Why clinical study reports really matter - Volume 27, Issue

Clinical study reports (CSRs) have so far served as documents for drug approval, but not as a data source for further use in research and post-regulatory decision-making. Sound post-regulatory decisions also require data other than those available…

Regulatory Writing: Authorship issues in regulatory documents - Volume 25, Issue

When medical writers discuss authors and authorship – the theme of this issue of medical writing – they are usually referring to documents in the public domain such as journal articles or maybe congress abstracts. The primary purpose of such…

Medical Communications - Volume 27, Issue

In a follow-up to the excellent article from Douglas Fiebig on how to use your review cycle effectively, this issue presents an extremely insightful article from Diana Radovan on how to help reviewers to communicate better with writers. Diana…

Social media and the rise of predatory journals: A case report - Volume 30, Issue

This is a report of our experience with a predatory journal that invited us to join them after having seen our winning essays on how to identify predatory journals. We applied the system we recommended therein to investigate the true nature of the…

Connecting through screens: Navigating relationships with patients and advocacy groups in a digital world - Volume 33, Issue

As a Healthcare Publications Editor at Karger Publishers, I write, edit, and oversee the development of patient information resources in our Fast Facts for Patients series. Soft skills are vital in my role at Karger, where we are committed to…

In the Bookstores - Volume 22, Issue

The Spirit Level

Ever had a ‘ping’ moment? This book might have been mine. I'm not a natural pessimist, but Western society today seems less cohesive and people more materialistic, stressed, unhealthy, and unhappy than in times gone by. Wealth and s…

Message from the President - Volume 21, Issue

Dear Medical Writers Top of Form Bottom of Form The last time I wrote to you I briefly introduced myself and outlined some of the plans that I hope to realise during my year as president. However, as president I am only one of the members of the…

Identifying appropriate journals in which to publish original research on vaccines against human infectious diseases - Volume 21, Issue

The most effective way of communicating new research findings is by publishing them in a peer-reviewed journal which is widely read and highly respected. To ensure that important new data are shared with the appropriate audience in a timely manner,…

Good Writing Practice - Volume 21, Issue

The Good Writing Practice initiative was launched in the December 2010 issue of TWS1 by Alistair Reeves and Wendy Kingdom. The aim is to go beyond the classic style guide and provide advice on practical aspects of writing that make texts easier to…

A checklist to improve your writing - Volume 26, Issue

In this article, I provide a checklist of eight items to improve your writing. Several of the checklist items are discussed in detail in other articles in this issue of Medical Writing, although I provide explanations and  examples for each item. I…