How to Write Manuscript

1. How to Write Manuscript

2. The important questions that arise in writing a manuscript : • What are some considerations to keep in mind as I undertake my research? Will my research make a significant contribution to knowledge? (1. RESEARCH) • What qualities of my paper will make it worthy of publication? Is my message clear, powerful, accurate, and succinct? (2. MANUSCRIPT) • Is this journal a “home” for my report? (3. SUBMISSION)

3. The ideal manuscript : - Data that would interest other scientists/ users - Novel methodology Novelty alone is not sufficient to justify publication !! - Provide superior performance - Represent a significant improvement over competently performed - Useful application

4. To publish or not to publish…

5. Your personal reason for publishing get promoted…??? Get funding? • …??? PhD degree? • However, editors, reviewers, and research community don’t consider these reasons when assessing your work.

6. Why should scientists publish? • Scientists publish tosharewith theresearch communityfindings thatadvance knowledge and understanding • To present new, original results or methods • To rationalize published results • To present a review of the field or to summarize a particular topic

7. Publish or perish Funding Bodies Grant Writing Scientists Journal Publication

8. Publishers do not want zero-cited articles Editors now regularly analyze citations per article !! “The statistic that 27% of our papers were not cited in 5 years was disconcerting. It certainly indicates thatit is important to maintain high standards when accepting papers...…” – Marv Bauer, Editor, Remote Sensing of Environment

9. Publishers do want quality • NOT WANTED • Duplications • Reports of no scientific interest • Work out of date • Inappropriate methods or conclusions • Studies with insufficient data WANTED • Originality • Significant advances in field • Appropriate methods and conclusions • Readability • Studies that meet ethical standards

10. Can I publish this…..? • Have you done something new and interesting? • Have you checked the latest results in the field? • Have the findings been verified? • Have the appropriate controls been performed? • Do your findings tell a nice story or is the story incomplete? • Is the work directly related to a current hot topic? • Have you provided solutions to any difficult problems? If all answers are “yes”, then start preparing your manuscript.

11. Publishable material  CONCEPT : • (1)Least publishable unit; a euphemism for fragmentation of work to the smallest unit that is still publishable • Optimal publishable unit. The optimum publishable unit includes: • (a) an amount of data that can be comfortably encompassed • in a reasonable paper of five to nine printed pages of text • (b) no artificial subdivisions • (c) conclusions are few and crisp, • (d) discussion that is sharply focused and relevant

12. (3) Maximum publishable unit. The characteristics of the • maximum publishable unit include: • (a) an overly long methodology section with too much • subdivision; • (b) difficulty in maintaining continuity in the discussion section; • (c) too much (more than six ) conclusions. • Exceeding the maximum publishable unit may result • in important results and ideas within the paper being lost in the • sea of discussion.

13. When to write a manuscript ‘‘Writers should not write just for pleasure, but to satisfy other people’s needs, and to help their colleagues……. offering them clear information, well tested results, and reproducible working procedures.’’ (Ramirez and C. Lucy)

14. When to write a manuscript Scientists must guard against writing up the work too early. This will result in fragmentary discussion of the topic, incomplete studies and potentially erroneous conclusions.

15. When to write a manuscript “Quality is always enhanced by more than adequate data and by at least a few days of quiet contemplation of the research results before the word processor keyboard is approached.’’ C.J. Sindermann, Survival Strategies for New Scientists A scientist should spend an hour a day working on the manuscript closest to completion

16. When to write a manuscript Scientists must avoid unduly delaying writing manuscripts due to fear of publishing an error or because of ‘writer’s block’. Feibelman suggests that research should be planned as a series of short,complete projects leading towards your overall long-term goal . P.J. Feibelman, A Ph.D. is Not Enough!

17. When to write a manuscript “Research should be planned as a series of short,complete projects leading towards your overall long-term goal” • Each project is written as an independent piece of work describing a new kernel of knowledge, placed in the context of the long-term goal in the Introduction. • (b) Such a plan ensures a regular publication record, establishes scientific priority, and helps prevent having to write overly long and complex articles that tend to cause writer’s block. • (c) It also better satisfies the short time schedules of job reviews and granting agencies.

18. Where to submit the manuscript Several factors should be considered: • Is the journal appropriate for your article? • Does the journal give your work the audience that you want? • How is the timeliness of publication (important for job reviews or grant applications). • What is the citation impact factor of the journal? (The citation impact factor is one indicator of the attention that a journal receives)

19. Where to submit the manuscript The first- and most important- step in choosing an appropriate journal for your manuscript is to read the journal on a regular basis. One useful technique for choosing a journal is to review the references cited in your manuscript. (If there is a preponderance of references from a particular journal, then that is probably the most appropriate journal to which to submit the article)

20. Preparation of manuscript

21. What type of manuscript? Full articles / Original articles Letters / Rapid Communications / Short Communications Review papers Self-evaluate your work: Is it sufficient for a full article? Or are your results so thrilling that they need to be revealed as soon as possible? Ask your supervisor and colleagues for advice on manuscript type. Sometimes outsiders may see things more clearly than you.

22. Who is the audience? Do you want to reach specialists, multidisciplinary researchers, or a general audience? You will need to adjust information and writing style accordingly Journals, even in similar subjects, reach readers with different backgrounds Each journal has its own style; read other articles to get an idea of what is accepted Is the readership worldwide or local?

23. Which journal? Consider: Aims and scope (check journal websites and recent articles) Types of articles Readership Current hot topics (go through recent abstracts) Asking colleagues for advice Sometimes it is necessary to lower one’s sights or return to the lab. to obtain more data

24. DO NOT gamble by scattering your manuscript to many journals Only submit once! International ethics standards prohibit multiple simultaneous submissions, and editors DO find out!

25. Consulting the Guide for Authors will save your time and the editor’s All editors hate wasting time on poorly prepared manuscripts It is a sign of disrespect

26. Format Consult and apply the list of guidelines in the “Guide for Authors” Ensure that you use the correct: Layout Section lengths (stick to word limits) Nomenclature, abbreviations and spelling (British vs. American) Reference format Number/type of figures and tables Statistics, etc

27. Article structure/Format of a scientific paper

28. Article structure/Format of a scientific paper Title Authors Abstract Keywords Main text (IMRD) Introduction Methods/ Experimental Results Discussion (Conclusion) Acknowledgements References Supplementary material Need to be accurate and informative for effective indexing and searching Each has a distinct function Remained essentially unchanged since scientific journals first appeared in the 1660s

29. Title A good title should contain thefewestpossible words thatadequatelydescribe the contents of a paper DO Convey main findings of research Be specific Be concise Be complete Attract readers DON’T Use unnecessary jargon Use uncommon abbreviations Use ambiguous terms Use unnecessary detail Focus on part of the content only

30. Title Slower processing is correlated with higher levels of depressed mood, fatigue, lower verbal fluency, fewer words and digits recalled and poorer recall of visual-spatial information in MS patients Relationships between information processing, depression, fatigue and cognition in multiple sclerosis

31. Title Six styles of titles: 1. Snappy titlesattempt to invent a phrase or label to describe a new techniqueor subject. These can be successful if the subject is genuinely new (but some sometimes generate confusion) 2. Announcement titles provide a topical description of the work (i.e Ion chromatography of complex surfactants……). Care must be taken to not make such titles too brief

32. Title Six styles of titles: 3. Assertion titlesstate a central conclusion of the paper (i.e “Chemically modified tips enable selective atomic force nanoanalysis”) 4. Acronym titlescontain excessive abbreviations, and are most common with hyphenated techniques. The effectiveness of such titles is limited to those readers already intimately familiar with the subject (i.e SIA-ICP-MS for…………………………….)

33. Title Six styles of titles: 5. Buzzword titlesincorporate trendy topics or prefixes to capture the reader’s interest. An example is the use of ‘nano-‘ rather than ‘micro-‘ 6. Series titlesprimarily convey that the author has studied the field for a while

34. Authors and affiliations Be consistent with spelling, full versus short names, full versus short addresses Surnames: Sabarudin Middle Initial: Use consistently or not at all First Names: Akhmad Affiliation: Faculty of Science / Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences

35. Abstract The rule for abstract preparation is to consider that the reader may read the abstract instead of reading the paper itself. The abstract must provide the key information from the paper, while hopefully enticing the reader to read the rest of the paper (the essence of the work and emphasize its importance) It is best to not repeat the article title in the abstract, and to keep it short (50–150 words, with a maximum of 250).A short concise abstract has a better chance of being read.

36. Abstract • Types: • Indicative (descriptive) abstractsoutline the topics covered in a piece of writing so the reader can decide whether or not to read on. Often used in review articles and conference reports • Informative abstractssummarize the article based on the IMRD structure, but without section headings • Structured abstractsfollow headings required by the journal. Often used in Medical journals • Check carefully which type fits the journal of your choice

37. Abstract The quality of an abstract will strongly influence the editor’s decision • A good abstract: • Is precise and honest • Can stand alone • Uses no technical jargon • Is brief and specific • Cites no references Use the abstract to “sell” your article

38. Keywords Keywords are important for indexing: they enable your manuscript to be more easily identified and cited Check the Guide for Authors for journal requirements • Keywords should be specific • Avoid uncommon abbreviations and general terms

39. Keywords Bad keywords: Psychiatric disorder, NRG1, LD, SNPs, Japanese large sample, association

40. Introduction Provide the necessary background information to put your work into context • It should be clear from the introduction: • Why the current work was performed • aims • significance • What has been done before • What was done (in brief terms) • What was achieved (in brief terms)

41. Introduction Many readers skim articles by reading only the Introduction and Conclusions. Therefore, the important results must be highlighted in the Introduction to catch the reader’s attention. Imagine being on the telephone with a scientist friend with whom you have not spoken for awhile. The friend asks, ‘‘What have you been doing lately?’’Your imagined response is the outline of your Introduction. (P.J. Feibelman, A Ph.D. is Not Enough!,

42. Introduction • DO • Consult the Guide for Authors for word limit • “Set the scene” • Outline “the problem” and hypotheses • Ensure that the literature cited is balanced, up to date and relevant • Define any non-standard abbreviations and jargon

43. Introduction • DON’T • Write an extensive review of the field • Cite disproportionately your own work, work of colleagues or work that supports your findings while ignoring contradictory studies or work by competitors • Describe methods, results or conclusions other than to outline what was done and achieved in the final paragraph • Overuse terms like “novel” and “for the first time”

44. Introduction Rotenone is a naturally occurring plant compound derived from the root and bark of some Luguminosae species… Administration of rotenone has been shown to lead to biochemical, anatomical, and behavioral symptoms resembling Parkinson’s disease due to neurotoxicity [1–3]. Previous studies have shown that… However, other studies contradict these findings… Understanding the exact mode of action of rotenone should provide additional useful information toward its possible application in oral cancer treatment. In this report, we…

45. Methods/ Experimental The overriding consideration in the Experimental Section is ‘‘No matter how precious space in journals is or becomes, it makes no sense to publish data without giving the reader enough information to enable him to interpret or reproduce them”

46. Methods/ Experimental Everything attributed to experimental, which include instrumentation, material, chemical, solvent, composition of mixed solvents, experimental design, experimental procedures should be informed clearly.

47. Methods/ Experimental The Methods section must providesufficient informationso that a knowledgeable reader canreproducethe experiment List suppliers of reagents and manufacturers of equipment, and define apparatus in familiar terms: “using an AD 340C plate reader (Beckman Coulter)” OR “using a plate reader (Beckman Coulter AD 340C) NOT “using a Beckman Coulter AD 340C.” For home-built instruments, greater detail will be required Unless the Guide for Authors states otherwise, use the past tense; the present tense is usually only used in methodology-type papers

48. Methods/ Experimental The Materials and Reagents section should contain a full characterization of the chemicals and reagents used. Systematic (IUPAC) names of the compounds studied should be provided. If trivial names or abbreviations are used, the correct name should be given in parentheses upon first usage. The purity of the chemicals should also be given

49. Results The main findings of the research • DON’T • Duplicate data among tables, figures and text • Use graphics to illustrate data that can easily be summarized with text • DO • Use figures and tables to summarize data • Show the results of statistical analysis

50. Figures and tables arethe most effective way to present results • BUT: • Captions should be able to stand alone, such that the figures and tables are understandable without the need to read the entire manuscript • The data represented should be easy to interpret • Colour should only be used when necessary