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Preliminary Steps in Writing a Scientific Manuscript
Selecting the Data and the Article Format Before you begin writing, consider your data and what constitutes a “publishable unit,” and decide on the best format for your data. Your data will determine the “story” that your article tells—how complete it is and how easy it is to understand. At some point, you will need to decide whether you have enough information for an article, too much, or not enough. “I try to be concise in all sections of a manuscript. The most important decision is what data to show, and then I build a story around them. I try to limit the information to what’s necessary to make my point.” —Francisco J. Esteva, MD, PhD, Breast Medical Oncology Choosing What Data to Use To decide how best to use the data that you have collected, consider these 3 questions:
1. How much information is enough? Your data should Tell the whole story Prove or disprove your hypothesis
2. How much information is too much? You have too much information when you have Data that are not necessary to tell your story Data that answer multiple questions If you have extra or unnecessary data , you will need to cut some of this information out.
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