This list is available as a PDF at
Some Resources for
Scientific Writing in English
Where to find
relevant scientific literature:
1) The reference lists in recent papers on your topic, especially
review articles
2) Colleagues with experience in your field
3) PubMed ( http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?db=pubmed
)
4) Web of Science ( http://apps.webofknowledge.com ), Scopus
( http://www.scopus.com/home.url
), available if you are connecting through UniVie
5) Google Scholar ( https://scholar.google.at/
) is very broad and general, and sometimes links to full-text articles
6) The UniVie Library system ( http://bibliothek.univie.ac.at/eressourcen.html
) includes access to
BIOSIS Previews ( =
Biological Abstracts); Zoological Record;
Science Citation Index
(also ISI, which includes social sciences and humanities);
ProQuest for doctoral
dissertations; Elektronische Zeitschriftenbibliothek (EZB);
and about 1000 other
databases
7) Get a reference manager program you like and start using it
How to learn
scientific writing:
1) Read good science writing, and pay attention to how it is presented.
2) Co-author papers with someone who writes well.
3) Peer-review articles for journals.
4) A Short Guide To Writing About Biology, by J. Pechenik gives
helpful advice and examples.
5) Writing Science, by Josh Schimel (available online
through u:search) is very good, and his blog at http://schimelwritingscience.wordpress.com/
is worth a look.
6) Science Research Writing for
Non-Native Speakers of English, by Hilary Glasmann-Deal has some helpful
lessons (also available online
through u:search).
7) A helpful guide: https://www.gfdl.noaa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Elements_of_Style.pdf
Citing sources and
avoiding plagiarism:
Always ask the advice
of someone with more experience in scientific writing.
One helpful page is
at http://www.northwestern.edu/uacc/plagiar.html
For writing grant
proposals:
The Art of
Grantsmanship, by Jacob Kraicer http://www.hfsp.org/funding/art-grantsmanship
English language
references:
A good paperback
dictionary with usage notes, e.g. Webster's,
American Heritage, or one of the Oxford dictionaries, or a good dictionary
app
Oxford English
Dictionary online: http://www.oed.com
Oxford Reference
Online, including OED http://www.oxfordreference.com
Webster's online: http://www.m-w.com/
The essential guide to
writing in English is The Elements of Style by W. Strunk & E.B.
White.
You can download the
full (bootleg) text at
The original guide by
Strunk, without White's additions, is free at http://www.bartleby.com/141/
All other English
style manuals are just extended footnotes to Strunk & White.
German-English (and
other languages) translation:
A German-English (or
English) dictionary with usage examples: I like the printed dictionaries from
Langenscheidt and Harper-Collins.
The Mac Dictionary app works well and there are plugins for good translation and other dictionaries.
For the main European
languages, DeepL is new and seems good: https://www.deepl.com/translator
Google translate ( https://translate.google.com/
) is better than older translators, but it's not C3PO.
