Manuscript Writing & Publishing

Prof Zahid Naeem

MBBS,DPH,MCPS,FCPS
What do medical journals want to publish?

Information (articles) that is:

• new
• true
• important
• of interest to readers
Types of Manuscript
• Editorial
• Original Research Articles
• Review Articles
• Systemic Review
• Meta analysis
• Case Reports
• Letter to Editor
• Special Communications, book review etc.
The Basic Structure of Original Article
oTITLE
oSummary (Structured Abstract)
oIntroduction (What Research Question was asked?)
oMethods (How was it Studied?)
oResults (What was Found?)
oDiscussion (What Do the Findings Mean?)
oAcknowledgements
oReferences
Title Page
• Title of the article
• Name of author(s)

oHighest academic degree(s)

oDepartment
oInstitution

• Name, e mail and contact number of author for

“correspondence”
• Source of support in the form of grants
Title
• Should be specific But comprehensive
• Short But sufficiently descriptive
• No abbreviations, besides standard abbreviations as AIDS,
EPI etc.
• Should be easy to catalogue
Title
Ask Yourself:-

• What is the single most important point of this study?

• How to tell colleagues, in one short descriptive sentence:

what’s this study is about?

Abstract
• 250 words for structured abstract- Original Research Article
• Abstract should have
• Objectives
• Methodology
• Results
• Discussion
• 3-10 Key words
• Assist indexer and cross indexing
• Terms from medical subject heading (MeSH) should be used
Abstract

“The abstract is the single most important part of a

manuscript, yet the most often poorly written”
-JAMA Editor
Introduction

• Existing state of knowledge

• Gaps in knowledge which your research will fill
• State what you Intend to do
• Introduction including Rationale
• Give pertinent references

It does not
• Review the history of the subject
• Don’t not include methods, results and discussion
Methods/ Methodology
• Objectives of study
• What Subjects/patients/animals/specimens/techniques were
used?
• Epidemiological study design / study setting
• Sampling technique and sample size
• Eligibility Criteria ( Inclusion and exclusion)
• Statistical methods used for analysis
• Data collection tolls (Questionnaire / survey / Hospital Record etc.)
Methods/ Methodology contd.

• Data handling, entry and analysis

• Informed consent
• Ethical considerations
Statistics
• Clearly mention the statistical methods used

• Consult a statistician before starting the study

 Results
• Communication of facts, measurements, and observations
gathered by the author

• Start with the results that are easier to interpret

• Results should be set out in tables and figures -Information's given

in tables and figures should not be duplicated in text ( table number, caption and
foot notes if required)

• Max 3- 5 tables / figures for original article

Discussion

• Main results should be summarised at the beginning of

discussion

• Relate observations with other relevant studies

• What gaps in knowledge remain to be filled?

• Recommendations when appropriate may be included

• Conclusion may be added if any as separate heading

Acknowledgements (Silent partners)

“We wish to thank” - all those who deserve recognition for

their contribution but who have NOT made a significant
intellectual contribution and are therefore not included as
authors (Colleagues, Institutions, Organizations providing
financial help, laboratory and secretarial staff)
References
▪ Referencing is a standardized way of acknowledging the
sources of information
▪ List all scientific papers, books and websites that you cite
▪ Most of the medical Journals adhere Vancouver's style of
referencing
Sending Manuscript to the Journal
• Covering letter signed by author and all co-authors
• Has not been submitted else where- another journal
• Approved by all authors / copyright agreement form
• Check Plagiarism
• Authors will bear the cost, NOT journal
• Must Read Instructions to Authors carefully
Some Guidelines
• Write simple, grammatically correct sentences
• Brevity is the best practice
• Avoid irrelevant details
• Read final draft carefully /Show the draft to colleagues &
supervisor
• Use small sentences. Never start a sentence with a number
• Typographical and grammatical mistakes give bad impression
• Check tables and figures (Captions, size, clarity)
Authorship

• All person designated as authors should qualify for authorship

• Author should have participated sufficiently in the work to take public

responsibility for the content

• Authorship credit should be based on substantial contribution to:

• Conception
• Design
• Analysis & interpretation of data
Authorship

• Drafting, revising it critically, for important intellectual contents and

final approval of the contents

• Participating solely in acquisition of funding, collection of data does

not justify authorship

• General supervision of research group is not sufficient for authorship

• Order of the author should be a joint decision of the authors

Top Reasons Manuscripts Rejection

oDisorganized study design

oDefective tables, figures
oPoor writing, spelling
oNo hypothesis or problem statement
oOver interpretation of results
oArticle unfocused, too verbose and long
oInappropriate statistical methods
oPoorly written abstract
Summary
▪ Outline your paper
▪ Start early as your data is being analyzed
▪ Look at your data and decide how to organize and present
your results: tables, figures, text
▪ Put it away, re-read, give to your colleagues to read
▪ Revise, revise, and re-revise
▪ Adhere to journal guidelines!
▪ Critically evaluate your paper with an editor’s eye
▪ Write clearly, logically, and simply!
 Manuscript Processing
▪ Authors should comply with the Instruction to Authors, available on
line also on hardcopies of journal

▪ An article is initially reviewed by one member of the Editorial team to

judge the quality of the paper ( Initial Screening) – Plagiarism / as per
Instructions for author

▪ Articles written in poor English language or not conforming to

guidelines for author are either rejected or returned to the authors to
rectify the shortcomings.
Manuscript Processing

▪ Manuscripts are forwarded to at least two subject experts ( Reviewers)

to provide their unbiased input with Reviewers Evaluation Performa –
peer review

▪ The “double blind” review process is strictly followed and in certain

controversial cases, the opinion of a 3rd reviewer can also be sought

▪ For finally accepted articles, LOA(letter of acceptance)

Publication Process
THANKS

Questions???
• A meta-analysis is a statistical analysis that combines the results of
multiple scientific studies.
• A review article is an article that summarizes the current state of
understanding on a topic. A review article surveys and summarizes
previously published studies, rather than reporting new facts or
analysis.
• An editorial is a publication written by the editorial staff of a journal
• A Systematic Review is a review of a clearly formulated question that
uses systematic and reproducible methods to identify, select and
critically appraise all relevant research, and to collect and analyse data
from the studies that are included in the review