the anatomy of a scientific paper - matcheri s. keshavan

8/3/2019 The Anatomy of a Scientific Paper - Matcheri S. Keshavan

1/22

How to write a paper

Matcheri S Keshavan MD

Department of PsychiatryHarvard Medical School


2/22

Anatomy of a scientific paper

Abstract Introduction

Methods

REsults

Discussion

Acknowledgements

Conflicts

Title


3/22

Author list/Abstract

Introduction Methods

Results

Discussion

Acknowledge-mentsConflicts

Title

Anatomy of aScientific paper


4/22

Coauthor qualifications

(all three) a) substantial contribution to

conception, design,acquisition of data, or analysis

and interpretation; b) drafting or critically revising

the paper, and

c) final approval of the version

to be published.


5/22

Abstract

Abstract SHOULD NOT contain:

lengthy background information,

references to other literature,

elliptical (i.e., ending with ...) or incompletesentences,

abbreviations or terms that may be confusing

to readers, any sort of illustration, figure, or table, or

references to them.


6/22

Introduction

How did you come up with thisquestion/ hypothesis. Set the scene Go from general to

specific. Set a historical

background. Avoid too detailed a review

of the literature; that couldbe material for anotherpaper.

Why this is worth doing.

Has this wheel been inventedbefore? Provide a balanced up-

todate literature Why this particular method or

population.


7/22

Methods

Should have enoughinformation for someoneelse to replicate yourresults

BUT avoid providing toomuch information that yourpeers are alreadyexpected to know


8/22

Methods-continued

Carefully describethe group


9/22

Results Text should complement figures and tables. Do not duplicate. Do

not provide too many numbers- they can be distracting. Figures the best way for readers to capture results at a glance.

Make your readers want to steal your figure for their ownpowerpoint presentation!

Figure and table captions should be detailed enough to stand

alone. Use the word significant only to refer to statistical significance


10/22

Graphics

6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22

education

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

SES

Legend poorly defined

No data on significance

No trend line

Poorly visible data points


11/22

6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22

Education (number of years)

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

Socioeconomicstatus

R= .46P


12/22

Figuring out figures

Avoid figures that are too small. Readers do notlike having to use magnifying glasses.

Use color as needed, but not simply because it

is pretty. Many journals charge you extra! Make sure the figures are of sufficient resolution

to reproduce well by standard photocopying

Any figure/photograph from another sourcerequires attribution in the legend.


13/22

Discussion

What did you find? Avoid statements not supported by data

How findings relate to other studies.

Are the findings real?

What do the findings mean? Provide all possible interpretations, not just your favorite

hypothesis

Avoid being overly speculative

Do the findings matter? What are the clinicalimplications?

What are the strengths and limitations?

What are the next steps?


14/22


15/22

There was a massive effect of PharmacologicalTreatments for Cognition.

(S)

(L)

(M)

0

0.1

0.2

0.3

0.4

0.5

0.60.7

0.8

0.9

1

Effe

ctSize(Cohen

'sd)

CATIE (Keefe

et al., 2007)

d-Cycloserine

(Buchanan et

al., 2007)

Glycine

(Buchanan et

al., 2007)

Galantamine

(Buchanan et

al., 2008)

Practice Effect

(Goldberg et

al., 2007)


16/22

Title

Alterations in brain high-energyphosphate and membranephospholipid metabolism in first-episode, drug-naive schizophrenics. A

pilot study of the dorsal PFC by in vivophosphorus 31 P MRS

could be restated asIn vivo prefrontal membranephospholipids in early schizophrenia
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1898445http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1898445http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1898445http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1898445http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1898445http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1898445http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1898445http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1898445http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1898445http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1898445http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1898445http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1898445http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1898445http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1898445http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1898445http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1898445http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1898445http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1898445http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1898445http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1898445http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1898445http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1898445http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1898445http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1898445http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1898445http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1898445http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1898445http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1898445


17/22

Writing style

anticholinergics were needed by thepatients at a higher rate..

Active vs Passive. Use active verbs whenever possible;

Passive verbs (is, was, has, have, had) are difficult toread and use up unnecessary words.

"the patients needed more anticholinergics..."


18/22

Style- II

Tense.For already completed work by youor others, use the past tense consistently.

Person. Avoid too much use of first

person (I believe, I did, etc). Economy. Economize words Avoid

flowery sentences unless absolutely

needed E.g. based upon the fact that = Because

.


19/22

How to choose your journal.

Identify the market (your readers) and thinkabout your paper from their perspective. WhichJournals do they read?

Consider the goals of your paper. E.g. If youhave a grant application in mind, which journalsare the grant reviewers likely to be familiar with?

Think about potential reviewers for your paper. A

look at the editorial board may be helpful. What is the timeframe? Not all journals have afast publication policy.


20/22

Accepting rejection

Dont take it personally

Try to understand why the paper has beenrejected

Evaluate honestly.. Would a differentjournal have been more appropriate?


21/22

What gets you accepted

Attention to details Check and double check your work Consider reviews

English should be as good as possible Presentation is importantTake your time withrevision

Acknowledge

Novelty Critically evaluate your own manuscript Ethical rules to be obeyed


22/22

language

Clarity

Conciseness

correctness

Repetition

Ambiguity

Redundancy

Exaggeration

FOCUS ON AVOID

the anatomy of a scientific paper - matcheri s. keshavan

Documents