{"id":3561,"date":"2013-06-13T10:08:16","date_gmt":"2013-06-13T16:08:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/minkhollow.ca\/beckerblog\/?p=3561"},"modified":"2014-08-10T15:10:28","modified_gmt":"2014-08-10T21:10:28","slug":"how-to-write-consistently-boring-scientific-literature-sand-jensen-2007-oikos-wiley-online-library","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/minkhollow.ca\/beckerblog\/2013\/06\/13\/how-to-write-consistently-boring-scientific-literature-sand-jensen-2007-oikos-wiley-online-library\/","title":{"rendered":"How to write consistently boring scientific literature &#8211; Sand-Jensen &#8211; 2007 &#8211; Oikos &#8211; Wiley Online Library"},"content":{"rendered":"<span class=\"span-reading-time rt-reading-time\" style=\"display: block;\"><span class=\"rt-label rt-prefix\">Approximate Reading Time: <\/span> <span class=\"rt-time\"> &lt; 1<\/span> <span class=\"rt-label rt-postfix\">minute<\/span><\/span><h1><a href=\"http:\/\/onlinelibrary.wiley.com\/doi\/10.1111\/j.0030-1299.2007.15674.x\/full\">How to write consistently boring scientific literature<\/a><\/h1>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/onlinelibrary.wiley.com\/doi\/10.1111\/j.0030-1299.2007.15674.x\/full\">Sand-Jensen &#8211; 2007 &#8211; Oikos &#8211; Wiley Online Library<\/a><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-3566\" alt=\"2010-05-19_11-33-57\" src=\"http:\/\/minkhollow.ca\/beckerblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/2010-05-19_11-33-57-300x225.jpg\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/minkhollow.ca\/beckerblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/2010-05-19_11-33-57-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/minkhollow.ca\/beckerblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/2010-05-19_11-33-57.jpg 640w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/>This is really quite wonderful. Thank you <a href=\"http:\/\/www2.mtroyal.ca\/~mmacmillan\/\" target=\"_blank\">Margy MacMillan<\/a> for sending it my way!<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p class=\"diigo-description\">Although scientists typically insist that their research is very exciting and adventurous when they talk to laymen and prospective students, the allure of this enthusiasm is too often lost in the predictable, stilted structure and language of their scientific publications. I present here, a top-10 list of recommendations for how to write consistently boring scientific publications. I then discuss why we should and how we could make these contributions more accessible and exciting.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p class=\"diigo-description\">Table 1. Top-10 list of recommendations for writing consistently boring publications.<\/p>\n<table>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td rowspan=\"1\" colspan=\"1\">\u2022\u00a0Avoid focus<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td rowspan=\"1\" colspan=\"1\">\u2022\u00a0Avoid originality and personality<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td rowspan=\"1\" colspan=\"1\">\u2022\u00a0Write l o n g contributions<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td rowspan=\"1\" colspan=\"1\">\u2022\u00a0Remove implications and speculations<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td rowspan=\"1\" colspan=\"1\">\u2022\u00a0Leave out illustrations<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td rowspan=\"1\" colspan=\"1\">\u2022\u00a0Omit necessary steps of reasoning<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td rowspan=\"1\" colspan=\"1\">\u2022\u00a0Use many abbreviations and terms<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td rowspan=\"1\" colspan=\"1\">\u2022\u00a0Suppress humor and flowery language<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td rowspan=\"1\" colspan=\"1\">\u2022\u00a0Degrade biology to statistics<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td rowspan=\"1\" colspan=\"1\">\u2022\u00a0Quote numerous papers for trivial statements<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p class=\"diigo-tags\"><span>tags:<\/span> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.diigo.com\/user\/nirtak\/literature\">literature<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.diigo.com\/user\/nirtak\/online\">online<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.diigo.com\/user\/nirtak\/library\">library<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.diigo.com\/user\/nirtak\/writing\">writing<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.diigo.com\/user\/nirtak\/science\">science<\/a><\/p>\n<div id=\"nuan_ria_plugin\"><\/div>\n<div id=\"nuan_ria_plugin\"><\/div>\n<\/p>\n<div class='wp_likes' id='wp_likes_post-3561'><a class='like' href=\"javascript:wp_likes.like(3561);\" title='Like' ><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/minkhollow.ca\/beckerblog\/wp-content\/plugins\/wp-likes\/images\/like.png\" alt='' border='0'\/><\/a><span class='text'>1 person likes this post.<\/span><\/p>\n<div class='like' ><a href=\"javascript:wp_likes.like(3561);\">Like<\/a><\/div>\n<div class='unlike' ><a href=\"javascript:wp_likes.unlike(3561);\">Unlike<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p><span class=\"span-reading-time rt-reading-time\" style=\"display: block;\"><span class=\"rt-label rt-prefix\">Approximate Reading Time: <\/span> <span class=\"rt-time\"> &lt; 1<\/span> <span class=\"rt-label rt-postfix\">minute<\/span><\/span>How to write consistently boring scientific literature Sand-Jensen &#8211; 2007 &#8211; Oikos &#8211; Wiley Online Library This is really quite wonderful. Thank you Margy MacMillan for sending it my way! Although scientists typically insist that their research is very exciting &hellip; <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/minkhollow.ca\/beckerblog\/2013\/06\/13\/how-to-write-consistently-boring-scientific-literature-sand-jensen-2007-oikos-wiley-online-library\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[14],"tags":[250,248,249,80,116],"class_list":["post-3561","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general","tag-library","tag-literature","tag-online","tag-science","tag-writing"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4Hsb6-Vr","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":2875,"url":"https:\/\/minkhollow.ca\/beckerblog\/2012\/09\/29\/theories-of-games-and-interaction-for-design-4-on-game-studies-scholarly-authority-and-interdisciplinarity\/","url_meta":{"origin":3561,"position":0},"title":"Theories of Games and Interaction for Design (4: On Game Studies, Scholarly Authority, and Interdisciplinarity )","author":"Katrin Becker","date":"September 29, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"These are public postings of my writings for the first course of the Graduate Certificate Program in Serious Game Design and Research at Michigan State University. Please note: these posts are not intended as any kind of commentary on or assessment of the course I\u2019m taking, or its instructor, OR\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Educational Technology&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Educational Technology","link":"https:\/\/minkhollow.ca\/beckerblog\/category\/educational-technology\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":3309,"url":"https:\/\/minkhollow.ca\/beckerblog\/2013\/03\/22\/supreme-court-gives-american-consumers-victory-over-copyright-owners-in-kirtsaeng-vs-john-wiley-sons-forbes\/","url_meta":{"origin":3561,"position":1},"title":"Supreme Court Gives American Consumers Victory Over Copyright Owners in Kirtsaeng vs. John Wiley &#038; Sons &#8211; Forbes","author":"Katrin Becker","date":"March 22, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Good. In a 6-to-3 decision in Kirtsaeng v. John Wiley & Sons yesterday, the U.S. Supreme Court said U.S. copyright owners may not stop imports and re-selling of copyrighted content lawfully sold abroad. The decision is a major victory for American consumers because it allows them to shop worldwide for\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;General&quot;","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/minkhollow.ca\/beckerblog\/category\/general\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":790,"url":"https:\/\/minkhollow.ca\/beckerblog\/2010\/06\/08\/why-educational-games-are-still-boring\/","url_meta":{"origin":3561,"position":2},"title":"Why Educational Games are still boring&#8230;","author":"Katrin Becker","date":"June 8, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"One of the things I keep coming up against again and again is the 'language' problem. Having come from computer science and only recently introduced to 'formal' education (I\"ve been teaching at university for ~30 years), I was at first quite confused by the way education distinguishes between games and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Educational Technology&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Educational Technology","link":"https:\/\/minkhollow.ca\/beckerblog\/category\/educational-technology\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":23,"url":"https:\/\/minkhollow.ca\/beckerblog\/2007\/08\/13\/i-am-an-ed-tech-heretic\/","url_meta":{"origin":3561,"position":3},"title":"I am an Ed Tech heretic.","author":"Katrin Becker","date":"August 13, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Thank you Freeman Dyson. http:\/\/www.edge.org\/documents\/archive\/edge219.html#dysonf \"In the modern world, science and society often interact in a perverse way. We live in a technological society, and technology causes political problems. The politicians and the public expect science to provide answers to the problems. Scientific experts are paid and encouraged to provide\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Educational Technology&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Educational Technology","link":"https:\/\/minkhollow.ca\/beckerblog\/category\/educational-technology\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":3387,"url":"https:\/\/minkhollow.ca\/beckerblog\/2013\/05\/05\/how-not-to-write-a-phd-thesis-general-times-higher-education\/","url_meta":{"origin":3561,"position":4},"title":"How not to write a PhD thesis | General | Times Higher Education","author":"Katrin Becker","date":"May 5, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"How not to write a PhD thesis | General | Times Higher Education. Many of these apply to papers submitted for publication, generally. I have lost track of how many game papers I have reviewed where the authors had an idea, did what appeared to be a quickie Google search\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Educational Technology&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Educational Technology","link":"https:\/\/minkhollow.ca\/beckerblog\/category\/educational-technology\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":4628,"url":"https:\/\/minkhollow.ca\/beckerblog\/2014\/12\/31\/peer-review-could-reject-breakthrough-manuscripts-study-shows\/","url_meta":{"origin":3561,"position":5},"title":"Peer review could reject breakthrough manuscripts, study shows","author":"Katrin Becker","date":"December 31, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Peer review could reject breakthrough manuscripts, study shows. The peer review system serves as a gatekeeping system for scientific research, designed to ensure the publication of only the most well researched studies with the most important findings. Scientists depend on publication of their research in peer reviewed journals for career\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Academia&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Academia","link":"https:\/\/minkhollow.ca\/beckerblog\/category\/academia\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"My father's Hermes. Bought sometime in the 1950's.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/minkhollow.ca\/beckerblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/IMG_0516b-300x225.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/minkhollow.ca\/beckerblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3561","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/minkhollow.ca\/beckerblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/minkhollow.ca\/beckerblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/minkhollow.ca\/beckerblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/minkhollow.ca\/beckerblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3561"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/minkhollow.ca\/beckerblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3561\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4213,"href":"https:\/\/minkhollow.ca\/beckerblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3561\/revisions\/4213"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/minkhollow.ca\/beckerblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3561"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/minkhollow.ca\/beckerblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3561"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/minkhollow.ca\/beckerblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3561"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}