How to write Scientific Paper

1. Presented by: Dr. Ashraf A. Abdelhalim, MD
Professor of anesthesia, Faculty of Medicine
University of Alexandria , Egypt
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2.  Title--what aspect of the subject was studied.
 Abstract--summary of paper: The main reason for
the study, the primary results, the main conclusions
 Introduction--why the study was undertaken
 Methods and Materials--how the study was
undertaken
 Results--what was found
 Discussion--why these results could be significant
(what the reasons might be for the patterns found
or not found)

3.  Prewriting · Make notes, ideas: start generating text,
drawing figures,
 Writing · Start with whatever section is easiest to write.
Keep writing.
 Revision · Work on content first, then structure, then style.
 Editing · Check all data for accuracy.
Review grammatical errors.
 Proofread · Print and read your report again. Often we
don't see errors on-line as easily as we do on a hard copy.

4.  Is the advertisement for the article
 Informative and specific
 Descriptive and concise
 Understandable
 All nouns are capitalized in the title
 Do not use abbreviations and jargon
 Search engines/indexing databases depend on
the accuracy of the title - since they use the
keywords to identify relevant articles

5.  Indicative titles: indicate the subject matter of a
paper but give no indication of any results obtained
or conclusions drawn e.g. Intranasal atomized
dexmedetomidine for sedation during third molar
extraction
 Informative titles: give an indication of results
achieved and conclusions as well as the subject
matter of the paper e.g. Parker Flex-It stylet is as
effective as GlideRite® Rigid Stylet for orotracheal
intubation by GlideScope: a randomized
prospective study

6.  Question-type titles
 This type of title obviously asks a question.
e.g. Is ketamine effective in decreasing the
incidence of postoperative agitation?
 Main-subtitle (series) type
e.g. Prophylactic dexamethasone for
postoperative nausea and vomiting in pediatric
strabismus surgery: A dose ranging and safety
evaluation stud

7. Briefly summarize (often 150 words) – the article
to determine:
(1) what the objectives of the study were;
(2) how the study was done;
(3) what results were obtained;
(4) and the significance of the results.
 So the reader can decide whether or not to read
the whole article
 Many authors write the abstract last .
 uses clear, precise wording (increase precision
through successive revisions)

8.  Why is this study of scientific interest and what is
your objective?
 State how your work differs from published work
 Identify the questions you are answering
 Explain what other findings, if any, you are
challenging or extending
 Limit the introduction to studies that relate directly
to the present study. Emphasize your specific
contribution to the topic.
 The last sentences should be a statement of
objectives and a statement of hypotheses.

9.  Defines abbreviations that will be used in the report.
For example, "The compound action potential
(CAP)

10.  Explain how you studied the problem to meet your
objectives and test your hypotheses.
 Description of study area and studied population
 Approval of IRB, and patient consent
 Identify the procedures you followed
 Inclusion & Exclusion criteria
 Explain new methodology in detail; otherwise name
the method and cite the previously published work
 Include the frequency of observations, what types
of data were recorded, etc.
 Be precise in describing measurements .

11.  Written in paragraph form
 Describe data collection in detail (e.g. who, what,
when, where, how),
Study design:
 Describe what techniques to minimize bias .
 Particular techniques used and why, if relevant
modifications of any techniques; be sure to describe
the modification
 Specialized equipment, including brand-names
Statistical methods, including
Sample size
Software programs SPSS version

12.  This section presents the results of the
experiment but does not attempt to interpret
their meaning.
 The trick to writing is to summarize the data
with text, tables and/or figures.
 Tables/Figures should appear in the text in
sequential order.
 Photographs should be in high resolution
jpeg or tiff format (300 dpi)

13.  Present results clearly and logically
 Abbreviations should be defined in full in the
legend.
 A table's legend appears above it, while the
legend for a figure appears below the figure.
 If your table includes the results of a statistical
analysis, be sure to provide the information
necessary for the reader to properly evaluate the
analysis
 Do not include the same data in both a table and
a figure.

14.  Number tables and figures separately beginning with 1.
 Report only what you found;
 Tables generally should report summary-level data,
such as means ± standard deviations, rather than all
your raw data.
 Only use a figure (graph) when the data lend
themselves to a good visual representation. Avoid
using figures that show too many variables or trends at
once.
 When incorporating statistical data into the text, the test
used (eg chi squared) should be included.

15.  Whenever a manuscript contains material (tables,
figures etc) which is protected by copyright
(previously published) it is the obligation of the
author to obtain written permission from the holder
of the copyright (usually the publisher)

16. Develop a strategy for your Discussion.
 Begin with the result of the primary outcome
which should most clearly relate to the aim
and research question.
(specific to the general)
Focus your discussion around a particular
question or hypothesis.

17.  Describe what your results mean and or why they
differ from what other workers have found.
 Relate your discussion back to the objectives and
questions you raised in the Introduction section.
 Indicate how the results relate to expectations and to
the literature previously cited
 Explain how the research has moved the body of
scientific knowledge forward
 Discuss and evaluate conflicting explanations of the
results. This is the sign of a good discussion.

18.  Whenever you draw upon previously
published work, you must acknowledge
the source
 Any information not from your experiment
and not ‘common knowledge’ should be
recognized by a citation
 So that the reader can find the full
reference in the literature cited section at
the end of the paper,
 Make sure you give a full citation in the
Literature Cited section (“references”) for
all sources mentioned in the text.

19.  Note that articles by one or two authors are always
cited in the text using their last names.
 If there are more than two authors, the last name of
the 1st author is given followed by the abbreviation
et al..
 It is acceptable, and encouraged, to cite more than
one source for a particular statement.
 This gives the statement more validity and suggests
that your research was thorough.
 Add limitation and weaknesses of study : avoid
using an apologetic tone.
 Provide recommendations (no more than two) for
further research

20. Editors often comment that the Discussion
Section is too long. Usually due to
 Restating all the results,
 An unfocussed review of past literature,
 Excessive speculation on mechanisms
 Too much discussion about secondary
outcomes.

21.  Do not extend your conclusions beyond what
is directly supported by your results - avoid
undue speculation
 Outline the next steps for further study

22. Any relationships which could be viewed upon
as a conflict of interest need to be declared by
the authors.

23.  This is the last section of the paper.
 Provide an alphabetical (or numbered consecutively
in order of appearance in the text) listing of all the
published work you cited in the text of the paper.
 How references are presented varies considerably --
- refer to notes for authors for the specific journal
 Avoid references that are difficult to find
 Avoid references that were not important to the
study
 The number can be placed outside the text
punctuation to avoid disruption to the flow of the
text, or be placed inside the text punctuation,

24.  A standard format is used both to cite literature
in the text and to list these studies in the
Reference section.
 Carefully refer to reference guidelines for
the journal you are submitting to.
 For papers published in journals you must
provide the date, title, journal name, volume
number, and page numbers.
 For books you need the publication date, title,
publisher, and place of publication.

25. This style is used by MEDLINE and PubMed
 Abdelhalim AA, Alarfaj AM. The effect of
ketamine versus fentanyl on the incidence of
emergence agitation after sevoflurane anesthesia in
pediatric patients undergoing tonsillectomy with or
without adenoidectomy. Saudi J
Anaesth. 2013;7(4):392-8.

26. Uses the author's name and date of publication in
the body of the text, and the bibliography is
given alphabetically by author
Liveris, A 2011, 'Ethics as a strategy', Leadership Excellence, vol.
28, no. 2, pp.17-18.
◦ Adams, A.B. (1983a) Article title: subtitle.
Journal Title 46 (Suppl. 2), 617-619
◦ Adams, A.B. (1983b) Book Title. Publisher,
New York.
◦ Bennett, W.P., Hoskins, M.A., Brady, F.P. et al.
(1993) Article title. Journal Title 334 , 31-35.

27.  Biomedical journals are increasingly
requesting studies to be registered in a public
trials registry as a condition of consideration
for publication in the journal.
 The registration number may be required to be
mentioned at the end of the abstract.

28. Your supervisor/professor is not here to
teach you basic grammar and spelling.
 You are responsible for mastering the basics of the
language.
 With word processors and spellcheckers, spelling
errors should be very rare.

29.  Please do not think that good English is not
critical in science writing.
 If English is not your first language, then
proofreading by a native-speaker might be
helpful.
 If you have read scientific papers, you will have
noticed that a standard format is frequently
used. This format allows a researcher to present
information clearly and concisely.

30.  Most people's first drafts are terrible. "Good
writing is rewriting," and you should make a
serious effort at editing, rewriting, and fine-
tuning before you give the manuscript to
anyone else to read.

31. Use an outline to organize your ideas and writing.
 When you first start a writing project, make an
outline of the major headings.
 List the key ideas to be covered under each
heading.
 Organize your thinking logic

32.  You should avoid abbreviations by writing out the
full word (minimum, October, first, temperature,
...).
 Exceptions include common terms like ATP and
DNA, units of measure (m, g, cm, °C), and
mathematical or chemical formulas.
 Sentences should never begin with an abbreviation
or an acronym.
 You may wish to introduce an acronym for a term
that is repeated often: if your paper deals with
soybeans, Glycine max, you may use the full
scientific name once and substitute G. max
thereafter.
 Chemical elements are not proper nouns, so do not
capitalize them.

33.  Only the first letter of the symbol is a capital letter:
nitrogen (N), carbon (C), calcium (Ca).
 In formal writing, you should never use contractions (didn't,
can't, haven't...).
 The word "data" is plural, as in "the data were collected on
January 21, 2001."
 Direct quotes should be avoided, unless you are presenting
another author's specific definition or original label.
 Read and re-read your references.
 You should review your writing to make sure that each
sentence presents one or two clear ideas. This will also help
you organize sentences within paragraphs in a logical order.

34.  In science, the word "significant" implies the result
of a statistical test.
 Do not use slang. Try to use precise, scientific
terms where possible (without unnecessary jargon)
 Your word processor's spell-check and/or
grammar-check function is not error-free. It cannot
tell you when to use "it's" and "its," and it cannot
tell you that a particular sentence does not make
sense. Give yourself enough time to proofread and
correct your paper.

35. Tenses
 When describing methods and results, you should
use the past tense.
 The present tense is appropriate for accepted facts,
such as the background information presented in the
Introduction.
 Events or objects that continue to happen or exist
can be described in the present tense
Units
All units of measure must be metric or SI
(international System).

36. Language
 Sentence construction
 The purpose of any paper is to convey information
and ideas. This cannot be done with long involved
sentences. Keep sentences short, not more than 30
words in length. A sentence should contain one idea
or two related ideas. A paragraph should contain a
series of related ideas.
 Do not use long words where short ones will do.
For example:
"utilization" vs. "use"
"in order to" vs. "to"

37.  Try to use familiar, precise words rather than far-fetched
vague words. "Cheaper" may replace "More economically
viable", and ongoing situation" doesn’t mean very much.
 Use the active voice rather than the passive voice.
For example, instead of writing "The food was eaten by the pig", write
"The pig ate the food". The active voice is easier to read and reduces the
sentence length
 Choice of words
 Words have precise meanings . Learn how to use them
correctly: Fewer, less; disinterested, uninterested ; loose,
lose; See, for example: Less active blood cells vs.
Fewer active blood cells
 Use a standard dictionary to find the correct meaning of
words

38.  Correct spelling, including the use of plurals
 Some words have alternative spelling e.g. tyre, tire, grey,
gray; draft, draught, often the difference is between the
American and British spelling. In other cases an apparent
misspelling is a misuse of a word e.g. practice, practise.
 The plural of many words in English is achieved by adding
an s (or es) to the single. However some words have the
same form in both the singular and plural. Other words are
already plural such as people and equipment, so don't use
peoples (unless you are referring to different groups of
people or different ethnic groups) and equipments.


39. The Misuse of the definite article "The"
Avoid overuse of the word "the" . Only use
when it applies to a particular item that has been
referred to before. All others could be omitted.
The excessive use of the pronoun "it"
Avoid excessive use of the indefinite pronoun
"it".
("It is evident that" by "evidently";)

40.  Text is easier to understand if simple words and
phrases can be used to replace more complex or
foreign ones. For example analogous can be
replaced by similar ;
 Punctuation
Colon (:) and semi colon (;)
 A colon is used when a list or explanation follows,
 A semi colon is used to separate two or more
related clauses provided each clause forms a full
sentence.

41. Commas
 A comma is put in a sentence to denote a brief pause
between groups of words:
I will show you the paper about which I was speaking, but it
is not as useful as I first thought.
 Or to separate subclauses:
Professor Brown, who is in charge of recruiting for the
University, said that the latest estimates were higher than
those for this time last year.
 Finally to separate all items in a list except for the
last two;
The following items may be imported duty free into Azania:
Animals, cereals, plants, fruit, trees, legumes and nuts.

42. Take editorial comments seriously.
 An editor, has invested their time to help
improve the quality of your writing.
 Respect their investment.

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