Writing a medical article

An article is the byproduct of a research project written to inform the community of researchers about the project and avoid the performance of simultaneous similar studies. In this regard, the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors presented a framework for research articles to enhance the quality of medical science and consistency among the medical researchers. Although the medical findings of the research can be presented in various formats, including case studies, a research article should generally have the following sections.

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Introduction

It is important to consider the following three main points in the introduction section. Firstly, it should present a general, clear, and precise idea about the topic of research to let the reader have a clear picture of what the research is. Secondly, the main topic should be explained in the light of the related literature and criticism of previous studies. In this regard, the researcher should express the significance of the current study to solve existing problems. Finally, the last paragraph should include the main aims of the current study as clear as possible.

Materials and methods

This section of the article deals with the employed tools and procedure of research. According to the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors, the following constitutes should be included in this section:

• The author(s) should explain the data collection procedure, type of study (e.g., observational and interventional), inclusion/exclusion criteria, and the sampling technique. In addition, the author(s) should provide the necessary information about the manufacturer(s) of the research tool(s), investigated variables, and the reasons for the implementation of such methods.
• In addition, the researcher(s) should provide details about the statistical procedures and tests used in the current study. The confidence interval, errors type I and II, as well as the utilized software should be mentioned in this section.
• Ethical issues should be presented in the last paragraph of this section to confirm the ethical policies of the study.

Results

The result section is the core of the article, presenting the obtained results of the study. It is worth mentioning that there is no interpretation of results in this section and it mainly deals with the sample statistic (e.g., p-value, CI, Odds). Tables, figures, and charts are illustrated in the result section.

Discussion

The final section of an article is the interpretation of the obtained data presented in the result section. This section begins with a brief review of the results without any further explanation of the statistics. The researcher should delve into the probable extrapolation of values and the relationship among the investigated variables. In the next step, the researcher should compare the current findings with those obtained in the literature in order to provide the solutions to the problems of previous studies.  Finally, the researcher(s) should point to the limitations of the study and suggest further studies that might pave the way for future advancements.

References

As the name suggests, the reference section encompasses the bibliography of the books, articles, and presented papers in the conferences. The authors should follow the citation format suggested by leading reference systems, such as APA, Harvard, and Vancouver. However, the citation format is usually determined by publishing journals.

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