Manuscripts From A to Z, another great presentation by Dr T Justaniah

1. @kaimrc_edu
1

2. Preparing & Submitting the
Manuscript
4th Research Summer School
9th July, 2012
Taghreed Justinia MSc PhD
Asst. Professor, Department of Health Informatics
Asst. Director, Information & Communication Technology
KSAU-HS, NGHA
Tel. +966 2 6240000 ext. 26217 / 26210
Email: JustiniaT@ngha.med.sa

3. In this session…
 Major parts of a Manuscript
 Writing skills; suggestions for improvement
 Submitting the manuscript; process and advice
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4. Manuscript writing
 The goal of scientific writing in a manuscript is effective
communication
 The report is precise and to the point: it states the question
to which the problem is addressed, the method employed,
the results obtained and the relation of these results to other
scientific knowledge
 The usual requirements of English such as complete
sentences, accurate spelling and current grammar is required
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5. Major Parts of a Manuscript
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6. Major parts of a Manuscript
1. Title page
 Title
 Author’s name and institutional affiliation (disclaimers)
 Abstract
 Key words
2. Introduction
3. Methods
4. Results
5. Discussion
6. References
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7. Title
 99% of readers will read only the title and abstract of your paper
(most will only read the title)
 The title should
 summarize the main idea of the paper
 be a concise statement of the main topic
 should refer to the major variables investigated
 make electronic retrieval both sensitive and specific.
 Do not use abbreviations in the title
 Recommended length is 10-12 words
 Shorter or longer titles are permissible
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8. Author’s name & institutional
affiliation
 The author’s name should appear as normally written
 Be consistent!
 an author should not use initials on one manuscript and full
name on a later one
 Institutional affiliation as of the time the research was conducted
 Corresponding author's name, mailing address, telephone and fax
numbers, and email address
 Email addresses of all authors
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9. Abstract
 A brief summary of the contents and purpose of the article
 Approximately 120-150 words (short but informative)
 Should contain statements of (a) the problem, (b) the
method, (c) the results, and (d) the findings and conclusions
 Results are most important, and every abstract should at
least contain the trend of the results
 State the kind and number of subjects, and the research
design
 A list of three to nine key words follows the abstract
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10. Introduction
 To inform the reader of the specific problem under study
and the research strategy
 What is the point of the study?
 What is the rationale or logical link between the problem
and the research design?
 What are the theoretical implications of the study and its
relationship to previous work in the area?
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11. Introduction
 Discuss the pertinent literature (not include an exhaustive
historical review)
 Cite only selected studies that are pertinent to the specific
issue
 In summarizing earlier works, avoid nonessential details:
 emphasize major conclusions, findings and relevant
methodological issues
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12. Methodology
 How the study was conducted
 Should be described in enough detail to permit an
experienced investigator to replicate the study if desired (this
applies to quantitative research)
 Three labeled subsections:
 Participants
 Apparatus (or Materials)
 Design and Procedures
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13. Results
 Briefly state the main idea of your results or findings
 Present detailed summaries in tables or figures
(supplementary; not instead of text)
 Report the data in sufficient detail to justify your subsequent
conclusions
 DO NOT discuss the implications of the results in this
subsection (save implications for the DISCUSSION section)
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14. Discussion
 In general, be guided by the following questions:
 What have I contributed here?
 How has my study helped to resolve the original
problem?
 What conclusions and theoretical implications can I
draw from my study?
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15. Discussion
 Relate findings of the study to findings reported by others
 Provide a deeper understanding of your findings
 Do not restate what you have done
 Do not focus on yourself - put current results in context with similar
data that might interest the readers
 The author may
 draw inferences from the results
 give alternative interpretations
 base these firmly on the research findings
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16. References
 Note and adhere to format of journal to be submitted to
 Avoid excessive self-citation; make sure to balance between your
own work and that of others
 Choose references carefully and cite them accurately
 Can use reference manager like EndNote/Procite/RefWorks
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17. Appendices
 Inclusion of an appendix will help your instructor/reviewers
evaluate your paper
 Some examples that may be included in the appendix are:
 Raw scores and computations used in statistical analyses
 In non-experimental research: a questionnaire, consent
form, information sheet
 Anything you include as an appendix does not count toward
the word count of the final paper
 Approvals, forms, letters
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18. Writing Skills
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19. Problems with Scientific Writing
What are the most common problems with manuscripts?
The paper is too long
Its subject matter is not suitable for the journal
The author has not explained the general interest of the
specific issues
The author assumes too much specific knowledge from the
reader
The writing and figures are not clear
It is not well structured
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20. Writing Skills
Be Accurate
Science is a precise discipline. Your descriptions or results
may be used by others who need to know they are reliable
Be Brief
Use only as many words as you need – remove or replace
words that are repeated or do not add anything useful
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21. Writing Skills
Be Clear
You will not be there to explain to the reader what you
mean. If you have to read a sentence again in order to
understand it, rewrite it. Better still, give your work to others to
read to see if it makes sense to them
Avoid long sentences
Long sentences are hard to follow. Shorter sentences help
you write concisely
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22. Writing Skills
Be concise
This keeps your writing from being swamped with
unnecessary words
 Make your writing clear and therefore easy to follow
Most journals have strict word limits!
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23. Writing that is not concise
The data that were collected in this study were obtained by walking 6 x
500 m transects that traversed, from one side to the other, study plots in
each of the four forest compartments (K14, K12, K10) listed in the
previous section.
All the words that are underlined are unnecessary and can be
removed without any loss of important information, leaving:
The data were obtained by walking 6 x 500 m transects in each of the
four forest compartments.
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24. Language and Grammar
 Use plain words
 Impress the reader with your project, not your knowledge of
the dictionary
 Avoid jargon and abbreviations as they may not be widely
known
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25. Less is more
at this point in time = now
at that point in time = then
has the ability to = can
has the potential to = can
in light of the fact that = because
in the event that = if
in the vicinity of = near
owing to the fact that = because
the question as to whether = whether
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26. Planning your paragraphs
This is the key to writing logical, structured reports:
Start with generalities and then move towards more specific
ideas
There should be an obvious logical connection between
paragraphs
There should be one main or theme point per paragraph; if
the paragraph contains too many themes, create a new
paragraph or paragraphs
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27. Grammar
 You can be a very good writer without knowing much about
grammatical terms
 Simple writing is often easier to follow than writing that
uses complex structures
 Remember to use the same tense throughout your paper
 Most problems occur in long, complex sentences – a good
reason to keep them short
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28. Grammar
Make it look good
Get rid of ALl typingg an$d sPeling erors;
If your writing looks careless, people may not trust the
accuracy of your work
Be consistent
Use the same definitions throughout – if you introduce a
definition in the methods, use the same term in the results and
discussion
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29. Submitting the Manuscript
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30. Impact Factors
 Impact Factor is:
 A measure of the frequency with which the "average
article" in a journal has been cited in a particular year or
period
 Depends heavily on size of the field
 Does not reflect individual articles
 Includes self-citations (journal and author)
 Review articles skew impact factors
 Linked to publication time of journal (2-year timeframe)
 Publishing in high-impact journal does not guarantee high
citations
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31. Determining authorship
International Committee of Medical Journal Editors Criteria:
3.Substantial contributions to conception and design, or
acquisition of data, or analysis and interpretation of data
4.Drafting the article or revising it critically for important
content
5.Final approval of the version to be published
 Authors should meet conditions 1, 2, 3 to be credited.
“Acquisition of funding, collection of data, or general supervision of
the research group, alone, does not constitute authorship.” - ICMJE
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32. Word count
 Depends on specific journal requirements (refer to the journal
guide for authors and submission guidelines)
 Could be 22 pages, 5,000 words, 7,000 words, unspecified
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33. Submission Procedures
 Depends on specific journal guidelines and requirements
 Submit by post:
 No staples, single sheets
 If more than 5 pages manila file
 Most journals have online submission procedures
 Make sure you have carefully read and adhered to the journal’s list of
instructions for authors
 No manuscript should be submitted simultaneously to more
than one journal
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34. Cover Letter
 Title of the research paper
 Intended submission type (article, report, letter, review etc.)
 Details about the authors and their affiliations
 Contact information of the corresponding author
 Very brief background on the research field (what are the open
questions and why are they important?)
 Briefly about the paper’s objectives and findings
 Why is the study relevant?
 Why the paper should be published
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35. The submission process
1. Authors submit to journal
2. Review by editorial board >>Deliberation
3. Peer review by referee>>Return to editorial board>>Deliberation
4. Return to authors with decision letter:
 Accept-no revisions (go to step 7)
 Accept-minor revisions (most common) > (go to step 5)
 Accept-major revisions
 Reject
P Revision done by authors>>Return to editorial board
Deliberation by editorial board>>final decision (accept or reject)
e If Accepted
 Proofs
 Publication
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36. Turnaround times
 No precise answer (but takes a long time)
 Depends on many factors
 The more revisions the more time
 First decision letter could be received within 10-14 weeks
 From submission date to final print could take 6 months
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37. Editors
 Act as quality-control managers
 Everything goes through them
 Link between author paper, referees and publishers
 Make final decisions about acceptance and rejection of
papers
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38. Peer Review
 Referee/Reviewer:
 any researcher in a university or other organization that has
demonstrated the required expertise in a specialty area of the
paper
 Selected by the journal editorial board
 Determines if methods and conclusions are sound
 Quality control element of science
 Blind / double-blind process
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39. What referees & editors look for
ignificance of research topic
riginality of the work
dequacy of approach/experimental design/techniques
oundness of conclusions and interpretation
elevance of discussion
uitability for journal
fficiency of organisation
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40. The Decision Letter
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41. Minor revision
 The most common response to submissions
 Welcome it as a healthy option
 Take the advice of the editors and reviewers as constructive
 They are professional experts in the field
 Their advice will make your paper better
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42. Major revision
id referees misunderstand the paper?
o you agree with referees’ comments?
f so, accept that the necessary revisions
 Will most probably improve the paper; make the changes!
oes it require additional lab work?
any papers do not get re-submitted at this stage
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 binned

43. Dealing with rejection
 Everyone gets rejected; don’t take it personally & don’t lose hope!
 Many journals have high rejection rates (sometimes up to 95%!)
 Remember that most criticism leads to revisions that ultimately
improve the paper
 Consider editor’s and referees’ comments carefully before
deciding what to do next
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44. What to do with rejection?
 Editors and referees do make mistakes:
 willing to overrule specific points, especially if there
were factual errors in the reviews
 large majority of decisions are not overturned
 Consider appealing (be aware that it is an uphill battle)
 Time is an issue if you want to appeal
 Do more work and resubmit as a new paper to the same
journal?
 Bite the bullet; send to a different journal?
 DO NOT use inflammatory language, bribes, threats
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45. Most importantly
 Read author guidelines carefully; you will learn a lot!
 Enjoy the process
 Learn from the process
 The more you write and submit, the better you will get!
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46. References & further reading
How to Design and Evaluate Research in Education by Jack R.
Fraenkel and Norman E. Wallen (2006, Book, Illustrated)
Bryman, A. and M. Hardy, Eds. (2004). Handbook of data
analysis. London, Sage.
Silverman, D., Ed. (2006). Qualitative research: theory, method
and practice. London, Sage.
Bryman, A. (2008). Social research methods. Oxford, Oxford
University Press.
Corbin, J. and A. Strauss (1990). “Grounded Theory Research:
Procedures, Canons, and Evaluative Criteria”. Qualitative Sociology
13(1): 3.
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47. Questions?
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