1. EMILIO OVUGA RESEARCH SEMINAR, GULU UNIVERSITY MARCH 3-6, 2008 Publication Skills

2. Medical journalism Medical journalism is an entity itself (Joseph Muhangi, 1980)

3. Basic principles Publication is communicating information Publication is as much a political issue as a science There are thousands of journals around Communication is difficult You want to be understood correctly Be sure you are simultaneously a perceiver and a communicator

4. What to consider What is the message? Who is the audience? What form of communication? How is the message to be passed? What is your source of message? How was it derived? Which medium, journal, publisher, etc? Are ethical issues covered?

5. Considerations in paper acceptance Region of the world Club membership Negative vs positive results Gender issues Limited volume of each journal Standards set by editors: quality of science

6. Writing skills Mind your English/language Mind your statistics/research knowledge base Publishing is competitive business Be prepared for disappointment Be receptive to harsh critiquing Follow guidelines offered by chosen journal

7. Types of publication Scientific articles Review articles Brief communications Case reports Letter to the editor Commissioned report Etc

8. Components of scientific paper Title Abstract Background Methods of study Results Discussion Conclusion References

9. Abstract Title Background Objectives Methods Results Discussion

10. Background Situation analysis Literature review Gaps and existing problems Objectives Significance/justification

11. Methods of study ABC of how data was collected Study population Sampling frame, sample size, selection Data collection tools/methods Data entry/analysis methods/tools

12. Results Relevance to title and objectives Presentation style  Tables  Charts  Graphs  Pie charts  Plain description/narrative  Quotes

13. Data presentation 1 DzaipiControls Completed suicide Attempted suicide Completed suicideAttempted suicide 20041232702127 2005612151412 2006511441218 2007034927

14. Data presentation 2

15. Data presentation 3

16. Data presentation 4 ‘They pour hot water on themselves as if going to slaughter chicken’ ‘They rub themselves with a maize cob till they bleed’

17. Discussion Recap main features Compare with other/similar studies Highlight limitations/strengths Recommendations, if any Any other?

18. References Two main styles in biomedical research  APA 5 th Edition  Harvard style Referencing software  EazyPaper 3.0  EndNote 11

19. Review process Submit completed manuscript; guidelines of journal Referee process Review/rewrite/resubmit Galley proof Publication Notification?

20. Regional journals African Health Sciences East African Medical Journal Ethiopian Medical Journal Central African Journal of Medicine