.......................................................................................1 1.1 Background ……….....................................…………………2 1.2 Approach followed….........................................…………….4 2.0 Methodology.......................................................................................7 2.1 Survey…………....................................……………………….7 2.2 Modeling……….......................................……………………11 2.3 Optimization………….......................................……………26 3.0 Results ............................................................................................36 4.0 Discussion.........................................................................................51 4.1 Survey…………...................................………………………52 4.2 Modeling………………......................................…………….57 4.3 Commercial potential……...........................................……68 4.4 Extra inputs needed……..........................................……..75 4.4.1 Finance …….....................................................……75 4.4.2 Manpower, equipment and materials……...........78 5.0 Conclusions………………..............................……………………….84 6.0 Recommendations .........................................................................88 References...............................................................................................90 Appendices…………………................................…………………………92 A.I. Modeling procedures...........................................................92 A.II. Competing commercial products……………....…………..96

44

Box 3.7

Scientific and Technical Reports: How to Write and Illustrate

An Example of the Table of Contents (New Report on Semiconducting Nanomaterials)

Table of Contents Acknowledgements List of Figures List of Tables Executive Summary 1.0. Introduction 2.0. Materials and Methods 2.1. Synthesis 2.2. Characterization 2.2.1. Raman and optical spectroscopies 2.2.2. Transmission electron microscopy 2.2.3. Thermal conductivity 2.2.4. Electrical conductivity 2.3. Thermodynamic properties 2.4. Kinetics of degradation 3.0. Results 4.0. Discussion 5.0. Conclusions References Appendix I. List of Symbols and Acronyms

iii iv v vi 1 3 3 7 7 11 17 21 27 29 33 39 48 49 51

It has been said that senior managers have an attention span of only 4 minutes. Therefore, they need to be informed of the gist of the contents of the report in ~1-2 pages that can be read in a few minutes. The decision makers, potential readers of the Executive Summary, may or may not be specialists in the technical area of the report; therefore, use of technical terminology should be avoided in it as far as possible. Also, no references or abbreviation should be included in the Executive Summary. But the gist of the report should be reflected so that appropriate decisions can be taken on the findings being reported. For a proper perspective, not only the results, but the methodology used in the study and analysis of results should also be indicated very briefly. Therefore, the Executive Summary should indicate the aim of the investigation, the methodology used, major results and their significance, and finally give the main conclusions/recommendations briefly. In short, the Executive Summary should contain highlights of each part of the report. The information should be presented in the sequence shown below (diagrammatically depicted in Fig. 3.2).

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• Context of the problem • Purpose and scope of study • Objective of study • Methodology and design • Results • Conclusions • Recommendations A brief description of the contents of different sections/chapters of the report may be given towards the end of the Executive Summary. It is advisable to prepare Executive Summary at the last stage of writing the report when the interpretation of results has been finalized and conclusions of the study are firmly established.

FIGURE 3.2

A Stepwise Approach to Writing of the Executive Summary

Common shortcomings A common shortcoming of Executive Summary is inclusion of too much information on the background or methods of study. The real places for such details are the Introduction and the Materials and Methods sections, respectively. Another mistake is insufficient or no information at all on the purpose of the study, major results and their implications. Too many technical details and use of abbreviations/acronyms also defeat the purpose of the Executive Summary.

How to Prepare Introduction The purpose of this section is to “introduce” the subject of report to readers, who may or may not be generally aware of the technical issues or details of the particular problem on which report is presented. To be effective, an introduction should explain why the particular study was taken up, define the problem, explain its importance and briefly cover the known knowledge in the area. The introduction section should also list the methods of study used, including any

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assumptions made and limitations of the study. It should also specify the major results obtained and indicate the inferences or conclusions arrived at. Thus, the introduction section should include (Fig. 3.3): • Terms of reference, if any, for the preparation of the report. • A brief, but thorough discussion of the context of the problem. • Purpose or objective of writing the report. • Background information including technical background necessary to understand the report (theory or assumptions); work already done in the field; scope of the present study; amount of data collected and focus of discussion. • A brief indication of methodology used, including the assumptions and limitations. • An indication of the framework or structure of the report. Although the “Introduction” forms an early part of the report, it may be written towards the end of writing the report. This is because having constructed a logical explanation of the observed facts, while writing the main body of the report, we are in a better position to put the results in perspective vis-à-vis objectives of the study. We can have a more holistic view of the relationship towards the end of the writing process.

FIGURE 3.3

A Stepwise Approach to Writing of the Introduction Section

Common shortcomings A common shortcoming is the tendency to make introduction a very elaborate historical treatment of the broad area of the reported work, instead of giving brief and focused background information. Another pitfall associated with this section is the exaggeration of the importance of the findings being reported in order to impress the readers. The exaggerated claims may not be justified by the results reported later.

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How to Prepare Materials and Methods This part of the report is perhaps the easiest to write and we may start writing of report with this part. We do not have to plan or think much while writing this part, since it involves describing details of the experimental procedures and equipment we have actually used to collect data or information on the problem chosen for study. The purpose of this section is not only to tell the readers how the information/data was collected or generated, but also how it was analyzed. This is important on two counts: (i) the readers should be able to repeat the experiments and use methods being reported, if needed, and (ii) readers should be able to assess the validity and reliability of data being reported. Precision in reporting materials and methods is of great importance. Details that should not be overlooked are: Materials. We should describe in detail all the materials (chemicals and solvents) used, including the purity, grade, producer’s name, etc. These characteristics are needed to compare the test results with other data on similar materials and to repeat the experiments later, if needed. Procedures. The test procedures should be described in enough detail so that readers can repeat the experiments, if needed. We should list the temperature and pressure at which the experiments were carried out. If a method or technique is well known and established, it need not be described in detail. Only a reference to the appropriate literature source would suffice. In cases where the known technique has been modified, a detailed description of the modification only need be given. We should also describe the statistical methods used to check the reliability of results to allow readers to judge the validity of conclusions based on them. Instruments used. The make and accuracy of instruments used should be listed. Photographs or drawings of any special devices or instruments used may be shown. In case of commercially available instruments, only description would suffice. Test facilities. A new test facility should be described in sufficient detail so that its essential workings can be reproduced, if needed by others. Any special mechanical devices used should also be described fully. We can use photographs and diagrammatic sketches to illustrate the facility. Limitations/assumptions/approximations. We should describe any limitations of the experimental set-up as well as assumptions and approximations made. However, merely listing the details of experimental methods, instruments or chemicals used is not sufficient. Readers should be clearly told the overall objective of the measurements and the questions or hypotheses that these are

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supposed to answer or test. We have to not only describe the experimental methods used in detail, but also defend their choice. The readers have to be assured that the methods used are appropriate, i.e., they are technically adequate to answer the questions raised in the study and are the best of many alternatives that might be available. Ethical issues. It is the responsibility of authors of R & D reports to ensure authenticity of reported data. Reporting of fraudulent, fudged or fabricated data is scientific misconduct that has to be avoided at all costs. Another equally important misbehavior is plagiarism, which involves misappropriation of another person’s work as one’s own. There is no bar on making use of already available information in literature in furthering our R & D work, but we must give due credit to the original source of information. Verbatim copying without giving reference to the source is the most reprehensible form of plagiarism. Similarly, there should be no bias in interpreting the data obtained in favour or against any particular policy/view. Other important ethical obligations of authors are: • Explicitly identifying hazardous procedures, substances. • Respecting confidentiality of information (not using or reporting information obtained privately without explicit permission). • Obtaining ethical approvals from the research ethics committee in medical research dealing with medical records, human subjects (on aspects like inclusion/exclusion criteria in choice of subjects, potential risks/benefits to and privacy of the subjects, informed consent of the subjects for being part of the research project) and animal experimentation.

Common shortcomings A common pitfall associated with the preparation of this section is elaborate description or explanation of standard methods and well known procedures. Citation of appropriate references should suffice instead of repeating well known and standard procedures. Another common problem is inadequate attention to statistical analysis of the data gathered. This is particularly important in the case of biomedical work. At times, details that should come in the Introduction section, like the background information, are included in this section while reporting the methods of study. This should be avoided. Similarly, results should not be included in this section.

How to Prepare Results This section is perhaps the most important part of the report because it contains the new information that constitutes the basis of conclusions reached and recommendations made (if any). Indeed, information reported in this section

.

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49

is the reason for writing the report. It is important not only in the context of the particular problem investigated, but may also be of archival value and its utility may extend much beyond the individual report. • Not all the data gathered during an investigation need to be included in a report. We have to choose only the data that are directly related to the objectives and conclusions of the report. Excessive data or data only loosely related to the conclusions would confuse the readers and dilute the effectiveness of really important data. • Presenting the raw results alone is not sufficient. The readers should be able to draw meaningful conclusions from the data being presented. So, the results are not presented in the chronological order as these were obtained; these are classified and categorized before presentation in the report. We should present different types of results in a logical manner sequentially, devoting a few paragraphs to each result. Each group of paragraphs may be given appropriate subheadings to help the readers in differentiating a given set of results from the others. A reader should be able to make sense of the underlying pattern or trends at the first glance itself. • But classification and categorization does not mean that unexpected results or results that do not fit the overall pattern should be disregarded. On the contrary, unexpected results should be specifically pointed out. Many a time, deviations from expected pattern lead to interesting interpretations and new insights. • Instead of starting the results section abruptly by listing the data in a table or displaying it in a figure, we should start with a paragraph that places the study in context. However, the data should be just described and there should be no explanations or comparisons with published data. This task is to be left for the Discussion section.

Recording data We usually avoid presenting extensive numerical data as a part of running text. These are recorded in the form of tables or figures. The form of representation (table or figure) would depend on the nature of data (quantitative or qualitative) and purpose of the report (report addressed to specialists or general readers). The details of data presentation in these formats are discussed in the next chapter (Chapter 4).

Errors in data We should be careful to ensure that reliability of the data presented in the report is beyond questioning. Results based on repeated observations/experiments must be included to ensure that observations are not affected by some chance,

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extraneous happenings. There can be two types of error in the experimental (quantitative) data: random and systematic errors. A random error is an error that can be either positive or negative. Neither the direction of the error nor its magnitude can be predicted. Instrument instability, reagent variations, operator variation or environmental variations may lead to random errors. Random errors can be minimized by recording a large number of observations, when the average value would be nearer the true value, cancelling out errors in positive and negative directions. On the other hand, systematic error may occur due to variables that affect accuracy producing consistently high or low values. Unlike random error (RE), systematic error (SE) is always in one direction. Faulty calibration, faulty standards, or conscious or unconscious bias in selection of samples for comparative studies may introduce this type of error. Such errors cannot be cancelled out by recording a large number of observations.

Units The data must include the units of the variables being reported. A physical quantity has two components: a numerical value and a unit. The value of the physical quantity is expressed as their product. The data are meaningless unless both the components are specified. For example, a temperature value of 70 will be meaningful only when its unit is known, i.e., whether it is 70 °F, or 70 °C, or 70 K. All these values are significantly different from one another. The internationally accepted system of units is called the SI System (see Appendix B). In this system, there are seven base physical quantities with mutually independent base units. Other physical quantities are deemed to be derived from these base quantities. Thus, the data on physical quantities must contain the units along with the numerical values of the quantities concerned.

Significant digits In case of numerical continuous variables (where the variables can take up decimal values), the numbers in data should reflect the accuracy of measurement. Numbers after the decimal resulting from mathematical calculations should be rounded off to be in accord with the degree of precision of experimental measurements. For example, if the accuracy of an experimental measurement is up to one-hundredth of a unit, the numbers should contain no more than two digits after the decimal point. If the accuracy of the instrument measuring length and breadth in an experiment is up to second place of decimal only, the area computed by multiplying these quantities (e.g., 1.86 × 0.48 = 0.8928) should also be reported up to two places after the decimal, i.e., 0.89 and not as 0.8928.

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Reporting of numbers in the text In scientific and technical literature, the convention is to report numbers as numerals, e.g., “The process gave rise to 7 intermediates”, or “The compounds A and B were heated at temperatures of 55 °C and 80 °C, respectively”. But numbers should be spelt out when they: • Occur in a title, sub-title of the report. • Form a part of heading. • Begin a sentence. • Are common fractions, e.g., three-fourths, two-thirds, etc.

Inserting equations The equations should be composed separately from the text. These can be easily composed and inserted at the desired position using MS Word program. On clicking on the “insert” tab in the main menu, the option of “Equation” appears. On clicking on it, a box appears in which the desired equation can be typed. Simultaneously, various mathematical signs and operators appear under the “Design” tab in the menu box, which can be inserted as desired by clicking on the required sign or symbol. • The equations should be centred on the page to give them a distinct identity, separate from the main text. • All equations should be numbered. In a small report, these can be numbered sequentially throughout, e.g., Eq. 1, Eq. 2…..Eq. 38, etc. In a bigger report in which major sections are presented as separate chapters, the numbering should indicate chapter number as well as the equation number in the chapter, e.g., Eq. 3.1, Eq. 4.12, etc., for equation number 1 in Chapter 3, and equation number 12 in Chapter 4, respectively. This makes it easy to refer to various equations anywhere in the text, in the chapter in which equation occurs or in another chapter. The equation number should be placed in brackets at the right-hand margin. For example, a hypothetical equation in this chapter, inserted using MS Word program, would look like: a±bπx

y

2

–______________ b ± Rb2 – 4ac 2a

...(Eq. 3.1)

Common shortcomings Sometimes authors include preliminary data that may be irrelevant to main results. It unnecessarily crowds out the key results, or the results that have a bearing on the question or problem being probed. Another problem is duplication, i.e., presentation of results in the text as well as tables and Figs.

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Inadequate captions and legends to tables and figures, and inconsistent use of units are some other shortcomings of this section.

How to Prepare Discussion This part of the report reflects the perspective of the authors towards the topic of their report. For many authors, this is the most difficult part to write. The main purpose of this section is to explain the results obtained in the light of the known knowledge. For a logical development of this section, a statement of the main findings should be made at the beginning. Then, these should be compared and contrasted with the previously reported information. A discussion of what the findings mean, supported by literature reports and accepted theories of science in the particular field should follow. Finally, any theoretical implications or practical applications that may emerge should be noted and need for further study, if necessary, be indicated. A stepwise approach to writing the discussion section may be adopted as shown below and diagrammatically depicted in Fig. 3.4. • Start with the background of the problem and the aim of the study. • Sum up the broad trends in the results obtained. • Focus on relationships among observed data. • Point out any exception or lack of correlation in the data. • Compare the observed results with the earlier observations. • Try to analyze the reasons for the observed results. • Look for theoretical and practical implications. • If results are unexpected in view of accepted theories in the field, look for a new or alternative hypothesis.

FIGURE 3.4

A Stepwise Approach to Writing of the Discussion Section

Use of headings Headings are important tools available to a writer for organizing and enhancing the readability of his/her writing. The headings act like milestones for the

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53

readers. Apart from indicating the logical structure of the document, they provide visual attraction also. Type and format of a heading give an indication of the hierarchical level of the topic or sub-topic (idea or sub-idea), its relation to preceding topic (idea) and so on (see “Mechanics of headings” below). Therefore, we can use headings as tools to help the reader to navigate through the report and understand relations among different topics and sub-topics. However, use of too many types of headings may also confuse the readers. We should limit levels of headings to three or four. Like the title of the report, sectional headings should also be informative. These should indicate the content of the section instead of being just labels. We should avoid using a single abbreviation as heading. Even the use of an abbreviation along with its expansion should be avoided in a heading. We should spell out the term in the heading, and introduce the abbreviation at the next appearance of term in the text.

Types of headings • “Question heading” is a heading in the form of a question. It makes writing quite informative and easy to relate to. It also helps the readers to find the information they are looking for quickly. Popular level writing would benefit from such headings (Example: How do superconductors work?), but these are not commonly used in R & D reports. • “Statement heading” is a heading that uses a noun and a verb. It is also quite informative and gives a gist of the topic being covered (Example: “Mechanism of superconductivity involves electron-pairing”). • “Topic heading” is a heading that is a word or short phrase. It is the most formal of the three types of headings. Most R & D writings use this type of headings (Example: “Superconductors”, “Mechanism”). But sometimes this type of heading is vague and not very helpful to the readers. For example, headings like “General,” and “Applications” are not very informative and may even confuse the reader at a first glance. Mechanics of headings. The hierarchy of levels of different headings can be made apparent by appropriate use of capitalization, spacing and indentation in the headings. The higher the level of heading, bigger or bolder would be type face used for it and more would be the blank space above and below it. This arrangement gives a visual clue to the inter-relations of different ideas. One possible approach to distinguishing among different levels of headings in a report is as follows: • Level 1 headings (for major sections): The headings are centred with 3 blank spaces above and two blank spaces below; all letters are bold capitals.

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• Level 2 headings (for sub-sections): The headings start flush left with 2 blank spaces above, one below; all letters are bold with the first letter of each word capitalized and remaining in the lower case. • Level 3 headings (sub-sub-sections): The headings start flush left with 1 blank space above and no blank space below; the letters are bold italics with the first letter of the first word capitalized and remaining in lower case. • Level 4: It is placed at the same level as the text paragraph. The heading is followed by a full stop; letters are bold with first letter of the first word capitalized, remaining being lower case. There is one blank space above. Box 3.8 illustrates different levels of headings along with the recommended typography.

Box 3.8

Different Levels of Headings COPPER OXIDE SUPERCONDUCTORS (Level 1)

Yttrium barium copper oxide is a crystalline chemical compound with the formula YBa2Cu3O7. This high-temperature superconductor was the first material to achieve superconductivity above the boiling point (77 K) of liquid nitrogen. Copper Oxide Superconductors (Level 2) Yttrium barium copper oxide is a crystalline chemical compound with the formula YBa2Cu3O7. This high-temperature superconductor was the first material to achieve superconductivity above the boiling point (77 K) of liquid nitrogen. Copper oxide superconductors (Level 3) Yttrium barium copper oxide is a crystalline chemical compound with the formula YBa2Cu3O7. This high-temperature superconductor was the first material to achieve superconductivity above the boiling point (77 K) of liquid nitrogen. Copper oxide superconductors (Level 4). Yttrium barium copper oxide is a crystalline chemical compound with the formula YBa2Cu3O7. This high-temperature superconductor was the first material to achieve superconductivity above the boiling point (77 K) of liquid nitrogen.

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Common shortcomings A commonly observed shortcoming in writing of the discussion section is reiteration of results, with some more details, instead of their interpretation or explanation. Another shortcoming is making broad statements or sweeping generalizations on the basis of limited data.

How to Prepare Conclusions & Recommendations The major function of this section is to provide a smooth ending to the report and to place the results obtained in a larger perspective. Besides reiterating the aim of the study, we should sum-up the major findings and generalize these to point out what these add up to in terms of new information. We may also summarize how far we were successful in our aims and list any constraints or factors that might have interfered in achieving the aims. Shortcomings of the study, if any, and potential theoretical or practical applications of results obtained could also be listed. This section would normally contain recommendations based on the results reported. No new material should be introduced in this section. In the absence of a definite conclusion, the report may seem to be incomplete. In most cases, definite recommendations, based on the analysis of results obtained, would fulfill the mandate given for the R & D work and presentation of the report. The recommendations should be general and not tied to any particular conditions. If multiple recommendations are given, these should be presented in the order of importance, the most important coming first. The statements made in this section may be quoted and used for decision making; hence, these should be checked thoroughly for accuracy and clarity.

Common shortcomings To be effective, the conclusion should be short and crisp. Too many details may dilute the emphasis on strong points of the study. Referring to general background information or justifying the methodology adopted is inappropriate at this stage. Another common shortcoming is failure to match the objectives of the report mentioned in the Introduction section with the results or conclusions drawn.

How to Prepare Acknowledgements This section is optional. We may use this section to publicly thank the funding agencies, subordinates who might have helped with some routine measurements, colleagues who allowed use of some experimental set-up or some samples of chemicals, or a colleague with whom we might have discussed the results. In such cases, their names can be listed in a short and to-the-point acknowledgement.

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How to Prepare References References need to be cited for a variety of purposes. These may constitute links to the earlier work in the field; these may refer to experimental methods used in solving the problem at hand; or these may provide support for the author’s interpretation of his/her observations. In each case, references act as links between the old and the new information. In addition, references allow saving of space by avoiding repetition of lengthy descriptions of apparatus or procedures, development of theories, or other information.

Compiling a list of references In fact, the authors of reports need to build up a list of supporting references. The purpose of compiling a list of references is to: • Demonstrate an understanding of the research and the methods previously used to investigate the particular problem. • Demonstrate a gap in the existing research base, and to justify why a new study was required on a particular topic. This is especially true in case of dissertations describing results of a research project. If a certain variable X affecting the issue under investigation has been studied in a particular population, the review of the literature should help in pinpointing the importance of variable X and refer to previous works that have studied the variable. Abstracting/indexing publications and databases of various types can be searched to find appropriate references. Searches can be made from the printed indexes or computerized databases available on-line or in the form of CD-ROMs. The major printed indexes are: Chemical Abstracts, Biological Abstracts, Science Citation Index, Index Chemicus, Index Medicus. The major online databases are: Medline, Dialog, Paperchase, BRS STN, Derwent and Infoline. Some major online databases are listed in Appendix A. The Chemical and Biological Abstracts are standard tools of reference, which list the abstracts of papers appearing in almost all the major journals in their respective fields. These papers can be traced through a variety of indexes like the subject index, author index and chemical substance index, etc. Science Citation Index (SCI) is particularly useful in building up a reference list. If a reference is already known about a particular topic and one wants to know what additional work has been carried out subsequently in that area, one can get a list of subsequent papers that cite the known reference. Even when a reference is not known, one can consult the permuterm subject index portion of SCI to see a list of references to papers on the specific keywords or combination of keywords. Through these papers, other relevant papers can be traced.

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Style of citation of references The two common style of citations are shown in Boxes 3.9 and 3.10.

Box 3.9 Number-in-Text Citation Style Citation in the Text The electrical resistivity of a metallic conductor decreases gradually as temperature is lowered. In a superconductor, the resistance drops abruptly to zero when the material is cooled below its critical temperature. An electric current flowing in a loop of superconducting wire can persist indefinitely with no power source.1 Cuprateperovskite ceramic materials have a critical temperature above 90 K. 2 A hypothesis postulates that electron pairing in hightemperature superconductors is mediated by short-range spin waves, known as paramagnons.3 Till 2009, the highest critical temperature found for a conventional superconductor was 39 K, which was for magnesium diboride (MgB2).4,5 Citation in the Reference List 1. Gallop John C. SQUIDS, the Josephson Effects and Supercon-ducting Electronics. New York: CRC Press; 1990: 3, 20. 2. Bednorz JG, Müller KA. Possible high Tc superconductivity in the Ba−La−Cu−O system. Z. Physik. 1986; B 64 (1): 189-193. 3. Pines D. The Spin Fluctuation Model for High Temperature Superconductivity: Progress and Prospects. New York: Kluwer Academic; 2002. 4. Nagamatsu J, Nakagawa N, Muranaka T, Zenitani Y, Akimitsu J. Superconductivity at 39 K in magnesium diboride. Nature. 2001; 410: 63. 5. Preuss P. A most unusual superconductor and how it works: firstprinciples calculation explains the strange behavior of magnesium diboride. Research News (Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory). August 2002.

Box 3.10

Name-in-Text Citation Style

Citation in the Text The electrical resistivity of a metallic conductor decreases gradually as temperature is lowered. In a superconductor, the resistance drops abruptly to zero when the material is cooled below its critical temperature. An electric current flowing in a loop of superconducting Box Contd...

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wire can persist indefinitely with no power source [Gallop, 1990]. Cuprate-perovskite ceramic materials have a critical temperature above 90 K [Bednorz & Muller, 1986]. A hypothesis postulates that electron pairing in high-temperature superconductors is mediated by short-range spin waves, known as paramagnons [Pines, 2002]. Till 2009, the highest critical temperature found for a conventional superconductor was 39 K, which was for magnesium diboride (MgB2) [Nagamatsu et al., 2001; Preuss, 2002]. Citation in the Reference List Bednorz JG, Müller KA. Possible high Tc superconductivity in the Ba−La−Cu−O system. Z. Physik. 1986; B 64 (1): 189-193. Gallop John C. SQUIDS, the Josephson Effects and Superconducting Electronics. New York: CRC Press; 1990: 3, 20. Nagamatsu J, Nakagawa N, Muranaka T, Zenitani Y, Akimitsu J. Superconductivity at 39 K in magnesium diboride. Nature. 2001; 410: 63. Pines D. The Spin Fluctuation Model for High Temperature Superconductivity: Progress and Prospects. New York: Kluwer Academic; 2002. Preuss P. A most unusual superconductor and how it works: first-principles calculation explains the strange behavior of magnesium diboride. Research News (Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory). August 2002.

Items to be included in a reference References items may include books, research papers and even other reports. The basic bibliographic items to be included in a reference provide information about authors, title, edition and imprint (publisher or journal name, volume and page number, etc.), but unfortunately there is no uniformly accepted style of their citation. Different publishing groups follow different conventions about the sequence of these items in a reference. Also, different punctuation marks like full stop, comma, semicolon and colon are used to separate these items by different publishers. One can choose any style, but should be consistent in its use. Books. The items to be included in a reference to a book are: • Names of authors, editor • Title of the book • Year of publication • Edition • Page number • Publisher’s name and publisher’s location

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Examples Gaitonde BB, Telang BV. Basic and Clinical Pharmacology & Therapeutics. 1st ed. New Delhi: BI Publications; 2011. Hara H, Stearn WT, Williams, LHJ. An Enumeration of Flowering Plants of Nepal. Vol. I. 1st ed. London: British Museum; 1978: 23-149. Brahamam M, Dutta PK. Ethanobotanical studies in Orissa. In: Jain SK, ed. Glimpses of Ethnobotany. 1st ed. New Delhi: Oxford; 1981: 232-244. Journals. For articles published in journals, the items to be included are: • Names of the authors • Title of the article • Title of the journal • Year • Volume • Page numbers

Examples Rao C N R, Maitra Urmimala, Subrahmanyam K S, Gopalakrishnan K, Kumar Nitesh, Kumar Ram, Govindaraj A. Potential of nanocarbons and related substances as adsorbents and chemical storage materials for H2, CO2 and other gases. Indian J. Chem. 2012; 51A: 15-31. Reddy JN, Ramesh A. Parametric studies for improving the performance of Jatropha oil fueled compression ignition engine. Renew. Energy. 2006; 31: 1994-2016. Hutton G, Bartram J. Global costs of attaining the Millennium Development Goal for water supply and sanitation. Bulletin of the World Health Organization. 2008; 86:13–19. Reports. For referring to reports, the following details may be included: • Names of authors and the organization, which brought out the report. • Title of the report. • Organization for which report was prepared (if different from the organization where it was prepared). • Year of presentation of report. • Publisher’s name and publisher’s location (if published).

Examples Ludvik J, Buljan J. Chrome Management in the Tanyard. Vienna: United Nations Industrial Organization; 2000. Guidelines for Drinking Water Quality. Geneva: World Health Organization; 1996.

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Government of India (2010). Evaluation Study on Rajiv Gandhi National Drinking Water Mission (RGNDWM). New Delhi: Government of India, Planning Commission, Programme Evaluation Organization; 2010 (http://planningcommission.nic.in/reports/peoreport/peo/peo_rgndwm. pdf, accessed 20 December 2011). Government of Nepal (2011). Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene. Sector Status Report May 2011. Government of Nepal, Ministry of Physical Planning and Works, Water Supply & Sanitation Division, Sector Efficiency Improvement Unit; 2011 (http://www.moppw. gov. np/pdf/WASH-Sector-Status-Report-2011-for-WEB.pdf, accessed 20 December 2011). Patents. Patents are becoming an increasingly important source of information. In the case of citation to patents, the citation should include: • Names of patentees • Country of origin • Patent number • The organization to which the patent has been assigned • The date or year of acceptance of the patent • If an abstracting service/periodical has already covered it, reference to the abstracting periodical

Examples Trapagnier JG; E.I.Du de Nemours & Co, assignee. US Patent 2463219. 1 March 1949; Chem Abstr., 43(1940) 7258. Hintermeyer BH, Lacour NA, Perez Pedilla A, Tavani EL. Argentina Patent 059565B1. 10 October 2010.

Bibliography versus reference list Sometimes a bibliography may be included in a report in addition to, or instead of, a reference list. Generally, the bibliography refers to publications referred to by the author of a report during writing the report or carrying out the work. These are not cited specifically in the text. In contrast, the Reference List contains information about publications that have been cited specifically in the text of the report.

Common shortcomings Ideally, authors are expected to list those sources of information, which they have utilized or gone through during the course of their study and which are obviously available to them when they start writing the report. Unfortunately, at times there is a tendency among some authors to save time and effort by

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“borrowing” references from citations made by previous workers. This practice often leads to creeping in of errors of all types, or, in many cases, the reference list getting loaded with irrelevant references. Chance mistakes or typographical errors present in the reference lists of previous workers continue to multiply through the newer publications as a kind of chain reaction.

How to Prepare Appendices Appendices appear at the end of a report. The appendices are used to place supplementary material or any material that is not directly relevant to understanding of the report, and will only be read by a small number of people. Secondly, the material may be too large to fit in the report and may interfere with understanding of the main text. Following are the typical materials that may be included as Appendices: • Mathematical proofs of equations used. • In-depth definitions or diagrams that interfere with the flow of the reading. • Proforma (questionnaire) used for collecting information through surveys and interviews. • Price lists and parts lists of equipment used. • Electrical circuit diagrams. • Sections of computer programs. • Patient information form, consent form and human/animal ethics committee approvals in clinical studies. • A symbol list. Numbering of Appendices may be done in Roman numerals (I, II, … VI, etc.) or in capital letters (A, B, C, etc.) in the sequence of their citation in the text. They should have titles. Equations in Appendices are numbered according to the Appendix in which they appear (e.g., A1, A2, etc.).

How to Prepare Glossary Since not all the readers of a report may be experts in the discipline of study on which report is written, a glossary is often given at the end of the report for the benefit of such readers. It is essentially an alphabetical listing of technical terms used in the report along with their definitions and explanations. It is a must if the report includes many newly introduced, uncommon, or specialized terms, which are not explained fully in the main text. It should also contain the full expansions of abbreviations and acronyms appearing in the report. The standard structure of report is a logical arrangement for presenting information gathered through various means. Each element of the structure or part of the report lays down a specific task to be fulfilled; it is presented in

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a certain way for a cohesive and meaningful sharing of information with the readers. In this chapter, we have seen how best to prepare different parts of report and avoid some common shortcomings.

CHECKLIST 1. Title. Use concrete keywords in the title, reflecting the content of the report. Avoid abbreviations and acronyms in the title of the report. 2. Contents Page. Show levels of topics listed in the content page by numbering them according to their levels [1.0, 2.0, etc., for major topics and 1.1, 2.2, 1.1.1, 2.1.1.2, etc., for sub-topics]. 3. Executive Summary. Give gist of the report in about 2 pages covering briefly the context, purpose and scope, objective, methodology and design, results, conclusions and recommendations in that order. Use non-technical language and avoid abbreviations and acronyms. 4. Introduction. Introduce the topic of report by giving a brief discussion of the context of the problem; purpose or objective of writing the report; terms of reference, if any; background information; scope of the study; methodology, including assumptions and limitations; amount of data collected; focus of discussion; and indication of the framework or structure of the report. 5. Materials and Methods. Provide enough details of materials and methods used for a reader to be able to reproduce the experiments, if needed. Describe sample preparation techniques, origin and grades of samples and materials, procedures for collecting data, equipment used, and statistical analysis techniques used. 6. Results. Choose only data directly related to main conclusions. Check for any systematic or random errors in the data. Ensure that all data on physical quantities contain appropriate SI units or units derived from SI system. Record data in the form of tables or figures. 7. Discussion. Sum up the broad trends in the results obtained; focus on relationships among observed data; point out any exception or lack of correlation in the data; compare the observed results with the earlier known observations; try to analyze the reasons for the observed results; and look for theoretical and practical implications. Analyze whether the results satisfy the aims with which study was taken up. 8. Conclusions & Recommendations. Sum up the major findings and point out how far the study was successful in achieving the aims. Point out shortcomings of the study, if any, and potential theoretical or practical applications of results obtained. If possible, present recommendations based on the analysis of results obtained. The recommendations should be general and not tied to any particular conditions.

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9. References. Use a reference list for references explicitly cited in the text for well known methods, procedures, or to link earlier known work in the field and to provide support for the interpretation of observations. List bibliography for sources of information not cited in the text, but referred to during writing the report or carrying out the work. 10. Appendices & Glossary. Use appendices to place supplementary material or any material that is not directly relevant to understanding of the report, and will only be read by a small number of people. List technical terms or specialized terms, which are not explained fully in the main text, along with their definitions and explanations in a glossary. Also list in the glossary all the abbreviations and acronyms appearing in the report along with their full expansions.

Chapter

4

How to Present Data and Illustrate a Report

Most scientific (including medical and technical) investigations generate new data, which constitutes the main support for the findings of the investigation. Without data to support it, any assertion will amount to personal opinion rather than a scientific claim. In fact, data is the core of new information and the most important part of a report. Consequently, comprehensible presentation of data is as important and requires as much care as that of the text. In this chapter, we shall consider different methods of presenting data and how to choose the best option amongst them. We shall not only consider how to to use commonly available computer programs to draw various types of tables and figures, but also consider how to give visual shape to ideas, concepts, processes and cause & effect relationships described in the text. Reports are written on a variety of topics embracing physical, chemical, biological, medical, engineering and technological disciplines. The nature of data gathered (information) may vary according to the area of study. For an appropriate presentation of data, it is important to understand the distinguishing features of different types of data.

DATA TYPES Data collected in an R & D project can be of two types: qualitative and quantitative (Fig. 4.1). In the former, studied items are described in terms of some quality or category, e.g., gender, nationality, colour or taste type, or in terms of a binary choice (pass-fail, yes-no, etc.). In the latter, numerical values are used to describe the different items studied (variables).

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FIGURE 4.1

Difference between Qualitative and Quantitative Data

Qualitative Data When the information gathered cannot be measured, but can only be recorded in terms of certain attributes, e.g., colour of eye, or sex of a person, etc., it is termed as qualitative data. This type of data is usually encountered in social, biological and medical studies. Thus, data values are not recorded as numbers, but in the form of words, e.g., sex Æ male/female; blood group Æ A, B, AB or O, etc. The scale used to record such data is known as “categorical scale”, “attributive scale” or “nominal scale”, since it records the categories, attributes, or characteristics of the variables. The variables may be of two types: • Nominal dichotomous: There are only 2 possible alternative answers for the information being recorded, e.g., hypertensive Æ yes/no; tobacco user Æ yes/no. • Nominal polychotomous: There are more than 2 alternative answers for the information being recorded, e.g., blood groups Æ A, B, O, AB; race Æ Negro, White, Mongol; religion Æ Hindu, Muslim, Christian, etc. In such situations the scale used to record data is termed as “nominal polychotomous” scale.

Quantitative Data When the information gathered can be numerically measured, it is termed as quantitative. Usually, the results obtained from experimentation are in the form of a set of related values, one varying as a function of the other. The former is known as the dependent variable and the latter as the independent variable. For example, if we heat a piece of metal wire over a range of temperatures, its length would increase. In this case, temperature is the independent variable

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and length of wire is the dependent variable, because the length varies as a function of temperature. The data that we would obtain in this simple example is quantitative data as it would be recorded in the form of certain numbers, i.e., it is numerical data. The measurement of quantitative data may be done on a continuous scale or a discrete scale. In continuous scale, variables can assume any value, including a fractional value, whereas the discrete scale allows only whole number or integral values for the variables. The variables in quantitative data may be of three different types: • Numerical discrete variables (which can take only integral values and not decimal values, e.g., 1, 2, 3, etc., and not 1.2, 2.4, etc.). For example, if we have recorded the number of deaths due to a particular type of cancer over a period of time, the variables will have only integral values like 54, 86, etc., and cannot take up fractional or decimal values. These variables are mostly encountered in social sciences and medical research. • Numerical continuous variables (which can take up decimal values, e.g., 1.5, 2.789, etc.). Data involving such variables are characteristic of physical, chemical, engineering and technological studies. • Numerical ordinal variables (numerical symbols are used for recording the data, but these numbers do not have any meaningful mathematical relationship). For example, “no fever”, “mild fever”, “moderate fever” and “high fever” may be recorded by giving numerical values of 0, 1, 2 and 3, respectively to these categories. However, the numbers 0, 1, 2 and 3 are not real mathematical numbers since we cannot say high grade fever is 3 times mild grade fever in intensity. In other words, categorical data are represented by numbers, but these numbers do not have the normal mathematical relationships. These again are mostly encountered in social sciences and medical research.

Data Summarization: Unraveling the Significance of Numbers The data obtained through experimentation or observations is called raw data. Most of the times, we do not present it as such. To make sense of the raw data, we arrange the individual readings according to some order and summarize these to understand their significance. We rearrange the “raw” data so that its important characteristics like the range it spans, extent of dispersion of various values and their central tendency become apparent. These summary measures give clue to the general trends and variability of the data.

Central tendency In any physical measurement, we do not depend upon one recording alone and carry out the measurement a number of times. Suppose we have recorded

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thermal conductance values of a group of newly prepared alloys at different temperatures. The repeated readings recorded at a given temperature may vary. These will differ from one another and from the “real” or true value, but all will be centered around the true value – some being higher and some lower in value. However, the mean or average of the recorded values would approximate the true value. Reporting the mean will suffice along with a measure of dispersion of the individual values, like standard deviation (see below). The thermal conductance values at different temperatures, taken together, would form a data set. Another type of dataset will result if we have recorded, for example, intraocular pressure in a group of glaucoma patients – all the individual values (again means of several recordings in each case) taken together form a dataset. For a broad understanding and analysis of the data gathered by us, the first step will be examination of the central tendency of the values. The central tendency of a dataset can be shown in terms of mean, median or mode of the recorded values. Mean. Mean is average value obtained by dividing the sum of all the observed values by the number of observations. Since random positive and negative errors are expected to cancel out each other, the mean is expected to be near the true value or central tendency of the data. It is a valid summary measure only in case of quantitative data with normal distribution. But if one or two observations are very big or very small compared to other observations, arithmetic mean gives fallacious conclusions. In such cases (skewed data), median or mode should be used to indicate central tendency of the data. Suppose, in a study on a new superconductor, its transition temperature (temperature below which it superconducts) has been recorded. A set of the following readings (temperatures in Kelvin, K) obtained from separate experiments has been obtained: 7.60 7.60 11.70 7.70 7.50 7.60 7.80 12.50 7.60 7.80 7.40

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For an analysis of the data, we have to arrange these values in an increasing or decreasing order. The values can be arranged in the increasing order as: 7.40, 7.50, 7.60, 7.60, 7.60, 7.60, 7.70, 7.80, 7.80, 11.70 and 12.50. In this set of hypothetical values, the mean comes out to be 92.80/11=8.436 (or 8.44, keeping in view the accuracy of measurement). But this mean is vitiated by two outlying values of 11.70 and 12.50, which are far removed from the remaining values. In this skewed dataset, the mean may not be true reflection of realty, or the true value. Median. When data have skewed distribution, the median, or the value representing 50th percentile (see below) is nearer to the true value. In the above dataset, the 6th value in the sequence (7.60) is the median. Mode. It is the most common value in a set of observations. It also roughly reflects the central tendency of a set of observed values. In the above dataset, the value 7.60 occurs the maximum number of times (4 times) and, hence, is the modal value. Quartiles. A quartile is one of the three points that divide a data set into four equal groups, each representing a fourth of the distributed sampled population. Thus, the first quartile Q1 or lower quartile cuts off lowest 25% of data (25th percentile); the second quartile Q2 or median cuts data set in half (at 50th percentile); and the third quartile Q3 or upper quartile cuts off highest 25% of data (75th percentile). The difference between the upper and lower quartiles is called the inter-quartile range. A percentile is the value of a variable below which a certain percent of observations fall. In the rearranged dataset of values above, the first three values will form the Q1, the values at numbers 4-6 and 7-9 in the sequence will form the Q2 and Q3, respectively, while the last two values (10-11) will form the Q3.

Dispersion of data Apart from its central tendency, equally important in a set of data is the extent of dispersion of individual values around the central value. Generally, lower the dispersion of values, more reliable or consistent are the data. When the values are close to one another (small dispersion), it indicates compactness, consistency and reliability of the collected data. Following are the measures for assessing variability in a data set. Range. It is the difference between the highest and lowest values. In our hypothetical dataset mentioned above, the range of readings is 12.50-7.40=5.10. The range of variation is quite large keeping in view the individual values, which puts into question the consistency of the data. Variance. For calculating variance, one should calculate the arithmetic mean of a set of related values in a data set (say, x) and then find the deviation of each individual value from this mean (a-x, b-x, or x-c, x-d, etc., depending

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upon whether the recorded value is bigger or smaller than the mean). The deviations are squared, summed up and divided by the number of readings in the set (d12 + d22 + d32 + d42 º + d n2 /n, where d1, d2, d3, etc., are the deviations of the individual values 1, 2, 3, etc., from the mean, and n is the number of total readings). This gives the “variance”, an important statistical measure of dispersion in its own right. Again taking the dataset mentioned above as an example, the mean comes out to be 8.436. The deviations of individual values from the mean can be calculated and squared. The sum of these squared values comes out to be 33.275, which on division by 10 (number of observations minus one) gives a value of 3.327, or 3.33 – the variance in this case. In this case, the variance is quite high (almost 40% of the mean value), mainly because of the two outliners, the high values 11.70 and 12.50, indicating that data are not very consistent or reliable. Standard deviation (SD). It is the square root of variance. The standard deviation in the above mentioned case comes out to be 1.82. This value of standard deviation is quite substantial keeping in view that the modal value is 7.60; it shows that data is not cohesive. Larger the standard deviation, the larger is the spread of data or lower its cohesiveness. Standard error of the mean. It is equal to SD divided by the square root of the number of observations in the dataset. Of the above mentioned measures of dispersion, standard deviation (SD) is the most commonly used measure. It is obtained by taking a square root of variance. While reporting most physical sciences and engineering/technology data, it may be sufficient to report mean values along with a measure of dispersion of the values around the mean, like the standard deviation. The entry in a column of a table would include the number of data values or “readings” taken in a particular experiment (n); arithmetic mean of the readings (x) and standard deviation (SD). For example, suppose wind speed at a particular location has been recorded as a part of a study of various parameters in a research project on radio and space physics. A researcher might have made scores of recordings but all of these are not reported. The data may be reported in a table as 128 km h–1 ± 1.2 (38) indicating 128 km h–1 as the arithmetic mean of all the recorded values; 1.2 as standard deviation and 38 as the number of total data points or readings.

PRESENTING DATA: CHOOSING BETWEEN TABLES AND FIGURES Extensive numerical data is not presented as a part of running text, because it will be difficult to comprehend a long sequence of numbers embedded in the

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text. Usually, we present the numbers in the form of a table or an illustration. If only two or three sets of variables are involved, and if the objective is to emphasize the general trends of relationships rather than the exact values of variables, then we may present the data in the form of an illustration or figure. Figures facilitate comparative understanding of results and broad trends. Figures, for example photographs, can also provide visual evidence and help in explaining working of new types of equipment. However, if the data contain values for more than 2-3 dependent variables and the main objective is to convey precise values (sometimes running up to second or third place of decimal), then a table is a better option for the presentation of data. Also, a table is the preferred tool of display of data when a variable varies over several orders of magnitude, i.e., recorded data may range from single digit values to values in hundreds or thousands. Tables allow presentation of exact data in a concise manner. But readers not familiar with the technical background of the particular subject of the report may have difficulty in understanding the tables. That is why fewer the number of tables, generally more readable is a report for non-specialist readers. Tables should be brief and simple. Some readers may skip the complex tables with a large number of columns, full of numbers. As a rule of thumb, we should use more tables to present data if the potential readers of our report are specialists, and use more figures to present data if the potential readers are non-specialists. The following general indications may be followed while deciding between the two forms for presenting data. Use tables: • To group together related data for easier item-to-item comparison. • To present exact values for allowing readers to make calculations and for future reference. • To present raw data that do not fit simple patterns. • To classify information and display many quantitative values simultaneously. • To sum up or emphasize major textual points. Use figures: • To sum up general trends and qualitative relationships. • To simplify and clarify data. • To show changes in a parameter over time. • To present visual evidence of experimental results in the form of photographs, X-ray evidence, etc. • To make presentation visually attractive and complement textual description.

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HOW TO CONSTRUCT EASY-TO-FOLLOW TABLES Tables are preferred for presentation of data when amount of data is large, and display of exact values is important. Tables also help in comparison of exact values. We should take care to place tables and figures as close as possible to the text where they are cited and number them in the order of their first citation in the text.

Layout of Tables A table is an array of horizontal rows and vertical columns of numbers separated by rules or white space (Table 4.1). The top row of the table contains box heads (or column headings), which define the various variables and list their units. The first vertical column from left, known as stub, lists independent variables and its values. It corresponds to the X-axis of a figure. The remaining columns list the various dependent variables and their values. This arrangement of data in columns and rows according to the type or category facilitates its understanding and comparison among different categories. Table 4.1 Components of a table Table title (Includes Table number and a brief verbal summary of the relationship of variables) Column head 3 Column head 2 Column head 1 Stub (Name and units (Name and units (Name and units (Name and units of variable 3) of variable 2) of independent of variable 1) variable) Value of independent variable

Corresponding value of dependent variable 1

Corresponding value of dependent variable 2

Corresponding value of dependent variable 3

Value of independent variable

Corresponding value of dependent variable 1

Corresponding value of dependent variable 2

Corresponding value of dependent variable 3

Value of independent variable

Corresponding value of dependent variable 1

Corresponding value of dependent variable 2

Corresponding value of dependent variable 3

Footnotes: Contain explanations of abbreviations used in the table, reference to source of information used for comparison (if included), or some related supplementary information in brief.

The readers should be able to comprehend tabular information with as little effort as possible. The elements that make up the style of a table are typeface, spacing between columns and rows, ruled lines, numbering, footnotes and

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colour and shading. Spacing between columns and rows is a very important part of the layout of a table. Too little space between neighbouring columns and rows creates confusion between two sets of values, while too much space separates the two sets of values making comparison difficult and gives an untidy look to the table. The ideal space between columns and rows is 5-8 characters (a character is a number, alphabet or a punctuation mark). We can shorten and rearrange the headings of columns and rows to ensure optimum space between columns and rows. In addition, we should observe the following rules for constructing meaningful and easy-to-follow tables: 1. Table title. We should number each table and provide a clear verbal summary of the data in the table in the form of a title. If there are some conditions that apply to an entire table, these are listed as a part of the title of the table. 2. Amount of information. Tables should be small, each illustrating not more than two or three points. Each category of information should have a separate column. 3. Independent variable. We should include the values of the independent variable in the first column from left, and the values of dependent variables in the remaining columns to the right. 4. Column headings. We must clearly indicate headings for all columns. Abbreviations may be used wherever possible to save space; these should, however, be explained in footnotes to the table. 5. Units. The column heading should indicate the name of the quantity (variable) as well as its units, for example, Length/cm. For information on how to represent common physical quantities and their units, see Appendix B. 6. Alignment of tabular values. We should align the words occurring in a column of the table on the left, and align figures (numerical values) on the right or according to decimal point. 7. Footnotes. Explanations of any symbols or abbreviations used in the table are given as footnotes in the order of their appearance across the table from left to right and from top to bottom. The explanatory symbols used in footnotes are * (asterisk), † (dagger), ‡ (double dagger), or lower case letters a, b, c, etc. Apart from explaining abbreviations, footnotes may be used to cite references for information used in the table, provide information on statistical analysis or to acknowledge credit for reproduction of data from other sources. Table 4.1 depicts a formal table. This is the most commonly used form of table and it efficiently conveys quantitative data. Sometimes textual tables and lists may be used to display textual information and qualitative data. Textual

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tables may display words, phrases or even sentences to emphasize key points (see Table 4.5). Qualitative data are listed as a matrix in tabular form where variables are specified in terms of yes/no; male/female, etc. (see Table 4.6).

Computer-Assisted Creation of Tables Word processing programs like MS Word can be used to create tables and format them. These programs allow automatic generation of a variety of table forms and provide shading, colouring and erasing options also. The “layout” function provides options for inserting cells, splitting cells, changing gridlines and adjusting text alignment in the individual cells of the table. Suppose we want to create a table with 3 columns and 3 rows. 1. We click on the “insert” option in the menu of MS Word and select “table” under the insert menu. We select 3 column squares and 3 row squares in the table tab that appears and click on the selection. 2. A 3 × 3 table appears at the desired position. We can add the desired text or numbers in various columns and rows by directly typing the matter in the concerned cell of the table (see Table 4.2A). 3. Next, we select the table by clicking on it and then click on the “design” tab in the menu. A variety of table designs are shown; we can choose the desired form by clicking on it. We can also choose shading, border, grid lines, etc., according to our liking by clicking on the respective tabs (see Tables 4.2 B-D). If needed, we can also choose “eraser” from the design menu by clicking on it and erase part of the table, e.g., a grid line in the top row as shown in Tables 4.2 C & D. We can select the table and click on “layout” option in the menu. Using it, we can add/delete rows or columns at the desired position in the table, and also split cells. Tables 4.2 A-D: Computer-assisted generation of tables A Parameter A

Parameter B

Parameter C

X1

Y1

Z1

X2

Y2

Z2

fl B Parameter A

Parameter B

Parameter C

X1

Y1

Z1

X2

Y2

Z2

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75

fl C Parameter A

Parameter B B1

B2

X1

Y1

Y12

X2

Y2

Y22

X3

Y3

Y 32

fl D Parameter A

Parameter B B1

Parameter C B2

X1

Y1

Y12

Z1

X2

Y2

Y22

Z2

X3

Y3

Y 32

Z3

X4

Y4

Y42

Z4

X5

Y5

Y52

Z5

How to Simplify Tables Sometimes the tables appear to be very congested and difficult to follow. This may be either due to inclusion of too much and disparate types of data in a single table or due to complex way of presentation of data. In the first case, distribution of data into two or more tables is needed to simplify the presentation and make data comprehensible. In the second case, rearrangement of data may be helpful. We should follow the following guidelines for tabular display of data: • For easier comprehension, the values (numbers) to be compared should be put in the same column rather than the same row. Suppose we have recorded air temperatures (maximum and minimum), annual rainfall and wind speeds at different locations as a part of a study of various parameters in a research project on radio and space physics. Since we wish to compare values of parameters like temperature, rainfall, etc., at different locations, these values should be put in the same column. Thus, the values of “maximum temperature” at different locations should be arranged as in Table 4.3B (putting them in the same column with the heading “Max. Air Temp., °C”), rather than as in Table 4.3A (with values in the same row). A glance at Table 4.3B would be sufficient to give an idea as to which is the best and which is the worst location with regard to extremes of temperature and rainfall or potential disturbances due to windy conditions.

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Table 4.3A Comparison of meteorological elements at some nuclear sites Element

Trombay

Kota

3609.3

1510.1

3210.0

3188.0

Maximum air temperature, °C

42.5

46.7

45.2

39.2

Minimum air temperature, °C

9.1

2.3

15.7

8.5

Maximum wind speed, km h –1

56.2

65.0

81.6

61.0

Annual rainfall, mm

Kalpakkam

Tarapur

Table 4.3B Comparison of meteorological elements at some nuclear sites Site

Annual rainfall, mm

Maximum air temperature, °C

Minimum air temperature, °C

Maximum wind speed, km h –1

Trombay

3609

43

9

56

Kalpakkam

3210

45

16

82

Tarapur

3188

39

9

61

Kota

1510

47

2

65

• Parameters to be compared should be put in adjacent columns. In the above mentioned study, we would put the values for maximum and minimum temperatures in adjacent columns, which would be helpful in a preliminary analysis of the data. • Columns with repeated entries (identical values) or columns with only one or two values should be deleted to simplify the complex tables. • Data should not be included in one column that can be deduced easily from data in another column. Let us see how suggestions listed above can simplify a complex table. Information as listed in Table 4.4A is quite difficult to grasp. One has to make a substantial mental effort to understand it. Table 4.4A Catalytic performance data on various catalysts in benzyl alcohol oxidation Catalyst Wt of catalyst

BaPbO3 1.0 g

BaPb0.6Bio.4O3 1.0 g

BaBiO3 1.0 g

BaPb0.8Bi0.1 Cu0.1O3 1.0 g

BaPb0.7Bi0.1 Cu0.2O3 1.0 g Contd...

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77

Contd...

Flow rate

2 ml h –1

2 ml h –1

2 ml h –1

2 ml h –1

2 ml h –1

Conversion in absence of oxygen

25.8 mol %

28.8 mol %

40.1 mol %

41.9 mol %

46.9 mol %

Conversion in presence of oxygen

51.1 mol %

62.1 mol %

82.6 mol %

72.1 mol %

88.7 mol %

Selectivity: benzaldehyde

64.2 mol %

76.6 mol %

87.1 mol %

94.3 mol %

94.0 mol %

Selectivity: toluene

26.8 mol %

23.4 mol %

12.9 mol %

5.7 mol %

6.0 mol %

However, if we recast the information as shown in Table 4.4B following the suggestions listed above, it becomes easier to understand. • The first two rows in Table 4.4A repeat the same value in all columns. We can delete the first two rows and make the repeated common values part of the title (as in Table 4.4B). • The variables to be compared are conversion percentages of benzyl alcohol, and selectivities of benzaldehyde and toluene for different catalysts in order to find out which catalyst is more efficient. Hence, values of these variables can be put in the same columns rather than the same rows for the ease of comparison (as in Table 4.4B). • The conversion (%) values in the absence and presence of oxygen are related and, hence, these can be put in the same column, separating them with slashes. Similarly, selectivity values for benzaldehyde and toluene can be appreciated much better when placed next to each other. This rearrangement of data makes it much easier to comprehend and Table 4.4B is much simpler to look at compared to original Table 4.4A. Table 4.4B Catalytic performance data on various catalysts for oxidation of benzyl alcohol in presence and absence of oxygen [weight of the catalyst = 1.0 g; flow rate of benzaldehyde = 2 ml h–1] Catalyst

Conversion (mol %) Absence/presence of oxygen

Selectivity (mol %) Benzaldehyde/toluene

BaPbO3

25.8/51.1

64.2/26.8

BaPb0.6Bi0.4O3

28.8/62.1

76.6/23.4

BaBiO3

40.1/82.6

87.1/12.9

BaPb0.8Bi0.1Cu0.1O3

41.9/72.1

94.3/5.7

BaPb0.7Bi0.1Cu0.2O3

46.9/88.7

94.0/6.0

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Textual Tables Tables are generally used for presenting quantitative data; but these may also be used to present qualitative or categorical data, and to sum up or emphasize key points sometimes. The textual tables can also be constructed following the procedure listed under the section “Computer-assisted creation of tables”; words instead of numbers are entered in various columns and rows. Tables 4.5 and 4.5A are examples of textual table. The former helps in focusing readers’ attention on the causes of metabolic acidosis and the respective precipitating conditions, while the latter sums up differences between communicable and non-communicable diseases. In comparison to description in the running text, the tables are more effective in focusing reader’s attention on the salient features of the two different types of diseases. Table 4.5 Causes of metabolic acidosis S. No.

Cause of metabolic Precipitating conditions acidosis

1

Overproduction of Diabetic acidosis, lactic acidosis, salicylate fixed acids poisoning, methanol poisoning, ethylene glycol poisoning, ingestion of acid producing substances, ammonium chloride, arginine hydrochloride

2

Loss of bicarbonate

Diarrhea, pancreatic fistula, ureteroenterostomy, renal tubular disease

3

Decreased renal excretion of fixed acids

Renal failure (with uremia), adrenocortical insufficiency, carbonic anhydrase inhibitors

Table 4.5A

Important differences between communicable and noncommunicable diseases

Characteristic feature

Communicable diseases

Non-communicable diseases

Causative agent

Single, specific infectious agent, can be identified.

No single specific agent can be identified as causative agent.

Pre-pathogenic period

Generally, short (hours to a few weeks).

Generally, very long (years or decades).

Types of epidemics

Common vehicle or propagated curve type; occurrence of epidemic is easily appreciated by the lay public.

Very slowly evolving secular trend type; occurrence of epidemic not easily appreciated by lay public.

Table 4.6 is an example of the presentation of qualitative data; it records data during the screening for cancer of a sample of patients in a hospital.

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79

Table 4.6 Screening for cancer in a sample of patients in hospital X Patient No.

Sex

Smoking

1

Male

Yes

Yes

2

Female

No

No

3

Female

Yes

No

4

Male

No

Yes

5

Male

Yes

Yes

–

–

–

–

Female

No

No

57

Cancer symptoms

Lists A list is a brief tabulation of data that is part of the text. Unlike the formal tables discussed earlier, which can stand alone and do not need text to explain their meaning, a list does not make sense without the accompanying text. A list or tabulation usually comprises 2 or 3 columns of data. Unlike the formal table, there is no title or numbering, but column headings must contain the names and units of the listed variables. A space is given above and below the list to separate it from the running text. We may use lists to embed small amounts of data in the text that are relevant to understanding the textual discussion. Lists or tabulations make the page layout visually attractive also as they break the blocks of continuous text. An example of data presentation in the form of a list is shown in Box 4.1.

Box 4.1 Data Presentation as a List During 1971-2001, the birth rate started showing a definite and consistent decline, from 41.2 in 1971 to 26.1 in 2001. However, during this period, the death rate declined even more remarkably from 19 in 1971 to 8.7 in 2001. Year 1971 1981 1991 2001

Birth rate/1000 population 41.2 37.2 29.5 26.1

Death rate/1000 population 19.0 15.0 9.8 8.7

Thus, growth rate further increased and it was consistently more than 20% per decade during this period. During this period……………………

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CONSTRUCTING APPROPRIATE ILLUSTRATIONS As mentioned earlier, figures or illustrations can show at a glance trends in the observed data. They promote understanding of results because human mind can appreciate differences in height, breadth and colour more easily than those in abstract quantities like numbers. Thus, figures help in visualizing information and help in clarifying what might be too vague or abstract to grasp. They also make the report visually attractive. A variety of illustration forms can be used to present the data in a report. We can choose one depending upon: • The nature of the data (whether it is qualitative or quantitative data). • Nature of the variable studied (whether it is discrete or continuous). • Our aim in illustrating data (whether we want to show trends in relationships between related variables, compare amounts or frequencies of different categories, classify a measurement into a few groups or classes, show relative sizes of categories in a data set, or show proportions of the components of a category). Examples listed below will explain the choice of the illustration form in the light of the above considerations. Fortunately, we do not have to depend on an artist now for drawing illustrations. We can use commonly available computer software (MS Excel, for example) to prepare different types of illustrations quite easily.

How to Draw Line Graphs Line graph is the most commonly used form of illustrations in physical sciences where quantitative data, especially that involving numerical continuous variables, often needs to be reported. Line graphs are used to show relationships between two or more quantitative variables and to summarize trends of variables over time. Line graphs can also be used to guess values at points where no experiments have been carried out (or cannot be carried out) through extrapolation of curves.

Manual procedure The line graph (or continuous curve) may be prepared manually by plotting a set of points corresponding to values of two or more related variables, pressure and volume of a gas for instance, on a coordinate system. Values of the independent variable, pressure in the above example, are marked on the horizontal or X-axis and the values of the dependent variable, volume in the above example, are marked on the vertical or Y-axis of a graph paper. Various points obtained by intersection of lines drawn from different pairs of values on the two axes are joined to obtain the best fit. If the best fit gives a straight line, it indicates a linear relation between the two variables. In case the line

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passes through the origin of the coordinate system, then the two variables are proportionately related. A curve is obtained in case the variables are not linearly related. In some cases there may be more than one dependent variable for a given independent variable. In such cases a group of curves is obtained.

Box 4.2

Pitfalls in Drawing Line Graphs

We should be careful while drawing line graphs; these can create false impressions about the data if carelessly constructed. The common problem areas are: 1. Inappropriate marking of axes: Inappropriate marking of axes may involve missing the names of variables or units, and unequal gaps in the marking of axes. 2. Disproportionate axes: A distorted view of data can be conveyed by expanding or contracting the scale of one of the axes in a line graph. 3. Missing zero of scale: A modest change can be made to look impressive, if only the portion of graph containing the change is shown. The gaps between markings on the axes should be in proportion to the difference in the values they represent. For example, if the markings on the X-axis represent gaps in time period, it would be wrong to keep the markings equidistant when the time intervals represented by the marks are not the same. A chart depicting the economic history of world for the last 2000 years came under severe criticism in the Economist recently (22 June 2012) for this reason. The chart had shown equal increments of time for periods representing the first thousand years of the present era (CE), the next 500 years, 100 years, 80 years, 30 years, 20 years, and even 13 years. The improper compression of time periods on the X-axis (by keeping equal gaps for periods representing 1000 and 13 years) depicted a misleading rate of economic change in the world. Use of disproportionate X and Y axes also creates a false impression about the data. This is many a time deliberately done by advertisers or propagandists to create a favourable impression about their products. The magnitude of change in the dependent variable (represented by Y-axis) relative to the independent variable (represented by X-axis) can be magnified or made to look insignificant by enlarging or compressing the markings on the Contd...

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Contd...

Y-axis. In the extreme case of a misleading graph, the markings of the Y-axis may be omitted altogether. The graphs that do not show the zero of the scale can also create false visual impressions about the data. A modest change in a parameter or quantity can be made to look more impressive if only the small portion of the graph containing the change is shown. This can be done by cutting off the lower portion of the graph, which includes the zero of the Y-axis.

Computer-assisted procedure To illustrate the procedure of drawing a line graph using Excel program included in MS Office, let us look at the following examples.

Example 1 Suppose we have collected data on the variation of thermal conductivity with change in temperature for 4 metal sulphides (shown in Table 4.7) and wish to present it in the form of an illustration. Table 4.7 Thermal conductivity values of M1S, M2S, M3S, and M4S Thermal conductivity, W.m –1.K –1

Temperature, °C M1S

M2 S

M 3S

M4 S

5.0

0.8

0.5

0.3

0.8

15.0

1.5

1.9

4.8

3.9

25.0

3.8

2.9

7.3

6.9

35.0

5.8

4.9

8.9

7.9

45.0

7.9

7.4

6.3

8.9

55.0

4.6

8

5.4

9.4

65.0

3.5

9.1

7.2

9.9

75.0

1.8

9.1

8.9

10.5

Both the variables, independent (temperature) and dependent (thermal conductivity), are quantitative continuous variables, as they can vary continuously and assume fractional values. Therefore, a line graph is the right choice for illustrating the collected data. We take the following steps to illustrate the data in the form of a line graph. 1. We open the Excel worksheet and enter values of temperature (5, 15, 25……75, in °C), the independent variable, in the first vertical column (A), leaving the topmost box in the column empty.

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83

2. In the topmost boxes of the next 4 vertical columns in the Excel worksheet (B, C, D, E), we enter the names of dependable variables (M1S, M2S, M3S, M4S), respectively. Next, we enter the values of thermal conductivity corresponding to different temperatures (listed in column A) in the respective boxes of vertical columns B, C, D and E. 3. Next, we select the data entered by us by pressing the curser from left to right covering all the rows and columns of the entered data in the work sheet. 4. Keeping the data in “selected” form, we click on “insert” in the menu box of Excel, which shows various figure forms that can be inserted. We click on “line” among the various options of figure forms shown; then we select the type of line we want to insert and click on it. The curves corresponding to M1S, M2S, M3S, and M4S appear immediately in the form of line graphs. 5. We can fine-tune the layout of the graph. For this, we select the figure by clicking on it, and then click on “lay out” in the Excel menu, which shows different options for inserting figure title, axes captions, units, etc. The selected option can be introduced by clicking on it. When the text boxes for title, axes, etc., appear in the figure, the respective information can be typed in. Apart from the title, names and units of variables, etc., can be inserted by typing at the indicated places. A variety of options exist for the layout and we can choose one according to our liking or needs of the data. 6. The graphs obtained for the compounds M1S, M2S, M3S, and M4S are shown in Fig. 4.2.

FIGURE 4.2 Drawing a Line Graph Showing Variation of Thermal Conductivity with Temperature

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Scientific and Technical Reports: How to Write and Illustrate

The advantage of representation of data as a line graph is that even a glance at the figure will show that compound M1S differs from other compounds drastically. This may not be apparent from a casual glance at the tabular representation (Table 4.7) of data. In case of tabular representation of data, some mental exertion is needed before we understand the broad features of the data. An Investigation of the reason of this difference in the behavior of the compound M1S may provide an interesting insight. Secondly, if we want to guess the value of thermal conductivity, say, at 18°C, where no experimental measurement was made, we can do so by drawing a perpendicular from this value of temperature on the X-axis, allowing it to cut the curves and reading the corresponding values on the Y-axis. However, if we want to convey the exact values of thermal conductivity of the compounds at different temperatures, tabular representation is the better option. We cannot read the exact values from the curves.

Example 2 Another example of drawing a graph using Excel is shown in Fig. 4.3, which shows variation of molar susceptibility with temperature for 3 copper clusters. It was drawn following steps similar to those listed in example 1 discussed above. As mentioned earlier, if we want to show the exact values of molar susceptibility at different temperatures (which run up to the third place of decimal) for the three copper clusters 1, 2 and 3, we should list the data in a Table. The exact values cannot be read from the figure. But for showing the comparative behavior of three copper clusters, the figure is a much better medium. Here again, copper cluster 3 shows an interesting behavior, which is different from that of the other copper clusters. This is brought into focus by representation of data through the figure.

How to Draw Bar Charts Bar charts are used to illustrate qualitative data when the independent variable is non-numeric (e.g., blood group); or quantitative data when independent variable is discrete numerical, e.g., years over a given time period. The dependent variables may be discrete or continuous numeric variables. Most commonly, bar charts are used for comparison of amounts or frequencies of different categories. The heights of bars are proportional to the amount or frequency of variables under the respective categories.

Example 3 Suppose we want to illustrate data gathered in a study on a group of patients in a hospital, one of the dataset being distribution of blood groups in these patients. The independent variable, blood group, is non-numerical, while the

How to Present Data and Illustrate a Report

FIGURE 4.3

85

A Line Graph Illustrating Variation of Molar Susceptibility of Some Copper Clusters with Temperature

dependent variable (number of persons in each group) is a numerical variable (with discrete values in this case). We can choose a bar chart to illustrate this data. 1. We open the Excel work sheet, and record the type of blood group (independent variable) in the first vertical column (A). We leave the topmost cell in this column vacant. In the topmost cell of the next vertical column (column B), we type in the first category of patients, i.e., male patients. The numbers of male persons having the particular blood group type are recorded in the corresponding cells of the column B. We enter the next category of patients, i.e., female patients in the topmost cell of the next vertical column C. Values corresponding to each blood group are put in the cells of this column corresponding to each blood group. 2. Next, we select the data entered by us by pressing the curser from left to right covering all the rows and columns of the entered data in the work sheet. 3. Keeping the data in “selected” form, we click on “insert” in the menu box of Excel, which shows various bar chart forms that can be inserted. We click on the type of bar we want to insert (2D, 3D, etc.) (Fig. 4.4). 4. Next, we right click on the chart to select type of fonts for the axes. 5. We can click on “layout” and choose the types of heading, axes legends, etc., we desire to insert. 6. We can click on “design” to fine-tune the design of bars in the chart.

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Scientific and Technical Reports: How to Write and Illustrate Male

Female

A

98

89

B

212

189

AB

415

450

O

690

649

FIGURE 4.4

A Bar Chart Showing Distribution of Blood Groups among a Group of Patients in a Hospital

A glance at Fig. 4.4 indicates that in the selected group of persons, blood group O was most predominant, while blood group A was the least prevalent (results not unexpected). While males outnumbered females in Groups O and B, the reverse was the case in blood group AB.

Example 4 Suppose we wish to report data over a period of time, e.g., population growth of India counted at intervals of 10 years. We have the following data showing total growth of population along with the corresponding birth rates and death rates measured every ten years. The independent variable in this case is the time interval and dependent variables are population growth parameters. The independent variable is discrete numerical and so we can use a bar chart to illustrate the data. Following steps similar to those described in Example 1, we get the bar chart shown in Fig. 4.5. Year

Tot. population (in crores)

Birth rate*

Death rate*

Decadal growth (%)

1911

25.21

49.2

46.2

5.75

1921

25.13

48.1

47.2

– 0.31 Contd...

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87

Contd...

1931

27.9

46.4

36.3

11

1941

31.87

45.2

31.2

14.22

1951

36.11

39.9

27.4

13.31

1961

43.92

41.7

22.8

21.64

1971

54.82

41.2

19

24.8

1981

68.33

37.2

15

24.66

1991

84.4

29.5

9.8

23.86

2001

102.7

26.1

8.7

21.34

*per thousand of population

FIGURE 4.5

Demographic Details for India

We can see that while the death rate showed a decreasing trend throughout (due perhaps to improving health care facilities and better nutrition), the birth rate kept more or less constant resulting in net increase in population. Only after 1970s, the birth rate showed a declining trend.

Example 5 We can choose to compare graphically the scientific output of a number of universities (A, B, C and D) as measured in terms of papers published in different subjects (botany, chemistry, zoology, physics and mathematics). It may be noted that independent variable is non-numeric (subject or discipline of research like chemistry, physics, etc.), while the dependent variable (number of papers contributed) is discrete numeric.

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1. In this case, names of subjects are put in the first vertical column (A) (leaving the first cell vacant). The subject or discipline of research is the independent variable in this case. 2. The numbers of papers contributed in a subject for universities A, B, C, and D are put in columns B, C, D and E (from second cell onwards); the names of universities, i.e., Univ. A, Univ. B, Univ. C, Univ. D are put in the topmost cells of columns B, C, D, and E, respectively. 3. Next, we select the data by passing the curser over it from left to right, followed by selection of “insert” from the menu and click on the column option. The chart appears immediately. 4. Next, we right click on chart and select “layout” from the Excel menu. We can choose the layout for title, axes, etc., as explained in Example 1. The result is Fig. 4.6.

FIGURE 4.6

A Bar Chart Comparing Scientific Output of Some Universities

A glance at this bar chart gives clues to productivity (subject wise, universitywise, inter-university) of different universities. Overall, university D seems to be most productive, leading in all subjects of study. But university B seems to be quite strong in physics, while university A seems to be similarly placed with regard to research in chemistry.

Example 6 Suppose there was an epidemic in a city during which data on new cases reported was gathered on a daily basis for 80 days when the spread of the disease subsided. The data collected are shown in Table 4.8.

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Table 4.8 Data on the course of an epidemic in city X Day No.

New cases reported

1

1

2 3

Day No.

New cases reported

21

1

0

22

0

23

4

1

5 6

Day No.

New cases reported

41

6

3

42

2

43

24

0

0

25

0

26

7

0

8

1

Day No.

New cases reported

61

39

5

62

34

9

63

33

44

12

64

29

5

45

16

65

21

4

46

17

66

17

27

3

47

21

67

16

28

1

48

26

68

12

9

0

29

6

49

32

69

0

10

0

30

8

50

39

70

8

11

2

31

9

51

28

71

7

12

0

32

12

52

24

72

4

13

0

33

13

53

17

73

0

14

1

34

16

54

12

74

4

15

0

35

24

55

8

75

3

16

0

36

25

56

14

76

2

17

0

37

22

57

18

77

1

18

2

38

16

58

23

78

0

19

1

39

15

59

36

79

1

20

0

40

8

60

45

80

0

The data as shown in Table 4.8 appears to be just a collection of numbers, but the hidden pattern of the spread of the disease becomes evident once we use a bar chart to illustrate the data. In the data recorded, we can take the “day number” and “new cases reported” as the independent and dependent variables, respectively. Both variables are discrete numerical variables in this case and, hence, a bar chart is an appropriate form to illustrate the data. 1. We open the Excel work sheet, and record the day number (independent variable) in the cells of the first vertical column (A). In the cells of the next column (B), we record the number of new cases reported for each day. 2. Following the same procedure as explained above in Examples 3-5, we obtain the following chart (Fig. 4.7).

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FIGURE 4.7

The Course of an Epidemic in City X

The figure is more helpful in understanding the course of the epidemic compared to the table. A glance at Fig. 4.7 reveals the different phases of spread of the epidemic. For about three weeks after the first case of the disease was reported, the spread of the disease in the city was minimal. The epidemic first peaked after 35 days; there was a slight slow-down, but the epidemic again became stronger with peaks at 50 and 60 days, respectively. These peaks and troughs may be analyzed to get an insight into the nature of spread of the epidemic.

How to Draw Histograms A histogram is yet another useful way of summarizing and displaying data. It is a chart that is used to present discrete quantitative data and classify measurements on a given parameter into a few groups or classes. The grouping of observations helps to condense the data and to look for similarities and dissimilarities. The different groups span certain pre-decided intervals, called class intervals. For example, we could show the age-wise distribution of a disease among the children of a school using a histogram. Or, we can arrange observed values of health-related parameters according to levels of significance of these parameters. We plot the class intervals (ranges or levels of health parameters) on the X-axis and the frequencies (the number of times a particular reading is observed in the studied sample) on the Y-axis. Thus, we can analyze the observed values of a parameter in a group in terms of its frequency of occurrence in certain pre-determined ranges (also called bins). This allows us to analyze the group behavior in terms of the given parameter.

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Histograms are similar to simple bar charts except that each bar in the histogram chart represents a range of values instead of a single value in a bar chart. The areas of the bars in histogram correspond to the frequencies within the respective groups. Histogram may also be called a pictorial representation of frequency distribution.

Example 7 Let us say, we have recorded the Body Mass Index (BMI) values in a group of 30 hypertension patients under treatment in a hospital and want to describe the distribution of these values (Table 4.9). The BMI values are a practical way of measuring obesity, which directly affects hypertension. Greater the value of BMI, larger is the obesity. Generally persons with a BMI value of less than 18.5 are regarded as underweight. Persons with BMI values in the range 18.5-25 are regarded as normal in weight, those with values in the range 25-30 are overweight, those with values in the range 30-40 are obese (30-35 grade-1 obesity; 35-40 grade-2 obesity) and those with values above 40 are regarded as morbidly obese. Table 4.9 Body Mass Index (BMI) values recorded for a group of hypertension patients in a hospital S. No. 1

Body Mass Index

S.No.

Body Mass Index

19

16

18

2

31

17

34

3

36

18

29

4

41

19

23

5

20

20

25

6

16

21

27

7

18

22

35

8

33

23

32

9

42

24

40

10

38

25

42

11

27

26

28

12

29

27

22

13

31

28

26

14

24

29

29

15

25

30

21

We can illustrate the obesity-related data (BMI values) collected for the patients using a histogram. The frequency of distribution of obesity among these

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patients can be analyzed according to levels of BMI. Ranges of BMI values will be plotted on the X-axis and the frequency values in different ranges on the Y-axis. To construct the histogram, we proceed as follows: 1. We open the Excel worksheet, and in the cells of the first column (A) enter the BMI value for each of the 30 patients in the group. The BMI values ranged between 16 and 42 (Table 4.9). 2. In the cells of the next column (column B), we enter the values of class intervals, i.e., the frequency ranges into which we want to group the observed values. Since all the recorded values fall between 15 and 45, we start from 15 and go up to 45, with equal intervals of 5, i.e., values entered in the cells of column B are 15, 20, 25, 35, 40 and 45 (bin values). Thus, the interval or bin value (frequency range) is 5. 3. Next, we check whether the option “analysis” appears under the “data” in Excel menu. If it exists, then we go to the step 4; otherwise, we take steps to install it [It is easy to do so. We click on the uppermost MS Office button on the left in the Excel menu and go to “Excel options” appearing at the bottom. In the options, we click on “adds in”. Among the “adds-in” shown in the menu box, there is “analysis toolpak”; we click on it and then click on “OK” before closing the option box]. 4. On opening the main menu of Excel, the option “ANALYSIS” under data appears. First, we select the data entered in the work sheet and then click on “data analysis”. 5. In the option box that appears, we select “histogram”, and click OK. A new box appears in which we enter the input range (A1: A30, because 30 BMI values were entered in cells 1 to 30 of column A), bin range (B1:B7, because 7 values of 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40 and 45 were entered in cells 1 to 7 of column B) and click on “chart” as the output. A histogram would appear (Fig. 4.8). 6. We can format the histogram by right-clicking on one of the bars and selecting “format data series” in the option box that appears. Another option box appears, in which various options for formatting the histogram are listed. We change the gap width to 0 (zero) and click OK. We can also choose appropriate patterns for border, shape styles and colour of histogram bars, etc. We can click on the “lay out” and choose appropriate design for marking of axes, data labels and chart title. The result is shown below in Fig. 4.8. The most common value of BMI is found to be between 25 and 30 (frequency 7) indicating that almost a quarter of the sample belongs to the overweight category. The least common values are found to be between 35 and 40, and between 40 and 45 (frequency 3 each), corresponding to the persons belonging to obese and morbidly obese categories.

How to Present Data and Illustrate a Report

FIGURE 4.8

93

A Histogram Describing BMI Data Recorded for a Group of Hypertension Patients in a Hospital

The values, in general, are on the higher side and point to urgent remedial action in controlling obesity.

Example 8 Let us say, we have measured serum triglyceride values in a group of patients during an investigation of risk factors for heart disease (Table 4.10). Table 4.10 Serum triglyceride values for a group of patients S. No.

Serum triglycerides, mg/dL

S. No.

Serum triglycerides, mg/dL

1

142

15

165

2

170

16

325

3

198

17

286

4

289

18

268

5

300

19

220

6

340

20

375

7

500

21

432

8

294

22

506

9

560

23

496

10

620

24

330

11

580

25

289

12

540

26

220

13

590

27

540

14

600

28

290

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The values as shown in Table 4.10 appear to be just a collection of numbers, not revealing much at a first glance. We can make a sense out of these numbers by classifying them into certain ranges that indicate the levels of risk to heart. It is known that triglyceride values of less than 150 are normal, those in the range 150-199 are mildly high, while those in the range 200-499 are high. Values of more than 500 are regarded as very high posing a great risk of coronary heart attack. We can illustrate this classification using a histogram. 1. We open the Excel worksheet and in the cells of the first column (A), enter the serum triglyceride value for each of the 28 patients in the group. 2. In the cells of the next column (column B), we enter the values of class intervals, i.e., the frequency ranges into which we want to group the observed values. Since all the recorded values fell between 100 and 650, we start from 100 and go up to 650, with equal intervals of 50, i.e., values entered in the cells of column B are 100, 150, 200, 250, 300, 350, 400, 450, 500, 550, 600 and 650 (bin values). Thus, the interval or bin value (frequency range) is 50. 3. On opening the main menu of Excel, the option “ANALYSIS” under data appears. First, we select the data entered in the work sheet and then click on “data analysis”. 4. In the option box that appears, we select “histogram”, and click OK. A new box appears in which we enter the input range (A1: A28, because 28 values of total lipids were entered in cells 1 to 28 of column A), bin range (B1:B12, because 12 values of 100, 150, 200, 250, 300, 350, 400, 450, 500, 550, 600 and 650 were entered in cells 1 to 12 of column B) and click on “chart” as the output. A histogram would appear (Fig. 4.9). 5. We can format the histogram by right-clicking on one of the bars and selecting “format data series” in the option box that appears. Another option box appears, in which various options for formatting the histogram are listed. We change the gap width to 0 (zero) and click OK. We can also choose appropriate patterns for border, shape styles and colour of histogram bars, etc. We can click on the “lay out” and choose appropriate design for marking of axes, data labels and chart title. Figure 4.9 shows that the most frequent range of serum triglycerides is 250-300 mg/dL (frequency 7). The least common ranges are 100-150, 350-400, 400-450, and 600-650 mg/dL (frequency 1 each). Only 4 of the 28 patients have normal or mildly high values of serum triglycerides indicating that most of the patients in the studied group are under great risk of a coronary heart attack.

How to Present Data and Illustrate a Report

FIGURE 4.9

95

A Histogram Showing Distribution of Serum Triglyceride Values among a Group of Patients

How to Draw Scatter Diagrams A scatter diagram is a tool for analyzing relationships between different quantitative variables. Drawing a scatter diagram is often the first step in finding out the cause of an observed effect when a number of variables are involved in a process. Each variable is investigated as a possible cause of the observed effect to find out which one is responsible for the observed effect. The variable that is suspected to be the cause is chosen as the independent variable. Its values are varied and the effect of variation is observed on the values of the dependent variable representing the observed “effect”. If there is a correlation between the observed values of two variables, then a cause and effect relationship is likely. For example, if it is suspected that the time for which a person can hold his breath depends upon his lung capacity, then a scatter diagram can be used to investigate this hypothesis. Lung capacities of a randomly chosen group of persons are measured and the time periods for which they can hold their breaths are also noted. The values of “lung capacity” (independent variable) are plotted along the horizontal axis and the corresponding values of “time period of breath holding” are plotted along the vertical axis. In the resulting graph, a number of points scattered over the plot area will be observed. If there is a strong linear correlation between the two variables, the pattern of dots will slope from lower left part of graph to the upper right part. If our hypothesis is not correct, the points will be scattered haphazardly, showing no specific trend. In principle, the two variables can show:

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• Positive correlation, if the value of “time period of breath holding” increases as the value of “lung capacity” increases. This will be expected according to our starting hypothesis. • Negative correlation, if the value of “time period of breath holding” decreases as the value of “lung capacity” increases. This behavior will be the opposite of our starting hypothesis. • No correlation, if there is no clear connection between the “lung capacity” and the “time period of breath holding”.

Example 9 Suppose we want to investigate whether or not IQ values of children are dependent on their age. We can do so by using a scatter diagram. We record the IQ values of a randomly chosen group of children in the age group 5-17 years (see Table 4.11). The “age” is the independent variable or “cause” in this case since it can affect the IQ values; the reverse is not true since IQ values cannot affect the age. The variable “age” should be plotted on the X-axis and the variable “IQ” on the Y-axis. The points where the values of the two variables cross will be scattered over the plotted graph. IQ values of a group of school children as a function of their age

Table 4.11 S. No.

Age (yr)

IQ

S. No.

Age (yr)

IQ

S. No.

Age (yr)

IQ

1

5

92

14

6

95

27

7

94

2

8

96

15

9

96

28

10

99

3

9

95

16

11

100

4

6

93

17

13

100

29

11

98

30

12

99

5

10

97

18

8

95

31

14

101

6

15

104

19

16

102

32

14

102

7

7

95

20

6

94

33

15

102

8

12

98

21

17

105

34

13

99

9

9

96

22

5

94

35

16

103

10

8

95

23

7

94

36

17

105

11

10

97

24

14

100

37

16

104

12

5

94

25

13

99

38

12

100

13

17

103

26

11

97

39

15

102

Computer-assisted procedure 1. We open the Excel programme in MS Office and record the ages in years of different children in the first vertical column (column A). 2. The corresponding IQ values are plotted in the next column (column B).

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97

3. We select the data by dragging curser over it and click on “insert” in the menu. A number of chart options appear. We click on “scatter diagram” when a number of variants of scatter diagram appear. 4. We select the desired type of scatter diagram by clicking on it when it appears immediately (Fig. 4.10) at the indicated position. 5. We can fine-tune the design and format, and insert axes legends, caption of the diagram, etc., by selecting the chart and clicking on “design” and “layout” in the menu, as explained earlier in example 1. 6. We can add a “trend line” to show the type of correlation between the two variables. After selecting the scatter diagram, we click on “design” in the menu, when an option to add a trend line appears. On clicking on this option, a trend line appears showing the direction of correlation of the variables. The scatter diagram shown in Fig. 4.10 shows a positive correlation between the age and IQ values of the group of school children investigated indicating that, generally, as age increases, the IQ of a child also increases.

FIGURE 4.10 A Scatter Diagram Showing the Relationship of Age and IQ for a Group of School Children

Suppose we want to check whether the height of a child has any effect on his IQ. We can do so by drawing a scatter diagram using the variable “height” (Table 4.11A) instead of “age” for the same group of children. We record the heights of children in column A of the Excel sheet and the corresponding IQ values in column B and proceed as described above. We obtain the scatter diagram shown in Fig. 4.10A. A glance at this diagram shows that IQ does not correlate linearly with height indicating that IQ does not depend upon height.

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Table 4.11A IQ values of a group of school children as a function of their heights S. No.

Height (cm)

IQ

S. No.

Height (cm)

IQ

S. No.

height (cm)

IQ

1

105

102

14

100

106

27

127

94

2

110

96

15

120

96

28

152

99

3

132

95

16

154

100

29

141

98

4

108

100

17

140

100

30

160

99

5

150

97

18

108

104

31

120

101

6

100

104

19

140

102

32

170

102

7

112

95

20

100

105

33

168

102

8

120

106

21

135

105

34

139

99

9

120

95

22

100

94

35

187

103

10

110

96

23

115

102

36

200

95

11

140

97

24

120

100

37

142

104

12

110

94

25

160

99

38

172

100

13

195

103

26

140

97

39

105

102

FIGURE 4.10A A Scatter Diagram Showing the Relationship of Height and IQ for a Group of School Children

Example 10 Suppose we wanted to check the effect of exercise on controlling diabetes. We chose a random group of diabetes patients and recorded their postprandial glucose levels after they undertook a particular exercise regularly for one

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99

month for varying periods of time. The results are shown as a scatter diagram in Fig. 4.11. The diagram was obtained following a procedure similar to that described in Example 9. As the duration of exercise increases, the level of serum glucose decreases showing a clear negative correlation between the two variables.

FIGURE 4.11

A Scatter Diagram Showing the Relationship between Doing Exercise and Postprandial Serum Glucose Level in Patients of Diabetes

How to Draw Pie Charts A pie chart is used to show relative sizes of categories in a data set or proportions of different parts of a whole. As indicated by its name, a pie chart is circular in shape, in which we record frequencies of occurrence of different categories – not directly, but in terms of angles subtended at the centre of the pie. A bigger proportion will lead to a bigger angle and would be reflected in a bigger chunk of the pie. The angle at the center is equal to its proportion multiplied by 360 (or its percentage multiplied by 360 and divided by 100). For example, for a category forming 45% of total the angle at the centre of the pie will be 45% × 360/100 = 162°. This angle needs to be calculated only if we are drawing the pie chart manually. In the computer-assisted method using Excel program, we need not calculate this angle; it would be done automatically.

Example 11 Suppose, we have prepared a report on the prevalence of cancer and want to present information about mortality due to different types of cancer in a visually attractive manner. We may choose either a bar chart or a pie chart. For a pie chart, we use the following procedure.

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1. We open Excel in MS Office. In the column (A), we enter the names of different types of cancers and in the next column (B) we put the number of cases in each case. 2. We select data, click on insert and choose pie chart. The option box shows different types of pie chart forms, out of which we choose the desired one. 3. We can fine-tune the appearance of pie by clicking on it and then clicking on “layout” in the menu. We can choose the type of legend and caption we want from the listed options.

FIGURE 4.12 A Pie Chart Showing Mortality due to Different Types of Cancers in Males

FIGURE 4.12 A Pie Chart Showing Mortality due to Different Types of Cancers in Males

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Two pie charts are chosen to present the information on worldwide mortality due to different types of cancer in males and females below (Figs. 4.12 and 4.13). Besides making the report visually attractive, the charts allow some instant analysis of the data; even a casual glance at the pie charts will show that breast cancer is the most predominant cause of deaths due to cancer among females, while lung cancer is the most predominant cause of deaths due to cancer among males. These pie charts look somewhat crowded; the pie charts work best when the number of total categories is not more than 6.

How to Draw Flow Charts Flowcharts are used in designing, analyzing, documenting or managing a process in various fields. The diagrammatic representation can give a stepby-step solution to a given problem and also find flaws, bottlenecks within a process. Publications dealing with engineering and materials science often use flow charts. The steps in a process are shown as boxes of various kinds, and their order by connecting arrows. Like other types of diagram, they help in visualizing and understanding a process. The most common types of boxes used in a flowchart are: • An oval box to denote start and end of a process. • A rectangular box to denote a processing step. • A diamond-shaped box to denote a decision. Flow charts can be prepared easily by using the “Shapes” in the MS Word menu. The use of “Shapes” as a tool for drawing illustrations is described later in the chapter. Flow chart for a simple, hypothetical two-step process is shown in Fig. 4.14.

HOW TO GIVE VISUAL SHAPE TO IDEAS, CONCEPTS AND RELATIONSHIPS Information visualization, sometimes called InfoVis, is a specialized area spanning theory of information design, computer graphics, human-computer interaction and cognitive science. We would not dwell on these aspects of the subject, but we can use some of its basic concepts to promote understanding of the material presented in our reports. Broadly, information visualization means forming mental models of information. Helping readers to do so can facilitate understanding of new information or data. These mental models reveal patterns or relationships among groups of items, or individual items in the data that may not be apparent otherwise, or may be difficult to convey through text alone. This revelation of patterns or relationships without the help of words constitutes a parallel process

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FIGURE 4.14

A Flow Chart

of understanding. It has been said that “It (information visualization) should do for the mind what automobiles do for the feet”. Graphical visualization of ideas, concepts and relationships through illustrations is a very powerful tool in the hands of communicators of new information.

How Do Illustrations Help the Readers The superiority of the visual representation in conveying information is largely due to the manner of organization of our memory and the way our memory system works to interpret new information. Our long term memory (where all the existing information is stored) has a network-like structure comprising branches and nodes. While nodes in the network store all the information or knowledge accumulated by us through experience or learning, the branches connect different sets of information. The directly connected nodes (through branches) store ideas and concepts that are intimately related to each other (see Fig. 4.15). The indirectly connected nodes contain information that is relatively less related or unrelated—greater the distance between two nodes, lesser is the relation between the information stored in the two nodes. We understand new information by comparing it with that already stored in these nodes of our memory network. The graphical way of representing ideas and concepts through illustrations resembles the network structure of

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our memory. Hence, it eases the comparison of the new with the accumulated information and consequently helps in making sense of the new information.

FIGURE 4.15

Network-Like Organization of Human Long Term Memory

Further, the human mind perceives differences in size, shape and colour much more easily than meanings of words and their combinations (sentences); therefore, visual representations are more efficient than text in conveying complex information. When illustrations are used, readers are relieved from the taxing task of extracting meaning from the string of words and then imagining relationships. Instead, they can just look at an image to understand the message directly. In addition, illustrations break up the blocks of text and make pages visually attractive. Illustrations are particularly important in reports meant for general or non-specialist readership. As a rule, increase the illustrative material in a report on any topic as the potential readership shifts from the “specialists” to “non-specialists”. Any author can use tools provided in MS Office package to illustrate reports. We have already seen how to use these to draw tables and figures for presenting data. We can also use some of the tools in MS Office to give visual form to ideas, concepts, processes and cause and effect relations described in the text. The graphical representations complement the text and facilitate its understanding, especially if complex procedures or relationships are described.

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The tools available for the purpose are “Shapes” and “SmartArt” in MS Word, and the “Power Point”. Anybody can draw a variety of illustrations using these tools and give visual form to his ideas without any need to possess or exercise any artistic ability.

Using “Shapes” MS Word 2007 menu shows “Shapes” and “SmartArt” under the “insert” category, both of which can be used to illustrate the report. Under the “Shapes”, a variety of shapes, e.g., circular, rectangular, oval, diamond, or star-like shapes are listed. 1. To use any of these (in a flow chart or otherwise), we click on the shape and position the pointer in our document where we want the shape to appear and click again. The desired shape appears immediately; it can be manipulated easily, i.e., increased or decreased in size and rotated. Its height relative to its length can also be changed by clicking on it and moving the curser in the desired direction. 2. We can also insert textual matter inside the shape. For inserting text within the shape, we right-click on the shape, and choose the option “add text” in the option box that appears. After this, we can type out the needed text. The size of the letters can again be decreased or increased as required by clicking the required point size in the font size box. 3. We can have a sequence of shapes and connect these by clicking on the arrows or other connecting signs in the “Shapes” box in the menu and pointing the curser at the position where connecter is to be inserted. To add text to a connector, we click the Text Box button in the toolbar and position the text box alongside the arrow. If we do not want the text box to have visible borders, we select the box, and then go to the “format” menu and select text box. Under “line”, in the drop-down list, we select “no line”. 4. We can select a variety of shape styles by selecting the shape and clicking on the “format” in the menu. Keeping the shape in the selected form, we select the desired option among the alternatives shown by clicking on it. 5. We can resize a shape by clicking it and dragging the sizing handles.

Example 12 Suppose we want to visually illustrate the process of blood clotting after injury to tissues. We can do so as shown in Fig. 4.16. It was drawn following the steps already listed above under “Using Shapes”. Each shape was selected by clicking on it and pointing the curser at the position where it was to be placed. The shape was resized and formatted as described already under the section of

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“Shapes”. The graphic shows that blood clotting comprises a number of subprocesses; the sequential steps in which these steps occur are made clear by the visual explanation of the overall process. The text (see Box 4.3) becomes easier to follow with the help of the flow diagram. The visual display adds something extra to the textual description by giving an overall perspective of the blood clotting process.

Box 4.3 Blood Clotting Coagulation begins almost instantly after an injury to the blood vessel when thromboplastin released by damaged tissue cells enters blood. When bleeding occurs, chemical reactions change the surface of the platelets and these activated platelets begin adhering to the wall of the blood vessel at the site of bleeding. The first phase involves the formation of a loose plug by the aggregation of platelets at the site of injury. Plasma contains a series of proteins that participate in the process of blood clotting or coagulation. The chief among these plasma proteins or clotting factors is fibrinogen, which is instrumental in forming the blood clot to cover the damaged blood vessel wall by releasing one of its products, fibrin. At the site of injury, plateletassociated thrombin cleaves the fibrinogen molecule converting it to fibrin. Fibrin is a long protein strand that forms the meshwork of a blood clot. It is laid over the platelet plug and traps blood cells and other particles in it to secure the site. As mentioned above, fibrin exists in the bloodstream in the form of fibrinogen. In order for fibrinogen to be activated and converted into fibrin, it requires the presence of the enzyme thrombin. In turn, thrombin remains inactive in the form of prothrombin. However, in the presence of prothrombin activator, prothrombin is converted into thrombin.

Example 13 Suppose we want to explain the role of G-protein-coupled receptors in the regulation of biological processes. The concept is not easy to follow for a non-specialist. We can supplement the text (Box 4.4) by a graphic (Fig. 4.17) using the “Shapes” tool in MS Word, as described above. For the graphical representation, different geometrical shapes were chosen to represent the receptor (block arc), G-protein (triangle) and the cell (an oval shape surrounded by mini isosceles triangles). Each shape was selected by clicking on it in the “Shapes” menu and pointing the curser at the position where it was to be

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FIGURE 4.16

Flow Diagram Showing the Process of Blood Clotting

placed. The shape was resized and formatted as described already under the section of “Shapes”. The stepwise visualization of the processes involved in the action of G-protein-coupled receptors makes it easier to understand the text listed in the Box 4.4.

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Box 4.4 Role of G-Protein-Coupled Receptors in Regulation of Biological Processes G-proteins are internal peripheral membrane proteins. These are involved in the regulation of a diverse range of biological processes, including signal transduction, protein synthesis, intracellular trafficking (targeted delivery to the plasma membrane or intracellular organelles) and exocytosis, as well as cell movement, growth, proliferation and differentiation. A G-protein-coupled receptor floats in a cell’s surface membrane. It passes signals from the outside world to the cellular interior by interacting with a small molecule such as adrenaline, in a way that causes its shape to change. That shape change releases the G-protein that had previously been attached to the part of the receptor below the membrane. This release, in turn, stimulates a chain of chemical reactions, which cause the cell to change its behaviour in some way. However, thousands of G-protein-coupled receptors are known. The type of change that occurs in cell behavior depends on the G-protein that is released. The G-protein that is released depends on the type of receptor tickled, which in turn depends on which external molecule did the tickling. The result is a sophisticated system whereby cells can regulate each other by secreting appropriate small molecules.

Using “SmartArt” SmartArt tool in MS Word 2007 can be used to integrate a variety of shapes with the text effortlessly for illustrating processes, relationships, product cycles, stages in life cycles and hierarchical relations, etc. The visual focus on the relationships facilitates understanding and supplements the textual description.

Example 14 Suppose, we want to supplement visually the textual description of common characteristics of cancers of different types, we can use the “SmartArt” tool. 1. We click on “insert” menu and choose “SmartArt” by clicking on it. 2. A variety of graphic forms appear that can illustrate categorical classifications, lists, processes, cycles, hierarchies, and other relationships. We can choose the “radial Venn” form under the “cycles” of different types shown. On clicking on the shape and then on “OK” in the dialogue box that appears, the graphic immediately appears in our document at the desired place.

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FIGURE 4.17 Role of G-Protein-Coupled Receptors in Regulation of Biological Processes

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3. Next, we click on a part of the shape to select it, and straightaway type out the text we want to insert within the particular part of the shape. Thus, we are able to produce a graphic in just 2-3 easy steps, without any need to possess or exercise any artistic ability. A textual description of the general feature of cancers is given in Box 4.5, which tries to link the different types of cancers through causal relationships and risk factors. Though the text is not very difficult to follow, when it is supplemented by a graphic (Fig. 4.18), one can understand the basic characteristics of different types of cancer at a glance. The Venn diagram comprising overlapping circles symbolically shows that different types of cancers are parts of the same broad category and share some basic attributes of cancer, but at the same type there are characteristics that differ from one type to another type of cancer. The graphic visualization provides a perspective that is easier to grasp compared to the textual description alone.

Box 4.5

Cancers

Cancers are a group of heterogeneous disorders characterized by clonality (arise from a single stem cell that clones into carcinomatous cells), autonomy (the cell division and growth are uncontrolled), anaplasia (lack of cell differentiation) and metastasis (distant spread). The most common forms of cancer in India are the cancers of oral cavity, lung, stomach and esophagus. The first of these is caused largely by tobacco and betel nut chewing. The second is mostly due to tobacco smoking. Stomach cancer is caused predominantly by atrophic gastritis and high salt diet, cancer of esophagus is mostly because of alcohol abuse. While all cancers have common basic features, various forms of cancer differ in respect of the risk factors that initiate them. Of course, we can control the size of the font, etc., as explained earlier. The advantage of “SmartArt” is that the whole graphic moves as a unit together if we want to shift it somewhere else in the document.

Example 15 To take another example, suppose we want to illustrate the process of preparation of barium substituted lead titanate electrode in a report dealing with ferroelectric ceramics. We can use “SmartArt” or “Shapes” graphics of MS Word programme as described above. The visual representations of different steps in the synthetic process shown in Fig. 4.19 and Fig. 4.20 can be obtained following the steps explained above. For drawing Fig. 4.19, we chose the “basic bending process” in the “process” category among the various alternatives listed in the menu

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FIGURE 4.18

Common Characteristics of Cancers

of “SmartArt”. In the “Shapes” alternative (Fig. 4.20), oval, cylindrical and hexagonal shapes were selected to depict the sequence of various steps in the process. As explained earlier, each shape was selected by clicking on it and pointing the curser at the position where it was to be placed. The shape was resized and formatted as described already under the section of “Shapes”. The graphic representations are easy to follow, eye-catching and make textual description of the process easier to understand.

FIGURE 4.19

Preparation of Barium Substituted Lead Titanate Electrode (Prepared using SmartArt” Graphics of MS Word Programme)

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FIGURE 4.20

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Preparation of Barium Substituted Lead Titanate Electrode (Prepared using “Shapes” Graphics of MS Word Programme)

Example 16 In a report on road accidents, we can illustrate the use of Haddon matrix, a conceptual model used in injury prevention and response strategies. We can illustrate the interaction between the agent causing the accident, the victim of accident or host, and the environment in which accidents happen through a graphic prepared using “SmartArt” (Fig. 4.21). 1. We click on “insert” menu and choose “SmartArt” by clicking on it. 2. A variety of graphic forms appear. We can choose the “matrix” form. On selecting one of the matrix forms by clicking on it and then clicking on “OK” in the dialogue box, the graphic appears immediately in our document at the desired place. 3. Next, we click on a part of the shape to select it, and straightaway type out the text we want to insert within the particular part of the shape. Thus, we are able to produce a graphic in just 2-3 easy steps, without any need to possess or exercise any artistic ability. The graphic shows how the victim of the accident, the agent causing the accident and the environment in which accident takes place are intimately connected. It also shows how characteristics of some of these can be modified to reduce the risk of accidents. Again, the graphic supplements the textual description (see Box 4.6) and facilitates its understanding, especially the interaction of different factors like agent, host, environment and the mechanism of transmission of energy in an accident.

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Haddon Matrix

Haddon matrix is a conceptual model used in injury prevention and response strategies. It is used to analyze accidents in terms of factors related to human victims of accidents, the agent of accident and the environment before, during and after an accident. This matrix is used for explaining the epidemiology of accidents. In this model, the agent of the injury is “energy”, which is transmitted to the host through a “vehicle” or “vector”. The “host” is the person who receives the impact of energy and is injured or dies. The energy may be mechanical, thermal, chemical or electrical. For example, in an accident involving motor vehicle crash, the energy exerted on the host is mechanical, while in a burning accident the energy is thermal. If the energy is transferred to a host through an inanimate object like a motor vehicle or a stove, the intermediary is termed as “vehicle”; on the other hand, if the intermediary is an animate object, it is termed as “vector”. The “environment” refers to the place where energy is transmitted to the host. The factors related to the host that affect the epidemiology of accidents are age, state of health, fatigue, alcohol use, etc. The environmental factors that may affect the epidemiology of accident are condition of roadways, surrounding buildings, provision of street lights, and traffic policing, availability of medical aid nearby, etc., in case of road accidents, for example.

Using “PowerPoint” We can use “MS PowerPoint” 2007 also to illustrate our reports. Again, we can insert charts of various types, “Shapes” and “SmartArt” in our reports. The process of inserting illustrations is similar to what has already been described under MS Word 2007. The “PowerPoint” tool provides a variety of designs, layouts and formats involving different colours. Unlike in “MS Word”, the shape has a colored fill in “PowerPoint”. To change the fill color, we select the object. On the “Format” menu, we click “AutoShape” and the “Colors and Lines” tab. “PowerPoint” also offers some features that “MS Word” does not. To insert text, for example, “PowerPoint” allows us to click inside the shape and type directly. Adding text to a connector is also a bit easier in “PowerPoint” than in “Word”. We simply click on the Text Box button on the toolbar, and then click the place on the page where we want to insert the text. We can easily resize or rotate the shape by clicking it and dragging the sizing handles.

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FIGURE 4.21

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The Haddon Matrix Model for Explaining the Epidemiology of Accidents

Example 17 For example, a mechanism of feedback inhibition involving seven different enzyme systems (E1-E7) is shown below in an illustration drawn using PowerPoint (Fig. 4.22). P1 and P2 are the end products in a sequence of reactions involving substrates A, B, C, D, F, etc. The sequence of action of the seven enzymes and the inhibitory feedback mechanism involving the products becomes clear at once, which may not be so easy to understand through a textual description alone.

FIGURE 4.22

A Mechanism of Feedback Inhibition Involving Seven Different Enzyme Systems

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In this chapter, we have seen that data presented attractively not only makes it easier to understand, but also facilitates understanding of the textual information. We have seen that depending upon the nature of the data, we can use tables or figures to represent it. Commonly available computer programs make it easy to draw tables, illustrations of various types and even give visual shape to ideas, concepts, processes and cause and effect relations described in the text.

CHECKLIST 1. Data summarization. Assess data in terms of its central tendency and dispersion, and report measures like mean, mode or quartiles, and range, variance or standard deviation, depending upon the nature of the data. 2. Use of tables. Use tables when many numerical values are to be presented and for grouping together related data for easier comparison. Tables allow presentation of exact values from which readers may make calculations. Also use tables to present raw data that do not fit simple patterns. 3. Use of figures. Use figures to sum up general trends and qualitative relationships, to simplify and clarify data and present visual evidence of experimental results. 4. Placement of tables and figures. Place tables and figures as close as possible to the text where they are cited and number them in the order of their first citation in the text. 5. Titles and legends. Place titles for tables at the top of the table and labels or legends for figures below the figure. The titles and legends should be self-explanatory and allow readers to make sense of the data being presented without having to read the text of the paper for information. 6. Layout of tables. Show clearly the units of measurement involved in all tables and figures. In tables, the column headings should identify the variable and its units. In line graphs, X-axis and Y-axis should clearly indicate independent and dependent variables, respectively along with their units. Align words occurring in a column of the table on the left; align figures (numerical values) on the right or according to decimal point. 7. Construction of appropriate illustrations. Use line diagrams to show relationships between two or more quantitative variables or to summarize time trend of a quantitative variable. Use bar charts to illustrate qualitative data when the independent variable is non-numeric;

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or quantitative data when independent variable is discrete numerical. Use a histogram to present frequency distribution. Use a scatter diagram to show cause-effect relationship among variables or to show dispersion of variables. Use a pie chart for showing proportions when independent variable is non-numeric or nominal. Use flowchart to present step-wise representation of a process. 8. Visualization of ideas. Use tools like “Shapes”, “SmartArt” and the “Power Point” to give visual form to ideas, concepts, processes and cause and effect relationships described in the text in order to facilitate their understanding.

Chapter

5

How to Make a Report More Readable

FOCUSING ON THE READER A report may contain authentic and accurate information, but if it is badly written, it will fail in its aim of “sharing” information. We have to ensure that not only the information in the report is authentic and complete, but it is also comprehensible. For this, information should be presented in a logical sequence using language that is clear and appropriate for the experience and knowledge of the potential readers. Therefore, before starting to write, we should have an idea of: 1. The probable readers of the report. 2. The probable level of their existing knowledge. 3. Their purpose in going through the report. Not all the readers will have similar background or training level, but we can prepare the report keeping in view the requirements of the majority of our readers. In written communications, we try to communicate our ideas through a string of symbols – the words. The symbols themselves and the way these symbols are strung together in the form of sentences have an important bearing on the ease of understanding of the ideas they represent. Unfamiliar words and complex sentences can make the writing difficult to understand. To facilitate communication with our readers, we should choose words and sentence patterns according to the capabilities of our potential readers.

Anticipating Reader’s Problems Problems may arise when we use too many words to communicate our ideas. Excessive wordiness can make writing boring and even simple ideas difficult to

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understand. Wordiness often arises due to unnecessary repetition, long phrases, excessive use of passive voice and overlong sentences. Unfortunately, these problems are quite common in S & T writing. It has been said that scientific writing is becoming more and more unreadable even for scientists! The problem is not confined to scientists and technologists alone. Most government reports are difficult to comprehend. To make writing look impressive, the authors of such reports often use unfamiliar words, and lengthy and complex sentences. This deliberate effort produces verbose writing, which may look pompous instead of being impressive. A typical sentence in such a report may read: “The activities associated with the management of solid wastes in a community from the point of generation to its disposal revolve around the following functional elements: waste generation, waste handling, collection, sorting, processing and disposal”. Such sentences scare away the readers rather than “sharing” information with them. Simply put, the sentence means: “The management of solid wastes in a community has to deal with issues related to waste generation, collection, sorting, processing and disposal.” The pompous and verbose writing in reports and other documents issued by governments is a world-wide phenomenon. Even the President of United States, Barack Obama, had to bring in the Plain Writing Act of 2010, which requires US Federal Agencies to put all documents into plain language. The rationale for bringing this bill was: “Writing documents in plain language will increase government accountability and will save Americans time and money”. Apart from eliminating wordiness from our writing, we have to take care that the words and sentences we use do not distort the meaning. Distortion in meaning may occur when different meanings can be deduced from a phrase or a sentence. In such cases, the reader may derive an unintended meaning from the writing. As an example, let us consider the sentence: “The theory of an Asian origin was discarded once the first reliable archaeological records of cultivation came from what are now Spain, Southern France, Switzerland and Italy as early as 7000 years ago”. A reader may interpret it as implying that archaeological records were discovered 7000 years ago. However the author of the report was actually referring to “records of cultivation as early as 7000 years ago”. A rearrangement in the order of words would avoid this miscommunication, e.g., “The theory of an Asian origin was discarded once the first reliable archaeological records of cultivation as early as 7000 years ago came from what are now Spain, Southern France, Switzerland and Italy.” In this chapter we shall consider how to make our reports more readable by avoiding wordiness. In addition, we shall consider various sources of ambiguity in language and how to avoid these for eliminating miscommunication of our ideas. We shall also look at some other common problems typically associated with scientific and technical writing.

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READABILITY Readability of text in the sense of ease of comprehension depends upon many factors. Apart from the level of complexity of the subject being covered, it also depends upon the design and organization of the text and linguistic factors like words, sentence style, etc. Of course, the ease of comprehension of a text will depend also upon the prior knowledge base, reading skill, interest and motivation of the readers. The authors do not have control over these readerdependent factors, but they do have control over the choice of words, sentence style and organization of text. We should be aware of the role of some of these linguistic factors affecting the comprehension of text if we want our report to be readable and fulfill its purpose of “communicating” information. We shall specifically consider the effect of two factors on readability of reports: • Effect of the design. • Effect of sentence and word lengths.

Effect of Design of Report on its Readability A logical design of text makes it more readable. It is easier to understand a text if separate ideas are presented as themes of separate sections or subsections, which are connected logically according to some order. Separation of different ideas through intervening breaks (and headings/subheadings) produces a visually distinct hierarchical organization. Such hierarchical organization of the content is like “visual mapping” of information. This visual mapping of information helps in blending new information with the reader’s existing knowledge by mentally “tuning” him/her. Logically connecting words and sentences further help in perception of the relationships between ideas (see Fig. 5.1), making a report more readable.

FIGURE 5.1

Logical Integration of Ideas

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It was emphasized in Chapter 3 that “Headings” are important tools available to a writer for organizing and enhancing the readability of his/her writing. The headings act like milestones for the readers. Apart from indicating the logical structure of the document, headings and sub-headings make the text look less dense and more accessible to readers. Therefore, we should make liberal use of headings and sub-headings in our report to allow readers to perceive connections among different topics as well as make text visually attractive and more accessible. The effect of design and logical organization of text on its comprehension can be seen from Boxes 5.1 and 5.2, both of which show text describing the phenomenon of “albinism”. The words and sentences used in the two descriptions of albinism are the same (versions 1 and 2 in Boxes 5.1 and 5.2, respectively). But a more logical arrangement and use of headings in Box 5.2 make the version 2 more comprehensible compared to version 1. Version 2 is more visually attractive also in comparison to version 1, inviting the reader to have a look at the contents. The headings promise a guided tour of the information on the topic.

Box 5.1 Version 1 Albinism In the oculocutaneous albinism, pigment is absent both in the eyes and in the skin. Based on the clinical presentation and the nature of the mutation, there are 4 types of oculocutaneous albinism. In oculocutaneous albinism type I the skin pigmentation does not vary with race or age. In oculocutaneous albinism type II there is some pigment at birth, which is lost later. In oculocutaneous albinism type III, the sun sensitivity is less marked and in most cases retinal pigment is present as revealed by fundoscopy. In oculocutaneous albinism type IV, mutation is in the MATP gene. It is one of the most common types of albinism in Japan. In ocular albinism, only eye pigment is missing. The biochemical defect appears to be a mistargeting of a pigment cell specific integral membrane glycoprotein that belongs to the G-protein-coupled receptor superfamily. Albinism occurs when one of several genetic defects makes the body unable to produce or distribute melanin, a natural substance that gives color to hair, skin, and iris of the eye. The defects may be passed down through families. The genetic defects are due to biological inheritance of genetically recessive genes from parents of an individual. The genetic mutations lead to changes in melanin production in the body. There is wide heterogeneity concerning the Contd...

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Contd...

nature and location of the mutations involved and these include: (a) defective transport of tyrosine into the melanocytes, (b) defective translation of the tyrosinase gene, (c) mutant inactive tyrosinase protein, and (d) a mis-targeted signal transduction protein. The disorder has a benign course except for the visual impairment and susceptibility to skin cancer. Albinism does not usually affect lifespan, but activities of the affected persons may be limited because of reduced tolerance towards the Sun. Albinism is one of the earliest inherited traits studied. The disorder is characterized by the absence of pigment in hair, skin, and eyes, severe nystagmus, photophobia and reduced vision. Albinism is divided broadly into two categories based on the distribution of the hypopigmented tissues, viz., oculocutaneous albinism and ocular albinism. Box 5.2 Version 2 ALBINISM Albinism is one of the earliest inherited traits studied. The disorder is characterized by the absence of pigment in hair, skin, and eyes, severe nystagmus, photophobia and reduced vision. Causes Albinism occurs when one of several genetic defects makes the body unable to produce or distribute melanin, a natural substance that gives color to hair, skin, and iris of the eye. The defects may be passed down through families. The genetic defects are due to biological inheritance of genetically recessive genes from parents of an individual. The genetic mutations lead to changes in melanin production in the body. There is wide heterogeneity concerning the nature and location of the mutations involved and these include: (a) defective transport of tyrosine into the melanocytes, (b) defective translation of the tyrosinase gene, (c) mutant inactive tyrosinase protein, and (d) a mis-targeted signal transduction protein. Categories Albinism is divided broadly into two categories based on the distribution of the hypopigmented tissues, viz., oculocutaneous albinism and ocular albinism. Oculocutaneous albinism. In the oculocutaneous albinism, pigment is absent both in the eyes and in the skin. Based on the clinical Contd...

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Contd...

presentation and the nature of the mutation, there are 4 types of oculocutaneous albinism. In oculocutaneous albinism type I the skin pigmentation does not vary with race or age. In oculocutaneous albinism type II there is some pigment at birth, which is lost later. In oculocutaneous albinism type III, the sun sensitivity is less marked and in most cases retinal pigment is present as revealed by fundoscopy. In oculocutaneous albinism type IV, mutation is in the MATP gene. It is one of the most common types of albinism in Japan. Ocular albinism. In ocular albinism, only eye pigment is missing. The biochemical defect appears to be a mis-targeting of a pigment cell specific integral membrane glycoprotein that belongs to the G-protein-coupled receptor superfamily. Prognosis The disorder has a benign course except for the visual impairment and susceptibility to skin cancer. Albinism does not usually affect lifespan, but activities of the affected persons may be limited because of reduced tolerance towards the Sun. Use of graphics. Use of graphics or illustrations also increases the readability of a document. We have seen in Chapter 4 that visualization of ideas and concepts can supplement the textual description and help in understanding it. Images not only break up long sections of text nicely, but also provide visual explanation that is easier to grasp.

Effect of Sentence and Word Lengths on Readability As mentioned earlier, readability refers to the ease with which a report can be read. The ease or difficulty of its comprehension will depend upon its subject matter (contents) as well as the language used. It is difficult to quantitatively assess the readability of the contents of a document as it will depend upon factors like readers’ familiarity with the subject and their motivation. But the components of the language of the document (words, their arrangement as sentences) can be assessed quantitatively. The readability of the language of a communication, as distinct from its content, has been linked to the difficulty or ease of the comprehension of words and sentences. As a result, a quantifiable concept of readability and the tools to measure it – readability tests – have emerged. Readability tests are mathematical formulae devised to measure the ease with which a document can be read and understood. Originally, these tests were developed to help educators, librarians and publishers to take decision on

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the acquisition of books. But later it was suggested that writers could use these to check the ease of comprehension of their writings. The more well known of these are the Gunning’s Fog Index, Flesch Reading Ease and Flesch-Kincaid grade level methods. Typically, the various formulae measure the average sentence length and percentage of difficult or “hard” words in a given text (see Box 5.3). It is assumed that longer a sentence, more difficult it is to understand. The difficult words are taken to be those containing more than three syllables.

Box 5.3 Some Popular Readability Formulae Fog Index. Proposed by Robert Gunning in 1952, it was one of the earliest readability formulae. In the Fog Index method, the total number of words in a sample of writing is divided by the number of sentences to get the average sentence length, and the number of words with three or more syllables is divided by the total number of words to get percentage of difficult words. Fog index represents the years of formal education or grade level needed to understand the given sample of writing. Fog Index = 0.4 (average sentence length + percentage of “hard words”) Where “hard words” = words with more than two syllables. Flesch Reading Ease. It was proposed in 1948 by Rudolph Flesch. Reading Ease Score = 206.835 – (1.015 × ASL) – (84.6 × ASW) Where ASL = average sentence length (the number of words divided by the number of sentences) and ASW = average number of syllables per word (the number of syllables divided by the number of words). This readability measure rates the texts on a 100-point scale; the higher the score, the more readable is the text. A score in the range of 60-70 indicates a highly readable text. Smog Index. This formula of readability was proposed by Harry McLaughlin in 1969. Smog Index = 3 + square root of polysyllable count. Where polysyllable count = number of words of more than two syllables in a sample of 30 sentences. Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level. The Flesch–Kincaid Reading grade level was developed in 1975 by J. Peter Kincaid and his colleagues for US Navy. Contd...

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Contd...

Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level = (0.39 × ASL) + (11.8 × ASW) – 15.59 Where ASL = average sentence length (the number of words divided by the number of sentences) and ASW = average number of syllables per word (the number of syllables divided by the number of words). The measure rates the texts according to grade levels of US school system. So, we have ready-made methods to assess the readability of our report. But we must remember that readability tests are no more than rough tools capable of measuring only the surface characteristics of text, i.e., length of sentences and words. Based only on the assumption that shorter words and shorter sentences are easier to understand, these are unable to check the complexity of ideas and coherence in a text. Nevertheless, readability tests can serve as screening systems to caution the authors against excessive use of overlong sentences and unfamiliar (usually long) words. For reports aimed at professional audience, Flesch Reading Ease scores of around 50 and Flesch-Kincaid Grade Levels of around 10-12 indicate fairly well comprehensible text.

How to calculate readability scores We need not manually calculate the number of words and sentences, etc., in a document to find its readability score; it is very easy to get this value using MS Word program. We have to take the following steps for checking the readability of a sample of text: 1. We open the MS Word program and then click on MS Office button to find “Options” at bottom right. 2. When the menu of “Options” opens, we click on “Proofing” and check on “Grammar and Spelling” to select it. 3. Next, we select the “Show Readability Statistics” in the check box. This installs readability checks in our computer. 4. We select the text to be tested and click on “Spelling and Grammar”. After the spelling check is completed, the readability results for the selected text are shown automatically in a box.

Example 1 Suppose we choose the first four paragraphs of this chapter (“A report may… even for scientists”, before the section on “Readability”) for readability analysis. On selecting the text and clicking on “Spelling and Grammar” in the “Review” menu of MS Word, we get the following results:

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Words/sentence = 18.9 Characters/word = 5.1 Readability: Passive sentences = 30%; Flesch Reading Ease = 43.5; FleschKincaid Grade Level = 11.8 It shows that the chosen passage is suitable for comprehension by a person with around 12 years of formal education – perhaps not bad keeping in view that potential readers of this book are scientists and technologists! As mentioned already, the practical use of readability tests is in screening the texts of reports against excessive use of unfamiliar or long words and overlong sentences.

HOW TO GUARD AGAINST VERBOSITY As mentioned earlier, verbosity is excessive use of words. Its extreme form, sometimes termed as garrulousness or logorrhea, can make even simple ideas difficult to understand. In their famous book, The Elements of Style, Strunk and White advise: “A sentence should contain no unnecessary words, a paragraph no unnecessary sentences, for the same reason that a drawing should have no unnecessary lines and a machine no unnecessary parts.” To guard against verbosity, we should understand how it enters our writing. In scientific and technical writing, the main causes of verbosity are: • Redundancy. • Excessive use of noun formations. • Excessive use of passive voice. • Overlong sentences.

Redundancy Redundancy means use of duplicative or unnecessary wording. When we use phrases like “at this point in time”, “because of the fact that”, “a variety of different items” or “surrounded from all sides”, we are introducing redundancy in our writing. Redundancy arises due to use of wordy phrases, unnecessary qualifiers or repetitions. The additional words represent extra burden on the memory of the reader and make comprehension of meaning difficult. Let us understand how we derive meaning from the combination of words we read. When we read a document, our memory processes a stream of incoming signals in the form of words in a stepwise manner. The visual signals corresponding to alphabets or their combinations (words) are received in a part of our memory, called the sensory register (see Fig. 5.2). The signals remain here very briefly and then travel to another part of our memory system, which is called working or short term memory. It is here that these are interpreted.

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The interpretation or “meaning” is transferred to and stored in yet another part of our memory, called long term memory. In a continuing process, each batch of signals enters the sensory register, travels to short term memory and gets processed there into the “meaning” form, which goes to the long term memory. Once a batch of signals is processed (typically, a sentence), the short term memory is vacated to deal with the subsequently incoming batch of signals. However, a problem area in this information processing system is the limited capacity of the short term memory. Our short term memory faces difficulties if it has to process too many signals simultaneously (more than 7 ± 2 at a time). In such situations, it is unable to make sense of the signals, or transform these into the “meaning” form. In Box 5.4, two arrangements of 4 different sequences of alphabets are shown. In the first arrangement (A), each alphabet is an independent signal or unit of information; it is difficult to comprehend

FIGURE 5.2

A Model of Human Memory System

Box 5.4 Vagaries of Short Term Memory 1. 2. 3. 4. 1. 2. 3. 4.

Arrangement A: Difficult to Follow DACOITLEFTWITHTHEBOOTY BESTWASNOTSUFFICIENT AERODROMEWASFARAWAY BOYSWILLBEBOYS Arrangement B: Easy to Follow DACOIT LEFT WITH THE BOOTY BEST WAS NOT SUFFICIENT AERODROME WAS FARAWAY BOYS WILL BE BOYS

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or remember sequences 1 to 4 of alphabets because the short term memory is unable to cope up with 15-20 different signals or units of information presented to it simultaneously. In the second arrangement (B), the same alphabets are repeated in the same sequence, except that spaces are introduced in such a way that some alphabets combine to form words. Now words (which have meanings) become the signals or units of information instead of the individual alphabets. Our short term memory has no problem in dealing with sequences 1 to 4 in arrangement B, because these contain only 4-5 different signals (represented by words), which are easy to comprehend and remember. Thus, a very important factor in this information processing model is the number of signals that our short term memory has to process at a given time. if we are using unnecessary words in our writing, we are increasing the load on the short term memory of readers and making our writing difficult to understand. Lesser the number of items (words) readers have to process to extract meaning, easier will it be for them. Thus, deleting unnecessary or repetitive words and replacing multi-word phrases by single words will make writing easier to understand.

How to avoid redundancy Use of wordy phrases, unnecessary qualifiers and repetitive words makes writing not only difficult to understand, but also boring. Redundancy in a short sentence like: “Total salt intake per person should not exceed more than 5-6 g a day” may not bother a casual reader. But a more serious reader may be put off by such careless approach. At times, redundant writing is the result of a casual approach to writing or a habit of thinking. Hence, we must keep a constant watch to: • Replace wordy phrases or clichés with single words. • Remove unnecessary qualifiers. • Remove repetitive words. Let us look at some examples of redundancy in writing and see how these may be modified to make writing easier for the readers.

Example 2 Problematic: An essential feature of social life is that it is possessed of a set of norms which effect the regulation of the behaviour of individual members. The italicized groups of words in the problematic sentence can be deleted and replaced with one or two words each, making the sentence simpler and direct. Improved: Social life has a set of norms that regulate the behaviour of individual members.

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Example 3 Problematic: The absorption of fructose, pentoses, myo-inositol and also for glucose and galactose are absorbed through facilitated diffusion, when their lumenal concentration is favorable. The use of the words “absorption of” is redundant and also makes the sentence ungrammatical. We can remove the unnecessary words (italicized) and make the sentence more readable. Improved: Fructose, pentoses, myo-inositol, glucose and galactose are absorbed through facilitated diffusion, when their lumenal concentration is favorable.

Example 4 Problematic: The WHO position on the vaccine at this point of time is that immunization against measles is recommended for all susceptible children and adults for whom measles vaccination is not contraindicated. Instead of the 12 words “WHO position on the vaccine at this point of time is that” we can use 3 words “WHO recommends now” to convey the meaning. The words “position on the vaccine at this point of time is that” are unnecessary. Change from passive voice to active voice can further help in the comprehension of the message. Improved: The WHO recommends now immunization against measles for all susceptible children and adults for whom measles vaccination is not contraindicated.

Example 5 Problematic: The details of Aconites and their mitigation to make poisonous Aconites non-poisonous have been described in detail. Use of the word “details” twice is redundant. Improved: Aconites and their mitigation to make poisonous Aconites nonpoisonous have been described in detail.

Example 6 Problematic: It must be remembered that parents/patients should be advised that for a given patient, the correct hearing aid has to be worked out and not that they should go to the market and buy any hearing aid, as is often done. The opening phrase “it must be remembered that” is unnecessary and only adds to the load on the memory of the reader. Other italicized words are also unnecessary. Improved: Parents/patients should be advised that for a given patient, the correct hearing aid has to be worked out; they should not go to the market and buy any hearing aid, as is often done.

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Example 7 Problematic: The present study provides sufficient evidence that the bark extract of Mimusops elengi (Bakula) can have therapeutic value in the context of the prevention of dental plaque forming bacteria and the maintenance of proper oral hygiene for common people, particularly for the ruralites of our country. The italicized words can be removed or changed to simplify the sentence. Improved: The present study provides sufficient evidence that the bark extract of Mimusops elengi (Bakula) has therapeutic value in preventing growth of dental plaque forming bacteria and in maintaining oral hygiene for common people, particularly in rural areas of our country.

Example 8 Problematic: In severe cases, prolongation of the prothrombin time and partial thromboplastin time may be well prolonged. Improved: In severe cases, the prothrombin time and partial thromboplastin time may be well prolonged.

Example 9 Problematic: Sulfur dioxide (SO2) is a colorless gas generated chiefly by combustion of sulfur-containing fossil fuels such as petroleum products that contain sulfur. Improved: Sulfur dioxide (SO2) is a colorless gas generated chiefly by combustion of sulfur-containing fossil fuels such as petroleum products. A common form of redundancy in S & T writing is the so called “redundant acronym syndrome”. We add one of the words already present as a part of the acronym to its name, for example the term “HIV virus”. HIV stands for human immunodeficiency virus and, thus, the phrase “HIV virus” corresponds to “human immunodeficiency virus virus”. Similar is the case with the use of phrases like “AIDS syndrome” (the acronym AIDS itself stands for “acquired immune-deficiency syndrome”), “DOR receptor” (DOR stands for “delta opioid receptor”), “TGA analysis” (TGA stands for “thermo-gravimetric analysis”), “RPP polarography” (RPP stands for “reverse pulse polarography”) and “DPM module” (DPM stands for “drop physics module”). We should be careful and avoid such redundant phrases.

Nominalization A noun that is formed from a verb is called a nominalization. Readers expect the action in a sentence to be described by the verb. When a sentence disguises the main action in the form of a noun (because of nominalization), it may present problems for the readers, especially when abstract nouns are used to convey action. For example, the following sentence is not easy to follow:

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“The aggravation of side effects may occur by concurrent ingestion of ethyl alcohol and on withdrawal of drug are reversible”. The verb describing the action of alcohol has been nominalized into “aggravation”; the use of passive voice adds to the difficulty. Compare the above sentence with the version where the “action” described in the sentence, i.e., effect of alcohol has been restored to its rightful place, the verb: “The side effects of the drug are aggravated by concurrent ingestion of alcohol, but these can be reversed by withdrawing the drug”. The second version is simple and presents no difficulty at all. The adjective “reversible” has also been changed to the corresponding verb “reversed” in the revised sentence. In fact, excessive use of nouns makes writing obscure. This type of writing may appear impressive to some authors, who mistakenly believe that it lends “weight” to their reports. But it is difficult reading. Indeed, Raymond Rogers contends that good writing should have adequate supply of verbs. He has recommended that the optimum verb: word ratio for good writing should be 1:10. If this ratio falls below 1:20, writing becomes obscure and difficult to understand. Even in small sentences, replacement of the nouns forms by the corresponding verb forms makes the writing more direct and readable. Consider the following pair of sentences: • The advent of medical informatics allowed the facilitation of data standardization and worldwide initiation of data exchange promotion between differing heath settings and systems. • The advent of medical informatics has facilitated data standardization and promoted worldwide data exchange between differing heath settings and systems. The replacement of the noun formations “allowed the facilitation” and “initiation of data exchange promotion” by the corresponding verb forms makes the sentence shorter and more readable. Following are some more examples of problematic sentences due to overuse of nouns and their improved versions formed by replacement of nouns by corresponding verbs.

Example 10 Problematic: There is a wide distribution of sporozoites in the body. However, the only site at which they can make developmental progress is in the liver. Improved: The sporozoites are widely distributed in the body. However, the only site at which they can develop is the liver. In the second version, the noun formations “distribution” and “developmental progress” have been replaced by the verb formations “distributed” and “develop”, which makes the sentence shorter and more readable.

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Example 11 Problematic: The main stimuli for ADH secretion are an increase in plasma osmolality and a decrease in circulating blood volume. Improved: ADH secretion is stimulated mainly by increase in plasma osmolality and decrease in circulating blood volume.

Example 12 Problematic: Tetracyclines achieve binding with 30S ribosomes of the susceptible organism and so attachment of aminocyl-t-RNA to m-RNA ribosome complex is hampered leading to failure of development of peptide chain. Instead of the noun formations “achieve binding” and “failure of development”, we can use the corresponding verb formations “bind” and “fails to develop”, respectively. The revised version is direct and easier to comprehend. Improved: Tetracyclines bind to 30S ribosomes of the susceptible organism and hamper the attachment of aminocyl-t-RNA to m-RNA ribosome complex. The peptide chain thus fails to develop.

Example 13 Problematic: Receipt by olfactory receptors of inhaled gases given off by all odorous materials dissolved in the nasal secretions is followed by their transmission as nerve impulses to hippocampal gyrus, which is regarded as the primary rhinencephalic (‘smell brain’ ) area of the cerebral cortex. It is not an easy sentence. We can simplify it by changing the nominalized forms “receipt” and “transmission” to the corresponding verb forms. Improved: Olfactory receptors receive inhaled gases given off by all odorous materials dissolved in the nasal secretions. The gases are transmitted as nerve impulses to hippocampal gyrus, which is regarded as the primary rhinencephalic (‘smell brain’) area of the cerebral cortex.

Example 14 Problematic: It is also envisaged to go in for development of futuristic, niche and cost-effective technological interventions for at least ten highly polluting categories of industries. Improved: It is also proposed to develop futuristic, niche and cost-effective technologies for at least ten highly polluting categories of industry.

Example 15 Problematic: The defect of this theory is that it cannot give any explanation for the flexible model of the enzyme and cannot give explanation for the factors influencing enzyme action. Improved: The defect of this theory is that it cannot explain the flexible model of the enzyme and the factors influencing enzyme action.

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Excessive use of Passive Voice We cannot avoid use of passive voice altogether in scientific writing, especially because of our goal of objectivity. However, we should avoid overuse of passive voice because it often leads to wordy and unclear writing, which is difficult to comprehend. The corresponding active voice constructions are shorter and clearer. Let us look at some examples.

Example 16 Problematic: Adoption of aseptic measures on the part of the surgeon and the assistant, and a disinfected surgical theatre are mandatory. Improved: The surgeon and the assistant must adopt aseptic measures and the surgical theatre must be disinfected.

Example 17 Problematic: Keeping in view the fact that bone is a living tissue, it is clear that when the nutrition of the bone cells is interfered with, they die resulting in the formation of a sequestrum. Improved: Since bone is a living tissue, interference with its nutrition kills it and a sequestrum results.

Example 18 Problematic: After 1-3 months of healing stage of the chancre, appearance of disseminated rash on the skin and mucous membranes occurs. Improved: After 1-3 months of healing stage of the chancre, a disseminated rash appears on the skin and mucous membranes.

Example 19 Problematic: If the cell is kept in a hypotonic solution, water will pass through both the cell wall and plasma membrane, and will set up an excess pressure in the interior of the cell causing the cytoplasm to be forced tightly against the cell wall. Improved: If the cell is kept in a hypotonic solution, water will pass through both the cell wall and plasma membrane, and set up an excess pressure in the interior of the cell forcing the cytoplasm tightly against the cell wall. Thus, to guard against verbosity, we should give a careful second look to the manuscript at the revision stage. In addition to crossing out all needless words in the form of wordy phrases, unnecessary qualifiers or repetitions, we should: • Reduce the proportion of sentences with passive voice. • Replace the noun forms with the corresponding verb forms, as far as possible.

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Overlong Sentences Scientific writing often contains new and difficult concepts. The reader’s problem is compounded when the author tries to pack too many concepts or explanations in a single sentence. There are examples in published literature of a single sentence spanning a full paragraph. Such long sentences are often formed when modifiers are added to an idea even before it is fully expressed (to indicate restrictions on or support to it). Comprehension of a chain of too many partly expressed ideas is not easy. The failure of information processing occurs at the level of our short term memory because it is unable to deal with a succession of a large number of words or phrases that are not resolved meaningfully. The remedy is two-fold: • Bring subject and main verb as close as possible by rephrasing the sentence, if needed. • Break longer sentences into a number of sentences such that there is one main idea per sentence. On average, sentence length should be within the 17-25-word range. Some examples of long sentences and the corresponding improved versions are given below.

Example 20 Problematic: Since cysts are abundantly produced in the intestines of patients suffering from the disease, are hardy in the external environment, and highly infectious, in experimental models, ingestion of as few as 10 cysts can give rise to infection, it is not surprising that the prevalence of these infections is quite high. Let us see how the passage fares on the readability criterion. Words/sentence = 51.0 Characters/word = 5.0 Readability: Flesch Reading Ease = 12.4; Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level = 24.1 It is obvious that the passage is not easy to follow as indicated by both the readability tests. Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level indicates that only a person with 24 years formal education would feel comfortable with the sentence. The subject matter of the sentence is technical, but its difficulty does not stem from the technical content alone. The difficulty in comprehension arises due to dense packing of ideas also. In a single sentence, the author has packed many ideas making the sentence quite complex. We can break the sentence into 4 different sentences, lowering the density of ideas per sentence. The resultant version should be much easier to follow. Improved: Cysts are abundantly produced in the intestines of patients suffering from the disease and are hardy in the external environment. They

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are highly infectious; in experimental models, ingestion of as few as 10 cysts can give rise to infection. Therefore, it is not surprising that the prevalence of these infections is quite high. On applying the readability test, we find the following results: Words/sentence = 21.6 Characters/word = 4.8 Readability: Flesch Reading Ease = 48.4; Flesch-Kincaid grade level = 10.5 So, the rewritten passage obtained by breaking of the single sentence is fairly well readable. Not only the average sentence length is within the recommended range of 17-25-words, but the Flesch Reading Ease and the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level are also near the recommended values.

Example 21 Problematic: The olfactory receptors, which are a series of bipolar nerve cells situated in the olfactory epithelium in the roof of the nasal cavities, receive inhaled gases given off by all odorous materials dissolved in the nasal secretions and are transmitted as nerve impulses serially from first order neuron to second order neuron in the olfactory bulb of the ipsilateral frontal lobe, then posteriorly in the olfactory tracts to reach hippocampal gyrus of the temporal lobe, which is regarded as the primary rhinencephalic (‘smell brain’) area of the cerebral cortex, including the amygdaloid nucleus, prepyriform and periamygdaloid cortices. Again, the content of the sentence is highly technical and not easy to follow, but its length (97 words) makes it even more difficult to follow. Readability tests show the following results: Words/sentence = 97.0 Characters/word = 5.4 Readability: Flesch Reading Ease = 0.0; Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level = 45.3 Obviously, the readability of the passage is not good at all! Improved: The olfactory receptors are a series of bipolar nerve cells situated in the olfactory epithelium in the roof of the nasal cavities. These receive inhaled gases given off by all odorous materials dissolved in the nasal secretions, which are transmitted as nerve impulses. The impulses are transmitted serially from first order neuron to second order neuron in the olfactory bulb of the ipsilateral frontal lobe, then posteriorly in the olfactory tracts to reach hippocampal gyrus of the temporal lobe. The hippocampal gyrus of the temporal lobe is regarded as the primary rhinencephalic (‘smell brain’) area of the cerebral cortex, including the amygdaloid nucleus, prepyriform and periamygdaloid cortices. The readability statistics for the amended version are: Words/Sentence = 26.7

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Characters/Word = 5.4 Readability: Flesch Reading Ease = 13.6; Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level = 18.0 After the change, readability has improved, though the passage may still be not very readable for a non-professional reader. This is due to the presence of uncommon and long technical words, which we cannot avoid altogether.

Example 22 Problematic: The twisted intramolecular charge-transfer phenomenon in solutions, though discovered only in early seventies, has received immense attention due to its application in laser dyes, isomerization of polyenes and thodopsin, molecular switching devices, charge separation in photochemical energy utilization, etc., and has been the subject of several recent studies which are mostly confined to dimethylaminobenzo compounds although work on some other type of molecules is also being carried out increasingly. Words/Sentence = 69.0 Characters/Word = 6.2 Readability: Flesch Reading Ease = 0; Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level = 36.4 According to the readability statistics, the passage is unreadable. The huge sentence length and presence of several lengthy and uncommon technical words make the passage unreadable. Improved: The twisted intramolecular charge transfer phenomenon was discovered only in seventies. But it has received immense attention due to its application in laser dyes, isomerization of polyenes and thodospin, molecular switching devices, charge separation in photochemical energy utilization, etc. It has been the subject of several recent studies, which are mostly confined to the dimethylaminobenzo compounds, although work on some other type of molecules is also being carried out increasingly. Words/Sentence = 23.3 Characters/word = 5.9 Readability: Flesch Reading Ease = 10.3; Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level = 17.6 The problem due to the large sentence length has been rectified, but that due to presence of lengthy and uncommon technical words remains.

Example 23 Problematic: Mikulicz’s syndrome, enlargement of the gland, usually one or both parotid glands, either unilateral, bilateral or multiple, with histologic changes reflecting loss of acinar epithelium and replacement with chronic inflammatory cells, is a non-specific accompaniment of several diseases, such as leukemia, lymphoma and tuberculosis.

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This is a typical example of the tendency in scientific writing of adding modifiers to an idea even before it is fully expressed (to indicate restrictions on it, support to it, or its subdivisions). Readability of the writing can be improved by breaking the sentence into 2-3 sentences and thus reducing the density of ideas. Improved: Mikulicz’s syndrome is a non-specific accompaniment of several diseases, such as leukemia, lymphoma and tuberculosis. It involves enlargement of the gland, usually one or both parotid glands. The enlargement may be either unilateral, bilateral or multiple. The accompanying histologic changes reflect loss of acinar epithelium and its replacement with chronic inflammatory cells.

Sentence length versus density of ideas However, while cutting down the number of long sentences in our writing we should not go to the other extreme of insisting on the use of only very small sentences. A series of such sentences may produce choppy writing. Following is an example of such type of writing: “It is basically a marine vibrio. It can cause human infections. It resembles V. parahaemoliticus. It is less salt tolerant. It is responsible for wound infections due to exposure of open wounds to sea water. It can enter the blood stream via the gut mucosa. It can cause septicemia”. Far from aiding in comprehension of the subject, such writing will be boring for the reader and may remain “unread”. One can occasionally use a short or long sentence to avoid monotony and impart variation to the writing style instead of a series of short or long sentences. Even in the context of lengthy sentences, limiting the number of ideas/ concepts per clause in a sentence may be a better criterion for producing readable writing rather than regulating the number of words alone in a sentence (refer to Fig. 5.2 and Box 5.4 on “Vagaries of Short Term Memory”). Our aim should be to keep one idea/concept per clause in a sentence, and not more than 2-3 clauses per sentence. Keeping these criteria in view, we may modify the above mentioned choppy piece of writing into a more readable piece as follows: “It is basically a marine vibrio, resembling V. parahaemoliticus, but is less salt tolerant. It can cause human infections and is responsible for wound infections due to exposure of open wounds to sea water. It can enter the blood stream via the gut mucosa and cause septicemia”. Some sentences may not be very long, but are still difficult to follow because of dense packing of ideas. Their length in terms of words is not much, but their “psychological length” is substantial and creates problems. Such sentences need to be revised by introducing connecting words like prepositions or breaking

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these into more than one sentence so that there is one main idea per sentence. In such cases, introducing a few extra words increases the readability of the text instead of impeding it.

Example 24 Problematic: Aspartate is an acidic, non-essential, glucogenic, dicarboxylic amino acid, being reversibly convertible to oxaloacetate by transamination catalyzed by aspartate-transaminase. There are only 20 words in the sentence (within the recommended range of 17-25 words), but it is not very easy to follow. This is because, apart from its specialized technical content, a number of ideas are packed together tightly in a single sentence: • Aspartate is dicarboxylic acid. • It is non-essential acid. • It is glucogenic. • It can be reversibly converted to oxaloacetate by transamination, which is catalyzed by aspartate-transaminase. We cannot do much about the technical content, but we can try to make the message more comprehensible by diluting the density of ideas, i.e., putting independent ideas into separate sentences. Improved: Aspartate is an acidic, non-essential dicarboxylic amino acid, which is glucogenic. Aspartate can be converted reversibly to oxaloacetate by transamination. This conversion is catalyzed by aspartate-transaminase.

Example 25 Problematic: The peptide bond is rigid, planar in structure and imparts restriction in the rotation around C-N bond leading to specific type of folding patterns called as secondary structures. Improved: The peptide bond is rigid with planar structure and, hence, restricts rotation around C-N bond. This leads to specific type of folding patterns, which are called secondary structures. We may note three changes in the improved version: • Inclusion of the transition word “hence” to connect the cause (rigidity) to the effect (restriction). • Change of the noun form “restriction” to the verb form “restricts”. • Breaking of the single sentence into two sentences to lower the number of ideas per sentence.

Noun/Adjective Chains Sentences containing a series of nouns/adjectives one after the other are difficult to follow. Unfortunately, such sentences are quite common in scientific writing.

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The chain must be broken by adding appropriate connecting prepositions for easier comprehension of information.

Example 26 Problematic: Diabetes innocence is due to congenital renal tubular transport mechanism defect. Improved: Diabetes innocence is due to congenital defect in the mechanism of renal tubular transport.

Example 27 Problematic: The carbohydrate metabolism impairment is due to insulin/ anti-insulin ratio decline. Improved: The carbohydrate metabolism is impaired due to decline in insulin/ anti-insulin ratio.

HOW TO GUARD AGAINST AMBIGUITY Ambiguity arises when there is a possibility of deriving more than one meaning from a word, a phrase or a sentence. Any ambiguity can be dangerous in a report dealing with research and development (R & D) work. This is because replication of research already done and use of its results in solving new problems is an important component of R & D process, in general. Ambiguity in the language of a report can derail this step by confusing the reader, or conveying unintended message. For example, if the language describing an experimental procedure is ambiguous, other researchers may not be able to replicate the experiments, or the efforts to do so may turn out to be hazardous due to misunderstanding of information. Of course, every author aims to write in a way that his/her writing is easily understood. But the aim in a research communication is stiffer because of the above mentioned reasons -- the writer of an R & D report should not only be easily understood, but also avoid being misunderstood. For example, the sentence “The sand fly mouth parts are very short and are adapted for biting and piercing in the females” may be misunderstood as sand flies being particularly inimical to female humans, while the author’s intention was to describe the mouth parts of the female species of the insect. And only a careless author would write an ambiguous sentence like: “A blend of these herbs is administered to assist memory as well as eczema, emphysema and asthma”. Herbs may be administered to assist memory, but certainly not for assisting eczema, emphysema and asthma!

Ambiguity Versus Vagueness A problem closely related to ambiguity is vagueness. While ambiguity results when a phrase or sentence can be interpreted clearly in more than one way

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(Fig. 5.3), vagueness often results when the meaning is not clear (Fig. 5.4) because of an unclear pronoun reference in a phrase or a sentence. Both are dangerous for S & T writing. In the first case, unintended meaning may lead to wrong conclusions, while in the second case the communication becomes unclear.

FIGURE 5.3

Ambiguity: Two Readers Derive Two Different Meanings. Reader 1 is Happy Although he is Unaware that he has Derived an Unintended Meaning

FIGURE 5.4

Vagueness: The Reader is Perplexed by a Vague Statement and is Unable to Make a Sense of it

Thus, a word or phrase is said to be ambiguous if it has at least two specific meanings that make sense in the context. For example, the sentence “The sand fly mouth parts are very short and are adapted for biting and piercing in the females” is ambiguous, because it can have two clear meanings, both of which are possible: (a) “sand fly mouth parts are adapted to biting and piercing the human females”, or (b) “the mouth parts are adapted by the female species of sand fly for biting and piercing”. Another example of ambiguity is the sentence “Physostigmine is preferred to neostigmine in patients with CNS symptoms as it can cross the blood-

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brain barrier”. It is ambiguous, because the pronoun “it” could refer to both physostigmine and neostigmine equally well. On the other hand, the following sentence is vague as it stands: • The material and methods of teaching are so designed as to enhance their interest in learning and also to develop an awareness of the social and ethical values important in life. The sentence is vague because the pronoun “their” refers to an implied concept (students); this word (students) does not occur as a preceding noun in the sentence to which the pronoun may refer, thus making the sentence vague. The sentence becomes clearer if we replace the pronoun by the implied noun itself. Improved: The material and methods of teaching are so designed as to enhance students’ interest in learning and also to develop an awareness of the social and ethical values important in life. Ambiguity in perceived meaning or vagueness may arise due to: • Unclear pronoun reference. • Punctuation-related problems. • Separation of related words.

Unclear Pronoun Reference As mentioned above, the sentence, “physostigmine is preferred to neostigmine in patients with CNS symptoms as it can cross the blood-brain barrier” may leave some readers wondering whether “it” refers to the noun physostigmine or neostigmine. The author may be quite clear that “it” refers to physostigmine, but chances are some of the readers may have doubts. Similarly, in a report on medicinal use of indigenous plants, the author mentioned: “Key informants were taken to the forests for collection of plants used by them and were taken to the laboratory and processed following the methods given by Martin”. An unwary reader may wonder whether the “informants” were taken to the laboratory and somehow “processed”, though the author of the report took only “plants” to the laboratory and processed these. A clearer and unambiguous sentence would be: “Key informants were taken to the forests for collection of plants used by them and the plants were taken to the laboratory and processed following the methods given by Martin”. In many similar cases, an intelligent guess would lead to the correct meaning, but the writers should not depend on correct guessing by the readers. As suggested earlier also, “they should write in a way that they are not misunderstood” at all. Following are some examples in which there could be similar doubts.

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Example 28 Problematic: The growth of big trees in the hilly areas is very less as these are covered mostly with shrubs, herbs, climbers and twiners. (Does the pronoun “these” refer to “big trees” or “hilly areas”?) Improved: The growth of big trees in the hilly areas is very less as these areas are covered mostly with shrubs, climbers and twiners.

Example 29 Problematic: The Head of Planning reminded the Marketing Head that he had signed the contract. (Does the pronoun “he” refer to Head of Planning or Head of Marketing?) Improved: The Head of Planning reminded the Marketing Head that the former (or latter) had signed the contract.

Example 30 Problematic: Zinc deficiency was found to be associated with poor healing of surgical wounds and burns, which seemed to be enhanced by zinc therapy. (Does the word “which” refer to “zinc deficiency” or “healing”?). Improved: Zinc deficiency was found to be associated with poor healing of surgical wounds and burns; the healing seemed to be enhanced by zinc therapy.

Punctuation-Related Ambiguity Even the presence or absence of a punctuation sign can change the perceived meaning of a sentence. For example, consider the following pair of sentences where the presence or absence of space dramatically changes the meaning: • The Vice Chancellor should be a political person. • The Vice Chancellor should be apolitical person. In a more technical example, we can see how the mere presence or absence of a hyphen can change the meaning. The sentence: “The interaction of substrate with the enzyme induces a conformational change in the enzyme, resulting in the formation of a strong substrate binding site” may give an impression that the binding sites are present on the substrate, which is not correct. The binding sites are present on the enzyme! This ambiguity can be removed if we put a hyphen between the words “substrate” and “binding”. The modified sentence “The interaction of substrate with the enzyme induces a conformational change in the enzyme, resulting in the formation of a strong substrate-binding site” is quite clear.

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Example 31 The following pair of sentences can be interpreted in different ways though these differ only in the presence or absence of a comma only. • Further hydration of III seems to be the rate-determining step. • Further, hydration of III seems to be the rate-determining step. In the first sentence above, “further” implies rehydration, while in the second sentence it does not imply this procedure and acts as a conjunction only. The authors have to be careful about such subtle changes in meaning of sentences due to presence or absence of a punctuation mark.

Example 32 The presence of a “comma” after bacteria in the second sentence below makes the meaning quite clear, but there is an ambiguity in the first sentence. Some readers may wonder why antimicrobial agents are being prescribed for the control of bacteria that prevent dental diseases (there might be some such bacteria in existence!). • There has been an array of different antimicrobial agents, which are usually prescribed for the control of bacteria preventing dental diseases. • There has been an array of different antimicrobial agents, which are usually prescribed for the control of bacteria, preventing dental diseases.

Ambiguity Due to Separation of Related Words Separation of words related in thought can also make writing ambiguous, which may lead to funny, unintended interpretations at times. Since the relative positions of the words in a sentence are important in showing their relationship, we should not separate the related words. For example, in the construction: “Cutaneous larva migrans or creeping eruption is due to the migration under the skin of hookworm larvae of mammals other than humans”, the phrase “larvae of mammals other than humans” has funny implications (mammals producing larvae!). The ambiguity in meaning has arisen due to separation of related words “skin of” and “mammals other than humans”. The construction revised by bringing these related words together: ”Cutaneous larva migrans or creeping eruption is due to the migration of hookworm larvae under the skin of mammals other than humans” is quite clear and presents no such problems. Another example of similar writing is: “Simple per speculum examination of cervix for any abnormality done by medical/paramedical personnel will help in early detection of carcinoma cervix”. Some readers may wonder whether the medical/paramedical personnel are guilty of doing some abnormality! What the author wanted to convey is: “Simple per speculum examination of cervix by

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medical/paramedical personnel for any abnormality will help in early detection of carcinoma cervix”. The related words “examination of cervix” and “by medical/paramedical personnel” have been separated leading to miscarriage of meaning. Following are some other examples of ambiguity due to separation of related words.

Example 33 Problematic: The inactivated patient’s serum is incubated with its Ag in the presence of fixed amount of complement at 37 °C for 60 minutes. Surely the poor patient was not inactivated before taking a sample of his serum! This, somewhat bizarre, meaning may be derived because the word “inactivated” has been separated from its related word “serum”. The modifier “inactivated” applies to the word “serum” and not to “patient”. The sentence can be improved by putting together the related words. Improved: The patient’s inactivated serum is incubated with its Ag in the presence of fixed amount of complement at 37 °C for 60 minutes.

Example 34 Problematic: Enhanced sickness benefit equal to full wage is payable to insured persons undergoing sterilization for 7 days/14 days for male and female workers, respectively. Surely, sterilization procedure is not so prolonged as to take 7-14 days! Improved: Enhanced sickness benefit equal to full wage is payable for 7 days/14 days for male and female workers, respectively to insured persons undergoing sterilization.

Example 35 Problematic: Interference due to iron can be eliminated by ageing the solution before extraction for one hour. Do we extract the solution for one hour or do we do ageing of the solution for one hour? It is the process of “ageing” that usually takes hours and not the process of “extraction”. Improved: Interference due to iron can be eliminated by ageing the solution for one hour before extraction.

Example 36 Problematic: NO• is lipid-soluble and, hence, easily crosses the biological membranes with a very short half life (2-4 second). The biological membranes do not have such short half-lives. It is the halflife of NO• radical that is short. Improved: NO•, with a very short half life (2-4 second), is lipid-soluble and, hence, easily crosses the biological membranes.

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Example 37 Problematic: Seeds are pounded and made in the form of powder and inhaled to check the headache for 7 days. Improved: Seeds are pounded and made in the form of powder and inhaled for 7 days to check the headache.

Example 38 Problematic: The bark (10 g) is boiled in 50 ml of water and the juice is drunk to correct irregular menstrual disorders for 7 days. Are their regular and irregular menstrual disorders? And, is the medication given for 7 days or correction lasts for 7 days? Improved: The bark (10 g) is boiled in 50 ml of water and the juice is drunk once a day for 7 days to correct menstrual disorders. Or The bark (10 g) is boiled in 50 ml of water and the juice is drunk once a day for 7 days to correct irregular menses.

Misplaced Modifiers We should be very careful in placement of words like “only”, “also” and “always”, because variation in their placement can change the meaning. The modifying words should be placed next to the words they modify; otherwise, they may convey unintended meaning.

Example 39 The word “only” in the following sentences conveys subtle differences in meanings. (a) Sugars with only free aldehyde or ketone group can act as reducing agents [The sentence implies that sugars with no other group than free aldehyde or ketone group can act as reducing agent]. (b) Only sugars with free aldehyde or ketone group can act as reducing agents [The sentence implies that no molecule other than sugars with free aldehyde or ketone group group can act as reducing agents].

Example 40 (a) It also has a promoting effect on the nerve impulse transmission [The sentence implies that it is one of the agents promoting nerve impulse transmission]. (b) It has a promoting effect on the nerve impulse transmission also [The sentence implies that it has a promoting effect on nerve impulse transmission besides similar promoting effect on other phenomena].

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Example 41 (a) Acetaldehyde also is toxic to other tissues [The sentence implies that acetaldehyde is one of the agents toxic to some tissues]. (b) Acetaldehyde is toxic to other tissues also [the sentence implies acetaldehyde is toxic to other tissues, in addition to a particular tissue]. Thus, as in the case of dealing with verbosity, we must give a careful second look to the manuscript at the revision stage to weed out ambiguous sentences. The fault is not apparent at the time of preparing the rough or first draft — certainly not to the author. The problem becomes apparent only at a second and more detached reading of the first draft, after giving a gap of some time period. We must ensure that: All pronouns clearly refer to specific nouns. • Punctuation marks are correctly placed. • Related words are not separated by unrelated words or phrases. • Modifiers are placed near the words they modify.

SOME OTHER COMMON PROBLEMS Shift in Tense and Point of View Inconsistency in the use of tense is a common error in S & T writing. The mix-up occurring in the same sentence is quite confusing. The sentence: “Crystallization occurs immediately when benzene-ether mixture was added to the cooled solution” starts with the present tense, but shifts to the past tense in its later part. The correct form would be “Crystallization occurs immediately when benzene-ether mixture is added to the cooled solution”, or “Crystallization occurred immediately when benzene-ether mixture was added to the cooled solution”.

Example 42 Problematic: About 47 % of invasive species are most abundant in wastelands, while cultivated fields, banks of water bodies, and forest were preferred by 17 %, 14 % and 12 % species, respectively. Improved: About 47 % of invasive species are most abundant in wastelands, while cultivated fields, banks of water bodies, and forest are preferred by 17 %, 14 % and 12 % species, respectively.

Example 43 Problematic: Impotence or gynecomastia in patients on high doses of cimetidine is reversed when patients were switched to ranitidine.

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Improved: Impotence or gynecomastia in patients on high doses of cimetidine is reversed when patients are switched to ranitidine. Similarly, shift in the point of view or person within the same sentence is quite confusing and should be avoided. In the sentence “It would be eminently feasible to focus one’s reading on disorders like this while time and resources are available to update and enhance your own knowledge base” the author starts with the third person (“one’s reading”), but shifts to second person (“your own knowledge base”). The sentence should be changed to: “It would be eminently feasible to focus one’s reading on disorders like this while time and resources are available to update and enhance one’s own knowledge base”.

Example 44 Problematic: The authors express gratitude to UGC for granting a minor research project under 11th Plan which enabled us to conduct this study. Improved: The authors express gratitude to UGC for granting a minor research project under 11th Plan which enabled them to conduct this study.

Example 45 Problematic: The parapharyngeal space may be approached by excising the submandibular gland and then do a superficial parotidectomy, which allows for identification and protection of the facial nerve. Improved: The parapharyngeal space may be approached by excising the submandibular gland and then a superficial parotidectomy done, which allows for identification and protection of the facial nerve.

Example 46 Problematic: The present era is of the open-ended society, where a person who feels that my society does not match with my life can leave to join another society. Improved: The present era is of the open-ended society, where a person who feels that his society does not match with his life can leave to join another society.

Example 47 Problematic: In the first sub-step, we would define the reference population, also called the “universe” or the “target population”. Now, specify a welldefined subset of the reference population from where you actually draw the sample of subjects. Improved: In the first sub-step, we would define the reference population, also called the “universe” or the “target population”. Now, we would specify a well-defined subset of the reference population from where we actually draw the sample of subjects.

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Lack of Parallel Structure Ideas of equal importance should be expressed in grammatically parallel or similar forms. Use of parallel form of construction lets the readers see the connection between those ideas. When this principle is flouted, sentences become awkward and unclear. For example, the sentence: “They mediate the cell cycle, regulation of membrane potential, intracellular signaling pathways and prevention of apoptosis” sounds somewhat complex and difficult to follow. But the same sentence with a parallel structure is much easier to follow: “They mediate the cell cycle, regulate membrane potential, intracellular signaling pathways and prevent apoptosis”. Change in the form of the words “regulation” (regulate) and “prevention” (prevent) to bring them in consonance with the verb form used in the first clause of the sentence (meditate) facilitates understanding of the sentence. Thus, when thoughts of similar importance are expressed in sentences/ phrases having similar language structure, similarity in the form of expression helps the reader in recognizing the likeness of content.

Example 48 Problematic: Choice of a drug depends upon its efficacy, toxicity and cost of the drug. Improved: Choice of a drug depends upon its efficacy, toxicity and cost.

Example 49 Problematic: This will help in correct identification and to determine the status of taxa. Improved: This will help in correct identification and determination of the status of taxa.

Example 50 Problematic: Advantage is high tensile strength, low tissue reaction and knot security is good. Improved: Advantages are high tensile strength, low tissue reaction and good knot security.

Example 51 Problematic: Maintain scalp hygiene and oil application should be avoided. Improved: Maintain scalp hygiene and avoid oil application. Or Scalp hygiene should be maintained and oil application should be avoided.

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Mismatch of Subject and Verb Sentences like “Most of the anaerobes implicated in the condition except B. fragilis is susceptible to penicillin” may look innocuous to many authors, but the mismatch between the subject and verb in the sentence may put off many readers. Such elementary mistakes of grammar create a negative impression among readers about the report itself. Such mistakes can be easily avoided if the author is careful at the revision stage. The two main reasons for subjectverb mismatch are: (i) Presence of a number of intervening words between the subject and verb confuse the author and he/she chooses the noun nearest to verb to be the subject of the sentence. (ii) Presence of two different groups of nouns as subject for a sentence (compound subject) warrants a plural verb, but authors mistakenly choose the nearest subject to be the only (singular) subject.

Example 52 Problematic: Heart infusion agar containing polymyxin, lysozyme, ethylene diamine tetraacetic acid and thallous acetate are selective medium for B. anthracis. The subject is “heart infusion agar” but a number of intervening nouns between the subject and verb have confused the author. The sentence should have a singular verb. Improved: Heart infusion agar containing polymyxin, lysozyme, ethylene diamine tetraacetic acid and thallous acetate is a selective medium for B. anthracis.

Example 53 Problematic: The shape of conidiophore and arrangement of sterigmata and conidia with colony morphology differentiates various species of Aspergillus. (compound subject) Improved: The shape of conidiophore and arrangement of sterigmata and conidia with colony morphology differentiate various species of Aspergillus.

Example 54 Problematic: One-fifth of circulating iodides are removed by cells of thyroid gland by iodide pump. Improved: One-fifth of circulating iodides is removed by cells of thyroid gland by iodide pump.

Example 55 Problematic: Distribution of cancers according to sites among males and females in India in 2010 are shown in Table X.

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Improved: Distribution of cancers according to sites among males and females in India in 2010 is shown in Table X.

Misused and Confused Words Imprecision in the use of words can lead to miscarriage of meaning. The problem usually arises when two words have similar sounds. One may be confused for the other.

Example 56 Problematic: The whole electrophoetic unit is then covered with an insulating material to minimize evaporation during the run and to assure electrical insulation. Improved: The whole electrophoetic unit is then covered with an insulating material to minimize evaporation during the run and to ensure electrical insulation.

Example 57 Problematic: Both the articulating surfaces and the disc are covered with synovial membrane, which is intact in newborns, but adults gradually lack it and ultimately restricted to a narrow fringe lining the capsule. Improved: Both the articulating surfaces and the disc are covered with synovial membrane, which is intact in newborns, but adults gradually lose it and ultimately it is restricted to a narrow fringe lining the capsule.

Example 58 Problematic: These three amino acids are the principle sources of sulfur in our body Improved: These three amino acids are the principal sources of sulfur in our body.

Example 59 Problematic: This helps in keeping a happy home environment and “distressing”. Improved: This helps in keeping a happy home environment and “destressing”. Some commonly confused pairs of homophones (words having same sound, but different meaning) are: • cite-site • discreet-discrete • loose-lose • peak-peek • soar-sore • to-too

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Another group of confusing words with similar (though not same) sound is formed by the following pairs: • prescribe-proscribe • allusion-illusion • hyper-hypo • militate-mitigate • resource-recourse • allude-elude • agonist-antagonist

Misuse or Absence of Transitional Words Use of logical connecting words between clauses and between sentences makes writing smooth. By providing a logical connection between different bits of information, these transitional words increase the readability of writing. Conversely, misuse or absence of transitional words can confuse the reader and make writing difficult to understand. Following sentences are examples of this problem.

Example 60 Problematic: Cromolyn sodium and nedocromil share a common mechanism of action and probably involves inhibition of degranulation of mast cells by trigger stimuli. Improved: Cromolyn sodium and nedocromil share a common mechanism of action, which probably involves inhibition of degranulation of mast cells by trigger stimuli.

Example 61 Problematic: Hot flashes, nausea and vomiting are the frequent adverse reactions and do not necessitate stoppage of the drug. Improved: Hot flashes, nausea and vomiting are the frequent adverse reactions, but these do not necessitate stoppage of the drug.

Example 62 Problematic: Mecillinam can only be given parenterally and the pro-drug pivmecillinam (the pivaloyl ester) is available for oral use. Improved: Mecillinam can only be given parenterally, but the pro-drug pivmecillinam (the pivaloyl ester) is available for oral use.

Example 63 Problematic: Extension contracture of the elbow is seen in many patients and is due to deficiency of elbow flexors.

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Improved: Extension contracture of the elbow is seen in many patients, which is due to deficiency of elbow flexors. Or Extension contracture of the elbow is seen in many patients and it is due to deficiency of elbow flexors.

Example 64 Problematic: The basic process of replication has been well studied in prokaryotic systems, but the eukaryotic systems have also been found to follow the same principles. Improved: The basic process of replication has been well studied in prokaryotic systems, and the eukaryotic systems have also been found to follow the same principles.

Example 65 Problematic: Adverse effects include gastrointestinal side effects, anemia, thrombocytopenia, leukopenia and seizures and are generally reversible. Improved: Adverse effects include gastrointestinal side effects, anemia, thrombocytopenia, leukopenia and seizures, which are generally reversible.

Example 66 Problematic: Thus, the drug becomes valuable in the late stages of the disease T. gambiense and T. rhodesiense is usually resistant to the drug. Improved: Thus, the drug becomes valuable in the late stages of the disease T. gambiense, but T. rhodesiense is usually resistant to the drug. Reports are written for sharing information; therefore, we must use language that helps readers to understand what was meant. Language that is boring, or obscures ideas or is ambiguous fails in the aim of sharing information and may upset the readers. The aim of this chapter was to look at the factors that enhance the readability of reports, and also to list some of the pitfalls that may impede this aim. If we want our report to be readable, we must avoid these pitfalls.

CHECKLIST 1. Before starting to write, assess the targeted readership and tailor the language of report according to capabilities of readers. 2. Organize text logically and make liberal use of headings and subheadings. 3. Supplement textual description by appropriate graphics. 4. Omit needless words. 5. Use more verbs than nouns.

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6. Break up strings of nouns. 7. Keep average sentence length in the range of 17-25 words, preferably with one main idea per sentence. 8. Avoid overuse of passive voice. 9. Avoid use of ambiguous and vague words, phrases and sentences. 10. Make sure that all pronouns clearly refer to specific nouns. 11. Check that punctuation marks are correctly placed. 12. Keep related words together. 13. Make sure that modifiers are placed near the words they modify. 14. Use logical connecting words between clauses and sentences. 15. Avoid shift in person or tense in the same sentence.

Appendix A: Some Online Databases*

Database

Compiler

On-line service provider

AGRICOLA

National Agriculture Library

FirstSearch

Arxiv.org e-print archive

Los Almos National Lab.

Open access

BioMed Central BIOSIS

Open Access Biological Abstracts Service

CJACS Plus

Am. Chem. Soc.

STN

CA Search

Chem. Abstr. Service

DIALOG, SDC, InfoLine, Data Star

CASSI

Chem. Abstr. Service

SDC

CHEM. ENGNG ABS.

Royal Soc. of Chem.

InfoLine

CHEM SEARCH

Chem. Abstr Service

DIALOG

ENERGY LINE

Env. Inform. Centre

DIALOG, SDC

Encyclopaedia of Chemical Technology

Kirk-Othmer

Engineered Materials Abstracts

Cambridge Scientific Abstracts

ENVIROLINE

Env. Inform. Centre

DIALOG, SDC

Environmental Sciences Cambridge Scientific & Pollution Management Abstracts Europe’s Network of Patent Databases

European Patent Office

IEEE Xplore

Inst. of Electrical and Electronics Engineers

INIS

International Atomic Energy Agency

Open access

Contd...

154

Appendix A: Some Online Databases

Contd...

*

INSPEC

Inst. Elec. Eng.

DIALOG, DATA STAR

MASS SPECT BULL

Roy Soc. Chem.

InfoLine

MEDLINE

Nat. Lib. of Med.

DIALOG, DATA STAR, BLAISE, OhioLink

METADEX

Am. Soc. of Metals

DIALOG, SDC

NASA Astrophysics Data System

NASA

Open access

NIST Chemistry WebBook

National Institute of Standard and Technology, USA

Open access

PROLA

American Physical Society

RAPRA

Rubber & Plastics Res. Assoc.

TOXLINE

Cambridge Scientific Abstracts

USPTO Web Patent Databases

US Patent and Trademark Office

Open access

WORLD PATENT INDEX

Derwent Publications Ltd.

DERWENT, SDC

InfoLine

The list of databases is indicative. Changes are likely in the list due to rapid technological advances and dynamics of commercial management of databases.

Appendix B: Units of Physical Quantities

BASE QUANTITIES SI System is the internationally accepted system of units of physical quantities. The name SI is derived from the French “Système international d’unités”. In this system, there are seven base physical quantities with mutually independent base units. Other physical quantities are deemed to be derived from these base quantities. Both the physical quantities and their units are represented by commonly accepted symbols. The symbols for base quantities and their units are listed in Table B.1. • While the symbols for physical quantities are printed in italics (sloping type), the symbols for their units are printed in roman (upright type), e.g., m for mass, but m for metre. • Symbols for units are written in lower case (e.g., “m”, “s”, “mol”), except for symbols derived from the name of a person, e.g., the unit of pressure. The unit is named after Pascal, so its symbol is written as “Pa”, whereas the unit itself is written as “pascal” (see under derived units). • The value of a quantity is written as a number followed by a space and the unit symbol, e.g., “7.8 s”, “4.8 × 102 m2”, “128 K”, or “22 mol”. This rule of giving a space between the value of the quantity and its symbol is followed for the percent sign (%), but not for the plane angular degrees, minutes and seconds (°,’ and ”), which are placed immediately after the number with no intervening space. Thus, we write 70 %, but 80.4°. • Symbols of units are not pluralized, e.g., “75 m”, not “75 ms”; and “6 A”, not “6 As”.

156

Appendix B: Units of Physical Quantities

Table B.1 Base physical quantities and their units Base quantity (symbol)

Name of SI unit (symbol)

Length (l)

meter (m)

Mass (m)

kilogram (kg)

Time (t)

second (s)

Electric current (I)

ampere (A)

Temperature (T)

kelvin (K)

Amount of substance (n)

mole (mol)

Luminous intensity (IV)

candela (cd)

DERIVED QUANTITIES Quantities not covered under the base physical quantities are regarded as derived from the seven independent base quantities. Names and symbols of some important derived physical quantities are given in Table B.2. • Symbols for derived units formed by multiplication are joined with a centre dot (•) or a space, e.g., N•m or N m. • Symbols for derived units formed by division should be expressed using negative exponents, e.g., “metre per second” as m s−1. Use of a solidus (/) is also allowed to show division, e.g., m/s (for metre per second), but use of only one solidus is allowed. For example, kg/(m s2) is acceptable, but not kg/m/s2, which is ambiguous. • There is some variability regarding the use of symbol for litre, a common unit for measuring volume. Commonly, volume is reported in terms of milliliter or ml, e.g., 25.4 ml, because symbols for units are written in lower case. Since the symbol for litre “l” is similar to the numeral “1” or the uppercase letter “i”, the American National Institute of Standards and Technology recommends that “L” be used for litre, e.g., 25.4 mL instead of 25.4 ml. But it should be remembered that “litre” is not an SI unit in itself; in SI terms it is a cubic decimetre, i.e., dm3. Table B.2 Names and symbols of some important derived quantities Derived quantity (symbol)

Name of unit (symbol)

Area (A,S)

square meter (m2)

Volume (V)

cubic meter (m3)

Velocity (v, u)

meter per second (m s–1)

Acceleration (a)

meter per second squared (m s –2)

Frequency (v, f)

hertz (Hz; s –1)

Density (r)

kilogram per cubic meter (kg m –3) Contd...

Appendix B: Units of Physical Quantities

157

Contd...

Current density ( j)

ampere per square meter (A m –2)

Magnetic field strength (H)

ampere per meter (A m –1)

Concentration (c)

mol per cubic meter (mol m –3)

Luminance

candela per square meter (cd m –2)

Force (F)

newton (N; m kg s–2)

Pressure, stress (p, s)

pascal (Pa; m –1 kg s–2)

Energy, work (E, W)

joule (j; m2 kg s–2)

Power (P)

watt (W; m2 kg s–3)

Electric charge (Q)

coulomb (C; s A)

Electric potential (V)

volt (V; m2 kg s–3 A –1)

Capacitance (C)

farad (F; m –2 kg –1 s4 A 2)

Electric resistance (R)

ohm (W; m2 kg s–3 A –2)

Conductance (k, s)

siemens (S; m –2 kg –1 s3 A 2)

Magnetic flux (F)

weber (Wb; m2 kg s–2 A –1)

Magnetic flux density (B)

tesla (T; kg s –2 A –1)

Inductance (L)

henry (H; m2 kg s–2 A –2)

Luminous flux (F)

lumen (lm; cd sr)

Activity of a radionuclide

becquerel (Bq; s –1)

Absorbed dose

gray (Gy; m2 s–2)

Dynamic viscosity (h)

pascal second (Pa s; m –1 kg s–1)

Surface tension (g, s)

newton per meter (N m –1; kg s–2)

Heat capacity (C)

joule per kelvin (J K–1; m2 kg s–2 K–1)

Entropy (S)

joule per kelvin (J K–1; m2 kg s–2 K–1)

Specific heat capacity (c)

joule per kilogram kelvin (J kg –1 K–1; m2 s–2 K–1)

Thermal conductivity (l, k)

watt per meter kelvin (W m –1 K–1)

Electric field strength (E)

volt per meter (V m –1; m kg s–3 A –1)

Magnetic field strength (H)

ampere per meter (A m –1)

Electric charge density (p)

coulomb per cubic meter (Cm –3; m –3 s A)

Permittivity (e)

farad per meter (F m –1; m –3 kg –1 s 4 A 2)

Permeability (m)

henry per meter (H m –1; m kg s–2 A –2)

Plane angle (a, b)

radian (rad)

Solid angle (w, W)

steradian (sr)

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Appendix B: Units of Physical Quantities

SI Prefixes When very large or very small numerical values of physical quantities are to be communicated, certain prefixes may be used to represent multiplication or division of the values by factors like 106 or 10 –9, etc. Table B.3 lists the prefixes permitted in the SI System of units. • Care should be taken to distinguish between compound units and combinations of prefixes and units. A space is given between symbols of different units in a compound unit symbol. But no space is given between a prefix and unit. For example, “ms” stands for millisecond, while “m s” stands for metre-second. • A prefix is part of the unit, and its symbol is put before the unit symbol without a space, e.g., “k” in “km”, “M” in “MPa”, or “G” in “GHz”. • Compound prefixes are not allowed. • All symbols of prefixes larger than 103 (kilo) are uppercase; others (those below 103 and those with negative powers, i.e., 10 –1, 10 –2, etc.) are lower case. Table B.3 SI Prefixes Factor

Prefix

Symbol

24

yotta

Y

21

10

zetta

Z

1018

exa

E

15

peta

P

12

10

tera

T

109

giga

G

6

mega

M

3

kilo

k

2

10

hecto

h

101

deka

da

10 –1

deci

d

centi

c

milli

m

10

–6

micro

μ

10

–9

10

10

10 10

10

–2

10 –3

nano

n

10 –12

pico

p

10 –15

femto

f

10

–18

atto

a

10

–21

zepto

z

10 –24

yocto

y

Bibliography

1. American Medical Association. Manual of Style. Baltimore: Williams & Wilkins; 1998. 2. Briscoe Mary Helen. A Researcher’s Guide to Scientific and Medical Illustrations. New York, Berlin: Springer-Verlag; 1990. 3. Chapman Myra, Wykes Cathy. Plain Figures. London: HM Stationery Office; 1996. 4. Day Robert A. How to Write and Publish a Scientific Paper. Philadelphia: ISI Press; 1979. 5. Ehrenberg ASC. A Primer in Data Reduction. New York: John Wiley; 1982. 6. Hall George M. How to Write a Paper. London: BMJ Publish.; 1994. 7. International Committee of Medical Journal Editors. Uniform requirements for manuscripts submitted to biomedical journals. Ann. Intern Med. 1997; 126: 36. 8. Katz Michael J. Elements of the Scientific Paper. New Haven & London: Yale University Press; 1985. 9. Klare GR. The Measurement of Readability. Ames, Iowa: University of Iowa Press; 1963. 10. Lannon John M. Technical Writing. Boston: Little Brown and Company; 1982. 11. Maulucci AS. On poetry: ambiguity of a poem can create an enchanting mystery. http://www.norwichbulletin.com/living/x1991998975/ 12. Rogers Raymond. The verb is the word. CHEMTECH. March 1988; 154. 13. Schoenfeld Robert. The Chemist’s English. Weinheim: VCH; 1985. 14. Sharma BC, Sharma RN. Science Communication: The Scholarly Medium. New Delhi: Deep Publications; 2006. 15. Simmonds Doig, Reynolds Linda. Data Presentation and Visual Literacy in Medicine and Science. Oxford: Butterworths-Heinemann; 1994.

160

Bibliography

16. Strunk William, Jr., White EB. The Elements of Style. 3rd ed. New York: The Macmillan Co.; 1979. 17. Weisman Herman M. Basic Technical Writing. Columbus, Ohio: Charles E. Merril Inc.; 1980.

Index

A Abbreviations 13 Acknowledgements 55 Acronyms 13, 129 Ambiguity 138 Analyzing information 27 Annual report 32 Appendices 61 Average sentence length (ASL) 123 Average number of syllables per word (ASW) 123 B Bar charts 84 Barriers to communication 3 Base quantities 155 Bibliography 60 C Cause and effect order 27 Central tendency 67 Characteristics of scientific and technical writing 8 Choosing between tables and figures 70 Chronological order 27 Communication process 2 Comparison and contrast 28 Compiling a list of references 56 Components of a table 72

Computer-assisted creation of tables 74 Conclusions 55 Contents page 41 Council of Scientific and Industrial Research 32 D Data summarization 67 Darwin, Charles 18 Data types 65 Definition of report 17 Derived quantities 156 Discussion 37 Dispersion of data 69 E Effect of design of report on its readability 119 Enquiry committee report 33 Errors in data 49 Ethical issues 48 Executive summary 42 F Factual information 8 Feasibility report 23 Feasibility study report 34 Flesch-Kincaid grade level 123 Flesch reading ease 123

162

Index

Flesch, Rudolph 123 Flow charts 101 Focusing on the reader 117 Fog index 123 Footnotes 73 Forms of scientific and technical writing 5 Frequency distribution 91 G Gathering information 23 Glossary 61 Graphical visualization of ideas, concepts and relationships 102 Gunning, Robert 123 H Haddon matrix 112 Histograms 90 Human memory system 126 I Illustrations 80 Information visualization 101 Inserting equations 51 Instructional writing 7 Introduction 37 Ishikawa fish diagram 24 Ishikawa, Kaoru 24 K Kincaid, J. Peter 123 L Lack of parallel structure 147 Layout of tables 72 Letter of transmittal 38 Line graphs 80 Lists 79 Logical organization 10

M Materials and methods 37, 47 Maulucci, S. Anthony 11 McLaughlin, Harry 123 Mean 68 Mechanics of headings 53 Median. 69 Memory network 102 Mismatch of subject and verb 148 Misplaced modifiers 144 Misused and confused words 149 Mode 69 N Nominalization 129 Noun/adjective chains 137 Numbers in the text 51 Numerical continuous variables 67 Numerical discrete variables 67 Numerical ordinal variables 67 O Objectivity 9 Order of importance 28 Outline 26 Overlong sentences 133 P Parts of a report 31 Passive voice 132 Patterns of arrangement 27 Pie charts 99 Pitfalls in drawing line graphs 81 Plain Writing Act of 2010, 118 Popular science writing 7 Preparing an outline 27 Preparing a rough draft 28 Punctuation-related ambiguity 141 Purpose of a report 22

Index

Purpose of scientific and technical communication 1 Q Qualitative data 66 Quantitative data 66 Quartiles 69 Questions as tools for writing 35 R Range 69 R & D report 31 Readability 119 Readability formulae 123 Readability scores 124 Recommendations 55 Redundancy 125 Redundant acronym syndrome 129 References 56 Research methodology versus report writing 20 Research papers 5 Research proposals 6 Results 37 Revising 28 Rogers, Raymond 130 S Sartre, Jean-Paul 11 Scatter diagrams 95 Sentence and word lengths 122 Sentence length 133 Sentence length versus density of ideas 136 Separation of related words 142

163

Shift in tense and point of view 145 Significant digits 50 SI prefixes 158 Smog index 123 Specialized vocabulary 11 Standard deviation 70 Standard error of the mean 70 Steps in report writing 20 Styles of citation of references 57 Sub-processes of writing 19 T Table of contents 41 Table title 73 Textual tables 78 Title of report 39 Title page 39 Transitional words 150 Types of headings 53 U Unambiguity 10 Unclear pronoun reference 140 Units 50 Units of physical quantities 155 Use of headings 52 Using “PowerPoint” 112 Using “Shapes” 104 Using “SmartArt” 107 V Vagueness 138 Variance 69 Verbosity 125 Verb: word ratio 130