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Karthic A

Karthic A
@Karthic___

Dec 25, 2022
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Just began the Science Writing Workshop today. It was grt 2 know about d participants & share our expectations from d online program. @K P Madhu briefed about the process & outcomes of the 3-mth journey. Excited to develop both my skills & attitude in doing and writing science!

K P Madhu

K P Madhu
@kpmadhu2000

Workshop on science writing organised by Current Science. Today is the last day for application.
In the 2nd session we discussed what really science is and its structure. The evolution of sci from philosophy, the nature of sci and its dimensions was briefed. 17 years of studying sci and I was today years old to discover & agree that sci is "Inter-subjective" not Objective.
We were re-instilled with the important n great quality of asking questions. There is never a stupid question in science. Qs are what drives science! Very happy to be enrolled in this online Science Writing Workshop. Thanks to @Current Science for conducting this. Hope this 🧵grows well.
In the 4th session we understood the purpose of science and the importance of published results/data. We also got to know multiple tools and databases used in literature search. These tools were not present before the 1990s which now makes our researcher lives easy.
5th Session: Reading a scientific paper. We revisited the purpose different sections used in reporting new results. And discussed the ways to read a paper.The #FeynmanTechnique is very useful in understanding any paper. Reading is the only way to stay updated and grow in science.
6th Sess: Questioning the Answers. The argument was anthropogenic activities are not the major cause of global warming and ozone hole. When I was shown the counter evidences and alternative hypotheses regarding these phenomena it was truly eye opening. #AcademicChatter #scitweet
7th Sess: Contd.. Another example of Female feticide in India was taken up. It was believed that selective abortion of female fetuses were the only reason the male: female sex ratio is poor. But other population factors and general health were also deemed to be the reasons.
8th: Practice on Communication The principles and essence of communicating science or for that matter any information was clearly conveyed. I appreciated that any reader must be able to develop an understanding (imagination) of the article written by one without much efforts.
9th: Story's Structure and Function The fact that the scaffold of every narration is similar to the elements of storytelling has made it easier to create a flow let it be a news, a scientific article or even a film. Allotting a function to the structures makes it interesting.
10th: Language in Writing Even though we focus so much on English education, we are not immersed into the language enough that we could convey the story in the way we want. Revisited the structure of language n its rules to master it such that we don't have to worry while writing
11th: Research Paper as a Story We conveyed an article we had read in a three act form. Kept it very simple. Only the essence of the work done. Followed the pattern of i. who, when, where and ii. what why and how, iii. for whom n how useful? It is while sharing that we learn more
12th: Editing Works We put into practice the method of using 'ideme'. It is the group of words which carry meaning not just the word. Hence, long sentences were broken into chunk of words allowing the mobility of ideas between sentences to make reading pleasurable.
13th: Editing Works Contd.. We practiced the KISS- Keep it short and simple principle. Applied the rules of English language and learnt principles of science reporting. Worked on converting new research work published by Indian researchers into a story conceivable by any reader.
14th: Practicing Writing Skills - A well-crafted procedure to collect, select, read scientific papers based on researchers from India was given - Wrote and edited stories based on selected papers continuously over the week - Re-edited the text 2 ensure easy readability & pleasure
15th: Aesthetics in Science Communication - Science and art co-evolves - Complex ideas can be conveyed simply using creativity - Appreciation for Visual art & music inculcated - Examples of scientists pursuing art & doing good science - Art intake is necessary for artistic output
16: Ethics in Science and Publication - Improper/unethical science leads to irreparable damages - Examples demonstrating the power of institutional ethics committee; their role in maintaining safety & integrity of science - Staying true to oneself can help in keeping science true
Dr. Sanjay Pai giving a talk on ethics on doing and publishing science. One of his slides displayed in the screen, quotes Linus Pauling, Science is the search for truth, that is the effort to understand the world: it involves the rejection of bias, of dogma, of revelation, but not the rejection of morality.
17th: Role of Editorial Board and Peer-review - Differentiated morality, ethics and law - Emphasized why plagiarism is wrong - Worked together to edit 300-word articles - Ensured ease of reading, continuity of ideas and conciseness - Passed articles for further publishing stages
18th: Scientific Articles - Mr. Yateendra Joshi, among the only few certified diplomate editor - Gave us every detail involved in writing, editing, formatting, submitting and publishing scientific articles - When we are willing to do something badly, over repetition we improve
19th: Writing Scientific Review Articles - Having a crisp, clear topic is necessary - Should collect all kinds of works published recently - Not just summary of all papers - Work on organizing the content for coherence - Must be able to present a bird's eye view #AcademicTwitter
20th: Writing Research Grant Proposals - Answer the question "Why Should I?" by giving all important information - Make it easier to read (to both scientific and financial reviewers) - Give complete schedule, facilities and equipment available, then inform to be procured items!
21st: Communicating to Anyone - Knowing the wor(l)d is important - Write the process of doing science along with results - Keeping all audience in mind answer the questions they might ask while reading - Read any paper via the 3 pass method: where you pause, think and come back
@my Thread Reader please read
Karthic A

Karthic A

@Karthic___
Work @SerumInstIndia | Biotech Major @AmityUniMumbai | Aspiring Researcher | SciComm Enthusiast
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