Abstract Science - 5 views
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anonymous on 04 Oct 12"Scientific abstracts are the hooks attempting to capture a discerning reader's attention, the shortcuts saving the busy reader some time and the keys unlocking scientific knowledge for those lacking a portfolio of academic journal subscriptions. But don't be dismayed if you're still confused after reading an abstract multiple times. When writing this leading, summarizing paragraph of a scientific manuscript, researchers often make mistakes. Some authors include too much information about the experimental methods while forgetting to announce what they actually discovered. Others forget to include any methodology at all. Sometimes the scientists fail to divulge why they even conducted the study in the first place, yet feel comfortable boldly speculating with a loose-fitting claim of general importance. Nevertheless, the abstract serves a critical importance and every science enthusiast needs to become comfortable with reading them."
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anonymous on 05 Oct 12It would be interesting to see how much purchase a suggestion like that receives. I suspect more than a few PI's would find the notion insulting because they've been doing it for years, and some of these really technical publications have been tolerating it for so long. For my part as an Admin, I would review the lay summary and give my impressions, which would then get (mostly) completely ignored. :)
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Erik Hanson on 05 Oct 12A _lot_ of people don't think they need professional writing and editing help. After all, they learned to write years ago.