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Scientific Writing
Categories Scientific Communication

Make your Scientific Writing Productive with 6 Awesome Strategies

Author krishna kumar 0 Comments Posted on

As a scientist, you must excel at different skills, all at the same time. The lab work, data analysis, sitting in committees, faculty meetings, attending conferences and what not! Plus, publish papers and apply for grants. So, you are always under tremendous pressure.

It’s natural to get overwhelmed because scientific writing requires time, focus, and creativity. Writing at the last minute won’t give you a quality paper.

Well, there are six strategies you can implement right now to stay productive in your scientific writing. By implementing these strategies, you can get your paper done in less time and feel good about it.

So, here are those 6 strategies:

1) Get plenty of sleep

Haha! Only if you could get it!

Though it’s hard to find more time to sleep, being rested increases your productivity. If you write with a tired mind, it will take longer and affect the quality of your document. On the other hand, adequate sleep keeps you focused on your writing.

2) Set your goals

Why do you want to write a scientific paper? To get your doctorate degree or a promotion in your lab?

Be clear about your immediate and ultimate goals; see whether your writing project gets you closer to these goals. Once you commit to a writing task, it means you say no to the other tasks. So, be mindful on how you spend your time.

3) Plan your writing

Scientific manuscript writing differs from normal writing. In Science, you can’t foresee your findings; your article may take a different direction than you had planned. But still, you can have a plan and change it with time. A plan is always useful as it keeps you on track.

To create a writing plan:

  • Include all the members of the writing project in the plan and agree on the deadlines.
  • Make sure the people whom you need feedback form will be available at the desired time.
  • Know how long it will take to complete the various tasks in scientific writing.

4) Give yourself deadlines

Deadlines keep you focused on work. That’s why they should be a part of your writing plan. Besides the final deadline for submission, include several deadlines for the specific goals in your writing plan.

We usually take the final deadline seriously but tend to put other things off.  Therefore, involve other members while setting a deadline so they can keep you focused.

5) Find your ideal writing time

Getting up at 4 am every day and writing for two hours may seem ideal for some people, but not for many including you. So, don’t pressurize yourself.

Try writing at different times of the day for two weeks and assess at what time you were most focused and efficient. That’s your ideal writing time.

 6) Make a daily to-do list

Don’t just write “Write Paper” in your to-do list. Instead, put the daily tasks of scientific writing that you will be able to finish that day. For example, “writing the discussion section”, “cross-checking all references” or “proof-reading the results section” etc.

Finally, know that productivity in scientific writing is all about planning your tasks. Plan your writing tasks in bits and keep a check on how you spend your time.

How to avoid Duplicate Publication
Categories Scientific Communication

Medical Journal Articles: How to avoid Duplicate Publication and Simultaneous Submission?

Author krishna kumar 652 Comments on Medical Journal Articles: How to avoid Duplicate Publication and Simultaneous Submission? Posted on

For an honest and scholarly scientific research, you must follow the ethics of research and good publication practices. All the reputed journals expect the authors to know and comply with the ethics in publication.

Here, in this post, we discuss the two common and unethical publishing practices – duplicate publication and simultaneous submission, and how to avoid them with your manuscript.

1) Duplicate Publication

What is it?

When you publish a new paper similar to a published paper by another author or yours without acknowledging the source and without getting the permission of the original author, it is called a duplicate publication. Even if you change the title or the abstract, the data and the results remain the same.

Why is duplicate publication a problem?

Duplicate publication is unethical because:

  1. It violates the copyright for the paper.
  2. Researchers who study the subject may count the same set of results twice, and thus distort the empirical evidence. Since empirical studies form the base of many health policies, it becomes a serious problem.
  3. Republication of your own work without attribution surmounts to “self-plagiarism”.
  4. It leads to the wastage of editorial and review resources.
  5. Republication of the same work unjustly takes up the limited journal space and denies other authors’ right to publish their work.

What do journals say about the issue? 

The editorial committees of the academic journals instruct the authors do not submit the papers or variations of papers already published elsewhere. They design stringent policies and ask the authors to send copies of older, related articles along with their submitted paper.

However, republication is allowed in some cases:

  • A follow-up on a published preliminary report (e.g., an abstract, poster, or conference presentation)
  • A paper with a list of the guidelines prepared by professional societies or governmental agencies
  • A paper that re-analyses or re-interprets the findings of the study for a different audience
  • A translation of the original paper
  • e-prints of the paper in repositories

Despite these exceptions, authors must adhere to the following guidelines:

  • Get permission from the copyright holders.
  • Get approval from the editor of the journal in which the paper was first published and the editor of the journal in which they will republish it.
  • Acknowledge the source of your republication by providing its full citation.

Dos and don’ts to avoid duplicate publication

  • Do not replicate content from any of your other published papers.
  • Do not offer preliminary reports about the published papers to any company without the permission of the journal.
  • When quoting data from your published work, include only a few sentences, and place the text in quotation marks and cite the source.
  • If you write more than one manuscript by using a single dataset, ensure:
    • Each manuscript addresses separate and important questions
    • You cross-reference the manuscripts
    • Inform the journal editors about this in a cover letter
  • While submitting your paper to the journal editor, provide copies of your published and related papers for complete transparency.

2) Simultaneous Submission

What is it?

The practice of submitting the same manuscript to two or more journals at the same time without informing the respective scientific journal editors is known as simultaneous or multiple or dual submission.

Why is simultaneous submission a problem?

The journals consider simultaneous submission as unethical because:

  1. If more than one journal publishes the paper, it can lead to a copyright dispute.
  2. Since two publication houses will carry out the same task, it is a waste of academic and scientific resources.

However, simultaneous submission is acceptable in following cases:

  • When the editors of the two or more journals agree to publish the paper simultaneously or jointly in the larger interest of the society.
  • When scientific conferences allow the authors to simultaneously submit their papers to other meetings with overlapping submission periods.

Dos and don’ts for the authors 

  • Do not submit the same manuscript to more than one journal.
  • If you wish to submit a paper that is “under consideration” at one journal to another journal:
    • Get a written consent from your co-authors.
    • Inform the first journal editor asking about the paper withdrawal.
    • Do not submit unless you get a formal notification from the first journal editor regarding the paper withdrawal.
    • Submit this notification to the second journal along with your paper.
  • If you have written two related papers and wish to submit them to two different journals:
    • Disclose the details of each paper to both the journals.
    • Inform both the editors that you have a similar paper under review at another journal (even if they are in different languages).
    • Enclose the copies of both the papers along with your submission.

Conclusion

Thus, duplicate publication and simultaneous submission are a serious offence and you can spoil your research career by indulging in such practices. We recommend you to contact our professional journal publication services experts to understand and follow ethical submission practices for the welfare of the society and your career.

Scientific Paper Writing
Categories Scientific Communication

Scientific Paper Writing: Have you Selected the Right Research Question?

Author krishna kumar 2 Comments on Scientific Paper Writing: Have you Selected the Right Research Question? Posted on

The first and most important step in scientific paper writing is to choose your research question. You must choose a topic that will advance and add to the existing scientific knowledge. Even the journal editor won’t accept a paper that does not have a good research question.

The significance of a good research question:

A good research question:

  • Gives the researchers more clarity on developing the study protocol, designing the study, and analysing the data.
  • Makes a good initial impression on the scientific journal editors and peer reviewers.
  • Shows a well-thought research.
  • Increases your chances of publication in the journal.

Although your paper can address more than one research question, it’s better to focus on one primary research question.

But what makes a good research question?

Though this will vary for different papers and across disciplines, there is an overall criterion to keep in mind while planning your research question.

So, let’s dive in to learn that criteria!

1) So what?

Foremost, after choosing your research question, always ask yourself “So what?” This means that the findings/ result pursuing from the question must be important, interesting, and meaningful.

For example, the research question “Is exercising beneficial to reduce impairment in people?” won’t yield any meaningful knowledge. A targeted question like “Is therapeutic exercise of benefit in reducing impairment for people who would be expected to consult a physiotherapist?” could help physiotherapists revive their treatment procedure for the patients.

2) Unobviousness

Scientific journal editors’ stress on novelty and “unobviousness” i.e. the research question should not have an obvious or an undisputed answer.  You can ensure this unobviousness and provide value in one of the following ways:

  • Contribute new information that has a real-world application or leads to further lines of research
  • Validate the existing information and extend its applicability
  • Provide findings that contradict the existing literature OR
  • Critically review and analyse the literature.

Good research questions arise from critical thinking about current practices and problems and from applying new concepts to solve old problems.

3) Replication is sometimes acceptable

It’s not always necessary to convey unknown information through your research paper. You may replicate other researchers’ observations, especially if they were controversial or weak but significant. You can research whether the findings in one population also apply to others or clarify known relationships by using new methodologies.

So, when you formulate your research question, check whether it fulfils the above three requirements. And if yes, you’ve probably got a worthwhile research question.

After knowing the qualities of a good research question, it’s time for the tips to formulate one.

Tips for finding and formulating good research questions

Your field of experience and your own research interests are obviously important to identify the potential lines of research. However, you must review the existing literature to know whether your question is still relevant.

In addition, keep abreast of the current developments in the field to avoid doing same thing someone else has done.

Ways of finding a new research question:

  1. From the old literature. The ‘Discussion’ section of many papers often mentions the questions that remain unresolved or additional studies that can be done. You can formulate a good research question from the old literature by identifying the gaps and weaknesses in them.
  2. Attending conferences. Recent advances in any field of Science are presented at the academic conferences. Participating in such conferences will help you network with the experts in the field and aid in your own research.

Conclusion

Since research question is the most crucial element of any scientific paper, you must take extreme care while choosing it. If you write a paper with results that are unoriginal, predictable, or trivial, it’s less likely to be published. So, contact our professional scientific writing services team to develop the right research question that will help you avoid problems in future.

Medical Proofreading and Editing Service
Categories Scientific Communication

How to Get the Best Out of Your Medical Proofreading and Editing Service?

Author krishna kumar 0 Comments Posted on

It’s necessary to review your work before submitting to the journal. Now, you can either request your department head or a colleague to review your manuscript or take help of the professional medical editing and proofreading services. For many researchers, such professional medical proofreading services are economical because it enhances the quality of the research document.

But, before you submit your document to the professional editing and proofreading services, look at these suggestions on how to get the best out of their service:

Send your best document:

Professional editors are busy people. They have to pay attention to other’s documents as well and can devote only a part of their time to yours. So, it is good if you fix everything you can in the document before giving it to the editor. For example, missing/extra spaces, heading style, and consistency of the references’ list. This will help the editor stay focused and address the issues you can’t.

Tell your issues in advance:

If you have any issue with the terminology used in the document or the structure of the sentences, inform your editors in advance. This way the editor won’t waste his time looking for the problems but offer you the solution straight away.

Ask questions:

Majority of the medical editing services offer a facility to address the author’s questions regarding the edited document. Use this facility to seek answers to your queries and to learn from the editor. This will help you prepare your future manuscripts.

Provide the necessary information:

Give your editor all the information he needs for an effective edit. For example, the format of the document as per the journal guidelines, the name of your target journal, the recommended word count, and your contribution to the manuscript.

Provide your feedback:

If the editor misunderstood a technical term or has not adhered to certain conventions of your field, write to him about this. The editors welcome the suggestions from the authors. Also, if you do not agree with the changes he made, communicate such concerns to him. This will help him clarify why he made the change and you may agree with his logical explanation.

However, don’t criticise the editor even if you don’t agree with his viewpoint. If you appreciate his work, tell the editor about it. Consequently, he will take extra care to give a consistently good service to you in the future.

Remember, preparing a manuscript is a continuous process. It may not be possible to prepare publication-ready document after just one round of editing.  Therefore, view your relationship with the editor as long-term and collaborative rather than a onetime transaction. Cooperate with your editor through multiple rounds of edits to get the best results. Finally, you can also take the help of your editor to answer the comments or the questions of the peer reviewers after submission.

A step-by-step guide on how to write an ideal medical thesis
Categories Scientific Communication

A Step-by-step Guide on How to Write an Ideal Medical Thesis

Author krishna kumar 5 Comments on A Step-by-step Guide on How to Write an Ideal Medical Thesis Posted on

What do you need to write a medical thesis?

Of course, a knowledge about how to conduct a research and how to pen down its results in an appropriate format.  Even if you are adept in clinical research, it doesn’t mean writing a thesis comes easily to you. A medical thesis has a structure that is important to follow.

So, here we provide a step-by-step guide on how to write an ideal medical thesis.

Step 1: Start your thesis with a suitable ‘Title’. The title is an intro to the contents of your thesis. An ideal title should be within 65 characters, devoid of all abbreviations and grammatical mistakes, and not contain stop words like ‘a’, ‘an’, ‘the’, ‘of’, ‘but’, etc.

Step 2: Next, write your thesis ‘Abstract’. An abstract is an introduction that tells the readers why you conducted the particular study.  What has already been done in the field, what were the gaps, and how you fill those gaps with your study?

To write an ideal abstract:

  • Give a brief background information about your topic
  • State the importance of the problem and what is unknown about it
  • Tell the readers about the objectives of your study clearly
  • Give references to the research papers written on your research topic. However, do not cite the well-known facts. For example, “Isaac Newton discovered gravity…”
  • Include no information other than the problem being examined

Step 3: After the abstract, follow it with the title ‘Method and Material’. Format this section as below:

  • Setting – the environmental conditions in which you conducted your research
  • Sample – what materials were used in research and details about the participants in the study
  • Inclusion and exclusion criteria – what factors were considered to include or exclude any participant in the study
  • Measurement tools – details about the methods and equipment used to measure the outcomes of the study
  • Independent and Dependent variables – what were the factors you controlled or changed during the experiment and what you measured as the outcome

Step 4: Write the “Analysis of Data“.

Step 6: Write the ‘Results’ where you will show the conclusion of your study.  You can present your results as a text, table, figure, or illustrative graphs, but keep in mind the aim of your study. Include no result that doesn’t satisfy the aim of your study.

Step 7: It is the most crucial step where you include the ‘Discussion’ of your results. An ideal discussion should include:

  • The principal findings of your study
  • Strengths and weaknesses of your study in relation to other studies in the field
  • A take-home message for the clinicians and policymakers
  • Questions that your study can’t answer to propagate further research

Step 8: Follow the discussion with the ‘Limitations of your study’

Step 9: At the end of your thesis, include your ‘References’. Track all your references so you don’t miss out on anyone.

Finally, the quality of your thesis depends upon the topic you choose, whether you opt for a purely scientific experiment or a clinical trial or a social research study addressing the experiences of the patients, etc.

Seek help from your mentor at every stage of clinical research as well as medical thesis writing. To be ideal, the study should be carried out ethically in compliance with the legal regulations.

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