Have you been invited to write a book chapter? Or perhaps your presentation at a symposium is
going to be included in a book of conference proceedings. You're excited about the opportunity
but are unsure how to write a book chapter. Hi. I'm Karen McKee and in this video I'll cover
the characteristics of a good book chapter, provide some examples of academic book chapters,
and give a few tips on organizing and writing a book chapter. I'll focus on chapters written
about scientific topics since that's what I'm most familiar with, but the information generally
applies to other academic topics. An academic book chapter is a compilation of published
and sometimes unpublished research that presents an expert perspective on a topic.
The scope of a chapter is generally broader than that found in journal articles.
Book chapters are often solicited by editors
who invite experts in the field to write about an aspect of the book s topic.
A review chapter provides a synthesis of research previously published by other
scientists and summarizes the current state of understanding on a topic. Another type
is the research chapter, which reports the results of original research and appears in
an edited volume. The research chapter presents data collected by the chapter authors. A special
type of research chapter appears in conference proceedings. These are collections of papers
that were presented at conferences, symposia, or workshops and published in book format.
A case study is a chapter in an edited book that provides a detailed examination of a
specific example such as a medical case study. A perspective chapter presents a point of view on
a problem, a concept, or hypothesis and offers an opinion about future directions for research.
Some researchers avoid writing book chapters because their work may not be as readily
accessible in a book or cited as often as a journal article. This is a valid concern.
The book chapters I've written are not as highly cited as some of my journal articles.
If you have a research paper that might be published in a journal, it doesn't make
sense to bury it in a book. On the other hand, writing a review chapter for a book that
will likely be widely read may raise your profile in the scientific community. Also, you don't
need a lot of resources to write a review chapter, just access to the literature and a good topic.
In addition, writing a review chapter will improve your skills at synthesizing
and writing about a topic, which will help you write better papers for journal publication.
A good book chapter has a clear focus that relates to the book's central theme. It
avoids technical jargon and is written in a style that is understandable by non-specialists.
The chapter begins with a concise overview and then presents specific information
in a logical sequence.A good chapter is formatted with headings and subheadings
that guide the reader through the material. Information might be presented in order of
importance to the chapter theme, chronologically in a historical review chapter for example,
or in some other sequence that fits the topic. If photographs, illustrations, graphs or diagrams
are included, they are of high resolution and are accompanied by informative legends.
Now let's look at some examples of book chapters. A research chapter provides an overview of a topic
using the author's data to illustrate points. In this research chapter, we reviewed indicators
of environmental stress in wetland plants, which appeared in the book, Ecological Indicators
In it, we focused on four types of stress and presented some of our data
showing plant biochemical responses to different environmental conditions, as shown here.
A research chapter is organized like a regular research paper with a brief introduction,
methods, and results and discussion. A conference proceedings chapter summarizes research
presented at a conference or symposium. In this early paper presented at a conference
in India, we provided a summary of research on sublethal factors controlling the productivity
of a coastal grass species. The papers presented at that conference were organized into a book.
A review chapter presents a summary of the literature on a topic. Here is an example
of a review chapter on neotropical coastal wetlands, published in a book on wetland
habitats of North America. The chapter covered broad characteristics such as climate, geology,
hydrology, plant and animal communities, and ecology of neotropical coastal wetlands.
Writing such a review chapter is a lot of work, requiring many hours of reading and organizing
the literature prior to writing. A final type of chapter I'll mention presents a perspective
on a topic. I've written one perspective chapter, which was published recently in a book
on the history of wetland science told from the perspective of the researchers.The book was
designed to inform and inspire the next generation of wetland scientists. In my chapter, I described
events in my life that shaped my career. Not all perspective chapters are so personal, though.
Some present points of view about scientific concepts or problems that need more research.
Generally, experts in the field are invited to write book chapters,
especially reviews requiring a deep understanding of the material.
But some young researchers may coauthor review or research chapters with a senior scientist.
Or they can collaborate with colleagues who are interested in a scientific topic or who can write
about different areas of research. In this book chapter, I worked with colleagues in Australia
to compare and contrast coastal ecosystems in Australasia and the Americas.
A generic outline includes a brief introduction to the topic.
What is it? Why is it important? What specific issues will be addressed?
And the next section develops the topic. It might include a history of the topic,
theoretical background, geographic or other sources of variation, current points of conflict
or disagreement, emerging data patterns and their implications for the field,
practical applications of the research, or proposed solutions to problems.
The conclusions section pulls everything together and recommends areas for future research.
The type of chapter will of course determine the exact structure. A research chapter may
have a structure like a journal article with introduction, methods, results,
discussion, and conclusions. This chapter for example, follows this type of structure.
In a review chapter, the introduction will provide a brief overview of the chapter topic,
its central theme, and purpose. The next sections may be organized around key concepts,
processes, or questions in the field of study. Such sections may provide historical
or theoretical background for the topic, current thinking, and examples illustrating key points.
For example, this chapter is organized around two major paradigms
and their history. The chapter may include boxes, tables, and figures that aid the reader
in understanding the points made in the text. If previously published graphics are used,
you'll need to cite the source and obtain permission to use it from the copyright holder.
The chapter ends with a conclusions section that puts the material into a broader perspective and
makes recommendations for future research. The last section is the literature cited,
which can be quite lengthy with upwards of two hundred references or more. Reference manager
software such as Endnote is helpful in compiling and formatting citations used in a book chapter.
Writing a book chapter can be rewarding but be sure it s the best outlet for your material.
If you decide to write a book chapter, it's a good idea to look at examples in your field of the type
of chapter you plan to write. Use them as guides to help you develop a solid outline for your chapter.
Well, those are a few thoughts about writing a book chapter.
Thanks for watching and please like my video and subscribe to my channel if you found this information helpful.