Writing and Publishing a Research Paper - Dr. Gamil Alrubaiee Department of Community Health Al-Razi University

Writing and Publishing
               a Research Paper

              Dr. Gamil Alrubaiee
             Department of Community Health
16/01/2020         Al-Razi University         1

Overview
 Task of writing a research paper
  can be difficult
 Even with top research, unless
  the paper is correctly written:
   At best, publication will be
      delayed
   At worse, never published
 Presentation will provide an
  overview of ‘how to write a
  well-structured research paper
  for publication’

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Why to write & publish
a research paper?
 Ideally –
   To share research findings and
    discoveries with the hope of improving
    knowledge base
 Practically –
   To get funding
   To get promoted
   To get recognition & Patent protection
   For knowledge sharing and achievement
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Author Publishing Priorities
• Quality and speed
  –Top items were
    •Refereeing speed
    •Refereeing standard
    •Journal reputation

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Reader’s priorities
  Authoritative quality articles
  Ease of access
  Rapid delivery
  Convenient format
  Linking of information
  Low or no cost
  Up-to-date information
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How to write a great research
paper?

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Types of manuscripts
 Original paper/research paper: full
  articles contain significant data, detail,
  developments and outcomes.
 Review paper and systematic review:
  summarize recent developments on a
  specific topic (some journals by invitation)
 Short communications: quick and early
  communication of significant or original
  findings, without including too much data
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Types of manuscripts Cont…

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The general structure of the manuscript
                                                         Abstract
Title
Authors                    Why did you do the          Introduction
Abstract and                    study?
keywords
Introduction
Methods                            What did you do?      Methods
Results
Discussion (Conclusion)           What did you find?     Results

Acknowledgements
References
Supplementary material     How does your study
                          contribute to your field?
                                                       Discussion
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Write in what order?
             Manuscript sections             Writing order
Title                                      Method
              Need to be accurate
Authors       and informative for
                                           Results
Abstract and effective indexing
              and searching                Discussion
keywords
Introduction                               Introduction
                             Main text
Methods                       Each has     Abstract
Results                       a distinct
                              function
                                           Title
Discussion (Conclusion)
Acknowledgements
References
Supplementary material
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Writing the manuscript

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How to write different sections?
(Title)
                         Primary functions:
 To identify the main topic and message (answer)
  of paper (accurately, completely, and specifically).

 To attract readers.
        Keep in mind that few people will read your entire paper

        but many will read the title (also used in search terms).

        Be concise, revealing, and exciting.

        Be direct and as big picture as the data can justify.
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How to write different sections?
(Abstract)
                           Primary functions:
 To provide an overview and clear preview of
  paper.
 Must be understandable by itself and accurately
  reflect the paper.

                      IS VITALLY IMPORTANT:
             A reader uses an abstract to quickly understand
             the purpose, methods, results, and significance
              of your work and will only read further if their
                  interest is captivated by the Abstract.
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Abstract
 Typically 100-250 words (journal-specific).
 Is a single paragraph, condensed version of
  entire paper.
 Should specifically and selectively pull-out
  (“abstract”) highlights from each section of the
  paper (IMRD).
  I: background and question.
  M: what experiments were done.
  R: what results were found.
  D: the overall answer/conclusion

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Abstract
 Usually starts with a sentence or two of background
   information and ends with a sentence stating the
   importance of answer.

 Past tense.

 No citations, figures or tables in the abstract.

 Is typically the last section of paper written.
 Together, the title and abstract should be able to fully
 represent your article, including for use by indexing services.
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Keywords
 Most journals request a list of keywords (4-6
  keywords)

 Important words that, along with those in the title,
  capture the research effectively.

 Keywords are used by abstracting and indexing
  services

 Choosing the right ones can increase the chances of
  your article being found by other researchers.
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Introduction

                  Primary functions:

 Identifies the research question(s).

 Provides background information (context) that a
    reader needs to understand your experiments.

 Catches and holds reader’s interest (justifies why
    the work is important).

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Introduction
A Funnel-like Organization

Known (general area)

Unknown (specific topic)

Question (make this obvious)

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Introduction
 States purpose of study and describes why it matters.

 Funnels from:

    Known (the big picture significance and previous work) to

    Unknown (the specific gap in knowledge) to

    Question (this should be important, specific, and unresolved).

 Keep introduction focused, brief (3-4 paragraphs) and
   relevant to your work.

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Introduction
 Not an extensive literature review! (summarizes
  background information only for specific aspect of
  the topic being addressed).

 Past tense (previous findings and to state question)
  and present tense (for what is currently true).

 Ends by stating question and general approach or
  by summarizing principal results and conclusions
  suggested.

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Common mistakes in the introduction
 Ideas are not logically organized.   Why study need to
                                           be done?

 Too long, like a literature review; aim is unclear.
                                         Keep focused
 Topics in the Introduction do not match topics in
  the Results/Discussion.               Write last

 Cited studies are not up-to-date.

Methods/Materials

                Primary functions:

 To tell reader what experiments you did to answer
the question(s) posed in the introduction.

 Should include sufficient details and references
to permit a trained scientist to evaluate your work
fully or to repeat the experiments exactly as you
have done them.
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Methods
 Describe in detail what was done to answer the
  research question.

 Give sources (company, etc.) and detailed
  description of reagents and equipment used.

 Use subheadings.

 Usually written in chronological order (i.e. same
  order as in Results)

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Methods

 Use past tense– it’s about what you did.

 Understand what are common vs. specialized
  techniques. (provide more detailed information for
  specialized/new techniques).

 Do not include results in Methods section.

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Methods
 Use flow chart/table if needed
 Cite previously published methods and briefly
  state the modifications
 You should also explain your criteria for selecting
  participants
 Name statistical tests, so your quantitative results
  can be judged.

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Results

                Primary functions:
 Objectively state results/findings of the
  experiments described in the Methods section.

 Direct reader to figures or tables that present the
  supporting data.

                 The Results Section is
                the Core of your Paper!

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Results

 Present your findings objectively
 Provide foundation for Discussion.
 Design effective (clear and simple) figures, graphs,
  images, tables, from the raw data.
 Give each figure and table a simple, self-explanatory
  title in the form of a sentence. (Most of the content
  of paper should be evident from reading these titles
  alone)
 Emphasize any significant findings clearly.

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Discussion

                Primary functions:
 To answer the question(s) posed in the Introduction.

 To explain how results support the answer(s).

 To explain how answer(s) fit in with existing
  knowledge on the topic.

              Be sure to convey the significance of your work
                   and emphasize unique contributions.

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Discussion

 Answers to question(s) posed in introduction
    (provide your interpretation of results).
 Accompanying support, explanation, and defense of
    answers.
 (DO NOT restate results but discuss the results).
 Explanation of novelty of work (compare with
    previously published work).
 Explanations of any unexpected findings,
    discrepancies with other’s related work, and
    limitations of methods or study design.
    Answer the question….So what?
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Acknowledgments

 Acknowledge and thank colleagues who contributed to
  the work but do not meet the criteria of authorship.

    Intellectual assistance (including reviewing
     manuscript).
    Technical help.
    Special equipment.
    Materials.

 Acknowledge financial support (list grant iinformation).

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References

                  Primary functions:

 To give credit to the ideas and findings of others.

 To direct readers to sources of further information.

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References
 Include only significant, published work.

 Must be accurate (you should not cite a reference
   that you have not read).

 Keep in mind your likely reviewers.

 Use correct format for specific journal.

 Use bibliography software such as “END NOTE”. To
   give credit to the ideas and findings of others.

   To direct readers to sources of further information.
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Common Errors (Don’ts)

 Title/Abstract: Too vague or detailed, not captivating reader’s
  interest, over-stating or over-generalizing.

 Introduction: Too much information (random summarization
  of papers on subject) or failure to point out gap/question.

 Methods: Insufficient detail to enable replication by others.

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Common Errors (Don’ts)

 Results: Confusing figure design, not telling an easy to
  follow story, redundancy* with other sections of paper.
  * discussing results (save for Discussion)
  * including detailed methodology (save for Methods)

 Discussion: Highly redundant with Results, too much
  information, poor transitions, omission of related work.

 Not following specific journal instructions

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The C3 Principle

 Good writing contains the following:

   Clarity

   Conciseness

   Correctness (accuracy)

       The key is to be as brief and specific as
      possible without omitting essential details

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Thank You

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