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Send to a FriendMany details go into writing and assembling your manuscript before you send it to the journal you have chosen. You are ultimately responsible for writing a clear, consistent, and correct article. The sources listed below can provide answers to most of your questions.
Most journals publish detailed instructions to authors, both on line and in the journal itself. Locate and read those instructions; give a copy to the staff person or colleague responsible for preparing and assembling your submission.
Manuscript preparation
Scientific writing
- Byrne, D.W. (1998) Publishing your medical research paper: What they don't teach in medical school. New York: Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins.
- Gopen GD, Swan JA. The science of scientific writing. Am Sci 78;1990:550-8.
- Huth EJ. How to write and publish papers in the medical sciences. 2nd ed. Baltimore: Williams & Wilkins; 1990.
- Kirkman, J. (1992) Writing for science and technology Marlborough, England: Ramsbury Books.
- Swales, J.M. & C.B. Feak (1994) Academic writing for graduate students. Ann Arbor. MI: University of Michigan Press. (This text has been translated into Japanese.)
- Weissberg, R. & S. Buker (1990) Writing up research. Englewood Cliffs:Prentice Hall-Regents.
- Welch HG. Preparing manuscripts for submission to medical journals: the paper trail. Eff Clin Pract 1999;2:131-7.[ Medline ]
- Zeiger, M. (1999) Essentials of Writing Biomedical Research Papers. New York: McGraw Hill.
- http://www.wisc.edu/writing/Handbook/ScienceReport.html Describes an organizational structure commonly used to report experimental research in many scientific disciplines, the IMRAD format: Introduction, Methods, Results, And Discussion
- http://www.wisc.edu/writing/Handbook/
ReviewofLiterature.html Describes how to write a review of the literature
Structured abstracts
- Haynes RB, Mulrow CD, Huth EJ, Altman DG, Gardner MJ. More informative abstracts revisited. Ann Intern Med 1990;113:69-76.[ Medline ]
Style manuals
- Iverson C, Flanagan A, Fontanarosa PB, Glass RM, Glitman P, Lantz JC, et al, editors. American Medical Association manual of style. 9th ed. Baltimore: Williams & Wilkins; 1998.
- Kirkman, J. (1999) Full Marks. Advice on punctuation for scientific and technical writing, 3rd ed. Marlborough, England: Ramsbury Books.
- Style Manual Committee, Council of Biology Editors. Scientific style and format: the CBE manual for authors, editors, and publishers. 6th ed. New York: Cambridge University Press; 1994.
- Uniform requirements for manuscripts submitted to biomedical journals. Ann Intern Med 1997;126:36-47 (available online at www.acponline.org/journals/resource/unifreqr.htm ).[ Medline ]
Issues for non-native speakers of English
- Huckin T. & L. Olsen. (1991) Technical writing and professional communication for non-native speakers of English. New York: McGraw-Hill.
- Swales, J.M. & C.B. Feak (2000) English in today's research world. Ann Arbor. MI: University of Michigan Press.
On-line Web sites
- World Association of Medical Editors ( http://www.wame.org ). References and other Web sites related to publication issues.
- http://www.sciencekomm.at/advice/presenting.html#medwri Resources
related to scientific writing.