research unit, you will need to search further afield. You may find one person to mentor your career path, one to provide research support, and one to help you through the writing and publication processes. If you want a mentor to further your career, you will need someone who is interested in your future. If you want to improve your publication rate, you will need someone who may be a coauthor on your papers, who has an impressive publication record, or who teaches research or scientific writing skills. It doesn’t matter how many mentors you have as long as you have all bases covered. As your career progresses, you will find yourself separating from your mentor. This can be an uncomfortable time but it is part of a natural progression. By then, you will have acquired the skills to successfully mentor those who follow after you. This graduation of junior researchers and sharing of skills and knowledge throughout a research unit can make a huge difference to the success of individual researchers and their research teams. Acknowledgements The Newton quote has been produced with permission from Collins Concise Dictionary of Quotations, 3rd edn. London: Harper Collins, 1998 (p 226). The Picasso quote has been produced with permission from the Picasso estate (Succession Picasso 2002). All other referenced quotes have been produced with permission. Websites 1 The Writing Program, University of Pennsylvania http://www.sas.upenn.edu/writing/services/docs.html Provides access to online reference texts and resources including Grammar Style and Notes by Jack Lynch, Strunk’s Elements of Style, Oxford English Dictionary, Webster’s Dictionary, Roget’s Thesaurus, citation styles, etc. 2 Yahoo http://dir.yahoo.com/Social_Science/Linguistics_and_ Human_Languages/Languages/Specific_Languages/English/ Grammar__Usage__and_Style/ Provides access to resources for grammar, English usage, and style, including books and rules of grammar, common errors, and tips to improve your writing 3 Bartelby Online Books http://www.bartelby.com Access to online books such as the American Heritage dictionary, American Support systems 285 Heritage book of English usage, Roget’s thesaurus, Strunk’s elements of style, Gray’s anatomy, etc. 4 Modern Language Association (MLA) of America http://www.mla.org http://www.mla.org/main_stl.htm#sources Information about the MLA style manual, which documents the style recommended by the Modern Language Association for preparing scholarly manuscripts and student research papers. Concerns itself with the mechanics of writing, such as punctuation, quotation, and documentation of sources. Also includes guidelines for citing sources from the World Wide Web 5 Plain English Campaign http://www.plainenglish.co.uk Guides to writing medical information, letters, reports, alternative words, etc. for writing in plain English 6 Google http://www.google.com/ A unified global search engine 7 Altavista http://www.altavista.com/ A unified global search engine 8 All-the-web, all-the-time http://www.alltheweb.com/ A unified global search engine 9 Google Help Central http://www.google.com/help/ Provides access to a range of search tips, features, and frequently asked questions 10 Altavista’s help site http://www.altavista.com/sites/help Help page with cheat sheets and various searching features 11 Altavista’s translation feature http://www.altavista.com/sites/help/babelfish/babel_help Access to babelfish site that translates from one language to another 12 The Spire Project http://www.SpireProject.com/ Provides access to articles and techniques on internet searching 13 Bright Plant http://www.brightplanet.com/ Provides a guide to effective searching 14 National Library of Medicine, United States http://www.nlm.nih.gov/pubs/factsheets/medline.html Provides access to abstracts published in MEDLINE via PubMed 15 Massachusetts Medical Society http://www.globalmedicine.org Scientific Writing 286 Allows health researchers and providers worldwide to establish personal and professional contacts that may lead to cooperative relationships 16 TeamNet, University of North Texas http://www.workteams.unt.edu/teamnet/teamnet.htm Electronic community with more than 600 potential mentors who provide a sounding board for ideas and questions 17 Team Center, Washington http://www.teamcenter.com Offers articles and tools on effective team building including material on how to ask good questions during meetings, sources of stress in teams, and case studies on teams that work References 1 Lammott A. Some instructions on writing and life. Peterborough: Anchor Books, 1994; p 153. 2 Swap W, Leonard D, Sheilds M, Abrams L. Using mentoring and story telling to transfer knowledge in the workplace. J Manag Inform Systems 2001;18:95–114. 3 Beech N, Brockbank A. Power/knowledge and psychosocial dynamics in mentoring. Manag Learning 1999;30:7–24. 4 Gibb S. The usefulness of theory: A case study in evaluating formal mentoring schemes. Human Relations 1999;52:1055–75. 5 McCabe LL, McCabe ERB. Establishing personal goals and tracking your career. In: How to succeed in academics. London: Academic Press, 2000. 6 Daft RL, Lengel RH. Organizational information requirements, media richness and structural design. Manag Sci 1986;32:554–71. Support systems 287 abbreviations 257–8, 267–8 abstract in Cochrane review 174 conference, citing 105 rewriting in writers’ groups 279 your paper 49–50 acceptance 9–10, 112, 125–6 editorial decisions on 123, 125–6, 130–1, 132–3 rates 18, 19 accountability, author 35 acknowledgements 43–4 active verb 223 addresses, authors’ 100–1 adjectival clauses 240, 241, 243 adjectives 219–21 commas between 263 demonstrative 231–5 nouns used as 218–19 adverbs 229–31 age, participants 69 aims see objectives Americans comma use 266 spelling 259 annotations 170 anonymity, reviewer 124 apostrophe 266–7 appeals 133 appendices, postgraduate thesis 182–3 archiving 116–17 as 253–4 assertive sentence title 98–9 audience, scientific 13, 64 authors/authorship 14, 29–41 see also coauthors coauthors 20 “ghost” 40–1 “gift” 32, 40 “guest” 41 instructions to 14, 23–4, 110–12 numbers 34 order 30, 31–2, 36–40 standard guidelines/criteria 29–31 baseline characteristics 68 because 253–4 bias 62, 63, 82 bibliographic databases, authors in 38 brackets 267–9 case 248 case-control studies 58, 71–2 case reports 58, 176–8 central tendency, measures 82, 83 checklists 110–12 citations see impact factor; references; Science Citation Index clauses 240–3 adjectival 240, 241, 243 clinical assessments 62 clinical trials see trials coauthors 20, 33 meeting/cooperating with 280–1 order 30, 31–2, 36–40 peer review by 106–10 responsibilities 33 Cochrane Collaboration, review 29, 42, 57, 172–6 cohort study 57 colons 262–3 commas 263–6 communications 165–8 personal, citing 105 rapid 153 compound sentences 240 computers graphics generated by 80 word processing 13–14 concentrations 255 conclusions in abstract 50 postgraduate thesis 182 conferences/scientific meetings citing abstracts of 105 publication in conference proceedings 148 confidence intervals, 95% 82, 83 conjunctions 198, 230, 235–9 Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials (CONSORT) 24–5, 26–7, 71, 111 construction see structure contingency tables 85 continuity (flow) 199–202 contributions to paper 33, 35, 41–2 acknowledgement of 43 statisticians 36, 37 copyright laws 135 correlate and correlation 197, 219 288 Index Page numbers in bold type refer to figures; those in italic refer to tables or boxed material. coworkers acknowledgement or inclusion as authors or contributors 43 peer review by 106–10 creativity, achieving 7–8 credit point system, authorship 39 criticism letters offering 167–8 self 108 cross-sectional study 58, 66 dashes 270 data analysis 67–8 results v 65 sharing, policies 150–2 databases, electronic, reference management 102, 103 dates 265 definite article 220 “demographics” 69 design, study 56 statistical contribution 37 determiners 231–5 discussion 85–9, 90 checklist questions 112 in draft 14, 15, 16 material in introduction v 52 postgraduate thesis 182 in randomised controlled trials, reporting guidelines 26–7 verb tense in 224 documentation, archiving 116–17 double negatives 257 double-spacing 113 drafts 14–17 number 14, 15, 108–9 review 107–8 duplicate publication 147–9 early release 133, 152–3 ecological studies 58 editor/editorial team 121–3, 132–3 acceptance/rejection decisions by 123, 125–6, 130–1, 132–3 becoming an editor 143–5 review by 121–2 submission to see submission editorials 168–9 electronic databases, reference management 102, 103 electronic journal 153–7 electronic Science Citation Index 158 electronic submission 116 e-letters 153–5 ellipses 262 email, time management 280 embargoes 137–8 emotive terms 251–3 em-rule 270 Endnote 102 en-rule 270 epidemiological studies features 57–8 reporting guidelines 25 large studies 150 errors final check 134 references 103–4 type I and II 60–1 ethical approval 55–6 ethnic groups 219 exclamation marks 262 fast-track publishing 133, 152–3 feedback 9, 108, 109–10, 276–7 figures 78, 78–82, 90, 114 checklist questions 112 in Cochrane review 174 in draft 15, 16 final check 134 finishing your paper 93–120 flow of ideas 199–202 fog, eliminating 192–5, 211, 278 font 114 format and formatting 90, 113 postgraduate thesis 181–2 see also structure framework 14 full-stop 261–2 galleys 133–4 gender-specific pronouns 235 “ghost” authors 40–1 “gift” authors 32, 40 grammar 214–45 graphs/graphics 78–82 groups in tables 76–8 guarantors 41 “guest” authors 40–1 histograms, multidimensional 80–1 hyphenation 114, 270–1 ICMJE (International Council of Medical Journal Editors) 21–2, 24 impact factors 158–62 indefinite article 220 independence, author 35 Index Medicus, journals listed 17 infinitives 225–6 Ingelfinger rule 137 instructions to authors 14, 23–4, 110–12 intellectual contributions to paper 33 International Council of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) 21–2, 24 Internet, searching 273–4 Index 289 see also web; websites interquartile range 82, 83 interventions 61–2 introduction 51–4, 90 checklist questions 111 draft form 14, 15 verb tense in 224, 224–5 it 234 journals choice 17–21 electronic 153–7 impact factors 158–62 peer-reviewed 17, 121–4 rapid response features 154, 168 website see website justification, left 114 key words 101 large studies, reporting results 149–50 left justification 114 legends, figure 82 length abstract 50 sentence 203–4, 207 thesis 178 title 94, 95 whole paper 14–17 instructions to authors 23–4 word 250, 251 letters 165–8 levels 255 literature review article written as see narrative review in paper 52, 53 in postgraduate thesis 179–80, 182 log sheets, data sharing 151–2 materials see method mean 82, 83 meaning (words/terms), wrong 250 media, mass, releasing results to 136–8 median 82, 83 mentoring 282–5 Meta-analysis of Observational Studies in Epidemiology 25 method(s), materials and 54–64, 90 checklist questions 111 criticisms of 132 in draft 14, 15, 16 in postgraduate thesis 182 in randomised controlled trials, reporting guidelines 26–7 verb tense in 224 methodology studies 58 MOOSE checklist 25 multicentre studies, reporting results 149–50 multidimensional histograms 80–1 multivariate analyses 84–5 names, researchers’, citation 104–5 narrative review 169–72 postgraduate literature review written as 179–80 see also Cochrane Collaboration; systematic review negatives 255–7 netprints 155–7 nouns 215–19 antecedent 232 apostrophes in 267 verbs and, muddling 228 numbers participants (sample size) 59–61, 73–4, 75–6, 78 reporting 74–6 object(s) 191–2, 198, 209 pronouns as 232 objectives/aims in abstract 50 in discussion 86 in introduction 53 objectivity 72 observational studies, reporting guidelines 25 odds ratio, small 73–4 online information see Internet; websites and entries under electronic orphan lines 114 outcome measures in abstract 50 packaging 113 page proofs 133–4 paragraphs discussion 86–9 introduction 51 results 64 topic sentences at beginning 64, 66, 189–91, 199, 211 parallel structures 208–10 parentheses 267–9 participants 248–50 in abstracts 50 baseline characteristics 68 in methods 56–9 number (sample size) 59–61, 73–4, 75–6, 78 passive verb 223 peer review by coauthors/coworkers 106–10 electronic articles and 156 by journal 17, 121–4 of letter 168 pejorative terms 249 performed 229 Index 290 personal communications, citing 105 photographs 81 phrases 195, 239, 242 long and redundant 203 pie charts 79 plain English 188–9 planning stage 12–17 plurals 216–18 apostrophes 267 postgraduate theses 178–85 power 61 precision measures 83 preposition(s) 235–9 verbs interchanged with 228 prepositional clause 240, 241 presentation 112–15 press, releasing results to 136–8 prestige, journal 21 probability (P) 61, 72, 73, 74, 84 pronouns 231–5, 243–4, 249–50 proofs and proofreading 133–4 public health actions recommended in discussion 89 Public Library of Science 155 publishing 147–64 fast-track/early release 133, 152–3 your reasons for 1–3 punctuation 261–72 title 97 “quadrant II activity” 5–7 quality see scientific merit and quality Quality of Reporting of Meta-analyses (QUOROM) statement 25–8 question, in title 98 question marks 262 questionnaires 61 randomised controlled trials 71 baseline characteristics 69, 70 CONSORT reporting guidelines 24–5, 26–7, 71, 111 features 57 flow chart 28 range 82, 83 rapid communication 153 rapid response features of journals 154, 168 redundant phrases 203 redundant publication 147–9 reference(s) and citations 62, 90, 101–6 checklist questions 112 in Cochrane review 174 in draft 15, 16 see also impact factor; literature review; Science Citation Index Reference Manager 102 rejection 130–2, 133 appeals 133 repetition, avoiding 201–2 see also tautology reporting numbers 74–6 standardised guidelines 24–9 responsibilities, research conduct of research 35 postgraduate 178–9 resubmission 125–6, 132 results 63–85, 90 abstract 50 checklist questions 111–12 Cochrane review 174, 175 draft 14, 15, 16 figures explaining 79 interpretation 72–4 introduction 53–4 large studies, reporting 149–50 postgraduate thesis 182 press release 136–8 randomised controlled trials, reporting guidelines 26–7 reasons for publishing 1–3 verb tense in 224 review 121–46 letters 168 paper 112, 121–46 by coauthors/coworkers 106–10 electronic articles and 156 electronic post-publication 154 peer review see peer review writer’s group 277 see also literature review reviewer anonymity 124 becoming a 5, 138–46 checklists 110–11 comments 140–3 replying to 127–30 criticising methods 132 Review Manager (RevMan) 29, 173, 175 revision 125–6 running title 101 sample size, study 59–61, 73–4, 75–6, 78 Science Citation Index 157–8 scientific meetings see conferences scientific merit and quality evaluation 157, 160–1 reviewers on 112 search engines 273–4 semicolons 263 sentences adverbs at beginning 229–30 assertive, in title 98–9 compound 240 flow between 199–202 grammar 214–45 length 203–4, 207 Index 291 parallel 208–10 punctuation see punctuation topic 64, 66, 189–91, 199, 211 transition words at beginning 198, 200 verbs at end 229 significance 61, 63, 72, 73, 74, 84 slashes 270 space, physical (for writing) 7–8 spelling 258–9 split infinitives 225–6 spread, measures of 82, 83 square brackets 269 standard deviation 69, 82, 83 standard error 69, 82, 83, 83–4 standardised reporting guidelines 24–9 statistician, role 36, 37 statistics 63, 82–4, 85 sample size calculations 60–1 in tables of baseline characteristics 69 storage 116–17 structure (construction) 9, 12–92 guidelines 90 planning 12–17 see also format and specific parts of paper study design see design style 9, 188–213 citations 102–3 writing reviewer comments 141 subject 191–2, 198, 209 pronouns as 232 submission 115–16 to another journal 126, 131 resubmission 125–6, 132 systematic review 29, 57, 172–6 tables 76–8, 90, 114 baseline characteristics in 68, 69, 70 checklist questions 112 in Cochrane review 174 in draft 15, 16 for response to reviewer comments 127–30 tautology 205–6 terms emotive 251–3 standardising 246–8 that 243–4, 249–50 theses 178–85 those 234 thought 9 tight writing 202–6 time of day/week for writing 8 management 5–7, 280 title 93–101 annotations/review 170 figure 82 letter 166 paper 90, 93–101 rewriting, in writers’ groups 278 table 78 title page 100–1 topic sentences 64, 66, 189–91, 199, 211 transition words 198, 200 trials 24–9, 71–2 characteristics 57–8 standardised reporting guidelines 24–9 see also specific types of trials typeface (font) 114 type I and II error 60–1 uniform requirements 21–2 unpublished work, citing 105 Vancouver guidelines/criteria 21 authorship 30, 31, 38, 39, 43 citation style 102, 103 verbs 191–2, 198, 209, 221–9 visual appearance 112–15 web, citing information on 105–6 websites see also Internet cited by this book documents other than papers 185–6 finishing your paper 118–19 preparation/planning stage 44–5 publishing 162–3 punctuation 271–2 review and editorial processes 145 search engine help 274 style 212–13 support systems 285–6 words 260–1 writing your paper 91 citing address of 105–6 journal early release on 153 rapid response on 154, 168 your, your paper on 135 which 243–4 withdrawal from a journal 126 word(s) 246–66 choice 246–66 order of 197–9 total number of see length transition 198, 200 unnecessary 205–8 word processors 13–14 writer’s block 281–2 writers’ groups 274–81 writing, principles 48–92 postgraduate thesis 181–5 Index 292 . and publication processes. If you want a mentor to further your career, you will need someone who is interested in your future. If you want to improve your publication rate, you will need someone who. a coauthor on your papers, who has an impressive publication record, or who teaches research or scientific writing skills. It doesn’t matter how many mentors you have as long as you have all bases. design style 9, 188– 213 citations 102–3 writing reviewer comments 141 subject 191–2, 198, 209 pronouns as 232 submission 115–16 to another journal 126, 131 resubmission 125–6, 132 systematic review