Writing a scientific paper is quite a challenging and even overwhelming project. To help you in this process we have translated and adapted the article by F. Ecarnot, MF Seronde, R. Chopard, F. Schiele, N. Meneveau, published in the journal European Geriatric Medicine. Although it is an article published in a journal from another branch of science, its content is very useful and applicable in the field of psychology. The article includes tables and a mental map that we prepare at so that your article has everything necessary to be approved by the scientific journal you send it to or in your research project at the university.
The article was translated and edited by David Aparicio, Alejandra Alonso and María Fernanda Alonso. We thank Fabián Maero for sending us the original version in English.
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When authors invest a lot of time, energy, and often money into their research, they often become emotionally invested in their work. Naturally they are convinced of the value of their research and its importance for the scientific community. However, it can be difficult to step back from the subjectivity that goes hand in hand with deep involvement in the work and think clearly about the best way to present it so that it is clear and understandable, so that others, probably people who are not experts in your field , they can also appreciate the importance of their findings.
Even today, the old adage “publish or perish” remains valid. Many young researchers are pressured to produce scientific publications, in order to improve their professional possibilities, to justify funding applications or as a requirement for university qualifications such as master’s degrees or doctoral theses. Despite this, young doctors often do not have much training (if any) in the art of writing a scientific article. For doctors in particular, the clinical workload may be such that research and scientific writing are considered secondary activities that are not an immediate priority and to which they can only devote small amounts of time on an irregular basis. But the competition is already quite fierce among all the good quality articles that are submitted to journals and therefore it is of utmost importance to get the basics right so that your article has a chance of being chosen.
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Don’t you think your work deserves to be judged on its scientific merit, rather than rejected for poor writing or a messy and confusing presentation of data?
With this in mind, we present here a step-by-step guide to writing a scientific article, which can be applied to the vast majority of scientific disciplines. We will begin by outlining the main sections of the article, and then describe in greater detail the most important elements that should appear in each section. Finally, we will also give some suggestions for the abstract and title of the article. This guide aims to help young researchers with little writing experience create a quality draft, which can then be distributed to co-authors and senior supervisors for further refinement, with the ultimate goal of achieving publication in a journal. scientific. It is certainly not exhaustive, and many excellent resources can be found in the existing literature 1-7 and online 8.
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Getting started: What you should do before writing your manuscript
A certain amount of preparatory work needs to be done before writing your article. Typically, this background work should already have been completed by the time you are in the writing stage, because it also serves as background for the research project you are writing about. All the time you invest in preparing the protocol for your project is progress in writing the article that will emerge from your project. Therefore, you have probably already conducted an extensive literature review to establish the current state of knowledge on the topic and ensure the originality of your research when developing the protocol and this can inform your article. It is useful, when reviewing the literature, to make notes of important points or phrases that you want to include in your article with relevant references. A reference management app can be useful due to the large volume of references you will likely have to review before selecting the most important points (whether they are free versions or commercially available products, such as , , etc.).
Typically, you will also have the final results of the statistical analysis of your data. This will form the basis of your results section. Some of the graphical representations of your results will serve as figures for the article, so it’s helpful to highlight the most important findings as you read them so you don’t forget anything important.
Before you begin writing, you must identify the target journal to which you wish to submit your research. This will have consequences for the format, but more importantly, for the orientation of your writing style, as the writing must be appropriate for the type of reader you are addressing. For example, are you targeting a specialist journal, where readers are expected to be experts in the field, or a general medicine journal, where readers may be experts from other disciplines? This will have implications for the amount and type of information you should include. Additionally, you should also take into account the editorial policy of the target magazine. For example, in a given area of expertise, some journals favor articles that report on basic research, while other journals prioritize more clinical work. Choosing the target journal depends on a variety of factors, which are beyond the scope of this article. However, at a minimum, you should verify that your article falls within the scope of the journal you have chosen.
What are the main sections of a scientific article?
The vast majority of scientific journals follow the format called IMRAD, that is, introduction, method, results and discussion. Naturally, there are some exceptions to this rule, and you should always check the journal’s instructions for authors so you can make sure this is indeed the recommended format. For the purposes of this guide, we will only discuss the IMRAD format as it is the most widely used.
Therefore, the article should contain (in this order) an introduction, a methods section, a results section, and a discussion. To this will be added the summary, which is a brief commentary on these main sections and, of course, the title. At the end, there should be a list of bibliographic references, tables and figure legends. Finally, there may also be some other optional sections, such as acknowledgments, conflicts of interest, or author contributions.
Below we will analyze each of these sections in detail, outlining the main points to keep in mind when writing them.
Introduction
The introduction is of utmost importance to capture the reader’s attention (Table 1). In particular, during the review process, the introduction should “hook” the reviewer, make them want to read more, and make them think, “how come I never thought of this?” In this section, you will explain why you undertook this study, what you aimed to achieve, and how this constitutes a useful addition to the existing body of evidence on the topic.
In concrete terms, it is advisable to begin by briefly explaining, using appropriate references, what is already known on this topic. Next, you should narrow the field a bit and identify areas where there is still some uncertainty, citing, where appropriate, previous (and possibly contradictory) data. This will logically lead to a description of an explicit gap in knowledge that your study hopes to fill. This is an essential element to justify the usefulness of your work. Having explained how the study is going to contribute something new and useful, you must clearly state the working hypothesis, followed by the objective(s) and, very briefly, the strategy implemented to achieve these objectives (Table 1).
Table 1
Summary of the main features of the Introduction section, with examples
CharacteristicExampleBackground describing what is known about the topicExposure treatment is the cornerstone of treatment for anxiety disordersWhat is not known? What elements remain controversial? What is the exact gap in knowledge that your study hopes to fill? Cite any existing data, especially conflicting data that indicates uncertaintyUnknown if. . .To date, it has not been tested. . .No study to date has investigated the effect of. . There is little data to quantify. . .The effect of. . . about. . . it is not yet clearObjective (working hypothesis)We hypothesize that the administration of. . . would reduce/increase. . . in the context of. . .Cite the exact parameter you plan to measureOur goal was to identify / evaluate / evaluate / investigate. . .Cite the type of population or clinical context Through a prospective, single-center/multicenter, observational/interventional study. . .
Secondly, the reasons that prompted you to undertake the research work must be clear to the reader and justified by the state of scientific knowledge with appropriate references. It is not necessary to cite all the articles in the literature on the topic, a careful selection of the most relevant publications is sufficient. Likewise, there is no need to state universal truths that may seem overly simplistic or eminently obvious. However, you should try to strike the right balance between relevant background information and excessive details. In this sense, take into account the target audience you are addressing. This will depend on the profile of the readers of the journal to which you intend to submit your research, as mentioned above. If you are addressing a trade journal, your expertise may be more detailed and technical than if you are addressing an audience of non-specialists in the field.
The introduction should flow logically toward identifying the gap in knowledge you hope to fill. This is your chance to express value…