How to write a scientific paper

A/P Dr Tony Ng Kock Wai IMU (From 2012)

Lesson Outcomes
At the end of tis lesson, the student should be able to:
Explain and discuss how to write a scientific paper with regard to the following:
Choice of Journal to submit- Impact Factor, Guidelines to contributors Structure of a scientific paper How to write each section of the paper Title, abstract, author(s) and affiliation(s) Introduction Materials and Methods Results Discussion Conclusion Acknowledgement References Ethics of publication (Conflict of interest, plagiarism)

HOW TO WRITE A SCIENTIFIC PAPER

1. Refer to your original Research

Protocol submitted to the Research & Ethics Committee for details

2. Decisions to make:
Do you have enough data/findings for a scientific paper? Which Scientific Journal to send Scientific manuscript (Preferably one with an Impact Factor)

Is your scientific paper going to be a review, original paper, short communication, etc.? Do you wish to split the results into 2 or more papers or combine the results into 1 paper.

3. Study the Guidelines to contributors provided by the editor of the Journal:

manuscript format, font size, spacing length of paper tables & figures, format of references

4. Draft the scientific paper

Usually a few drafts are required [with input from co-author(s), supervisor] before the final version is ready to be sent to the editor of the Journal selected.

Palm olein and olive oil exert similar normocholesterolemic effects in healthy Malaysian adults
Authors names: Author A1, author B2, author C3
Authors affiliations: 1International Medical University (IMU), Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, 57000 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
2Malaysian

Palm Oil Board (MPOB), Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia

3Institute

for Medical Research, Jalan Pahang, Kuala Lumpur,

Malaysia

Correspondence to Authur A, Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, IMU, 57000 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Tel: +603-86567228, Fax: +603-86567229. e-mail: author_A@imu.edu.my
8

The Abstractwrite it AFTER you have completed drafting the results, discussion and conclusion!
The abstract should contain enough information on the study, i.e. it should stand by itself (reflect the whole study). Common mistake- Abstract too brief, do not contain enough info! It should not have words such as :details of the study shall be presented, etc.!)

Abstract- basically 2 types of format

Abstract The authors examined the associations of dietary fat and specific types of
fat with risk of coronary heart disease (CHD) among 78,778 US women initially free of cardiovascular disease and diabetes in 1980. They documented 1,766 incident CHD cases (including 1,241 nonfatal myocardial infarctions and 525 CHD deaths) during 20 years of follow-up. Polyunsaturated fat intake was inversely associated with CHD risk (multivariate relative risk (RR) for the highest vs. the lowest quintile = 0.75, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.60, 0.92; ptrend = 0.004), whereas trans-fat intake was associated with an elevated risk of CHD (RR = 1.33, 95% CI: 1.07, 1.66; ptrend = 0.01). The associations between intakes of polyunsaturated fat and trans-fat with CHD risk were most evident among women younger than age 65 years (for polyunsaturated fat, RR = 0.66, 95% CI: 0.50, 0.85; ptrend = 0.002 and for trans-fat, RR = 1.50, 95% CI: 1.13, 2.00; ptrend = 0.01). The inverse association between polyunsaturated fat intake and CHD risk was strongest among women whose body mass index was 25 kg/m2. Findings continue to support an inverse relation between polyunsaturated fat intake and CHD risk, particularly among younger or overweight women. In addition, trans-fat intake was associated with increased risk of CHD, particularly for younger 10 women.

Abstract
Background: (Usually 1 to 2 lines only) Objective: To investigate whether quantity or quality of dietary fat predicts coronary heart disease (CHD) events in middle-aged type 2 diabetic subjects. Methods: he dietary habits of 366 type 2 diabetic men and 295 women, aged 4564 years and free from CHD, were assessed with a 53-item food frequency questionnaire. They were followed up for 7 years. Results: Men in the highest tertile of the polyunsaturated/saturated fat (P/S) ratio (>0.28) had a significantly lower risk for CHD death than men in the two lowest tertiles (5.0 vs. 14.2%, P = 0.009). The risk for all CHD events was 14.2 vs. 23.2%, respectively (P = 0.044). P/S ratio did not predict CHD events in women. In Cox multiple regression analyses taking into account other cardiovascular risk factors, the highest P/S ratio tertile was associated with the lowest rate of CHD death in men (P = 0.048). Conclusions: Low P/S ratio in men predicted future CHD events in type 2 diabetic subjects independently of conventional CHD risk factors.
11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

(Eg from Am J Clin Nutr) Authors' contributions

to

manuscript

A description of the contribution of each author must be provided in the Acknowledgment Section. Please use the following descriptors:
designed research (project conception, development of overall research plan, and study oversight); conducted research (hands-on conduct of the experiments and data collection); provided essential reagents or provided essential materials (applies to authors who contributed by providing animals, constructs, databases, etc, necessary for research); analyzed data or performed statistical analysis; wrote paper (only authors who made a major contribution); had primary responsibility for final content; other (use only if categories above are not applicable; describe briefly); for single-authored papers, please state: The sole author had responsibility for all parts of the manuscript.

22

References, Tables, Figures

23

24

25

26

27

28

Respond to reviewers comments. Important to comply if comments valid!

29

30

31

32

Why is referencing important?

Referencing or citing your sources is an important part of academic writing. It lets you acknowledge the ideas or words of others if you use them in your work and helps avoid plagiarism. Referencing also demonstrates that you've read relevant backgound literature and you can provide authority for statements you make in your assignments. The Harvard citation style can vary in minor features such as punctuation, capitalisation, abbreviations, and the use of italics.
33

There are two components to referencing: in-text citations in your paper and the reference list at the end of your paper.
The in-text citation: Harvard is an 'author/date' system, so your in-text citation consists of author(s) and year of publication. In-text citation of a book (the same format applies for a journal article)

34

The reference list:

All in-text citations should be listed in the reference list at the end of your document. Reference list entry for a book Reference list entries contain all the information that someone needs to follow up your source. Reference lists in Harvard are arranged alphabetically by author.

Reference list entry for a journal

35

Other-style References
Number references consecutively in the order in which they are first mentioned in the text. Identify references by
Arabic numerals in parentheses. References cited in tables or in legends to figures should be numbered according to the first citation of the table or figure in the text. Appendixes should have a separate reference section. Standard journal article: list all authors when 10 or fewer; when >10, list only the first 10 and add "et al." Abbreviate journal titles according to Index Medicus style, which is used in MEDLINE citations. Jeffery RW, Wing RR, Sherwood NE, Tate DF. Physical activity and weight loss: does prescribing higher physical activity goals improve outcome? Am J Clin Nutr 2003;78:6849.

36

37