rules of thumb for writing research articles

Rules of thumb for writing research articles

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T1 - Rules of thumb for writing research articles

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Journal Article Impact I: Rules of Thumb

No one tool (or ring ) can give you an absolute answer about how often an article has been cited, read, or shared.   Each tool can only report on what it knows. Web of Science doesn’t index every journal published; Mendeley isn’t the only way people share articles; even Google Scholar can’t scoop up everything. So you can use a few tools to get an impression or ‘average’ of how often an article is cited or downloaded. Or you could choose the tool that provides the best coverage of your discipline, and use only that tool.

The numbers reported by these tools may not mean what we think they mean. ( Inconceivable! ) Say you’ve found out that one of your articles has been cited by 60 other articles. Wonderful! We generally take that to mean that 60 other authors have read the article, found it to be useful in their work, and have cited it. Many others may have read the article, but not cited it. Some people may not have read the article, but cited it anyway, because the article they read cited it. And what if someone cited your article because they disagreed with you? I think most citations are made for the first reason – the article was read and found to be useful. But those other scenarios are both plausible and possible.

Two more posts in this series will provide tips on tracking citations and utilizing altmetrics .

Related posts:

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Ten simple rules for responsible referencing

Bart penders.

Maastricht University, Care and Public Health Research Institute (CAPHRI), Department of Health, Ethics & Society, Maastricht, the Netherlands

We researchers aim to read and write publications containing high-quality prose, exceptional data, arguments, and conclusions, embedded firmly in existing literature while making abundantly clear what we are adding to it. Through the inclusion of references, we demonstrate the foundation upon which our studies rest as well as how they are different from previous work. That difference can include literature we dispute or disprove, arguments or claims we expand, and new ideas, suggestions, and hypotheses we base upon published work. This leads to the question of how to decide which study or author to cite, and in what way.

Writing manuscripts requires, among so much more, decisions on which previous studies to include and exclude, as well as decisions on how exactly that inclusion takes place. A well-referenced manuscript places the authors’ argument in the proper knowledge context and thereby can support its novelty, its value, and its visibility. Citations link one study to others, creating a web of knowledge that carries meaning and allows other researchers to identify work as relevant in general and relevant to them in particular.

On the one hand, citation practices create value by tying together relevant scientific contributions, regardless of whether they are large or small. In the process, they confer or withhold credit, contributing to the relative status of published work in the literature. On the other hand, citation practices exist in the context of current regimes of evaluating science. While it may go unnoticed in daily writing practices, the act of including a single reference in a study is thus subject to value-based criteria internal to science (e.g., content, relevance, credit) and external to science (e.g., accountability, performance).

Accordingly, referencing is not a neutral act. Citations are a form of scientific currency, actively conferring or denying value. Citing certain sources—and especially citing them often—legitimises ideas, solidifies theories, and establishes claims as facts. References also create transparency by allowing others to retrace your steps. Referencing is thus a moral issue, an issue upon which multiple values in science converge. Citing competitors adds to their profiles, citing papers from a specific journal adds to its impact factor, citing supervisors or lab mates helps build your own profile, and citing the right papers helps establish your familiarity with the field. All of these translate into pressures on scientists to cite specific sources, from peers, editors, and others. Fong and Wilhite demonstrate the abundance of so-called coercive citation practices [ 1 ]. Also, citation-based metrics have proliferated as proxies for quality and impact over the years [ 2 – 4 ], only to be currently subjected to significant and highly relevant critique [ 5 – 8 ]. To cite well, or to reference responsibly, is thus a matter of concern to all scientists.

Here, I offer 10 simple rules for responsible referencing. Scientists as authors produce references, and as readers and reviewers, they assess and evaluate references. Through this symmetrical relationship to literature that all scientists share, they take responsibility for tying together all knowledge it contains. Producing and evaluating references are, however, distinct processes, warranting different responsibilities. Respecting this dual relationship researchers have with literature, the first six rules primarily refer to producing a citation and the responsibilities this entails. The second set of four rules refers to evaluating citations and the meaning they have or acquire once they have become part of a text.

Rule 1: Include relevant citations

All scholarly writing requires a demonstration of the relevance of the questions asked, a display of the methods used, a rationale for the use of materials, and a discussion of issues relevant to the content of the publication. All of these are done, at least in large part, by including citations to relevant previous work. Omitting such references can wrongfully suggest that your own publication is the origin of an idea, a question, a method, or a critique, thereby illegitimately appropriating them. Citations identify where ideas have come from, and consulting the cited works allows readers of your text to study them more closely, as well as to evaluate whether your use of them is appropriate.

A single exception exists when facts, findings, or methods have become part of scientific or scholarly canon. There is no need to include a citation on the claim that DNA is built out of four bases, nor do you have to cite Kjell Kleppe or Kary Mullis every time you use PCR (neither do I right now). However, the decision as to when something truly becomes part of canon can be quite difficult and will include periods of adjustment (with irregular citation) and negotiation (on whether to cite or not).

Rule 2: Read the publications you cite

Citation is not an administrative task. First, a single paper can be cited for multiple reasons, ranging from reported data to methods, and can be cited both positively and negatively in the literature. The only way to identify whether its content is relevant as support for your claim is to read it in full.

Second, the collection of citations included to support your work and argument is one of the elements from which your work draws credibility. The same goes for the citations you include to criticise, dispute, or disprove. As a consequence, a chain is only as strong as its weakest link. The quality of the publication you trust and upon which you confer authority codetermines the quality and credibility of your work. Citation rates, especially on the journal level, do not correspond well to research quality [ 9 ], and they conflate positive and negative citations, not distinguishing authority conferred or authority that is challenged. To cite meaningfully and credibly requires that you consult the content of a publication rather than whether others have cited it, as a criterion for citation.

Rule 3: Cite in accordance with content

If, at some phase in the research, you have decided that a specific study merits citation, the issue of specifically how and where to cite it deserves explicit consideration. Mere inclusion does not suffice. Sources deserve credit for the exact contribution they offer, not their contribution in general. This may mean that you need to cite a single source multiple times throughout your own argument, including explanations or indications why.

A specific way to break Rule 3 is in the form of the so-called ‘Trojan citation’ [ 10 ]. The Trojan citation arises when a publication reporting similar findings to your own is cited in the context of a discussion of a minor issue, ignoring (sometimes deliberately) its key argument or contribution. By focussing on a trivial detail, the Trojan citation obscures the true significance of the cited work. As a consequence, it hides that your work is not as novel as it seems. As a questionable citation practice, a Trojan citation can be used to satisfy reviewers’ or editors’ requests to include a reference to a relevant paper. Alternatively, a Trojan citation may emerge unknowingly when (1) you are unaware of the content of a cited publication (not adhering to Rule 2 creates a very significant risk of being unable to follow Rule 3) or (2) disputes exist in the scientific community or among the authors on the contribution and/or quality of a scientific publication (in which case, Rule 4 will help).

Rule 4: Cite transparently, not neutrally

Citing, even in accordance with content, requires context. This is especially important when it happens as part of the article’s argument. Not all citations are a part of an article’s argument. Citations to data, resources, materials, and established methods require less, if any, context. As part of the argument, however, the mere inclusion of a citation, even when in the right spot, does not convey the value of the reference and, accordingly, the rationale for including it. In a recent editorial, the Nature Genetics editors argued against so-called neutral citation. This citation practice, they argue, appears neutral or procedural yet lacks required displays of context of the cited source or rationale for including [ 11 ]. Rather, citations should mention assessments of value, worth, relevance, or significance in the context of whether findings support or oppose reported data or conclusions.

This flows from the realisation that citations are political, even though that term is rarely used in this context. Researchers can use them to accurately represent, inflate, or deflate contributions, based on (1) whether they are included and (2) whether their contributions are qualified. Context or rationale can be qualified by using the right verbs. The contribution of a specific reference can be inflated or deflated through the absence of or use of the wrong qualifying term (‘the authors suggest’ versus ‘the authors establish’; ‘this excellent study shows’ versus ‘this pilot study shows’). If intentional, it is a form of deception, rewriting the content of scientific canon. If unintentional, it is the result of sloppy writing. Ask yourself why you are citing prior work and which value you are attributing to it, and whether the answers to these questions are accessible to your readers.

Rule 5: Cite yourself when required

In the context of critical discussions of citations and evaluations of citation-based metrics, self-citation has almost become a taboo. It is important to realise, though, that self-citation serves an important function by showing incremental iterative advancement of your work [ 12 ]. As a consequence, your previous work or that of the group in which you are embedded should be cited in accordance with all of the rules above. The amount of acceptable self-citation is very likely to differ between fields; smaller fields (niche fields) are likely to (legitimately) exhibit more.

This does not mean that self-citation is always unproblematic. For instance, excessive self-citation can suggest salami slicing, a publication strategy in which elements of a single study are published separately [ 13 ]. This questionable research practice, in tandem with self-citation, aims to inflate publication and citation metrics.

Rule 6: Prioritise the citations you include

Many journals have restrictions on the number of references authors are allowed to include. The exact number varies per publisher, journal, and article type and can be as low as three (for a correspondence item in Nature ). Even if no reference limit exists, other journals impose a word limit that includes references, effectively also capping the amount of references. Coping with these limits sometimes requires difficult decisions to omit citations you may feel are legitimate or even necessary. In order to deal with this issue and avoid random removal of references, all desired citations require prioritisation. A few rules of thumb, shown in Box 1 , will help decisions on reference priority.

Box 1: Reference prioritisation

‘Ten simple sub-rules for prioritising references’ can help to facilitate prioritisation. In most cases, a subset of the 10 sub-rules will suffice. First, prioritise anew for each publication. Prioritisations cannot (easily) be copied from one study to another. Second, prioritise per section (e.g., introduction, methods, discussion), not across the entire paper. Different sections require different types of support. Third, for the introduction, prioritise reviews, allowing broad context for relevance and aim. Fourth, for the discussion, prioritise empirical papers, allowing detailed accounts of relative contribution. Fifth, prioritise reviewed over un- or prereviewed papers (e.g., editorials, preprints, etc.). Sixth, deprioritise self-citations. Seventh, limit the number of citations to support a specific claim, if necessary, to a single citation. Eighth, move methodological citations to supplementary (online) information. Ninth, in cases of equal relevance, prioritise citation of female first or last authors to help repair gender imbalances in science. Tenth, request the inclusion of additional references with the editors, arguing that you have used all of the previous nine sub-rules.

Rule 7: Evaluate citations as the choices that they are

Research publications are not mere vessels of data or findings. They convey a narrative explaining why questions are worth asking, what their answers may mean, how these answers were reached, why they are to be trusted, and more. They also have a purpose in the sense that they will act as support for other studies to come. Each of the elements of their story is supported by links to other studies, and each of those links is the result of an active choice by the author(s) in the context of the goal they wish to achieve by their inclusion.

At the other end of the narrative, readers assess and evaluate the story constantly, asking whether it could have been told differently. The realisation that narratives can be told differently, supported by other citations to other prior work, does not disqualify them. Both the story and the choice of citations are political choices meant to provide the argument with as much power, credibility, and legitimacy the author(s) can muster. They are tailored to the audience the authors seek to convince: their peers. The choice to include or exclude a reference can only be evaluated in the context of that narrative and the role they play in it. Peritz has provided a classification of citation roles to assist this evaluation [ 14 ].

Rule 8: Evaluate citations in their rhetorical context

Rhetorical strategies serve to convince and persuade. Narratives are but one of the tools that can be used to persuade audiences. Metaphors, numbers, and associations all feature in our research papers as tools to convince our readers. The genre of the scientific article has had centuries to evolve to incorporate many of them, with the goal of convincing readers that the author is right. Bazerman has literally written the book on this [ 15 ] and urges us to consider academic texts and their features as part of social and intellectual endeavours. Citations are a part of the social fabric of science in the sense that through citing specific sources, authors show their allegiance to schools of thought, communities, or, in the context of scientific controversies, which paradigm they consider themselves part of. Other rhetorical uses of citations include explicit citations to notable figures and their work, which can serve as appeals to authority, while long lists of citations can serve as proxies for well-studied subjects.

Consider the following: Authors can describe a field as well-studied and include three references—X, Y, and Z—as support for their claim. Alternatively, they can argue that a field is understudied but that three exceptions exist, i.e., X, Y, and Z. Understanding the value attributed to X, Y, and Z in that particular text requires assessment of the rhetorical strategies of the author(s).

Rule 9: Evaluate citations as framed communication

Authors use words to accomplish things and, in service of those goals, position their work and that of others. They frame prior work in a very specific way, supporting the arguments made. We all do. The positioning of X, Y, and Z either as the norm or as exceptions, as shown in Rule 8, is an example of framing. It is important to recognise such framing and that X, Y, and Z acquire meaning in the text as the result of the frame. There is no frameless communication, as Goffman [ 16 ] demonstrated. All messages and texts contain and require a frame—a structure of definitions and assumptions that help organise coherence, connections, and, ultimately, meaning—or in other words, a perspective on reality.

As a result, a citation is not a neutral line drawn between publications A and B. Rather, the representation of cited article A only acquires meaning in the context of citing in article B. Article A can be framed differently when cited in work B or C. It can be framed as innovative in B or dogmatic in C. Framing usually is not lying or deceiving; it is a normative positioning of evidence in context. Hence, a citation is a careful translation of a source’s relevant elements, which acquire meaning in that context only.

An important consequence of this is that merely counting citations of article A in the literature does not inform us of the value (or many types of value or lack thereof) of article A to the scientific community. This point also appears as the first principle in the Leiden Manifesto, which argues that quantitative metrics can only support qualitative metrics (i.e., reading with an attentive eye for politics, rhetoric, context, and frame—or as adhering to Rules 7–9). The Leiden Manifesto was published by bibliometricians and scholars of research evaluation following the 2014 conference on Science and Technology Indicators in Leiden, the Netherlands. It warns against the abuse of, among other things, citation-based research metrics [ 9 ].

Rule 10: Accept that citation cultures differ across boundaries

Despite critiques of the system, science is organised in such a way that citations continue to act as a currency that is represented as being universal [ 4 ]. However, citation practices are, for the most part, local practices, whether local to laboratories or department or local to disciplines. The average number of citations per paper differs between disciplines, and the way that citations are represented in the text and the value of being cited also differ radically [ 17 ]. What counts as proper citation practice in molecular biology—for instance, the inclusion of multiple references following a statement—is considered unacceptable in research ethics or science policy, in which single references require paragraphs of contextualisation and translation (see Rule 9 ). When reading a paper from an adjacent discipline, respect its different norms and conventions for responsible referencing and proper citation. If you are cited by a scientist from another discipline, assess that act as existing in a (however slightly) different citation culture.

Acknowledgments

I thank Maurice Zeegers and his team, who work on citation analyses, for stimulating me to think about the issue of citation more clearly, deeply, and critically, resulting in the considerations above. I also thank David Shaw for critical comments, moral support, and editorial assistance. As a closing note, as the human being that I am, I too have quite possibly referenced imperfectly in my previous work.

Funding Statement

The work that lead to this publication was, in part, supported by the ZonMW programme Fostering Responsible Research Practices, grant no. 45001005. The funder had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.

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Last Updated: Jul 18, 2024 Views: 130308

How old your research sources can be, using the publication date or date of creation as the defining criteria, is either stated in your assignment rubric or depends on your field of study or academic discipline.  If it’s a requirement for your assignment, look for words like “sources must be published in the last 10 years” or words to that effect that specify the publication date or range required.  If the currency of sources is not a requirement of your assignment, think about the course involved and what an appropriate age might be.

How fast-changing is the field of study?

Sources for a history paper might, by their very nature, be older if they are diaries, personal letters, or other documents created long ago and used as primary sources.  Sources used for research in the sciences (health care, nursing, engineering), business and finance, and education and other social science fields require more “cutting edge” research, as these fields change quickly with the acquisition of new knowledge and the need to share it rapidly with practitioners in those fields.

A good rule of thumb is to use sources published in the past 10 years for research in the arts, humanities, literature, history, etc.

For faster-paced fields, sources published in the past 2-3 years is a good benchmark since these sources are more current and reflect the newest discoveries, theories, processes, or best practices.

Use the library’s Multi-Search search results page to limit your sources to those published within a date range you specify.  Use the Publication Date custom setting seen on the left side of the search results page:

For further assistance with this or other search techniques, contact the Shapiro Library email at [email protected]  or use our 24/7 chat service.

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Rules of Thumb for Writing Research Articles

The paper provides' rules of thumb'for writing research articles (RA) and getting them published. These were discussed during the" Scientific writing course" organized for ITC PhD students by Cressie Communication Services. Important aspects of macro and sub-structure of a paper were selected through group discussions. The substructure and functions of different sections of RAs are described. Results of previous investigations and interviews among journal editors were used to summarize what makes a good RA. It was ...

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RULES OF THUMB FOR WRITING

• Tomislav HenglA , Michael GouldB
• Published 2002

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Scientific writing and publishing with imrad, 15 references, rules of thumb for writing research articles, research writing and nnss: from the editors, implicit actions and explicit outcomes: cultural-academic interactions in writing journal research articles., communicating specialized science information to a lay audience, how to write scientific and technical papers, how to write and publish a scientific paper, the science of scientific writing, related papers.

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Rules of Thumb for Writing Research Articles

Table of contents

• 3 RA structure and style
• 4 RA sub-structure
• 5 Writing a Research Article  in 40 Steps!
• 6 Acknowledgements

Tip 1:  Try to pick a catchy title!

Tip 2:  abstract should be short but give the overall idea: what was done, what was found and what are the main conclusions

The article provides ’rules of thumb’ for writing research articles (RA) and getting them published. These were discussed during the “Scientific writing course” organized for ITC PhD students by Cressie Communication Services. Important aspects of macro and sub-structure of a paper were selected through group discussions. The substructure and functions of different sections of RAs are described. Results of previous investigations and interviews among journal editors were used to summarize what makes a good RA. It was concluded that clear, logical, coherent, focused, good argument and well-structured writing gets the paper published and read. Some important rules of the thumb selected were: “Adjust your writing to the audience and purpose”, “Avoid redundancy and unnecessary explanations” and “Write like you speak and then revise”.

Keywords: Research article, rules of thumb, structure, publishing. 

Tip 3:  when selecting KWs, imagine you are searching for your article in some database

INTRODUCTION

MOVE 1:  Introduce the topic and emphasize why is it important!

A scientific or research article or paper is a technical (or essayistic?) document that describes a significant experimental, theoretical or observational extension of current knowledge, or advances in the practical application of known principles (O’Conner and Woodford, 1976). It is important to emphasize that a research article (further referred as RA) should report on research findings that are not only sound (valid) and previously unpublished (original), but also add some new understanding, observation, proofs, i.e. potentially important information (Gordon, 1983). Unlike a novel, newspaper article or an essay, a RA has a required structure and style, which is by international consensus known as “Introduction Methods Results and Discussion” or IMRaD. However, a RA is not only a technically rigid document, but also a subjective intellectual product that unavoidably reflects personal opinions and beliefs. Therefore, it requires good skills in both structuring and phrasing the discoveries and thoughts. These skills are acquired through experience, but can also be taught.

MOVE 2:  Relate to current knowledge: What’s been done” and “What need’s to be done?

MOVE 3:  Introduce your work

METHODOLOGY

Tip 4:  Describe Experimental set-up

Tip 5:  Explain used techniques

Fig. 1. Photo from the Scientific writing class at ITC. Discussion about the “Discussion” section. The basic concept of the course is that the students should learn from the real examples and on their own mistakes. In most of the cases, participants were analysing and correcting each-others work. In other cases, participants were making comments on examples prepared by Ian Cressie. Typical exercise was, for example: a short RA is given to students who have to write a missing abstract respecting the rules and functions of an abstract.

Most of the rules mentioned in this article were agreed by the majority of participants. We have also used results of previous investigations and inquiries of journal editors to support general conclusions. Nevertheless, some of the statements and principles reflect personal views and opinions and should not be confused with the cited literature. The listed rules and tips given here apply primarily to application-based sciences and RAs intended for publication in such journals.

Tip 6:  RA is like a cook-book! Be specific and provide all necessary detail

RA structure and style

Tip 7:  Give summary results

A RA was first divided in number of article sections (futher reffered to as RAS) and elements (RAE). Participants agreed that the main article sections that are inevitable in any modern journal are, in this order: Title, Authors, Abstract, Introduction (I), Methodology (M), Results (R), Conclusions and Discussion (D) and References. These are the core body of RA. Additional listed RAS’s were: Author-paper documentation, Keywords, Acknowledgements, Abbreviations and Appendices. The RAEs listed were: tables, figures (graphs, maps, diagrams, sketches etc.), equations, citations and footnotes and comments. The RAEs can come in different places in the RA, however tables and figures are more usual in Results section and equations and citations in Methodology and Introduction. All these RAS’s and RAEs have their function and required style and should form a coherent unity. The functions of main RAS’s and discussed rules of thumb are given in Table 2.

Tip 8:  Compare results

Participants agreed that some RA, even with good data and interesting results, will be rejected if the style and format of the paper are not tailored for the audience. This agrees with the results of investigations among 116 editors (Gosden, 1992; Fig. 1), who identified following most frequent causes to reject an L2 author: unclear text, incoherent development of the topic in paragraphs and incorrect use of grammar. In addition, the participants analysed an exemplary flawed paper by unknown author and decided to reject it after some discussion. The list of reasons for rejection can be seen in Table 1.

Tip 9:  put more focus on what should be emphasized

Table 1. Most important reasons for rejection of a RA.

Table 2. Research Article Sections (RAS), main functions, preferred style and related rules of thumb.

RA sub-structure

Participants also discovered that all RAS’s can be separated in subsections or signposts, which can be arbitrary, but improve the structure of a RA. The recognized subsections were: research topic and definitions, research objectives (questions), methodological techniques, experimental set-up, object of the study (e.g. study area), main discoveries (analysed data), answers on research questions, explanation of the conclusions and further research and implications. The main RAS’s are listed in a flow chart, showing main relations between different sections (Fig. 2). Fig. 3 shows the substructure of Introduction and Discussion RAS as the most important RAS’s.

Fig. 2. Flow diagram: research article sections (shaded) and subsections, and their main relations.

CONCLUSIONS AND DISCUSSION

Tip 10:  Answer research questions

What is the purpose of a RA and what makes it a good one, and who decides that it is a good RA? Are there rules for easier writing? If the main function of a RA is to transfer a new knowledge on a research topic, then a good paper is the one that is clear, coherent, focused, well argued and uses language that does not have ambiguous or equivoque meaning. However, it is not only the message that is important. The RA must have a well-defined structure and function in serve like a cook-book, so the others can reproduce and repeat explained experiments.

Tip 11:  Give summary conclusions

There are some rules that can make the writing and publishing of RAs ‘easier’. Here, we summarised some ‘golden’ rules that should always be in the mind of an inexperienced researcher (Table 3). We put all these together to make a final list of some 40 logical steps, which can be find in the Appendix. 

Table 3. Selected golden rules for easier publishing.

Writing a Research Article  in 40 Steps!

Tip 12:  Unexpected findings

Although, it was assumed that the ‘thicker’ articles with wider range of vocabulary is preferable in the editors hands, the editors (and probably the readers) prefer simple, clear and coherent writing, rather than a fancy or complex, pseudo-scientific style. Also Funkhouser and Maccoby (1971) showed that the information gain is especially enhanced by the “use of examples”, i.e. it helps a lot to use some non-science material, such as everyday life parallels, historical points, etc. On the other hand, some sections, such as Introduction and Discussion, have to intrigue readers and attract interest and should therefore not be over-simplified. For example, a mysterious title can catch readers’ attention and will be easily remembered (e.g.: T.Y. Li and J. Yorke named their famous paper on chaos: “The period three means chaos”). Some sections require more skill and are more important. It is approximated that from all published journal RAs in the world, only less than 5% are read in detail. However, more than 50% of abstracts are read and so the quality of an abstracts is much more important (Gordon, 1983). Therefore, the abstract should present the ‘story’ of the RA in miniature and should be readable standalone.

Tip 13:  Establish  newness

The sub-structure of an Introduction was first described by Swales (1981) with so called “four moves”. These latter on become three, the so-called CaRS model (Create-A- Research-Space) that are: establish a research “territory”, establish a research “niche” and occupy the niche (Swales and Feak, 1994). In this case, participants concluded that especially the meso-structure of the Introduction and Discussion RAS should follow some logical flow of ‘moves’ (Fig. 2 & 3). The more structured and more exact is the paper, the easier it will get published. Each of RA elements has to fulfil its function in order to achieve this goal.

Tip 14:  Explain discrepancies

However, this is not the whole story. A RA has to aim at specific audience/Journal, has to be novel and of high interest. Finally, one thing should be uppermost in researchers’ minds: a good article is not only an article that has been published in a top journal – it is the reaction it causes that makes the difference. Therefore, a good article is the one that is read and cited (Publish or Perish!). In some cases, even a good paper will get rejected by the editors, i.e. journal. Unfortunately, sometimes the reasons can be subjective (maybe 1/3 rd of all cases). Editors are often biased, they prefer one or other approach, academic level, gender… nation. These problems and issues such as fraud, plagiarism and ethics (Rossiter, 2001) were not discussed in this article but they certainly need attention.

Tip 15:  A GOOD ARTICLE IS THE ONE THAT IS READ AND CITED!”] READ AND CITED!

The searching, input and formatting of references, has been lately largely improved by the help of so called “information management tools” (Endnote, ProCite etc.). In addition, the role of companies involved in ‘sorting’ and ‘filtering’, such as Institute for Scientific Information (ISI), will increase. In future, we can expect more structured guidelines for writing a RA (templates?). The RA will also probably support multimedia (animations, sound recordings), which will improve communication between the readers/users and authors. These innovations will inevitably require require some new rules of thumb.

Tip 16:  Further research and implications

Put it all together: 

Writing a Research Article in 40 Steps!

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank Ian Cressie for their course and materials, which are of high importance for L2 PhD students. We also thank PhD student Jose L.C. Santos and Dr. David G. Rossiter for reading the text and giving us suggestions.

In Text References

• Ackles, N., 1996. Naming a paper, ESL Center, University of Washington, Washington. ASA-CSA-SSSA, 1998. Publications Handbook and Style Manual. http://www.asa-cssa-sssa.org/style98/ , 145 pp.
• Council of Biology Editors (CBE) (Editor), 1994. Scientific style and format. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 825 pp.
• Cressie, I., 2002. Writing & Editing Course, Lecture notes for ITC students. Enschede, pp. 120.
• Day, R.A. (Editor), 1994. How to write and publish a scientific paper. Oryx Pr., Phoenix, 223 pp. Funkhouser, G. R. and Maccoby, N., 1971. Communicating Specialized Science Information to a Lay Audience. The Journal of Communication, 21: 58.
• Gopen, G.D. and Swan, J.A., 1990. The Science of Scientific Writing. American Scientist, 78: 550-558. Gordon, M., 1983. Running a refeering system. Primary Communications Research Centre, Leicester. Gosden, H., 1992. Research Writing and NNSs: From the Editors. Journal of Second Language Writing, 1(2): 123-139
• Kirman, J., 1992. Good style: writing for science and technology. E. & F.N. Spon, London, 221 pp. McPhee, L., 2001. Teaching the Research Article Introduction, First EAT AW Conference: Teaching Academic Writing Across Europe, Groningen.
• O’Conner, M. and Woodford, F.P., 1976. Writing scientific papers in English. Elsevier, Amsterdam, 108 pp.
• Prince, A., Blicblau, A.S. and Soesatyo, B., 1999. Implicit actions and explicit outcomes: cultural- academic interactions in writing journal research articles, AARE-NZARE. Swinburne University of Technology, pp. 8.
• Rossiter, D.G., 2001. Preparation for MSc Thesis Research. ITC, Enschede, http://www.itc.nl/~rossiter/ ,28.
• Swales, J., 1981. Aspects of Article Introductions. ESP Research Report No.1, University of Aston, Aston, UK.
• Swales, J.M. and Feak, C., 1994. Academic Writing for Graduate Students. Ann Arbor, the University of Michigan Press.
• Trelease, S.F., 1958. How to write scientific and technical papers. Williams and Wilkens, Baltimore, 185 Pp

Hengl, T. and Gould, M., 2002. Rules of thumb for writing research articles. 

Tomislav (Tom) Hengl is a senior research at ISRIC. Tom specializes in analysis of various environmental spatio-temporal data and develops automated tools for geo-processing large environmental datasets.

Will PDF docs become obsolete soon?

Advice from a Dinosaur?

The “ONE THING” System for Thesis Writing

Publish & Flourish

Drafting Papers: A Strategy for Dealing with Major Limitations

APPENDIX 2: Article Title: Some Paradigms on Urban Pattern.

BY: A.Latif Zakaria Adam; MSc. Arch. (U.of.K.). Africa Street. Gazira Block. Plot 69. Khartoum 1. (Anza Const.). [email protected] . ماجستير- , م.معمارى: عبداللطيفزكرياادم

Keywords: pattern-paradigms. Environment. Culture. Socioeconomic. Functional organization- 0.0. Abstract Urban pattern is considered a crucial baseline of both urban planning and urban design criteria. The plot, the block, the neighborhood, the town, and the city patterns, are decisive in urban expression through the following design and planning paradigms: Environment. Culture. Socioeconomic. Functional organization. The previous four paradigms are very comprehensive and multidisciplinary to each other in eventual urban space and building forms, in relation to open space hierarchy; traffic and pedestrian circulation paths. No doubt pattern in design and planning is considered in links, associated with plan configurations of an urban entity at a level. A vertical profile of any urban unit or an urban complex, i.e. building facades as vertical planes, more or less is logical respond of their configurations pattern. Lines; vertically and horizontally, nodes, intersections and parallelism, expressing an urban building in meanings derived from the functional and environmental criteria. This lay threshold of urban forms, are associated with urban age, urban culture and urban sociology. All are conceptualized as an urban pattern output. No doubt the matter is realistic in real estate’s input challenges of building materials and constructional techniques, but the environ-cultural, socioeconomic, functional organization are fundamentally pattern like. This paper is going to highlight in broad and specific, the previous four paradigms on urban design baseline with some emphasis on Khartoum town urban age. Analysis is expected on conceptualization and short previewing samples of the selected case of entitled nominated paper in focus criteria.

.1. Introduction: FIG. 0 Paradigms themselves are influences affect pattern selection in urban design and planning criteria. As stated in the-article abstract, there are 4 paradigms on environmental, cultural, socioeconomic, and functional organization. These paradigms are taken as guidelines of induction, perception, representation, and expression of an urban designer or planner in selecting his design or planning pattern respectively In logic of urbanization philosophy through -environmental, cultural, socioeconomically, or functional organization thinking deemed to single, double, triple, or so forth of all these paradigms. See FIG.0: The Cycle of the Urban Pattern Paradigms. The Cycle of the Urban Pattern Paradigms is a tour from virtual world of design memory creativity to physical memory of the implementer ONTO world of realism in architecture and planning for urban design characterize. In precision when a pattern coincides a predefined paradigm the mutual design or planning theme on focus is resolved successfully in fulfilling a design criterion or criteria. On this paper the terms of, “urban pattern “means, the urban configurations in elaboration expressing some or all of the previous 4 paradigms as rational criteria in statement. In urban age history, these selected 4 paradigms were included in the design and planning themes of the early configurations of Agora and Forum of the Greek and the Roman civilizations respectively, RIGHT on: through the medieval cities age, Gothic cities age, Renaissance cities age, the Romanesque cities age, the Neo-classicism cities age, the Baroque cities age, early Modernism cities age UP-TO post Modernism entire cities age of Mega cities. All in Classical and Gothic rational base abstracted by the revolution of modernism. Since on after the later, “Modernism “. Urban design was established by Le Corbusier, and the Bauhaus leaders; Chicago school of urban sociology and the School of Urban design foundation a t Harvard University: 1956 under leadership of Jane Jacob, Signer, Weber and others. All are paradigmatic to previous pattern of thinking. Spatial planning in concept at any scale is well associated to these 4 paradigms in defining urban space in time-location of a certain cultural identity in environmental boundary limits. No doubt socioeconomic consistency gets the matter true. See FIG.3 Functional organization paradigm identifies the urban planning comprehensive targets in predefined pattern selection criterion or criteria. This emphasizes recent methods pattern articulation themes; broadly on: Grid iron pattern hierarchy. FIG.4: el Deem & its Vicinity… • Concentric pattern hierarchy. FIG. 5:.el Khartoum 1& 2 Both hierarchies’ are perceptual on fig. 2: Pattern of Perception. Climate the central theme of physical environmental analysis of urban design and planning motivates cultural expression by an urban designer or planner besides modern ways in a way that culture and technology, previously IN handicrafts express environmental challenges. Colonial architecture in Sudan had a great contribution in this respect in specific constructional methods adopted. Open spaces and road system hierarchy in definitions of building forms and facades techniques at urban levels are nouns and verbs of 4 paradigmatic pattern Demonstrations deemed to urban design trends.

2. Definitions: FIG2: The Pattern of Perception. The argument on perceptual fields that surround buildings and also active in interior space. Among architects the importance of these perceptual fields has been acknowledged explicitly by Paolo Portuguese. Since the notion of perceptual and social fields has been adopted from physics. Portuguese begins his discussion with a formulation of Albert Einstein’s: “we speak of matter when the concentration of energy is -high and of fields when the Concentration is Weaker. But in that case the difference between matter and field appears to be quantitative rather than qualitative. ‘buildings as islands in space, Portuguese is focusing upon those shapes that indicate the dynamics of fields of most directly, namely on pattern of concentric circles., as they appear on the surface of a pond when a stone is dropped in to the water as represented on Portuguese’s drawing. This notion in analogy is possibly to be an abstract pattern for a settlement configuration, e.g. a concentric town plan pattern. See overleaf FIG.2: the pattern of perception. Bottom left collage on Fig. 1 below.

(Fig.1: collage of Paradigmatic Pattern Concept. ) In language guide, a paradigm means a pattern system or clauses in arrangement. A pattern itself means logical arrangement of entities, intitutively or in geometrical shapes logic. In specific, the historical terminology for a “Pattern” means a decorative piece of fine or applied art in a repetition of a geometrical shape (s), in design logic at least emphasized by visual rhythm for an output on targets of an objective in endless design criteria. Recently polyhedral geometry forms basic design elements in students’ works worldwide in schools of architecture. A lot of polyhedral shapes are found naturally in different bonds of all matter states and specifically in bio-chemical nature. See collage on FIG. 1 below. This collage previews basic design work on polyhedral approach done by a group of architectural careers in philosophy of image grammar rather than words grammar in world of architecture, planning, and urban design in specific. The collage reveals shaping the space through elementary basic design techniques. 5 polyhedral patterns on this collage: please take a visual rotation counter clockwise start from, hand finger pattern mid left collage; mid right picture view as well and read the following patterns. •Human hand-fingers pattern of symmetry in basic design. •A chemical bond pattern of mineral soda late polyhedral. •Solid volume pattern out of periodic surfaces dodecagon polyhedral. •Tangled 10- triangle pattern repetition for a basic design polyhedral. •Computer draft for sphere polyhedral. The collage on FIG.:2reveals a symbolic abstract that the pattern unit in any basic design approach is an endless abstract for design work in architecture and urban design and far possible in urban planning tool for perception and FIG 2 -conceptualization of shaping the -space for human design purposes; like the fundamental triple of architecture, urban design, and urban planning.

(Fig.2: Collage of polyhedral Pattern Selection )

3. Articulation. Urban pattern means logical arrangement of urban entities on urban design and planning rules subject to all measurement criteria. Thus from decorative art in basic definition of pattern, the term is elaborated to include sophisticated logical Arrangement in urban buildings design of: neighborhoods, communities, towns and cities in different scales from metropolitan hinter; FIG.3 over leaf up- to recent mega cities. These outlines mean idiomatic pattern in standard terminology of regular pattern concept, subject to multi-disciplinary articulations rather than intuitive clustering of rural- urban influx at poor metropolitan hinter, however this true in urban history that most of entire world urbanism based on metropolitan intuition, which IS mainly Metros& Metropolis towards urbanization. Nevertheless, on this paper profile, according to standard ground articulation let us take the following patterns of articulation: • The metros pattern hierarchy. • The metropolis pattern hierarchy. • The metropolitan pattern hierarchy. Each pattern of the previous 3 paradigms includes Subsidiary patterns like in followings:  Intuitive pattern.  Analytical pattern.  Loop cluster pattern.  Geometrical pattern.  Functional pattern.  Transactional pattern.  Endless list for these subsidiaries to include the major articulation pattern of the main previous paradigms. For final form pattern output in architecture, urban design, and urban planning for satisfaction of human needs functionally and expressing human values meaningfully on purposes of objectives. In urban Below on FIG. 3: The Metros Pattern of Neale Town; represents a rural -urban concept, paradigmatically on local Sudanese cultural & socioeconomic motivation towards rural- urban housing development in Metropolis concept outlines the conceptual configuration of urban input & output done in a research for sustainable urban growth concept around Neale at,” Dar Fur Region-Sudan. “Khartoum Town at its early stage of foundation was alike in concept. See FIG. 3: The Metros of Neale Town below. Planning and design literature, and in language guide; metros; metropolis; and metropolitan, previously mentioned are described in the following sense: Metros,” subway system in a city, e.g. Paris”. Metropolis, “the chief city of a country, or a capital city. “. Metropolitan, “belonging to forming part of a mother country as a distinguished selection, like metropolitan New York. Which never has an urban sustainability in rural-urban cut exceeds 2 week-times “. This plan configuration in metros pattern reveals: Rural sustainability in mixed farming with basic rural services, “water supply, for rural villages cluster in radial road system hierarchy.

(FIG. 3: The Metros Metropolis of Neale .)

Extreme parameter of the pattern view. • Sub-regional center for trade marketing. See Subsequent circular ring. •Light industrial processing factories. See left side picture view. • Metropolis hinter center. See center circle of the configuration pattern. • Urban output configuration indicator of metropolis in urban forum @ Neale regional center. See the pentagonal shape left bottom of the pattern picture view, which indicates new urban. This pattern in its concept predicts Garden City approach of Ebenezer Howard. The neo- developed rational urban Pattern hierarchy at Neale is a low scale of Garden City concept of town sustainability.

(FIG. 4 : The Metropolis of Khartoum Town –el Deem & its Vicinity-..)

On FIG.4: The Metropolis Pattern of Khartoum Town- at el Deem Vicinity-. It reveals the urban Sustainability of Khartoum town on Focus of the Main residential vicinity southwards the core City of minor Khartoum established by Anglo-Egyptian regime by Kitchener Bashan 18 89. EL Deem east–center- represents the core residential area for the local, who worked at FIG.4 -the railway station and light industry north-west. Most of them are migrants and immigrants of rural u-an influx towards Khartoum town for both trade& cultural links after Gazira Board Scheme establishment by the British. It was temporary dwellings of 1998mud and straw that residential Khartoum. Later developed on replanted community in Awareness of open space and road system Hierarchy By Ali Nadir on McLain’s plan approach as an extension for Kitchener plan foundation. The Dwelling authorized on 100sq. m. plot for two rooms verandah, kitchen and a pit latrine, all are built of mud and roofed with native materials. Time by time the residents develop their dwellings. First; red bricks fair facing, locally called, (Geisha). Then galvanized iron sheeting on load bearing one and half brick walls with

Adobe bricks inside and red bricks fair face in (FIG.5: The Metropolis Pattern of Khartoum Town- at Khartoum 1-2. & el Ararat Vicinity-) Bond outside. Load bearing of one half red brick walls roofed with jack arching. Recently frame structural concrete multi story house units and even block. Of flats are replacing the previous in a very rapid urban change. All previous stages had and have been and are being done on the same 100 sq. M. plot area within the same provision of open space and road system hierarchy. No doubt this reveals the adequacy of planning work then to cope.

The plan is mainly focused onto el Deem residential area for its challenging rationally urban development on original planning pattern. Around this core inner city of Khartoum 2nd class residential area like Khartoum 3., “grid iron “ 1st class residential area like Khartoum 2, “ lovely suburban like with composite pattern of concentric curvilinear north east community and grid iron, south-west vicinities of this community. Both in optimum orientation -direction suits environmental themes of day lighting factor and natural ventilation as well. “ . El Ararat was planned in early Sixth decade of 20th century for 1st class residential area in simple grid iron pattern. Look at on FIG.4&FIG.5: The Metropolis of Khartoum Town. No doubt the greater Khartoum in its entire sprawl including Khartoum; Omdurman; and Khartoum north FIG.5 are a metropolitan of decisive urban sustainability challenges beside the strong rural-urban FIG.6 socioeconomic link. Urban quality, urban ratio, urban input, urban output, plan sprawl, urban facilities, and urban services. All in urban planning and design criteria subject to feedback FIG 6: The Metropolitan Pattern of Greater Khartoum. Analysis for better urban age of Khartoum capital city. Both natural and man- made pattern are at a genuine selected feature almost unique; but in lack of certain policies in sprawl layout, which is rather expensive in a waste of urban inputs associated with rather poor urban outputs. Some of all is a waste of not well studied Real Estate. All get the matter in serious critique comparativeness and comparison of sustainable urban development worldwide. See FIG.6,

(FIG.6: Greater Khartoum Town )

4. Environmental Challenges: Natural environment in architecture and planning, and eventually its effects on physical environment of an urban scope, is mainly climatologically awareness in building, orientation, building form selection, in consistency of building elements:, “roofs, facades, floors, doors and windows to emphasize environmental protection through constructional techniques, and building material selection. This scientific techniques approach in urban planning and design along urban ages have been associated with environmental perception in cultural motivations of urban designers and planners abilities in expressing their pre -conceives and motivations in paradigmatic patterns and building styles suit their cultural identities. See FIG.7, FIG.8&FIG.9, respectively overleaf. So environmental functionalism and transaction emerge each other in theory of satisfaction and comfort ability of human spatial needs, as well the expression of meanings and values artistically in massive world of architecture. 4.1 Orientation Overall in priorities of urban planning and design, is the theme of configuration of building orientation. Optimizing this environmental theme, saves a lot in design feedback analysis that might elaborate severe expensive land and building costs. An elegant urban pattern in orientation, means adequacy in environmental variables and factors influences our urban FIG.7: Urban Open Space Hierarchy. Physical Environment. Eventually urban planning and design trends will cope in function and transaction in feasible cost grants meaningfully.

FIG.7 4.2 Open Space Hierarchy. Open space hierarchy is the planning theme enables well tackling of urban design techniques; In relation to landscape, pathways, landmarks, nodes, edges, and planes. Environmental perception at urban scope depends mainly on open space quality. Loft space ratio to build up filling of an urban space determines the paradigmatic pattern of an urban community. National identity in urbanism; precise a city forum, sub groups town, parks, community, at block levels as well in consider of an international character subsides a tourism level the urban paradigmatic mutual pattern is highly featured. See FIG.7; below. 4.3 Urban Circulation. Urban circulation is the central axis of a town or a city in achieving urban convenience for both mechanical and pedestrian movement through the town paths and nodes. Avoidance of intersections among either or both in nodes justifications in time- direction scale or road system constructional techniques in optimization; however renovation and preservation challenges might versus, beside cost constrains, especially in under developed towns and cities like Greater Khartoum. FIG.8: elaborates a diagrammatic analysis for an urban corner in a multi-level cross junction proposal on its relevant probabilities, encountered : (25 traffic states- 5 lanes @ solid angle direction. 5 multilevel over or down takes, or both down & up).FIG.8.a; FIG.8.b., shows an intution by the author for traffic soultion @ X- Junction; below. FIG.8.a

4.4 Urban landscape. Urbanism is associated with harshness of hard topology; however it could be intimate by soft -scope. Landscape design and its features of side road and side street plantation with selected trees and flowers. Gardens and parks within the open space hierarchy. A consideration pronounces the urban topological quality in convenience of urban occupants at -psychophysical satisfaction in beauty. See FIG. 9 4.5 Building Form. Any town or a city is a functional organization of building complexes in rules of architecture and urban design based rationally on urban planning themes. The transaction of beauty in urban forms is challenging for all architects; and urban designers in a configuration of urban plan Description, ‘Node, edge, plane, and volumetric mass “. Theories worked out classically by Pythagoras, Plato, Dec art, Kasper Mug, and recently in urban age by Le Corbusier, “cubism ‘and Picasso. “The 4th dimension. “For instance in short cut, still baselines of elementary urban design theories. Form perception on an urban configuration complex underdeveloped on desktop or laptop is the matter of team work sharing of different specialists of urban design and planning forum for: -comprehensive mutual results of input and output of predefined objectives. Urban design, well like in architectural design in form perception, through ,”nodes, lines, planes to precise a solids and voids repetition in musical term of visual rhythm that you feel balance and dynamism, mobility, harmony and contrast tuning, rational modular, ‘ le Corbusier; “ or as it was on design state, it is in real estate. Building styles of Post Modernism influenced by environmental challenges and machine constructional techniques of building elements, never get out of Casper Mug’s theory of plane folds and similarities as shown on FIG.0: center. 4.6 Construction Methods. The construction in architecture and urban design is really the decisive output of the design challenges in materialistic feasible transaction of architectural beauty fantasy that the matter is recorded in manuscript of an urban age. A building style is mainly or by itself is a constructional method achievement in the world of architecture and eventually onto urban design trends. Urban constructional techniques are in direct links to real estate power in all liabilities of building technology and constructional management in constructional industry. Programming in time scale and allocation of building industry resources, machine and man power for successfulness of any urban constructional project. Cost management and budgetary control in time scale is fatal, otherwise the matter is Risky. Machine line and handcrafted-lines, in emergence enables urban design diversity. Rather than the machine pro-type monotony argued by the conservative urban designers. 4.7 Building Materials Selection. The process input for constructional output nominates building materials processing and manufacture. This processing is mainly environmental research for environmental protection in economic feasibility. Materials and construction in building .Towns are dual emergence subject to continuous building research experiments to suits urban design challenges and needs. Building materials processing and manufacture almost a matter of hydration and dehydration of a substance of soils, plants, steel, or petrochemical; like bricks making, wood and timber seasoning, steel casting, petrochemical polymers, fiber and resins for a purpose of constructional elements production in site or factory processed, respectively. Flexibility and swiftness are needed in urban construction industry. The challenges of reselection or order of a selection according to design and project nature gets the selection criteria. Manufacture specification codes are crucial for granted consistency of building regulations. 4.8 Design and Planning bye-laws. An urban pattern means in idiomatic terminology, “regular in regulations. ‘. If this pattern is topologically regular object (s), must have regulations to sound its morphological theme in human purposes and hazards restriction whether natural or man-made. Design and planning bye-laws verify goals of urban design sustainability in human protection and safety control. Standard themes in terms of specifications and Codes of practice argued and issued by building regulations councils and institutes must be of respect of urban design contributors among its multi-disciplinary. This clause of bye-laws lack a little bit in Sudanese urban industry, but possibly to be refreshed and take led for better urban age of Khartoum town, or greater Khartoum. Urban design and planning forums, possibly to elaborates issues for better in legislation draft subject to approval by Sudanese architects counc.il on foundation proposal. See;

FIG.9 : The Panoramic Views of Paradigmatic Pattern style @ Entire Khartoum.

5. Legend of Environmental Analysis. Interior environment of a building is subject to climatic analysis for convenient living for occupants to perform life ways in different building types. In this legend a précised preview on 3 themes of environmental variables as well climatic factors are discussed in highlight of any urban entity or a building complex in context to urban design and planning exterior on environmental effects simultaneously to these three themes of subsequent interior effect. • Interior light urban environment. • Interior sound urban environment. • Interior thermal urban environment. Interior Light Environment. This context based on daylight illumination of urban complexes, like shopping centers, hospitals, colleges, laboratories, etc. where this theme of daylight control is of importance. Deeply relative to orientation, opening types, system shading devise, beside construction techniques and building materials, include colors and textures selection of an urban complex in terms of: Roofs Floors .Curtain walls, facades, blinders and curtains patterns. Previously mentioned, in control of daylight factor, (DF) components of; sky component; externally, reflected component; internally reflected component. In relation to reflection factors of roofs, facades externally and eventually through window-types in adequacy of glare elimination to determine standard mode day light lumens for an urban complex interior in design approach requirements. Interior Sound Environment. Sound level of interior enclosures and semi.-enclosure at convenient decibel level in avoidance of urban nuisances created by routine urban life is the matter of consideration. No doubt functional distribution of urban complexes besides building orientation save a lot of money spent on techniques of construction and selection of expensive building materials, on 2nd term selection of materials and constructional techniques for urban complexes on audio levels requirement is a priority must be subject to acoustic criteria in function and feasibility. FIG.10 Interior Thermal Environment. Architectural design and environmental research control, almost ends with thermal control in building for comfort ability of occupants. At urban design trends, the matter is serious for all building types, since the urban environment severe subject to micro-climatic hazards of ozone depletion due to excessive heat rise and carbon oxides production out of car machine engines beside solar rates conditions. The matter in its 1st resolution is deemed to plant cover in urban landscape criteria. Materials specification and codes for construction methods in continuous building research is the matter. As the three environmental variables of interior, light, sound, and thermal are illustrated on intersection mapping. Intersection area, rose like on, FIG.10 shows the mutual Liabilities of the triple variables. FIG.11 Interior Environment mutual intersection coincides category 2 on FIG: 11. For the triple series light in blue. Sound in grey. Thermal in orange for mutual comfort ability for triple variables Light, sound, and thermal for interior urban environment of decisive consider in respect of urban design trends of essentials. Series:-The blue series stands for light interior environment.-The orange series stand for thermal interior environment.-The grey series stands for sound interior environment. Categories:-Category 1; over to comfort ability value for triple series.-Category 2; required comfort ability value for triple series.-Category 3; under to comfort ability value for triple series. 6. Cultural Challenges: In language guide; the idiom, “culture “is defined as mind or manners cultivation through artistic and intellectual activities. Thus arts and other manifestations of human intellectual achievements regarded collectively, also is defined as refined understanding of intellectual achievement of a particular time or people of the same identity, or any other human link, or otherwise improvement by mental and physical applications deemed to terminology of, “civilization “ as an eventual expressing of culture. And urbanism is the greatest expression of civilization in urban age concept. This paradigm of culture in urban planning and design is associated with certain urban society in expressing its identity through pattern selection at different levels of urban design and planning; discussed before starting from plot level, block level, community level, town level, and city level. Cultural expression not in itself as a paradigm but in mutual to other paradigms, like environment, socioeconomically and or urban functional organization at a level of urban design and planning. Modernism abstracted all previous cultures then to international style, now is termed “global style “in entire post-modernism .urbanization and urbanism cut short cultural motivation to world style. However monotony of repetition in association with this concept makes some urban planners and designers to rethink in revivalism to express their local identities in composite concept to global style. Since culture is an expression why not we express cultural manifestation in urban design and planning trends in emergence with modernism? Some identities around the world had done this composite concept in their contribution like the Far East architecture of the Chinese and Japanese for instance with emphasis of climate and cultural traditions. E.G. see FIG. 0 left. Also the arabesque style in Middle East of Arab countries in expressing their previous contribution in urban age in revival. African seems strong in expressing their identity contribution in their indigenous villages of mud and straw in meaningful cultural expression in wait to get mutual with modern style in motivation of environ-cultural themes of indigenous vernacular to form and to express modern styles. See FIG. 0 right before leaf

7. Socioeconomic Challenges: Habitat programmers thought well the term socioeconomic to be one word in link with urbanization where the extended family of the pre metros settlement is overtaken by family’s the core of the urban society in contribution to urban input and output in sense of urban economization. life ways get the urban family entertain through urban facilities like shopping ,sports and other leisure of entertainment of kid gardens and family parks .and to build the town input and output have to be dual in concept of socioeconomic in feedback analysis of Chicago school of urban design and Harvard university contribution in urban design trends. Cities founded on industrial revolution and matrix trade influx like rural urban influx, or otherwise the city state is going to lose its basic financial resources. On the other hand municipality role in tax input and service provision output is the matter related to urban state economic policies and strategies towards capital budgetary control of all possible financial resources in restriction of bye-laws in right constitutions of urban forum for better urban design and planning forum. Planning and design in urban field socioeconomically is a compromised theory for both capitalism and socialism theorems in respect. However the overall city of a country whether a socialist or capitalist is called a “capital “. Thus real estate is the perfect answer. See FIG.0 top 8. Functional Organization Challenges: This the mutual output of both urban planning and design trends that all urban complexes are functionally organized upon all themes in comprehensive measurement criteria. The building complex is an adequate, in an adequate plot, part on an adequate block, part of an adequate neighborhood of a well-built community in socioeconomic wale fare, forming a self- sufficient and sustainable urbanism @ anytime anywhere. Read with FIG.9. Before leaf. Functional organization in urban planning optimizes rational results in urban design characters. Functional organization means adequate urbanism by itself. The following themes of adequacy express functional organization broadly: • Planning patterns paradigmatically in definition of articulation. • Environ-cultural expression at planning level associated with themes pre -mentioned in,” environmental challenges. FIG.7”. • Priorities deemed to zoning in adequate system organization of urban circulation network. • Water supply. • Power supply. • Refused disposal. Rainwater exclusion. • Planning by-laws. .At urban design level  Open space hierarchy pattern.  Urban landscape pattern.  Day and artificial lighting system. Transfer and communications modes

  *PhD Research Proposal on: Environmental Studies Effect Design Challenges in Architecture: A-Abstract of Research Proposal: Research issue on environmental studies, addresses research problems resoulton in architectural design paradigms related to environmental variables effect. A lot of applied methodologies are being done in this field at research progress. Analytical methods are still in research gaps needs better development and readdressing of fundamental theories of environmental studies to be managed in specific by research do- ministration. The continuous research problems in architecture are, seems an obligation of time factor changes, pound to different geographical locations on the globe in respond of, renewable architectural design challenges, traced by environmental variables in general elaborate of research question waiting for research answer resolving research problem gaps. Statement research question(s) to fill these gaps, nominates statement research answer(s) from general to specific in a particular focus of an optimum methodologies in research concept, and application method system. Both have to identify the research gap to formulate a research problem statement in hypos is, or case study(s) application states. The research problem statement domain is subject to research analysis to threshold of the research problem resolution in focus of the research objectives for brilliant research results in focus by the researcher. The acquired research results compared by the research objectives statement are expected to justify the need for the research thesis on board of request. Fig 1 – 2: illustrate the study variables relationship, overleaf.

FIG. 1.1: THE DIAGRAM OF STUDY PARADIGM VARIABLES Passive Remarks: How to Rephrase in Statement a Variable of the Study Paradigm Adjectival passive phrase or a sentence for research question statement acquired by the research methodology: e.g. it was said to start a PhD thesis: then literature is acquired. Research problem gap (……….s) statement: e.g. a distant way from start to an end: then a measurement criteria is required to define a method for reaching end point from start point. Objectively passive phrase or a sentence for research answer statement acquired by the research results, compared by the research objectives statement: e.g. a purpose(s) for end point reach: task pane and in task pane a: result(s)… End a detective!

FIG.2.1: RESEARCH METHODOLOGIES; RESEARCH METHODS AND RESEARCH PROBLEM STATEMENT: #the Research Proposal Issues: FIG. 6: PARADIGMS OF THE RESEARCH PROPOSAL FRAMEWORK: OVER LEAF.

FIG. 1.2: THE STUDY VARIABLES MAIN PARADIGMS

PhD PROPOSAL: FIG. 2.1: SERIES-CATEGORY GRAPH OF THE STUDY VARIABLES MAIN PARADIGMS-REAL-TIME STATE METHOD: VERTICAL SCALE VALUES; EACH VALUE HAS TRIPLE DIFFERENT SPECIFICATIONS, ANY FOR EACH SERIES: I.E. PROBLEM SIZE VALUES, METHOD CAPACITY VALUES, AND RESULT OUTPUT VALUES.

B-Research Title: Design in Architecture and Environmental Variables Analysis: C-Introduction: The environmental variables challenges in architectural design motifs share a considerable ratio, compared with any other disciplinary of architectural design paradigms in rational focus. Design in architecture hence, is mainly environmental predicted in all ages of history and theory of design in architectural record. A research question statement in architectural design gaps for optimization in statement answer is related for built environment, cornfield the matter of research management and administration subjectively, to problem formulation. In this proposal, the following themes are in focus for the research problem statement. • Environmental design studies. • Interior design applications. • Exterior design applications • .Theory and history of architectural contributions applied to environmental variables.

D-Research problem statement: This proposal is intended for optimization of research in architectural design matrix, (a research question), related to environmental variables, (a research problem.) demonstrated by theory, (methodologies) of interior design elements, and application, (methods) for building components. Environmental design variables affect both Interior and exterior design elements, (dot, lines, planes, volumes, masses…etc.) mirror to interior and exterior building components, (roofs-floors-walls-openings…) in mapping optimization context? Hence the statement answer for the research statement question(s) in research gaps, through conceptual and systematic methodological, and tool method analysis to demonstrate the specific research problems under the thesis title:………………………………………………………………….. Thence, the research problem statement is summarized on: the effect of lighting-acoustic-thermal in interior design limits of an architectural space of a certain building type selected. The application gaps associated with the triple; lighting-acoustic-thermal. (LAT), where each of the triple (LAT),; duple of the triple, or all of the triple in research elaboration by method analysis of an interesting PhD thesis objectives towards better administration of interior design affected by the exterior design elements and components FIG.5: THE PARADIGMS OF THE RESEARCH PROBLEM STATEMENT: OVER LEAF

E-Methodologies and methods: Methodologies and methods “are different ” as stated by, Mark Davies in architectural design research parameter related to environmental design paradigms resides in scientific research of conceptual generalizations, (methodologies) for any research question elaborated on environmental studies. On the other hand; a research statement answer by resolving problem in specific on do- ministration board of the research context gets research methods essential for research management. No doubt, literature reviewing in methodological is a systematic concepts affiliates the researcher for his own assessment portion in scientific knowledge contribution. F-Research results and outputs: Research results and outputs in environmental studies related to architectural design and constructional methods; no doubt, this enrich of the design process comprehensiveness in capabilities, (projects). Feedback of research on environmental studies subject to paradigms of theory and history of architecture, for definite resolves of the research methods assess mentally to statement problem in focus of building methods process and development along the ages of history of architecture sequentially without cut off. G-Conclusions of the Research Proposal: However, the research problem statement in broad field of scientific research contextual to main environmental variables affecting interior design of all building types in architecture in terms of the specific, (LAT) Model compromise of the following paradigms: • The interior lighting environment. • The interior acoustic environment. • The interior thermal environment.

Fig. 3: illustrates a category\series graph method for LAT Model triple variables of: Lighting-Acoustic-Thermal at state reading selection of possibly in endless probabilities in real time-

FIG. 3: LAT MODEL TRIPLE VARIABLES OF: LIGHTING-ACOUSTIC-THERMAL: Each of the triple series; suggests an independent MSc. Or PhD applied dissertation. Hence the suggested research problem statement for this PhD thesis proposal is expected for mutual broad research results applied for interior design themes. Thence the proposed methodological model of (LAT), deals with the interior design gaps in research question to fill these research gaps in rational compromises towards optimization of the interior design checklists and design application in environmental variables criteria. However the expected research capacity limits is focused in symbolic scientific research in general towards specific broad sampling of experimental selected case studies for each paradigm of LAT as follows: • A sample case study on: interior space day light factor control. • A sample case study on: interior space acoustic control. • A sample case study on: interior space thermal comfort ability control. The mutual result; “ the case study “focus of the triple series of the LAT Model is subject to minimal simplified representation of the triple series measured by categories of evaluation scale as follows : The following specific readings are relevant to each series of: lighting, acoustic, and thermal • Lighting effect and interior design requirements in terms of Day- lighting. & artificial, lumen, or lux, etc. respectively for comfortable visual ability for an occupant in task pane in adequately designed interior space • Sound Path Effect and Design Application Challenges • Acoustic effect and interior de sign requirements in terms of Sound level (Decibel), frequency control (Hz), etc. For convenient listening condition in adequately designed interior space • Thermal effect and interior design BTU, etc. responding thermal comfort ability in adequately designed interior space

• Analytical Research Description of: The three above mentioned paradigms of great scientific research in respond, associated with complicated gaps of analysis to cope a mutual result in simplicity of adequate performance in an interior space by occupants in doing their tasks scaled in comfort ability and convenience for instant modes. FIG. 3

FIG. 4: SAMPLE DESIGN WORKS APPROACHED BY THE RESEARCHER ON LAT MODEL ANALYSIS:

• Top: a design proposal based on natural lighting and shading- Ministry of Environment. • Middle: a design proposal based on natural lighting and acoustic control of interior space of a combined court theatre- Co mesa H.Q…Building. • Bottom: a design proposal based on natural lighting and shading for thermal comfort- customs H.Q. Building. Khartoum Airport.

FIG.5: THE PARADIGMS OF THE RESEARCH PROBLEM STATEMENT:

FIG. 6: PARADIGMS OF THE RESEARCH PROPOSAL FRAMEWORK:

FIG. 7: RESEARCH TIME TABLE: Time scale 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 اسبوع duration activities 4 Literature reviews 1 4 Data collection 2 12 Research analysis 3 6 Lab work 4 4 Case study 5 4 Synthesis and conclusion 6 6 Data filter 7 8 Thesis draft 8

REFERENCES:

 Agraa, O.M; AND Ahmed, A.M. HUMAN SETTLEMENT IN ARAB COUNTRIES.KHARTOUM UNIVERSITY PRESS (1983).  Ahmed, A.M., Agraa. El Kheir, OM, and Haywood, IPOULAR SETTLRMENT IN GREATER KHARTOUM. KHARTOUM UNIVERSITY PRESS (1986).  Ark ell, A.J. DARFUR ANTIQUES: SUDAN NOTES AND RECORDS (1937).  Ark ell, A.J.AIN FARAH .S.N.R, XXVII URI. SPECIAL RECORDS OF SULTAN’S MOTHER IN DAR FUR AT AIN FARH AND URI: SUDAN NOTES AND RECORDS (1937).  Barth, H. TRAVEL ON CENTRAL AFRICA VOL.III TO VII.  Browne, W.G.TRAVELS IN AFRICA, EGYPT, AND SYRIA.UNIVERSITY OF LONDON (1799)  Creswell, K.A.C HISTORY OF EARLY MO SLIMS ARCHITECTURE, PUBLISHED BY OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS.  ERNEST; ARCHITECTS’ DATA  Fdul.Y.H. HISTORY OF DAR FUR, ARTICLE PUBLISHED BY KHARTOUM UNIVERSITY PRESS.  Hakim. M.A. MEROETIC ARCHITECTURE PUBLISHED BY KHARTOUM UNIVERSITY.  Hamid.G.M. RATIONALIZING URBAN AND UTILIZATION GUIDELINES FOR HOUSING  HUSSEIN; ABU BAKER; – MALAZ MOHAMED ALI, ARTICLE ON JOURNAL BRRI ISSN2015 .VOL. (18), 2015: THE E EFFECT OF NON ORTHOGONAL FORMS ON ENERGY CONSUMPTION IN TALL OFFICE BUILDING.  HOPKINS ON; LIGHTING

 Lebon, J.H.G and Robertson DAR FUR JABEL MARRA AND ITS REGION GEOGRAPHICAL JOURNAL (1963)  Margret Shoni. SHORT HISTORY OF SUDAN.P. 10 PUBLISHED BY THE NATIONAL COOPERATION FOR ANTIQUES.  Nichtigal.C. SAHARA AND SUDAN VOL.III; DEUTSCH NICTIGAL,OP CITP77-78BERLINE (1889)  Ofahi: HISTORY OF DAR fur, AFRO-ASIAN INSTITUTE LIBRARY. UNIVERSITY OF KHARTOUM(1960  Paul,G .B. SULTAN’S PALACE IN DAR FUR AND WADDAIE (1954)  Pons V.; Abu Sin, M.H. BARBARIANISM AND URBANIZATION IN SUDAN- NYALA: A STUDY ON RAPID URBAN GROWTH, PP 352379.PUBLISHED IN ENGLAND(1960)  Salim,A. EL FUR AND LAND IN ARABIC FUR WA AL ARD KHARTOUM UNIVERSITY PRESS(1984)  Shadad, M.Y AND AGRAA, O.M.A A RENTALS .KHARTOUM UNIVERSITY PRESS (1988)  Shogir.N M.I.O. HISTORY OF SUDAN(1960)  Tounsi, M.I.O VOYAGE TO DAR FUR (1889).  Raga, A. HISTORY OF ARA AND ISLAM IN DAR FUR IN ARABIC CIRO UNIVERSITY  UNCWA HUMAN SETTLEMENT CONFERENCE PROCEDURE NAIROBI (1964)  WELLS, M. GENTLE ARCHITECTURE MC GRAW HILL(1981)

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MIT study explains why laws are written in an incomprehensible style

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Legal documents are notoriously difficult to understand, even for lawyers. This raises the question: Why are these documents written in a style that makes them so impenetrable?

MIT cognitive scientists believe they have uncovered the answer to that question. Just as “magic spells” use special rhymes and archaic terms to signal their power, the convoluted language of legalese acts to convey a sense of authority, they conclude.

In a study appearing this week in the journal of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences , the researchers found that even non-lawyers use this type of language when asked to write laws.

“People seem to understand that there’s an implicit rule that this is how laws should sound, and they write them that way,” says Edward Gibson, an MIT professor of brain and cognitive sciences and the senior author of the study.

Eric Martinez PhD ’24 is the lead author of the study. Francis Mollica, a lecturer at the University of Melbourne, is also an author of the paper .

Casting a legal spell

Gibson’s research group has been studying the unique characteristics of legalese since 2020, when Martinez came to MIT after earning a law degree from Harvard Law School. In a 2022 study , Gibson, Martinez, and Mollica analyzed legal contracts totaling about 3.5 million words, comparing them with other types of writing, including movie scripts, newspaper articles, and academic papers.

That analysis revealed that legal documents frequently have long definitions inserted in the middle of sentences — a feature known as “center-embedding.” Linguists have previously found that this kind of structure can make text much more difficult to understand.

“Legalese somehow has developed this tendency to put structures inside other structures, in a way which is not typical of human languages,” Gibson says.

In a follow-up study published in 2023, the researchers found that legalese also makes documents more difficult for lawyers to understand. Lawyers tended to prefer plain English versions of documents, and they rated those versions to be just as enforceable as traditional legal documents.

“Lawyers also find legalese to be unwieldy and complicated,” Gibson says. “Lawyers don’t like it, laypeople don’t like it, so the point of this current paper was to try and figure out why they write documents this way.”

The researchers had a couple of hypotheses for why legalese is so prevalent. One was the “copy and edit hypothesis,” which suggests that legal documents begin with a simple premise, and then additional information and definitions are inserted into already existing sentences, creating complex center-embedded clauses.

“We thought it was plausible that what happens is you start with an initial draft that’s simple, and then later you think of all these other conditions that you want to include. And the idea is that once you’ve started, it’s much easier to center-embed that into the existing provision,” says Martinez, who is now a fellow and instructor at the University of Chicago Law School.

However, the findings ended up pointing toward a different hypothesis, the so-called “magic spell hypothesis.” Just as magic spells are written with a distinctive style that sets them apart from everyday language, the convoluted style of legal language appears to signal a special kind of authority, the researchers say.

“In English culture, if you want to write something that’s a magic spell, people know that the way to do that is you put a lot of old-fashioned rhymes in there. We think maybe center-embedding is signaling legalese in the same way,” Gibson says.

In this study, the researchers asked about 200 non-lawyers (native speakers of English living in the United States, who were recruited through a crowdsourcing site called Prolific), to write two types of texts. In the first task, people were told to write laws prohibiting crimes such as drunk driving, burglary, arson, and drug trafficking. In the second task, they were asked to write stories about those crimes.

To test the copy and edit hypothesis, half of the participants were asked to add additional information after they wrote their initial law or story. The researchers found that all of the subjects wrote laws with center-embedded clauses, regardless of whether they wrote the law all at once or were told to write a draft and then add to it later. And, when they wrote stories related to those laws, they wrote in much plainer English, regardless of whether they had to add information later.

“When writing laws, they did a lot of center-embedding regardless of whether or not they had to edit it or write it from scratch. And in that narrative text, they did not use center-embedding in either case,” Martinez says.

In another set of experiments, about 80 participants were asked to write laws, as well as descriptions that would explain those laws to visitors from another country. In these experiments, participants again used center-embedding for their laws, but not for the descriptions of those laws.

The origins of legalese

Gibson’s lab is now investigating the origins of center-embedding in legal documents. Early American laws were based on British law, so the researchers plan to analyze British laws to see if they feature the same kind of grammatical construction. And going back much farther, they plan to analyze whether center-embedding is found in the Hammurabi Code, the earliest known set of laws, which dates to around 1750 BC.

“There may be just a stylistic way of writing from back then, and if it was seen as successful, people would use that style in other languages,” Gibson says. “I would guess that it’s an accidental property of how the laws were written the first time, but we don’t know that yet.”

The researchers hope that their work, which has identified specific aspects of legal language that make it more difficult to understand, will motivate lawmakers to try to make laws more comprehensible. Efforts to write legal documents in plainer language date to at least the 1970s, when President Richard Nixon declared that federal regulations should be written in “layman’s terms.” However, legal language has changed very little since that time.

“We have learned only very recently what it is that makes legal language so complicated, and therefore I am optimistic about being able to change it,” Gibson says. 

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