Winning the Publications Game - 4th Edition (2016)

First set yourself a brief 23
you will be through the worst and you will have made
decisions in five key areas:
1. the message
2. the market
3. the length
4. the deadline
5. the co- authors.
This process of setting the brief marks the time when the
research ends and the writing starts. You will, of course,
revisit your data, but the relationship between research
and writing has subtly changed. From now on the piece
of writing becomes the master, and the data its servant.
FIGURE 3.1 Caution to writers
Do not start defining the brief unless you can answer yes to the
following questions.
● Is the data collection at a stage which allows me to make
generalisations?
● Have I obtained approval from the appropriate ethical
committee, or a letter from an appropriate body saying it is
not required?
● Has the study (if a randomised controlled trial) been registered
as a clinical trial?
● Have I obtained the appropriate guidelines (such as CONSORT
for randomised controlled trials or STROBE for observational
studies)? (For further information on these guidelines: www.
equator- network.org)
● Do I have the consent of the other researchers to start writing
this up?