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REVIEW ARTICLE
Year : 2022 | Volume
: 17
| Issue : 6 | Page : 298-305
Writing manuscript better – Part II (Title, abstract, keywords, references, and miscellaneous)
Mohit Goyal1, Sham Santhanam2
1 CARE Pain and Arthritis Centre, Udaipur, Rajasthan, India
2 Department of Rheumatology, Kauvery Hospital, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
Correspondence Address:
Dr. Sham Santhanam
Department of Rheumatology, Kauvery Hospital, Chennai, Tamil Nadu
India
Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None
CheckDOI: 10.4103/0973-3698.364671
Publishing a scientific article is an art by itself and each section of the manuscript has its relevance and importance. Usually, the Introduction, Methods, Results, and Discussion sections are considered the core contents of a manuscript. However, the remaining sections such as the title, abstract, keywords, references, and others are no less important. The title and the abstract are the first read and the most easily accessible parts of a manuscript. Hence, unless the title is concise and specific, the reader may not go on to read the full manuscript. Similarly, a poorly written abstract not reflective of the manuscript may lead to outright rejection of a manuscript or may not attract the readers even if the manuscript is accepted. Keywords help in finding the appropriate scientific contents during literature search and properly chosen keywords help in greater visibility and wider dissemination of one's research. Adequate citation and proper referencing are the responsibility of every researcher. It helps in giving due credit to previous research and researchers and lends credibility to one's work. Deficiencies in citing appropriately or in referencing may lead to publication misconduct and rejection of the manuscript. Similarly, failure to disclose a conflict of interest or source of funding may lead to rejection or even retraction of the manuscript. Hence, all the efforts put in conducting a study and writing the core content would be wasted if enough attention is not given while writing these sections of the manuscript.
Keywords: Abstract, author, manuscript, publication, study, title
All the efforts put into writing the Introduction, Methods, Results, and Discussion (IMRaD) sections, conventionally considered the core of a scientific manuscript would be in vain if the title, abstracts, and keywords are not written well to attract the potentially interested readers. A poorly written abstract which is not reflective of the manuscript or any technical deficiencies in writing the references may lead to the rejection of the manuscript. A failure to cite others' work appropriately or failure to disclose a conflict of interest is considered publication misconduct and can lead to a retraction of the published article.[1]
The title, abstract, and keywords are the engine of the train that is the manuscript. Only an efficient engine would carry the rest of the train to the station, that is the reader. The title and abstract are the most commonly read parts and often the only read parts of a manuscript. The title is read first and needs to be carefully chosen to attract the intended readership. It should be specific enough in conveying the exact content of the manuscript.[2],[3] Once the title is read and if it is of interest to them, only then the reader will go to the next section, i.e., the abstract. The abstract is like the trailer of a movie, it should kindle the interest of the reader to read the full article. Although it may not be possible to put in all the details within the word limit of the abstract, it should provide enough details to attract interested readers. Hence, the abstract should be comprehensive and specific. It is to be noted that the title, abstract, and keywords are the sections which are freely available and searchable over the World Wide Web, even for articles with limited access to the full text. Hence, framing of the title and structuring of the abstract requires due diligence, and these sections are usually written after completing the rest of the manuscript when the author has a bird's eye view of the content.[2],[3]
Keywords are terms used by readers and researchers to search for relevant articles. Thus, properly chosen keywords render greater visibility to the manuscript among the intended readership and help in wider dissemination of the research.[4] It is incumbent upon the authors to duly acknowledge others' works by citing it properly and adequately as references. Most journals hold the authors solely responsible for the accuracy and appropriateness of these references. There are various other components of a manuscript, namely author contributions, acknowledgment, funding, and conflict of interest. This article discusses these sections which are no less important and often fraught with deficiencies.
TitleThe title of a manuscript is often the part of an article based on which the editors or readers decide on whether they should be investing their time in going through the full manuscript. The title should be complete, easily comprehensible, yet concise. It should be appealing but should not distract from the subject matter, and should detail, but only the focus of the manuscript. Since it is read first, it should be powerful enough to attract the attention of readers and make them read the rest of the manuscript.[2],[5],[6]
Types of TitlesDescriptive or neutral titles
They are usually the preferred type, as they include all the elements of the study (setting, participants, intervention, comparator and study design) except the result or the outcome.[7],[8]
Declarative titles
They are generally avoided as revealing the main study result may make the readers less curious. However, they may be used when the research has led to an unexpected result or a new finding which is likely to have a greater impact.[7],[8]
Interrogative titles
They usually post the research question in the form of a query. They do sound interesting and make the reader curious but can be confusing and distracting for an original research article. They may be better suited for other types of articles such as descriptive reviews.[7],[8] In a study by Jamali and Nikzad, it was found that though manuscripts with interrogative titles were downloaded more often, they were cited less frequently.[9]
Titles can also be classified based on the sentence construct. They may be “nominal” (relatively short title mentioning the main aspects of the study), “compound” (it may start with a noun phrase followed by the punctuation colon and a declarative sentence or a question) or a “full-sentence” title. A compound title is usually preferred and used with a colon, followed by study design, setting, etc.[2],[9],[10]
In a study by Jacques and Sebire, the length of the title, the presence of a colon, and the acronym in the title correlated positively with the number of citations.[10] Although in the study by Jamali and Nikzad, it was found that articles with a colon in the title were longer and had fewer downloads and citations.[9]
To conclude, the quality of the title or the way it has been constructed has a definite impact on the number of citations.[10]
Examples of Types of TitlesPotato consumption in RA patients and its positive correlation with worsening of joint pains (Declarative title)Potato consumption worsens joint pain in RA–a myth or reality? (Interrogative title)Correlation between consumption of potato and its impact on pain in RA: An open-label study (Descriptive title and also a compound title)Pain and potato in RA: Correlation between consumption of potato and worsening of joint symptoms (Descriptive title and also a compound title). Contents of the Title The title should be comprehensive enough and should try to include “PICO”-Participants, Intervention, Comparator (if any), and the Outcome measure (descriptive titles are preferred over declarative titles which declare the result of the research). The study setting or the place of study may be included if it has a bearing on the study outcome or adds to the uniqueness of the research.
A better acronym for the contents of the title would be SPICED, which means Setting, Population, Intervention, Condition, End-point, and Design. Hence, we must try to include all the components of SPICED in the title.[2],[7],[8]
The title should be constructed as per the type of the study and the concerned reporting guidelines [Table 1]. Usually, the title is a compound sentence with the type of study mentioned after a colon (e.g., duloxetine versus pregabalin for reducing pain in patients with fibromyalgia: a randomized controlled trial). This helps in maintaining reporting standards and facilitates proper indexing and identification. However, it is to be noted that the reporting guidelines of the individual journals may vary and thus, must be referred to before submission.[2],[5],[7] The practical tips for writing a title are discussed in [Box 1].
Table 1: Sections of the manuscript as per the concerned study type guidelines
Most of the journals ask for a running title during manuscript submission. “Running title” also referred to as a “running head” or a “short title” is usually placed at the top left or right as a header. It is useful while browsing through the print as well as the electronic version of a journal article where it serves as a reminder of the title of the manuscript. Commonly, the “running title” is restricted to less than 50 characters, but the individual journal's requirements must be referred to and adhered to. Examples of running titles for studies with titles discussed earlier are “potato consumption in RA” or “potato and pain in RA.” The running title should be clear and concise considering the word or character limits and may include abbreviations, unlike the main title. The study design is usually omitted from the running title.[2],[8]
To conclude, to best sell the manuscript, the title has to be drafted properly, to make it both attractive and informative.
AbstractThe abstract is a concise and specific summary of an article. It is the most important section and needs to be packed with relevant and comprehensible information as it is going to be the most visible part of the manuscript. It is the most read section after the title and as described earlier, often the most easily accessible part of the manuscript. The abstract should discuss all the unique aspects of the study, but at the same time may not include all the details, which may be dealt with in the main text of the manuscript. Although the abstract is placed at the beginning of a manuscript, it should be written at the end after the completion of the main manuscript. Most of the journals specify a word limit (usually 250–300 words) for an abstract. The abstract must be written in past tense and an active voice is preferred.[3],[5],[6]
The abstract should be constructed as per the type of the study and the concerned reporting guidelines [Table 1]. For example, the abstract should be as per CONSORT (Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials) guidelines for randomized controlled trials (RCT), PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) guidelines for systematic reviews, and meta-analysis and STROBE (Strengthening the reporting of observational studies in epidemiology) guidelines for observational studies. The clinical trial number for an RCT or the registration number for a systematic review is usually placed at the end of the abstract.[5]
Types of AbstractsDescriptive and informative abstracts
Descriptive abstracts are usually brief with a 75–150 word limit and used for case reports or review articles. Informative abstracts are more detailed, summarizing the whole content of a manuscript, and are preferred for original research articles. They can be either in the form of a “structured” or an “unstructured” abstract.
Structured and unstructured abstracts
Structured abstracts are required by most journals for uniformity and easy comprehensibility for the readers and reviewers. The basic principle in a structured abstract is to include all the components of the “IMRaD” format. It can be either a “4-point” structured abstract or a more detailed “8-point” abstract.
Usually, the “4-point” abstract format comprising the (a) background and/or objectives, (b) methods, (c) results, and (d) conclusions is commonly used.
The “8-point” abstract has the following components: (a) objectives, (b) study design, (c) study setting, (d) participants, (e) intervention, (f) outcome measures, (g) results, and (h) conclusion. Here, the method section is divided into subsections.[2],[14]
Individual Components of a “4-Point” AbstractA good abstract should answer the following five questions: why was the study undertaken (the knowledge gap), what is the aim of the study (primary outcome or the variables to be studied), how the study was done (the study design, setting, study duration, etc.), what was found in the study (the salient findings to be highlighted), and what is the “take-home message” (the clinical or practical relevance of the study result and/or any ideas for future research).[8],[14]
Hence, the abstract is a summary of the whole manuscript which is in “IMRaD” format, to which the above questions also correspond, and has the following four components.
Background and Aims/Objectives
This is the shortest part of the abstract limited to 2 or 3 sentences. The first sentence states the knowledge gap and how the current study aims to bridge this gap. Then, the primary and secondary (if any) objectives have to be stated.
Methods
This is the most important and the lengthiest part of an abstract, explaining in detail how the particular study was executed. It includes the study design, study setting, target population, study duration, sample size, outcome measures, and the statistical analysis undertaken.
Results
This is the second longest section and probably the most relevant as the general reader is interested the most in the study findings. This section must include the total number of study participants, any dropouts, and adverse events. It includes both descriptive and inferential statistical results. It should include the sample size (not just percentages), mean/median, standard deviation/interquartile range, confidence interval, effect size, and the “P” values.
Conclusion
This segment states the take-home message(s) of the study and may also include the author's perspective or ideas for future research.
An unstructured abstract also includes the same details as a structured abstract but it is written as continuous text without any subheadings. It is imperative to refer to the particular journal's guidelines and instructions for the authors and adhere to them.[2],[8],[14]
To conclude, a good abstract should be clear and complete. It should be concise in form, yet comprehensive in the information it covers. It often requires continual revision and editing. It is a good practice to ask a colleague who has not read the full manuscript, to read the abstract and give feedback on its completeness and comprehensibility. Certain tips to write a good abstract have been discussed in [Box 2].[2],[8],[14],[15]
Keywords are literally the keys used by readers and researchers to unlock the desired scientific content. Good keywords make the article visible to the intended readership. In this era of digitization, we use words or phrases concerning the topic of interest on general search engines such as Google or search engines of databases such as Medline (PubMed) to look for publications with relevant scientific information. As researchers, we desire the advancement of science through the dissemination of knowledge. For the same, our scientific work must reach the maximum intended readership, which will also increase its chances of getting cited. Hence, choosing the appropriate keywords is vital to appropriate positioning of the manuscripts in the databases and their searchability on various platforms. For the keywords to be effective, they should be representative of the scientific content and be specific to the concerned specialty or sub-specialty. In simple terms, the keywords make your work discoverable or searchable.[16],[17]
Keywords are preferably selected in the following two ways:
Find medical subject headings terms in a manuscript
The Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) thesaurus (controlled and hierarchically organized vocabulary) was created way back in 1954 and has been updated annually by the National Library of Medicine, United States. It is used for indexing, cataloging, and searching biomedical literature.[18] Hence, the usage of standardized subject headings such as MeSH terms to search in PubMed helps in retrieving all relevant literature indexed in MEDLINE.
To get the MeSH terms, one can use the “MeSH on Demand browser” which is freely available.[19] One can copy and paste the text of the concerned manuscript and on clicking the “search” button the MeSH terms will be displayed to the right of the text box.[20],[21]
To find the frequently used words in a manuscript
This can be done manually by either choosing the most frequently used words from the manuscript or through a “word cloud.” The commonly used words are presented in a cloud-like image [Figure 1] with the size of the word proportional to its frequency in the manuscript. There are various websites (www.monkeylearn.com/word-cloud/and www.freewordcloudgenerator.com) through which a word cloud can be generated.[22]
Figure 1: Word cloud generated through free word cloud website (www.monkeylearn.com) for a manuscript on ANCA-associated vasculitis published recently in the Indian Journal of rheumatologyThe number of keywords ranges anywhere between 3 and 8 depending on the individual journals and most of them recommend the use of MeSH terms. For example, in the Indian Journal of Rheumatology, 4–6 MeSH terms are preferred as keywords. Keywords are placed at the end of or below the abstract. It is advisable to choose the keywords after the completion of the manuscript. The salient words from the title and abstract are often chosen. However, in the current digital era with advanced electronic databases and search engines, the keywords in the “abstract” and “title” are already captured for indexing and hence, different terms or phrases may be selected as the “keywords” to enhance the searchability of your research.[17],[20],[21]
The practical tips for selecting the keywords are discussed in [Box 3].
To conclude, keywords are essential for the proper indexing of a scientific article and they help in delivering the desired content to the intended readership.
ReferencesEvery new research builds upon existing information and knowledge. The correct citation of the source of that information and proper referencing are thus a quintessential part of a good manuscript. It is the duty of every researcher to acknowledge the previous works and failing to do so leads to serious misconduct called “plagiarism.”[1] Other than giving credit to prior research, proper citation also gives credibility to one's work as the readers will be able to trace the original work. Majority of the journals put the onus of the accuracy of the references on the authors thus making them responsible for any errors in this section.[5] There are certain general rules for writing the references, which are depicted in [Box 4].
There are two basic styles of referencing:
The numeric style (e.g., Vancouver) andThe author-date style (e.g., Harvard).While the former is more common in medical journals, the latter is used by many others also, such as social sciences publications.[22] In the reference list, Vancouver style is listed numerically in the order in which they are cited in the manuscript, and in Harvard style, they are listed alphabetically by the surname of the author.
In Vancouver style, a journal article would be referred to as follows:
Goyal M, Dua A, Kedia A, Misra DP, Santhanam S, Ravindran V. Usefulness of a workshop on scientific writing and publication in improving the baseline knowledge deficit among postgraduates. J R Coll Physicians Edinb. 2020 Sep;50(3):316-321.
The Vancouver style reference above includes author names, followed by the name of the article and the abbreviated name of the journal as per the National Library of Medicine catalog, followed by the date of publication, followed by the volume and issue numbers, and then the page numbers. Examples of variations of this style are those that may also include the article's identifier (e.g.: PubMed ID; digital object identifier), may exclude the journal issue numbers, and have only the year or year and month or year, month, and date of publication.[23] In Vancouver style, many journals such as the Indian Journal of Rheumatology list up to six authors followed by et al., whereas some journals may limit to three authors.
In Harvard style, a journal article would be referred to as follows:
Goyal, M., Dua, A., Kedia, A., Misra, D., Santhanam, S. and Ravindran, V., 2020. Usefulness of a Workshop on Scientific Writing and Publication in Improving the Baseline Knowledge Deficit among Postgraduates. J R Coll Physicians Edinb, 50(3), pp.316-321.
Note the change in the sequence of information in a Harvard-style reference compared to the Vancouver-style reference. Variations of Harvard style may include names of fewer authors, followed by “et al.”[24]
There are numerous other referencing styles and multiple variations of each style that the journals may use. Certain reference managing software (e.g., Zotero, Mendeley, and EndNote) are available that help authors organize references and also automatically generate references in the desired style. This software is not 100% foolproof and the authors must develop a habit to check all the references manually before submitting their manuscripts.[22],[25] It is advisable to refer to the reference sections of the articles previously published in the concerned journal.
Apart from print and electronic journal articles, electronic and print books, chapters in books, information available online, conference proceedings, preprint articles, unpublished work, and personal communication can be cited. The way to refer to these in the Vancouver style is depicted in [Table 2].
Any accepted but yet unpublished article should be depicted as “in press” or “forthcoming”. Preprint articles may be cited where essential but must be marked as “preprint” to make the readers aware that the work might not have undergone peer review. Personal communications should not be cited unless they convey vital information that is not available from published sources. The name(s) of the person and the date of communication must be mentioned in parentheses within the text.[5]
Authorship and Author ContributionsThe International Committee of Medical Journal Editors clearly defines who is an author and the criteria they need to satisfy. Each author must have:
Contributed to the work significantly (by way of conception or design of study or collection, analysis, or interpretation of data)Drafted and/or revised the manuscriptApproved the final manuscript submitted for publication, andAgreed to be accountable for all aspects of the work.All authors must meet all of these four criteria. Thus, it is important to mention the contribution of each author and ensure that they satisfy the criteria for authorship. The authors should be aware of the individual contributions of his or her co-authors and also should be able to vouch for the integrity of their contributions.[1],[5]
An example of the statement of author contributions is as follows:
Study conception: MG and AD. Study design, data analysis, and drafting of the manuscript: MG, AD, AK, DPM, SS, and VR. Data collection, revising the manuscript, and final approval of the manuscript: all authors.
AcknowledgmentsAny substantial contributions by person(s) not meeting the above four criteria for authorship may be acknowledged in this section. Ideally, the corresponding author should obtain written permission from the acknowledged individuals. Examples include colleagues in the department who only contributed by way of patient recruitment, a statistician who only contributed by organizing and analyzing the data, or a language expert who helped correct the writing of the manuscript.[5]
FundingAny direct or indirect funding received by the author(s) for the research has to be declared individually in this section. It includes funding by the government or its agencies, funding for drug trials by pharmaceutical companies, and financial support by societies such as the Indian Rheumatology Association or other nongovernmental organizations such as trusts that fund medical research. The name of the funding agency (or agencies) should be written in full with the grant number mentioned in brackets. This section usually appears below the “acknowledgments” or just above the “references” section. If the funding agency had any role in the design of a study or in the analysis of data, it has to be declared. If the authors fail to declare, the manuscript may be rejected or even retracted after publication.[1],[5],[26]
Conflicts of InterestsA conflicting or competing interest is one that has the potential to influence the research. Examples of conflict of interest include being employed by or having received advisory fees or your department having received a grant from a pharmaceutical company whose drug you are studying. Another example is being the editor of a journal and studying the manuscript acceptance and rejection rates of another journal.[5]
Only conflicts of interest relevant to that particular work need to be disclosed. For example, in an article where you review the types of research studies, you may not need to declare that you are on the advisory board of a pharmaceutical company. There could be certain situations where it is unclear whether a particular association or arrangement is a conflict of interest or not. The dictum in these cases is to tread safe and declare.
ConclusionMany authors do not reserve enough time for writing the title, abstract, keywords, and other technical sections of a manuscript. Often these sections are written in haste while submitting the manuscript or are even inadvertently omitted. Authors need to know that these sections are in fact checked by the editorial office, editors, and referees before they proceed to read the body of the manuscript. These sections when written poorly are likely to prevent further assessment of the manuscript and may lead to outright rejection. Even if the manuscript is accepted, the deficiencies in these sections lead to poor visibility of the article and a failure to capture the readers' attention. Hence, these parts need to be written meticulously like any other section of a manuscript as per the standard guidelines.
Author contributions
Conception or design of the work: MG, SS. Drafting the article: MG, SS. Critical revision of the article: MG, SS. Final approval of the version to be published: MG, SS.
Financial support and sponsorship
Nil.
Conflicts of interest
There are no conflicts of interest.
References
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