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Section of manuscript | Common mistakes |
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Title | (i) Too long |
(ii) Not consistent with subject and rationale of study |
(iii) Title not smart enough |
(iv) Use of abbreviations, acronyms, and jargons |
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Abstract | (i) Longer than prescribed word count |
(ii) Not effectively stratified section wise |
(iii) Essentially copy-pasted from main text |
(iv) Contains information not present in main paper |
(v) Citations included |
(vi) No effective take-home message |
(vii) Written as introduction or conclusion of the paper |
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Keywords | (i) Missing essential keywords |
(ii) No MeSH terms used |
(iii) Insufficient numbers in manuscript |
(iv) Wrong keywords not related to subject used |
(v) Abbreviations used |
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Introduction | (i) Overshooting the prescribed word count in detail (>15%) |
(ii) No identification of context, content, and conclusions |
(iii) Not citing recent and relevant research |
(iv) Deliberate omission of contradictory studies |
(v) Rationale, aim, and objectives of research not indicated |
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Methods | (i) Type of the study not indicated |
(ii) Study settings—location, period, dates, etc., not revealed |
(iii) Inclusion and exclusion criteria for participants not provided |
(iv) Lack of sample size and sampling technique descriptions |
(v) Ethical clearance of the study not provided |
(vi) Absence of informed consent from participants |
(vii) Exhaustive replicative details of the experiments not provided |
(viii) No validated experiments, questionnaires, or instruments used |
(ix) No clear mention of statistical analysis used |
(x) Statistical significance not set |
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Results | (i) Results written in present tense |
(ii) Results not related to the objectives of the study mentioned |
(iii) Redundancy with methods section |
(iv) Incorrect statistical tests used |
(v) Overlapping the information present in figures and tables |
(vi) Unnecessary citations incorporated |
(vii) Stratified and biased use of data |
(viii) Wrong interpretation of statistical analysis |
(ix) Missing essential details of the analyzed data |
(x) Missing data and values in the tables |
(xi) Measurement units not provided properly |
(xii) Multiple formats of the statistical significance used (, 0.0001, 0.00, etc.) |
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Discussion | (i) Not all data present are discussed effectively |
(ii) Exacerbation of the results |
(iii) Nonsignificant results exhaustively discussed |
(iv) Insertion of new data not carried previously in results |
(v) Biased interpretations of analyzed data |
(vi) No regard of the context, content, and conclusion |
(vii) Outdated citations used for context (>10 years old) |
(viii) Strengths or limitations of the study not clearly mentioned |
(ix) Future prospects of the study not mentioned |
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Conclusion | (i) Overstated what the data reveal |
(ii) Vague and not supported by the data |
(iii) Too brief without any take-home message |
(iv) No essential connection with the objectives |
(v) Essential results of the study underscored |
(vi) No future perspectives of the study area provided |
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References | (i) Too many or too few citations than prescribed |
(ii) Too old studies included (>10 years old) |
(iii) Proper formatting of the citations not carried out |
(iv) Studies not related to field cited |
(v) Studies contradictory to results deliberately left out |
(vi) Too many self-citations made |
(viii) Citations in tables and figures not included |
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Others | (i) Headings and subheadings missing in the main text |
(ii) Logical flow of ideas not followed in main text |
(iii) Poor quality/low-resolution figures/illustrations provided |
(iv) Figures not in proper format (JPEG, TIFF, PNG, etc.) |
(v) Figure and table legends not provided |
(vi) Illustrations included within the main manuscript |
(vii) Tables and figures not cited within the main text |
(viii) Too many tables or figures used (>8 in number) |
(ix) Use of patients’ pictures without the consent |
(x) Too much of plagiarism (>15%) |
(xi) Lack of information about authors’ affiliations, official emails, and ORCID |
(xii) No mention of each author’s contribution to the study/paper |
(xiii) Corresponding/submitting author not identified |
(xiv) Lack of declaration of conflicts |
(xv) No disclosure of financial/grant support |
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