Journal articles, Introduction section

How are conference abstracts and journal article Introduction sections similar How are they different What are the similarities and differences between... 

Consider the following passage, adapted from a journal article Introduction section. Which sentences should include citations Explain how you arrived at your decisions. 

The poster text is divided into the same general IMRD sections as the journal article Introduction, Methods, Results, and Discussion. Similarly, most posters include an Acknowledgments section, some have an abbreviated References section, and all have a title and author list. Most posters do not include an abstract, in part because of space limitations and in part because an abstract already appears in the conference proceedings. Like the journal article, the IMRD structure of the poster follows an hourglass shape. The top (Introduction) and bottom (Discussion) sections have a broader focus, while the middle sections (Methods and Results) have a narrower focus. Each section of the poster can be divided into individual moves or steps that guide viewers in a conventional way through the content of each section. These moves are analyzed in the next part of the chapter. 

Although the bulk of the journal article is written for experts, a few sections are often accessible to less sophisticated readers. For example, general or summative remarks in the abstract, Introduction section, and conclusions are often accessible to a scientihc audience, allowing those readers to grasp the key concepts of the work. Similarly, many chemistry journals include features (e.g., book reviews, editorials, and news articles) that are written specihcally for scientihc and general audiences. 

In chapter 1, we learned that genres have both broad and fine organizational structures. In this chapter, we focus on the broad organizational structure of the journal article, signaled by identifiable sections and headings. In general, journal articles are divided into four major sections. These sections have the familiar names Introduction, Methods, Results, and Discussion collectively, this organizational structure is referred to as the IMRD format. In addition to these four... 

The Introduction section of a journal article Identlhes the research area, explains the Importance of the research, provides background Information, cites and summarizes key literature in the held, points out what still needs to be studied, and Introduces the reader to the work presented In the article. The Methods section—formally known as Materials and Methods or Experimental (Section)— describes how the study was conducted. The Results section summarizes quantitative (and possibly qualitative) data collected during the study. In the Discussion section, authors interpret their data and suggest the larger implications and/or applications of their results. Each of these major sections can be further divided into moves, as we will see in subsequent chapters. 

This chapter focuses on the Introduction, the first formal section of the journal article. The Introduction is often the first section to be read (by readers) but the last section to be written (by writers). This is because the Introduction must tell readers where the article is going and why , a mission that is most easily accomplished after the rest of the sections have been completed. By the end of this chapter, you should be able to do following ... 

You have probably noticed that the Introduction is one of the most easily understood sections of a journal article. This is because the Introduction is written for a more general audience than the rest of the paper. A wide range of readers, from... 

The Introduction begins with the most general information (the research area) and gradually shifts to a more specihc focus (the current work), preparing the reader for the highly specihc focus of the Methods section. This transition from general to specihc is apparent in the now-familiar hourglass shape of the journal article. 

Each of the following passages is about a Grignard reaction. Four are from journal articles (two from Introduction sections and two from Discussion sections), and one is from a textbook. Based on your understanding of the purpose and intended audience of each section and genre, read each passage and decide where it comes from. Explain what information you used to make your decisions. 

The Introduction, like other sections of a journal article, follows a conventional set of moves. In fact, the move structure for the Introduction section is likely the most consistently followed move structure presented in this textbook (hgure 6.1). 

Asyou might suspect, not all authors or journals adhere strictly to the move structure depicted in figure 6.1. One variation (employed commonly by organic chemists) is to mention the gap and the current work in the first paragraph of the Introduction. We will encounter one such variation later in this chapter, when we examine the Introduction section of a journal article from The Journal of Organic Chemistry. 

Rewrite the following sentences so that they conform more closely to the conventions of an opening sentence for the Introduction section of a journal article ... 

Consider the following direct quotation that describes lead concentrations in ice cores and hrn (loosely compacted granular snow) taken from a glacier at the Swiss-Italian border. Convert the direct quote into a summary of the work as it might appear in the Introduction section of a journal article on lead emissions in... 

Select three different chemistry-specific journals. In each journal, find two articles that include gap statements in their Introduction sections. Write down the name of the journal, the gap statement (either restated or verbatim), and the location of the gap statement (near the beginning, middle, or end of the Introduction). Comment on whether the gap statement serves as a transition between describing previous work and the current work. 

The phrases in table 6.3 are often followed by the personal pronoun we (e.g., In the present study, we...). In such instances, we is used to signal the beginning of the authors presented work in the journal article. (Recall that we is also used in Results sections to signal human choice and in Discussion sections to signal interpretative remarks.) Table 6.4 lists some verbs that typically follow we in the fill-the-gap statement. Note that the verbs are in present tense when they refer to what is presented in the paper (e.g., we present ) they are in past tense when they refer to work done in the past (e.g., we measured ). (See table 6.5 for a summary of common functions of verb tense—voice combinations in Introductions.)... 

In a computer-based analysis of Introduction sections from 60 published chemistry Journal articles, there were no occurrences of the term researchers. 

When used properly, such words and phrases contribute to the flow of the written passage. Of course, their use is not confined to the Introduction section of a journal article (although all the examples here come from Introductions). When used appropriately, and in the right places, such words and phrases add cohesiveness to a journal article as a whole. A list of useful phrases, organized by their common functions, is presented in table 6.6. Many, but not all, of these phrases are conventionally followed by commas when they start a sentence. 

Browse through the Introduction sections of three different journal articles and ... 

Also explain the following to a friend who hasn t yet given much thought to writing an Introduction section for a journal article ... 

When compared to the Introduction, Methods, Results, and Discussion sections of a journal article, the title and abstract are quite short the title usually has fewer... 

Because they both include the word abstract , you may think that a conference abstract is just like a journal article abstract. In fact, a conference abstract combines features of both the Introduction section and abstract of a journal article. Like the Introduction, a conference abstract introduces work that will be presented (in this case, at a conference). Like the journal article abstract, a conference abstract highlights signihcant findings. 

The second audience comprises conference attendees, who read abstracts to determine whose talk to attend or poster to view. Because national conferences typically have multiple concurrent sessions, attendees rely on abstracts to make their decisions about what sessions to attend, where to go, and when. Individuals who read your abstract are likely to be in a related field of chemistry, but most likely will not be in your specific area of chemistry. Thus, it is important to keep your abstract general enough to be readily understood across different areas of science, thereby targeting primarily a scientific audience. In this regard, the conference abstract is more similar to the Introduction section of a journal article than to the abstract of a journal article, the latter written for an expert audience. 

Sentences a-c are taken from journal articles. For each, (1) indicate which poster section the information would belong in (Introduction, Methods, Results, Discussion) and (2) rewrite the information so that it is appropriate for a poster. 

Jot down ideas about why your research area is important. Think of at least three ideas on your own, and then augment your list with ideas suggested in the literature. Is it a growing area of interest What benefit(s) or new knowledge will your research area provide (Search for these ideas in the Introduction and Conclusions sections of journal articles.)... 

The largest number of citations is found in the Introduction sections of journal articles, posters, and research proposals, consistent with the purposes of the section. Introductions of both journal articles and research proposals often include 15 or more citations in opening paragraphs (often with multiple citations in a single sentence). Far fewer citations (sometimes even none) are included in poster Introductions because of space limitations and the poster s role in emphasizing new results. 

The opening section of most written work (typically the Introduction) sets the stage for the rest of the work hence, more than any other section, the early part of one s writing foreshadows what is to come in subsequent sections. Foreshadowing can be viewed as making a promise to your readers. In a journal article, as an example, the promise typically appears in the hll-the-gap statement ( In this work, we demonstrate... ). As you hnish your written work, make sure that you have fulhlled any promises that you have made. If you have either overstated or understated your case, be sure to bring these statements in line with what your work ultimately achieves. 

Redundancy is also common in sections of a work that have overlapping purposes. Examples include the abstract of a journal article or the Project Summary of a research proposal each has the purpose of summarizing key points from the accompanying document. Although information can be repeated in the abstract or Project Summary, authors are required to state the information differently, resisting the temptation to merely copy sentences from other sections of their work. Another vulnerable place for redundancy is in the Discussion section of a journal article, which shares several overlapping purposes with the Introduction section. For example, beginning writers sometimes repeat the fill-the-gap statement of the Introduction (e.g., In this work, we measured ) in the sum-... 

In all chapters the latest journal articles and patents have been reviewed. Each chapter has tables presenting compilations from several papers, and they are all appropriately referenced. Each contains an introductory section in which older preparative references are given in order to maintain the continuity of the subject. Procedures are chosen on the basis of safety considerations and ease of being carried out with standard laboratory equipment. Each chapter should be considered a good preparative introduction to the subject and not a final, definitive work. Space limitations have guided us in presenting only the core of the subject. This book should be especially useful to industrial chemists and students of polymer chemistry because it provides a ready source of preparative procedures for various polymer syntheses. 

In this chapter, medicinal aspects of vanadium compounds acting on the cellular/molecular level (Section 5.1) and the interaction of vanadium with proteins (including, to some extent, interferences with protein substrates and DNA Section 5.2) will be covered. Since beneficial and adverse effects can go hand and hand, or are dose dependent and/or controlled by a multitude of influential factors, this coverage also considers aspects directed towards absorption, distribution and the toxic implications of vanadium, some of which have already been addressed briefly in the Introduction. A comprehensive treatise on nutritional, environmental and toxicological aspects is beyond the scope of this book. The interested reader is referred to review articles in books and journals mentioned and recommended in the section Further Reading at the end of Chapter 1. 

As material for this book has been drawn from a wide variety of sources, only some items wiU be listed here. For references to Parliamentary Debates, to the Congressional Record, to the Official Journal of the League of Nations and to articles or speeches reported in newspapers, readers should consult the Notes section. They may also wish to consult the more comprehensive bibliographies in the SIPRI volumes, in CBW An Introduction and Bibliography by J. 

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