Artificial intelligence ChatGPT in ophthalmology and scientific writing / 国际眼科杂志(Guoji Yanke Zazhi)

ChatGPT is a large language models(LLMs)that uses deep learning techniques to produce human-like responses to natural language inputs. It belongs to the family of generative pre-training transformer(GPT)models currently publicly available developed by OpenAI in November 2022. ChatGPT is capable of capturing the nuances and intricacies of human language, generating appropriate and contextually relevant responses. It can assist medical professionals in various tasks, such as research, diagnosis, patient monitoring, and medical education, from identifying research programs to assisting in clinical and laboratory diagnosis, to know new developments in their fields and scientific writing. ChatGPT has also attracted increasing attention and widely used in ophthalmology. However, the use of ChatGPT and other artificial intelligence tools in such tasks comes now with several limitations, ethical and legal concerns, such as credibility, plagiarism, copyright infringement, and biases. Future research can focus on developing new methods to mitigate these limitations while harnessing the benefits of ChatGPT in medicine and related aspects.

Guide for scientific writing: how to avoid common mistakes in a scientific article / Um guia de escrita científica: como evitar erros comuns em um artigo científico

Backgroung: scientific writing is a process requiring dedication, knowledge, and skills from different scientific fields. However, the authors, especially young people starting graduate studies and scientific careers, are likely to make some mistakes when writing, which often goes unnoticed. Objective: This study describes common mistakes in scientific writing and how to avoid them. Methods: Mistakes can occur in the writing process before and during the act of writing, as many authors are not familiar with or skip important steps to be considered beforehand. To prepare the manuscript, it is essential that authors master the study subject matter and that research results are supported. Results: During writing, the author often misuses the necessary items in each section, losing the logical sense of research data and making the article difficult to read. Before the writing process begins, it is, therefore, necessary to plan each paragraph and use textual techniques that ensure cohesion and coherence between paragraphs. Conclusion: This study describes the main mistakes in the process of writing scientific articles, aiming at improving techniques, optimizing researchers' time to develop an appropriate, clear, and elegant text.

Introdução: a escrita científica é um processo que exige dedicação, conhecimento e habilidades de diferentes áreas científicas. No entanto, os autores, principalmente os jovens que iniciam a pós-graduação e a carreira científica, estão propensos a cometerem alguns erros ao escrever e que muitas vezes pode passar despercebido. Objetivo: Neste sentido, este estudo objetiva descrever erros comuns na redação científica e técnicas de como evitá-los. Erros podem ocorrer no processo de escrita antes e durante o ato de escrever, pois muitos autores não estão familiarizados com a escrita científica ou pulam etapas importantes a que deveriam ser consideradas anteriormente. Método: Para preparar o manuscrito é essencial que os autores dominem a temática do estudo e que os resultados da pesquisa sejam suportados pela literatura científica. Resultados: Durante a redação, muitas vezes o autor faz uso equivocado dos itens necessários em cada seção do artigo, perdendo o sentido lógico dos resultados da pesquisa e dificultando a leitura do texto. Antes de iniciar o processo de redação, é necessário, portanto, planejar cada parágrafo e utilizar técnicas textuais que garantam coesão e coerência entre os parágrafos. Conclusão: este estudo descreve os principais erros no processo de redação de artigos científicos, visando aprimorar técnicas, otimizando o tempo dos pesquisadores para desenvolver um texto adequado, claro e elegante.

Actividades de superación profesional en el Centro Provincial de Información de Ciencias Médicas Guantánamo / Professional development activities at the Centro Provincial de Información de Ciencias Médicas Guantánamo

Introducción: La superación profesional constituye un conjunto de procesos de enseñanza- aprendizaje que posibilitan a los graduados universitarios y trabajadores, la adquisición y perfeccionamiento continuo de los conocimientos y habilidades requeridos para mejorar el desempeño de sus responsabilidades y funciones laborales en diferentes sectores. Objetivo: Diagnosticar el estado actual de la superación profesional impartida por el Centro Provincial de Información de Ciencias Médicas Guantánamo para el incremento de estas actividades en el Aula Virtual de Salud. Método: Se realizó un estudio descriptivo-transversal en el centro antes mencionado, durante el período de 2016-2019, se cuantificaron las actividades impartidas según modalidades de superación desarrolladas, así como las categorías ocupacionales, docentes e investigativas de quienes recibieron las actividades de superación. Resultados: Los Programas de Alfabetización Informacional y la redacción de artículos relacionaron la mayor cifra de participantes en los últimos años. Se desarrollaron cursos de Alfabetización Informacional (ALFIN), Redacción Científica y otros específicos que nutren al profesional de habilidades en su desarrollo como investigador. Conclusiones: Los profesionales reconocen la importancia de estar alfabetizados informacionalmente una vez que están al tanto de lo que acontece según sus temas de interés y adquieren las habilidades para consultar y recuperar información, empleando fuentes de información confiables(AU)

Introduction: Professional development embraces several teaching-learning processes that contribute for acquiring and improving in graduated universitary students and workers the required knowledge and skills to succeed in their responsibilities and job functions in different work sectors. Objective: To diagnose current state of the professional development plan given at the Centro Provincial de Información de Ciencias Médicas Guantánamo in order to be implemented via Aula Virtual de Salud. Method: A descriptive and cross-sectional study was conducted at the aforementioned center, during the period 2016 to 2019. The number of activities provided according to the postgraduated development courses, as well as the occupational, teaching and research categories of those who received the training, were quantified. Results: Information literacy and article writing programs were marked with the highest number of participants in the last years. Several courses including Information literacy (ALFIN), scientific writing and others, which help professionals in their way to increase they skills as researchers, were conducted. Conclusions: Professional population admit the importance of information literacy as it enables them to be updated on any interest subject and to acquire skills for consulting and retrieving information using confidence data sources(AU)

Introdução: O aperfeiçoamento profissional constitui um conjunto de processos de ensino-aprendizagem que permitem aos diplomados universitários e aos trabalhadores, a aquisição e melhoria contínua dos conhecimentos e competências necessários. Objetivo: Diagnosticar o estado atual de aperfeiçoamento profissional ministrado pelo Centro Provincial de Información de Ciencias Médicas Guantánamo para incrementar essas atividades na Sala Virtual de Saúde. Método: Estudo transversal descritivo realizado no referido centro, durante o período de 2016-2019, as atividades ministradas foram quantificadas de acordo com as modalidades de aperfeiçoamento desenvolvidas, bem como as categorias ocupacionais, de ensino e pesquisa dos que receberam as atividades de melhoria. Resultados: Os Programas de alfabetização informacional e a redação de artigos relacionaram o maior número de participantes nos últimos anos. Foram desenvolvidos cursos de Alfabetização Informacional (ALFIN), Redação Científica e outros cursos específicos que nutrem as competências do profissional em seu desenvolvimento como pesquisador. Conclusões: Os profissionais reconhecem a importância de serem alfabetizados em informação, uma vez que estão cientes do que está acontecendo de acordo com seus temas de interesse e adquirem habilidades para consultar e recuperar informações, utilizando fontes de informação confiáveis(AU)

Escala de Autoeficácia para Autorregulação da Escrita: adaptação e validação para universitários / Self-Efficacy for Self-Regulated Writing Scale: adaptation and validation for undergraduates / Escala de Autoeficacia para Autorregulación de la Escritura: adaptación y validación para universitarios

Neste estudo almejou-se traduzir, adaptar e buscar evidências de validade baseadas na estrutura interna e na relação com uma variável externa convergente para a Escala de Autoeficácia para Autorregulação da Escrita (EAARE) no contexto brasileiro. Trata-se de uma escala que avalia a percepção de capacidade do estudante em executar habilidades específicas de escrita. Participaram da pesquisa 430 universitários, que responderam à EAARE e a outra medida de aferição da crença de autoeficácia na escrita. A análise fatorial indicou a presença de uma única dimensão, cujo índice de consistência interna foi de 0,95. Em convergência com a literatura e com as expectativas formuladas, os resultados também apontaram uma relação estatisticamente significativa, forte e positiva entre os escores das duas escalas utilizadas. Desse modo, pode-se afirmar que a EAARE se constitui como um instrumento com evidências de validade e de fidedignidade apropriados para o uso no contexto brasileiro. (AU)

This validation study aimed at the translation, adaptation, and presentation of the Self-Efficacy Scale for Self-Regulated Writing (EAARE) in the Brazilian context based on its internal structure and relation with a convergent external variable. This scale assesses students' perception of their ability to perform specific writing skills. A total of 430 undergraduates participated in the study answering the EAARE and another writing self-efficacy assessment. The factor analysis indicated the presence of only one dimension with internal consistency of 0.95 and also a strong and positive relationship between the scores of the 2 scales applied in the study. These results are consistent with the literature and with the posited expectation; therefore it can be affirmed that EAARE is an instrument with proper evidence of validity and reliability to be used in the Brazilian context. (AU)

Se anheló en este estudio traducir, adaptar y buscar evidencias de validez, basadas en la estructura interior y en la relación con una variable exterior convergente, de la Escala de Autoeficacia para Autorregulación de la Escritura (EAARE) en el contexto brasileño. Se trata de una escala que evalúa la percepción de la capacidad del estudiante en ejecutar habilidades específicas de escritura. Participaron de la investigación 430 universitarios, que respondieron a la EAARE y la otra medida de evaluación de la creencia de autoeficacia en la escritura. El análisis factorial indicó la presencia de una sola dimensión, cuyo índice de consistencia interna fue 0,95. En convergencia con la literatura y con las expectativas formuladas, los resultados también señalaron una relación estadísticamente significativa, fuerte y positiva entre las puntuaciones de las dos escalas utilizadas. De este modo, se puede afirmar que la EAARE se constituye como un instrumento con evidencias de validez y de fiabilidad apropiadas para el uso en el contexto brasileño. (AU)

Improving Scientific Writing Skills and Publishing Capacity by Developing University-Based Editing System and Writing Programs

Scholarly article writing and publishing in international peer-reviewed journals can become an overwhelming task for many medical, nursing, and healthcare professionals in a university setting, especially in countries whose native language is not English. To help improve their scientific writing skills and publishing capacity, a university-based editing system and writing programs can be developed as educational platforms. These are delivered by a team of specialist editors composed of tenured faculty members who have a strong medical background and extensive experience in teaching courses on medical research, editing, writing, and publishing. For the editing system, the specialist editors provide comprehensive editing, personalized consultation, full editorial support after peer review, guidance with online submissions/resubmissions, and detailed editorial review at different stages of the manuscript writing. In addition, the specialist editors can develop writing programs such as medical writing and editing internships, academic courses in medical writing or research study designs and reporting standards, special interactive lectures and sessions on predatory publishing, seminars on updated editorial guidance of global editorial associations, academic visits on medical writing and editing, medical writing mentoring program, networking programs in scholarly communication, and publication resources in medical writing and scholarly publishing. These editing system and writing programs can serve as integrated platforms for improving scientific writing skills and publishing capacity by providing continuing education in medical writing, editing, publishing, and publication ethics.

Critical Thinking and Scientific Writing Skills of Non-Anglophone Medical Students: a Model of Training Course

There are currently very limited reports on the strengths and weaknesses of Japanese medical students in processing (i.e., searching, reading, synthesizing, writing, editing, refining) and presenting medical content based on scholarly journal articles. We developed and offered a 3-week group independent research course in English as a summer elective named “Improving Medical English Skills and Creating English Medical Content (PPT and video) Based on Medical Journal Articles” to our fourth-year Japanese medical students who follow a 6-year medical curriculum as the target audience. Herein, we describe the specific strengths and weaknesses of 6 students who chose and completed the course. Thereafter, we assessed the possible reasons underlying these weaknesses, pondered on the potential implications of such weaknesses on the critical thinking, logical reasoning, and communication skills of Japanese medical students, and suggested approaches to further enhance these skills. The assessments, implications, and suggestions given may provide medical educators new insights on how to newly organize educational and clinical programs to address such weaknesses, improve searching, reading, writing, editing, and presentation skills, enhance critical thinking and logical reasoning abilities, and gain in-depth knowledge essential for effectively appraising and communicating medical content.

La redacción científica: una necesidad de superación profesional para los docentes de la salud / Scientific writing: a professional upgrading need for health sciences professors

El presente trabajo es un estudio descriptivo y con un enfoque sincrónico que da muestra de las deficiencias de los profesores universitarios al redactar textos científicos. Este estudio tiene como objetivo proponer varias acciones de superación para perfeccionar el manejo del lenguaje y el arte de redactar de los docentes de la Universidad de Ciencias Médicas "Dr. Faustino Pérez Hernández" de la provincia Sancti Spíritus que cursan la octava edición de la Maestría en Ciencias de la Educación de la Universidad de Sancti Spíritus "José Martí Pérez". Para darle cumplimiento a este propósito, se aplicaron varios métodos (analítico-sintético, inductivo-deductivo, estudio de caso) y técnicas de recolección de datos (análisis de contenido, registro de experiencias) a una muestra seleccionada al azar de informantes y de sus publicaciones, lo que permitió fundamentar la existencia de varias problemáticas en la redacción científica de dichos profesores y la necesidad de implementar formas organizativas básicas del proceso de educación de posgrado para su inmediata y eficaz aplicación.

The present work is a descriptive study grounded in a synchronic approach that identifies the deficiencies of university professors when writing scientific texts. This study aims to propose several measures to improve the use of language and the art of writing of teachers of the " Dr. Faustino Pérez Hernández" University of Medical Sciences in Sancti Spíritus, Cuba who are participating in the eighth edition of the Master's Degree in Educational Sciences program at the "José Martí Pérez" University, also located in Sancti Spiritus. Several methods (analytic-synthetic, inductive-deductive, case study) and techniques of data collection (content analysis, recording of experiences) were applied to a random sample of informants and their scientific articles. This allowed for the detection of several problems in scientific writing and the need to implement basic organizational forms of postgraduate education for immediate and effective application.

¿Lo piensa realmente? Al menos así lo escribe / Do you really think so? At least so it reads / Você realmente acha isso? Pelo menos é o que está escrito

Resumen Este escrito propone reflexionar en torno a la producción de conocimiento científico y la necesidad de desarrollar nuevas formas de comunicar los resultados de nuestras investigaciones, especialmente en el campo de la Salud Colectiva, necesariamente inter o transdisciplinaria. Para ello analiza los principales obstáculos para la producción de un conocimiento novedoso: las dificultades inherentes al trabajo inter o transdisciplinario, en paralelo a la hiper especialización al interior de cada disciplina; la exigencia de producción por la cual serán evaluados los investigadores, que coadyuva a la mercantilización del conocimiento científico, a la alienación en el trabajo de investigación y al empobrecimiento cada vez mayor de la calidad de los textos que se produce. A partir de la exploración sobre las modalidades expresivas del arte contemporáneo, proponemos una escritura “transgénero" como modo de atravesar disciplinas, lenguajes y géneros discursivos a favor del desarrollo de modalidades expresivas que habiliten la creación de nuevos objetos, para superar la arbitrariedad de las clasificaciones, formas de nombrar y describir tradicionales, para establecer formas de comunicar e investigar que respondan a la complejidad de los problemas que afectan a la salud hoy, antes que a objetos delimitados disciplinariamente.

Abstract This paper proposes to reflect on the production of scientific knowledge and the need to develop new ways of communicating the results of our research, especially in the field of Collective Health, necessarily inter or transdisciplinary. In order to do this, it analyzes the main obstacles to the production of a new knowledge: the difficulties inherent in inter or transdisciplinary work, parallel to the hyper specialization within each discipline; The production requirement for which researchers will be evaluated, which contributes to the commercialization of scientific knowledge, alienation in research work and the increasing impoverishment of the quality of the texts produced. From the exploration of the expressive modalities of contemporary art, we propose a "transgender" writing as a way to cross disciplines, languages and discursive genres in favor of the development of expressive modalities that enable the creation of new objects, to overcome the arbitrariness of classifications, traditional ways of naming and describing, so as to establish ways of communicating and investigating that respond to the complexity of problems affecting health, rather than to objects delimited disciplinarily.

Resumo Este artigo se propõe a refletir sobre a produção de conhecimento científico e a necessidade de desenvolver novas formas de comunicar os resultados de pesquisas, especialmente no campo da Saúde Pública, necessariamente inter ou transdisciplinar. Analisa os principais obstáculos para a produção de novos conhecimentos: as dificuldades inerentes ao trabalho inter ou transdisciplinar em paralelo com a hiperespecialização em cada disciplina; a exigência de produção que irá analisar os investigadores, que contribui para a comercialização do conhecimento científico, a alienação na pesquisa e o crescente empobrecimento da qualidade dos textos produzidos. A partir da exploração das formas expressivas da arte contemporânea, propomos uma escrita "transgênero" como uma maneira de atravessar disciplinas, linguagens e gêneros do discurso e desenvolver modos de expressão que permitam criar novos objetos, para superar a arbitrariedade de classificações, formas de nomear e descrever tradicional, de modo a estabelecer formas de comunicação e pesquisa para responder à complexidade dos problemas que afetam a saúde, em vez de objetos disciplinares demarcados.

Estilos de citas y referencias bibliográficas en revistas odontológicas SciELO: un elemento crítico de la escritura científica / Styles for citations and referencing in dental SciELO journals: a critical element of scientific writing

Uno de los problemas más comunes en las revistas científicas, es el incumplimiento de los estilos al hacer citas y escribir las referencias bibliográficas, debido al descuido o bien al desconocimiento de los diferentes sistemas existentes y sus características. El objetivo fue revisar los estilos de citas y referencias utilizados por revistas odontológicas indexadas en la red SciELO, con el fin describir los más utilizados y evidenciar las diferencias existentes entre las revistas. Fueron revisados 100 artículos pertenecientes a 20 revistas diferentes, seleccionados aleatoriamente por afijación proporcional. El estilo más utilizado para las citas y referencias bibliográficas correspondió al sistema Vancouver. Sólo una revista, International Journal of Odontostomatology publica sus artículos bajo el sistema Harvard. Estos estilos sirven como un sello de las revistas, pero constituyen una carga de trabajo adicional significativa, ya que la atención a los detalles que se requieren para asegurar que las citas y referencias se ajusten a los estilos individuales de las revistas es fundamental. Cualquiera sea el estilo de la revista, es importante utilizarlo de una manera consistente. La responsabilidad de la exactitud en las citas y referencias bibliográficas es de los autores, por lo que deben preocuparse de ello al redactar el artículo, en su revisión final previo al envío, así como en las pruebas de imprenta.

One of the most common problems in scientific journals, it is the failure of the styles to make citations and references due to carelessness or ignorance of the different systems and their characteristics. The aim was to review the different styles of citations and references used by dental journals indexed in SciELO, to describe the most used and highlight the differences between journals. One hundred articles randomly selected by proportional allocation, belonging to 20 different journals were reviewed. The most commonly used format for citations and references corresponded to the Vancouver system. Only a journal, International Journal of Odontostomatology publishes his articles under the Harvard system. These styles serve as a hallmark for journals, but they are a significant additional workload as the attention to detail required to ensure that citations and references fit individual styles of the journals is fundamental. Whatever the style of the journals, it is important to use it in a consistent manner. The responsibility for the accuracy in citations and references belongs to the authors, so they should worry about it in drafting version, its final revision, as well as proofs of the article.

Pesquisa como acontecimento: exercícios de escreverCOM / Research as an event: exercises of writing WITH / La investigación como evento: ejercicios de Escritura CON

O desafio que apresentamos neste artigo é de pensar outras políticas de pesquisa em Psicologia que incluam um pesquisar em rede, uma colaboração e comprometimento em pesquisa, uma composição de arranjos inéditos/intensivos/afetivos que possibilitem novas modalidades de experiência de si e do mundo. Perscrutamos uma política de pesquisa entendida como um pesquisarCOM, que favoreça acontecimentos. Lançando mão de duas experiências em pesquisa, buscamos compartilhá-las pensando-as como exercícios de constituição do pesquisar-COM, que são, ainda, práticas de uma escrita científica outra: uma escrita que compõe o campo de pesquisa. Discutimos um instrumental de investigação que acompanha processos e seus múltiplos e difusos efeitos, que é sempre local e situado e que é elaborado/pensado em redes. Os exercícios de escrita são apresentados como experiências de pesquisas guiadas pela vivência institucional e pela análise de implicação.

The challenge we face in this article is the thinking of ‘other's policies of research in psychology that include networked research, collaboration and commitment in research, and a composition of unrestricted/intensive/affective arrangements that allow new modes of experience of self with the world. We scrutinize a research policy known as researchWITH which aligns itself with the event and we share our experience of two research projects using research-WITH as practice of an other's scientific writing-a mode of writing which composes the field of research. We discuss the instrumental in research that accompanies processes and its multiple and diffuse effects; these are always local and situated and elaborated/thought through networks. The written exercises are presented as instances of research guided by institutional experience and by implication analysis.

El desafío que se presenta en este artículo es pensar otras políticas de investigación en Psico-logía, incluyendo una investigación en rede, colaboración y compromiso con la investigación, una composición de arreglos inéditos / intensivos / emocional que permiten nuevos modos de experiencia de sí mismo y del mundo. Examinamos la política de investigación entendida como una investigar CON, favoreciendo eventos. Sobre la base de dos experiencias en la investigación, las compartimos ellos pensando que constituye un ejercicio de investigar CON, que son también una práctica otra de escritura científica: una escritura que constituye el campo de búsqueda. Hablamos de un instrumental de investigación que sigue procesos y sus múl-tiples y difusas efectos; que es local y situado; que es diseñado / pensado en redes. Los ejercicios de escritura se presentan como experiencias de investigación guiados por la experiencia institucional y por el análisis de la implicación.

Cómo comunicar los resultados de investigación en enfermería / How to communicate results in nursing research

Resumen:

La mayoría del personal de enfermería no escribe para publicar. Los profesionales de enfermería que realizan investigación experimentan la necesidad de comunicar sus resultados de investigación en el foro científico. Esto puede considerarse como una responsabilidad ajena a su formación; sin embargo, no lo es, ya que escribir un artículo científico se considera como una cuestión fundamental para el desarrollo profesional del área de enfermería. Este documento tiene el propósito de mostrar al personal de enfermería la manera como debe prepararse un documento científico que será sometido a una revista académica. Comentamos cuáles son los beneficios obtenidos por escribir un artículo y con ello animamos a los profesionales de enfermería a comunicar sus resultados bajo la estructura de un artículo original.

Abstract:

Most of nursing staff does not write to publish. Nursing professionals conducting research, experience the need to communicate their research results in the scientific forum. This can be regarded as an oblivious responsibility beyond its training formation; however, it is not like that: a scientific paper is considered essential for the professional development of nursing. The aim of this document is to show to the nursing staff how to prepare a scientific document that will be submitted to an academic journal. We discussed about what are the benefits gained by writing an article, and, therefore, we encourage the nursing professionals to communicate their results under the structure of the original article.

Publish or perish: The art of scientific writing.

Publishing manuscripts is the only way by which scientists communicate with each other. In recent times, there is an increasing desire to publish manuscripts from the developing world for a variety of reasons. Though, performing a research study is challenging in itself, writing it for publication is the final frontier that can be daunting, especially for the novice. Work that remains unpublished in one form or the other is essentially incomplete or undone. Hence, it is critically important for one to publish one’s findings in a reputed journal. The purpose of this paper is to alleviate the mystique involved in manuscript writing and provide a blueprint where the subheadings given under each of the sections of introduction, methods, results and discussion can be expanded as per the particular study and the manuscript can be constructed in a stepwise manner. We hope that by following this approach, potential researchers and practicing ophthalmologists will develop the skill and aptitude for medical writing, and that the developing world shall do justice to its tremendous intellectual capital by making meaningful contributions to global scientific literature.

Fenómenos sintácticos en textos científicos de profesores del perfil Higiene y Epidemiología / Main syntactic problems in scientific texts of the professors of the Hygiene and Epidemiology career

El objetivo de este estudio consistió en caracterizar los principales fenómenos sintácticos presentes en textos científicos escritos por docentes del perfil de Higiene y Epidemiología de la Facultad de Tecnología de la Salud de Villa Clara. Se trabaja con una muestra intencional de ocho ponencias redactadas por los profesores de este perfil y presentadas en eventos provinciales, territoriales e internacionales durante 2010-2011. Los métodos y técnicas empleados posibilitaron sistematizar, analizar y percibir lo común de los datos registrados, y arribar a conclusiones confiables. Pudo constatarse que dichos profesionales conocen las generalidades del lenguaje científico; sin embargo, incurren inconscientemente en hechos sintácticos que afectan la claridad y calidad de sus textos. A partir del diagnóstico efectuado surge la necesidad de proyectar acciones de superación profesional y normativas relacionadas con esta labor.

The objective of this article is to characterize the process and outcomes of a research work, it was motivated by the occurrence of different syntactic problems found in the speech of professionals of Villa Clara Health Technology Faculty, which have an incidence in written scientific documents. The sample comprises eight scientific works that were written by professors of the Hygiene and Epidemiology career, which were presented in provincial, territorial and international events from 2010 to 2011. The methods and techniques applied made possible to systematize, analyze and perceive the registered common data, this allowed arriving at reliable conclusions. It could be stated that this professionals know the generalities of the scientific language; however, they unconsciously have syntactic problems which affect the clarity and quality of the scientific document. Consequently, Professional upgrading actions and norms related to the writing of scientific documents are proposed.

The tragedy of the common reviewers: the peer review process

The peer review process is the dominant system adopted in science to evaluate the quality of articles submitted for publication. Various social players are involved in this process, including authors, editors and reviewers. Much has been discussed about the need to improve the scientific quality of what is published. The main focus of these discussions has been the work of the authors. However, the editors and reviewers also fulfill an important role. In this opinion article, we discuss some proposals to improve the peer review system, emphasizing the role of reviewers and editors.

El resumen del artículo científico de investigación y recomendaciones para su redacción / The abstract of the scientific research article and some recommendations for writing

Se exponen algunas funciones del resumen de un artículo científico de investigación y los problemas que con mßs frecuencia se observa en ellos. Se presentan algunos datos históricos sobre el origen del resumen, su concepto, tipos y 15 recomendaciones pràcticas para su redacción. Apoyada en estas recomendaciones, se propone un esquema de trabajo dividido en cuatro momentos para lograr paso a paso un buen resumen, que equivale a que esté bien redactado y tenga un contenido coherente con el artículo. Un resumen con estas condiciones conseguirà que la opinión primaria de directores, ßrbitros, editores y lectores sobre un artículo sea favorable; lo contrario llevarà con seguridad a un dictamen desfavorable. Se puede afirmar entonces que el futuro de un artículo depende en gran medida de la calidad de su resumen

Some functions of the abstract of a scientific research article were presented in this paper, together with the most frequent problems found. Likewise, some historical data on the origin, concept, and types of abstract were provided as well as 15 practical recommendations for its writing. On the basis of these recommendations, a working outline divided into four moments is suggested, with a view to attaining step by step a good abstract, that is to say, a well-written abstract with a content that matches the article. An abstract having these conditions can help to create favourable primary opinions in directors, arbiters, editors and readers about the article, otherwise would cause an unfavorable opinion. It may be stated that the future of a research article depends largely on the quality of its abstract

The abstract: the letter of presentation for a scientific paper / El resumen: la carta de presentación de un trabajo científico

The abstract is a part of scientific articles placed at the beginning of such.  It guides us quickly and accurately about the information we will find in the complete manuscript.  It must be written by selecting the appropriate words and sentences to achieve consistent, clear, and concise contents.  We can group the abstract into two types according to their content: the descriptive abstract, which guides the reader regarding the contents of the article but requires reading the full text for further details; and the informative abstract, which condenses the study and provides accurate data about the contents of the paper. The abstract has become a fundamental part of the scientific article, especially with the explosive growth of information; an adequate and well-built abstract allows scientists and researchers to recognize the work done by its authors.  Attention should be dedicated to its construction because the success of our publication depends upon the very abstract.

El resumen es un segmento del artículo científico que se ubica al inicio del mismo, y nos orienta en forma rápida y precisa sobre la información que encontraremos en el manuscrito completo. Debe ser escrito seleccionando adecuadamente las palabras y oraciones, para lograr un contenido coherente, claro y conciso. Podemos agrupar a los resúmenes en dos de acuerdo con su contenido: los descriptivos, que orientan al lector sobre el contenido del artículo y hacen necesaria una lectura del manuscrito para conocer detalles; y los informativos, que condensan el estudio pero brindan datos precisos sobre su contenido. El resumen se ha convertido en una pieza fundamental en un artículo, sobre todo con la creciente explosión de la información; además un resumen adecuado y bien construido permite que los científicos e investigadores reconozcan la labor realizada por sus autores. Debemos prestar mucha atención a su elaboración porque de él depende el éxito de nuestra publicación.

Identifying reasons for failure in biomedical research and publishing

The regular assessment of Brazilian scientific output means that individual university departments need to constantly improve the quantity and quality of their scientific output. A significant proportion of this output involves the work of Master’s and Doctoral students, but getting this work published in a suitable journal can often prove to be a challenge. Although students’ lack of fluency in English is a contributing factor, many of the problems observed have an early origin in the formulation of the research problem and its relevance to current research trends in the international literature. In short, more time needs to be spent in the library and less in the laboratory, and more effort needs to be made in teaching students basic research skills such as the effective use of bibliographic databases like PubMed, Web of Science and Scopus.

Scientific writing and publishing: its importance to radiologists

Scientific writing and publication marks the endpoint of research that has been performed, completed, peer reviewed and accepted, and complements teaching and training, clinical service and patient care. Writing has numerous benefits, one of the most important ones being the inherent training undertaken to better appreciate and evaluate the published work of others. Effective scientific writing is an important component of a radiologist’s practice, and should be cultivated at an early stage of the career.