From project to publication: A writing workshop for future animal scientists

Project Director
Reed, S.

Recipient Organization
UNIVERSITY OF CONNECTICUT
438 WHITNEY RD EXTENSION UNIT 1133
STORRS,CT 062699018

Performing Department
(N/A)

Non Technical Summary
Scientific publication is the backbone of scientific research - it is how scientists communicate their findings and document their research productivity and 'standing in the field.' However, training in scientific writing and publication is not standardized across graduate programs, nor do all programs have access to similar institutional resources for writing and publishing. Individuals without access to this training are at a disadvantage both scientifically and professionally. Further, women and other underserved, underrepresented, and marginalized individuals have a reduced rate of acceptance and publication. The proposed workshop is designed to improve scientific writing, increase understanding of the scientific publications process, and increase rates of acceptance and publication of early-stage researchers and researchers from underrepresented and underserved groups in the Animal Sciences. To meet the proposed objective, we will host a two-day workshop where participants will work with experienced writers and reviewers, journal editors, and peers to discuss journal selection, elements of a scientific research paper, approaches to writing a manuscript, the publication process, and peer review. The small size of the workshop will facilitate one-on-one interactions and networking. Funding participant registration, meals, and lodging will allow more equitable participation. Program effectiveness will be evaluated through participant manuscript submission and acceptance, and peer review opportunities and quality. We expect that these conferences will result in greater acceptance and publication rates, which will support future grant funding from these researchers and institutions, further broadening the impact on the field.

Animal Health Component

(N/A)

Research Effort Categories

Basic

(N/A)

Applied

(N/A)

Developmental

(N/A)

Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)	Subject of Investigation (SOI)	Field of Science (FOS)	Percent
903	3999	3030	100%

Knowledge Area
903 - Communication, Education, and Information Delivery;

Subject Of Investigation
3999 - Animal research, general;

Field Of Science
3030 - Information and communication;

Keywords

animal science

publication

writing

Goals / Objectives
Scientific publication is the backbone of scientific research - it is how scientists communicate their findings, and for academics, how scientists document their research productivity and 'standing in the field.' However, training in scientific writing and publication is not standardized across graduate programs, nor do all animal science programs have access to similar institutional resources for writing and publishing. Thus, individuals without access to this training are at a disadvantage both scientifically and professionally.The overall goal is to provide an educational program for early-stage researchers and researchers from underrepresented and underserved groups in Animal Science to improve their scientific writing, increase understanding of the scientific publications process, and increase acceptance and publication rates.The specific objectives of this workshop are to:1) Discuss journal selection2) Identify elements of a scientific paper and discuss approaches to writing a scientific manuscript3) Discuss the peer review and publication process4) Perform reviews of scientific articles5) Facilitate discussion of "good" reviews of scientific articles6) Foster professional development of early-stage and under-represented researchers

Project Methods
The goals of the 2024 Spring Writing Workshop are to provide an educational program for early-stage researchers and researchers from underrepresented and underserved groups in Animal Science to improve their scientific writing, increase understanding of the scientific publications process, and increase acceptance and publication rates. To meet these goals, the workshop is organized into two parts: 1) lecture and discussion on foundational writing topics, and 2) practical experience reading and reviewing manuscripts. Together, these provide a common foundation for writing and reviewing scientific literature that will allow participants to practice reviewing and identify how a reviewer may respond to their writing.The morning of day one will be primarily lecture and discussion with course instructors and participants. These sessions will cover journal selection, ethics in publishing, writing a research paper, the scientific review process, and how to respond to reviews. Writing and reviewing workshop #1 will be held on the afternoon of the first day and will be an introduction to reviewing manuscripts. Course participants will discuss the process of peer reviewing and will review papers provided by the Journal of Animal Science or Translational Animal Science (with author permission). Speakers in these sessions may include current and former Editor in Chiefs of the ASAS journals (Journal of Animal Science, Translational Animal Science, Animal Frontiers). Writing and reviewing manuscripts workshop #2 will focus on comparing reviews of the assigned manuscripts with the actual peer reviews. All manuscript reviewing sessions will occur in small groups led by an instructor (approximately 7 to 8 participants in each group). This approach has been highly successful in past workshops and has led to positive feedback from participants.Participants are also invited to submit an unpublished manuscript for review by instructors and other course participants. Individuals submitting papers will meet one on one with a course instructor to discuss their reviews. At the fall 2023 workshop, several participants submitted manuscripts for review, met one-on-one with instructors to review their manuscript, and have maintained contact with the instructors as they prepare their manuscript for submission. We anticipate that this approach will improve submission and acceptance rates of manuscripts.

Progress 03/01/24 to 02/28/25

Outputs
Target Audience:Attendence at the workshop included25 participants from 14 universities (n = 13 USA, 1 Canada). Of the US universities represented, five were from EPSCoR states and five were minority serving institutions. One participant was a post-doctoral fellow, the remaining participants were graduate students. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?The workshop provided significant opportunities for graduate students and post-doctoral fellows to learn about scientific writing and publishing, and increased networking amongst a diverse group of scientists. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? Nothing Reported What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Part of the budget allows for support of publishing costs for participants that attend the workshop. Over the next year, we anticipate that participants will submit their manuscripts that were in draft at the workshop, and, if accepted, we will partially support those page charges.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? In May 2024, we hosted a workshop for 25 participants. The workshop was led by Sarah Reed, Elisabeth Huff-Lonergan, and Steve Zinn, who are all current and/or former Editors in Chief for major journals in animal science. This two day workshop covered journal selection, preparing a manuscript for publication, peer review and the publication process, and responding to peer reviews. Participants were given draft journal articles to peer review and the peer review process and their experience was discussed in depth. A networking reception and communal meals facilitated interaction between the participants and the workshop hosts, and stimulated questions and discussion on writing, publishing, and other career-related topics.Pre- and post-surveys indicated that participants felt that the workshop improved their understanding of the publications process and their preparedness for writing and submitting a manuscript (Figure 1), meeting the objectives of the workshop.

Publications