How to write a research paper?

[Nanotyrannus35]

25 minutes ago, doushantuo said:

a word of advice: use histograms(when possible) for lucidity of presentation 

With the serration density thing, would a scatter plot or a histogram with a mean line be better/more applicable?

[doushantuo]

Anything that will show how your variables behave in parameter space.

Presumably, the variables will show a log-normal distribution.

At some point, you might have to perform a principal component analysis.

[Nanotyrannus35]

Not sure if I should make a separate topic for this, but I was wondering, if there's anybody that has kem kem theropod teeth with the serration density measurements, and would be okay with pictures and/or measurements being used in my paper, could you maybe post them? I'm trying to get a large data set, and so far I've contacted a couple museums and fossil dealers. @Troodon's kem kem topics have also been a great help to me.

[Boesse]

AS requested, here is the post from my blog about manuscript writing: https://coastalpaleo.blogspot.com/2017/09/paleontological-research-tips-v.html

 

I also suggest the following papers by Lewis and Donovan 2007 and Ken Carpenter which will help immensely:

 

http://repository.naturalis.nl/document/45039

 

https://www.aaps-journal.org/pdf/How to Write a Scientific Paper.pdf

[Nanotyrannus35]

On 3/17/2022 at 6:31 PM, Nanotyrannus35 said:

Not sure if I should make a separate topic for this, but I was wondering, if there's anybody that has kem kem theropod teeth with the serration density measurements, and would be okay with pictures and/or measurements being used in my paper, could you maybe post them? I'm trying to get a large data set, and so far I've contacted a couple museums and fossil dealers. @Troodon's kem kem topics have also been a great help to me.

With the measurements, the preferred format would be serrations per 5 millimeters.

[Nanotyrannus35]

Does anybody know of any scientific journals where I could submit my paper to be peer-reviewed?

[Kane]

1 hour ago, Nanotyrannus35 said:

Does anybody know of any scientific journals where I could submit my paper to be peer-reviewed?

Not to dissuade you, but scholarly publication is generally a dialogue among experts in that field, and as such they would already be aware of the journals in their field. If you are not already familiar with the dialogue (and where it is occurring), it makes jumping into the conversation a little less convincing. 
 

in many cases, those who publish in peer reviewed journals have spent a lot of time following those journals in keeping apprised of new developments in their field. Also, they generally may have some form of institutional backing, if not also research funding to carry out their research. 
 

Perhaps start with writing scientific papers in undergraduate courses first. There is no real rush to publish, and certainly not if one is just getting started in learning how to write academically. 
 

If what you are seeking is someone to proofread your paper, that is an entirely different matter. Is that your meaning?

[fossil_lover_2277]

On 3/15/2022 at 7:36 PM, Nanotyrannus35 said:

First off, I'm not sure exactly where this topic should go, in either questions and answers or documents, so I hope I put it in the right place. I've recently become interested in writing papers about paleontology. I'm still a kid but I just wanted to write this, but I'm not completely sure what to do.  Does anybody have any tips for writing and publishing research papers? I'm writing about the Kem Kem Beds and the theropod teeth. I haven't got very far yet, but here it is. Thanks for any help. 

The Mysterious Theropods of the Kem Kem Beds: Analysis and Identification of Isolated Theropod Teeth from the Kem Kem Beds

                      

 

Abstract

In the Kem-Kem Beds of Morocco, there is a large array of non-avian theropod dinosaurian fauna, including Carcharodontosaurids, Spinosaurids, Abelisaurids, and possible Noasaurids. Since there has not been very much cranial and jaw material found, it is nearly impossible to attribute these teeth to a specific or even a general level. Therefore, teeth are mainly identified to a family level, and at times are called simply Tooth Morphs. This paper is going to go into detail about each of the tooth morphotypes. This will also be able to aid in field identification of these theropod teeth.

Others have done work on this subject, and I will be referencing their works throughout my paper. These others include, but are not limited to, Ritcher et. al. (2012), Frank Francino (2020), and Ibrahim et. al. (2014).

 

Systematics

Identification of Spinosaurid Teeth

Isolated spinosaurid teeth are the most common theropod teeth that are found in the Kem Kem Beds. There are two spinosaurids described from the Kem Kem Formation, Spinosaurus aegyptiacus Stromer (1915), and Sigilmassasaurus Russell (1996). As such, it is not possible to distinguish between these two animals in isolated teeth. Spinosaurid teeth are long and thin. They have ridges along the tooth, parallel to the carina. The carinae are non-serrated, but sometimes can  have beaded edges.(See figure to the left Photo courtesy of Frank Francino.) Spinosaurid teeth have circular bases, and are often larger than three inches. The photo below shows a spinosaurid tooth from my collection that has all of the distinctive features of a spinosaurid tooth.

 

 

It sounds like you are trying to write a literature review that synthesizes and critically analyzes previous papers. Before you write anything, I would exhaustively read up on any scholarly papers you can find related to your topic. To write a useful lit. review, one must be an expert on what has already been learned about a topic, and why that matters. This is generally the first step one takes in doing a PhD, before they write anything. Expert-level knowledge is needed to identify gaps in knowledge within the field, to understand why those gaps in knowledge are important to fill, and to be able to assess how they can be solved. Before doing anything regarding writing this literature review, read, read, read, and read some more until you can describe your topic in detail and are familiar with the papers published on it, but also describe what is not known and why that matters.

[fossil_lover_2277]

On 4/1/2022 at 2:24 PM, Kane said:

Not to dissuade you, but scholarly publication is generally a dialogue among experts in that field, and as such they would already be aware of the journals in their field. If you are not already familiar with the dialogue (and where it is occurring), it makes jumping into the conversation a little less convincing. 
 

in many cases, those who publish in peer reviewed journals have spent a lot of time following those journals in keeping apprised of new developments in their field. Also, they generally may have some form of institutional backing, if not also research funding to carry out their research. 
 

Perhaps start with writing scientific papers in undergraduate courses first. There is no real rush to publish, and certainly not if one is just getting started in learning how to write academically. 
 

If what you are seeking is someone to proofread your paper, that is an entirely different matter. Is that your meaning?

I generally agree with this. My issue is that too much emphasis is generally placed upon whether a person has a PhD or not. One can be an expert and not have a PhD, it’s unusual, but possible. You can submit an amazing literature review and often journals will not consider it simply because you don’t have those 3 letters after your name. The quality of what’s written should be what matters, not a person’s “credentials”. Good science doesn’t require a PhD. Just ask John Horner.

Edited May 22, 2022 by fossil_lover_2277

[fossil_lover_2277]

On 4/1/2022 at 1:02 PM, Nanotyrannus35 said:

Does anybody know of any scientific journals where I could submit my paper to be peer-reviewed?

I would search them online and read through the different aims and scopes of each journal. An important part of publishing papers and engaging in scholarly activity is learning to take initiative and problem solve on your own. Not saying you can’t ask for help, rather learn about the different journals online first before you even consider submitting. This will help you when going the submission and review process, to understand what the editors and reviewers are looking for. Also be aware that many journals (particularly open source) require you to pay a fee of a few hundred or thousand dollars to publish your article once it’s been accepted.

Edited May 22, 2022 by fossil_lover_2277

[Bringing Fossils to Life]

Thank you for bringing up this subject! I have written two research papers, but they are likely not correctly made. I will have to make newer versions of them.

http://bringingfossilstolife.infinityfreeapp.com/2022/02/09/publications/