marietjie van rooyen stewart mennin writing papers that get published © s. mennin & m. van...
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Marietjie van Rooyen Stewart Mennin
Writing Papers that Get Published
© S. Mennin & M. van Rooyen, 2009
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Programme
What worksProblems encountered/anticipated
getting published?What makes a good paper?Reasons for rejection / acceptanceWriting Skills & StyleGuidelinesAuthorshipConflicts of interest & Ethics
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TASK 1:Discuss in Groups Summarize on Flip Chart (15 min)
What works (has worked) for you?What problems do you (have you)
encountered?
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What makes a good paper?
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Journal criteria
Relevance Rigour
Originality Importance
Written well Ethically sound
Timely Interesting© S. Mennin & M. van Rooyen, 2009
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Common problemsFinding time How to writeForest & treesNot sure what good writing is Writer’s block
‘Perfect first sentence’ syndromeReview processRejection
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Critical appraisal: Ask and answer at least the following questions:
Who was this written for?What is the author trying to achieve &
why?What did they do? Why did they do it that
way?What did they find?So what?
Equally important: ask others!© S. Mennin & M. van Rooyen, 2009
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What makes a paper publishable?
What Do Editors & Reviewers Say?
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Quality Six Criteria
1. Critical literature review2. Conceptual or theoretical
framework3. Explicit statement of study intent4. Explicit statement of study
design5. Definitions of all interventions6. Human subjects’ rights
(Cook, Beckman & Bordage, Med Ed 2007)
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The Editors Look to See if
Is the paper in journal style?Is relevant to journal’s mission?Been published before?- Where?Pass the So What test?
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Key Question for ReviewersDid you learn something?Clear conceptual frameworkMethods clearConsistent analysis Discussion
Summarize findings & relevanceAcknowledge limitations -method & conclusions
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Reasons Papers Are Rejected
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Decisions on manuscripts to Medical Education (2007)
Total number = 1185Reject 52%Accept 23%
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Reasons for Rejection
INTEREST, ORIGINALITY, AND IMPORTANCE
Topic & results not interesting for general readers
Doesn’t add anything new to literature
Not confident in validity of the message
Findings difficult to generalise– too specific to locality or organisation
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Methods
The research question not stated clearly The methods not described clearly Methods don’t match research question Confounding variables, bias, insufficient
statistical power Response rate too low
Non-response bias Not sufficiently evidence based Conclusions not justified by the data© S. Mennin & M. van Rooyen, 2009
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OTHER
We do not generally publish this type of paper
More suitable for a general journalMore suitable for a specialist journal
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Most commonly (this year)
Work doesn’t advance understanding in fieldWriting trick: Don’t emphasize or mention local context until methods section
Outcome measures are weak (e.g., only satisfaction ratings, non representative sample)© S. Mennin & M. van Rooyen, 2009
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If asked to reviseDo it quicklySpecifically indicate what changes made
& exactly where they are in mansript
Rejected—happens to everyone--don’t give up!
Consider a different journal? Different format?
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•Authorship•Duplicate publication•Conflicts of interest•Ethics
Some big issues in publication
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Decide early about authorship
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Conception & design, or analysis and interpretation
Drafting or revising article critically for important intellectual content
Final approval of the version to be published
Authorship based on
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Not sufficient to justify authorship:
Gift, ghost or guest authorshipParticipation solely in acquisition of funding or data collection; general supervision; being head of department etc.
Many journals now ask for a statement about relative contributions
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Ethical Issues
Most (if not all) journals require a statement about ethical approvalWhether soughtIf not, why not
Some grey areasConsentOriginal purpose of dataPossibility of identification of subjects‘Evaluation’ versus ‘research’
Committee On Publication Ethicswww.publicationethics.org.uk
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Guidelines for Writing Articles That Get Published
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“I didn’t have time to write a short paper, so I wrote a long one”
(Unknown)© S. Mennin & M. van Rooyen, 2009
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Suggestions
KISS -Keep It Short & SimpleUse active rather than passive voice‘We did’ rather than ‘It was done’
Be positive rather than negative‘Usually late’ rather than ‘Not on time’
Prefer simple words and short sentences
Avoid needless words‘Vast majority’ versus ‘Majority’© S. Mennin & M. van Rooyen, 2009
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Compare‘Examples are described which demonstrate that in normal individuals the lowest concentration in which sucrose can be detected by means of gustation differs from the lowest concentration in which sucrose (in the amount employed) has to be ingested in order to produce a demonstrable decrease in olfactory acuity and a noteworthy conversion of sensations interpreted as a satiety associated with ingestion of food.’
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With-
‘Experiments are described which show that normal people can taste sugar in water in quantities not strong enough to interfere with their sense of smell or take away their appetite.’
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Selection of Journal
Decide on your target audienceResearchers? Teachers? Specialty?
International?
FactorsDoes journal publish this type of article?Acceptance & turnaround ratesEase of acceptanceImpact Factor of journal
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Suggested Writing Sequence
Research QuestionsMethodsResultsDiscussionIntroductionAbstract© S. Mennin & M. van Rooyen, 2009
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Research QuestionsWritten before project beginsChanges as project unfolds
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Introduction: Engage, Frame & Contextualize
What we know (literature review)What we don’t know What are research questionsWhy we did this studyProvide conceptual framework
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Methods
What we didEnough detail to allow replicationFlows from Intro to Results
Be specific InstrumentsSamplingComparisonsProcedureAnalysis
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ResultsDescribe who-what was studied
What was foundDescriptiveNarrativeRelational
Numbers, Tables, Figures etcAvoid introducing interpretation and discussion
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DiscussionWhat was shown?
Start with brief and clear synopsisLink your work to literature
Significance What does it add to our understanding?
Link back to Aims/Research Qs
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DiscussionAvoid reiteration of ResultsSimilarities and differences with other studies
Address limitationsNext steps?
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Writing is about editing
‘Get others to read an advanced draftSpecialists’ & people who don’t know much about the subjectListen to them
Spell checkThen check again!
First & last sentences of paragraph
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The Title?Important part of the paper
Catchy and descriptiveDifferent styles for different
journals:DeclarativeDependent variable, dependent
variable, interventionPose/answer a question
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SummaryRelevantInterestingGrounded in literatureClear succinct writingPeer review AuthorshipEthicsIt’s about editingWriting gets better with Practice and
feedback© S. Mennin & M. van Rooyen, 2009