The Art of Publishing Aka “just the facts ma’am”

Is it worth writing? New/novel/rare Adds to existing knowledge Challenges existing knowledge Doesn’t always have to be a positive finding…..

Do you have quality, credible data? Is your methodology sound? Is your data valid? Will the above stand up to peer review? If this is a qualitative or descriptive piece, do you have all the details? Can a lesson or knowledge be gleaned from the information?

OK – you still want to publish Who is your audience? What type of journal (peer - or not- reviewed? Newsletter? What type of format? Article, letter, brief note… What is the impact factor value of the journal? Look at samples from that journal

And then have a reality check!

Decide authorship in advance!!!

Title Page Try for a catchy and Brief! Title Include all the study authors – only the true participants List the paper’s authors institutions Acknowledge all sources of funding Select only one to three key words for referencing Make sure the corresponding author will be around Agree ahead of time as to author order.

Introduction Brief, brief, brief Why is your paper important? What are your objectives or your question/hypothesis

Description of study site and/or study population Describe your intervention – if in phases be clear to list the phases Describe what type of data you collected Describe how the data was collected (Anticipate your audience’s questions re this) Describe how you analyzed your data If ethics was sought and acquired, mention this Methodology

Results Describe only the main analysis results – no tangents please Describe any secondary analysis results Be very careful as to the tables and figures you include. If you include tables/figures, do not repeat the information in the Results text Be careful you don’t add your conclusions in the results section

Discussion Be crisp! Write down the most important point and provide commentary (both limitations and “good things”) Then onto your next point and so on Only one or two lines in conclusion If you have suggestions for future directions – include DON’T: repeat your introduction, try to cite all the literature in the world, repeat your results, have a conclusion divorced from the results, have a conclusion not justified by the data

Other things Pick a tense AND STICK WITH IT Pick a person AND STICK WITH IT (look at the journal style) Be mindful of your grammar (that vs which, run on sentences, incomplete sentences, split infinitives, starting with a prepositional phrase) Be mindful of your abbreviations Be consistent with your style Edit, Edit, Edit Get an objective colleague to read

Abstract Could start with this – common if you have done a poster presentation first Recommend the above as it focuses your thoughts Sometimes helps to show to the other authors what you would like to do re the article. References In the journal style Double- check your author names, pages, etc. Don’t over-reference!

On-line submissions The body of the article is in one file, the abstract in another (usually as well as full title page), each figure/table in separate word documents. Usually you submit a letter to the editor – four lines, why this is of interest to their readership Submit as a tentative article  journal automatically constructs PDF  show authors to ensure agreement on final version  finalize electronic submission. WAIT

You get rejected Don’t despair Read the comments objectively – sometimes they aren’t valid! If you decide to resubmit to another journal, revise in light of these comments. Make sure you have the right journal. Elicit all the author opinions re this May have to alter the article style to suit the new journal

Common Reasons why Papers get Rejected How to read a paper : getting your bearings (deciding what the paper is about ) BMJ 1997; 315 doi: (Published 26 July 1997) Cite this as: BMJ 1997;315:243

You get accepted! Triple check the proofs Make sure all the team is aware and have a second person proof-read Follow the journal instructions to the letter re how to correct proofs DO NOT use this as an opportunity to change whole sentences or content, unless a substantive error was made Be timely in resubmitting your corrections

Conclusions An excellent experience for all Do your project as if you are going to publish - it focuses your thoughts If you are able to publish it’s then a bonus