Have You Done Your Job as a Writer?

As a data scientist, you are expected to do thorough analysis with the appropriate data, deploying the appropriate tools. As a writer, you are responsible for communicating your findings to the readers. Transport Policy, a leading research publication in transportation planning, offers a checklist for authors interested in publishing with the journal. The checklist is a series of questions authors are expected to consider before submitting their manuscripts to the journal. I believe the checklist is useful for budding data scientists and, therefore, I have reproduced it verbatim for their benefit.

• Have you told readers, at the outset, what they might gain by reading your paper?

• Have you made the aim of your work clear?

• Have you explained the significance of your contribution?

• Have you set your work in the appropriate context by giving sufficient background (including a complete set of relevant references) to your work?

• Have you addressed the question of practicality and usefulness?

• Have you identified future developments that might result from your work?

• Have you structured your paper in a clear and logical fashion?