EASE Guidelines for Authors and Translators of Scientific Articles
Encyclopedia
The EASE Guidelines for Authors and Translators of Scientific Articles to be Published in English (often shortened to EASE Guidelines for Authors and Translators or EASE Guidelines) were first published by the European Association of Science Editors
(EASE) in 2010. An updated version appeared in June 2011. The EASE Guidelines summarize the most important editorial recommendations, aiming to make international scientific communication more efficient and to aid in preventing scientific misconduct
. The document has been translated into many languages, to facilitate its popularization worldwide and help scientists from non-Anglophone
countries.
Forum and during the 2009 EASE conference in Pisa, as well as subsequent consultations within the EASE Council.
The EASE Guidelines emphasize the need for proper structuring of the article (e.g. making the tested hypothesis clear in the Introduction), making the abstract
highly informative (including most important data
and conclusions), and writing understandably, so that the readers are not discouraged or confused. Ethical issues are also taken into account, e.g. authorship criteria, plagiarism
, redundant publications, and other types of scientific misconduct
. A practical appendix
about ethics
(with standard ethical declarations required by science editor
s) and seven other short appendices about selected issues are added at the end of the document.
Council plans to add more appendices on specific subjects and more translations (made mostly by volunteers), as well as to review the EASE Guidelines annually.
European Association of Science Editors
The ' is a non-profit membership organisation for people interested in science communication and editing. Founded in 1982, in France, EASE now has an international membership from diverse backgrounds and professional experience....
(EASE) in 2010. An updated version appeared in June 2011. The EASE Guidelines summarize the most important editorial recommendations, aiming to make international scientific communication more efficient and to aid in preventing scientific misconduct
Scientific misconduct
Scientific misconduct is the violation of the standard codes of scholarly conduct and ethical behavior in professional scientific research. A Lancet review on Handling of Scientific Misconduct in Scandinavian countries provides the following sample definitions: *Danish definition: "Intention or...
. The document has been translated into many languages, to facilitate its popularization worldwide and help scientists from non-Anglophone
English-speaking world
The English-speaking world consists of those countries or regions that use the English language to one degree or another. For more information, please see:Lists:* List of countries by English-speaking population...
countries.
History
The EASE Guidelines are a result of long discussions on the electronic EASEEuropean Association of Science Editors
The ' is a non-profit membership organisation for people interested in science communication and editing. Founded in 1982, in France, EASE now has an international membership from diverse backgrounds and professional experience....
Forum and during the 2009 EASE conference in Pisa, as well as subsequent consultations within the EASE Council.
Contents
The document includes a succinct set of guidelines explaining how to write complete, concise and clear manuscripts. It is supplemented with a list for further reading as well as several short appendices (Abstracts; Ambiguity; Cohesion; Plurals; Simplicity; and Spelling) that present selected issues in greater detail or provide more examples.The EASE Guidelines emphasize the need for proper structuring of the article (e.g. making the tested hypothesis clear in the Introduction), making the abstract
Abstract (summary)
An abstract is a brief summary of a research article, thesis, review, conference proceeding or any in-depth analysis of a particular subject or discipline, and is often used to help the reader quickly ascertain the paper's purpose. When used, an abstract always appears at the beginning of a...
highly informative (including most important data
Data
The term data refers to qualitative or quantitative attributes of a variable or set of variables. Data are typically the results of measurements and can be the basis of graphs, images, or observations of a set of variables. Data are often viewed as the lowest level of abstraction from which...
and conclusions), and writing understandably, so that the readers are not discouraged or confused. Ethical issues are also taken into account, e.g. authorship criteria, plagiarism
Plagiarism
Plagiarism is defined in dictionaries as the "wrongful appropriation," "close imitation," or "purloining and publication" of another author's "language, thoughts, ideas, or expressions," and the representation of them as one's own original work, but the notion remains problematic with nebulous...
, redundant publications, and other types of scientific misconduct
Scientific misconduct
Scientific misconduct is the violation of the standard codes of scholarly conduct and ethical behavior in professional scientific research. A Lancet review on Handling of Scientific Misconduct in Scandinavian countries provides the following sample definitions: *Danish definition: "Intention or...
. A practical appendix
Appendix
Appendix may refer to:In documents:*Addendum, any addition to a document, such as a book or legal contract*Bibliography, a systematic list of books and other works...
about ethics
Ethics
Ethics, also known as moral philosophy, is a branch of philosophy that addresses questions about morality—that is, concepts such as good and evil, right and wrong, virtue and vice, justice and crime, etc.Major branches of ethics include:...
(with standard ethical declarations required by science editor
Editor
The term editor may refer to:As a person who does editing:* Editor in chief, having final responsibility for a publication's operations and policies* Copy editing, making formatting changes and other improvements to text...
s) and seven other short appendices about selected issues are added at the end of the document.
Perspectives
The EASEEuropean Association of Science Editors
The ' is a non-profit membership organisation for people interested in science communication and editing. Founded in 1982, in France, EASE now has an international membership from diverse backgrounds and professional experience....
Council plans to add more appendices on specific subjects and more translations (made mostly by volunteers), as well as to review the EASE Guidelines annually.
See also
- Committee on Publication EthicsCommittee on Publication EthicsThe Committee on Publication Ethics is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to define best practice in the ethics of scholarly publishing and to assist editors, publishers, etc. to achieve this.- Mission :...
(COPE) - European Association of Science EditorsEuropean Association of Science EditorsThe ' is a non-profit membership organisation for people interested in science communication and editing. Founded in 1982, in France, EASE now has an international membership from diverse backgrounds and professional experience....
- International Council for ScienceInternational Council for ScienceThe International Council for Science , formerly the International Council of Scientific Unions, was founded in 1931 as an international non-governmental organization devoted to international co-operation in the advancement of science...
(ICSU) - IMRADIMRAD- The basic structure of a scientific paper :The IMRAD structure is currently the most prominent norm for the structure of a scientific paper. IMRAD is an acronym for Introduction, Methods, Results and Discussion...
- Scientific misconductScientific misconductScientific misconduct is the violation of the standard codes of scholarly conduct and ethical behavior in professional scientific research. A Lancet review on Handling of Scientific Misconduct in Scandinavian countries provides the following sample definitions: *Danish definition: "Intention or...
- Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical JournalsUniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical JournalsThe Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals is a set of guidelines produced by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors, for standardising the ethics, preparation and formatting of manuscripts submitted for publication by biomedical journals...
- United States Office of Research IntegrityUnited States Office of Research IntegrityThe Office of Research Integrity is one of the bodies concerned with research integrity in the United States. It was created when the Office of Scientific Integrity in the National Institutes of Health and the Office of Scientific Integrity Review in the Office of the Assistant Secretary for...