Writing & Publishing
Whether you are studying for a degree or a senior scientist, writing and getting published are often daunting and bewildering processes that can lead to frustration and exasperation. On this page, I've attempted to organise a series of blog articles that I've written into a logical framework so that you can explore them, and hopefully use them to improve your writing and understanding about the publishing process.
There is now a new book based on this site: How to write a PhD in Biological Sciences: a guide for the uninitiated which is published with CRC Press. To read it for free, visit: http://www.howtowriteaphd.org/
To buy your own copy go to: www.routledge.com/9781032080208
Another new book on publishing: How to publish in the Biological Sciences: a guide for the uninitiated - is also published with CRC Press. To read it for free, visit: http://www.howtopublishscience.org/
To buy your own copy go to: www.routledge.com/9781032116419
The site is a work in progress, and you can expect the framework to be expanded and explored over time as more blog articles are written. Each blog article is inspired by interactions with my students, people that I meet in our community, or through my experience as an editor. If you can't find something that you're looking for, or simply want to suggest a new topic for a blog, feel free to get in touch.
- Getting started with writing
- Writing a chapter or paper to a standard formula
- Getting started on a sentence with phrasebank
- Writing a paragraph
- Construct a logical argument in your writing
- How to construct your hypothesis
- How to select the best key-words
- Using theories to underpin your research
- Writing the introduction
- Using your own voice when writing
- Being concise with your writing
- Citations and how to use them
- Scientific names and taxonomic authorities
- Writing the Materials & Methods section
- Writing the discussion
- Help your reader, don't puzzle them
- Why it's important not to tell stories
- Problems with writing English as a foreign language
- How reading will improve your writing
- Writing your proposal
- How to present your written proposal
- Writing a Natural History note
- Fear of handing in written work
- Plagiarism and how to avoid it
- Recycling your own text
- Formatting your thesis
- Funding your research
- Experimental design
- Literature Searching
- Editing
- Publishing
- Open Access or behind a paywall - decisions for editors and authors
- Open Access for European Scientists - consequences for others
- The PeerJ model and why it works
- Will preprints replace peer review?
- Time to get rid of the publishers
- What can overlay journals offer?
- How much is too much to pay for Open Access?
- Who gets a fee waiver to publish Open Access?
- Beware of predatory publishers!
- Perspectives
If you want to read our lab papers to see how we have fun with writing and publishing, then go to MeaseyLab publications, here.