Writing and Publishing Scientific Articles
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In addition to the items above, from the CONSORT statement, describe the procedures used to ensure ethical conduct of the study, such as approval of the study by an institutional review board and the use of an informed consent process for participants.
Tailoring the Methods Section to a Particular Journal
Location of the Methods Section
Most journals contain a separate Methods section just after the Introduction section and just before the Results section, but the placement of the Methods section in the article can vary. Some journals place the Methods section last, after the Discussion section. A few journals not only contain a separate Methods section but also include details of the methods in the figure legends. Other journals describe methods entirely in the figure legends, and still others exclude such descriptions from the figure legends. Be sure to read the author instructions and look at a couple of sample articles from your target journal to see how it handles the description of methods, and format your Methods section accordingly.
How Much Detail to Give
For journals with a broad readership, each method should be described in sufficient detail to allow readers in other fields to understand the study.
For specialized journals with narrower audiences, less detail should be used to describe methods that are well known to the target audience.
Wherever possible, when you describe a technique that has already been described in a previously published article, simply identify the technique (name it or describe it very briefly), and cite the published study in which the technique was previously described in detail. It is often helpful to the reader if you provide a brief description of the method. For example, “ Histologic analysis was performed as previously described (3). Briefly, the tissue was cut into 5- m sections, and every other section was stained with hematoxylin and eosin.” Be sure to describe any modifications of the previously published technique.
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