How%20to%20Present%20a%20Scientific%20Article

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How to Present a Scientific Article
BIOS 583 8/29/06 Dr. Mary Purugganan maryp_at_rice
.edu Cain Project in Engineering Professional
Communication www.owlnet.rice.edu/cainproj
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Topics Well Discuss

• Getting started
• Displaying text
• Displaying graphics
• Animating
• Presenting
• Critiquing sample slides

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Getting Started

• PowerPoint instructions
• http//www.rice.edu/it/resources/training/docs.htm
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Getting Started

• Create a slide show that is an outline, not a
  script
• Use the slide show...
• to select important information and visuals
• to organize content
• to create a hierarchy

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Getting Started

• Set up Slide Master
• Allows you to design the look of your slide
  show
• Browse design templates or create your own

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Getting Started

• To select a design, ask yourself

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Selecting Content

• Consider your audience!
• State problem/question clearly early (title,
  abstract, intro)
• Include significance
• Include background organism/system
• Concisely state the point of departure for work

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Selecting Content, Part 2

• Results include the how the why!
• Hypothesis
• Method (remember audience)
• Show figures and guide audience through them
• State authors conclusions your agreement or
  disagreement
• Summarize papers overall conclusions
• Suggest areas for improvement future
  investigations

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Displaying Text

• Remember that your audience...
• skims each slide
• looks for critical points, not details
• needs help reading/ seeing text
• Help your audience by
• Projecting a clear font
• Using bullets
• Using content-specific headings
• Using short phrases
• Using grammatical parallelism

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Project a Clear Font

• Serif easy to read in printed documents
• Times New Roman, Palatino, Garamond
• Sans serif easy to see projected across the room
• Arial, Helvetica, Geneva

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Use Bullets

• Bullets help your audience
• to skim the slide
• to see relationships between information
• organize information in a logical way

• For example, this is Main Point 1, which leads
  to...
• Sub-point 1
• Further subordinated point 1
• Further subordinated point 2
• Sub-point 2

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Use Content-Specific Headings

• Results suggests the content area for a slide
• Substance X upregulates gene Y (with data shown
  below) shows the audience what is observed

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Use Short Phrases

• Be clear, concise, accurate

• Write complete sentences only in certain cases
• Hypothesis / problem statement
• Quote
• ???

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Use Grammatical Parallelism

• Use same grammatical form in lists
• Not Parallel
• Cells were lysed in buffer
• 5 minute centrifuging of lysate
• Removed supernatant
• Parallel
• Lysed cells in buffer
• Centrifuged lysate for 5 minutes
• Removed supernatant

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Use Grammatical Parallelism

• How would you revise this list?
• Telomeres
• Contain non-coding DNA
• Telomerases can extended telomeres
• Cells enter senescence/apoptosis when telomeres
  are too short

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Displaying Visuals

• Select visuals that enhance understanding
• Figures from paper evidence for argument
• Figures from other sources (web review
  articles)
• Model a process or concept
• Help explain background, context
• Design easy-to-read visuals
• Are the visuals easy to read by all members of
  your audience?
• Draw attention to aspects of visuals

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Simplify and Draw Attention
http//www.indstate.edu/thcme/mwking/tca-cycle.htm
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Displaying Visuals
Harvey et al. (2005) Cell 122407-20
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Choose Color Carefully

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Cite Others Visuals
Harvey et al. (2005) Cell 122407-20
http//www.bioc.rice.edu/shamoo/shamoolab.html
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Animating

• Custom animation allows you to animate text,
  visuals, or line work
• Custom animation should be used purposefully (and
  sparingly!)
• To aid in the audiences ability to comprehend
  your message
• Not solely for aesthetic purposes

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Animating

• Use professional animation methods for text
  (avoid fly in, typewriter, etc.)

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Presenting

• Delivery
• Handling questions

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Delivery

• Physical Environment
• Stance
• Body language
• Handling notes
• Gestures
• Eye contact
• Voice quality
• Volume
• Inflection
• Pace

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Handling Questions

• LISTEN
• Repeat or rephrase
• Watch body language
• Dont pretend to know

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Samples

• Features to consider
• Text
• Fonts, use of phrases, parallelism
• Visuals
• Readability, drawing attention
• Slide design
• Organization/ hierarchy
• Titles, bullets, arrangement of information, font
  size

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Use Grammatical Parallelism

• One possible revision
• Telomeres
• Contain non-coding DNA
• Are extended by telomerase
• Cause senescence/apoptosis when shortened too much