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Tips for writing well and getting your work published
Madhukar Pai, MD, PhDMcGill University, Montreal
Editorial board member:
Lancet Infect DisPLoS Medicine
PLoS OneInternational J of TB and Lung Disease
Journal of Epidemiology & Global Health
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In academia, publications are critical for success (tenure, grants, etc.)
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To get postdoctoral or advanced training positions, publications are quite critical
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Publishing is the natural culmination of your hard work. Be a finisher!
Do not contribute to the already bad problem of publication bias!!
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While almost all trials with “positive” results on antidepressants had been published, trials with “negative” results submitted to the US Food and Drug Administration, with few exceptions, remained either unpublished or were published with the results presented so that they would appear “positive”
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BMJ 2012
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Optimism bias, non-replicated studies, and selective reporting
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If exposure and diseaseare not associated
False positive study
100 studies will be designed
If µ = 0.05
5 studies show false positive results
5 studies willbe published
Publication Bias
Positive results bias
Editor’s bias
THE FALSE POSITIVE RESEARCH CYCLE(Choi, 1998)
Courtesy: Bernard Choi, PHAC
Likely to be meta-analyzed
Hot topic Bias
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PLoS Med 2005
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Here are some
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• Target the right journal
• Tell a clear, simple story [identify your message early]
• Follow a clear structure [why you started, what you did, what you found, and what it means]
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You know a lot about your research; do not assume the editors and reviewers do!
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• Have others read your manuscript before submission– A good guide will give critical but constructive feedback– You could present your paper to a group and get great
feedback
• Go through multiple drafts before submitting
• Make sure your final manuscript is polished and presentable (no typos, no bad formatting, etc.)
• Be very careful about copying and pasting from online sources (plagiarism)
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• Follow existing standards/templates (STARD, CONSORT, PRISMA, STROBE, etc.) – use subheads liberally
• Do not overstate the importance of the findings
• Clearly discuss study limitations
• Do not expect the paper to get accepted:– Revise and resubmit is the most desirable first decision!
• If asked to revise, address every comment and do it politely– Make it easy for the editor to see that you have addressed all comments
thoroughly– You don’t have to make all changes, but you need to explain what you did and
why
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Peer reviews can greatly improve your paper – Take reviews seriously and learn from them
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If rejected (which will happen a lot!), use the reviews to improve the paper and quickly re-submit – perseverance is critical for success
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I began my journey 15 years ago…
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And have persisted, and gotten better (hopefully!)
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As with everything else, you get better at writing/publishing with time!