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Radiography Peer Review - make your contribution Dr Pauline Reeves Associate Editor (Clinical Imaging). Overview. Peer review What to look for in an article Ways to approach an article for review Use of a checklist Making constructive comments Writing comments
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RadiographyPeer Review- make your contributionDr Pauline Reeves Associate Editor (Clinical Imaging)
Overview • Peer review • What to look for in an article • Ways to approach an article for review • Use of a checklist • Making constructive comments • Writing comments • Your decision; accept, revise, reject • Submitting your comments
Peer review • Subjecting an author's scholarly work to the scrutiny of others who are experts in the field. • Used by editors to select and screen manuscripts submitted for publication • Aims to make authors meet the standards of their discipline. • Maintains the overall quality of the journal
The Process All communication takes place on-line in the Elsevier Editorial System (EES) • Submission is assigned to an Editor by Editor-in-chief • Reviewer receives the invitation by e-mail • Respond to an invitation • The Reviewer logs on to the site using the username and password or hotlinks provided in the e-mail and agrees or declines to review. • If the Reviewer agrees, s/he reads the manuscript and logs on to EES to submit a review. • The Reviewer types comments to the Authors and Editor, selects a Recommendation, rates the manuscript and submits the review to the journal office.
Types of contribution, word lengths and illustrations 1. Original full length research papers • Approximately 2,500-3000 words. 2. Review Article Section covering: a. Radiotherapy and Oncology b. Clinical Imaging c. Education 3. Letters to the Editor (500 words)4. Book Reviews (300 words)5. Case reports (800 words)6. Technical notes (1,000 words)7. Guest Editorials: These are short topical pieces (approx 1000 words)
What to look for • Compliance with Instructions to Authors http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/623068/authorinstructions
What to look for;Type of submission • Full length research paper • Qualitative • Quantitative • Review • Case study • Guest Editorial • Technical note
What to look for;Overall structure • Abstract • Introduction • Method • Results • Conclusion
What to look for;Structure • Logical & organised • Repetition should be minimised / avoided • The ‘elements’ should comply with what is expected • e.g. Is abstract in the expected form? • Concise (2500-3000 words) • Results should be concise and clear • Graphics / tables used appropriately, not over-used
What to look for;English • Is important and you can ask for English to be improved • Look beyond poor English – is the article ‘OK’? • It should be spell checked & grammar checked • Good sentence and paragraph structure • Typographical errors should be avoided • It is the AUTHOR’S responsibility to get the English right (not the Editors)
What to look for;Content • Is it related to the aims/scope of the journal? • Is the rationale for the paper clear? • Is the method valid and reliable? • Are statistical tests justified and explained? • Is the discussion more than a simple description of the results? • Do the conclusions arise directly from the work?
What to look for;Content • Is there adequate attention to detail? • Are the limitations of the work acknowledged? • Are references adequate in number and quality, and presented correctly? • Does it add to the existing body of knowledge? • Is the ‘new’ information related to the existing body of knowledge? • Is there a take home message?
What to look for;Plagiarism and ethics • Look for plagiarism – has this been published previously? • For studies involving humans has ethics approval been sought?
What to look for Helsinki Declaration (http://www.wma.net/e/policy/b3.htm) • World Medical Association Declaration of Helsinki • Ethical Principles for Medical Research Involving Human Subjects • 2008: Sixth revision, 59th Meeting, Seoul
Ways to approach your article • Work on screen (pdf) • Make notes on paper • Make notes in word processor • Print off hardcopy • Make notes onto it in [red] pen • Make notes in word processor • Work on the paper somewhere quiet • Work within the timescale you agreed with the Editor - 2 weeks
Use of a checklist • Topic • Aligned to the aims and scope of the journal • Important to the profession • Originality • English • Standard • Grammatical errors • Spelling errors • Typographical errors • Acronyms are defined adequately • Is logical and tells a story #
Use of a checklist • Title • Indicates clearly and concisely the topic • Key words • Are suitable considering the topic area • No more than 6 and don’t just repeat the title • Abstract • States concisely the purpose of the work • Accurately describes the method used • Summarises the results • Indicates the conclusions • Introduction • Defines the problem concisely and states purpose • Presents relevant background information / literature
Method (if relevant) • Explains how it was done and why • Adequately supported by evidence, such as literature • Reproducible • Valid / reliable • Ethical issues appropriately addressed • Results • Clear and concise with appropriate use of graphics / figures • Discussion • Discusses the findings within themselves • Relates the findings to the existing body of knowledge • Develops arguments and theories from evidence • Discusses the implications of the work to practice • Suggests ‘what next’
Conclusion • Arise directly from the material debated in the work • Reaches valid conclusions, which could be tempered by limitations of the work • Suggests new directions • References • Are timely / historically significant • Are sufficient in quantity to support the work • Are adequate in quality, normally being predominantly derived from peer-reviewed forums • Cited correctly • Footnotes -may be used occasionally to clarify/ define a point
Common pitfalls • Badly written abstract • Inadequate or absent introduction • Raising questions which are then not addressed • Inaccurate content • Poor sentence structure • Missing references • Jumping from idea to idea • Making assumptions • New facts/results appearing in discussion • Inadequate or absent conclusion
Making constructive comments • Helpful to the author • Not be patronising • Clear and concise • If possible, indicate how ‘the problem’ might be addressed • Don’t be idealistic, no research is perfect • Remember the work is now history so it is too late to suggest an alternative approach
Writing comments A rejection • This could have been an interesting piece of work …. • It was pleasing to see that there are … • However, there were some major flaws in … and the write up lacked …. , which made it impossible to recommend this article for publication.
Writing comments General comments • This is an interesting and topical case study that addresses a current area of interest in radiography education. I believe it is suitable for publication but requires revision to address some minor issues. I have the following comments … (there were 20 minor points)
Writing comments • Specific comments • Accepting the work when corrections are made (revise). Example detailed feedback includes • Methodology, para 5, line 6 - who is 'the researcher'? Perhaps this could be replaced with 'to a member of the research team'. • Methodology, para 6 - this is a single sentence paragraph. Can it be incorporated into another? • Methodology, para 7, line 2 - here you use 'X-ray' but in other places 'x-ray'. Please be consistent. • Methodology, para 7, line 8 - please consider replacing the word 'would' with may'. • There were almost 100 [constructive] comments to this feedback …
Accept, revise or reject? • Your final advice to the Editor • Accept ‘as is’ • Revise • (fairly minor comments) • Reject, but offer resubmission • Major comments • Outright reject • Poor work / or not within the scope of the journal
Your comments • Word processed, edited, spell and grammar corrected • Advise typing in word and then pasting into the boxes • Submit Via the web-site http://ees.elsevier.com/radiography/ #
Why do it? • Improves your cv • A method of CPD • ‘Gives back’ to the professional community
Reviewers needed Reviewers are particularly needed with the following interests/ expertise; • Gastroenterology • MRI (especially spectroscopy)