La atribución intelectual en las revistas médicas cubanas / Intellectual attribution in Cuban medical journals

La identificación de la autoría de los argumentos en la escritura médica afecta imperativos de la ciencia como la precisión y la transparencia, la reproductibilidad y la responsabilidad legal. El objetivo aquí fue describir su comportamiento en revistas médicas cubanas certificadas como científicas por el CITMA, toda vez que las distintas formas de su expresión afectan imperativos de la ciencia como la precisión, la transparencia, la reproductibilidad y la responsabilidad legal por lo dicho y lo hecho. Para lograrlo se realizó el análisis cualitativo de una muestra de 50 secciones Discusión de artículos originales de investigación que fueron publicados entre el año 2007 y el 2011. Los datos fueron recolectados mediante hojas de codificación y luego analizados en el marco teórico de la pragmalingüística y la retórica de la ciencia. Hubo un 5 por ciento de enunciados con atribución intelectual inequívoca al autor del texto, manifiesta mediante el uso referencial de la persona gramatical; un 25 por ciento de enunciados atribuidos a terceras personas específicas mediante referencias bibliográficas, y un 70 por ciento de enunciados con atribución ambigua (47 por ciento de ellos atribuibles a terceras personas no especificadas y 23 por ciento de enunciados cuyo posible conceptualizador es la comunidad científica). En conclusión, la autoadscripción de los argumentos al hablante, preferiblemente mediante la primera persona gramatical, permite diferenciar en la ciencia entre juicio personal y acuerdo intersubjetivo, toda vez que la autoría de un artículo no presupone la autoría de todos los argumentos en él incluidos. La elevada proporción de enunciados emitidos por sus autores sin atribución intelectual explícita o con medios ambiguos, a pesar del alto grado de especialización textual, merece ulterior investigación y atención editorial(AU)

Acknowledgment of the authorship of arguments in medical writing affects science imperatives such as accuracy and transparency, reproducibility and legal responsibility. The purpose of the study was to describe its behavior in Cuban medical journals certified as scientific by CITMA. To achieve this end, a qualitative analysis was conducted of a sample of 50 Discusión (Discussion) sections dealing with original research papers published from 2007 to 2011. Data were collected onto coding sheets and analyzed within the theoretical framework of pragmalinguistics and science rhetoric. 5 percent of the statements were found to contain unequivocal intellectual attribution to the author of the text, made manifest by the referential use of the grammatical person; 25 percent of the statements were attributed to specific third persons by bibliographic references, and in 70 percent of the statements attribution was ambiguous (47 percent attributable to non-specified third persons and 23 percent in which the possible conceptualizer is the scientific community). In conclusion, self-ascription of arguments by the speaker, preferably through the use of the first grammatical person, makes it possible to distinguish personal judgment from inter-subjective arrangement, since authorship of a paper does not presuppose the authorship of all the arguments therein included. The high proportion of statements issued by their authors without intellectual attribution or by ambiguous means, despite the high degree of textual specialization, deserves further research and editorial attention(AU)

Demystifying writing papers for biomedical journals

This paper attempts to demystify the publication process in biomedical journals by offering simple step by step recipes on how to write and get published. The author relies on a narrative review and personal experience as a fellow student of publishing to achieve objective. Five stages in the publication process were identified: Planning, Writing, Submission, Managing editorial decisions and Post-acceptance. Planning is probably the most neglected yet the most important stage. The author begins by making sure that all necessary resources are in place, develops careful outline, decides on authorship and selects potential journal for publication. The paper will typically have three sections. The title which contains title of the paper and the list of authors and also key words is the first section. The abstract and the body of the paper are also the second and third sections. The title and abstract are critical and are usually revised many more times than the other parts of the paper. Choosing key words carefully increases the chance of the paper being read and cited. The body of the paper follows what is called the Introduction, Methods, Results and Discussion structure. Submission begins by writing a cover letter that makes the case for the article. Following all the key steps of the submission process avoids early rejection. Respond speedily and graciously and in sufficient detail to reviewers' and editors' comments. Following publication,the author should ensure that the published knowledge is disseminated widely. Overall, writing for biomedical journals is not too mysterious. However, there is no short cut: learning to write successfully takes time and practice

EMJ series on statistics and methods: variables, populations and samples

This the first article in the EMJ Series on Statistics and Methods describes "variables" which represent different demographic and clinical characteristics of several individuals in a data set. Various attributes of quantitative and qualitative variables, including type, scale of measurement and values they may take are presented. Some descriptive statistics and graphic summaries are introduced. Pertinent examples drawn from journal articles are provided. The article also defines "population" as used in statistics and epidemiology and highlights population in size and scope in the context of the research question to be answered. It emphasizes the need for explicitly defining sampling based on the research question in a particular study. In addition, the articles introduces concepts and notations related to parameter and statistic. It highlights the need for using appropriate sampling method in selecting a representative sample of the study population and to be able to make valid inferences and generalizations. It is indicated in this articles that specific issues requiring further details will be addressed in the Series articles in subsequent Issues of EMJ

EMJ series on statistics and methods: normal distribution and the central limit theorem

This second article in the EMJ Series on Statistics and Methods dwells on the basics of sampling distribution of' variables', which are presented in detail in the preceding article in this Issue of the Ethiopian Medical Journal (EMJ). The present article highlights recommended routines that need to be undertaken in order to understand information collected in a particular study before embarking on doing complex statistical analyses. It underscores the importance of descriptive statistics as a means to getting insights into data quality and learn about the scale and distribution of different variables in a data set. The article emphasizes the need for assessing the sampling distributions of variables as a prerequisite to making decide on selection of appropriate statistical techniques for in a data set. It describes salient features of a normally distributed random variable and touches on some other probability distributions commonly used in epidemiological studies. The article also describes the central limit theorem highlighting salient points on its conceptual basis in understanding sampling distributions of sample means and the implications of using normal distribution to make inference about the population based on summary measures from a sufficiently large sample

La expresión escrita a partir del tratamiento del Inglés con fines específicos en la carrera de Estomatología / Writing skill through the handling of English for specific purposes in Dentistry pre-grade studies

Introducción: la enseñanza del idioma Inglés constituye un valioso instrumento de trabajo en la formación de los profesionales de la salud y el desarrollo de la expresión escrita es fundamental para el desempeño profesional del futuro egresado. Objetivo: desarrollar la expresión escrita a partir del tratamiento del inglés con fines específicos. Materiales y Métodos: se realizó una investigación que culminó con la aplicación de un pre-experimento pedagógico en la Filial Médica de Colón durante el período comprendido de septiembre de 2015 a junio del 2016. La muestra estuvo conformada por los 16 estudiantes que componen el 4to año de la carrera de Estomatología. Se emplearon métodos del nivel teórico y empírico como el analítico-sintético, inductivo-deductivo, revisión y análisis de documentos, observación, además de otras técnicas de obtención de la información directa y de procedimientos estadísticos. Resultados: el diagnóstico inicial del estado de la habilidad de escritura reveló que el 18,7 % de los estudiantes se ubicó en el nivel alto, el 50 % en el nivel medio y 31,2 % en el nivel bajo. La etapa de constatación mostró que el 68,7 %, 18,7 % y 12,5 % se ubicaron en los niveles alto, medio y bajo respectivamente evidenciándose un aumento considerable de estos indicadores. Conclusiones: el sistema de actividades contribuyó a desarrollar la expresión escrita al vincularse con la terminología de estomatología y demandar el empleo de funciones comunicativas y construcción textual en situaciones de su ámbito académico y ocupacional lo que favoreció el logro del objetivo trazado (AU).

Background: the English language teaching is a valuable working tool in health professionals training and the development of writing skills is very important for the professional performance of the future graduated. Aim: to develop the writing skills through the handling of English for specific purposes. Materials and Methods: a research that finished with the application of a pedagogical pre-experiment was carried out in the Matanzas Medical University branch of Colón from September 2015 to June 2016. The sample was made up by 16 4th-year Dentistry students. Several methods of the theoretical and empirical levels were used such as the analytical-synthetic one, the inductive-deductive, documents reviewing and analysis, observation, other techniques of gathering direct information and statistical procedures. Outcomes: the initial diagnosis of the writing skill revealed that 18,7 % of the students were in the high level, 50 % in the middle and 31,2 % in the low one. The assessment stage showed a 68,7 %, 18,7 % y 12,5 % of them in the high, middle and low levels respectively, evidencing a considerable increase of these indicators. Conclusions: the sistema of activities, contributed to develop the writing skill because it was linked to Dentistry terminology and required the usage of communicative functions and test structures in situations of the students' academic and occupational environment, favoring the achievement of the proposed objective (AU).

Suggestions for authors of medical articles / Sugestões para os autores de artigos médicos

ABSTRACT This manuscript is directed to those interested in writing medical articles. The author advises the use of certain conventions giving specific suggestions in homogenize the language of manuscripts whose purpose is their publication in specialized journals.

RESUMO Este manuscrito é dirigido aos interessados em escrever artigos médicos. O autor aconselha utilizar determinadas conveniências - sugestões pontuais - afim de homogeneizar a linguagem dos seus escritos cuja finalidade seja a publicação em periódicos especializados.