PUBLISH OR PERISH Skills Building Workshop

Journal of the International AIDS Society Workshop Outline 1.Journal of the International AIDS Society (JIAS) 2.Writing a Manuscript 3.Submitting a Manuscript 4.Manuscript Mentoring

Journal of the International AIDS Society Journal of the International AIDS Society (JIAS) Online Open access (free of charge to view) Peer-reviewed Indexed in PubMed

Journal of the International AIDS Society

Journal of the International AIDS Society JIAS Topical Areas: Basic and biomedical sciences Clinical sciences Behavioural sciences and epidemiology Social sciences and humanities (including political science and media studies) Health economics and policy (including operations research)

Journal of the International AIDS Society What type of article do you read? Do you write? Case study Debate Case report Commentary Meeting report Methodology Review Research Short report

Journal of the International AIDS Society How easy is it to get published?

Journal of the International AIDS Society Writing Science

Journal of the International AIDS Society It’s all about the hypothesis… Hypothesis Analysis of the data Design and implementation of research Discussion of the findings

Journal of the International AIDS Society The Structure Title/title page Abstract Introduction Methods/materials Results Discussion This is how it is structured, But how do you read it? And how do you write it?

Journal of the International AIDS Society Introduction: What was your question? General background General research question Previous research on the topic Objective of study Hypothesis Funnel-shaped, from general to specific

Journal of the International AIDS Society Methods/Materials: How did you examine your hypothesis? May include different components, depending on the type of study Detailed enough to allow replication –Procedures, materials used, data collected, data analysis and statistical methods –Ethical approval Past tense No results yet!

Journal of the International AIDS Society Results: What did you find? What is the best way to present your data: table, figure or text? –Avoid repetition Present only the results relevant to your hypothesis Relate results to methods, but do not describe them again Do not discuss yet!

Journal of the International AIDS Society Tables and Figures Only when helpful to convey information Should be understandable without text Choose type based on the kind of data you have

Journal of the International AIDS Society Tables When exact values are important Not too simple (useful) Not too complex (understandable)

Journal of the International AIDS Society Table: example

Journal of the International AIDS Society Figures Visual presentation of results To show a trend or patterns of relationship Different types of graphs

Journal of the International AIDS Society Figures: Different figures for different messages Change over time Source: UNAIDS/WHO, 2008

Journal of the International AIDS Society Figures: Different figures for different messages A bar graph would work for a different type of data: Source: UNAIDS/WHO, 2006 Ratios

Journal of the International AIDS Society Additional information “Almost Everything You Wanted to Know About Making Tables and Figures,” Department of Biology, Bates College ology/resources/writing/HTWtablefigs.html

Journal of the International AIDS Society Discussion: What do your findings mean? Do not repeat results! Discuss the importance of your findings Describe any limitations of the study Conclude with the key points Did the results confirm your hypothesis?

Journal of the International AIDS Society Finishing with the beginning: Writing the abstract Why is the abstract essential ?

Journal of the International AIDS Society Finishing with the beginning: Writing the abstract First impression of the article Guide the invited reviewer in its decision to review or not your manuscript Key words for search engines so your article is found Help the reader to decide if he will read or not your article

Journal of the International AIDS Society Abstract – what goes in it? Brief summary Complete –Background –Experimental design –Major findings –Conclusion Stand alone (“Acid test”) Must be consistent with the paper

Journal of the International AIDS Society Are all abstracts the same? Article –Present a summary of an article –Brief and concise Conference –Present preliminary new data –Methodology more detailed –More results

Journal of the International AIDS Society Title Short and simple Specific — describe the study Keywords Advertisement for the manuscript

Journal of the International AIDS Society Title Abstract Full article

Journal of the International AIDS Society Ethics of authorship Study authors –Sequence –Corresponding author –Ghostwriting –Gift authorship All authors must be able to take responsibility for content

Journal of the International AIDS Society References Credibility –Knowledge and awareness of the field How to write references: –Pay attention to the Instructions for Authors of your selected journal Copyright: –When should I cite an article? –What is plagiarism? What are the consequences?

Journal of the International AIDS Society So, to recap, follow these tips Make sure you have enough data before you make a conclusion Confirm or reject your hypothesis Follow the Instructions for Authors and concentrate on correct structure Use simple and clear language — should be straightforward

Journal of the International AIDS Society Submitting Manuscripts to JIAS Online at: Read the Instructions for Authors page Follow the steps on the submission checklist

Journal of the International AIDS Society

Journal of the International AIDS Society Peer-Review Process Online submission Initial decision by Editors-in- Chief and Executive Editor Reviewed by at least 2 selected experts AcceptRevisionReject Published in JIAS - open access Revision reviewed RejectMentoring

Journal of the International AIDS Society Common Reasons for Failure to Publish *Research question not clear *Poor study design *Lack of ethical approval *Not enough data *Poorly written *Incorrect format *Poor structure *Poor language quality

Journal of the International AIDS Society Fear not: Manuscript mentoring Mentors can support you for initial submission or for resubmission Here’s what mentors can help you with: Research methods & design Writing style & language Targeting suitable journals

Journal of the International AIDS Society An example of mentor’s support:

Journal of the International AIDS Society

Journal of the International AIDS Society Resources BioMed Central Tools for Authors – hortoolshttp:// hortools BioMed Central Tips – AuthorAid –Mentoring, training, workshops, discussions, documents and presentations –

Journal of the International AIDS Society Thank you! Any questions?

Journal of the International AIDS Society Evaluation As your feedback is of most importance to assess the success of IAS 2009, you will be invited shortly after the conference to complete an online survey (available in both English & French) - all data will be kept confidential In order to participate in the evaluation process, please make sure we have scanned your badge