Rédaction scientifique en

anglais
(PLU 6150)

Danielle Buch
daniellehbuch@gmail.com
© Danielle Buch 2015, 2016 – All rights reserved/Tous droits réservés.
V 2.1 Nov. 2016
 Plan de cours
1. La communication claire
2. Le manuscrit pour publication dans une
revue scientifique
3. L’abstract
4. Le choix de revue pour publication
5. La lettre de présentation, communiqué
de presse, vulgarisation pour le grand
public
 Plan pour aujourd’hui
Rédaction d’un manuscrit de recherche
Importance des instructions pour auteurs –
mots max, style, etc.
Styles – ICMJE, APA, autres
Structure – IMRAD
Éléments de chaque section
Que recherchent les réviseurs?
 Manuscrits de recherche pour
publication
Plusieurs formats :

 Biomédical/scientifique – Uniform Requirements

ex : AMA Manual of Style, 10th ed.

 Psychologique – APA, 6th ed.

 Autres…

Chacun a sa propre mise en forme et ses critères

particuliers
AMA Manual of Style: A Guide for Authors and Editors. 10th ed. New York: Oxford Press; 2007.
Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals:www.icmje.org.
American Psychological Association: www.apastyle.org.
 Uniform requirements, AMA
Style pour JAMA, Pediatrics, New Engl J Med, …

Format
Times New Roman 12-pt
Marges : minimum 2.5 cm
Double interligne
Justification à gauche
Simple espace entre phrases
Pas de « footnotes », sauf pour tableaux
 APA
Style pour psychologie, sciences sociales, soins
infirmiers, …

Format
Times New Roman 12-pt
Marges : 2.5 cm
Double interligne
Hiérarchie des titres, sous-titres, quand/quoi
centrer, en italiques, etc.
Page titre centrée sur la page
Voir Corrected Sample Papers
 Reference formatting –
Examples
AMA (various styles, subtle changes):
Michaluk A, Dionne M-D, Gazdovich S, Buch D, Ducruet
T, Leduc L. Predicting Preterm Birth in Twin Pregnancy:
Was the Previous Birth Preterm? A Canadian
Experience. J Obstet Gynaecol Can. 2013;35(9):793–
801.

APA:
Underwood, H., & Findlay, B. (2004). Internet
relationships and their impact on primary relationships.
Behaviour Change, 21(2), 127-140.

If using reference software, e.g. Reference Manager or

Endnote, remove from final manuscript before
submitting.
 General style
Number pages
Use active voice
Minimize jargon
Minimize abbreviations
Avoid bullet points, except in sidebar, if
applicable
Be specific – avoid “There was”, “it is”, etc.
Target audience
Reference any/all facts stated

(ICMJE, Nature Scitable, Day, BioMed Central, NEJM, U Washington, etc.)

 Style AMA
Chiffres épelés en début de phrase
Chiffres, même si moins que 10, pour
nombres, mesures
Refs : superscripts (après point ou virgule)
ou entre parenthèses (avant ponctuation)
Refs (liste) : formatée en ordre de citation,
selon PubMed ou critères de la revue
Style actif vs. passif
 Style APA
Chiffres épelés en début de phrase
Chiffres épelés si moins que 10
Refs : règles diffèrent selon première ou
subséquente citation d’une œuvre
Refs (liste) : formatée en ordre
alphabétique par auteur, année
Vocabulaire qui élimine le biais
 Types of journal articles
Reviews

Original research

Case reports

Consensus statements

Opinion pieces

Comment articles

Letters
 Research articles for thesis
May include:
Review (systematic or narrative)
Survey study – questionnaires
Intervention study
 Original research
Systematic review and meta-analysis
Randomized controlled study (RCT)
Observational study
 Prospective cohort

 Retrospective cohort

Survey study – questionnaires

Case-control study
Case reports
Basic science (lab) research
 IMRAD
# pages (recherche originale) – environ 18 pages

IMRAD – Introduction, Methods, Results, and Discussion

 Introduction: 1 page

 Methods: 2-3 pages

 Results: 2-3 pages

 Discussion: 3-5 pages

 Tables + Figures: 5

 References: 30

Détails peuvent varier d’une revue à l’autre et entre types

d’étude

(http://www.icmje.org/manuscript_a.html; www.jpeds.com/authorinfo. Last accessed Feb 3, 2014)

 IRDAM
IRDAM – Introduction, Results, Discussion and
Methods

Methods comes last

Used in some experimental science journals,

e.g. Cell
 Review articles
May be up to 6000 words
Structure slightly different
 Review articles
Narrative review

Systematic review and meta-analysis

 Cochrane – healthcare:
www.cochranelibrary.com
 Campbell Collaboration – social sciences:
www.campbellcollaboration.org
 Order of writing

Main idea

Methods and results

Intro and discussion

Abstract, title

Cover letter
 Introduction – AMA
3 paragraphes
 Contexte
 Ce qui a été fait / problématique
 Hypothèses et objectifs de l’étude

Ni résultats ni conclusions de l’étude

 Introduction – APA
Plusieurs paragraphes (jusqu’à 6-7)
 Contexte/introduction au problème
 Pertinence de la problématique
 Discussion de la littérature académique
 Explication de l’approche choisie

(APA 6th Edition Quick Reference, July 2009; Penn State, York:
www2.yk.psu.edu/learncenter/apa-july-09.pdf)
 Example
Basic science

Suez J, Korem T, Zeevi D, et al. Artificial

sweeteners induce glucose intolerance by
altering the gut microbiota. Nature.
2014;514(7521):181-6.
 First paragraph – Context
Non-caloric artificial sweeteners (NAS) were introduced
over a century ago as means for providing sweet taste to
foods without the associated high energy content of
caloric sugars. NAS consumption gained much
popularity owing to their reduced costs, low caloric intake
and perceived health benefits for weight reduction and
normalization of blood sugar levels1. For these reasons,
NAS are increasingly introduced into commonly
consumed foods such as diet sodas, cereals and sugar-
free desserts, and are being recommended for weight
loss and for individuals suffering from glucose
intolerance and type 2 diabetes mellitus1.
 Second paragraph – literature,
what others have done
Some studies showed benefits for NAS consumption2
and little induction of a glycaemic response3,whereas
others demonstrated associations between NAS
consumption and weight gain4, and increased type 2
diabetes risk5. However, interpretation is complicated by
the fact that NAS are typically consumed by individuals
already suffering from metabolic syndrome
manifestations. Despite these controversial data, the US
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved six NAS
products for use in the United States.
 Third paragraph – hypothesis,
objective
Most NAS pass through the human gastrointestinal tract
without being digested by the host6,7 and thus directly
encounter the intestinal microbiota, which plays central
roles in regulating multiple physiological processes8.
Microbiota composition9 and function10 are modulated by
diet in the healthy/lean state as well as in obesity11,12 and
diabetes mellitus13, and in turn microbiota alterations
have been associated with propensity to metabolic
syndrome14. Here, we study NAS-mediated modulation
of microbiota composition and function, and the resultant
effects on host glucose metabolism.
 Tense
Present tense for accepted facts
Past tense for research findings in the literature
Past tense for experiments reported: Methods,
Results

Example:
Frequently, people encounter situations in their
environment in which it is impossible to attend to all
available stimuli. It is therefore of great importance for
one’s attentional processes to select only the most
salient information in the environment to which one
should attend. Previous research has suggested that
…(authors) presented participants with…
(Corrected Sample Papers: supp.apa.org/style/PM6E-Corrected-Sample-Papers.pdf)
Introduction – Phrases oft used

We hypothesized that

The objective of this study was to

examine…
 Exercice
(10 mins)

Écrivez rapidement l’intro de votre projet

de recherche

(Ne vous inquiétez pas pour les

arguments/réfs manquants)
 Methods
Info as per protocol
Reproducibility
Subtitles, sections
 Study design and participants

Type, place, dates

Ages, inclusion/exclusion criteria
Ethics statement
 Outcomes
 Randomization and blinding
 Statistical analysis
 Methods – Example
(Basic science)

Chronic NAS consumption exacerbates

glucose intolerance

To determine the effects of NAS on glucose

homeostasis, we added commercial formulations
of saccharin, sucralose or aspartame to the…

(Suez J, Korem T, Zeevi D, et al. Artificial sweeteners induce glucose intolerance by altering the gut
microbiota. Nature. 2014;514(7521):181-6.)
Systematic review
Search strategy – Example

We conducted a comprehensive systematic review of studies investigating risk

factors associated with the acquisition and severity of JoRRP. We searched
EMBASE, MEDLINE and Evidence-Based Medicine Reviews (EBMR)
databases using the OvidSP interface with the following combinations of
keywords and Boolean operators: (Laryn$ OR respiratory) AND (HPV OR …)
AND (Disease* OR lesion* OR infection*) …. we limited our search to studies
published between 1995 and July 2012. We also limited it to studies
investigating patients under 20 years of age, a cut-off proposed by Lindeberg et
al. [27]. Only studies published in French or English were retained. We
conducted an additional search using Google scholar, conference proceedings,
and the reference lists of all eligible studies and any previous reviews on
JoRRP, again eliminating studies of adults only (age ≥ 20). In all cases, we
excluded studies analyzing tissues outside the respiratory tract or investigating
less than 5 patients. Case reports, editorials and opinion pieces were not
considered eligible.

(Niyibizi J, Rodier C, Wassef M, Trottier H. Risk factors for the development and severity of juvenile-
onset recurrent respiratory papillomatosis: a systematic review. Int J Pediatr Otorhinolaryngol.
2014;78(2):186-97.)
 Methods – Systematic review
Example (cont)
Two of the authors (MW and CR) screened the identified titles after
removal of duplicates. The same authors then screened the abstracts
and selected which full-text manuscripts to retrieve for evaluation.
Studies conforming to inclusion and exclusion criteria were then
classified according to study objective: acquisition, severity of disease,
or both. Each of these steps was performed independently and in
duplicate. Any discrepancies were resolved by consensus, with referral
to a third author (JN or HT) where necessary.

We collected research data on …

(info on stats)
(Niyibizi J, Rodier C, Wassef M, Trottier H. Risk factors for the development and severity of juvenile-
onset recurrent respiratory papillomatosis: a systematic review. Int J Pediatr Otorhinolaryngol.
2014;78(2):186-97.)
 Methods – Phrases oft used
Study Design

We conducted a randomized controlled trial of…

(Ethics statement) The protocol was approved by the Institutional

Review Board of the … Parents provided written informed consent
and children aged 7 years and over provided assent.

Review: We searched PubMed and EMBASE databases for….

Participants

Children were eligible if they presented to …with…

Exclusion criteria were…

 Methods – Phrases oft used
Statistical analysis

We estimated that a total sample size of …would provide 80%

power to identify a mean difference in…at a two-sided alpha level of
0.05.

We performed univariate analyses using chi-square tests. Multiple

logistic regressions…

Data were analyzed using SAS for Windows, version 9.2 (SAS
Institute, Cary, NC). P values less than 0.05 indicated statistical
significance.
 Methods
(10 mins)

Écrivez rapidement la section Methods de

votre projet de recherche
(Ne vous inquiétez pas pour les détails
manquants)
 Results
Repeat subtitles of Methods section
Include
 Flow Diagram (Figure 1) if possible
 Table 1. Participant characteristics
 Tables/Figures 2-5. Outcomes
Do not repeat information
If table very short, write out in text instead
 Statistics
Be specific
Use discriminately
Include actual effect size, mean
differences between groups, etc., not just
OR, RR, or P value
Indicate test(s) used
 Statistics
P values
> 0.01 – 2 decimal places
0.001-0.01 – 3 decimal places
< 0.001 – report as P < 0.001
 Tables/figures

Figure 1. Flow diagram

CONSORT Flow diagram
PRISMA Flow diagram
 Tables/figures

Figure 1. Flow diagram

Table 1. Participant characteristics
 e.g. Age, sex, sociodemographic variables
 Describes participants at study onset
 Measures differences between groups
 Important in interpretation of results
Table 1. Participant characteristics

(Sangha O, Phillips CB, Fleischmann KE, Wang TJ, Fossel AH, Lew R, Liang MH, Shadick NA. Lack of cardiac
manifestations among patients with previously treated Lyme disease. Ann Intern Med. 1998;128(5):346-53.)
 Tables/figures

Figure 1. Flow diagram

Table 1. Participant characteristics
Tables/figures 2-5. Outcomes
 Tables and figures
Tables and figures are stand-alone
All abbreviations must be defined in
footnotes (table) or figure legends
Statistical test is indicated in footnotes
Figure legends and labels are used for
clarity
 Figure 2. Exemple

Figure 2. Proportion of patients who rated their worst and average pain on
movement during the previous 24 hours as moderate to severe in the first
week after surgery. Error bars represent 95% confidence intervals.

(adapted from: Choinière M, Watt-Watson J, Victor JC et al. Prevalence of and risk factors for persistent postoperative
nonanginal pain after cardiac surgery: a 2-year prospective multicentre study. CMAJ. 2014;186(7):E213-23.)
 Examples of tables – errors?
Table 1: Patients spent less time on RT after 2006

Group A Group B P
≤ 05-01-2006 > 05-01-2006

Time spent on RT (days) 603 250 0.01

Med (min-max)
(51-1975) (158-1060)

Table 2: Waiting list time decreased after 2006

Group A Group B P
≤ 05-01-2006 > 05-01-2006

Waiting list time (days) 257 73 0.007

Med (min-max) (21-1860) (18-676)
 Erreurs fréquentes

 Instructions pour auteur – ex : highlights, abstract

 Word count – couper
 Introduction trop longue ou trop courte – l’idéal 1¼
page
 Résultats dans l’intro
 Résultats dans Méthodes
 Méthode en détail dans l’intro
 Méthode pas suffisamment décrite – ex : éthique et
consentement éclairé; stats
(www.rsna.org/publications/rad/pia/errors.html. Last accessed Feb. 6, 2014)
 Erreurs fréquentes
Interprétation et analyse
 Intro, méthodes, résultats ne concordent pas
 Résultats et graphiques ne concordent pas
 Répétition entre graphiques et texte
 Trop d’abréviations tableaux – reformatage
 Statistiques erronées (ex : moyenne vs
médiane, %’s qui sont faux)
 Trop peu de données
 Discussion
~ 6 paragraphs
Matches introduction
Answers questions posed in introduction
Written together with intro

Paragraphs:
1) Summary of main findings, related to introduction
2) Primary outcome, details and interpretation in context
of existing literature
3-5) Secondary outcomes, other considerations,
implications for further research
6) Strengths and limitations, generalizability

Conclusion
 Transparency
No research runs perfectly
Reviewers know this
Reviewers will pick up on glosses or holes
 e.g. loss to follow-up
 Erreurs fréquentes
Discussion
 Pas de section limitations
 Ordre confondu – pas de transition entre les
paragraphes, trouvailles majeures/mineures
mêlées
 Hors contexte – doit reprendre
le thème de l’intro, interpréter selon littérature
 Étude pas suffisamment valorisée

(www.rsna.org/publications/rad/pia/errors.html. Last accessed Feb. 6, 2014)

 Conclusion
Summary paragraph
In some journals, last paragraph of Discussion
In others, separate section
No references
No new ideas
Generally short
No hyperbole
In summary, …
To conclude, ….
 Erreurs fréquentes
Conclusion
 Texte trop long > 1 paragraphe
 Nouvelles idées introduites dans la conclusion
 Références citées dans la conclusion
 Checklists
CONSORT
 Consolidated Standards Of Reporting Trials
 RCT
CONSORT PRO
 Patient-Reported Outcomes in randomized trials
PRISMA
 Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses
 Revues systématiques
SQUIRE
 Standards for Quality Improvement Reporting Excellence
 Interventions qualité des soins
STARD
 Reporting of Diagnostic accuracy studies
 Radiologie
STROBE
 STrengthening the Reporting of OBservational studies in Epidemiology
 Études de cohortes, cas-témoins, études transversales
 Acknowledgements
Credit for important contributions, to those
not listed in Authors
In paragraph form
The authors wish to thank….for….
 Order of paper
Title page
Abstract
Introduction
Methods
Results
Discussion
Acknowledgments
References
Figure legends
Tables and figures
Appendix (extra info for web content, but article must
stand alone)
 Title page
Title
Authors and affiliations

Presented at …place, date.

Corresponding author:
Full name
Postal address
Telephone:
Fax:
email:

Word count:
Short title:
Title page – Disclosure statements

Financial disclosure: None to declare.

Conflict of interest: All the authors declare they have

no conflict of interest related to this study.

Sometimes in cover letter.

 Reviewers
Originalité / pertinence

Éthique / conflits d’intérêts

Brévité – limiter # pages

 → Articles concis, engageants

 → Plus d’articles par parution

 → Plus d’auteurs / recherches publiés

(Guidelines for reviewing manuscripts for Journal of Pediatrics:

http://ees.elsevier.com/jpeds/img/Guidelines_for_Reviewers.pdf. Last accessed May 10, 2016)
 Ce que les réviseurs recherchent

CONSORT flowchart, etc.

Abstract – reflète-t-il bien l’étude ?

(Guidelines for reviewing manuscripts for Journal of Pediatrics:

http://ees.elsevier.com/jpeds/img/Guidelines_for_Reviewers.pdf. Last accessed May 10, 2016)
 Ce que les réviseurs recherchent

Introduction – revue littérature, objectifs de recherche – clairs et

adéquats

Méthodes – design, population, techniques – bien décrits et

adéquats

Résultats – statistiques, détails – adéquats pour répondre aux

questions de recherche (assez, pas trop)

Discussion – interprétations, conclusions – répondent à la littérature

existante et aux obj de l’étude; limitations

(Guidelines for reviewing manuscripts for Journal of Pediatrics:

http://ees.elsevier.com/jpeds/img/Guidelines_for_Reviewers.pdf. Last accessed May 10, 2016)
 Ce que les réviseurs recherchent
Tableaux/figures
 Quantité (≤ 5), qualité
 Redondances limitées
 Clarté – légendes compréhensibles sans
recourt au texte
 Qualité d’impression

(Guidelines for reviewing manuscripts for Journal of Pediatrics)

Ce que les réviseurs recherchent
Références
 Correspondance entre refs/texte –
désaccords
 Qualité – pertinence, actualité, totalité
 Quantité adéquate pour sujet (~ 30/recherche,
50/revue systématique)

(Guidelines for reviewing manuscripts for Journal of Pediatrics:

http://ees.elsevier.com/jpeds/img/Guidelines_for_Reviewers.pdf. Last accessed May 10,
2016)
 Valorisation

Intro – attrait pour lecteur dès le 1e paragraphe

Discussion
 Rehaussement de la valeur de la présente recherche
 Concordances entre intro, méthodes, et résultats
 Requirements for Authorship
4 criteria:

Substantial contributions to the conception or design of

the work; OR the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation
of data for the work; AND
Drafting the work or revising it critically for important
intellectual content; AND
Final approval of the version to be published; AND
Agreement to be accountable for all aspects of the work
in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or
integrity of any part of the work are appropriately
investigated and resolved.

(www.icmje.org. Last accessed May 10, 2016)

 Resources for Manuscripts
AMA Manual of Style: A Guide for Authors and Editors. 10th ed. New York,
NY: Oxford University Press; 2007: www.amamanualofstyle.com

Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals,

2016: www.icmje.org; www.icmje.org/recommendations/browse/manuscript-
preparation/preparing-for-submission.html

American Psychological Association. Publication Manual of the American

Psychological Association, 6th ed., 2010: www.apastyle.org
o Tutorials: www.apastyle.org/learn/tutorials
o Corrected Sample Papers: supp.apa.org/style/PM6E-Corrected-
Sample-Papers.pdf
o OWL: https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/
o APA 6th Edition Quick Reference, July 2009; Penn State, York:
www2.yk.psu.edu/learncenter/apa-july-09.pdf
 Further Resources for
Manuscripts
Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials
(CONSORT): www.consort-statement.org

Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and

Meta-Analyses (PRISMA): www.prisma-statement.org

STrengthening the Reporting of OBservational studies in

Epidemiology (STROBE): www.strobe-statement.org

Cochrane: www.cochranelibrary.com

Campbell Collaboration: www.campbellcollaboration.org

 Further Resources for
Manuscripts
Day RA, Gastel B. How to Write and Publish a Scientific
Paper, 6th Ed., 2006. Greenwood Publishing, USA.

Scitable, Nature Education. Writing Scientific Papers,

2014: www.nature.com/scitable/ebooks/english-
communication-for-scientists-14053993/writing-scientific-
papers-14239285.

Purdue Online Writing Lab. Research Papers, 2013: 
https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/658/1/
 Semaine prochaine

L’abstract
 Questions ?

© Danielle Buch 2015, 2016 – All rights reserved/Tous droits réservés.

V 2.1 Nov. 2016