A Concise Guide to Communication in Science and Engineering

Success in scientific and engineering research depends on effective writing and presentation. The purpose of this guide is to help the reader achieve that goal. It enables students and researchers to write and present material to a professional modern standard, efficiently and painlessly, and with maximum impact.

The approach is not prescriptive. Rather, the emphasis is on a logical approach to communication, informed by what needs to be achieved, what works in practice, and what interferes with success. Over 400 examples of good and bad writing and graphing are presented. Each is from a published research article and is accompanied by analysis, comment, and correction where needed. Journal reviewers' critiques of submitted manuscripts are included to illustrate common pitfalls. Above all, this is a "how-to" book, comprehensive but concise, suitable for continuous study or quick reference. Checklists at the end of each chapter enable the reader to test the readiness of a dissertation, journal submission, or conference presentation for assessment or review. Although oriented towards engineering and the physical and life sciences, it is also relevant to other areas, including behavioural and clinical sciences and medicine.

David H. Foster, Director of Research and Professor of Vision Systems, University of Manchester, UK

David H. Foster is Professor of Vision Systems at the University of Manchester and Director of Research in the School of Electrical & Electronic Engineering. He began his academic career as a lecturer in physics at Imperial College London and went on to hold personal chairs at several UK universities. He has served as journal editor or editor in chief for over thirty years and has taught communication in science and engineering at undergraduate, postgraduate, and postdoctoral levels in the UK and elsewhere. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Physics, the Institute of Mathematics and its Applications, and the Optical Society of America.