Module 2. Basic communication skills

Lesson 8

WRITING SKILLS

8.1 Introduction

For effective communication among various factors communication skills of both source and receiver are important. Communication skills encompass verbal and non-verbal communication skill. Writing skills are of prime importance in written communication.

8.2   Characteristics of Good Writing

· Appropriate and Need-based from intended audience’s view-point.

· Use of simple language.

· Use of shorter sentences.

· Use of comprehensible words, phrase etc.

· Accuracy/Correctness.

· Clarity & Brevity.

· Use of relevant/appropriate EXAMPLES for making things clear.

8.3  Writing of Field-Diary and Laboratory Records

8.3.1  Field-Diary

The study of plants and animals in their natural environment requires observations at all levels of organization from an individual organism to the ecosystem, and includes behaviour, life history, traits, distribution, abundance, habitat, landscape and all kinds of interrelationships.  The field diary is the naturalist/ecologist's record of all of these matters as they present themselves to the observer.  

A field-diary is a permanent record of observations and, if it is to fulfill its purpose, it should be useful and comprehensible to others, perhaps long after the author is dead.  The field-diary is also a workbook in which your observational skills are repeatedly and continuously tested and sharpened.

8.3.1.1  A standard field-diary

The standard field- diary consists of three components:

a)  Diary

The field-diary is the nucleus of your field-records.  It is a precise daily account of your many observations, and it should be given high priority, even when you are short of time or exhausted. A narrative diary of daily observations, including locality information, weather and conditions and species lists.

b)  Species accounts

“Species accounts” are organized, so that:

i) All references to, and notes about, a particular species appear in one place, and

 ii) There are not long accounts and details of species scattered & virtually inaccessible, in the journal.

· If you want to know everything you noted about a particular species you don't have to wade through pages of daily journal to find the reference; each species will have a page to itself.

 Catalogue

 A systematic and sequential list of all captures and collections, including reference numbers. The standard field-diary is written up directly, without transcribing field notes, but this requires a discipline and a life-style which is not reasonable to expect on a trip like ours.  You should, therefore, take rough notes during the day in a FIELD NOTEBOOK, and organize and transcribe those notes in the evening.

8.3.1.2  Equipment

The field - diary and species accounts should be written in black, water-proof, fade-proof pigment ink on one side of good quality paper.  An ideal size is about 8.5" x 5.5" (8.6 x 14 cm), or about half the size of a regular letter sheet, but you may use a slightly larger format if you prefer.   The paper should be ruled with horizontal blue lines about 7 mm apart.  You will need a left margin, but it is better to rule this yourself.   Loose leaf sheets have the advantage that can be sorted and appropriately ordered in a binder (and you can easily discard your mistakes), but if you use a bound notebook the sheets won't get lost or blown away. The journal pages are consecutive, and each page must be numbered.

8.3.2 Laboratory Records

Laboratory-records & notebooks, if used properly, can serve as the basis of conception of ideas. They can also serve to help in patent prosecution by enabling the scientists to swear behind a cited reference.

8.4 General Guidelines for Keeping Lab-records & Notebooks

• Do use a bound notebook.
• Do explain acronyms, trademarks, code or unfamiliar jargon.
• Do attach to your lab notebook loose notes, e-mails, letters, graphs, figures and charts containing any part of conception of an idea or result of an experiment.
• Do title, sign and date each attachment, as well as each laboratory notebook page.
• Do record the objective of an experiment as well as the results obtained in as much detail as possible.
• Do record thoughts, conversations, lab meeting discussions, oral reports and discussions, as well as wild speculations and future plans.
• Record all the original data in the bound laboratory notebook and NOT on scratch paper. Be sure to include what is being measured as well as the correct units. Any data that appears to be useless or wrong, draw a single line through so it is still readable. After careful analysis, you may find that the measurement is  valuable.
• Anything that is calculated should be documented along with the method of calculation and the formula used to obtain the answer. Make sure that you pay close attention to significant figures.
• Do write in the active voice.
• Do report completed experiments in the past tense.
• Do give cross references to previous experiments and/or projects.
• Do use a table of contents to provide cross references.
• Do keep your lab notebook under lock and key when you are not in the lab.
• Do track and save completed lab notebooks.
• Do not use binders, loose leaf or spiral notebooks.
• Do not blot out or erase mistakes.
• Do not modify the data.
• Do not rip pages out.
• Do not skip pages.
• Do not leave a page blank.
• Do not use words such as "obvious" or "abandoned" as they have tremendous legal significance.

8.5  Some Tips for Electronic Notebooks

· Do clearly define what you/your laboratory mean by electronic notebooks. To some, data generated on a computer and affixed to a paper notebook is an electronic notebook. To others, saving data on the desktop or hard drive of their computer is an electronic laboratory notebook.

· Do adopt an official procedure for electronic record keeping. Who will be the custodian of the electronically stored data? Is there a back-up?

· Do back-up and write-protect all electronic data.

· Do retain all electronic copies for the duration of the appropriate document retention period.

· Do store your electronic notebook contents on unchangeable mediums, e.g.,CD-R, or in an electronic archive that cannot be modified.

· Do restrict access to the electronic notebook using key and screen locks, and/or passwords.

· Do associate the identity of each author and/or witness with each record automatically.

· Do not create and store records randomly on disks, desktops, or hard drives.

· Do not store records on media that have limited shelf-life.

· Do not allow access to the electronic records by unauthorized personnel.

· Do not rely on methods of dating your entries that can be altered.

· Do not alter any portion of an electronic document.