How to write and publish a scientific paper - Barbara Gastel, Robert A. Day 2022

Measurements and analysis
How to write the materials and methods section
Preparing the text

Be precise. Methods are similar to cookbook recipes. If a reaction mixture was heated, give the temperature. Questions such as “How?” and “How much?” should be precisely answered by the author and not left for the reviewer or the reader to puzzle over.

Statistical analyses are often necessary, but your paper should emphasize the data, not the statistics. Generally, a lengthy description of statistical methods indicates that the writer has recently acquired this information and believes that the readers need similar enlightenment. Ordinary statistical methods generally should be used without comment; advanced or unusual methods may require a literature citation. In some fields, statistical methods and statistical software customarily are identified at the end of the materials and methods section.

And again, be careful of your syntax. A manuscript described what could be called a disappearing method. The author stated, “The radioactivity in the tRNA region was determined by the trichloroacetic acid-soluble method of Britten et al.” And then there is the painful method: “After standing in boiling water for an hour, examine the flask.”