jamanetwork.com getting published edward livingston, md deputy editor, clinical reviews and...
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Getting Published
Edward Livingston, MD
Deputy Editor, Clinical Reviews and EducationJAMAProfessor of SurgeryUT Southwestern School of MedicineNorthwestern University
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Getting Published
• Do high quality work• Quality means more than Quality
– High quality work will last forever• Some promotion committees consider
journal quality• Everyone knows that one can get
anything published these days• This may increase promotion committees
consideration of where you publish
© 2013 American Medical Association Confidential and Privileged
• Slide 2
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Getting Published
• Why Publish?• Communicate ideas• Important ideas are of interest to
journals• Important to communicate clearly
© 2013 American Medical Association Confidential and Privileged
• Slide 3
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Getting Published• Read the journal you want to publish in• Journal editors put great effort into their journals• May have themes they are pursuing• Making editors happy:
– “In your journal you had the following 5 articles on this topic. Since the topic is of interest to the Journal of Irreproducible Results, I wanted to submit this manuscript for your consideration.”
• Making editors unhappy:– Address the letter to the wrong editor (usually Dr. Drazin)– Emphasize some topic published in another journal.
• “A recent landmark publication in the NEJM called for….”
– Address to ‘Dear Editor’– No cover letter
© 2013 American Medical Association Confidential and Privileged
• Slide 4
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Common Pitfalls
• Trial registration– Intervention trials must be registered BEFORE
patients are enrolled• Study Power
– Reference prior studies providing assumptions about expected mean, SD etc.
– Rationale for expected differences between groups (MCID)
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Common Pitfalls
• Study Design–Equivalence–Superiority–Noninferior
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Common Pitfalls
• Clear definition of Primary Outcome Variable
• Secondary Outcomes– Rarely adequately powered– Best if secondary analysis is included
in study protocol as an a priory analysis
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Statistics
• Differences between groups should be clinically significant and important.
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Statistical Matters
• Missing Data– Missing at Random?– Dropping observations is suboptimal– Random Effects Regression– Multiple Imputation– Last Observation Carried Forward (LCOF)
• Can bias towards more favorable results if patients drop out
– First Observation Carried Forward (FOCF)
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What does NOT work
• Logistic regression analysis of administrative databases
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Presentation
• Follow author instructions-we will reject on that basis alone.
• If sent elsewhere first:– Not as much of a problem as many authors
think– Ensure that you address prior reviewers
critiques. We may ask for the prior reviews
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Paper Structure
• Brevity and Clear Writing• Abstract-
– Context: What is the clinical question?– Conclusion: Ensure it follows the data
• Introduction– 3 Paragraphs
• Introduction to topic-avoid a summary of what everyone already knows
• What specific aspect of the clinical problem you will address
• Explicit statement of a study hypothesis
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Paper Structure
• Methods– Sufficient detail so others can duplicate study
• Results– Include confidence intervals or IQRs for data-never only show point
estimates• Discussion
– Focused – How your findings change clinical thought
• Figure/Tables– Visually appealing and simple
• References– Complete-make sure you find all pertinent papers-the one you miss is
always written by (a now pissed off) reviewer
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Frequent JAMA Authors
• 10:1 Reject:Accept Ratio• Keep Trying
– But: Take the editors advice when rejected– i.e. don’t keep resubmitting the same type of paper
that was rejected previously– “I need a JAMA publication to get promoted”
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Write and Submit
• Write well-it takes practice• 2nd draft = 1st draft – 10%• Writing should be interesting to read• Get others to review MS-especially those
not intimately familiar with the topic-take their advice
• Resubmission –Address EVERY point raised by the editors and reviewers
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Learn to Write-“Hours in the Saddle”
• How? Write often-Get friends/family/mentors to proofread
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Write and Submit
• Do not argue with peer reviewers• You can disagree-explain why• REALLY BAD idea to argue with the
editor• Don’t be afraid to contact editors directly
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Learn to Write
• High quality science-poorly published because of poor writing skills
• Poor quality science-well published because of superior writing skills
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Be Modest
• They could have said “These crucially important and novel findings will transform the way scientists think about genetics”
• But they did not:
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Orwell’s 6 Writing Tips
• Never use a metaphor, simile, or other figure of speech which you are used to seeing in print.
– shoulder to shoulder with, play into the hands of, an axe to grind, Achilles’ heel
• Never use a long word where a short one will do.
• If it is possible to cut a word out, always cut it out.
• Never use the passive where you can use the active.
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Orwell’s 6 Writing Tips
• Never use a foreign phrase, a scientific word, or a jargon word if you can think of an everyday English equivalent.
• Break any of these rules sooner than say anything outright barbarous.
– break the previous rules when necessary for a proper sentence.
– Orwell, G. Horizon (volume 13, issue 76, pages 252–265) 1946– http://www.orwell.ru/library/essays/politics/english/e_polit
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Words to Avoid
• That• There is, There are, There was, There
were
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Listen to your Editor
• http://www.newyorker.com/online/2007/12/24/071224on_onlineonly_carver
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Listen to your Editor
• They edit all day long• They see things you do not because you are too close to the work.
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“Beginners,” Edited
• http://www.newyorker.com/online/2007/12/24/071224on_onlineonly_carver
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Impact Factor
Total number of citations in the past 2 years/countable major articles in the journal
The numerator is any citation to the journal
The denominator (as defined by Thompson-Reuter)
excludes letters, editorials, news stories, obituaries, interviews
Some journals publish very few main articles and many editorials-this draws citations (from the editorials) and keeps the denominator low
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Impact Factor (2013)
• NEJM: IF=53, Circulation=111,000
• JAMA: IF=30, Circulation=320,000
• Lancet: IF=38, Circulation=37,000 (9,300 in US)
• Ann Int Med: IF=14, Circulation=110,000
• BMJ: IF=17, Circulation=122, 832
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Resources
• AMA Manual of Style• Knight, Robert. Journalistic Writing• King, Stephen. On Writing: A Memoir of
the Craft• Orwell, George. Politics and the English
Language• Strunk and White• Warriner’s Grammer
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NHMA
• Thanks for having me!
• Edward H. Livingston, MD, FACS, AGAF
• Deputy Editor for Clinical Content
• Journal of the American Medical Association
• 330 N Wabash St
• Chicago, Illinois, 60611
• Tel: 312-464-2459
• Fax: 312-464-5824