Art of Science: A Research Report

*For those of you following previous posts on my struggles to write this paper here is the closer you've been looking for! Enjoy!

I.                     INTRODUCTION

“This work is organized around the assumption that professionally trained people have non-verbalized thoughts worth publishing.” [1]

In recent years visual aids have accompanied the written word more frequently. This is especially true in scientific, engineer, and other technical writing. Technical writers make use of visuals because they work in visual fields, and many of the ideas that they have to communicate are best 'seen' and not 'read'. "Graphics of various kinds play a major role in technical writing, often presenting data and ideas more efficiently and precisely than words." [2]

Visuals are central to a research report not only because they use less space, but also because the frequently communicate the idea more effectively. For example, a writer could draw a shear diagram, or attempt to write out what is happening. One method is clearly more efficient than the other. When a reader glances at an effective shear diagram not only does he immediately see the diagram but he can also easily picture the forces acting on the member, as well as the bending moments the shear forces would cause. All of this information that is easily assimilated in a glance would be difficult to understand if the writer attempted to present it simply as text.

Graphics are used to relate not only data but also objects and processes. Indeed most technical information is best presented using a model so that a more general audience, not just the purists, can understand what the writer has to communicate. [3] However, simply including visuals is not always enough for the writer to effectively communicate their point. All illustrations should be carefully considered for efficiency and optimization. [4] The proper visual with the necessary amount of accompanying text allows the reader to flow from text to visual with each element contributing to the understanding of the reader. Thus it is important for the technical writer to be familiar with various types of visuals, what types of information are best communicated in a given type, and how best to present that visual within the text of the paper.

While many writers that have worked in industry for some times may understand these important ideas the majority of beginning writers do not have this experience and knowledge. Experience shows that most undergraduate engineering and science students fall into the category of beginning writer. This paper is designed as a guide for those beginning writers seeking to enhance their papers with visuals. Use the following sections as a guide when choosing and formatting visuals.

 **I removed most of sections 2 and 3 for the format of a blog post. Those sections can be found here.**

III.               General Guidelines

A. Contribute useful content.B. Be properly integrated with the text.C. Be located at the point of greatest convenience for the reader.D. Be clear and self-explanatory.E. Be accurate and not distort the facts.F. Be as simple as possible, but convey all of the necessary information.G. Be designed so that content and relationships are easily grasped and understood.

IV.                Conclusion

Look up. Off the screen, away from the page. Go ahead; the words will still be here when you come back to them. What did you see? Can you describe it to your neighbor using only words on a page? At this point most people feel the need to pull out a pen or pencil and lay down a small sketch on paper.

As the scientific writer sets his pen to paper frequently he too feels the need to add a small doodle on the side. Doodling, or envisioning information, comes as a natural part of the world in which scientists and engineers work. All of the interesting worlds of science are inevitably multivariate in nature. [6] Thus scientific writers need a way to communicate these worlds outside of simple words. This need for a visual explanation of what is happening leads to the diagrams, pictures, and graphs found throughout research reports.

The guidelines outlined above are excellent measures that can be taken to ensure that the graphics communicate all of the information needed and not any more. But only when the author himself knows and understands precisely why he has included a visual does he accompany it with the perfect text to compliment and not overwhelm. At this point the reader flows seamlessly from text to visual and back again gaining insight and understanding along the way.

This point is reached as the author blends the data type with the visual type and places it just so in the context of the paper. The reader then looks at the image for clarity and gains it. From this point the rest of the words make sense because they too came from the image. Without the proper visuals the point where visual and text flow together seamlessly can never be reached. The reader remains lost in a world described as imperfectly as the words the author chooses to use.

No matter how eloquent the words the author uses his reader will still miss a more complete understanding that comes from the aid of a visual. Graphics are meant to help people, including intelligent people, reason about quantitative information. [5]

Thus visuals prove central to the works of a scientific writer. With simple and clear visuals an author can convey his entire meaning to an audience, and leave them with the same understanding he has gained from the research process.

V.                   Reference

[1] R. L Miller, Jr.  How to Write for the Professional Journals Westport: Quorum Books, 1988.

[2] T. E. Pearsall, “Think Visually,” The Elements of Technical Writing, 2^nd ed. Needham Heights: Allyn & Bacon, 2001, ch.6, pp.49-65

[3] C. Mathews, A Guide to Presenting Technical Information: Effective Graphic Communication, Suffolk, UK: Professional Engineering Publisher Ltd, 2000.

[4] J. W. Souther, M. L. White, “Designing the Report”, Technical Report Writing, 2^nd ed. New York; John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 1977, ch.5, sec. 2, pp. 42-48.

[5]E. R. Tufte, The Visual Display of Quantitative Information, Cheshire: Graphics Press, 1983.

[6] E. R. Tufte, Envisioning Information Cheshire: Graphics Press, 1990.