1、Session 7: Materials and Methods,Methods and materials,The importance of the methods and materialsCan or cannot be repeated by others Reviewers comments on Materials and Methods,1. Purpose of the Methods section,to address how the research questions are answered the specific materials （subjects or p
2、articipants ）the instruments and; the procedure,Purpose of the Methods section,this section should enable other scientists to evaluate your methods this section should allow readers or researchers to replicate the work performed under the same conditions. The validity of your experiment can only be
3、confirmed through replication of your work.,2. Subsections under the Methods section,materials( participants)ProcedureData analysis,2. Subsections under the Methods section,several labeled subsections. variations in subsections due to the difference in the research aims and “objects” . inanimate mat
4、erials - physics, chemistry and engineering MaterialsOn human beings -In humanities or social sciences Participants,2.1. materials( participants),Experimental animals, plants, and microorganisms should be identified accuratelygenus, species, and strain designations. Sources and special characteristi
5、cs should be listed age, sex, genetic and physiological status.,Human subject,If human subjects are used, the criteria for selection (e.g. the sampling frame) should be described An “informed consent” statement should be added to the manuscript if required by the journal.,Human subjects,The particip
6、ants privacy must always be respected. Do not include any identifying information in the text, tables, or photographs. Even masking the eyes in a photograph is insufficient to ensure anonymity. If a photograph is used, written consent must be obtained from the patient or their parent or guardian.,Hu
7、man subjects,The researchers usually include the sample size and sample characteristics in this section.to tell the reader the location where your study was conducted, or where the data were collected. Location can affect the external validity of your study, since subjects vary considerably between
8、residential areas, due to climate, physical environment, economics, and socio-cultural milieu,example,Volunteers were recruited in London from our general practices and the ear, nose, and throat outpatient department of Northwick Park Hospital. The prescribers were familiar with homoeopathic immuno-
9、therapy.,2.2. procedure,The procedures subsection summarizes each step in the execution of the research, including the instructions to the participants, the formation of the groups and the specific experimental manipulations, or interventions. The section also describes method of randomization, coun
10、terbalancing, blinding techniques, and other control features in the design.,Procedure,You should also justify why you chose the variables to measure and the reliability of measurement. Do not forget to mention the equipment that you used (manufacturer and model number, if unusual). If there is a si
11、mple well-known procedure, it is acceptable to name the technique. If it is new or you did something different, you should spend time describing the protocol used. If relevant, you should also stipulate the conditions used when the test was performed (temperature, light, etc.).,Sample,Material Sampl
12、ing Microcosms were constructed consisting of mineral and litter layers colonized by soil biota. The components were sampled from post-mining sites after brown coal mining near the town of Sokolov (NW Bohemia, Czech Republic). The sites were located on alkaline (pH 78) tertiary clay material which,
13、for the mineral layer, was sampled from the surface layer (110 cm). The top 1cm was removed before sampling at the pioneer site (age 5 years after dumping) without vegetation. ,sample,Microcosm construction and cultivationThe defaunated mineral spoil was placed in plastic boxes of 10 cm 12 cm 6 cm t
14、o form an 812mm layer and was then covered by litter. The fresh weights of the mineral spoil and litter were 100 and 25g, respectively, i.e. 80g and 7.5g of dry weight equivalent. The thickness of litter and mineral layers were similar to those used in field microcosms placed in the same plots. Micr
15、ocosm processing At the end of the experiment, the litter and mineral layers were removed from the microcosms and the soil was hand sorted for macrofauna. The fresh weights of both the litter and mineral layers were determined. Then, the whole litter and fermentation layer, and about half of the min
16、eral layer, were weighed again, dried (358 oC, 48h), and the dry weights of the litter and fermentation layers were determined.,2.3. Methods of Data analysis,It is vital to include a sub-section of Data Analysis or Statistical Methods. In this sub-section, you should tell the readers how did you ana
17、lyze the data,whether data transformation was used and what was the rationale for the transformation.,example,Data analysisThe carbon stock in individual layers was calculated as the mass of the layer multiplied by the concentration of C in that layer. Carbon removal from the litter layer was calcul
18、ated as the C stock in the litter layer at the start of the experiment minus the C stock at the end of the experiment. C incorporation into the mineral layer was calculated as the C stock in the mineral layer at the end of the experiment minus the C stock in the mineral layer at the start of the exp
19、eriment. Total loss of carbon from the box was calculated as the difference between C loss from the litter layer and C accumulation in the mineral layer.,Continued,One-way ANOVA and LSD post hoc tests were used to compare treatments with the same type of litter, while the t-test was used to compare
20、treatments with different litter type and similar decomposer communities. Linear correlations were used to evaluate correlations between the individual factors investigated. The Bonferroni correction was applied to evaluate the significance of these correlations (Sokal and Rohlf, 1981). ANOVA was co
21、mputed using SPSS for Windows 10.0 Programme Package.,notice,In addition, the following two cases should be avoided in writing the Methods section:(1) Dont include details of common statistical procedures; and (2) Dont mix results with procedures.,notice,Do not include commonly found supplies such a
22、s test tubes, pipet tips, beakers, etc., or standard lab equipment such as centrifuges, spectrophotometers, pipettors, etc. In biosciences we frequently work with solutions - refer to them by name and describe completely, including concentrations of all reagents, and pH of aqueous solutions, solvent
23、 if non-aqueous.,Notice,对材料的描述：清楚、准确 研究对象（样品、产品、动植物、人等） 数量 来源 准备方法 仪器（化学试剂、药品等） 对仪器进行精确的技术说明 试剂或药品的主要化学和物理性质 药品或仪器等的制造商的名称,Notice,仪器（化学试剂、药品等） 实验用的动物、植物和微生物应准确地标识出 种、属和世系名称 说明来源和特殊性 年龄、性别、遗传学和生理学状态等特征 抽样的要求或标准等 试验对象是人 研究对象的选择标准 一般性统计特征 年龄 性别。,Notes,对方法的描述要详略得当、重点突出 研究是如何展开的？ 按研究步骤的时间顺序描述方法； 试验环境和条件
24、研究对象选择的方法 选用特定材料、设备或方法的理由 实验程序 所应用的统计方法,3. Verb tenses used in the Methods section,One noteworthy point is that most of this section should be written in the past tense, because the author of a paper, is just reporting what he or she has done in the experiment. To be specific, it is usually written
25、in the simple past (the verb tense used for events that are already finished before a present time point).,example,We measured the uptake of dopamine into striatal synaptosomes using a minor modification of the method of Hong et al. (1997). The concentration of H-dopamine (RC442, Radiochemicals Ltd,
26、 Brussels) was 0.2 M.A standard Krebs buffer was used, except that the concentration of CaCl2 was increased to 3.2 M. After a 5-min incubation, samples were homogenized and total tritium uptake determined by liquid scintillation spectroscopy.,Verb tenses used in the Methods section,Use the present t
27、ense, when what you write about are facts or information that is true or unlikely to change.,example,Cornmeal was used to feed the fingerlings because it provides high nutritional content at a relatively low cost,Verb tenses used in the Methods section,Other verb tenses may also be used, for example
28、 to describe one event happening during another. Ex. Ethyl alcohol was added while the sample was being dried. The past continuous passive is used to describe the action of “drying the sample” occurs at the same time where another action “adding ethyl alcohol” is performed.,4. Passive and active voi
29、ce,the plain language movement According to Rogers (2007), the plain language movement advocates writing clearly and concisely in a reader-focused style. In plain English writing, you should pay homage to the following points: logical organization of your text, common, everyday words (except for nec
30、essary technical terms), “we” and other personal pronouns, the active voice, and short sentences.,passive voice in AW,whether we should choose the active or passive voice in English scientific writing. Generally, passive voice should be used in English academic writing, because impression of objecti
31、vity put emphasis on facts rather than on scientists or the writers,Passive voice in AW,Passive voice is useful when the writer does not want to identity or emphasize the agent of a particular action.Use of passives to focus on the physical world helps de-emphasize discreteness of scientific experim
32、ents and also helps remove personal qualifications of observing experimental results.,Passive voice in AW,Ding (2002) also claims that the passive voice in scientific wiring represents professional practices of science instead of personal stylistic choices of individual scientists.,Passive voice in
33、AW,Passive voice can be useful to writers. For example, passive voice is effective when you want to stress what was done rather than who did it.Passive voice is also useful when you want to avoid accountability “funds were found to be missing” “I stole the money.”,Passive Voice in AW,Rhodess (1997)
34、empirical research findings reveals that passive voice verbs are widely used in scientific writing and that passive voice verbs are generally used appropriately, primarily for presenting objective information.,Passive voice in AW,Rhodes (1997) reveals that the incidence of passive voice verbs was gr
35、eatest in the most object-oriented field (chemistry/physics), second highest in a somewhat less object-oriented field (botany), and lowest in the least object-oriented field (psychology). Similarly, the objective article sections (Methods and Results) had a higher percent of passive voice verbs than
36、 the interpretative article sections (Introduction and Discussion).,Active voice in AW,Moore (1991) argues strongly for the use of active voice in (biological) academic writing Passive voice typically produces unnecessarily long and weak sentences passive voice is usually unconvincing because it sug
37、gests that scientists were acted upon rather than that scientists acted. With passive voice, it seems as if writers report revelation, not information, because passive voice implies that a amorphous force guided their work.,Active voice in AW,Moore (1991) also contends that the notion that passive v
38、oice ensures objectivity is ridiculous because objectivity has nothing to do with ones writing style or use of personal pronouns. Objectivity in science results from the choice of subjects, facts that you choose to include or omit, sampling techniques and how you state your conclusions.Scientific ob
39、jectivity is a personal trait unrelated to writing.,Active voice in AW,Moore (1991) also emphasizes that “science is a personal activity done by people, not machines” and that “the belief that using I and we somehow makes science undignified is foolish ” (p. 389).,Active voice in AW,Stilman (1997) a
40、lso proposes that we “use the active voice as a general rule, and use the passive voice only if theres a specific reason to do so” (p. 286). The active voice appears more direct and concise, and it can make our writing appear more vigorous and confident. The passive voice may sound clumsy, plodding
41、or overly cautious in contrast.,Summary,Generally, passive structures are more appropriate for expository purposes (describing procedures and presenting data) and active structures for argumentative purposes (Riley, 1991). Another worthy point is that the writer of academic works should be consisten
42、t in the choice of voice (Perelman et al., 2001). A shift in voice will confuse your reader.,Ex. A The researchers will drill a succession of holes in the seafloor and thin pipes will be extended through which the researchers will lower equipment for sending sound waves through the rock and hydrate
43、deposits.,Ex. B The researchers will drill a succession of holes in the seafloor and they will extend thin pipes through which they will lower equipment for sending sound waves through the rock and hydrate deposits. (David Graham, “Harvesting Natural Gas from the Ocean Floor,“ Technology Review, cit
44、ed in Perelman, et al, 2001, Section 6.15.4),Sentence therapy,This kind of new method have the advantage of high efficiency , easy adjustment. This paper first discussed the features of this signal, and then its generation is described.,Sentence therapy,3. The features of this device are easy in ope
45、ration and low in price.,Sentence therapy,4. The sine law of the variation of the light intensity brought due to the variance of the cylinder diameter has been pointed out emphatically.,Sentence therapy,5. Our method is different form previous articles discussed the same problem. 6. Only through stu
46、died the performance of the system, its advantages can be understood.,Sentence therapy,7. If the self-bias circuit does not design good, the LC oscillator will take place chopping oscillations (若自偏电路设计不当，LC振荡器会出现间歇振荡),Sentence therapy,8. This paper provided a kind of means of computer aid design for
47、 progressing the printing speed and the printing quality. (本文对提高打印速度和印字质量提供了一种机械设计手段),Sentence therapy,9. The mathematical description and the full-compensation conditions of the 3-axes steady-tracking principle are also given. (同时给出了三轴稳定跟踪的数学描述以及全补偿条件),Sentence therapy,10 .STM AND ATM are compared.
48、 It shows that ATM should be the ground of BISDN. (本文比较了STM和ATM，表明ATM 将是BISDN 的基础),Sentence therapy,11. The detailed analysis of the ability of bearing loads of the components is given. (对构件的承载能力作了具体的分析),Sentence therapy,12. There are M polygons altogether, whose vertex number is all N. (共有M个多边形，其定点数均为N),
