Guide to Appropriate Literature Survey and Scientific Writing

Literature survey/review is an evaluation of what accredited scholars and researchers have written on a selected topic. In writing the literature review, author’s purpose is to convey to his/her reader what knowledge and ideas have been established on a subject, and what their strengths and weaknesses are. As a section of writing, the literature review must be defined by a guiding concept. It is not just a descriptive list of the material available, or a set of summaries. A literature review must do these things: (i) be organized around and related directly to the thesis or research question; (ii) synthesize results into a summary of what is and is not known; (iii) identify areas of controversy in the literature; (iv) formulate questions that need further research. Researchers conduct reviews of the literature to justify proposed studies, to uncover patterns of findings in the field, to enter into scientific debate, and to discover gaps in knowledge that lead to future research questions. Research reviews are often the first step toward making discoveries and social interventions in our society. A scientific paper has been defined as "a written and published report describing original research results". The watchwords of scientific writing are clarity, brevity, and organization, which are essential because researchers usually read scientific literature for information and not entertainment. Scientific research articles provide a method for scientists to communicate with other scientists about the results of their research. Thus, researcher’s assignment as an author is to convey information quickly, yet clearly, understandably, and concisely. In order to write a good scientific paper, author generally should use the format and style described below. However, although formats and styles vary from time to time and place to place, the clear, concise, and organized style does not. Before writing a first draft, it is important to establish that the topic of the manuscript is likely to be consistent with the focus of the journal. This may be clearly stated within the journal or may be determined by examining several recent issues. Having selected a journal, it is essential to carefully read and follow the “guidelines for authors” published within the journal or obtained directly from the editor or publisher. These guidelines are usually very specific and include rules about word limit, organization of the manuscript, margins, line spacing, preparation of tables and figures and the method used to cite references. Failure to comply with the guidelines may result in rejection or return of the manuscript for correction, thereby delaying the process of review and publication. An accurate, terse, and lucid presentation of the information at hand is a work of beauty and excitement in its ability to convey maximum information in minimum space and reader time. Having finished the first draft, immediately revise it and be prepared to do this several times until the author feels it is not possible to improve it further. Acceptance of a manuscript is invariably conditional on changes being made, so the author must has to be prepared to rewrite and revise the manuscript extensively. In many instances, a manuscript has more than one author and thus the writing may be shared. However, the style needs to be consistent throughout, so even if sections of the early drafts are written by different authors, the first author must go Corresponding author: Dr. M. Aminur Rahman, Laboratory of Marine Biotechnology, Institute of Bioscience, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 UPM Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia; E-mail: aminur1963@gmail.com. M. Ruhul Amin, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Kuliyyah of Engineering, International Islamic University Malaysia, Jalan Gombak, 53100 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; E-mail: aminbpy@gmail.com. through the entire manuscript before submitting, and make any necessary editorial changes if required.