nancy chescheir editor in chief, obstetrics and gynecology professor, unc school of medicine how to...
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NANCY CHESCHEIREDITOR IN CHIEF, OBSTETRICS AND
GYNECOLOGYPROFESSOR, UNC SCHOOL OF MEDICINE
HOW TO WRITE A PAPER
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Reaso
ns to
Write
a S
cien
tific P
ap
er
RequiredComplete fellowship / sit for boardsGet a job / keep a jobGet a grant / keep a grant
Altruism to advance fieldFulfill sense of completion Research
Question
Research Team
Develop Protocol
ApprovalCollect Data
Analyze Data
Write, submit and revise
paper
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Principles of Science WritingHertzel Gerstein
Start writing earlyWarm up firstStart with the basicsTell a storyUse jargon sparinglyMinimize
abbreviationsKeep it shortKeep metaphors
simple
Don’t fall in love with your text
Don’t make the reader decipher your document
Get the critical opinion of someone you respect
Only write when you have something important to say
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Principles of Writing (Gerstein)
Get facts right & present them clearlyConcepts should get more space and
attention than factsExpect to write 10 or more drafts—deleted
content is infrastructureWho was your senior English teacher in High
School? Can she understand this?
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Style…..and content matter Guyatt, Haynes
Short paragraphs
3-5 sentences
Delete unnecessary words
There are many factors that may influence an outcome aside from the intervention being tested.
vs
Many factors, aside from the intervention being tested, may influence outcome.
Avoid “To be”
There is evidence…
Evidence suggests….
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Passive Voice Active voice
Patients were asked to provide
Longitudinal validity is not influenced by standardization
More than 40 candidate HIV vaccines have been tested
Patients provided
Standardization does not influence longitudinal validity
Trials have tested more than 40 candidate vaccines
Passive v Active Voice Guyatt
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AVOID LADY GAGA MANUSCRIPTS
SALALMI SLICING
MEAT EXTENDERS
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Getting Started (Kotz, Cals)
First author and collaborators have shared understanding of primary research objective and key findings of THIS paper
Same group must have shared understanding of authorship and order
Pick a journal and target audience
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Chernick, Guyatt
Determinants of publication? Who reads the journal?
Look through recent issues. Clinical? Basic Science? General or
Subspecialty topic?Rejection rateRecent publication on topicAre findings positive or negative? Are findings newsworthy for editor?
Which reviewers will receive your manuscript?
Quality of writingDumb luck
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Shoot High or Shoot Low?
NEJM, Lancet, BMJ, Annals of Internal Medicine, JAMA
How patient are you? If competing for grant, job may need to shoot lower
How do you deal with rejection? Would a review if rejected help you?
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Scientific writing not a solitary adventure
Writing group with co-authorsSchedule dead linesInternal peer-review (Byard)
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READ INSTRUCTIONS FOR AUTHORS.
“If you have read this and call or fax our office, we will send you a gift worth twenty dollars.” Pitkin, 1998. Letter to reviewers
READ INSTRUCTIONS TO AUTHORS
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Determine authorship
Click icon to add pictureThis should be done when the study is planned!!
Avoids all sorts of hurt feelings, unmet expectationsmisunderstandings
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Getting Started (Kotz, Cals)
THINKINGSkeletonize intro and
discussion Single-word topics or
one liners with main message for each paragraph
Gather key publications and add notes under each section
WRITINGReplace notes with
rough sentences of 6-8 sentences per paragraph
Rewrite sentencesTopic sentence,
content and lead in to next paragraph?
Create empty tables and figures
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Kotz & Cals
Order of writing doesn’t need to be order of paper
Consider writing methods and introduction sections first
Telling a storyCreate empty tables and
figuresChunk your time
Set aside at least 2 hours per session
Schedule deadlines with team
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Methods Results
If your research has dense methodology, consider publishing as a methods paper first
Results paper can then reference the methods paper and conserve page count for important results
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TITLE & ABSTRACT Kotz, Cals, Byard
Most important part of getting people to read your paper
Key words for search enginesActive wordsAvoid abbreviationsInformative title: Drug X effectively treats
GDMDescriptive title: Drug X for treatment of
GDMEncapsulate the aim in the title & keep
coming back to it
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ABSTRACT Cals, Kotz
Each section per journal’s instructionsShort phrases, simple languageActive voiceClearly state your hypothesis or purposeResults section most importantClearly: what is answer to research questionGive absolute as well as effect sizes for the GreenCan you answer the following from abstract
What is known and why is study needed? What did we do? What did we find? What does it mean?
So WHAT?
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ABSTRACT
Should be able to stand alone
The only thing most people read
Should have real content
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INTRODUCTION
Typically not more than 10-15% of paperCaution about putting content for discussion
into introduction
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INTRODUCTION
Establish context for work
Essential information about why you did the study
State research question
General context for the study
Topical context
Research question(s)
Aim, Purpose, Objectives
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Chernick
Warm Up: Write methods section first Can another investigator repeat the work after
reading your manuscript? Statement about IRB approval How did you determine sample size? What statistical tests did you do? What level of significance rejects the null hypothesis? Never use “NEARLY SIGNIFICANT” –if not significant,
its not.
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METHODS
Can another researcher read your methods and do the same study?
Ties introduction to results to continue the story line
Define research process, including statistical analysis and results structure
IRB, IOCUC approvalOnly define methods for
which there are results later Particularly important if part of
larger study
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METHODS
FOUR ELEMENTS Study design
Retrospective v Prospective? RCT? Cohort? Case-control? Observational?
Setting and subjects Sample size calculation
Data collection Precise definition of exposures or interventions, outcomes and
how measured Validation of instruments, data bases
Data analysis RESULTS A priori plan of analysis
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RESULTS
Mostly written in past tenseClear, concise and objective: no
interpretationFor every method, there should be a resultCommon order
Recruitment/ResponseCharacteristics of Sample (Table 1)Findings from primary analysesFindings from secondary analysesUnexpected findings
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TABLES and FIGURES
Key findings should be presented in tables and figuresMust be self-explanatoryUse of Supplemental Digital ContentCopyright release if necessaryClear relationship to text of paperDon’t use a table if easy to use text Informative titles
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FIGURES and TABLES
Most important data in both text and tables
Tables and figures should be planned out in advance
Give absolute numbers not just effect estimates (For the Green, these go in Abstract too!)
Be consistent in order of results Experimental then control results
Use of supplemental digital content
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≤2 lines in heading
Units here so numbers in cells
TOTAL SAMPLE 27 (35%)
SUBSET
AAAAA
16 (25%)
BBBBB
10 (35%)
Be consistentIntervention Control
Use same words in table and text
Prepare in BLACK and White $$$$
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DISCUSSION
Interpretation of date
NEVER present new data
Don’t repeat any but the most important results
Do not ignore or hide inconvenient results
Stress what your paper adds to what is known
Main findings
What is known?What is new?How does this fit?
StrengthsLimitations
Is this important?What do we do with findings?
Answer research question exactly as you asked it
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Discussion
Make sure your discussion ends your story line clearly.
Last sentence is the “take away”—what do you want your readers to remember?
More Research is Needed
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REFERENCES
Use reference management software and select appropriate formatting for journal If unknown, use Vancouver or American Psychological
Association styleProvide DOI: Digital Object IdentifiersAcknowledge sources each time referencedGo back to original source—not the reference
from reviews, other papers
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Which Reference to Use?
Most recentHighest level of evidenceOpen-Access availabilityPublished in journal you
want to publish in
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RESPONSE TO REVIEWERS
Don’t take it personallyPoint by point response using track changes,
italics or what ever is asked for Unless agreeing with reviewers suggestions
make the paper worse, go with itBe politeIf you have an excuse to flatter the reviewer,
use it.
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Dealing with Editors
“What Editors Want. An Authors guide to scientific journal publishing” Benson and Silver . Univ of Chicago Press 2013
If uncertain about submitting—ask the editorEditors sometimes make mistakes—appeal
politely if your reviews were good and you think you can deal with the comments
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Reasons for Rejection of Manuscripts
Lack of critical examination or explanation of results
Failure to formulate credible or logical conclusionsFailure to explain how results support or refute
hypothesis• BYARD
Over-reaching conclusionsRecent publication on same topicGood paper, wrong journal“Me too” with no clear benefit
• CHESCHEIR
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WHY????
You will become a better writer, researcher and editor
Although you can’t borrowresearch ideas, awareness of research questions
Understand the publicationprocess better
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Additional ResourcesFriday Blog on Green Journal WebSitewww.equator-network.org
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SOURCES
Byard RW. Scientific writing: the process and the pitfalls Forensic Sci Med Pathol 2013
Chernick V. How to get your paper accepted for publication. Pediatr Resp Reviews. 2013
Gerstein H. Writing science that your colleagues can read. Jl Diabetes and Complications. 2013
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Kotz D, Cals JWL. Jl of Clinical Epi 2013. New series on effective writing and publishing of scientific papers—12 1 page papers of writing tips
Guyatt GG, Haynes RB. Preparing reports for publication and responding to reviewers comments. J Clin Epi 2006
Kotz D, Cals JWL. Jl of Clinical Epi 2013. New series on effective writing and publishing of scientific papers—12 1 page papers of writing tips