Research Paper Writing Resources

A case report is a detailed report of a single patient encounter. It usually is an interesting or uncommon diagnosis or approach to treatment that you are reporting on.

A case series is a detailed report of multiple patient encounters.

The basic outline of a standard case report:

Abstract: This is a quick summary of your case conveying the overall message & salient points. You can think of the abstract as a mini summary of all subparts. 1-2 sentences of intro, 1-2 sentences of case background, 1-2 sentences on discussion and conclusion of why this is interesting. Usually there are certain word/character limitations of the abstract that journals will have.

Introduction: Discuss the topic of your case report, and then discuss the uniqueness of your case and why it is different compared to everything else that is already out there. Some journals will not require an introduction for a case report and instead have you jump straight into discussing the case. Look at other cases published in the journal you are submitting to for an idea of what has worked well in the past.

Case: Discuss the case itself - start with the clinical findings (a basic HPI), significant work-up and interventions, radiological/pathological findings, and treatment plans. Make sure you discuss the case outcome and follow up. This is always a nice place to add in images of radiographic studies performed and surgical/clinical photos of the case, where applicable.

Discussion: Discuss why your case is unique or different. You will also do a quick review of the literature on PubMed or Google Scholar, and summarize other information briefly in the literature - and discuss if there is any supporting or opposing views of your case.

Conclusion: Summarize your case in a few points, but also potentially talk about overall teaching points learned from your case.

For more detail, we advise you to use the CARE Checklist, https://www.care-statement.org/checklist

Here is a quick example of a case report: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8977124/

An original research article describes an experimental study that was performed. This the kind of paper you write when you’ve done a specific experimental study (i.e. prospective double blinded studies) and you’re now writing the paper about your specific findings. These are usually the cream of the crop in terms of research, as they are usually original research (obviously) and considered a ‘primary source’ in the literature.

The basic outline includes Introduction, Methods, Results, Discussion, and Conclusion. If you’re writing up one of these, we strongly advise you to use the PRISMA checklist (http://www.prisma-statement.org).

Head down to the ‘how to write a traditional/narrative review’ and the ‘How do I convert a Case Report to a Review article/literature review’ sections for some ideas about what your introduction and conclusion should include. Or, go to the first resource at the bottom in ‘other helpful resources’.

A Literature review discusses a particular topic or answers a specific question. It’s like you’re teaching a quick class on the topic.

There are many types of literature reviews, but the most common types are Traditional/Narrative Review, Systemic Review, Meta-Analysis Review, or Original Research Articles. Most literature reviews are written as traditional/narrative reviews, and this is likely what you will be writing unless it is specified to be a systematic review or a meta-analysis.

A Traditional/Narrative review summarizes a body of literature. The purpose is to write a comprehensive review of a topic, write about new research ideas or identify gaps of knowledge - but it does not require a complete collection of all existing evidence of a topic, or require any quantitative methods/statistical analysis. The structure varies on the topic in question so talk to your PI if you are stuck.

A Systematic Review is a summary of multiple studies. The purpose is to collect all existing evidence on a specific topic to answer a specific research question. This requires a deep dive into the PubMed search bar, so it helps to be familiar with how to effectively search.

A Meta-Analysis is a Systematic Review that uses statistical analysis to synthesize all the results in the literature. The purpose is to collect all empirical research by using a defined systematic method (including statistical analysis, etc). There is “power” in numbers!

**Traditional reviews and original research papers are easier to write as they do not require exhaustive literature searches or statistical analyses**

First - find a topic of the lit review you are looking to do. Next, go to PubMed and really delve into the literature about the topic. Find as much information as you can about the topic from as many different resources as you can and put together the information in an easy to follow yet informative way. Look for themes as you are researching and these will naturally fall into categories or “section headers”. Make sure that you use different resources, but also make sure you reference each fact you use (don’t forget to remember what paper you got every factoid of information from - you must reference them all in your bibliography and within the manuscript using in text citations).

The basic outline:

Abstract – Again - write a summary of your literature review with the most pertinent information. Why did you write this paper? What is your overall message? Most writers save this section for last.

Introduction: Why is your topic important? It should define the purpose of the work and its significance. Explain the big picture. We usually discuss epidemiology, prevalence, and impact here.

Body: This is where you’ll write out your paper. We’d recommend starting with an outline of how you’ll make your paper into a ‘story’ about your topic. Connect all your paragraphs in a systematic way. Point out and address controversies in the field.

Discussion: Who is your audience? What was unique about your paper? Discuss ideas for future research pertaining to your topic. Discuss opposing views. Occasionally for narrative reviews, the body and discussion are unified as one because you are marching your way through the different facets of the topic and discussing relevant literature throughout

Conclusion: Summarize your findings and your main points.

Here is a great resource to read: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3715443/

Here is an example: https://www.mdpi.com/2673-4389/2/2/6

We will use one of our cases as an example

Hypermanganesemia causing Dystonia in patients with chronic liver disease https://journals.lww.com/ajg/Fulltext/2021/10001/S2810_Metallic_Elements,_Everywhere__A_Case_of.2814.aspx

Find the case report/topic you are interested in

Use resources such as PubMed (best/easiest one), Medline, Embase, Google Scholar, or textbooks to learn about the topic.

See what papers have already been published about the topic specifically. For example, PubMed search about ‘dystonia and chronic liver disease’, or ‘hypermanganesemia and dystonia’, or ‘dystonia and chronic liver disease’. Again, this is where great familiarity with search bar rules/tips comes in handy.

Really get to know the topic. Use the information in these papers (in particular the introductions and the discussions) to help form your paper as well.

Once you have a strong background on the topic, try to summarize the literature that you have found. Then your review article can be a resource for those learning about this topic. It could also try to summarize new interventions.

For example, the paper could be:

A review paper that will discuss the prevalence and the pathophysiology of liver disease and how it absorbs manganese

A review paper discusses new emerging treatment options/interventions

Go ahead and summarize all the papers. Take notes about the different aspects of the topic.

One strategy is to start making headings about topics. Come up with four or five main points/headings about the topic, and then come up with a few points about these headings that you want to make.

For example - one heading could be ‘the physical manifestations of chronic liver disease’. The next, ‘physical manifestations of hypermanganesemia’. The next heading could be ‘treatment of dystonia due to hypermanganesemia’. Next heading can be ‘treatment of hypermanganesemia in chronic liver disease’. The idea is to summarize your specific topic with all the information that you can find in the literature about each of the topics.

The great thing is there is no standard protocol - this is your paper, and as long as you have the data, you can include the information (ensuring that you reference it.)

That being said, make sure you save the papers and the facts you are referencing so you can refer back to them. Every point you make, you’ll need a reference for it (that’s the number you see next to sentences in the papers).

Now, turn it into the lit review!

Start with the introduction and write about the topics themselves (usually talk about the specifics - for example, talk about chronic liver disease and its prevalence, then why hypermanganesemia is important, why it can cause dystonia, and the overall relationship of them all.)

Then, the body. You’ll basically take what you did in step 4, but make it flow - make it into a story.

Finally, write your conclusion.

Here is an example of a lit review: https://www.mdpi.com/2673-4389/2/2/6/htm

General steps to writing up a manuscript (describing intro, methods, results, discussion, conclusion, references, tables/figures.)

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3626472/

Go to second half of article starting at ‘writing the manuscript’ where it discusses this in detail.

How to write a case report

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4175810/

Tips for writing up a case report for the novice author

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5686928/

Brief overview of how to write up a case report

How to write up a review article, / lit review from UNC and USC

https://writingcenter.unc.edu/tips-and-tools/literature-reviews/

The basics on writing up a literature review

https://libguides.usc.edu/healthsciences/spc

i.Lit review resources