Strengthening research capacity: a systematic review of manuscript writing and publishing interventions for researchers in low-income and middle-income countries

Abstract

IntroductionHealth researchers from low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs) are under-represented in the academic literature. Scientific writing and publishing interventions may help researchers publish their findings; however, we lack evidence about the prevalence and effectiveness of such interventions. This review describes interventions for researchers in LMICs aimed at strengthening capacity for writing and publishing academic journal articles.MethodsWe followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines to report literature searches in PubMed, Embase, Global Health, Scopus and ERIC. Our keywords included LMICs, low-income and middle-income countries, health research and writing/publication support interventions, with no restrictions on publication date. Our screening process consisted of title screening, abstract review and full-text review. We collected information about the content, implementation and evaluation of each intervention, if included.ResultsWe identified 20 interventions designed to strengthen capacity for scientific writing and publishing. We summarised information from the 14 interventions that reported submitted or published papers as outcomes separately, reasoning that because they provide quantifiable metrics of success, they may offer particular insights into intervention components leading to publication. The writing and publishing components in this ‘Publications Reported’ group were an average length of 5.4 days compared with 2.5 days in the other group we refer to as ‘Other Interventions.’ Whereas all 14 Publications Reported interventions incorporated mentors, only two of five in the Other Interventions group incorporated mentors. Across interventions, leaders expressed the importance of a high ratio of mentors to participants, the need to accommodate time demands of busy researchers, and the necessity of a budget for open access fees and high-quality internet connectivity.ConclusionWriting and publishing interventions in LMICs are an underutilised opportunity for capacity strengthening. To facilitate the implementation of high-quality interventions, future writing and publishing interventions should share their experiences by publishing detailed information about the approach and effectiveness of the interventions.

Describing and mapping scientific articles on alcohol globally for the period 2010–2021: a bibliometric analysis

“…Mentorship schemes for early-career researchers, resources to support submissions of non-native English-speaking authors, and more ambitious expectations for diversity among author teams and editorial boards are some actions that need to be taken. 49 Further to the above publication-production-related observation, regarding funding sources, our findings align with others that report a skewing towards institutions in HIC contexts. 50 Transparency of funding sources for research is critical in alcohol control policies, as the alcohol industry often works through partnerships or foundations.…”

“…Mentorship schemes for early-career researchers, resources to support submissions of non-native English-speaking authors, and more ambitious expectations for diversity among author teams and editorial boards are some actions that need to be taken. 49 …”

“…Fit-for-purpose research needs further prioritisation to effectively drive the implementation of alcohol control policies over the next decade. Mentorship schemes for early-career researchers, resources to support submissions of non-native English-speaking authors, and more ambitious expectations for diversity among author teams and editorial boards are some actions that need to be taken 49…”

NamSor's performance in predicting the country of origin and ethnicity of 90,000 researchers based on their first and last names

“…Researchers from low-and middle-income countries (LMICs), for example, were found to be underrepresented as authors of articles 6,7 or as members of editorial boards. 8 To save time and resources in studies of inequalities by origin, researchers sometimes rely on NamSor, an online onomastic tool that infers origin from rst and last names.…”

Lessons learnt from a scientific peer-review training programme designed to support research capacity and professional development in a global community

“…18 PREPSS (Pre-Publication Support Service) is an organisation, which provides manuscript development and writing support to assist authors and address authorship disparities in the published literature. 10 One of the ways PREPSS approaches this goal is by training researchers on how to write a publishable paper. 19 A team of volunteer peer reviewers helps the PREPSS organisation offset its limited funding and staff to support authors in 'getting in the door' at a peer-reviewed journal.…”