Getting Started

Every scientific paper should include a statement that clearly explains why the study is being performed and the gap in knowledge that the study aims to address. Such statements can be presented as a hypothesis or purpose statement. A good hypothesis or purpose statement will clarify your paper’s message, help you eliminate extraneous material, and limit gathering unnecessary data and references.

What is a hypothesis?

A hypothesis, which can start as a scientific hunch or an educated guess, is a testable prediction based on background research and aims to fill some gap in knowledge. The objective of a hypothesis-driven study is to test the hypothesis and determine if it is true. Thus, because a hypothesis-driven study is based on the central hypothesis, taking the time to develop and clarify your hypothesis can make the writing process go more smoothly. Your hypothesis should contain “We hypothesized” to indicate to your reader that the statement is your hypothesis statement.

What is a purpose statement?

Similar to a hypothesis statement, a purpose statement includes a statement about a gap in knowledge. A purpose-driven study is conducted to gather more information about a topic rather than to test an educated guess. For example, a purpose-driven study could aim to characterize a rare disease, to determine the pharmacokinetic properties of an agent, to determine the genetic profile of an organism or tumor, or to describe a novel technique. Thus, purpose-driven studies are often performed early in a larger project before a researcher has enough information to form a strong hypothesis. It is this need for more information, which is often used to eventually develop a hypothesis, that drives a purpose statement. A strong purpose statement can lead to a clearer article because you have a clear roadmap for the information that you need to gather.

Learn more about writing a hypothesis or purpose statement in the self-paced Writing and Publishing Scientific Articles Course.

Researchers rarely sit down to write and submit an article in one sitting. The writing process is a continuum that includes many stages of revisions. To have an efficient writing process, Iit is important to make a plan, meet with your writing team throughout the process, create an outline, and write with discipline.

Your writing team will most likely include many MD Anderson partners beyond your direct team members. Be sure to consider how these individuals or groups will be included in your plan and how long it may take to collaborate with them. Partners may include the following:

• Biostatisticians for interpreting statistics for inclusion in the manuscript
• Librarians for literature searching
• Scientific editors for editing and writing advice
• Data officers for requesting data

It is a good idea to meet with your writing team and make a plan for the writing process at the beginning of your endeavor. Think about who will be authors [ICMJE recommendations], the authors’ responsibilities, order of the authors’ list, the deadlines for each author’s responsibility, and the frequency of meetings or check-ins. To help avoid misunderstandings and to save time, write your plan down, share with your co-authors through email or OneDrive, and revisit and update the plan frequently. In fact, it is a good idea to revisit the agreement at each authors’ meeting.

Review the Scientific Publication Policy for more information on author roles and responsibilities. (MD Anderson Institutional Policy #RES3532)

Creating an outline can provide a roadmap for writing your article, helping you organize your thoughts and provide a framework for discussing the paper. The format of an outline does not matter, so you can write it however you like.

For example, you can write an informal outline, in which you just write down ideas as you have them. This is a great tool for overcoming writer’s block, as getting something down on paper can help the writing begin flowing. Towards the end of your writing process, it is a good idea to then organize the ideas in the order in which they will appear in the paper.

Another type of outline is a formal outline. This type of outline has much more structure. Usually, it contains headings for the Introduction, Methods, Results, and Discussion and has more detailed sentences and information.

Example Outline

Writing is a difficult process for many people. However, there are things you can do to make it easier, more efficient, and more pleasant. Namely, it is important to stick to the writing process with discipline, allowing you to habitually and effectively write.

Schedule Your Writing

First, think about planning the process. You can consider your schedule and when you have time to consistently write. For example, if you allocate 1 hour every Thursday to write, then you set expectations for yourself and others in your life. You know that you cannot schedule something else on Thursdays at 2 pm, and perhaps, the other people in your life will be less likely to disturb you if they know that you are consistently unavailable on Thursday afternoons.

Break It into Manageable Pieces

You can also break each part of the manuscript into smaller chunks. For example, you can break writing the Introduction into its smaller components, such as writing about topic A, writing about topic B, and writing about topic C. Doing so can help the overwhelming task of “writing an article” seem more manageable. To keep yourself on track, you can also schedule a certain number of writing sessions or time for each task.

Think about Your Environment

Lastly, make sure that your environment is conducive to writing. You want the writing process to be as easy as possible, and that means eliminating as many barriers to writing as possible. For example, planning your writing time at 5 pm when many people are moving about the office to leave for the day or planning to write at a coffee shop that is 45 minutes away are probably not good ideas. Instead, choose a place that is easily accessible and comfortable—but not too comfortable. Doing so increases the likelihood that you will be productive and that you will stick to your goals and schedule.

In addition to the writing on this page, you may have questions about choosing a journal, writing a specific type of article, data management, publishing ethics, or creating graphs, figures, or tables. MD Anderson staff can also connect with our Scientific Editors for specific questions.