SPECIAL CONTRIBUTION
Introduction to a New, Free Internet Series on Medical Writing and Communications
2013 Volume 46 Issue 11 Pages 874-875
Details
2013 Volume 46 Issue 11 Pages 874-875
For many Japanese authors whose native language is not English, writing a scientific paper in English and completing the submission process until acceptance are often very complex and demanding tasks, as the whole process often requires clear and effective communication with the journal editor(s) and reviewers. Authors are therefore expected to be familiar with how to format their manuscript and how to conform it to the journal requirements for submission. Moreover, they need to possess knowledge of how to appropriately respond to reviewers’ comments, revise their manuscript for resubmission, and comply with ethical obligations. Although numerous materials providing ample information on how to submit and publish manuscripts can be readily retrieved on-line, the importance of information contained in each material varies and content credibility is difficult to gauge.
The lack of knowledge and English communication skills regarding manuscript preparation and publication by Japanese authors, unfortunately, leave many cutting-edge studies remain unpublished. Moreover, many Japanese authors neither have the confidence to provide adequate responses to the comments or criticisms from the reviewers, nor offer polite scientific rebuttal in sufficiently nuanced English to the comments raised, which leaves papers reporting high-level research unrevised, unsubmitted, and unpublished1)2).
Needless to say, authors have the responsibility to convey information accurately and effectively in order to promote better patient care and treatment. Recently, an increasing number of journals have become intensely aware of the ethical issues related to medical publishing. In 1997, the Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals (URM), which is accepted by over 600 international journals, revised its document format to divide information into technical and ethical matters. The URM undergoes revision every few years to accurately reflect societal trends in the document, such as the issues of authorship and conflict of interest. Responsibilities of authorship have become stricter over the years; there were no authorship criteria in the first issue of the URM in 1979, but clear and precise authorship criteria evolved in 1988, which resulted in journals requiring a detailed description of the role of each author in the conduct of the study and not simply meeting the URM authorship criteria. The Acknowledgement section now carries more weight, requiring authors to acknowledge all support in the preparation of the manuscripts by persons who do not meet all authorship criteria, entailing increased author responsibility.
The interpretation of conflict of interest has also changed over time. In the early 1980s, only monetary relationships were of major concern. However, beginning in 1997, the word “financial” was removed from the URM, suggesting that any type of relationship could possibly cause conflict of interest. At present, authors are occasionally requested to provide detailed information regarding any conflict of interest depending on the specific requirement of the target journal. With these evolving concepts in ethics, the difficulties go far beyond the language barrier for Japanese authors, since perspectives and approaches towards ethical issues can possibly vary depending on country, and culture. Wager et al. stated that “while many editors are concerned about publication ethics and ensure that their journals adopt policies and systems likely to reduce ethical problems, the attitudes revealed by this survey indicate that at least some editors of science journals may be unaware of the potential ethical problems that may arise”3).
There is therefore a pressing need to provide Japanese authors knowledge, continuing education, and communication skills on how to approach issues related to manuscript writing and publication that goes far beyond differences in language. Specifically, it is imperative to provide easy-to-understand information and steps to assist Japanese authors gain comprehensive and reliable knowledge on how to submit and publish their research in leading medical journals.
To help Japanese authors have their papers published in leading medical journals, we introduce a new series on medical writing and communications which can be accessed from a freely available site4) which involves guidelines on writing scientific papers, offering not only basic knowledge of the publication process but also professional, expert advice.
The URM has undergone very recent changes since the publication of this article (renamed as the ICMJE Recommendations). Details of the most significant changes will be treated in future publication of this series.
