how to write your scientific results
TRANSCRIPT
How to write
your scientific
results
Jonathan McFarland
Medical English Trainer
Index Research done – now what?
Basic elements of a research article
- Before writing
- IMRaD
- Miscellany
- Time
Good writing
Over to you
Take home message
References
CLINICAL PRACTICE
MEDICAL
EDUCATION
MEDICAL
RESEARCH
ENGLISH IS THE KEY
“…Medicine is like a tripod, standing on three legs.
One leg is patient care, one is research, and one is
education.”
Research done – now what?
“English is the language of the most widely read and
quoted medical journals” John R. Benfield and
Christine B.Feak, CHEST 2006
Basic elements of a research
article
Before writing
- choose a journal
- read the journal guidelines
- think abour your message
- plan
Editorial triage ( eg. BMJ)
The BMJ uses the following questions-
Does the article have a clear message?
Is it original?
Is it important?
Is it true?
Is it relevant to readers?
And, the answer to all these questions should be
YES
The editor looks at:
1) The covering letter – so, you need to sell
yourself
2) The Title – be concise and informative
- entice the reader
3)The abstract – this is very important
The abstract should be CLEAR, CONCISE
and STANDALONE
It must reflect what is in the paper
IMRaD INTRODUCTION must –
Grab the readers’ attention
Short – 2 or 3 paragraphs
Set the scene and tells a story
Summarise the State of the Art
- WHY – your research was needed ?
- WHAT – was new ?
- WHY – did it matter ?
In the last paragraph state the research
question, and briefly explain how you set out to
answer it.
Use present tense for generalizations
For example, “Repetitive strain injury is
one of the commonest complications of
writing a thesis”
Use past tense for specific findings
For example, “Smith and Brown reported
that the moon was made of blue
cheese.”
Most scientific enquiry is based on these six monosyllables, and the
orderly presentation of a scientific paper is helped by trying to
answer the six questions they pose. (Richard Asher)
METHODS
In many ways the most important part of
paper
Remember the “acid test” – repeatability
- The classical test of a methods section is
that it should be sufficiently detailed to
allow competent researchers to repeat the
study.
Must state that your ethics committee
approved, and informed consent was
given
Use the past tense
RESULTS
Here – the facts and nothing but the facts
The core of the paper
Readers very often go to the results first to
draw their own conclusions to the about
the answer to the question posed in the
introduction
Ordered around the Primary and Secondary
outcomes
State clearly and simply what you found,
using words and numbers
Put the main numbers into tables and figures
Each figure or table should convey ONE
message
Write all the results in the past tense
Do not include references in this section
DISCUSSION
- What you found – begin by answering the
question posed in the introduction
Write discussion to anticipate the readers’
and reviewers’ questions
Write the discussion carefully, as one
reviewer said-
“If authors do not know what their own
results mean, it is not my job to tell them”
Suggested structure for the discussion section Statement of principal findings
Strengths and weaknesses of the study
Strengths and weaknesses in relation to
other studies, discussing particularly any
differences in results
- Connect your study to past studies
Meaning of the study: possible
mechanisms and implications for clinicians
or policymakers
Unanswered questions and future research
Careful with tenses
Mixture of past and present tenses
Use present for the answer
Use past for the results
But present for an established fact.
For example,
“Smith et al. found that X was associated with Y,
but our results suggest that this is not the case.”
Important implications If your study is new or particularly
important then say so, but use modest
language!
If it has implications for future research or
clinical practice – say so
But if not, do not write
“Further research is needed”.
This is a cliche!
Further research is ALWAYS needed
Miscellany
References
Acknowledgements
Contributorship
Statement of competing interests
Statement of who funded the work
Time ………………. Finding the time!!!!!!!
Most professional writers say that it is
important to write regularly ( some every
day even if it 20/30 minutes)
The planning time before writing -
essential
You must be very clear about audience
and main message
Good writing
1. Good planning
You may have done great research but if you
do not spend time writing it up in a structured
way with a clear message you may find it hard
to get published
2. Know the audience Who are the readers?
Always keep them in mind while you write,
and aim your writing specifically at them
What do your readers already know about
this topic and what do they want to know
now?
3. What is my main message?
If you do not have a message you
probably should not write the piece.
The audience will be lost if there is no
clear “take home” message
4. Why am I writing this?
The article should be important.
If it is NOT important, spend your time doing
something else………..
If you’re writing up a study, you need to persuade
readers that your study is different to other similar
ones.
Ask yourself, "What is the one thing I want my
readers to learn?" If you can't answer this, you're in trouble.
Why bother becoming a
published author?
Great question. Doctors give many answers, from
the worthy to the slightly cynical. For example,
they say they want to:
Publish their study to improve the care of patients
Entertain readers with their witty remarks about the
state of the health service
Improve their CV and job prospects.
Be clear about your motives because they are the
driving force for your writing career.
5. What style should I use?
Important to read the "Guidance to
authors" and the “house style” of your
chosen journal.
There are many styles but one of the most
important is the Vancouver Style
Used by among others: BMJ, Lancet,
JAMA, PLOS, etc
Follow the basic rules of writing
Writing effectively means leaving behind
the turgid style we were taught in our
science lessons at school.
We should instead be inspired by
- George Orwell's rules of writing and
- the advice of the Plain English Campaign
Simple is the best
"I would have written a shorter letter but I
didn’t have the time”.*
Use short, simple words rather than long,
complex ones (use "about" rather than
"approximately," for example)
Keep sentences short (an average of around 20 words)
Cut out unnecessary words (you can often remove adjectives, for example)
*( Blaise Pascal, French Mathematician and philosopher)
Use Active constructions
Passive voice – common in scientific writing
Considered impersonal
BUT it is always longer, more boring, so my
advice is
("We did" rather than "It was done," "We
conclude that" rather than "It can be
concluded that")
USE THE ACTIVE
Do NOT suffocate the verbs
A verb is suffocated when it is turned into a
noun and another verb added; eg
“ An analysis was made “
This is unnecessary and pompous-sounding
“We analysed” is better
Avoid… Jargon
Abbreviations (say "myocardial infarction" not
"MI” Use Acronyms known by audience
Double negatives ("Osteoporosis is common"
rather than "Osteoporosis is not uncommon”)
Cliches and pomposities
Perhaps the worst cliché of all is "More studies
are needed.”
Remember - “Know your audience”
Be positive rather than negative
Replace “It is not impossible that….”
With
“It is possible that……”
Use “We” when possible Using “we” can help to create empathy
But be careful not to make the
presentation too personal
Be direct when giving guidance ("You
should do an electrocardiogram in
patients with chest pain")
Avoid using “I”
Use words precisely
Use the precise word
“Quantity” is vague- Did you “measure”,
“count”, “estimate” or “calculate”?
- “regime” – system of government
-”regimen” – system of therapy
- “dose” – amount given at one time
-”dosage” – amount given per unit time
Untidy use of language – confuses
Choose “proving” words
according to strength “Prove” is the strongest word we can use for
scientific findings.
Here are some others in descending order of strength-
Show
Demonstrate
Indicate
Suggest
Imply
Any others ?
Be cautious
Very little is incontrovertible in science,
and “hedging” words are acceptable:
May be
Might be
Could be
Probably
Possibly
Use parallel structures A parallel structure – series of word groups
with the same kind of structure.
For example –
“ The educational programme will encourage
people to eat healthily, drink sensibly and
exercise regularly.”
Or Sir Francis Bacon
“ Reading maketh a full man; conference a
ready man; and writing an exact man.”
“Writing is hard, it is true. But when writing
is done with others, it can be rewarding –
perhaps even pleasurable” (Richard
Horton)
YES
Over to you 1
And here are
some examples of
pompous
language.
Can you suggest a
better example ?
now
there is no
if
many
because
also
concluded
show
show
end
1)At this point in time
2)There is an absence of
3)Provided that
4)A considerable proportion
5)In view of the fact that
6)In addition
7)Reached a conclusion
8)Reveal
9)Demonstrate
10)Terminate
Over to you 2
Change from Passive to Active
The behaviour of the rats was
monitored for 24h by two
technicians
Our findings are compared with
literature data in Table 3
After noninvasive tests, the final
diagnosis of a breast tumour is
made by biopsy
The opinion held by Hunter et al.
Is not shared by this author
Two technicians monitored the
behaviour of the rats for 24h
Table 3 compares our findings with
literature data
After noninvasive tests, biopsy
confirms the diagnosis of a breast
tumour
We do not share the opinion held
by Hunter et al.
Suffocated verbs
1)Make a decision
2)Come to the realization
3)Take into consideration
4)Make an estimate
5)Give an explanation of
6)Make a presentation of
7)Is indicative of
8)Place an emphasis on
9)Come to a conclusion
10)Undertake an investigation
decide
realize
consider
estimate
explain
present
indicates
emphasize
conclude
investigate
Take home message
The writing up of the research is practically
the most important part
English is the language of medicine and
research so write in English!!!!
And
KEEP
IT
SHORT
SIMPLE
Thanks for your kind
attention Remember if you want to contact me-
Or WhatsApp –
670658862
References Mastering scientific and medical writing:A self
help guide, Silvia M.Rogers, Springer, 2007
How to publish in Biomedicine: 500 tips for success, Jane Fraser, radcliffe, 2008
Medical writing: a prescription for clarity, Neville W.Goodman and Martin B.Edwards, 3rd edition, 2003
Scientific writing: ewasy when you know how, Jennifer Peat, Elizabeth Elliott, Louise Baur and Victoria Keena, BMJ. 2nd edition, 2003
Politics and the English Language, George Orwell
The problem with writing, Albert.T, BMJ, 2002
http://www.plainenglish.co.uk/
The title says is it all, Annesley.Thomas,
Clinical Chemistry 56:3, 357-360 (2010)
How to write a research paper and get it
published, Gavin Yarney, 2007, BMJ Learning
How to write effectively, Stuart Viegas, BMJ
Learning
http://www.icmje.org/about-icmje/
Six Honest Serving Men for Medical Writers,
Richard Asher, JAMA. 1969;208(1):83-87
Humour is important but
Be careful and Know the audience!!!
But remember …….
This is one of Rudyard Kipling's most famous quotations, and
it is from a speech he made to the Royal College of
Surgeons in London in 1923