Who is this tutorial for?

The tutorial is designed for researchers in developing countries working in fields related to ecology and environmental science. It is particularly suitable for early career researchers, or those with limited experience in publishing papers in reputable peer-reviewed journals.

There is no cost to participate in this tutorial. It is offered as an open educational resource by INASP.

What will you learn?

At the end of this tutorial, you should be able to:

  • Explain the importance of scientific writing
  • Develop a research article using the inside-out writing approach, ensuring alignment between the study goals, research methods, results interpretation, policy implications, and conclusions
  • Apply case studies from the course to real-world situations

Length of the tutorial

This is a self-study tutorial.  You can join any time and stay enrolled in the tutorial for as long as you would like. However, we recommend that you complete the tutorial within 4 weeks of joining.

Topics covered

There are six units in this tutorial:

  1. The Big Picture of Scientific Writing
  2. Start With Your Results
  3. Discuss Your Results
  4. Introduce Your Study
  5. Conclude Your Study
  6. Finalize the Abstract and Title

Each unit contains a few text-based, interactive learning resources. These resources are called lessons.

At the end of the course, there is a quiz to help you check your understanding, followed by a feedback survey.

Expected time commitment

To get maximum benefit from the tutorial, you should plan to spend about 20 hours going through the learning resources and completing the quiz.

Completion criteria
  1. Going through all the learning resources;
  2. Passing the check-your-understanding quiz at the end of the course (unlimited attempts are allowed on the quiz); and
  3. Completing the feedback survey.

A certificate will be generated automatically for you once you have met the completion criteria. You can download this certificate from the tutorial homepage.

Connectivity required

The learning resources are text-based, so you do not need a high-bandwidth internet connection.

Deadlines

This is a self-study, self-paced tutorial, so there are no deadlines.

Technical support

We are unable to offer technical support for this tutorial. All the information you need to complete the tutorial successfully can be found in the introductory resource at the start of the tutorial.

Is the tutorial compatible with mobile devices?

Yes, you can go through this tutorial on a mobile device, either using a browser or the Moodle Mobile app.

Is there any advice on how to learn online?

This PDF document may be useful to help you prepare to learn online. It also contains answers to frequently asked questions.

Can the learning resources be reused or adapted?

Yes. The learning resources have been developed by INASP and are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

Creative Commons License

**You can enrolment in this tutorial anytime.**

You should first be logged in to this site. Create an account for yourself on this site (if you don't have one) or log in with your existing account. Click the 'Log in' link on the top right hand corner to proceed.

After you've logged in with your account, head to the course enrolment page, in case you're not on that page already. You may want to bookmark the course enrolment page in your browser to get to it easily. You will see a button called 'Enrol me'. Click this button to enrol in the tutorial.