5. WRITING YOUR ARTICLE There is no single best approach to writing. It requires focus, time, and discipline and is best done when you are actively engaged in the study or soon after the project is completed. Find a quiet or otherwise conducive environment and remember that even the best writers must revise their work many times. Your initial goal is to complete a rough draft of the entire manuscript; revision comes later. At the beginning of the process, set aside blocks of 3-4 hours to immerse yourself in writing, resources, and analysis. Early preparation of the figures and tables will help you identify and focus on the main findings. Once you’ve begun, maintain your momentum and progress by dedicating 3045 minutes each day to writing.
Determining Authorship It is best to determine authorship and author order at the time the study is planned and before it is conducted. To account for changes in contributions, author order should be revisited both before and after the manuscript is written. All authors have a role in drafting and editing the manuscript and must indicate their approval and accept responsibility for the final version submitted for publication. Make sure co-authors agree with the main focus of the manuscript and the selected target journal. Ensure author names are spelled accurately, and use middle initials to facilitate database searches. Include
degrees and certifications only if the journal requires them. Author affiliation (department and institution) should be that at the time the work was done; some journals also publish current affiliations if they have changed. According to the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE), an author is “someone who has made substantive intellectual contributions” to the study conception and design or data acquisition, analysis, and interpretation, and who takes responsibility for at least part of the work. Don’t dilute your contribution by including authors whose contributions are insignificant or nonexistent. Simply acquiring funds or overseeing the laboratory or study group does not warrant authorship; nor should authorship be used to reward friends or family members or to acknowledge those in positions of power. “Guest” and “gift” authorship, whereby an individual is included as an author but did not contribute substantively to the work, is unacceptable. Equally unacceptable is the omission or exclusion of an individual whose contribution warrants authorship, so-called “ghost” authorship. No single formula for authorship applies to all situations, so consult an experienced mentor. With the exception of the first author, who is the person primarily responsible for the study and the writing, there are no explicit guidelines regarding author order. The last
Writing a Manuscript
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