Section outline

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  • Tuesday, April 9, 2019; 3:00 PM - 4:30 PM

    Lecture:

    Introduction to Publishing & Presenting Research

    and

    Preparing Research Abstracts: Few Words, Big Impact


    Faculty:  Alison Huang, MD, MAS
     
    Location:      Mission Hall 1400

    This session will focus on preparing structured abstracts for scientific conferences as well as for full-length manuscripts. We will review strategies for crafting the introduction, methods, results, and conclusions of an abstract to highlight the strengths and significance of the research and adhere to rigorous reporting standards, while staying within required word or space limits. Examples of effective and ineffective abstract sections will be reviewed, with students being encouraged to critique examples and suggest improvements. We will also discuss factors that should be weighed in deciding when and where to submit an abstract; examine the process used to evaluate abstracts for poster, oral, or plenary meeting presentations; and discuss common mistakes that can result in abstract submissions receiving less consideration than they deserve.

    • Prospectus:

    • Prospectus for 2018-2019 course File
    • Watch: Introduction to Epidemiology 212 File
    • Designated faculty reviewer providing feedback on assignments 1-3 File

    • Session Slides:

    • Course Introduction and Preparing Abstracts slides File
      Not available unless: You belong to Registered Students Only
    • Abstract example 1 for critique in class File
    • Abstract example 2 for critique in class File

    • Session Audio/Video Recording (Access restricted to registered students):

    • Watch URL
      Not available unless: You belong to a group in Registered Students Only

    • Required Reading:

      Browner WS. Publishing and Presenting Clinical Research, 3rd Ed, Chapters 1 and 2

    • Optional Reading:

    • Lara Varpio, et al. Writing competitive research conference abstracts. Medical Education 2006; File
      Not available unless: Your ID number contains 02

    • Assignment #1: Submit an abstract prepared according to the submission guidelines of the annual meeting of a professional or scientific society - due by noon on Tuesday, April 23.


    • Assignment 1 instructions and template File
    • Upload Assignment 1

  • Tuesday, April 23, 2019; 3:00 PM - 4:30 PM

    Lecture:

    Grace Under Fire: Oral and Poster Research Presentations

    and

    Good Beginnings: the Introduction and Methods Sections of Manuscripts

    Faculty:  Alison Huang, MD, MAS

    Location:       Mission Hall 1400

    The first half of this session will focus on giving oral and poster research presentations as well as discussing one's overall scientific mission at professional meetings. We will examine strategies for creating visually appealing slides and posters, preparing talking points that complement visual content without being overshadowed by it, and responding to questions and criticisms during presentations.

    The second half  will focus on the introduction and methods sections of research manuscripts. We will discuss how to write an introduction that offers a compelling rationale for the research and provides necessary contextual information to frame the research goals, while staying within space limits. We will also discuss how to prepare a methods section that provides all critical information about the design and implementation of a study and anticipates readers' questions about the conduct of the research, while avoiding unnecessary detail.

    • Session Slides:

    • Lecture slides: Oral and Poster Presentations and Good Beginnings File
      Not available unless: You belong to Registered Students Only

    • Session Audio/Video Recording (Access restricted to registered students):

    • Watch URL
      Not available unless: You belong to a group in Registered Students Only

    • Required Reading:

      Browner WS. Publishing and Presenting Clinical Research, 3rd Ed, Chapters 3, 4, 11, and 12

    • Optional Reading:

    • Manuscript Preparation and Publication" by David Holmes, et al. in Careers in Circulation, 2009;120:906-913 File
      Not available unless: Your ID number contains 02

    • Assignment #2: Submit the title and a ~3-paragraph introduction for a manuscript based on a research project that you are conducting or have recently completed - due by noon on May 7.

    • Assignment 2 instructions and template File
    • Upload Assignment 2

  • Tuesday, May 7, 2019; 3:00 PM - 4:30 PM

    Lecture:  

    Research Results: the Visual Display of Data

    and

    Good Endings: the Discussion Section of a Research Manuscript

    Faculty: Vivek Jain. MD, MAS and Alison Huang, MD, MAS

    Location:       Mission Hall 1400

    The first half of this session (led by Dr. Vivek Jain) will focus on preparing visually compelling tables, graphs, and figures to present research data. We will consider examples of more and less effective presentation of research tables and figures and discuss strategies for improving the format or presentation. We will also review tips for developing written text that frames and/or highlights the visual display of research data.

    The second half of the session (led by Dr. Alison Huang) will focus on preparing results discussion sections for research manuscripts. We will examine strategies for drafting results and discussion sections that highlight the most important study findings without restating information from the results, acknowledge the limitations of the research without undermining its strengths, and guide readers in interpreting study findings in the context of previous work.

    • Session Slides:

    • Presenting Research Data slides File
      Not available unless: You belong to Registered Students Only
    • Good Endings File
      Not available unless: You belong to Registered Students Only

    • Session Audio/Video Recording (Access restricted to registered students):

    • Watch URL
      Not available unless: You belong to a group in Registered Students Only

    • Required Reading:

      Browner WS. Publishing and Presenting Clinical Research, 3rd Ed, Chapters 5, 6, 7, and 8.

    • Optional Reading:

    • Excerpts from Edward Tufte’s The Visual Display of Quantitative Information. File
      Not available unless: Your ID number contains 02

    • Assignment #3: Submit a table and a figure that present the same research data in two different ways, along with text to summarize the most important findings and describe their implications – due by noon on May 21.

    • Assignment 3 instructions and template File
    • Assignment 3

  • Tuesday, May 21, 2019; 1:15 PM - 2:45 PM

    Lecture:

    Running the Gauntlet: the Manuscript Review Process

     and

    Special Editor-in-Chief and Senior Editor Roundtable

    Faculty:  Alison Huang. MD, MAS

    Journal editor roundtable: (Andrew Bindman, MD; Rita Redberg, MD, MS; Alexander Smith, MD, MPH, MS; Julie Ann Sosa, MD, MA; Paul Volberding, MD)

    Location:   Mission Hall 1400

    The final session will address the manuscript submission and review process, including expectations for acceptance versus rejection for initial and resubmitted manuscripts, insights into the perspective of reviewers who critique manuscript submissions, and strategies for responding to reviewer critiques in order to increase the likelihood of acceptance. The majority of the session will take the form of a special, interactive "editor-in-chief roundtable" in which a panel of five UCSF professors who are also editors-in-chief or deputy editors at major peer-reviewed medical and scientific journals will be asked to speak briefly in response to several pre-established questions (see below), in addition to taking additional questions from students.

      Possible questions:

        1. "In your experience, what is one of the most common mistakes made by authors in preparing or submitting research manuscripts that result in their manuscripts not being given the consideration they deserve?"
        2. "Can you think of an example of a manuscript that was turned down by your journal that you feel should have been accepted, or an example of one that was accepted that you think should have been rejected, and explain why?"
        3. "Aside from the reviewers' critiques, what other factors do you as a journal editor weigh in deciding whether to accept or reject a manuscript?"
        4. "Are there circumstances in which it may be appropriate or feasible for an author to appeal a decision to reject made by a journal; if so, what are they, and how should authors go about this?"

        • Session Slides:

        • The Manuscript Submission and Review Process File
          Not available unless: You belong to Registered Students Only

        • Session Audio/Video Recording (Access restricted to registered students):

        • Required Reading:

          Browner WS. Publishing and Presenting Clinical Research, 3rd Ed, Chapters 10 and 13

        • Optional Reading:

        • Preparing Reports for Publication and Responding to Reviewers’ Comments" by Gordon H. Guyatt and R. Brian Haynes, Journal of Clinical Epidemiology, 2006;59:900-906 File
          Not available unless: Your ID number contains 02

        • Assignment Due Date:  (e.g.,  1 pm on April 1 2013” or  “At the beginning of Small Group Section”)

      1. Tuesday, June 4, 2019; 3:00 PM - 4:30 PM

        Lecture:

        Public Medical Writing: Communicating about Research with the Public, Policy Makers, and Funders

        AND

        Being Newsworthy: Sharing Your Study Results with the Lay Press


        Faculty:  Margot Kushel, MD and Louise Aronson, MD


        Location:           Mission Hall 1400

        The first half of the session (led by Dr. Louise Aronson) will focus on preparing articles for "public" audiences. Researchers who have the greatest impact on healthcare, patient lives, and the medical system often write both for professional colleagues and for the public, policy makers, potential funders, and health system leaders. Opinion and story-based articles are among the most effective ways to reach wider audiences and have significant, real-world impact. This session will introduce the four main types of public articles-- thought pieces, perspectives, narratives, and op-eds. We will dissect sample articles of each type to identify keys to their success and discuss how to determine the right article type, audience, and approach for your research goals.

        The second half of this session (led by Dr. Margot Kushel) will focus on strategies for disseminating study results in the lay press, including working with university media officers to prepare concise but engaging press releases, summarizing study results in a way that is both scientifically appropriate and easy for lay audiences to digest, and addressing subsequent questions, interview requests, and comments from reporters, media outlets, and the public.  We will discuss how to decide whether a study is "newsworthy", when to start preparing a press release for a study, and how to respond to time-sensitive media inquiries about their research.

        • Session Slides:

        • Lecture slides-- Being Newsworthy File
          Not available unless: You belong to Registered Students Only
        • Lecture slides--Public Writing File
          Not available unless: You belong to Registered Students Only

        • Session Audio/Video Recording (Access restricted to registered students):

        • Required Reading:

          Browner WS. Publishing and Presenting Clinical Research, 3rd Ed, Chapter 8

        • Optional Reading:

        • Aronson - Story as evidence, evidence as story File
          Not available unless: Your ID number contains 02
        • Dahlstron Using narratives and storytelling to communicate science File
          Not available unless: Your ID number contains 02
        • Meisel and Karlawish- Narrative vs Evidence-Based Medicine File
          Not available unless: Your ID number contains 02
        • Steinner Use of Stories in Clinical Research File
          Not available unless: Your ID number contains 02
        • Kwok R. Communication: Two minutes to impress, Nature, 494, 137-138 (2013) doi:10.1038/nj7435-137a URL
          Not available unless: Your ID number contains 02

        • Resources:

        • Optional Assignment #4:  Draft a thought piece, perspective, narrative, or op-ed article related to your research - please e-mail to Louise Aronson at Louise.Aronson@ucsf.edu.

      2. Topic 6