Scientific Writing: Getting Started Arash Etemadi, MD PhD Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences

Why Publish? contributes knowledge ensures scientific rigor allows feedback (improves work) Promotes career document productivity document impact on field/reputation Advertises your institute for future trainees improves chances of funding fulfills an obligation (public monies)

Evaluating a CV - Paper Emphasis number of papers rate of publication quality of journals length of papers position in list of authors focus

Publish or Perish!

TUMS workshops on scientific writing Level 1: Basics Level 2: Focus on international publications Level 3: Practice in writing

An overview

The traditional IMRaD Introduction Methods Results Discussion

Introduction: Why did you start? Methods: What did you do? Results:What did you find? Discussion: What does it all mean?

Write like my friend who sits with me in the canteen and tells me this story. “When I was an intern in obstetrics I saw several cats in the department. Everyone called them fat cats, but I thought the cats were not fat. So I weighed the cats, and I found that the cats were not fat. Visual impressions can be wrong, you know.”

The best paper written so far Introduction (why did you do what you did?) When I was an intern in obstetrics I saw several cats in the department. Everyone called them fat cats. I thought the cats were not fat. Method (what did you do?) I weighed the cats. Results (what did you find?) I found that the cats were not fat. Discussion (What does it mean?) Visual impressions can be wrong.

Introduction The prevalence of obesity in feline creatures remains as yet an unanswered query.[1-4] There are innumerable reports in medical literature which have addressed this issue,[4-6] albeit with contrasting methodology.[7] In our experience, reports of feline obesity in the Asian literature are conspicuous by their absence. The presence of an appropriate number of felines in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, prompted the authors to estimate the magnitude of the problem in Asian cats. An ongoing prevailing notion was the untested belief that there was a high prevalence of obesity in cats in Asia. Informed consent...

A full paper consists of: Title Authors and Affiliation Abstract Introduction Methods Results Discussion Acknowledgments (optional) References Title Authors and Affiliation Abstract Introduction Methods Results Discussion Acknowledgments (optional) References

How to write a paper Most papers are not that exceptional Good writing makes significant difference Better to say little clearly, than saying too much unclearly

Types of Medical articles Editorial Original Article Review Article Short Communication (short papers) Case Reports Letter to Editor Personal Views

Short communication Increasingly common Concise introduction Present data and discuss it shortly Only a few tables or figures Number of words limitations

Is your paper a paper, a brief or a research letter? Easier to get letters & briefs accepted (space). They are indexed! Decide whether you should submit it as a brief or letter

Case Reports Medical history of a single patient in a story form. Lots of information given which may not be seen in a trial or a survey. Often written and published fast compared to studies e.g. Thalidomide

Secondary Studies

Start Here!

Design of the study Involve a methodologist Study type Sample size Interventions Outcomes Ethics

RCT registration (Persian and English)

Politics first!

Authorship Decide on authors, and their order, as early as possible Preferably before starting the project Authors should only include those who made substantive intellectual contribution to the project reported, and can defend the data and conclusions publicly.

Target your paper at a particular journal Familiarise yourself thoroughly with potential journals what sort of papers do they publish? (original articles, briefs, reviews, commentaries, iconoclastic pieces?) What is the “culture” of the journal? National or international focus? Write for that journal

The editorial process

Rejection rate: 15% (pay journals) to 60% (specialist journals) to 90% (NEJM, The Lancet) How long does it take? (Choice of journal) BMJ: 70 days JAMA: 117 days Iranian journals?

RULES OF THUMBS bad research is almost always rejected sensational research usually accepted - even if badly written BUT most papers are neither: in gray zone

Questions journals ask Is the research question important? Is it interesting to our readers? Is it valid? A scientifically sound study.

What editors look for Short, clear, precise title Good abstract Good design and methods Clear conclusions Brevity Follow instructions

What reviewers look for Good design and methods Simple tables and figures Logical organisation Brevity Balance Appropriate statistics Their papers

What reviewers look for Good design and methods Simple tables and figures Logical organisation Brevity Balance Appropriate statistics Their papers

1. Design well 2. Decide politics 3. Choose journal 4. Read instructions to authors/papers 5. Set framework 6. Prepare drafts 7. Distribute 8. Polish 9. Submit

Order of writing? 1. Results 2. Methods 3. Introduction 4. Discussion 5. Abstract 6. References

Order of writing? 1. Methods 2. Results 3. Introduction 4. Discussion 5. Abstract 6. References

“It is much easier than my previous job. I used to be a researcher.”

More reading Hall GM, ed. How to write a paper. London: BMJ Publishing Group. Peat J. Scientific Writing Easy when you know how. BMJ Publishing Group The Vancouver Group. Uniform requirements for manuscripts submitted to biomedial journals.