Scientific Medical Writing in Practice: the «IMR@D®» Format.

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: The quality of an original scientific paper (OSP) depends on compliance with the principles of scientific medical writing. This review aimed to enlighten the authors on the roles, organization, mistakes to be avoided and recommendations, related to the structure of an OSP. METHODS: Narrative review of the literature regarding the structure adopted when drafting an OSP. RESULTS: The format "IMR@D®" (Introduction, Methods, Results, Discussion, and References) is now, and will remain, the guiding structure of the majority of OSPs published in biomedical scientific journals. The "Introduction" section is the answer to the question: what is the problem? It describes the reasoning, the purposes and the objectives of the study and concisely describes the study hypothesis. The "Methods" section is the answer to the question: how did the author try to solve the problem? It specifies the study design, the selection process, the applied procedures, the data collected, and the type of statistical analysis that will be performed to confirm/refute the research hypothesis. The section "Results" is the answer to the interrogation: what have the author found? It presents the descriptive and the analytical data of the study. The "Discussion" section is the answer to the question: what difference does it make? It interpreted the results and compared them with these reported in the literature. The "References" section is the answer to the question: what have the author consulted? It clearly explains what is not based on information derived from the study, and provides means to verify that cited statements have been really recorded in the literature. CONCLUSION: The "IMR@D®" format should make the scientific medical writing more pleasant while increasing the possibility that the OSP is accepted for publication.