UNIT 1

Context and circulation of texts

scientists

Contents
UNIT 1.................................................................................................................................1
Context and circulation of texts scientists.......................................................................1
Contents........................................................................................................................1
CONTEXT AND CIRCULATION OF SCIENTIFIC TEXTS................................3
1. Characteristics of scientific texts...................................................................3
Communicative situation in a scientific text.........................................................4
Validating audience...............................................................................................4
Discursive and textual characteristics of scientific texts.......................................5
2. Textual genres................................................................................................5
3. Scientific or research article...........................................................................7
a) IMRD system.................................................................................................7
b) Scheme 1........................................................................................................7
c) Scheme 2........................................................................................................8
4. Review article................................................................................................8
5. reflection article.............................................................................................9
6. Complementary resources..............................................................................9
Open access databases to consult articles............................................................10
Thesis repositories...............................................................................................10
7. Bibliographic references of the unit.............................................................11
 Introduction to SCIENTIFIC WRITING

CONTEXT AND CIRCULATION OF SCIENTIFIC TEXTS

Scientific research aims to produce knowledge that contributes to the development of

society in general and helps improve people's quality of life. Writing has a fundamental
role in fulfilling the social function of science, as it must ensure that new knowledge is
shared and understood by audiences interested in its study or application.

As its purpose is to effectively communicate research results, scientific writing is

characterized by being clear, organized and concise (Day, 2005). On many occasions,
after having invested great efforts and time in data collection and analysis, researchers
are unable to share their findings with the scientific community, generally because they
are not familiar with the production and publication process in this specific field. . For
this reason, it is necessary to know and identify the basic characteristics of scientific
texts, in order to be able to contribute to their correct development and dissemination.

1. Characteristics of scientific texts

The text is the oral or written communicative linguistic unit, the product of human
verbal activity, whose structure reflects the procedures used by the sender and the
receiver, and which also has a social character.

The scientific text, for its part, refers to a linguistic production that circulates in the
scientific field and that adjusts to a series of conventions and norms specific to this
field.

The characteristics of scientific texts are presented below on two levels: on the
rhetorical level, in which a particular communicative situation is configured, and on the
discursive and textual level, in which some writing traits desired and promoted by
scientific communities.

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Communicative situation in a scientific text

It is characterized by being normative.

Those who wish to enter to the communities
Scientists need to adjust, initially, conventions to the
established in this context.

The scientific text has a double purpose:

1. Communicate new knowledge that contributes to
development of science.
2. Persuade interlocutors about the
relevance, veracity and consistency of the
information presented.

Scientific literature includes a diversity of oral and written

genres. However, the written medium is privileged to
communicate information.

You are or aspire to be a member of the scientific

community. Seeks to make a contribution to your area of
knowledge.

The scientific text, before being presented to the final

audience, must be accepted and validated by some
Validating members of the scientific community. If it is an article, for
audience example, it must go through an arbitration process in a
magazine; if it is a presentation at an event, by the
organizing committee; if it is a thesis, by the director and
the juries, etc.

The scientific text is designed, fundamentally, for an

audience specialized in the topic, although students who
are training in a discipline or broader audiences can also
approach scientific texts.

Figure 1: communicative situation in a scientific text. Own elaboration. Supported by the characteristics
of scientific text proposed by Day (2005) and Cubo de Severino (2007).

Among these rhetorical characteristics, the argument that the author must carry out so
that the audience considers his research work as valid and relevant stands out.

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Discursive and textual characteristics of scientific texts

Description, explanation and argumentation are privileged.

Organizational modalities
In scientific writing, knowledge of the contributions of other authors
to the topic must be evidenced. The writer must show his or her own
Intertextuality
voice (contribution), but in a constant dialogue with others. This
implies the inclusion of citations and bibliographic references.

Scientific texts require a complex preparation process. The author

must constantly be based on the characteristics of the audience and
Clarity
their purpose. You must distance yourself from the process carried
out in the investigation to be able to return to the most relevant data
and organize it in a way that is clear to the interlocutors.
In general, the texts follow structures determined by the scientific
communities. These structures and formats may vary across
Structure
disciplines. Although it has specific parts, a text must always function
as a unit.
Scientific texts are characterized by guiding the reader through the
Cohesion metadiscourse of organization (example: 'in the first section you will
find...'), use of connectors and textual references.

In scientific texts, the use of technical vocabulary is frequent, but not

Specialized lexicon as a way to impress the audience, but as a way to attend to the
precision of the terms in the areas of knowledge. Precision in
language is sought, with few risks of ambiguities or inaccuracies.

In scientific texts a formal and impersonal register is used. The

Writing styles
characteristic of 'impersonal' has been changing, mainly in the social
sciences and humanities, where more personal writing is allowed.
Characteristics such as length, typography, citation styles, format for
the inclusion of tables and figures, subtitles that it must have, etc.,
Format are usually proposed by the medium that will publish the text
(journal, academic committee of an event, publisher, director of
thesis.

Figure 2: Discursive and textual characteristics of scientific texts. Own elaboration. Supported by the
characteristics of scientific text proposed by Day (2005) and Cubo de Severino (2007).

2. Textual genres

The diversity of textual genres in scientific literature is wide. Texts can be classified by
their mode of communication (oral or written), by their function in the academic context,
by the type of publication in which they appear, etc. Below is a classification of the most
common genres, supported by the genre families proposed by Cubo de Severino (2007)
in the book Los textos de la Ciencia.

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 Introduction to SCIENTIFIC WRITING

Figure 3: Families of scientific textual genres. Own elaboration. Supported by the characteristics of scientific
text proposed by Severino Cube (2007).

Although these scientific genres share some traits and all have a relevant function within
scientific communities, without a doubt, the genre with the greatest prestige and impact
is the scientific or research article.

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3. Scientific or research article

In the Guide to writing scientific articles published by UNESCO (1983), it is noted that the
essential purpose of a scientific article is to communicate the results of research, ideas
and debates in a clear, concise and reliable manner. That is why to write a good scientific
article you must learn and apply the three fundamental principles of scientific writing:
precision, clarity and brevity.

According to Day (2005), a scientific article is a written report of original research results
that is disseminated in a primary scientific publication . This implies that it discloses
original results, that its presentation is detailed and that it allows others to repeat,
replicate or take up the described procedure. Likewise, the article should help the reader
understand the process of generating conclusions by the author. Being a primary
publication, it must undergo evaluation by experts on the subject.

There are different criteria regarding the organization of the scientific article that the
researcher must take into account when writing it. Several examples are presented
below, although this topic will be further explored in the next unit of the course:

a) IMRD system
- Introduction
– Methodology
- Results
- Discussion

This acronym (I = introduction; M = methods; R = results; D = discussion) accounts for the

components of the most used format in scientific publications. The IMRD system has
been adopted by scientific journals and researchers for the publication of their
manuscripts for more than one hundred years (González and Máttar, 2010).

b) Scheme 1
- Introduction
- Materials and methods
- Results and discussion

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 Introduction to SCIENTIFIC WRITING

– Conclusions

c) Scheme 2
– Summary (abstract)
- Introduction
- Materials and methods
- Results
- Discussion
Most journals ask for the IMRD format or formats derived from it. For example, in an
article outline you can combine the results and the discussion and present the
conclusions separately.

4. Review article

According to UNESCO (1983), the review article refers to the set of research carried out
on a given topic, in which already published information is gathered, analyzed and
discussed. The review article is considered a detailed, selective and critical study that
integrates essential information in a unitary and overall perspective (Icart and Canela,
1994). It is not considered an original publication, as its purpose is to examine the
published bibliography and place it in a certain perspective.

In a review article we seek:

• Set the theme.

• Determine the variables participating in the research.

• Identify the research methods carried out.

• Recognize the lines of the theoretical framework.

• Provide information related to the topic.

• Select relevant and irrelevant elements related to the reviewed topic.

• Facilitate the review effort and dedication time with prior clarifying studies.

• Expand communication worldwide.

• Promote the construction of material for teaching, presentations, etc.

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• Conduct a constructive discussion.

• Conclude with the data obtained.

• Answer the established questions.

• Establish new research questions and topics.

On many occasions, the review article is an author's gateway to the scientific community.

5. reflection article

The reflection article “presents the results of a completed investigation from an

analytical, interpretive or critical perspective of the author on a specific topic” (Sánchez
Upegui, 2011, p. 97). The reflection article evidences a dialogic conversation between the
author and readers concerned about the same issue. It is characterized by presenting an
argumentative structure, in which the author relies on empirical, theoretical and
methodological knowledge to support his approaches.

6. Complementary resources

Because the scientific context has a series of norms and conventions that every writer
must conform to, a first step in producing scientific texts is to read and identify writing
features in texts similar to the one you want to write.

Some of the following resources may be helpful for this purpose:

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 Introduction to SCIENTIFIC WRITING

Open access databases to consult articles

ScíLo Multidisciplinary database. Includes magazines published mainly in Latin

America and the Caribbean. See more .

• Dialnet Portal for the dissemination of Hispanic scientific production. See more.

Dre@aly? Ia
HLMCEOTCa CENTE-CA in (MA
Network of Scientific Journals from Latin America and the Caribbean,
Spain and Portugal . See more.

DOAJ Directory of Open Access Journals. Multidisciplinary database. See

more.

( BioMedCentral Specialized in science, technology and medicine. See more.

Portal of portals with access to academic journals available in digital newspaper

libraries in Latin America, the Caribbean, Spain and Portugal, which join the open
access movement. See more.

Thesis repositories

Doctoral theses from Spanish universities. See more.

Database of doctoral theses read in Spain. See more.

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MIT Thesis Collection. See more .

Massachusetts
Institute of
Technology

European research theses. See more.

7. Bibliographic references of the unit

Severino's Cube, L. (2007). (Ed.). The texts of science . Córdoba, Argentina: Comunicarte editorial.

Day, R. TO. (2005). How to write and publish a scientific paper. 3rd ed. Washington, DC:
Organization Panamericana of Health. Recovered of:
http://universoabierto.com/2016/03/06/como-ecripta-y-publicar-trabajos-cientificos/

González, T. and Máttar, V. (2010): IMRaD or IMRyD format for scientific articles? MVZ Córdoba
Magazine , 15(1):1895-1896.
Retrieved from: http://www.redalyc.org/articulo.oa?id=69319041001

Icart, M. and Canela, J. (1994). The review article. Clinical Nursing, 4 (4), 180-184.

Sánchez Upegui, A. (2011). Manual of academic and investigative research . Medellín: Católica del
Norte University Foundation. Retrieved from: http://www.ucn.edu.co/institucion/sala-
prensa/documents/manual-de-redaccion- mayo-05-2011.pdf

UNESCO. (1983). Guide for writing scientific articles intended for publication . 2 ed. Paris
UNESCO. Recovered of:
http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0005/000557/055778SB.pdf

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