Writing for Publication

"The amount of writings of a profession is a measure of its vitality and activity, whilst their quality is a rough indication of its intellectual state."
- Sir Robert Hutchison [1871-1960] Lancet 2:1059, 1939

See also The Literature of Scientific Research poster session.

Writing Guides

"The scientific man is the only person who has anything new to say and who does not know how to say it."
- Sir James M. Barrie [1860-1937]

". . .muddled writing means muddled thinking. . ."
- Stanley Gilder [1909- ]Medical Journal of Australia I:957, 1962

Suggested writing guides include:

Goodstyle: writing for science and technology
Writing successfully in science
How to write and publish a scientific paper, 4th ed.
How to write and publish papers in the medical sciences, 2nd ed.
Why not say it clearly
Medical English usage and abusage
Essentials of writing biomedical research papers

Instructions for Authors

Editors require authors to submit manuscripts in a style and format (and with content) appropriate to each journal. Instructions to authors are published at least yearly in each journal. A notebook containing instructions for authors from journals to which the Health Sciences Library subscribes is located in HSL Reserve; ask for it at the Circulation Desk. Authors' guide to biomedical journals is available in the HSL Reference collection. Instructions from other journals may be obtained through Interlibrary Loan.
Many journals put their Instructions for Authors on web pages; search for the publisher's home page to find the journal you wish to write for. Some journals' instructions are also available on the Internet. See also ACS Instructions for Authors.

Style Guides

Electronic Style: a guide to citing electronic information
- APA and MLA Citation Styles
- History and Humanities Electronic Citation
- American Psychological Association Style for online documents
- MLA-style citations of electronic sources, by Janice R. Walker
AMA Manual of Style, 8th ed.
ASM Style Manual (American Society for Microbiology)
Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 4th ed.
CBE Style Manual, 5th ed.
National Library of Medicine Recommended Formats for Bibliographic Citation
The Chicago Manual of Style, 13th ed.
"Vancouver Style" also called "Uniform requirements for manuscripts submitted to biomedical journals." Current edition can be found in: Ann Intern Med 126(1):36-47, 1997 Jan 1.

Journal Abbreviations

List of Journals Indexed in Index Medicus, available in the HSL Reference Area or on the Internet, is one of several guides which will help you to abbreviate a journal title appropriately, or to decipher a journal abbreviation.

SI Units - Conversion Tables

SI Units in Medicine: an introduction to the International System of Units with conversion tables and normal ranges
AMA Manual of Style, 8th ed.

How Not to Publish

A suggested title is: Stealing Into Print: fraud, plagiarism, and misconduct in scientific publishing