ESHRE Journals Course for Authors 6 July 2008, Barcelona “ What has to be in the results section...

transcript

ESHRE Journals Course for Authors6 July 2008, Barcelona

“What has to be in the results section of a basic science

paper?”

Steve Hillier

The University of Edinburgh

Editor-in-Chief MHRs.hillier@ed.ac.uk

“What has to be in the results section of a basic science paper?”

•The scientific paper: its conventions

•Results: their importance

•Data presentation: best practice

Proposed definition of a primary publication Council of Biology Editors (1968)

An acceptable primary scientific publication must be the first disclosure containing sufficient information to enable peers to assess observation, to report experiments, and to evaluate intellectual processes; moreover, it must be susceptible to sensory perception, essentially permanent, available to the scientific community without restriction, and available for regular screening by one or more of major recognized secondary services (e.g., currently Biological Abstracts, Chemical Abstracts, Index Medicus, Excerpta Medica, Bibliography of Agriculture, etc., in the United States and similar services in other countries).

Proposed definition of a primary publication Council of Biology Editors (1968)

An acceptable primary scientific publication must be the first disclosure containing sufficient information to enable peers to assess observation, to report experiments, and to evaluate intellectual processes; moreover, it must be susceptible to sensory perception, essentially permanent, available to the scientific community without restriction, and available for regular screening by one or more of major recognized secondary services (e.g., currently Biological Abstracts, Chemical Abstracts, Index Medicus, Excerpta Medica, Bibliography of Agriculture, etc., in the United States and similar services in other countries).

The sensory perception of follicles

“… If they [the ova of women] are boiled… the liquor contained in them acquires upon cooking the same colour, the same taste and the same consistency as the albumen contained in the eggs of birds.”

SOURCE: HD Jocelyn, BP Setchell (1972) J Reprod. Fert. Suppl. 17

Reliable Methods = Reproducible Results

The goal of Methods should be to:• Facilitate the independent verification of results

• Minimize the influence of individual bias

• Produce results that others can more easily reproduce

• Promote the acceptance of results into the scientific consensus

On Being A Scientist: Responsible Conduct In Research

COMMITTEE ON SCIENCE, ENGINEERING, AND PUBLIC POLICYNATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCESNATIONAL ACADEMY OF ENGINEERINGINSTITUTE OF MEDICINE

NATIONAL ACADEMY PRESSWashington, D.C. 1995

But no method is infallible!

A good scientist never blames his methods

Andreus Vesalius De humani corporis fabrica (1543) (On the Workings of the Human Body)

Vesalius on female testicles

The ‘modern’ scientific paper

• Title • Abstract• Introduction • Methods• Results • Discussion • Acknowledgements• References

The ‘modern’ scientific paper

• Title • Abstract• Introduction • Methods• Results

And• Discussion • Acknowledgements• References

IMRAD = 100 yr old

“The fool collects facts, the wise man selects them” John Wesley Powell, 1888

Answer: EVIDENCE

• Qualitative– Diagrammes– Images

• Quantitative– Tables– Graphs

A 19th century result:

‘Chromatolysis’ = ‘Apoptosis’’

A 20th century result:

“It has not escaped our notice that the specific pairing we have postulated immediately suggests a possible copying mechanism for the genetic material.”

Watson JD, Crick FHC (1953) A structure for deoxyribose nucleic acid. Nature 171:737-4

A 21st century result:

“A core network module in humans and mice was identified that is enriched for genes involved in the inflammatory and immune response and has been found to be causally associated to obesity-related traits..”

Emilsson V, Thorleifsson G, Zhang B, Leonardson AS, Zink F, Zhu J, Carlson S,Helgason A, Walters GB, Gunnarsdottir S, Mouy M, Steinthorsdottir V, EiriksdottirGH, Bjornsdottir G, Reynisdottir I, Gudbjartsson D, Helgadottir A, Jonasdottir A,Jonasdottir A, Styrkarsdottir U, Gretarsdottir S, Magnusson KP, Stefansson H,Fossdal R, Kristjansson K, Gislason HG, Stefansson T, Leifsson BG,Thorsteinsdottir U, Lamb JR, Gulcher JR, Reitman ML, Kong A, Schadt EE. Genetics of gene expression and its effect on disease. Nature. 2008 Mar 27;452(7186):423-8. Epub 2008 Mar 16

Contains 2 tables, 3 figures, Supplementary Results (additional references, 7 Tables and 7 figures with legends) and Supplementary Methods.

Designing science graphs for data analysis and presentation: The bad, the good and the better. Dave Kelly, Jaap Jasperse and Ian Westbrooke. DEPARTMENT OF CONSERVATION TECHNICAL SERIES 32 Published by Science & Technical Publishing, Department of Conservation, PO Box 10–420, Wellington, New Zealand

Playfair graph: 200 years of wages and the price of wheat.

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If all else fails!

ESHRE Journals Course for Authors 6 July 2008, Barcelona “ What has to be in the results section...

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