Scientific publishing: Which guidelines and aids are available?

In recent years, the requirements for scientific publications in medicine and health care have increased significantly. Numerous recommendations and guidelines (Reporting Guidelines) have been developed with the aim of improving the reliability and value of published research literature.

These Reporting Guidelines are valuable aids for the creation of one's own research work, from topic identification to experimental design and reporting in publications. Increasingly, scientific journals are requiring mandatory adherence to the relevant Reporting Guidelines, and this is verified through peer review.

AMA Manual of Style

Das Manual of Style der American Medical Association (AMA) is a comprehensive reference for the writing and design of scientific texts in the helth sciences. Go to the licensed eBook via the library catalogue.

EQUATOR Network

The EQUATOR Network (Enhancing the QUAlity and Transparency Of health Research) is an international initiative to systematically promote the development and use of reporting guidelines on a global scale. This includes a database of relevant reporting guidelines for different types of studies. The well-known guidelines CONSORT for Randomized Studies and PRISMA for Systematic Reviews are particularly noteworthy.

International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE)

The ICMJE develops the Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing and Publication of Scholarly Work in Medical Journals. These Recommendations (formerly known as Uniform Requirements) concern best practice and ethical principles for conducting and reporting medical research, as well as for the evaluation and publication process of manuscripts in biomedical journals, and the roles of authors and editors, reviewers and media. On the other hand, very practical recommendations are given for the preparation and submission of manuscripts. A central element are the explanations of conflicts of interest according to ICMJE, which are widely used. Numerous renowned journals have adopted these requirements as a common basis and included them in their more specific "instructions for authors".
The recommendations regarding bibliography and citations in the guidelines for the design and writing of doctoral theses (German document) of the Faculty of Medicine (German website) are based on the ICMJE recommendations.

NLM: Research Reporting Guidelines and Initiatives

A list of additional reporting guidelines and initiatives of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.

Instructions for Authors in the Health Sciences

A list for over 6000 journals from the Mulford Health Sciences Library of the University of Toledo.