PREFACE Year : 2022  |  Volume : 17  |  Issue : 6  |  Page : 281-282

Medical academic publishing: A comprehensive guide for authors

Mohit Goyal1, Keerthi Talari2, Durga Prasanna Misra3, Sham Santhanam4, Vinod Ravindran5
1 Department of Rheumatology, CARE Pain and Arthritis Centre, Udaipur, Rajasthan, India
2 Department of Rheumatology, Yashoda Hospitals, Secunderabad, Telangana, India
3 Department of Clinical Immunology and Rheumatology, Sanjay Gandhi Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India
4 Department of Rheumatology, Kauvery Hospital, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
5 Department of Rheumatology, Centre for Rheumatology, Calicut, Kerala, India

Date of Submission20-Nov-2022Date of Acceptance21-Nov-2022Date of Web Publication22-Dec-2022

Correspondence Address:
Dr. Vinod Ravindran
Department of Rheumatology, Centre for Rheumatology, Calicut, Kerala
India

Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None

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DOI: 10.4103/0973-3698.364666

How to cite this article:
Goyal M, Talari K, Misra DP, Santhanam S, Ravindran V. Medical academic publishing: A comprehensive guide for authors. Indian J Rheumatol 2022;17, Suppl S2:281-2

Written communication in science is an essential skill for a clinician as well as a scientist. The modern-day clinician must not only be able to appropriately understand scientific literature but should be able to report any new observations during their clinical work or research. Therefore, writing scientific papers in their various forms is an integral part of medical profession. Such contributions to scientific literature are also required for career progression in academia as mandated by the National Medical Council of India. In this context, medical academic publishing and its tenets are not yet formally taught during undergraduate or postgraduate medical education in India. This handicap often carries through with resultant poor output and a lack of confidence.

This supplement of the Indian Journal of Rheumatology is focused on the principles and practice of medical academic publishing. Contributors to this supplement are researchers and authors of repute including several editors of various scientific journals. The supplement starts with an editorial about the publication process which attempts to demystify this labyrinth for the beginner and advanced learner alike. An opinion piece on medical education proposes the need for a dedicated course on medical academic publishing for the undergraduates. Thereafter, a couple of chapters are devoted to the different segments of a scientific manuscript ranging from the abstract, keywords, and references, to the Introduction, Methods, Results, and Discussion, emphasizing on how to optimally structure them to communicate effectively. Writing a case report is often the first exposure of a clinician to medical academic publishing. The principles of writing a case report while adhering to the CARE recommendations have been elucidated in a subsequent review article. The art of choosing the right journal for a manuscript and knowledge of various publication models are critical for the authors. This has been expertly discussed in the next review article.

Publication metrics such as the Journal Impact Factor, CiteScore, h-index, and i10-index have been detailed in the next chapter. Predatory journals are an increasing menace, and a very informative review article on this aspect is a must read. Understanding various facets of publication ethics is essential to avoid falling foul of publication misconducts. These are detailed in the next review article of this supplement. Peer review is one of the main pillars of evidence-based medicine which has been discussed in a very informative subsequent review article. Uniform requirements for manuscript submission ensure transparency in academic publishing and enhance the credibility of published data. The final review article overviews the unmet need and challenges pertaining to these requirements. The final piece of this supplement is an original article which reports the results of a survey regarding the understanding of publication practices among postgraduate medical trainees from different corners of India.

We are grateful to Dr Marwan Bukhari, Editor-in-Chief of the Rheumatology (Oxford) for his masterly “foreword” and to Prof. Vikas Agarwal, Editor-in-Chief of the Indian Journal of Rheumatology for his support to this supplement.

We envisage that this timeless supplement shall be useful for all stakeholders including editors, reviewers and publishers and it would enable them in deciphering the process of medical academic publishing. We hope that this endeavor would serve in improving the quality of scientific writing among medical students, clinicians, and scientists alike.

Financial support and sponsorship

Nil.

Conflicts of interest

There are no conflicts of interest.