Capstone: Journal Article and Publication Development

This course will benefit students who are seeking to write and publish an article in a peer-reviewed journal.  Using knowledge acquired throughout the medical writing program, students in this capstone course will choose their own topic to publish (could be the student’s own research or through their employer’s research, if allowed), and will develop, author, format and submit a manuscript to a Medline Indexed journal. They will demonstrate an understanding of the publishing process, including ethics, disclosure and copyright issues. In addition, students will further their grasp of good publication practices, such as the “Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing, and Publication of Scholarly Work in Medical Journals” from the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) and the Good Publication Practices (GPP) guidelines. Students will write the full manuscript including any tables and figures, follow the IMRAD (Introduction, Methods, Results, and Discussion) format and the journal’s “Instructions to Authors”, and submit the manuscript to the journal for review. They will locate guideline sources for publishing various kinds of data, such as CONSORT and the EQUATOR Network and familiarize themselves with publication management, strategy, and planning.