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Writing for Publication

This guide provides an insightful overview of academic writing for publication, discussing motivations such as career advancement and knowledge dissemination. It addresses common obstacles, including lack of ideas, time constraints, and the complexities of journal selection. Key topics include structuring papers effectively, understanding journal expectations, and refining writing style. With practical tips on outlining, drafting, and dealing with rejections, this resource helps academics navigate the publication landscape, ensuring their work reaches the right audience and makes an impact.

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Writing for Publication

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Presentation Transcript

  1. Writing for Publication James Munro University of Sheffield

  2. Why write? • Fame and fortune • Bolster the CV • Pressure from above • … dissemination

  3. So what’s the problem? • No ideas • Ideas but no writing • Writing but nothing sent off • Writing sent off but not accepted

  4. The other problem • Time • Writing is a lot of work • Even academics don’t have time

  5. What we’ll talk about • Writing an academic paper • 10 ways to be rejected • Magazines and books are a bit different

  6. Any ideas? • Experience • Everyday working • Problems • Costly activities

  7. More ideas • Questions from clinicians • …especially those you can’t answer • Things that go wrong • Things you disagree with

  8. You already have something • But is it publishable? • Is it interesting? • Could it affect practice or policy? • Is it generalisable? • Almost everything is publishable somewhere

  9. Don’t start writing yet!

  10. Don’t write yet! • What’s the context? • What’s the story?

  11. The context • Everybody needs a context

  12. Context for a research paper • What’s already known? • What’s unknown? • What’s controversial?

  13. The need to know • Providing a context and a question creates the reader’s “need to know”

  14. What’s the story? • If this was a news report, what would the headline be? • What is the central idea?

  15. BMJ approach • What is already known on this topic? • What does this study add?

  16. Outline your story: 1 • Context • Once upon a time… • Methods • …there were 3 bears…

  17. Outline your story: 2 • Results • …and she ran home. • Conclusions • …never go into the woods alone.

  18. Don’t start writing yet!

  19. Who is the story for? • Who’d like to know? • Who needs to know?

  20. Reasons for rejection • The commonest reason editors give… • …is that the subject matter wasn’t suitable for their journal

  21. So find the right journal • Get to know the journals in your area • What are their interests? • What are their styles?

  22. So find the right journal • Where were other papers on this topic published?

  23. Journalology • Refereed or not? • Listed in bibliographic databases? • Impact factor?

  24. Write for a journal • Select one of the journals which might be interested in your story • Write for that journal

  25. Writing for that journal • Instructions for authors • Usually on the web • But you need to see a copy • Headings, weighting, referencing, interests

  26. Develop your outline • Introduction • Methods • Results • Discussion

  27. Introduction • What is the issue? • What is already known about it? • Set up a question in the reader’s mind • Explain why your study is needed

  28. Methods • What did you do? • How did you do it? • Have a logical order • Don’t report results here by mistake!

  29. Results • Follow the order of the methods • Who? When? What?

  30. Discussion • Summarise the findings • Draw out the lessons • Acknowledge the limitations • What should happen now?

  31. BMJ’s suggested structure • Statement of principal findings • Strengths and weaknesses of the study • Strengths and weaknesses in relation to other studies, discussing particularly any differences in results • Meaning of the study: possible mechanisms and implications for clinicians or policymakers • Unanswered questions and future research

  32. Structuring • Subheadings are essential • For RCTs, use CONSORT • For MA of RCTs, QUOROM • For MA of observational studies, MOOSE

  33. Macro-editing • Highlight the key sentence in each paragraph • Does the story flow? • Ask others to read the draft • Give them a specific task

  34. The little things • Spelling • Grammar • Tense, voice, singulars and plurals • Consistent layout • Page numbers • References • See bmj.com

  35. When your paper is rejected • Don’t be discouraged!

  36. When your paper is rejected • Try to find out why • Does it need revising? • Send it off to another journal… • … after checking for style

  37. Referees’ comments • Don’t be defensive • You don’t have to do everything they suggest • But you do have to address each point

  38. Don’t! 10 ways to get your paper rejected

  39. 1: Choose a journal which has never shown an interest in this subject

  40. 2: Write well over the specified word length to show the importance of the topic

  41. 3: Try to include at least 10 key messages and some extra data from other studies

  42. 4: See if you can improve on the journal’s standard headings

  43. 5: Don’t bother with any statistical advice, since nobody understands it

  44. 6: Don’t worry too much about spelling or grammar

  45. 7: Ignore the journal’s own referencing style

  46. 8: Add a few new results in the abstract which you didn’t have space for in the main text

  47. 9: Use different terms for the same thing interchangeably

  48. 10: For a more personal touch, send a handwritten manuscript

  49. Good luck!

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