SCI 102: Writing Better Research Papers
Are you an early career researcher or science student? Do you want to improve your academic writing? This course is for you. Scroll down for more details about how it works.
All lessons are released at once.
Welcome Video
What is this course all about?
FREE PREVIEWNaive Philosophy of Science
A History of Critical Thinking
How critical thinking was taught in the past
Informal Logic vs Formal Logic
Video with Discussion: Falsification
Inductive and Deductive Reasoning
Reasoning Versus Argumentation
Argument from Authority
The problem of definitions
What makes something "science"?
Quiz: Scientific Reasoning
Writing Coherently
The non sequitur
Signposting
Connectives
Storytelling as a Structure
Structure within Paragraphs
Intros and Outros
Quiz: Coherence
Tree Diagrams
Clarity and Readability
Rhetorical Styles
Discussion and Reading: Classic Style
Discussion and Reading: Practical Style
Writing Your Abstract Thoughts
Quiz: Thinking About Grammar
Choosing a good scientific problem
What is a reputable source, really?
How to use sources: Quoting
How to use sources: Paraphrasing
What is meant by common knowledge?
A note about plagiarism
How to synthesize knowledge
Quiz: Doing Your Research
The Flow of Scientific Reasoning
The Paper
What's the set-up?
What did you do?
What did you learn?
What does it mean?
The abstract and supplemental info
A word on grant proposals
Quiz: The Paper
This course is self-directed but time-limited. You have 10 weeks of access, which is more than enough time to complete the 6 units. All content is released at once so you can work through it as your schedule allows. There are no scheduled lectures. You are evaluated based on quizzes and peer discussions.
Discussions: There are 3 discussions. Students will either watch a short video or read an article and then discuss it among themselves.
Quizzes: Each unit concludes with a multiple choice quiz where students evaluate and identify problems in written passages.
Mixture of learning styles: Some of the units are readings, while others are video lectures or slide shows. We deliver the content in multiple ways to maximize retention.