1. Categories of Journal Submissions Barbara Gastel, MD, MPH Texas A&M University Knowledge Community Editor, AuthorAID

2. Overview: Some Common “Metacategories” Reports of original research Other articles presenting new information Review articles Opinion pieces News articles and feature articles Other

3. Reports of Original Research The core of most journals Subcategories – Full-length reports of research Can have different names in different journals Examples of names: “Articles”, “Original Articles”, “Original Contributions,” “Reports”, “Research” – Brief reports of research Sometimes brief because the research is preliminary, less extensive, or less important Examples of names: “Brief Communication”, “Research Letter”

4. Other Articles Presenting New Information Examples – Case reports – Descriptions of new methods – Program descriptions Sometimes included in a single category such as “Dispatches” Sometimes appear in separate categories

5. Review Articles Summarize and integrate the research published on a given topic Can include – traditional review articles – systematic review articles – meta-analyses In some journals: different categories for review articles on different types of subjects

6. Opinion Pieces Include such items as – Editorials – Sounding boards – Book (and other media) reviews – Most letters to the editor Present evidence-based opinion Can have different names

7. News Articles and Feature Articles Included in some journals Can be by staff members, freelance journalists, or volunteers Examples of topics: – Conferences – Awards – Trends – Policy – Controversies – People (some article types: profiles, obituaries)

8. Other Personal essays—for example, in the section “A Piece of My Mind” in JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association Essays about cover art Poems Photos or other images of professional or other interest Other

9. A Suggestion: For ideas of what article categories to include and what to call them, look at other journals.

10. Thank you!