杂志主编给中国人写英文文章的一些建议

OVERVIEW
• Contrast Chinese and Western cultural approaches to education • Step-by-step instructions on how to write a manuscript for western journals
• Both these examples would be acceptable if the data used to test hypotheses
STEP-BY-STEP POINTERS
• • • • • • Abstract Introduction Site Description Methods Results Discussion
ACCEPTANCE CRITERIA
• New contribution to science • Original and creative work • Hypothesis testing and/or important objectives
NOT ACCEPTABLE
• Inventory-type data
AUTHORITY vs CREATIVITY Deference to existing authority and major paradigms is a major barrier to scientific breakthrough MM Poo, Nature, 2004
CONSTRUCTIVE ADVICE
– Plants of the Tarim Basin – Soil characteristics of the Hengduan alpine
• Reporting data
– Climate of the Tibetan Plateau – Nutrient content of soil profiles
INTRO: Subsections
• Problem Statement • Current gaps in knowledge
– Why those gaps in knowledge occur
• New tools/approaches to filling gaps • Objectives/hypotheses
COMMON QUESTIONS
• What is acceptable research by western journals? • What goes in the introduction? • How much methods do you need? • What is the difference between results and discussion? • Where do you cite other work?
• Last sentence: speculate on importance of results • 250-300 total words
INTRODUCTION
• • • • Why is your research important? Who should care about your research? What is the new contribution to science? The introduction is a persuasive essay that convinces the reader/reviewer the research is timely, interesting, insightful
ANCIENT SCHOLARS
•Respected
•Difficult exams •Many hours spent studying •Emphasis on rote learning
Soviet Model
• Chinese borrowed the rigid Soviet system in the 1950’s • Soviet model congealed with China’s traditional value of education (not just political thinking) • Traditional education in China, from the Confucious era on, has always been to remove independent thinking • Cultural problem!
– These build on the paragraphs above – Be explicit about new contributions to science – Ecology: hypothesis testing – Climate/Hydrology: objectives
PROBLEM STATEMENT
• Low scientific profile on the world stage • Lost opportunities, both scientifically and technologically • Missed opportunities to improve economy and quality of life of Chinese citizens
Essential Tension
• Desire to excel • Challenges from colleagues
– And STUDENTS!
• Competition from peers • Publish or perish • Heart, mind, and soul of scientific inquiry
PUBLISHING PAPERS
• Builds on this tension of challenging existing paradigms • Incorporates the Chinese strengths of mathematical sophistication and attention to analytical detail • Follows a very prescribed formula that is not taught currently in Chinese schools • Emphasis on creativity, new insights
• Grab the readers interest
EXFra Baidu bibliotekMPLE
• Wolsky et al. (1967) have shown that climate extremes are more likely to affect society, including crop yield, than changes in the mean climate. More recently, Liu et al. (2003) conducted numerical simulations and concluded that climate extremes at regional scales, such as over the Tibetan Plateau, have larger amplitude than extremes at the global scale, and are thus likely …
CHINA
• Major economic force • Natural entreprenuership • World-class scientific power • Science education extensive, rigorous
NOT FULFILLING SCIENTIFIC POTENTIAL
GAPS IN KNOWLEDGE
• What are the current holes in our knowledge?
Campbell, Nature, V428, 2004
Modern Research
• • • • • • Training in scientific thinking Innovation Priority setting Problem solving Clear communication Creativity
Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research has an Impact Factor 0.964. It is ranked number 2 in the Geography category and number 14 in the Environmental Sciences My comments are based in part from my experience as editor of AAAR. I’m also a scientist. Personal China experiences
ABSTRACT
• First 2-3 sentences
– What, why, where, when, and how
• Main body: important results
– Place important results here: actual values, eg regression results, t-tests, etc – No or little interpretation of results
TIPS FOR PUBLISHING IN WESTERN JOURNALS
Mark Williams University of Colorado Editor: Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research
Publishing in Western Journals
• Why can’t Chinese scientists get published in western Journals? • As editor of AAAR, I reject about 90% of manuscripts submitted from China • Are there lessons that the Chinese can learn that will help them get published in western journals?
• Greater engagement with scientists in the western world • Provide a scientific environment that attracts the best and brightess Chinese students to return from the west to China
RAISE QUESTIONS
• • • • • • Challenge existing paradigms Challenge hypotheses Challenge concepts Challenge field methods Challenge analytical methods Show how you improve science!
• Define the problem • Explain why the problem is of interest • Background material that summarizes the current state of knowledge
– Initial 2 paragraphs or so – Cite groundbreaking, older papers – Cite current, recent papers