Major mistakes in scientific medical writing based on manuscripts’ reviews

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Published Feb 11, 2024
https://doi.org/10.62438/tunismed.v102i1.4715
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Vol. 102 No. 1 (2024): Tunis med jan 2024

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Sarra Melki
Direction of Information System, Sahloul University Hospital, Sousse, Faculty of medicine “Ibn El Jazzar” Sousse, University of Sousse, Research Laboratory LR19SP01, Sahloul Hospital, Sousse, Tunisia
Donia Ben Hassine
Direction of Information System, Sahloul University Hospital, Sousse ,Faculty of Medicine of Monastir, University of Monastir, Research Laboratory LR19SP01, Sahloul Hospital, Sousse, Tunisia
Dhekra Chebil
Hygiene service, Ibn El Jazzar Hospital, Kairouan, Faculty of medicine “Ibn El Jazzar” Sousse, University of Sousse,Research Laboratory LR19SP01, Sahloul Hospital, Sousse, Tunisia
Youssef Zanina
Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Monastir, Research Laboratory LR19SP01, Sahloul Hospital, Sousse, Tunisia
Helmi Ben Saad
Research Laboratory LR12SP09, Farhat Hached Hospital, Sousse, Faculty of medicine “Ibn El Jazzar” Sousse, University of Sousse, Tunisia
Ahmed Ben Abdelaziz
Direction of Information System, Sahloul University Hospital, Sousse, Faculty of medicine “Ibn El Jazzar” Sousse, University of Sousse , Research Laboratory LR19SP01, Sahloul Hospital, Sousse, Tunisia

Abstract

Introduction: Peer review is a crucial process in ensuring the quality and accuracy of scientific research. It allows experts in the field to assess manuscripts submitted for publication and provide feedback to authors to improve their work.


Aim: To describe mistakes encountered while peer reviewing scientific manuscripts submitted to “La Tunisie Médicale” journal.


Method: This was a bibliometric study of research manuscripts submitted to “La Tunisie Médicale” and reviewed during 2022. The data collected included the type of the manuscripts and the number of reviews conducted per manuscript. The study also identified variables related to writing mistakes encountered during the peer review process.


Results: A total of 155 manuscripts (68% original articles) were peer reviewed and 245 reviews were delivered, by two reviewers. Out of 62 mistakes detected, 21% concerned the results section. In 60% of the manuscripts, the keywords used were not MeSH (Medical Subject Headings) terms. The introduction lacked in-text citations in 30% of the reviewed manuscripts, while the method section did not have a clear study framework (27%). The two major mistakes detected in the results section were the misuse of abbreviations in tables/figures, and the non-respect of the scientific nomenclature of tables/figures with respectively 39% and 19% of manuscripts.


Conclusion: This study identified 62 mistakes while reviewing scientific manuscripts submitted to “La Tunisie Médicale” journal. Scholars can benefit from participation in scientific writing seminars and the use of a safety checklist for scientific medical writing to avoid basic mistakes.

Keywords:

Peer Review , Medical Writing, Manuscripts, Medical as Topic, Writing style , Tunisia

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

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