The Introduction

1. The Introduction C507 Scientific Writing Session 7

2. Before You Even Write • Decide on Authorship • Know the manuscript requirements • Assemble all your data

3. Authorship • What is a fair claim to authorship? • Responsibility • Content

4. Four Criteria for Authorship • 1. AN author should have generated at least a part of the intellectual content of the paper: initially conceived of the study it reports, if it is a research paper or case report; or developed the plan for the paper, if it is a review or editorial.

5. Four Criteria for Authorship • 2. An author should have collected reported data (including clinical observations) and interpreted them for the paper’s message.

6. Four Criteria for Authorship • 3. An author should have taken part in writing the paper or revising its intellectual contents.

7. Four Criteria for Authorship • 4. An author should be able to defend publicly in the scientific community that intellectual content of the paper for he or she take responsibility.

8. Justification for Authorship • Basis: Genesis of the paper (research report • Legitimate: Development of a testable hypothesis • Not legitimate: Suggestion that legitimate author(s) work on the problem

9. Justification for Authorship • Basis: Genesis of the paper (case report) • Legitimate: First notice of previously unobserved phenomenon • Not legitimate: Physician’s routine referral care, service

10. Justification for Authorship • Genesis of the paper (review) • Legitimate: Critical interpretations of reviewed papers and assembled data • Not legitimate: Suggestion that the review be written

11. Justification for Authorship • Basis: Research efforts • Legitimate: Development of study design • Not legitimate: Suggestion of use of standard study design

12. Justification for Authorship • Basis: Research efforts • Legitimate: development of new method (laboratory, field, or statistical) or critical modification of previous method • Not legitimate: Observations and measurements by routine methods • Legitimate: Personal collection and analysis of data.

13. Justification for Authorship • Basis: Clinical studies • Legitimate: New diagnostic and therapeutic efforts • Not legitimate: “Routine” diagnostic and therapeutic efforts that would have occurred even if the paper had not been written

14. Justification for Authorship • Basis: Interpretation of findings • Legitimate: Explanatory insight into unexpected phenomena • Not legitimate: Routine explanations such as EKG or radiographic reports

15. Justification for Authorship • Basis: Writing of the paper • Legitimate: Writing of the first draft or critically important revision of concept in a later draft • Not legitimate: Solely criticisms of drafts and suggestions for revision of presentation, not ideas

16. Justification for Authorship • Basis: Responsibility for content • Legitimate: Ability to justify intellectually the conclusions of the paper, including defense of the evidence and counterevidence weighed in reaching the conclusions • Not legitimate: Solely attesting to accuracy of individual facts reported.

17. A Challenge • One of the most difficult problems in authorship arises with research reports by large, multi-center, cooperative teams

18. A Final Comment on Authorship • Early discussion on authorship has another practical value. When a decision has been reached, the to-be authors can then decide on how to divide the work of writing the paper.

19. Manuscript Requirements • Read the darn Instructions to Authors!

20. Assembling Evidence • All papers support their conclusions with evidence: • Observational data • Case descriptions • Photographs • Citations of published papers • Etc.

21. Evidence for the Research paper • Papers to be cited • Papers read before and while drawing up the research proposal • Papers that came to your attention during the research • Papers found in a final search immediately before you decide to report the research in a paper

22. Evidence for the Research paper • Descriptions of study designs and methods: • Papers to be cited for methods • Grant application or protocol approved and reviewed

23. Evidence for the Research paper • Copies of signed informed consent forms • Table of data: analyzed data, with statistical assessments • Case summaries • Preliminary graphs, with statistical assessments if necessary • Illustrations: radiographs, EKGs, preliminary sketches for artwork

24. Evidence for the Case Report • Clinic records and case summaries from those records • Tables of data: data illustrating clinical course; data from special studies • Preliminary graphs of same • Papers to cite • Photographs and permissions; radiographs, EKG, and similar records

25. Permissions • Needed for: • Previously published items • Photographs • Letters and other communications • For acknowledgements

26. And Now • You finally get to sit down and start on the Introduction • Of course, you already: • Chose the title • Know your authorship • Have the abstract ready • Now start writing