Translation of scientific papers and research

How scientific translation differs from general translation

A research paper is written for a narrow circle of specialists who know the terminology of their field inside out. If a term is translated inaccurately or a sentence reads like a copy of the Russian, the reviewer will doubt not only the translation but the research itself. That's why the translator needs to know how a scientific text is built: how an abstract is structured and how hypotheses, conclusions and limitations are phrased.

How we work

• We study the text and the journal's requirements. We check where the paper is going, which variety of English it needs and what the length limits are.
• We build a glossary. Discipline terms are checked against English-language publications in the field, not general dictionaries.
• We translate and edit. The translator conveys the meaning and the logic of the argument, and the editor checks style, grammar and consistent terminology.
• We check numbers and formulas. Decimal separators, units, table notation and figure captions get a separate check.

The abstract is the face of the paper

Editors and readers decide whether to read on based on the abstract. It should describe the aim, methods, results and conclusions briefly and clearly, without repeating the title or adding anything the paper doesn't contain. We translate the abstract to meet those expectations and fit the journal's word limit.

If you translated the paper yourself

Many researchers know English well and write their papers themselves. In that case you don't need a full translation. Editing is enough to remove calques, fix the grammar and bring the text up to academic style. More on our editing and proofreading page.