The EZ way to write a prospectus, thesis, publishable paper

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The EZ way to write a prospectus, thesis,
publishable paper
John M. Hoenig, Ph.D. Department of Fisheries
Science
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The EZ Way to Write a Prospectus
All you need to do is

• Define the problem
• Say what youre going to do
• Say what you need

4) Show youve reviewed the literature, but only
in context of 1, 2, 3
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11 - 15 pages, MAX!
(but check with your committee)
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Can you believe its so simple?
Think of the purpose of the prospectus your
committee wants to know

1. Do you understand the problem and its
   complexities? Will your approach work? Are you
   reinventing the wheel?
2. You have no business going in the lab or the
   field if you dont know what youre going to do.
   Are you familiar with the procedures?
3. Are you going to be able to get the data,
   specimens, equipment youll need?

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What if you dont stick to the plan in the
prospectus?
Its an action plan, not a contract. Unforseeable
problems arise. Plans change. Get over it. Youll
be judged on whether you did good work, not on
whether you stuck to the plan. Unforseeable
problems happen. A good prospectus has a back-up
plan. The prospectus is to help you. Done after
the fact its a waste of time. Do you want to
waste your committees time?
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Writing a thesis or dissertation
chapter vs manuscript format
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Writing a thesis or dissertation
Chapter format the old way to do it
Introduction (review of literature) All
Materials and Methods All Results All Discussion
Complete rewrite to publish this!
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Manuscript format the modern way
Short(er) Introduction (define the
problem) Manuscript 1 (in format for journal
1) Introduction Materials Methods Results
Discussion Manuscript 2 (in format for journal
2) Introduction etc. Concluding chapter (pull
things together)
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Some things in the thesis wont go in the
published version (maybe put them in an appendix)
Use this to your advantage things you dont want
in the publication but that need documenting
can go in the thesis (e.g., negative results)
Example youre interested in how growth of clams
varies with depth, temperature and salinity but
you measure 15 other environmental variables just
to eliminate the possibility that theyre
influencing growth. None of the correlations are
significant. Including all of these data would
take up a lot of space and be tedious. So, put
the results in your thesis or a technical report
and simply refer to it in your journal article.
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So the secret to writing a thesis is to write
manuscripts. OK. So whats the secret to writing
manuscripts?
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Cardinal Rule Write the paper before you do the
research.
! ??? !!!!
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Write the Materials and Methods first. Its
easy. And you need to know what to do (preferably
before you do it!)
(Hopefully, you can lift this from your
prospectus)
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Next, write the Introduction

• EZ Formula
• Whats the problem?
• Why is it of interest?
• How does your work contribute to an understanding
  of the problem?

There are other ways to write the introduction
but the EZ formula works every time
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Also write the Results section
! ??? !!!!
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Make up plausible results I might see this, or
this, or maybe this
How are you going to graph the data? How are you
going to analyze the data? How are you going to
interpret the data?
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Is it unethical to write the results before you
do the research? No. Its good practice. You get
to - review your design - think about
assumptions - anticipate problems - plan your
analysis
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For the discussion section, just list points you
want to remember to discuss
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After the research Update everything Insert
results Now, a major portion of your thesis is
already done. (This is important sitting down
to write a 100 page thesis is intimidating.
Having it half done makes it MUCH easier.)
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Generally, its easier to combine results
discussion into one section, and most journals
will let you do this.
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The sphaghetti problem sometimes the ideas are
all tangled up and its hard to find the start
and end of the story you want to discuss
make a list of the points you want to make, in
any order. Then try to put them in sequence. Then
fill in with more detail. Then make an outline,
keep adding detail If youre still having
problems, say your discussion instead of writing
it. Do it again and again until it stabilizes.
Typically, the first time itll take you 20
minutes to explain your findings, the second time
it will take 10 minutes, then 5. Then write it
down.
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When youre too tired to think but still want to
make progress
Type up the bibliography, title page, etc. (Its
got to be done sometime). Congratulations, you
now have 8 of your 100 pages finished. Just 92
left to go
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Common Errors (thought police) Results occurring
in introduction Results in methods
section Methods in results section
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EZ Publishing
Pick a journal before you start writing, and type
manuscript (especially references) in the right
style from the start NOTE its i.e., e.g.,
(get it right the first time) Generally, no
more than 35 pages per manuscript Figures
tables must be able to stand alone
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Submit papers as early as possible for
publication. Dont wait until youre about to
defend.
If a paper is a done deal (i.e., in press) your
committee probably wont give you a hard time
about the paper (e.g., making you work on
organization, style, etc. After all, why bother
if its already in press.) Its nice to get the
ms back from the journal while youre still at
VIMS because it will be easier to revise at
home than in your new surroundings after you
leave VIMS.
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Suggest reviewers when you submit ms When ms is
returned by the journal - respond to all
reviewers comments - make all changes you can
live with - always take the high road If your
ms is rejected - rebut reviewers errors -
take your lumps if its a matter of opinion
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Baseball Rule strike 3 and youre out! If your
paper is rejected, try another journal. If its
rejected again, try again. If its rejected a 3rd
time, throw it in the garbage. But dont give up
until youve tried 3 times. (Rejections by
Science and Nature dont count. Those are badges
of honor.)