BeckerGuides: Tools for Authors: Preparing for Publication

Authorship Guidelines

Reporting of Research Guidelines

Equator Network Reporting Guidelines
Reporting guidelines are statements that provide advice on how to report research methods and findings. Usually in the form of a checklist, flow diagram or explicit text, they specify a minimum set of items required for a clear and transparent account of what was done and what was found in a research study, reflecting in particular issues that might introduce bias into the research. Reporting guidelines complement advice on scientific writing, which concentrates on the basic writing principles and styles of research reports and publications, and journals' instructions to authors.
Research Reporting Guidelines and Initiatives: By Organization
This chart lists the major biomedical research reporting guidelines that provide advice for reporting research methods and findings. They usually "specify a minimum set of items required for a clear and transparent account of what was done and what was found in a research study, reflecting, in particular, issues that might introduce bias into the research."

Recommendations for Authors: MeSH Terms for Your Title and Abstract

Do your title and abstract have MeSH terms or other controlled vocabulary? Why is this important? As of 2022, Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) are assigned to works published in MEDLINE-indexed journals using an automated indexing process. The automated indexing is based on an algorithm using the title and an abstract of the work to produce a list of MeSH terms.

Recommendation for Authors:

Formulate a clear title and abstract that contains at least one MeSH term.

Tools:

Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) Browser: The MeSH Browser allows for searching of MeSH terms.
MeSH on Demand: MeSH on Demand identifies MeSH terms in your submitted text (abstract or manuscript). MeSH on Demand also lists PubMed similar articles relevant to your submitted text.

For more information, see: Frequently Asked Questions about Indexing for MEDLINE.

Citation/Style Guides

AMA Manual of Style, 11th edition
Electronic full text. Access restricted to WU.
Citing Medicine, 2nd edition: The NLM Style Guide for Authors, Editors, and Publishers
Citing Your Sources and Citation Styles

WUSM Resources

The Writing Center at WU

The Writing Center and The Speaking Studio at Washington University in St. Louis provides free, one-on-one tutoring to all WU students and faculty for writing or public speaking projects.