Kunutu – Medical Manuscript Writing

Want to get your manuscript published in a medical journal? But afraid of getting it submitted successfully without rejections and objections. These sorts of hiccups are found in most of novice writers and investigators. So, how will we make sure that our painstaking work of research and manuscripts can see the light of the day without getting ditched by the scientific journal editors? To be able to sail smoothly we need to consider some crucial points that will help the scientific medical manuscripts to be accepted by good reputed medical journals.

For instance, the manuscript should be in compliance with the guidelines and instructions to authors of the journal. A brief note on the sponsor along with the cover letter should be taken into consideration while submitting your manuscript. Writing skills again is a very crucial factor that gets your manuscript through.

INTRODUCTION

A doctor’s duty does not get over by the time he finishes his work/operation. In fact, his duty will be considered accomplished only after he gets his work or research published. A published manuscript of his study or research will work as an evidence of his clinical trials. Moreover, a successfully published manuscript will be a win-win situation for both the investigator and the readers.

There are numerous benefits of getting your manuscripts published as it will be useful to doctors, other professional will be able to analyze your results and give their critical view points to the writer and who knows one day your findings will transform the way things are practiced and viewed in the present world.

Still investigators struggle in getting their manuscripts published as we can cite various reasons behind these failures and apprehensions ranging from lack of confidence or underestimating their work or cheap material to wrong study methods. The common mistake the investigators and novice writers commit is that they are under the wrong impression that their task is limited to gather and analyze data and leave the rest of the job to editors for constructing a brilliant and thorough reading for the readers. Before committing this sin, investigators should go through the INSTRUCTIONS TO AUTHORS, as most journals provide it as the prerequisites for the investigators.

REQUIREMENTS OF READERS

Before embarking on a journey of writing a manuscript one should keep in mind the requirements and demands of the reader so that readers can appreciate their work. It has been enumerated in the following sentences:

*who could be their targeted segment of readers?

* Readers apart from the main readers

* Background of the readers to keep the interest of the readers alive

*How to make the experience of the readers great for the subjects written

* Are they comprehending the scenarios and conditions discussed in the article?

REQUIREMENTS OF THE EDITOR

Don’t get scared by the demands of the Editor as he is asking you to be artistic enough to get your work submitted in his reputed Journal. An editor invariably desires the article to be as interesting as possible for his readers. He also want the article should be written in such a way that it increases the knowledge of readers and the article should be written in such a manner that it provides a platform for the genesis of new ideas for particular study subjects. The article should also adhere to the mission of the journal by complying with the INSTRUCTIONS TO THE AUTHORS.

GETTING A MANUSCRIPT READY FOR SUBMISSION

As the editors and reviewers burn their lot of calories in perusing the submitted manuscripts, so every effort should be made by the writers to make their manuscripts readable and comprehend by the editors.

INSTRUCTIONS TO AUTHORS should be taken as a bible by the manuscript writers in order to comply with the guidelines of the journal. INTRODUCTION, METHOD, RESULT AND DISCUSSION (IMRAD) are the four basic components that a manuscript should consist of as it helps in demonstrating a process of scientific evidence-based study conducted by an investigator.

Another important point should be kept in mind while writing a manuscript is that sufficient space margins should be left for the editors to make and amend some changes as well as to add comments and questions.

TITLE PAGE

*Title should be plain, simple and not complex.

* The International Committee of Medical Journal Editor (ICMJE) pronounce that the manuscript writer or author should follow some criteria like he has made a good amount of contribution on the design or proposal, used his intellect capacity and provide final agreement for the publication.

* Disclaimer.

*Name and address of the authors with their contact details

* Funds, aid and sources for research.

* Word count, Running head and No. of illustrations and tables.

Special page for the conflict of interest in order to avoid probable conflict of interest among writer, editor or reviewer.

SIGNIFICANCE OF ABSTRACT AND KEY WORDS

In a nut shell, Abstract is an integral part of any manuscript. It includes Background and Aim of the study, Procedures (Observation and Analysis) and last but not the least the Conclusion. As far as key words are concerned, they are mentioned along with the Abstract. Key word is a succinct phrase that should depict the main topic of the research or work. Keywords should subsume words specified in the list of Medical Subject Heading(Mesh) of index medicus.

HOW TO WRITE THE INTRODUCTION?

Introduction should work as a front office to any hotel or reception counter to any guest house. Introduction helps in showcasing the background of the study. Sections of the Introduction should be narrated in 1 or 2 paragraphs as it should make readers realize that the research carried is necessary and realistic.

WHAT ARE THE METHODS USED?

An investigator ought to mention each and every detail like computer programs used in the study, time and place of the study conducted, medicines and equipment used, technical information about measurement, Analytical and statistical data used, explain statistical terms, abbreviations and symbols.

HOW TO PRESENT THE RESULTS OF THE STUDY?

In order to make your results and findings meaningful and reasonable, We need to delve into various minute details like Tables, texts and illustrations can be used to present the study result with logical sequences. Always try to start from main result or the most important result first. Do not reiterate any information that has been specified in tables and illustration into text, except for emphasizing or highlighting important findings. Appendix section can be used for putting additional information and technical details so that it can be explained without modifying the narration. Avoid non-technical statistical terms, such as “random”, “normal”, “significant”, “correlations”, and “sample”.

One should be cautious about the usage of numerical accuracy, data, statistical symbols which are referred to as a guide to ICMJE.

HOW TO DISCUSS THE FINDINGS OF THE STUDY?

Showcase the fresh and important findings of the study. Avoid repetition and redundancy. Always start your discussion with crisp and transparent explanation about the main result of the study. You can compare and differ with other relevant studies and can explain about the demerits in the study. You can also discuss about its implications on the medical practice. In the end, try to establish a relation between conclusion and aim of the study.

HOW TO USE THE REFERENCES?

Investigators should keep in mind that References should be numbered in the sequence in which they are mentioned in the text. Always use the Arabic parenthesis while using references of texts, tables and illustrations.

FINISHING TOUCH: FINAL PREPARATION OF MANUSCRIPT

After finishing with everything keep your painstaking work of manuscript with you and let others read and analyses it to give their important feedbacks. This strategy will make you improve your work by making some amendments. In fact after some days you may bump in to some novel ideas and solutions that you may want to include in your manuscript without disturbing the whole content. Try to go through each and every sentence by reading it again as this will minimize typing error. Make sure that your manuscript is crisp and concise and is interesting enough to make it a enjoyable reading for the readers and editors.

Manuscripts should be enclosed by the cover letter and may contain the relevant information regarding the previous refusal, comments of the previous editors about your work etc.

After submitting wait for the response of the editor as it can be accepted (party time!!) can be considered for further revision (still on a safer side) or who knows may be rejected, but don’t lose hope is the moral of the story, as it again gives you the opportunity to further look into your work and improve it by making some required and necessary changes and then again you can submit it to some other journal next time.

I believe that after following the above mentioned strategies Novice Writers and Investigators will give a tough job to Editors in getting their work rejected. And I am very hopeful that if Writers follow these strategies and guidelines then their work is surely be accepted and appreciated by everyone.

Every day, the field of medicine witnesses new discoveries, theories, and concepts. The average medical researcher has to keep pace with these changes. Moreover, he or she has to also contribute regularly to his or her field of work. Therefore, the process of preparation of a manuscript produced by him or her is extremely important. However, a document that is full of mistakes will be rejected by many. So, here are some mistakes you should avoid in your medical paper.

Male or female – Noun or adjective

Female and male are adjectives in the medical context and not nouns. For instance, a 24 year old female could refer to both a human being as well as an animal. However, when you rephrase this as a 24 year old woman, it would be more specific and would imply the female of the human species.

Commonly confused words

1. Radiography versus radiogram – Be careful while using these two words since “radiogram” indicates the presence of a particular condition while “radiography” means a procedure that can be performed.

2. Patient versus case – While a case refers to a condition with its related circumstances, a patient means a person who is suffering from a specific condition.

Article usage

It can be tricky to understand the usage of an article. The most common error is the omission of the different articles before the names of body parts. However, the use of the definite article “the” will be sufficient if the names of the body parts are a part of a list. However, the rule is not applicable to certain idioms. For example, do not take this to heart.

Other common errors

The use of the word “significant” should not be done except when indicating significance of a statistical nature. The contents of figures and tables should always be in present tense and not in the past or future tense.

Scientific research papers are created with an objective of finding better means to treating medical conditions. They are also written so that the new ideas can be shared or exchanged with another to improve medical knowledge. Publishing these medical research papers in medical journals would help you test various findings and also take them to the next level. Peer review is considered an integral part of the publishing process. So, why not get your medical research paper peer reviewed?

Peer review will ensure quality

Getting your research paper reviewed by peers is one of the best ways to evaluate the significance, quality and relevance of the papers that medical researchers submit. At the end of the day, this would ensure that the medical treatments are effective and safe for the patient. This will eliminate the chances of findings that are made up, plagiarised work, and dangerous conclusions that are actually inconclusive. Peer review is, in fact, not only a prominent but also an established way of publishing a research paper in a journal.

Experts edit your paper

What more could you ask for than the help of experts, who would go through your paper and tell you what is wrong with it and why it was rejected? There are no industrial standards that dictate how peer review should be done. However, the research papers are generally edited by those who are in the same industry as the author of the research paper. So, they would normally know how to edit your paper. Moreover, they would also be highly familiar with the terms used by those in the industry, which gives them an added advantage. You can even get your paper peer reviewed by a good dissertation writing company so that you can get the best service at a low cost. Moreover, you can prevent your article from being rejected after your having worked so hard.

Editors hardly find time to go through your entire manuscript, and so it is the synopsis that they want to go through. Therefore, you have to be focused when writing the synopsis and punch in the crucial points to make it ideal for describing the manuscript.

Follow a few step-by-step procedures ensure a successful guide towards writing an apt synopsis of your unpublished manuscript.

Remember a successful synopsis is well-defined by its structured, surprise-free and succinct content. Long, meandering sentences won’t justify your writing. First off, you have to be well aware of your manuscript. Though, you may feel that the job is quite easy but you will be surprised to know how easy it is to forget the subtle details of what you have written since you have been working on it since a long time. Therefore, before you start jotting down the synopsis you need to go through the entire manuscript once again and be sure that you know all the information intimately.

Draft a summary first. Once you are confident about the storyline, characters and language; you can go well about it. A well-written synopsis should not be more than 300 words. Therefore, after finishing writing the draft, re-check it and edit the content to abridge it. Since 300 words is too short to describe a 1,00, 000 words manuscript you have to choose words wisely and trickily put in the information and essence of the matter in a way to convince readers. The advice is to avoid being too much descriptive, instead, be brief and to the point.

Remember, drafting, editing and then finalizing your summary play the major steps in preparing a validated summary for an unpublished manuscript. The crucial advice is to ask a professional to read your synopsis before it is being submitted. An objective opinion plays the best for your manuscript.

The medical and scientific fields experience the discovery of new concepts, inventions, theories, etc. every single day. A medical researcher has to keep up with the latest advancements in his or her field. Moreover, he or she has to also actively contribute to the same by way of the publication of the result of his or her findings in publications or journals of acclaim. However, there are also chances that you might make mistakes while publishing your manuscript. Here are some mistakes that you need to avoid.

Male / Female: Adjective or Noun?

In the context of the medical field, the word “male” or “female” can only be used as an adjective and never as a noun. For example, a 21-year old female could either mean animal or human. However, when you want to be specific, then you could use a 21-year old woman.

Patient vs. Case

The word case means a condition with the circumstances that are related to it. On the other hand, patient means an individual, who is suffering from a specific health problem or is facing a certain condition.

Radiogram vs. Radiography

Where radiography can tell you whether you are suffering from a specific condition or not, radiogram can only be performed on a person. You should, therefore, be careful with the use of these words.

Capitalization

The names of generic drugs should be in lower case in the medical context. On the other hand, brand names should be capitalized. There are many other errors that are made while preparing a medical manuscript.

Other common errors

• In the case of datum versus data, datum is used in the singular sense, whereas data is used in the plural sense.
• As much as possible, avoid the use of the word “significant.” Instead, use the word “remarkable” or “marked.”