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Cited by 149Academic Writing and PublishingDoctoral Education Challenges and SolutionsMentoring and Academic Development

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 22 of the 22 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.

Scientific Writing of Novice Researchers: What Difficulties and Encouragements Do They Encounter?

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Shah, Jatin, Shah, Anand, Pietrobon, Ricardo·2009·Academic Medicine
DOI 10.1097/acm.0b013e31819a8c3cPMC PMC6035752
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Abstract

PURPOSE: Writing scientific articles is a daunting task for novice researchers. In this qualitative study carried out in 2007, the authors evaluated the experiences of a group of novice researchers engaged in the writing process, to elucidate the main difficulties and sources of encouragement they encountered. METHOD: Sixteen novice researchers were interviewed. Most were women (10), and most were enrolled in programs of medicine (9), followed by nursing (4) and physical therapy (3). These were drawn via convenience sampling from a randomized control trial in which 48 of them were equally assigned to either an online or a face-to-face course of instruction. On completion, interviews were conducted in focus groups of four students each. The interviews were transcribed and read independently by two of the authors, who then encoded the material based on the principles of grounded theory. Initial categories were converted to major emerging themes, which were validated when participants were asked to review the findings. Triangulation of results was carried out by discussing the emerging themes in an online forum with five specialists in college writing education. RESULTS: Classifying the diverse responses of participants led to the emergence of four major themes: cognitive burden, group support and mentoring, difficulty in distinguishing between content and structure, and backward design of manuscripts. CONCLUSIONS: The themes produced by this study provide some insight into the challenges faced by novice researchers in their early attempts at scientific writing. Remedies that address these challenges are needed to substantially improve scientific writing instruction.

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  1. Witt, 1995, J Park Recreation Admin, 13, 1
  2. Grzybowski, 2003, Fam Med, 35, 195
  3. Galligan, 2003, Queensl J Educ Res, 19, 28
  4. Weng, 2005, AMIA Annu Symp Proc, 804-, 808
  5. Gopen, 1990, Am Sci, 78, 550

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Metadata

Authors
Shah, J., Shah, A., & Pietrobon, R.
Affiliations
  • National University of Singapore (SG)
  • Duke University (US)
Corresponding author
Pietrobon, Ricardo
ORCID
Venue
Academic Medicine
Publisher
Oxford University Press (OUP)
Published
2009-04
Volume
84
Issue
4
Pages
511-516
ISSN
1040-2446 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1097/acm.0b013e31819a8c3c
PMC
PMC6035752
OpenAlex
W2073165210
Cited by
149
References
22
Citations by year
2026: 5 · 2025: 14 · 2024: 9 · 2023: 11 · 2022: 9 · 2021: 7 · 2020: 6 · 2019: 7 · 2018: 8 · 2017: 13 · 2016: 7 · 2015: 5 · 2014: 2 · 2013: 8 · 2012: 12
FWCI
81.96
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Academic Medicine (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (acceptedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
  • National University of Singapore (submittedVersion)
Funders
  • National Institutes of Health
  • National Center for Research Resources (UL1RR024128)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Library and Information Sciences › Academic Writing and Publishing
  • Social Sciences › Education › Doctoral Education Challenges and Solutions
  • Social Sciences › Education › Mentoring and Academic Development
Keywords
scientific writing, novice researchers, writing difficulties, writing instruction, cognitive burden, peer support, mentoring, manuscript structure, backward design, medical students, nursing students, physiotherapy students, women scientists
MeSH terms
Female, Humans, Male, Mentors, North Carolina, Professional Competence, Research, Sampling Studies, Students, Health Occupations, Writing, Focus Groups

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