1. Dr. Anupma Harshal W.
Superheroes Against Superbugs (SaS) Fellow
Woman in STEM
CONSULTANT (Science Communication and Public
Engagement)
Capacity building & Skill enhancement trainer
Mentor, Science writer, Foldscoper
Date: 3rd February 2023

5. The
India
I
live
in……….

7. https://showtheworldyourtechnogroove.files.wordpress.com/2015/03/new-school-vs-old-school.jpg

8.  Learning skills (the four+1 C’s) - Mental
processes required to adapt and improve
upon a modern work environment, +1 skill
is compassion
 Literacy skills (IMT)- Focuses on
determining trustworthy sources and
factual information & separate it from the
misinformation that floods the Internet.
 Life skills (FLIPS)- These intangibles
focus on both personal and professional
qualities.

10. A Read and Do Test Time Limit: 3 minutes CAN YOU FOLLOW INSTRUCTIONS?
1. Read all that follows before doing anything.
2. Write your name in the upper right-hand-corner of this page.
3. Circle the word “corner” in sentence two.
4. Draw five small squares in the upper left-hand-corner of this page.
5. Put an “X” on each square.
6. Put a circle around each square.
7. Sign your name under line 5.
8. After your name, write “yes, yes, yes.”
9. Put a circle around number 7.
10. Put an :X: in the lower left-hand-corner of this page.
11. Draw a triangle around the “X” you just made.
12. Call out your first name when you get to this point in the test.
13. If you think that you have followed directions carefully to this point, call out, “I have!”
14. On the reverse side of this paper, add 6950 and 9805.
15. Put a circle around your answer.
16. Count out loud, in your normal speaking voice, from 10 to 1.
17. Put three small pin or pencil holes in the top of this page.
18. If you are the first person to get this far, yell out, “I am the first person to get to this spot and I am the leader
in following directions.”
19. Say out loud, “I am nearly finished. I have followed directions.”
20. Now that you have finished reading carefully, do only those things called for in the sentences numbered 1
and 2.

11. Systematic process used to identify the strengths and weaknesses
of a research article in order to assess the usefulness and validity
of research findings.
Critically reading a Research Paper

12. WHAT IS A RESEARCH ARTICLE?
• Ultimate Product of Intellectual Pursuit
• Report on research findings that are Sound (Valid)
• Previously unknown (Novel and original) content
• Add new understanding, observation, proofs

13. PUBLISHINGYOURWORK—PAPERS
What does a paper contain:
Introduce the problem you’re working to solve Put your work in context of what is already known
What is new about your work that was not known before?
What method did you use to arrive at your results? How did you make sure your data is good/calculation is
correct?
Your results, interpretation and conclusions that you draw.
What further work do you think is necessary to solve the problem (or did you solve all of it? )
RESEARCH CAREERS INPHYSICS●NISHITADESAI

14. Types of Papers
Journal
Letter/Communication
Article
Review
Student
Literature review
Proposal What are differences between:
Letter
Article
Review??
What are differences between:
Literature review
Proposal ? ?

15. • Full reports about new results
• Not limited inlength/ figures/number of references
• Could be a follow up/ complete detail, additional data
• Follows traditional format: introduction, experimental,results,
discussion, conclusions
Articles
Letters/Communications
 Brief reports : important new results
 Limited in: length/ figures/ references
 Format: abbreviated; additional :supporting information
 Still must tell an entire story, not getting into details
Reviews
Give an Overview
Own research or field as a whole
No Primary data included
Thorough referencing

16. Literature Review
 Shorter than review paper in a journal
 Clear and Well organized
 Clear reference to Primary literature
Proposal
 Introduces & Justifies scientific work you wish to pursue
o Include information to put the proposed research in perspective
(mini-review)
o Clearly lay out path of proposed work
o Support with preliminary results and calculations to demonstrate
feasibility
o a “sales” document
o Why are the proposed experiments interesting?
o Why should you be the person to do them?
o What expertise/experience will help you?
o If successful, where might the work lead?

17. Common Elements
Although they are all different, the types of documents we
have discussed have common elements when done well
• Clear and precise writing
• Figures that support and help organize the text
• Logical organization
• References to the relevant literature

18. You need to attend a get together/a party where there is a theme that says
you need to dress up as a character
Task 2:

22. Definition of research
noun
the systematic investigation into and study of materials and sources in order to
establish facts and reach new conclusions.
verb
investigate systematically.
22

26. January 17, 2018 Hyderbabad RBPT Workshop 26

27. What is hypothesis testing?
A hypothesis is an educated guess about something in the world
around you. It should be testable, either by experiment or
observation. For example:
1. A new medicine you think might work.
2. A way of teaching you think might be better.
3. A possible location of new species.
If you are going to propose a hypothesis, it’s customary to write a
statement. Your statement will look like this: “If I…(do this to
an independent variable)….then (this will happen to the dependent
variable).”

28. What can you tell about the below picture?

30. Where do you get your INFORMATION from?

31. Information vs Knowledge

32. Felis catus-cat on snow by Von.grzanka.
Wikipedia
Black and White Cat Sketch by FASTILY.
Black and White Cat………….

34. What is missing in Google ?
CURATION ?
Selection of accurate content

36. "Data curation is the active and ongoing
management of data through its life cycle of
interest and usefulness to scholarship, science,
and education, which includes appraisal and
selection, representation and organization of these
data for access and use over time."
https://muse.jhu.edu/article/541840/pdf

37. PEERREVIEW:HOWSCIENCEPROGRESSES
Submit
paper to
journal
Editor
assigns
reviewer
Reviewer gives
comments
Author implements suggested
changes/argues their own point
👍
Reviewer + Editor happy
Reviewer + Editor not
happy
👎
RESEARCH CAREERS INPHYSICS● NISHITADESAI

38. PEERREVIEW:HOW SCIENCEPROGRESSES
Submit
paper to
journal
Editor
assigns
reviewer
Reviewer gives
comments
Author implements suggested
changes/argues their own point
👍
Reviewer + Editor happy
Reviewer + Editor not
happy
👎
RESEARCH CAREERS INPHYSICS ● NISHITA
DESAI

39. Why Curation is Important ?
• Helps evaluate quality of scientific data.
• Could also ensure better access to the best
scientific data.
One form of curation in science is PEER REVIEW !

40. by Anyone from Anywhere !!!!
Is there a problem with this ?
Is Wikipedia CURATED ?

41. Do you trust everything said in Wikipedia ?

43. Research Article Review Article
OPINION PIECE
Tells you how this
person (or persons]
view all the current
literature in the field

44. Research Article Review Article
MAKE your OWN
CONNECTIONS
LINK molecules, and
processes between
PAPERS
Wouldn’t it be great
if there is a tool that
will HELP you DO
THIS
Keep all these
connections for you
to use when needed
?
?
?
Some free AI-based tools that are of great help while writing literature reviews? Like @RsrchRabbit &
#RDiscovery for literature scouting, @paper_digest which summarises papers for quick understanding,
@teampaperpal for help with writing.

46. Research Article
• Title
• Abstract
• Introduction
• Materials and
Methods
• Results
• Discussion
• Conclusion
• References Singh V et al., J Cell Sci. 2018 Aug 17;131(16).​

48. 1. Title of the article (concise, yet
descriptive)
2. Names of authors (first, middle, and last name)
3. Highest academic degrees
4. Department /affiliated institution/
name of business
5. E-mail addresses for each author
6. Identify source(s) of funding
7. Name, address, phone number, and fax
number of the corresponding author
Title page

49. Title
• Title generally summarizes the main idea of
the research paper
• It briefly describes the study
• Read the title carefully
• Ask yourself : What do I understand?

50. Abstract

51. Abstract
• Clearly states the hypothesis/goal/aim of the study
• Provides a brief overview of "Methods" and
"Results"
• Summarizes key results
• Provides short conclusion
• Make notes of what you understand.
• Ask yourself why do I want to read this paper further.

52. Goal: To introduce readers to the subject under study
State Why you did What you did.
State questions/issues to be evaluated in greater detail.
Carefully select references to support those statements.
Introduction

53. • Provides background of the topic
• Contains some details about previously published studies
on the same topic
• Highlights important missing information
• Explains why the present study was conducted
• May/may not provide an overall approach
• Sets a goal/aim/hypothesis (along with possible objectives)
Introduction

54. Try to summarize
the background in
a few sentences
Introduction
Singh V et al., J Cell Sci. 2018 Aug 17;131(16).​

55. Material & Methods: a “tell all” section

56. • List of techniques used in the paper
• Each technique would have following details:
• The dosage/concentration of reagents/drugs/antibodies
• Detailed description (methodology) on how the experiment
was performed
• Other details:
• Sample sizes
• Controls
• Statistical analysis (data analysis)
Methods

57. Results
• Each section has a statement of what was found
after conducting the experiment.
• Read each section along with respective
figure/table
• Does “Result” section answer all the questions?

58. Briefly describe all outcomes using tables and/or figures
to graphically present the results.
This portion of the paper may be brief because your goal
is to state the results and not to discuss or explain your
findings.
Table Or graphs (with standard deviations)
You may feel the data are easier to interpret if presented
in a particular manner

59. Figures
 Figures tell a story even in the
absence of text
 Many “readers” will look only at
abstract and figures
 Figures should be: Uncluttered, large
enough font to be legible
 Use colour to help make your figures
clearer

60. Q : What do you expect to see in results ??
ANS : Different kind of data.
Q: What kind of data ?
ANS : Depends on the kind of study. The data may vary.
Q : Should I be able to understand all of the data ?
ANS : NO
Q : What if I do not understand the data?
ANS : Read more papers. That's what scientists do!!!
Results

62. Schematic
Singh V et al., J Cell Sci. 2018 Aug 17;131(16).​

63. Mouse Tumor DATA
Sung JE et al.,Lab Anim Res. 2017 Jun;33(2):187-194.

64. Specific immunotherapy (SIT) is associated with increased allergen-specific IgGs which have varying affinity
between patients and block binding of Fel d 1 to IgE with variable potency. a Fel d 1-specific IgG titers were
measured as a percentage of total IgG in cat-allergic Non-SIT (n = 5) and Cat-SIT (n = 14) patient sera by
ELISA. Mean (line) and individual patient data representing the average of duplicate wells (dots) are shown.
Statistical analysis was assessed by Mann–Whitney two-tailed test. b Individual patient data for samples used
Patient DATA

65. SPECALISED DATA
e.g. Proteomics data
Tsiatsiani L et al., FEBS J. 2015 Jul;282(14):2612-26.
ASK YOURSELF …
Are results sufficient
to prove the
aim/goal/hypothesis
of the study?

66. • Sometimes authors tend to explain conclusion at the
end of the “Discussion” section
• Paper may or may not have this section
• A summary of obtained results
Conclusion
• Discussion and interpretation of obtained results
• Comparison of results with previously published studies
• Strengths and limitations of the study
• Future implications
Discussion

68. Picking the right paper.
How do you decide ?
YOU TELL ME !

69. References
It is your ethical duty to put your work in the proper context
of the science in the field
You must be sure to give proper attribution to any ideas or
results that you use
Some journals limit the number of references, especially
for letters; “and references therein” is a good trick here

70. How to read a paper in 30min ??
Title – 1min
Abstract – 10min
Quick Read the Results – 10min
Quick read the Conclusions – 9min
DECIDE : Should I read the whole paper ??
Highlight as you read !! (annotation)

71. Annotation

72. Good readers know that it is nearly impossible to comprehend and
retain larger amounts of text without staying very active in the
reading process.
Whether reading paper-based text or digital text, one of the most
effective ways to read actively is through annotation, which means
marking and taking notes in a text in some way.
What is annotation?

73. Annotation
An annotation is a note, comment, or concise statement of
the key ideas in a text or a portion of a text and is commonly
used in reading instruction and in research. When
conducting research, the process of annotation is almost
essential to retaining the knowledge necessary to
understand a text's key points and features and can be
achieved through a number of means.

74. There are two simple and important reasons that good readers
annotate text:
1. Annotating helps readers comprehend and process text in the
moment.
2. Annotating helps readers retain and remember
information later.
Why should I annotate?

75. Why should I annotate?
 to indicate the author's most
important points
 to indicate supporting points
like examples, reasons,
statistics, etc.
 to draw connections
between ideas
 to mark important definitions
and terminology
 to indicate steps in a process
 to help review and remember
info when preparing for class
discussions & tests

79. WHENISSOMETHINGACCEPTEDBYTHECOMMUNITY?
ArXiv is only the first step, someone has to verify that your work looks sensible
Like a WhatsApp forward is not necessarily true, everything in a preprint may not be correct.
Questions that can be asked:
Does the method used look sensible, have all possible sources of error been addressed?
Is there enough information to reproduce the calculation?
Is there any glaring contradiction with previous work?
Are there missing citations or previous work that has not been considered?
RESEARCH CAREERS INPHYSICS ● NISHITA
DESAI

80. It is very important to choose the right research tools that match your research goals and objectives. Use
academic writing tools such as Ref-n-Write to improve the quality of your scientific writing. Sign up for a free
trial below: https://ref-n-write.com

89. Art of Scientific Writing
There is no form of prose more difficult
to understand and more tedious to read
than the average scientific paper.
Francis Crick

91. Effective communication
WRITE/
SPEAK

92. Speaker/ writer
Listener/ Reader
Effective communication

93. Superimposing your thoughts

96. Principles of Effective Writing
Before you start writing, ask: “What am I trying to say?”
 When you finish writing, ask: “Have I said it?”

99.  Top-down vs bottom-up approach
 Writing is not a basic skill, that you learn in high school or even for that matter in later years
 Embarrassing for professionals or an individual to learn at a later stage in life
 Rule-based writing (for eg. Standard formats-memo); not for value-based writing for readers
 Expertise in a subject about which you are writing; not expert at writing (Note the difference!)
 Level of sophistication increases from student-level to faculty-level
 Thinking about stuff not thought before – thinking about the world in different ways and start
writing about it.
 Writing process to help oneself think. i.e. Thinking at a level of complexity > Needs writing >
to do the thinking (Using writing to help yourself think- notes, outlines, etc.)
 Unlike Journalist: not using the writing process to think up new ideas about the world
 Unlike High-school: thinking before writing (outline of paper) and writing after completion of
thought-process (completed paper).
The Craft of Writing Effectively

100. Part I:
Principles of Effective Writing
Kristin Cobb, PhD

101. Part I:
Principles of Effective Writing
Kristin Cobb, PhD

102. Language
Concise, clear, formal and active, it does not need to be complex/use
long sentences and obscure vocabulary.
•Only include one main idea per sentence.
•Keep your sentences to a reasonable length (generally not more than
25 words). Long sentences can be difficult to follow and this may
distract from your point.
•Avoid repetition.

103. Convey your opinion
Research, ideas and arguments should always be open to being
challenged, so it is important that the language you use acknowledges
this.
• Hedges
When writing, be careful of using words such as "definitely" or "proves“
“This suggests...”
“It is possible that...”
“A possible explanation...”
“Usually...”
“Sometimes...”
“Somewhat...”

104. Read the following two sentences:
“Research proves that drinking a large volume of fizzy drinks containing
sugar leads to the development of type II diabetes.”
“Research suggests that high consumption of fizzy drinks containing
sugar may contribute to the development of type II diabetes.”
In sentence 1, the statement is presented as proven fact: that a high volume of sugary
fizzy drinks will definitely lead to type II diabetes. This leaves no room for doubt or
criticism or the fact that some people may drink large volumes of fizzy drinks and never
develop type II diabetes.
In sentence 2, the writer has used 'hedging language' – 'suggests' and 'may contribute'
– to show that while there is evidence to link sugary drinks and type II diabetes, this
may not be true for every person and may be proven to be incorrect in the future.

112. Even Nobel Lauretes face rejection!
Ardem Patapoutian @ardemp
·
Oct 22
I received another disappointing un-fundable score for my
@NIH grant today. I am privileged, and I realize no-one wants
to hear me complain. Just sharing to make the point that
everyone experiences this kind of feedback, and that it never
stops from stinging! 1/3
The most frustrating part is the feeling that you addressed all the
concerns and yet the score remains the same. Will have to wait for
the written comments... But I can only imagine that this is much
tougher to take for young investigators. 2/3
But there is hope! My first grant after cloning PIEZOs was triaged.
But @NIH did ultimately fund the work that showed PIEZO2 is the
principal mechanosensor for touch and proprioception. Message:
stay positive, don't doubt yourself, and keep trying. 3/3

114. Time to use our Brain, Hands and limbs…..

116. The more understanding,
the better transfer

120. Facebook-Anu Harshal
Twitter- @dranuharshal
Linkedin-Anupma Harshal

122. Payal B. Joshi, PhD @payaljs
Director (Operations) and Head (Method Development) at
Shefali Research Laboratories
Talks about #research, #chemistry, #pharmaceutics,
#organicsynthesis, and #artificialintelligence
Divya P. Kumar (She/Her) @DivyaKumar182
Asst. Prof.| Liver Metabolism and Diseases Laboratory- #NAFLD
& #HCC research| DBT- RLS Fellow |Alumna @VCUHealth |
Women in STEM | Tweets personal
Nagaraj Balasubramanian @AdhesionLab
@TataMemorial @UVA @IISERPune | Curious about Cells, Art,
Music & More | All opinions are personal |
DBT-RLS | HGK-IYBA | Royal Society | India Alliance AIMF |
IndiaBioscience IOG @GlobalYAcademy | @IndiaBiofilms
| @TTASIndia
Abhijit Majumder @abhijit_MLab
Associate Professor, Chemical Engg, IIT Bombay

124. • use of Mendeley, read cube or other free tools to organize articles.
Important & helpful while writing reviews.
• How about introducing students to Ethical Issues
Continual learning and effective #networking go hand in hand for a
promising research career. That's why #ResearcherLife brings you some
great benefits to help you polish your research skills and help you
connect with the global research community:

125. Student Learning Center 125
Discovering a Preliminary Thesis
1. Topic: Environmental issue connected to global warming
2. Focused Topic: coal fires
3. Thesis Question: How prevalent are coal fires? In what ways do coal
fires contribute to global warming? What proof is there that coal fires in
fact contribute to global warming?
4. Thesis Statement: “Raging in mines from Pennsylvania to China, coal
fires threaten towns, poison air and water, and add to global warming
(Hacker, 2007, p. 10).”
Source
Hacker, Diana. (2007). A writer’s reference 6th edition. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s.

126. Student Learning Center 126
Discovering a Preliminary Thesis
1. Topic: Technology and consumerism
2. Focused Topic: the way television impacted consumerism within the nuclear family from
the mid 50’s to the early 60’s
3. Thesis Question: How did television target nuclear families and promote specific
consumer habits and values?
4. Thesis Statement: Television programs and advertisements during the 1950’s promoted
consumer habits that promised to support domestic happiness within the nuclear family.

127. Student Learning Center 127
Thesis Statement Examples
“ Although companies often have legitimate concerns that lead them to monitor employees’ Internet usage—from
expensive security breaches to reduced productivity—the benefits of electronic surveillance are outweighed by its
costs to employees’ privacy and autonomy” (Hacker, 2007, p. 12).
“Much maligned and the subject of unwarranted fears, most bats are harmless and highly beneficial” (Hacker,
2007, p.10).
“ Understanding the limitations of medical treatments for children highlights the complexity of the childhood
obesity problem in the United States and underscores the need for physicians, advocacy groups, and policymakers to
search for other solutions” (Hacker, 2007, p. 453).
“Raging in mines from Pennsylvania to China, coal fires threaten towns, poison air and water, and add to global
warming” (Hacker, 2007, p. 10).
Source
Hacker, Diana. (2007). A writer’s reference 6th edition. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s.

128. Student Learning Center 128
Integrating Sources
Use a variety of lead-ins to introduce concepts or findings from
researchers:
1. According to Smith (2001), the presence of a television set in the
home even changed eating habits; frozen TV dinners, TV trays,
and TV tables altered the physical and social contexts of family
meals.
2. By the early 1960’s, “90 percent of all households had at least one
television set” (Bishop & Marx, 2006, p. 2).
3. Television programs and commercials reinforced rigid gender
roles and promised consumers material wealth if they could fit
the roles. One social critic from the era remarked that “television
certainly nurtured both consumerism and conformity” (Cole,
1966, p. 24).