Chapter 2 of the AMA Manual of Style reviews the components of a scientific manuscript and abstract. A successful article is one that follows both the appropriate reporting guidelines and the intended journal’s requirements. The following are general guides to crafting a strong manuscript.
Titles
An effective title accurately conveys the scope and purpose of a study. Titles should be concise, specific, and informative. When creating a study title, consider the following:
1 – Key Components: Exposure, outcome, population, and study type should be expressed in the title, in that order.
2 – Specificity: Specify population type, study period, and location where applicable.
3 – Tone: Avoid casual language or “cute” phrasing.
- Avoid declarative sentences commonly used in news articles.
- Avoid questions, as they are more suited for opinions or editorials.
4 – Language: Avoid abbreviations; if used, spell them out in the abstract.
5 – Capitalization: Capitalize all words except articles, prepositions with fewer than four letters, coordinating conjunctions, and ‘to’ infinitives.
- Capitalize two-letter verbs such as “is” or “be.”
6 – Subtitle: Expands on the title but should not contain key elements.
- It can clarify the study type or provide additional context.
7 – Causation Claims:
- At most, observational studies may indicate “association of” rather than imply causation.
- Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) proving causality may state “effect of [x] on [y].”
The Anatomy of an Abstract
Abstracts are brief summaries, typically fewer than 350 words, that provide a standalone overview of the study. Since they are indexed and freely available, abstracts should be clear and comprehensive. Best practice includes avoiding citation of references, tables, or graphs within the abstract.
The typical abstract is structured as follows:
1. Importance: 1-2 introduction sentences outlining the significance of the research.
2. Objective: Clearly stated primary objective and any key secondary objectives.
3. Study Design and Setting: Specifies the type of study, duration, and location.
4. Participants: Includes the number of participants, eligibility criteria, and sampling methods.
5. Interventions/Exposures: Outlines the methods and duration of exposure.
6. Results: Presents absolute numbers, including intention-to-treat analyses and adverse events for RCTs.
7. Conclusion: Includes only conclusions directly supported by results, mentioning clinical relevance where applicable.
- Meta-Analyses: Should detail data sources and study selection criteria.
- Clinical Trials: Include trial registration details.
The Structure of a Manuscript
Most manuscripts follow the IMRAD format: Introduction, Methods, Results, and Discussion. The following outlines what should be included in each section.
1 – Introduction: concise 2-3 paragraphs, or about 150 words, which provides context and background information about the study and clearly states the study’s objectives
2 – Methods: provides sufficient detail to allow replication of the study. This includes:
- Study design/type, dates, and time period.
- Institutional and/or ethics board review and approval.
- Participant details: numbers, settings, inclusion, and exclusion criteria.
- Description of interventions/exposures and primary outcomes measured.
- Statistical analysis methods.
- For RCTs, a power statement.
- For reviews, details of the search strategy and run dates.
3 – Results: presents only those findings relevant to the hypothesis or study question.
- Results should be expressed without discussion or interpretation.
- Results should be expressed as absolute values.
- P-values should never be presented alone.
- Normally distributed data should be analyzed via means and standard deviations (SD).
- Non-normally distributed data should be analyzed via medians and interquartile ranges (IQR).
4 – Discussion: critically examines the study:
- Were objectives met?
- Compare findings to those of existing studies.
- Address limitations, unexpected findings, and implications for future research.
- Avoid introducing new data or methods.
5 – Conclusion: summarizes the key findings and their clinical relevance.
Finally, when writing a scientific manuscript, it is important to consider the following:
Headings
- Avoid introducing abbreviations in headings. Instead, spell the terms out and introduce the abbreviation when it next occurs in the body of the article.
- Do not cite references, tables, or figures in headings.
Conflicts of Interest
- Disclose any activity or relationship that may be perceived as a conflict of interest that occurred within three years of the submission date.
Financial and Material Support
- Clearly detail all support in the Acknowledgments section, specifying the role of funders in the study.
References:
AMA Manual of Style Committee. AMA Manual of Style: A Guide for Authors and Editors. 11th ed. Oxford University Press; 2020