Guides @ UF: Information Resources for Medical Students: Writing & Citing

Writing and Citing Video

Writing and Citing Support

UF Writing Studio
The UF Writing Studio is a free service for UF students and faculty. In addition to providing one-on-one consultations, they have a number of workshops, including several specific to medical and scientific writing.
UF Avoiding Plagiarism Video
Module from the UF Dean of Students Office, 28 minutes
Turnitin
Many UF instructors use Turnitin to ensure that submitted work is not the result of plagiarism.
28 Guidelines at a Glance on Avoiding Plagiarism
Offered by the US Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Research Integrity
Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL): Avoiding Plagiarism
Purdue OWL has some great resources for correctly citing and attributing to other authors in your own writing. This resource focuses on avoiding plagiarism.
Knowing and Avoiding Plagiarism During Scientific Writing
Article in the Annals of Medical & Health Sciences Research, 2014
Gaming Against Plagiarism
This game on avoiding plagiarism was created at UF!

Tips on Scientific Writing

The following books on writing are available through the Health Science Libraries' Catalog:

Writing Case Reports by Clifford Packer; Gabrielle Berger; Somnath Mookherjee
ISBN: 9783319418988
Publication Date: 2016
This book provides medical students and physicians with a practical, step-by-step guide on how to write and publish a medical case report. This book guides readers through the process from choosing a case to report on to finding a publisher and then comment on future directions and potential new uses of case reports, including expanded computer case databases to optimize care for individual patients and new applications in medical education.
Mastering Scientific and Medical Writing by Silvia M. Rogers
ISBN: 3642394469
Publication Date: 2014
This self-help guide is intended for students, scientists, and medical professionals who wish to improve their scientific writing skills. Exercises invite the reader to practice the most important aspects of scientific writing.
How NOT to Write a Medical Paper by Markus Heinemann
ISBN: 9789385062292
Publication Date: 2016
Writing a medical paper, or any other scientific text, is full of pitfalls which make it difficult to get it accepted for publication. This unique book gives practical advice on how one can circumvent these dangers. It is richly filled with examples, predominantly negative ones. which exhibit how one should not write a medical paper. This book highlights the fallibilities that manuscripts are often susceptible to, and hence will help writers avoid committing those mistakes.
Successful Scientific Writing by Janice R. Matthews; Robert W. Matthews
ISBN: 1107691931
Publication Date: 2014
The authors draw on fifty years of experience, providing detailed step-by-step guidance designed to help students and researchers write and present scientific manuscripts more successfully through knowledge, practice, and an efficient approach. Retaining the user-friendly style of the previous editions, this fourth edition has been broadened to include detailed information relevant to today's digital world. It covers all aspects of the writing process, from first drafts, literature retrieval, and authorship to final drafts and electronic publication. A new section provides extensive coverage of ethical issues, from plagiarism and dual publication to honesty in reporting statistics.
Writing Patient/Client Notes by Kettenbach, Jill Fitzgerald
ISBN: 9780803638204
Publication Date: 2016
Addresses how Patient/Client Management and SOAP notes work in accordance with the APTA's Guide to Physical Therapy Practice and WHO's ICF model. Features exercises and worksheets at the end of each section and chapter. Provides samples of both correct and incorrect note writing. Teaches readers how to write a defensible note. Offers a quick review of medical terminology and abbreviations used in note writing.

Style Guides

Be sure you're using the right style to cite your references. Check out these guides:

AMA Manual of Style
Information on the American Medical Association (AMA) citation style is included under Section 3: References
Citing Medicine
The National Library of Medicine (NLM) guide to proper citation formats for medical and scientific materials.
Citing References in Your Paper: University of Wisconsin
A compilation of guidelines for different styles.

Reporting Guidelines

The EQUATOR network - Enhancing the QUAlity and Transparency Of health Research. Hosted by the University of Oxford, it collects guidelines and policy documents related to health research reporting. Including such study types as:

Randomized trials
Observational studies
Systematic reviews
Case reports
Qualitative research
Diagnostic/prognostic studies
Quality improvement studies

Citation Management Tools

Citation management tools allow you to collect, organize, and format your references. For more information, see the Citation Management guide. Some available tools are listed below.

EndNote Online
Previously known as EndNote Basic , this web-based resource is freely available to UF students, staff, and faculty.
EndNote (desktop)
Paid version of EndNote includes enhanced functionality related to PDF management (compared to web version). Discount available on annual license via UF IT https://software.ufl.edu/software-listings/endnote-premium.html
Mendeley
This is tool is free for everyone and includes both web-based and desktop (for Windows) applications.
Sciwheel
This web-based tool is freely available to UF students, staff, and faculty.
Zotero
This tool is free for everyone and open source. It includes both web-based and desktop applications.

Publishing & Open Access

Think.Check.Submit
A checklist to help you think through whether you should submit your work to a particular journal.
NIH Public Access Policy
If your research is funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), your final published paper must be submitted to PubMed Central where it will be freely accessible to the public.
Open Access Resources
The UF Libraries' guide to open access resources.
BioMed Central
Another venue for open access publishing of biomedical research.

Writing Literature Reviews and Research Papers

Doing a Literature Review in Health and Social Care by Helen Aveyard
ISBN: 0335263089
Publication Date: 2014
This popular book demystifies literature reviewing and answers the questions students have about how to tackle the process.
Health Sciences Literature Review Made Easy by Judith Garrard
ISBN: 1449694896
Publication Date: 2014
This book helps students and practitioners better understand scientific literature by instilling the essential skills (via the matrix method) needed to evaluate article findings critically. Covered at the most basic level are the fundamental principles of searching, organizing, reviewing, and synthesizing. Woven throughout the text are visual examples and a single case study.
Writing a Biomedical Research Paper by Brian Budgell
ISBN: 4431880372
Publication Date: 2008
All of us in biomedicine understand the urgency of getting experimental results into print as quickly as possible. Yet this critical step in the cascade from research conception to publication receives almost no attention in our formal training. It is as if we have been put to sea without a compass. Our collective failure to achieve widespread literacy in our own language - Biomedical Language - seriously impedes the important process of disseminating new biomedical knowledge and thereby improving the human condition. It is also a significant personal concern for researchers and clinicians in the highly competitive, publish-or-perish environment of contemporary academia.
How to Report Statistics in Medicine by Thomas A. Lang; Michelle Secic; Thomas Lang; Lang, Thomas; Secic, Michelle
ISBN: 9781930513693
Publication Date: 2006
This new edition makes many of the basic and advanced concepts of biostatistics more accessible to readers. It is one of the few books that focus on how appropriate statistical presentation can enhance both comprehension and credibility. This is a perfect reference guide for those with either a rudimentary or an advanced statistical background.

Publishing a Case Report?

UF has an institutional fellowship to BMJ Case Reports, courtesy of the Department of Medicine. Contact Hannah Norton for the fellowship code or for more information.