1、Secrets to Writing Better Scientific Articles,Tom Lang Tom Lang Communications and Training,For More Information,How To Report Statistics in Medicine Annotated Guidelines for Authors, Editors, and Reviewers, 2nd EditionThomas A Lang & Michelle SecicAmerican College of Physicians, 2006,For More Infor
2、mation,How to Write, Publish, and Present in the Health Sciences A Guide for Physicians and Laboratory ResearchersTom LangAmerican College of Physicians, 2009,Science cannot exist without writing!, Speech and pictures are not enough! Publishing is the final stage of research Evidence-based medicine
3、is literature- based medicine,The truth no one told you . . .,If you have chosen to become a researcher, you have chosen to become a writer!,What is the most important part of a scientific article?,What is the most important part of a scientific article?The Title The part most often read Often the o
4、nly part read The key link between the research and the reader,Which part usually has the most errors?,Which part usually has the most errors?The References References take time to format correctly Errors in references indicate lack of attention to detail,Which part is usually the weakest?,Which par
5、t is usually the weakest?The Discussion You have to decide what your results mean You have to tell how your results support or differ from other results,What Journal Editors Want,Manuscripts that follow the Instructions for Authors!,Mulford Library, Medical College of Ohio Links to Instructions for
6、Authors for most biomedical journals http:/mulford.meduohio.edu/instr/The EQUATOR Network Links to reporting requirements for different types of researchhttp:/www.equator-network.org/,Editors want to publish research that is: New True Important Clearly Reported,Topics of this Lecture,How to write be
7、tter: Titles Introductions Tables and Graphs Discussions,How to Write Better Titles,Titles help readers find and decide whether to read the full articleTitles help readers NOT read the article if it will NOT be of interestIdentify what was studied, not what was found,Remember: “SPICED”Setting (locat
8、ion)Patients (what was studied)Intervention (treatment)Comparator (control group)Endpoint (outcome of interest)Design (study design),Original A Randomized Trial of Low-Air-Loss Beds for Treatment of Pressure Ulcers 72 characters and spacesRevised Low-Air-Loss Beds vs. Foam Mattresses for Treating Pr
9、essure Ulcers in Nursing Home Patients: A Randomized Trial 111 characters and spaces,How to Write Better Introductions,Biomedical scientists are: Researchers Writers These roles require different skills,In an area of science . . .Scientists find a problem Study the problem as researchers And, as wri
10、ters, report their results in articles,The 4-Part Introduction1. Background statement: provides the information needed to understand the problem and the research2. Problem statement: describes the nature, extent, severity, or importance of the problem that stimulated the research,The 4-Part Introduc
11、tion 3. Action statement: gives the research question, hypothesis, approach, or activities undertaken to investigate the problem4. Forecasting statement: tells readers what they will find if they continue to read,Part 1: Background Statement,“In patients with atherosclerotic vascular disease, aspiri
12、n is recommended to prevent myocardial infarction and graft occlusion.”,Part 2: Problem Statement,“However, aspirin is also associated with bleeding. Patients are often asked to stop taking aspirin before bronchoscopy, to reduce the risk of bleeding. The effectiveness of this practice has never been
13、 tested.”,Part 3: Action Statement,“Thus, we wanted to determine whether aspirin increases the risk of bleeding after bronchoscopy.”,Part 4: Forecasting Statement,“Here, we describe our study in which we compared the number and severity of bleeding events in patients taking aspirin with those who we
14、re not and determined that aspirin does not increase the risk of bleeding.”,Problems with IntroductionsWeak background and problem statements Many authors assume readers will know:1) What problem was studied 2) Why the problem is important,How to Write Better Results Sections,Summarize the study in
15、a diagramPut your results in tables and figuresTake the time to make good tables and figures,Making Good Tables and Graphs,What level of detail do you need to show?Will readers want analytical or reference information?Will readers want to see exact values or patterns in the values?,1. What level of
16、detail do you need to show?,Focusing readers attention on: Individual values Groups of values Comparisons between values or groups,Comparisons between Groups,Making Good Tables and Graphs,2. Will readers want analytical or reference information?Analytical: organize the dataReference: organize the he
17、adings,An Analytical Table,A Reference Table,Making Good Tables and Graphs,3. Will readers want to see exact values or patterns in the values?Readers see values faster and more accurately in tablesReaders see patterns of values faster and more accurately in graphs,Exact Values or Patterns in the Val
18、ues,Making Good Tables and Graphs,What level of detail do you need to show?Will readers want analytical or reference information?Will readers want to see exact values or patterns in the values?,Tables and How to Design Them,Principles of Table Design,Tables used to record data may not be good for co
19、mmunicating data Place values to be compared side-by-side, if possible,46,Principles of Table Design,Round numbers to 2 significant digits, unless more precision is necessary,Principles of Table Design,Keep the data consistent with column and row headings,Principles of Table Design,Keep the data con
20、sistent with column and row headings,Principles of Table Design,Do not leave cells empty: indicate that the cell contains no value with an ellipsis (. . .),Principles of Table Design,Consider highlighting important values,Principles of Table Design,Align data, symbols, and text consistently within c
21、olumns.,Consider Giving Totals,Consider Giving Totals,Graphs and How to Design Them,543210,0 5 10 15 20,543210,0 5 10 15 20,Principles of Graph Design,Indicate the zero-zero pointBreak scale lines and the data field when the scale does not start at zero,Principles of Graph Design,Emphasize the data
22、over other elements in the graph,Emphasize the data!,Principles of Graph Design,When possible, present comparisons of length against a common baseline,Length on a Common Baseline,From Bar Charts to Dot or Box Charts,How to Make a Dot Chart,Problems with Graphs,Do not use a 3-dimensional graph to sho
23、w 2-dimensional data,How to Write Better Discussions Summarize the study and the main results.Interpret and explain the results Tell how your results support or differ from other results: review the literature,Suggest how the results might be generalizedDiscuss the implications of the results State
24、the limitations of the studyList the conclusions,Conclusions We conclude that Tamoxifen reduced the incidence of DMH-induced colon cancer in rats. We also showed that DMH induced the expression of estrogen receptors in colonic mucosa, but that the number of estrogen receptors in the colonic mucosa w
25、as not correlated with blood levels of estradiol, polyamine, or ornithine decarboxylase. Finally, we found no relationship between blood levels of estradiol and tumor incidence.,In conclusion, we found that:Tamoxifen reduced the incidence of DMH-induced colon cancer in rats.DMH stimulated the expres
26、sion of estrogen receptors in colonic mucosa.Blood levels of estradiol, polyamine, or ornithine decarboxylase were not correlated with the number of estrogen receptors in the mucosa.Tumor incidence was not related to blood levels of estradiol.,Common ProblemsNot answering the research questionRepeating the results rather than discussing their implicationsConfusing statistical significance with biological importanceConfusing fact with speculation,The secret to good medical writing:,Have something to say. Say it. STOP!,
