This new, fully revised edition aims to serve as a guide for agricultural research scientists and other practitioners in writing papers for publication. It also looks to provide a resource manual for training courses in scientific writing. There are three new chapters on reporting statistical results, communicating science to non-scientific audiences and electronic publishing. In addition, the original chapters have all been rewritten to reflect current developments and to make the content more complete and easily comprehensible.
The purpose of this book is to help early career professionals in agriculture and natural resources write their research papers for high-quality journals and present their results properly at professional meetings. Different fields have different conventions for writing style such that the authors of the book have found it difficult to recommend to young scientists in these fields a specific book or source material out of the several that are available as the “go to” guide. Writing a scientific paper is a tedious task even to experienced writers; but it is particularly so for the early career professionals such as students, trainees, scientists and scholars in agriculture and natural resources; the challenge is even more when their first language of communication is not English. This book is targeted mainly to that group.
This book presents a guide for research methodology and scientific writing covering various elements such as finding research problems, writing research proposals, obtaining funds for research, selecting research designs, searching the literature and review, collection of data and analysis, preparation of thesis, writing research papers for journals, citation and listing of references, preparation of visual materials, oral and poster presentation in conferences, and ethical issues in research . Besides introducing library and its various features in a lucid style, the latest on the use of information technology in retrieving and managing information through various means are also discussed in this book. The book is useful for students, young researchers, and professionals.
This dynamic manual provides guidelines for written and oral scientific presentations, including how to effectively prepare and deliver papers and presentations, how to find reliable research, and how to write research proposals.
Science for Agriculture was the first thorough quantitative and analytical treatment of the history of the U.S. agricultural research system and as such has served as the foundation for research over the 10 years since its publication. The benefits from public and private investment in agricultural research are immense and should be understood by every student of the agricultural science system in the United States. The second edition updates important landmarks, components, characteristics, and trends of the U.S. system for developing and applying science to increase the productivity and advancements of agriculture. Science for Agriculture, 2e, is essential reading for agriculture educators and researchers, Land Grant administrators, food and agri-industry R&D and all others who need to understand the factors that will influence future public agricultural research policy.
The research was conducted between December 2002 and October 2003. Fourteen researchers working for EMBRAPA - National Soybean Research Center and IAPAR - Agriculture Institute of Parana, in Londrina, Brazil, answered a questionnaire. Researchers were asked to report on their own experiences (first two sections of the questionnaire) and to respond as speakers for the Brazilian scientific community within the field of agriculture (third section of the questionnaire). I obtained complementary information from informal interviews with other researchers and from EMBRAPA and IAPAR websites. My research questions were: (1) to what extent do organizational features and demands influence the writing and publishing of scientific articles in English by Brazilian agricultural researchers working in governmental organizations; (2) to what extent do language and cultural barriers limit the production of scientific articles in English by these agricultural researchers; (3) to what extent do researchers feel that international journal, editors, and reviewers discriminate against developing countries' scientific production and scientists. The goals of my research were (1) to obtain a preliminary understanding of the rhetorical context of scientific publications in governmental agricultural research organizations in Brazil and (2) to recommend actions and suggest further research topics. The main results of this study were: (1) organizational demands influence the amount of time researchers allow for publishing articles in English; (2) language barriers are due to little or no training in scientific writing both in Portuguese and in English and to a lack of knowledge of the rhetorical demands and expectations of the target language and target journals; (3) the degree to which researchers perceive discrimination by editors and reviewers of international journals varies according to discipline, country of graduate studies, and gender. My recommendations involve: (1) action and professional communication research at the organizational level; (2) professional communication research at the high school and university levels; (3) theoretical and applied research in L2 scientific writing in governmental agricultural organizations in Brazil; (4) a proposal for training in scientific writing in EMBRAPA and IAPAR.
This book is the outcome of more than 20 years of experience of the author in teaching and research field. The wider scope and coverage of the book will help not only the students/ researchers/professionals in the field of agriculture and allied disciplines, but also the researchers and practitioners in other fields. Written in simple and lucid language, the book would appeal to all those who are meant to be benefitted out of it. All efforts have been made to present "RESEARCH", its meaning, intention and usefulness. The book reflects current methodological techniques used in interdisciplinary research, as illustrated with many relevant worked out examples. Designing of research programme, selection of variables, collection of data and their analysis to interpret the data are discussed extensively. Statistical tools are complemented with real-life examples, making the otherwise complicated subject like statistics seem simpler. Attempts have been made to demonstrate how a user can solve the problems using simple computer-oriented programme. Emphasis is placed not only on solving the problems in various fields but also on drawing inferences from the problems. The importance of instruments and computers in research processes and statistical analyses along with their misuse/incorrect use is also discussed to make the user aware about the correct use of specific technique. In all the chapters, theories are combined with examples, and steps are enumerated to follow the correct use of the available packages like MSEXCELL, SPSS, SPAR1, SAS etc. Utmost care has been taken to present varied range of research problems along with their solutions in agriculture and allied fields which would be of immense use to readers.
This book provides a sound understanding for creating new knowledge, which takes three main forms: Exploratory research, which structures and identifies new problems; constructive research, which develops solutions to a problem; and empirical research, which tests the feasibility of a solution using empirical evidence. This book encompasses both qualitative and quantitative research and analysis. The reader should gain an understanding of the skills needed to design and undertake a research project, including legal and ethical requirements in planning research projects, choosing the best experimental design and analytical methods, and how to present data for extension to the wider community and establish the knowledge. Hands-on exercises are provided to improve reasoning skills, emphasising agricultural problems and issues to solve and interpret the experimental data to knowledge. The book covers research methods within these three forms with basic knowledge of research methodology. Design of experiments and significant results are interpreted through the scientific organisation and information in each of the chapters. The inherent discussion should help interdisciplinary graduate students and researchers accomplish their scientific experiments and write research articles. The cognitive writing style to interpret the observed data from experiments and surveys is emphasised in this book. The cognitive summary for each of the chapters is provided in the form of wording and graphics to focus on the chapter highlights as well as the use of analytical tools in the research. The utmost care is taken to present a varied range of research problems along with their solutions in agriculture and its allied fields, which should be of immense use to the readers interested in this topic.
