New Investigator and Trainee Telementoring Seminar Series: Development of a Scholarly Project with the Aim of Publication by Elizabeth Loder MD, MPH
Summarized by Shivang Joshi MD, MPH, B.Pharm
About Dr. Loder
Dr. Loder is Associate Professor of Neurology at Harvard Medical School and Chief, Division of Headache and Pain in the Department of Neurology at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Brigham and Women’s Faulkner Hospital. Dr. Loder received an undergraduate biology degree from Harvard College, studied Medicine at the University of North Dakota and received a Masters degree in Public Health from the University of Massachusetts. She is the 28th president of the American Headache Society. Her hobbies include gardening and she is also a cat lover.
Telementoring Synopsis
Selecting a scholarly project starts with the selection of a narrow topic and the research question itself. Read editorials in the major journals to gain the pulse of what thought leaders think is important. You may need to reformulate your study question after you determine the appropriate study design. Consulting a statistician at this early stage is a good idea. You may not be the first person who has worked on a similar project. Perform a comprehensive literature review, and speak to senior members who may have some insight and guidance.
In your fellowship year you may not be able to perform a randomized clinical trial; however a systematic review, meta-analysis, surveys, and quality improvement studies may be feasible. There are several existing databases and resources such as the CDC that can be used for analysis. At academic institutions, contacting the IRB or networking at grand rounds may be helpful. The librarian can be of help in assisting you with the various search engines such as Pub Med. Familiarize yourself with research tools such as REDCap.
Since the intent is to publish, one should avoid case reports or small case series. When planning for publication, think about your audience. Choose the appropriate journal and follow their publication guidelines. Read articles from the journal you wish to publish in and ask yourself, what do the editors want?
When writing the paper main topic headings include: introduction, methods, results and discussion. In the introduction should provide a brief background mentioning what’s already known, and what’s not about your research question. The methods section is like a recipe. You should be able to describe the inclusion, exclusion and outcome parameter. The results section should be used for presentation of data and leave out any discussion here. When selected for peer review, include checklists such as STROBE that may assist the reviewers.
Key Points
- Choose a narrow topic and perform background research
- Consult a statistician early
- Identify and exploit resources that may be available at your institution or national databases
- Identify the right journal and what the editor wants
- You paper should have a clear format to make it easier for readers
Resources Items for Download:
- Download slides, “Scholarly Project“
- Recording not available