In the Name of God

1. In the Name of God

2. Topics Title Abstract Keywords By Afsaneh Shirani

3. Title Importance How to write Features of ideal title - content - length - style - Uniform Requirements - CONSORT - Different Journals’ format

4. Abstract Article Abstract vs Seminar Abstract Structured vs Non-structured Importance Ideal abstract Uniform Requirements Samples

5. Keywords How to choose ? Number

6. Title Importance How to write Features of ideal title - content - length - style - Uniform Requirements - CONSORT - Different Journals’ format

7. Importance of Title First level regarding : Reviewrs Readers “Thousands read titles , few read papers”. Researcher

8. Do not neglect the title !

9. How to write a title ? Focus on research question I am studying …. My study looks at …. Focus on result My study showed that ….. Appearance of key features in title

10. Example I am studying wheather treatment with mouthwash is effective in reducing the incidence of oral candidiasis or My study showed that treatment with mouthwash reduces the incidence of oral candidiasis Key feature of your study : randomized , blinded Title : A randomized Blinded Trial of Mouthwash in the Prevention of Oral Candidiasis

11. Formula for Title of Hypothesis Testing Papers : Effect of X on Y in Z X = independent variable Y = dependent variable Z = animal/population or material ( on which the work was done ) eg The Effects of Estrogen on Nose-Twitch Courtship Behavior in Mice

12. Another formula :Effect of Y in Z Example : Platelet Activation in Patients with Angina

13. Ideal title Informative vs Indicative Simple , unambiguous and understandable Specific Self explanatory Catchy Containing keywords describing the work Concise , no unnecessary detail No waste words or redundancy Avoid abbreviation & chemical formulations Avoid jargon

14. Is it always easy to completely identify the main topic of paper in title ? No , sometimes difficult ! Especially if the paper has multiple dependent variables. So focus on the main ones or use a category term eg extrapulmonary tuberculsosis

15. Example My study showed that women were more likely than men to discuss diet , sleep , exercise with their doctors Effect of Patient Gender on Patient-Physician Communication About Lifestyle

16. Specificity of Title Example : Actions of Antibiotics on Bacteria Actions of Streptomycin on Mycobacterium tuberculosis Inhibition of Growth in Mycobacterium tuberculosis by Streptomycin

17. Consice The fewest words to adequately convey contents

18. How many words in title ? Very few good titles can be expressed in fewer than 5 to 8 words. Try to keep the total number < 20 If possible at most 100 letters ( 8 words ) 7 to 10 words 8 to 12 words 10 to 12 words , although shorter or longer titles are permissible Not longer that 2 lines

19. Put an important word first in your title  Exampel 1: Absence of an effect of liposuction on insulin action and risk factors for coronary heart disease New England Journal of Medicne June 2004

20. Put an important word first in your title  Example 2 : Regression of carotid atherosclerosis by control of postprandial hyperglycemia in type 2 diabeted mellitus Circulation July 2004

21. No waste words !So avoid phrases such as : Observations on…… Investigations on….. Using a…… Aspects of….. A study of….. The influence of The analysis of The effect of Action of…. New method ….

22. The effects of ? The Effects of Estrogen on Nose-Twitch Courtship Behavior in Mice

23. A method for ? A method for purifying GPIIb/IIIa from platelet membranes Noninvasive method for monitoring blood gasses in the newborn

24. Using ? Using child reported respiratory symptoms to diagnose asthma in the community Archive of Disease in Childhood June 2004

25. Study population in title ? Mention if A unique population is studied It’s a population based studies It really matters Human subjects assumed unless stated otherwise

26. Example Change in suicide rates for patients with schizophrenia in Denmark, 1981-97: nested case-control study BMJ 2004

27. Study design in title ? A title shoud indicate the study’s design Necessary about randomized controlled trials

28. Example Does the cannabinoid dronabinol reduce central pain in multiple sclerosis? Randomised double blind placebo controlled crossover trial BMJ 2004

29. Examples Prospective cohort study of retinal vessel diameters and risk of hypertension BMJ June 2004

30. Example Correct use of the Apgar score for resuscitated and intubated newborn babies: questionnaire study BMJ 2004

31. Project name in title ? Example 1 : Randomized controlled trial of effects of Helicobacter pyroli infection and its eradication on heartburn and gastro-oesophageal reflux : Bristol helicobacter project BMJ 2004

32. Project name in title ? Example 2 : Intracoronary autologous bone-marrow cell transfer after myocardial infarction: the BOOST randomized controlled clinical trial Lancet 2004

33. How about an assertive title ? Increases reviewer’s skeptisism Decreases objectivity However it’s a matter of style .

34. Question as title ? Catchy But Better not to use at least for non senior investigators

35. Examples Topical capsaicin for chronic pain ? Is lactulose effective for hepatic encephalopathy ? How promising is hematopoetic stem cell transplantation in multiple sclerosis ?

36. Question as title ? Does article type play a role ?

37. Abbreviations in title ? Sometimes seen ! examples : vs. , versus CD4 OTC HIV TB DOTS

38. Do not use words arousing emotion ! eg : x disaster / tragedy vs x war

39. Uniform Requirements and Title Concise titles are easier to read than long , convoluted ones . Titles that are too short may , however , lack important information, such as study design ( which is particularly important in identifying randomized controlled trials ).

40. Uniform Requirements and Title Authors should include all information in the title that will make electronic retrieval of the article both sensitive and specific. Avoid abbreviations in the title.

41. Title and CONSORT Statement How participants were allocated to interventions eg “ random allocation” , “randomized” , or “randomly assigned”

42. Instruction for AuthorsNature Titles do not exceed 90 characters (including spaces), and do not normally include numbers, acronyms, abbreviations or punctuation. They should include sufficient detail for indexing purposes but be general enough for readers outside the field to appreciate what the paper is about.

43. Recommendations from a Technical Writers’ Handbook Do not overuse prepositional phrases Consider using modifiers Example Analysis of Hydroelastic Vibrations of Shells Partially Filled with a Liquid …. Hydroelastic Vibration Analysis of Partially Liquid-Filled Shells ….

44. Recommendations from a Technical Writers’ Handbook A string of unit modifiers can be as awkward as a series of prepositional phrases

45. Recommendations from a Technical Writers’ Handbook Changing verb-derived nouns to verbals - Livening up the title - Removing prepositions eg Alleviation of x vs Alleviating x

46. Title for descriptive papers For a descriptive paper that describes a new structure or function, the title names the structure and describes its function. The structure is the first word of the title, followed by a comma, a colon or the rest of a sentence. Example : CDC20 and CDH1: a family of Activators of Anaphase-Promoting-Complex-Dependent Proteolysis Hallmarks of a good title are that it accurately, completely and specifically identifies the main topic or massage in the paper, is unambiguous, is concise and begins with an important term. Accurate:Use the same key terms in the title as in the paper. Complete: sometime difficult if the paper has multiple dependent variables: focus on the main ones or use a category term Omit unnecessary words such as Use of… or Nature of… Compact necessary word by using category terms such as extrapulmonary tissue instead of blood lymphocytes, liver, lymph nodes…Hallmarks of a good title are that it accurately, completely and specifically identifies the main topic or massage in the paper, is unambiguous, is concise and begins with an important term. Accurate:Use the same key terms in the title as in the paper. Complete: sometime difficult if the paper has multiple dependent variables: focus on the main ones or use a category term Omit unnecessary words such as Use of… or Nature of… Compact necessary word by using category terms such as extrapulmonary tissue instead of blood lymphocytes, liver, lymph nodes…

47. Other examples for use of colon Sex matters: secular and geographical trends in sex differences in coronary heart disease mortality Depression as a risk factor for ischaemic heart disease in men: population based case-control study Doctors' perceptions of palliative care for heart failure: focus group study

49. So , Craft an informative ( but non-cute! ) title that uses keywords that tell the reader what the paper is about .

50. Finally , Read through your title and think about how it might be interpreted Ask Colleagues Coauthors Coinvestigators Persons not familiar with your study

51. And remember that Revision does not always make your title shorter! Sometimes adding two words can make your title more consice , because it may say so much more with only two more words !

52. “The messanger can hide the message !”  !

53. Before taking a break , lets do an exercise ! Let’s write a title for the following research topic :

54. NowLet’s have a break !

55. Abstract Article Abstract vs Seminar Abstract Structured vs Non-structured Importance Ideal abstract Uniform Requirements Samples

56. Abstracts Article Abstract vs Seminar Abstract (more important)

57. Article Abstract Precedes the original paper or Stand alone in a publication designed specifically for abstracts eg chemical abstarcts

58. Importance of Abstracts Second in importance to the paper title For many published papers, this may be all anyone ever reads as it’s the preview of what’s to come

59. Importance of Abstracts They allow other scientists to quickly scan the large scientific literature, and decide which articles they want to read in depth.

60. An interesting exemplification ! You read down the titles. Like a fish at bait, you 'nibble' at an interesting one by flipping to the article itself. Then, you read the abstract. Here is where the author 'sets the hook'. If it's interesting, you read the article. If it is not, the author has lost you and you start to nibble on other titles again.

61. A hint ! The abstract should be a little less technical than the article itself

62. Article abstracts Structured vs Non-structured ( usually in 1 paragraph )

63. In any case , brevity is essential.So be selective.

64. The craft of writing an abstract as an article’s miniature

65. Abstract is very difficult to write; it will take more time to write than any other paragraph in the whole paper.

66. Structured Abstracts Introduction Methods Result Conclusion

67. NEJM Abstracts Backbround Methods Results Conclusions

68. BMJ Abstracts Objectives Design Setting Outcome measures Results Conclusion

69. J Neurol Neurosurg PsychiatryAbstracts Objective Design Methods Results Conclusions

70. Introduction Answer why was it important to do this study ? Do not assume that the answer is obvious. Sometimes stating limitations of previous studies helps . No jargon , no run-on sentences Preferably no abbreviations or acronym Write in plain English

71. Methods Describe Study design Who was studied What you measured How you analysed the data Specify number of subjects , by group if appropriate

72. Results (meat of experiment) Emphasize the main finding of the study. Make sure your effect size is clear. State your key results in words followed by the numbers. It is better to be thorough than broad-based.

73. Example Suppose you find that hypertensive patients who take calcium channel blocker are more likely to have strokes. It is more important to present your results by type of calcium channel blocker ( long-acting vs. short-acting ) and by type of stroke ( ischemic vs. hemorrahgic ) , and to show that patients taking other antihypertensive medications did not have an increased risk , than to present extraneous data with small P values such as finding that “ patients who took diuretic medications had more gallstones ( p<.01).”

74. Conclusion What do you think your results mean ? Make a reasonable statement about the implications of your results. If another study is needed , then state what sort of study it should be. One quick test : If you could have written your conclusion before you knew your results , then you have not concluded anything. Start over.

75. When to write ? Last ! Because it will summarize the paper

76. A suggested order : 1) Methods 2 ) Results 3 ) Introduction 4 ) Discussion 5 ) Abstract 

77. Preferred Style Past tense Passive voice However , present tense and active voice may be used.

78. How lenghty ? 200 – 300 words ( a typical standard lengh for journals ) Roughly 3% of length of paper

79. A suggested propotion for sections of abstracts 1 . 2 . 2 . 1 eg 40 , 80 , 80 , 40

80. One abstract or two ?! There are no established guideline . Common sence and talking with mentors can provide some guidance. One abstract per research question , and one research question per abstract If two abstracts have similar background and methods section , they probably should be combined.

81. Example 1 Change 1. Diabetes increases morbidity following carotid endarterectomy 2 . Mortality after carotid artery surgery is related to preoperative cholesterol level To: Effects of diabetes and hypercholesterolemia on outome after carotid surgery

82. Example 2 Change Psychological and hematological predictorsof survival with leukemia To : Psychological factors associated with poor prognosis in leukemia 2. Survival with leukemia : hematological markers

83. Abstract is only text No reference No table No figure It should stand alone without any footnotes

84. Be careful about these Do Nots! No number , all talk All number , no words Too many abbreviations , too much data Overuse of respectively

85. Example Do not write : “The risk of glaucoma in white men , black men , Asian men , white women , black women , Asian women were 8% , 12% , 6% , 4% , 6% and 3%, respectively. “ This phrasing slows down and confuses the reader.

86. Example Instead you can write : “ Glaucoma was more common in men than women, and in blacks than in other racial groups . The risks in men were 8% in whites , 12% in blacks , and 6% in Asians ; in women , they were 4% in whites , 6% in blacks , and 3% in Asians.”

87. Uniform Requirements and Abstract An abstract (requirements for length and structured format vary by journal) should follow the title page. The abstract should provide the context or background for the study and should state the study's purposes, basic procedures (selection of study subjects or laboratory animals, observational and analytical methods), main findings (giving specific effect sizes and their statistical significance, if possible), and principal conclusions. It should emphasize new and important aspects of the study or observations.

88. Uniform Requirements and Abstract Because abstracts are the only substantive portion of the article indexed in many electronic databases, and the only portion many readers read, authors need to be careful that abstracts reflect the content of the article accurately. Unfortunately, many abstracts disagree with the text of the article (6). The format required for structured abstracts differs from journal to journal, and some journals use more than one structure; authors should make it a point prepare their abstracts in the format specified by the journal they have chosen

89. What to do if your abstract is too long ? 1 . Does it requires a major surgery ? 2 . Is it possibe to eliminate some words , combine two sentences or make some words hyphenated ?

90. Example Change We enrolled 124 subjects with rheumatoid arthritis from the rheumatology clinic. They were randomly assigned to an intervention group (n=63) or a control group (n=61). To Rheumatoid arthritis patients followed in the rheumatology clinic were randomly assigned to an intervention (n=63) to control group ( n=61).

91. Example Change In order to accurately measure vitamin C levels in subject’s serum , we used a modification of the Bryant Technique. To We measured serum vitamin C level by modifying the Bryant Technique.

92. Example Change “Some previous studies have found that exposure to sunlight in infancy is associated with the subsequent development of melanoma. Other studies have not confirmed this effect. We prospectively studied ….” To “To determine whether exposure to sunlight in infancy is associated with the development of melanoma , we prospectively studied….”

93. Does your abstract offer enough information ? Imagine you are another researcher doing a similar study . Would you be happy with the information presented there ?

94. Keywords Number : 3 to 10 words or short phrases 3 to 5 words

95. Uniform Requirements & Keywords Some journals request that, following the abstract, authors provide, and identify as such, 3 to 10 key words or short phrases that capture the main topics of the article. These will assist indexers in cross-indexing the article and may be published with the abstract.

96. Uniform Requirements & Keywords Terms from the Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) list of Index Medicus should be used; if suitable MeSH terms are not yet available for recently introduced terms, present terms may be used.