This presentation cuts across: Topic development and appraisal How to read academic papers The concept of plagiarism and how to avoid it Paraphrasing Citation/Referencing Editing of manuscript Formatting of manuscript

1. INTRODUCTION TO RESEARCH WRITING AND
PUBLICATION
ORGANIZED BY
AFRICA EDUCATION INIATIVE, NEF NIGERIA
MODULE 3 (23rd June, 2022)
1.30 Hours
FORTUNE EFFIONG
Director for Research, TORASIF
PLAGIARISM, CITATION AND
PARAPHRASING; EDITING AND
FORMATING OF MANUSCRIPT

2. MODULE AIMS/OBJECTIVES
• At the end of this module, participants should be able to:
• Topic development and appraisal
• Understand the concept of scientific research writing and how it differs from other types of writing
• Reading scientific papers and note taking
• Understand the concept of plagiarism
• Understand the different softwares used in detecting plagiarism
• Understand the concept of paraphrasing as a way of avoiding plagiarism
• Learn how to paraphrase, including the use of paraphrasing tools
• Understand the concept of citation, in-text citation and references.
• Learn how to cite with different techniques including the use of Zotero, Endnote and Mendeley
• Learn how to edit and format a scientific manuscript for publication
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3. STEPS IN THE TOPIC FRAMING PROCESS
• Organize your topic ideas: What are those things popping up in your mind,
write them down. Take note of key points.
• Do some background research: to know what has been done already
• Organize your topic question: By knowing what has been done, you will
then understand what has not been done or what needs to be done.
• Do an in-depth research: You might want to do another in-depth review to
consider the feasibility of the topic.
• Formulate your topic: Clearly write down your topic now. Learn how to
frame topics from other scientific publications.
3
2mins

4. TOPIC DEVELOPMENT CHECKLIST
S/N VARIABLE CHECK
1 I have done a literature review on this topic
2 I have found a gap to fill and written out a clear question
3 I have included a population for my study (eg in Nigeria, in Africa, in Sub-
Saharan Africa, transnational)
4 My topics is not more than 20 words long
5 My topic is clear, descriptive and concise. It has included all the keywords of
my study. It has explained what my study should be all about.
6 My topic is feasible in terms of time, resources and expertise
7 I have compared the framing of my topic to other studies online. It is
scientifically and grammatically sound.
4
2mins

5. SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH WRITING AND OTHER TYPES
OF WRITING: HOW ARE THEY DIFFERENT? 5
3mins

6. IS READING SCIENTIFIC PAPERS DIFFICULT AND
OVERWHELMING? Share your Story 6
5mins

7. HOW TO READ SCIENTIFIC PAPERS AND NOTE
TAKING
• Note taking follows your literature review. It involves taking notes from
the consulted sources.
• STEPS IN NOTE TAKING
• Read through the topic (Desired? proceed)
• Read through the abstract (Desired? Proceed)
• Read through the desired section of the full text (Desired? Proceed): Not
all section of the paper will be desired at a particular time
• Download, Study, summarize the needed points and cite the article.
7
5mins

8. 8
AFTER YOU HAVE DONE YOUR LITERATURE
REVIEW AND NOTE TAKING, WHAT NEXT? 5secs

9. NOTE MAKING (WRITING OF FIRST DRAFT) 9
5secs

10. WHAT IS NOTE MAKING?
• This is the process of writing the first draft of your manuscript.
• It immediately follows note taking.
• It is a process of sewing together the notes taken and
systematically organizing them in such a way that the
aim/objectives of the paper are satisfied.
10
1min

11. Poor note making can lead to the following:
• 1. Plagiarism
• 2. Incoherent manuscript/Grammatical errors
• 3. Poor manuscript organization, flow and outlay
• 4. Lack of content and substantial matter
11
1min

12. WHAT IS PLAGIARISM?
• Different school of thoughts have defined plagiarism:
• US Federal Policy on Research Misconduct: “Plagiarism is the appropriation of
another person’s ideas, processes, results, or words without giving appropriate
credit”
• Longman Contemporary English Advanced Learner’s Dictionary: Plagiarism is
committed when you take words or ideas from another person’s work and use
them in your work without stating that they are not your own.
12
1min

13. • Whatever the school of thought, the basic ideas seem to be that
someone deliberately takes someone else’s work, whether in the
form of an idea, a method, data, results, or text, and presents it as
their own instead of giving credit to the person whose ideas, results,
or words it is.
• These are the two core components of plagiarism
13
WHAT IS PLAGIARISM?
2mins

14. OTHER ETHICAL ISSUES
• Plagiarism is one of the core ethical issue in research.
• The other two being falsification and fabrication
• Consider these two scenario, Which of them is Falsification and
which is Fabrication?:
• A: “Oh my God, tomorrow is the due date for my project defense. I
was unable to do my lab work. I’ll just make up some values and
analyze. How bad can it be?”
• B: “I noticed most of my female participants have a higher PCV
than the male. There has to be a problem with my data collection. I
will just reduce the PCV value of the female participants to restore
normalcy.”
14
2mins

15. WHY DO STUDENTS PLAGIARISE? 15
3mins

16. WAYS TO AVOID PLAGIARISM 16
2mins

17. SOFTWARES USED TO IDENTIFY PLAGIARISM
• iThenticate (Mostly used by journals)
• Viper
• HelioBLAST
• Turnitin (Mostly used by Institutions)
• Grammerly
• xChecker
17
1min

18. EXERCISE 1
1. Which of the following is a research misconduct? (a) Falsification
(b) paraphrasing (c) photocopying
2. One of this is NOT a tool used in detecting plagiarism (a) Icheck
(b) iThenticate (c) Turnitin
3. According to the lecture, the most common reason why students
plagiarize is? (a) lack of research skills (b) lack of time
(c) careless note taking
18
30secs

19. QUESTIONS? 19
5mins

20. AVOIDING PLAGIARISM 20
3mins

21. PARAPHRASING 21
5mins

22. PARAPHRASING TOOLS
• Tools for paraphrasing:
• Quillbot
• Paraphrase.io
• While using these tools, please carefully go through your sentences
because these tools can misconstrue the original meaning of the
sentence.
22
1min

23. PRACTICAL
• HOW TO USE QUILLBOT FOR PARAPHRASING
23
5mins

24. QUESTIONS? 24
5mins

25. EXERCISE 2
1. What should you do when using someone’s idea? (a) cite (b) paraphrase and cite
(c) quote
2. One of this NOT a step in paraphrasing (a) read (b) reread (c) pre read
3. What advice does the tutor offer on using paraphrasing tools? (a) the softwares
can help you get your manuscrip published faster (b) you still need to go
through your work after using the tools because they can misconstrue the
original meaning of the sentence (c) quillbot is the most recommended for the
old and new researcher
25
30secs

26. CITATION
• A citation is a reference to the source of information used in your research.
• It is of two types, in text citation and end of paper citation (called
“references” in some cases).
• An in-text citation is a brief notation within the body of your paper or
presentation that directs the reader to a longer citation, or end-of-paper
citation, that contains all pertinent information about the source of
information.
26
1min

27. WHEN SHOULD YOU CITE?
• Quoting
• Paraphrasing
• Summarizing
• Facts, statistics, dates, and information
27
2mins

28. WHEN NOT TO CITE
• Common knowledge
• Generally accepted or observable facts
• Original ideas and lived experiences
28
2mins

29. HOW DO YOU CREDIT?
• This will depend on the citation style employed.
• Common citation styles include: APA, Harvard, and Vancouver.
• An example of citation with vancouver is given below:
• E.g “Mass gatherings are possible hotspots for COVID-19 outbreaks… [9].”
• Effiong F, Opeyemi BA, Dada OE, Enwerem KE. Global Transmission of SARS-COV-2 in
Schools, Religious Centres and Markets: An Exploratory Review. Int J Health Life Sci. 2021
Apr;7(2):e110729.
29
2mins

30. REFERENCE MANAGERS/TOOLS
• Reference tools can help automatically generate in-text and end-text citations.
• Some are able to do this automatically.
• While some operate automatically, others are semi automatic. Some can work as both.
• They include:
• Mendeley
• Zotero
• EndNote
• Google Scholar
• Pubmed
• Citethisforme
30
1min

31. PRACTICAL
• How to use Zotero
• How to Use Google Scholar (for citation)
31
7mins

32. QUESTIONS? 32
5mins

33. EXERCISE 3
• One of these is NOT a referencing software (a) Zotero (b) Quilbot
(c) Mendeley
• One of these is a reason to cite (a) when it is common knowledge
(b) when you are sharing your experience (c) when you have
paraphrased a famous author’s idea
• One of these is a citation style (a) ACA (b) APA (c) ALA
33
30secs

34. EDITING OF MANUSCRIPT
• The following are the four common processes in scientific manuscript editing:
• 1.Organization and Content: When revising your manuscript, start with the most
basic structure, such as the organization and content of each part.
• The introductory part, for example, should be organized in a funnel shape, beginning
with background information, gap analysis, hypothesis/research aim, and conclusion
and importance of findings.
34
2mins

35. ORGANIZING THE MANUSCRIPT
• While organizing the manuscript, one should simply answer the following
questions:
• 1. What did you do and why did you do it? It will provide you the study's
objective and an introduction.
• 2. How did you do it? This will provide you with information on "methods
or methodology".
• 3. What did you discover? It will supply you with "results.“
• 4. What do your findings imply and how important are they? This will
provide you the ”discussion.”
• 5. What is the message being conveyed? That's is the conclusion.
35
3mins

36. ESSENTIAL COMPONENTS OF AN ORIGINAL ARTICLE
• The following are the essential components of an original article:
• 1. Abstract 2. Introduction 3. Methods 4. Results 5. Discussion
• Most Original Articles Research papers typically follow this IMRAD
format
• Majority of the medical journals follow the “IMRAD” format,
36
1min

37. ESSENTIAL COMPONENTS OF AN ORIGINAL ARTICLE
• In addition to IMRAD, most original article manuscripts contain the following
sections:
• Competing interests
• Funding
• Authors' contributions
• Acknowledgements
• Authors' information
• Most journals may also request for: Ethics approval and consent to participate (if
it is an original article)
37
5mins

38. EDITING OF MANUSCRIPT
• 2.Check for the Logical Flow
• After you finish revising the organization and the content of each
section, check the logical organization and the flow of sections
and subsections, paragraphs and sentences.
• For each paragraph, use only one idea.
• Make sure the transitions are smooth.
• A run-on sentence should be avoided at all costs.
• Make your sentences are easy to understand.
38
3mins

39. EDITING OF MANUSCRIPT
• 3.Proofread the paper
• Proofread your manuscript word for word for grammar and spelling
issues, as well as typos.
• Extra sets of eyes, such as your mentor and/or research pals, can
also assist you in proofreading your article.
39
2mins

40. TOOLS FOR PROOFREADING
• Grammerly (Grammer)
• Hemmingway Editor (Sentence structure)
40
1min

41. PRACTICAL
• How to use Grammerly and Hemingway Editor
41
5mins

42. EDITING OF MANUSCRIPT
• 4. Format manuscript to journal style: Review all guidelines for
your target journal and ensure that your manuscript meets them.
42
2mins

43. SUBMIT YOUR MANUSCRIPT 43
1min

44. QUESTIONS? 44
5mins

45. EXERCISE 4
1. Which of this is incorrect?
A. Results – What did you find?
B. Conclusion – What did you do?
C. Methods – How did you do it?
2. In reviewing your manuscript, do the following EXCEPT
(a) check for grammer (b) check for logical flow (c) check of purity
3. What of this is in the correct order?
A. Methods – Results – Introduction
B. Introduction – Methods – Results
C. None of the above
45
30secs

46. SUMMARY AND HIGHLIGHT OF KEY POINTS 46

47. REFERENCES
• US Department of Energy. (2022). Research misconduct: Information and Frequently Asked Questions on
Policies and Procedures. https://science.osti.gov/grants/Policy-and-Guidance/Research-Misconduct
• Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English. (2022). Plagiarize.
https://www.ldoceonline.com/dictionary/plagiarize
• Greenberg R. (2013). The problem of plagiarism among students. Hubpages.
https://discover.hubpages.com/education/The-problem-of-plagiarism-among-students
• Virtuallibrary. (n.d.).Avoiding plagiarism. https://www.virtuallibrary.info/avoiding-plagiarism.html
• Kroemer T. (n.d.). A Guide for Writing and Editing a Research Manuscript.
https://www.goldbio.com/articles/article/a-guide-for-writing-and-editing-a-research-manuscript
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48. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME
• effiongfortuneb@gmail.com
48