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Writing a manuscript for publication in a peer-reviewed journalChristopher Leonard Editorial Director - QScience.com
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What was a journal?Journal des sçavans & Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society both started in 1665
Late 1800’s see the emergence of ‘theory-experiment-discussion’ structure of articles
1980’s see IMRAD (Introduction, Methods, Results and Discussion) adopted widely as a reflection of the process of scientific discovery
Print only, limited readership, limited number of titles
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What is a journal?Electronic-only, or e-leading, peer-reviewed selection of articles judged to be of a certain quality within a certain, narrow, field.
Many papers publicly available via open access or PubMed
>20,000 active journal titles
>5,500 papers per day published (2m/year)
How to stand out in this crowd?
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Anatomy of a paperModern papers conform to the Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts submitted to Biomedical Journalshttp://www.icmje.org/urm_main.html
Read it.
Doesn’t cover all article types, or other integral parts of a successful submission (cover letter, abstract, figures, tables, acknowledgements) but gives a good indication for main text
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Trial reporting standardsTransparent reporting of medical trials is essential.
CONSORT (1996, 2001, 2007, 2010)http://www.consort-statement.org/consort-statement/
Publication of trials is dependent on their registration before enrolling first participant
ANZCTR, clinicaltrials.gov, isrctn.org, trialregister.nl, EudraCT, WHO-ICTRP. See ICMJE website for full details.
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Strengthening epidemiology studies
Observations, cohort studies, case-control, cross-sectional studies.
Very valuable, but have a history of being weak or poorly-described
Enter STROBE http://www.strobe-statement.org
For articles and conference proceedings
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Review articles
Comprehensively cover a specific biomedical topic and require the author to review all relevant literature and come up with some general statements and conclusions about the practical implications for patient care.
Most often they are commissioned, but if you want to write one, it is worth approaching an editor with a proposal.
Highly accessed, highly cited.
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Review articles
NARRATIVE REVIEWSEditorials
Commentaries
Narrative overviews or non-systematic narrative reviews
QUALITATIVE SYSTEMATIC REVIEWS
QUANTITATIVE SYSTEMATIC REVIEWS (META ANALYSES)
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Editorials
Written by Editor or invited guest
May be narrative reviews, but on a short, select and narrowly focused review on a handful of papers
May not be reviews at all
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Commentaries
Commentaries may be narrative reviews, but somewhat more opinionated.
Little research methodology, biased synthesis of a collection of articles.
Usually there to provoke controversy or academic debate.
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Narrative reviewsTypically comprehensive narrative synthesis of previously published information, often summarising each key article.
Bibliographic research methodology frequently a part of narrative reviews (although is not strictly required). Reputable sources only.
Will provide in-depth snapshot of a field, convey a clear message and draw conclusions supported by data analysis.
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Reputable sourcesMedline/PubMed
Excerpta Medica/EMBASEScopus
Web of ScienceCochrane Library
Database of Abstracts and Reviews of EffectivenessCumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature
Google Scholar (with care)
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Qualitative systematic reviewsDetailed, rigorous, explicit methods. Bibliographic research based on a specific topic or question.
More powerful evidence-based source than narrative reviews, case studies, cohort studies...
Qualitative: individual studies are integrated and critiqued for their systematic methods. However, no statistical combination of studies.
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Quantitative systematic reviews or meta-analyses
Critically evaluates each paper in the review and statistically combines the results of the studies.
Qualitative + gathers original patient data from each study, pools it together and produces statistics on the larger sample.
Highest level of evidence
Guidelines in PRISMA and Cochrane Collaboration
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Preparing to write the manuscript
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Background information
Bibliographic research to set research question in context.
Make sure it is up-to-date (consider revising if first draft is more than 3 months old) - reviewers get very suspicious about missing citations.
Papers over 10 years old, use with caution.
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Target journalThink about this before you start to write.
Best journal for your article may not necessarily be best in the field.
Has similar work been published in that journal?
Check the I4As
Tyranny of the Impact Factor.
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CHRONICA HORTICULTURAE VOL.48 NO.2 2008 PP.3-4
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CHRONICA HORTICULTURAE VOL.48 NO.2 2008 PP.3-4
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AuthorshipSort this out before writing the manuscript*.
Consult with coauthors, gather their ORCIDs. Otherwise, preferred name listing and affiliation.
ICMJE have guidelines on this.
Usually listed in decreasing order of their contribution (although this can vary)
Determine who is the corresponding author
* READ THIS: Liz Wager’s excellent guide “Recognition, reward and repsonsibility: why the authorship of scientific papers matters” Maturitas 2009; 62:109-12
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Ethical issuesFabrication of data
Duplicate publication
Plagiarism
Misuse of statistics
Manipulation of images
Inadequate or false citations
READ THIS: HTTP://PUBLICATIONETHICS.ORG/ MAINLY FOR EDITORS AND PUBLISHERS, BUT GIVES A GREAT INSIGHT INTO PROBLEMS SOME PAPERS FACE
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Writing the manuscript
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Title
Title is THE most important part of the paper. Decide on best title after writing the manuscript.
CONSORT, STROBE and others have clear indications on what should be in the title.
Should be descriptive, not cute, and match the abstract. Not too general, not too much jargon.
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ExamplesGOOD TITLE
A study of thrombocytopenia in hospitalized vivax malaria patients
BAD TITLES
Physics of waves
Transgressing the Boundaries: Towards a Transformative Hermeneutics of Quantum GravityRead more about this at http://physics.nyu.edu/sokal/
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AbstractIn Medline/PubMed/Scopus/Google Scholar.
Think of it as a ‘teaser’ or ‘trailer’ for your paper.
DON’T make it too long. Shorter is ALWAYS better
DON’T introduce and define lots of acronyms
DON’T include references to citations
DO pitch it to non-specialists in your broader field
DO write (or rewrite) it at THE END.
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AbstractContext
Question or purpose
Methodology/Results
Interpretation
Conclusions
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AbstractContext
Question or purpose
Methodology/Results
Interpretation
Conclusions
ALL IN 250 WORDS OR LESSSunday, 9 June 13
Passage from the Wikipedia article on "The English Language"The following paragraph has a Gunning Fog Index of 24.4.
As a result of the military, economic, scientific, political, and cultural influence of the United Kingdom from the 18th century, and of the United States since the mid 20th century, it has become the lingua franca in many parts of the world, and the most prominent language in international business and science. It is used extensively as a second language and as an official language in the European Union and many Commonwealth countries, as well as many international organisations.
Analysis■ There are 79 words in two sentences.■ The 17 italic words are considered complex.■ 0.4 ((79/2) + 100(17/79))■ 0.4 x ( 39.5 + 12.79)■ Fog index = 24.4
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The same passage simplifiedThe following paragraph has a Gunning Fog Index of 7.07.
English has become the standard language around the world. This was the result of many factors. In the 1700s, the British affected English with the army, economy, science, politics and culture. In the mid-1900s, the United States caused change. It is the most used language in world business and science. It is a famous second language and an official language in most of Europe and in Commonwealth countries. It is also the case in groups around the world.
Analysis■ There are 79 words in seven sentences.■ The 5 italic words are considered complex.■ 0.4 ((79/7) + 100(5/79))■ 0.4 x ( 11.28 + 2.5)■ Fog index = 7.07
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IntroductionIntroduce topic to readers in an accessible way
Should be short and focused
Aim for 3 paragraphs only.PARA1: Question or issue, context, relevance [What is known]
PARA2: Importance of problem/unclear issues [What is unknown]
PARA3: Rationale, hypothesis, main objective [Why study was done]
Can be written at any point, but good to revisit at the end.
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Materials and methodsDetails required to replicate the study
Very precise guidelines from CONSORT, STROBE and PRISMA
Should include; study design, data collection details, analysis principles and rationale.
Describe sample selection and exclusion criteria
Ethical considerations and a description of the randomization or group assignment.
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ResultsOrganised presentation of collected data.
Measurements described in M&M section should be reported in Results in same order.
Should be a distant semantic description.
Include negative results and reasons for non-collection of information on important non-measured variablesOConnor, T. R., & Holmquist, G. P. (2009). Algorithm for writing a scientific manuscript. Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Education, 37(6), 344-348. doi:10.1002/bmb.20329
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DiscussionExplain the meaning of the results, structured as a natural flow of ideas.
Key findings should be linked to study objectives, along with an acknowledgement of the strengths and weaknesses of the study
Describe logically, links between results and mechanistic interpretations of cause and effect.
Are results consistent with other studies? If not, why not?
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Discussion
Don’t repeat yourself.
Don’t present results not mentioned in Results
Don’t overstate importance of results
Do feel free to criticise study limitations
Don’t repeat yourself.
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Conclusion
It’s not another Abstract or Introduction.
Keep it short
‘Take home’ message
Do not write: ‘further study is needed’ or any variation thereof.
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Acknowledgements etc.
Contributors who do not qualify for author status
Conflicts of interest
Financial support for the research
Group name if appropriate
Author contributions
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ReferencesKeep a good reference library (Mendeley/Zotero)
Make sure references adhere to journal style
Avoid abstracts and ‘personal communications’
Exclude articles ‘in submission’
Authors responsibility to make sure they do not refer to retracted articles.
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After submission
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Reviews & revisionsView peer reviewers as collaborators rather than enemies
They often make constructive remarks which should improve the quality of the paper
Good editors will shield you from performing more experiments (unless it’s Nature or Science)
For each point the reviewer makes, provide a brief note explaining how you have incorporated their remark, or a rebuttal.
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After publication
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Promotion
You are the marketer of your own work (usually)
Link to your article from your facebook/twitter/linkedin/orcid page
Departmental website, institution PR department?
Mendeley, scribd, list-servs, other discussion boards and lists
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A brief note on open access
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WHAT ABOUT IMPACT FACTORS/PROMOTION/TENURE/WHAT MY FACULTY/COAUTHORS EXPECT?
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WHAT ABOUT IMPACT FACTORS/PROMOTION/TENURE/WHAT MY FACULTY/COAUTHORS EXPECT?
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WHAT ABOUT IMPACT FACTORS/PROMOTION/TENURE/WHAT MY FACULTY/COAUTHORS EXPECT?
READ: HTTP://WWW.MICHAELEISEN.ORG/BLOG/?P=911
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Thanks. And good luck.
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www.twitter.com/qscience
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