Ayub Medical College AbbottabadAyub Medical College Abbottabad

A Beautiful Medical Institution of Pakistan

Keeping High Standards of Medical Education!

Writing aWriting aJournal ArticleJournal Article

Prof. Dr. Muhammad AyubAyub Medical College, Abbottabad

A Scientific Paper is written on a specific template

Unlike an ordinary essay, it has a definite structure

The authors have to follow a specific pattern and sequence of text divisions

Useful Tips Select a journal which suits your publication

requirements the best A journal taking all topics may accept your article but it

will take longer to publish from the long queue A subject specific journal may go for a very strict review

but may publish earlier Have a look at the general lay out of an article in the

selected journal You will get idea what to include in your article You may keep within the requirements of that journal

The more you write ‘like’ the published article, the more you get ‘favour’ of the editorial staff

Divisions of a Scientific PaperDivisions of a Scientific Paper

1. TITLE2. STRUCTURED ABSTRACT3. INTRODUCTION4. MATERIAL AND METHODS5. RESULTS6. DISCUSSION7. CONCLUSIONS/RECOMMENDATIONS8. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT9. REFERENCES

TitleTitle  Should be SHORT DESCRIPTIVE COMPREHENSIVE EASY FOR CATALOGUING

Should NOT be VAGUE Toooooo ________ L E N G T H Y Containing ABBREVIVATIONS

Examples:Examples: Evaluation of restoration of sensitivities of

resistant staphylococcus aureus isolates by using cefuroxime and clavulanic acid in combination

Vascular endothelial growth factor and basic fibroblast growth factor expression positively correlates with angiogenesis and peritumoural brain oedema in astrocytoma

Mushroom poisoning in children: clinical presentation and outcome

Names and Addresses of AuthorsNames and Addresses of Authors

Junaid Sarfraz Khan, John SG Biggs*, Saima Tabasum

Department of Examinations, *Adjunct Professor of Medical Education, University of Health Sciences, Lahore, Pakistan

Muhammad Usman, Zia Salman Faruqui, Najam ud Din, Khawaja Farhan Zahid*

Department of Radiology, *Oncology, Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital and Research Centre, Lahore, Pakistan

Structured AbstractStructured Abstract

Background Objective   Design    Setting   Patients and Methods Results Conclusions Keywords

Abstract should includeAbstract should include Purpose of the study Basic procedures (selection of subjects,

observational and analytical methods) Main findings (Data and its significance) The principal conclusions

3-10 Key words3-10 Key words Assist indexing and cross indexing Should be taken from MeSH

IntroductionIntroduction It Includes

Existing state of knowledge

Gaps in knowledge which research will fill

State what you Intend to do

Give pertinent references

It does not

Review the history of the subject

Identify all other gaps in knowledge

Include Methods, Results and Discussion

State purpose of the article Summarize the rationale for study or

observation Give Strictly pertinent reference Do not include data or conclusion

MethodsMethods

What Subjects, Patients, Animals, Specimens

or Techniques were used?

Reason for selecting the experimental design

of the study

Statistical methods used for data analysis

The section should be called ‘Material and

Methods’ only if inanimate specimens have

been used

Describe selection of the observational, Experimental Subjects including controls

Experimental Method (Reference for standard methods)

Statistical Methods Ethics

   Patient / Animals / Specimens   Number

How are they grouped (cases/controls)

Criteria of Inclusion/Exclusion

Informed consent obtained

TechniquesTechniques

Give enough details for readers to assess the validity of the results,

If standard techniques is used, give

appropriate reference, any modifications

should be clearly explained

If drug trial, clear description of trial

StatisticsStatistics

Clearly mention the statistical methods used for appropriate verification of reported results.

Consult a statistician before starting the study

ResultsResults

Communication of facts, measurements, and observations gathered by the author

Start with the results that are easier to interpret

Results should be set out in Tables and Figures

Do not duplicate illustrations

Logical sequence Text Tables Illustrations Do not repeat in the text all the data in tables/

figures. Emphasize summarizing important observations

Tables: Give Number to Tables Figures: Legends 5 x 7 inch or 8 x 10 in glossy prints (Black & White / Coloured)  Top of the picture marked on the back with Fig.

No. and Title

  DiscussionDiscussion

 What gaps in knowledge remain to be filled?

 Main results should be summarized at the beginning of discussion

Only mention previous results or comments which illuminate or which are illuminated by the present results.                                 

Final paragraph in which the message of the article is firmly stated

Point out where further gaps in

knowledge could usefully be filled

instead of ‘further research is needed’

Intention of author to explore the

‘Gaps’ further

Emphasize new and important aspects of the study and conclusions that follow

Do not repeat the data

Include implications of the funding, their

limitations and implications for future

Research

Relate observations with other relevant

studies

Recommendations when appropriate may be

included 

AcknowledgementsAcknowledgements

“We wish to thank” - all those who deserve recognition for their contribution but who have not made a significant intellectual contribution and are therefore not included as authors (Colleagues, Institutions, Organizations providing financial help, laboratory and secretarial staff)

ReferencesReferences

Morrow DA, Rifai N, Antman EM, Weiner DL, McCabe CH, Cannon CP, et al. C-reactive protein is a potent predictor of mortality independently and in combination with troponin T in acute coronary syndromes. J Am Coll Cardiol. 1998;31:1460–5.

1. Standard Journal Article1. Standard Journal Article

Books and other MonographsBooks and other Monographs

Phillips SJ, Whisnant JP. Hypertension and stroke. In: Laragh JH, Bremier BM, editors. Hypertension: pathophysiology, diagnosis, and management. 2nd ed. New York: Raven Press; 1995. p.465-78.

DissertationDissertation

Kaplan SJ. Post-hospital home

health care: the orderly's access and

utilization (dissertation). St. Louis

(MO): Washington Univ: 1995.

Unpublished MaterialUnpublished Material

Leshner AL. Molecular mechanisms of cocaine. N Engl  J Med. In press.

Electronic MaterialElectronic Material

Morse SS. Factors in the emergence of

infectious disease. Emerg Inftect Dis

[serial online] 1995 Jan-Mar (cited 1996

Jun 5];1(1):[24 screens].  Available from

URL: http:/www.cdc.gov/ncdod/EID/eid.htm

Retrieved on March 22, 2009.

Use of ‘Use of ‘et al.et al.’’

Write names of first 6 authors If more than 6 authors, the rest be

replaced by ‘et al.’ ‘et al.’ is NOT used if authors are up to

6 or less than 6.

Thank Thank You!You!