One of the main values in public health involves communicating research results. In order to do this, public health professionals must first have the economical means to perform a research study, and then successfully reporting its results to the scientific community. Writing is a skill that allows professionals to achieve this. Though it can be intimidating for young researchers at first, it is a skill that can be learned through practice. Writing small projects proposals are a great way to gain writing experience within a controlled environment (Penrod, 2003). Three of the most important tips for young writers would be style polishing, writing order, and revision.
Writing style is one of the most important skills. When writing either for a research proposal, or for publication, one must be very persuasive about why is the research so important (Penrod, 2003). The writer must ask questions such as: what are the gaps in current knowledge? How would this research help fill in those gaps? Those questions must be answered in a way that engages the reader. If it is for a grant proposal, it should convince the reviewers that the research must be funded. If it is for publication it should first convince the publisher that it is a paper they want their readers to know about, and then convince the readers that the research is worth the read, and maybe it would help them support their own researchers by citing it (Dixon, 2001). It is also important to avoid jargon, but instead use lay-man terms, while being simple and accurate (Fahy, 2007). Furthermore, it is essential to know how to write following logic because it helps the reader follow along the paper and convey the main ideas.
The second most important thing about writing skills is the writing order. It is not the same as the reading order. In a published paper, the sections people are generally first interested in is the results section. They would ask themselves: what did the researchers come up with? What did they discover? And look at the tables or figures. If they are interested enough, they proceed to read the rest of the article. So, as a writer, one must focus on this section, and make it the star of the manuscript {Annesley:2010dk, Annesley:2010dg, Annesley:2010ix}(Annesley, 2010a; 2010b; 2010c; 2010c). There are no results when writing for a research proposal, though. The most important section in this kind of paper would be the introduction section. Clearly stating “the need, significance, research question, and potential for the study to fill a critical gap in current understanding of a phenomenon” (Penrod, 2003) is what must stand out on the paper. Starting by writing these sections also helps building a general perspective on the topic, so that it is easier later to summarize and synthesize the first sections.
The third tip I would recommend is to have the paper reviewed. As Penrod (2010) suggests: “Write it, put it aside for a few days, then do a critical review and revise as needed” (p. 831). So, the first reviewer should be the author himself. Then, it is wise to ask a fellow colleague or even better, someone not related to the field or to science at all, to read the paper. Citing Penrod (2010) once more: “if your colleagues “don’t get it,” chances are that the reviewers will not get it either—and ultimately, you won’t get it!” (p. 831). Then, humbly accept the reviews they make, and use them to improve, so that in time grant proposals and manuscripts become better, and eventually get funded.
References
Annesley, T. M. (2010a). Bars and Pies Make Better Desserts than Figures. Clinical chemistry, 56(9), 1394–1400. doi:10.1373/clinchem.2010.152298
Annesley, T. M. (2010b). Show Your Cards: The Results Section and the Poker Game. Clinical chemistry, 56(7), 1066–1070. doi:10.1373/clinchem.2010.148148
Annesley, T. M. (2010c). Bring Your Best to the Table. Clinical chemistry, 56(10), 1528–1534. doi:10.1373/clinchem.2010.153502
Dixon, N. (2001). Writing for publication–a guide for new authors. International journal for quality in health care, 13(5), 417–421. ISQHC. doi:10.1093/intqhc/13.5.417
Fahy, K. (2007). Writing for publication: The basics. Women and Birth, 21(2), 86–91. doi:10.1016/j.wombi.2007.12.005
Penrod, J. (2003). Getting funded: writing a successful qualitative small-project proposal. Qualitative health research, 13(6), 821–832. SAGE Publications. doi:10.1177/1049732303255370
