Call Girls Electronic City Just Call 7001305949 Top Class Call Girl Service A...
Â
WRITING FOR PUBLICATION - EDITORS' WORKSHOP @ EGPRN MALTA 2013
1. Writing for publication
Workshop by
Hans Thulesius (SJPHC/EGPRN)
&
Jelle Stoffers (EJGP/EGPRN)
Š Stoffers & Thulesius, Oct. 2013
2. Introduction
⢠Welcome
⢠Who are we?
⢠Who are you?
⢠Why are you here?
⢠Content of this workshop:
â Suggestions to improve your writing and to enhance the
chance of acceptance of your paper
â Understanding of what happens at the Editorâs desk (and
why)
Š Stoffers & Thulesius, Oct. 2013
3. Start
⢠Who has ever submitted a manuscript to a
medical journal?
⢠And published?
⢠Who more than 5 papers?
Š Stoffers & Thulesius, Oct. 2013
4. Presentations: the audience
⢠What do you want to get out of this
conference? To take home?
⢠What do you consider a âgoodâ presentation?
⢠And a âbadâ one?
Š Stoffers & Thulesius, Oct. 2013
5. Presentations: the presenter
⢠What do you want to get out of this
conference? What do you want to tell at
home?
⢠When do you consider your presentation a
success?
⢠And when do you feel dissatisfied?
Š Stoffers & Thulesius, Oct. 2013
6. Papers
⢠Compare âpapersâ with âpresentationsâ:
â What is similar?
â What is different?
⢠What do you consider a âgoodâ paper (when
do you tell your colleagues about it?)
⢠And what do you consider a âbadâ one?
Š Stoffers & Thulesius, Oct. 2013
7. Journals
⢠What kind of journals/articles do you (like to)
read?
⢠For what purpose do you read them?
⢠And why do you like them?
Š Stoffers & Thulesius, Oct. 2013
12. Editors lead the âPEER REVIEWâ
Is it clear?
Yes
Does it
matter?
Is it new?
Is it true?
No
Presentation,
Structure
yes
no
yes
Content
no
yes
no
Š Stoffers & Thulesius, Oct. 2013
13. Editor and Author
(Editor versus Author?)
⢠Collaboration (from both sides)
â Responsibility
â Respect
⢠âUniversalâ rules ď presentation, structure
â âUniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to
Biomedical Journalsâ
â International Committee of Medical Journal Editors
(ICMJE, former âVancouverâ group)
⢠Specific context:
â âScopeâ of the journal ď content
Š Stoffers & Thulesius, Oct. 2013
14. Editorial decisions
⢠Author ď Editorď Author:
â âNo!â: immediate rejection (you are âoutâ)
â âNo, you first should âŚâ: reject and resubmit
â âYes!â: immediate acceptance
⢠Au ď Ed ď Reviewer(s) ď Ed ď Au:
â Yes!: acceptance
â âYes, but âŚâ: minor revision
â âMaybeâ: major revision
â âNo, you first should â: reject and resubmit
â âNo!â: rejection (you are âoutâ)
Š Stoffers & Thulesius, Oct. 2013
15. Typical STRUCTURE of a (research) manuscript
â˘
â˘
â˘
â˘
â˘
â˘
â˘
â˘
â˘
â˘
â˘
Title page incl. Authors and affiliations
Abstract
Introduction
Methods
Results
Discussion
References
Tables and Figures
Acknowledgements
Conflict of Interest
Covering letter
Š Stoffers & Thulesius, Oct. 2013
16. Most important parts of a paper â
ranked by science journalist and writing teacher
Tim Albert @ Tim Albert Training
TITLE
ABSTRACT
Last sentence(s) of Introduction
First paragraph of Discussion
Last paragraph of Discussion
Result highlights - TABLES
Method highlights
Š Stoffers & Thulesius, Oct. 2013
17. Shall we discuss the following elements?
⢠Title
⢠Abstract
⢠Introduction
⢠Methods
⢠Results
â Tables and Figures
⢠Discussion
â˘
â˘
â˘
â˘
â˘
References
Authors and affiliations
Conflict of Interest
Acknowledgements
Covering letter
Š Stoffers & Thulesius, Oct. 2013
18. Letâs discuss the Introduction
(Why did you start?)
⢠What would you write in this section?
⢠Structure?
⢠What could be comments of reviewers/editors
on this section?
Š Stoffers & Thulesius, Oct. 2013
19. Content/Structure of the Introduction
(Why did you start? Does it matter? Is it new?)
⢠State why the problem you address is
important
⢠State what is lacking in the current knowledge
⢠State the objectives of your study or the
research question
⢠Presentation: be concise!
Š Stoffers & Thulesius, Oct. 2013
20. Common mistakes: Introduction
(Does it matter? Is it new? Is it clear? )
⢠The Introduction is an extensive review of the
literature
⢠The stated aim of the paper is
â tautological (e.g. âThe aim of this paper is to
describe what we didâ), or
â vague (e.g. âWe explored issues related to Xâ)
⢠The research question is not presented
Š Stoffers & Thulesius, Oct. 2013
21. Letâs discuss the Methods
(What did you do?)
⢠What would you write in this section?
⢠Structure?
⢠What could be comments of reviewers/editors
on this section?
Š Stoffers & Thulesius, Oct. 2013
22. Content/Structure of the Methods
(What did you do?)
⢠Specify the study design
⢠Describe the context and setting of the study
⢠Describe the âpopulationâ
(patients, doctors, hospitals, etc.)
⢠Describe the sampling/selection strategy
⢠Describe the intervention/procedure (if applicable)
⢠Describe data collection instruments and procedures
⢠Identify the main study variables
⢠Outline analysis methods
Š Stoffers & Thulesius, Oct. 2013
23. Common mistakes: Methods
(What did you do? Is it clear?)
⢠Elements are missing
⢠Methods, interventions and instruments are
not described in sufficient detail
⢠No definitions of variables
⢠Statistics unclear
Š Stoffers & Thulesius, Oct. 2013
24. Letâs discuss the Results, Tables and Figures
(What did you find?)
⢠What would you write in this section?
⢠Structure?
⢠What could be comments of reviewers/editors
on this section?
Š Stoffers & Thulesius, Oct. 2013
25. Content/Structure: Results, Tables and Figures
(What did you find?)
⢠Report on data collection and recruitment
(response rates, etc.)
⢠Describe participants (demographic, clinical
condition, etc.)
⢠Present key findings with respect to the central
research question
⢠Present secondary findings (secondary
outcomes, subgroup analyses, etc.)
⢠Only highlight results in tables/figures in text
Š Stoffers & Thulesius, Oct. 2013
26. Common mistakes: Results, Tables and Figures
(What did you find? Is it clear?)
⢠Results are reported selectively (e.g.
percentages without frequencies, P-values
without measures of effect)
⢠Detailed tables are provided for results that do
not relate to the main research question
⢠Table is not âself explanatoryâ
⢠The same results appear both in table and text
Š Stoffers & Thulesius, Oct. 2013
27. Letâs discuss the Discussion
(What does it mean?)
⢠What would you write in this section?
⢠Structure?
⢠What could be comments of reviewers/editors
on this section?
Š Stoffers & Thulesius, Oct. 2013
28. Content/Structure of the Discussion
(What does it mean?)
⢠State the main findings of the study
⢠Analyse the strengths and limitations of the study
⢠Discuss the main results with reference to
previous research
⢠Discuss policy or practice implications of the
results, and/or offer perspectives for future
research
⢠Formulate a conclusion
Š Stoffers & Thulesius, Oct. 2013
29. Common mistakes: Discussion
(What does it mean? Is it true? Is it clear?)
⢠The Discussion is not structured
⢠The Discussion misses elements
⢠The Discussion does not provide an answer to
the research question (Conclusion)
⢠Limitations are not acknowledged
⢠The Discussion overstates the implications of
the results
Š Stoffers & Thulesius, Oct. 2013
30. Other common mistakes
⢠References:
â In the Introduction and Discussion, key arguments
are not backed up by appropriate references
â References are out of date or cannot be accessed
by most readers
⢠âgreyâ literature
⢠http://...
⢠www. âŚ
Š Stoffers & Thulesius, Oct. 2013
31. Other common mistakes II
⢠General
â The structure of the paper is chaotic, e.g.
⢠Methods are described in the Results section
⢠No consistency
â The manuscript does not follow the journalâs
instructions for authors
â The paper much exceeds the maximum number of
words allowed
â The paper is written in poor English
Š Stoffers & Thulesius, Oct. 2013
32. Summary: The four Wâs
Why did you start?
What did you do?
What did you find?
What does it mean?
Š Stoffers & Thulesius, Oct. 2013
33. Guidance
â˘
â˘
â˘
â˘
â˘
â˘
Ask experienced peers
Journalâs Instructions for Authors
www.Equator-network.org
http://publicationethics.org
http://www.icmje.org/index.html
Editorial by T. V. Perneger and P. M. Hudelson in Int J
Qual Health Care (2004) 16 (3): 191-192
⢠Series on âEffective writingâ in J Clin Epidemiol
2013;66 359e360 and following issues
Š Stoffers & Thulesius, Oct. 2013
34. Other topics âŚ
⢠Title ####
⢠Abstract
⢠References
⢠Authorship
â Authors and affiliations
â Conflict of Interest
â Acknowledgements
But also:
⢠Where/when do I begin?
⢠How to choose a journal?#
⢠Covering letter ##
⢠Open access
⢠Language ###
⢠Presentation
⢠How to deal with revisions?
⢠http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/ejgp
Š Stoffers & Thulesius, Oct. 2013
35. How to write scientific English
Helena Liira
National editor, Finland
Scandinavian Journal of Primary Health Care
36. ď§ Write an interesting title
ď§ Keep the structure clear
ď§ Write as short as possible
37. Title
⢠Think about the target audience = the
editor and reviewers first
⢠Make the title interesting - but again check
the journalâs style of titles
⢠Be concise and brief, use key words
⢠#
38. Structure
⢠Structure is easy in a scientific paper: - just check
Instructions to authors!
⢠Every journal has its rules: AND it is crucial to follow
them!
39.
40. Language
ď§ Short sentences are usually better than long
ď§ Use verbs with care
ď§ Avoid passive, instead use active voice when
possible âWe foundâ instead of âThis study
showedâ
ď§ Be consistant regarding tense â past tense
throughout
ď§ Edit the English before submitting
41. Style
â Every journal has its style for Tables,
References, you name it!
â Editors love manuscripts that follow
instructions
42. Style
â Avoid long sentences, superlatives and more than
one adjective
â If you can choose between two words â one long
and the other short â describing the same thing â
use the short word!
43. First write â then edit and revise
⢠Donât write, edit and revise at the same time
⢠To write an introduction should take no more than
half an hour!
⢠If you write, edit and revise at the same time you will
suffer writerâs block!
⢠Writing comes first
⢠Editing and revising comes later
47. A cover letter is
ď§ âŚthe editors first encounter with your manuscript
(ms).
ď§ âŚthe place to state the novelty and importance of
your findings and the reason why it merits
publication.
ď§ âŚa chance to distinguish your ms from other
submissions
48. âŚa sales pitch
ď§ âŚ you want to sell your ms convincing the editorial board of
its fit to the journal and its readers
ď§ âŚmove the ms status from ârejected without reviewâ to
âsent out to reviewâ
ď§ âŚpossibly mentioning referenced articles from the journal
you are submitting to (impact factor frenzyâŚ)
49. How to write it:
In the first paragraphâŚ
ď§ âŚinclude the title of your paper, the authorsâ names and
type of submission.
ď§ âŚstate type of ms, using the journalâs own submission type
names. (Check Guidelines for Authors)
ď§
i.e âOriginal Articleâ or âShort Reportâ.
ď§ If you are submitting more than one file, list each part of the
submission; for example, âThere are three files in all: the main
manuscript file, a Figures file (containing 4 figures) and a Tables file
(containing 2 tables).â
50. make a good first
impressionâŚ
ď§ âŚwrite a short, concise and convincing letter preparing
editors to read your work.
ď§ âŚspecify name and title of the Editor-in-Chief of the journal,
and the journalâs name
ď§ âŚavoid long descriptions
ď§ âŚsummarize findings, their relevance and application in ONE
paragraph
51. thereforeâŚ
⢠âŚwrite carefully the paragraph summarizing findings, their
relevance and application
ď§ âŚavoid numbers and statistics
ď§ âŚEnglish should be good, preferably error-free
52. donât hesitate toâŚ
ď§ âŚmake bolder claims than in the ms
ď§ âŚhighlight important results and conclusions
ď§ âŚmention if your ms builds on articles published in that journal
53. donât forget the formalities
ď§ âPreviously unpublished, original researchâ
ď§ âNot considered for publication elsewhereâ
ď§ âNo conflicts of interestâ
54. How to find a journal?
SUGGESTED by Tobias.Freund@med.uni-heidelberg.de
⢠Text similarity engines offer opportunity to
find journals that fit your topic
â ETBlast http://etest.vbi.vt.edu/etblast3
â JANE http://www.biosemantics.org/jane
Š Stoffers & Thulesius, Oct. 2013