Annotated Public Health Skills Bibliography (N - Z)

Day, R.A. (1988). How to Write & Publish a Scientific Paper. NY:Oryx Press. THE definitive how-to book on scientific writing and publishing, Day does a wonderful job of what could be a potentially boring subject. His humor is great. Tips from writing each part of a research paper (IMRAD), to citing references and how to use illustrating vehicles (charts, diagrams, photos) appropriately. Based on decades of experience, Day shows potential authors how to treat editors, present orally, create posters for display, writing conference reports, etc. Appendices include proper scientific abbreviations, a glossary of technical terms, and how to avoid abusing the English language. A definite must-read.

Fink, A. How to Report on Surveys. (#9 of Survey Kit Series). (1995). CA: Sage Publications. How to make the most of the data you've spent so hard collecting and analyzing. Shows the best way to present data in tabular and chart forms, how to make oral presentations of your results and how to say-what-mean and mean-what-you-found on paper.

Gigerenzer, G. (2002). Calculated Risks. How To Know When Numbers Deceive You NY: Simon & Shuster MacMillan Co. An excellent book that introduces you to a better way of understanding statistics. Yes, it is possible to present statistical information in an easy-to-understand format that can be used for decision-making. The author's premise that presenting risk in natural frequencies is the right way to talk about risk is well-supported by examples and explanation. I think this book would be more useful if he also presented a curriculum with which schools and universities can incorporate his ideas into teaching math and statistics from elementary all the way into professional schools (i.e., medicine, law, etc.). Great promise for improving Public Health risk communication, too. Nothing is worst than people trying to fog you with statistics when they themselves don't even understand what they are saying!!! A must read.

Morris, L.L., Fitz-Gibbon, C.T., & Freeman, M.E. (1987). How to Communicate Evaluation Findings. #8 of The Program Evaluation Kit, 2nd Edition. CA:Sage Publications. A how- to on presenting findings from evaluation research, covering oral and written presentations to the fine art of getting program planners to actually use your findings to improve their programs.

St. James, D.(1993). Speaking for Excellence. A seminar guide to giving oral presentations.

Coburn, E.J. (1991). Business Graphics: Concepts and Applications. MA: Southwestern Publishing Co. EXCELLENT BASIC TEXT about the how to use a computer to generate graphic materials, from charts to diagrams, while providing a great historical overview of graphics, computers, fonts, and the appropriateness of various types of charts for presenting data and other types of information.

Gigerenzer, G. (2002). Calculated Risks. How To Know When Numbers Deceive You NY: Simon & Shuster MacMillan Co. An excellent book that introduces you to a better way of understanding statistics. Yes, it is possible to present statistical information in an easy-to-understand format that can be used for decision-making. The author's premise that presenting risk in natural frequencies is the right way to talk about risk is well-supported by examples and explanation. I think this book would be more useful if he also presented a curriculum with which schools and universities can incorporate his ideas into teaching math and statistics from elementary all the way into professional schools (i.e., medicine, law, etc.). Great promise for improving Public Health risk communication, too. Nothing is worst than people trying to fog you with statistics when they themselves don't even understand what they are saying!!! A must read.

Jacoby, W.G. (1997). Statistical Graphics for Univariate and Bivariate Data. (#117 of Quantitative Applications in the Social Sciences Series). CA: Sage Publications. A little bit on the technical side on how to graph data, emphasizing the use of slicing and nonparametric smoothing, and 45 degree banking to enhance the visual display of data.

Jacoby, W.G. (1998). Statistical Graphics for Visualizing Multivariate Data. (#120 of Quantitative Applications in the Social Sciences Series). CA: Sage Publications. It's not always easy to display 3-dimensional data on 2-dimensional media (paper). Unless you have thousands of dollars to spend on data visualization software, you can skip this book and practice the art of contingency tabulations.

Jones, G.E. (1995). How to Lie With Charts. San Francisco: Sybex. Not really as unethical as the title would "lead" you to believe the book to be. The author takes a back-handed approach to graphing data the right way, and does it splendidly. You really will learn how to be ethical about presenting data. A nice short overview of using a spreadsheet.

Jones, G.E. (2007). How to Lie With Charts. 2nd Edition CA: LaPuerta. A nice update of a classic textbook for presenting data in an ethical way, with expanded sections about presentations, from formatting, proper grammar to the use of color to persuade (for honest reasons, of course). A nice addition to your tools library.

Kimball, M.A. (2003). The Web Portfolio Guide. Creating Electronic Portfolios for the Web. NY: Longman. A manual that tries to meet the needs of several audiences - students, graduates and teachers - on how to create an online portfolio. Though Kimball devotes only one chapter to the academic professional, the entire book reads like it was meant for the teacher rather than for students. For sure, to make the most of this textbook, if it were to be used in class, the teacher must be Net-saavy enough to provide the technical expertise needed to make the most of the manual. Though repetitious on some points, it does provide a sequential approach to the planning, designing and revising of a Web portfolio, and does provide information about graphics and the hands-on tasks needed to keep the portfolio current. Provides insight on what to think about in putting together any portfolio (now being preferred over just a mere resume or CV for some professions) to show off what you can do to a potential employer.

Racine, N.J.(2002). Visual Communication. Understanding Maps, Charts, Diagrams and Schematics. NY: Learning Express. An excellent, easy-to-understand book about the technical side of presenting data, ideas and concepts in the more generic forms of visual media. Provides a fundamental understanding of how to use these tools to get your point across. Though we may know what "blueprints" are, most of us are more likely to use "white prints" than blueprints.

Wallgren, A., Wallgren, B., Persson, R., Jorner, U., Haaland, J-A. (1996). Graphing Statistics & Data: Creating Better Charts. The definitive book for those who can't stand numbers as numbers and looking for a proper way to present them without misleading the reader or listener. And, no, I didn't misspell the authors - they happen to be Swedish. This text was originally Swedish, but the need for this kind of reference work was so great that it has been translated for the English masses. I'm glad.

American Medical Writers Association. (1994). Biomedical Communication: Selected AMWA Workshops. An excellent collection of articles about micro/macro-editing, grammar dos and don'ts, publishing pointers, presentation pointers.

American Psychological Association. (2009). Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, Sixth Edition. DC: APA. This most recent edition of the perennial favorite style manual for the social sciences provides much more than the proper formatting of research articles for publication. It includes many useful chapters about how to present data as well as how to interpret statistical analyses for purposes of reporting. Additional information about how to cite Internet resources makes this a very current reference guide for those interested in scholarly publishing. All around useful textbook for the researcher in all of us.

Cappon, R.J. (1991). The Associated Press Guide to News Writing. NY:Prentice-Hall. Good overview on writing for the general public.

Day, R.A. (1988). How to Write & Publish a Scientific Paper. NY:Oryx Press. THE definitive how-to book on scientific writing and publishing, Day does a wonderful job of what could be a potentially boring subject. His humor is great. Tips from writing each part of a research paper (IMRAD), to citing references and how to use illustrating vehicles (charts, diagrams, photos) appropriately. Based on decades of experience, Day shows potential authors how to treat editors, present orally, create posters for display, writing conference reports, etc. Appendices include proper scientific abbreviations, a glossary of technical terms, and how to avoid abusing the English language. A definite must-read.

Gardner, M.J., & Altman, D.G. (1989). Statistics with Confidence - Confidence Intervals and Statistical Guidelines. London: British Medical Journal. A good text on the use of confidence intervals with various statistical procedures, instead of just citing the p value in reporting research results. Two excellent chapters: "Statistical guidelines for contributors to medical journals" - what to look for in the reporting of medical research, and "Use of check lists in assessing the statistical content of medical studies" offers a peer-review approach to looking at what an excellent research paper would include, from design to statistical analysis.

Hall, G.M.(Ed). (1994). How To Write A Paper. London:BMJ Publishing Group. No-nonsense how-to on writing a research paper for publication.

Kimball, M.A. (2003). The Web Portfolio Guide. Creating Electronic Portfolios for the Web. NY: Longman. A manual that tries to meet the needs of several audiences - students, graduates and teachers - on how to create an online portfolio. Though Kimball devotes only one chapter to the academic professional, the entire book reads like it was meant for the teacher rather than for students. For sure, to make the most of this textbook, if it were to be used in class, the teacher must be Net-saavy enough to provide the technical expertise needed to make the most of the manual. Though repetitious on some points, it does provide a sequential approach to the planning, designing and revising of a Web portfolio, and does provide information about graphics and the hands-on tasks needed to keep the portfolio current. Provides insight on what to think about in putting together any portfolio (now being preferred over just a mere resume or CV for some professions) to show off what you can do to a potential employer.

Lang, T.A., & Secic, M. (1997)How to Report Statistics in Medicine. Annotated Guidelines for Authors, Editors, and Reviewers. PA: American College of Physicians. FINALLY, a guide on how medical research should be reported in the literature!! With this text in print, now there really is no reason for poorly written research reports to be in print, nor for any medical researcher not to know how to write up their research in an appropriate fashion. And for research consumers - this text will tell you what you should be looking for when you read the literature.

Morris, L.L., Fitz-Gibbon, C.T., & Freeman, M.E. (1987). How to Communicate Evaluation Findings. #9 of The Program Evaluation Kit, 2nd Edition. CA:Sage Publications. A how- to on presenting findings from evaluation research, covering oral and written presentations to the fine art of getting program planners to actually use your findings to improve their programs.

Pyrczak, F. & Bruce, R.R. (1998). Writing Empirical Research Reports. A Basic Guide for Students of the Social and Behavioral Sciences. 2nd Edition. CA: Pyrczak Co. A hands- on text on the mechanics of writing up a research report. Excellent guidelines approach to the major issues surrounding the development of a well-written research report.

Reece, D. (1995). How to Do It:3. (Third Edition). A light-hearted compilation written for physicians to help them deal with the scholarly (refereeing for a peer-review journal) and not so scholarly pursuits (running a dining club) that come with being a physician in Britain. Offers hands-on advice in dealing with the paper-side of medical practice (annual reports, research reports, case reports, etc.) as well as the civic side of being an upstanding member of society. Much of the humor should be taken with a pillar of salt (and that's asking a "lot"). Chapter 37 "Survive a dinner" is a must-read, especially the anecdote about talking to someone who looks a little familiar.

St. James, D. (1993). Writing for Excellence. A seminar guide, written for physicians, on how to write various kinds of written communications, from abstracts to articles suitable for professional publications.

Truss, Lynne (2003). Eats, Shoots & Leaves. NY: Gotham Books. A more appropriate title would probably be "Punctuation Matters" though not so much that it's a book about the proper use of ".,"'()[]{};, etc. but more that punctuation matters. While Truss does provide some pointers on how to properly punctuate any sentence under the sun, the book should really be appreciated for the historical insight she provides about how punctuation came about. Given that the use of punctuation has been somewhat a fluid and an evolving practice to clarify written thought, it does not help that writers perpetually break the rules of grammar as a matter of creative license while mere mortals like ourselves must obey the technical aspects of writing just so we won't look stupid. Great read.