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Answers
to questions on writing journal articles
My professor
has just handed me a bundle of patients' records saying,
'There must be a paper in there somewhere'. What do I do
now?
Have a short look at the papers, then go for a long
walk. Try to formulate a single message from them, and look
for a journal that is likely to publish such a message. If
you think the task is hopeless go back to your professor -
but make sure you give the evidence for your decision.
I have
just written a paper and a senior academic, who has had
nothing to do with it, has insisted that his name goes on as
a co-author. What do I do?
Clearly this person has contravened the spirit of
authorship, but you are in a very difficult position. If you
complain, and the 'guest author' has to take his name off
the paper, you will have made a powerful enemy. You will
probably have to sit quietly - but you can make a resolution
that, when you have the power, you will never put someone
else in this invidious position.
Should I
use the passive voice when writing for journals?
In general, general journals seem to prefer the
active voice ('This study shows...'), while specialist
journals prefer the passive ('It was shown in this
study...'). But there are variations, and the best advice is
to look in your target journal to see which voice is
generally used.
How can I
decide which journals are appropriate?
Journals (or rather the editors of journals) tend to pick
particular topics and become interested in them. Doing a
quick literature search will help you to identify which
journal is likely to be interested in the topic you are
proposing to cover.
I find it
difficult to know what should go in the Introduction and
what should go into the Discussion.
The Introduction, which usually consists of two paragraphs,
answers the question: why did we start? It generally begins
with a fairly bland statement about the subject of the
research ('Diabetic retinopathy is ...') and ends with a
sentence describing what the study was about ('In this study
we ...').
The Discussion, which typically consists of 7-8 paragraphs,
starts with a sentence describing what the study found ('In
this study we ...'). It then discussed the implications of
this (one point per paragraph) before (ideally) ending with
a sentence giving the overriding message ('We have a new
treatment ...').
I finished
the first draft of my paper two months ago. Four of the five
co-authors have still to send it back. What can I do?
The only thing you can do at this stage is send them a
gentle reminder. Next time think in terms of getting all
co-authors to agree on a schedule, and write it down. This
should give you more leverage.
Is there a
typical length for a scientific paper?
Many people will say 2,000 - 3,000 words, which is
useful up to a point. It is probably easier to think in
terms of paragraphs. Our research showed that the typical
shape of a scientific paper was
- Introduction - two
paragraphs
- Methods - seven
paragraphs
- Results - seven
paragraphs
- Discussion - six
paragraphs
Research
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03.09.2001
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