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Writing for Publication

Writing for Publication. James Munro University of Sheffield. Why write?. Fame and fortune Bolster the CV Pressure from above … dissemination. So what’s the problem?. No ideas Ideas but no writing Writing but nothing sent off Writing sent off but not accepted. The other problem. Time

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Writing for Publication

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  1. Writing for Publication James Munro University of Sheffield

  2. Why write? • Fame and fortune • Bolster the CV • Pressure from above • … dissemination

  3. So what’s the problem? • No ideas • Ideas but no writing • Writing but nothing sent off • Writing sent off but not accepted

  4. The other problem • Time • Writing is a lot of work • Even academics don’t have time

  5. What we’ll talk about • Writing an academic paper • 10 ways to be rejected • Magazines and books are a bit different

  6. Any ideas? • Experience • Everyday working • Problems • Costly activities

  7. More ideas • Questions from clinicians • …especially those you can’t answer • Things that go wrong • Things you disagree with

  8. You already have something • But is it publishable? • Is it interesting? • Could it affect practice or policy? • Is it generalisable? • Almost everything is publishable somewhere

  9. Don’t start writing yet!

  10. Don’t write yet! • What’s the context? • What’s the story?

  11. The context • Everybody needs a context

  12. Context for a research paper • What’s already known? • What’s unknown? • What’s controversial?

  13. The need to know • Providing a context and a question creates the reader’s “need to know”

  14. What’s the story? • If this was a news report, what would the headline be? • What is the central idea?

  15. BMJ approach • What is already known on this topic? • What does this study add?

  16. Outline your story: 1 • Context • Once upon a time… • Methods • …there were 3 bears…

  17. Outline your story: 2 • Results • …and she ran home. • Conclusions • …never go into the woods alone.

  18. Don’t start writing yet!

  19. Who is the story for? • Who’d like to know? • Who needs to know?

  20. Reasons for rejection • The commonest reason editors give… • …is that the subject matter wasn’t suitable for their journal

  21. So find the right journal • Get to know the journals in your area • What are their interests? • What are their styles?

  22. So find the right journal • Where were other papers on this topic published?

  23. Journalology • Refereed or not? • Listed in bibliographic databases? • Impact factor?

  24. Write for a journal • Select one of the journals which might be interested in your story • Write for that journal

  25. Writing for that journal • Instructions for authors • Usually on the web • But you need to see a copy • Headings, weighting, referencing, interests

  26. Develop your outline • Introduction • Methods • Results • Discussion

  27. Introduction • What is the issue? • What is already known about it? • Set up a question in the reader’s mind • Explain why your study is needed

  28. Methods • What did you do? • How did you do it? • Have a logical order • Don’t report results here by mistake!

  29. Results • Follow the order of the methods • Who? When? What?

  30. Discussion • Summarise the findings • Draw out the lessons • Acknowledge the limitations • What should happen now?

  31. BMJ’s suggested structure • Statement of principal findings • Strengths and weaknesses of the study • Strengths and weaknesses in relation to other studies, discussing particularly any differences in results • Meaning of the study: possible mechanisms and implications for clinicians or policymakers • Unanswered questions and future research

  32. Structuring • Subheadings are essential • For RCTs, use CONSORT • For MA of RCTs, QUOROM • For MA of observational studies, MOOSE

  33. Macro-editing • Highlight the key sentence in each paragraph • Does the story flow? • Ask others to read the draft • Give them a specific task

  34. The little things • Spelling • Grammar • Tense, voice, singulars and plurals • Consistent layout • Page numbers • References • See bmj.com

  35. When your paper is rejected • Don’t be discouraged!

  36. When your paper is rejected • Try to find out why • Does it need revising? • Send it off to another journal… • … after checking for style

  37. Referees’ comments • Don’t be defensive • You don’t have to do everything they suggest • But you do have to address each point

  38. Don’t! 10 ways to get your paper rejected

  39. 1: Choose a journal which has never shown an interest in this subject

  40. 2: Write well over the specified word length to show the importance of the topic

  41. 3: Try to include at least 10 key messages and some extra data from other studies

  42. 4: See if you can improve on the journal’s standard headings

  43. 5: Don’t bother with any statistical advice, since nobody understands it

  44. 6: Don’t worry too much about spelling or grammar

  45. 7: Ignore the journal’s own referencing style

  46. 8: Add a few new results in the abstract which you didn’t have space for in the main text

  47. 9: Use different terms for the same thing interchangeably

  48. 10: For a more personal touch, send a handwritten manuscript

  49. Good luck!

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