The Translator's Role in Creating and Submitting Translated Papers for Publication
R. Breugelmans, J.P. Barron
15 May 2002
The presentation focused on the various ways in which translators can work to help authors increase the likelihood of manuscripts being accepted for publication, both in terms of creating a high-quality English manuscript, and assisting the author with other aspects of paper submission.
Following is an outline of the talk.
Peer review
The author submits the manuscript to a journal
The editor sends the manuscript to 2 or 3 authorities in the field for scientific review
On the basis of the referees’ recommendations, the editor decides to accept or reject the manuscript, or ask the author for a revision
If necessary, the author revises and re-submits the manuscript
The editor makes a final decision on acceptance (sometimes after an additional review)
Impact factor
Impact factor: ratio between citations and recent citable items published
2002 impact factor of Journal A =
number of 2002 citations to 2000-2001 papers in A
total number of papers in A in 2000-2001
Higher impact factor = stricter review
Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals
The “Uniform Requirements” are instructions to authors on how to prepare manuscripts.
If authors prepare their manuscripts in the style specified in these requirements, editors of participating journals will not return the manuscripts for changes in style before considering them for publication.
Authors sending manuscripts to a participating journal should not try to prepare them in accordance with the publication style of that journal but should follow the “Uniform Requirements”.
5th edition published in the New England Journal of Medicine in 1997
Available on the website of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors www.icmje.org
500+ participating journals
Summary of technical requirements
Double space all parts of manuscripts
Begin each section or component on a new page
Review the sequence: title page, abstract and key words, text, acknowledgments, references, tables (each on separate page), legends
Illustrations, unmounted prints, should be no larger than 203 x 254 mm
Include permission to reproduce previously published material or to use illustrations that may identify human subjects
Enclose transfer of copyright and other forms
Submit required number of paper copies
Keep copies of everything submitted
Preparation of the manuscript
Sections
Introduction
Methods
Results
Discussion
A4 paper with margins of at least 25 mm
Double spacing throughout
Number pages
Title page
Concise but informative title
The name by which each author is known, with his or her highest academic degree(s) and institutional affiliation
The name of the department(s) and institution(s) to which the work should be attributed
Disclaimers, if any
Name and address of the corresponding author
Name and address of the author to whom requests for reprints should be addressed
Source(s) of support in the form of grants, equipment, drugs, or all of these
Short running head or footline of no more than 40 characters at the foot of the title page
Abstract
Length
Unstructured: no more than 150 words
Structured: no more than 250 words
The abstract should state
purposes of the study or investigation
basic procedures
main findings
principal conclusions
Emphasize new and important aspects of the study or observations
Key words
Below the abstract
3 to 10 key words or short phrases
Terms from the Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) list of Index Medicus
Introduction
State the purpose of the article
Summarize the rationale for the study or observation
Give only strictly pertinent references
Methods
Describe:
Subjects
Apparatus
Procedures
Drugs and chemicals
Give sufficient detail to allow other workers to reproduce the results
Ethics: Do not use patients' names, initials, or hospital numbers
Results
Present the results in logical sequence in the text, tables, and illustrations
Avoid repetition
Discussion
Emphasize the new and important aspects of the study and the conclusions that follow from them
Avoid repetition from other sections
Link the conclusions with the goals of the study
Avoid unqualified statements and conclusions not completely supported by the data
Acknowledgments
Contributions that need acknowledging but do not justify authorship, such as general support by a departmental chair
Acknowledgments of technical help
Acknowledgments of financial and material support, which should specify the nature of the support
Relationships that may pose a conflict of interest
References
Number references consecutively in the order in which they are first mentioned in the text
Identify references in the text, tables, and legends by Arabic numerals in parentheses
Use the style used by the NLM in Index Medicus
The most common criticisms from referees
The paper as a whole
No double spacing throughout
Title page
Title too long
Title does not adequately reflect the content of the paper
Author contact info is incomplete
Abstract
Abstract too long
Inappropriate format
Structured
Unstructured
Key words are missing, or too many
Introduction
Introduction too long
Too many references
Materials and methods
Absence or lack of suitable controls
Inappropriate statistical methods
Patient privacy
Results
Explanation of the figures etc. duplicates sections of the main text
Figures do not reflect the explanation in the text
Discussion
Discussion is too long
Difficult to understand
No new information
Conclusion is unclear
Speculation presented as fact
References
Wrong order
Order of appearance
Alphabetical order
We examined eight cases who presented between 1985 and 1993 with hepatitis.
-->
We examined eight patients who presented between 1985 and 1993 with hepatitis.
The patient is not a case; a case is an instance of a disease
Two patients were diagnosed with adenoid cystic carcinoma of the paranasal sinuses.
-->
Adenoid cystic carcinoma of the paranasal sinuses was diagnosed in two patients.
Patients are not diagnosed with a disease; diseases are diagnosed in patients
Postoperatively, the patient was administered indomethacin at a dose of 100 mg once daily for a month.
-->
Postoperatively, indomethacin was administered to the patient at a dose of 100 mg once daily for a month.
Patients are not administered a drug; drugs are administered to patients
During follow-up, 25 of 42 patients developed hepatocellular carcinoma.
-->
During follow-up, hepatocellular carcinoma developed in 25 of 42 patients.
Patients do not develop a disease; diseases develop in patients
Females are slightly more often affected than males.
-->
Women are slightly more often affected than men.
Adult patients (18 years and older) are ‘men’ and ‘women’
Adolescents (13-17 years) are ‘adolescent boys’ and ‘adolescent girls’
Children (1-12 years) are ‘boys’ and ‘girls’
Medline and text analysis software
PubMed
Online retrieval service providing access to MEDLINE and other related databases.
Developed by the US National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) at the National Library of Medicine (NLM).
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi
MEDLINE
Database containing bibliographic citations and author abstracts from 4,300+ current biomedical journals published in the United States and 70 other countries
Currently 11 million records dating from 1966 to present.
Approximately 76% of MEDLINE records include abstracts as they appear in the journal.
Strengths of PubMed as a translator’s tool
Huge database of “real-life” medical English accepted for publication
Free of charge
Available online
Weaknesses of PubMed as a translator’s tool
Designed to return as many hits as possible that are relevant for the researcher (but not necessarily for the translator) through a process called “Automatic Term Mapping”
Concordancing software
Corpus linguistics is a branch of linguistics that aims to explore the meanings and uses of words in authentic contexts of use.
Concordancing refers to a search through an entire corpus to produce a list of all the instances of a chosen word or words in their contexts.
TXTANA
Windows
Shareware
MonoConc
Macintosh
Shareware
Style manuals
AMA Manual of Style
Chicago Manual of Style
CBE Scientific Style and Format
Dictionaries
Stedman’s Medical Dictionary (E/E CD-ROM)
Stedman’s Medical Dictionary (E/J CD-ROM)
Stedman’s Word Books
Medical & Surgical Equipment Words
Abbreviations, Acronyms & Symbols
Radiology & Oncology Words
Pathology & Lab Medicine Words
Surgery Words etc.
25 万語医学用語大辞典 EJ/JE (e-book)
The Merck Manual of Medical Information
Online Home Edition
Correct understanding of instructions to authors
Instructions to authors of major journals:
http://www.mco.edu/lib/instr/libinsta.htmlRecommending referees
Interpreting the review
Preventing a second review