Introduction
Yes, you can get published. You have probably considered this and possibly abandoned it due to an unknown difficulty or starting point. Maybe you’re sitting at your desk, eating your lunch, pondering a patient situation, and reading this blog, thinking you could do this. Well, here is some advice on getting those ideas you have been contemplating out of your head, onto the paper, and out into the world for discussion. Where do you start?
Be Curious
The origin of a good topic is your curiosity. Pay attention to what piques your curiosity and use that as a starting point for your topic. Perhaps you wonder why a patient didn’t respond as expected. Maybe you tried a different approach with a patient and found it successful. A conversation with a colleague may have left you with unanswered questions. As a clinician, examining the effects of your treatment choices on patient outcomes contributes to our body of knowledge. Patients bring us questions about treatments they have read about or seen online. Any of these can be the foundation of a solid publication because of your passionate interest and personal connection.
Stay in Your Lane Part One: The Topic
Stick with what you know. Start with a topic that interests you but also sits within your comfort zone. Writing on a less familiar topic will be a struggle, especially for those new to writing for publication. Challenging topics outside your wheelhouse can make writing a burden, and your work may never leave your computer. A big question may need to be sized down to be manageable. You can certainly lean into new areas to stretch your knowledge and expertise; just don’t overstretch on your first publication attempts.1
Find Your Format
Pick a format for your publication that aligns with your interests. Perhaps it’s an interesting case study that you could submit to Orthopaedic Physical Therapy Practice (OPTP) or JOSPT Cases.2 An unusual imaging finding could be important to share. Maybe it’s writing an educational piece for local or regional media and the general public. It might be writing for this blog! Remember that Rome was not built in a day, nor was a randomized controlled trial done overnight. Large research projects are often the culmination of smaller projects that lead to the final question under study. Whether or not this is an eventual goal of yours, decide what the first publication might be and match it to the format.
Stay in Your Lane Part Two: Use of Evidence
This is where the three legs of evidence-based practice meet. Depending upon your chosen format, the primary legs may be research evidence and provider experience. However, patient preferences may play a part as well.3 Your topic will drive the search for evidence, but before that first PubMed® search, ensure that you have citation management software to capture and organize your literature. In addition to organizing your literature, this software also eases the formatting of in text citations and reference lists when you begin writing. Many citation management programs are available, from paid subscriptions like EndNote™ to free open-source options such as Zotero™. Remember that you are seeking evidence to support or provide rationale for your topic.4 Avoid extending evidence beyond what the research methods support. Beware of confirmation bias, where evidence is chosen or interpreted to support existing beliefs. Not only is this a misuse of research, but editors are keen on this, and you will find your paper quickly returned to you.5
Stay in Your Lane Part Three: Make an Outline
You have done your literature search and captured it in a citation management program. Now what? Make an outline! A word of advice: don’t skip this part. While many think of creating outlines as middle school work, a solid outline will achieve a plethora of benefits. A well-constructed outline will show you the bones of your writing…does it make sense? Is the knee bone connected to the thigh bone or to the elbow? The structure of your outline can tell you if the organization makes sense and if you have maintained a through line from start to finish. A good outline also keeps you in your lane; literature searches often lead us down rabbit holes that are very interesting and tempting for curious individuals. You may find yourself far astray from your original idea, and too invested to abandon it. The outline can keep you heading in the intended direction. Finally, an outline makes it easy to stop writing and pick it up again, as you know where you are in the writing process.
Start Writing!
Start somewhere; no one says you have to start at the beginning. Start where you are comfortable writing. As long as you stick to your outline, the through line should remain, connecting ideas and concepts throughout the paper. Let your voice come through while keeping clear what research evidence is and what ideas come from other evidence domains.6 Like every other skill, writing well comes with practice so don’t expect perfection on a first draft.1 Keep working at it even if only a few minutes every day. Seek mentorship for feedback as needed.7 Expect revisions; this is a typical step in the process and should not discourage you from continuing your pursuit of publication. Persistence and a growth mindset will see you through to that first of many publications!
References
- Grogan KE. Writing Science: What Makes Scientific Writing Hard and How to Make it Easier. The Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America. 2020;102(1):e01800. doi:https://doi.org/10.1002/bes2.1800
- JOSPT Cases. Website. Movement Science Media. Accessed November 21, 2024, 2024. https://www.jospt.org/josptcases
- Djulbegovic B, Guyatt GH. Progress in evidence-based medicine: a quarter century on. Lancet. Jul 22 2017;390(10092):415-423. doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(16)31592-6
- Castagnetti M, Herbst KW, Bagli D, et al. EBM II: How to perform a literature search. J Pediatr Urol. May 2019;15(3):268-269. doi:10.1016/j.jpurol.2019.03.006
- Pierson CA. Avoiding ethics pitfalls in publishing: a perspective from COPE. Oral Dis. May 2017;23(4):416-419. doi:10.1111/odi.12539
- Lingard L, Watling C. The writer's voice repertoire: Exploring how health researchers accomplish a distinctive 'voice' in their writing. Med Educ. May 2024;58(5):523-534. doi:10.1111/medu.15298
- Li G, Jin Y, Mbuagbaw L, et al. Enhancing research publications and advancing scientific writing in health research collaborations: sharing lessons learnt from the trenches. J Multidiscip Healthc. 2018;11:245-254. doi:10.2147/jmdh.S152681
Author declares no conflicts of interest.
Author Bio
Lori Thein Brody is a professor at Rocky Mountain University of Health Professions, teaching primarily in the writing and evidence based practice sequence, and a clinician at UW Health in Madison, WI. Along with Carrie Hall, she co-authored Therapeutic Exercise: Moving Toward Function, and co-edited Aquatic Exercise for Rehabilitation and Training with Paula Geigle. She is committed to patient education through her clinical work, and public education through a monthly call in show on Wisconsin Public Radio with Jill Thein-Nissenbaum. She is the 2019 recipient of the Hartgraves Award for Excellence in Teaching from Rocky Mountain University of Health Professions.