highlights in a research paper

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Highlights are three to five (three to four for Cell Press articles) bullet points that help increase the discoverability of your article via search engines. These bullet points should capture the novel results of your research as well as new methods that were used during the study (if any). Think of them as the "elevator pitch" of your article. Please include terms that you know your readers will be looking for online. Don't try to capture all ideas, concepts or conclusions as highlights are meant to be short: 85 characters or fewer, including spaces.

Highlights offer your paper a considerable advantage in the online world, as they ensure that search engines pick up your article and match it to the right audience. (Nowadays, machines read your work just as often as humans do!). Highlights have been proven to widen the reach of your work and help to ensure that your article is brought to the attention of interested colleagues, both inside and outside your usual research community. Apart from a wider distribution of your research, we hope that this will also lead to new collaborations and help accelerate the pace of science.

The small print

Not part of editorial consideration and aren't required until the final files stage

Only required for full research articles

Must be provided as a Word document— select "Highlights" from the drop-down list when uploading files

Each Highlight can be no more than 85 characters, including spaces

No jargon, acronyms, or abbreviations: aim for a general audience and use keywords

Consider the reader - Highlights are the first thing they'll see

From:   Cancer Cell, Volume 32, Issue 2, 14 August 2017, Pages 169-184.e7 opens in new tab/window

Metastases mostly disseminate late from primary breast tumors, keeping most drivers

Drivers at relapse sample from a wider range of cancer genes than in primary tumors

Mutations in SWI-SNF complex and inactivated JAK-STAT signaling enriched at relapse

Mutational processes similar in primary and relapse; radiotherapy can damage genome

From:  Learning and Instruction, Volume 21, Issue 6, December 2011, 746-756 opens in new tab/window

Fading of a script alone does not foster domain-general strategy knowledge

Performance of the strategy declines during the fading of a script

Monitoring by a peer keeps performance of the strategy up during script fading

Performance of a strategy after fading fosters domain-general strategy knowledge

Fading and monitoring by a peer combined foster domain-general strategy knowledge

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How to Write Highlights for a Paper

Last Updated: March 20, 2024 Fact Checked

This article was reviewed by Gerald Posner and by wikiHow staff writer, Jennifer Mueller, JD . Gerald Posner is an Author & Journalist based in Miami, Florida. With over 35 years of experience, he specializes in investigative journalism, nonfiction books, and editorials. He holds a law degree from UC College of the Law, San Francisco, and a BA in Political Science from the University of California-Berkeley. He’s the author of thirteen books, including several New York Times bestsellers, the winner of the Florida Book Award for General Nonfiction, and has been a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in History. He was also shortlisted for the Best Business Book of 2020 by the Society for Advancing Business Editing and Writing. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 53,722 times.

The highlights for a scientific paper make it easier for people to find it using a search engine. Ideally, your highlights serve as a sort of "elevator pitch" for your paper, describing the results and any new methods you used. Although it depends on the publisher, the highlights for a paper will usually be no more than 3 or 4 bullet-point phrases. You typically don't need to worry about your highlights until the final editing stages before your paper is published. However, strong highlights can get your paper noticed online more quickly, which can give your research a tremendous advantage. [1] X Research source

Drafting the Highlights for Your Paper

• Conversely, good highlights also keep a potential reader from wasting their time. If your paper doesn't cover information that they need to know or are interested in, highlights let them know immediately so they don't have to read through half your paper before they find that out.

• For example, you would write "UV rays affect skin's overall health" rather than "skin's overall health is affected by sun exposure."
• Research papers often use passive voice, which is more wordy and difficult to understand. Because highlights have a strict length requirement, using active voice allows you to stay within the character limits while including the most important information from your article. For example, you might write: "Prolonged exposure to light damages skin cells."

• Use the simplest words possible, even if they aren't technically accurate. For example, instead of referring to "squamous cells," you could say "skin cells" or simply "skin." Your paper will get into the specific cells studied.

Tip: If you know a child or teenager, read your highlights to them and ask if they can understand what your paper is about. If they don't, ask them what they didn't understand and keep revising.

• One method of proofreading is to read your highlights backward, moving word by word. This encourages you to focus on each individual word rather than the phrase as a whole.
• It's also a good idea to let someone else give your highlights a read-through. Someone completely unfamiliar with your highlights or your paper might notice errors you've repeatedly overlooked because you know what you meant to say.

Using Proper Formatting for Your Highlights

• For example, the National Science Foundation wants each highlight on an individual Microsoft PowerPoint slide.
• Highlights were introduced by the publisher Elsevier and many journals and publishers use similar procedures. If the journal or publisher tells you to use Elsevier's requirements, you can get those at https://www.elsevier.com/authors/journal-authors/highlights .

• If you're providing your highlights in bullet points, the bullet point itself typically isn't considered a character. However, all other spaces and punctuation are.
• Some journals or publishers may also have a minimum length. Even if a specific minimum length isn't given, having a highlight that's only 2 or 3 words typically doesn't provide enough information to a potential reader to be helpful.

Tip: You can typically adjust the settings of your word processing program to count characters rather than words. This will make it easier, as you're revising, to ensure your highlights stay within the length requirements.

• Double-check to make sure you've met all the publisher's requirements before you submit your highlights. Violations of the publisher's protocol could delay the publication of your paper.

Expert Q&A

You might also like.

• ↑ https://www.elsevier.com/authors/journal-authors/highlights
• ↑ https://author.miguelpanao.com/writing-meaningful-highlights-in-scientific-papers/
• ↑ https://www.nsf.gov/mps/che/nuggets/highlight-writing.pdf

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How do I include Highlights with my manuscript?

Highlights are a short collection of three to five bullet points that:

• Provide readers with a quick textual overview of the article.
• Convey the core findings.
• Describe the essence of the research (i.e. results or conclusion).
• Highlight what's distinctive about it.

Highlights will be displayed in online search result lists, the contents list and in the online article, but won't (yet) appear in the article PDF file or print.

Answer Highlights are mandatory for some journals and optional for others. You can check the requirements for the journal you're submitting to by reading the Guide for Authors. To find the Guide for Authors:

• Navigate to the journal's Homepage. To find the journal's Homepage search for the journal using the search box under 'Find by journal title' on the journal author's page .
• Click on 'Guide for Authors' in the left-hand menu.

Highlights should be submitted in the following way:

Unless otherwise instructed in the Guide for Authors, Highlights should be included as a separate source file (i.e. Microsoft Word not PDF).

• Select 'Highlights' from the drop-down file list when uploading files.
• Use 'Highlights' as the file name.

With these specifications:

• Include 3 to 5 highlights.
• Each individual Highlight should be a maximum of 85 characters long, including spaces.
• Only the core results of the paper should be covered.

Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA), Bioenergetics, Volume 1807, Issue 10, October 2011, 1364-1369  

• A conformational two-state mechanism for proton pumping complex I is proposed.
• The mechanism relies on stabilization changes of anionic ubiquinone intermediates.
• Electron-transfer and protonation should be strictly controlled during turnover.

Learning and Instruction, Volume 21, Issue 6, December 2011, 746-756  

• Fading of a script alone does not foster domain-general strategy knowledge.
• Performance of the strategy declines during the fading of a script.
• Monitoring by a peer keeps performance of the strategy up during script fading.
• Performance of a strategy after fading fosters domain-general strategy knowledge.
• Fading and monitoring by a peer combined foster domain-general strategy knowledge.  

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How To Write Highlights for an Academic or Scientific Paper

Posted by Rene Tetzner | Sep 7, 2021 | Paper Writing Advice | 0 |

How To Write Highlights for an Academic or Scientific Paper Although some academic and scientific journals have a long tradition of requesting summaries of key findings from the authors of articles accepted for publication, highlights are, for the most part, a relatively recent development in scholarly publishing. Elsevier first introduced highlights in some of its scholarly journals less than a decade ago, with its other journals and many produced by other publishers soon picking up this feature as well. The increasing popularity of highlights for research articles can be explained by their usefulness and appeal for both readers and authors in an online publishing environment. Readers are able to find and view in an extremely concise format the results presented in a published manuscript and thus determine very quickly whether they want to read the paper or not. With the Elsevier Research Highlights app, they can easily do this on their smartphones and even have the articles they wish to read sent to their inboxes. Authors benefit because their papers are given the advantage of greater visibility and discoverability, which can lead to more readers and higher citation counts. In addition, condensing the key elements of a research article into a few highlights can help an author focus more effectively on the primary contributions of his or her research.

The content, length and format of highlights for a research paper differ somewhat among academic and scientific journals, so one journal may simply want a bulleted list of keywords or key phrases, whereas another will require a thorough summary of the research results in the form of a brief paragraph. Elsevier journals ask for a list of bullet points that communicate the core findings of an article, conveying the essence of the research as well as its distinctiveness, but eliminating the background, methodology and other information that might appear in an abstract. Between three and five highlights are usually required, with each one not exceeding 85 characters, including spaces. The Elsevier model may be a good one to use if the journal to which you are submitting a paper indicates that highlights are desirable but provides no specific instructions or guidelines. Yet varying preferences mean that it is always wise to take a close look at the highlights in papers the journal has recently published, particularly any papers that are very similar to your own. In some cases, highlights will not be required until a paper is accepted for publication, so be sure to note when highlights should be submitted as well what form they should take.

Regardless of the exact format of the highlights required, they will almost certainly need to be concise in order to condense a great deal of complex information into a very little textual space. Shortening phrases, simplifying vocabulary, eliminating redundant words and using the active voice will help with observing word and character limits, and replacing long words with shorter synonyms will also help with the latter. These are good writing strategies when addressing a wide or general audience in any case, and this tends to be a desirable goal in highlights for a research paper, as does avoiding jargon and highly technical language. Do note, however, that a few journals will want authors to assume an audience of specialist readers for their highlights, in which case the guidelines will probably specify this. Keywords and key phrases are often encouraged in highlights, but nonstandard abbreviations are best avoided and must be spelled out when first used if they prove necessary. Highlights are usually written in full sentences even when they are presented as bullet points, and it is essential to write clearly and correctly if you wish to communicate effectively with potential readers and hold out the prospect of an excellent paper, so errors in spelling, grammar, punctuation and logic must be eliminated. A logical approach to highlights that begins with clarifying the nature of the research, proceeds with clear statements about the most important results and finishes with outlining the paper’s contribution to the field will generally prove successful.

Keeping both your readers and your research firmly in mind as you write your highlights is vital. Simplifying language and tucking everything you need to say into short and engaging highlights can lead to oversimplifying or exaggerating research findings, especially since the highlights must stand alone without any of the explanations, nuances and complications offered in the main paper. It is therefore imperative to give your highlights serious thought, ensuring that they accurately represent for readers the primary or most exciting results presented in your paper, and also that the paper itself lays emphasis on the findings prioritised in your highlights. For this reason, highlights are best drafted after the paper is written, and some authors will even go back after the highlights are written and revise their papers to achieve a clearer focus on the highlighted results. The process of writing appropriate highlights can therefore enable effective editing and help an author produce a better paper. However you choose to work at writing the highlights for your academic or scientific paper, remember that they will probably be the first thing after the title that a prospective reader encounters and they may even appear in the journal’s table of contents, so you want your highlights to make the best possible impression and lead readers to a paper that lives up to their claims.

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How to Write a Research Paper: the LEAP approach (+cheat sheet)

In this article I will show you how to write a research paper using the four LEAP writing steps. The LEAP academic writing approach is a step-by-step method for turning research results into a published paper .

The LEAP writing approach has been the cornerstone of the 70 + research papers that I have authored and the 3700+ citations these paper have accumulated within 9 years since the completion of my PhD. I hope the LEAP approach will help you just as much as it has helped me to make an real, tangible impact with my research.

What is the LEAP research paper writing approach?

I designed the LEAP writing approach not only for merely writing the papers. My goal with the writing system was to show young scientists how to first think about research results and then how to efficiently write each section of the research paper.

In other words, you will see how to write a research paper by first analyzing the results and then building a logical, persuasive arguments. In this way, instead of being afraid of writing research paper, you will be able to rely on the paper writing process to help you with what is the most demanding task in getting published – thinking.

The four research paper writing steps according to the LEAP approach:

I will show each of these steps in detail. And you will be able to download the LEAP cheat sheet for using with every paper you write.

But before I tell you how to efficiently write a research paper, I want to show you what is the problem with the way scientists typically write a research paper and why the LEAP approach is more efficient.

How scientists typically write a research paper (and why it isn’t efficient)

Writing a research paper can be tough, especially for a young scientist. Your reasoning needs to be persuasive and thorough enough to convince readers of your arguments. The description has to be derived from research evidence, from prior art, and from your own judgment. This is a tough feat to accomplish.

The figure below shows the sequence of the different parts of a typical research paper. Depending on the scientific journal, some sections might be merged or nonexistent, but the general outline of a research paper will remain very similar.

Here is the problem: Most people make the mistake of writing in this same sequence.

While the structure of scientific articles is designed to help the reader follow the research, it does little to help the scientist write the paper. This is because the layout of research articles starts with the broad (introduction) and narrows down to the specifics (results). See in the figure below how the research paper is structured in terms of the breath of information that each section entails.

How to write a research paper according to the LEAP approach

For a scientist, it is much easier to start writing a research paper with laying out the facts in the narrow sections (i.e. results), step back to describe them (i.e. write the discussion), and step back again to explain the broader picture in the introduction.

For example, it might feel intimidating to start writing a research paper by explaining your research’s global significance in the introduction, while it is easy to plot the figures in the results. When plotting the results, there is not much room for wiggle: the results are what they are.

Starting to write a research papers from the results is also more fun because you finally get to see and understand the complete picture of the research that you have worked on.

Most importantly, following the LEAP approach will help you first make sense of the results yourself and then clearly communicate them to the readers. That is because the sequence of writing allows you to slowly understand the meaning of the results and then develop arguments for presenting to your readers.

I have personally been able to write and submit a research article in three short days using this method.

Step 1: Lay Out the Facts

You have worked long hours on a research project that has produced results and are no doubt curious to determine what they exactly mean. There is no better way to do this than by preparing figures, graphics and tables. This is what the first LEAP step is focused on – diving into the results.

How to p repare charts and tables for a research paper

Your first task is to try out different ways of visually demonstrating the research results. In many fields, the central items of a journal paper will be charts that are based on the data generated during research. In other fields, these might be conceptual diagrams, microscopy images, schematics and a number of other types of scientific graphics which should visually communicate the research study and its results to the readers. If you have reasonably small number of data points, data tables might be useful as well.

Tips for preparing charts and tables

• Try multiple chart types but in the finished paper only use the one that best conveys the message you want to present to the readers
• Follow the eight chart design progressions for selecting and refining a data chart for your paper: https://peerrecognized.com/chart-progressions
• Prepare scientific graphics and visualizations for your paper using the scientific graphic design cheat sheet: https://peerrecognized.com/tools-for-creating-scientific-illustrations/

How to describe the results of your research

Now that you have your data charts, graphics and tables laid out in front of you – describe what you see in them. Seek to answer the question: What have I found?  Your statements should progress in a logical sequence and be backed by the visual information. Since, at this point, you are simply explaining what everyone should be able to see for themselves, you can use a declarative tone: The figure X demonstrates that…

Tips for describing the research results :

• Answer the question: “ What have I found? “
• Use declarative tone since you are simply describing observations

Step 2: Explain the results

The core aspect of your research paper is not actually the results; it is the explanation of their meaning. In the second LEAP step, you will do some heavy lifting by guiding the readers through the results using logic backed by previous scientific research.

How to define the Message of a research paper

To define the central message of your research paper, imagine how you would explain your research to a colleague in 20 seconds . If you succeed in effectively communicating your paper’s message, a reader should be able to recount your findings in a similarly concise way even a year after reading it. This clarity will increase the chances that someone uses the knowledge you generated, which in turn raises the likelihood of citations to your research paper. 

Tips for defining the paper’s central message :

• Write the paper’s core message in a single sentence or two bullet points
• Write the core message in the header of the research paper manuscript

How to write the Discussion section of a research paper

In the discussion section you have to demonstrate why your research paper is worthy of publishing. In other words, you must now answer the all-important So what? question . How well you do so will ultimately define the success of your research paper.

Here are three steps to get started with writing the discussion section:

• Write bullet points of the things that convey the central message of the research article (these may evolve into subheadings later on).
• Make a list with the arguments or observations that support each idea.
• Finally, expand on each point to make full sentences and paragraphs.

Tips for writing the discussion section:

• What is the meaning of the results?
• Was the hypothesis confirmed?
• Write bullet points that support the core message
• List logical arguments for each bullet point, group them into sections
• Instead of repeating research timeline, use a presentation sequence that best supports your logic
• Convert arguments to full paragraphs; be confident but do not overhype
• Refer to both supportive and contradicting research papers for maximum credibility

How to write the Conclusions of a research paper

Since some readers might just skim through your research paper and turn directly to the conclusions, it is a good idea to make conclusion a standalone piece. In the first few sentences of the conclusions, briefly summarize the methodology and try to avoid using abbreviations (if you do, explain what they mean).

After this introduction, summarize the findings from the discussion section. Either paragraph style or bullet-point style conclusions can be used. I prefer the bullet-point style because it clearly separates the different conclusions and provides an easy-to-digest overview for the casual browser. It also forces me to be more succinct.

Tips for writing the conclusion section :

• Summarize the key findings, starting with the most important one
• Make conclusions standalone (short summary, avoid abbreviations)
• Add an optional take-home message and suggest future research in the last paragraph

How to refine the Objective of a research paper

The objective is a short, clear statement defining the paper’s research goals. It can be included either in the final paragraph of the introduction, or as a separate subsection after the introduction. Avoid writing long paragraphs with in-depth reasoning, references, and explanation of methodology since these belong in other sections. The paper’s objective can often be written in a single crisp sentence.

Tips for writing the objective section :

• The objective should ask the question that is answered by the central message of the research paper
• The research objective should be clear long before writing a paper. At this point, you are simply refining it to make sure it is addressed in the body of the paper.

How to write the Methodology section of your research paper

When writing the methodology section, aim for a depth of explanation that will allow readers to reproduce the study . This means that if you are using a novel method, you will have to describe it thoroughly. If, on the other hand, you applied a standardized method, or used an approach from another paper, it will be enough to briefly describe it with reference to the detailed original source.

Remember to also detail the research population, mention how you ensured representative sampling, and elaborate on what statistical methods you used to analyze the results.

Tips for writing the methodology section :

• Include enough detail to allow reproducing the research
• Provide references if the methods are known
• Create a methodology flow chart to add clarity
• Describe the research population, sampling methodology, statistical methods for result analysis
• Describe what methodology, test methods, materials, and sample groups were used in the research.

Step 3: Advertize the research

Step 3 of the LEAP writing approach is designed to entice the casual browser into reading your research paper. This advertising can be done with an informative title, an intriguing abstract, as well as a thorough explanation of the underlying need for doing the research within the introduction.

How to write the Introduction of a research paper

The introduction section should leave no doubt in the mind of the reader that what you are doing is important and that this work could push scientific knowledge forward. To do this convincingly, you will need to have a good knowledge of what is state-of-the-art in your field. You also need be able to see the bigger picture in order to demonstrate the potential impacts of your research work.

Think of the introduction as a funnel, going from wide to narrow, as shown in the figure below:

• Start with a brief context to explain what do we already know,
• Follow with the motivation for the research study and explain why should we care about it,
• Explain the research gap you are going to bridge within this research paper,
• Describe the approach you will take to solve the problem.

Tips for writing the introduction section :

• Follow the Context – Motivation – Research gap – Approach funnel for writing the introduction
• Explain how others tried and how you plan to solve the research problem
• Do a thorough literature review before writing the introduction
• Start writing the introduction by using your own words, then add references from the literature

How to prepare the Abstract of a research paper

The abstract acts as your paper’s elevator pitch and is therefore best written only after the main text is finished. In this one short paragraph you must convince someone to take on the time-consuming task of reading your whole research article. So, make the paper easy to read, intriguing, and self-explanatory; avoid jargon and abbreviations.

How to structure the abstract of a research paper:

• The abstract is a single paragraph that follows this structure:
• Problem: why did we research this
• Methodology: typically starts with the words “Here we…” that signal the start of own contribution.
• Results: what we found from the research.
• Conclusions: show why are the findings important

How to compose a research paper Title

The title is the ultimate summary of a research paper. It must therefore entice someone looking for information to click on a link to it and continue reading the article. A title is also used for indexing purposes in scientific databases, so a representative and optimized title will play large role in determining if your research paper appears in search results at all.

Tips for coming up with a research paper title:

• Capture curiosity of potential readers using a clear and descriptive title
• Include broad terms that are often searched
• Add details that uniquely identify the researched subject of your research paper
• Avoid jargon and abbreviations
• Use keywords as title extension (instead of duplicating the words) to increase the chance of appearing in search results

How to prepare Highlights and Graphical Abstract

Highlights are three to five short bullet-point style statements that convey the core findings of the research paper. Notice that the focus is on the findings, not on the process of getting there.

A graphical abstract placed next to the textual abstract visually summarizes the entire research paper in a single, easy-to-follow figure. I show how to create a graphical abstract in my book Research Data Visualization and Scientific Graphics.

Tips for preparing highlights and graphical abstract:

• In highlights show core findings of the research paper (instead of what you did in the study).
• In graphical abstract show take-home message or methodology of the research paper. Learn more about creating a graphical abstract in this article.

Step 4: Prepare for submission

Sometimes it seems that nuclear fusion will stop on the star closest to us (read: the sun will stop to shine) before a submitted manuscript is published in a scientific journal. The publication process routinely takes a long time, and after submitting the manuscript you have very little control over what happens. To increase the chances of a quick publication, you must do your homework before submitting the manuscript. In the fourth LEAP step, you make sure that your research paper is published in the most appropriate journal as quickly and painlessly as possible.

How to select a scientific Journal for your research paper

The best way to find a journal for your research paper is it to review which journals you used while preparing your manuscript. This source listing should provide some assurance that your own research paper, once published, will be among similar articles and, thus, among your field’s trusted sources.

After this initial selection of hand-full of scientific journals, consider the following six parameters for selecting the most appropriate journal for your research paper (read this article to review each step in detail):

• Scope and publishing history
• Ranking and Recognition
• Publishing time
• Acceptance rate
• Content requirements
• Access and Fees

How to select a journal for your research paper:

• Use the six parameters to select the most appropriate scientific journal for your research paper
• Use the following tools for journal selection: https://peerrecognized.com/journals
• Follow the journal’s “Authors guide” formatting requirements

How to Edit you manuscript

No one can write a finished research paper on their first attempt. Before submitting, make sure to take a break from your work for a couple of days, or even weeks. Try not to think about the manuscript during this time. Once it has faded from your memory, it is time to return and edit. The pause will allow you to read the manuscript from a fresh perspective and make edits as necessary.

I have summarized the most useful research paper editing tools in this article.

Tips for editing a research paper:

• Take time away from the research paper to forget about it; then returning to edit,
• Start by editing the content: structure, headings, paragraphs, logic, figures
• Continue by editing the grammar and language; perform a thorough language check using academic writing tools
• Read the entire paper out loud and correct what sounds weird

How to write a compelling Cover Letter for your paper

Begin the cover letter by stating the paper’s title and the type of paper you are submitting (review paper, research paper, short communication). Next, concisely explain why your study was performed, what was done, and what the key findings are. State why the results are important and what impact they might have in the field. Make sure you mention how your approach and findings relate to the scope of the journal in order to show why the article would be of interest to the journal’s readers.

I wrote a separate article that explains what to include in a cover letter here. You can also download a cover letter template from the article.

Tips for writing a cover letter:

• Explain how the findings of your research relate to journal’s scope
• Tell what impact the research results will have
• Show why the research paper will interest the journal’s audience
• Add any legal statements as required in journal’s guide for authors

How to Answer the Reviewers

Reviewers will often ask for new experiments, extended discussion, additional details on the experimental setup, and so forth. In principle, your primary winning tactic will be to agree with the reviewers and follow their suggestions whenever possible. After all, you must earn their blessing in order to get your paper published.

Be sure to answer each review query and stick to the point. In the response to the reviewers document write exactly where in the paper you have made any changes. In the paper itself, highlight the changes using a different color. This way the reviewers are less likely to re-read the entire article and suggest new edits.

In cases when you don’t agree with the reviewers, it makes sense to answer more thoroughly. Reviewers are scientifically minded people and so, with enough logical and supported argument, they will eventually be willing to see things your way.

Tips for answering the reviewers:

• Agree with most review comments, but if you don’t, thoroughly explain why
• Highlight changes in the manuscript
• Do not take the comments personally and cool down before answering

The LEAP research paper writing cheat sheet

Imagine that you are back in grad school and preparing to take an exam on the topic: “How to write a research paper”. As an exemplary student, you would, most naturally, create a cheat sheet summarizing the subject… Well, I did it for you.

This one-page summary of the LEAP research paper writing technique will remind you of the key research paper writing steps. Print it out and stick it to a wall in your office so that you can review it whenever you are writing a new research paper.

Now that we have gone through the four LEAP research paper writing steps, I hope you have a good idea of how to write a research paper. It can be an enjoyable process and once you get the hang of it, the four LEAP writing steps should even help you think about and interpret the research results. This process should enable you to write a well-structured, concise, and compelling research paper.

Have fund with writing your next research paper. I hope it will turn out great!

Learn writing papers that get cited

The LEAP writing approach is a blueprint for writing research papers. But to be efficient and write papers that get cited, you need more than that.

My name is Martins Zaumanis and in my interactive course Research Paper Writing Masterclass I will show you how to  visualize  your research results,  frame a message  that convinces your readers, and write  each section  of the paper. Step-by-step.

And of course – you will learn to respond the infamous  Reviewer No.2.

Hey! My name is Martins Zaumanis and I am a materials scientist in Switzerland ( Google Scholar ). As the first person in my family with a PhD, I have first-hand experience of the challenges starting scientists face in academia. With this blog, I want to help young researchers succeed in academia. I call the blog “Peer Recognized”, because peer recognition is what lifts academic careers and pushes science forward.

Besides this blog, I have written the Peer Recognized book series and created the Peer Recognized Academy offering interactive online courses.

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Writing Highlights for Elsevier — Do’s and Don’ts

Research highlights concisely summarize the core findings and provide readers with an overview of the paper. They include three to five bullet points describing the ethos of the research (e.g., results or conclusions) and highlight what is unique about the study.

Listed below are the Do’s and Don’ts for writing highlights: Do’s Include 3 to 5 highlights. Maximum 85 characters in each highlight including spaces. Only the core results of the paper should be covered. Write the research highlight in the present tense. Be concise and specific. Provide an overview of the study. Describe the distinctive results and conclusion of the paper. Cover only the essential results. Don’ts Do not provide unnecessary information in the research highlights. It should not be very long. Do not describe all your findings in the highlights.

Example of a research highlight: Applied Catalysis A: General Volumes 411–412, 16 January 2012, Pages 7–14 Highlights Highly c-axis oriented ZnO nanowires were grown on glass using aqueous solutions. The growth temperature does not exceed 95 °C in any step of the synthesis. The photocatalytic and wetting properties were studied upon UV irradiation. ZnO nanowires show superior photocatalytic activity.

Reference link: http://www.elsevier.com/authors/journal-authors/highlights

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How to write the “highlights” for a research paper

15/12/2014 de Lingua 2.0

One of the most recent innovations in academic publishing is the “highlights” section, which often appears immediately after the article’s title in online journals. Some authors may wonder why they now have to produce a “highlights” section as well as an abstract, and how they should go about writing it.

In fact, this is a very new development. Elsevier journals started inserting highlights sections around 2010 and gradually phased this feature in across their whole range. Since Elsevier is the largest publisher of scientific journals, currently running around 3000 titles, its decision to introduce highlights has had a major impact on the sector as a whole. Now that the “highlights” sections are mandatory, Elsevier has now moved on to the second stage of what is evidently a long-term plan: in January 2014 Elsevier launched a “Research Highlights app” which is designed to make it easy to consult research papers on a smartphone – something that would not be possible if information were not available in the condensed, schematic format provided by the title and “highlights”.

So what exactly should the “highlights” section contain? Since this is a new genre, there is a certain amount of confusion among authors, and a high degree of variation can be observed between the “highlights” sections of different journals and papers, which range from lists of keywords displayed with bullet points, to detailed and complex accounts of results. According to the official Elsevier authors’ website, highlights are “a short collection of bullet points that convey the core findings” and provide researchers with a quick overview of the article in text form. Moreover, according to the same authors’ website, highlights should “describe the essence of the research (e.g. results or conclusions) and highlight what is distinctive about it”. Yet a cursory glance at the examples provided on the authors’ website is enough to tell us that this is not the whole truth. In fact, the examples provided by the publisher itself seem to suggest that the highlights can best be understood as a highly condensed abstract foregrounding the design of the study, on the one hand, and the results, on the other.

In particular, two features of the examples recommended by Elsevier should be noted. First, in these examples, the first one or two sentences in the “highlights” are used to orientate the reader as to the nature of the study, while the rest are a summary of the main results. Second, even though the characteristic format of the “highlights” section is the use of bullet points, in Elsevier ’s examples the highlights themselves are expressed in full sentences, rather than making use of the more schematic style permitted in English when using bullet points. Taken together, these features suggest that when writing highlights, it is best to think of them as a kind of short abstract, than as either a summary of results or a list of points.

Perhaps the best advice is to allow yourself to be guided by the comment made by one researcher who found that the highlights were “quick to read and gave me a flavour of the research without giving me too much to sift through”. The aim of the “highlights” section is that researchers who glance at their mobile phone in search of information should able to read something comprehensible on a field they know little about. So you should start with a sentence that orientates the reader as to the nature of the study. Then move on to explain your most interesting findings in simple terms. Finish with a sentence that summarizes what your study contributes to the field. The language should be clear, concise and to the point, and you should use full sentences

For examples, see:

http://www.elsevier.com/journal-authors/highlights

Compártelo:

Relacionado, autor: lingua 2.0.

Equipo Lingua 2.0 de la Facultad de Filosofía y Letras (Universidad de Navarra)

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Research Highlights

Simple steps could shrink US beef industry’s carbon hoofprint

Beef production accounts for 3% of country’s carbon emissions, but measures such as tree-planting offer help.

Cheap catalysts close the loop on plastics production

Process breaks down two of the most common plastics into raw ingredients.

Ancient fish dined on bats — or died trying

Fossils hint that bats’ wings sometimes lodged in fish’s throats, leading the bat-eater to die of hunger.

Lassa fever to have a fearsome toll without vaccination

Modelling suggests that the Lassa virus could infect millions in a decade, but vaccines under development could sharply reduce deaths.

Bumblebees’ sense of smell can’t take the heat

Climate change could compromise the pollinators’ ability to detect flowers.

Natural acid makes super-sticky eco-friendly glue

Recyclable spray, patch and film adhesives work as well as existing petroleum-based products.

A familiar drug can repair a broken heart

An existing treatment for multiple sclerosis also prevents heart cell death and improves organ function, animal experiments show.

What Science and Nature are good for: causing paper cuts

Experiments reveal that human skin is most reliably cut by specific thicknesses of paper, including the kind used to print certain high-profile journals.

This unlucky star got mangled by a black hole — twice

Bursts of light hint that a star in a nearby galaxy was partially shredded in 2022 and 2024 and might be in for another round.

Why record wildfires scorched Canada last year

Snows melted earlier than usual because of climate change, fuelling the unprecedented blazes.

Gut microbes’ genomes are a trove of potential antibiotics

Newfound compound is as effective at treating infected skin wounds as is the antibiotic of last resort.

The Amazon is relinquishing its carbon — for a surprising reason

Degradation of the Amazon’s tree canopy is the main culprit, although the complete clearance of portions of the forest contributes too.

These decoy ‘female’ fireflies lure males to their doom in a spider’s embrace

Certain spiders take advantage of the fact that a male firefly can flash even after being bitten and wrapped.

Child with ultra-rare disease gets a treatment just for her

Therapy designed for one seems to have improved a young girl’s quality of life.

How to train your crocodile

Doctored toad carcasses teach crocs to avoid eating the toxin-producing cane toad.

DNA of child sacrificed in ancient city reveals surprising parentage

The mother and father of a young child buried at the archaeological site of Paquimé, Mexico, were more closely related to each other than first cousins.

How expert skateboarders use physics on the half-pipe

Athletes can achieve greater speed with just the right ‘pumping’ motion, modelling shows.

Oldest pyramid in Egypt shows signs of hydraulic building technique

The Step Pyramid of Djoser is accompanied by a dam-like structure and a moat.

Engineered brain parasite ferries useful proteins into neurons

Microbe found in cat poo could be harnessed to deliver large, complex proteins across the blood–brain barrier.

Cobras and mambas and coral snakes, oh my! DNA shows their origins

A snake family that includes many venomous species arose in Asia, despite fossil evidence pointing to an African origin.

Quick links

• Explore articles by subject
• Guide to authors
• Editorial policies

How to Write a Conclusion for Research Papers (with Examples)

The conclusion of a research paper is a crucial section that plays a significant role in the overall impact and effectiveness of your research paper. However, this is also the section that typically receives less attention compared to the introduction and the body of the paper. The conclusion serves to provide a concise summary of the key findings, their significance, their implications, and a sense of closure to the study. Discussing how can the findings be applied in real-world scenarios or inform policy, practice, or decision-making is especially valuable to practitioners and policymakers. The research paper conclusion also provides researchers with clear insights and valuable information for their own work, which they can then build on and contribute to the advancement of knowledge in the field.

The research paper conclusion should explain the significance of your findings within the broader context of your field. It restates how your results contribute to the existing body of knowledge and whether they confirm or challenge existing theories or hypotheses. Also, by identifying unanswered questions or areas requiring further investigation, your awareness of the broader research landscape can be demonstrated.

Remember to tailor the research paper conclusion to the specific needs and interests of your intended audience, which may include researchers, practitioners, policymakers, or a combination of these.

Table of Contents

What is a conclusion in a research paper, summarizing conclusion, editorial conclusion, externalizing conclusion, importance of a good research paper conclusion, how to write a conclusion for your research paper, research paper conclusion examples.

• How to write a research paper conclusion with Paperpal? 

Frequently Asked Questions

A conclusion in a research paper is the final section where you summarize and wrap up your research, presenting the key findings and insights derived from your study. The research paper conclusion is not the place to introduce new information or data that was not discussed in the main body of the paper. When working on how to conclude a research paper, remember to stick to summarizing and interpreting existing content. The research paper conclusion serves the following purposes: 1

• Warn readers of the possible consequences of not attending to the problem.
• Recommend specific course(s) of action.
• Restate key ideas to drive home the ultimate point of your research paper.
• Provide a “take-home” message that you want the readers to remember about your study.

Types of conclusions for research papers

In research papers, the conclusion provides closure to the reader. The type of research paper conclusion you choose depends on the nature of your study, your goals, and your target audience. I provide you with three common types of conclusions:

A summarizing conclusion is the most common type of conclusion in research papers. It involves summarizing the main points, reiterating the research question, and restating the significance of the findings. This common type of research paper conclusion is used across different disciplines.

An editorial conclusion is less common but can be used in research papers that are focused on proposing or advocating for a particular viewpoint or policy. It involves presenting a strong editorial or opinion based on the research findings and offering recommendations or calls to action.

An externalizing conclusion is a type of conclusion that extends the research beyond the scope of the paper by suggesting potential future research directions or discussing the broader implications of the findings. This type of conclusion is often used in more theoretical or exploratory research papers.

Align your conclusion’s tone with the rest of your research paper. Start Writing with Paperpal Now!  

The conclusion in a research paper serves several important purposes:

• Offers Implications and Recommendations : Your research paper conclusion is an excellent place to discuss the broader implications of your research and suggest potential areas for further study. It’s also an opportunity to offer practical recommendations based on your findings.
• Provides Closure : A good research paper conclusion provides a sense of closure to your paper. It should leave the reader with a feeling that they have reached the end of a well-structured and thought-provoking research project.
• Leaves a Lasting Impression : Writing a well-crafted research paper conclusion leaves a lasting impression on your readers. It’s your final opportunity to leave them with a new idea, a call to action, or a memorable quote.

Writing a strong conclusion for your research paper is essential to leave a lasting impression on your readers. Here’s a step-by-step process to help you create and know what to put in the conclusion of a research paper: 2

• Research Statement : Begin your research paper conclusion by restating your research statement. This reminds the reader of the main point you’ve been trying to prove throughout your paper. Keep it concise and clear.
• Key Points : Summarize the main arguments and key points you’ve made in your paper. Avoid introducing new information in the research paper conclusion. Instead, provide a concise overview of what you’ve discussed in the body of your paper.
• Address the Research Questions : If your research paper is based on specific research questions or hypotheses, briefly address whether you’ve answered them or achieved your research goals. Discuss the significance of your findings in this context.
• Significance : Highlight the importance of your research and its relevance in the broader context. Explain why your findings matter and how they contribute to the existing knowledge in your field.
• Implications : Explore the practical or theoretical implications of your research. How might your findings impact future research, policy, or real-world applications? Consider the “so what?” question.
• Future Research : Offer suggestions for future research in your area. What questions or aspects remain unanswered or warrant further investigation? This shows that your work opens the door for future exploration.
• Closing Thought : Conclude your research paper conclusion with a thought-provoking or memorable statement. This can leave a lasting impression on your readers and wrap up your paper effectively. Avoid introducing new information or arguments here.
• Proofread and Revise : Carefully proofread your conclusion for grammar, spelling, and clarity. Ensure that your ideas flow smoothly and that your conclusion is coherent and well-structured.

Write your research paper conclusion 2x faster with Paperpal. Try it now!

Remember that a well-crafted research paper conclusion is a reflection of the strength of your research and your ability to communicate its significance effectively. It should leave a lasting impression on your readers and tie together all the threads of your paper. Now you know how to start the conclusion of a research paper and what elements to include to make it impactful, let’s look at a research paper conclusion sample.

How to write a research paper conclusion with Paperpal?

A research paper conclusion is not just a summary of your study, but a synthesis of the key findings that ties the research together and places it in a broader context. A research paper conclusion should be concise, typically around one paragraph in length. However, some complex topics may require a longer conclusion to ensure the reader is left with a clear understanding of the study’s significance. Paperpal, an AI writing assistant trusted by over 800,000 academics globally, can help you write a well-structured conclusion for your research paper. 

• Sign Up or Log In: Create a new Paperpal account or login with your details.  
• Navigate to Features : Once logged in, head over to the features’ side navigation pane. Click on Templates and you’ll find a suite of generative AI features to help you write better, faster.  
• Generate an outline: Under Templates, select ‘Outlines’. Choose ‘Research article’ as your document type.  
• Select your section: Since you’re focusing on the conclusion, select this section when prompted.  
• Choose your field of study: Identifying your field of study allows Paperpal to provide more targeted suggestions, ensuring the relevance of your conclusion to your specific area of research. 
• Provide a brief description of your study: Enter details about your research topic and findings. This information helps Paperpal generate a tailored outline that aligns with your paper’s content. 
• Generate the conclusion outline: After entering all necessary details, click on ‘generate’. Paperpal will then create a structured outline for your conclusion, to help you start writing and build upon the outline.  
• Write your conclusion: Use the generated outline to build your conclusion. The outline serves as a guide, ensuring you cover all critical aspects of a strong conclusion, from summarizing key findings to highlighting the research’s implications. 
• Refine and enhance: Paperpal’s ‘Make Academic’ feature can be particularly useful in the final stages. Select any paragraph of your conclusion and use this feature to elevate the academic tone, ensuring your writing is aligned to the academic journal standards. 

By following these steps, Paperpal not only simplifies the process of writing a research paper conclusion but also ensures it is impactful, concise, and aligned with academic standards. Sign up with Paperpal today and write your research paper conclusion 2x faster .  

The research paper conclusion is a crucial part of your paper as it provides the final opportunity to leave a strong impression on your readers. In the research paper conclusion, summarize the main points of your research paper by restating your research statement, highlighting the most important findings, addressing the research questions or objectives, explaining the broader context of the study, discussing the significance of your findings, providing recommendations if applicable, and emphasizing the takeaway message. The main purpose of the conclusion is to remind the reader of the main point or argument of your paper and to provide a clear and concise summary of the key findings and their implications. All these elements should feature on your list of what to put in the conclusion of a research paper to create a strong final statement for your work.

A strong conclusion is a critical component of a research paper, as it provides an opportunity to wrap up your arguments, reiterate your main points, and leave a lasting impression on your readers. Here are the key elements of a strong research paper conclusion: 1. Conciseness : A research paper conclusion should be concise and to the point. It should not introduce new information or ideas that were not discussed in the body of the paper. 2. Summarization : The research paper conclusion should be comprehensive enough to give the reader a clear understanding of the research’s main contributions. 3 . Relevance : Ensure that the information included in the research paper conclusion is directly relevant to the research paper’s main topic and objectives; avoid unnecessary details. 4 . Connection to the Introduction : A well-structured research paper conclusion often revisits the key points made in the introduction and shows how the research has addressed the initial questions or objectives. 5. Emphasis : Highlight the significance and implications of your research. Why is your study important? What are the broader implications or applications of your findings? 6 . Call to Action : Include a call to action or a recommendation for future research or action based on your findings.

The length of a research paper conclusion can vary depending on several factors, including the overall length of the paper, the complexity of the research, and the specific journal requirements. While there is no strict rule for the length of a conclusion, but it’s generally advisable to keep it relatively short. A typical research paper conclusion might be around 5-10% of the paper’s total length. For example, if your paper is 10 pages long, the conclusion might be roughly half a page to one page in length.

In general, you do not need to include citations in the research paper conclusion. Citations are typically reserved for the body of the paper to support your arguments and provide evidence for your claims. However, there may be some exceptions to this rule: 1. If you are drawing a direct quote or paraphrasing a specific source in your research paper conclusion, you should include a citation to give proper credit to the original author. 2. If your conclusion refers to or discusses specific research, data, or sources that are crucial to the overall argument, citations can be included to reinforce your conclusion’s validity.

The conclusion of a research paper serves several important purposes: 1. Summarize the Key Points 2. Reinforce the Main Argument 3. Provide Closure 4. Offer Insights or Implications 5. Engage the Reader. 6. Reflect on Limitations

Remember that the primary purpose of the research paper conclusion is to leave a lasting impression on the reader, reinforcing the key points and providing closure to your research. It’s often the last part of the paper that the reader will see, so it should be strong and well-crafted.

• Makar, G., Foltz, C., Lendner, M., & Vaccaro, A. R. (2018). How to write effective discussion and conclusion sections. Clinical spine surgery, 31(8), 345-346.
• Bunton, D. (2005). The structure of PhD conclusion chapters.  Journal of English for academic purposes ,  4 (3), 207-224.

Paperpal is a comprehensive AI writing toolkit that helps students and researchers achieve 2x the writing in half the time. It leverages 21+ years of STM experience and insights from millions of research articles to provide in-depth academic writing, language editing, and submission readiness support to help you write better, faster.  

Get accurate academic translations, rewriting support, grammar checks, vocabulary suggestions, and generative AI assistance that delivers human precision at machine speed. Try for free or upgrade to Paperpal Prime starting at US$19 a month to access premium features, including consistency, plagiarism, and 30+ submission readiness checks to help you succeed.  

Experience the future of academic writing – Sign up to Paperpal and start writing for free!  

Related Reads:

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• Ethical Research Practices For Research with Human Subjects

7 Ways to Improve Your Academic Writing Process

• Paraphrasing in Academic Writing: Answering Top Author Queries

Preflight For Editorial Desk: The Perfect Hybrid (AI + Human) Assistance Against Compromised Manuscripts

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• Effective Teaching Strategies

How Highlighters Can Help Students Write Better Research Papers

• June 22, 2022
• Susan M. Plachta, MA, MS

For decades, students have used highlighters to color-code notes and to indicate key passages of research sources, but there is another, less common but equally important, use for highlighters in the research writing process: highlighting research essay drafts.

As a composition professor, each semester I teach students the art of writing a research paper, but no matter how much I stress to students the importance of balancing cited information with their own writing, many drafts either contain far too few citations or are overpowered with paragraphs composed almost entirely of cited content. Even after further lectures and feedback on drafts, it still doesn’t always click with students. Over the years, I’ve tried a number of different strategies, all with varying degrees of success. Frustrated with the results, I knew there must be another way to help students write a better research paper.

Enter the humble highlighter.

The process

Highlighting drafts in a face-to-face class

In addition to a hard copy of their draft, I ask students to bring a highlighter with them on peer review day. I never tell them why, as we make it a lighthearted guessing game of what we will be doing with highlighters. (Two of my favorite student guesses: using highlighters to create visuals for their research paper and using highlighters to create tattoo designs.)

Students don’t draw any images on peer-review day but instead use highlighters in a much more traditional sense; they highlight any information that they learned through reading a source. In other words, they highlight any information that requires citation.

After they’ve finished highlighting, I remind my students of two points:

• If they haven’t highlighted anything (or have highlighted very little), the draft doesn’t contain enough cited evidence.
• If highlighting has changed the color of their paper, the draft includes too many citations.

Highlighting drafts in an online class

Adapting draft highlighting in the virtual classroom can take different forms. In a synchronous class, a live video conference can replicate highlighting just as it would in a face-to-face course. If teaching asynchronously, some of the immediacy of the interaction is lost, but the experience can be replicated by walking students through the process with a short video. Though many online students may prefer to simply highlight their drafts on the screen, I encourage them to print whenever possible, as seeing the printed page provides a visual of an entire document at once.

The follow-up

After students highlight their drafts, we again discuss the importance of balancing arguments and cited evidence. I ask for volunteers to share their drafts to provide a visual of what too little or too much citation may look like. I also share a sample student paper with an appropriate amount of citation.   

Even though students have practiced citation and examined student samples before writing their drafts, when they directly apply the concept to their own writing, they develop a better understanding of how to effectively incorporate evidence and are less-likely to submit a paper composed almost entirely of quotes from research sources.

How highlighting benefits students and helps them write better research papers

Highlighting builds community

Research has shown that creating a sense of community within the classroom benefits students emotionally, academically, and socially. Students who feel a sense of community are also better at managing stress and are less likely to drop out (Berry, 2019).  I teach at a community college, and my courses may have dual-enrolled high school students as well as older, returning students. A larger disparity in age can sometimes make it more difficult for students to connect with each other, but this low-stakes activity is easily completed by everyone. The shared learning experience means that students are more likely (and more willing) to share their writing with classmates and form connections with each other as they navigate the research essay assignment.

Highlighting engages students of various learning styles

As teachers, we often teach in ways that match our own learning styles; however, by including classroom activities that engage varied learning styles, the academic achievement of those students who have learning styles that differ from our own will likely increase (Ovez and Uyangor, 2016). Highlighting drafts engages the four learning styles of the VARK model (visual, auditory, reading/writing, and kinesthetic). Highlighting engages visual learners by creating a visible representation of how much information they have cited. Auditory learners benefit from highlighting by listening to directions and then discussing results with classmates. Reading/writing learners become further engaged with their own writing as they develop their arguments through highlighting, revising, and editing. Highlighting helps kinesthetic learners, as they feel connected by physically working with their drafts.

This exercise also benefits students with learning styles in the expanded model. It engages logical learners by providing another way to organize their thoughts and practice the detailed procedures of citation. It can also engage both social (extroverted) and solitary (introverted) learners, as the exercise may be set up to allow students to work in groups or work individually.

Highlighting helps prevent accidental plagiarism

Students who are new to research writing sometimes mistakenly believe that a paraphrase or statistic from a source doesn’t need to be cited. During this exercise, I remind them that if they’re highlighting any part of their drafts, they learned the information from a source, and thus it must be followed by an in-text citation. While students in upper division courses might not need this reminder, highlighting can still be a useful tool to double-check correct citation.

Highlighting provides a quick way to create a reverse outline

A reverse outline allows writers to examine the focus, content, and organization of their drafts. By highlighting cited evidence in each paragraph, students strip away supporting details and can easily identify the topic sentence in each paragraph (or note where topic sentences may be missing).

More experienced writers may simply need to quickly review each paragraph to double-check the focus; however, less-experienced writers may wish to develop their reverse outline more completely by choosing another color highlighter to mark the thesis statement and topic sentences or even use a separate document to complete a reverse outline.

The takeaway

Don’t rule out the simplicity or effectiveness of low-tech options. In a world where seemingly almost every aspect of our lives is immersed in technology, one where online learning platforms and digital solutions can feel like the only solution, using a low-tech or traditional teaching strategy can often result in not only building community in the classroom but also creating a positive learning environment for all students.

Susan M. Plachta, MA and MS, is an English professor at St. Clair County Community College with 20+ years teaching experience.

Berry, Sharla (2019). “Teaching to Connect: Community-Building Strategies for the Virtual Classroom.” Online Learning. 23, no. 1: 164-183. doi:10.24059/olj.v23i1.1425.

Övez, Filiz T.D. and Sevinc M. Uyangör (2016). “The effect of the match between the learning and teaching styles of secondary school mathematics teachers on students’ achievement,” Journal of Education and Practice . 7 no. 29: 125-132. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1118892.pdf

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Writing meaningful Highlights in scientific papers

One novelty in scientific papers in the last decade was Elsevier’s introduction of highlights. Are authors paying sufficient attention to highlights writing?

Highlights are 3 to 5 short sentences containing core findings of the research described in the paper. Highlights are available only online with the purpose of driving a person’s attention toward reading the paper. Therefore, when we’re invited to review a paper, the core findings are one of the first things we need to review and … what a mess!

Instead of core findings we read a short version of the title, operating conditions, etc. It’s like we’re reading an abstract divided into short sentences. So I wondered, is it possible to find guidelines to write more meaningful highlights by ourselves, instead of paying someone else to do it for us?

I find highlights a very important step in scientific articles. Thus, these are my 6 “Highlights” for writing more meaningful highlights based on experience, Journals’ recommendations and the little advice we can find in the web.

1. Understand Highlights Meaning

When I read the highlights in a paper I review, my first question was –  “do authors understand what highlights mean?”

I think if authors realized how important highlights are, they would pay a lot more attention to them. Besides the title, highlights are the first thing a person reads while searching the web for any publications in a certain field. It’s my opportunity as an author, or co-author, to capture someone attention to read my research.

Things are changing in the scientific articles publishing industry, and there is a movement toward the relevance of having more “reads” of your paper, rather than publishing in high impact factor journals.

If you understand what highlights may represent in leading people to read your paper then you realize how important it is to know their meaning.

According to Elsevier, the publisher which introduced highlights, these convey the core findings and provide readers with a quick textual overview of the article . Highlights describe the essence of the research (e.g. Results, conclusions) and highlight what is distinctive about it.

Core Findings.

Quick overview.

The essence of research. 

These are the keywords to understand highlights meaning. The challenge is how to express them in sentences shorter than a tweet…

2. Clear view of the nature of your research

When details in our research work are challenging, we tend to focus our writing describing them. Details are important, especially if challenging, because someone else might want to reproduce your experience and needs those details. But the details of your thought process, or experiments are not the nature of your research. Therefore, they shouldn’t be highlights.

The nature of your research is your WHY .

What is the ultimate question your research is trying to answer?

Why are you researching on a certain topic in the first place?

What drives your research?

Some topics are easier than others, but having a clear view of the WHY in your research is essential for writing meaningful highlights.

3. Realize people know little about your topic

I remember speaking to a small audience and feel I’m not making myself understood. This is a common flaw. Even if you have one, two or more experts in your field in front of you, when presenting an article at a conference, you should always assume there’s someone in the audience who is not an expert in your field. And when you prepare your presentation, you are speaking to this person, not the experts.

Highlights audience is the world. Therefore, you are 100% sure people which know little about your topic will read your highlights. You must write to them. 

This is a major challenge because, ideally, you should be able to express the complexity of your topic in simple, clear and concise words. A way to test these highlights is asking a friend from another field for an opinion.

4. Evidence your contribution in the field

I struggle when people literally waste their highlights with things that don’t provide the nature of their research or evidence their contribution. Let me give you an example. 

If I write 

“a hollow-cone spray is used in an impinging process occurring on a flat surface”

Why is this a highlight? Actually, this is close to what I read recently in a paper I reviewed. In all research about impinging sprays, isn’t it logical this impingement occurs in a surface? Why is this a highlight? The surface can be flat, curved, dried, wetted, structured or not, but this sentence does not explain the nature of research, nor expresses any contribution in the field. 

If we wanted to change this sentence to something more meaningful, it could be 

“Hollow-cone sprays in cooling processes address heterogeneities in temperature field.” 

The sentence is not perfect, but it has 85 characters (after 2 iterations) and contains the nature of research. It introduces the type of sprays; if they’re used in cooling processes, it means their impact on a surface is logical; and it states the purpose of that impact, which is cooling the surface and addressing heterogeneities in temperature fields, thus pointing to the challenge. Let me repeat, this is not a perfect example, but illustrates what I mean.

Another example where a small change can make a difference, at least from my viewpoint. Again, close to what I’ve read recently.

“The effect of drop dynamics, surface temperature and spray height on the liquid film formed after spray impact.”

First, it’s too long, so it needs to be shorten. But it contains what’s included in the paper’s scope, when the journal requires the core findings. Suppose the authors found these three parameters produced an effect on the outcome, a small change can resolve the issue,

“Drop dynamics, surface temperature and spray height affects liquid film formation.”

While the highlight in the first example contextualised the reader, spray cooling involves the formation of liquid films. And through this highlight, the reader knows which parameters affect the outcome and, if interested, he will read the paper to know how.

5. Be clear, concise, and go straight to the point

A non-negligible number of papers I reviewed doesn’t pay much attention to the 85 characters limitation. It forces us to seek clarity in our statements. Be concise in the words used to convey meaning. And go straight to the point because that’s what highlights are for, right? Lead the potential reader to make a quick assessment whether he should read the paper or not.

A good exercise is to distance yourself from your paper. Put yourself in the reader shoes and be critical. Would you read this paper about a topic in your field with these highlights?

6. Use simple terms

This is probably the greatest challenge. But it is important to understand what we mean by simple terms. Some research topics involve words which are not simple because their part of the lexical used in the field. Simple terms come naturally when we have a mature and clear view of our main breakthroughs.

Highlights help you refine the message in your research, evidencing only what really matters. And when we express what matters in simple terms, a reader should experience clarity and the desire to know more. 

These reflections are not exhaustive and I hope these “guidelines” motivated you to be more careful in writing meaningful highlights.

QUESTION: Are there any other suggestions, based on your experience, that would help authors write more meaningful Highlights?

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• Research paper

How to Write a Research Paper | A Beginner's Guide

A research paper is a piece of academic writing that provides analysis, interpretation, and argument based on in-depth independent research.

Research papers are similar to academic essays , but they are usually longer and more detailed assignments, designed to assess not only your writing skills but also your skills in scholarly research. Writing a research paper requires you to demonstrate a strong knowledge of your topic, engage with a variety of sources, and make an original contribution to the debate.

This step-by-step guide takes you through the entire writing process, from understanding your assignment to proofreading your final draft.

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Table of contents

Understand the assignment, choose a research paper topic, conduct preliminary research, develop a thesis statement, create a research paper outline, write a first draft of the research paper, write the introduction, write a compelling body of text, write the conclusion, the second draft, the revision process, research paper checklist, free lecture slides.

Completing a research paper successfully means accomplishing the specific tasks set out for you. Before you start, make sure you thoroughly understanding the assignment task sheet:

• Read it carefully, looking for anything confusing you might need to clarify with your professor.
• Identify the assignment goal, deadline, length specifications, formatting, and submission method.
• Make a bulleted list of the key points, then go back and cross completed items off as you’re writing.

Carefully consider your timeframe and word limit: be realistic, and plan enough time to research, write, and edit.

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There are many ways to generate an idea for a research paper, from brainstorming with pen and paper to talking it through with a fellow student or professor.

You can try free writing, which involves taking a broad topic and writing continuously for two or three minutes to identify absolutely anything relevant that could be interesting.

You can also gain inspiration from other research. The discussion or recommendations sections of research papers often include ideas for other specific topics that require further examination.

Once you have a broad subject area, narrow it down to choose a topic that interests you, m eets the criteria of your assignment, and i s possible to research. Aim for ideas that are both original and specific:

• A paper following the chronology of World War II would not be original or specific enough.
• A paper on the experience of Danish citizens living close to the German border during World War II would be specific and could be original enough.

Note any discussions that seem important to the topic, and try to find an issue that you can focus your paper around. Use a variety of sources , including journals, books, and reliable websites, to ensure you do not miss anything glaring.

Do not only verify the ideas you have in mind, but look for sources that contradict your point of view.

• Is there anything people seem to overlook in the sources you research?
• Are there any heated debates you can address?
• Do you have a unique take on your topic?
• Have there been some recent developments that build on the extant research?

In this stage, you might find it helpful to formulate some research questions to help guide you. To write research questions, try to finish the following sentence: “I want to know how/what/why…”

A thesis statement is a statement of your central argument — it establishes the purpose and position of your paper. If you started with a research question, the thesis statement should answer it. It should also show what evidence and reasoning you’ll use to support that answer.

The thesis statement should be concise, contentious, and coherent. That means it should briefly summarize your argument in a sentence or two, make a claim that requires further evidence or analysis, and make a coherent point that relates to every part of the paper.

You will probably revise and refine the thesis statement as you do more research, but it can serve as a guide throughout the writing process. Every paragraph should aim to support and develop this central claim.

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A research paper outline is essentially a list of the key topics, arguments, and evidence you want to include, divided into sections with headings so that you know roughly what the paper will look like before you start writing.

A structure outline can help make the writing process much more efficient, so it’s worth dedicating some time to create one.

Your first draft won’t be perfect — you can polish later on. Your priorities at this stage are as follows:

• Maintaining forward momentum — write now, perfect later.
• Paying attention to clear organization and logical ordering of paragraphs and sentences, which will help when you come to the second draft.
• Expressing your ideas as clearly as possible, so you know what you were trying to say when you come back to the text.

You do not need to start by writing the introduction. Begin where it feels most natural for you — some prefer to finish the most difficult sections first, while others choose to start with the easiest part. If you created an outline, use it as a map while you work.

Do not delete large sections of text. If you begin to dislike something you have written or find it doesn’t quite fit, move it to a different document, but don’t lose it completely — you never know if it might come in useful later.

Paragraph structure

Paragraphs are the basic building blocks of research papers. Each one should focus on a single claim or idea that helps to establish the overall argument or purpose of the paper.

Example paragraph

George Orwell’s 1946 essay “Politics and the English Language” has had an enduring impact on thought about the relationship between politics and language. This impact is particularly obvious in light of the various critical review articles that have recently referenced the essay. For example, consider Mark Falcoff’s 2009 article in The National Review Online, “The Perversion of Language; or, Orwell Revisited,” in which he analyzes several common words (“activist,” “civil-rights leader,” “diversity,” and more). Falcoff’s close analysis of the ambiguity built into political language intentionally mirrors Orwell’s own point-by-point analysis of the political language of his day. Even 63 years after its publication, Orwell’s essay is emulated by contemporary thinkers.

Citing sources

It’s also important to keep track of citations at this stage to avoid accidental plagiarism . Each time you use a source, make sure to take note of where the information came from.

You can use our free citation generators to automatically create citations and save your reference list as you go.

APA Citation Generator MLA Citation Generator

The research paper introduction should address three questions: What, why, and how? After finishing the introduction, the reader should know what the paper is about, why it is worth reading, and how you’ll build your arguments.

What? Be specific about the topic of the paper, introduce the background, and define key terms or concepts.

Why? This is the most important, but also the most difficult, part of the introduction. Try to provide brief answers to the following questions: What new material or insight are you offering? What important issues does your essay help define or answer?

How? To let the reader know what to expect from the rest of the paper, the introduction should include a “map” of what will be discussed, briefly presenting the key elements of the paper in chronological order.

The major struggle faced by most writers is how to organize the information presented in the paper, which is one reason an outline is so useful. However, remember that the outline is only a guide and, when writing, you can be flexible with the order in which the information and arguments are presented.

One way to stay on track is to use your thesis statement and topic sentences . Check:

• topic sentences against the thesis statement;
• topic sentences against each other, for similarities and logical ordering;
• and each sentence against the topic sentence of that paragraph.

Be aware of paragraphs that seem to cover the same things. If two paragraphs discuss something similar, they must approach that topic in different ways. Aim to create smooth transitions between sentences, paragraphs, and sections.

The research paper conclusion is designed to help your reader out of the paper’s argument, giving them a sense of finality.

Trace the course of the paper, emphasizing how it all comes together to prove your thesis statement. Give the paper a sense of finality by making sure the reader understands how you’ve settled the issues raised in the introduction.

You might also discuss the more general consequences of the argument, outline what the paper offers to future students of the topic, and suggest any questions the paper’s argument raises but cannot or does not try to answer.

You should not :

• Offer new arguments or essential information
• Take up any more space than necessary
• Begin with stock phrases that signal you are ending the paper (e.g. “In conclusion”)

There are four main considerations when it comes to the second draft.

• Check how your vision of the paper lines up with the first draft and, more importantly, that your paper still answers the assignment.
• Identify any assumptions that might require (more substantial) justification, keeping your reader’s perspective foremost in mind. Remove these points if you cannot substantiate them further.
• Be open to rearranging your ideas. Check whether any sections feel out of place and whether your ideas could be better organized.
• If you find that old ideas do not fit as well as you anticipated, you should cut them out or condense them. You might also find that new and well-suited ideas occurred to you during the writing of the first draft — now is the time to make them part of the paper.

The goal during the revision and proofreading process is to ensure you have completed all the necessary tasks and that the paper is as well-articulated as possible. You can speed up the proofreading process by using the AI proofreader .

Global concerns

• Confirm that your paper completes every task specified in your assignment sheet.
• Check for logical organization and flow of paragraphs.
• Check paragraphs against the introduction and thesis statement.

Fine-grained details

Check the content of each paragraph, making sure that:

• each sentence helps support the topic sentence.
• no unnecessary or irrelevant information is present.
• all technical terms your audience might not know are identified.

Next, think about sentence structure , grammatical errors, and formatting . Check that you have correctly used transition words and phrases to show the connections between your ideas. Look for typos, cut unnecessary words, and check for consistency in aspects such as heading formatting and spellings .

Finally, you need to make sure your paper is correctly formatted according to the rules of the citation style you are using. For example, you might need to include an MLA heading  or create an APA title page .

Scribbr’s professional editors can help with the revision process with our award-winning proofreading services.

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Checklist: Research paper

I have followed all instructions in the assignment sheet.

My introduction presents my topic in an engaging way and provides necessary background information.

My introduction presents a clear, focused research problem and/or thesis statement .

My paper is logically organized using paragraphs and (if relevant) section headings .

Each paragraph is clearly focused on one central idea, expressed in a clear topic sentence .

Each paragraph is relevant to my research problem or thesis statement.

I have used appropriate transitions  to clarify the connections between sections, paragraphs, and sentences.

My conclusion provides a concise answer to the research question or emphasizes how the thesis has been supported.

My conclusion shows how my research has contributed to knowledge or understanding of my topic.

My conclusion does not present any new points or information essential to my argument.

I have provided an in-text citation every time I refer to ideas or information from a source.

I have included a reference list at the end of my paper, consistently formatted according to a specific citation style .

I have thoroughly revised my paper and addressed any feedback from my professor or supervisor.

I have followed all formatting guidelines (page numbers, headers, spacing, etc.).

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Published 09/04/2024 by Cary Rankin in Blog , New Feature Alert ,

Department of Education

New research highlights opportunities and challenges of ai chatbots in higher education.

The new study is a crucial step in consolidating knowledge about AI in education and in particular AI chatbots, urging caution against overly optimistic or pessimistic views, and calling for more grounded research approaches to better understand the true impact of AI chatbots in the classroom and on teaching and learning practices. 

The study examines the emerging research area of Artifical Intelligence (AI) chatbots in Higher Education, focusing specifically on empirical studies conducted since the release of Chat GPT. The review includes 23 research articles published between December 2022 and December 2023 exploring the use of AI chatbots in Higher Education settings.

The study takes a three-pronged approach to the empirical data; examining the state of the emerging field of AI chatbots in Higher Education, the theories of learning used in the empirical studies and it scrutinizes the discourses of AI in Higher Education framing the latest empirical work on AI chatbots.

Study reveals gaps and overhyped expectations

Many studies reviewed did not use established learning theories to analyze AI chatbots, indicating a gap in how these tools are being understood from a learning perspective. This suggests that the empirical work does not yet offer insights into the mechanisms of learning that chatbots may facilitate.

The study highlights a tendency in the literature to use exaggerated language in both dystopian and utopian manner, with some claims about AI chatbots' potential being unsupported by the empirical evidence.

Lack of consistent framework

The research also shows that while AI chatbots are being explored across various disciplines, there is no consistent framework for understanding their effects on education. Replication studies are needed to determine how students engage with chatbots and how such interaction may affect their learning. Teachers are skeptical to the value AI chatbots bring to teaching and learning practices.

Link to the study 

Generative AI chatbots in higher education: a review of an emerging research area Springer (2024), Open Access

Cormac McGrath , Associate Professor, Department of Education, Stockholm University.

Alexandra Farazouli , PhD student, Department of Education, Stockholm University.

Teresa Cerratto-Pargman , professor of Human-machine interaction, Department of Computer and Systems Sciences, Stockholm University.

The Research Group on Higher Education Learning Practices at Stockholm University engages in theoretical and empirical research on different aspects of higher education.

Last updated: September 3, 2024

Source: IPD

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In-shoe plantar shear stress sensor design, calibration and evaluation for the diabetic foot

Roles Conceptualization, Data curation, Formal analysis, Investigation, Methodology, Project administration, Software, Validation, Visualization, Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing

Affiliation Department of Mechanical, Aerospace and Civil Engineering (MACE), University of Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom

Roles Investigation, Methodology, Writing – review & editing

Roles Conceptualization, Data curation, Funding acquisition, Investigation, Resources, Supervision, Validation, Writing – review & editing

Affiliation Medical School, NIHR Exeter BRC, University of Exeter, Exeter, United Kingdom

Roles Investigation, Methodology, Software, Writing – review & editing

Roles Investigation, Software, Writing – review & editing

Roles Resources, Supervision, Writing – review & editing

Affiliation Musculoskeletal Biomechanics and Research in Science and Engineering faculty of Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester, United Kingdom

Affiliation Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust within the Departments of Diabetes and Vascular Surgery, Manchester, United Kingdom

Roles Conceptualization, Formal analysis, Funding acquisition, Investigation, Methodology, Project administration, Supervision, Validation, Visualization, Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing

Roles Conceptualization, Data curation, Formal analysis, Funding acquisition, Investigation, Methodology, Project administration, Resources, Supervision, Validation, Visualization, Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing

* E-mail: [email protected]

• Athia H. Haron, 
• Lutong Li, 
• Jiawei Shuang, 
• Chaofan Lin, 
• Helen Dawes, 
• Maedeh Mansoubi, 
• Damian Crosby, 
• Garry Massey, 
• Neil Reeves, 

• Published: September 4, 2024
• https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0309514
• Peer Review
• Reader Comments

Plantar shear stress may have an important role in the formation of a Diabetic Foot Ulcer, but its measurement is regarded as challenging and has limited research. This paper highlights the importance of anatomical specific shear sensor calibration and presents a feasibility study of a novel shear sensing system which has measured in-shoe shear stress from gait activity on both healthy and diabetic subjects. The sensing insole was based on a strain gauge array embedded in a silicone insole backed with a commercial normal pressure sensor. Sensor calibration factors were investigated using a custom mechanical test rig with indenter to exert both normal and shear forces. Indenter size and location were varied to investigate the importance of both loading area and position on measurement accuracy. The sensing insole, coupled with the calibration procedure, was tested one participant with diabetes and one healthy participant during two sessions of 15 minutes of treadmill walking. Calibration with different indenter areas (from 78.5 mm 2 to 707 mm 2 ) and different positions (up to 40 mm from sensor centre) showed variation in measurements of up to 80% and 90% respectively. Shear sensing results demonstrated high repeatability (>97%) and good accuracy (mean absolute error < ±18 kPa) in bench top mechanical tests and less than 21% variability within walking of 15-minutes duration. The results indicate the importance of mechanical coupling between embedded shear sensors and insole materials. It also highlights the importance of using an appropriate calibration method to ensure accurate shear stress measurement. The novel shear stress measurement system presented in this paper, demonstrates a viable method to measure accurate and repeatable in-shoe shear stress using the calibration procedure described. The validation and calibration methods outlined in this paper could be utilised as a standardised approach for the research community to develop and validate similar measurement technologies.

Citation: Haron AH, Li L, Shuang J, Lin C, Dawes H, Mansoubi M, et al. (2024) In-shoe plantar shear stress sensor design, calibration and evaluation for the diabetic foot. PLoS ONE 19(9): e0309514. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0309514

Editor: Andrea Tigrini, Polytechnic University of Marche: Universita Politecnica delle Marche, ITALY

Received: January 16, 2024; Accepted: August 14, 2024; Published: September 4, 2024

Copyright: © 2024 Haron et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License , which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

Data Availability: All relevant data are available from the Mendeley Data database (DOI 10.17632/pcggh2rzm3.1 ). Only raw anonymised data can be shared due to GDPR restrictions from HRC ethics committee.

Funding: This work was partially funded by Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) grant number EP/W00366X/1.

Competing interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Introduction

Diabetic foot ulceration (DFU) affects 15–25% of people with diabetes at some point in their lifetime [ 1 ] and has a high social and economic cost with countries like the UK spending approximately £1 billion annually [ 2 ]. Worldwide the prevalence of diabetes is rising, and it is predicted that 552 million people will have the condition by 2030 [ 3 ]. Measurement of plantar normal stress and plantar shear stress has shown the potential to predict DFU risk [ 4 , 5 ]. However, whilst commercial systems are available to measure normal plantar stress in-shoe there are no commercially available in-shoe plantar shear stress measurement systems. Shear stress has been directly measured during barefoot gait using mechanical sensor arrays coupled with resistive or capacitive sensors [ 6 – 8 ], utilising piezoelectric materials and their charge outputs [ 9 ] and through a variety of optical methods including polycarbonate arrays [ 6 ], optical bend loss [ 7 ] and laser interferometry of bi-refringent films [ 8 ]. Perry et al. [ 10 ] used an array-based device [ 11 ] to study bunching and stretching of adjacent plantar tissue and they found that tissue stretching from shear stress was the predominant mechanism. They report that peak shear stress and peak plantar pressure occur in the same place in 50% of cases, but actually occur at different times, which is contradictory to results reported by other researchers [ 12 ]. Contradictory results are typical from these studies using custom-built shear stress measurement devices due to the relatively low numbers of participants with diabetes tested in the trials, with typical sample sizes of ten. All these measurement methods are bespoke devices and only a handful of foot-to-floor shear stress measurement devices exist worldwide. Larger scale studies with matched control groups are required to provide firm conclusions on plantar surface shear stresses experienced by people with diabetes.

Shear stress measurement is further complicated as all diabetic patients are strongly advised to walk using footwear (and never barefoot), therefore, to understand the shear stresses induced on the plantar surface, in-shoe shear stress measurement must be taken. Although direct shear stress measurement is important in DFU risk management, future use of artificial intelligence methods [ 13 , 14 ] may enable risk management with current measurement technologies.

In-shoe plantar shear stress is difficult to measure and reported measurements vary widely, for example, measurements of shear stress on the 1st metatarsal head varied from 16 kPa [ 15 ] to 140 kPa [ 5 ] in healthy participants. Therefore, either there is widespread inter-participant variability and/or there are mechanisms which cause errors for in-shoe shear stress measurement. Measurement error has been widely reported for in-shoe normal stress systems with causation linked to sensor wear and calibration [ 16 , 17 ]. Specifically, calibrating with similar load ranges to those desired to be measured improved accuracy by up to 20 times [ 16 ] and accuracy was reduced when smaller areas of loading were applied [ 17 ]. It is likely that similar calibration issues will affect in-shoe shear stress sensor measurement accuracy. Researchers have made excellent progress in developing novel in-shoe plantar shear stress measurement systems; however, they have not yet fully considered the implications of calibration methods on measurement accuracy [ 4 , 5 ]. The choice of indenter area of loading, shape and location is also an important consideration for accurate and reliable sensor calibration; despite this, to the authors’ knowledge this has not been investigated and reported in the literature. A key principle in calibration is that the applied loading should be a good representation of the real-world scenario. In the context of plantar foot mechanics, and for example the metatarsal heads, there is variation in the magnitude of loading, area of loading, shape and potentially the location of the bone in relation to the sensor. This paper presents the design and evaluation of an in-shoe shear stress sensor and considers the impact of calibration on measurement accuracy.

This paper describes a sensor system design and conducts a performance investigation. Three investigations were conducted: calibration investigation, loading profile comparison and sensor validation. These investigations and how they relate to one another are shown in Fig 1 .

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https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0309514.g001

Sensor system design

Sensing principle..

Coulomb’s law of friction describes frictional force being proportional to reaction load. In the case of shear sensing insoles this means that there can be no shear stress (friction) without normal stress (reaction load) and that the magnitude of associated shear stress will always be less than that of normal stress. Like most other shear sensors in the literature [ 5 , 15 , 18 – 22 ] the shear sensor is embedded in a hyperelastic or viscoelastic, isotropic incompressible elastomer, as opposed to a discrete sensor placed on the insole or isolated from the main body of the insole material.

Fig 2A shows a cylindrical section of elastomer insole with cross-sectional area, A, containing a strain gauge orientated in the shear plane and a normal stress sensor with sensor readings in mV, S, and N, respectively. The material properties (stress-strain relationship) for the silicone are non-linear but can be approximated as three linear regions (low: ≤ ε 1 = 0.04 strain ; medium: ≤ ε 2 = 0.115 strain ; high: > ε 2 strain ); see Fig 2B . The strains for the three linear regions were determined from the stress-strain curve of the silicone under compressive loading at the target stresses of 14 kPa (low), 70 kPa (medium) and 140 kPa (high). Stress-strain relationships for normal compressive loading are given by Eq 1 , where C medium , and C high are negative intercepts in units of pascal ( C low = 0) and E is the gradient in Pascal.

[A] Cylindrical section of elastomer containing strain gauge and normal force sensor [B] Stress-strain curve of the elastomer under compression stress. Linear approximations for deformation were made for three regions of the curve (low, medium, and high stress magnitudes), sectioned by the compressive strains ε 1 and ε 2 , with corresponding gradient E used for calibration. [C] Cylindrical section deformed by normal force only. [D] Cylindrical section deformed by both normal and shear forces.

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0309514.g002

Fig 2C shows the section being loaded with a normal force which creates a reduction in thickness but an increase in diameter described by Eq 2 (assuming constant volume) which gives sensor readings S N and N N , which are signal voltage measurements (mV) for the shear stress and normal stress respectively, described by Eqs 3 and 4 where k N and k S are constants (sensor gains) determined by experiment with units Pa/mV and strain/mV respectively (other equation parameters defined in Fig 2 with SI units).

Fig 2D shows applied loading from both normal and shear force giving a sensor reading S N + S and N N for the shear stress and normal stress respectively. The applied shear stress, σ S , can be determined from Eq 5 and Eq 1 (assuming an isotropic material) which requires measurements from the normal stress sensor, N N , to decouple the effect on the strain gauge from normal force (where i = low , medium or high ).

Shear stress sensor design.

The shear stress sensing system primarily consists of the strain gauge rosette, a normal stress sensor, and the flexion stiffener and load concentrator; here on in referred to as the ‘shear stress system sensor’ or ‘SSS sensor’. A 3-element strain measuring rosette (1-RY81-3/120, Hottinger Bruel & Kjaer UK Ltd, Royston, England) was chosen for the shear stress sensor ( Fig 3A ) arranged in rectangular 0°-45°-90° directions to allow for calculation of resultant shear in both the anterior-posterior (AP) and medial-lateral (ML) directions. The sensor was then embedded in silicone (Sil A50 Smooth- Sil Addition Cure silicone, Smooth-On Inc. Macungie, USA). To assemble the sensor, the first 2mm silicone base layer was poured into a custom 3D printed square mould with dimensions of 20 x 20 x 4 mm (width x length x height). After curing the surface was cleaned and the strain gauges were soldered to 2-core 2.8 mm 2 external diameter shielded wires (JY-1060, Pro-Power by Newark, Chicago, USA). The strain gauges were then placed on the surface of the silicone using a custom 3D printed jig with tabs and bolts to align the strain gauges in the correct angular position. A thin second layer of silicone (approximately 0.5 mm thick) was then poured and allowed to fully cure, the jig was then removed and a final layer of silicone was poured on top to give a total thickness of 4 mm. A 15 mm diameter, 0.8 mm thick phenolic sheet material flexion stiffener and load concentrator was placed at the center of the sensor assembly and the top layer of silicone was then allowed to cure. The full assembly of the sensor is shown in Fig 3B and 3C .

[A] Configuration of the strain rosette in the sensor with three strain gauges arranged at 0°– 45° - 90°, and the relationship between the local strain axes and the global applied shear direction axes (Medial-Lateral, ML, and Anterior-Posterior, AP). [B] Section view of the SSS sensor. [C] Top view of the SSS sensor and its dimensions. [D] Locations of SSS sensors in the sensing insole.

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0309514.g003

As mentioned in the sensing principle, the shear stress is obtained from Eq 5 , however, for the SSS sensor to measure both AP and ML shear stress, orientation of the strain gauges needs to be considered. From the configuration shown in Fig 3A for stress measurements calculated from strain gauges A, B and C the shear stress is given by Eqs 6 and 7 .

Where θ AB and θ BC are the angles between the individual strain gauges in the rosette, which were at 45°.

Shear stress sensor number, placement, and integration.

Key DFU risk areas, accounting for at more than one-third of DFU cases are the calcaneus, first metatarsal head and hallux areas of the foot [ 23 – 26 ], so placement of the SSS sensors in the insole was in these three locations. To maximize accuracy of the measured sensing data, all sensors were anatomically matched to the participant. This was achieved through a ‘palpation and marking paper’ approach in which a healthcare professional identified the bony landmarks of the foot, marked these areas on the foot surface with skin-safe marker, and the participant stands on the paper to transfer the markings. These markings were then used to ensure SSS sensors were correctly located on the silicone insole, with the sensor x-axis aligned with the anterior posterior direction. The signal wires were laid out from the SSS sensor in the ML direction to reduce fatigue loading from flexion during gait. A 1–2 mm depth of silicone was then poured and cured before a further layer of silicone was poured and cured to make a total insole thickness of 5 mm to complete the insole, as shown in Fig 3D . Three normal stress sensors (A301 FlexiForce 0-44N, Tekscan Inc., Norwood, Massachusetts, USA) were then secured to the bottom of the insole with silicone glue (Permatex 80050 Clear RTV Silicone Adhesive Sealant, Permatex, Illinois Tool Works Inc., Solon, Ohio, USA) with their center coincident with the SSS sensors.

Data acquisition system (DAQ) and signal processing.

A Teensy 4.1 32-bit microcontroller (PJRC, Portland, Oregon, USA), ARM Cortex-M7 processor, with clock speed of 600 MHz and integrated SD storage card, was used to collect and store the voltage readings from the SSS sensors ( Fig 4B ). Flexiforce normal stress sensors were connected via a 10 kOhm circuit divider to analog inputs, whilst shear sensing strain gauges were amplified using a 24-bit high-precision analog-to-digital amplifier (HX711 ADC, HALJIA, Zhongai, China) then routed to digital inputs of the microcontroller. All signals were collected at a sampling rate of 80 Hz. Data was logged to the 16GB SD card and streamed via an ESP8266 UART WiFi adapter (Espressif Systems, Shanghai, China) to allow for continuous monitoring. Power was supplied to all components via 3V and 5V power rails from the microcontroller, sourced from an external 3.7V 3500mAh Lithium Polymer battery (LP104567, EEMB, Moscow, Russian Federation) that was regulated through a linear regulator (LDO, B08HQQ32M2, DollaTek, Hong Kong, China). For both left and right foot measurements, two identical systems were used to collect the measurements, and placed on a custom, adjustable neoprene fitness belt (Frienda, China), during walking trials ( Fig 4 ).

[A] Participant walking on a treadmill with the sensor insole system. The data acquisition system (DAQ) was attached to a belt, and each insole (left and right foot) has a separate but identical DAQ input. [B] Block diagram of the DAQ system, collecting data at 80 Hz.

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0309514.g004

A custom MATLAB (The Mathworks Inc., Natick Massachusetts, USA) script was used to parse and analyse the data collected. The data was minimally pre-processed before finalized into calibrated stress measurements. This pre-processing stage included removing only obvious outliers (which accounted for up to 0.05% of the measurement data if present). This was made using the filloutlier function with the ‘quartile’ outlier detection option: ‘quartiles’ outliers which were elements more than 1.5 interquartile ranges above the upper quartile (75 percent) or below the lower quartile (25 percent)) and correcting DC offsets. Data from each foot were analyzed separately.

Calibration investigation: Bench top mechanical testing

Experimental setup and test method..

To investigate the effect of calibration on the sensor’s performance, both shear and normal force were applied to the SSS sensor insole (summarised in Fig 1A ). A uniaxial mechanical testing machine (Instron 5982K2680 100kN 350°C, 500N load cell, Instron ® Norwood, Massachusetts, USA) applied and measured shear force using a bespoke shear stress rig through an indenter of area, A, shown in Fig 5A . A normal reaction force was applied through a screw thread to the indenter to facilitate frictional shear stress application. Measurement of normal reaction force was through a load cell and ADC (‎ADN1903027, 196.2 N Weight Sensor Load Cell, Haljia, China) capturing data at 80Hz using an Arduino (Arduino Mega 2560 Rev3, Arduino, Somerville, MA, USA). For pure normal stress loading calibration, the insole was placed flat on a plate in the uniaxial testing machine fitted with a large compression platen on the bottom and an indenter with a specific area, A, applying compression force from the top, shown in Fig 5B .

[A] Custom shear stress rig made of rigid 10 mm acrylic sheet plates which applied the force of the mechanical testing machine as a shear force onto the insole. The shear stress was calculated using the applied force and area of the custom indenter. The indenter’s compressive stiffness was 30.1 MPa, ~12 times stiffer than the silicone sensor of 2.5 MPa. [B] Custom normal stress calibration setup where the insole was placed on a compression platen.

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0309514.g005

Sensor loading area investigation.

To evaluate the effect of indenter area, A, five flat ended cylindrical indenters with diameters of, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30 mm were used to load the SSS sensor at its center. While studies have shown that there is a difference between various indenter shape loading profiles and the corresponding mechanical responses of the material [ 27 , 28 ], we determined that the normal stress distribution that was measured at the surface of the SSS sensor was similar for both flat and rounded indenter profiles. The only notable difference was the size of the normal stress distribution, as a flat indenter covered a larger area than the rounded indenter of the same diameter. Thus, choosing a flat indenter of a smaller size gave the same loading results as a larger rounded indenter.

The tests applied a cyclic shear force with a 1 Hz triangular waveform pattern ranging from 0 to 50 N in combination with a constant normal stress of 140 kPa through all the indenters. SSS Sensor output signal, S N + S , in mV was measured for each of the loading areas.

Sensor loading location investigation.

Ideally a sensor would be co-located with the anatomical part applying the load, however, this may not always be practically possible so an understanding of the relationship between the location of the SSS sensor, the location of the applied loading and the accuracy of measurement is required. To investigate the effect of loading location, twelve loading locations were chosen, six in the anterior direction and six in the lateral direction both measuring 0, 10, 15, 20, 30, 40 mm from the center of the shear stress sensor. Loads were applied in both the medial or posterior direction respectively. Cyclic loading was applied to the SSS sensor insole of the same characteristic as the area of loading investigation (see ‘Sensing loading area investigation’ section). SSS Sensor output signal, S N + S , in mV was measured for each of the loading locations.

Loading profile comparison: Human plantar loading specific sensor calibration

Comparison of normal stress profiles..

Shear loading application area and location affect strain measurements, so it is important to consider plantar stress loading from the human foot. During walking plantar stress is dependent on many factors including foot size and anatomy, weight, morbidity and walking patterns, all of which are different between participants. From the sensor calibration investigations in the results section, we can see that (i) loading location and (ii) loading area may affect the output of the SSS sensor so these must be considered during calibration.

• Loading location variation can be removed by placing the SSS sensors at personalised anatomical locations in the insole, which is the approach we have taken.
• Loading area variation can be controlled through calibration. This was determined through a comparison and matching of normal stress loading profiles of the specific participant’s foot anatomy with bench top mechanical test experiments involving various loading area sizes (flat cylindrical indenters).

To capture the plantar normal stress loading profiles of our participants, in the SSS sensor locations of the calcaneus, first metatarsal head and the hallux, we conducted measurements in-shoe during a two-minute treadmill walk using an F-scan insole (Tekscan Inc., Boston, USA) coupled with a non-instrumented insole of the same material properties and thickness as our designed insole. Then the test rig ( Fig 4B ) was used with 15, 20, 30 and 40 mm diameter indenter sizes to load the silicone insole from 0 to 250 N (to simulate a normal stress range up to 1400 kPa, which is comparable to the 1000–1900 kPa normal plantar stresses during gait reported in the literature [ 29 , 30 ].

Measurements of plantar normal stress distribution were captured with the same F-scan and insole used with the participants. To simulate the different foot structures, we adjusted the diameter of cylindrical indenters (15, 20, 30 and 40 mm), which were based on the ranges of average anatomical dimensions of the hallux, metatarsal head, and calcaneus bones [ 31 – 36 ], see results and discussion ‘Human plantar loading consideration for sensor calibration’ section. An illustrated summary of this investigation can also be found in Fig 1B .

Statistical analysis as a method for calibration indenter choice.

Comparisons were made between the participant’s mean normal stress profiles with the bench top test rig results (gait data averaged over 20 gait cycles from three different sensing locations hallux, first metatarsal head, and calcaneus, bench top test rig results for 15, 20, 30 and 40 mm indenter diameters). Magnitudes of both results were scaled to have a maximum unity magnitude to enable comparison. The normal stress profiles (normal stress vs displacement across anatomical location) were collected along a 2D cross section of 40 mm in length across the foot-width of loaded area (see results and discussion ‘Human plantar loading consideration for sensor calibration’ section). Calibration indenter diameters for the hallux, first metatarsal head and calcaneus locations were chosen based on either the highest R 2 value from a multiple linear regression between the gait measures and the test rig measures or the maximum measurement sensitivity area of the SSS sensor (see results and discussion ‘Sensor calibration’ section).

Sensor validation: Bench top mechanical testing

The following section describes the sensor validation, as summarised in Fig 1C . A 30 mm diameter indenter was used to calibrate the SSS sensor, as this was determined to be the maximum sensing area of the sensor (see results and discussion ‘Sensor calibration’ section). This was achieved through a series of mechanical tests detailed in Table 1 , with shear stresses applied in both ML and AP directions and conducted at 1Hz, to simulate average walking speed frequency.

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0309514.t001

The shear stress magnitudes chosen for low, medium, and high levels were 10%, 50% and 100% of the 140 kPa maximum in-shoe plantar shear stress reported in the literature respectively [ 37 ]. This enabled calculation of the calibration parameters coefficients E low , E high , C medium and C high , according to Eq 1 .

To validate the calibrated SSS sensor, a shear stress of 70 kPa with a normal stress of 125 kPa was applied in both the ML and AP direction at 0.8 Hz. Additionally, a shear stress was also applied in the 45° direction (14 kPa shear stress, 28 kPa normal stress at 1Hz).

Two measurements of error were made. The first was an overall mean absolute error (MAE), which is the mean of the difference between the measurement from the test rig and the calibrated SSS sensor measurement (in kPa). The second was peak error, measured as the percentage error at peak loads between the applied measurement from the test rig and the calibrated SSS sensor measurement. Peak values of measured shear stress were taken from 10 cycles and a standard deviation was calculated. Repeatability was calculated from the SSS sensor measurements as the standard deviation of the peak plantar stresses divided by the mean of the peak plantar stress, presented as percentage (e.g. a mean peak measurement of 100 kPa and a standard deviation of those peak measurements at ± 10 kPa, would result in (10/100) x 100% = 10% deviation from the peak value, and thus 90% repeatability).

Sensor validation: Gait lab treadmill walking

To further validate the sensors, a gait laboratory treadmill walking test was performed on a single anthropometrically matched healthy participant and a single participant with diabetes (both male and 45 years old, weighing 88 kg and 75 kg, height of 1.75 and 1.66 m, EU shoe size 44 and 42, weight per insole area 32 kPa and 35 kPa, walking speed 0.92 ms -1 and 0.95 ms -1 for the healthy participant and participant with diabetes respectively). The study received approval from the NHS Health Research Authority and Health and Care Research Wales (HCRW) Ethics Committee (REC reference: 22/NW/0216), and all participants provided written consent. Trial Registration number: NCT05865353. Participants were recruited between 1 st November 2022 till 30 th May 2023. Data collection was conducted in two parts (1) baseline visit and (2) main data collection, Table 2 .

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0309514.t002

Baseline visit.

Anthropometric data was collected, and anatomical landmarks determined using the ‘palpation and marking paper’ method described in the ‘Shear stress sensor number, placement and integration’ section. The participants conducted a 2 minute treadmill walk while wearing a pair of silicone insoles, made from the same materials and dimensions as the sensor insole but without active sensors, and a pair of F-Scan pressure sensing insoles, in a prophylactic shoe (Sponarind 97308, Finn Comfort Inc. Hassfurt, Bavaria, Germany), designed with shock-absorbing properties and a larger volume, ideal for people with diabetes. Normal stress data was collected using the F-scan insoles, at a self-selected gait speed to determine normal plantar stress profiles (results of which were used for the comparison of normal stress profiles, in ‘Human plantar loading specific sensor calibration’ section). Table 2 shows the participant data collected during the baseline visit.

Main data collection.

The participants returned for the main data collection where they were asked to wear the sensing insole in the specialist diabetic shoe. They then walked twice on a split belt treadmill with integrated force plates (M-Gait, Motek Medical BV, Amsterdam, Netherlands) for 15 minutes at their self-selected speed (see Table 2 ).

Data analysis: Shear stress gait measures and repeatability.

Mean and standard deviation of peak shear stress and peak normal stress measurements were extracted from 20 gait cycles measured by the sensing insole. Measurement repeatability was determined and comparisons, between the two walking periods within each individual walking session (start, middle, and end). We collected statistical data for both plantar shear stress and normal stress measurements to perform inter-participant comparisons. These included statistics for Plantar Stresses (Normal, AP Shear, and ML Shear) across all three sensor areas, encompassing mean values, standard deviations, peak stresses, and variability (or percentage difference) of measurements within the 15-minute treadmill walk (intra-walk) and between two treadmill walks (inter-walk).

Results and discussion

Sensor calibration.

Shear stress measurement accuracy is affected by the calibration method. Specifically, the shear stress sensor measured output signal decreases exponentially with both increasing loading application area, and increasing loading distance away from sensor center, see Fig 6 . The results in Fig 6A show that the measured output decreases by ~80% from 1.5 mV to 0.3 mV, for a calibration loading application area of 10 mm diameter to 30 mm diameter respectively. This means that if the sensor was calibrated for the smaller 10 mm area and a larger 30 mm diameter load was applied, the measurements would be underestimated by 80%. Likewise, calibrating for a larger area, and applying load for a small area will greatly overestimate the measurements. Increasing the loading application area increases the area over which the force is distributed over the sensor, thus more of the loading is applied away from the center of the shear stress sensor. From the results shown in Fig 6B and 6C the location of loading application also reduces sensor sensitivity. All this means that the shear stress sensor will only be able to measure accurately if the calibration loading area matches the desired measurement loading application area (or are reasonable similar areas).

Mean peak signal of shear stress (SSS sensor) total output (mV) from 10 cyclic triangular loading. [A]—Effect of area of loading on SSS sensor measured outputs. [B, C]- Effect of location of loading on SSS sensor output for medial and posterior respectively.

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0309514.g006

Fig 6B and 6C show the influence of loading location on SSS sensor measurements for the same applied loading area (25 mm diameter indenter). As expected, the SSS sensor measurement for both Anterior-Posterior (AP) and Medial-Lateral (ML) shear loading decreased as the loading distance moved away from the sensor center. This is due to a decrease in deformation of the shear stress sensor as the loading is applied further away from the sensor center. However, it is important to note that there was still a measurable signal at these distances as they are not yet relatively far away from the sensor. This means that measured shear stress from an embedded sensor will not just be from the coincident anatomical location but also have a contribution from adjacent and other relatively close anatomies (e.g. first metatarsal head located sensor may be measuring shear stress contribution from the second metatarsal head). This is due to material coupling, which is that stress applied in one area of the material, in this case the silicone insole, will stress surrounding areas of the material. The implication is that the shear stress sensor will provide more accurate measurements if the loading application location is coincident with the centre of the sensor. This emphasizes the importance of the placement of these discrete sensors, which is why a participant specific sensing insole was manufactured, placing sensors at the exact anatomical location of the boney landmarks, where peak loading is expected.

Although this paper presents the shear stress sensor sensitivities to calibration loading area and calibration loading locations for this sensor it is likely that these observations are true for other embedded in-shoe shear stress sensors. Other researchers measured in-shoe peak shear stresses from gait varied from 9 kPa to 140 kPa and calibration loading area varied from 20 mm diameter area (314 mm 2 ) –10,000 mm 2 (up to half the insole, approximated from the experimental Fig 3 in the paper as there was insufficient detail to give conclusive information on the loading area used) [ 5 , 15 ]. It is likely that these variations in measurements are not due to inherent sensor inaccuracy or participant gait differences but likely to stem from calibration method differences. To the authors’ knowledge, calibration loading area has not been investigated in other published studies, but it is suggested that calibration should be considered for all future in-shoe shear stress measurements.

Human plantar loading consideration for sensor calibration

Fig 7 shows that calibration loading indenter diameters should be 20 mm and 40 mm for the hallux and both the first metatarsal head and the calcaneus respectively. However, due to limitations on sensor sensitivity beyond 30 mm from the center of the sensor a 30 mm indenter diameter was chosen for the first metatarsal head and calcaneus. These choices of calibration indenter diameters were determined from the comparison of the bench top testing normal stress profiles of different indenter diameters, with the participants’ measured normal stress profile during walking. The bench top test showed that all the indenters resulted in normally distributed normal stress profile curves ( Fig 7A ), increasing in curve width with increasing indenter diameters, reflecting a larger contact area of the applied force. An increasing curve width is also expected for the normal stress profiles of anatomical bones with increasing diameters (first metatarsal head ~15 mm, hallux ~20 mm, and calcaneus ~ 40 mm [ 31 – 36 , 38 ]). The participants’ measured normal stress for the hallux and the calcaneus regions of the foot had normal pressure distribution profiles that reflected their anatomical sizes, however, the presence of the second close metatarsal bone influenced the normal stress profile in the first metatarsal head area and widened the normal stress profile, more than what is expected from its anatomical diameter of ~15 mm ( Fig 7B ). The R 2 results of the multiple linear regression reflected this ( Fig 7C ), as the first metatarsal head correlates to the indenter size of 40 mm diameter. The R 2 value of the metatarsal head, however, is small at 0.41, indicating that there may be variability in the pressure distributions in that area, likely from gait variability within a participant’s walk or between participants. The hallux and calcaneus regions of the foot have a normal pressure distribution profile that reflects the loading of the anatomical bones clearly (R 2 ≥ 0.95) and can be matched with an indenter of a similar size to give a representative loading for calibration of 20 mm and 40 mm respectively. However, loading area results from Fig 6A show that sensor sensitivity converges for indenter areas greater than 25–30 mm diameter. Therefore, calibration indenter diameters were reduced to 30 mm for the first metatarsal head and calcaneus.

[A] Experimental normal pressure profiles: (i) Indenter experimental setup, (ii) Normal pressure profile curves width increases with increasing indenter diameter, (iii) F-scan pressure result that shows the cross section used to obtain these values used in ii. [B] Participant pressure profiles: (i) In-shoe gait lab experimental setup (ii) An example of participant’s pressure profile over 20 gait cycles, showing the three normal pressure profiles of the foot at the calcaneus, first met head and hallux, (iii) F-scan pressure result that shows the cross section used to obtain the values. The image also shows the peaks for these three regions (Calcaneus peak CP, Hallux Peak HP and the metatarsal peaks MHP1 and MHP2). [C] Graphical representation of the regression analysis’ coefficient of determination (or R-squared) results. Larger circles indicate a higher R-squared value, and red circles indicate the maximum R-squared in the sensor group. R-squared values are shown above the circles, and maximum is indicated as red font.

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0309514.g007

The implications of this for the SSS sensor are that calibration indenter sizes should be between 10–30 mm dependent on expected shear stress application areas. This finding is likely to be true for other embedded in-shoe shear stress sensors in the literature. The limitation from this finding is that to obtain accurate shear stress measurements the user must know something about the shear stress loading profile which may be unknown. A possible way to mitigate for this may be to calibrate the sensor for a range of loading areas and to use a normal stress sensor to determine which indenter calibration area to use in post-processing.

Shear sensor calibration and bench top mechanical test validation

The SSS sensor was highly accurate and repeatable when compared against the bench top mechanical test as seen in Fig 8 . Results from Table 3 show that calibration error was insignificant with the mean absolute error (MAE) over the entire cycle in calibration < 0.00007 kPa for all magnitudes of loading, and errors at peak loading were < 5.8%.

[A] Sensor calibration for both anterior-posterior (AP) and medial-lateral (ML) directions at a ‘medium’ level of posterior and medial shear loading of 1 Hz cyclic loading of up to 70 kPa shear stress, at a constant normal stress of 140 kPa. [B] Sensor validation test result at medium level of shear cyclic loading (up to 70 kPa), at a different loading frequency (~0.85 Hz) and different constant normal stress (125kPa). All results for the different configurations of loading are shown in Table 3 .

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0309514.g008

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0309514.t003

The errors in the validation of the sensors at loading conditions different from the calibration were higher, but still showed a high accuracy for the sensors. The sensor was most accurate for low–medium shear stress magnitudes with up to <1.8 kPa for MAE, and < 8.7% for error at peak loading (see example of medium magnitude measurements in Fig 8 ). Followed by the measurements at a resultant loading angle of 45° clockwise from the anterior direction (MAE <1.4 kPa; <11.5% peak error). These small errors could be attributed to errors in the validation setup, as an error of ± 5° would correspond to a peak shear stress error of up to 4.6%. The SSS sensor also showed good repeatability for all loading conditions (>97% repeatability in calibration and >96% repeatability in validation).

The highest errors in validation were at high shear stress magnitudes, over the expected plantar shear stress from gait, these were MAE <17.3 kPa and peak error <22.4%. This was likely due to the mechanical coupling of the high normal stress, pushing the total material deformation higher up the hyperelastic stress-strain curve of the sensor material ( Fig 2D ). At this region of the stress-strain curve, very small strains relate to high changes in stress making the SSS sensor more prone to measurement errors. However, the maximum errors translate to an error of ± 31.3 kPa, which is within the standard deviation of most plantar stress measurements from the literature of ± 50 kPa for shear stress [ 1 – 5 , 15 ].

Treadmill walking validation

For treadmill walking the SSS sensors measured the magnitude of shear stresses between 66.5 kPa—152.6 kPa in the AP direction, and 28.4 kPa– 128 kPa in the ML direction, full results are shown in Table 4 . As expected, the ML shear range was lower than the AP shear range, as loading was expected to be predominantly in the AP direction. Loads were cyclic going from zero to peak value with the same frequency as gait which were at speeds of 0.92 and 0.95ms -1 for the healthy participant and participant with diabetes respectively. The only notable differences were in the direction of some of the peak plantar shear stresses.

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0309514.t004

No significant differences between both participants peak plantar stress values were observed (t-test of mean peak plantar stresses PPS, p>0.36, p>0.58 and p>0.57). This was expected, as both participants had a similar walking speed (0.92–0.95 ms -1 , and weight per insole area 32.4–35 kPa). However, this study aimed to demonstrate the feasibility, accuracy, and repeatability of the SSS system so no conclusions should be drawn on plantar stress for general people with diabetes and healthy populations for this study.

The shear measurements of the SSS sensor was highly repeatable when comparing data recorded for both within the 15-minute treadmill walk (intra-walk), and between the two 15-minute walks (inter-walk). The mean and standard deviation of the percentage difference of peak plantar stresses were ≤ 8% ± 6% for both investigations. Intra-walk differences were lower than inter-walk–with the highest percentage difference of 21% measured by the SSS sensor for the ML Shear (Hallux, Left foot, participant with diabetes). Other measurements from the shear stress sensors were < 15% difference. For inter-walk, the highest PPS percentage difference was measured by the commercial Flexiforce sensor of 47% difference in normal stress (Hallux, left foot, participant with diabetes), followed by 37% for the AP shear of the SSS sensor (Hallux, right, healthy) and 33% for the ML shear of the SSS sensor (Calcaneus, right, participant with diabetes).

Calibration and material coupling for shear stress sensors

To the author’s knowledge, this study is the first to address in-shoe shear sensing material coupling and unexplored complexities in calibration for shear sensing. The results illustrate that due to sensor and material coupling with adjacent structures the area which contributes to the measured shear can be larger than the area of the sensor. This has important implications for shear sensor calibration, firstly in terms of the location of the sensor and the anatomical region that is to be measured, and secondly in terms of the indenter area used for calibration. These results have significance for all researchers developing systems to measure in-shoe plantar shear stress as these factors will affect the magnitude of shear sensed. Furthermore, these results may partially explain the variation in magnitudes of shear measured at the same anatomical locations by different researchers. A suggested approach for shear sensor calibration is shown below (for detail see methods ‘Human plantar loading specific sensor calibration’ section):

• Determine the sensing area : Material coupling between the shear sensor and adjacent regions can result in the area sensed being greater than then actual area of the sensor.
• Determine the distribution of plantar loading : Normal stress distribution will be indicative of shear stress distribution, whilst foot anatomy, for example the hallux, will determine the loading area.
• Decision for calibration indenter area : Informed by both the sensing area and the distribution and magnitude of plantar loading.

Developed shear stress system sensor

Sensor performance..

A novel Shear Stress System (SSS) sensor composed of a strain gauge rosette, normal pressure sensor and stiffener to concentrate loading at the desired sensor location and mitigate against material coupling was developed and evaluated. Sensor locations were anatomically matched and measured the plantar loading profiles to inform calibration of each sensor at a specific location. This study conducted a thorough experimental validation of the shear sensor through mechanical bench top testing and with human participant treadmill walking. Shear sensing results demonstrated high repeatability (>97%) and high accuracy in the expected measurement range for plantar shear stress (mean absolute errors < ±2 kPa) with error increasing for very high shear stresses (mean absolute errors < ±17 kPa) compared to bench top mechanical tests and repeatability for treadmill walking of 15-minutes duration with less than 21% variability within walking, and less than 37% variability between walks (which was lower than the commercial normal pressure sensors of 47% used in this study).

Limitations.

A rosette strain gauge was chosen for determining unknown principal directions, however it restricted complete strain separation in the AP and ML directions. For exclusive separation, a 0°–90° strain gauge in the ML and AP axes could be adopted. The manual assembly of the sensors and alignment of the sensor in relation to the AP and ML directions affect shear measurement. This has been controlled through careful manufacture, but some small errors will remain. The chosen alignment of the strain gauge rosette in the ML direction was to reduce the fatigue on the soldered joints, this resulted in a decreased sensitivity in the AP direction due to the 45° off-alignment of the gauges with this axis.

Relative stiffness of the silicone and the strain gauge rosette will affect strain transfer between the two materials. Material properties of the silicone is highly important for measurement accuracy, sensitivity, and range, and warrants further investigation.

Future work.

A three-part linear fitting procedure was adopted to calibrate the SSS sensor accommodating the hyperelastic material properties, in the future consideration of alternative fits to capture viscoelastic effects could be made. Despite observing minimal shear sensor temperature response, variability between 20–30°C, literature indicates foot temperatures may be as high as 35° in people with diabetes [ 39 , 40 ], this should be considered in the future. In this proof-of-concept study, the size of calibration area was based on average pressure profiles, a suitable assumption with little participant variation. However, future larger studies may require participant-specific calibration to address varying loading profiles, particularly due to gait variability.

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