BMI 6313 Scientific Writing in Healthcare

3 semester credit hours
Lecture contact hours: 2; Lab contact hours: 3
Web-based and classroom instruction
Lab Fee: $30

This course provides the advanced skills necessary to write a full range of scientific manuscripts in Biomedical Informatics. The course begins with the philosophy of science, types of scientific research, and types of scientific manuscripts (including review, applied, and research articles). The course then examines each component of a scientific manuscript in detail, including the title, abstract, introduction, literature review, method, discussion, conclusion and appendices. The course covers the purpose of each of these components, discusses properties that distinguish good components from bad, and presents techniques for producing high-quality scientific writing. Students will apply these techniques by examining selected published papers, producing their own scientific writing, and critiquing the writing of others in the class. Students are expected to enter the class with a draft scientific paper that they have written and a high degree of general writing skills.

Upon successfully completing this course, students will:

• Apply elements of scientific writing in an original body of work.
• Write a scientific journal article and abstract ready for publication.
• Evaluate articles for high-quality scientific writing.
• Identify steps involved in publishing scientific articles.
• Prepare an effective and concise scientific presentation and poster.