This document provides guidance on publishing medical research. It discusses: - The importance of publication for one's reputation and career advancement. - The benefits of publication including establishing networks and improving healthcare. - Elements that are key to a strong journal manuscript such as clear organization, a well-written abstract, thorough methods section, objective results, and discussion that contextualizes the findings. - Tips for the writing process like creating an outline, being concise, and dealing with rejection.

1. Art of Publication
Dr Amit Agrawal, MCh

2. ∗ The interest in medical publication continues to grow each
year
∗ Provide the most reliable information for the management
of our patients
∗ The quality and number of publications is at the core of
one’s reputation and promotion
Introduction

3. ∗ To communicate new information that has clinical relevance
and will improve health care
Objectives of scientific
writing

4. ∗ Any lessons learned about improving practice will
be useful to people working in other organizations
or in other countries
∗ Others can review the work and provide helpful
feedback or suggestions to the author
∗ The work may result in changing others’ practice or
at least suggest areas for further development or
debate
∗ A network of people who are interested in the
same subjects or methods or who are doing similar
work can be established
Benefits

5. ∗ Get your name in print
∗ To impress others
∗ To add a few lines to your resume
∗ To get tenure or a promotion; or
∗ To communicate your ideas to those who read your
manuscript?
Why do you want to write?

6. ∗ What do you want to write?
∗ Why do you want to publish in a particular journal?
∗ Does the journal cover your educational, managerial or
clinical specialties?
Before starting

7. ∗ Clear the decks
∗ The first strategy is the one that everyone hopes for, the
open space, the dreamed opportunity that happens when
you clear the decks
∗ Wedging it in
∗ Those who wedge it in are driven to write and do it in
between everything else
∗ Schedulers
∗ Sooner or later, most writers, after trying all sorts of
strategies, become schedulers, but how they get there is
variable
Categories of writers

8. ∗ Prospective studies
∗ Retrospective studies
∗ Review articles
∗ Case reports
Order of Significance

9. ∗ Content
∗ Structure
∗ Clarity of presentation
∗ A manuscript may have Nobel Prize caliber content, but if it
is not presented logically and with clarity, readers may not
understand the content.
Elements to a Journal Manuscript

10. ∗ All manuscripts should be organized in the order according
to individual journal style
∗ Be sure to consult and adhere to the "Authors' Instructions"
of the specific journal
∗ Computer technology and software developments should
facilitate the process
Organization

11. ∗ Gives a synopsis of the article and why it matters
∗ Explains what makes it a unique work
∗ Supplies background information where it may be useful
Cover letter

12. ∗ Titles should be brief within descriptive limits (a 16-word
maximum is recommended)
∗ The name of the disability treated should be included in the
title if it is the relevant factor
∗ If the technique or type of treatment used is the principal
reason for the report, it should be in the title
Title Page

13. ∗ A good abstract can be the most important paragraph in the
article
∗ Abstract should be coherent and precise
∗ Structured
∗ Succinctly summarize the major intent of the manuscript,
the major points of the body, and the author's results and/or
conclusions
Abstract

14. ∗ Following your abstract, list three to six key words or
phrases that can be used in a subject index to refer to your
paper
Key words

15. ∗ To stimulate the reader's interest
∗ To outline the reason for the study, that is, the controversy
or "knowledge gap" that prompted the study
∗ Not the place for great detail
∗ Remember to keep the detail in the discussion
Introduction

16. ∗ The most important aspect of a research paper
∗ The function of the method section is to describe
procedures used and assert their credibility
∗ The methods section should contain sufficient
detail concerning the methods, procedures, and
apparatus used so that others can reproduce the
experiment
∗ Must provide a clear and precise description of how
an experiment was done
Method

17. ∗ This section functioned to describe (but not interpret) data
in an ostensibly objective manner
∗ The results should summarize the important results of the
experiment, using descriptive and inferential statistics and a
few well planned and carefully constructed illustrations
Results

18. ∗ Statistics don't indicate or prove anything; they simply
provide you with support for making a decision
Statistics

19. ∗ The most difficult part of writing
∗ It allows the reader to grasp the real relevance and validity
of the study and its usability for his or her decision-making in
clinical and community care, research and health policies
and program proposal, implementation, and evaluation
∗ Helps to contextualize the research, and assert its value
∗ Put your results in perspective with your expectations and
compare your results with the rest of the world
∗ Don't repeat the results; discuss them
Discussion

20. ∗ To tie the article together with a summary paragraph or list
of conclusions at the end of the discussion section
Conclusion

21. ∗ It is placed directly after the reference or the name of the
author being cited
∗ References should be used liberally
∗ It is unethical to present others' ideas as your own
∗ Helpful for readers who desire further information on the
topic
References/Citations

22. ∗ A great clinical workload should not be an excuse
∗ One must begin sometime even if things seem incomplete
∗ Think through the key ideas and messages for readers
∗ Organize the ideas into a logical structure
Steps of writing a paper

23. ∗ Publication process require a focused period of thinking that
is best served by having large blocks of uninterrupted time
∗ Adopt time management strategies that aid publication
∗ Research is an attitude of mind linked to intellectual and
practical energy
∗ There is no necessity for research to be separated from
everyday practice
Time Management

24. ∗ Create an outline or draft with a rough plan with headings
and sub-headings
∗ It is worth doing a “brainstorm”
∗ Writing on a piece of paper as many aspects of the theme
you can think about
∗ It is not important at this stage whether the areas are
relevant or appropriate.
∗ You can change this at a later stage
Create an Outline

25. ∗ Clear communication
∗ Direct
∗ Simple
∗ Brief
∗ Vigorous
∗ Lucid
∗ Good thinking, not fancy word processing
∗ Ideas must be presented briefly, precisely and
logically
∗ An orderly manner that flows smoothly from idea
to idea
Manuscript

26. ∗ The prime purpose should be to explain something, not to
prove yourself smarter than your readers
∗ Brief articles are less apt to be taxing or sleep-inducing to
editors and readers
∗ Also journals have a strict fixed limit on published pages
Be brief

27. ∗ Write your ideas
∗ Try to imagine what the finished article will look like
∗ It may throw up inconsistencies that you had not
seen before, and you will have to think again
∗ Include appropriate high quality figures and tables
∗ Double check any recommendations about drugs
and dosages
∗ Present your findings objectively and let them
stand or fall on their own
Tips

28. ∗ DON’T publish the same message more than once
∗ DON’T publish another article a year later with 100
patients unless you have found something very
new and very important
∗ DON’T assume that others have the same level of
interest and knowledge in your area of
investigation as you have
∗ DON’T send case reports and review articles to the
better journals
Don’t

29. ∗ You need to be prepared to face the inevitable
“rejection” letter
∗ Let’s face it; Don’t be discouraged; Don’t give up
∗ More articles are submitted to journals than can
possibly be published at any one time
∗ Use recommendations as guidance for improving
your manuscript
∗ Then consider submitting it to another journal
∗ Perseverance can pay off
Dealing with “Rejection”

30. ∗ Publication is the proper endpoint of research
∗ Publication may add to public knowledge
∗ Writing an article refines ideas and makes discard
some and develop others
∗ Publication is a voyage of self-exploration, and the
polishing of a diamond that you have personally
wrought
∗ One must develop strategies for making time to
write
∗ If your ideas get published then your pleasure will
be the greater
Summary

31. ∗ Forget all the above rules
∗ Do not focus too much on style (As it may hinder your
thought processes)
∗ Get the concepts on paper first; then rewrite and rewrite
until the concepts are clear
Writing your first draft

32. ∗ Writers need knowledge and credentials to write, but one
key to successful writing is to start writing now
∗ Carter R. Write it now, or never ! Nurse Author Ed. 1996 ;
6(2):3-4.