Four common fatal mistakes when writing a paper: No. 3

My many years of editing experience have led me to identify four very common and unfortunately fatal mistakes that scientists and physicians make when they write their paper. These mistakes are so serious that you risk immediate rejection if you make even just one of them. Here I will describe one of these mistakes and show how you can avoid it.

FATAL MISTAKE 3: Not openly disclosing that your study is confirming/testing the findings of another study

Example: murine study on a new angiotension-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor in chronic kidney disease.

Introduction: “Several studies have shown that ACE inhibitors in CKD are effective [refs 5,6,8]”

Discussion: “A study similar to ours showed that [the new ACEi] is also effective for CKD [ref 5].”          

Why is this a serious error?

Because it is annoying for a reviewer to find near the end of the paper that the study is not novel. In addition, confirmatory studies are an important part of science and are increasingly being respected as such: don't hide the confirmatory nature of your study.

How can you avoid this mistake?

After writing your paper, ask yourself: have I made it absolutely clear that my study aimed to test the reliability of the results of another similar study in:

Abstract

Introduction

Discussion

Conclusion