how to write an introduction to a scientific paper

how to write an introduction to a scientific paper

Charles Dawgson, under the pen name Lewis Carroll, wrote: "A white rabbit was wearing glasses. Where can I begin to please your Majesty?" He asked. The king replied seriously, 'Start from the beginning to the end, and then stop.' The story explains how to begin the story simply and elegantly.

You can think of the author of a scientific paper as a storyteller. The introduction, the first part of a paper, is often underestimated in terms of relevance and difficulty.

The rigor and brevity of the scientific language should not be allowed to undermine the dignity of the text. However, this poses a very specific challenge for the author. Over the years, I have seen several mistakes repeated in the introduction. In this article, I would like to correct these mistakes.

The most common mistake is prolonged introduction. This can come from a number of factors, but the most common reason seems to be that the content is often derived from papers where relatively long literature reviews are not uncommon. After struggling to write wonderful literature reviews, authors become enthusiastic about the quality of their writing and tend to feel the urge to share it with others. The downside is that most of us are not interested in long, non-objective writing. The rule of thumb that determines the length of the introduction is that it should not exceed 10% of the total number of words written.

The second most common mistake is a lack of consistency. Often, focusing on so many different topics simultaneously often misses the core topics on which the study is based. The introduction usually begins with a paragraph that contextualizes the research topic, then leads to an explanation of the latest techniques in a particular topic. The author should slowly drive the reader's thoughts towards the research objectives set out in the final paragraph of the introduction. In addition, the idea should be structured so that the reader can learn about the purpose of the study and understand the relevance of the subject before the research objectives are presented. Therefore, the reader should be able to easily grasp the nature of the scientific contribution intended by the author.

Another recommendation is to provide an appropriate number of references. Most breakthrough studies tend to use fewer citations, and too many citations often leave a negative impression on experienced readers. You should also avoid using the author's name as the subject of a sentence or mentioning the author's name in the body.

For example, "Hearts, which investigated the prevalence of anterior occlusion in 1984 in 1984 in children with complete primary teeth, found that 45.4% of the factors influencing the occurrence of this occlusion during primary teeth were genetic factors and 54.6% postnatal factors."

Write it succinctly as follows.
"The factors affecting the incidence of anterior occlusion in children during the complete primary dental period were found to be genetic (45.4%) or postnatal (54.6%)."

The way you emphasize it differs depending on your writing style. In the example above, while Hearts play a key role in the first paragraph, in the second paragraph, information is centered. Previous papers used to cite many authors, which is still the case in the humanities field. This change in style is partly because the claims of authorities have been gradually replaced by evidence-based practices. Today, it doesn't matter who the author of a given statement, thought, or conclusion is. What really matters is the reliability of the evidence provided by the source. That doesn't mean you can't cite the author's name. However, you should only cite your name in exceptional cases to emphasize the importance of important publications.

This is the most common mistake the author makes when writing the introduction. However, if you are wondering when and how to present the core issues of your research, remember the KISS '𝗞𝗲𝗲𝗽 𝗶𝘁 𝘀𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲, 𝘀𝗰𝗶𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝘀𝘁' lesson.

J. Faber, Journal of the World Federation of Orthodontists 1, e133 (2012).
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