The EZ way to write a prospectus,

thesis, publishable paper

John M. Hoenig, Ph.D.

Department of Fisheries Science

The EZ Way to Write a Prospectus

1) Define the problem

2) Say what you’re going to do

3) Say what you need

4) Show you’ve reviewed the literature, but only in context of 1, 2, & 3

All you need to do is

11 - 15 pages, MAX!

(but check with your committee)

Can you believe it’s so simple?

1) Do you understand the problem and its complexities? Will your approach work? Are you reinventing the wheel?

2) You have no business going in the lab or the field if you don’t know what you’re going to do. Are you familiar with the procedures?

3) Are you going to be able to get the data, specimens, equipment you’ll need?

Think of the purpose of the prospectus: your committee wants to know

What if you don’t stick to the plan in the prospectus?

It’s an action plan, not a contract. Unforseeable problems arise. Plans change. Get over it. You’ll be judged on whether you did good work, not on whether you stuck to the plan.

Unforseeable problems happen. A good prospectus has a back-up plan.

The prospectus is to help you. Done after the fact it’s a waste of time. Do you want to waste your committee’s time?

Writing a thesis or dissertation

chapter vs manuscript format

Writing a thesis or dissertation

Introduction (review of literature)

All Materials and Methods

All Results

All Discussion

Chapter format – the old way to do it

Complete rewrite to publish this!

Short(er) Introduction (define the problem)

Manuscript 1 (in format for journal 1)

Introduction

Materials & Methods

Results & Discussion

Manuscript 2 (in format for journal 2)

Introduction

etc.

Concluding chapter (pull things together)

Manuscript format – the modern way

Some things in the thesis won’t go in the published version (maybe put them in an appendix)

Use this to your advantage: things you don’t want in the publication – but that need documenting – can go in the thesis (e.g., negative results)

Example: you’re interested in how growth of clams varies with depth, temperature and salinity but you measure 15 other environmental variables just to eliminate the possibility that they’re influencing growth. None of the correlations are significant. Including all of these data would take up a lot of space and be tedious. So, put the results in your thesis or a technical report and simply refer to it in your journal article.

So the secret to writing a thesis is to write manuscripts. OK.

So what’s the secret to writing manuscripts?

Cardinal Rule: Write the paper before you do the research.

! ??? !!!!

Write the Materials and Methods first.

It’s easy.

And you need to know what to do (preferably before you do it!)

(Hopefully, you can lift this from your prospectus)

Next, write the Introduction

EZ Formula:

1)What’s the problem?

2)Why is it of interest?

3)How does your work contribute to an understanding of the problem?

There are other ways to write the introduction but the EZ formula works every time

Also write the Results section

! ??? !!!!

Make up plausible results…

I might see this, or this, or maybe this

How are you going to graph the data?

How are you going to analyze the data?

How are you going to interpret the data?

Is it unethical to write the results before you do the research?

No. It’s good practice. You get to

- review your design

- think about assumptions

- anticipate problems

- plan your analysis

For the discussion section, just list points you want to remember to discuss

After the research…

Update everything

Insert results

Now, a major portion of your thesis is already done. (This is important – sitting down to write a 100 page thesis is intimidating. Having it half done makes it MUCH easier.)

Generally, it’s easier to combine results & discussion into one section, and most journals will let you do this.

The sphaghetti problem: sometimes the ideas are all tangled up and it’s hard to find the start and end of the story you want to discuss

make a list of the points you want to make, in any order. Then try to put them in sequence. Then fill in with more detail. Then make an outline, & keep adding detail

If you’re still having problems, say your discussion instead of writing it. Do it again and again until it stabilizes. Typically, the first time it’ll take you 20 minutes to explain your findings, the second time it will take 10 minutes, then 5. Then write it down.

When you’re too tired to think but still want to make progress…

Type up the bibliography, title page, etc.

(It’s got to be done sometime).

Congratulations, you now have 8 of your 100 pages finished. Just 92 left to go…

Common Errors (thought police)

Results occurring in introduction

Results in methods section

Methods in results section

EZ Publishing

Pick a journal before you start writing, and type manuscript (especially references) in the right style from the start

NOTE: it’s i.e., e.g., (get it right the first time)

Generally, no more than 35 pages per manuscript

Figures & tables must be able to stand alone

Submit papers as early as possible for publication. Don’t wait until you’re about to defend.

If a paper is a “done deal” (i.e., in press) your committee probably won’t give you a hard time about the paper (e.g., making you work on organization, style, etc. After all, why bother if it’s already in press.)

It’s nice to get the ms back from the journal while you’re still at VIMS because it will be easier to revise “at home” than in your new surroundings after you leave VIMS.

Suggest reviewers when you submit ms

When ms is returned by the journal

- respond to all reviewers’ comments

- make all changes you can live with

- always take the high road

If your ms is rejected

- rebut reviewers’ errors

- take your lumps if it’s a matter of opinion

Baseball Rule: strike 3 and you’re out!

If your paper is rejected, try another journal. If it’s rejected again, try again. If it’s rejected a 3rd time, throw it in the garbage. But don’t give up until you’ve tried 3 times.

(Rejections by Science and Nature don’t count. Those are badges of honor.)