How to Writing a Good article and Publishing in a Good Journal

Prof Mulazim Hussain Bukhari
MBBS,DCP,CHPE,MPhil,FCPS,PhD
HOD Pathology, UCMD, University of Lahore
Ex PhD Program Director King Edward Medical University
Ex Associate Dean American University of Barbados
How to Writing a Good article and
Publishing in a Good Journal

4/14/2019 Department of Pathology University of Lahore 2

Learning Objectives
•Writings for Biomedical Journal
•Type of Articles published in Journal
•Description of articles
•Journals of good reputes
•importance of Impact factor
•How to start reading and writing journal as a beginner

4/14/2019 Department of Pathology University of Lahore
intervention
Yes No
Experimental
Randomization&control
Yes No
Randomization
and control trial
Quasi
Experimental
Observational
Analytical Descriptive
Cross sectional
Case control
Cohort
Case Report
Case series
Studies for research
1. Epidemiology
2. Pre-clinical studies
3. Clinical trials
5

“There is no way to get experience
except through experience.”
6

RESEARCH PROPOSAL
•Any Medical research / Epidemiological study should
have a proper proposal in written form before it is
actually carried out
•It is like a blue print of a building plan before the
construction starts

Why write and publish research papers?
Ideally –
to share research findings and discoveries with the hope of improving
healthcare.
Practically –
to get funding
to get promoted
to get a job
to keep your job! It adds publications to
the author’s CV
8

Types of Medical Writing
1.History Writing.
2. A Letter to Editor .
3. A Case Report.
4. An Original/Research Article.
5. A Review Article.
6. A Historical Review.
7. An Editorial.
8. A Leading Article.
9. A Biographical note
10. A Conference Report
11. A Review of a book
12. A Monograph
13. A Synopsis of a Thesis
14. A Dissertation
15. A Thesis
16. A Book

How to write Research paper and submit in
proper Journal

“Scientists are rated by what they
finish, not by what they attempt”
11

4/14/2019
Department of Pathology University of Lahore 12

Getting a paper published
 Competition for space in journals is intense
 Cost of publication is high, $360/page for APS
 Rejection rates vary
 AJP = 50%
 JBC = 65%
 NEJM, Science, Nature = 90%
13

Major reasons for Rejection
 Confirmatory (not novel)
 Poor experimental design
- Poor controls
- Hypothesis not adequately tested
 Inappropriate for journal
 Poorly written
14

Tips
1. Know the journal, its editors, and why you submitted the paper there
2. Pay close attention to spelling, grammar, and punctuation
3. Make sure references are comprehensive and accurate
4. Avoid careless mistakes
5. Read and conform to “Instructions for Authors”
15

Publish or perish
16

Publish and perish“The Seven Deadly Sins”
1. Data manipulation, falsification
2. Duplicate manuscripts
3. Redundant publication
4. Plagiarism
5. Author conflicts of interest
6. Animal use concerns
7. Humans use concerns 17

Important
• Balancing act between publishing high quality articles
in outstanding journals and getting the numbers.
• Grant reviewers look at both… how many papers and
in what journals.

What constitutes redundant publication?
Data in conference abstract?
Same data, different journal?
Data on website?
Data included in review article?
Expansion of published data set?
No
Yes
Maybe
OK if later
Yes
19

What makes a good research paper?
 Good science
 Good writing
 Publication in good journals
20

What constitutes good science?
Novel – new and not resembling something formerly known or used (can
be novel but not important)
Mechanistic – testing a hypothesis - determining the fundamental
processes involved in or responsible for an action, reaction, or other
natural phenomenon
Descriptive – describes how are things are but does not test how things
work – hypotheses are not tested.
21

What constitutes a good journal?
•Impact factor –
–average number of times published papers are cited up to two
years after publication.
•Immediacy Index –
•average number of times published papers are cited during year of
publication.
22

Journal Impact Factors
• Journal Impact Factor is from Journal Citation Report (JCR), a product of Thomson ISI
(Institute for Scientific Information). JCR provides quantitative tools for evaluating
journals.
• The impact factor is one of these; it is a measure of the frequency with which the
"average article" in a journal has been cited in a given period of time.
• The impact factor for a journal is calculated based on a three-year period, and can be
considered to be the average number of times published papers are cited up to two
years after publication.
• For example, the impact factor 2010 for a journal would be calculated as follows:
• A = the number of times articles published in 2018-19 were cited in indexed journals
during 2010
• B = the number of articles, reviews, proceedings or notes published in 2018-2019
impact factor 2020 = A/B
• 12/100=0.12
23

Journal Citation Report, 2003
Journal Impact Factor Immediacy Index
Nature 30.979 06.679
Science 29.162 05.589
Hypertens 05.630 00.838
AJ P Heart 03.658 00.675
Physiol Rev 36.831 03.727
Am J Math 00.962 00.122
Ann Math 01.505 00.564
JCSP 00.554 00.05
5907 journals 24

Things to consider before writing
1. Time to write the paper?
- has a significant advancement been made?
- is the hypothesis straightforward?
- did the experiments test the hypothesis?
- are the controls appropriate and sufficient?
- can you describe the study in 1 or 2 minutes?
- can the key message be written in 1 or 2 sentences?
“Those who have the most to say usually say it with the
fewest words”
25

1. Time to write the paper?
- has a significant advancement been made?
- is the hypothesis straightforward?
- did the experiments test the hypothesis?
- are the controls appropriate and sufficient?
- can you describe the study in 1 or 2 minutes?
- can the key message be written in 1 or 2 sentences?
2. Tables and figures
- must be clear and concise
- should be self-explanatory
3. Read references
- will help in choosing journal
- better insight into possible reviewers
26

4. Choose journal
- study “instructions to authors”
- think about possible reviewers
- quality of journal “impact factor”
5. Tentative title and summary
6. Choose authors
27

Authorship
Guidelines on authorshop, International committee of Medical Journal Editors,
Reprinted by kind permission of the Editor of the British Medical Journal of Sept
14, 1985. J Clin Pathol 39: 110, 1986
28

Writing the manuscript
The hardest part is getting started.
29

Parts of a manuscript
Title
Abstract
Introduction
Methods
Results
Discussion
Acknowledgements
References
30

Write in what order?
Title
Abstract
Introduction
Methods
Results
Discussion
Acknowledgements
References
31

Title
 Will determine whether paper gets read
 Avoid long title (see journal rules)
 Avoid abbreviations
Max 19-25 word
 Title format:
“The effects of heat on ice”
“Heat melts ice”
“The role of heat in melting ice”
32

Abstract
 Critical part of paper
 State main objective
 Summarize most important results
 State major conclusions and significance
 Avoid acronyms
 Write and rewrite until flawless
33

Types of Abstracts
• Structured (200-300)
• Background/objective/purpose of study
• Material and Methods
• Results
• Conclusion
• Key words
• Non Structured (150)

Unstructured Abstract
• It is the summary of the article
• without sub-headings
• Following things are included
• Purpose of the study (Introduction)
• Study design (Methods)
• Major findings (Results)
• Interpretation and Conclusion (Discussion)

Objective
• Objective should be given by using “SMART” criteria
• Specific
• Measurable
• Achievable
• Reliable
• Time Bound

Department of Pathology University of Lahore
Structured Abstract
•Summary of Manuscript (200-300 Words)
• Problem investigated
• Purpose of Research
• Methods
• Results
• Conclusion
4/14/2019 37

What are Common Mistakes in writing Abstract
• Too much background or methods information
• Figures or images
• References to other literature, figures or images
• Abbreviations or acronyms

How to Write Key Words
• Alphabetically written 3-5 Key words should be included
• “The MeSH (Medical Subject Headings) vocabulary is
designed for use by NLM for indexing and searching of the
MEDLINE database of journal citations and other data.
• This enables online retrieval systems, such as NLM's
PubMed, to provide subject searching of the data.”
US National Library of Medicine
Karbala IMI Medical Education Conference, 15-16 Sept. 2018

Introduction
• Broad information on topic
• Previous research
• Narrower background information
• Need for study
• Focus of paper
• Hypothesis
• Summary of problem (selling point)
•Overall 300-500 words
4/14/2019 42

Introduction
• Common Mistakes
• Too much or not enough information
• Unclear purpose
• Lists
• Confusing structure
• First-Person anecdotes
4/14/2019 43

Methods and materials
Provides instruction on exactly how to repeat experiment
1. Study Design
2. Study site and period of study
3. Sample Size (Sample size Who? Number of patients, group
division)
4. Field site description (Proper dose/time/protocol)
5. Data collection protocol (Study Instrument)
6. Data analysis techniques
7. Any computer programs used
8. Description of equipment and its use
44

Methods and Materials
•Common Mistakes
•Too little information
•Information from Introduction
•Verbosity
•Results/ sources of error reported
4/14/2019 45

Results
 Briefly repeating protocols can be effective
 Tables and figures must be straight forward and
concise
 Present main findings referring to tables/figures.
 Do not speculate or over discuss results.
47

Results
•Common mistakes
•Raw data
•Redundancy
•Discussion and interpretation of data
•No figures or tables
•Methods/materials reported
4/14/2019 48

Discussion
 First answer question posed in introduction
 Relate your conclusion to existing knowledge
 Discuss weaknesses and discrepancies
 Explain what is new without exaggerating
 Do not repeat results
 Conclusion/summary, perspectives, implications
49

Discussion
• Interpret results
• Did the study confirm/deny the hypothesis?
• If not, did the results provide an alternative hypothesis?
What interpretation can be made?
• Do results agree with other research? Sources of
error/anomalous data?
• Implications of study for field
• Suggestions for improvement and future research?
• Relate to previous research
4/14/2019 50

Discussion
• Common Mistakes
• Combined with Results
• New results discussed
• Broad statements
• Incorrectly discussing inconclusive results
• Ambiguous data sources
• Missing information
4/14/2019 51

Figures and Tables
• Tables
• Presents lists of numbers/ text in columns
• Figures
• Visual representation of results or illustration of concepts/methods
(graphs, images, diagrams, etc.)
• Captions
• Must be stand-alone
4/14/2019 52

Figures and Tables
• Guidelines for Figures and Tables
•High resolution
•Neat, legible labels
•Simple
•Clearly formatted
•Indicate error
•Detailed captions
4/14/2019 53

References
• Check specific referencing style of journal
• Should reference:
• Peer-reviewed journal articles, abstracts, books
• Should not reference:
• Non-peer-reviewed works, textbooks, personal communications
4/14/2019 54

Citation styles
There are thousands of citation styles. Among
them the most popular are:
Oxford Style
Vancouver style (Most journals use).
Harvard style
Chicago style
American Psychological Association (APA) style
Modern Language Association of America
(MLA) style

The International Committee of Medical Journal Editors
produced the "Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts
Submitted to Biomedical Journals" in a meeting -
Vancouver 1978 .
The style is used mainly in the medical sciences.

Citation styles Vancouver style
Siddiqui HR, Jamaluddin M, Alam MT, Khan IA. Reasons for Conversion of
Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy to Conventional Cholecystectomy in a
Tertiary Care Hospital. ASH & KMDC. 2016;21:160-65.
• Harvard style/Oxford
SIDDIQUI, H. R., JAMALUDDIN, M., ALAM, M. T. & KHAN, I. A. 2016.
Reasons for Conversion of Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy to Conventional
Cholecystectomy in a Tertiary Care Hospital. ASH & KMDC, 21, 160-65.

Vancour Style in text
Wilson’s disease (WD) is a rare autosomal recessive disease that affects
approximately 1 in 30,000 live births, with a predominance in males(1).
The disease prevalence is higher in countries where consanguineous
marriage is frequent, such as in Pakistan, Turkey and Greece(2-4).
WD is characterized by a disturbance in copper metabolism that leads to
the accumulation of the metal in various tissues of the body, and it is
caused by mutations in the ATP7B gene that encodes the ATP7B
protein(1).
This protein is essential for transporting and excreting excess copper; it is
expressed mainly in the liver and kidney and, at lower levels, in the
brain, lungs, and placenta.(5).

Siddiqui HR, Jamaluddin M, Alam MT, Khan IA.
Reasons for Conversion of Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy to
Conventional Cholecystectomy in a Tertiary Care Hospital. ASH & KMDC.
2016;21:160-65.
Authors in correct sequence, and names
checked from PubMed
Correct title of the
article to come
after the authors
name.
Correct journal
abbreviation as
given in Pubmed or
full name
Year of the article given
after the journal
abbreviation
Year of publication is
followed by the
volume no.
Page no comes last
this should not be
written as 160-165
Bibliographic Elements
Hina Rehman Siddique,
Muhammad Jamaluddin,
Muhammad Tanveer Alam,
Imran Ahmed Khan
59

Punctuation Marks
Full stop after the last author followed
by space and then the article title
Coma followed by space after each author do
not write and before the last author
Semicolon ; after the
year without any space
Colon : after volume no.
without any space
Hyphen to separate the page no.
Full stop at the end
of the ref.
Siddiqui HR, Jamaluddin M, Alam MT, Khan IA.
Reasons for Conversion of Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy to
Conventional Cholecystectomy in a Tertiary Care Hospital. ASH & KMDC.
2016;21:160-65.
60

Citation styles
 Vancouver style
1. Bukhari MH, Saadia S, Iqbal S, Naeed IA. Evaluation of Premalignant
cervical Lesions by Papanicolaou smears . PJMS. 2018;21:160-65.
• Oxford Style
Bukhari MH, Saadia S, Iqbal S, Naeed IA. 2018Evaluation of Premalignant
cervical Lesions by Papanicolaou smears . PJMS, 21:160-65.
.

Note
• In Oxford style write the author name while in Vancouver style
give the number in text
• Example The histological grading of these tumors as well-
differentiated (I), moderately-differentiated (II), and poorly-
differentiated (III) was done according to the criterion of the
American Joint Committee on Cancer[14,15].

Example of oxford style
• The histological grading of these tumors as well-differentiated
(I), moderately-differentiated (II), and poorly-differentiated (III)
was done according to the criterion of the American Joint
Committee on Cancer[Bukhari,2016, Ahmad 2018].

Book and Book Chapter
• Book Chapter Reference
Example
Qureshi GR, Naseer A, Butt N. New Classification of Squamous cell
carcinoma. In, Kumar V (ed). Text Book of Pathology, 1st edition. New
Yark, Mosby, 2010;28-791.
Book Reference
Kumar V (ed). Text Book of Pathology, 1st edition. New Yark, Mosby,
2010;28-791.

• Websites or web pages /Homepage/Web site
• Cancer-Pain.org [Internet]. New York: Association of Cancer Online Resources,
Inc.; c2000-01 [cited 2002 Jul 9]. Available from: http://www.cancer-pain.org/
• Complete works (reports, research papers, online books)
• Database on the Internet
• Who's Certified [Internet]. Evanston (IL): The American Board of Medical
Specialists. c2000 - [cited 2001 Mar 8]. Available from:
http://www.abms.org/newsearch.asp

Journal article on the WWW
Jonas J, Vignal JP, Baumann C, Anxionnat JF, Muresan M,
Vespignani H, et al. Effect of hyperventilation on seizure activation:
potentiation by antiepileptic drug tapering. J Neurol Neurosurg
Psychiatry. Published Online: 20 June 2010 [cited: October 30, 2012]
doi:10.1136/jnnp.2009.200329.
70

References from Website
• Websites or web pages
• Complete works (reports, research papers, online
books)
• Journal article on the Internet

References
• Common Mistakes
• Format, Format, Format
• (Figures & Tables, Equations, and References)
• Redundant Information
• Text, Figures, Tables, and Captions
• Type of Reference
• Maximum number of references of last 5 years
• Include local and international references
• Should preferably use Endnote software®
4/14/2019 72

A word of Caution!
• Publication ethics are essential
• Follow the Rules
• Plagiarism is not tolerated
• It is easy to detect with the modern software
• Be honest with the authorship allocation. Use ICMJE Criteria
• REMEMBER-Good work is always rewarded

Words and expressions to avoid
Jargon Preferred use
a considerable amount of much
on account of because
a number of several
Referred to as called
In a number of cases some
Has the capacity to can
It is clear that clearly
It is apparent that apparently
Employ use
Fabricate makeDay, RA. “How to write and publish a scientific paper,” 5th edition, Oryx Press,
1998.
74

Revise, revise and revise
 All authors should participate
 Review order of data presentation
 Polish the writing style
 Double check references
 Look for typos
 Double check spelling
75

Develop a good writing style
Read well written articles
Try to get good writers to review
Learn from editing changes
76

Submission
1. Read instructions carefully
2. Fill out all necessary forms
Copyright transfer
Conflict of interest
3. Write cover letter (suggest reviewers)
4. Confirm receipt after 6 weeks
77

Process of Research
Completion of research
Preparation of manuscript
Submission of manuscript
Assignment and review
Decision
Revision
Resubmission
Re-review
Acceptance
Publication
Rejection
Rejection
78

Responding to reviewers
1. Carefully prepare your responses
Each comment should be addressed
Each change should be stated
Be enthusiastic
2. Reviewer may be wrong
3. Be tactful – thank the reviewers
4. Do not respond to reviewers while upset
5. Never call the editor
6. Get help from other authors
79

“There is no way to get experience
except through experience.”
80

Resources of this lectures
• Material taken from Pak J Med Sci
• Lectures of Dr Fatima Jawad
• World Journal of Gastroenterology
• Journal of experimental Pathology
• JCPSP
• Day, RA. “How to write and publish a scientific paper,” 5th edition, Oryx Press, 1998.
• Fischer BA, Zigmond MJ. “Components of a research article.” survival@pitt.edu
• Marshal GS. “Writing a peer reviewed article.”
• http://dor.umc.edu/ARCHIVES/GMarshallPublishingarticle.ppt
• Hall, JE. “Writing research papers (and getting them published)”
http://dor.umc.edu/ARCHIVES/GMarshallPublishingarticle.ppt
• Benos, D., Reich, M. “Peer review and publication in APS journals.”
• http://www.the-aps.org/careers/careers1/EBSymposia/Benos2003.ppt

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