Scientific Writing, HRP 214

From last time…

Scientific Writing, HRP 214

1. Eminent, imminent, immanent

Eminent: outstanding, famous

Imminent: about to happen

Immanent: inherent (often religious context)

The book was written by an eminent authority.

Given the latest clashes, the war was clearly imminent.

He believed in the immanent unity of nature taught by the Hindus.

Scientific Writing, HRP 214

2. Emigrate and immigrate

Emigrate is to move out of a country.

Immigrate is to move into a country.

She emigrated from Poland and immigrated to the United States.

Scientific Writing, HRP 214

3. Epidemic, endemic, pandemic

Epidemic: describes a disease that quickly and severely affects lots of people and then subsides (From Greek: epi= upon + demos=people: literally ‘upon the people’)

Endemic: describes a disease that is continually present in an area and affects a relatively small number of people (en=within + demos=people; means ‘native’)

Pandemic: describes a widespread epidemic that may affect entire continents or even the world (pan=all + demos=people: literally ‘all people’)

There was an epidemic of SARS in Hong Kong last month.Malaria is endemic to that part of South Africa.AIDS is a pandemic.

Scientific Writing, HRP 214

4. Flaunt and flout

Flaunt is to display ostentatiously Flout is to openly disregard

The dot-com millionaires liked to flaunt their wealth.The dot-commers flouted the usual conventions—spending

recklessly and flagrantly—until the bust.

Scientific Writing, HRP 214

5. Sex and gender

Use sex for biological differences

Use gender for cultural or social differences

They determined the sex of the organism from a karyotype.

He flouted traditional gender roles by being a stay-at-home dad.

Scientific Writing, HRP 214

BONUS TOPIC: redundancy

Which are redundant?HIV virusG6PD deficiencyROC curveSAS software

And with a little international flair…Rio Grande riverSierra Nevada mountains

Scientific Writing, HRP 214

BONUS TOPIC: redundancy

YES:HIV virus—human immunodeficiency virus virusRio Grande river—Big River riverSierra Nevada mountains—Sawtoothed Mountain

Range Covered in Snow mountains

NO:G6PD deficiency—glucose-6-phosphate

dehydrogenase deficiencyROC curve—receiver operator characteristic curveSAS software—statistical analysis system software

Scientific Writing, HRP 214

A. ROC curves were developed in the 1950s as a by-product of research into making sense of radio signals contaminated by noise.

B. ROCs were developed in the 1950s as a by-product of research into making sense of radio signals contaminated by noise.

Scientific Writing, HRP 214

A.A. ROC curvesROC curves were developed in the 1950s were developed in the 1950s as a by-product of research into making as a by-product of research into making sense of radio signals contaminated by sense of radio signals contaminated by noise.noise.

B. ROCs were developed in the 1950s as a by-product of research into making sense of radio signals contaminated by noise.

Scientific Writing, HRP 214

A. That strain of HIV virus is highly transmissible.

B. That strain of HIV is highly transmissible.

Scientific Writing, HRP 214

A. A. That strain of HIV virus is highly transmissible.

B. That strain of That strain of HIVHIV is highly transmissible. is highly transmissible.

Scientific Writing, HRP 214

Two more to part on….

Scientific Writing, HRP 214

“1900s”

The 1900s were from 1900 to1909 (just as the 1990s were from 1990 to 1999)

Do you mean 1900 to 1999? Use “the twentieth century”

Scientific Writing, HRP 214

“300% more”DOES NOT EQUAL

“300% as much”

~ AND ~

“Risk was three times greater than” (x + 3x)DOES NOT HAVE THE SAME MEANING AS

“Risk was three times as great as” (3x)

Scientific Writing, HRP 214

George Orwell on clichés and other frivolities:

“Phrases like a not justifiable assumption, leaves much to be desired, would serve no good purpose, a consideration which we should do well to bear in mind, are a continuous temptation, a packet of aspirins always at one's elbow.”

Scientific Writing, HRP 214 Blaise Pascal on the elegance in brevity:

“I have only made this letter rather long because I have not had time to make it shorter.” (“Je n'ai fait celle-ci plus longue que parceque je n'ai pas eu le loisir de la faire plus courte.”)

--Lettres provinciales, 16, Dec.14,1656

(though reference also attributed to St. Augustine, and Cicero….)

Practice exercise

Writing results…

HRP 214: Scientific Writing

Lecture 8, August 10, 2005:

Working with the media

The Media

Dealing with the media.Points for discussion.

1. Where do journalists get ideas for stories? From scientific journals and meetings (science journalists) From online collections, such as “Eurekalert”(www.

eurekalert.org) From each other From your institution’s press releases (prepared by PIO

officers) From following trends

The Media

2. Being interviewed by a journalist.**Points to keep in mind:

1. Assume that you are being recorded.

2. Pretend that you are talking to your grandmother.3. Avoid jargon altogether.4. Try to tell it like a story.5. Always start with the big picture.6. Don’t ask to talk “off the record.”7. Unless you are being interviewed by a PIO officer or sympathetic intern, you will NOT be given an opportunity to approve the article ahead of time. At most, you may be able to ask to see your direct quotes ahead of time.

Scientific Writing, HRP 214

Be aware of what journalists are looking for.News stories follows a basic formula (just as

scientific journal articles do)…

Headline Lead Nut Graf First quote (3-6 paragraphs down)—brings in the human element

and overall significance More details and more quotes (inverted pyramid style) Kicker (often a strong quote)

The Media2. Being interviewed by a journalist.

**What the journalist is waiting to hear, and will use in his/her article: big picture ties how your research affects people (i.e., their readers) what’s different or new about your results (the “news hook”) colorful prose (makes a good kicker) interesting stories (anecdotes) (makes a good lead) paradox/irony/surprise (also makes a good lead) people-focused stories historical facts/the development of the idea sweeping comments about the significance of the work (makes a good first quote) controversy/criticism or laudatory praise, if you are being asked to comment on a

peer’s research

The Media

**What journalists do not want to hear and will not quote you on:

experimental details (unless they need specific clarifications, which they will ask for directly)

statistical details nuances, subtleties jargon

The Media

3. Explaining risk to a journalist.

Be careful what you say. Assume that the journalist does not have a good concept of risk,

probability, and statistics. Remember that the journalist is looking for significance, surprise, and news

that affects people– therefore, they may seize upon a fact or figure that is shocking, surprising, or alarming if you give them the opportunity.

Relative risk can be high even if absolute risk is low The risk to public health can be high even if the risk to individual health is

low.

Describing Risk

Example: the women’s health initiative:

Relative risk for invasive breast cancer = 1.26

Relative risk for coronary heart disease = 1.29

Best translation for the public? “Women have a 26% increased risk of breast cancer

and a 29% increased risk of heart disease if they take hormones”?

Baseline risks and percentages

Risk of invasive breast cancer: 37/10,000 person-years for treatment = .0037 30/10,000 person-years for controls = .0030 Absolute risk increases by .08% Risk of heart disease: 38/10,000 person-years for treatment = .0038 30/10,000 person-years for controls = .0030 Absolute risk increases by .07%

Baseline risks and percentages

26% increased risk of breast cancer and 29% increased risk of heart disease sounds impressive and scary.

Better to report: 7 more CHD events per 10,000 women/year 8 more invasive breast cancers 10,000

women/year

Examples

There have been numerous studies with conflicting results about the incidence of lupus flares during pregnancy, with proportions of patients with flares ranging from 15 to 74 %.

Studies have reported that lupus flares occur in anywhere from 15% to 74% of lupus pregnancies.