EDITORIAL
Journal of Investigative and Clinical Dentistry (2011), 2, 221–222
Publish, perish or prosper?
Papers can make or break a career of academics and researchers. Most of the Ivy League universities in the USA and other major institutions now retain academics on the ‘‘up-or-out’’ principle mainly depending on the research output in terms of the number of publications in quality venues. Hence for the novice academic and researcher in particular, publications are intimately linked to his or her own livelihood. Thousands of researchers around the world over procrastinate writing their work due to the poorest excuse. Every day they mean to start, but every day something more important appears in their schedule, so the writing goes to the bottom of the pile – and this may go on for months or years. There are a number of myths that hamper writing that bedevil most writers. The first is that you worry that you are not a good writer. In that case note the maxim that to write well, you will have to write first! Another myth is that one has to be ready before writing. If the data are all there, then there is no auspicious time to start writing. You need to start putting something on paper, and the easiest part to write is the Materials and Methods section because there is hardly any literally composition in doing so, and usually, you are copying a method that has been described before (but beware not to plagiarize!). Another myth is that one has to have a clear image of the paper before one writes. In practice though, this rarely happens and as you write down your ideas, you may actually clarify them. A third myth is that one needs a big block of time every time one writes. Due ª 2011 Blackwell Publishing Asia Pty Ltd
to the busy times we live in, it is a luxury to have long uncluttered periods for our tasks. The best option then is to do ‘‘snack writing’’ in short frequent bursts rather than wait for a long free period, which hardly arrives. Finally, it is important to get feedback from your mentor or peers on the quality of your writing. If they cannot understand what you have written, the reviewers and editors will certainly not. Our journal, JICD, indeed receives manuscripts of varying quality. With an acceptance rate of about 20%, we strive to provide readers with quality research – both in terms of their scientific content and the clarity of expression. In this issue once again, we feature three such Review Articles ranging from childhood caries,1 and implants2 to prion diseases and dentistry.3 Other interesting articles mostly related to oral microbiology and pathology include an investigation into the human papillomavirus in denture wearers where the authors note the oral prevalence of the virus in denture wearers significantly higher compared to controls,4 and oral Candida carriage in a cohort with submucous fibrosis where a significant association of the latter fungus with the chronic fibrotic condition was noted.5 Next, the use of photodynamic therapy to kill periodontopathic bacteria is evaluated by Umeda et al.6 noting that the new technology may have future potential for clinical use. Also in an article related to periodontology and clinical microbiology Mohiuddin et al.7 explain the value of single use declofenac sodium for local drug delivery in pocket therapy. I trust once again you will enjoy this edition of JICD, and continue to send your manuscripts to us. Lakshman Samaranayake Editor-in-Chief JICD References 1 Arora A, Schwarz E, Blinkhorn AS. Risk factors for early childhood caries in disadvantaged populations. J Invest Clin Dent 2011; 2: 223–8. 2 O’Neill JE, Yeung SC. Do dental implants preserve and maintain alveolar bone? J Invest Clin Dent 2011; 2: 229–35.
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Editorial
3 Bali Z, Bali RK, Nagrath S. Prion diseases: risks, characteristics, and infection control considerations in dentistry. J Invest Clin Dent 2011; 2: 236–40. 4 Saini R, Osman NB, Ismail M, Sobri FM, Tang TH, Santhanam J. Association of human papillomavirus with denture wearing. J Invest Clin Dent 2011; 2: 241–7. 5 Kamat MS, Vanaki SS, Puranik RS, Puranik SR, Kaur R. Oral Candida carriage, quantification, and species characterization in oral submucous fibrosis patients and healthy individuals. J Invest Clin Dent 2011; 2: 275–9.
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6 Umeda M, Tsuno A, Okagami Y, Tsuchiya F, Izumi Y, Ishikawa I. Bactericidal effects of a high-power, red lightemitting diode on two periodontopathic bacteria in antimicrobial photodynamic therapy in vitro. J Invest Clin Dent 2011; 2: 268–74. 7 Mohiuddin K, Ravindra S, Ahmed MG, Murthy S, Smitha BR. Single use of tetracycline with and without diclofenac sodium as local drug delivery in pocket therapy: a clinico-microbiological study. J Invest Clin Dent 2011; 2: 280–6.
ª 2011 Blackwell Publishing Asia Pty Ltd
Journal of Investigative and Clinical Dentistry (2011), 2, 221–222
Publish, perish or prosper?
Papers can make or break a career of academics and researchers. Most of the Ivy League universities in the USA and other major institutions now retain academics on the ‘‘up-or-out’’ principle mainly depending on the research output in terms of the number of publications in quality venues. Hence for the novice academic and researcher in particular, publications are intimately linked to his or her own livelihood. Thousands of researchers around the world over procrastinate writing their work due to the poorest excuse. Every day they mean to start, but every day something more important appears in their schedule, so the writing goes to the bottom of the pile – and this may go on for months or years. There are a number of myths that hamper writing that bedevil most writers. The first is that you worry that you are not a good writer. In that case note the maxim that to write well, you will have to write first! Another myth is that one has to be ready before writing. If the data are all there, then there is no auspicious time to start writing. You need to start putting something on paper, and the easiest part to write is the Materials and Methods section because there is hardly any literally composition in doing so, and usually, you are copying a method that has been described before (but beware not to plagiarize!). Another myth is that one has to have a clear image of the paper before one writes. In practice though, this rarely happens and as you write down your ideas, you may actually clarify them. A third myth is that one needs a big block of time every time one writes. Due ª 2011 Blackwell Publishing Asia Pty Ltd
to the busy times we live in, it is a luxury to have long uncluttered periods for our tasks. The best option then is to do ‘‘snack writing’’ in short frequent bursts rather than wait for a long free period, which hardly arrives. Finally, it is important to get feedback from your mentor or peers on the quality of your writing. If they cannot understand what you have written, the reviewers and editors will certainly not. Our journal, JICD, indeed receives manuscripts of varying quality. With an acceptance rate of about 20%, we strive to provide readers with quality research – both in terms of their scientific content and the clarity of expression. In this issue once again, we feature three such Review Articles ranging from childhood caries,1 and implants2 to prion diseases and dentistry.3 Other interesting articles mostly related to oral microbiology and pathology include an investigation into the human papillomavirus in denture wearers where the authors note the oral prevalence of the virus in denture wearers significantly higher compared to controls,4 and oral Candida carriage in a cohort with submucous fibrosis where a significant association of the latter fungus with the chronic fibrotic condition was noted.5 Next, the use of photodynamic therapy to kill periodontopathic bacteria is evaluated by Umeda et al.6 noting that the new technology may have future potential for clinical use. Also in an article related to periodontology and clinical microbiology Mohiuddin et al.7 explain the value of single use declofenac sodium for local drug delivery in pocket therapy. I trust once again you will enjoy this edition of JICD, and continue to send your manuscripts to us. Lakshman Samaranayake Editor-in-Chief JICD References 1 Arora A, Schwarz E, Blinkhorn AS. Risk factors for early childhood caries in disadvantaged populations. J Invest Clin Dent 2011; 2: 223–8. 2 O’Neill JE, Yeung SC. Do dental implants preserve and maintain alveolar bone? J Invest Clin Dent 2011; 2: 229–35.
221
Editorial
3 Bali Z, Bali RK, Nagrath S. Prion diseases: risks, characteristics, and infection control considerations in dentistry. J Invest Clin Dent 2011; 2: 236–40. 4 Saini R, Osman NB, Ismail M, Sobri FM, Tang TH, Santhanam J. Association of human papillomavirus with denture wearing. J Invest Clin Dent 2011; 2: 241–7. 5 Kamat MS, Vanaki SS, Puranik RS, Puranik SR, Kaur R. Oral Candida carriage, quantification, and species characterization in oral submucous fibrosis patients and healthy individuals. J Invest Clin Dent 2011; 2: 275–9.
222
6 Umeda M, Tsuno A, Okagami Y, Tsuchiya F, Izumi Y, Ishikawa I. Bactericidal effects of a high-power, red lightemitting diode on two periodontopathic bacteria in antimicrobial photodynamic therapy in vitro. J Invest Clin Dent 2011; 2: 268–74. 7 Mohiuddin K, Ravindra S, Ahmed MG, Murthy S, Smitha BR. Single use of tetracycline with and without diclofenac sodium as local drug delivery in pocket therapy: a clinico-microbiological study. J Invest Clin Dent 2011; 2: 280–6.
ª 2011 Blackwell Publishing Asia Pty Ltd
