THE TECHNICALITIES OF

WRITING PAPERS
Professor Roger Jones, Editor, British
Journal of General Practice

Basic AIMRD structure

Abstract
Introduction
Methods
Results
Discussion

Preparatory work

Choice of journal pre-submission enquiry

Careful reading of Instructions for Authors
Word Count
House style abstract, section headings,
references
Figures and diagrams
References
ICMJE guidance
COPE guidance

The title
House style
Important because of citation and
archiving, as well as attracting readers
Clarity rather than levity in the main title
Clear indication of the methodology and
setting in the sub-title
Running head
Key words

Authors
ICJME has authorship criteria
Essential to agree on authorship before putting
pen to paper
Power relations can be problematic
departmental policy if appropriate, otherwise
some structure for mediation
Gift authorship
Order of names
Contributorship should be clearly stated and
may be printed

Abstract
Word count and structure specified by
journal
May not exactly parallel the IMRD
structure
Increasingly important as paper short/web
long increases
Involved in some citation counts

Introduction
An arresting first sentence
Say enough to show that you know the
field but dont over-do it 10 or so key
references?
Tell the story which takes the reader to the
need for this piece of research, and end
the section by stating the research
question

Methods
What the abstract giveth, the methods
taketh away
Sufficient detail to allow replication
Reference, rather than describe in full, the
measuring and analytic tools you will use
Pre-specification of end points and
analysis (ITT, per protocol, grounded
theory, thematic analysis, etc)

Results
Main findings
Detailed findings
Reporting guidance/frameworks eg CONSORT, STARD,
PRISMA: the EQUATOR network (equator-network.org)
Figures and tables
Avoid duplication of text and tables
Additional on line material data tables, questionnaires,
interview schedules
Specific aspects of the presentation of quantitative and
qualitative data eg numerical/statistical precision,
quotations in boxes

Discussion

Structured
Headline findings.for the first time.
Whats new
Comparison with other literature
Strengths and weaknesses
Implications for practice and research
Conclusion if necessary

Tailenders

Acknowledgements
Funding source
Ethical permission
Authorship/ contributorship
Conflicts of/ competing interests
References convention, dois and papers
use web references sparingly and wiki
not at all

New and contentious topics

Open access publishing: author/funder pays the
article publishing fee
Predatory open access journals
Paper short/very short: web long, eg BMJ Picos,
BJGP 2-page summaries
Continuous online publication
Online only journals
Open data/ Fair data: prior publication
Dissemination doesnt stop at the paper