Let your work decide the shape of the manuscript

Editorial Biomedical research progresses by leaps and bounds and every day, in the lab, witnesses reams of data be- ing added to the already existing database. Researchers or scholars often find themselves at sea decid- ing the right window of expression for their work and also struggling to find their target audience. With scant opportunities for budding scholars to acquaint themselves to scientific writing and publishing skills, it is the need of the hour to introduce the greenhorns to the outlines of the various categories of scientific writ- ing and what each category of publi- cation entails. Conclusion The main motive of a researcher is to disseminate his/her work to the soci- ety, other scholars, academicians and students. Inappropriate design of the manuscript may lead to delay in pub- lication or non-publication. There- fore, it becomes essential to know which category of scientific literature your work falls in. Editorial A scientific paper is a written and published report presenting original research results. The purpose of sci- entific papers is to communicate the results and their inference to a wider scientific community 1 . It is a tool by which the authors express informa- tion at hand in a professional man- ner. A scientific paper debates the raised topics, shares the information gathered, statistically analyses the information and draws the readers' attention to the most pertinent con- clusions 2 . While drafting a scientific manuscript, the researcher should pay attention to quality, lucidity, sim- plicity, communication and language, which are its salient characteristics. As every paper is different in its con- tent and so is judged by different yardsticks, the researcher should be aware of the type of manuscript he/ she is drafting to serve the specific purpose. The manuscript prepared for sub- mission should be organised in the best possible way to exhibit the au- thor's research work lucidly. Most of the scientific articles contain subheads arranged as introduction, methods, results, discussion and con- clusion (IMRAD), which is a popular structured format, often adhered to. However, there are a few exceptions like case reports and technical inno- vations that do not fit into the IMRAD format 3,4 .