This is based on my personal experience after publishing 4 articles (1 for local journal, 3 for international journals). Feel free to give opinions or share your own tips.
- First thing first, decide which journal are you interested in submitting your article. For example, Atherosclerosis, International Journal of Experimental Pathology, American Journal of Pathology and Nutrition Research (to name a few) are related to my field. Choose a journal with a high impact factor (IF). For a starter, choose journal with IF between 1 to 2.
- Surf to the official website of that particular journal that you have chosen. Browse through their Instructions for Authors. There you can find the format of the manuscript, i.e. font, line spacing, figures & tables format etc..
- Then only you can start writing the article. Start with a catchy, concise title. Some journals prefer a straightforward title.
- List down all author and co-authors' full names (without credentials). Normally, you are the first author (as you are the one who's writing the article) and the last author is the most important person (your main supervisor or grant owner). Don't forget to write down the corresponding author. If you are a student, normally your main supervisor would be the corresponding author.
- Some people write the Abstract first, but I prefer to skip the Abstract section and start with the Introduction. Abstract is written after the whole manuscript is done.
- Introduction: Normally it is divided into 3-5 paragraphs. The overall perspective of the study (1-3 paragraphs), describe briefly similar past studies and their findings (1 paragraph) and objective of your study (last paragraph). Avoid long Introduction.
- Materials & Methods: Divide them into few subheadings, i.e. Preparation of diet, Study design, Statistical analysis etc..
- Describe briefly every subheadings. Quote every method followed from previous studies and state any modifications, unless you invented the method yourself!! For parameters using commercial kit, state the manufacturer's names and the device used. For example, kit is purchased from Randox Laboratories Ltd. (UK) and performed using Vitalab Selectra E (Netherlands).
- Results: People will appreciate more if you present your results in tables or figures. Then, describe briefly the important findings in few sentences.
- Tables and figures should be self-contained. Explain each abbreviations used.
- Discussion: The most crucial section. Usually, write a recap of the study in the first paragraph.
- Discuss each important/significant findings. Compare your results with previous studies. Try to refer studies that can support your findings. If your results are contradictory with previus studies, explain why (may be due to different study duration? method? subject's metabolic condition?)
- If possible, explain the mechanisms or the causes of your findings. Why did it happen? How?
- Conclusion: Write briefly your overall conclusion. Some write suggestions for future studies, some point out the limitations of the present study.
- Sort out your references according to the journal's format. Since we're now in 2009, it's good to use references from the year 2000 onwards. This is not applicable for quoting methods, as some established methods are from the year 1951!!
- Abstract: Write a brief Abstract but all important aspects of the study must be pointed out. Do not cite any references in the Abstract.
- Keywords: Choose words that you think are relevant for the article. Please check your keywords at the MEsH Database in Pubmed for internationally accepted subject headings.
- Last but not least, give a copy of your article to each of your co-authors. Expect some major corrections. =)
