Source: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1681694
Articles from Medscape General Medicine are provided here courtesy of WebMD/Medscape Health Network
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- MedGenMed
- v.7(4); 2005
- PMC1681694
How to Write a Medical Paper to Get It Published in a Good Journal
George D. Lundberg, MD, Editor-in-Chief; Adjunct Professor of Health Policy
This article has been cited by other articles in PMC.
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The
purposes of a medical journal are to shed light, to take heat, and to
give heat. A physicist named Faraday once said, “Work; finish; publish.[1]”
If you started and did not finish, why did you start? If you finished
and did not publish, why did you start? Follows like the night the day:
Work, finish, publish, if you want anyone else to ever know what you
did. Francis Bacon once said, “reading maketh a full man; conference a
ready man; but writing an exact man.[2]”
Writing is hard work. So you want to write a paper? What do you have to
say? Is it worth writing? Has the information already been published?
What format should it be? What is the audience? What journal is
appropriate? Beginning in 1978, the International Committee of Medical
Journal Editors[3]
began to set the rules for how authors, editors, peer reviewers,
advertisers, and publishers ought to behave. The peer review process
began some 300 years ago in France and in England,[4]
revolutionizing science by creating a culture of peer criticism and
self-criticism. Peer reviewers are asked: Is the manuscript original,
important, interesting; are the data valid; are the conclusions
justified by the data; is the writing clear; and what is the priority
and timing? Is it new? Is it true? All journals make messes. They clean
them up in the letters column and by corrections and retractions. In
July 2005, we were privileged to give a 3-hour seminar on this topic to
hundreds of student authors. The Kaiser Family Foundation videotaped all
of this program, and it is available to you live.[5] Also, Dr. Bill Tierney of Indiana University has given us permission to provide to you his basic helpful writing instructions.[6] Paper writing 101. Follow these instructions.
That's my opinion. I'm Dr. George Lundberg, Editor-in-Chief of MedGenMed.
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Readers are encouraged to respond to George Lundberg, MD, Editor of MedGenMed, for the editor's eye only or for possible publication via email: ten.epacsdem@grebdnulg.
References
1. Wikipedia. Michael Faraday. Available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Faraday Accessed October 28, 2005.
2. The Literature Page. Sir Francis Bacon. Available at: http://www.literaturepage.com/authors/Sir-Francis-Bacon.html Accessed October 28, 2005.
3. International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) October 2005. Available at: www.ICMJE.org Accessed October 28, 2005. [PubMed]
4. Lock S. A Difficult Balance: Editorial Peer Review in Medicine. London, United Kingdom: Nuffield Provincial Hospital Trust; 1985.
5. Kaiser Family Foundation . 3rd IAS Conference on HIV Pathogenesis and Treatment; Kaisernetwork.org. Available at: http://www.kaisernetwork.org/health_cast/hcast_index.cfm?display=detail&hc=1458 Accessed October 28, 2005.
6. Adapted from Bill Tierney IUPUI, Indianapolis, Ind. Instructions on How to Write a Paper for Publication in a Medical Journal.
Articles from Medscape General Medicine are provided here courtesy of WebMD/Medscape Health Network
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