If a misinformed voice speaks out in the wilderness and no one refutes it, does it make a sound? A call to advocacy - Volume 22, Issue

The pharmaceutical industry has been a soft target for many years. Attacks by journalists, politicians, and the lay public tend to be triggered by publications with which professional medical writers are associated. Fault is found, either in the…

Authors and Authorship - Volume 25, Issue

Statistical analyses and methods in the published literature: The SAMPL guidelines - Volume 25, Issue

Despite calls for guidelines on reporting statistical aspects of studies, most journals have still not included in their instructions for authors more than a paragraph or two about reporting statistical methods and results. However, given that many…

Legal remedies for medical ghostwriting: Imposing fraud liability on guest authors of ghostwritten articles - Volume 22, Issue

There are persistent concerns about the influence of the pharmaceutical and device industries on the medical literature, and particularly on the reporting of clinical trials, which can include the distortion of the true evidence base of medical…

Lingua Franca and Beyond - Volume 25, Issue

Authors and co-authors This issue of Medical Writing is about Authors and Authorship, a topic, which despite stringent rules and regulations is sensitive, culturally-dependent and often full of emotion. I guess that we could have endless…

Navigating the EMA clinical data website - Volume 27, Issue

This paper describes how to register, access, and navigate the EMA clinical data website. One of the authors (RB) is a medical writer and accessed the site from the perspective of a pharmaceutical industry professional. The other author (AS) is not…

Journal Watch - Volume 26, Issue

Data sharing is encouraged by institutions and journals: Authorship of “shared” papers should be clearWhen researchers share data, the teams analysing them want to publish their results. How should authorship of publications be defined? Who are the…

Writing for the internet - Volume 29, Issue

Writing for online sources requires a slightly different skillset than writing for print publications. Authors need to be aware of their potential audience’s interests. This article explains how avoiding typical online mistakes, and both knowing and…

Publication management software for medical writers - Volume 29, Issue

Managing a complex publication plan for several products or indications with overlapping timelines can be challenging. Publication management software solutions are available to support the medical writer in planning, writing, approving, and…

Manuscript Writing - Volume 22, Issue

As a medical writer, can or should I be listed as an author of an article? For manuscripts, medical writers often go far beyond providing basic services and therefore may feel entitled to authorship. Medical writers are often the main force behind…