Scientific Writing
How to Check a Paper Before You Cite It: A Verification Routine
Citations get lifted from abstracts and copied out of other reference lists. This routine tests whether a source really says what you are about to att...
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Directive Academy
Guides on peer review, research integrity & scholarly publishing — for authors, reviewers and editors
Scientific Writing
Writing an Operative Technique Section Another Surgeon Could Repeat
In surgical papers the operation is the method, yet it is told as a story. Here is the running order that make...
Directive Editorial Team · 7 min
Research Integrity
When Two Papers Share Patients: Disclosing Overlapping Patient Cohorts
A second paper from a cohort you have already reported needs a named disclosure, not a hint. Here is the wordi...
Directive Editorial Team · 7 min
Scientific Writing
Co-Author Not Responding? How to Escalate and What to Tell the Editor
Silence from a co-author can stall a manuscript for months. Here is how to escalate in writing over three stag...
Directive Editorial Team · 7 min
“Legitimate journals are transparent about their fees, peer review and editorial board — verify all three before you submit.”
— Directive Publications Editorial Standards
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Scientific Writing
Sample Size Calculation and Power for Small Clinical Studies
Small studies get called underpowered, and retrospective power cannot answer the charge because it only restates the p-value. Here is what to report i...
Peer Review
Coercive Citation: When a Reviewer Asks You to Cite Their Work
A revision asks you to add a block of references by one author group. How to separate a genuine reading suggestion from citation pressure, with a thre...
Scientific Writing
Multi-Centre Study Agreements: Settle Data and Authorship First
A collaboration can run through recruitment smoothly and still collapse at drafting, because nobody agreed who owns the data or whose name goes second...
Scientific Writing
How to Write a Case Report Abstract: Structure and Examples
Clinicians writing a first case report often reuse the research abstract template and lose the reader by the second line. Here is the structure that w...
Scientific Writing
Figure Version Control: Managing Figures Across Revision Rounds
By the third revision round a figure can have been regenerated more than once. Give every rendering an identity you can read off the filename, and rec...
Peer Review
Ethical Use of AI in Peer Review
Pasting a manuscript you are reviewing into a chatbot is a confidentiality breach — one many reviewers commit without realising. Here is where AI can...
Editor Resources
Special Issues and Guest Editors: How They Work and What to Check
A well-run special issue gathers the best current work on a topic. A badly run one has become a favourite vehicle for paper mills. Here is how to tell...
Research Integrity
Author Name Changes and Correcting the Published Record
Names change — through marriage, divorce, transition, or transliteration. For years the only route was a public correction notice. Better practice now...
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