Chapter 2

Structure of Literature

Dr. Saroj k.Suwal

PRIMARY LITERATURE STRUCTURE

Structure of Articles/Journal

PRIMARY LITERATURE CONTENTS

1. It is where the researcher published their findings first (i.e., the primary place the data is found).

2.  journal article outlining methodology, data, results, conclusions.

3. It will always have a Literature Cited section.4. It is the researcher's own words, not

summarized by anyone else. 5. It is found in scholarly journals such as JBJS

GENERAL STRUCTURE OF PRIMARY LITERATURE

TitleAbstract

IntroductionMaterial & Methods

ResultsDiscussion

AcknowledgementReference (Literature

Cited)Figures (if used)Tables (if used)

TITLE concise, descriptive and informative but specific Shouldn’t be vague or incorrect and meaning

less Should contains some keywords The title attracts readers' attention and informs

them about the contents of the article. All will be in Capitalize form except articles &

prepositions. Contains author names in definite pattern

TITLE SHOULD ANSWERWhat will be researchedHow will topic be researchedWith whom ? –describes the research population and units of measurement

Where/in what context will the study be conducted

TITLE TYPES

are distinguished into three main types:

declarative titles (state the main

conclusion),

descriptive titles (describe a paper's

content),

Interrogative titles (challenge

readers with a question that is

answered in the text).

HEADING/TITLE FORMAT

Subheadings: When your paper reports on more than one experiment,

use subheadings to help organize the presentation. First letter capitalizeExample of a subheading:Effects of Light Intensity on the Rate of Electron Transport

Some ExamplesEXAMPLE 1: "Recombinant Human Antithrombin III"

Comment: This does not tell the reader much about the paper.

Better:  "Expression of Biologically Active Human

Antithrombin III by Recombinant Baculovirus in Spodoptera frugiperda Cells" 

EXAMPLE 2: "On the Discovery of a Useful New Laboratory

Research Method for Isolating and Purifying the Lactose-degrading Enzyme B-galactosidase from the Economically Important, Yogurt-producing Bacterial Species Lactobacillus bulgaricus”

Comment:  This needs streamlining, its long enough

Better:  "A New Method for Isolating and Purifying B-

galactosidase from Lactobacillus bulgaricus”

Title Example

Journal Article: Single authorIn the citation of Bugjuice's paper, note the following:•abbreviation of her first name; no comma (if full name is given, then use a comma); if multiple authors, use commas between; •capitalization of the words in the title is just as though it were a sentence;

•abbreviation of the journal name; •usually the header on the article will list the appropriate abbreviation for the journal; no periods in abbreviated form of journal name;

•"40" is the volume number "(2)" is the number of the issue; if no issue is given, the colon follows the volume number; •"140-145" is the inclusive page numbers of the article; •placement of periods is standard; •indentation of the second line (and all subsequent lines) in the citation. This applies to all citations.

ABSTRACT is a brief summary of a research article, thesis, review,

conference proceeding or any in-depth analysis of a particular subject or discipline

often used to help the reader quickly ascertain the paper's purpose.

an abstract always appears at the beginning of a manuscript or typescript,

acts as the point-of-entry for any given academic paper

protected under copyright law just as any other form of written speech is protected

It should state the object of the study, describe the

methods employed, and summarize results and primary

conclusions.

STRUCTURE OF ABSTRACT Background/Introduction /Objective

(i.e. statement of the problem(s)/research issue(s) addressed);

Methodsexperimental research, case studies,

questionnaires, etc.); Results

findings of the research; conclusions

ABSTRACTING EXAMPLE

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to assess the factors affecting

femoral neck shortening after internal fixation of femoral neck fractures.

METHODS: Eighty-six patients with femoral neck fractures were treated

using three parallel cannulated screws between May 2004 and January 2011. The shortening of the femoral neck in the horizontal (X), vertical (Y), and along the resultant along the (Z) vector (X➝, Y➝, Z➝) was measured on anteroposterior radiographs corrected by screw diameter and analyzed using TraumaCad software. Age, gender, Garden classification, Garden's alignment index, Pauwels angle, Singh index, body mass index and weight-bearing time were also analyzed.

RESULTS:

Follow-up duration was 8 to 36 months. Significant femoral neck shortening of the abductor lever arm (greater than 5 mm) was present in 33 of 86 (38.4%) patients. Average Harris score (HSS) was 90.05±7.04 (range: 71 to 100). The 5 predictors for shortening greater than 5 mm in the multivariate logistic regression model were age, Singh index, Pauwels classification, Garden's alignment index and body mass index.

CONCLUSION:

Femoral neck shortening associated with three parallel cannulated screws for fixation of femoral neck fractures is a common phenomenon. Femoral neck shortening after internal fixation is affected by multiple cofactors.

TYPES OF ABSTRACTS

Informative Abstracts

Descriptive Abstracts

Graphical abstracts

Informative Abstractalso known as the complete abstract, is a summary of a paper's substance

including its background, purpose, methodology, results, and conclusion.

DESCRIPTIVE ABSTRACT

also known as the limited abstract or the indicative abstract,

provides a description of what the paper covers. is similar to a table of contents in paragraph form.

Graphical abstracts

graphical abstracts alongside the

text abstracts Journal of Colloid and Interface Science

INTRODUCTION

establish the existing state of knowledge of research topic

identify the specific focus of research work.

should be presented in the context of previous scientific investigations,

by citation of relevant documents in the existing literature,

 

Information typically flows in the following manner:

start with  broad background of the topic you are investigating.

Include relevant citations from primary literature and other appropriate technical references.

 Progressively narrow the scope of the ideas considered so that the reader is led to the specific topic that you are studying.

justify how this topic requires additional study.  In the last sentences of the final paragraph,

briefly state 1-3 specific objectives or hypotheses that your study addresses.

A crystal-clear statement of objectives/hypotheses is critical

. Virtually all material in your manuscript should directly pertain to these objectives and hypotheses.

SAFETY AND EFFICACY OF ANTIBIOTICS COMPARED WITH APPENDICECTOMY FOR TREATMENT OF UNCOMPLICATED ACUTE APPENDICITIS:INTRODUCTIONAppendicectomy has been the mainstay for the treatment for acute appendicitis since it was first reported by McBurney in 1889,1 and the general assumption since the 19th century has been that in the absence of surgical intervention the disease often progresses from uncomplicated to perforated appendicitis.1 2 The advent of laparoscopic surgery and the low threshold for operative intervention have led to a risk of high negative appendicectomy rates with unnecessary surgery related morbidity.3 4 5 Only 20% of patients present with complicated appendicitis, and non-operative management with antibiotics and supportive treatment has been explored as a therapeutic option for patients with early uncomplicated appendicitis, with resolution in most of them.6 7 8 9 Antibiotic treatment was often considered as a bridge to surgery in patients with suspected appendicitis but no clear indications for appendicectomy such as signs of perforation or peritonitis. However, the routine use of antibiotics in patients with uncomplicated acute appendicitis was not well supported, owing to inherent pitfalls in the quality and design of individual studies.10 The role of antibiotic treatment in acute uncomplicated appendicitis may have been overlooked mainly on the basis of tradition rather than evidence, considering that other intra-abdominal inflammatory processes such as colonic diverticulitis are primarily managed non-operatively.

MATERIALS & METHODS

what you did in such a way that other scientists can follow and duplicate your experiment.

materials and methods used during the research or experiment

Too much detail can make this section excessively long. You should try to be concise, but complete.

GOOD EXAMPLES

"Twenty-five µl of each sample were

loaded onto a 10% polyacrylamide gel and

subjected to electrophoresis for one hour

at 120V."

Comment:  The number 25 is spelled out . Although this number is

greater than nine, and hence would normally be expressed as "25," numbers at the beginning of sentences are always spelled out. In addition, the abbreviation for microliters is used, and the sentence is written in third person and past tense. This is a good sentence!

"Newts and efts of N. viridescens were collected in Cattaraugus County, New York in September 1982. Animals were dehydrated in an apparatus similar to that used by Ray (1958). Compressed air from a SCUBA tank was adjusted to enter a 6 x 6 x 32 cm chamber at a flow rate of 2 l/min. Prior to entering this chamber, the air passed through a column of CaCl2. The entire apparatus was maintained at a temperature of 20-22°C. Food was withheld from all specimens for 3-5 days prior to testing to ensure their being in a postabsorptive state. Before being placed in the chamber, each animal was dried with absorbent paper, its bladder was emptied by applying gentle pressure to the abdomen and total length (cm) and mass (g) were recorded.

A more lengthy example:

Dehydration was continued to the critical activity point (CAP), the point at which animals lost their righting response (Ray 1958). At this time, each specimen was removed from the chamber, weighed and placed in a dish containing water-soaked cotton. Only individuals that survived 24 h after testing were used in the statistical analysis of these data. All means were compared with the t-test while analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was used to compare the regressions of rate of water loss on body mass (Sokal and Rohlf 1973)."

Comment:  Note how clearly and concisely these paragraphs were written. all needed information was presented.

RESULTS

describes the results of your work and includes a summary of the data found in your tables and figures. 

Write with accuracy, brevity and clarity.  Use a good topic sentence for each of your

paragraphs.

EXAMPLE OF A BREIFLY WRITTEN RESULTS SECTION "Red-efts demonstrated a significantly higher tolerance to

water loss as well as a significantly higher rate of evaporative water loss (Table 1). In both forms, rate of evaporative water loss (EWL) was negatively correlated with initial mass, although ANCOVA revealed a significant difference (F=8.92; 1, 53 df; P<0.004) in the nature of this relationship (Fig. 1)."

Comment:  Note how clear and concise this Results section is written. Note

also how Table 1 and Figure 1 were cited.

Picture and table should be orderly placed or cited in manuscript.

DISCUSSION is often the most challenging section to

write. interpretation of data and drawing of

conclusions regarding your hypothesis should be mentioned

Avoid repeating the results section --evaluate your data and their implications in a broader context

(i.e. why should anyone care about this?). 

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Professionally acknowledge individuals

and organizations that were important in making your study possible.

Do not forget to mention the main person or institute during the research process

Use simple and good language

CITATION

Citation to reference to published or unpublished source .(not only always original source)

Superscripted numbers , subscripts alphabets or numbers or numbers in brackets[1] are inserted at the point of reference as in the citation‐sequence system.

must provide complete citations for each of the published sources cited in your paper those in the Introduction, Discussion, etc. except in Abstract

CITATION EXAMPLE

The formats may vary in different publications depending on their particular needs and practices.

Avoid listing not cited references! Be sure to determine what format is

appropriate for your manuscript and follow it carefully .

SOME BASIC RULES FOR AUTHOR NAME(S):

should be in alphabetical order first author's last name; Eg. Bugjuice, B., Timm, T. and R. Cratchet.

If the same author(s) are cited for more than one paper having the same order of authors' names, the papers should be listed in chronological sequence by year of publication.

Example Bugjuice, B., Timm, T. and R.

Cratchet. 1990. The role of estrogen in mouse courtship behavior changes as mice age. J Physiol 62(6):1130-1142.

If the same author(s) are cited for two or more papers published within the same year, place a small case letter after the year to denote the sequence in which you referred to them.

For example: Bugjuice, B. 1970a. Physiological effects of estrogen

on mouse courtship behavior. ....x.J Physiol 40(2):140-145.

Bugjuice, B. 1970b. Physiological effects of estrogen analogs: Insincere courtship xxxxbehavior in female mice. J Physiol 40(8):1240-1247.

Example Conant, R. 1975. A field guide to reptiles and

amphibians of eastern and central North America. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.

Gillis, R. 1979. Adaptive differences in the water economies of two species of leopard frogs from eastern Colorado. Journal of Herpetology 13:445-450.

Ralin, D.B. and J.S. Rogers. 1972. Aspects of tolerance to desiccation in Acris crepitans and Pseudacris streckeri. Copeia 1972:519-525.

Schmid, W.D. 1965. Some aspects of the water economies of nine species of amphibians. Ecology 46:261-269.

Smith, J.W., D. Pettus and D.W. Hoppe. 1998. One hundred years of amphibian water economy studies: what have we learned? American Zoologist 66:124-198. 

Example:

 (1) Smith, J.W., D. Pettus and D.W. Hoppe. 1998. One hundred years of amphibian water economy studies: what have we learned? American Zoologist 66:124-198.(2) Schmid, W.D. 1965. Some aspects of the water economies of nine species of amphibians. Ecology 46:261-269.

(3) Ralin, D.B. and J.S. Rogers. 1972. Aspects of tolerance to desiccation in Acris crepitans and Pseudacris streckeri. Copeia 1972:519-525.(4) Gillis, R. 1979. Adaptive differences in the water economies of two species of leopard frogs from eastern Colorado. Journal of Herpetology 13:445-450.(5) Conant, R. 1975. A field guide to reptiles and amphibians of eastern and central North America. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, Massachusetts, USA. 

TYPES OF CITATIONS USED

Journal or article or citation Online journal citation Edited volume citation Books citation Technical publication citations Conference paper citation Web citation

SOME OTHER EXAMPLES USED

Example of an article in an edited volume:

Pianka, E.R. 1975. Niche relations of desert lizards. Pages 292-314 in M. Cody and J. Diamond, editors. Ecology and evolution of communities. Belknap Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts,USA.  

EXAMPLES OF BOOK CITATIONS:

Conant, R. 1975. A field guide to reptiles and amphibians of eastern and central North America. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.

Welty, J.C. and L. Baptista. 1988. The life of birds. Saunders College Publishing, New York, New York, USA.  

Example of citing a technical publication from a governmental agency: Sauer, J.S. 1998. Temporal analyses of select

macroinv vertebrates in the Upper Mississippi River System, 1992-1995. U.W. Geological Survey. Environmental Management Technical Center,Onalaska, Wisconsin, April 1998. LTRMP 98-T001.  

EXAMPLE OF AN ONLINE JOURNAL CITATION:

Cane, J. H. and V. J. Tepedino. 2001. Causes and extent of declines among native North American invertebrate pollinators: detection, evidence, and consequences. Conservation Ecology 5 <URL: http://www.consecol.org/vol5/iss1/art1>. Accessed 16 July 2001.

Example of a paper from the a scientific

conference:

Walkinshaw. L.H.  1982.  Nesting of the Florida Sandhill Crane on and near the Kissimmee Prairie, Florida. Pages 1-18 in J.C. Lewis, editor. Proceedings of the International Crane Workshop.Oklahoma State University, Stillwater.

EXAMPLE OF A WEB SITE CITATION:

 BLAST 2005.  <URL: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/BLAST>. Accessed 5 April 2005.

 Saccharomyces genome database 2007. <URL: http://www.yeastgenome.org/>. Accessed 5 April 2007.

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