Interlude: Journal Choice, Post vs After, and Jargon

I have exciting news! We reached an important milestone this past week. More than 500 people have joined the Redwood Ink community! I am delighted to have so many scientists, clinicians, and other academics who want to learn more about writing through this newsletter.

Do you know anyone who might be interested in joining our community? If so, please forward this email and ask them to join.

Now onto my latest curated round-up of the best tips, tools, and resources...

💌 Round-up

💻 From My Desk

How to Choose the Right Journal for Your Manuscript
Choosing a journal can be challenging for prospective authors. Where they publish can affect their professional reputation, funding opportunities, and career advancement. With these tips and resources, you can ensure you have the best chance of publishing in the best possible journal.

Why “Post” is Not a Synonym for “After”
Correct word usage can reflect your knowledge and professionalism. Lately, I've noticed more authors are incorrectly using the word post as a synonym for after. Read on to discover the difference between these terms and ensure you are using them correctly in your writing.

👓 Reading

The 17 Kinds of Hyphens You Must… Wait, Seriously, 17?
This article is educational and entertaining. "Hyphens are like little screws that hold words together. Now, if you’ve ever gone to a hardware store to buy screws, you know that there are a lot of different kinds of screws. But hyphens?"

Acknowledging professional writing support in publications – are we doing enough?
"...medical writers [and editors] should be personally acknowledged if they have: made a substantial contribution to drafting the outline or full first draft of a publication, or provided a substantial intellectual contribution to publication development."

Are You Confused by Scientific Jargon? So Are Scientists
"...papers containing higher proportions of jargon in their titles and abstracts were cited less frequently by other researchers. Science communication — with the public but also among scientists — suffers when a research paper is packed with too much specialized terminology...."

Does Your Office Have a Jargon Problem?
"...jargon sometimes functions like a fancy title, a conspicuously displayed trophy, or an expensive, branded watch — people use it to signal status and show off to others....[In the study], participants were significantly more likely to use the high-jargon pitch when they were in the lower-status condition."

Publishing at any cost: a cross-sectional study of the amount that medical researchers spend on open access publishing each year
"Medical researchers in 2019 were found to have paid between US$0 and US$34676 in total APCs [article processing charges]. As journals with APCs become more common, it is important to continue to evaluate the potential cost to researchers...."

🎧 Listening

All About Grants Podcast: Diversity Plans for Conference Applications
"The diversity plan is going to allow applicants to really focus on strategies to increase overall diversity in all aspects of the conference, including selection of the organizing committee, the panelists, [and] composition of the audience..."
iTunes | MP3 | Transcript

🧰 Tools

MeSH Database
The MeSH Database was designed to improve searches by eliminating (or accounting for) variant terminology used for the same concept. If you work in biomedical research, this tool is a great resource to help you use indexed words in your title, keywords, and other aspects of your manuscript.

💬 Quote

"A research journal serves that narrow borderland which separates the known from the unknown." – Prasanta Mahalanobis
 

💭 Thoughts

It's not what keeps you up at night, it's what gets you up in the morning.

Thank you so much for reading.

Warmly,

Crystal

Interlude: Compelling Titles, Shortcuts, and Research Plans

Here's my latest curated round-up of the best tips, tools, and resources related to scientific and medical writing.

💌 Round-up 

💻 From My Desk

How to Write a Compelling Title for Your Manuscript
The title is a critical part of your manuscript. It is your reader’s—and reviewer’s—first introduction to your paper. With a strong title, you can help people find your article in a search and pique their interest in reading your work.

15 Helpful Keyboard Shortcuts to Save You Time While Writing
Did know that you lose an average of 2 seconds per minute of work by switching back and forth between your mouse and keyboard? Learning just a few keyboard shortcuts could save several hours over the course of a year.

👓 Reading

Write Simply
"I try to write using ordinary words and simple sentences. That kind of writing is easier to read, and the easier something is to read, the more deeply readers will engage with it. The less energy they expend on your prose, the more they'll have left for your ideas."

Standardizing Terminology for Text Recycling in Research Writing
Researchers often find that they need to repeat some material (eg, methods, background) from their previous articles, a practice called ‘text recycling." But different journals use different language to outline their policies around this practice. This article aimed to develop a new taxonomy to bring consistency to these policies.

New, More Inclusive Journal Policies Ease Author Name Changes on Published Papers
"The new policies allow authors to change their names without public notification of any kind. That marks a break from previous practices, which generally either didn’t allow for a name change or required a correction notice and co-author approval if a change was made."

Citation of Retracted Publications: A Challenging Problem
"...many articles cite retracted publications, with the majority of these references occurring before the retraction. However, very few publications assess the impact of the retracted citations, even though the findings of many might be altered, at least in part, by removal of the retracted citation."

Estimating the Prevalence of Text Overlap in Biomedical Conference Abstracts
"...meeting organizers have an ethical obligation to develop proper guidance in their call for papers and/or submission guidelines about what ethical parameters are expected and what steps will be followed should conference guidelines be grossly violated."

Make It Stick: The Science of Successful Learning by Peter C. Brown 
For those of you who teach or study, this book is for you! The author looks to research as he discusses how to structure courses to improve long-term learning, why weekend conferences and intensive workshops are only beneficial in the short term, and what learners can do to improve their study habits.

🎧 Listening

All About Grants Podcast: Considerations for Developing a Research Pla‪n
In this episode, two program officers from the NIH share their advice on developing a research plan, drafting the specific aims page, and how to avoid common pitfalls in your application.
iTunes | MP3 | Transcript

🧰 Tools

Calendly
I finally joined the bandwagon and signed up for Calendly. I wish I had joined sooner. With this automated program, you can save time by avoiding multiple back-and-forth emails to schedule a meeting.

💬 Quote

"Any fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more violent. It takes a touch of genius—and a lot of courage—to move in the opposite direction. –Albert Einstein
 

💭 Thoughts

Give the gift of time. Schedule meetings that are 25 minutes or 40 minutes instead of 30 minutes and 60 minutes.

Thank you so much for reading.

Warmly,

Crystal

Interlude: Introductions, Methods, and Time

Here's my latest curated round-up of the best tips, tools, and resources on scientific and medical writing.

💌 Round-up

💻 From My Desk

How to Structure the Introduction Section of Your Manuscript
The Introduction helps to orient your reader to your study. By following a standard structure, you can "funnel" your reader to the specific question you address in the manuscript. Learn more about this structure and download the free checklist to ensure you include all the essential information.

Word Choice: Methodology vs Methods
Many authors think that methodology is a synonym for methods. But these words have distinct meanings. Learn which term to use when describing your general approach or specific methods.

👓 Reading

The effect of peer review on the improvement of rejected manuscripts
From the article: "...authors often disregard advice from peer reviewers after rejection. Authors may regard the peer review process as particular to a journal rather than a process to optimize dissemination of useful, accurate knowledge in any media. Specialty journals might consider collaborating by using a single manuscript submission site that allows peer reviews to be transferred to the next journal, which helps [with] holding authors accountable for making the suggested changes."

Authorship inequality: a bibliometric study of the concentration of authorship among a diminishing number of individuals in high-impact medical journals, 2008–2019
This study looked at author inflation—the increased size of the author list—and practices around granting authorship on peer-reviewed articles in medical journals. The study proposed that honorary authorship is a growing (and unethical) practice that authors may use to help with promotions and allocation of research funding. To know whether granting authorship is appropriate, learn more about the ICMJE guidelines for authorship.

Change as the Only Constant: How Will the Role of Medical Communication Professionals Evolve by 2025?
This article dives into five areas that may change in medical communication over the next 5 years: multichannel communications, broader audiences, open access, digital expertise, and conferences. Learn what skills you might need to be successful in 2025 through five informative infographics.

🎧 Listening

Ten Percent Happier - A New Way to Think About Your Time
In this interview, Ashley Whillans, author of Time Smart, talks about shifting from "time poverty" to "time affluence." She shares how to do a time audit; funding time, finding time, and reframing time; and the value of canceled meetings. Personally, I found the time audit and the idea of reframing time really helpful.
iTunes | Spotify | Website

🧰 Tools

BioRender
I was recently introduced to this software, which can help you create quality schematics for your manuscripts, grants, presentations, and more. Try the free version (with a few tips from us) to see whether this program will work for you.

💬 Quote

“Sit down to write what you have thought, and not to think about what you shall write.” - William Cobbett
 

💭 Thoughts

Put your cell phone in another room when you need to focus on a task. The mere presence of your phone—even turned off—can negatively impact your self-control and cognitive processes.

Thank you so much for reading.

Warmly,

Crystal

Interlude: Discussions, Symptoms, and the Science of Communication

Welcome to the first edition of the refreshed newsletter from Redwood Ink. Every couple of weeks, I will reach out with a curated round-up of the best tips, tools, and resources on scientific and medical writing.

💌 Round-up

🎉 Featured

3 Grant-Writing Advice Gems for the New Year
I am delighted that my blog was featured in this article. The author discusses the importance of blending research and emotion, nailing the specific aims page, and writing a winning title.
 

💻 From My Desk

How to Draft the Discussion Section of Your Manuscript
The Discussion section is the most important—and difficult—part of writing a manuscript. Fortunately, this section typically follows a standard structure. Learn more about this structure and download the free outline to help you efficiently draft this challenging section.

Putting Signs and Symptoms into Perspective
Many writers default to using the term symptoms. But in some cases, signs is the more accurate term to use. Read on to learn how the perspective will help you know which term is the correct word to use in your writing.

👓 Reading

How a torrent of COVID science changed research publishing — in seven charts
The COVID-19 pandemic has made a big impact on research publishing, starting with the sheer volume of papers submitted and published. In seven graphic charts, Nature tells an interesting story about how the pandemic has changed research publishing.
 
Watch Your Language!—Misusage and Neologisms in Clinical Communication
From the article: “Given that those seeking to join the medical community are likely to adopt the language they see and hear every day while in training, it falls on us to choose our words deliberately and with purpose. We need to recalibrate our language. Conscious efforts on our part can redefine the standard learners seek to achieve.”
 
Opinion: Being Scientists Doesn’t Make Us Science Communicators
As I transitioned from working in a lab to a career in editing, I learned that being a successful scientist or clinician does not guarantee expertise in communicating the science. From the article: “Science communication is a science in and of itself, one that requires rigorous training and instruction.”
 
A new mandate highlights costs, benefits of making all scientific articles free to read
This article offers an in-depth look at the open access movement in science. The author covers how open access benefits authors, affects publishing fees, and will change the future of scientific publishing.

🎧 Listening

All About Grants Podcast: Human Subjects Research Post-Award
If you work with human participants, this episode offers tips about what is needed for progress reporting, reaching out to your IRB when a protocol change is needed, the difference between adverse events and unanticipated problems, and more.
iTunes | MP3 | Transcript

🧰 Tools

The Writer’s Diet
I was recently introduced to this free online tool that helps you find “zombie nouns” and “flabby” phrases in your writing. I find this tool most helpful when I’m making final tweaks to lay summaries.

💬 Quote

“When you write a manuscript, it feels like being in a relationship with someone. You'll hate it, get bored with it, be pissed off, like you just want to break up. But, just like any relationship, you will fall in love again and again, like you don't want to lose it.” - Alvi Syahrin
 

💭 Thoughts

Keep your workspace bare. Every object is an imposition on your attention. A workspace is not a place for distractions. It is a place for accomplishing things. 

Thank you so much for reading.

Warmly,

Crystal