UNAIR NEWS – Apart from expressing our thoughts, writing is necessary as a track record of our work and contributions. Writing is indeed not easy for everyone, even for someone who has a talent for writing. Because there are stages that must be passed and sometimes they cannot be achieved. It was stated by Susy Katikana Sebayang, SP, M.Sc., Ph.D in the Scientific Training held by the In-App division of B-PHA UNAIR Banyuwangi.
“Actually scientific writing is much easier than innovative and creative writing like novel and so on. Because scientific works already have standards and there are already formulas to be followed, “said Susy Katikana Sebayang, S.P, M.Sc., Ph.D., as one of the speakers at the training.
Based on Susy’s explanation, there is a scientific writing structure that is commonly used. It includes title, abstract, introduction, method, result, discussion, conclusion. This format is used more frequently in quantitative studies while for qualitative it is more varied.
“But there are still methods, results, and discussions,” said the lecturer at Faculty of Public Health UNAIR Banyuwangi.
Susy gave tips so that the scientific articles can be on the first page of search engines by using keywords that are often used by many people in the title. It makes the title very important for the scientific work, as it is the first thing readers will notice.
For abstract writing, she emphasized, it must be written briefly but gives the reader an overview of our writing. According to Susy, the introductory section is also written briefly by including the main issues, known problems, gaps of knowledge, and closed with research / writing purposes. Susy emphasized that the introduction is only used to bring the reader to the reasons why and the purpose of the writing.
“Four to five paragraphs are enough to make the introduction,” explained Susy.
For the method section, Susy explained the parts need to be included, such as population and samples, how to collect data (how, who and when the study was conducted and how to ensure quality), how to analyze, and research ethics.
“The operational definition includes the concepts and measurement standards. Unfortunately, there are still many students who do not discuss operational definitions in their scientific articles,” added Susy.
At the end, Susy also explained the differences in the contents of the results and discussions. In the results section, the things presented are those that are in accordance with the purpose of the writing and are limited to the results and interpretations do not need to be discussed. Meanwhile, the discussion can include general findings, comparison with findings in other studies, both appropriate and contradictory.
“Then students can use software for reference such as Endnote, Mendeley, and Zotero. It will make it easier to change the style used in the journal, ” she concluded.
Author: Tyas Ratna Manggali
Editor: Nuri Hermawan
