How to Write a Scientific Paper
Hann-Chorng Kuo Department of Urology Buddhist Tzu Chi General Hospital
Construction of A Scientific Paper
• • • • • • •
Title page Abstract Manuscript References Figures Tables All must be prepared in double-space with page numbered on the manuscript
Central Theme of the Paper
• What are the purposes of this study? • What previous studies already show • How to design the study • Tool for assessments • How to analyze the results • How to present the data and discuss them • What is the impact of this study
Originality is the most important
• • • • • • •
Do not follow previous works Make small changes Detailed assessment Large patient scale Long-term follow-up Different statistics Do a randomized, double-blind, placebocontrolled study
Start writing the paper once you have a new idea
• Introduction – when you are searching
previous studies • Materials and methods – designing study • Results – when you make expected results • Discussions – during harvesting the data • Try to write a proposal for any study • Once you complete the study, the paper had been done
Reviewer’s recommendation
• Is this paper significant? New? • Scientific quality? superior good fair poor • Presentation? • Is the title specific and appropriate for
literature search retrieval? • Is the abstract complete yet succinct? • Does the abstract provide details?
Guidelines for assessing scientific articles
• Does the introduction explain the topic
and cite appropriate previous work? • Are the objectives clearly stated in the introduction? • Is the study population detailed adequately in the materials section? • Are the methods described well enough to reproduce the experiment or investigation?
Guidelines for assessing scientific articles
• Can the reader assess the results based
on the data provided? • Do the data presented supported the author’s conclusions? • Have the authors provided the reader with potential problems and limitations of study • Are the references complete, accurate and appropriately cited in the text
Abstract
• Purposes – point out the key purpose • Materials and methods – study designed,
main inclusion and exclusion criteria, assessment methods, primary end-point • Results – number of subjects, results of primary and secondary end-points • Conclusions – significance of results on key purposes • Key words
Introduction
• Short description of history and disease • Clinical relevance of previous works • Hypothesis of this study • Purposes of the study – why we have to
do this study, any clinical implication if the purpose of the study is achieved • Design of the study
Materials and methods
• Number of patients enrolled • Inclusion criteria • Exclusion criteria • IRB and informed consent • Assessment methods • Primary and secondary end-points • Definition of therapeutic results
Results
• Number and demographics of subjects • Results of primary end-point • Results of secondary end-point • Comparative study • Adverse effects • Tables and figures • Kaplan-Meier survival curve
Discussions
• The most important findings in study • Do not repeat descriptions in Introduction • Clinical implication of the results • Cite references to back-up your discussion • Difference of results of this study from
other reported results • Do not discuss anything the results did not show
Conclusions
• One or two sentences to conclude your
study • Do not conclude anything your results did not support or show • Make a strong conclusion
References
• Cite the newest references • Cite the references of the possible
reviewers • Do not cite irrelevant references • Too many references is not necessary
Reviewer’s Comments
• Comments • Accept as is • Accept with minor revisions • Major revisions • Major revisions with low priority • Reject
Reply of Reviewer’s comments
• A reply with many critiques is better than
rejection • Reply the comments as soon as possible • Make changes according to the reviewers’ comment • Make changes and submit to another journal if it is not accepted • The prepared paper must be published !!
Thank you for your attention