How to Write and Publish a Research Paper

7/28/2019 How to Write and Publish a Research Paper

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Caerwyn Ash, June 2013, How to Write and Publish a Research Paper

How to Write and Publish a Research Paper

Dr Caerwyn AshSchool of Medicine

Swansea University

Introduction

Ironically Ive been asked to write a short paper on

how to write a paper for a journal club at Swansea

University for other likeminded students to exchangethoughts and improve their writing skills. Learning

about fellow students research and discussing their

own with the intention of one day publishing their

work can be satisfying.

Whether youre constructing a paper from your MScdissertation or with the intention of gain research

grants for your department. A published paper can be

beneficial to your career and will enhance your

prospects by having peer reviewed articles on your

CV. I would actively encourage students to publishtheir work as part of their PhD, not only does it allow

development of effective technical writing skills but

focuses your research investigation. These informally

written guidelines will hopefully help you writing a

paper that will get accepted in a peer-reviewed

journal.

Where to begin?

The progression to ending up with a published paper

is different for each project and isnt as simple as a

process that churns out papers. Projects are dynamictaking many turns as the project changes and evolve.

As a result papers cannot be rushed; authors can

never leave to a last minute if you have an academic

deadline. Start early and let the project mature. I once

wrote a paper in 2 hours sat at home with my iPod

plugged in, and another took 4 years to get finishedand published.

It goes without saying that as the author you must

dedicate much time to researching the subject matter.

In many cases your writing on a subject you knowimmensely and maybe youre already a world expert.

Typically the internet is the first place to look at

finding, selecting, and reading sources for your

project. Google has a product called Google scholar

and has been enormously beneficial for my research.

Start by putting ideas onto paper print or type using a

12 point standard font, such as Times, Geneva,Bookman, Helvetica, etc. Text should be double

spaced on 8 1/2" x 11" paper with 1 inch margins,

single sided. Number pages consecutively. Start each

new section on a new page.

Use present tense to report well accepted facts, for

example, the grass is green. Use past tense to

describe specific results, for example, When weed

killer was applied, the grass was brown.


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Style or structure

Typically a manuscript follows a set structure, but

some journals call for a combined results and

discussion, or include materials and methods after the

body of the paper. The well-known journal Science

does away with separate sections altogether, except

for the abstract.

Journal guidelines vary. Space is so valuable in theJournal of Biological Chemistry, that authors are

asked to restrict discussions to four pages or less,

double spaced, typed. That works out to one printed

page. While you are learning to write effectively, the

limit will be extended to five typed pages. If you

practice economy of words that should be plenty ofspace within which to say all that you need to say.

I was once told a piece of great advice from an old

tutor that when writing any report or thesis assume

the reader has infinite intelligence and zeroknowledge

Title and Authors

The title should be able to instantly describe what

your work stands for. It should be original and eye

catching. Include the name (s) and address (es) of all

authors, and date submitted.

Running title

The idea of a running title is a shortened version of

the title used as a header within the manuscript.

AbstractAn abstract is a concise single paragraph summary of

completed work or work in progress. In a minute or

less a reader can learn the rationale behind the study,

general approach to the problem, pertinent results,

and important conclusions or new questions. This isthe last section you should write.

Keywords

Key words used for indexing the article should

appear in alphabetical order. This is for computerdatabase searches to pick up on, along with words in

the title and abstract.

Correspondence

This is now typically just emails address as

previously it was a requirement for address and

phone numbers. Everybody has a private yahoo,

Gmail, Hotmail account etc. it is suggested you use

this rather than your current university or work email

as this is likely to change with future employment

and these papers will stay in the public domain

indefinitely becoming immortal.

Corresponding author

Email: [email protected]

Introduction

The introduction should not be an extensive review of

the literature, but only of that portion which is

pertinent to the purpose of the study and its

relationship to work in the same field. The main bulk

of your paper will be located in the introduction as

its a short literature review introducing the reader tothe subject and why you are focussing your research

on this question. Don't be ashamed or too proud toadmit and reference the previous work ('the shoulders

of giants') which inspired and led up to your result.

Use past tense except when referring to established

facts. After all, the paper will be submitted after all of

the work is completed. Organize your ideas, makingone major point with each paragraph. If you make the

four points listed above, you will need a minimum of

four paragraphs.

When writing the background information onlyincludes whats needed in order support a position.The reader does not want to read everything you

know about a subject. This is also an opportunity to

state what is lacking in the current knowledge

The last paragraph should outline the objective of this

work. When answering the research question you

must address the novelty or originality of the research

and how it will impact on the scientific community.

Materials and Methods

Materials and methods should be written clearly and

in such detail that the work can be duplicated byothers. Particular care should be taken in specifying

exactly the parameters used in your experiment along

with the exact make and model of equipment and

perhaps software version number if relevant. Include

specialized chemicals, biological materials, and anyequipment or supplies that are not commonly found

in laboratories.

Check that all symbols and terminology are defined

to some extent before they are used. This can be donein a formal definition or more informally as the paper

continues. Greek letters and mathematical symbols

should be defined initially in the margin. Identify themain study variables early on in the materials and

methods.
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]


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Although the reader must be able to duplicate your

experiment from your materials and methods they

should not be a set of instructions. Describe the

methodology completely, including such specifics as

temperatures, incubation times, etc. To be concise,

present methods under headings devoted to specific

procedures or groups of procedures. Describe thepopulation of the researchers and the origin of the

data (patients, doctors, hospitals, etc.). Describe thesampling strategy and rational behind the sample size

and the quality of the individual data sets. Omit all

explanatory information and background to the

specific experiment this is best placed in the

discussion.

The first time you may use a photo or illustration is in

the introduction. Each image must be accompanied

by a caption. A caption should comprise a brief title

(not on the figure itself) and a description of the

illustration. Keep text in the illustrations themselvesto a minimum but explain all symbols andabbreviations used. As a rule a caption should explain

the illustration simplistically as a standalone piece of

text.

Outline analysis methods here, but typically

researchers change the analysis method as the project

evolves or upon the findings of the analysis other

analytical methods are used to present the

information gathered.

Results

This section is very simple as your presenting facts ina manner that can be illustrated simply to the reader.

Summarize your findings in text and illustrate them

appropriate with graphs, photos or tables.

In text, describe each of your results, pointing thereader to observations that are most relevant. Provide

a context, such as by describing the question that was

addressed by making a particular observation. Do not

discuss or interpret your results, report background

information, or attempt to explain anything this is forthe discussion chapter.

It goes without saying and common sense that youshould never include raw data or intermediate

calculations in a research paper. Do not present the

same data more than once even in a different format,

always choose the simplest method of conveying the

information to the reader.

All submissions with photos of human faces where

eyes are not blacked out must have patient release to

use photo permission in addition to the normal patient

consent forms. All submissions where human

subjects are involved must have ethic committee

approval before that data was collected. Report on

how the data collection and how subject wererecruited. Describe participants fairly e.g.

demographic, clinical condition if relevant to the datacollection and results.

The Results section is typically fairly straightforward

and factual. All results that relate to the research

question should be given in detail, including simple

counts and percentages. Resist the temptation todemonstrate analytic ability and the richness of the

dataset by providing numerous tables of nonessential

results.

DiscussionThe Discussion section allows the most freedom.This is why the Discussion is the most difficult to

write, and is often the weakest part of a paper.

Decide if each hypothesis is supported, rejected, or if

you cannot make a decision with confidence.

Research papers are not accepted if the work is

incomplete. Draw what conclusions you can based

upon the results that you have, and treat the study as a

finished work. You may suggest future directions,

such as how the experiment might be modified to

accomplish another objective. Explain all of yourobservations as much as possible, focusing on

mechanisms. Analyse the strengths and limitations of

the study

ConclusionYour conclusions should be like bullet points stating

what you have achieved with this paper.


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Referencing

Every Journal has its own specific reference style

whether it is Harvard (Ash et al discovered in 2009)

or Vancouver (32). The exact symbols used

(brackets) or [square brackets] vary with journals and

used respectively. The layout of the reference is again

specific to the journal, but typical examples areshown below.

[1] F.T. de Dombal, Transporting databanks of

medical information from on location to another,

Effective Health Care 1 (1983) 155162.

[2] P.F. Lemkin and L.E. Lipkin, Database

techniques for two dimensional electrophoretic gelanalysis, in Computing in Biomedical Science, eds.

M.J. Geisow and A.J. Barrett, pp. 181234 (Elsevier,

Amsterdam, New York NY, 1983).

Microsoft word has a referencing feature calledendnote and allows for automatic editing ofreferences within your document and is highly

recommended.

Plagiarism

Plagiarism is the copying or paraphrasing of other

peoples work or ideas into your own work without

full acknowledgement. All published and

unpublished material, whether in manuscript, printed

or electronic form, is covered under this definition. if

you take someone else's work and pass it off as your

own, you are plagiarising the original author.

It is a serious academic offence and is treated as such

by all universities. Whether unintentional or

intentional, plagiarism is your responsibility.

Ignorance is no excuse. There are many software

programs used by universities to automatically checkfor plagiarism. But you too can use online tools like

www.dustball.com to check your own work.

Journal Selection

I have approximately 6 main journals I can submitmy work to in my field of work. The decision to

submit to a journal is based for me on the content of

the work, laboratory or clinical! The typical audienceof the journal, physicists or surgeons! Ask peers to

advise on the best journal choice for your article if

you are unsure of the correct choice.

Impact factor

The impact factor (IF) of an academic journal is a

measure reflecting the average number of citations to

recent articles published in the journal. It is

frequently used as a proxy for the relative importance

of a journal within its field, with journals with higher

impact factors deemed to be more important than

those with lower ones. This is only relevant for

academic publishing work as departments arereviewed on the quality of their research.

Collaboration with co-authors

When you have your research paper outlined use

Microsoft office as a standard as this software

package is widespread. Microsoft word has the track

changes option and allows everybody to visualise

each change. Never reply of spell check, the amount

of reports and dissertation where spell check has beenrun and not read through is remarkable.

Ask for people who are not specifically involved to

proof read your manuscript. Let it sit on the shelf for

a week or a month before giving it a final fresh

reading. There may well be typos that you did not

spot first time round.

Traditionally this would be emailed and circulated

going from one co-author to another. Currently there

are other options such as dropbox, and skydrive.

All contributors who do not meet the criteria forauthorship as defined should be listed in anacknowledgements section. Examples of those who

might be acknowledged include a person who

provided purely technical help, writing assistance, or

a department chair that provided only general

support. Authors should disclose whether they had

any writing assistance and identify the entity that paid

for this assistance.

Each author of a manuscript submitted must have

made a significant contribution to the research and

must assume responsibility for the content of the

article (1).

Conflict of Interest Statement

Authors whose manuscripts are published are

required to disclose their commercial interests in

subjects or materials discussed in their papers. Thefollowing statement is to be included in transmittal

letters: "I certify that I have no affiliation with or

financial involvement in any organization or entity

with a direct financial interest in the subject matter or

materials discussed in the manuscript (e.g.,employment, consultancies, stock ownership,

honoraria) except as discussed in an attachment."

Presenting this work at conferences

I strongly advice if you have the chance to present

your work at conferences to do so. Its an opportunity

to network, hone your presenting communication

skills and refine your work by feedback questions and

acceptance by peers in the audience. Plus conferences

are always great fun.


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Ready for journal submission

Almost all journals are now online submission, this

improves the process significantly.

Journals accept papers in the form of three types

Articles, Reviews and Letters.

Articles describe new findings of major importance.Authors should contact the editors prior to preparing

a review article.Letters may express an opinion about material

previously published in a journal, or express views on

any issue related to the subject matter of that journal.

Copyright Agreement

Upon acceptance of an article, authors will be askedto sign a Journal Publishing Agreement. Acceptance

of the agreement will ensure the widest possible

dissemination of information. An e-mail (or letter)

will be sent to the corresponding author confirming

receipt of the manuscript together with a JournalPublishing Agreement form. If excerpts from othercopyrighted works are included, the author(s) must

obtain written permission from the copyright owners

and credit the source(s) in the article.

Comments from reviewers

Typically a few weeks after submission your article

will have been peer reviewed and many comments

and questions returned. This is a great opportunity to

produce a well-rounded and refined paper with this

feedback. All point raised should not be viewed as

criticism but as positive feedback. You do however

have the chance to disagree with these comments ifyou choose.

Proof copy

The journal then typesets the paper and sends one set

of page proofs in PDF format will be sent by e-mailto the corresponding author. This is the final chance

to make minor corrections if missed.

After publication

Many people will get an enormous satisfaction ofhaving your name immortalised in the public domain

for the first time. Authors also get a new found

respect of how much work is involved in a 5 pagejournal paper.

Send your work by email to relevant authors to

introduce yourself and hopefully cite your work in

their papers.

References

1. Huth EJ: Guidelines on authorship of medicalpapers. Ann Intern Med 1986; 104:269-274.

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How to Write and Publish a Research Paper