ABSTRACT SUBMISSION DO’S AND DON’TS

ABSTRACT SUBMISSION DO’S AND DON’TS Billy S. Arant, Jr., M.D., FAAP Professor of Pediatrics UTCOM, Chattanooga

WHAT ABOUT THE TITLE? • Declarative statement--not an interrogatory--that reflects your conclusion (does/does not) • Keywords (abbreviations) • Upper case font • Serious v. silly (low expectation) • Evidence is not cute! • Follow the directions

AUTHORSHIP • 1st author did all the work • 2nd author helped a lot • 3rd author helped some • Last author was responsible for mentoring, facilitating, funding • Do not give credit to anyone who fails to complete his/her tasks

DEPARTMENT OR INSTITUTION • Departments of all authors included • Institution(s) of departments • Location (city)

1st SENTENCE • What has already been done and • Why did/does this work need to be done? • Form: YES,but….. Drug X has been used in the past to treat disease Y, but anecdotal evidence suggests an important benefit in patients with disease Z. Onedeclarative statement in a single sentence!

2nd SENTENCEyour hypothesis • What is the question? • Declarative statement that can be tested. “The purpose of this study…”is not an hypothesis!

Define HYPOTHESIS • hypo – beneath, less than • thesis – theory • A supposition that appears to explain a group of phenomena and is advanced as a basis for further investigation OR • A proposition that is subject to proof or to an experimental or statistical test

For Example • “Drug A will be proven to be better than Drug B” is not an hypothesis • “Drug A is better than Drug B” is an hypothesis • Based on a statistical test: accept or reject the null hypothesis

NullversusAlternative Hypothesis • “The average drop in blood pressure is equal to zero.” null • “Average drop in blood pressure is not zero.”alternative

Why is anhypothesisimportant? • Causes you to focus your effort • Requires you to be specific • Allows you to conserve time and resources • Permits you to know when you’re done • Facilitates presentation • It’s not just important—it’sessential ! And…if you don’t include an hypothesis in your abstract, it will not be considered further!

DECIDE ON VERB TENSE for remainder of abstract • Study completed/data analyzed • Past tense—we investigated, we treated, we followed….. • Preliminary or incomplete data • Present or future tense—we are continuing, we are following, we will complete….

3rd SENTENCE • What did you do? • Study design—prospective, retrospective, case-matched, cross-over

4TH SENTENCE • How did you do it? • Methods • May take 2 sentences

5th or 6th SENTENCE • What did you find? • Your data • Text, table, figure Remember--“dataare”—plural! Never write or say “data is”!

6th or 7th SENTENCE • How did you analyze your data? • Statistical method(s) • Probability—state level of acceptance for a difference

FINALLY…… • What do the data permit you to conclude? • No near misses • No trends • No bigger or less than • No percentage difference Unless accompanied by statistical analysis which meets your pre-determined probability acceptance

THANK YOU!

ABSTRACT SUBMISSION DO’S AND DON’TS