: The paper are the main way of publishing the results of studies, and is also one of the important professional communication way. What should be paid attention to in completing a high-quality paper?
Dr Garcia-Tsao: It is not so much about the paper, but the study that leads to the publication of the paper. The first thing you need to have is a properly designed and conducted trial. Once you have a proper trial with good results, then the aim is to write the paper in the most concise, simple way that conveys the objective of the study, the hypothesis proposed by the study, and describes the methods and results in a very clear way and then concludes with a discussion. If the paper is very clear and carries an important message, then this is what leads to publication in high-impact journals.
《国际肝病》:在选择投稿期刊方面,您对中国青年研究者有哪些建议?
: Would you like share your experience with young researchers in China about choosing the journal?
Garcia-Tsao教授:依据研究的某个特点,选择杂志。例如,如果是一个多中心、随机、安慰剂对照试验,纳入了大量的患者,如果药物分析表明具有统计学意义而且将据此改变医疗实践,这时候可以选择一个影响力高的杂志,如《新英格兰医学杂志》(New England Journal of Medicine)。如果是前瞻性试验,揭示疾病机制或证实一种新药,可能改变医疗实践,这时候可以选择一个中等影响力杂志。如果研究仅仅是描述性的,没有机制但是有一个重要的观察报告,这时候可以选择一个低影响力的杂志。
Dr Garcia-Tsao: Depending on certain characteristics of the study, one can choose the journal. For example, if it is a multicenter, randomized, placebo-controlled trial that includes a large number of patients where the drug, for example, being analyzed is significantly different and is going to change the practice of medicine, then you choose a high-impact journal, such as the New England Journal of Medicine. If you have prospective trials that show a mechanism of disease or demonstrates a new drug that could potentially change the practice of medicine, then you could choose a medium-impact journal. If you have a study that is merely descriptive, with no mechanism but an important observation, then choose a low-impact journal.
You always have to remember who your audience is. Who is going to be reading these papers? You need to understand who reads the New England Journal of Medicine, for instance. This is a journal for internal medicine topics and interests, so if your study is a high-impact report concerning internal medicine, then the NEJM is a good option. If it is a basic science study, you might choose Nature, for example. In hepatology specifically, your target audience is hepatologists in basic science and in clinical practice. If the paper has to do with surgery, it is not going to fit well in a hepatology journal.