From Poster and/or Presentation to Paper: How Do We Get Through the Process?

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From Poster and/or Presentation to Paper How Do
We Get Through the Process?

• The Editorial Board and Editors Joint Session
• Michael Kogan, PhD
• Mary E. Northridge, PhD MPH
• Elizabeth Fee, PhD
• Theodore Brown, PhD
• M. Lyndon Haviland, DrPH
• Gabriel N. Stover, MPA

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What do we hope to accomplish in this session?

• Learn or rethink ways of developing posters and
  presentations into research and practice papers
• Develop an appreciation of the importance of
  wider dissemination efforts using peer reviewed
  journals
• Explore writing for diverse departments,
  disciplines and journals using Public Health
  History as an example

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Turning a Poster/Presentation into a Scientific
Paper
American Public Health Association
Conference November 2004 Michael Kogan,
Ph.D. Director U.S. Department of Health and
Human Services (DHHS) Health Resources and
Services Administration (HRSA) Maternal and Child
Health Bureau (MCHB) Office of Data and
Program Development

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Why Should You Turn a Presentation into a Paper?

• Reasons
• You will reach a larger audience
• It carries the weight of being peer-reviewed
• It can be more easily found and referenced by
  other scientists
• Studies have shown that people who publish a lot
  have
• Whiter teeth
• Greener front lawns
• Fewer hemorrhoids

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Picture of People who Turned Their APHA
Presentation into a Scientific Publication
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Picture of Someone who Did Not Turn APHA
Presentation into Scientific Publication
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Influence of Publication Productivity on
Happiness (AJPH. 2004312089-2097)
of Times Turned Presentation into Publication of Times Did Not Turn Presentation into Publication
Made World a Better Place Happy and Successful Life 10 2
Watched Wayne Newton Videos Over and Over 3 6
ODDS RATIO 10
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Questions to Consider When Deciding Where to Send
Your Paper

• Does the journal employ blind peer-reviewing?
  (AJPH yes, JAMA no, MCHJ yes, Pediatrics
  no, NEJM - no)
• How often do articles appearing in the journal
  get cited? (Check the ISI Citation Index)
• Are there a large number of subscribers?
• Is the journal listed in Index Medicus?

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Questions to Consider When Deciding Where to Send
Your Paper

• Does the journal process manuscripts in a
  reasonable amount of time? (About 8 days for an
  initial decision at AJPH)
• Is there a long lag from acceptance to
  publication? (About 8 months for AJPH)
• Is the journals subject matter, methodological,
  and theoretical orientation appropriate?

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Resource for Investigating these Questions

• http//www.mco.edu/lib/instr/itoaA.html
• This is a listing of Instructions for Authors
  from over 3500 journals in the health sciences
• NOTE ALWAYS FOLLOW THE SPECIFIC GUIDELINES FOR
  EACH JOURNAL

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Preparing a Scientific Article for Publication
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Article Outline

1. Abstract
2. Introduction
3. Data Methods
4. Results/Findings
5. Discussion/Conclusions
6. References

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The Abstract

• Outline of Abstract
• Statement of the question asked (present tense),
  and what was done to answer question (past tense)
• Research design
• Population studies
• Independent and dependent variables
• Findings that answer the question (past tense)
• The most important results and evidence
• The answer to the question (present tense)

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The Introduction

• Purpose
• Stimulate the readers interest
• Provide background information which is pertinent
  to the study
• Statement of the research question is the most
  important part of the study

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The Introduction

• Outline of Introduction
• General problem statement
• More specific problem statement with literature
  background and highlights
• Point out where important knowledge is missing
• Give study purpose and hypotheses

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The Introduction

• Problem Statement
• What is the general problem of interest?
• Why is the problem important/significant?
  (Provide numbers, rates, costs, etc.)
• What specific populations are involved?

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The Introduction

• Problem Statement Example
• Despite programs and policies in a number of
  countries designed to lower the incidence of
  preterm birth and low birthweight, these adverse
  birth outcomes have not decreased in the last 10
  to 15 years. In some countries they have
  actually increased substantially.

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The Introduction

• Highlighting the Literature
• Moving from the general problem to the specific
  issue to be addressed, highlight the previous
  literature on the problem, thereby establishing
  the background for the study.
• Example Over this same period, the rates of
  multiple births have risen in many countries.
  Because multiple births are at high risk of
  resulting in preterm birth or low birthweight,
  their increasing incidence affects the overall
  rates of both conditions. Previous studies on
  the effects of multiple births have shown their
  important influence on pregnancy outcomes.

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The Introduction

• Controversies Unresolved Issues
• Provide an overview of existing theories,
  controversies and unresolved issues that are
  specific to the study and will be addressed by
  the manuscript.
• Select references in an impartial manner.
• Example No study has explored the independent
  effect of twin and triplet deliveries on trends
  in preterm birth and low birthweight from an
  international perspective that is, in countries
  with different health indicators and health care
  systems.

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The Introduction

• Study Purpose Hypotheses
• State the study purpose(s) and the hypotheses to
  be tested.
• Provide a clear description of what this study
  hopes to accomplish.
• Example The purpose of this study is to explore
  the role of... . Specifically, we hypothesize
  that...

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• SUBLIMINAL MESSAGES COMING KEEP PAYING ATTENTION

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The Methods/Data

• Purpose
• Ensure that enough detail is provided to verify
  the findings.
• Enable replication of the study by an
  appropriately trained person.

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The Methods/Data

• Provide details about the data or data base
• Source of data
• Description of data base.
• Example Data were obtained through special
  analyses of birth certificate data from Canada,
  England and Wales, and the US from 1981 to 1997.
  In France, data were obtained both from birth
  registration and national surveys.

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The Methods/Data

• Provide details on case selection criteria
• mode of selection (random, matching, convenient,
  etc.) and sampling frames,
• number of cases,
• eligibility criteria.
• Example The analysis was restricted to live
  births. In Canada, we excluded data from
  Newfoundland and Ontario because of documented
  problems in the quality of the data.

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The Methods/Data

• Provide details on the study sample
• drop-out rate,
• missing cases and data,
• representativeness of sample.

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The Methods/Data

• Provide details on the study methods
• Study design (e.g., case-control, randomized
  trial, cross-section, etc.)
• Main outcome measures
• Human subjects concerns
• Operation definitions and instrumentation
  (validity and reliability) of major variables,
  scales and tests.

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The Methods/Data

• Provide details on the study analysis
• Statistical tests and procedures used for each
  phase of the analysis.
• Example We first analyzed the temporal trends
  in rates of twins and triplets in each country.
  Relative risks and population attributable risks
  for preterm and LBW, together with their
  confidence intervals, were then calculated for
  twins and triplets with singletons as the
  reference group.

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• SUBMIT TO THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PUBLIC HEALTH

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The Results

• Purpose
• Report the results (past verb tense) of the
  procedures described in the methods.
• Present the data in the form of text, tables or
  figures, that supports the results.

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The Results

• Provide in order (as appropriate)
• Descriptive data by study group.
• Description of results as they relate directly to
  study question.
• Bivariate crosstabulations of independent and
  dependent variables.
• Multivariate analysis.

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The Results

• Tone for writing
• Describe key results, but do so dispassionately
  (Nobody likes a Mr/Ms Smartypants tone).
• Reserve comments and interpretations for
  Discussion section.
• Use the text to succinctly point out key findings
  in the text.

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The Results

• Tables Figures
• Usually, plan for no more than 5 tables/figures.
• Use figures to provide visual image.
• Use tables to provide exact data.
• Dont duplicate tabular data in the figures.

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• THE LAST 10 NOBEL PRIZE WINNERS PUBLISHED IN AJPH

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The Discussion / Conclusions

• Purpose
• Its the heart of the paper, but keep it as short
  as possible.
• Answers the question posed in the Introduction.
• Explains how the answers fit in with existing
  knowledge.
• Author can express his/her opinions.

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• THEREFORE, LOGICALLY,
• IF YOU PUBLISHED IN AJPH

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The Conclusions

• What to provide
• A one paragraph summary of findings in
  relationship to the earlier stated hypothesis.
• How the findings agreed or disagreed with those
  of similar previous studies. Why?
• A speculation on what impact of study findings
  may have on current research controversies and
  theories.

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The Conclusions

• What to provide
• A review of the study limitations and the
  generalizability of the findings.
• The relevant program and policy implications of
  the findings.
• The implications for future research with
  specific recommendations.
• Final concluding comments and the quotable main
  "take-home" points.

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• YOU WOULD WIN A NOBEL PRIZE TOO

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Acknowledgements

• Greg R. Alexander, ScD. A structural approach
  for preparing a scientific manuscript.
• Fred Rivera, MD and Peter Cummings, MD. Writing
  for publication in the Archives of Pediatrics and
  Adolescent Medicine.
• Sue Jenkins, PhD. How to write a paper for a
  scientific journal.

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Contact Information

• Michael Kogan, Ph.D.
• HRSA/MCHB
• Director, Office of Data and Program Development
• 5600 Fishers Lane, Room 18-41
• Rockville, MD 20857
• 301-443-3145
• mkogan_at_hrsa.gov

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Working in CollaborationMary E. Northridge, PhD
MPHEditor-in-Chief AJPH
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Negotiation of Authorship

• Agreement at beginning of Project
• Acknowledge vague discussions
• Include level of involvement

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Authorship Credits

• Contributions to conception and design
• Acquisition of data
• Analysis or interpretation of data
• Article drafts
• Whomever needs to give final approval

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Acknowledgements

• If contributors who do not meet authorship
  criteria
• Persons who provided technical help
• Department chairs, data collectors
• Financial and material supporters

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Duplication Issues

• How to submit to 2 or more journals
• Submitting from published papers
• Multiple manuscripts (milking data)

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Editorial Independence

• Editors-in Chief have full authority over the
  editorial content of a journal.
• Owners should not interfere in the evaluation,
  selection or editing of individual articles.

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History Through Pictures
AJPH History Departments
Elizabeth Fee and Theodore M. Brown
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• Remembering inspiring times

• The March on Washington

• I have a dream

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W. E. Burghardt Du Bois (1868-1963)

• Historian, economist, editor, activist

• The Health and Physique of the Negro
• American, 1906

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John Harvey Kellogg MD (1852-1943)

• Vegetarianism, exercise, fresh air

• No coffee, tea, alcohol, tobacco

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• American campaigns against tobacco

• Medical, moral, social, aesthetic objections

• 1929 Bill to regulate tobacco failed

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Exercise

• Muscular Christianity

• Gymnastics introduced, Amherst College

• Exercise a religious and patriotic duty

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Womens History Month

• The Effects of the Corset, 1783

• Tuberculosis, cancer, rib deformations

• Tight girdle or Sömmerings Syndrome

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Aging

• Young men of 50 and 60 behave like kids

• Natural span of human life is 150 years

• Honoré Daumier,lithographer

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History Quote
History is a guide to navigation in perilous
times. History is who we are and why we are the
way we are. David McCullough