Yearly Archives: 2018

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Constructing Figures in your Scientific Paper
Categories Scientific Communication

Dos and Don’ts for Constructing Figures in your Scientific Paper

Author krishna kumar 0 Comments Posted on

Figures are an essential part of your scientific paper writing. However, they may lose their significance if not constructed properly.

Even one ill-constructed figure can lead to the rejection of your paper by the journal editor. So, besides the written text, figures demand an equal attention from you.

Here is the list of dos and don’ts for constructing effective figures in your scientific paper:

Do’s

  • Include a succinct legend to describe the figure. The legend should be written below the figure to provide sufficient information to the reader so that he doesn’t have to refer the text for it
  • Provide each axis of the graph with a brief and informative title including the units of measurement
  • Construct the figure with a reasonable space on all its four sides

Don’ts

  • Don’t include figures that are not referred to in the text
  • Don’t use figures to demonstrate information that can be written in a sentence or two
  • Don’t extend the axes of the graph very far beyond the range of the data
  • Don’t use color in the figures unless absolutely necessary

Following these tips while constructing your figures in the scientific paper will raise your chances of acceptance.

Rejection of a Manuscript
Categories Scientific Communication

5 Common Errors that Lead to the Rejection of a Manuscript

Author krishna kumar 0 Comments Posted on

You have written your research manuscript with diligence, and now, you are ready to submit it for publication. You are worried if it gets rejected.

This is common with novice research scientists. However, if you know what makes the journal editors reject your manuscript, you can take care of such errors before submission.

So, here’s a glimpse of the common errors that can lead to the rejection of your manuscript:

1) Selection of a wrong journal

The foremost reason your manuscript gets rejected is that your research study doesn’t fit the scope of your selected journal. So, you will waste your valuable time if you select a journal out of your paper’s scope.

To avoid any mistake in selecting the right journal for your paper:

  • Carefully read the scope of the journal on its Homepage and also the section on “Instructions to Authors”.
  • Search for the similar articles in the journal.

 2) Plagiarism

Plagiarism is an act of presenting other’s work as your own. It is a serious offence in the research paper writing. Journal editors are not fools. With a plethora of plagiarism detectors, it’s easy to recognise plagiarised content in your paper.

Even self-plagiarism or reproducing your own work in another journal without citing the original can lead to the rejection of your manuscript.

Therefore, you should:

  • Always acknowledge your sources of reference
  • Not submit the results of a published literature even in a lower-ranked journal
  • Change the text copied from another source to make it different and also acknowledge the source.

3) Insignificant or false findings in the research results

The journals accept only those manuscripts that present an original research study, those which report high-quality and novel work and make significant contributions to their desired field.

Thus, if your manuscript fails to meet this criterion, or it reports a routine or trivial or false finding which doesn’t contribute significantly to the progress of Science, it will be outwardly rejected.

To avoid rejection:

  • Search the published literature related to your research topic and see their results.
  • Publish only those findings which are new or significant to your field of research.
  • Highlight the novel properties of your research study
  • Compare your article with the previous work in the field and justify your improvements with a clear statement

4) Technical errors

With one or two technical flaws, you will receive a request for revision. However, rejection occurs if it contains many technical flaws such as:

  • Discrepancy between the Abstract and the remaining manuscript
  • Study of the wrong groups
  • Wrong statistics
  • Clinically insignificant results
  • Absence of a relation between the results and their discussion
  • Contradictory/false data
  • If the conclusion doesn’t answer the research question
  • Poor use of language with grammar, spelling, and punctuation errors

There lies the importance of proofreading and editing your manuscript before you submit it to the journal.

5) Failure to follow “Instructions for Authors”

If you do not follow the “Instructions for Authors” prescribed by a specific journal, it will either delay the peer review process or lead to your manuscript rejection. So, you should always:

  • Carefully read the instructions a number of times. Best, take a print out of the journal guidelines and highlight the key instructions you have to follow.
  • Before submission, check whether you have incorporated all the instructions in your writing.
  • If you do not understand the instructions or are short of time, take help from a professional scientific editor.

Last, but not the least. Do not hurry to submit your paper to the journal publication. Take time and carefully check if you have fulfilled all the requirements as an author.

Why do we Need Pharmacovigilance of Herbal Medicines
Categories Herbal Research

Why do we Need Pharmacovigilance of Herbal Medicines?

Author krishna kumar 0 Comments Posted on

Herbal medicines are known to be effective in the treatment of various chronic diseases. Ayurveda is the branch of Medicine based on the herbal treatment and originated in India. Plants, their parts, metabolites and preparations have demonstrated enormous therapeutic properties.

However, with the rise of modern medicine, the importance of herbal medicines has been overlooked. Yet, the general population never lost faith in the efficacy of the herbal medicines. They rely on them for a wide range of diseases ranging from common cold to the most serious chronic conditions and consider them safer than the synthetic drugs.

Though herbal medicines are obtained from natural sources, natural doesn’t always mean safe. Self medication, use of wrong species of medicinal plants, inappropriate dosage, and cross reaction with other drugs may result in adverse drug reactions.

Moreover, plants and their parts can be contaminated with foreign particles or infected with bacteria, fungi, and other infectious organisms. Ingestion of these medicinal plants can lead to fatal health complications. Thus, it becomes necessary to test their efficacy, quality and safety in order to minimize adverse drug reactions.

Pharmacovigilance or drug safety includes the collection, analysis, monitoring and prevention of the adverse effects of the drugs. It is a Science that deals with testing the safety of the herbal drugs.

About one third of the conventional medicines in the market are derived from the plant products whereas herbal medicines are exclusively made from plants.

However, there is inadequate information on the adverse reactions resulting from the consumption of the herbal products.

Do you know why?

Here are the reasons:

  • The practice of using plant products as remedies dates back to the ancient times. Therefore, most of the information related to their preparation, safety and adverse reactions is not in the electronic form and hence inaccessible.
  • Pharmacovigilance is generally followed for the conventional medicines. The current methods are inapplicable for the herbal medicines. Even the terminology used for monitoring and reporting of the adverse reactions is not suitable for the herbal medicines.
  • People of the country have a firm belief in all the herbal products and consider them 100% safe. As a result, there is no research or reports regarding their safety and adverse reactions.
  • Herbal preparations are often a combination of more than one ingredient. This makes it difficult to identify one causative agent for the adverse reaction. Also, the patients who herbal medicines simultaneously undergo alternative therapies. So, determination of the exact causative agent seems impossible.
  • Ayurvedic physicians are not well versed with the need and concept of pharmacovigilance.

Therefore, if we want to ensure the safety of the herbal medicines, it is necessary to first introduce the herbal medicine practitioners and students to the concept of pharmacovigilance. The concept must be included as a part of their curriculum so that they can acquaint themselves with causality analysis and reporting of adverse events to the regulators.

All information pertaining to the safe use of herbal medicines should be made easily accessible. Further, the patients should be educated about the adverse reactions and the need to use herbal medicines rationally.

Medical Editing Service
Categories Scientific Communication

5 Things to do Before Sending the Manuscript to the Medical Editing Service

Author krishna kumar 0 Comments Posted on

To publish their research in an international peer-reviewed journal is every researcher’s dream. However, only a few manuscripts submitted to the journal make their way to the publication; rest get rejected. So, to make your place in those few accepted manuscripts, you must make a positive impression upon the journal editors and peer reviewers.

How?

Here’s the deal:

Submit your manuscript to the medical editing services company. It will help you prepare a polished and publication-ready manuscript and communicate your research ideas clearly and effectively.

However, before you submit your manuscript, go through the list of 5 things you must do:

1) Write the manuscript title yourself

The title of a manuscript is the most significant part of the research paper, but also the most difficult to write. That’ the reason authors leave this task on the medical editing service provider. However, as an author, you must write the title yourself, though you can take the help of the medical editor to improve it. In the title, tell the readers what your paper is about and why your study is significant.

2) Write your own abstract

The abstract of your manuscript is the first impression upon the readers. If it is impressive, a reader will read the entire manuscript. However, if you devote less time to prepare the abstract or leave it on the medical editor, you are wrong. A professional medical editor can help to refine the abstract and meet the desired word limit, but it is not his job to write it on your behalf. If you submit your manuscript with a clear written abstract, the medical editor will do his job better.

3) Format the structure of your manuscript 

Poor structure is one of the top reasons for the manuscript rejection. Before you write your manuscript, outline the sections and the flow of information within them. If you present your ideas in a structured manner, it will be easier for the medical editor to understand your intent and elevate your manuscript to a new level.

4) Ensure the accuracy of data 

Collecting data from various resources is an inherent part of scientific research. The research manuscripts include data in the form of tables, figures, graphs, or other statistics. Before you submit your manuscript to a medical editing companies, make sure your data is accurate and complete.

5) Proofread your manuscript

Read through your manuscript several times and fix all the spelling mistakes, grammatical errors, extra spaces, and other language mistakes. Make sure all the fonts are consistent and also check your references/citations.  This exercise ensures the medical editor spends quality time on your manuscript and not on typing errors.

To develop an effective manuscript that the journals accept is challenging.  A medical editor helps you to overcome this challenge, improves the quality of your manuscript, and increases your chances of acceptance. However, send the best copy of your manuscript to the medical editor so that it receives the attention it deserves.

How to Get Quality Proofreading Services
Categories Scientific Communication

How to Get Quality Proofreading Services Within Your Budget?

Author krishna kumar 0 Comments Posted on

Every research paper you write should be proofread before it reaches its target audience. With the many proofreading services available, there is no reason not to seek their professional help and submit a flawlessly finished document.  However, the price varies, and so does the quality.

So, here we guide you on how to find a reputable medical proofreading company without burning a hole in your pocket. Consider the following factors to take the right decision:

1) The type of document you have

Some proofreaders charge the same fee irrespective of the kind of document you submit. Others break their services into categories. They offer specialized proofreading services for different document types including case reports, journal articles, short communications, and newsletters.

2) Cost of the proofreading service if you need it quickly

The price of the proofreading service also varies depending on how quickly you want your document back. Some companies offer a turnaround period of 24 hours while some do not have a definite time period. They deliver your document whenever it is done. Obviously, a fast turnaround time will raise the price. So, always submit your document well before your deadline, so you need not hurry and spend more on the medical proofreading services.

3) Cost of the proofreading service if you pay by the hour

With a proofreader who charges by the hour, you can’t estimate the total cost of the service until the job has been finished. As a result, you don’t get a chance to choose the best value.

4) Cost of the proofreading service if you pay by the word

With a proofreader who charges by the number of words or the pages, it’s easier to know the cost of the service beforehand.  Thus, you can choose the one who fits in your budget.

5) Refund policy

Some medical proofreading companies will not refund your money if you are dissatisfied with their work while others have a refund policy. Check with the company you choose about their refund policy before hiring their services.

6) An option of a free quote

Since some proofreaders charge by the hour and some by the word, comparing their prices becomes difficult. It requires you to request a quote from the different companies, compare, and get a definitive price.  However, the process gets simpler if you get a “free quote” option on the service page of your chosen company. You can utilize this option before placing your order.

Last, pricing is just one factor while choosing the right medical proofreading service for your research document. The above factors can help you choose the right service economically. However, the quality of the proofreading service, expertise and experience of the proofreaders, the privacy of your data, and the customer support are other factors you must consider before handing your hard work in the hands of others.

Never compromise on the quality of your finished document at the cost of a few cents.

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