Transcript Scientific Manuscript

Writing Scientific
Manuscripts in English
Dr. M. Kevin O Carroll
BDS, MSD
Fellow, American Academy of Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology
Diplomate, American Board of Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology
Professor Emeritus, University of Mississippi School of Dentistry
International Consultant, Chiang Mai University Faculty of Dentistry
Scientific Paper
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Written and published report describing
original research results
Must be written in a certain way
Must be published in a certain way
Scientific Paper
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What do we mean by “written in a certain
way?”
Following a certain format
IMRAD
Introduction
 Methods
 Results and
 Discussion
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Scientific Paper
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What do we mean by “published in a certain
way?”
“Valid” or “Primary” Publication
Difficult concept to explain
A number of tests
Scientific Paper
Examples of non-primary publications
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Abstracts
Theses
Conference Reports
Government Reports
Institutional Bulletins
Scientific Paper
Tests for Primary Publication
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First disclosure containing sufficient
information to enable peers to
1) assess observations
 2) repeat experiments and
 3) evaluate intellectual processes
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Scientific Paper
Tests for Primary Publication
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Susceptible to sensory perception
Essentially permanent
Available to scientific community without restriction
Available for regular screening by secondary services
(indexing)
Scientific Paper
What Does All This Mean?
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First Disclosure
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Oral presentation? – No
Scientific abstract from a meeting? – No
First Disclosure must be in a form that allows the
peers of the author, either now or later, to fully
comprehend and use the information that is disclosed
Scientific Paper
What Does All This Mean?
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Peers must be able to
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1) assess the observations
Did you do a proper literature review?
 Did you design the experiment properly?
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2) repeat the experiments
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Are they described in sufficient detail that I can repeat
them? and
3) evaluate intellectual processes
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Are your conclusions justified by the results?
Scientific Paper
What Does All This Mean?
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Susceptible to sensory perception
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Normally it means “published” but now includes
media such as:
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Print
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Journals, film, microfiche
Audio
 Electronic
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Must still pass the other tests
Scientific Paper
What Does All This Mean?
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Permanent
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In a form that libraries will keep in their permanent
collections
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So, not newsletters or bulletins that may be thrown
away after short periods such as a few months or a year
Scientific Paper
Summary
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Primary publication is
The first publication of original research
 In a form whereby peers can repeat the
experiments and test the conclusions, and
 In a journal or other source document readily
available to the scientific community
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Scientific Paper
Summary
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Peers of the author is now generally accepted
to mean pre-publication peer-review
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So, just any journal, even if it is in a library’s
permanent collection, does not constitute
primary or valid publication
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It must be a peer-reviewed journal
Peer-reviewed Journals
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Editor
Editorial Board
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Helps the editor establish editorial policy
Manuscript reviewers
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Help the editor identify manuscripts for publication
Accept
 Reject
 Accept after modifications
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Peer-reviewed Journals
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Manuscript reviewers
Editor usually selects 2 or 3 reviewers per
manuscript
 Very specific instructions
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Evaluate the experimental procedure
 Do the results justify the conclusions?
 Check one third of the references for accuracy
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Scientific Paper
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Understanding the concepts of valid or primary
publication and proper form will make the
writing task easier than it would otherwise be.
Scientific Manuscript
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Before a scientific paper is published it is referred to as
a scientific manuscript
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After publication it may be referred to as a paper or an
article
Scientific Manuscripts
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Title
Author(s) and addresses
Abstract
Introduction
Materials and Methods
Results
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Discussion
Acknowledgements
References
Tables
Illustrations
Other considerations
Scientific Manuscripts
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Title
Author(s) and addresses
Abstract
Introduction
Materials and Methods
Results
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Discussion
Acknowledgements
References
Tables
Illustrations
Other considerations
Title
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Title is read by thousands of people
Abstract is read perhaps by hundreds
Whole article may be read by only a few people
Isn’t that a great pity, especially after you have
spent so may hours writing the manuscript?
Sad but true
Title
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If your title does not convey the essence of the
paper, nobody will bother to read the paper
Every word in the title must be chosen with
great care
The syntax (relationship between the words)
must be carefully managed
Think of the title as a label for the paper,
something that will entice the reader
Title
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The fewest possible words that adequately
describe the contents of the paper
Ideally not a sentence
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Unless you have a strong message backed up by
strong evidence
No waste words (A, the, an, “Observations on”)
Long titles are usually less meaningful than short
ones
Title
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Specific
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“Actions of antibiotics on bacteria”
Title
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Specific
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“Actions of antibiotics on bacteria”
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Short but tells us little
Title
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Specific
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“Actions of antibiotics on bacteria”
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Short but tells us little
“Preliminary observations on the effect of certain
antibiotics on various species of bacteria”
Title
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Specific
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“Actions of antibiotics on bacteria”
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Short but tells us little
“Preliminary observations on the effect of certain
antibiotics on various species of bacteria”
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Longer but tells us no more
Title
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Specific
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“Actions of antibiotics on bacteria”
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“Preliminary observations on the effect of certain
antibiotics on various species of bacteria”
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Short but tells us little
Longer but tells us no more
“Action of streptomycin on Mycobactrium tuberculosis”
Title
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Specific
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“Actions of antibiotics on bacteria”
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“Preliminary observations on the effect of certain
antibiotics on various species of bacteria”
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Short but tells us little
Longer but tells us no more
“Action of streptomycin on Mycobactrium tuberculosis”
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Better, but still too general
Title
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Specific
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“Actions of antibiotics on bacteria”
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“Preliminary observations on the effect of certain
antibiotics on various species of bacteria”
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Longer but tells us no more
“Action of streptomycin on Mycobactrium tuberculosis”
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Short but tells us little
Better, but still too general
“Inhibition of growth of Mycobactrium tuberculosis by
streptomycin”
Title
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Syntax very important in titles
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“Mechanism of suppression of nontransmissible pneumonia in mice induced by
Newcastle disease virus”
Title
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Syntax very important in titles
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“Mechanism of suppression of non-transmissible
pneumonia in mice induced by Newcastle disease virus”
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Mice that were induced by . . . virus?
Pneumonia that was induced
So, why separate the “induced” from the “pneumonia?”
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Title
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“Mechanism of suppression of nontransmissible pneumonia in mice induced by
Newcastle disease virus”
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Revision:
“Mechanism of suppression of nontransmissible pneumonia induced in mice by
Newcastle disease virus”
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Title
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“Multiple infections among newborns resulting
from implantation with staphylococcus aureus”
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Revision:
“Multiple infections resulting from implantation
of newborns with staphylococcus aureus”
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Title
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Be careful when you use “using”
Most common dangling participle in scientific
writing
“Isolation of antigens from monkeys using
compliment fixation techniques.”
Title
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“Isolation of antigens from monkeys using
compliment fixation techniques.”
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Revision:
“Isolation of antigens from monkeys by means
of compliment fixation techniques.”
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Title
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Do not use abbreviations
“hydrochloric acid” or “HCl” in a title?
If you were looking for an article in an index,
you would look under “hy” not “hc”
Furthermore, if you were compiling a
bibliography from a computer service, you
would find only some of the literature if some
authors used (or editors accepted) abbreviations
and others did not
Title
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Do not use jargon, proprietary names or
outdated terminology
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They lead to problems with indexing
Title
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Do not use series titles (“ . . . Part I. . . . .” etc.)
The part before the Roman numeral is usually so
general as to be useless
The article can be hard to understand unless all
parts are available to the reader
They cause problems for editors (What happens
if Part IV is accepted but Part III is rejected or
delayed in review?) and indexers
Title
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A hanging title is better (a colon is used instead
of the Roman numeral) but still causes indexing
problems
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Editors increasingly believe that each published
paper should present the results of an
independent, cohesive study
Scientific Manuscripts
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Title
Author(s) and
addresses
Abstract
Introduction
Materials and Methods
Results
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Discussion
Acknowledgements
References
Tables
Illustrations
Other considerations
Authors and addresses
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Order of names
No universal agreement
Most popular is listing in order of seniority (in
relation to the study)
First author should be the one who did most or
all of the research
Subsequent authors should be in order of
importance to the study
Authors and addresses
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Order of names
The tendency of laboratory directors or
department chairs to have their names on all
manuscripts coming out of their labs or
departments should be discouraged
Nobody in the scientific community is fooled
Authors and addresses
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Order of names
Some journals now require all authors to sign a
statement accepting intellectual responsibility for
the research results being reported
In the US there have been cases of institutions
having to return millions of dollars of research
funding to the government because of such
fraudulent authorship
Authors and addresses
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Proper and consistent form
Last name, first name, middle initial(s)
Always use the same form
If you sometimes use John K. Smith and other
times J. K. Smith, your work will be difficult to
locate
If you change your name (e.g., upon marriage)
people who do not know you will not be able to
find all your work
Authors and addresses
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Degrees and titles
This will be determined by the specific journal
There are two principal journals in my field and
they have different philosophies One accepts
degrees but not titles (Dr., Prof., etc), the other
does not.
No matter where you wish to publish, read the
Instructions to Authors first. They will provide
the information you need.
Authors and addresses
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Degrees and titles
An interesting problem for indexers.
George Kennedy and Desmond Brown, colleagues of mine
published a paper.
George’s degrees and qualifications were B.D.S., D. Orth.,
F.D.S., R.C.S. and Desmond’s was B.D.S.
When the article appeared in the Index to Dental Literature,
the authors were listed as:
Kennedy G, Orth D, Brown D
It looked as if there were three authors because the indexer
misidentified George’s second degree as an author
Authors and addresses
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Addresses
With one author, one address is given, the one
where the research was done
If, before publication, an author has moved to
another address, the new address should be
indicated in a “Present address” footnote
With multiple authors, each in a different
institution, the addresses should be listed in the
same order as the authors
Authors and addresses
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Addresses
With three authors in two instutions, problems
sometimes arise
A common solution is to place a superscript a,
b, or c after their names and before the
addresses
Consult the Instructions for Authors
Scientific Manuscripts
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Title
Author(s) and addresses
Abstract
Introduction
Materials and Methods
Results
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Discussion
Acknowledgements
References
Tables
Illustrations
Other considerations
Abstract
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Mini-version of the paper
Brief summary of each section of the paper
Written in one paragraph <250 words
Some journals now require a structured
abstract consisting of a few paragraphs
Headings matching the sections of the paper
Although read first, it should be written after
the manuscript is finished, when you know
what to put in it
Abstract
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Purpose of abstract
Enables reader to
identify the contents of the paper quickly and
accurately
 determine its relevance to their interests, and
 decide whether they need to read the whole paper
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Abstract
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Structure of abstract
State the principal objectives and scope of the
investigation
Describe the methods employed
Summarize the results
State the principal conclusions
Write it in the past tense because it refers to work
completed
Never place results or conclusions in the abstract that
are not stated in the paper
Abstract
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Structure of abstract
Will be published by itself, so should be selfcontained
Should not contain any abbreviations or references
Language should be familiar to potential reader
Omit all unnecessary details
Remember, the first person who will read it is the
reviewer
If the abstract is not good, the paper may be rejected
Scientific Manuscripts
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Title
Author(s) and addresses
Abstract
Introduction
Materials and Methods
Results
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Discussion
Acknowledgements
References
Tables
Illustrations
Other considerations
Introduction
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Purpose of Introduction
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Awaken the reader’s interest
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Prepare the reader, whether or not they are
specialists in your field, to understand the
paper
Introduction
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Suggested rules
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Consider the level of audience and determine
the amount of description you need to provide
Begin writing while the work is still in progress
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Everything is fresh in your mind
 Writing early may identify problems in
methodology
 Co-authors are still available for consultation
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Introduction
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Suggested rules
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Provide sufficient background information to
enable the reader to understand and evaluate
the results of the present study without having
to refer to previous publications
Provide the rationale for the study
Clearly and briefly describe your purpose in
writing the paper
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Introduction
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Suggested rules
Write in the present tense because you are
describing what is known and what question or
problem you want to investigate
Present the nature and scope of the problem
Review the pertinent literature
State the method of the investigation
If necessary, the reason for choosing a
particular method should be stated
Introduction
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Suggested rules
Some controversy regarding what else should
be in the Introduction
Introduction
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Some say
State the principal results of the investigation
State the principal conclusions suggested by
the results
Do not keep the reader in suspense; this is not
a detective story!
If you hold back the results until later in the
paper, the reader may lose interest
Introduction
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Others say
The answers to the question should not be in
the Introduction
Similarly, results should not be in the
Introduction, nor should implications
Purpose of Introduction is leading in
Answers and implications sound like the end
of the abstract. They close off rather than lead
in
Introduction
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Safest policy is to study the style of the journal
in which you wish to publish
Introduction
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Suggested rules
If you have published a preliminary note or
abstract on this study, you should mention it,
with the reference, in the Introduction
If related work is about to be published
elsewhere, say so in the Introduction, usually
towards the end
Such references help to keep the literature tidy
for those who have to search it
Introduction
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Suggested rules
The Introduction is the place to define any
specialised terms or abbreviations you intend
to use, especially for readers who are not in
your specialty
Use only standard abbreviations unless you will
be using them often in the paper
Scientific Manuscripts
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Title
Author(s) and addresses
Abstract
Introduction
Materials and
Methods
Results
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Discussion
Acknowledgements
References
Tables
Illustrations
Other considerations
Materials and Methods
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Purpose of Materials and Methods
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Describe in detail the experimental method
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Defend, if necessary, the experimental design
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Enable the reader to duplicate the study
Materials and Methods
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Most readers will probably skip this section
You (should) have summarised the methods in
the Introduction
So, why give details?
The scientific method requires that your
results, to have scientific merit, must be
reproducible, and for the results to be judged
reproducible, you must provide the basis for
repetition of the study by others
Materials and Methods
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The fact that the experiments are not likely to
be reproduced is beside the point; the potential
for reproducing the same or similar results
must exist or your paper does not represent
good science
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When your paper is submitted for peer review,
a good reviewer will read this section very
carefully
Materials and Methods
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If there is serious doubt that your experiments
could be repeated, the reviewer will
recommend rejection of your manuscript no
matter how awe-inspiring your results
Scientific Manuscripts
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Title
Author(s) and addresses
Abstract
Introduction
Materials and Methods
Results
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Discussion
Acknowledgements
References
Tables
Illustrations
Other considerations
Results
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Do not start the Results section by describing
methods you forgot to include in the materials
and methods section!
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Write in the past tense
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Provide representative data, not endlessly
repetitive data
Results
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If one or just a few determinations are to be
presented, they should be described in the text
Repetitive determinations should be presented
in tables
Any determinations should be meaningful
If statistics are used to describe the results,
they should be meaningful statistics
Results
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The results should be short, without
unnecessary words
This section is often the shortest, especially if
preceded by a well-written Materials and
methods section and followed by a well-written
Discussion
State the results clearly and simply
They constitute the new knowledge you are
contributing to the world
Results
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Do not repeat in words information already
contained in the tables
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Do not say “It can be clearly seen in Table I
that streptomycin inhibited . . .”
Instead, say “Streptomycin inhibited . . . (Table
I)”
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Results
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Do not misuse “it”
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An example:
The patient’s left leg became numb at times but
she walked it off. . . . On her second day the
knee was better, and on the third day it had
completely disappeared.”
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Scientific Manuscripts
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Title
Author(s) and addresses
Abstract
Introduction
Materials and Methods
Results
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Discussion
Acknowledgements
References
Tables
Illustrations
Other considerations
Discussion
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Usually the hardest section to write
Many papers are rejected because of faulty
Discussion sections even though the data are
valid and interesting
Often too long
Sometimes the true meaning of the data is
obscured by an incorrect interpretation
presented in the Discussion
Discussion
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Components of a good Discussion
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Discuss (not repeat) the principles,
relationships and generalisations shown by the
results
Identify any exceptions or lack of correlation
and define unsettled points
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Discussion
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Components of a good Discussion
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Show how your results and intrerpretation
agree or contrast with previously published
work
Discuss the theoretical implications of your
work as well as any practical applications
State your conclusions clearly
Summarise your evidence for each conclusion
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Discussion
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Components of a good Discussion
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Finish with a short summary of the
significance of the study
Scientific Manuscripts
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Title
Author(s) and addresses
Abstract
Introduction
Materials and Methods
Results
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Discussion
Acknowledgements
References
Tables
Illustrations
Other considerations
Acknowledgements
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Acknowledge any significant technical help you
received from any individual
Acknowledge the source of any special
equipment, cultures or materials
Acknowledge any sources of financial
assistance
Show the wording of the acknowledgement to
whomever you are thanking, so that they are
not embarrassed in case you said too much or
not enough
Acknowledgements
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There is no need to write an essay describing
how grateful you are
“I thank John Smith for . . .”
However, if acknowledging an idea, suggestion
or interpretation, be specific about it.
“I thank John Smith for his assistance” is not
enough
Scientific Manuscripts
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Title
Author(s) and addresses
Abstract
Introduction
Materials and Methods
Results
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Discussion
Acknowledgements
References
Tables
Illustrations
Other considerations
References
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List only significant published references
If reference to unpublished data, theses, abstracts,
etc., is essential, you can add it as a footnote
 If a reference is to a paper that has been accepted
for publication (not just submitted), list it as “In
Press”)
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Check all parts of every reference against the
original publication, both before the manuscript
is submitted and again at the galley proof stage
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Both indexers and typesetters can make mistakes
References
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There are far more mistakes made in the
References section than in any other section of
scientific manuscripts
The References section can be tedious and you
may not want to spend the time getting it right
But if you do not cite the references correctly,
the reader will not be able to find the reference
References
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Reviewers are asked to check references and if
they see a lot of errors they may recommend
rejection of the paper, just because they are
annoyed
Remember, reviewers are not paid for what they
do
You are relying on them to give you suggestions
for improving your manuscript
References
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Reference styles
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Thirty three different styles
Three most commonly used
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Name and Year system
Alphabet-number system
Citation order system
References
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Check with the journals in which you wish to
publish
Use the system they use!
“Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts
Submitted to Biomedical Journals” (The
Vancouver System) favours the Citation order
system
References
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Name and year system
Very convenient for authors
In the text write “Smith and Jones (2004)”
Even after adding many references during
production of the paper, this one will always
stay the same
If another reference to a different part of the
same paper is made it can be identified as
“Smith and Jones (2004a)
References
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Name and year system
Inconvenient for readers and publishers if there
are many references
Increases cost to publishers because of extra ink
and space
Readers have to read over many parenthetical
references to continue reading the text
References
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Name and year system
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In the text the reference is written “Smith and
Jones (2004)”
In the References section the papers are listed
alphabetically by first authors’ last names and
then by date
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References
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Alphabet-number system
Modification of name and year system
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In the text write “(2)” at the end of the sentence
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In the References section, the papers are listed
in numerical order
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References
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Citation order system
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Much better for readers than the other systems
Most difficult for authors
Saves costs for publishers
System recommended by Vancouver System
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References
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Citation order system
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In the text the reference is written as a
superscript numeral, with 1 being the first
reference cited, 2 the second, etc
In the References section the papers are listed in
numerical order
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References
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Journal abbreviations
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Standard abbreviations should be used
These can be found in the relevant Indexes to
the literature
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References
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Citation in the text

Do not routinely place the reference at the end
of the sentence
Place it at the point in the sentence where it
applies
Sometimes this will be at the end, but not always


References

Citation in the text

“Johnson1 reported that . . .”

“The decrease in cardiac output reported by
Johnson (1998) cannot be explained by . . .”
References



The various systems vary in how the citations
are written in the References section
Check with “your” journal about which system
to use
Examples of one reference in each of the three
systems
References

Name and Year system


Alphabet-number system


Sproul, J., H. Klaaren, and F. Mannarino. 1993. Surgical treatment
of Freiberg’s infraction in athletes. Am. J. Sports Med. 21:381-384.
1. Sproul, J., H. Klaaren, and F. Mannarino. 1993. Surgical
treatment of Freiberg’s infraction in athletes. Am. J. Sports
Med. 21:381-384.
Citation order system

1. Sproul J, Klaaren H, Mannarino F. Surgical treatment of
Freiberg’s infraction in athletes. Am J Sports Med 1993; 21:3814.
References

Name and Year system
Day, R.A. 1994. How to write and publish a scientific
paper. 4th ed. Phoenix: Oryx Press.
 Huth, E.J. 1986. Guideline on authorship of medical
papers. Ann. Intern. Med. 104:269-274.
 Sproul, J., H. Klaaren, and F. Mannarino. 1993.
Surgical treatment of Freiberg’s infraction in
athletes. Am. J. Sports Med. 21:381-384.

References

Alphabet-number system
1. Day, R.A. 1994. How to write and publish a
scientific paper. 4th ed. Phoenix: Oryx Press.
 2. Huth, E.J. 1986. Guideline on authorship of
medical papers. Ann. Intern. Med. 104:269-274.
 3. Sproul, J., H. Klaaren, and F. Mannarino. 1993.
Surgical treatment of Freiberg’s infraction in
athletes. Am. J. Sports Med. 21:381-384.

References

Citation order system
1. Huth EJ. Guidelines on authorship of medical
papers. Ann Intern Med 1986; 104:269-274.
 2. Sproul J, Klaaren H, Mannarino F. Surgical
treatment of Freiberg’s infraction in athletes. Am
J Sports Med. 1993; 21:381-384.
 3. Day, R.A. How to write and publish a scientific
paper. 4th ed. Phoenix: Oryx Press, 1994.

Scientific Manuscripts






Title
Author(s) and addresses
Abstract
Introduction
Materials and Methods
Results






Discussion
Acknowledgements
References
Tables
Illustrations
Other considerations
Books

Academic Writing for Graduate Students



Essentials of Writing Biomedical Research Papers



Swales JM, Feak CB
University of Michigan Press 1994
Zeiger M
McGraw-Hill 2000
How To Write and publish a Scientific Paper. 4th ed


Day RA
The Oryx Press 1994
Web Sites

www.lib.umich.edu/taubman/pubguide.html

www.psywww.com/resource/apacrib.htm

www.icmje.org/#users
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