Introduction & Methods

Introduction & Methods Isnani A. S. Suryono Medical Journal of Indonesia- FKUI Penulisan Artikel Ilmiah Internasional- DP2M-DIKTI, 3 September 2009, Twin Plaza, Jkt

Structure of a scientific paper Basic structure IMRAD: • Introduction (what question was asked?) • Methodology (How was it studied?) • Results (What was found?) • And • Discussion (What does it mean?)

Basic rule: [MR] Read the “Instructions to authors” of the journal you are writing for!!

INTRODUCTION • Lindsay: 5-10% of  pages • I dari I M R A D • Answers Why did you start? [3] • What do I have to say? • Is it worth saying it? • What is the right format for the message? • What is the audience for the message? • What is the right journal for the message? ws/sci wri 4 intl J/dikti/ias

Capturing the reader’s attention [4] BEGIN WITH THUNDER! • Write a strong introductory paragraph • Right to the essence of the argument • Opening sentences should be “reader-grabbers”  • A provocative question • A new perspective • A good quotation

Do not write: [3] several studies have shown that xxxx (ref: 1-7) and several others have shown that it does not (ref: 8-14). We report further, some of our result support ref. 1-7 & some of them are in accordance with 8-14..

Do write: [3] Two previous studies have reported that xxxxx. These studies were small and uncontrolled, and used only crude measurements of yyyy, and did not follow up. We report a larger, controlled study, with detailed measurements of yyyy and with .... years follow up.

Define all potentially questionable terms. You may think definitions are not necessary because colleagues will understand. Today, many reviewers are statisticians & others outside your subspecialty who may not understand your terminology. Defining unfamiliar terms makes your study easier to understand & should improve the ratings of your paper.

Write a concise, focused Intro: • Explain why your research question is • Important • Interesting, or • Controversial • Do not include information available in textbooks. • Include only: most relevant & significant points!

Use the Literature to enrich, do not over reference! • If your sample is small/ your do not have ideal control group  strenghten it by using a few well-selected findings from published studies. • Position your study, does your study have: • A larger sample size? • Better control of confounding factors? • Longer follow up? • More recent data? • More accurate measurements? • Summarize concisely, elaborate in the Discussion.

Explain how your study fills the gap in current scientific knowledge • State the purpose of your study clearly.. • The specific aim & hypothesis should be easy to find & understand • Be sure that the reasoning in your paper follows a straight line: • from the purpose (in the Introduction) to • the conclusion (at the end of the Discussion)

Common errors :[3,4] Authors are often not clear about what they want to say.. Straying from the hypothesis or the objective of the analysis. 4 Authors regularly choose the wrong format.. Not clear about the audience (Acad? Pract? Researchers? Spec? Generalists?)

Condense the Introduction [4] You must present a great deal of important information in just a few words! How few? Check recently published Introductions in the target journal make yours slightly less than, or equal to the average length..

Physically, Introduction..[2] Consisting of 2 paragraphs ( 1 page): • Main reasons for doing the research, explain it in a logical sequence, relevant with selected literature. • A summary on how we plan to do it (research design) and research hypothesis, objectives, what we expect the outcome will be.

Conclusion [3] “To write an effective introduction you must know your audience, keep it short, tell readers why you have done the study and explain why it’s important, convince them that it is better than what has gone before, and try as hard as you can to hook them in the first line”

Methods [2,5] Several styles: Materials & Methods  Subjects & Methods Some journals separated Materials from Methods Now most journals include materials/subject of research under the caption: Methods Better to write this part in as much detail as possible, start before the study has started.5

Methods • Lindsay: Methods (& Results) 40-60% of  pages. • M  I M R A D • Answers: What did you do? • Most important part of the manuscript, since is the most common cause of rejection! ws/sci wri 4 intl J/dikti/ias

Methods: clear, detailed, concise [5] • Main purposes: • to describe, sometimes • to defend the experimental design, • provide sufficient details, enough for others to repeat the study, • Standard / common methods  just give the appropriate reference..

Modification of standard Methods [1] • Whenever “modifications” of standard methods are used, authors should : • Give complete details of any new methods used. • Give the precision of the measurements undertaken. • Use statistical analysis sensibly. • Help of a statistician needed at the planning stage of study.

What to include [2,5] How the study was designed: Keep the description brief Inform when the study was conducted & place Population & sample, sampling method Say how randomisation was done Use names to identify parts of a study sequence

What to include? [5] How the study was carried out: Describe recruitment (criteria of inclusion ) Give reasons for excluding subjects Consider mentioning ethical features Give accurate details of materials Give exact drug dosages Give exact form of treatment & accesible details of unusual apparatus

What to include? [5] How the data was analysed: Use a p value to disprove the null hypothesis Give an estimation of the power of the study (the likelihood of a false negative– the  error) Give the exact tests used for statistical analysis

Finally, [2,5] Does text describe questions asked? What was being tested? How trustworthy the measurements of the variables would be? Were these trustworthy measurements recorded, analysed, & interpreted correctly? Would a suitably qualified reader be able to repeat the experiment in the same way?

References Hall GH. Structure of a scientific paper. In: Hall GH, ed. How to write a paper. London: BMJ, 1994: p. 1-3. Sastroasmoro S. Penulisan makalah ilmiah untuk jurnal: Sistematika dan Format Umum. Pada Workshop on medical report writing. The Second annual Jakarta International Epidemiology Course for Clinicians. FKUI & UICC. Jakarta: 25 Nov-6 Des. 1996 Smith R. Introduction. In: Hall GH, ed. How to write a paper. London: BMJ, 1994: p. 6-13 Byrne DW. Introduction. In: Publishing your medical research paper. Baltimore: Williams & Wilkins, 1998:p. 101-4 Drummond G B. Methods. In: Hall GH, ed. How to write a paper. London: BMJ, 1994: p.15-8 Lindsay D. Penuntun Penulisan Ilmiah. A guide to Scientific Writing. Jakarta: UIP; 1986

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Introduction & Methods