Introduction to Medical Editing
Build a freelance business or start a career as a professional medical editor
Medical & Biomedical Manuscripts Editing principles and style guides Working with journals and reviewers Building a business or freelance career
Contents of this presentation:An Introduction to Medical Editing
Medical & Biomedical Manuscripts
Editing principles and style guides
Working with journals and reviewers
Building a business or freelance career
What are medical and biomedical “manuscripts”?These manuscripts are generally written to present original research in medicine, biomedical engineering, pharmaceuticals, and scientific disciplines.
Who writes these manuscripts (“The Clients”):Academic Researchers (University & College)Government and Military OrganizationsContract Research Organizations (CROs)Pharmaceutical and Biotechnology Companies (Pharma & Biotech)
Medical and Biomedical Manuscripts
Introduction to Medical Editing
Other types of medical and biomedical documents:It is important to consider the target audience for different types of writing, generally professionals or general public (GP). This will affect the required writing style.
Professional documents:Manuscripts: present research findings
General Public (GP) documents:Marketing: advertising materialsNews: coverage of new scientific findings
Medical and Biomedical Manuscripts
Introduction to Medical Editing
Professional Public
vs.
Types of manuscripts:
Original Research: Presentation of new research findingsTechnical Developments: Exploratory techniques or equipment reviewsPerspectives: Reports of an author(s) viewpointReviews: Overviews of a body of material Special Report: Some original data combined but not a full studyEditorial: Statements or opinions from the editorial staffControversies: Essays reflecting opposing viewpointsCase report: Reports of certain case(s) of interestLetter to the Editor: Constructive replies to published articles
Medical and Biomedical Manuscripts
Introduction to Medical Editing
The most common type of manuscripts are reports of original research studies, which come in many different types.
Study types:Treatment-based studiesRandomized controlled trial Double-blind randomized trial Single-blind randomized trial Non-blind trialNonrandomized trial
Medical and Biomedical Manuscripts
Introduction to Medical Editing
Observational studiesCohort study Prospective cohort Retrospective cohort Time series studyCase-control studyCross-sectional study
Treatment-based studiesRandomized controlled trials are the preferred type of study used in clinical trials. These studies are characterized by random allocation of eligible subjects into experimental and control groups.
Nonrandomized trials are similar, but subjects are not randomly allocated.
Medical and Biomedical Manuscripts
Introduction to Medical Editing
Blind = Lacking Information
Blind studies refer to studies where study details, such as groups, are withheld from either participants or researchers to avoid bias.
Double-blind: Information withheld from researchers and participants.Single-blind: Information withheld from participants but not researchers.Non-blind: No information withheld.
Medical and Biomedical Manuscripts
Introduction to Medical Editing
A cohort is a group of people who share a common characteristic or experience within a defined period.
Observational studiesCohort studies: focus on risk factors within certain groups Prospective: study that follows a group of people over time Retrospective: study that uses historical data, such as hospital
records Time series study: study using a series of data from set time
pointsCase-control: Comparison between case(s) and control(s)Cross-sectional: observation of a whole population or a
representative subset at one specific time
Medical and Biomedical Manuscripts
Introduction to Medical Editing
Manuscript structure:Normally, a manuscript is divided into several sections:
Title Page: Title, author(s) names and affiliationsAbstract: Summary of manuscript contents in 125-250 words (varies by journal and article type)Keywords: List of important keywords relevant to the articleBody: Description of the study, divided into meaningful sections.References: Full description of all citations in the manuscriptFigures and Tables: These are included at the end of the manuscriptAppendix: Additional materials, such as figures, equations, or pertinent outside findings.Notes: Rarely, additional clarification or notes will be required.
Medical and Biomedical Manuscripts
Introduction to Medical Editing
Manuscript structure:Divisions of the body normally appear in this order:
Introduction/Background: Background information about the topic, experimental methods, history, or techniques to be discussed in the manuscript and study objectives.
Materials and Methods: Detailed descriptions of how experiments were performed, including participants, materials, and techniques. This should be presented in enough detail that a researcher can duplicate the experiment.Results: A clear description of the findings of the experiments described in the
Methods section. Avoid including conclusions (such as “these finding indicate that…”)
Discussion: Conclusions and clinical/research implications of the findings discussed in the results. Limitations and reviews of other studies may also be included.Conclusion (optional): A single paragraph highlighting the most important findings of the study.Conflict of Interest Statement, Funding Statement, and Acknowledgements
Medical and Biomedical Manuscripts
Introduction to Medical Editing
Write with the reader in mind – use clear organization
Medical and Biomedical Manuscripts
Introduction to Medical Editing
Introduction/Background: What are you studying and why?
Materials and Methods: How did you study it?
Results: What did you find?
Discussion: What do your findings mean?
Conclusion: What is the main point of your study?
Write with the reader in mind – use clear organization
Medical and Biomedical Manuscripts
Introduction to Medical Editing
What to avoid in each section…
Medical and Biomedical Manuscripts
Introduction to Medical Editing
Introduction/Background: DO NOT add specific details about your experiment or results
Materials and Methods: DO NOT discuss results or findings
Results: DO NOT repeat how you did your experiments
Discussion: DO NOT repeat your results item for item (only summarize main points)
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Medical & Biomedical Manuscripts
Editing principles and style guides
Working with journals and reviewers
Building a business or freelance career