Style and Ethics of Communication in Science and Engineering Copyright © 2009 by Morgan & Claypool All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or any other except for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior permission of the publisher. Style and Ethics of Communication in Science and Engineering Jay D. Humphrey and Jeffrey W. Holmes www.morganclaypool.com ISBN: 9781598292985 paperback ISBN: 9781598292992 ebook DOI: 10.2200/S00128ED1V01Y200809ENG009 A Publication in the Morgan & Claypool Publishers series SYNTHESIS LECTURES ON ENGINEERING #9 Lecture #9 Series ISSN ISSN 1939-5221 print ISSN 1939-523X electronic Style and Ethics of Communication in Science and Engineering Jay D. Humphrey Texas A&M University Jeffrey W. Holmes University of Virginia SYNTHESIS LECTURES ON ENGINEERING #9 iv ABSTRACT Scientists and engineers seek to discover and disseminate knowledge so that it can be used to im- prove the human condition. Style and Ethics of Communication in Science and Engineering serves as a valuable aid in this pursuit—it can be used as a textbook for undergraduate or graduate courses on technical communication and ethics, a reference book for senior design courses, or a handbook for young investigators and beginning faculty members. In addition to presenting methods for writing clearly and concisely and improving oral presentations, this compact book provides practical guide- lines for preparing theses, dissertations, journal papers for publication, and proposals for research funding. Issues of authorship, peer review, plagiarism, recordkeeping, and copyright are addressed in detail, and case studies of research misconduct are presented to highlight the need for proactive attention to scientific integrity. Ample exercises cause the reader to stop and think. Style and Ethics of Communication in Science and Engineering thus motivates the reader to develop an effective, indi- vidual style of communication and a personal commitment to integrity, each of which are essential to success in the workplace. KEyWoRDS journal publication, theses, grant writing, peer review, oral presentations, authorship, record keeping, research misconduct v Preface How to write well. How to publish your results. How to secure funding. How to speak well. How to ensure integrity. This book was written to help address these important aspects of beginning a career in science and engineering. In essence, scientists and engineers seek to discover and disseminate knowledge so that it can be used to improve the human condition. Effective communication thus plays an essential role in promoting technical advances. Simply put, communication is the ability to express oneself in a way that is understood readily and clearly. There will be no impact of scientific or engineering discoveries without effective written and oral communication. In sections on writing well, we focus primarily on style — that is, rules of usage as well as principles of composition and form — and draw heavily from Strunk and White (1979), Berry (1971), and Brogan (1973). Indeed, many illustrative phrases and sentences were inspired by or modified from these works. We thus note here our indebtedness to these outstanding works and the examples therein. We encourage the reader to consult these excellent resources as well. Although written communication, particularly the archival journal article, is most important to the widespread and long-term advancement of science and engineering, oral communication plays a vital role. From didactic lectures by an instructor to entertaining presentations for a lay audience, oral communication has the potential to capture the imagination and promote the ad- vancement of science and its applications. Similar to theater, oral communication requires one to “tell a story” well, that is, to package information in a way that is assimilated quickly and retained. Technical advances in audiovisual capability can aid tremendously in stimulating and capturing an audience and thus should be integrated thoughtfully within the oral presentation. It takes a lifetime to establish a good reputation, but only a moment to destroy it. Integrity in the workplace is just as important as understanding well the basic principles of science and en- gineering or the basic operation of a scientific instrument. Yet, even within the narrow context of technical communication, it is impossible to articulate a prescriptive set of rules or procedures for vi STylE AND ETHICS of CommuNICATIoN IN SCIENCE AND ENgINEERINg acting ethically. Despite the increasing prevalence of courses in research ethics, surveys suggest that most students learn the ethics of research and communication primarily “on the job,” principally from their research mentor. Good training in the ethics of research thus begins with selecting a mentor who values such training and seeks to develop integrity through regular discussion and introspection. One goal herein is to stimulate this process of interaction around major issues most likely to face scientists and engineers in documenting and reporting their research. The overall goal of this short book is not to be a standalone source on matters of style (which is left to professors of English or communication) or ethics (which is left for professors of philoso- phy or law). Rather, it is meant to motivate the reader to develop an effective, individual style of communicating and a personal commitment to integrity simply because it matters. Hence, this book is written based on personal experiences of the authors in research and training in the biomedical sciences and engineering, including the development and delivery of related graduate courses at Texas A&M University, Columbia University, and University of Virginia. Nevertheless, one of the best ways to learn to write well is to read extensively the works of good writers; one of the best ways to learn to speak well is to listen carefully to good speakers; one of the best ways to ensure integrity in the workplace is to learn from reputable professionals. The reader is thus strongly encouraged in this regard and, indeed, to keep a notebook wherein personal experiences and helpful observations can be recorded and reviewed periodically. Best wishes. vii Acknowledgments We thank Jodi Eyhorn, from the Department of Communication of Texas A&M University, for expert assistance in correcting early portions of the manuscript. We also thank Joel Claypool, of Morgan & Claypool, for patience and support during the writing process. Portions of this work began via a Special Opportunity Award from the Whitaker Founda- tion. Finally, J.D.H. thanks Carolyn S. and Tommie E. Lohman for their continued support of many different educational initiatives at Texas A&M University, including composition of portions of this work. ix Contents 1. motivation .........................................................................................................1 2. Writing Well ......................................................................................................5 2.1 Overall Approach ...............................................................................................5 2.1.1 Outline ...................................................................................................5 2.1.2 Write Freely ............................................................................................7 2.1.3 Edit Critically .........................................................................................8 2.1.4 Read Out Loud ......................................................................................8 2.1.5 Have a Colleague Proofread ...................................................................9 2.2 Removing Redundancies and Unnecessary Words ...........................................10 2.3 Active Voice, First Person, and Different Tenses ..............................................15 2.3.1 Voice .....................................................................................................15 2.3.2 Person ...................................................................................................19 2.3.3 Tense ....................................................................................................21 2.4 Infinitives and Modifiers ..................................................................................22 2.4.1 Infinitive ...............................................................................................22 2.4.2 Modifiers ..............................................................................................23 2.5 Additional Issues of Word Choice ....................................................................26 2.6 Punctuation, Abbreviations, and Foreign Languages .......................................30 2.6.1 Exploit Methods of Punctuation ..........................................................30 2.6.2 Abbreviations ........................................................................................32 2.6.3 Foreign Languages ................................................................................33 2.7 Footnotes, Quotations, and Proper Citation .....................................................35 2.7.1 Footnotes ..............................................................................................35 2.7.2 Quotations ............................................................................................35 2.7.3 Proper Citation .....................................................................................36 2.8 Vocabulary ........................................................................................................36 2.9 Closure .............................................................................................................40