IMRaD – The finisher!

“All is well that ends well.” ~ William Shakespeare IMRaD is the acronym for Introduction – Method – Results – and – Discussion, and it forms the basic structure of any scientific manuscript. This paper is the third in the series and is called the finisher, the part which is written last in the manuscript. This includes the conclusion, references, and the abstract. Conclusion synthesizes the answer to the primary research question, while references cite all the sources used to provide an accurate scientific record. Both these sections require comprehensive knowledge of the research, making them the final steps in the writing process. An abstract is a brief, precise summary of a research paper that provides an overview of the study’s purpose, methods, results, and conclusions. It is important to understand the significance of these three sections, the tail-enders of a manuscript. Just as the climax is critical to a movie or a match, an article’s abstract and conclusion are the most important elements. For a quick scan, an article’s abstract and conclusions are the key takeaways for any researcher, editor, or reviewer. These sections act as “finishers” for the manuscript, influencing its reception and potential for publication. Whether a manuscript is viewed as readable by researchers or accepted by reviewers can depend heavily on how effectively the abstract and conclusion summarize the work’s overall impact and significance. Conclusion – The Key Finding! Conclusion is not a mere summary but a synthesis of the entire study’s key findings. With deep understanding, it provides a broader context of the entire research and explains why the results are important. Conclusion can be a separate section or the concluding paragraph of the discussion section. I request readers to refer to the previous editorial on the middle-order for information on the discussion section. Consider the following while writing the conclusion of the scientific paper: It should be concise and focused It should summarize the study’s key findings and their significance It should explain how the results fit into the broader context of the field It should provide the main take-home message with a strong final statement It should leave a lasting impression on the reader and explain why the research matters It should not be a mere repetition of all the results It should not contain any new information, results, or hypotheses that were not already presented in the body of the paper. References – The Support Staff! References are citations that provide information about the sources used in the scientific paper, appearing both within the text (in-text citations) and in a full list at the end of the manuscript. Referencing is important as it acknowledges the original authors and prevents plagiarism. They support arguments and claims with credible evidence and allow readers to locate and verify the original sources. Hence, they are most often needed in the introduction and discussion sections. In the introduction, sufficient background information about the topic of interest must be provided. In the discussion section, it is important to compare the findings of the present study with other similar studies previously published. Citations are done in the methods section while mentioning some techniques or scales used by previous researchers. The components of references include the following: authors’ names, year of publication, title of the article or chapter, name of the journal or book, volume and issue numbers, page numbers, and the digital object identifier. There are two major systems of referencing: the Harvard (author-date) system and the Vancouver (author-number) system. The Vancouver system was proposed by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) and further developed by the National Library of Medicine. JISPPD follows the ICMJE guidelines, and the references should use Arabic numerals numbered consecutively in the order in which they are first mentioned in the text. In-text citations are brief references inserted within the body of the text, pointing to the full source in the reference list. In JISPPD, Arabic numerals are written inside square brackets following the text. Consider the following tips for referencing: Do not quote too many or too few references Avoid inaccurate quoting of references or not quoting a reference when it is needed Avoid quoting from secondary sources or abstracts Format all references according to the journal instructions. Journal and book titles are written differently. Journal titles must be correctly abbreviated Cite simultaneously as you write to avoid losing track of references Use reference management software: Tools like Zotero, Mendeley, or EndNote can help organize the references and format them correctly with ease. These softwares are extremely useful when you change the format of referencing from one style to another. Abstract – The Man of the Match! Abstract is the first part of the manuscript that is read. The abstract serves as a critical first impression, giving readers, such as researchers, editors, and reviewers, a rapid overview of the study’s relevance and main findings. Remember, you never get a second chance to create the first impression. Editors can judge the manuscript submitted based on the abstract in the initial screening process. Articles can be “desk rejected” by them without peer review based on the quality of the abstract written. A good abstract should be concise, but with all the key elements intact. It should follow a logical sequence but adhere to the prescribed length. It should be written in an engaging style but brevity is important here. The abstract must not be prepared by a cut–copy–paste mode from the entire manuscript. An abstract is created, and hence, editing is extremely crucial. Introduction or background must be the shortest section. Methods and results must be the longest as the readers are interested in them. Key conclusions must be presented, and unjustified extrapolations must be avoided. Abstract is the first part of the manuscript that is read, and hence, it must be the last part of the manuscript that is written. Write without fear. Edit without mercy. The Coach,

Fetched live from OpenAlex and de-inverted. Abstracts are not stored in this database: the inverted indexes are 8.6 GB of the frame’s 9.3 GB of text, and the host has 13 GB free.