Scientific Disclosure Article: Concept and Structure

We explain that it is an article of scientific dissemination and its main characteristics.Also, as is its structure and an example.

A scientific dissemination article is directed to a general public.

What is a scientific dissemination article?

It is understood by article of scientific dissemination or simply article of dissemination to a brief writing and directed to a general public , non-specialized, whose purpose is to inform and make the understanding of the masses a series of scientific concepts and knowledge.

It is not, therefore, an academic or technical publication, but quite the opposite: a text written in simple and accessible terms to the average reader , who does not require too much prior knowledge or higher education to understand it or at least get an idea of ​​the subject.

The latter implies a friendly writing and an effort to explain the subject in terms simple, with metaphors, comparisons and without taking for granted any previous specialized knowledge.

In this way, the writing of the articles of scientific dissemination usually falls into the hands of either scientists endowed with knowledge and with the passion and possibilities of transmitting it to the general public, or specialized journalists who are able to synthesize and "Translate" the matter.

This type of articles, now available especially on the Web , fulfill the role of promoting general knowledge and instructing the masses concerned , encouraging interest in scientific advances and in the world of organized knowledge.

Often, however, they can be great transmitters of mistakes, misinterpretations or pseudoscientific theories, when they are not in the hands of the appropriate editor.

See also: Monograph.

Characteristics of a scientific dissemination article

An article of dissemination must be written in a simple language, free of technicalities.

An article of scientific dissemination must be written in a simple language, free of technicalities (or in any case explaining them if they are unavoidable) , and should be guided by a simple, linear logic that goes from the most general of the introduction to the most specific of the developed theme, allowing the reader a continuous advance.

Visibility is usually given to data that is especially relevant, important or key to the article, either in vinetas, illustrations or text boxes .Similarly, the content is usually be divided into separate, titled lines that allow the reader to know what is being talked about at all times and from what perspective.

Structure of a scientific dissemination article

Scientific dissemination articles are usually thought of from a simple structure, not always in this same order:

• Introduction.In this section, the reader should be offered all the initial information to be able to address the issue, since starting at once with the data and the information could discourage it.An introduction is a gradual approach to the subject, generally going as general to the most specific.


• Background.A review of those who developed the subject and what were the problems of the scientific field in question, so that the reader can understand the importance of the new development or the newly developed theory.


• Exhibition.The recount of the new information, with its explanations, graphics and support that make the reading something more interesting, at the same time that it is informed and complete.


• Conclusions.A closure that rounds the article and retakes, perhaps, some of the topics offered in the introduction or background, so that the reader can get a general impression of what he has just read.


• References.An addition of bibliographic references or web pages in which the reader who has been interested can continue on their own informing themselves of the subject, or can check where the information they just read came from.

Example of a scientific dissemination article

THE LONG WAY TO MARS

What some years ago seemed fantasy, as is the possibility of living on another planet, today it is offered as a reality not far away.The stories of the American writer Ray Bradbury on the colonization of the planet Mars, or the studies that the German scientist Otto Von Braun left on a possible trip to the red planet , seem to have inspired the scientists of Space X, the company founded by entrepreneur and space enthusiast Elon Musk in 2002.

In order to make trips to space commercially profitable, Musk and his Space X have developed a series of astronautic projects that went through buying old rockets to Russia to develop their own, in search of developing the necessary technology so that these can take off and land standing.

Lowering costs

This, which might seem eccentric, is key in the eventual colonization of Mars, since the rockets must be able to be reused if the goal is to come and go from there at a constant rate.You cannot lose billions of dollars in material with each launch.And apparently Space X has some achievements in the matter, given that its reusable Falcon 9 model is the cheapest on the market, with a cost of just 56.6 million dollars per launch to the low Earth orbit.

To this must be added the cost of fuel, of the implements to establish there a colony and, of course, keep the crew alive during the 39 days of the journey, assuming that it can fly at about 58,000 kmph (the speed of the NASA's New Horizons probe, the fastest of all).

A close dream

Maybe all of this is, however, closer than I thought."I would like to die on Mars," Elon Musk told the press, "but not on landing." We still have to wait a few years to see If he really achieved his dream.