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Thesis and Publication Style

Statistical Editor, Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, 1987–2005.

Editorial Board member and Statistical Editor for the Journal of the American Dental Association, 2013–present.

Statistical Reviewer for the Journal of Periodontology,1990–1993, 1998–present.

Co-author on over 184 refereed journal articles and 4 books.See: Pubmed.org, or ResearchGate.net

Overview

It’s easier to do things right the first time.(Rather than fixing a mess at the end.)

Follow the instructions.(Really.)

www.phdcomics.com/comics/archive.php?comicid=178

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Scientific Writing

“Readers do not simply read; they interpret” Readers take clues from a publication’s structure to make interpretive decisions

“Information is interpreted more easily and more uniformly if it is placed where most readers expect to find it.”

GD Gopen & JA Swan “The science of scientific writing” American Scientist, 1990.

Thesis = Journal style Sandwiched inside Grad School style

Grad School– Overall style– “preliminary pages”: ETD form, Copyright, Title, Ack., ToC, LoT, LoF

– Appendices, Vita Journal

– Abstract– Main body– References – Tables & Figures

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Grad School Style

www.graduate.vcu.edu/media/graduate-school/docs/pdf/ThesisandDissertationManual.pdf

Margins? Spacing? Page numbers?

Journal Style

Journal of Endodontics– www.jendodon.com

Pediatric Dentistry– www.ingentaconnect.com/content/aapd/pd

Journal of Periodontology– http://www.joponline.org

American Journal of Orthodontics & Dentofacial Orthopedics– www.ajodo.org

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Journals: Sections Introduction

– Background, “empty”, Literature review Methods

– Materials and Methods Results

– Findings Discussion

– Summary References

– Literature cited, Bibliography Also note: is the first line indented?

Journal: Typeface

What does VCU say? Journals:

– Heading 1, Heading 2– Body text Spacing?

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JOE

PedDent

JPerio

AJODO

JOE

PedDent

JPerio

AJODO

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Tables

The reference in text– (Table 1), (see Table 1)

On the (bottom of the) page or at the end (of the document)?

JPerio

AJODO (roman!)

JOE

PedDent

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Figures

Reference in text Typeface? Border? Caption or commentary? Graph above or below text?

JPerio

AJODO

JOE

PedDent

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MSWord: Step 0 How the GUI (graphical user interface) works

on all computers Think of the things you see as containers (nouns),

that can be acted on (with verbs) to change their characteristics (adjectives)

Objects use Methods to change Properties– Every Object has default Properties– Select the Object and choose a Method

to change a Property Examples: A MSWord paragraph uses keyboarding

to enter textClicking a Menu or on a Ribbon changes the selected location/letter/word/line/paragraph/section

MSWord: Step 1

Learn how to use this tool Video training

– office.microsoft.com/en-us/support/training-FX101782702.aspx

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Training courses for Word Create accessible Word documentsCreate Word 2010 documents that are more accessible to people with disabilities. Learn how to format your document using Styles, add alternative text to images, and other tips to make your document easier for users and assistive technologies to navigate.

Create your first Word document IIPart two of the “Create your first Word 2010 document” series for those who are new to Word. Learn to move around in the document, use formatting marks, move text by using Cut and Paste, and change line spacing and alignment in Word. Create and customize a table of contentsCreate a table of contents (TOC) in Word. Prepare document headings so that Word will generate the TOC automatically, and customize the look and settings for the TOC.

What’s Normal?

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Notes ONE space after a period to end a sentence. Use paragraph settings to go to a new page.

(NOT, by adding a blank paragraph using the Enter key.) Or by adding a

Page Break from the Page Layout ribbon

Captions and Cross-referencesAdd a caption On the References tab, in the Captions

group, click Insert Caption. In the Label list, select the label that best describes the

object, such as a table or figure, and then click OK. Type any text, including punctuation, that you want to

appear after the label.Add a cross-reference In the Captions group,

click Cross-Reference. Choose the reference type,

Only label and number,Select which caption.

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TOC, LoT, LoF

The Table of Contents is built automatically from the Styles: Heading 1, Heading 2, …

The List of Tables is built automatically from the Captions identified as Table

The List of Figure is built automatically from the Captions identified as Figure

These are Fields that can be updated manually (right-click)

Don’t Reinvent the Wheel

Get a previous resident’s Thesis with “good bones”– Grad School “front matter” ending with a section

break– IMRD (heading 1)– Style=Normal paragraphs– Style=Caption for Table and Figure heads

Keep the containers, replace the content

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AuthorshipThe ICMJE recommends that authorship be based on the following 4 criteria:1. Substantial contributions to the conception or design of

the work; or the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data for the work; AND

2. Drafting the work or revising it critically for important intellectual content; AND

3. Final approval of the version to be published; AND4. Agreement to be accountable for all aspects of the work.All those designated as authors should meet all four criteria for authorship, and all who meet the four criteria should be identified as authors. Those who do not meet all four criteria should be acknowledged