Transcript Abstract writing workshop

Abstract writing clinic
"I didn't have time to write a short letter, so I wrote
a long one instead." - Mark Twain
March 13, 2008
UBC Family Practice
Janusz Kaczorowski, Colleen
Kirkham, Ian Martin, Marisa Collins
Overview
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Abstracts: An overview (30 min)
CFP & 2008 conferences (10 min)
Break (10 min)
Hands-on abstract clinic (60 min)
Large-group presentations (40 min)
What is an abstract
• A mini paper
• One paragraph
• Describes what you are going to discuss,
present or write about
• Gives reader an overview of your project
• Source of new ideas
• Gets reader interested (to attend your
presentation at a conference or read your
paper)
Why abstracts are important?
• Abstract is the most important part of an
article because it is the only part of an
article that many people read (apart
from your TITLE)
• Abstract is also important because it is
the only part of an article that many
journals will make freely accessible
through search engines (PubMed)
Why structured abstract?
• To force authors to provide basic
information that readers need
• To impose structure to help readers
evaluate whether an article is
methodologically sound and applicable
to their needs
• To improve the retrieval of literature in
electronic searches
Elements of structured
abstract
• Depending on the discipline, journal or
conference, anywhere from 4 to 10 elements
• Word limit (50 to 400 words)
• Objective, Methods, Results, Conclusion
• Background, Objective, Design, Setting,
Patients, Intervention, Measurements and
Main Results, Limitations, and Conclusion
• Key words
• Good title
Title
• One of the most-read parts of a paper/article
• Ideally 10–12 words long
• Include the scope of the investigation, the
study design and the goal
• A description of what was investigated -- not
the results or conclusions
• Easy to understand
• Avoid jargon or unfamiliar acronyms or
abbreviations
Examples of good titles (BMJ,
CMAJ, JAMA)
• Birth order of twins and risk of perinatal death
related to delivery in England, Northern
Ireland, and Wales, 1994-2003: retrospective
cohort study
• Interventions to improve water quality for
preventing diarrhoea: systematic review and
meta-analysis
• Anticoagulation for three versus six months in
patients with deep vein thrombosis or
pulmonary embolism, or both: randomised
trial
More good titles
• Comparison of the Atkins, Zone, Ornish, and
LEARN Diets for Change in Weight and Related
Risk Factors Among Overweight Premenopausal
Women. The A TO Z Weight Loss Study: A
Randomized Trial
• Alcohol consumption and the use of
antidepressants
• Anxiety Disorders in Primary Care: Prevalence,
Impairment, Comorbidity, and Detection
• Susceptibility to Measles, Mumps, and Rubella in
Newly Arrived Adult Immigrants and Refugees
Authors
• The list of authors should be restricted to
those individuals who actually carried out the
study, conceived it, designed it, gathered
and/or analyzed the data, and wrote the
abstract
• The author who will present the abstract
should be listed first
• Every listed author should read and approve
the abstract before it is submitted
• Make sure that you put it in your CV!
Abstract: 5 key questions
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Why did you start?
What did you try to do?
What did you do?
What did you find?
What does it mean?
Why did you start (introduction
/ background / context)
• BACKGROUND: Summarize, in one
sentence, the current state of knowledge in
relation to the work you are presenting:
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BACKGROUND: The Canadian and American Diabetes Associations
recommend the use of an oral glucose tolerance test to screen for
abnormal glucose tolerance among women with polycystic ovary
syndrome when their fasting plasma glucose level is 5.7 mmol/L or
more (Canadian guideline) and 5.6 mmol/L or more (American).
BACKGROUND: Exenatide therapy is effective in combination with
metformin or sulfonylureas for treating type 2 diabetes.
Thiazolidinediones (TZDs) also are commonly used, but the efficacy of
exenatide with a TZD has not been reported.
BACKGROUND: The rate of elective primary cesarean delivery
continues to rise, owing in part to the widespread perception that the
procedure is of little or no risk to healthy women.
What did you try to do (aims /
objectives)
• OBJECTIVE: State the aim of your study or
question (including hypothesis)
• OBJECTIVE: To compare the effects of exenatide
versus placebo on glycemic control
• OBJECTIVE: To develop a typology of after-hours
care (AHC) instructions and to examine physician
and practice characteristics associated with each
type of instruction.
• OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effectiveness of a
parenting programme as a preventive intervention
with parents of preschool children considered to be
at risk of developing conduct disorder.
What did you do (Methods I)
• DESIGN: Describe the basic design of your
study. Use descriptors such as double blind,
placebo controlled RCT, cohort, case control,
survey, case series, cost-effectiveness analysis,
focus groups or key inormant interview
• DESIGN: Pragmatic randomised controlled trial
using a block design with allocation by area.
• DESIGN: Cross-sectional telephone survey.
• DESIGN: Non-participant observation of 886
antenatal consultations. 383 in depth interviews
with women using maternity services and health
professionals providing antenatal care.
What did you do (Methods II)
• SETTING: Describe setting of your study
(academic or community family practice,
hospital, ED)
• SETTING: Women's homes; antenatal and
ultrasound clinics in 13 maternity units in
Wales.
• SETTING: 49 sites in Canada, Spain, and the
United States.
• SETTING: Six family-practice health centres
in Kuwait.
What did you do (Methods III)
• PARTICIPANTS: State key eligibility criteria
and key sociodemographic characteristics of
participants. Provide numbers of participants
and how they were selected.
• PARTICPANTS:233 (exenatide group, n = 121;
placebo group, n = 112) patients with type 2 diabetes
that was suboptimally controlled with TZD treatment
(with or without metformin). Mean (±SE) baseline
glycated hemoglobin A1c level was 7.9% ± 0.1%.
• PARTICIPANTS: Stratified random sample of family
physicians providing office-based primary care.
• PARTICPANTS: Childbearing women and health
professionals who provide antenatal care.
What did you do (Methods IV)
• INTERVENTION/INSTRUMENT: Describe
key features of your intervention, if
applicable.
• INTERVENTION: Provision of 10 pairs of
Informed Choice leaflets for service users and
staff and a training session in their use.
• INTERVENTION: Subcutaneous abdominal
injections of 10 µg of exenatide or placebo twice
daily, added to a TZD (with or without metformin)
for 16 weeks.
• INTERVENTION: Behavioral group counseling
and 8 weeks of therapy with nicotine nasal spray
What did you do (Methods V)
• MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES (if applicable):
Describe primary outcome measures
• MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The primary
outcome was change from baseline in hemoglobin
A1c level. Other outcomes were fasting serum
glucose level, body weight, self-monitored blood
glucose level, and any adverse events.
• MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Participants' views
and commonly observed responses during
consultations and interviews.
• MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Form of response
(eg, answering machine), content of message, and
physician and practice characteristics.
What did you find (Results)
• RESULTS: Give main results of your
study. If research is in progress, state
anticipated results.
Results (RCT)
• RESULTS: Exenatide treatment reduced hemoglobin A1c
level (mean difference, –0.98% [95% CI, –1.21% to –
0.74%]), serum fasting glucose level (mean difference, –
1.69 mmol/L [–30.5 mg/dL] [CI, –2.22 to –1.17 mmol/L {–
40.0 to –21.1 mg/dL}]), and body weight (mean difference,
–1.51 kg [CI, –2.15 to –0.88 kg]). Sixteen percent of
patients in the exenatide group and 2% of patients in the
placebo group discontinued treatment because of adverse
events. In the exenatide group, 40% (n = 48) of patients
experienced nausea (mostly mild [n = 21] or moderate [n
= 19]), 13% experienced vomiting, and 11% experienced
hypoglycemia. In the placebo group, 15% of patients
experienced nausea, 1% experienced vomiting, and 7%
experienced hypoglycemia.
RESULTS (Survey)
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RESULTS: Of 514 after-hours messages from family physicians’
offices, 421 were obtained from answering machines, 58 were
obtained from answering services, 23 had no answer, 2 gave pager
numbers, and 10 had other responses. Message content ranged
from no AHC instructions to detailed advice; 54% of messages
provided a single instruction, and the rest provided a combination
of instructions. Content analysis identified 815 discrete instructions
or types of response that were classified into 7 categories: 302
instructed patients to go to an emergency department; 122
provided direct contact with a physician; 115 told patients to go to a
clinic; 94 left no directions; 76 suggested calling a housecall
service; 45 suggested calling Telehealth; and 61 suggested other
things. About 22% of messages only advised attending an
emergency department, and 18% gave no advice at all. Physicians
who were female, had Canadian certification in family medicine,
held hospital privileges, or had attended a Canadian medical
school were more likely to be directly available to their patients.
RESULTS (Qualitative)
• RESULTS: Health professionals were positive about the leaflets
and their potential to assist women in making informed choices,
but competing demands within the clinical environment
undermined their effective use. Time pressures limited
discussion, and choice was often not available in practice. A
widespread belief that technological intervention would be
viewed positively in the event of litigation reinforced notions of
"right" and "wrong" choices rather than "informed" choices.
Hierarchical power structures resulted in obstetricians defining
the norms of clinical practice and hence which choices were
possible. Women's trust in health professionals ensured their
compliance with professionally defined choices, and only rarely
were they observed asking questions or making alternative
requests. Midwives rarely discussed the contents of the leaflets
or distinguished them from other literature related to pregnancy.
The visibility and potential of the leaflets as evidence based
decision aids was thus greatly reduced.
RESULTS (anticipated)
• RESULTS: It is anticipated that the post MI
group will suffer significantly more guilt than
the risk factor group as a result of life style
choices, age, and sex.
• RESULTS: The findings from this study will
identify the behavioral, social and cultural
factors that facilitate or hinder the cancerscreening behavior among Japanese adults,
and lead to the development of a new
culturally appropriate model that could be
utilized to facilitate cancer screening among
the Japanese people.
What does it mean
(Conclusions)
• CONCLUSIONS: Report only those
conclusions that are directly supported by
your results, along with any implications for
clinical practice.
• CONCLUSIONS: Exenatide therapy improved glycemic
control, reduced body weight, and caused gastrointestinal
symptoms more than placebo in patients with type 2 diabetes
that was suboptimally controlled with TZD therapy.
• CONCLUSIONS: The way in which the leaflets were
disseminated affected promotion of informed choice in
maternity care. The culture into which the leaflets were
introduced supported existing normative patterns of care and
this ensured informed compliance rather than informed
choice.
Same general advice
• Follow the instructions! (you want to be
rejected on content and not on
technicality)
• Use simple sentences
• Stay away from abbreviations,
acronyms and jargon
• Have someone read your abstract
Characteristics of a good
abstract
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Accurate
Self-contained
Concise and specific
Coherent and readable
Write with a non specialist in mind
Different points should be emphasized
proportionally with that of the main body
of the paper/study
CFP guidelines (abstracts)
• Quantitative research
– Abstracts should be structured:
• Objective, Design, Setting, Participants,
Interventions, Main outcome measures,
Results, and Conclusion and should not exceed
300 words. Up to four key words (MeSH
headings) should be included
CFP guidelines (abstracts)
• Qualitative studies
– Abstract should include the headings
Objective, Design, Setting, Participants,
Method, Main findings, and Conclusion and
should not exceed 300 words. Up to four
key words (MeSH headings) should be
included
CFP guidelines (abstracts)
• Systematic reviews
– Abstracts should be structured under the
headings Objective, Data sources, Study
selection, Synthesis, and Conclusion and
should not exceed 300 words. Up to four
keywords (MeSH headings) should be
included
Family medicine conferences
• NAPCRG - North American Primary
Research Group
• Annual Conference (Oct/Nov:
USA/Canada)
• 600-800 attendees (most of whom are
also presenters)
• NAPCRG 2008: Puerto Rico, Nov 15-19
NAPCRG 2008
• Great opportunity to attend & present at
THE family medicine research
conference
• Membership + registration
– Family physicians = $725
– Residents = $255
Abstract instructions (NAPCRG)
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Context: The abstract should begin with a sentence or two summarizing the rationale for the study,
providing the clinical (or other) reason for the study question. In addition, the author should give a sentence
or two about the importance of this work to family medicine/primary care.
Objective: State the objective or study question addressed (eg, to determine whether...). If more than one
objective is addressed, the main objective should be indicated and only key secondary objectives stated.
Design: Describe the basic design of the study. Use descriptors such as double blind, placebo controlled
RCT, cohort, case control, survey, case series, cost-effectiveness analysis, or qualitative study. For new
analyses of existing data sets (secondary data analysis), the data set should be named and the basic study
design disclosed.
Setting: Describe the study setting(s) such as general community, a primary care or referral center, private
or institutional practice, or ambulatory or hospitalized care.
Patients or Other Participants: State the important eligibility (inclusion and exclusion) criteria and key
sociodemographic features of patients. Provide numbers of participants and how they were selected.
Intervention/Instrument (as pertinent): Describe the essential features of any interventions. The
intervention should be named by its most common clinical name (eg, the nonproprietary drug name
propranolol).
Main and Secondary Outcome Measures (if any): Give the primary study outcome measurements.
Measurements that require explanation for a general medical readership should be defined.
Results: Give the main results of the study. The results should be quantified, including confidence intervals
(eg, 95%) or P values where appropriate. If research is in progress, state anticipated results.
Conclusions: Report only those conclusions of the study that are directly supported by the evidence, along
with any implications for clinical practice. Avoid speculation and overgeneralization. Equal emphasis should
be given to positive and negative findings of equal scientific merit. If research is in progress, state
methodological or conceptual problem that is being posed.
Word count: Maximum 300
Family Medicine Forum 2008
• Toronto, Nov 27-29 2008
• Research day: Nov 26
• Deadline for research posters and
papers: April 2, 2008
FMF 2008
• When writing your abstract, it is suggested
that you follow the format described in
‘guidelines for articles’ at the Canadian
Family Physician journal Webpage at
http://www.cfpc.ca/cfp/authors/guidelines.asp
• The word count is 175 for all abstracts
(except qualitative, quantitative and survey
research abstracts, for which the word count
is 300)
Hands-on clinic
• Form 4 groups of 3-4 individuals
• Each group will be assigned 3-4 abstracts
• Work as a group ~10-15 minutes on each
abstract
• Present revised abstracts to the larger group
• Share your written comments/edits with the
author(s)
• Poster preparation workshop (Fall 2008)?