Scientific Writing

MCH Epidemiology Pre-conference WorkshopDec. 2011

Michael Kogan, Ph.D.Director

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS)Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA)

Maternal and Child Health Bureau (MCHB) Office of Epidemiology, Policy and Evaluation

Jody Zylke, MDSenior Editor

Journal of the American Medical Association

Schedule for Today

• 8-8:15 -- Introduction of speakers and SWAT team• 8:15-8:45 – Why write & preparation needed to begin• 8:45-9:15 – What does an editor look for in a paper,

tips on writing, and how to get started• 9:15-9:45 – How to write an introduction• 9:45-10:15 – Working with class on your introductions• 10:15-10:30 – Break• 10:30-11 – How to write a methods section• 11-11:30 – Working with class on your methods

sections• 11:30-12 – How to write a results section• 12-1:30 – Lunch (Dr. Zylke’s treat)

Schedule for Today (continued)

• 1:30-2--Working with class on your results section• 2-2:30--How to write a discussion section• 2:30-3--Working with class on your discussion section• 3-3:15--Break• 3:15-3:45--How to write an abstract and titles• 3:45-4:15--Working with class on abstract and titles• 4:15-4:45--How to submit a paper to a journal• 4:45-5--Questions, additional work on papers

The Scientific Writing SWAT Team

• Paul Newacheck, PhD, University of California San Francisco

• Russ Kirby, PhD, University of South Florida• Martha Wingate, PhD, University of Alabama at

Birmingham• Stephen Blumberg, PhD, CDC, National Center

for Health Statistics• Arden Handler, PhD, University of Illinois at

Chicago

Acknowledgements

• Russ Kirby, PhD, University of South Florida• Paul Z. Siegel, MD, Centers for Disease

Control and Prevention

Why Should You Write for Publication?

• It will help you to clarify your thinking on a topic• Thinking reduces risk of dementia• It is one of the main methods of communicating

your work to other scientists• It carries the weight of being peer-reviewed• It can be more easily found and referenced by

other scientists and MCH staff• Publications can be a determinant in hiring and

promotions

Laying the Groundwork

before Writing

Deciding Where to Send Your Paper

• Does the journal employ blind peer-reviewing? (AJPH – yes, JAMA – no, MCHJ – yes, Pediatrics – no, NEJM - no)

• How often do articles appearing in the journal get cited? (Look up the Journal Impact Factor)

• Are there a large number of subscribers?• Is the journal listed in Index Medicus?

Selected Impact Factors

• NEJM 53• Nature 36• Lancet 34• Cell 32• Science 31• JAMA 30• PLOS 16• BMJ 13• American Journal of Epidemiology 5.75• Pediatrics 5.4• Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine 4.1

Deciding Where to Send Your Paper

• Does the journal process manuscripts in a reasonable amount of time?

• Is there a long lag from acceptance to publication?

• How many of their articles are published online ahead of print?

• Is the journal’s subject matter, methodological, and theoretical orientation appropriate?

• What is the journal’s acceptance rate?• What is the journal’s impact factor?

Resource for Investigating these Questions

• http://mulford.meduohio.edu/instr/• This is a listing of “Instructions for Authors”

from over 3500 journals in the health sciences

• NOTE: ALWAYS FOLLOW THE SPECIFIC GUIDELINES FOR EACH JOURNAL

Brevity is the sister of talent. -- Chekhov

The best writing has no lace on its sleeves –

Whitman