Converting your lab notes into your manuscript Are you one of those researchers who began the literature search but got unbelievably overwhelmed by the sheer volume of work ahead of you that you decided to ignore the entire disaster-waiting-to happen completely? I have some good news and some bad news for you. The bad news is that ignoring will only allow the issue to snowball into a situation where you are buried six feet under because of no planning and foresight. The good news is that there is a well-guarded cheat to all the apparent hard work. Now that the word “cheat” got your attention, let’s move on to the next question that may arise in your head. Are we allowed to cheat in Academics? No, we are not. But more often than not, I have heard professors, guides and mentors use the words “Work smart if not hard.” So, there are no set rules in how you end up with a finished manuscript until you have followed all the ethical rules and regulations. There is also no set law against making your work easy. How do we cheat our way through all the hard work ethically? The answer is simple: Maintain a lab book. Most of us acquire this habit of jotting down the important things, we may forget but actually can’t afford to, by the time we step out of high school. The habits of writing notes is what can save you from getting buried in the pile of to-do lists for writing your manuscript. It does not matter if you write or type these notes; all that matters is that you note them down. Your note taking begins when you begin purposive searches for your chosen research topic. You need to divide your notepad/document into 6 sections 1) 2) 3) 4) 5) 6)
Introduction Aims Methods and methodology Observations Results Discussion
Keep noting every detail you come across in the process of answering your research question/s in the most relevant section. It does not matter if you think that the information may fit in some other section better, just note it down and you can shuffle its placement later. Note down even the details that you think may not be important, particularly some results to your experiments or specific information found in your literature search/review. You can always slash out excess information, but regretting not noting something down when you had the opportunity will not help you. Therefore, note down even your negative or no results and failed attempts if there are any. Next, work on your figures section. Use all the data you have noted and depict them in pictures so your pictures individually and sequentially narrate your journey from the introduction to the discussion. After you have created the necessary images, it’s time for you to sift through all the information you have in your notepad. You must go through all the material and choose the data you wish to include in your manuscript.
Select all the data and place them strategically in your manuscript so that it highlights the results and findings that you wish to highlight. Strategic planning is best when you have a calm mind, and because you have all of your material written down already, building your manuscript will come easily. You will find yourself in better control of your manuscript and can focus on telling your audience only that you wish to tell them about even though you choose not to omit much. The arrangement of your words will also speak to the readers about the significance of your research. You will need to majorly work on the introduction and discussion section of your notepad. Let the aims, methods, observations, and results be as unedited and as unfiltered as possible, because these sections will reflect the accuracy and reproducibility of your research. For your conclusion, include the strongest and most compelling details of your results and inform your audience how your findings will impact your specialized subject area. Lastly, build and abstract by picking out the highlights of every section in your notepad. And, before you know it you have a well-shaped manuscript in front you. However, if you are a non-native English-speaking researcher, then it may benefit you to submit your manuscript to a professional research paper editing and proofreading services so that you are not flagged of as a poor researcher/academic writer because of your broken English. These companies also offer other services required for publishing your manuscript (example, formatting, journal selection, etc.)