Successful Scientific Writing

1
Successful Scientific Writing
Paul Z. Siegel, M.D., M.P.H. Based on
materials developed in collaboration with Richard
A. Goodman, M.D., J.D.
2

• in close proximity to - near
• the predominant number of
• in a large number of cases
• on a previous occasion
• in the absence of
• with regard to
• at some future time
• due to the fact that
• serves the function of being

3

• I am a bear of
• very little brain
• and long words bother me.

4
A Dictionary of Useful Research Phrases

• From Thurlbeck, WM. Glasnost and communication.
• Am Rev Respir Dis 1989139282-283.

5
A Dictionary of Useful Research Phrases

• "It has long been known..."

6
A Dictionary of Useful Research Phrases

• "It has long been known..."
• I didn't look up the original references.

7
A Dictionary of Useful Research Phrases

• "It has long been known..."
• I didn't look up the original references.
• "It is believed that..."

8
A Dictionary of Useful Research Phrases

• "It has long been known..."
• I didn't look up the original references.
• "It is believed that..."
• I think.

9
A Dictionary of Useful Research Phrases

• "It has long been known..."
• I didn't look up the original references.
• "It is believed that..."
• I think.
• "It is generally believed that..."

10
A Dictionary of Useful Research Phrases

• "It has long been known..."
• I didn't look up the original references.
• "It is believed that..."
• I think.
• "It is generally believed that..."
• My friends think so too.

11
A Dictionary of Useful Research Phrases

• "It has long been known..."
• I didn't look up the original references.
• "It is believed that..."
• I think.
• "It is generally believed that..."
• My friends think so too.
• "Thanks are due to Joe Blow for assistance with
  the experimental work, and George Fink for
  valuable discussions.

12
A Dictionary of Useful Research Phrases

• "It has long been known..."
• I didn't look up the original references.
• "It is believed that..."
• I think.
• "It is generally believed that..."
• My friends think so too.
• "Thanks are due to Joe Blow for assistance with
  the experimental work, and George Fink for
  valuable discussions.
• Blow did the work. Fink explained to me what it
  meant.

13
A Dictionary of Useful Research Phrases

• "It has long been known..."
• I didn't look up the original references.
• "It is believed that..."
• I think.
• "It is generally believed that..."
• My friends think so too.
• "Thanks are due to Joe Blow for assistance with
  the experimental work, and George Fink for
  valuable discussions.
• Blow did the work. Fink explained to me what it
  meant.
• "Correct within an order of magnitude..."

14
A Dictionary of Useful Research Phrases

• "It has long been known..."
• I didn't look up the original references.
• "It is believed that..."
• I think.
• "It is generally believed that..."
• My friends think so too.
• "Thanks are due to Joe Blow for assistance with
  the experimental work, and George Fink for
  valuable discussions.
• Blow did the work. Fink explained to me what it
  meant.
• "Correct within an order of magnitude..."
• Wrong.

15
A Dictionary of Useful Research Phrases

• "It has long been known..."
• I didn't look up the original references.
• "It is believed that..."
• I think.
• "It is generally believed that..."
• My friends think so too.
• "Thanks are due to Joe Blow for assistance with
  the experimental work, and George Fink for
  valuable discussions.
• Blow did the work. Fink explained to me what it
  meant.
• "Correct within an order of magnitude..."
• Wrong.
• "A statistically oriented projection..."

16
A Dictionary of Useful Research Phrases

• "It has long been known..."
• I didn't look up the original references.
• "It is believed that..."
• I think.
• "It is generally believed that..."
• My friends think so too.
• "Thanks are due to Joe Blow for assistance with
  the experimental work, and George Fink for
  valuable discussions.
• Blow did the work. Fink explained to me what it
  meant.
• "Correct within an order of magnitude..."
• Wrong.
• "A statistically oriented projection..."
• Wild guess.

17
PURPOSE

• Communicate more effectively

18
PURPOSE

• Communicate more effectively
• Publish more efficiently

19
(No Transcript)
20

• Communicate effectively

21
To assess reliability of the questionnaire, a
test-retest study was conducted. Agreement was
high for sociodemographic variables. Reliability
of information on chronic conditions was also
high.

• Do reliability and agreement mean the same
  thing?

22
To assess reliability of the questionnaire, a
test-retest study was conducted. Agreement
Reliability was high for sociodemographic
variables. Reliability of information on chronic
conditions was also high.

23
To assess reliability of the questionnaire, a
test-retest study was conducted. Reliability was
high for sociodemographic variables and chronic
conditions.

• Clear
• Smooth

24
?
?
reliability agreement
reliability
25
?
?
reliability agreement
reliability

• of thought

26
If heterosexual transmission was, in fact, the
mode of HIV infection for persons who reported
other risks as well as heterosexual contact, for
persons who are currently reported without risks
but who may be reclassified in the future to the
heterosexual-contact category, as well as for
persons formerly classified as "Pattern II
heterosexually acquired," then 12 of cumulative
and 16 of cases reported in 1993 may be
attributable to heterosexual transmission.
?
or
27
If heterosexual transmission was, in fact, the
mode of HIV infection for persons who reported
other risks as well as heterosexual contact, for
persons who are currently reported without risks
but who may be reclassified in the future to the
heterosexual-contact category, as well as for
persons formerly classified as "Pattern II
heterosexually acquired," then 12 of cumulative
and 16 of cases reported in 1993 may be
attributable to heterosexual transmission.

• Strain factors
• long sentences (gt25 words)
• conjecture

28
If heterosexual transmission was, in fact, the
mode of HIV infection for persons who reported
other risks as well as heterosexual contact, for
persons who are currently reported without risks
but who may be reclassified in the future to the
heterosexual-contact category, as well as for
persons formerly classified as "Pattern II
heterosexually acquired," then 12 of cumulative
and 16 of cases reported in 1993 may be
attributable to heterosexual transmission.
Conjecture
29
SECTIONS OF A SCIENTIFIC ARTICLE

• 2. ABSTRACT
• 3. INTRODUCTION
• 4. METHODS
• 5. RESULTS
• 6. DISCUSSION

30
SECTIONS OF A SCIENTIFIC ARTICLE

• 1. TITLE
• 2. ABSTRACT
• 3. INTRODUCTION
• 4. METHODS
• 5. RESULTS
• 6. DISCUSSION

31
Purpose to highlight key points from the major
sections of the article
32
Purpose to highlight key points from the major
sections of the article
33
Purpose to highlight key points from the major
sections of the article

• List Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) key words
  under the abstract
• Emphasize what is new and useful.

34

• Emphasize what is
• new and useful.

35
Screening research papers by reading abstracts

• Please get the abstract right, because we may
  use it alone to assess your paper.
• -- British Medical Journal

36
Reliability of Information on Chronic Disease
Risk Factors Collected in the Missouri Behavioral
Risk Factor Surveillance System Abstract
(initial draft - 183 words)
37
Editing

• SUBSTANCE
• Mistakes
• Ambiguity
• Missing key info
• STYLE

38
PURPOSE

• The Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System
  (BRFSS) is widely used by state health agencies
  to measure the prevalence of chronic disease risk
  factors. Despite the widespread use of BRFSS,
  few studies exist on the reliability and validity
  of BRFSS-collected data. To assess the
  reliability of the Missouri BRFSS . . .

39
The Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System
(BRFSS) is widely used by state health agencies
to measure the prevalence of chronic disease risk
factors. Despite the widespread use of BRFSS,
few studies exist on the reliability and
validity of BRFSS-collected data. To assess the
reliability of the Missouri BRFSS . . .

• The Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System
  (BRFSS) is a population-based telephone survey of
  health-related behaviors among adults ages 18 and
  older that is used by nearly all state health
  agencies to measure the prevalence of chronic
  disease risk factors. Despite widespread use,
  the reliability of BRFSS-collected data is not
  well described (understood . . . characterized .
  . . ). To assess the reliability of the Missouri
  BRFSS . . .

40
METHODS

• . . . , a test-retest study
  was conducted. The authors conducted telephone
  reinterviews for 222 respondents of completed
  BRFSS interviews from March and April 1993. The
  second interview was completed between six and 30
  days of the first interview.

41
PASSIVE VOICE

• Expresses action without specifying who or what
  performed the action
• (the agent of the action is omitted)
• "James Watson was awarded the Nobel Prize for
  discovering the molecular structure of DNA.

42
PASSIVE VOICE

• Expresses action without specifying who or what
  performed the action
• (the agent of the action is omitted)
• "James Watson was awarded the Nobel Prize for
  discovering the molecular structure of DNA.
• vs.
• "The Nobel Committee awarded James Watson the
  Nobel Prize for discovering the molecular
  structure of DNA."

43
A Controlled Trial of Web-Based Diabetes
Disease Management Meigs, JB et al. A
Controlled Trial of Web-Based Diabetes Disease
Management. Diabetes Care 26750-757, 2003

• One group of physicians (intervention group) was
  trained to use a web-based information
  management/ clinical decision support tool. The
  other group of physicians (control group) was
  not.
• The study was a group randomized, controlled
  trial. A coin was tossed to select an
  intervention group and a control group.

44
Preventing Pneumococcal Disease Among Infants and
Young Children

• All children aged lt23 months should be
  vaccinated with PCV7.
• Diffuse the locus of responsibility

45
METHODS

• . . . , a test-retest study
  was conducted. The authors conducted Telephone
  reinterviews were conducted for 222 respondents
  of completed BRFSS interviews from March and
  April 1993. The second interview was completed
  between six and 30 days of the first interview.

46
METHODS

• . . . , a test-retest study
  was conducted. Telephone reinterviews were
  conducted for 222 respondents of completed BRFSS
  interviews from March and April 1993. The second
  interview was completed between six and 30 days
  of the first interview.

47
METHODS

• . . . , a test-retest study
  was conducted. Interviews from 222 of 252
  respondents (response rate 88) who completed
  the survey during March and April, 1993, were
  repeated between six and 30 days after the
  original interview.

48
METHODS

• . . . , a test-retest study
  was conducted. Interviews from 222 of 252
  respondents (response rate 88) who completed
  the survey during March and April, 1993, were
  repeated between six and 30 days after the
  original interview.

What if your abstract has 210 words and the
maximum is 200? Can we make this any shorter?
49
. . . , a test-retest
study was conducted interviews from 222 of 252
respondents (response rate 88) who completed
the survey during March and April, 1993, were
repeated between six and 30 days after the
original interview.

• . . . interviews from 222 of 252 respondents who
  completed the survey during March and April,
  1993, were repeated 6-30 days after the original
  interview.
• 34 words ? 23 words

50
RESULTS

• Agreement was high for sociodemographic variables
  (kappa values from 0.85 to 1.00). Reliability of
  information on chronic conditions and risk
  factors was also high, with kappa values from
  0.82 for hypertension to 1.00 for current smoking
  status.
• Regarding cancer screening practices, reliability
  was lower for knowledge of the prostate-specific
  antigen test (kappa 0.21) than for women's
  cancer screening practices (i.e., the mammogram
  and Pap smear).
• Questions on attitudes toward environmental
  tobacco smoke showed lower reliability than did
  questions on individual actions to reduce
  exposure to environmental tobacco

51
RESULTS

• Agreement was high for sociodemographic variables
  (kappa values from 0.85 to 1.00). Reliability of
  information on chronic conditions and risk
  factors was also high, with kappa values from
  0.82 for hypertension to 1.00 for current smoking
  status.
• Regarding cancer screening practices, reliability
  was lower for knowledge of the prostate-specific
  antigen test (kappa 0.21) than for women's
  cancer screening practices (i.e., the mammogram
  and Pap smear).
• Questions on attitudes toward environmental
  tobacco smoke showed lower reliability than did
  questions on individual actions to reduce
  exposure to environmental tobacco

52
RESULTS

• Agreement was high for sociodemographic variables
  (kappa values from 0.85 to 1.00). Reliability of
  information on chronic conditions and risk
  factors was also high, with kappa values from
  0.82 for hypertension to 1.00 for current smoking
  status.
• Regarding cancer screening practices, reliability
  was lower for knowledge of the prostate-specific
  antigen test (kappa 0.21) than for women's
  cancer screening practices (i.e., the mammogram
  and Pap smear).
• Questions on attitudes toward environmental
  tobacco smoke showed lower reliability than did
  questions on individual actions to reduce
  exposure to environmental tobacco

53

• Agreement was high for sociodemographic variables
  (kappa values from 0.85 to 1.00). Reliability of
  information on chronic conditions and risk
  factors was also high, with kappa values from
  0.82 for hypertension to 1.00 for current smoking
  status.

54

• Regarding cancer screening practices, reliability
  was lower for knowledge of the prostate-specific
  antigen test (kappa 0.21) than for women's
  cancer screening practices (i.e., the mammogram
  and Pap smear).

55

• Questions on attitudes toward environmental
  tobacco smoke showed lower reliability than did
  questions on individual actions to reduce
  exposure to environmental tobacco smoke.

56
Reliability was high for sociodemographic
variables, chronic conditions and risk factors
(kappa gt 0.82).Reliability was lower for
knowledge of the prostate-specific antigen test
(kappa 0.21) than for women's cancer screening
practices (kappa 0.59 - 0.87). Questions on
attitudes toward environmental tobacco smoke
(kappa 0.47- 0.51) showed lower reliability
than did questions on individual actions to
reduce exposure to environmental tobacco smoke
(kappa 0.62 - 0.82).
57
Reliability was high for sociodemographic
variables, chronic conditions and risk factors
(kappa gt 0.82).Reliability was lower for
knowledge of the prostate-specific antigen test
(kappa 0.21) than for women's cancer screening
practices (kappa 0.59 - 0.87). Questions on
attitudes toward environmental tobacco smoke
(kappa 0.47- 0.51) showed lower reliability
than did questions on individual actions to
reduce exposure to environmental tobacco smoke
(kappa 0.62 - 0.82).
58
Reliability was high for sociodemographic
variables, chronic conditions and risk factors
(kappa gt 0.82), lower for cancer screening
practices (kappa 0.59-0.87), and lowest for
knowledge about prostate-specific antigen testing
(kappa 0.21). Reliability of questions about
attitudes toward environmental tobacco smoke
(kappa 0.47-0.51) was lower than for questions
about individual actions to reduce environmental
tobacco smoke (kappa 0.62-0.82).
59

• one final detail

60
Reliability was highest for sociodemographic
variables, chronic conditions and risk factors
(kappa gt 0.82), lower for cancer screening
practices (kappa 0.59-0.87), and lowest for
knowledge about prostate-specific antigen testing
(kappa 0.21). Reliability of questions about
attitudes toward environmental tobacco smoke
(kappa 0.47-0.51) was lower than for questions
about individual actions to reduce environmental
tobacco smoke (kappa 0.62-0.82).
61
RESULTS

• Original 87 words
• Revision 65 words (and more information)

62
CONCLUSION

• These findings demonstrate the overall
  flexibility and utility of the BRFSS.
• ?
• We conclude that the reliability of most BRFSS
  questions is high. New, more reliable, questions
  to measure knowledge of prostate-specific antigen
  testing need to be developed.

63
The Abstract

• RELIABILITY
• VALIDITY

• Purpose

64
The Abstract

• RELIABILITY
• VALIDITY
• RELIABILITY

• Purpose
• Methods

65
The Abstract

• RELIABILITY
• VALIDITY
• RELIABILITY
• RELIABILITY

• Purpose
• Methods
• Results

66
The Abstract

• RELIABILITY
• VALIDITY
• RELIABILITY
• RELIABILITY
• FLEXIBILITY
• UTILITY

• Purpose
• Methods
• Results
• Conclusions

67
The Abstract

• RELIABILITY
• VALIDITY
• RELIABILITY
• RELIABILITY
• FLEXIBILITY
• UTILITY

• Purpose
• Methods
• Results
• Conclusions

68
The Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System
(BRFSS), a population-based telephone survey of
health-related behaviors among adults ages 18 and
older, is used by nearly all state health
agencies to measure the prevalence of chronic
disease risk factors. Despite widespread use,
the reliability of BRFSS-collected data is not
well described. To assess the reliability of the
Missouri BRFSS, interviews from 222 of 252
respondents who completed the survey during March
and April, 1993, were repeated 6-30 days after
the original interview. Reliability was highest
for sociodemographic variables, chronic
conditions and risk factors (kappa gt 0.82), lower
for cancer screening practices (kappa
0.59-0.87), and lowest for knowledge about
prostate-specific antigen testing (kappa 0.21).
Reliability of questions about attitudes toward
environmental tobacco smoke (kappa 0.47-0.51)
was lower than for questions about individual
actions to reduce environmental tobacco smoke
(kappa 0.62-0.82). We conclude that the
reliability of most BRFSS questions is high.
New, more reliable, questions to measure
knowledge of prostate-specific antigen testing
need to be developed. (165 words)
summary of results recommendation
69
The Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System
(BRFSS), a population-based telephone survey of
health-related behaviors among adults ages 18 and
older, is used by nearly all state health
agencies to measure the prevalence of chronic
disease risk factors. Despite widespread use,
the reliability of BRFSS-collected data is not
well described. To assess the reliability of the
Missouri BRFSS, we conducted a test-retest study
among 222 (88) of 252 respondents who completed
the survey during March and April, 1993. We also
tested the flexibility and utility of the BRFSS
by adding questions to the core questionnaire
about use/knowledge of prostate specific antigen
screening and exposure to environmental tobacco
smoke. Reliability was highest for
sociodemographic variables, chronic conditions
and risk factors (kappa gt 0.82), lower for cancer
screening practices (kappa 0.59-0.87), and
lowest for knowledge about prostate-specific
antigen testing (kappa 0.21). Reliability of
questions about attitudes toward environmental
tobacco smoke (kappa 0.47-0.51) was lower than
for questions about individual actions to reduce
environmental tobacco smoke (kappa 0.62- 0.82).
These findings demonstrate the flexibility and
utility of the BRFSS as well as the high
reliability of most BRFSS questions. New, more
reliable, questions to measure knowledge of
prostate-specific antigen testing need to be
developed. (199 words)
70
Structured Abstracts
71
Structured Abstracts
Context  Objective  Design and
Setting Patients  Main Outcome Measure  Results
Conclusions  Background Methods Results Conclus
ions
72
Structured Abstracts
Context  Objective  Design and
Setting Patients  Main Outcome Measure  Results
Conclusions  Background Methods Results Conclus
ions