Key aspects of a journal manuscript and steps taken to identify and submit a manuscript to a journal

1. MANUSCRIPT
WRITING
ABBY LINK, RN, MPH, PHDER
JUNE 18, 2022
LIRA UNIVERSITY, MPH COURSE –YEAR 2

2. OBJECTIVES
Why write a manuscript
Types of manuscripts
Manuscript sections
Target journals
Predatory journals
References
Other considerations
Authorship
Cover letter
Timeline
Manuscript submission tutorial

3. WHYWRITEA
MANUSRIPT
Disseminate data
Advancing the field
Change in practices and/or policies
Evidence of completed research
objectives
Future funding
Promotion and recruitment
Maintain staff

4. HIERARCHY
OF EVIDENCE

5. TYPESOF
PAPERSTHAT
GET
PUBLISHED
Systematic, scoping, comprehensive
Literature reviews
Protocol papers: describe what you are
going to do
Short reports / updates from the field:
400-1500 words, 1-2 tables
Full-length research reports: 2500 – 4000
words, 1-3 tables, 1-2 figures
Commentaries

6. SCOPINGVS.
SYSTEMATIC
REVIEW

7. TYPESOF
MANUSCRIPTS
AND
GUIDELINES
REPORTING
GUIDELINE
Systematic Reviews PRISMA
Scoping Review PRISMA
Protocols SPIRIT
Case Reports CARE
Research Study CONSORT, STROBE
Qualitative COREQ, SRQR
Quality Improvement SQUIRE
Economic Evaluations CHEER

8. IMRad
 Introduction
 Methods
 Results
 and
 Discussion

9. ABSTRACT
 Write it LAST
 Summary of your manuscript
 Limited word count (300-500)
 Answer the 5 Ws (who, what, where, when,
why, & how)
 The abstract may be the only thing read before
preliminary decisions are made by journals
 ‘Structured’ vs. ‘Unstructured’

10. UNSTRUCTURED
VS.
STRUCTURED
ABSTRACTS
Recent evidence has suggested that maternal mortality rates can be affected by
hospital facility organization and design, including process design.The present
study aims to investigate the role of process design in decreasing maternal
mortality rates.This survey used a statistical analysis method performed by
collecting data from 45 hospitals in the greaterOrangeCounty area between
2005 and 2008 which was during the time that new process design was
introduced to half the target group with an aim towards reducing maternal
mortality.Analysis found that improved process design in the treatment of
hemorrhaging birthing mothers reduced maternal mortality by an average of
15%. Based on the findings of the current study, it seems that hospitals can
improve patient outcomes by revisiting and improving their process structure and
designs.Objective:To investigate the role of process design in reducing maternal
mortality.
Objective:To investigate the role of process design in reducing maternal
mortality.
Methods: Forty-five hospitals were surveyed and data were collected in Greater
OrangeCounty between 2005 and 2008. SPSS regression analysis was
performed.The analysis period coincided with the introduction of a newly
designed process for treating hemorrhaging in birthing mothers.
Results:The analyzed process design was reduced maternal mortality by an
average of 15%.
Conclusion: Hospitals may improve patient outcomes by redesigning their
processes.

11. WRITING
STEPS
Create an outline
Write up sections of the outline when you
have the information
 Methods (proposal) and as you conduct
your research
 Introduction (proposal/literature review)
 Results (main questions you are answering)
 Discussion (issues associated with findings

12. TITLE PAGE
Title
Authors
Institutions/contact information
Corresponding author: name, address,
email, fax
Key words: 3-10 for indexing

13. INTRODUCTION
WHY
1. Global problem (What we know)
2. Issues at the smaller topic/study
location/area
3. Specific problem and why the
problem exists (What we don’t know)
4. What the paper addresses (What we
will identify: Aims/objectives)
5. Typically, 3 paragraphs

14. METHODS
HOW, WHO, WHERE
 Outlining what you did to make it reproducible
 Study Site
 Setting: Country, geography; # patients seen; capacity, etc.
 Study Participants
 How identified, inclusion / exclusion criteria, characteristics
 Instruments Used
 Survey, clinical measure, where it came from (study specific
vs validated elsewhere?), why it’s best used here
 Data Collection
 How it was done, who did it, when did it happen, what was
collected
 Analysis Plan
 How was the hypothesis tested? What was considered
statistically significant? How were qualitative data
analyzed? Biases/confounding controlled? Software used.

15. METHODS
3-5 Paragraphs
1. Participant selection, setting
2. 2-4 variables and procedures for each primary and
secondary objectives
3. Last paragraph: Analytic methods

16. RESULTS
WHAT
Tables: 1. Demographics, 2. Bivariate
Analysis, 3. Multivariate analysis/sub
analysis.
Main findings, statistical significance
Refer to tables or figures instead of
writing out data (saves words)
No commentaries or discussion about
why results occurred

17. DISCUSSION
1. Summary of major findings
2. Comparisons of other literature
3. Study strengths
4. Limitations
5. Conclusion: Summary of key study
findings
6. Future implications/next steps or
recommendations

18. DISCUSSION
1. Paragraph 1
Main findings summary
2. Paragraph 2
Supporting findings summary
3. Paragraph 3
Implications, practice changes
4. Paragraph 4
Limitations
5. Paragraph 5
Summary/conclusion

19. OUTLINE
Introduction
Problems associated with RQ1, RQ2,
RQ3
Methods
How we will answer RQ1, RQ2,RQ3
Results
What we found for RQ1, RQ2, RQ3
Discussion
Issues associated with findings for
RQ1, RQ2, RQ3

20. CHOOSINGA
JOURNAL
 Identify a target journal, with list of backups
 Things to consider:
 Strength of your study
 Where similar research has been published
 Impact factor / reputation of the journal
 Impact Factor: number of articles cited in 2 years
number of articles published in 2 years
 Word count
 Submission logistics
 Turnaround time
 Publication fees
 Jane biosemantics: journal finder
https://jane.biosemantics.org/

21. 30 MINUTES
Identify 2-4 paper topics you can get with
the research you will conduct
Identify 3-5 potential journals for your
paper
Work on an outline of one of your
manuscript

22. PREDATORY
JOURNALS
The consensus definition reached was:
“Predatory journals and publishers are
entities that prioritize self-interest at the
expense of scholarship and are
characterized by false or misleading
information, deviation from best editorial
and publication practices, a lack of
transparency, and/or the use of aggressive
and indiscriminate solicitation practices.
https://beallslist.net/

23. PREDATORY
JOURNALS
False or misleading information: fake impact
factors, incorrect addresses,
misrepresentations of the editorial board, peer
review process
Substandard practice: not having a retraction
policy, requesting a transfer of copyright when
publishing an open-access article and not
specifying a Creative Commons license in an
open-access journal
Unprofessional-looking web page — with
spelling or grammar mistakes or irrelevant text
Lack of transparency: operational procedures
(such as how editorial decisions are made, fees
applied, and peer review organized
Aggressive, indiscriminate solicitation
Fees required before peer review process

24. REFERENCES
 Identify the required reference style based on your journal
or school requirements (APA,Vancouver)
 Some managers have journal style programmed
 Correctly cite your facts and quotes-plagiarism tools are
used
 Use primary articles vs. review articles
USE A REFERENCE MANAGER!
 Reference managers
 Zotero: https://www.zotero.org/
 Endnote: https://access.clarivate.com/login?app=endnote
 Mendeley: https://www.mendeley.com/
 Comparisons of Reference Managers:
 https://guides.lib.uw.edu/research/citations/tools/manage
ment-software
 https://www.scribendi.com/academy/articles/reference_ma
nagement_software_solutions.en.html

26. OTHER
CONSIDERATIONS
Publication Ethics: IRB statement with
number
Competing Interest: conflicts of interest
Author contributions: who did what?
Sources of financial support
Acknowledgements

27. AUTHOR
CONTRIBUTIONS
AUTHORSHIP CRITERIA
1. Have made a substantial contribution to the
concept or design of the article; or the
acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data
for the article; AND
2. Drafted the article or revised it critically for
important intellectual content; AND
3. Approved the version to be published; AND
4. Agreed to be accountable for all aspects of
the work in ensuring that questions related to
the accuracy or integrity of any part of the
work are appropriately investigated and
resolved.
 https://www.elsevier.com/authors/policies-and-
guidelines/credit-author-statement

28. AUTHORORDER
FIRST AUTHOR
Designs, conceives the study
Writes first draft
Partners with last author for drafts
LAST AUTHOR (SENIOR AUTHOR)
Experienced investigator who partners with
first author for analysis, interpretation and
writing
SECOND AUTHOR
Major contributor (data, analysis, writing)
THIRD AUTHOR
Important contributor
MIDDLE AUTHORS
Anyone else that meets authorship criteria

29. COORESPONDING
AUTHOR
FIRST AUTHOR OR LAST AUTHOR
Submits manuscript
Corresponds with the editor/publisher for
revisions
Receives correspondence from outside
investigators about data/publication

30. COVER
LETTER
No more than one page
Institutional Letter Head (If available)
Date
Name of editor, editor-in-chief, journal
name
Identify your manuscript title, give high
level, key findings and why it’s significant
and can make an impact.
Justify how this paper fits into the journal’s
mission and scope (About journal tab)
Final statement: We confirm that this work is original and
has not been published elsewhere, nor is it currently under
consideration for publication elsewhere.We have no conflicts of
interest to disclose.Thank you for your consideration of this
manuscript.

31. SUBMISSON
TIMELINE
TIME 0
• Approval of final manuscript from all authors
• Submission of cover letter and manuscript
2-3
weeks
• Editorial Review: rejection or send out for peer review
6-12
weeks
• First Review: reject, reject and revise, conditionally accept,
accept
2-8
weeks
• Second Review
2-6
months
• Gallies
1-3
months
• Publication

32. Editorial
Manager:
PLOSGlobal
Health
TUTORIAL
1. Type of article
2. Upload files
 Manuscript
 CL
 Figures
 Supporting Information
3. General Information
4. Reviewers' recommendations
5. Financial disclosures, copyright, data availability, etc.
6. Additional Info
7. Comments
8. Manuscript data
 Fill out: abstract, authors, funding, keywords

33. WRITINGTIPS
Take 1-2 hours each day to write
Give personal deadlines: specific sections
written
Get feedback: co-authors and others that
you trust
Give deadlines for feedback: 2-3 weeks

34. RESOURCES
 Literature Review
 https://www.editage.com/insights/a-young-
researchers-guide-to-a-systematic-review
 Reporting guidelines
 https://www.equator-network.org/reporting-
guidelines/
 Protocol Papers
 https://globalhealthtrials.tghn.org/community/blogs
/post/383/2015/06/how-to-write-and-publish-a-
study-protocol-free/
 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC478
4316/
 ORCHID ID: digital identifier (an ORCID iD) that you own and control, and that
distinguishes you from every other researcher
 https://orcid.org/
 Grammarly (online grammar checker)
 https://www.grammarly.com/grammar-check

35. BMJ RESEARCHTO
PUBLICATION
COURSES
https://rtop.bmj.com/
REGISTRATION
https://myaccount.b
mj.com/myaccount/ac
count/signup-
previous-
registration.html

36. THANK YOU
WHAT QUESTIONS DOYOU HAVE?
 Thanks to Dr. Cheryl Moyer and Dr. David Bangsberg for use and
adaption of their slides