Presenting and publishing an article

There is no point in conducting a research project and then leaving the results unpresented. Even when results of a trial are negative they are worth distributing; few research projects are worthless. However, most studies do not provide dramatic results and few surgeons publish seminal articles.

The key to both presentation and publication is to decide on the message and then aim for an appropriate forum. Big important randomised studies merit presentation at national meetings and publication in international journals. Small observational studies are more often accepted for presentation at regional or hospital meetings and publication in smaller specialist journals. Help and advice from clinicians familiar with presentation and publication is invaluable at this stage. The most important piece of advice is to follow accurately instructions for journal submission. Most inter­national meetings will accept presentations eagerly (especially by poster) as this increases the attendance at a conference.

Most surgeons publish research in peer-reviewed journals. The work that is submitted is checked anonymously by other surgeons before publication. If in doubt about whether to submit to a journal, many editors will give advice about the suitability of an article by letter or telephone.

Convention dictates that articles are submitted in IMRAD form — Introduction, Methods, Results and Discussion. Increasingly, electronic publication and the world-wide web may change the face of scientific publication and in the next decade these restrictions on style may disappear. For now the IMRAD format remains inviolable. The length of an article is important: a paper should be as long as the size of the message. Readers of big randomised multicentre trials wish to know as much detail about the study as possible; reports on small negative trials should be brief.

Introduction

This should always be short. A brief background of the study should be presented and then the aims of the trial outlined.

Methods

The methodology and trial design should be given in detail. It is important to own up to any biases. Any new techniques or investigations should be detailed in full; if they are com­mon practice or have been described elsewhere this should be referenced instead of described.

Results

Results are always best shown diagrammatically using tables and figures if possible. Results shown in the form of a diagram need not then be duplicated in the text.

Discussion

It is important not to repeat the Introduction or reiterate the Results in this section. The study should be interpreted intelligently and any suggestions for future studies or changes in management should be made. It is important not to indulge in flights of fantasy or wild imagination about future pos­sibilities; most journal editors will delete these.

References

This section should include all relevant papers recording previous studies on the subject in question. The number should reflect the size of the message and the importance of the work. The Reference section does not usually have to be exhaustive but should include up-to-date articles.