HOW-TO-WRITE-A-WORLD-CLASS-PAPER.pptx

HOW TO WRITE A WORLD CLASS PAPERElsevier Author Workshop at Beijing Institute of Technology,23th JulyWitold Pedrycz,PhD,DSciTIPS,TRAPS AND TRAVESTIESOutlineTo publish or not to publishWriting a quality manuscriptPreparationsArticle constructionLanguageTechnical detailsRevisions and response to reviewersEthical issuesConclusions:getting acceptedInformation SciencesInformation SciencesImpact Factor(IF)2007To publish or not to publishWhy publish?Scientists publish to share with the research community findings that advance knowledge and understandingTo present new,original results or methodsTo rationalize published resultsTo present a review of the field or to summarize a particular topicPublish or perishFunding BodiesScientists/CliniciansGrant WritingJournal PublicationPublishers do not want zero-cited articlesEditors now regularly analyze citations per article “The statistic that 27%of our papers were not cited in 5 years was disconcerting.It certainly indicates that it is important to maintain high standards when accepting papers.nothing would have been lost except the CVs of those authors would have been shorter”Marv Bauer,Editor,Remote Sensing of EnvironmentPublishers do want qualityWANTEDOriginalitySignificant advances in fieldAppropriate methods and conclusionsReadabilityStudies that meet ethical standardsNOT WANTEDDuplications Reports of no scientific interestWork out of dateInappropriate methods or conclusionsStudies with insufficient dataCan I publish this?Have you done something new and interesting?Have you checked the latest results in the field?Have the findings been verified?Have the appropriate controls been performed?Do your findings tell a nice story or is the story incomplete?Is the work directly related to a current hot topic?Have you provided solutions to any difficult problems?If all answers are“yes”,then start preparing your manuscript.Writing a quality manuscriptPreparationsWhat type of manuscript?Full articles/Original articles Letters/Rapid Communications/Short CommunicationsReview papers/PerspectivesSelf-evaluate your work:Is it sufficient for a full article?Or are your results so thrilling that they need to be revealed as soon as possible?Ask your supervisor and colleagues for advice on manuscript type.Sometimes outsiders may see things more clearly than you.Who is the audience?Do you want to reach specialists,multidisciplinary researchers,or a general audience?You will need to adjust information and writing style accordinglyJournals,even in similar subjects,reach readers with different backgroundsEach journal has its own style;read other articles to get an idea of what is acceptedIs the readership worldwide or local?Which journal?Consider:Aims and scope(check journal websites and recent articles)Types of articlesReadershipCurrent hot topics(go through recent abstracts)Asking colleagues for adviceSometimes it is necessary to lower ones sights or return to the lab/clinic to obtain more dataDO NOT gamble by scattering your manuscript to many journals Only submit once!International ethics standards prohibit multiple simultaneous submissions,and editors DO find out!All editors hate wasting time on poorly prepared manuscriptsIt is a sign of disrespectConsulting the Guide for Authors will save your time and the editors FormatConsult and apply the list of guidelines in the“Guide for Authors”Ensure that you use the correct:LayoutSection lengths(stick to word limits)Nomenclature,abbreviations and spelling(British vs.American)Reference formatNumber/type of figures and tablesStatisticsWriting a quality manuscriptArticle constructionArticle structureTitleAuthorsAbstractKeywordsMain text(IMRaD)IntroductionMethodsResultsDiscussion(Conclusion)AcknowledgementsReferencesSupplementary materialNeed to be accurate and informative for effective indexing and searchingEach has a distinct function TitleA good title should contain the fewest possible words that adequately describe the contents of a paperDOConvey main findings of researchBe specificBe conciseBe completeAttract readersDONTUse unnecessary jargonUse uncommon abbreviationsUse ambiguous termsUse unnecessary detailFocus on part of the content onlyRelationships between information processing,depression,fatigue and cognition in multiple sclerosis Slower processing is correlated with higher levels of depressed mood,fatigue,lower verbal fluency,fewer words and digits recalled and poorer recall of visual-spatial information in MS patients TitleAuthors and affiliations Surnames:Prez-Garca/Prez/GarcaMiddle Initial:Use consistently or not at allFirst Names:Dave/DavidAffiliation:Faculty of Medicine/Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences Be consistent with spelling,full versus short names,full versus short addressesAbstractTypes:Indicative(descriptive)abstracts outline the topics covered in a piece of writing so the reader can decide whether or not to read on.Often used in review articles and conference reports Informative abstracts summarize the article based on the IMRaD structure,but without section headings Structured abstracts follow headings required by the journal.Often used in Medical journals Check carefully which type fits the journal of your choiceAbstractThe quality of an abstract will strongly influence The quality of an abstract will strongly influence the editors decisionthe editors decisionA good abstract:Is precise and honestCan stand aloneUses no technical jargonIs brief and specificCites no referencesUse the abstract to“sell”your articleUse the abstract to“sell”your articleKeywordsKeywords are important for indexing:they Keywords are important for indexing:they enable your manuscript to be more easily enable your manuscript to be more easily identified and citedidentified and citedCheck the Guide for Authors for journal Check the Guide for Authors for journal requirementsrequirements Keywords should be specificKeywords should be specific Avoid uncommon abbreviations and general termsAvoid uncommon abbreviations and general termsKeywordsBad keywords:Psychiatric disorder,NRG1,LD,SNPs,Japanese large sample,associationIntroductionProvide the necessary background Provide the necessary background information to put your work into information to put your work into contextcontextIt should be clear from the introduction:It should be clear from the introduction:Why the current work was performedWhy the current work was performed aimsaims significancesignificance What has been done beforeWhat has been done before What was done(in brief terms)What was done(in brief terms)What was achieved(in brief terms)What was achieved(in brief terms)IntroductionDODO Consult the Guide for Authors for word limitConsult the Guide for Authors for word limit“Set the scene”“Set the scene”Outline“the problem”and hypothesesOutline“the problem”and hypotheses Ensure that the literature cited is balanced,up Ensure that the literature cited is balanced,up to date and relevantto date and relevant Define any non-standard abbreviations and Define any non-standard abbreviations and jargonjargonIntroductionDONTDONT Write an extensive review of the fieldWrite an extensive review of the field Cite disproportionately your own work,work of Cite disproportionately your own work,work of colleagues or work that supports your findings while colleagues or work that supports your findings while ignoring contradictory studies or work by competitorsignoring contradictory studies or work by competitors Describe methods,results or conclusions other than Describe methods,results or conclusions other than to outline what was done and achieved in the final to outline what was done and achieved in the final paragraphparagraph Overuse terms like“novel”and“for the first time”Overuse terms like“novel”and“for the first time”IntroductionRotenone is a naturally occurring plant compound derived from the root and bark of some Luguminosae species Administration of rotenone has been shown to lead to biochemical,anatomical,and behavioral symptoms resembling Parkinsons disease due to neurotoxicity 13.Previous studies have shown that However,other studies contradict these findings Understanding the exact mode of action of rotenone should provide additional useful information toward its possible application in oral cancer treatment.In this report,we MethodsThe Methods section must provide sufficient information so that a knowledgeable reader can reproduce the experimentList suppliers of reagents and manufacturers of equipment,and define apparatus in familiar terms:“using an AD 340C plate reader(Beckman Coulter)”OR“using a plate reader(Beckman Coulter AD 340C)NOT“using a Beckman Coulter AD 340C.”Unless the Guide for Authors states otherwise,use the past tense;the present tense is usually only used in methodology-type papers ResultsThe main findings of the researchDOUse figures and tables to summarize dataShow the results of statistical analysisCompare“like with like”DONTDuplicate data among tables,figures and textUse graphics to illustrate data that can easily be summarized with textGraphicsFigures and tables are the most effective way to present resultsBUT:Captions should be able to stand alone,such that the figures and tables are understandable without the need to read the entire manuscriptThe data represented should be easy to interpretColour should only be used when necessaryGraphicsIllustrations should only be used to present essential dataThe information in the table can be presented in one sentence:The surface soils were dark grayish brown,grading to light olive brown(woodland),light olive brown(wetland),and pale olive(grassland)at 100 cm.Summarize results in the text where possibleGraphicsThe figure and table show the same information,but the table is more direct and clearGraphicsLegend is poorly definedGraph contains too much dataNo trend linesGraphicsLegend is well defined but there is still too much data and no trendlinesGraphicsLegend is clearData is better organizedTrend lines are presentStatisticsIndicate the statistical tests used with all relevant parametersmean SDGive numerator and denominators with percentages 40%(100/250)Use means and standard deviations to report normally distributed data StatisticsUse medians and interpercentile ranges to report skewed dataReport P valuesp=0.0035 rather than p0.05The word“significant”should only be used to describe“statistically significant differences”StatisticsTraining testing data10-fold cross-validationMake your experimental findings meaningful and convincingDiscussionDescribeHow the results relate to the studys aims and hypothesesHow the findings relate to those of other studiesAll possible interpretations of your findingsLimitations of the studyAvoidMaking“grand statements”that are not supported by the dataExample:“This novel treatment will massively reduce the prevalence of malaria in the third world”Introducing new results or termsDiscussionConclusionPut your study into CONTEXTDescribe how it represents an advance in the fieldSuggest future experimentsBUTAvoid repetition with other sectionsAvoid being overly speculative Dont over-emphasize the impact of your studyConclusionThe Conclusion should put your study into CONTEXTIn summary,findings from the present study are in general accordance with previous studies that suggest.There is a need to establish dose-dependent effects of EPA and DHA separately and in different population groups.If findings from this study are applicable to consumption of fish,then intake at the upper level of the current UK guideline range 42 may not influence cardiovascular risk factors in fairly healthy,normolipidemic and middle-aged males.AcknowledgementsAcknowledge anyone who has helped you with the study,including:Researchers who supplied materials or reagents,e.g.vectors or antibodiesAnyone who helped with the writing or English,or offered critical comments about the contentAnyone who provided technical helpState why people have been acknowledged and ask their permissionAcknowledge sources of funding,including any grant or reference numbersReferencesCheck the Guide for Authors for the correct formatCheckSpelling of author namesPunctuationNumber of authors to include before using“et al.”Reference styleAvoidPersonal communications,unpublished observations and submitted manuscripts not yet acceptedCiting articles published only in the local languageExcessive self-citation and journal self-citationReferencesCheck the style and format as required it is not the editors job to do so for youHarvard System(alphabetical by author/date):Berridge,MJ 1998,Neuronal calcium signaling,Neuron vol.21:pp.13-26APA(American Psychological Association)System(alphabetical)Berridge,M.J.(1998).Neuronal calcium signaling.Neuron 21,13-26Vancouver System(numbered in order or citation)1.Berridge MJ.Neuronal calcium signaling.Neuron.1998;21:13-26There are a number of other systems in use and variations for all systemsSupplementary materialInformation related to and supportive of the main text,but of secondary importanceIncludes:Microarray dataSequence dataMethod validationAdditional controlsVideo dataWill be available online when the manuscript is publishedWriting a quality manuscriptLanguage“Journal editors,overloaded with quality manuscripts,may make decisions on manuscripts based on formal criteria,like grammar or spelling.Dont get rejected for avoidable mistakes;make sure your manuscript looks perfect”Thus,both the science and the language need to be soundArnout Jacobs,Elsevier PublishingThe three“C”s(C3)principleClarityConcisenessCorrectness(accuracy)Good writing possesses the following three“C”s:The key is to be as brief and specific as possible without omitting essential detailsKnow the enemyRepetitionRedundancyAmbiguityExaggerationGood writing avoids the following traps:These are common annoyances for editorsRepetition and redundancyVary the sentences used when writing the abstract or describing findings at the end of the introductionDont copy from other sections verbatim!Avoid words with the same meaning In addition,sections were also stained with After centrifugation,pellets were thenRepetition and redundancyAvoid circular sentencesIn order to examine differences in protein levels,lysates were subjected to 10%SDS-PAGE and Western blotting using an anti-NR1 antibody,to observe the effects of stimulation on receptor trafficking.The reason for the experiment is described twice,in slightly different termsAmbiguityEnsure correct use of“which”,commas and hyphens“Calcium regulated transcription”has a different meaning from“Calcium-regulated transcription”In“To identify biomarkers of prostate cancer,we performed microarray analysis,using custom cDNA arrays”The second comma should be deletedAmbiguityEnsure correct use of“which”,commas and hyphensIn“Data were normalised to the internal reference housekeeping gene actin,which showed”The“which”is used incorrectly,referring to actin rather than to the normalisation of data“Data were normalised to the internal re