Writing Scientific Papers

Writing Scientific Papers In writing a scientific paper, a number of steps are required. It is worth noting at the beginning that a good writer is a good researcher. Good scientific writing is not only seen from the composition of the writing which suggests its scientific nature. More than that, good scientific writing is produced by great researchers. A great researcher certainly equips himself with adequate knowledge and insight. methods and research techniques that he really mastered. Without it. a piece of writing is nothing more than rhetoric, far from being useful for its scientific field or for society in general. 1. Determining the topic At the beginning of writing a scientific paper, the most important thing a writer has is the topic that will be discussed. With a topic, a writer has a platform to direct his writing in a focused manner. The problem is how to determine the topic. An academic or person who specializes in a particular field of science will know the issues that are often discussed. In the field of culture, for example, the issue concerns "global culture" or "identity crisis". Issues in the economic field, for example regarding the "free market" or "economic crisis". In the field of education, issues relate to the "quality of human resources". In every scientific field there are actual issues regarding relations with society or those that only exist in the scientific field. Experts or students will know actual issues in their respective scientific fields. The existence of these issues can be used as a starting point for carrying out deeper investigations. By determining a topic of interest, a writer can develop the topic through library research. He can read books, magazines, newspapers, the internet or other sources regarding the topic he has chosen. From library research you will know an overview of the topic. Having an overview of a topic is valuable material for compiling an initial picture of the topic that will be worked on. Initial knowledge of a topic regarding what is being discussed determines the writing process. By having clear initial knowledge about a topic, the writer can compile a background for the topic he chooses. 1. Problem formulation Having initial knowledge about the topic which is usually written as part of the background, the writing can be focused on problem formulation. Problem formulation is the key to a scientific paper. The formulation of the problem that has been created will determine the writer's ability to carry out the writing. In field research, problem formulation will give the researcher limitations regarding what he is looking for in the field. Because in the field, especially for young writers/researchers, they are often confused by the situation they face. Likewise, in library research, problem formulation will guide a researcher regarding what he is looking for amidst the many sources. By formulating a clear and definitive problem, you will get a direction for the scientific writing being done. The formulation of this problem will be the content of the entire article. From the problem that has been formulated at the beginning of writing, the next stages of writing will be determined. Thus, developing the topic of discussion at the beginning of the writing is important. This is related to the results that will influence the formulation of the problem created at the next stage. In problem formulation, ideally there are two types of formulation, namely theoretical formulation and operational formulation (Ninuk Kleden, 2015). Theoretical formulation is defined by contrasting two or three phenomena that emerge from the topic being discussed. For example, in Karawang Regency, West Java, the poverty rate of the people is quite large, even though many national and international scale factories have been built in this district. The high poverty of the community and the rapid development of factories in Karawang are two symptoms that conflict with each other. The theoretical problem formulation as exemplified cannot yet be operationalized. This formulation shows phenomena related to the topic to be studied. To provide more operational direction in the field, it is necessary to formulate operational problems. The operational meaning here is that the formulation can be used directly to find out the reality based on field research or library research. Usually operational formulations are formulated in the form of questions. For example: (1) How does the Kawarang Regency government policy prepare the human resources of the Karawang community?; (2) What are the policies regarding the needs of workers in companies in Karawang?: (3) How is the culture of Karawang society related to work? 2. Develop a research design From the operational problem formulation, you will get an idea of what will be done when going into the field or doing library research to obtain data. A writer/researcher will be able to prepare everything to determine whether the research is classified as qualitative or quantitative research. Next, what library data must be prepared beforehand and who will be interviewed if the choice is qualitative research. What will be asked? When can interviews be conducted? After preparing the background of the problem from topic development and problem formulation, the research design is then prepared. This research design is a researcher's preparation before entering the data collection stage. Was the data obtained through qualitative or quantitative research? When the choice is qualitative, is it through field research or library research? Likewise when research is carried out quantitatively. What population will be determined in the designated area to answer the problem formulation that has been proposed? How many respondents are determined to fill out the questionnaire? When can the questionnaire be distributed to respondents? etc. The stages before carrying out data collection must be well prepared. Field research using qualitative and quantitative methods requires serious preparation, because the atmosphere in the field often makes what is obtained in the research unclear. The same thing applies in library research. Often the amount of library data that comes from news, books, magazines, recordings, data from the internet is very large. In fact, what a researcher wants to obtain is only what is related to his research problem. For this reason, this is where good research design is important before carrying out data collection activities. 3. Data collection There are two ways to collect data in research, namely field research and library research. Then in field research there are two ways that can be taken, namely research using interview techniques or questionnaire distribution techniques. Qualitative research often uses ethnography as a method. The aim is that in interviews conducted in a structured or free manner, in-depth data can be obtained. Research using interview techniques is categorized into qualitative research models. Then research using a model of distributing questionnaires to a predetermined population is called research using a quantitative model. In determining the population and its distribution, the aspect of proportionality must be met. In this way, the respondents and the answers to the questionnaire obtained will represent the research object. 4. Data Analysis After returning from the field or completing library research, the next step is analysis of the data obtained. Analysis of this data depends on the research model carried out. In field research or library research, what needs to be done first is data identification, data classification, data analysis and data interpretation. Meanwhile, the results of field research using a quantitative approach were carried out using statistical processing. 6. Framework for writing scientific papers At this stage research data has been obtained. The next step is to write it in the form of scientific writing. In writing, a writer does not necessarily express ideas as he pleases. The writing should show that the contents of the report are the result of serious research and are particularly useful for the scientific discipline and the reading public in general. Then physically compose a structured piece of writing. For this reason, it is necessary to prepare a scientific writing framework. This framework helps the author explain his findings to the reader. The following is an essay framework that can be created to compose scientific papers (Endraswara, 2015): a. Title The title should consist of several words that describe what is being researched and the emphasis given in the research. b. Introduction Discuss the topic that will be discussed in the article. Convey the scope of the topic being studied. Give an overview of what will be conveyed at the end of the article from the research results. c. Materials and methods Give an explanation of the method for obtaining data and the means for obtaining data. d. Research result Description of research results in clear written language. Descriptions can be helped by using tables or graphs to make reading easier. e. Discussion of research results In discussing research results, evidence can be revealed that supports the data relating to the main conclusions, comparisons with findings from other authors/researchers, and the basic rules required by the research results. f. Systematics of scientific writing At this stage the author explains it in a structured written form. Systematics helps writers/researchers express their findings in the form of scientific writing. In general, scientific papers are divided into three parts as follows: 1. Introductory part This introductory section contains the initial part of a scientific paper. This section contains the title, title page, approval sheet, abstract, foreword, table of contents, list of tables, list of photos, list of figures, list of charts, list of symbols, list of abbreviations. In other writing, it doesn't have to be as complete, but adapted to existing data. 1) Contents section This section consists of introduction, discussion, conclusions and suggestions. The content section is the main part of a piece of writing as a result of research. 2) Closing part The closing section consists of a bibliography, various appendices, and the author's biography. 5. Characteristics of Language for Scientific Writing The language of scientific writing has certain characteristics with the language of non-scientific writing. There are two characteristics of the language of scientific writing, namely general characteristics and special characteristics. The general characteristic of written language in scientific papers is that it conforms to applicable language rules. The special characteristics of scientific writing include being intellectual, straightforward and logical, clear, concise and concise, formal and objective, ideas as a starting point, use of technical terms, and consistent. The following is a description of the special characteristics of written language for scientific papers: a. Scholar The meaning of scholarly language is that the language used in writing scientific papers is able to express the results of logical thinking accurately. b. Straightforward and logical The characteristic of straightforward language in scientific writing is that the language used is literal and does not have double meaning. Meanwhile, logical is language that is used in accordance with logic and can be accepted by common sense. c. Clear The characteristic of clear language is that the language used in writing has a clear sentence structure and meaning. d. Compact and concise What is meant by concise is that the language used must be brief, not using long-winded language. Meanwhile, solid means that the use of language is not mixed with unnecessary elements. So, concise and concise in the use of language in scientific writing is the use of concise sentences to produce a concise way of thinking. e. Formal and objective Formal language in writing scientific papers is formal or official language in a language structure that covers all linguistic levels. With this formal language, the character of openness in expressing thoughts will be seen. The use of formal language will directly reveal the objective character of the writing produced. f. Use of technical terms When writing scientific papers, technical terms related to a particular field are used. These terms are operational in scientific writing. These technical terms include writing numbers, symbols, and conceptual terms. g. Consistent The use of concepts or technical terms must be consistent throughout the writing. This consistency indicates a strong logical relationship that is built in the writing. The existence of logic indicates the existence of a causal relationship which is the main characteristic of a scientific writing.