Abstract
At Global Spine Congress in Milan in May, we, the Global Spine Journal (GSJ) Editors-in-Chief, presented a session on “How to Write a Scientific Paper.” For those of you who were unable to attend, we are providing a recap here of the most important points on how to write a paper. The GSJ Editorial Board wants to help any authors that may need it.
The first thing to remember is to always keep an open mind when submitting to a journal. Every journal is different and has different needs and instructions. Your manuscript may be rejected, which happens, but that shouldn’t discourage you from submitting your manuscript to another journal. Make sure to read the journal’s instructions thoroughly so when you upload the manuscript it is less likely to have any technical elements that need to be fixed, which will get the manuscripts into review faster.
When doing research it is important to keep excellent records and to have a good database for clinical data. It is always important to make sure that you have institutional review board IRB or ARC approval when it is necessary in order to make sure the study complies with the ethical standards of the journal. You should always make sure to check your data and run it by others to get input before you write your paper. When writing your paper, if English is not your first language, then make sure to have a native English speaker read through it. If English is hard to read it detracts from the quality of the research.
The methods should always be clear and concise with statistical analysis and a power analysis—it is always important to be as objective as possible. Make sure that the discussion section reviews the literature and shows why your study is important. In the discussion section it is important to be objective and humble, and finish with conclusions that are not overreaching. Do not overdo the figures, and make sure you have enough, but not too much if it isn’t necessary.
It is always important to carefully consider which journal to submit to, and to make sure that it is the right journal for your research. Always write a nice cover letter when submitting—be humble, thankful, and again make sure that you follow all instructions.
Most papers fail in the revision phase because authors get offended by reviewers’ comments if they are too negative. It is important to not take any of the comments personally, and recognize that the reviewers are also busy surgeons and researchers who are taking time out of their day to review your paper. Even if you don’t agree with the comments and if you don’t want to make a certain change, make sure that you acknowledge that in your letter back to the reviewers. It is always important to send a polite letter back to all of the reviewers addressing their comments. This shows the reviewers respect and shows them that you care and are paying attention. If you act offended or resistant to the comments then it puts the paper at risk. If your paper is rejected, do not get discouraged. It doesn’t mean your paper is without merit—you may not know what a particular journal’s goals are, or what is going on behind the scenes. We have all had paper rejections throughout our careers; it comes with the territory. Read the reviewers’ comments and make changes for the next submission to another journal that might be better suited to your paper.
We hope these tips help you in writing your next scientific paper to any journal. If you have any questions about submitting to GSJ, make sure to email Managing Editor Danielle Lieberman at