Scientific article S5.pdf

Scientific article in medicine Structure The most common structure in scientific journals Introduction Method Results What is the purpose? How was that performed? What did I find? And Discussion What does that mean? The structural elements of the scientific article are reflecting various aspects of...

Scientific article in medicine Structure The most common structure in scientific journals Introduction Method Results What is the purpose? How was that performed? What did I find? And Discussion What does that mean? The structural elements of the scientific article are reflecting various aspects of scientific work: 1. Setting the questions and problems adressed in the article (hypothesis) – in the Introduction section 2. Credibility of the way the research was conducted – Material/Participants and methods section 3. The new dana from the research conducted in the study (hypothesis validity) – in the Results section 4. A critical assessment of the dana described in the results section, and an answer to the question that has been put forward in the introduction (answer to the hypothesis and the assessement of all available proof and counterarguments), as well as conclusion in the Discussion section Structure of the scientific article Title A very condensed statement about the research, which can not be further abbreviated. A collection of fewest terms needed to describe the content. Two types: Indicative Does not provide information on the results of the research described in the article, but only the research topic Informative Provides information on main results of the study Structure of the scientific article Title “Life expectancy and mortality differences between populations on isolated islands and the mainland” vs. “Increased life expectancy of populations from isolated islands compared with mainland population” Structure of the scientific article Abstract Usually written according to the IMRaD structure Original research requires informative abstract May require formal structuring (or even hyperstructured for clinical trials) (eg. Aim, Methods, Results, Conclusion) Restricted length (eg. 150 or 200 words) Structure of the scientific article Keywords The authors usually write up a few It is advisable to use Index Medicus This is important for the search algorithm (MeSH) Sections of the scientific article Introduction Very important because it sets the question (but usually skipped) Not too long or too short Four rules: 1. Why the research was started 2. Not a place for presenting textbook knowledge 3. Descripiton of title terms is not necessary 4. Question to which the study was designed to answe must be clearly presented Sections of the scientific article Material/Participants and methods Different styles of writing this section in different journals Clinical research study: Study design and protocol Material/Participants Describes in details the participants of the study, diagnostic criteria, description of study animals, ethical aspects Intervention Outcome measure Parameters measured in the study Statistical analysis Sections of the scientific article Results New data from the research conducted Not just listing of numbers, but a summative or critical presentation of most important results Must always be logical and easy to read – and should be presented in a single way – in the text, table or figure Text should be written based on the data available, and not vice versa Sections of the scientific article Discussion Critical assessment of the data in the results Starts with the answer to the question in the Introduction Own arguments may be supported by other data – they should be cited fairly Present the contraarguments and explain possible reasons May be concluded in different ways – suggestion of new line of research or the conclusion) Sections of the scientific article References Always consult instructions to the author 1. Harvard – name/year system 2. Vancouver – citation/sequence 3. Alphanumerical – references in the alphabetical order, but citations in the text numerical WRITING THE scientific article Acceptance of the manuscript depends on the message it carries A well written paper may have a better chance among articles with similar topic Style Fluency An uninterrupted flow of ideas and sentences, sections of the text logically connected Clarity Clear structure and flow of the story Accuracy Accurate use of words and best words for describing term Sensibility moderate use of words (restrictions due to short time for reading) Gracious prose Gracious in the application of style Thank you for your attention!