#45 – Ask a Prof Anything 4: Thoughts on Writing and coming up with new ideas in research

Molecular Podcasting with Darren Lipomi

In this episode, I respond to questions related to scientific writing, and coming up with new ideas in scientific research.

To what extent should we minimize jargon in scientific writing?

Is it acceptable to use literary techniques like metaphor in scientific writing?

If I have a lot of data for a single figure, how do I organize it so that the figure isn’t overwhelming?

Different readers are expecting to get different things from a paper. How do you organize the content, and what do you put in each section, from the title to the methods? (Credit to George Whitesides in my description of what should be in the first introductory paragraph of a paper.)

How do you write the abstract to draw the reader in? What’s the difference between the abstract and the introduction?

How do you select a research topic that combines separate disciplines?

Should you “follow your passion” or focus on developing skills? How do you know how your own skills can help inform the selection of a research topic?

Should one expect their skills and their passion to align?